Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 188
"Woooooo!!"

In the early morning, when the sound of Mongolian shouts sounded on the grassland, hundreds of Uliangha people were driving their cattle and sheep to graze under the Uliangha Mountain.

On the grassland, the herdsmen turned around and whipped their horses, making a crisp crackle.

The autumn wind is strong, blowing across the mountains and plains.

The grass was withered and the wood was yellow, and the desolate grassland was defeated in the face of this strong autumn wind.

Soon, under the autumn wind, the sky was filled with yellow dust and smoke from cooking fires under Wuliangha Mountain.

The sheep on the grassland are very united and like to hug together, pushing forward one after another on the yellow prairie.

The sheep twisted its neck and said "baa" several times, seeming to find a new path, but was soon driven back by the Mongolian whips and hounds.

Facing the riding whip and hounds, the sheep were frightened and could only chew the dry grass calmly under the cold whip of the wrangler.

"This pasture is getting worse and worse. If this continues, the grass will be eaten up."

"Without grass, we won't be able to raise sheep, and the Taiji people above will blame us."

On the horseback, a Mongolian in his forties sighed, while a young man in his early twenties next to him turned his horse's head and said fiercely: "The southerners have been going north to seize our pastures. If it weren't for them, we could go south. grazing."

"That's our place, they're just robbers!"

"They not only robbed our pasture, but also killed Abu (father)!"

Thinking of his murdered father, the young man covered the sun with his hands and looked at the sun through his fingers.

"One day, I will go to the south and let the southerners return our pastures."

"Sumuchi..." The Mongolian on the side wanted to say something, but the hound in front suddenly started barking crazily as if it had been stimulated.

For a time, all the Mongolians gathered together, and they looked warily at the low hills ahead.

Soon, someone's expression changed: "There is the sound of horse hooves..."

"Is Huchaer Taiji and the others coming back from the south?" Sumuchi asked, and on the low hill in front, ten soldiers riding horses and wearing armor suddenly appeared.

Seeing this, Sumuchi took the initiative to move forward without waiting for the people around him to speak.

But when he stepped forward, the soldiers suddenly took out something from their arms.

Before Kumuchi could react, an explosion suddenly sounded on the grassland.

"boom!!"

Pupils tightened, and the hairs of a bunch of elderly Mongolians stood on end. They raised their bows and arrows into the sky and shot out loud dynamite.

"Sumuchi! Come back quickly! It's Nan Bing!!"

Many people shouted anxiously to remind them, and Sumuchi was not slow to respond. He immediately turned his horse's head and retreated while blowing a wooden whistle.

The hounds began to drive the sheep back along the way. Among the hundreds of Mongolians grazing, there were also hundreds of young and strong Mongolians who took off their armor from the horses on the side.

Although it was just leather armor, it at least provided them with a sense of security.

"Old man Ulanbari, what's going on? Why did the Nan soldiers come here!"

Sumuchi, who fled back to the team, asked nervously, looking back from time to time at the dozen or so Ming soldiers on the short hill.

"I don't know. Anyway, I'll withdraw to the tribe first..."

Ulan Bage put on his leather armor and nervously looked back at the Ming army.

The Ming army stationed in Aoqiu made no move to pursue them after sending out the signal, and just looked at them like this.

This is an endless grassland. If you want to escape to a place where others can't see you, you need to run at least ten miles.

The Ming army did not rush to pursue them, but followed them leisurely.

Ulan Bari, who was a member of a hundred households, shed a cold sweat when he saw this. He knew very well that this was just Tangqi of the Ming army, and the real team was behind them.

Normally, the Ming Army's Tangqi would not be separated from the three armies for more than thirty miles. If it was a small northern patrol team burning wasteland, it would normally only be more than ten miles away.

"How did this southern army get here through the Ulianghatu City? Could it be that Uliangu Khan and the others were defeated?"

Ulan Bari was uneasy and could only grit his teeth and organize a retreat. However, the herd slowed down their pace. Half an hour later, they had only retreated eight or nine miles.

"Abandon the herd and retreat!"

Seeing the herd slowing down so much, Ulan Bage had no choice but to cut off his arm to survive.

