The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

The battlefield on the banks of the Suosuo River has become a veritable meat grinder.

The Tatars were responsible for attacking, while the Ming Dynasty was responsible for defending.

The attack was vigorous and powerful, with one hundred thousand soldiers attacking three thousand. According to any battlefield logic, in this kind of outdoor attack, the side with more soldiers will have an absolute advantage. In fact, it has been proved that they can indeed create an absolute advantage in momentum.

But unfortunately, they couldn't attack the river bank.

Initially, it was the Tatar troops of 60,000 to 70,000 on the east side that were attacking. As the war progressed, even the 20,000 to 30,000 Tatar troops on the west bank of the river had to cross the river to attack the Ming troops on the other side of the river.

Perhaps in the eyes of the Tatars, it would be difficult to block the Ming army with its excellent firearms on one side. If they could open up a war in another direction, they would surely be able to encircle the Ming army like wrapping dumplings in a pincer attack and achieve final victory.

However, when the Tatars on the west bank of the river crossed the ice and were about to reach the river bank, they found that the Ming Dynasty's firearms could be easily turned around and blocked them on the ice.

As the battlefields on both sides opened at the same time, the Tatar casualties increased.

It seemed that every blink of an eye could kill countless Tatars.

"Khan, this... cannot be taken down." Batu Mongke stood in a relatively high place, watching everything happening on the battlefield.

The flames over there projected up to the sky, and even the ice was on fire. The Tatars fought one after another, and some even set themselves on fire, hoping to use their bodies to rush into the Ming army and use the fire on their bodies to break through the situation on the battlefield.

The Tatars fired a lot of rockets at the Ming camp, but because there was no accelerant or firewood on the river bank, these rockets only knocked down some Ming soldiers. But then more soldiers took up their weapons and continued to fight the Tatars to the death.

Under such circumstances, even though the soldiers of the Ming army had almost never been on the battlefield, they were fighting a desperate battle with no way of retreat.

In other defensive battles, the strategy of siege was used, but in this battle, there was not even a chance to escape. Originally, there was ice on the river for the Ming soldiers to escape, but as the Tatars attacked from the west bank of the river, even this retreat was gone.

Batu Mongke looked at the tragic scene below, which was the most tragic scene he had ever seen in his life.

"Report! The Ming Dynasty troops in the north are approaching us!"

"Report! The Ming Dynasty's Southern Army is advancing with cavalry and attacking our left wing!"

"Report! The Gel League cavalry fled south..."

"Report..."

Batu Mongke received a lot of bad news one after another.

It was obvious that his side had an absolute advantage on the battlefield, with the number of soldiers having reached a terrifying fifty-to-one ratio, but he just couldn't break through the Ming Dynasty's front line. Seeing the soldiers dying in this huge meat grinder, his heart was bleeding, but those marginal tribes would not give him any face.

Seeing that they were no match for their opponent, those small tribes had already started to flee.

Everyone wants to preserve their strength and no one wants to lose their lives here. After all, the hundreds of thousands of troops stationed here can be said to be the last strength of the Tatars.

Batu Mongke said sternly: "Those who withdraw from the battlefield will be killed without mercy! They have never thought that their cattle, sheep and livestock, their children and tribesmen are all here. How can they retreat? Are they ready to give up everything?"

In Batu Mongke's view, there is no way out of this battle.

The cavalry could run away on horseback, and it seemed that the Ming army could not catch up with them. Even if they could, they could not annihilate them all.

But their tribesmen and all their assets are gathered around them. This is the basis for their future survival. Only with these conditions for a comeback will they have the opportunity to deal with the Central Plains dynasty in the future.

If we withdraw from the battlefield now, it will mean that except for some young and middle-aged people who will escape, the rest of the tribesmen will basically be massacred or captured by the Ming Dynasty.

This put Huoshai in a dilemma... The reason why Huoshai surrendered to the Ming Dynasty was because his people were captured by the Ming Dynasty. Fortunately, the Ming emperor kept his word and returned these people and cattle and sheep to Huoshai.

Since then, Huoshai has completely parted ways with the grassland tribe. He did not participate in this war at all and continued to live a small life on his own ranch in the west.

