Chapter 299 Wang Yue Acts Righteously, and Escapes From Luo's Strange Plan

More than ten fast horses returned from the east. These were the night guards sent out by the army earlier. The leading captain came directly to Wang Yue to report the situation.

"Set up camp!"

Wang Yue learned that the military situation in front was unclear, and immediately issued an order.

"Set up camp again?"

The military supervisor eunuch Zhang Yong and Liaodong General Zhao Chengqing looked at each other when they heard Wang Yue's order.

The army marched from Shanhaiguan, passed through Shahe, Ningyuan, and Jinzhou, and now went straight to Jianzhou Jurchen's Lubinjiang, planning to reconstruct the main force of Jianzhou Jurchen.

However, Wang Yue, as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, seemed extremely cautious and ordered the army to set up camp at every turn. This was also the most critical factor why the army was still hundreds of miles away from Lubinjiang after marching for nearly a month.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty's Eastern Expedition Army was fighting outside the border this time, and the current supply line extended from Shanhaiguan, which was indeed too long. Once the main force in front was surrounded, the lack of supplies would be unimaginable.

The biggest problem of an expedition has never been the combat power of the army. The most important thing is always the logistics support, and the Tumubao Incident is a naked lesson.

As the commander-in-chief issued the order, the Eastern Expedition Army to clear out the Jianzhou Jurchens immediately chose a place to set up camp nearby, and continued to send out night soldiers to explore the enemy situation ahead.

Intelligence warfare has received great attention in this war, especially Wang Yue almost never put down the map.

"General, the terrain here is indeed very complicated, which is conducive to the ambush of the Jianzhou Jurchens. But if our army does not pass through this time, it may take half a month to go north, and the supply line will be longer!" Zhao Chengqing pointed to the map with complex terrain in front of him, and seemed to emphasize the necessity of passing through this road very seriously.

Because Jianzhou has not been reclaimed on a large scale, many roads are now impassable, resulting in not many options for the route to the Jianzhou base camp.

Wang Yue looked at the densely marked ambush points on the map, but said calmly: "You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry! In this case, let's send more scouts to investigate the enemy situation ahead and make sure there are no ambushes ahead before marching. Let's wait here for ten days!"

Ten days?

This... we have to wait for ten days?

Zhao Chengqing and others looked at Wang Yue in disbelief when they heard Wang Yue's decision.

Speed ​​has always been the most important thing in war! The Weininghai Battle led by Wang Yue and Wang Zhi fully illustrates this point. It was Wang Yue and Wang Zhi's surprise attack that won a great victory, but Wang Yue actually did the opposite this time and delayed his troops.

Now, facing the unfavorable ambush terrain ahead, Wang Yue actually chose to stop his troops and camp here for ten days.

With Wang Yue's cautious approach, he has been so cautious before he really reached the base camp of Jianzhou Jurchen. I don't know how much time it will take to travel the next few hundred miles.

Wang Yue did not intend to bargain with everyone. He arranged his subordinates to set up camp with a firm will, and continued to send the most elite night warriors to the surrounding areas.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Zhao Chengqing, the general of the Eastern Expedition Army, was not idle. Facing the Jianzhou Jurchens scattered around herding sheep, he immediately ruthlessly harvested the lives of these Jurchens who were both herders and soldiers.

One kill!

Two kills!

Three kills!

…

Zhao Chengqing vented all his dissatisfaction. Facing these herders holding bows and arrows, he mobilized his cavalry to ruthlessly clear them out.

“We have nothing to do with the Aisin-Gioro family!”

“You can’t kill us. We didn’t harm the border residents of the Ming Dynasty!”

“Spare my life! We won’t dare to do it again. Please let me go this time!”

…

The herders around were probably unwilling to give up their herds of cattle and sheep, or they were holding a little fluke, but they all wanted to find a way out.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

The killing has already begun, but it is impossible to end it hastily.

For the generals above, the purpose of doing this is to train soldiers. However, the soldiers below are happy to do this, because according to the latest regulations of the Ministry of War, these are all military merits.

The strongest mercenary, the Three Guards of Doyan, are also not idle. They are mainly eyeing the herds of cattle and sheep on the ranch.

Since the Ming Dynasty has allowed them to take cattle and sheep as trophies, they appear to be more active, and they will bloodbath every ranch wherever they go.

For the Three Guards of Doyan, there is no kinship with the Jianzhou Jurchens at all, but they have become active members in the elimination of the Jurchens.

Starting from the Liaoxi Corridor, the Ming Dynasty has exceeded a thousand people in the elimination of herdsmen, and even wiped out a Jianzhou Jurchen tribe with nearly a thousand combat power in one fell swoop.

Although their march is slow, the harvest is actually not small at all.

At least many soldiers have already mixed a real military merit, and there will be more and more in the future, resulting in an increase in the number of soldiers now.

The progress of the Eastern Expedition Army was indeed very slow, but like an old ox plowing the land, it was razing everything it went to, leaving behind blood-stained pastures.

