Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 568 Hu Ge from All Sides
"Xilulu!!"

In the gorge, as thousands of cavalrymen rushed forward, the Jilin guards in the trenches did not panic, but calmly held up their flintlock rifles, waiting for military orders to be given.

"put!"

"Crack, crackle -"

Smoke rose as hundreds of lead bullets were fired, knocking down nearly a hundred charging cavalrymen.

They fell down with their horses, and many prepared Western Tartar cavalry jumped up, jumped over the fallen cavalry and continued to charge forward.

However, compared to the speed at which they charged forward, the speed of the Jilin Guards' volley guns was faster.

"Crack, crackle -"

Round after round, facing the cavalry rushing in from the narrow gorge, the Jilin Guards remained calm and kept killing the Western Tartar cavalry who tried to charge.

Seeing this, Yu Nusi, who was in the rear, stopped staying and waved his hand, saying, "All troops, advance!"

With his order, more than 14,000 cavalrymen launched a charge.

Even though the gorge was not wide enough for all the cavalry to charge, it was impossible for the more than 4,000 Ming troops to block the entire gorge with their flesh and blood.

As long as they could find a gap, they would still have a chance to escape into the river.

"rush!"

"kill!!"

"Crack, crackle -"

The shouts and cries of killing shook the gorge, and the sound of the Ming army's volleys of gunfire seemed slightly weaker.

"Don't fight too long, go back to the second trench!"

Chen Mao gave the order calmly, and more than a thousand soldiers of Jilin Guard on the front line began to fight and retreat along the trenches.

The camp was two miles deep, with a trench every two hundred steps, a total of four trenches. Behind the trenches was a rammed earth wall to defend against Lou Zengmu in the north.

If necessary, this rammed earth wall can also be used to stop Yunusi's army from advancing northward.

"Crack, crackle -"

The sound of volleys of gunfire was incessant, but even so, the Western Tartar cavalry under Yunusi still forced them to retreat through three trenches.

The number of Western Tartars did not decrease, and Chen Mao on the Ming army side had a solemn expression.

Obviously, this group of Western barbarians knew that if they could not break through the gorge in time, they would all die here.

It is better to survive a nine-death situation than to die ten-death situation, so they can show such courage.

"Master, if this continues, the last trench will be lost."

Guo Deng bowed anxiously, and Chen Mao nodded and said, "Ignite the explosives!"

"Yes!" Guo Deng immediately agreed, and then began to order people to ignite the hidden fire wire.

The Western Tartar cavalry was still charging, and men kept falling down on the road of volleys of gunfire, but more and more people kept approaching.

As time passed, the last trench was about to be occupied, when the cliffs on both sides of the gorge suddenly exploded.

"boom--"

"Xilulu!"

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way..."

Countless fallen rocks and collapsed soil rolled down, and many cavalrymen were caught off guard and swallowed up.

For a moment, the Western Tartar army was divided into two parts, front and back, by the collapsed soil.

Without any military orders, all the soldiers of Jilin Guard climbed out of the trenches, lined up in lines and began to fire continuously.

The more than a thousand cavalrymen who were blocked in front of the formation seemed so powerless in the face of the attack of thousands of Jilin guards. Without suffering too many casualties, these more than a thousand Hu cavalrymen were all wiped out.

"Retreat and reinforce the rammed earth wall!"

Chen Mao knew that such a small amount of soil and fallen rocks could not stop the Hu cavalry, so he hurried to reinforce the last layer of rammed earth wall.

He took out his pocket watch and looked at it. It was already afternoon and it would be difficult to hold out until night. However, with the help of the rammed earth walls and the fallen rocks and mud that blocked the Hu cavalry's Tegel carts, it was not impossible for them to complete the task.

"Move the dirt and rocks away!"

Yunusi was about to completely occupy the trenches dug by the Ming army when he was suddenly attacked. This made him feel uncomfortable and he immediately gave orders.

In the previous battle, he had seen a rammed earth wall behind the Ming army, which meant that he had to use the Tegel car.

If the road is not cleared, they can't use the Tegel vehicle.

While they were thinking, tens of thousands of people began to clear the fallen earth and rocks.

Although the gorge was separated from the river, the two sides of the river were still relatively wide. In fact, the falling earth and rocks did not cause too many casualties, but only interrupted their offensive rhythm.

