"At 3:00 tomorrow, the caravan hired by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War will deliver the supplies to the outside of Huailai City. After receiving the supplies, our 40,000 soldiers will set up camp in the northwest of the city."
"In order to prevent the Jiannu from launching a surprise attack while our army is camping, I hereby issue the following orders..."
"Wang Yongji!"
"Here!" Wang Yongji clasped his fists and bowed.
"At the beginning of the morning hour tomorrow, I order you to lead all the troops in this unit to be on guard five miles northwest of the city! If you encounter the Jiannu, no matter how many troops they have, you must not engage them. Immediately retreat two miles and join forces with Bakeyong."
"Yes, sir!"
"Bakyong."
"I will be here!"
"At the beginning of the morning hour tomorrow, I order you to lead all the troops in this department to guard three miles northwest of the city. If you encounter Wang Yongji retreating, you will join forces with him and then retreat into the city."
Um?
"Retreat to the city?" Buckyon thought he had heard wrongly.
Based on his understanding of the Jiannu, even if they sent troops for a surprise attack, the number would not be large, only a few thousand at most. After all, both sides would basically test each other before the decisive battle.
Unless there is absolute certainty of victory in one strike, the main force will never be mobilized easily.
Huang Degong, a brave and courageous general, was so cautious even though he had more than 10,000 cavalrymen under his command.
No, that's not his character at all.
"That's right, retreat into the city." Huang Degong repeated.
"I obey your command!" Although Bakyong was puzzled, he was very happy in his heart.
Before coming here, he was still thinking about how to execute Wu Sangui's order to preserve strength, but now it seems that he was worrying too much.
"At the beginning of the morning hour tomorrow, Ma Dai, you will lead the cavalry to be on guard two miles northwest of the city. If you encounter Jiannu, immediately return to the camp for defense. Qiu Yue, you will lead the chariot camp soldiers to set up a defense line two miles northwest of the city, and deploy all the chariots, chevaux de frise and antlers outside the camp. Weng Zhiqi, you will lead the infantry and baggage soldiers to set up camp behind the chariots, and be quick!"
"As for the artillery, I will be in charge of it myself!"
"Everyone, if there is no problem, please return to the camp and follow the plan tomorrow!"
After everyone else left, Huang Degong's eyes fell on Captain Xu Wenpu, who had been sitting there without moving.
"Is there something wrong?" Huang Degong asked.
"have."
"speak."
Xu Wenpu took a deep breath and said, "Sir Huang, my subordinates are soldiers from the garrison. They were all military personnel before this and have been soldiers for generations."
"It is undeniable that some of those military households like and are good at being soldiers; at the same time, it is inevitable that there are many people who are unwilling to be soldiers among the military households!"
Huang Degong nodded.
This is how the military household system works. No matter whether you are willing to serve in the army or not, you cannot escape the fate of serving in the army as long as you have military status.
Xu Wenpu continued, "Now the court has not only abolished the military status, but also repaid the previously owed wages. We are happy and grateful to the court from the bottom of our hearts."
"Why?"
"Because... our descendants will finally no longer have to fight against the times. Ordinary people like us don't want anything else in our lives, just to have enough food and clothing, have a few children, and let them farm and study like ordinary people."
"Sir Huang may not believe it, but before this, we even hoped that the Ming Dynasty would perish. Only then could we abolish our military status and let our descendants end our life of having no choice."
"Your Majesty and the court have now presented this grace to us, so we are grateful to Your Majesty and the court!"
Huang Degong frowned slightly and looked at Xu Wenpu with a cold expression: "What do you want to say?"
The Jiannu would be arriving soon, and he had no time to listen to Xu Wenpu express his emotions.
Xu Wenpu took another deep breath and said, "The Jiannu invaded the country and plundered. The court was shocked and the people were restless. As the last generation of military households in the Ming Dynasty, we want the court to give us a chance to prove that the soldiers in the garrison can still fight."
Huang Degong was silent for a long time, then raised his head and asked, "There is a chance. As I said before, many people will die, or even... the whole army will be wiped out."
"Can you bear it?"
It was Xu Wenpu's turn to be silent.
Many people died until the whole army was wiped out...
What kind of mission is this? What kind of bloody battle will they experience?
He doesn't know.
The only thing we know is the result: death!
After an unknown amount of time, Xu Wenpu raised his head, his eyes gleaming with determination: "When our country is in trouble, soldiers must die on the battlefield and serve our country! My 1,726 brothers and I are ready!"
Huang Degong stared at Xu Wenpu's face for a long time, half believing and half doubting.
It’s not that he doesn’t trust Xu Wenpu, but this matter is of great importance.
On a small scale, Xu Wenpu is related to his victory or defeat; on a large scale, Xu Wenpu's actions will be related to the safety of the entire Ming Dynasty!
Have to be treated with caution.
"You have one day and one night to relocate the people in the city to Yanqing Prefecture. Come back to me after you've done this."
Although Xu Wenpu felt unwilling, he could only bow and leave.
That night, the sea was calm.
But everyone knows that this is the terrifying calm before the war.
Huang Degong versus Duoduo, 50,000 versus 60,000 (Huang Degong did not know the specific casualties of Duoduo), it was still unknown who would win.
But judging from the apparent military strength, the Jiannu were clearly superior.
"Report!" At dawn, Huang Degong received news from the scouts, "Thousands of Jiannu cavalry are wandering ten miles northwest, seemingly waiting for the main force."
"Investigate again and report back!"
"Report! The main force of the Jiannu army was discovered fifteen miles northwest, and they are setting up camp at the same place."
"Are you sure it's fifteen miles away?" Huang Degong was riding on his horse, very surprised by the news.
He did not doubt the truth of the news, but rather suspected that the scout had made a mistake.
There are many types of scouts, the most common of which is to ride on a horse and send back information from direct observation to the army. There are also some scouts in specific locations, who occupy high ground or even try to go deep behind enemy lines to send back information.
Huailaiwei is surrounded by high mountains, and people can hide in the forests and observe the enemy's rear.
However, this kind of scout is slow in transmitting messages.
"Confirmed, this is news from the Royal Guards."
Huang Degong's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again.
Although the news is confirmed to be true, it is more serious than imagined.
The Jiannu camped fifteen miles away, too close!
Generally, during marches and battles, the distance between the two sides’ camps was about thirty miles, or even farther.
The distance between the vanguard troops was ten to twenty miles.
If you are too close, you will be easily ambushed by the enemy. If you are too far, the attacking side will waste energy and suffer from combat effectiveness because of walking too far (the walking speed of infantry is about 10 miles per hour).
Faced with cavalry units like the Jiannu, the Ming army would basically choose to set up camp thirty or forty miles away on the Liaodong battlefield.
There is no way, the Jiannu cavalry is too fast.
"How dare the Jiannu set up camp fifteen miles away? Aren't they afraid that our army will launch a surprise attack on them when they are not yet firmly established?" Lieutenant General Huang Fei muttered to Huang Degong as he stood beside him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
