Chapter 726: Getting Tightened

Shanxi was caught off guard by the changes in the situation. Originally, the world was peaceful, and suddenly horse thieves were rampant outside the pass. Suddenly, Altan's troops began to move frequently around the border wall. The imperial envoy sent by the court to Cha Zonglu was to supervise and eliminate the horse thieves, and then the Governor Datong, and began to assist in the defense of the border.

In the past, when the Tartars attacked south, there were always signs of one kind or another. For example, it became cold too early in autumn, wind and snow in winter, and large numbers of people and livestock were frozen to death.

In this case, the tribes of the Tartars must be supplemented by plundering the Ming Dynasty to allow as many people as possible to survive. Even if there is border trade and peace talks between the two sides, it is useless.

Nearly two hundred years, neighboring towns, even households in Datong and Shanxi have had experience. When the weather gets colder, it often means that the war is approaching, otherwise it will be frequent harassment.

But the weather is very warm this year, and crops in Shanxi have had good harvests. News from the grassland said that livestock are all fat because of the lush aquatic plants. It is estimated that the prices of furs and related products in autumn and winter will be much cheaper. Merchants shipped goods based on this stocking, and the side generals were in a very relaxed mood.

However, in September, the situation suddenly changed. The squadrons of the Tartars suddenly began to frequently move outside the wall, and the northern border was in a hurry.

The situation was tense and the business route was cut off. The families with a little bit of family fortune in Datong Town hurriedly fled to the south of Shanxi to avoid being affected by military disasters.

After so many years, the situation has been tense. The Tartars have always attacked the Ming Dynasty. The walls have been broken through everywhere. The cavalry of large and small tribes of the Tartars have plundered everywhere and left calmly. As long as the situation is tense, the people on the Ming Dynasty are in trouble. This has formed a consensus in everyone's hearts.

What's more, the Mongolian tribe in the north is the dominant one. It is said that Altan's tribe can mobilize 100,000 cavalry. Since about 20 years of Jiajing, Datong has been broken several times. A large group of Tartar cavalry rushed over to burn, kill and loot. They are older and have good luck and are still remembered by the old people who have lived to this day.

The generals and soldiers of Datong Town were all cursing in their hearts, but they had no choice but to strengthen their combat preparations and prepare to resist the Tartars who did not follow the rules.

The number of times the border soldiers drifted was greatly increased compared to before. In the past, the border generals turned a blind eye to this situation. Anyway, when the tension passed, the border soldiers could come back to farm and do their jobs, even if there was no major event, there was no need to marching military law.

The generals and guerrillas from all walks of life think this way. Most of the border soldiers below are veterans, so they naturally understand this behavior. However, this year is very different from previous years. The personal soldiers and servants of the generals of each walk are all spread out and hunt down deserters.

These servants are elite soldiers, and they are colleagues with those who escape. They know how to escape from that road, and it is easy to intercept them.

After being intercepted, there were naturally some unlucky people who were caught in the past, and there were ways to get away with it. They gave some silver and copper coins, gave some benefits, and even wrote an IOU. The personal soldiers and soldiers of each army general were let go and let them go as soon as they were loose.

But the situation this year is a bit different. If you take advantage of it, you may not be able to bribe it. Most of them are directly captured and marching in the military camp. The punishment for being deserter is very simple, that is, beheading.

The heads were hung on the camp bar, and those who were interested in escaping were also frightened. No matter whether they were willing or not, they would always be on duty honestly and dare not run away again.

Of course, military law may not be strictly enforced everywhere. There are many places where military law can be enforced. When everyone sees the bloody head, they are frightened and have some restrictions.

In the military camps everywhere, smart people saw some clues. Not to mention that they started to order soldiers and horses every day, among the people who ordered soldiers and horses, there were also lieutenants dressed in Jinyiwei around them.

The military generals everywhere are like this, and the deputy general Ma Dong does not relax. Ma Dong comes to Shanxi as a lieutenant general. Now he is the deputy general of the temporary general. The Ma family's military generals have also allocated more than 700 people. These more than 700 people are the lifeblood of Ma Dong's family. In the past, when wars started, these family generals and soldiers cherished them very much and would never use them. They would not easily send them to dangerous places. They were just taken by Ma Dong. But this time there have been changes. They were divided into several teams and went out of the border to investigate and inspect the grassland. When they went to the grassland, they would not be able to fight to the death. If they were to go to the grassland, they would suffer losses. In the past, Ma Dong would never be willing to spend a lot of money, but this time they were willing to take action.

Sun Daying went to the capital to enjoy his happiness. The original Yongsheng Bo Yu family was either dilapidated or fled to the grassland. The border generals in Datong Town all respected Ma Dong. Wang Tong, who was the imperial envoy, came. The military generals below may not feel anything. Even if a military order is issued, they can still make a phantom story.