Batu Mongke raised his sword, which was a scimitar, and shouted loudly: "The most courageous grassland eagles will devour your prey. Whoever withdraws from the battlefield will be unacceptable to the grassland! There is no retreat in this battle! Only by winning can the grassland have a future, and your children will not be driven away and defiled by the Ming Dynasty people! Charge!"

These words seemed to be referring to the scene when they once trampled on the Central Plains dynasty.

But now it's their turn to bear it all.

……

……

It was a night battle, and it became as bright as day later.

The dilemma surrounding Tang Yin was resolved without a fight.

Because no matter which group of Tatar troops they came from, they all focused their attention on Zhang Zhou's 3,000 troops in the south... Before, the Tatars had suffered a lot at the hands of Tang Yin's troops, but now they seemed to have forgotten the pain.

Because during this period of time, the remnants of Tang Yin's army did not cause them any pain, so they seemed to have forgotten that Tang Yin actually still had a remnant army of nearly 5,000 soldiers.

When Tang Yin reorganized his soldiers overnight, he didn't even care about the tents in the camp. He led his soldiers on foot, crossed a distance of more than ten miles, returned to the river valley they once occupied, and climbed to the top of the mountain. More than 4,000 soldiers and horses overlooked the battlefield.

The scene before their eyes became a heroic and tragic scene that these Ming Dynasty soldiers would never forget.

There were fires everywhere on the river bank, and the black masses of Tatar cavalry were rushing towards the river bank like a tide. Even on the west bank of the river, a large number of Tatars were crossing the river. However, the firearms of the Ming army seemed to be assisted by God. It seemed that there were only a few people guarding a small position, but the Tatars on all sides of them would fall down hundreds of steps away, and none of them could enter their position.

Some of the Ming soldiers were driving something that looked like a cannon. The base of the cannon could rotate and be aimed in different directions. As long as someone came, they could fire continuously.

The firing of fire bombs was also continuous, and the sound of "thu thu thu" had already become muffled when it reached this side. In addition to the smell of blood, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and the shouts of the Tatars.

The Ming army also used something that looked like a fire gun, which they would raise and fire at the opposite side. After each shot, they would almost have to change the bullets, but they could change the bullets in a very short time, and then aim and shoot again...

This kind of combat method of machine gunners cooperating with musketeers was something the Ming Dynasty soldiers present had never seen before.

Ma Yi rode up to Tang Yin and asked, "Sir, what should we do?"

There were less than ten horses left in the army, and the rest were slaughtered by them.

When the soldiers came out, the first thing they thought about was not to fight, but to find water. After so many days of suffering, the group finally seemed to have escaped, but there seemed to be a bigger war waiting for them.

Tang Yin said: "We must cut off the Tatars' retreat!"

"How do we cut it off?" Xu Jing asked, "We don't even have any cavalry left, and our fire bombs are almost all used up. The soldiers are exhausted. If we charge forward like this, don't you think we are just being used as dumpling fillings?" Zhang Rui pointed to the battlefield on the west bank and said, "Those Tatars are charging forward. Let's cut off their retreat and then break the ice. We still have some gunpowder."

Tang Yin said, "Let's do it! If reinforcements arrive and we do nothing, what's the difference between that and waiting to die? Pass the word down, the opportunity to make achievements has come. Tonight is the grand event to witness the demise of the grassland tribes. We don't want to be spectators, we want to be participants."

Although these words sound empty, they still have a strong effect in boosting the morale of the soldiers.

After so many days of waiting, I finally survived, and I can also get a great bargain. After returning, I will be rewarded according to my merits and live a life of luxury from now on...

Thinking of this, it seems that everything I have done before is worth it.

"Kill!" Tang Yin finally raised his own sword.

In Tang Yin's view, this was the time when he was loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and it was also the most meaningful day in his life in the past thirty years.

……

……

The night is long.

With their bravery, the Tatars managed to break into a frontier position of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming soldiers were still making a final resistance with their muskets and Gatling guns.

But what followed was an influx of more Tatar troops.

Fortunately, the Ming army could form support in different channels. With a loud "bang", the wooden fences on both sides did not blow up, and reinforcements came from both sides. They slaughtered the Tatars who rushed to the Ming army's riverside camp and drove them out of the front line.