In just a quarter of an hour, the mud and fallen rocks that were blocking their way were cleared away, and the Tegel car was pushed forward.

At this moment, the Ming army had retreated behind the rammed earth wall, and Zhu Qiyue had just repelled the 7,000 troops of Zhagahe, the general of Lou Zengmu.

Faced with the Ming army's carbines and spears, those herdsmen without armor were undoubtedly cannon fodder.

However, after hundreds of them were shot dead, they turned their horses around and began to flee.

Zhu Qiyue seized the opportunity and led the cavalry to chase Zhagahe's more than 2,000 elite soldiers. After chasing for more than ten miles, he frightened Zhagahe and made him retreat more than twenty miles.

When Zhu Qiyue returned after repelling Zhagahe, he saw that his own side had retreated to the last line of defense at the gorge, and he couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

A large amount of gunpowder was consumed in detonating the cliff. At this time, there was not much gunpowder left for the Ming army, and each person had only five basic rounds of ammunition at most.

Each cardinal number is twelve, and five cardinal numbers are sixty.

Chen Mao listened to the reports from his subordinates. Although he remained calm on the surface, no one knew what he was thinking in his heart...

"Uuuuuu——"

"Master, the Western invaders are coming again!"

Guo Deng bowed and saluted, and Chen Mao stood up from the ground and drew out the goose-feather knife from his waist.

"Hit me!"

"Crack, crackle -"

Soon after the horn sounded, the Western Tartars used the same old trick of using Tegel carts as cover to advance. The Ming army still used tactics such as hitting people's feet or hitting wheels to fight the Western Tartars.

Although the accuracy of the flintlock is not as good as that of the rifled rifle, if dozens of people concentrate on attacking the wheel, there is still a high chance that the wooden wheel can be destroyed.

The continuous gunpowder smoke dyed people's faces black. Although the Jilin Guards had not participated in the war for more than ten years, they were the best selected from various armies after all. They did not show any cowardice, but just obeyed orders calmly.

They took the guns and fired skillfully, and after shooting, they turned around and handed the rifle to their comrades behind them, and took another rifle loaded with ammunition and pulled the trigger.

Behind a soldier who pulled the trigger were two or three comrades who loaded ammunition for him, allowing the Ming army to fire ten or even twelve rounds of volleys continuously in one minute.

Many Teger carts had their wheels destroyed and could not move. Some of them broke through the flintlock barrage, but as long as they revealed a gap, the Ming army would shoot from angles other than the front and kill anyone who tried to push the carts.

Time passed little by little. It was only a distance of 200 steps, but they fought for two hours.

The intensity of the attack caused the Ming army to consume ammunition much faster than they had expected.

As the sun set, seeing that his own morale was low, Yunusi had no choice but to order his troops to withdraw and rest.

They placed the Teger chariots on the north side of the gorge to prevent the Ming army from attacking them at night.

As for the south, they were confident that the main force of the Ming army had not yet broken through the city of Turpan, so they did not set up defenses.

After returning to the big tent, Yunusi took off his helmet and hit the chair hard with the whip.

The noble who followed him in spread his hands and said, "We have taken away two layers of their layout in two days. At most, we can take down the last layer of rammed earth wall tomorrow. There is no need for you to blame yourself."

"Blam yourself?" Yu Nusi looked at him suspiciously and said contemptuously, "I'm just angry that after so much time, Yesenbuhua hasn't sent me any news yet."

"He should bring his troops to support me and help me open up the gorge!"

"Defending Turpan is a dead end, and going to southern Xinjiang is even more dead end!"

Yunusi had his own thoughts. If Yesen didn't care about southern Xinjiang and chose to escape with him, then his main territory would be in the north, while his territory would be in the south.

The further north you go, the stronger you become and the weaker he becomes.

In this way, when they retreat back to Yilibali, Yesenbuhua will naturally not have the strength to compete with him.

Thinking of this, Yunusi picked up the water bag and took a big sip, revealing a sense of satisfaction.

At the same time, when the Western Tartars chose to call off their troops, the Ming army also counted those who were still able to fight.

"Twenty-seven people were killed in the battle, one hundred and seventy-six were seriously injured, and five hundred and seventy-five were slightly injured. Including the slightly injured, there are still 4,797 people who can fight!"

