late at night.

"Captain Zhang Feng of the Embroidered Uniform Guard greets the commander-in-chief!" Inside Bao'an Prefecture, a middle-aged man knelt on one knee and saluted Yan Yingyuan.

Yan Yingyuan reached out and helped him up: "Tell me about the situation in Xuanfu Town."

After retaking Yanqing, he immediately contacted the local Jinyiwei.

These Jinyiwei hid in the dark, waiting for an opportunity to act. When they saw the imperial court sent people to recapture the city, they threw themselves into the arms of the imperial court without hesitation.

With the help of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Yan Yingyuan successfully recovered Huailai Guard and Bao'an Prefecture.

Zhang Feng, a captain of the Imperial Guard, stood up with a serious expression, "Sir Yan, the situation in Xuanfu Town is quite complicated. I don't know where to start."

Yan Yingyuan thought for a moment and said, "What is the current situation in the city? Is there a shortage of food? How many defenders are there?"

Zhang Feng reported the information in the city one by one without hesitation.

"Li Zicheng looted Xuanfu Town before retreating, but because there were many soldiers in Xuanfu Town, he only looted symbolically and then retreated. There was no shortage of food in the city."

"Since the general of Xuanfu surrendered, the governor committed suicide, and the governor of Xuanda was killed, the entire Xuanfu town fell into the hands of Wu Zhiyuan, the commander of Wanquandusi."

"There are more than 3,000 defenders in Xuanfu Town now, 70% of whom are guards from Wanquandusi. When these people saw the bandits retreat, they immediately took over the defense of Xuanfu Town."

Hearing the words "Wanquan Dusi", Yan Yingyuan frowned.

Wanquan Dusi was in charge of the entire Xuanfu garrison and was a veritable local emperor.

During the Chongzhen period, the garrisons were almost non-existent due to the large number of military households escaping from the military. The defense of various places was basically taken over by recruited battalion soldiers, and the elite field troops had nothing to do with the garrisons.

but!

Except for two places!

They are Datong and Xuanfu!

There are two reasons why military households escape from their registered permanent residence.

First, there is no hope of promotion.

Military households and their descendants served as soldiers for generations, but they could only be the lowest-level military households and could not become officers. This policy made military households the objects of exploitation and they had no dignity.

The second reason is the inability to survive.

Part of the grain produced by the military households was handed over to the imperial court, and the rest was kept as military rations.

Due to natural disasters and the court's increased taxation, the military households did not earn much grain from farming, and there was very little left after handing it over to the court.

Not only did they not have enough to eat, they even had to pay for their own food, so they all became deserters.

Xuanfu and Datong were places where the Ming Dynasty traded with the Mongols. The bribes that the garrison soldiers extorted from merchants along the way were enough to support a family.

Therefore, there are still a large number of garrison soldiers in these two places.

Zhang Feng, a centurion of the Imperial Guard, continued, "In addition to the more than 2,000 guards, there are nearly 1,000 camp soldiers in Xuanfu Town, led by the guerrilla general Ding Yi."

"The two of them didn't get along, and they almost had a fight during the day today!"

Yan Yingyuan suddenly felt overwhelmed.

One commander-in-chief of Wanquandusi was already enough to give him a hard time, and now there is another guerrilla general Ding Yi!

The Ming Dynasty's border garrisons had guerrilla generals, who had no rank and no fixed number of troops, and were ranked below the rank of lieutenant general. They commanded a battalion of more than 3,000 border troops as guerrilla soldiers.

In charge of field battles, his rank as a military officer is the fifth rank, and under him are officers such as Qianzong, Bazong, Baizong, etc.

In other words, Ding Yi and his soldiers are true border troops!

Yan Yingyuan looked at the Fifth Army Camp’s garrison and sighed.

In terms of strength, the 5,000 soldiers under his command may not be Ding Yi's match in the wild.

If you are lucky, you can recapture Xuanfu. If you are unlucky, you will give away your head!

Yan Yingyuan thought for a long time and made a plan: "Tomorrow you will lead all the Jinyiwei of Baoan Prefecture to sneak into Xuanfu Town, and make preparations after contacting the Jinyiwei of Xuanfu Town..."

......

The next day at noon, outside Xuanfu Town.

After receiving the news that the government army was going to recapture Xuanfu, Wu Zhiyuan and Ding Yi led their troops to wait outside the city early.

After confirming that the procedures were correct, Wu Zhiyuan and Ding Yiqin came to Yan Yingyuan and knelt on one knee.

"Wu Zhiyuan, the commander of the Wanquan Division, has led 2,114 men to surrender to the court. Lord Yan, please fulfill the court's promise and forgive us!"

"I am Ding Yi, the guerrilla general of Xuanfu Town. I have led 800 men to surrender to the imperial court! Lord Yan, please forgive me!"

Yan Yingyuan stared at Ding Yi for a while and was secretly surprised.

This was the first time he saw the Ming Dynasty’s Northwest Border Army!

Ding Yi and the soldiers behind him were no worse than the Guanning Army, which was known as the elite of the Ming Dynasty, in terms of physique and spirit.

The real difference between the two lies in equipment.

The Guanning Army had distinctive armor, sophisticated weapons, and strong war horses.

The helmets of these people in front of me were covered with spots of rust, the cotton armor on their bodies was dirty and old, and the weapons placed on the ground were even more unsightly.

Judging from the equipment alone, there is no sign of any elite troops.

Yan Yingyuan turned his gaze and looked at Wu Zhiyuan and the garrison soldiers behind him.

The overall condition of these soldiers is slightly better than that of the three major camps in the capital, but not much.

The equipment is as poor as that of Ding Yi’s soldiers.

"Do you have a military roster?"

"Please check them, Lord Yan!" Wu Zhiyuan and Ding Yi raised their hands at the same time and handed two yellowed military books to Yan Yingyuan.

Yan Yingyuan found the military register copied by the Ministry of War from behind him, found the corresponding number, and compared it with the military register they handed over to confirm that it was correct.

"According to the records of the Ministry of War, Wanquan Dusi has 33,946 garrison soldiers under his command. Where are the others?"

Wu Zhiyuan had already prepared his speech: "Master Yan, these 30,000 people were stationed in eleven guard posts around Xuanfu Town. After the bandits retreated, I only gathered more than 2,000 people from Xuanfu Town. I don't know about the others."

Yan Yingyuan did not ask any more questions, as he could not get any information out of them. He turned to look at Ding Yi and said, "According to the records of the Ministry of War, you have 2,920 men under your command. Where are the others?"

Ding Yi clasped his hands and said: "Some died in the battle, some fled, and some followed Li Zi... Li Zicheng besieged the capital, and their whereabouts are unknown."

Yan Yingyuan nodded and looked at the high city walls of Xuanfu Town thoughtfully.

The emperor told him that more than a month later, the Jiannu invaded the pass and plundered, with Xuanfu being the first to bear the brunt.

To defend the city, the most urgent task is to take charge of the military power!

The imperial court stipulated that those who surrendered would be pardoned and their officials would be reinstated!

How to take back the military power in the shortest possible time?