The army was about to go to war, and food, supplies, etc. had to be prepared in advance, and Taiyuan Prefecture soon became busy.

Of course, the garrisons in Taiyuan Prefecture on Zhu Qi's side are really not worth mentioning compared to the 100,000 troops gathered on the main battlefield of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun on the Datong line.

The Taiyuan Prefecture has only 25,000 troops, of which 10,000 are newly recruited troops. According to the generals' prediction, only 5,000 soldiers can be used to defend Taiyuan Prefecture under any circumstances.

Everyone originally thought that since His Highness of the Liao King planned to patrol the west, he would definitely bring a large army, so that he could divide his troops to search for the Hu cavalry and ensure his own safety.

But Zhu Qi finally decided to take only 5,000 troops and search in the western mountainous area. This was also a decision made by slapping the table after comprehensively combining the opinions of all parties and personally doing some calculations.

There are many mountains in the west. If the troops are divided into searches, it will definitely greatly affect the efficiency of the journey. Moreover, contacting in the mountainous areas is also a big problem. If the central army stops in a certain place, there is no need to patrol west. After all, when we go west, we are worried that the Northern Yuan will feint attack Datong and actually attack the three outer gates of the west, so we sent troops to go west.

Zhu Qi calculated himself. It would be enough for half a day to run back and forth when he arrived at Taiyuan Prefecture. If he really got the news that the Beiyuan attacked the Wusan Pass, the Taiyuan defenders would be able to arrive within two days. He would lead five thousand people northwards and could also rush over to reinforce the army as soon as possible. In this way, there would be no need to lead a large army to march. If the Beiyuan did not attack the Wusan Pass, then the three hundred Hu cavalry were really not afraid of Wang Baobao's investigation and went deep into the Central Plains to rob him?

It's good to save some food.

What's more, the north and east are both plain areas. If the three hundred Hu cavalry are there, they will soon receive the news, and it will not be too late to send troops to pursue them. Thinking about this, searching the western mountainous areas will be the most likely to catch this wave of Hu cavalry.

If Hu Qi walked south... Zhu Qi had no choice. If these people made up their minds to go deep into the Central Plains, there would be a lot of city fortresses waiting for them, and it would be better if they were not the only one of Taiyuan Mansion to bother them.

Of course, all of this is just Zhu Qi's own thoughts. As an ordinary person who grew up in peacetime who had never been exposed to war, it was already difficult for him to think so much.

Anyway, all kinds of actions are summed up in one sentence - don’t seek merit but seek nothing wrong!

This is not because Zhu Qi is afraid of Zhu Yuanzhang's punishment, but because of his decision, he is worried that the people will suffer. He doesn't know what other princes are like, but Zhu Qi, who grew up under the Red Banner, can definitely be said to be one of the best people in the Ming Dynasty who keeps ordinary people in his heart.

If you make one decision, you can determine the life and death of many people, and you can understand Zhu Qi's mood at this time.

In this way, after two days of preparation in Taiyuan Prefecture, the five thousand army marched towards the Luliang Mountains and Yunzhong Mountains.

This was the first time that Zhu Qi had marched with five thousand people. Fortunately, his subordinates gathered with generals, including two veteran generals Geng Bingwen and Liao Yongzhong. No matter what the army is doing, they would say whatever they said. Zhu Qi said from beginning to end: "I think so too."

Facts have proved that Zhu Qi's approach to being a hand-off manager was extremely correct. At least 5,000 people had no mistake in marching. Apart from riding a horse all day long and riding a step, there was nothing wrong with it.

As the army entered the Yunzhong Mountains, the speed of traveling became slower and slower, and more and more scouts released every day became more and more.

After all, this is the Yunzhong Mountains with valleys and vigor. It is really a place where you can encounter ambush by taking two steps. You can't be slow. What if there is a Hu cavalry ambushing in the mountains?