"As for the Western Tartars, there were more than 1,500 bodies left in the north in the past three days. There are probably more in the south, but they took the bodies away. We can't get the results, but if we think about it carefully, there should be no less than 3,000 casualties."

Guo Deng reported the situation of both sides. Chen Mao, who was sitting on the ground, looked at the campfire in front of him and listened to everything. Then he sighed and said:
"Tomorrow is only the third day. We still need to hold on for at least three more days."

"Yes!" Guo Deng did not raise any questions, but just nodded in agreement.

Seeing him like this, Chen Mao didn't say much, but just waited quietly for time to pass.

But compared to them, some people are in a more embarrassed situation now.

Starting from the afternoon, the main force of the Ming army began to advance towards the entrance of Mohecheng Gorge.

Yesenbuhua and Bukabek were driven towards the entrance of Mohecheng Gorge by Zhu Yong and Mao Zhong, and had no chance to escape to the south.

Now, they can only pray that Yunusi has broken through the Mohe City Gorge, otherwise more than 30,000 people from the three tribes will probably be buried at the Mohe City Gorge...

Because of this, they rushed to the entrance of Mohe City Gorge day and night. Many horses died of exhaustion along the way, and many people fell behind.

Most of these people who fell behind surrendered directly to the Ming army.

In other words, ever since Yesenbuhua failed to break out by force, his troops had already begun thinking about how to surrender.

Their families were in southern Xinjiang, but they left their families behind to flee to northern Xinjiang, and even had to flee across the river.

Instead of fleeing to the river, it is better to surrender directly to the Ming army.

Because of this, the number of troops under Yesen and Buhua has been declining from more than 20,000 at the beginning to less than 15,000 now.

Fortunately, their efforts paid off, and the entrance to Mohe City Gorge was less than ten miles away from them.

As long as they walked these ten miles and crossed the narrow river valley that was less than twenty miles long, they would be able to reach the northern border and go to Lou Zengmu for a short rest.

However, as they got closer to Lou Zeng's mother, they saw the scene they least wanted to see.

The scouts of Yunusi's tribe were wandering on the south side of the gorge, which meant that they had not yet broken through the gorge.

"It's over..."

At this moment, these two words appeared in everyone's mind, and after the scout discovered them, he quickly sent the message to agree.

"Great Khan, Yesenbuhua and Bukabek have appeared in the south, but it seems that they did not bring all their troops with them, or maybe..."

Wan Hu, who came to report, looked unhappy, which made Yunusi, who had just woken up slowly, feel something was not good.

"Bring them to me!"

Yu Nusi spoke in a stern voice, and Wan Hu quickly withdrew.

About an hour later, as Yesenbuhua led his troops into the gorge, he learned that the battle at the gorge had been at a stalemate for three days.

Even though Wan Hu told him that they would be able to break through the gorge tomorrow.

But for Yesenbuhua, if they cannot break through the gorge now, they will not see the sun tomorrow. For this reason, when he and Bukabek were brought to the Yunusi tent by Wanhu, Yesenbuhua immediately said: "We must break through the gorge now, the main force of the Ming army is less than 30 miles away from here!"

"What did you say?!"

Yunusi was shocked. Although he had thought that Yesenbuhua had fled here after being defeated in the battle, he did not expect that the Ming army had also followed him to such a close distance.

"Thirty thousand Ming troops are on the way. If you don't want us to be annihilated, start attacking the gorge now!"

"If you don't want to, I will lead my men to attack the gorge myself!"

Yesenbuhua's eyes were red. He hadn't had a good night's sleep in the past two days.

Even so, he knew very well that if he could get through the gorge today, he would still be able to sleep in the future, but if he couldn't get through today, he would probably have to sleep here forever.

"It's not your turn to give orders here, you stray dog!"

Yunusi was very unhappy that Yesenbuhua was giving him orders, and Yesenbuhua was also furious when he heard it: "You son of a bitch, what did you say!"

"Okay, okay, the most important thing to do now is to break through the gorge."

Bukabek stepped forward to smooth things over, and at the same time asked Yunusi, "How many Ming troops are there in the gorge?"

"There are probably more than 4,000 people." Yunusi still needs the help of Bukabek's strength, so his attitude towards him is pretty good.

"Okay, let's attack now at night!"

Bukabek nodded decisively and looked at Yunusi and Yesenbuhua inquiringly.

