Chapter 215 214 Mongolian Intelligence

Wei Guangde's convoy set off on the same day with Ma Fang, Zhang Heng and others from Bao'an Prefecture. It was just a matter of distance between the two places. Wei Guangde arrived in Huailai County one day earlier than Ma Fang and the others.

Wei Guangde and his team went smoothly along the way, but they encountered several spys of Tartar reconnaissance cavalry. In addition to the team that was deliberately put in, there was also a team of Tartar reconnaissance cavalry that broke through the blockade of Jizhen cavalry.

Wei Guangde no longer took this seriously.

When he arrived at Huailai County, in the evening, four war horses brought two messengers to Huailai County, and were then taken to Wei Guangde by Dong Yiyuan. This was the third team of messengers and the last team of people he sent out.

The messengers retrieved by the two teams had already explained the general situation of Baoanzhou to Wei Guangde. Baoanzhou planned to send out the troops led by the guerrilla general Ma Fang, as well as the soldiers of the garrison led by Zhang Heng and Liu Mo. More than 2,000 people came to Huailai County to meet them.

The arrival of the third team of commanders allowed Wei Guangde to determine the actions taken by Baoanzhou.

Ma Fang and his troops and more than a thousand cavalry members from the headquarters all went to Huailai County, but Dong Yikui, the other two people named in the third official document, were not transferred to Baoanzhou, so they were not in the army and could not be transferred in the short term. Liu Huan's troops and Altan's troops were in a stalemate. Although the war had not started, the confrontation was fierce and could not be withdrawn for the time being.

"You guys go down and rest first."

Wei Guangde waved his hand and asked the messenger who had been running around for several days to return to the barracks to rest first. After the person walked out, Wei Guangde said to Dong Yiyuan: "It seems that this Liu Huan can really fight, otherwise Liu Dazhang from Baoanzhou would not leave anyone behind."

Dong Yiyuan nodded quickly. He had only seen Liu Huan's name in letters to his elder brother. There was also this person in the Tang newspaper in Junzhen, so he guessed that he might be very good at fighting, and Ma Fang's situation was similar.

His father Dong Yang died in the battle when Altan's army invaded Bian Dishuiya in 28 of Jiajing. After that, he went to Jizhen and had not returned to Xuanfu for more than five years.

If it weren't for being sent to protect the border ministers this time, I wouldn't know when I would be able to return here.

"When you go down, tell Commander Li to prepare the barracks in advance."

Wei Guangde ordered Dong Yiyuan, and then picked up the reply letter from Baoanzhou to read it.

Commander Li was the assistant commander of Huailai Guard and was sent to Huailai County to command the defense. After all, there are now two soldiers from Qianhu Districts here. If there is no commander, the two Qianhu Districts are afraid that they will be at a loss.

After Dong Yiyuan left, Wei Guangde took the reply letters in his hand on the desk.

Since leaving the capital, no matter what level of military generals he met, everyone was respectful to him and Wei Guangde and would never dare to neglect him.

This time he issued a document to Baoanzhou to transfer Ma Fang and others. Even if Dong Yikui is not here, Liu Huan cannot transfer it. Wei Guangde felt that Liu Dazhang, the general of Xuanfu, did not take him seriously.

The soldiers from the third team returned from Bao'anzhou have already said that the Xuanfu army and the Altan army camp were more than ten miles apart, and there was no situation where they could not be transferred at all. The statements given were completely perfunctory.

Maybe he was really a little bit arrogant. At first, Wei Guangde knew that he was just a reviewer of the Hanlin Academy, so he was still cautious when talking and doing things outside.

However, after receiving the order from the capital and being authorized to "counsecutor the Military Affairs", Wei Guangde felt that perhaps because of his origin in Jiujiang Guard, Emperor Jiajing looked at him differently, so he continued to promote and promote again.

How could it be said that people like Wei Guangde who had hereditary military positions in his family fought with the ancestors of the Zhu family?

Later generations often thought that military households were miserable, but that was actually only targeting soldiers. For those who have hereditary official positions, as long as they have real power, the benefits are still very rich.

Of course, this rich oil and water cannot be used on the table.

The next afternoon, rolling smoke and dust appeared on the west side of Huailai County, and a large army arrived.

