marquis of jingan

Chapter 1501 How to increase troops?

For ten years, Xue Wei guarded Taiyuan Prefecture and controlled the Datong border troops. The Tatars had never broken through the gate of Datong.

But that's because the Tatars felt that forcing their way through the pass would not be worth the cost.

If the Tatars were faced with a life-and-death crisis and would starve to death if they did not capture Datong, then it would be better for them to die on the battlefield than to starve to death.

If the Tatars march south regardless of the cost, Xue Wei might be able to hold the city, but the price would certainly be heavy.

After all, the Tatar Khan had not been idle for more than a decade, and what he was probably thinking about most was how to attack the city.

More importantly, if the purpose of these Tatars was not to capture cities and land, but just to loot food, they could even ignore the enemies in the big cities!

As long as they can get inside the pass, if they don't attack the city but only plunder the wild, it will be difficult for Xue Wei to deal with them.

Therefore, he had to be cautious about this matter.

The same day after receiving the intelligence, he headed north with his personal guards and his adult son Xue Bei.

It is worth mentioning that Xue Da’s son was not born to his wife Princess Xianyou, but to a concubine he took in when he was the commander of Guangzhou Guard in the south.

After all, he married Princess Xianyou in the late period of the Northern Expedition. Although the couple had a son and a daughter over the years, the two children were still young and could not go to the battlefield.

On the contrary, the eldest son of the concubine, Xue Bei, has not only grown up, but is also almost as big as his father. He has been practicing martial arts since he was a child and went to the battlefield with Xue Wei a few years ago.

The father and son rode side by side on horseback, heading towards Datong Prefecture.

Taiyuan is about 500 miles away from Datong. Because they were riding horses and changing horses along the way, it only took the father and son more than a day to reach the Datong border army camp, where they met the general Wan Zhong who was guarding the camp.

Ten years have passed. Wan Zhong, who was very calm at the beginning, is now even calmer. After growing a beard, he also looks more majestic. Xue Bei strode forward, half-knelt on the ground, bowed his head and saluted: "Uncle!"

Wan Zhong reached out and helped him up, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile: "Da Lang has become stronger again. You should not stay in Taiyuan with your father anymore. Stay with me in Datong for a few years. When Uncle Wan retires in a few years, you can take over my position and guard Datong."

Xue Bei smiled naively: "Uncle, you are still young."

General Xue at the side coughed and said, "I haven't thought about retreating yet, but you thought about retreating first."

Wan Zhong laughed and said, "I have been away from home for too long, and I always want to go back to my hometown in Taizhou Prefecture. General, you are different."

He smiled at Xue Wei and said, "I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to return to Taizhou Prefecture in this lifetime."

Xue Da groaned and said, "I will report to Lord Shen later and ask him to keep you in the north for the rest of your life. If I can't go back to Taizhou, can you?"

Wan Zhong smiled and didn't respond.

General Xue put his hands behind his back and walked towards the big tent: "Okay, the military situation is urgent, let's go to the tent to discuss the matter."

Wan Zhong glanced at Xue Bei and said with a smile, "Da Lang, why don't you go and beat the drum to open the tent?"

Xue Bei responded quickly and strode towards the big drum at the door of the general's tent.

Wan Zhong's voice came: "Be gentler, don't break my drum."

General Xue on the side laughed and scolded: "You kid, are you talking about me?"

Wan Zhong said calmly, "It's not like you haven't broken it before. This guy is exactly the same as you were when you were young."

The two generals entered the marshal's tent while talking. At this moment, the generals had not arrived yet. Xue Wei sat in the main seat and looked at Wan Zhong. He said, "This is a big deal. The Tatars have no food. I guess they will move south soon."

"If it wasn't a serious matter, I wouldn't have informed you so quickly."

Wan Zhong said silently: "If the Tatar tribe moves south with their entire clan, we will probably only be able to fight them with the help of a few passes, a few big cities, and the new firearms sent by Lord Shen."

"The Tatars are too flexible. Once they enter the pass, it will be difficult for our people to catch up with them, and it will be difficult to surround them."