Although the two quarreled, they knew that if they did not pass through the gorge quickly, they would all die here.

Soon, many sleeping soldiers were awakened and they launched an attack on the gorge at night.

"Beep--"

"Beep--"

"Sure enough!" Chen Mao, who was awakened by the whistle, was not surprised, because he knew that no matter whether it was His Majesty, the Emperor, or Zhu Neng, they would not be late just because of Yesenbuhua's small number of men.

It was agreed to be three days, and it will be three days.

"All troops on alert, our reinforcements are less than fifty miles away from here. If we can hold out until dawn, we will win!"

"Roar!!"

Chen Mao personally went to the front line, riding his horse back and forth behind the rammed earth wall to boost morale, and Zhu Qiyue and others also joined the battle.

Since there was no news coming back from the Tangqi in the north, they focused all their attention on the enemies south of the gorge.

"Buzz, rumble—"

The sound of a herd of horses rang out, and tens of thousands of cavalry appeared behind dozens of Teger vehicles, with no end in sight.

Dozens of Teger vehicles began to move forward, and the Ming army waited for Chen Mao's order to pull the trigger.

"preparation……"

As the voice rang out, everyone gripped their spears tightly.

"put!"

"Crack, crackle -"

Smoke rose and countless lead bullets were fired, but they were all blocked by the tent bag on Tegel's car.

The tent bags stacked one on top of another have strong toughness. If it were an artillery piece, even the lightest field artillery piece could destroy a vehicle with one shot.

But if it is lead bullet, then the Tegel car seems a bit helpless.

Except for Hu Bing who hit the wheel and pushed the cart, they had no other means to deal with it.

Even so, the Jilin Guards have no possibility of retreating. They will stop all the Hu soldiers here and cooperate with the main force to annihilate the main force of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate here!

"call out--"

"Boom boom boom!!"

"what!"

"The Ming army is catching up!"

"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!!"

In the night sky, fireworks rang behind the canyon. Yesenbuhua, Yunusi and others widened their eyes, while the Ming army line was filled with thunderous cheers of victory.

The Tang cavalry came galloping from the rear. They rushed into the formation and, without even taking a breath, bowed to Yunusi and the others and said:

"Great Khan, the Ming army is chasing us from behind. There are about 20,000 cavalrymen in the lead, and there seem to be more to follow!"

"The army attacks quickly!"

Yunusi reacted and gave orders quickly. At this moment, even the lower-level soldiers knew that the battle was in danger. If they could not break through the gorge, they would be wiped out.

Thinking of this, everyone gathered their courage and started to charge.

Soldiers took over the Tegel chariot one after another, and the Tegel chariot was pushed towards the rammed earth wall.

"put!"

"Crack, crackle -"

The air was filled with gunpowder smoke, and Chen Mao excitedly brandished his sword: "Stay until dawn, and find a military achievement to bring honor to our family!"

"We are the first army to open up the Western Regions since the Han and Tang Dynasties!"

"Build a bronze pillar and engrave your achievements!"

For traditional armies, perhaps they do not know the history of the Western Regions, let alone what reopening the Western Regions means.

But for the Jilin guards who grew up during the Yongle period, they were educated and knew very well what this meant.

Because of this, they must not retreat a single step at this moment and must defend this place.

As long as they hold on to this place, the first achievement in reopening the Western Regions will belong to them and to Jilin Wei!
If they accomplish this, they will all become honorable figures for their families and will be promoted after the war.

Enough fame and fortune to make everyone feel as if they were injected with chicken blood.

"Crack, crackle -"

They pulled the trigger without hesitation, changed guns, and pulled the trigger again...

When the ammunition is used up, we will pull out the blunt weapons and wait to meet the enemy. In any case, we cannot let the Hu soldiers get past this point!
"Kill the prisoners!!"

"kill!!"

Yunusi and the others' faces turned pale. The battle had been going on for half an hour, but they had made no progress, while the Ming army in the rear had been continuously setting off fireworks.

As the fireworks in the night sky behind them grew closer and brighter, their rear army eventually clashed with the Ming army's front army.

"Report! Thousands of cavalrymen from the front of the Ming army have dismounted and are engaged in a fierce battle with our rear troops at the gorge!"

"Yes, don't spend it first. Take your people to help!"