But their pace would not stop. The land near the river was truly valuable, and the Lubin River Basin was the biggest target of the Ming army this time.

Since today was another good day for a big harvest, the Ming army got herds of cattle and sheep, so a dinner full of meat flavor was naturally inevitable.

Nearly a hundred miles away, a large army of Jianzhou Jurchens stationed here and set up an ambush.

Snap!

When Tuo Luo saw a large flower mosquito landing on his arm, he immediately found the right time to hit it hard, causing the mosquito to fly bloody.

Since the terrain on three sides is sloping, as long as the Ming army passes here, they can use cavalry charge to easily disperse the main force of the Ming army, and then slaughter them.

Unfortunately, the other side chose to rest again, and had already set up camp hundreds of miles away, not giving them any chance to attack.

"Leader, what should we do?"

"What else can we do? Keep waiting!"

Tuo Luo personally commanded the battle this time, leading the main force of Jianzhou Jurchens to wait for the Ming army at this best ambush point. As a result, the sky did not go as he wished, but he continued to fight mosquitoes and persisted.

At this point, he could only compete with Wang Yue in patience. He only hoped that Wang Yue would suddenly underestimate the enemy and advance rashly, thus providing their Jurchen tribe with a chance to counterattack, thus forcing the Ming Dynasty to withdraw.

The wind and clouds changed, and a summer rain came with a storm.

The first place to experience turmoil was not Jianzhou, but the capital thousands of miles away.

The battle of Jianzhou has attracted the attention of the whole country. In view of the three victories in the previous battle of Jianzhou, the capital is full of confidence in victory, and believes that there will be victory reports soon.

"What the hell, why is there no news about the battle of Jianzhou?"

"I heard that the battle has not started yet, which is really embarrassing for our Ming Dynasty!"

"It seems that Wang Yue is really old. I suggest that the court should replace him with a more capable commander!"

...

Things went against one's will. As time went by, although Wang Yue did not lose the battle, such progress was questioned by many voices, and there were constant voices of changing commanders.

This kind of voice is naturally because someone is fanning the flames, and the Jinyiwei also has something to do.

Because it is a special time, the court has tightened its control over the public opinion in the capital.

Since ancient times, people who are popular have many right and wrong, and Wang Yue can't escape the fate of being impeached.

After Wang Yue's recovery from Anluzhou, his life seemed to have suddenly opened up. Not only was he appointed as the Left Censor of the Censorate of the Second Rank, but he also became the first commander of the Ming Dynasty.

Faced with officials like Wang Yue who were defined as civil traitors, and the fact that the Censorate headed by Wang Yue was actually targeting civil and military officials, many officials were constantly seeking opportunities to overthrow Wang Yue.

After learning about Wang Yue's military situation, Liaodong Circuit Inspector Li Guang was the first to attack: "I, Liaodong Circuit Inspector, impeached the Eastern Expedition Commander, the Censor of the Left Censorate of the Censorate, Wang Yue, who had been on the expedition for a month, but sometimes feared the enemy and did not move forward, delaying the opportunity to fight... I beg Your Majesty to remove the commander Wang Yue and choose another commander to take up an important position."

Overthrowing Wang Yue was not the goal, but someone took the opportunity to recommend: "Minister of Punishment He Qiaoxin has made achievements in his duties as governor and governor-general, and now the Jianzhou war is related to the grain strategy of the Northeast of the Ming Dynasty, so I beg you to remove Wang Yue and replace him with Minister of Punishment He Qiaoxin!"

Feared the enemy and did not move forward!

Delayed the war!

No talent for commanding the army!

…

Even though Wang Yue had a brilliant record of military exploits and was the most outstanding commander of the entire Ming Dynasty, people like He Qiaoxin were not even worthy of carrying Wang Yue's shoes, but he was still devalued by this group of shameless censors.

It was June, and the Taiye Lake was full of grass and fat fish.

Zhu Youtang had always allowed censors to submit memorials, but in the face of their words and deeds, he immediately threw the two memorials directly to the Minister of Personnel Li Yu.

"I obey your order!" Li Yu picked up the two memorials on the ground and expressed his attitude respectfully.

A day later, the sky in the capital cleared up.

The Ministry of Personnel issued two latest documents, and Liaodong Tour Inspector Li Guang and Military Secretary Xu Liang were dismissed by the Ministry of Personnel because they failed to pass the assessment of the Ministry of Personnel.

"Isn't this a coincidence?"

"Don't even think about it, it must be related to their impeachment of Wang Yue!"

"Don't talk nonsense, the Ministry of Personnel has made it clear that they didn't meet the assessment standards!"

...

Faced with the two censors who had just submitted memorials to impeach or recommend a change of leadership, they had some guesses in their hearts, but the Ministry of Personnel chose to take all the responsibility.

Unlike the past dynasties, the appointment and dismissal of personnel no longer required the emperor to personally take action, and many things were handled directly by the Ministry of Personnel.

