Chapter 328: Double Fronts
Chapter 328: Double Fronts
One stone can cause a thousand ripples. Because of the arrival of the messenger, the entire city of Kunming suddenly became tense.
Teams of soldiers and horses rushed to the headquarters of the Military Command from all directions in the city.
One by one, powerful and rarely seen big men appeared at the gate of the yamen.
They looked at each other in silence and walked in quickly.
The clerk who was receiving guests near the main entrance never raised his head, but kept his body hunched and nodding.
Deng Zhen, the Duke of Shen, and Xu Sima, the commander of the Central Army, who had returned from Guangnan Prefecture, rode quickly to the scene.
I felt a solemnity I had never felt since arriving in Yunnan.
The next to come was Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao, the commander of the Beijing army.
Compared to his previous immaturity, he now walked with vigor and energy.
Both his expression and mood became restrained, and he seemed to have become a true general.
The main hall of the Dusi, which had been widened, suddenly became crowded.
As the adults came one by one,
The seats at the top and bottom were slowly filled up, and everyone had a serious look on their faces.
Finally, the Governor of Southwest China, Marquis of Xiping Mu Ying arrived, and the hall became completely solemn and dignified.
Mu Ying walked in wearing armor.
All the adults present stood up, their faces serious and respectful.
Mu Ying had a trace of fatigue on his face, and his eyes were full of bloodshot. He walked and said,
"Sit, sit, sit, sit down."
When all the gentlemen present sat down, the door that had been open slowly closed.
The bright lobby suddenly darkened.
The sunlight seemed to be dissatisfied with being left outside, and squeezed in through the window lattice.
Obvious beams of light appeared in the main hall and turned into spots of light on the ground.
At the top, from left to right sat Li Jinglong, Duke of Cao, Mu Ying, Marquis of Xiping, and Deng Zhen, Duke of Shen.
The commander of the Central Army, Xu Sima, sat at the first position on the left.
Su Yunzhou, the deputy governor and seal holder, sat in the first seat on the right.
Such a scene made many adults present look at each other in bewilderment.
Everyone felt a sense of uneasiness, as if a storm was about to come.
It made the clerks who were taking notes on both sides tremble with fear.
The palm holding the pen was already covered with cold sweat and was rubbing constantly.
Xiping Hou Mu Ying looked at Su Yunzhou and said in a deep voice:
"Master Su, please tell me."
Su Yunzhou, who was dressed in a scarlet robe, nodded, glanced at the adults present, and spoke in a deep voice:
"Jingdong reported urgently that the troops from Luchuan had crossed the border of Jingdong and crossed the Lidu River.
It appeared in front of roads, forests, and military camps in Chuxiong.
Through exploration, we found that on the west bank of the Lidu River, that is, on the Jingdong side,
The elephant soldiers also appeared. A rough survey showed that there should be nearly a hundred of them."
As soon as these words were spoken, the dead silent main hall of the Dusi suddenly became noisy.
There was a look of worry in everyone's eyes, especially the several officials in the Dusi.
They all saw the might of the elephant soldiers.
Any battlefield crushed by elephant soldiers,
It was like hell on earth, with broken limbs and blood flying everywhere.
Su Yunzhou pressed his hand and spoke again:
"After Jingdong fell, all the elite troops retreated to Chuxiong.
Now Chuxiong has 50,000 elite soldiers, but most of them are infantry.
Moreover, the Chuxiong battle line was long, and the cavalry had to take care of not only Chuxiong,
We also had to be wary of the Dali defense line, which also led to a shortage of cavalry.
This time, Lord Ning wrote to us to inform us that the battle in Chuxiong will begin.
Second, it is to allow us to gather war horses and quickly deploy them to the front line to resist the attack of the elephant soldiers."
Su Yunzhou's face was a little heavy, and he continued to speak
"My Lords, the battle of Dali ended only a month ago, and the fortifications are still under construction.
In order to ensure smooth construction, most of the elite cavalry were transferred to Dali to protect the border.
Now, Chuxiong only has 5,000 elite cavalry left.
There are very few such cavalrymen on the Chuxiong defense line, and they will be broken into if we are not careful."
“So, I think,
More than 10,000 cavalrymen from the four towns of Dali were transferred to Chuxiong to defend the east bank of the Lidu River.
Combine with military camps in various places to resist attacks.
Even, I wait for the cavalry in hand,
We can select enough fighters to attack Jingdong, thereby distracting Luchuan's energy and turning defense into offense."
Su Yunzhou's words were powerful and he looked around.
