Han Youniang had never seen a beacon, but she had heard of it countless times. Naturally, she knew what it meant to light a beacon tower. To her, the savagery and savagery of the Tartars was like the impression people had of the Japanese today. They were a group of bloodthirsty beasts.
Yang Ling, on the other hand, was more surprised than horrified. He had been influenced by too many movies and television dramas in the future. In his mind, the so-called Tartars were a group of rough and fierce Mongolian warriors. They were hospitable and forthright. Perhaps they were brave in battle, but no matter what, they were not demonic soldiers who had lost all humanity.
However, they were still enemies. He was not naive enough to think that if they attacked the city, they would be merciful. He hurriedly pulled Han Youniang's hand and rushed to the yamen.
At this time, the city gates were closed. The residents had already rushed out of their homes because of the beacon. This was not the first time that the Tatar prince, Bayan Mengke, had led his troops to attack the border. But most of the time, they did not dare to directly attack a pass like Chicken Cry Post. For such a tall city, they did not have the ability to carry all kinds of siege weapons. The Tartars would not risk heavy casualties to attack a city just to plunder.
But usually, small scale battles would not use the beacon tower to send messages. Tonight's situation was a bit special. It seemed that a pass had been attacked. How could these people not panic?
Although County Magistrate Min was muddle-headed as a county magistrate, he was still a soldier. When he heard the news of the Tartars' arrival, he rushed out of the back hall without even putting on his clothes.
There were only 260 soldiers stationed here, led by two generals. According to the rules of the Ming Dynasty, in the event of war, the local chief executive was responsible for the overall military operation. Officers did not have independent command. So now, County Magistrate Min had become the commander of the war zone garrison.
This was County Magistrate Min's old job. He immediately sent scouts to contact the nearest relay stations to ask for further information. At the same time, he sent people to rush back to the prefectural city to mobilize the troops. He also sent people to inform the deputy of the relay station that all the military personnel were to be equipped with swords and spears and be ready to go to the city to provide support.
Yang Ling watched from the side, dumbfounded. To tell the truth, he had been handling the county magistrate's affairs for the past few days, and the county magistrate was like a puppet to him. Although Yang Ling was grateful for the county magistrate's recognition, he still looked down on him from the bottom of his heart. He did not expect the county magistrate to be so methodical in handling the war.
County Magistrate Min finished assigning tasks with his saliva flying everywhere. Then, he heaved a sigh of relief, straightened his clothes, and shouted to the back, "Where are father's armor and broadsword? Bring them here quickly!"
Finished speaking, he turned his head to look at Yang Ling and Han Youniang, who was standing behind him. He laughed and said, "His granny, I am afraid this New Year is not going to be good. These Tatars came to plunder the night before New Year's Eve, presumably this winter's heavy snow froze a lot of cattle and sheep to death. They won't leave until they have enough food to eat."
At this moment, two servants walked out, one carrying a chainmail and the other carrying a broadsword. Because this was a third-class county, the living conditions were harsh. County Magistrate Min didn't bring his family with him, so it was these servants who served him daily.
County Magistrate Min didn't stand on ceremony. He untied his official robe in the main hall and began to change. Seeing this, Han Youniang quickly retreated to a side room to avoid suspicion. County Magistrate Min neatly put on his chainmail and the official robe over it. He stretched out his hand and took the broadsword from the servant's hand.
The broadsword weighed at least forty catties. County Magistrate Min held it with one hand. With a flick of his wrist, the heavy broadsword spun in his hand and then slammed it on the ground, sending the green brick floor flying. Yang Ling was shocked. Although he knew that County Magistrate Min was a military officer, he didn't expect him to use such a heavy weapon.
County Magistrate Min was dressed like a county magistrate. When he walked, the black gauze wings on his hat would sway. Unfortunately, he was carrying a sharp broadsword, which made him look neither fish nor fowl. But he didn't care and shouted to the outside of the hall, "Let's go! Follow me to the city wall! "
The group of bailiffs who had just arrived in the courtyard let out a roar of assent, and a large group of people rushed out in a group.
Yang Ling followed them out of the yamen. The four red lanterns at the yamen entrance gently swayed in the wind and snow. At this time, it was snowing even more intensely. Large flakes of snow fluttered in the air, covering the world in a vast expanse.
County Magistrate Min brought a group of people with swords and spears and strode to the top of the city wall. The streets were filled with villagers scurrying about like ants on a hot pan, but they didn't have time to pay attention to them.
On the south gate, nearly a hundred soldiers were nervously watching the scene below. This gate faced the main road from north to south. The east and west gates faced the mountains and were not suitable for warhorses. Even if the Tartars attacked, it would be difficult for them to mobilize a large force of cavalry to attack the east and west gates, so it was relatively safer. As a result, only seventy soldiers were stationed at each gate, with a general patrolling back and forth on horseback.