Zhu Qi can be said to be extremely cautious, and Zhu Di did not fully grow up at this time. After hearing Zhu Qi's analysis, he felt it was very reasonable and agreed. With Zhu Di's approval, Zhu Qi became more convinced of his judgment, released more scouts, asked more information, and must not be ambushed!

Although the other generals did not speak, they all had strange expressions. The Great Wall was on the east side, the Cross River on the south side, and the Taiyuan Prefecture on the west side. Where did so many ambush soldiers come from in the Yunzhong Mountains? It is impossible to launch an ambush at the army of 5,000 people.

Although it is true that you can arrange more scouts when marching in the mountains, His Highness the King of Liao directly arranged three times the usual scouts, and the marching speed was a bit outrageous.

Because these generals seemed that since the three hundred Hu cavalry broke through Datong Mansion, the possibility of running into the mountains was very low. If they were Hu cavalry, they would definitely go to the towns on the plain to rob finances!

What's more, Hu Bi rode a horse and was very inconvenient to move in the mountains, and the possibility of running into the mountains is really not high.

But His Highness the King of Liao made the decision, and they couldn't say anything. They just thought it was to accompany His Highness the King of Liao and inspect it. I wonder if he had received news from Hu Qi at this time in Taiyuan Prefecture and sent troops to take this credit?

Thinking of this makes my heart hurt so much.

……………………

Wang Ji was wearing a straw raincoat and hat and walking on the hills. He was originally just a recruit, but because he was the first in martial arts performance, he performed outstandingly, and even many veterans were not as good as him. In just one month, he was promoted to a scout.

Don’t think that the status of scouts is very low. Ordinary soldiers are really not as good as scouts. There is no need to say much about the importance of scouts. Most of those who can serve as scouts have promising and capable talents.

Wang Ji had already changed to a sergeant, a well-dressed soldier. He had been following Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty since the Battle of Fanyang Lake. Later, as a Han native in the mainland, he had already retired from the service. This time, the military source was not enough. Like Wang Ji, he was summoned to join the army and joined the army again.

But Wang Ji was forced to live a different life. This sergeant returned to the army because he "didn't join the army and didn't know what to do." This reason for Wang Ji's opinion was quite strange.

Because he is a veteran and has the experience of scouts, he is a sergeant in the scouts sentry.

At this time, the sergeant was like Wang Ji, crawling on the ground, teaching Wang Ji some scout skills.

The five people of the group didn't go far, and saw a family in front of them. The sergeant first looked up at the sky, then waited for a while, and saw the smoke rising from the family, and then led the four people around him closer.

There was only one middle-aged woman cooking in that family. Suddenly, she saw five military men coming over and was shocked. She saw their dress and accents, and then she breathed a sigh of relief.

It turned out to be my own Ming army, so there is nothing to be afraid of.

The people in the early Ming Dynasty welcomed the Ming army very much. As for those who missed the old Yuan, they were just gentry. When they controlled the Central Plains, they lived more comfortably than before. The Northern Yuan, which united the gentry, was also quite good for them.

But there is no need to say much about the people at the bottom. Even though the Yuan Dynasty had some policies that compassionate people's livelihood, in terms of implementation, there is no need to say much about what the Yuan Dynasty could implement.

It is common to plunder the people's wealth and harm the people. Even among the people, the custom of falling first child has been spread. You can taste it carefully.

For the people, this suggestion of the Ming Dynasty is really a great liberation! Not only every household has land, but they live more dignified than before. What reason is there not to welcome the Ming army?

The middle-aged woman warmly welcomed Wang Ji and her group, but they came to ask for information, not to feel the enthusiasm of the village. When the woman heard them asking if there was anything unusual recently, she suddenly became nervous and stammered and said no.

But suddenly I heard a horse's neighing sound, and I heard a man's voice from outside the door:

"My wife hasn't prepared the meal yet?"

Wang Ji was stunned, and the rest of the people were also stunned. The sergeant had already pressed the handle of the knife, and only heard a sound of being unsheathed. The sergeant asked in a deep voice:

"How come you mountaineer have horses?"

———
Chapter completed!