In the distance to the north, there was also smoke and dust surging, as if there were still troops approaching Huailai County.

Wei Guangde knew from Tanma that Ma Fang and Zhang Heng and Liu Mo were almost there to Huailai County at noon, so he was not worried about the scene outside the city.

The Ming army only walked towards Huailai County, and the nearly two thousand Altan troops behind him only followed him from afar and did not dare to get close to challenge him.

After Ma Fang led his troops to the city, he would naturally go to pay homage to Wei Guangde and hand over the order after meeting with Commander Li of Huailaiwei and Dong Yiyuan.

Wei Guangde met Ma Fang, Zhang Heng and Liu Mo in a large mansion requisitioned by Huailai. Although Huailai County had been under military control at this time, the civil affairs of Huailai County were still in charge of Huailai's magistrate, and Wei Guangde had no right to interfere in local affairs.

When I saw Ma Fang at first, I gave Wei Guangde the impression that this man looked like a military officer. In his eyes, the middle-aged man's skin was rough and dark, and it was obviously caused by long-term travel. He looked very strong in his physique, much stronger than his father and uncle.

They have not relaxed and worked hard, and are rare in the Southern Army.

Seeing that Wei Guangde believed Dong Yiyuan's words now, so he enthusiastically asked someone to sit down and ask about the comparison of the combat power of Ma Fang's troops and Altan troops.

As for Commander Li who brought the people, he left here early on the grounds of patrolling the city defense.

Other questions such as Dong Yiyuan, Zhang Heng and Liu Mo who came here this time could not be answered. After all, they were not their own soldiers, and even if Wei Guangde asked, they didn't know how to answer.

"If the cavalry under Altan is an ordinary cavalry, it is no problem to sweep him four or five thousand people. If it is a elite cavalry, three thousand people may not be able to defeat me."

Ma Fang answered Wei Guangde's question with a slightly arrogant expression at this moment. When he came in and saw the so-called Lord Wei, he was shocked by Ma Fang. The chief official sent by the court was actually a baby.

Looking at Wei Guangde's childish face, Ma Fang felt that she was still grazing in Mongolia at this age.

Ma Fang was born in the 13th year of Zhengde of the Ming Dynasty. He was born in a farmer family. At the age of eight, he was abducted by the Mongols and became a slave of the Altan tribe. In the 16th year of Jiajing, Ma Fang took advantage of the hunting opportunity of following Altan Khan to the outer periphery of Datong near the border town of the Ming Dynasty. He stole the horse and fled at night and rushed to the Datong military camp overnight. That year, he was nineteen years old.

"The horse exploration report, there are about two thousand Tartars behind you who are watching. Do your men dare to go up and destroy them?"

Wei Guangde asked with a smile when he saw Ma Fang's expression.

Aoy, I will make you proud. If you go out of the city and kill people, you will be considered as the capital of arrogance.

Well, then your plan will be achieved.

When Wei Guangde learned about the situation before, he knew from Ma Fang that the troops he led were only more than 1,300 cavalrymen. According to what he learned from Dong Yiyuan and other Ming army commanders, Ma Fang's more than 1,300 men would definitely not be able to defeat the two thousand Tartars outside the city.

"Mr. Wei takes it seriously."

But unexpectedly, as soon as Wei Guangde finished speaking, Ma Fang stood up excitedly.

Seeing Ma Fang's reaction, Wei Guangde noticed something was wrong in his heart. Don't really send these more than a thousand cavalry into the tiger's mouth. This is your own way of life.

But at this time, he really couldn't say anything, after all, he just said that.

However, Zhang Heng, who was following, immediately stood up and grabbed Ma Fang when he saw that the situation was not good, and said to Wei Guangde with a smile on his face: "Mr. Wei, don't be as knowledgeable as him. General Ma is nicknamed "Ma Crazy" in Xuanfu. He dares to fight with a thousand-man brigade of Tartars if he has hundreds of people in his hands. Don't pay attention to him. Just ask your orders. We will never dare to neglect it."

With Zhang Heng's buffer, Wei Guangde went down and smiled and said, "Yes, you have arrived today, so you will talk about it after a night of rest."

Ma Fang still wanted to speak, but was pulled by Zhang Heng to sit down again.

