At noon the next day.

The sky was gloomy, and the main force of the Ming army's third route marched forward without stopping, with the purpose of rushing to set up an ambush at Weining Fort before Nurhaci.

Zhu Xieyuan held the reins of the horse, looked around, and sighed softly.

After years of war, the land of Liaodong was devastated, and everything I saw was full of dry grass and dry trees, but there were also some tender green grass buds on the small slopes facing the sun.

It was also May, and everything in the pass had revived. The spring green scene was still in Liaodong. The solar term was still cold and warm. The wind and sand filled the first half of the month, but today a light snow floated in the air.

Zhu Xieyuan was a little worried that yesterday the wind and furious weather would affect the advancement of troops from other roads.

Zhu Xieyuan chuckled again. He had ordered the troops of Shanhaiguan to support Wang Wei. The two generals Yu Long and Gao Zhen were restraining Gao Di. I think it would be fine.

Ningxia General Wang Rujin stopped his horse and frowned and said:

"The army in charge is that the rivers in the Weining area are turbulent and the march is difficult. Jiannu retreated and left without panic. He should not arrive tomorrow."

Zhu Xieyuan nodded, indeed, they rushed in front of Jiannu.

I thought Wang Wei's attack would make Nurhaci marching and evacuate from Liaoshen, but I didn't expect that the slave chief was still so leisurely and contented. I don't know if he had another plan.

Li Hongji was Wang Rujin's servant. He was guarding his horse and watching the generals discuss the battle with the supervisor. His eyes were hot, and there seemed to be a fire burning in his chest.

Zhu Xieyuan sent a whistle to carefully investigate the terrain in the Weining area. It was only in the evening that he ordered tens of thousands of troops to camp on both sides of the Prince River.

After receiving the order, the troops from Xuanzhen, Datong and Ningxia began to cut wood and build fences, dig trenches and set up obstacles. Due to the orderly command, they were already arranged at the time of Mao.

Zhu Xieyuan led the general of Xuan Town, Jiang Bi, general of Datong, Zhang Wanbang, general of Ningxia, Wang Rujin, and a group of generals from the three towns sat around the simple sand table, frowned.

He said:

"According to the speed of the slave chief's march, the slave soldiers should arrive by the Prince River tomorrow afternoon. Wang Dashui and the soldiers of Ningxia Town are responsible for cutting off the wooden bridge. Have they all done it?"

Zhu Xieyuan turned to look at someone.

Wang Rujin patted his chest and said, "Supervisor, please see, this missionary general has sent a servant to do it, so it is safe!"

"When the slave chief comes to Weining tomorrow, unless you take a long way, you will have to build a bridge and cross the river!"

"Don't be careless." Zhu Xieyuan felt a little relieved and nodded:

"The wooden bridge has been cut off, and the slave chief is like walking around the distance. Only by going downwards and passing through Benxi to Gushan Fort can we return to Hetuala, which is the old village they call it."

"The water flows in Benxi River is not urgent, and I can wader by the water. General Zhang must remember that when the slave cavalry is far away and the slave army passes, he must cut it off in the waist!"

Zhang Wanbang bowed his fists and said meticulously: "Don't worry, the general will do his best!"

Zhang Wanbang was cautious in using his troops, and Zhu Xieyuan was still relatively relieved.

He said "hmm", then looked towards Xuanfu Town and instructed: "Ship Jiang, if the Nu Chief goes around Weining, you must build a bridge and cross the river as quickly as possible to support the Datong Army."

Jiang Bi nodded and said:

"The supervisor doesn't have to worry. I will help the tools and wood to build the wooden bridge overnight. If the master of Nu takes a detour, I will definitely rush to help with all my strength!"

Zhu Xieyuan was still not very relieved. He closed his eyes hard, wiped the yellow-white shaking mucus at the corners of his eyes with his right finger, and instructed:

"If the third chief crosses the river, the three armies will follow my orders and attack together. If the third chief takes a detour, you will follow the plan and must not let them return to the old village safely!"

As for this, Zhu Xieyuan bowed to everyone one by one: "A half a year of fierce battle, success or failure is here, please let everyone!"

Jiang Bi, Zhang Wanbang, and Wang Rujin looked at each other, all bowing. The generals of Xuanfu, Datong and Ningxia towns also stood up and said in unison:

"Don't worry, the supervisor, we must have fought to the death!"

......

Late at night, Ningxia Town’s housekeepers’ tent.

"Haha, Uncle, you are really good. How did you come out and your Majesty has a secret order to intercept Jiannu?" Before Li Guoren arrived, his deep voice came first.

Li Guo is Li Hongji's nephew. Both of them are authentic Shaanxi men. They are usually like tigers, so they come to the camp to find Li Hongji if they have nothing to do.

On the first day of his service, Li Hongji received special care from General Wang Rujin and was directly ordered to the servant team. His salary and treatment were much higher than that of ordinary big-headed soldiers.

At first, the servants wanted to teach this young and unaware of the height of the mountain, but soon they discovered that Li Hongji, who looked honest, had a sense of ruthlessness inside.

All the servants were good at fighting in formation and were extremely brave when fighting, but when they faced Li Hongji, few people could walk a few moves in his hands.

Moreover, Li Hongji always gives the servants a very steady feeling. He rarely speaks and doesn’t say a single nonsense.

Li Guo is quite outgoing. In more than a year, he has become the leader of a soldier in the outer camp and is called brothers and brothers with many big-headed soldiers.

Both of these people are far more powerful than ordinary people. If Wang Rujin hadn't been able to support him, he would have recruited Li Guo into the team of servants.

But even if he is a dignified general of Ningxia, he can't afford to support too many servants a year. He needs to handle every additional one, armor, weapons, and more money paid by himself.

This way of raising family members has gradually become popular in the Ming military since the Jiajing dynasty started the recruitment system. If the generals nowadays don’t have dozens of servants on hand, they will be embarrassed to go out to see people.

However, the money is not spent in vain. The servants are generally extremely strong in combat. One fights a few is the most basic requirement and they are extremely loyal to their own heads.

With these people beside you, the generals who lick blood on the knife can sleep more comfortably.

Li Hongji dressed neatly early and wiped the knife so sharply that he stood by the bed. When Li Guo came in, he had already fallen asleep for a while.

"Uncle, can you fall asleep?!"

Li Guo was amazed and slapped Li Hongji in the face to wake him up. Looking at the latter who woke up with a slightly angry expression, he laughed heartlessly.

"The camp is lively now, everyone sang around the bonfire and ambush tomorrow. But it's a rare battle, everyone is so excited that you can sleep only."

Li Hongji looked at him and sneered:

"How can I save my energy and kill more Tartars if I don't sleep?"

"The reward for killing a Tartar is several times more than the reward for killing a horse bandit in Ningxia on weekdays. I have long thought that these Tartars would have fought!"

Speaking of this, Li Hongji rolled his eyes, put down his thoughts of slapping this girl hard, and sat on the bed with anger in his wake. Looking at Li Guo who was excited as if he was something, he said helplessly:

"You guys have eaten a honeypot, and you're going to be happy with a Tartar!"

"The heads of these Tartars are our military merits!" Li Guo laughed and sat next to Li Hongji. The next moment, he stood up and said as he walked out:

"You go to bed, I'm going out to sing with my brothers!"

Li Hongji was waiting for Li Guo to leave, but tossed and turned and could not sleep any more.
Chapter completed!