Jingming

Chapter 399 The trick is messed up

We resupplied here and rested for five days. The next time is becoming more and more precious.

A pure cavalry group, a group of cavalry and infantry, all began to march quickly.

Even the artillery baggage, which was inconvenient to move, was now pulled by more oxen and horses.

Most of the Mongolian tribe's supplies were left behind and distributed to various tribes.As for them, no matter how unwilling they were, they could only accept it, not to mention that Yan Chunsheng had promised them that if they went to Liangcheng, they would have food and they would not starve to death.

To the north of the Yellow River, near Baotou in later generations, the largest group of captives was located here. Naturally, they would not relax in the investigation and vigilance of the surrounding areas.

The traces of the Ming army were finally discovered after approaching them for fifty miles.

At this time, there was a lot of noise on the bank of the Yellow River.

With one operation, Gunbilik finally reached the north bank of the Yellow River safely.

On the Yellow River at this moment, the tribes who migrated to the south of the Yellow River are crossing the river.Tens of thousands of Ordos households in the Hetao area are pure herdsmen, and half of them are from the north to the south of the Yellow River.But there are more cavalry in the south than in the north of the Yellow River.

After hearing the report from the Sentinel Cavalry, Gunbilik's expression changed: "The Ming army is only more than 40 miles away from here? Where are the people from Haochite, Kreisi, and Mingant?"

Ordos has a large population of 42 households, and there are six major departments on the left and right wings under his command, a total of [-] branches.

The three tribes Gunbilik mentioned were all tribes on the left side of the Ordos tent, and they had now "surrendered" to the Ming Dynasty.

They should have gone south to contain the east side.

"Hurry up and cross the river!" Gunbilik was distracted for a moment and could only order, "Explore again and prepare to engage in battle! The west is still stable, don't be afraid of the east. Noyendala leads his army across the river and can attack the Ming army in the east. !”

He was talking about the eldest son born to him by his first wife and the successor of Wanhu in Ordos.

Now, Noyendala is indeed waiting for the section of the Yellow River next to the ancient ferry at the mouth of the river to freeze and become more solid.

But some sentries have already ventured across the river to find out what's going on on the other side.

It's okay to just have a few cavalry, but if it's really a massive army marching together, we have to wait until the ice becomes thicker.

Because of this, we have to wait until the twelfth lunar month.

Gunbilik could neither risk waiting until all sections of the river were frozen, nor could he support all his men and horses to cross the river in skins or rafts.

If they cross the river earlier, the Ming army will indeed be unable to break through the east-west defense line, but the number of skins and rafts required to cross the river will be terrifying, and it will also take too long.Wading in the cold Yellow River in the winter months will immediately plunge you into your most vulnerable moment.

There is only the best strategy for now.

On the other side of Dengkou, Tang Shunzhi had been attacking for eight days, facing [-] sets of captive cavalry and a total of more than [-] civilians, old, weak, women and children.

Today is already the 27th of the winter lunar month.

"Gunbilik must have started to cross the river. By the twelfth lunar month, the Yellow River south of Qantao will freeze solid." Tang Shunzhi was worried, "Even if there are tens of thousands of tribesmen, cattle, sheep and horses, it will take him no more time to cross the river. Not many days."

"Dutai, we can obviously defeat the enemy completely." Ningxia Wei's command was not understood.

Tang Shunzhi shook his head: "We can defeat the enemy, but we cannot annihilate it. If we drag it on now, we can still make them relax a little. We have to wait for Zhang Futai to arrive and attack from the north. If we can't get rid of the capable cavalry here, we can't Go east and rob and kill the captives across the river without any worries."

"Can……"

"Believe Zhang Futai!" Tang Shunzhi interrupted him, "So what if most of the captives have crossed the river? Seeing that they have even moved the Qinghai tribe, the captives are already timid. They will not be able to survive this winter, and it will be even harder next spring. Defend, the defeat of the captives has been accomplished. If Zhang Futai still cannot arrive after two days, defeating the enemy in one fell swoop and driving them away will also make it easier for Zhang Futai to intercept their troops fleeing north."

At this time, the three thousand elite soldiers led by Zhang Jing also lost more than 400 people along the way.

The river network is especially dense in the Houtao area.

At this time, the north wind was blocked by the Yinshan Mountains, and the area was not completely covered with ice and snow, and the rivers were not frozen.Although Zhang Jing set off immediately after being approached by Tang Shunzhi's messenger soldiers, he was still on his way.