"That depends on how many people come in."

General Xue tapped the table with his hand and said in a deep voice: "My black armored cavalry is now no less powerful than the Tatars' elite cavalry. They can compete with the Tatars in speed."

"We only have 5,000 Black Armor Cavalry."

Wan Zhong said slowly: "If it's over ten thousand, we don't have to come here to discuss matters."

Xue Wei frowned and said nothing.

Wan Zhong said softly: "There is another point. The Tatars may not necessarily come south from here. They may come from the three guards of Xuanfu, or from the border of Shaanxi in the west."

"Besides, the Tatar Khan has suffered losses here before, so it is more likely that they will come south from somewhere else. By then, we will have to rush to support them, and our troops will not be enough."

He looked at Xue Wei and asked, "Should we first give a heads-up to General Su and borrow troops from him when necessary? After all, our Huai'an Army is of the same blood..."

Xue Wei lowered his head and thought for a while, then said, "I have already informed Lord Shen, and he will arrange the specific matters. Let's not get involved."

"General Su..."

Xue Wei frowned and whispered, "The young marquis is in Liaodong now."

Wan Zhong nodded silently: "I understand."

At this time, generals above the rank of commander of the Datong Border Army Camp had gradually gathered. After seeing Xue Wei, they all half-knelt on the ground and bowed their heads in salute.

"I've seen the general!"

General Xue raised his hand silently: "Everyone sit down, let's discuss the matter."

"Yes!"

…………

Yanjing.

Shen Yi received Xue Wei's report almost at the same time as the court.

Mr. Shen was sitting in the study of his home. He first looked up at the time. After waiting for more than half an hour, he got on the carriage, went all the way to the palace, and successfully met Emperor Hongde.

It was afternoon, and Emperor Hongde was meeting with a senior monk from Dajue Temple. Mr. Shen waited for a while and was invited in. Before entering Ganlu Hall, he ran into the senior monk face to face.

This is an old man who is probably in his sixties or seventies, with a kind face.

When he saw Shen Yi, he first looked at Shen Yi, then bowed his head and saluted: "I am Huijue, a poor monk, and I greet Lord Shen."

Mr. Shen was not in the mood to chat with him. He just nodded slightly and prepared to pass by.

Monk Huijue smiled and said, "Lord Shen is full of karma and murderous intent."

Shen Yi glanced back at him and said calmly: "The monk is a monk from the north. To the monk, Shen is naturally full of karma."

Monk Huijue shook his head and smiled, "I was originally a monk from Jiankang, and was invited by Your Majesty to come here to preside over Dajue Temple."

Mr. Shen was a little surprised, then looked the big monk up and down.

Monk Huijue clasped his hands together and said, "Although Lord Shen has accumulated a lot of karma, he has also done countless good deeds. Even if he does not achieve enlightenment in this life, he will not be punished for his karma."

Master Shen smiled and said, "You are a great monk, but you are good at talking."

After saying this, he clasped his hands in front of him and strode into the Ganlu Palace.

In Ganlu Palace, His Majesty the Emperor was flipping through a yellowed ancient book. When he looked up and saw Shen Yi, he smiled and said, "I knew you would come."

Shen Yi bowed and said, "Your Majesty has already known it."

"understood."

Emperor Hongde motioned Shen Yi to sit down, then looked at Shen Yi and said, "What are the rules, Mr. Shen?"

"I think we should send an envoy to the Tatars to tell them that the Emperor of Dachen is so gracious that he can sell them some food to help them through this difficult time."

"besides…"

Shen Yi whispered: "We should consider sending more troops to Datong to prevent any unexpected events."

The emperor thought for a moment, nodded and said, "The Tatar Khan was conferred by me. In name, he is a vassal of our Dachen. It is only natural to sell them food. As for increasing the number of troops..."

"Where do you think we should increase it?"

"Su Ding's troops, or..."

He looked at the emperor and spoke slowly.

"Ling Su's troops."

　I fell asleep last night. My sleep schedule has changed recently, and I can’t hold out at night…

　　
　
(End of this chapter)