When the Mongolians around heard this, they started to quarrel: "We still don't know how many southern soldiers are behind us. If there are not many of them and we abandon the herd, we will be demoted as slaves!"

The Mongols have a strict hierarchy. If you are demoted to a slave, you will never be able to stand up again in your life without military exploits.

"They are all here. Do you think they dare to come without an army?!"

Ulan Bari cursed back, and at this time, the dull and dense sound of horse hooves came from behind them.

Everyone looked back and saw yellow dust rising.

In the yellow dust, there are hundreds of Ming soldiers wearing bright armor as far as the eye can see, not to mention places that cannot be seen.

"withdraw!!"

At this moment, without Ulan Bari's reminder, everyone waved their riding whips and sped to the west to escape.

The Ming army pursued them closely, stopping only for a moment when passing by the herds.

"The horse infantry stays behind as the herdsmen! The rest continue to pursue!"

During the chase, Zhu Gaoxu, who was wearing armor, commanded with a gun, while Zhang Chun and Lin Su beside him successively slowed down their horses.

At this time, the Bohai Navy cavalry and the horse infantry behind them had fallen hundreds of steps away. The horse infantry riding draft horses could not keep up with the cavalry riding military horses.

Only by keeping them as pastors can the benefits of this battle be maximized.

"Chase!"

Shaking the reins, Zhu Gaoxu led two thousand cavalrymen to bite tightly behind Ulan Bage and others.

Fat and strong military horses can often easily catch up with Mongolian horses at such times.

Without Zhu Gaoxu's orders, the two thousand cavalrymen divided into hundreds of cavalrymen, one on the left and one on the right.

Soon, the Ulan Bage group had to slow down because of their thin horses, and were surrounded by the Ming army in less than an hour.

They were surrounded, and the Bohai Navy gradually narrowed the circle around them.

"Old man Ulan Bari..."

Sumuchi felt fear, and he put his hope in Ulan Baz, but Ulan Baz was powerless at the moment.

Having been on the battlefield, he knew very well that soldiers wearing bright armor were the elite of all forces, but now they were surrounded by two thousand or so bright armor cavalry, and they were unable to break through with their strength.

Whether it's horses, weapons, or armor, the gap between them is too big.

"Do you want any prisoners?"

Fu Rang, who was stationed outside the encirclement, asked Zhu Gaoxu on the side. Although Zhu Gaoxu's face was calm, he was also beating a drum in his heart.

Should he capture this group of people?
Although he had already done some psychological preparation when he came, when he could decide hundreds of lives with one sentence, Zhu Gaoxu still hesitated for a moment.

He glanced at the hundreds of Mongolians who were surrounded and looked frightened. Among them were many underage children, some fourteen or fifteen years old, and some only eleven or twelve years old.

At this age, if he were in Jilin City, he would probably still be studying in school.

"Take prisoners..."

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu didn't speak for a long time, Fu Rang seemed to have guessed what he was thinking and tentatively gave the answer.

But facing his words, Zhu Gaoxu took a deep breath, turned the horse's head and ordered with a cold face: "Leave no one behind!"

His words stunned Fu Rang for a moment, but soon Fu Rang nodded, rode forward, and pulled out the long knife:

"Fire your arrows and avoid the horses!"

When he blurted out, several officials from hundreds of households who were following him picked up their wooden whistles and blew the whistles, while the soldiers of the Bohai Navy also unfurled their bows and nocked arrows, and started firing arrows at a distance of less than fifty steps.

"Ugh!!"

"Fight!!"

The besieged Ulan Bage and the rest began to fight back, but their counterattack seemed so weak in the face of the Bohai Navy, which was several times their number.

Zhu Gaoxu heard the sound of the wooden whistle, but he did not look back. Instead, he calmly rode back to the captured herd.

"Your Highness!"

A quarter of an hour later, seeing Zhu Gaoxu coming back alone, Lin Su quickly led his men on horseback and complained: "Your Highness, you must at least come back with a guard. This person, if..."

Lin Su's rambling distracted Zhu Gaoxu's attention. He chuckled and nodded: "Can you tell how many cattle and sheep there are in the herd?"

"No less than a hundred cattle and three thousand sheep!"