The soldiers from the special operations battalion originally sent by Yan Chunsheng to join him also told him that no captives had been found in the east. Knowing that there were more than [-] captives at Dengkou, Zhang Jing understood that the march could be bolder, but he still could not leave. Too fast.

The important thing is that they have been away from Helan Mountain for too long, their food is not sufficient, and their physical strength is continuing to decline.

Not far away, Zhang Jing encouraged morale again: "Bite your teeth! We have defeated the Tatars in Dengkou, and the cattle and sheep will be full!"

"Futai, the soldiers are all hungry. This battle is not easy to fight! There are more than 4 Tatars..."

Zhang Jing was silent for a moment, and then said: "There are also Dutai's troops! They have been fighting over there for several days, and the Tatars are at the end of their battle!"

Are they not at the end of their tether?The original idea was to penetrate behind enemy lines, feed the war with war, and block the Tatars who might flee west.The result was just like a special operations camp. They couldn't find any Tatar tribes spending the winter in that area.

It can be said that Gunbilik also expected that the Ming Dynasty would do this, so he adopted a different method to cross the river, forcibly creating a stronghold that had to be destroyed like the Ming Dynasty.

After marching for several miles, we had to stop and rest again.

Not long after, I heard the faint sound of horse hooves coming from the northeast, and there were a lot of them.

Zhang Jing looked over vigilantly and saw hundreds of black spots of different heights appearing in the distance.

"End formation! Form formation!"

Not long after the order was issued, they saw the armor of the Ming army and discovered that the group on the opposite side was unusual.

"It's our people!" Hundreds of households from the special operations camp who met Zhang Jing said excitedly. They put down their binoculars and stretched out their hands and shouted, "Old Mo!"

Fifty people from the special operations battalion came, bringing more than 50 horses and even driving more than 200 sheep.

"This..." Zhang Jing was stunned.

"Uncle, I know you are also hungry. It took our brothers more than four days to get here."

Hundreds of households named Mo from the special warfare camp brought shocking news to them. They had set out in advance with one person and five horses and two hundred sheep after Yan Chunsheng had just collected the Taolu tribe.

Now, they found their brother and also found Zhang Jing.

On the grassland, horses were both tools of war and food rations.

The horses and sheep that came here were not many, but they were enough to feed the more than 2000 generals here.

This is enough.

"After you've eaten and drank enough, there's still big business to be done, Zhang Futai!"

"...Zhen'an Bo...the true god general!"

……

On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, after 24 days, the imperial chariot of the Emperor of Heaven arrived in Kaiping from Zhangjiakou.

This place is located on the grassland known as the Jinlian River on the Lightning River. It was founded nearly 300 years ago and was once the core area of ​​the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.

Once upon a time, there were palaces inside the city and camps outside the city that could stretch for more than ten miles.

But in the 18th year of Zhengzheng year, the Red Scarf Army broke through here, and the palace walls were destroyed by fire.In the early Ming Dynasty, Kaiping Guard was established and its administrative office was here.Since the Kaipingwei moved south to Dushi during the Xuande period, this place has gradually become ruins.

Now, the Ming army is here.

Outside the Mingde Gate directly south of Shangdu in the old Yuan Dynasty, the flags were neatly displayed.

At the front of the welcoming team were the three generals Guo Xun, Li Quanli, and Yu Dayou.

Guo Xun commanded the three major battalions of the Northern Expedition, Li Quanli commanded the Xuanfu and Jizhou Northern Expedition armies, and Yu Dayou was the vanguard general commanding the Datong Northern Expedition army.

In addition, there was Chen Jiuchou who had entered the State Palace in preparation for the Northern Expedition. He succeeded Wang Shouren as the Minister of State and became the governor of the Xuanda Border Region. He was responsible for the entire Northern Expedition before the emperor arrived.

He doesn't need to come up with strategies, he doesn't need to fight battles, and he needs to be responsible for logistics.

Gramtai, the lord of Duoyan tribe, is also here.After the Ming army swept away Yongxiebu, the large pastures and remaining herdsmen here needed the help of Duoyan and Sanbu to control them.

The Gram was ecstatic about this.

Huadang said that they would need to make a decision in the future, and since the Gram Tower was attacked the year before last and the Ming Dynasty took back Tucheng, they no longer had to hesitate.

