Chapter 740: Prince Yu Changed His Heart
Luanling Pass, which is a hundred miles away from Datong City, is not big, it is very small, just a small black dot on the map.
There is even no mention of Luanling Pass on some maps, but it is a must-pass place for the foreign tribes on the grassland to move south.
Logically, such a strategic pass should be tall and majestic, but Luanling Pass is only a little over one person high.
In other words, the enemy can use the momentum of running to climb directly to the top of the city wall.
Prince Yu was standing on the top of the city wall at this moment, looking at the listless officers and soldiers around him, and said to Chen Yi, the commander of the Yanshan Vanguard beside him: "It's too late!"
Chen Yi looked unhappy, and sneered at the general guarding the pass, Mao Lin, and said, "Is this the Tiger Guard you mentioned?"
Mao Lin had a big beard and a burly figure, but at this moment he wanted to curl up into a ball. He lowered his head and bent his waist, "Commander Chen, this... is all here."
Hundreds of pale and skinny soldiers looked at them blankly.
Chen Yi said coldly: "Altan's army is on the front line of Datong. How can you resist with just these hundreds of refugees?"
Chen Yi used refugees to describe Mao Lin's subordinates, but in Prince Yu's opinion, this was actually a compliment to him. "Commander Chen."
Chen Yi came over and whispered, "I wish I could kill this man, but Your Highness... Altan's army is here, and we need someone familiar with the place... Mao Lin has been guarding Luanling Pass for many years and is an expert in geography. With him, at least we can take advantage of the terrain."
"I know the right time, right place and right people." Prince Yu said.
"I heard that your Highness learned the art of war from Lord Chang Wei, so it must be extremely advanced." Chen Yi's flattery was a little stiff.
"My cousin once said that military tactics that have not seen blood are just fooling people. I can fool the people in the palace, that's just entertaining my parents with colorful clothes. But here..." Prince Yu pointed to the north, "Altan's army will eat people. My military tactics are probably not as good as a small flag in front of the battle. You are the one who makes the decisions in this battle, I am just the chief."
Chen Yi smiled, with relief in his eyes, "To be honest, when I first saw Your Highness, I was shocked. I thought it was the eldest son of the emperor supervising the battle."
"Are you worried that if something happens to me, something serious will happen?" Prince Yu asked.
"Yes." Chen Yi did not say it clearly. If something happened to the eldest prince, the Taoist would only have Prince Jing as his son.
Everyone knows that the literati and the Taoist priest are irreconcilable. When the Taoist priest has only one choice, King Jing is in danger.
Prince Yu smiled and said, "There are only two guards left in the capital. Do you know why my father still sent your troops to attack?"
"I am a fool." Chen Yi lowered his head, "But I am a little worried. If Altan really marches south with a small army as Chang Wei Bo said, I am afraid that the three thousand men of my army... will not be able to stop them."
"My father was unwilling at first, saying that it was absurd to have two guards guarding the capital. If one more guard was dispatched to attack, the capital would be almost defenseless."
"Yes!" Chen Yi was also a little worried. "If we can't stop them here, the troops stationed in the capital will be even less able to stop them. The capital may be defeated in one fell swoop."
"My cousin asked my father at that time." Prince Yu was just outside the door at that time and heard his cousin asking in a bewitching tone.
"Your Majesty, have you ever heard of the Empty City Strategy?"
"Three Kingdoms?" Chen Yi was stunned. "That's...that's the Romance of the Three Kingdoms!"
The so-called romance is a combination of truth and falsehood, which is developed on the basis of history.
That's the story.
"But my uncle said, if Altan Khan's army really marches south, what's the difference between one guard and two guards?"
It was these words that made the Taoist nod his head, and soon he sent Chen Yi to lead the Yanshan vanguard to guard against Altan's possible southward march at Luanling Pass, a hundred miles behind Datong.
"Maybe Altan's troops won't come." Mao Lin came over and said with a smile. He didn't know Prince Yu's identity, but seeing that Chen Yi was quite respectful, he wanted to get close to this young nobleman to see if he could reduce his guilt.
"Go away!" Prince Yu pointed to the side.
Chen Yi saw the disgust in Prince Yu's eyes and whispered, "Your Highness, many times...don't be too clear about black and white."
"I know what you mean." Prince Yu nodded to show that he understood your kindness. "I have seen that the local officers and soldiers are like mud all along my journey. Now I know why my cousin insisted on reorganizing the army. If we don't reorganize... within fifty years, when there is a change in the world, how can these officers and soldiers protect the country?"
The fall of the Ming Dynasty is imminent!
My cousin once said that if nothing changed, the Ming Dynasty would only last a hundred years at most.
At that time, Prince Yu thought his uncle was exaggerating, but now he thought his uncle was too optimistic.
"It's time to let my father come and take a look." Prince Yu sighed.
Chen Yi didn't dare to take up this topic.
"Your Highness, the most urgent task is to find out the enemy's movements. If there are only 3,000 to 5,000 enemy troops, then even if my entire army is annihilated at Luanling Pass, I will not let the enemy get close to the capital. But if there are more than 3,000 to 5,000, Your Highness, I will escort you out of here and return to the capital."
Chen Yi looked solemn.
He was not joking. He could fight a battle when he was not sure of victory, but only when Prince Yu was not around.
Prince Yu sighed, "Don't worry, my cousin said he will arrange everything."
"But all this..." Chen Yi looked around, "I didn't see any reinforcements."