Lin Su's mouth almost watered when he mentioned the seizure. When Zhu Gaoxu saw this, he quickly ordered: "Kill two hundred of them. Brothers have been tired during this period. Eat better today."

"What about the rest?" Lin Su looked back at the herd that was slowing down the march.

Faced with this problem, Zhu Gaoxu said easily: "Send the cattle to the east and let the boats take them south. The sheep will be left behind and handed over to the hundreds of good herding hands in the army to slowly follow the army behind them."

Zhu Gaoxu wanted to sweep the Wuliang Hashan Mountain. After the sweep was completed, he would lead his troops southward, so that there would be no enemies behind him and the soldiers could graze in peace.

As for Haragu, he probably still doesn't know that he has detoured to Wuliangha Mountain. He is probably still busy mobilizing troops and horses to protect the retreat of his troops in the south.

"This is still forty miles away from Wuliang Hashan Mountain. It's already very close. Let me tell you brothers that smokeless stoves must comply with standards."

"Yes!"

Zhu Gaoxu explained everything to Lin Su, and after completing the explanation, he returned to the herd.

They dismounted and sat down, watching the soldiers pull out more than a hundred sheep from the herd, then boil water and slaughter them.

After about two quarters of an hour, the sound of horse hooves began to appear in the western sky. Fu asked them to deal with the hundreds of Mongolians and return.He came looking for Zhu Gaoxu on horseback. When Zhu Gaoxu saw him, he just asked plainly: "Have all the corpses been taken care of?"

"They are all buried. This place is too empty. Burning it will cause Hulu to notice." Fu Rang dismounted and said to Zhu Gaoxu:

"When I came here, I saw the excrement of these Hu soldiers grazing. If you look for the excrement, you can directly find their grazing land."

Using feces to search for traces of enemies is a common method of searching for enemies in this era.

It is not easy to do the finishing work well. Not to mention the nomads, even the Han generals may not be able to do it well.

The more famous one should be Li Guang of the Western Han Dynasty.

Li Guang of the Western Han Dynasty never restricted the convenience of his soldiers when he was marching, so his soldiers often immediately moved not far from the team when they felt uncomfortable.

This not only made the road full of shit and urine, but also made it very convenient for the Huns to search for his traces.

Officials in the Western Han Dynasty were very dissatisfied with Li Guang's barbaric behavior and often impeached Li Guang.

Even though Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty issued three orders, Li Guang still could not restrain his troops, which made Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty very angry.

Even Sima Qian, who favored Li Guang, could not cover up the record of this matter, but tried his best to whitewash it.

For example, in "Historical Records", Sima Qian wrote to Li Guang when he led his troops: "If there is no troops to march, we should be good at water and grassland, and we should stop. Everyone does what he wants, and does not fight with swords for self-defense." Things, but they are also scouts from afar."

It can be seen from the article that Sima Qian was very dissatisfied with the lack of strict discipline in Li Guang's army. One of them was that everyone was free to defecate, which shows that Li Guang's army was very casual about defecation.

Even in the Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties, it was not uncommon for generals to be unable to restrain their soldiers.

Zhu Gaoxu formulated many rules for the Bohai Navy's march, so many that it would take several days for ordinary people to memorize them.

Almost every one of these regulations has been implemented.

Because of this, Zhu Gaoxu and the others were not found anywhere along the way.

Now that the Mongols have left traces of their march, Zhu Gaoxu and the others can follow their lead.

"Send someone to explore there and see how many Hu soldiers and tribesmen are stationed in Wuliangha Mountain."

"If there are not many barbarian soldiers, we can fumble over there at night and surround them so that we can have a good night's sleep."

After learning such good news, Zhu Gaoxu naturally would not sit idly by and wait for the traces to be worn away by time.

In response to his words, Fu Rang nodded: "I have already been searched for, and I think I should be able to come back before dark."

"Okay!" Zhu Gaoxu nodded.

He was still very relieved when Fu Rang was doing things, which can be seen from the construction of Andong City and Zhaozhou City.

Half an hour after the two of them finished talking about this, the aroma of mutton began to float in the air.

After lining up, the soldiers of the Bohai Navy who went on this expedition finally had a good meal.