Although they don't have a formal title yet, facing the increasingly powerful Ming Dynasty a few years ago, they naturally do whatever the Ming Dynasty says.

Now, he knelt aside in fear to welcome the arrival of the Emperor of Heaven - he himself had never met the Emperor.

Zhu Houcong didn't care about the kind of ceremony that he had to attend before surrendering to foreigners and being granted a title. Strength was the foundation.

Now, Zhu Houcong stepped down from his coat.

Huang Jin put a cloak on him to keep out the cold, with Lu Bing guarding him at the side and behind, followed by Zhang Bi, Yang Bo, Zheng Xiao, Gao Gong and others.

"We sincerely welcome your majesty to Kaiping. Long live your majesty! Long live! Long live your majesty!"

The total number of Ming troops that have been gathered in this area is nearly [-], and there are many temporary camps of Ming troops on both wings that stretch dozens of miles away to help defend.

"Everyone, get up." Zhu Houcong said loudly, "It's cold, so don't make so many red tapes. Except for those who have duties, let the soldiers have a good rest. Recapture Kaiping, wipe out Yongxiebu, and the military achievements will be discussed after this battle is over. I'm here. I am here to spend the winter with the soldiers, there are still many days left, I will see you all."

The Gram Tower quietly watched the young and energetic Emperor Ming Ming, and was in awe of his power.

What kind of Ming Dynasty is today?Such a Ming Dynasty was not seen before he ascended the throne.It has been almost 12 years since he ascended the throne. The Ming Dynasty has already beaten Anda to the north, and the entire Yongxiebu has been wiped out in name only, leaving only some remnant soldiers and herdsmen who have escaped.

Now, this young emperor is the most powerful person in the world.

In order to welcome Zhu Houcong's arrival, the old capital of Yuan Dynasty, which was already in a state of ruins, was reorganized.This is both a fortress and a military stronghold of the Ming Dynasty's army, so naturally there must be stronghold walls and sentries.Even though it can't be built with stones and bricks, it is still made of good wood both inside and outside and is solidly built.

As Zhu Houcong is about to stay here to spend the severe winter, his palace must also be meticulous.

On the cleared stone platform of the Da'an Pavilion in the old Yuan Shangdu Palace City, a palace was now built. It was nearly ten feet long and wide, and it didn't look rough in appearance.

Zhu Houcong glanced at Chen Jiuchou, who understood what he meant and said immediately: "After the capture of Kaiping, in addition to the great masters accompanying the army, the main contributors were the Duoyan Tribe. Your Majesty, the Ninth Five-Year Plan, will be here for several months. I will be here for several months." Don’t dare to neglect.”

"Oh?" Zhu Houcong looked at the Gram Terrace not far behind him, "Is it the manpower provided by your Duoyan Department?"

To build such a decent palace in just a few months cost a lot of manpower, material and financial resources.

Zhu Houcong knew that his status as emperor made it impossible for them to neglect him, and he had no pretensions about sleeping and eating with ordinary generals. However, he was only worried that the Northern Expedition army would spend manpower, material and financial resources on unnecessary places.

Now I heard Gram Tai walking over and saying respectfully: "With the help of Master Wang, there will be more pastures for the three tribes of Duoyan. How can we not use the hard work of dogs and horses? The tribe has followed the instructions of the imperial envoy to worship. Practicing farming, construction and other methods is the right time to contribute to the army's master craftsmen and hone their skills."

Zhu Houcong smiled: "You are really interested. Come in and talk."

Upon entering the palace, charcoal basins for heating, imperial couches and desks, and many other items are readily available.

It had been several months since the Ming army captured this place, and all the things the emperor needed had arrived, even if they were transported slowly.

Zhu Houcong rose to his seat, and after they formally met again, he was finally the first to look at Yu Dayou.

"Zhifu, after more than five years of separation, we, the king and our ministers, are reunited here in the north of the Great Wall. Thank you for your hard work these past five years."

Zhu Houcong looked at Yu Dayou with undisguised admiration in his eyes.

Yu Dayou, who is already thirty years old, has stayed in Datong for so many years and fought in Saibei for a year. Now he is calmer and has more general momentum.

But in front of Zhu Houcong, Yu Dayou could only say sincerely: "Your Majesty is so kind to me, and I will never forget it. How can I dare to express my sorrow? It is my great fortune to gain your Majesty's trust and kill enemies for the country."