There are enough machine guns here, but the number of musketeers suffered heavy casualties, which is also related to the improved accuracy of the Tatars' powerful crossbows.

In order to capture the riverside position, the Tatars even used catapults, which they had rarely used before, which was why this position was almost lost. However, with the arrival of musketeers and a round of long-range attacks from blasting cannons, the Tatar offensive was suppressed once again.

What followed was a counterattack by the Ming Dynasty troops.

Gatling's machine gun began to advance slowly, using musketeers as cover, advancing about fifty steps. These fifty steps also determined the victory of the battle.

Under their feet were the corpses of Tatars, the sound of explosions continued, and every soldier was almost unable to communicate with words because in such a chaotic battlefield, they could no longer hear what the people around them were saying.

All actions are directed by command flags.

Many soldiers were going to the battlefield for the first time, and their legs would become weak when they saw such a tragic scene, but fortunately, the killers were their own people, and the victims were the enemy.

This gave them immense courage, allowing them to carry their weapons and continue to charge forward...

……

……

The battle started near midnight and lasted for more than two hours. It was almost dawn and many Tatar tribes had fled the battlefield.

Although Batu Mongke had issued a strict order not to allow retreat, at this critical moment of life and death, no one listened to the order of the Khan.

Although Batu Mongke also sent people to serve as law enforcement teams and killed some tribes on the spot, and some tribal leaders were also killed, more tribes chose to leave the battlefield... There was still a glimmer of hope if they escaped. At worst, they would surrender to the Ming Dynasty and accept the Ming Dynasty's canonization and dispatch, or even naturalize them and settle them in other places. Some people would even be killed...

But at least, the Ming Dynasty court would leave some blood for their tribes so that they would not be wiped out.

But the battle at the Suosuo River is going to be a matter of life and death for as many as possible.

Batu Mongke personally led his troops to charge, but he had no chance to reach the river bank. After several charges, even Batu Mongke had to temporarily leave the river bank under the escort of the loyal generals around him.

At this time, Batu Mongke was covered in blood, and many of the guards around him were already injured because of the powerful attack power of the Gatling gun, coupled with the indiscriminate attack. Even though these guards were wearing armor, they were still penetrated. They had no time to heal their wounds, and many of them had been hit in vital parts and were just waiting to die.

"Sweaty..."

Every general or soldier that Batu Mongke saw had a look of great unwillingness in their eyes.

We can clearly see the Ming Dynasty camp right there, and there are clearly only a few Ming Dynasty soldiers guarding it. It is clear that as long as we rush up, we can occupy the camp, end the war, and win a great victory.

It’s so close…

But that distance of one hundred steps was like an insurmountable chasm that could not be crossed.

"The Ming Dynasty cavalry is coming! The Northern Army is also coming this way. They are blocking our rear troops on the west bank. Some of our rear troops have surrendered to them directly!"

"It's the army of the Ming Dynasty..."

The place where Batu Mongke was located was already the core area of ​​the Tatar troops, but at this time the mobile cavalry sent by Zhang Zhou had already attacked.

Batu Mongke looked up at the sky. There seemed to be red clouds floating in the air, but he knew that it was the thick smoke of the night reflecting the fire on the river bank. The mottled color was as bloody and sad, and it made him feel despair for the first time.

"How many soldiers do we have left?" Batu Mongke grabbed Bals and asked.

Bars said: "Father Khan, my second brother has already escaped with his men."

At this moment, Batu Mongke knew that his situation was hopeless.

Failure on the battlefield is not terrible. In his opinion, any failure can be followed by a comeback.

But once the people under his command become disloyal, and everyone seeks his own way of living and future, and even his most trusted son betrays him, then there is only one way out, which is death.

"boom!"

Suddenly, a shrapnel bomb exploded not far from Batu Mongke, and more than a dozen soldiers were blown away or killed, and those who were alive were wailing in pain.

Batu Mongke said: "Evacuate the river bank, pass the order down... withdraw to the east, gather the troops, and then plan for a chance to fight."

It seemed that it would be of no avail for him to give further orders at this time.

Because his Khan's orders could not be spread too far, each army had its own command system, and this command system had lost its connection in such a chaotic situation. He could only mobilize dozens or even hundreds of people, and even his personal guards might not be able to follow his orders. (End of this chapter)