Although Modong in this era was depleted of water and grass due to excessive grazing by the Mongols, [-] sheep could still satisfy three pounds of mutton per person.

Soon, everyone was immersed in the fragrant aroma of meat. Even though the mutton didn't have any seasoning other than salt crystals, everyone still devoured it.

"kill!!"

"Sorry!"

As Zhu Gaoxu said, Haragu has indeed gathered troops and horses, and has already fought against Zhu Quan.

At the foot of Checheer Mountain, on the grassland, three thousand Ming army cavalry and tens of thousands of Mongolian cavalry fired arrows at each other. The soldiers who accidentally separated from the team immediately grabbed their long soldiers and fought with the surrounding Hu soldiers.

The two sides charged, and when they were more than ten steps away from each other, they drew their bows and nocked arrows, aiming at the head and firing arrows.

Some were unlucky and fell down with arrows, or were taken away from the battlefield by war horses.

Some are lucky and never get hit by an arrow even though they face each other several times.

In such a face-to-face battle, Zhu Quan seemed very cautious. Even if his own side had the advantage in hand-to-hand combat, he would not let the army form a formation and rush into the Uliangha formation. Instead, he chose to use cavalry and shooting to kill Hara bit by bit. The lives of Wu’s cavalry.

Facts have proved that his decision was a good one, because Haragu was not in the army at the moment, but was leading three thousand Zhajia cavalry waiting for a breakthrough in a col of Checher Mountain.

"It's a pity that my armor was defeated by that madman Zhu Di, otherwise it would be the turn of this little kid Zhu Quan to show off his power in front of me!"

Listening to the news coming back from the front line, Haragu, who was sitting on the horse, was very angry.

In the past, Zhu Quan did not dare to go deep alone. Now that he had obtained the military horses allocated by the Ming court, he dared to come to his territory to show off his power.

In the past, Haragu could have used all his strength to lead [-] elites in armor to fight against Zhu Quan.

But since the disastrous defeat in Jilin last year, there are only less than [-] armored soldiers left in the tribe, and they are still scattered in the hands of various tribes.

When he learned about Zhu Quan's provocation, he could only hurriedly notify his troops to go north, while he led his own [-] armored soldiers to go south.

His original intention was to use the tens of thousands of light cavalry in front to attract Zhu Quan to go north, and then go out of Cheche'er Mountain himself to cut off Zhu Quan's supplies from the rear.

It's just that Zhu Quan has learned a lesson from Zhu Di. No matter how they fight, no matter how great the results are, they will never abandon the civilians and pursue them easily. This makes Harawu very weak.

"If we continue like this, not many of his three thousand armored soldiers will die, but a lot of men on our side will die."

When a familiar voice sounded, the figure of Tolu Huchaer also appeared next to Haragu.

At present, he is still sitting next to Haragu and can offer opinions. It can be seen that his casualties in the Battle of Jilin were not large. On the contrary, Haisanan Daxi and Azashili did not say a word, and his status declined. Many, obviously traumatized.

Not only the two of them, but many small tribes of Taiji have also become much more honest, and the reason for their honesty is that they bear most of the casualties of Jilin's fiasco.

Although Haragu also lost many armored cavalry and soldiers, he had the support of Beiyuan in his early years, and his family background was much stronger than others, so he could withstand several more disastrous defeats in Jilin.

But it is one thing whether he can bear it, and another thing whether he can bear it.

Zhu Quan had looted and slaughtered many small tribes and herding Uliangha people in the south these days, and the losses to all tribes were considerable.

Now he has reached the south of Cheche'er Mountain, and three hundred miles further north is Wulianghatu City.

The fields over Wulianghatu City have not yet harvested grain. If Zhu Quan ran there, the tribes would not be able to have a good winter this year.

Because of this, Haragu became unable to sit still after being reminded by Tolu Huchaer.

"Pass my order to send out troops and drive these southern soldiers back to the south!"

Haragu gave an order, and the three thousand armored soldiers hidden in the mountain col began to mount their horses, walked out of the mountain col in an orderly manner, and galloped toward the southeast.