Before he finished speaking, Zhou Hao, the Left Counselor of the Provincial Government, who was sitting in the middle, spoke hastily:
"Lord Su, the Dali defense line has not yet been completed.
If we hastily withdraw our war horses, the Dali defense line will be left empty, allowing the Luchuan troops to take advantage of the opportunity and invade."
Seeing everyone looking over, he continued:
"Chuxiong now has 50,000 elite soldiers and nearly 100,000 civilians, but what does Dali have?
There are only 20,000 Beijing troops. If the cavalry is transferred back,
Luchuan took advantage of the situation and the originally good situation was ruined in an instant!
It's not that I don't want to be transferred.
Rather,
At least we have to wait until the Golden Tooth Guards' defenses are completely built.
We will then dispatch troops to Chuxiong, which will be safer."
After these words were spoken, more than one adult frowned slightly, and more than one adult nodded slightly.
But everyone knows in their hearts,
Dali has achieved the expected results, so there is absolutely no reason to give up.
Someone looked up at Zhou Hao and asked:
"Master Zhou, how far have the Golden Tooth Guards' fortifications progressed?"
Zhou Hao quickly answered:
"We have already completed three sides. In another half a month, we will be able to completely complete the last side."
Half a month? So long?
"Where is the city wall where the Youyu tribe is located?" someone else asked.
Zhou Hao also answered quickly:
"The north and south walls of Youyu Tribe have been completed.
The original east side of the city wall has already begun to be repaired, and the south side will take at least seven days."
Seeing the atmosphere in the field become noisy,
Su Yunzhou's face was solemn, and he spoke in a deep voice:
"In our strategy, the really important ones are the Golden Tooth Guard and Yunlongzhou.
The Fishing Department did not invest too much manpower and the number of garrison personnel was not large.
But that doesn't mean the Fishing Department is not important.
He wanted to block the way ahead and buy time for Yunlongzhou to build blockhouses in the rear.
At the same time, we must prevent the Jinchi Guard from being attacked from the north.
When the fortifications of Jinchiwei and Yunlongzhou are completed,
It is not impossible to give up the place where the Youyu Tribe is located.
I think the cavalry must be deployed.
But we must find out the real attacking location of Luchuan.
It was a feint to retreat and stay in Jingdong.
Or take Chuxiong in one fell swoop and threaten Kunming.
Or maybe he was trying to take over Dali by making a feint to the east and attacking in the west.
This is the most important thing.”
The atmosphere in the lobby froze in an instant, and the powerful people looked thoughtful.
He shook his head from time to time, as if denying the thoughts and guesses in his mind.
At this time, Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao who was sitting at the head, spoke calmly:
"The place where the Fishing Department is located cannot be abandoned.
The Beijing army will defend Dali while retaining the opportunity to attack."
Seeing the others looking at him, he did not want to be outdone and glanced over as well.
With calm eyes and cold voice:
"There's no point in just thinking about defense. If you want to hurt Luchuan to death, attack is essential.
Giving up the Youyu tribe means giving up the possibility of advancing from Dali, and I will not agree to that."
Deng Zhen, the Duke of Shen, who was sitting on the right, also nodded:
"The five guards that the army from the capital sent here are all good at fighting and killing.
I came to Yunnan to wipe out the enemy in Luchuan.
If they were to defend it strictly, what would we be doing here?
My lords, don't just think about defense, the only way to defeat the enemy is to attack."
The two dukes spoke one after another, and the atmosphere in the room became solemn. Some adults looked at each other in bewilderment.
I felt that the two of them were too overbearing, but I couldn't refute them.
The two of them followed the two great generals in their expeditions against the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and their mission was to gain meritorious service.
Moreover, Dali is indeed the place of attack.
Su Yunzhou sat at the bottom and spoke in a deep voice:
"Duke Cao, Duke Shen, attacking is important.
But we must defend ourselves first. Luchuan is coming with great force. We must repel their attack first before we can attack again."
As he spoke, Su Yunzhou looked at Xiping Hou Mu Ying, who was in the middle with a serious expression.
Seeing that he had no intention of speaking, I continued:
"Luchuan has 300,000 soldiers, but only 50,000 of them are elite soldiers.
The rest were some stragglers and Indians.
As long as we stop them at the Chuxiong border,
The daily consumption of food and grass is enough to make Luchuan retreat."
Hearing this, Li Jinglong felt upset and frowned to the extreme.
They keep talking about defense and are always hoping that something bad will happen to the enemy. What's wrong with these people?
"Lord Su, the battle of Jingdong is about to end, and the Ming army has suffered heavy casualties.
Now, Luchuan is coming with great force and appears on the border of Chuxiong.
