Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 582 The Wind Blows North China 1
The cold wind blowing from the Mongolian plateau sweeps the Taihang Mountains, and there is a chill between the heaven and the earth.

The Taihang Mountains with residual snow wind and undulate in the low-hanging lead clouds, majestic and solemn. Under the screen-like cliffs, the rivers roar, the Yellow River, the Zhang River, the Fen River, the Hutuo River... Big rivers come from the clouds, split the plains, split the canyons, and go straight to the sea.On both sides of the river, there are pearl-shaped basins like countless pearls scattered among the mountains and rivers. Whenever you see this scene, you have to marvel at the magic of creation-this is Shanxi!

Shanxi, with its internal and external rivers and mountains, any qualified general will have to marvel at its complete terrain and extremely important strategic position.It is the backbone of North China, and it is also a country that uses martial arts. As early as the Spring and Autumn Period, the mighty Jin State rose here. The Chu State lost tens of thousands of soldiers in the first battle to the south, and Qin State was suffocated like Mount Tai in the west. Its hegemony lasted for a hundred years, while the hegemony of Qi, Chu, Wu, Yue and other countries basically died in one lifetime, and disappeared with the death of the founder.During the Warring States period, this place also became the main battlefield where Qin and Zhao, the two most powerful countries in the Warring States period, repeatedly fought back and forth. A long time ago, in the first battle of Changping, all the young and strong of Zhao State died in the battle, and more than half of the Qin army was killed or injured. Such a bloody battle is rare in ancient and modern times, and it still scares people after a thousand years.Since the Qin Dynasty, Shanxi has been the backbone of North China for 2000 years. If Shanxi cannot hold on, the backbone of the Central Dynasty will be broken, and there is no room for neglect.The Ming Dynasty's management of the Shanxi defense line focused on Xuanfu and Datong. This line of defense was called "Xuan Da".The Xuanfu is the gateway to guard the capital and prevent the Mongolian cavalry from going south. Once the Xuanfu is lost, the capital’s door will be opened wide, and the consequences will be disastrous. The Datong Basin is the frontier of the most intense conflict between the Chinese farming people and the northern nomads. The obscure land has witnessed countless bloody fights between farming peoples and nomadic peoples, so it is not an exaggeration to call it the "Gate of North China". In the past 2000 years, to protect North China, we must protect Datong, and to protect Shanxi, we must protect Datong, without exception.

But right now, with the sharp decline in the military strength of the Ming Dynasty, this important line of defense is useless.Datong became the base camp of Shanxi merchants. Every day, a large number of business travelers set off from here to traffic a large amount of goods to Mongolia, and then transport fur, cattle and sheep back from Mongolia, earning a lot of money.Shanxi merchants made a lot of money, and those border generals also made a small fortune, and they could get a sum of money from Shanxi merchants every month, so they turned a blind eye to the smuggling of Shanxi merchants, even if Ming Knowing that Shanxi merchants were smuggling military weapons such as steel, grain, salt, cloth, and gunpowder, they didn't bother to investigate, and even took the initiative to participate in smuggling.Because they provided such convenient conditions for Shanxi merchants, Shanxi merchants rose at an astonishing speed, became rich in the world, and finally entered the Qing Dynasty and became imperial merchants.

It's just that those frantic Shanxi merchants don't know that their good days will soon come to an end.

A large army is braving the cold wind and advancing rapidly towards Xuanfu Town.This army is all wearing thick cotton-padded clothes, and the military uniform is fiery red, like a prairie fire, and its momentum is frightening.They wore a semicircular steel helmet with red plumes dancing like flames, muskets on their shoulders, triangular bayonets shining coldly, all their luggage packed into a bag on their backs, bullets and propellant charges Pack it in a leather bag and hang it where you can reach it. Each of them also brought four objects with wooden handles and iron heads, and wore a dog-leg-shaped machete that was a foot and a half long.By the way, everyone is also wearing a primitive bulletproof vest... no, it should be called "Arrowproof vest". High manganese steel sheet, the entire chest and abdomen are well protected.Since high manganese steel is much harder than all known steels, a steel sheet of one millimeter is basically immune to bows and arrows within 30 meters.The most important thing is that this thing is frighteningly light, weighing only seven catties. For those infantrymen who are used to armor weighing more than ten or twenty catties, they can basically ignore this weight.No, thousands of people have walked more than 50 miles, and they still look relaxed, singing loudly while walking, and the queue is tight, which is really incredible.Merchants on the road and farmers in the fields all cast surprised glances at them, and they all commented, "Where did this army come from? It's so well-equipped!"