"The cavalry is coming." someone shouted at the critical moment.
More than ten horses came galloping.
After approaching to verify the identity, the leading captain went up to the top of the city wall and saluted, "Greetings, Commander Chen."
"What do you want?" The man was a captain of the nearby garrison. He saluted and said, "I have reorganized my troops and brought three hundred elite soldiers with me."
Not long after, the three hundred elite soldiers arrived. Unlike the old, weak and sick soldiers at Luanling Pass, they were at least strong and healthy.
Then more and more people and horses arrived.
Every general looked like they had escaped death. Chen Yi was puzzled and asked a few people, then reported to Prince Yu.
"When Chang Wei Bo leads his army through various places, the first thing he does is to summon local generals. Chang Wei Bo said that the past will not be discussed for the time being. The most important thing now is to fight against Altan Khan's army. When you go back, reorganize your troops, draw out all the elite troops, train them strictly, and wait for the military order from the Ministry of War."
"So this is what my cousin arranged!" Prince Yu felt relieved.
At this moment, more than 10,000 soldiers and horses had gathered at Luanling Pass, and they looked quite strong. At this time, a batch of food and grass was delivered, followed by a batch of gunpowder.
Chen Yi was puzzled, but Prince Yu smiled and said, "Wang Yiqi is indeed smart." Seeing Chen Yi's puzzlement, Prince Yu said, "Make this thing into a package, light it and throw it down. The so-called invincible cavalry will become a joke."
Due to production problems, flintlock rifles have only been used by the Huben Zuowei and the Fujun Vanguard so far. The Yanshan Vanguard has not even seen a single one.
"There are blunderbusses here." Chen Yi knew the power of gunpowder... but he had never seen it before. When it was tested outside the city, he was still working in the local garrison.
"That thing is useless." Prince Yu's eyes widened as he followed his uncle, looking down on such useless firearms, "Immediately gather reliable soldiers and practice with gunpowder packs."
Practicing gunpowder packs... Chen Yi scratched his head, and Prince Yu said, "I will teach you personally."
Prince Yu led hundreds of soldiers to practice on the parade ground.
"This is a gunpowder bag and a fuse. Look here! I told you to wait, look here!" Prince Yu couldn't help but swear, "Damn it, don't you have ears? Look here!"
The soldiers then gathered around.
"This is the fuse." Prince Yu pulled up the fuse, "Light it with incense, and then..."
Prince Yu raised the gunpowder bag and threw it forward with all his strength.
The gunpowder bag fell to the ground and the soldiers looked at him stupidly.
That's it?
Prince Yu was helpless, "It will explode."
He asked someone to bring a real gunpowder bag. When the guards saw that he was going to light the fire himself, they were terrified and said, "I'll do it!"
"Get out of the way!" Prince Yu lit the fuse, and the guards shouted, "Throw it quickly!"
Prince Yu looked at the fuse burning rapidly, and there was excitement in his eyes... If Jiang Qingzhi were here, he would definitely think of the excitement he felt when he set off firecrackers as a child in his previous life.
Only when the fuse was half burned did Prince Yu throw the gunpowder bag into the deep pit ahead.
A fat white man appeared out of nowhere and knocked Prince Yu to the ground.
While falling, Prince Yu still looked at the gunpowder bag reluctantly...
chi chi chi...
The gunpowder bag fell into the pit.
boom!
Smoke and air waves rushed up all at once, and dirt and gravel also burst out, hitting the ground with a crackling sound.
"Yang Xi, get up!"
Prince Yu said angrily.
It was Yang Xi who had knocked Prince Yu down. He got up and looked at Prince Yu carefully, "You scared me to death. Your Highness, can we be more careful?"
Yang Xi found it very strange. Prince Yu was extremely dull in the capital, but became so lively and bold outside the capital.
Prince Yu got up, clapped his hands, and asked, "Do you understand everything?"
No one answered.
Prince Yu was furious, and when he looked around, he saw that everyone was staring blankly at the big pit.
There were firearms in the army, but the power of those firearms was just that limited, otherwise how could the Ming army have been beaten into dogs by Altan Khan.
The gunpowder bag just exploded violently, and the power was completely different from any firearms these local officers and soldiers had ever seen.
——The gunpowder in the army was a joke in the eyes of local garrisons. Officers and soldiers in the nine border areas were even forced to buy gunpowder from the public at their own expense.
So everyone was dumbfounded.
"Is this a firearm?"
"Am I dazzled?"
Prince Yu cursed: "What a bunch of idiots, have you seen it clearly?"
"See clearly!"
"Practice!"
One bundle after another was distributed, filled with mud, but the fuses were real.
"Light it up and throw it under the city! Damn it, you're throwing it at your own head!"
"Hurry up, you bastard, I'm talking about you. The fuse is already burnt out, I'm going to blow you to death!"
Yang Xi looked at his master sadly. He felt that Prince Yu seemed to have changed his mind.
Just when he was feeling depressed, dozens of riders rushed into the pass.
"The enemy has 20,000 troops and is heading for Luanling Pass."
Prince Yu and Chen Yi climbed to the top of the city wall and saw heavy smoke and dust in the distance.
Amid the whistling sounds, teams of foreign cavalry appeared in sight.
Prince Yu looked around and saw that the soldiers' faces were either pale or livid. He asked, "Is it too late for me to return to the capital now?"
Chen Yi said in a deep voice: "It's too late."
(End of this chapter)
