Looking at the soldiers of the Fifth Army Camp behind him, Yan Yingyuan's enthusiasm before departure was gone, replaced by doubt.
Can these people recapture Xuanfu?
It is indeed a bit of an exaggeration to describe them as old, weak, sick and disabled, but using the word "elite" to describe these people is definitely over the top.
They all looked pale, and although they were not haggard, they were not strong either.
Fortunately, the weapons and armor are complete, and they can scare people even from a distance.
"Report!" One of the few scouts from the Fifth Army Camp came galloping from a distance. He came in front of Yan Yingyuan and Jiang Yingkui and bowed.
"Reporting to the two adults, Dingxi Earl Tang Tong, who is guarding Juyong Pass, is leading his troops to welcome us outside the pass!"
Yan Yingyuan did not hesitate at all: "Notify everyone to speed up the march! We must reach Juyong Pass before dark, otherwise everyone will have to sleep on the ground!"
As military orders were issued step by step, the troops marched much faster.
Finally, we arrived at Juyongguan before the sun set.
"Yan Yingyuan greets the Earl of Dingxi!" Yan Yingyuan saluted Tang Tong while sitting on his horse.
After Tang Tong returned the gift, he led them to the pass and asked as they walked, "Governor Yan is a favorite of your majesty! You can describe him as rising straight up the ladder!"
Yan Yingyuan observed Tang Tong's expression out of the corner of his eye, and as expected, he didn't see anything.
They are all old foxes, each one more cunning than the other, and they will not easily reveal their inner thoughts.
After a little thought, Yan Yingyuan made up his mind.
Before coming, Wang Chengen told him that Tang Tong was a timid person with many cunning ideas.
Although he had led troops in battles for many years and suffered more defeats than losses, he was rarely convicted for cowardice or loss of territory.
He is considered a "genius" among the many generals of the Ming army!
Juyongguan is the only way from the capital to Xuanfu, and all subsequent caravans have to go through here! Moreover, they only brought five days of rations on this trip. If they don't want to be cut off from food and grass, they must establish a good relationship with Tang Tong.
In fact, Yan Yingyuan was overthinking it. With Li Banghua's status as the Minister of War and the Prime Minister of the Cabinet, not even Tang Tong nor Wu Sangui dared to stop the caravan he organized.
After thinking this through, Yan Yingyuan shook his head and smiled bitterly, mocking himself: "Don't be ridiculous, Lord Tang. No one wants this job. It just so happened that I made a contribution while defending the city. When His Majesty knew about this, he asked me what I thought. I was eager to make a contribution, so I took this hard job."
"It will be difficult to recapture Xuanfu with five thousand old, weak and disabled people!"
Tang Tong glanced at the soldiers of the Fifth Army Camp behind him, suppressed his smile and said to them, "The bandits have already retreated to Datong. As soon as your army arrives, you will take Xuanfu in an instant. This achievement is like picking up something for nothing!"
"Oh?" Yan Yingyuan seized the opportunity to ask, "Is the news of the bandits' retreat accurate?"
Tang Tong chuckled and neither admitted nor denied it.
Yan Yingyuan understood immediately: Tang Tong wanted to get a piece of the pie.
First of all, military merit represents money. Not to mention Tang Tong, there is no one in the entire Ming Dynasty who doesn't love money.
Secondly, Tang Tong urgently needs some credit.
When Li Zicheng attacked Juyongguan, he only held out for a few days before retreating to Beijing.
After returning to the capital, he was badly impeached by that group of civil servants.
Although the emperor did not punish him, he knew he was in the wrong, so he wanted to use extra merit to cover up his previous mistakes.
After analyzing the reason, Yan Yingyuan immediately bowed and said: "If Xuanfu is successfully recovered, I will give half of the credit to Lord Tang."
Tang Tong waved his hands hurriedly: "No, no!"
"Ah... I have no experience in serving as an official in the court, and I will have to rely on Lord Tang for support in the future. Besides, no matter how capable I am, I cannot take on this great credit, Lord Tang, so please don't refuse."
"I am serious."
Tang Tong finally stopped hiding it, took out a secret report from his bosom, and handed it to Yan Yingyuan: "This is a secret report from Xuanfu this morning. The bandits had all retreated yesterday morning. Now there is not a single soldier or horse of the bandits in the entire Xuanfu area."
"If it weren't for your majesty's order for me to guard Juyong Pass, I would have led the troops to recapture it myself long ago."
After saying that, Tang Tong looked unhappy.
I can't eat the duck that's right in front of me, and I can't take away the credit that's right in front of me. It's really frustrating.
After staying in Juyongguan for one night, Yan Yingyuan got up early the next day and led a large army to the nearest Yanqing.
Yanqing is less than fifty miles away from Juyongguan, and it can be reached in half a day if the army marches quickly.
After discussing with Jiang Yingkui, Yan Yingyuan decided that it was better to be cautious!
A forced march will cause the infantry to lose their combat effectiveness, and once they encounter the enemy, they will be like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth.
Finally, before the sun set, the large army arrived outside Yanqing City.
Under the setting sun, the once prosperous Yanqing became desolate.
There were two places where the Ming Dynasty and Mongolia conducted trade, namely Xuanfu and Datong.
The caravans going to Xuanfu basically transported supplies from the south, went north along the canal to the dock near Changping, then took the land route through Juyongguan-Yanqing-Chang'an, and finally arrived near Xuanfu Town.
As it is a place where merchants gather, Yanqing is very prosperous.
But after the bandits passed by, Yanqing seemed to be insulted. He just stood there quietly, so quiet that it was a little scary.
"Come on, go and break the gate!" Jiang Yingkui gave an order, and two infantrymen ran out holding shields.
There is no way, there are too few war horses.
If the enemy sets an ambush, the already scarce war horses will be even more scarce.
After a while, two infantrymen came back and said, "Reporting to Lord Yan and Lord Jiang, there are still soldiers guarding the city, but not many. They are all government troops who surrendered to the bandits. They are unwilling to retreat to Datong with the bandits, so they stayed to continue guarding the city."
"After hearing that we were soldiers of the imperial court, they said they would immediately open the city and surrender if we were pardoned."
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