This army marched to the vicinity of the town and stationed, and then the army needed officers to go into the city to buy vegetables.The merchants, who were terrified at first and thought they were about to be robbed, were surprised to find that these military officers were easy-talking and generous, delivering goods hand in hand, and both buyers and sellers were voluntary and never forced, which made them feel very uncomfortable.Finally, a businessman expressed everyone's aspirations: "Are you... really officers and soldiers?"

The quartermaster couldn't help but laugh: "We are the Tianxiong Army!"

Yes, the Tianxiong Army moved to Xuanda.

After resting for a winter, Lu Xiangsheng decided to take 3000 cavalry troops to the Datong Basin after careful consideration. This is the main force of the Tianxiong Army, and the Xuanfu will be handed over to Li Chongzhen, the favorite general, to guard.His judgment is that if Datong cannot be defended, it is useless to defend Xuanfu; if Datong can be defended, there is no need to put too many troops in Xuanfu.Based on this, he only gave Li Chongzhen 1000 troops, and 85 young men selected from the rogues, and the main force was used in the direction of Datong.However, he also left a lot of light cavalry for Li Chongzhen, so he didn't neglect this beloved general.[-] people are stationed in Datong, which is no small matter. There are more than [-] four-wheeled carriages for transporting various materials and military families. In addition, there are sixteen [-]mm howitzers, sixteen rocket launchers, and cavalry stretches for several kilometers. , It was a spectacle. When the news spread, the whole of Shanxi was shaken. This kind of shock was far worse than hundreds of thousands of rogues crossing the border!The people of Shanxi were shocked by the mighty appearance of the Tianxiong Army, but they were also quite disturbed: Why did this army enter Shanxi?Can Shanxi really afford such an army?

Lu Xiangsheng galloped all the way with his own soldiers, and arrived in Datong within a few days and nights. The wind and sand outside the Great Wall was blowing in his face. The roughness and boldness made him feel refreshed.Before he had time to appreciate the scenery beyond the Great Wall, a group of cavalry galloped towards him. The leader was a strong-backed, young and heroic general who called from a long distance, "Master Lu! Master Lu!"

Lu Xiangsheng smiled and patted his horse to meet him, and called, "So it's Xiao Cao? It's been a long time, why are you here?"

It was Cao Bianjiao who brought people to meet him.I haven't seen him for a few years. This brave general who has won the championship in the three armies has become more and more heroic, and the cavalry under his command are all sharp and sharp. Obviously, he has trained these cavalry a lot.Cao Bianjiao dismounted from his horse, knelt down on one knee, and said respectfully: "The last general, Cao Bianjiao, was ordered by my uncle to meet Su Yihou!"

Lu Xiangsheng got off his horse and helped him up, and said: "Xiao Cao, we once stood shoulder to shoulder on the Daling River, with blood clothes as armor and flesh and blood as shield. We fought hard for several days with Jiannu, and then we crawled out from the pile of dead people together. Stop doing these false rituals."

Cao Bianjiao smiled: "My lord is already the Marquis of Su Yi, so I dare not be rude." Speaking of this, he complained a little: "My lord, why didn't you take Xiao Cao with you when you attacked Lushun? Daming Dao is only a thin line away, so I missed that big battle, what a pity!"

In the Battle of Lushun, [-] soldiers were lost in Houjin, and the world was shocked. Every soldier who participated in the battle was counted as one, and everyone was rewarded heavily. Glory to the ancestors, such military exploits are the envy of countless generals.Cao Bianjiao himself is a war maniac, the more intense the battle, the more excited he is, he was busy dealing with Gao Yingxiang at the time, and when he came back to his senses, he found out that Lushun had fought more fiercely, and his intestines were green. He still looked unwilling when he mentioned the battle of Lushun. In his opinion, it was wrong that Lu Xiangsheng didn't bring him with him.His subordinates looked at his boss with contempt, what kind of bad luck are you, you can't even happen to such a good thing!
Lu Xiangsheng said with a smile: "The Tianxiong army dispatched troops in a hurry in that battle. They only brought 2000 hussars and more than [-] musketeers. Xuan Da, are you afraid that you won't have the chance to make meritorious deeds?"

Only then did Cao Bianjiao cheer up, and said, "That's right, Tianxiong's army moved to Xuanda to deal with those Tartars. Xiao Cao and his uncle are under the command of your lord, so I'm not afraid that you won't have the chance to make meritorious deeds... Your lord , please come inside!" Joyfully got on his horse and led the way.Lu Xiangsheng smiled and rode his horse to follow.In his opinion, Cao Bianjiao is a bit similar to Yang Menglong, they are the kind of second-rate goods, if you have the right temper, you can sell your life to you, so you don't have to worry about dealing with this kind of person.

