prosperous age

Outside Bansheng City, shouts of battle shook the heavens as two battlefields erupted simultaneously, with the total number of troops deployed by both sides exceeding ten thousand.

At the beginning, everyone thought they were all on the same side and wouldn't go too far.

After all, in previous battles, a few arrows were fired to see who had more troops, and the side with fewer men would decisively withdraw from the battlefield.

But once the battle begins, it doesn't take long for the fighting to escalate to a fever pitch, and then it's like fighting an enemy to the death.

That's how it is now. Ji Long's side encountered Cha Taiji's troops on the battlefield, and the two sides had been fighting for many days, accumulating grudges. So, the real battle broke out first.

The two sides clashed and fought, with those behind them constantly firing arrows at the opposing camp. People were constantly falling off their horses, and soon the ground was in complete chaos.

On the other side, since it wasn't Third Sister personally leading the team, Chebu, facing the enemy army that suddenly arrived from the north, rashly didn't choose to retreat and assess the situation before attacking. Instead, he directly led his troops to meet the enemy.

The two cavalry units appeared to be merely passing each other on the left and right, but between the two armies, arrows were visibly raining down, with both sides hurling volleys of arrows at each other's heads.

Compared to the men pulling cloth, they had already experienced the harshness of war a few days earlier, so when facing the enemy, they might not exert much force at first, but they would really shoot arrows, since they had the protection of the Eternal Heaven.

Whether the arrows kill or not depends on whether the person receives the blessing of the Eternal Heaven.

However, the tribal reinforcements brought by Ustari and Bogu did not have this awareness, so only after receiving two rounds of arrows from the Chebu army did they fire a few arrows. In the end, all the knights on both sides drew their bows and began to shoot at each other.

"Oh no, Ustari is being entangled by the cloth-tearing men, it's not the Third Sister's men who came."

Cha Taiji watched everything from the earthen slope. More than 10,000 people were fighting. Once the war broke out, it would not be as easy to control as it was in the earlier melee of three to five thousand people.

Moreover, it was clearly visible that the battlefield was covered with countless fallen members of their tribe, indicating that this battle had caused a major disaster.

"Taijitsu, look behind you, that's the Queen's banner."

At this moment, his personal guard pointed to the rear of the battlefield and shouted.

Another cavalry force of over a thousand men was rapidly approaching, and it seemed that once they joined them, their disadvantage would be even greater.

They all frequented the Khan's camp year-round, and the guards around Qiataiji were very familiar with Third Sister and her banner, so they could recognize her from afar.

Although Chataiji had previously harbored deep hatred for San Niangzi and her troops, seeing so many of his people fighting to the death on the battlefield, Chataiji was now filled with fear.

This must have been the most brutal battle to erupt on the grasslands after Altan Khan, the adoptive father, unified Mongolia.

In previous tribal conflicts, the two sides only fought for pastures, and the number of troops involved was usually in the dozens or hundreds. There was never a battle with thousands of people.

Unexpectedly, the battle he led today has involved more than 10,000 troops on both sides.

In an instant, Chataiji felt a pang of regret. Why did he have to get involved?

He had no intention of moving into Bansheng City; it was just because of his long-standing feud with Third Sister.

Bansheng City, the legacy left by Taiji Dacheng, will only be divided among the royal family. Does Taiji Dacheng Biji's eventual marriage have anything to do with him?

Having caused such a huge disaster, even Huang Taiji might not be willing to protect him.

It would be very difficult to explain this to the various Taiji tribes on the grasslands.

Meanwhile, the guards brought by Lady Chungshun seemed not to have expected the battlefield to turn out this way. On one battlefield, five or six thousand people were fighting each other, while on another battlefield, two cavalry teams of nearly ten thousand people were entangled and charging.

Such a large-scale battle only occurred in the late Jiajing period, near the Xuanda border wall, when the Khan personally led his troops against the Ming army.

However, in the present day, it has turned into infighting among the Mongols.

Although she had helped two generations of Khans handle internal affairs for many years, fighting was not something that Third Sister was good at.

Although she was also a representative, she mostly relied on the generals arranged for her by Anda Khan to complete the tasks.

Especially Chebu, a man known for his bravery on the grasslands. Anyone who sees him leading troops will give him a wide berth.

The Third Lady and her personal guards remained quietly on the outer edge of the battlefield, which, in Qiataiji's view, meant watching her troops slaughter the people he had brought.

In an instant, his mind was filled with rage, and he wanted to vent it, to vent it fiercely.

In reality, Third Sister was also frightened at this moment. Just like what Chataiji had thought before, she was wondering how to end the melee in front of her.

A battle between a few thousand men and a melee between tens of thousands of men are two completely different things.

She thought that Chataiji would do the same thing as before, and would immediately withdraw his troops after her reinforcements arrived.