The general of the south gate was standing on the top of the city wall and looking down. Seeing that the magistrate had personally arrived, he hurriedly ran over and knelt on one knee. Cupping his hands, he said, "Lowly officer Jiang Bin pays his respect to Lord Min."
County Magistrate Min waved his hand and said, "No need, no need. General Jiang, have the Tartars arrived?"
Jiang Bin grinned and said, "Daren, the light can't reach the bottom of the city wall, so I can't see very clearly. But judging from the torches, there are at least a hundred of them. But don't worry, with this lowly officer here, they won't be able to attack."
Yang Ling carefully sized up this general. This general was extremely handsome and looked to be in his early twenties. He had a strong build and a swift and fierce expression. It seemed that he didn't care about the Tartars at all.
Yang Ling couldn't help but nod inwardly. In his previous impression, Ming Destiny's soldiers were all incomparably cowardly. Otherwise, if Ming Destiny personally led the army, his 500,000 strong army wouldn't have been utterly defeated by Grand Tutor Wala's 100,000 strong army and even lost the Emperor. He had thought that Ming Destiny's officials would turn ashen at the mention of the Tartars. Who would have thought that the magistrate and the general guarding the city wall would be so courageous?
Lord Min laughed heartily and said, "Come, let's go up and take a look." The group of people climbed up to the top of the city wall. Leaning on the arrow mound, they looked down and saw that it was pitch-black at the bottom of the city wall. Hundreds of torches were moving everywhere, and strange cries could be heard coming from below.
An arrow's throw away from the center of the main road, more than twenty torches were gathered. The light illuminated the silhouettes of several people, who were shouting something at the top of the city wall from a distance. Lord Min sneered and said, "You want to take down my Chicken Crow Inn with just a few hundred people?"
Jiang Bin pointed to the east and said, "Lord, one of the scouts we sent out was shot dead by the Tartars. The one who escaped reported that the sounds of fighting were earth-shattering in the direction of two and a half li. I presume the Tartars are attacking there."
Two and a half li, Five Li Tai and the Patrol Inn were the closest passes to the Chicken Crow Inn. But to attack Juyong Pass one step further, they had to break through Chicken Crow Inn. So when Lord Min heard that the Tartars were attacking from two and a half li, he knew that this time it was difficult for them to get through the winter. So he used Ming Destiny as their warehouse and came to plunder their provisions.
Therefore, the Tartars soldiers at the bottom of the city wall most likely only wanted to block the city gate and prevent reinforcements from inside the city to the Chicken Crow Inn. Min Wenjian had not used a sword or spear for more than two years and his arms were itching. When he saw the Tartars at the bottom of the city wall shouting and yelling, he was overjoyed. He turned his head to Jiang Bin and said, "Jiang Bin, prepare a warhorse for me and send forty men to follow me out of the city to repel the Tartars."
Jiang Bin had long wanted to go out of the city to fight, but he did not dare to act rashly without his superior's orders. When he heard the order, he was overjoyed and quickly shouted to his subordinates, "Men, bring two warhorses here. Archers on the wall, get ready. Sentinels Liu and Li, follow Lord Min and me into battle!"
Seeing they dared to go out of the city with only forty men, Yang Ling was quite surprised. Squad Leader Wang next to him was Lord Min's personal guard in the army. Seeing Yang Ling's surprised expression, he chuckled and said, "Presumably Yang Shi Ye has not seen Lord Min's divine bravery. Lord Min was originally a Qianzong under the command of Datong's Zongguan Du Daren. His martial art skill is outstanding. When we were exterminating the mountain bandits, Lord Min only needed to lead one sentry troop to kill more than a hundred mountain bandits from Niutou Mountain and make them flee in defeat. This time we will certainly achieve victory."
Two cavalrymen and forty junior officers going out of the city to meet these Tartars cavalry on big horses? Yang Ling was somewhat uneasy, but then he remembered that the forty-catty machete was wielded by County Magistrate Min as if it was his own arm. When he brandished the machete, it weighed more than one or two hundred catties. His martial art skill was certainly not ordinary. Even if they were no match, they would not be in any danger.
The city gate creaked open. This small city did not have a moat or a drawbridge. Twenty archers on the city gate drew their bows and waited. Below the city gate, Lord Min and Jiang Bin led forty officers and soldiers out of the city.