But seeing that Ma Dong was so ignorant of his own strength and was so serious about his poor work, he sent the captains of the Jinyiwei everywhere to watch him, and he had to be serious, or at least have to do a formality.

All battalions and troops in Datong Town were nervous, but the news on the grassland made everyone wonder. Guihua City was the place where Altan's army was stationed. If an offensive was launched, the nearest pass was Killing Hukou. If there was an action, the Tartar army would make arrangements here in advance. But now the activities of the cavalry are abnormal. Sometimes they are on Killing Hukou, and sometimes they go to the east to the Jiqiang Fort and Zhenqiang Fort. There is the defense of Datong Prefecture City in the north, and even to Yanghekou and Arieskou in the west, which are already close to the boundaries of Xuanfu.

According to the news on the grassland, Datong is not deaf and blind, and he also knows that there are still saying that he will clear out the horse thieves. However, more than a thousand cavalrymen came out at one time, and no one dares to take it lightly. If he relaxes, if the other party takes this opportunity to break in, it will be too late to regret it.

After October, the scout cavalry sent to the grassland in Datong Town had already had contact with the Tartars' brigade that eliminated horse thieves, but the scout cavalry knew that there were few people. From a distance, they could not lose anything if they were riding horses.

But losses also occur. When you see cavalrymen from afar, they run wildly and run wildly by horses. They are often considered horse thieves by the Tartar cavalry and have to chase them. Some are caught up and shot directly. Most of them are lucky enough to escape into the side wall.

Those who were shot and killed looked through the armor and knew that they were the Ming Dynasty's reconnaissance cavalry. They killed them and left. However, those who did not catch up and ran into the side wall made the cavalry of the Tartars unable to help but wonder whether the horse thief came out of the Ming Dynasty.

With this suspicion, and Datong has been weak and cowardly for many years, the Tartar cavalry has become closer and closer, making the situation on the border between Datong and the grassland more and more tense.

Whether it was the northern grassland or the border town of Datong, the situation was getting tense. The only thing that made Datong feel a little relaxed was that after the imperial envoy Wang Governor Datong, he was close to Emperor Wanli, and Emperor Wanli naturally opened a door of convenience. Wang Tong led the memorial to jointly submit a request for help. The court issued an order to order 20,000 soldiers from Jizhen and a unit of imperial guards stationed in Tianjin to go for reinforcements.

Among the important towns in the nine borders, the most elite are Jizhen and Liaozhen. After so many years of training by Qi Jiguang, the number of elite soldiers in Jizhen is the largest. It is reasonable to draw 20,000 soldiers from Jizhen to reinforce. The imperial guards stationed in Tianjin are a unit of the Imperial Army. Everyone in the world knows that it is the Tiger Power Army.

This is also natural. The imperial envoy Wang is in Datong. Hu Weijun is his old subordinate. He has such a trustworthy force in his hand and can do things smoothly and safely.

In all aspects of the Huwei Army, there are more than 5,000 soldiers and horses. Together with 20,000 soldiers in Jizhen, the power of nearly 30,000 people is also elite, which is enough to stabilize the current situation in Datong.

But I can't be anxious. It's the second half of October, and the troops and Huwei Army of Jizhen are setting off. The army is in full swing, and it will be the middle of the twelfth lunar month at the earliest.

Reinforcements will not arrive until the middle of the twelfth lunar month, but before that, Sanjiang Trading Company transferred craftsmen from Northern Zhili and offered high wages to raise locally. Many private workshops in Datong were booked by Sanjiang Trading Company. Since Wang Tong was an imperial envoy, his military expenditure and military supplies were controlled in his hands. He issued a military order early to start inspecting Datong's military, and to purchase some insufficient and urgently needed materials from the public.

If it were in the past, such an order would be a great opportunity for all levels of Datong to assist the wealth, but now the imperial envoy is the capital, that is, the wealth of the Lord Wang.

Since October, many people below have criticized him. Lord Wang is really too gluttonous. You said you decided to buy from that house yourself, but even the people who handle the business are your own slaves. This kind of business requires everyone's wealth, and you can't swallow them all by yourself.

Then again, if you build weapons, you can kill people, why do you have to build them so carefully? The police invited by the imperial envoy to inspect the arms, and they said that the swords were not qualified, but the hilts of the swords were a little loose and the tips of the spear were rusty. It was not impossible to use when they were taken on the battlefield, so it was so particular.

Moreover, Lord Wang is arguing about his own affairs, and there are many things that others don’t understand about private matters. For example, the mansion of former general Sun Daying is already magnificent and spacious. Why do you have to find a house alone? There is also a hundred soldiers guarding there. And you also ask the border soldiers and servants from Datong Town to patrol in shifts. There is no need to enter. It’s just the goods brought by you. Is it so tight?
Chapter completed!