Unexpectedly, reinforcements arrived from who-knows-where, emboldening Chataiji and prompting him to choose to fight him head-on.

How should this be resolved?
Third Sister was also a bit at a loss.

However, as the wife of two generations of Khans, she was not allowed to show the slightest fear.

The fighting continued, with people constantly being injured and falling to the ground, groaning in pain, but there were also many more corpses lying on the ground.

On the earthen slope, the smoke from the fire still lingered and continued to drift into the sky, but the people nearby seemed frozen in place.

"Taijitsu, sound the horn and call it a day. If this continues, many people will die."

Finally, one of the guards reacted and shouted at Chataiji.

"We can't withdraw now. If we retreat now, we'll be hunted down, and the losses will be even greater."

Immediately, Hagel realized what was happening and said...

The situation is currently at a stalemate, as both battlefields are locked in fierce fighting. Unless both sides agree to cease hostilities, the fighting will continue until one side is routed.

"Whoa Whoah"

Just as the battle was at its most intense, the ground trembled slightly, and then two black dots appeared on the eastern horizon, one on the left and one on the right at the edge of the grassland.

As the black dots approached, they gradually merged into two red tides that enveloped the entire battlefield.

"The Ming army is here."

Chataiji, perched on the earthen slope, was the first to notice the anomaly in the distance. As the Ming army approached the battlefield, Chataiji was already on horseback, shouting hoarsely, "How dare they come! How dare they come!"

This is Bansheng City, which is more than 300 li away from the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty. How could the Ming army dare to enter the grassland so deep?

"Madam, it's the Ming army, it's the Ming army."

At this moment, Lady Chungshun also noticed the arrival of the Ming army, which seemed to be completely surrounding the battlefield.

"dong dong dong"

Before San Niangzi and Qiataiji could react, the sound of war drums came from the east, followed by another sea of ​​red.

The Ming army infantry was divided into two thousand-household square formations on the left and right, while in the middle and on both sides of the infantry, caravans were moving towards the battlefield.

At the front of the procession, Ma Gui arrived on horseback with over a hundred personal guards.

With the appearance of the Ming army, the battlefield, which had just been fighting to the death, seemed to be paused. The Mongol soldiers who had been swinging their swords with all their might stopped what they were doing and looked at the Ming army sweeping in from afar.

This, perhaps, is a restraint of bloodline.

Just moments ago, they were so eager to kill each other to save themselves.

However, the moment the Ming army appeared, they knew who their real enemy was. Influenced by this realization, they temporarily set aside their hatred and looked with some fear at the Ming cavalry that had surrounded them, as well as the Ming army formations that were approaching in the distance.

As the banners of Jilong, Chebu, Qiataiji, and Ustari were raised on the battlefield, the soldiers who had been fighting together spontaneously gathered under the banners, clearly separating into four groups.

The two cavalry battalions in Xuanfu had a total strength of only six or seven thousand men. Of course, it was impossible for them to completely surround the tens of thousands of Mongol troops on the battlefield. They were simply divided into several teams and occupied several surrounding directions.

With the battle over, Lady Chungshun and Chataiji, along with their guards, quickly returned to their own troops and began to reorganize their ranks.

The Ming army continued to approach, and they were now only a few miles apart.

Finally, the Ming army's march came to a halt as the war drums fell, and the wagons quickly transformed, forming a makeshift formation of side wagons.

A series of sidecars were connected to protect the two flanks and the rear, while the front was a suggested camp gate composed of six sidecars.

However, the dark cannon muzzles protruding from the side compartments and the rows of gun barrels on the roof demonstrated the tank's powerful firepower.

The infantry battalions on both sides of the front line were arranged in two neat rows of tiger crouching cannons operated by two men, followed by three rows of arquebusiers, and finally rows of spearmen and shieldmen. This was the standard combat formation of the Ming army infantry battalions.

At this moment, Qiataiji was cursing San Niangzi in his mind. In his opinion, this was the reinforcement that San Niangzi had found.

Everyone on the grasslands knows that San Niangzi and Ba Han Na Ji have good relations with the Han people.

Third Sister was also somewhat surprised, wondering why the Ming army had come here.

Although Zheng Luo's letter mentioned that he would provide her with support and help her stabilize the situation in Bansheng City, it did not mention that the Ming army would enter the grasslands for three hundred miles.

Third Sister still harbored some wariness towards the Ming Dynasty.

As the two were racking their brains, unsure of how to respond, Ma Gui on the other side was also somewhat at a loss.

Yes, he really didn't expect that when he was only ten miles away from Bansheng City, he would see smoke rising from the north of the city.

Upon seeing the smoke signal, Ma Guidu almost led his troops to flee south.

He suspected that Huang Taiji had set a trap for him, intending to annihilate his troops outside Bansheng City.