He was the first serious martial arts champion in the Jiajing Dynasty. Now, only a few years have passed, and he is already Han Haibo.

Only when the emperor gave him a chance could he express his ambition.

Zhu Houcong looked at Li Quanli again: "Where is the son of Marquis Chicheng? You brought him here and asked him to come over so I can see him."

"The minister is going!"

When it comes to calling people, where is the use of him?
But what the emperor said made Li Yuan feel more clearly: The emperor was very concerned about Li Yuan, a hero, which shows that Li Quanli made the right choice!

As for him, an old minister, his abilities are not comparable to Yu Dayou's.The emperor asked him, Li Quanli, to continue to take care of Li Yuan, so that the Xiangcheng Hou lineage could get closer to the new ministers in the future.

Guo Xun waited eagerly until the third emperor looked at him: "In the last battle against Yongxiebu, you chased him for more than 60 miles?"

"...I am being reckless."

"It's not a bad thing for a military commander to be reckless, but why did Shaohuang almost trap him?"

Guo Xun couldn't laugh or cry: "Who knew the wind direction suddenly changed..."

After Yongshebu was defeated, the original plan was to burn the grassland north of the front line to create a wide isolation zone.If the situation in Chahar changes and they really unite to attack the south without any bloodshed, then they will have to consider the problem that the horses will not be able to find so many places to graze.

When he was responsible for setting fire to the grassland, Guo Xun almost surrounded himself in the fire scene.

Now when the emperor came, he cared so much about Yu Dayou and admired Li Quanli, but he only ridiculed himself.

Zhu Houcong looked at him and smiled: "After this battle, you won't have to fight so hard in the future."

"In this life, wherever Your Majesty wants me to fight, I will fight even when I am old!" Guo Xun immediately expressed his stance, and then said, "I also want to stand in the Hall of Heroes like Marquis Chicheng in the future."

Zhu Houcong laughed out loud and just said okay.

This guy knew what he was doing and didn't say anything about wanting to accompany him in the Ancestral Temple.

It cannot be said that the emperor was in his prime.

When arriving in Kaiping, danger may still exist, but Zhu Houcong's main purpose is to maintain morale and convey determination to the frontline soldiers and the enemy.

Where the emperor is, the soldiers must at least fight tooth and nail.In such a northern place, fighting in winter, the Ming army could only exert a certain amount of effectiveness.Zhu Houcong's arrival, no matter how An Da's plan progresses, can deter him from hastily betting the future of the entire Mongolian tribe on this winter battle.

So Zhu Houcong's main job when he came here was to talk to many generals.

After this battle, the Northern Expedition Army must be the most important military force of the Ming Dynasty.

Coming here makes it easier to win over their hearts. At least the emperor is willing to come and accompany them to endure hardships.At least when the emperor comes, there is no need to worry about food, grass, and logistics.

Li Yuan was brought over by Li Quanli. Facing a young boy, how could the emperor's concern and encouragement not make him burst into tears?
When a teenager's personality is easy to change, it is not that Zhu Houcong has not heard of some of his performances in the capital, and now he is encouraging him to inherit Li Jin's glory.

While the generals of the Northern Expedition Ming Army were waiting for the emperor to receive them, fast horses kept coming here.

It seemed like they had made an appointment.

Zhu Houcong sat calmly and calmly ordered: "Read it."

"Good news from Nanyang! General Zhao Jun, the admiral of the Navy, reported that on September 23, the Navy defeated the city of Malacca, captured alive the governor Juan appointed by the Portuguese barbarians, and other seventeen barbarian officials, and conquered the city of Malacca!"

"Good news from Hetao! On November 21st, Funing Marquis Zhu Qi led his army to detect that more than 450 Taolu Haoqite and other three groups moved south to guard the king's division at the ancient ferry at the mouth of the river. He then ordered his elite cavalry to delay the captives at Fengzhou Beach. South. After fighting hard for several hours with more than [-] captives and cavalry, Zhen'anbo led [-] special warfare battalions and drove the soldiers from the west. Among the more than [-] captives in the three groups of Taolu, only [-] and [-] of their cavalry were killed in the battle, and the rest all surrendered!"