In just two-quarters of an hour, Haragu arrived at the battlefield with [-] armored soldiers, and at first sight saw many Mongolian corpses lying on the ground.

The anger did not go to his head. He ordered Azashili and Tolu Huchaer to each lead a thousand cavalry, one after another, to encircle Zhu Quan's headquarters, while he led the troops to cut off Zhu Quan and the people. their contact.

"Beep!!"

"Your Highness, Hu soldiers are coming from the northwest. They all look like armored soldiers. We should withdraw!"

Among the chaotic troops, Liu Zhen, who had been observing his surroundings, grabbed Sovereignty who was about to turn back and faced him, and motioned him to look northwest.

Zhu Quan followed Zhu Di on many northern tours, so he was certainly not a reckless man.

Seeing Wu Liangha's armored soldiers coming, he did not hesitate at all and immediately ordered: "Withdraw!"

"Clang clang!!"

With the sound of gold ringing, and relayed by more than ten Tangqi soldiers from the Chinese army, the news of the retreat began to spread among the Ming army.

They followed Zhu Quan's Wang Shu and began to retreat southward, while Haragu also reined in the reins and raised his hand to stop the advance of the soldiers behind him.

"General, aren't we going to pursue him?"

A Qianhu didn't understand and asked, but Haragu calmly said: "If Zhu Quan dares to go so deep this time, he must have helpers to help."

"Although Zhu Di went to Kaipingwei, Daning's troops cannot be underestimated."

"There is no need to pursue them. Let's escort the herd north first. If Zhu Quan still dares to pursue them, we will return with troops to repel him."

After all, Haragu was shadowed by last year's disastrous defeat in Jilin. Now he does not dare to attack with all his strength like he attacked Jixibao, but takes one step at a time.

His subconscious mind told him that Zhu Quan must be deceitful if he dared to go deep, otherwise he would not have come to provoke him with three thousand cavalry.

Haragu turned his horse's head and did not want to defeat Zhu Quan.

As for the lost cattle and sheep, he was unable to get them back...

When he was thinking this, Zhu Quan also led his troops to retreat for more than ten miles to the south. It was not until Haragu and other cavalry could no longer be seen that he raised his hand and ordered the three armies to stop.

Turning the horse's head, he looked at the hilly grassland behind him from a distance. Liu Zhen on the side also turned the horse's head and came to him:

"If this group of Hu soldiers were placed on the northern patrol led by King Yan of Sandusi Cavalry, they would run faster than rabbits."

"Now that we see that there are only 3000 of us, we dare to chase us."

Zhu Quan nodded, and at the same time took out the Bohai Navy's marching formation chart and looked at it: "Calculating the time, Gao Xu should soon arrive at the south of Wuliangha Mountain."

"With Haragu leading three thousand soldiers here, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to expand our results."

"How many cattle, sheep and horses did we find during our trip north?"

He asked Liu Zhen, and Liu Zhen replied without hesitation: "There are about a thousand horses, no less than [-] oxen, and the largest flock, about [-]."

"It's not too small." Zhu Quan nodded, but still regretted: "It's just much less than originally expected."

"No way." Liu Zhen also sighed: "No one would have known that Naharawu could actually gather three thousand armored soldiers to go south in such a short period of time. Our capture this time is not big, but His Highness the King of Bohai may have to Returned with a full load.”

Zhu Quan and Liu Zhen knew very well that at least one-third of the armored soldiers of the Uuliangha tribes were here, and the remaining two-thirds were still distributed in the vast grasslands.

Now Halagu, who is the backbone of Wuliangha, is in the south. There are no big leaders and Taiji in the north. Once Zhu Gaoxu sweeps from north to south, when Halawu reacts, Zhu Gaoxu and his people may be gone.

Thinking of this, Zhu Quan couldn't help laughing, causing Liu Zhen next to him to wonder: "Why are you laughing, Your Highness?"

"I..." Zhu Quan paused, then smiled and said: "I was wondering if Gao Xu knew that there were many Hu soldiers in the south, so he deliberately took a detour to the north."

"This time, we have turned our main attack into a secondary attack."

Zhu Quan looked to the north and said with some regret: "I wonder how many cattle and sheep Gao Xu can capture this time..."

(End of this chapter)