Once the Ming army here is wiped out, Xuanfu will have no mobile forces to reinforce the various fortresses, except for Zheng Luo's remaining battalion.

The other, nominally, tens of thousands of troops from Xuanfu were scattered in various towns and fortresses.

Fortunately, a scout reported that tens of thousands of Mongols were fighting fiercely to the north of the city. Ma Gui then realized that this must be a signal from one side to call in their troops.

Since it wasn't directed at him, we should take our time and make arrangements accordingly.

His purpose in coming here is to support Third Sister, and he is even willing to use force if necessary.

Zheng Luo made this very clear, and Ma Gui naturally had to comply.

Therefore, after confirming that it was San Niangzi fighting against another Mongol force, Ma Gui's first reaction was to send cavalry to support San Niangzi.

However, this would mean directly involving the Ming Dynasty in the conflict, which is not what the court wants to see.

The imperial court wanted to subdue the enemy without fighting and instill fear in the Mongols.

Therefore, Ma Gui made the arrangements in this way.

The Ming army suddenly entered the battlefield, forming an encirclement. After completing this, the Ming court ordered both sides to cease fighting, and then the court presided over the mediation of the incident.

When Governor Zheng Luo comes here, or Huang Taiji and Third Sister go to Xuanfu, Ma Gui has no say in the matter. As long as he keeps his troops stationed in Bansheng City and secretly supports Lady Zhongshun, he will have completed his mission.

Fortunately, it seems that the two sides have already stopped fighting without me having to take action.

Ma Gui was still worried about how to stop the two armies from fighting, but he didn't expect that the battle would end as soon as they appeared.

With a slight lift of his whip, a personal guard rode forward several miles, finally standing between the Third Lady and Qia Taiji before shouting loudly: "By order of Governor Zheng of Xuanfu, we have come to Bansheng City to garrison and protect the family of Dacheng Taiji. You must immediately withdraw thirty miles from Bansheng City and are not allowed to engage in battle."

The guard was a loud-voiced one, specifically responsible for shouting for Ma Gui. At this moment, he stood in front of tens of thousands of Mongol soldiers and shouted loudly.

He spoke Mandarin, but both San Niangzi and Qia Taiji could understand him.

However, many of their men did not know what the Ming soldiers in front of them were saying.

Mongolian tribal leaders are taught by knowledgeable elders in their tribes, and most of them are also familiar with Chinese, even if they can only speak it but not write it, it is enough for them.

When San Niangzi heard that the people sent by the Governor-General of Xuanda were there to protect Bansheng City, and recalling the letter Zheng Luo had given her yesterday, she could more or less guess why the Ming army was here.

They stood up for her to prevent Huang Taiji from intimidating them with his superior military strength.

Huang Taiji is just too embarrassed to get involved personally right now, but after the battle just now, he probably won't have to step in. With over a thousand casualties, it would be unacceptable for the Great Khan not to intervene.

At that time, without the intervention of the Ming Dynasty, she would likely have had to submit to Huang Taiji.

After all, on the grasslands, strength still reigns supreme.

However, if the Ming Dynasty stood behind her, even if Huang Taiji gathered an army of 100,000, they would not be a match for the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty could easily mobilize 100,000 or 200,000 troops, if they so desired.

Yes, even though the Ming Dynasty supported Korea twenty years later with 100,000 troops, which was already the limit, that was for foreign war.

However, if it were in the north, it would be quite easy for the garrisons in the northern provinces of the Ming Dynasty to assemble an army of two or three hundred thousand, or even more.

Of course, after the war, there will definitely be serious injuries and injuries.

After all, mobilizing so many soldiers would require a lot of money and supplies.

San Niangzi's camp was set up more than ten miles away from Bansheng City. Upon hearing the Ming army's request, she immediately turned around and instructed Tuguchi: "Go back to the camp and tell them to leave, dismantle the camp, and retreat fifteen miles to set up camp."

"Madam, should we still listen to these wise men?"

Tuguchi immediately said with some anger.

Their leader was a first-rank lady appointed by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Even the Governor-General of the Ming Dynasty was only a second-rank official, not as high-ranking as their lady.

"Do as I say."

Third Sister ignored Tuguchi's grumbling and simply gave the order.

"Yes."

Tuguchi could only agree and quietly retreated away.

Meanwhile, Chataiji on the other side frowned but said nothing more.

He had already been driven out of Bansheng City by Third Sister, so there was no need to move his camp.

Another warhorse galloped out from in front of the Ming army ranks and came to the man's side.

"The commander-in-chief has ordered them to take their men back to their camps for treatment and cease fighting. I agree to discuss this with the leader tomorrow."

"The commander-in-chief has given the order."

Upon hearing the message from behind, the guard shouted at the top of his lungs again. (End of Chapter)