Bukabek knew that if Yunusi gave the order, Yesenbuhua might not go, so he gave the order first.

After giving the order, he looked at Yunusi again and said, "Take your people and my people to attack and capture these thousands of Ming troops at the gorge.

"it is good!"

Yesenbuhua and Yunusi agreed one after another, and both sides began to lead their troops to attack and defend the Ming army in front and behind.

Time passed little by little, from late night to slightly bright sky, the Jilin Guards had run out of ammunition, and now they were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Hu Lu.

The combination of a bayonet and a blunt weapon is quite similar to the combination of a spear and a swordsman.

Relying on courage and tactics, they used the collapsed rammed earth wall mounds to engage in a stalemate with the Hu soldiers.

"kill!!"

Zhu Qiyue also joined the battle. Although he was only fourteen years old, his bravery was no less than that of Guo Deng and other thousand-household officials, and he was even slightly better.

He held two three-jin hammers in his hands and knocked down the Hu soldiers who tried to break through.

After knocking down only five or six people, Zhu Qiyue was already exhausted and out of breath.

Guo Deng was also very tired beside him, and his throat felt like it was burning.

The breathing of the two men was like a bellows, but they didn't even have time to pull the bellows a few times, and had to hold their breath to repel the Hu people who were about to break through.

The sky gradually brightened. Looking down from the air, the 20,000 Ming cavalrymen in the rear with clear flags had already dismounted and were fighting on foot, gradually compressing the Western Tartars' space for movement.

The north was unable to break through, more and more Jilin guards fell, and there were fewer and fewer people on the front line.

When both sides were exhausted, a folk song of the Eastern Chagatai Khanate suddenly sounded in the canyon.

"The light of truth is shining, and honoring your mother is the first thing to do."

"Never forget the kindness of raising you, and remember the great principles of life."

"After ten months of pregnancy, the baby is born with the blood-stained umbilical cord..."

A folk song sung in Mongolian from the Chagatai Khanate in the East suddenly sounded, and many Western captives looked up.

On the top of the cliff, more than a hundred people were singing in unison, and the singing immediately reminded the Mongols under Yesenbuhua of their relatives who had been abandoned in southern Xinjiang.

"You abandoned your parents and headed north. Have you ever thought about what your parents should do?"

"Put down your weapons and return home, raise your parents on your own ranch, and bury them in your hometown..."

The lyrics were directed at Yesenbuhua's subordinates, and many people were shaken.

"Don't believe them, they are liars!"

Yesenbuhua shouted in frustration, but at this time the Ming army in the south suddenly stopped the attack.

Many Mongols who had fallen behind appeared in front of the battle line: "Surrender! The emperor of the Ming Dynasty has arrived. We have lost the battle. The emperor promised to let us return home with our parents and give us some pastureland..."

"Hahahaha, would you believe something like this?"

Yesenbuhua laughed out of anger, but suddenly his smile stopped.

When the sun rose, a tall flag suddenly rose among the Ming army.

Zhu Gaoxu appeared on a drum cart in front of the formation wearing armor that he had not worn for many years, with a tall banner written in Chinese and Mongolian behind him.

Yesen Buhua had seen Zhu Gaoxu before, so his laughter stopped abruptly, as if he had seen a ghost.

At this time, hundreds of surrendered Mongols from the Eastern Chagatai Khanate spoke together.

"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the Bogdaqichen Khan of the Ming Dynasty has promised that those who surrender can leave their weapons behind and follow the Ming army back home."

"The Ming army will not harm our hometown and will distribute the nobles' pastures and cattle and sheep to us."

"Brothers, why are you fighting for the nobles who made you abandon your parents? Just drop your weapons and surrender..."

The voices of hundreds of people echoed in the canyon. Gradually, many Mongols in southern Xinjiang dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground.

The song "Mother" made them miss their hometown, and the promises made to them by the Ming Emperor, Bogdachchen Khan of Mongolia, completely broke down their psychological defenses as they had not been able to rest well for two days and nights.

Looking at his troops kneeling on the ground one by one, Yesenbuhua stared blankly at the big banner hanging high in the sun, as if he could not believe that Zhu Gaoxu would appear on the battlefield.

But it didn't matter whether he believed it or not, so most of his troops had already knelt down at this moment.

Now all Zhu Gaoxu needs to deal with is Yunusi in the north...

(End of this chapter)