Wei Guangde was a little curious at this moment. Ma Fang looked like a powerful general, but why was it really a peaceful situation in Baoanzhou?

"General Ma is extremely brave. Wei admires it. But since General Ma can fight, why hasn't he seen a report of the battle with Altan's troops in Bao'anzhou for a long time?"

When we met on the first day, Wei Guangde didn't want to pretend to be deep and said whatever he thought. Since he saw that Ma Fang seemed a little wary, he asked immediately.

Among the middle and senior military officers of the Ming army, most of them like the officialdom, but they like to go straight to the middle and lower-level generals and schoolmen.

Wei Guangde was born in a wei office, and now there are only a few warriors in the house, so Wei Guangde did not use any self-proclaimed "self-official".

Make yourself appear more friendly to the people. After all, your age is a flaw, and it only has the advantage of a civil servant and can suppress these warriors.

"I don't want to fight. It's all because General Liu doesn't allow us to fight. As I want to do, the entire army will directly attack the Altan camp, and the Tartars have long been beaten away."

Ma Fang was anxious and spoke quickly and revealed the truth directly.

The words have been said, even Zhang Heng and Liu Mo on the side can only hold on to their foreheads, what else can they say?

Even if you are dissatisfied with General Liu Dazhang, you can't say something to outsiders. It's all internal affairs of the Xuanfu. Even if you complain, you should go to the governor and the governor to tell him.

"General Liu refused to go to the battle because he was worried that the soldiers would be too injured."

Wei Guangde just tempted it casually.

Seeing that Zhang Heng wanted to steal the conversation again, Wei Guangde stared at him with a fierce look.

Wei Guangde didn't know if his eyes were murderous, but Zhang Heng, who wanted to open his mouth, obediently shut up. Obviously, he noticed Wei Guangde's unhappiness.

"Maybe there is a reason, but for our department, I have never suffered any losses. Even if there is a loss, the Tatars' losses are several times that of mine."

Or talking about the unhappy thing recently, Ma Fang continued to say unstoppable: "In fact, the main thing is to be afraid of defeating the war. The court blamed it, so he blindly avoided the war, which made the Tatars more arrogant. If the governor of Zhou was still there, how could he be his turn to be arrogant?"

"Altan?"

Wei Guangde asked back strangely, and had heard him mention this name several times before.

"Mr. Wei doesn't know that we usually name the Mongolians by pronunciation with similar Chinese characters. The Altan Khan written in our court documents is actually closer to his pronunciation."

Ma Fang hurriedly explained.

Wei Guangde nodded and then asked, "You know Mongolian dialect and are very familiar with that place?"

"Sir, I was captured by the Tartars when I was a child and became a slave. I escaped when I was nineteen years old. Then I entered General Zhou's military camp and became a soldier."

Ma Fang hurriedly explained that this was difficult to explain, Wei Guangde might be suspected of being a spy of the Tartars, but he was not careless.

"Who is General Zhou? And who is the governor Zhou you mentioned first?"

Wei Guangde asked.

"Zhou Shangwen, General Zhou, when I ran back, he was the general officer of Datong. At that time, he was in Xuanda. Although Altan's army had been in the border area for many years, he could not get it at all, let alone entering the pass."

Ma Fang said proudly again.

"Zhou Shangwen?"

When Wei Guangde heard Ma Fang say his name, he naturally knew this person. He used to read the Ming Dynasty's official newspaper and saw his name in more than ten to twenty years of Jiajing. He was the general of Datong, the right governor, and the Taibao, and was also considered to be one of the famous generals of the Jiajing Dynasty.

In Wei Guangde's impression, those who did not mention the founding and Jingnan generals, but were rewarded for their military merits, "the general officer plus the three officials is only one of the Wen Wen."

"Is the person gone?"

Wei Guangde asked hesitantly.

"Jiajing was gone in 28 years, otherwise there would be no incident of the Tartars raiding the capital."

Ma Fang said with a little sadness in her tone.

Ma Fang said before that he joined the army and was under Zhou Shangwen's command. He calculated the time and had only been in the position of guerrilla general for only twenty years. Ma Fang's promotion speed was no longer slow.

For most people, the twenty-year-old army is afraid that they will not know where they die, but Ma Fang is not only lively but also rises step by step. It can be seen that this person is also a lucky person.
To be continued...