"Good news from Hetao! On November 29, Jingbian Bo captured more than 790 soldiers in Dengkou for ten days. Ningxia Governor Zhang Jing led [-] elite soldiers from three sides to move to the north of Dengkou for more than two months. Together with the special A hundred and fifty generals from the war camp attacked Dengkou and defeated the captives! The front and rear formations killed [-] and [-] captives. The enemy who fled into the river had no chance, and a total of [-] old, young, women, and children were captured alive..."

Yu Dayou, Guo Xun, Li Quanli and others listened dumbly to the success reports one after another, and then looked at the smiling but calm emperor.

The good news from Nanyang came at this time, which is normal.In late September, I crossed the ocean and first arrived in Guangdong, and then rushed it all the way to Beijing and then delivered it here. Maybe the time was just right.

But with the good news from Fengzhou Beach, there's no reason why it hasn't arrived here after more than ten days.

Only in the battle that took place at Dengkou six days ago, if the victory soldiers desperately passed the news, they could cross the entire Hetao in six days, and then run more than three hundred miles to reach Kaiping.

The emperor was afraid that he would have known about it on the way, and now he arranged such a victory to boost the morale of the Northern Expedition army.

Yu Dayou was the first to leave the table and said loudly: "Congratulations to Your Majesty! Congratulations to the Ming Dynasty! The great victory in Nanyang, all tribes surrendered! The great victory in Hetao, there will be no more captives south of Yinshan Mountain!"

It was different to have a scholar background, and the military situation in the Ming Dynasty was even more different. Chen Jiuchou's reaction was only a little slower than him.

The Gramm was shocked to hear this series of news, and then joined others in congratulating the Emperor of Heaven.

Outside, deafening cheers soon erupted one after another, and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition were excited by the news.I am envious of the great contributions made by the Hetao side, and I also understand that the chances of winning in the Northern Expedition to Khan's Court are getting bigger and bigger.

"Long live Your Majesty!"

"Da Ming Wansheng!"

Zhao Benxue, who came here with Yu Dayou, watched all this outside his barracks and couldn't help but have wet eyes.

This is no longer just the sixteen states of Yanyun, but if the Ming Dynasty takes back the Hetao, and if the Ming army has pushed the front to Kaiping at the southern end of the prairie, Northern Xinjiang will have returned completely.

But this is not the end. The most talented heroes of this generation on the grassland are still preparing to unite the power of the grassland and try for the last fight.

There must still be a decisive battle.

Either eliminate them completely or drive them away completely!

There were loud cheers in the Beizheng camp, but six days had passed, and the battle in the middle section of the Yellow River in Hetao had been going on for more than three days.

There were originally only pure cavalry on Noyendala's side, but now on the Yellow River to the west, the first batch of old, young, women and children who were frightened by the battle on the other side and rushed to their side also arrived.

The ice was not very solid, but Noyendala could not wait any longer.

He didn't know that Tang Shunzhi on the other side of the Yellow River had ordered people to use binoculars to pay attention to the movements in the east as soon as he arrived at the decisive battle, and he had judged Gunbilik's possible tactics very early.

Many cannons along the side wall of Piantou Pass have been dismantled and are being transported north.

Zhu Qi led his infantry and held the battle formation firmly.

"Boom! Keep banging me!"

When there was artillery fire in the east, pure cavalry commanded by Yan Chunsheng in the north, and Tang Shunzhi's army appeared in the west, things were actually in chaos here.

"Longevity is above..."

Gunbilik, who believed that the strength of his entire clan would be able to hold off the Ming army on the east and west wings, and believed that the cattle and sheep brought by the tribes could support the Beidu tribesmen who had gathered together to retreat to the north of Yinshan Mountain, destroyed the entire Ordos. Wanhu was brought into desperate situation.

At this moment, of the nearly [-] elite cavalry he personally led, only a small half had made it through first, and then Zhu Qi and Yan Chunsheng arrived.

Yan Chunsheng fought with their cavalry, but Zhu Qi's infantry only resisted the pressure and approached the river, bombarding and shooting at the captives in the river.

When they crossed the river to the upstream direction just west, Tang Shunzhi and Zhang Jing also arrived.

Gunbilik watched helplessly as his entire tribe collapsed and began to flee without any purpose.

Those who jumped into the river ran wildly north.

He glanced back at the more tribesmen who were still struggling in the Yellow River. There were tribesmen and cavalrymen on the south bank who were already running to the east, and then looked to the east.

Should we break through the east to join Noyendala, or should we lead the tribesmen here and go as far north as possible?

(End of this chapter)