The city wall of Datong stands tall and majestic, and it is worthy of being the grand pass of the world.The gates of the city were wide open, and all the gentry and generals in Datong City lined up outside the city to greet them, and even the avenues were cleaned.Just kidding, Lu Xiangsheng is Lord Marquis, why don't you try to slow down?Seeing him coming, a large group of gentry and officials burst into smiles, and they greeted him in unison, shouting loudly: "Master Hou is not afraid of the wind and sand outside the Great Wall, and personally led the troops to guard Datong. Fortunate, lucky for the Three Jins, lucky for the Ming Dynasty!" The magistrate Wang Junxian brought a large bowl of wine and said loudly: "Your Majesty, this is a sympathy from the elders of Datong, please drink this bowl of wine!"

Lu Xiangsheng didn't refuse, took it and drank it down in one gulp. He felt sweet and mellow. After drinking it, he felt euphoric. He couldn't help asking: "Kummissie?"

Wang Junxian said: "It's just mare's kumiss."

Lu Xiangsheng said: "Good wine, good wine!" Returning the bowl to the magistrate, he clasped his fists to all the gentry and generals present, and said: "Thanks to the trust of all the elders of the Datong, Lu deserves it! Since Lu has led the troops here, After drinking this bowl of wine again, I will do my best to keep the border peaceful, everyone, rest assured!"

Everyone praised in unison: "Your Excellency is really a heroic spirit. With your words, I can rest assured!"

A white-haired general suddenly said: "Of course Marquis Su Yi is heroic, but the Tartars are cunning and tenacious, coming and going quickly, and the side wall is so long, it may not be easy to be comprehensive!"

All the gentry couldn't help glaring at this guy who dared to face-to-face to raise his face. After all, he is a Marquis of the Empire. He came to the border from thousands of miles away. Even if he brags, you have to give him some face, right?Will you be a human being?Lu Xiangsheng didn't think he was disobedient, and said with a smile: "This must be General Cao, right?"

The white-haired general cupped his hands and said loudly, "It's Lao Cao!"

Lu Xiangsheng took a step forward, returned a salute, and said: "The general has been a soldier all his life, and he has made great achievements in battle. Whether it is resisting the establishment of slaves or exterminating bandits, he has made great contributions to the community. Lu has been a friend for a long time. It is a real comfort to see the general today."

The old general who turned off people as soon as he opened his mouth was Cao Wenzhao.Cao Wenzhao was originally from the Guan Ning Army. He was rejected because he couldn't stand the series of dirty behaviors of the Guan Ning Army, such as fearing the enemy and avoiding battle, falsely reporting military exploits, and embezzling money and food. He was sent to this ghost place in the northwest to eat sand and lead the army. With a thousand Guan Ning cavalry chasing the rogue bandits everywhere.Although this old man is old, he is not an ordinary fierce warrior. It is common for him to defeat rogue bandits ten or even dozens of times his own with a thousand cavalry. Many rogue generals have died in his hands. Too many to count.It was just last year that he and Hong Chengchou worked together to drive the rogue bandits to the junction of Shanxi and Henan and Hebei provinces. They were about to take all the credit, but the Mongols appeared to cause trouble at this time and plundered Yan'an. , Yulin, forcing him to lead the cavalry back to deal with these bugs, and finally sent away the damn Mongolian Tatars. It was also the middle of winter. At this time, it was difficult to mobilize the army in the Taihang Mountains, and it was no longer possible to launch a large-scale offensive. In reality, he could only stare and watch hundreds of thousands of bandits being wiped out by two juniors, Lu Xiangsheng and Yang Menglong.The old man felt a little unhappy. This was originally his fault!So when he opened his mouth, he was a little aggressive and lost Lu Xiangsheng's face.In fact, he regretted it as soon as he opened his mouth. Lu Xiangsheng was different from those civil servants who only knew how to give random orders. This Marquis was forged by Jian Nu in Lushun. He relied on his true ability without any tricks. It was unavoidable for him to speak like this. A little too much.Seeing that Lu Xiangsheng was not only not angry, but also respected himself from the bottom of his heart, the old man felt even more ashamed. He cupped his hands and said, "I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed. I'm such a reckless man, I don't deserve such respect from you!"

Lu Xiangsheng said: "The old general is from Datong, and he must know the situation around Datong very well. In the future, he will rely on the old general a lot."

Cao Wenzhao said: "Your Majesty speaks, Lao Cao dare not do his best!"

Wang Junxian said: "Your Majesty, I have prepared beef wine to wash you away, please do me a favor!"

Lu Xiangsheng nodded slightly, and said to Cao Wenzhao with a smile: "Let's learn about the old general's drinking and eating capacity first!"

All the officials and gentry were suddenly very depressed. Why did Mr. Lu value this old man with a bad temper and a tough temper so much?

(End of this chapter)