This clearly shows that Luchuan doesn't want to give up.
How long can I defend if I keep doing this?
I wonder if Master Su has ever heard a saying,
There is no city in the world that cannot be conquered, it just depends on the cost.
These days the message has come,
Disasters hit Luchuan everywhere, and Hanba's capture caused their army to lose morale.
Now Luchuan is barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes. He wants to fight with us.
In this case, will Luchuan stop? "
Li Jinglong stared intently and spoke with a firm voice:
"Luchuan will attack at all costs and will fight to the death with the Ming Dynasty.
In addition, this recognition holds that
Luchuan’s attack direction is not Chuxiong, but Dali!
What we are doing now is just confusing!"
Li Jinglong did not flinch at all as he had done before.
The young face was filled with solemnity, and his eyes swept across the battlefield, showing the demeanor of a great general. Both Deng Zhen, the Duke of Shen, and Sima Xu, the commander of the Central Army, cast their eyes over in surprise.
Seeing that his breathing was steady, she nodded imperceptibly.
Compared to Beijing, there is a big difference.
Even the solemnity on Xiping Hou Mu Ying's face dissipated a lot, and a hint of relief flashed in his eyes.
The gentlemen present all looked thoughtful.
He kept thinking about the intelligence information he had gathered over the past few days, and pondering the possibility of Luchuan attacking Dali.
At this time, Chen Shuhan, the deputy commander sitting below, frowned in deep thought, his expression changing back and forth.
He knew nothing about war.
But since Duke Cao spoke so bluntly, it would be a bit unreasonable for him to remain silent.
After thinking about it carefully, combined with the contacts in recent days,
Chen Shuhan's eyes flashed with a gleam of light, and he quickly organized his words in his mind and spoke in a deep voice:
"Lord Mu, Duke Cao, Duke Shen, and all my lords, I think that
Luchuan came with great force, intending to hide his own weakness.
Duke Cao said that victory in war ultimately depends on offense.
If we can take the initiative to launch an attack on the Chuxiong border, we can use offense instead of defense.
Even if it costs some money, it is worth it to be able to repel Luchuan."
As soon as these words came out, the eyes of some people present darkened, and disdain flashed in their eyes.
Some people even snorted, followed by some joking remarks:
"Since Lord Chen has such an idea, shouldn't the warhorse be adjusted?
Only in this way can we have a chance to fight in Chuxiong and Luchuan."
"Yes, yes, there are too few war horses on the Chuxiong border.
It is certainly possible to defend with infantry and military camps,
But it is still a fantasy to attack, and we still need to mobilize the Dali cavalry to Chuxiong."
"That's very true."
For some reason, the scene suddenly became noisy.
This made Chen Shuhan's face change repeatedly and he felt a little embarrassed.
Li Jinglong, who was at the top, narrowed his eyes, feeling the rejection from the three Yunnan officials.
He sighed secretly in his heart and clenched his hands tightly at his side.
Now, the one who refuted was Chen Shuhan, but the one he was talking about was Li Jinglong.
The lobby gradually fell silent. No one spoke anymore, allowing the awkward atmosphere to permeate.
This time, Chen Shuhan did not respond.
Instead, he sat there quietly, his face calm to the extreme, letting the words fall to the ground.
Such situations often occur in official circles. An awkward remark from a superior always makes the atmosphere dull.
Whoever can't help but respond at this time will be the easiest to bully.
Because they are thin-skinned and only want to please others, they don't let their words fall on deaf ears.
"Da da da."
When the voice sounded, everyone involuntarily looked over there!
Hurried footsteps sounded from outside the main hall, accompanied by the sound of armor colliding.
"Sir, urgent news from Dali!"
Su Yunzhou stood up hurriedly, walked past the crowd to take the military newspaper,
When I came back, I thought of handing it to Mu Ying, the Marquis of Xiping, who was at the top.
Mu Ying waved his hand gently:
"Read it."
Su Yunzhou quickly opened the military report.
The familiar handwriting that came into his sight made his heart sink. It was the handwriting of the governor Feng Cheng.
Soon, a calm voice sounded.
"Recently, on the other side of the Lujiang River in Dali, the war has started again, and the scouts reported back,
There are 50,000 bandits in Luchuan, ready to cross the river. The situation is critical.
The military situation is urgent and no time is lost.
I am sending this urgent message to order the commander to quickly devise a good strategy in preparation for any eventuality.
The military situation is urgent and no time is lost.
Seeing is seeing, taking action immediately. "
After the voice fell, the hall fell into deathly silence.
Everyone frowned and their hearts sank.