Although everyone knew that the Minister of Personnel Li Yu was taking the blame for the emperor, so that some people gave Li Yu a name: Shadow Minister, but Li Yu still did his own thing.

Li Yu was not actually a complete flatterer. The reason why he was willing to become Zhu Youtang's yes-man was not only to keep his position, but also because he had long been convinced by Zhu Youtang.

An emperor who truly cares about the people at the bottom, an emperor who is willing to bear the stigma of a tyrant in order to settle millions of refugees, is destined to be strongly supported by some ministers.

It was because Li Yu stepped forward to deal with these two mad dogs that not only did the war in Liaodong not see a change of commander on the battlefield, but also quickly calmed down this discordant voice.

For nearly a month after that, Wang Yue still maintained a cautious style.

The large army would continue to advance only after the scouts had a clear understanding of the military situation in front. Especially after discovering that Tuo Luo intended to ambush, this investigation was done more carefully, which greatly reduced the speed of the march.

This time, Wang Yue did not seem to come to wipe out the Jianzhou Jurchens, but more like leading the Ming army to show off his power.

In view of the last lesson, although Wang Yue's progress was very slow and he was still a hundred miles away from the Shubin River, the censors did not dare to impeach him again, and naturally no longer mentioned the change of commander on the battlefield.

Unknowingly, it was already August.

As the temperature continued to drop, the marching speed increased to a certain extent, and the army led by Wang Yue finally approached Shubinjiang infinitely.

As the rolling river rushes toward the Sea of ​​Japan, a real decisive battle seems to be coming at any time.

It's just that war can never remain static. Although Wang Yue wanted to fight to the death at the Jurchen base camp in Jianzhou, Tuoluo had already made new arrangements.

Facing Wang Yue's steady advance, an elite light cavalry force of 10,000 people turned into a surprise force of the Jurchen tribe and quietly moved around to the rear of the Eastern Conquest Army.

"kill!"

"kill!"

"Kill!"

…

After a long journey, they met a grain transport army that suddenly appeared in the field of vision. The light cavalry immediately bared its fangs and pounced on it fiercely.

Things have to start from last month. Facing the slow progress of the Ming Dynasty's army, the Jianzhou Jurchens could not sit still.

The Ming army relied on an abundant military food supply line, and their territory on the grasslands was gradually reduced, and their cattle, sheep and population continued to decrease.

Facing the steady attack of the Ming Dynasty, Tuoluo decided to destroy the Ming Dynasty's supply lines, so he sent a team of elite cavalry to go around the rear of the Ming Dynasty, thereby cutting off the Ming Dynasty's transportation lines, or even cutting off the transportation lines in one fell swoop.

The commander-in-chief this time is Tuoluo's son Tuoyuanbao, a young man who has just set out at the age of twenty, but has a pockmarked face and a dirty braid.

This time he was ordered to lead his troops to bypass the eastern end of the Liaoxi Corridor, intending to completely cut off the Liaoxi Corridor by occupying Carp Valley, thus cutting off the food and grass for the Eastern Expeditionary Army.

puff!

puff!

puff!

This grain transport team only had more than a hundred people, but they did not expect the Jurchens to come here. Faced with the sudden appearance of the large Jurchen army, they immediately chose to flee.

It's just that the Jurchens in Jianzhou have ignored life since they were young. At first, they could only kill with swords, and then they used bows and arrows. As a result, more than half of the grain transport team died tragically.

"Which unit do you belong to and how many people are there in total?"

"Bah, you will definitely die!"

"court death!"

Seeing that Tuo Yuanbao couldn't get the information he wanted, he stretched out his hand to wipe the spit from his face, and immediately slashed with a knife.

"There is actually dried meat here. Their supplies are so extravagant!" Someone found a large amount of rice and some dried meat on the grain truck, and they were both happy and angry at the same time.

Naturally, they were happy because they finally got high-quality food supplies, and angry because the Ming army's food was so good that they had a psychological imbalance.

In the past battles, the lower-level soldiers of the Ming army were the targets of exploitation. As a result, the current Hongzhi Dynasty has undergone such a big change.

"Bring the dry food, let's seize the fortress in front immediately!" Tuoyuan knew that soldiers are very fast, and the whereabouts of his own strange army will soon be known, so he prepared to launch a surprise attack.

If you want to completely cut off the supply line of military food, it is very important to occupy the right location. Looking at the entire Jianzhou terrain, the most effective place is the Carp Valley on the east side of the Liaoxi Corridor.

Carp Valley is the only way from the Western Liaoning Corridor to Jianzhou. The terrain there is dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack. Not to mention tens of thousands of fine cavalry guarding the place, even if only a few thousand cavalry are stationed, it can make this place look like a chasm.

"kill!"

This Jurchen tribe had not had time to resupply, so they headed towards Carp Valley with their grain carts.

Using the guidance of the map, Tuo Yuanbao led his troops to seize the simple fortress at the mouth of Carp Valley, but when he came closer and saw the scene that suddenly appeared in front of him, he was dumbfounded.