Among the forty junior officers, twenty were saber and shield bearers and twenty spear bearers. They spread out in a formation to the left and right. Jiang Bin reined in his horse and was about to shout at the Tartars who were a stone's throw away when unexpectedly Lord Min, holding the reins with one hand and carrying his machete, suddenly shouted, "The bandits have invaded our border. Quickly come and die under my saber. Charge!"
Then he raised his machete above his head and kicked the stirrups. Like flying, he galloped straight ahead toward the dozen or so Tartars who were wrapped in animal skins and carrying bows and arrows on their backs.
Jiang Bin's eyes went wide. He knew that this Lord Min was actually a thousand-man commander under the command of Du Renguo, the Commander of Datong's Du Renguo. Du Renguo was known as Madman Du. He never paid attention to battle tactics when fighting the enemy, nor did he know how to coordinate his troops. Usually, as soon as both sides came into contact, he would immediately lead his troops to charge in like a swarm of bees. With a thirty-catty machete in his hand, not many people could stop him. He really was a man who killed people and a Buddha who killed Buddha.
But in a battle between two armies, victory or defeat could not be decided by one man acting like a hero. Although he was bloodthirsty and loved to fight, and had killed many Tartars with his own hands, he always lost more than he won. Every time he lost, he would vent his anger by smashing the armor with his machete. Who would have thought that this County Magistrate Min would have the same style as his Commander of Datong?
Jiang Bin was anxious. If anything happened to County Magistrate Min, even if he had ten heads, it wouldn't be enough. At this time, he couldn't care less about the fact that his subordinates were all foot soldiers. He immediately brandished his machete and shouted, "Follow Lord Min and kill for me!" Jiang Bin's arm strength was outstanding, and his horsemanship was excellent. He wielded two three-foot-long machetes and used both hands to control the horse. He madly chased after County Magistrate Min Wenjian.
When the forty foot soldiers saw this, they could only follow behind the horse. The night was dark, the road was slippery, and the snow was thick. In an instant, any formation could not be seen, and they became a group of stragglers.
The county magistrate, on the other hand, was riding a good horse. In the blink of an eye, he had covered the distance of an arrow's throw. He loosened the reins and raised his machete with both hands. Like a gust of wind, he pounced on a young man in his twenties who was clustered in the middle of the group. 'To capture the bandits, first capture the ringleader.' This illiterate county magistrate understood this principle.
Under the torch, the young man wore a tiger-skinned robe. There was a bow on his shoulder, and in his hand was a long spear resting horizontally on the saddle bridge. His mission was to harass the garrison in the city and intimidate them so that they wouldn't leave the city to rescue the two and a half mile relay stations. This mission could be said to be extremely easy.
As soon as he arrived at the foot of the city, he ordered his subordinates to take two torches and gallop around the open field in front of the city. He made a bluff to intimidate the enemy, while he himself stood there and shouted curses. He knew a thing or two about the garrison in the city. He expected that there weren't many soldiers in the city and that the county government was controlled by civil officials. Under such circumstances, they wouldn't dare to leave the city to meet the enemy head-on. As a result, he was a bit careless.
It was also his bad luck that today he ran into the crazy county magistrate under the command of the crazy commander-in-chief of the Datong army. Not only did the madman leave the city to meet the enemy, he actually charged over alone. This Tatar general was standing a stone's throw away from the city gate. Min Wenjian's soldiers came out to fight and didn't even light torches. He stood there and didn't know that the soldiers had already left the city. Although County Magistrate Min shouted from below the city gate, because he was also loudly scolding the soldiers on the city gate, he didn't hear him at all. He thought it was Ming Destiny's soldiers who were scolding him back from the city gate.
It was snowing heavily. County Magistrate Min rode a black horse and wore a green official's robe. He blended in with the night. Although the horse's hooves were fast, there were Tatar cavalry who were bluffing and galloping all around, so they didn't care. It wasn't until County Magistrate Min came near, holding a saber with both hands and killing his way into the crowd, that they recognized him as Ming Destiny's men under the cover of a dozen torches.
One side was unprepared, the other side was galloping. The tiger-skin robe young man's eyes widened in shock. He saw a man galloping towards him. The man on the horse was wearing Ming Destiny's civil official's robe. The front of the robe had a little yellow bird spread its wings. The man also wore a black gauze hat on his head. The wings of the hat flickered and swayed up and down at a very high angle. Fortunately, it was very elastic and did not break.
The civil official on the horse had a dark face, small round eyes and a full beard. His hands were raised high in the air in a strange posture.
The horse was as fast as lightning. For a moment, the dozen Tatar soldiers didn't have time to react. It wasn't until the strange hands swung down fiercely towards the tiger-skin robe young man's shoulders. The torches reflected a bright light in the air. They then realized that this civil official of Ming Destiny was holding a big saber that gleamed with cold light.
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