Luchuan's determination was much greater than they thought.
The heavy flow, followed by doubts,
Left-wing politician Zhou Hao looked puzzled:
"Another 50,000 are coming. Does Luchuan have so many soldiers?"
At this time, Zhou Hao couldn't help but wonder,
Luchuan’s real attack direction is Chuxiong.
Li Jinglong, the leader, also had the same feeling.
The fifty thousand soldiers that appeared at this time were definitely not the elite troops of Luchuan.
There is no doubt that Luchuan did this in order to implicate the Ming Dynasty.
Su Yunzhou sat down and spoke calmly:
"Whether it is a trick to lure the enemy or not, these 50,000 men are either elite or scattered.
It is an indisputable fact that Dali and Chuxiong were attacked at the same time."
He slowly looked up and spoke in a deep voice:
"Lord Mu, I think that
Dali should take the initiative to attack and find out the real situation.
At the same time, Chuxiong side must be strictly defended to deal with Luchuan's elite troops.
As for the shortage of cavalry, I think we can order the Yiren Guard and Guangzong Guard stationed in Kunming City and the front army scouts to go there to maintain the war on two fronts.
As for the defense of Kunming Prefecture,
The Guangming Guard and Jusong Guard stationed on the east side of Kunming Prefecture can be transferred to Kunming City to deal with the crisis in all directions."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Jinglong clenched his fists.
With it comes a mountain of pressure.
I have never led troops, so I am not trying to hurt him by saying this.
Instead, the many adults below had strange expressions.
"Haha." Sima Xu, who had been silent all this time, sneered.
"The commander of the former army's scout department has been suspended for investigation. The army's morale is low, how can we mobilize them?
It is better to stay in Kunming City for garrison.
Twenty thousand Beijing troops are sufficient for the military affairs of Dali Prefecture."
As soon as these words came out, Li Jinglong, who was at the head of the group, couldn't help but relax, and his eyes sparkled.
He leaned back, looked calmly at the many adults below him, and couldn't help but chuckle.
It was particularly jarring in the lobby.
"cough"
At this time, Xiping Hou Mu Ying, who had not expressed his opinion, cleared his throat and spoke in a deep voice:
"Luchuan is coming with great force, Chuxiong has to be on guard.
Transfer 5,000 cavalry from the Dali defense line back to Chuxiong, and have Ning Zheng lead the charge to stop the troops from entering Luchuan."
"As for Dali Prefecture, we will take the initiative to advance troops from Youyu tribe to find out the enemy's strengths and weaknesses."
When these words came out, all the adults present looked at each other in bewilderment.
This scene of each being beaten with fifty lashes is particularly familiar and is also justified.
At one moment, all the gentlemen stood up and bowed slightly to the leader.
Mu Ying also slowly stood up and looked at the officials in the Dusi:
"The battle on the front line is urgent. You must do your best and handle it quickly.
Whether it is food, fodder, laborers, or weapons, they must be deployed quickly."
Mu Ying's eyes quickly scanned the area and soon stopped at Chen Shuhan:
"Master Chen."
The sudden voice made Chen Shuhan shudder, and he bowed quickly:
"The subordinate is here."
"You must pay attention to the defense of Kunming City.
When Guangming Guard and Jusong Guard arrive, you must make arrangements for them."
As soon as these words came out, the atmosphere changed.
Countless people looked over there with fear on their faces.
Chen Shuhan's eyes widened as wide as they could.
The sudden joy made it almost impossible for him to breathe, and his body began to tremble.
This. This. This is the place he has been waiting for to use his skills for a long time!!
He took a deep breath, quickly calmed his thoughts, and bowed hard:
"Please rest assured, Lord Mu, I will do my best and will not stop until my death!"
Mu Ying nodded gently.
Then he looked at the officials from the Provincial Administration and the Provincial Surveillance Department and asked with a frown:
"Has there been any conclusion regarding the killing of prisoners by Lu Yunyi, the leader of the front army scouts?"
"Reporting to the Marquis, there is no conclusion yet. The Yuyu Department has been reduced to charcoal, and it is difficult to obtain evidence."
Hearing the answer, Mu Ying's face suddenly became serious and his voice became stern:
"Hurry up and come up with a conclusion. The war is approaching, there is no room for procrastination."
"Yes"
As the voice fell, Mu Ying snorted and strode out of the main hall.
Duke Cao Li Jinglong and Duke Shen Deng Zhen followed closely behind.
It is such a difficult decision to delete from 6,000 words to 4,000 words. I am sorry, everyone!
By the way, thank you all for your support!!
(End of this chapter)