The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 499 The Ming Dynasty’s Fierce General
Yang Yiqing's troops have been pushed to the limit.

Even after retreating five miles, the Tatars continued to harass, and the Tatars gradually discovered that the frequency of Ming artillery and gunfire was getting lower and lower, so their offensive became more and more fierce.

Until three o'clock in the morning, Yang Yiqing had received news one after another that the soldiers everywhere were overwhelmed.

If it weren't for the support of the supervising team, perhaps Ningxia's border troops would have collapsed.

"Spread the news everywhere that our follow-up troops will be here in two hours, and they will take another two hours!" Yang Yiqing shouted loudly, trying to stabilize the team's hearts.

Zhang Xun came over and asked, "Yang Junmen, where are the reinforcements coming from?"

Yang Yiqing said sternly: "If others don't come, we still have six to seven thousand infantry. They are only less than a day behind us. They will arrive before dark."

Zhang Xeng said: "Oh, that's not the calculation. It takes our cavalry a day's journey. They estimate that it will take at least two days. Even if it gets dark tomorrow, they may not be able to arrive. And if they knew that the Tatars were in full force, would they dare to come? There’s something else to say.”

Yang Yiqing glared at Zhang Xu, but Zhang Xu didn't say anything.

At this time, Zhang Xu had long since lost the courage to advance or retreat with Yang Yiqing. He had already asked several times whether the road behind him was clear. It didn't matter whether others could run or not. He, Zhang Xu, had long been prepared to escape.

……

……

Just as the soldiers of Ningxia in the Ming Dynasty were struggling to support themselves, the situation on the front line seemed to have changed to a certain extent.

The Tatars suddenly ceased their activities and did not restart the offensive for a long time, as if they were ready to give up dealing with the local troops in Ningxia.

"What's going on?" Zhang Xu had been away from Yang Yiqing for a long time. This time he came back on a horse, with some people holding a few horses beside him, which meant that he had to change horses when escaping. "Yang Junmen, the Tatars are here. You’re not going to fight us, are you going to cross the river?”

Yang Yiqing didn't answer.

He stood at a relatively high place and used binoculars to look at the Tatar formation three or four miles away. Even Yang Yiqing himself didn't understand why the Tatars suddenly stopped their offensive.

After a long time, Guo Jun from the front line came back with his men. He rode up to Yang Yiqing and said loudly: "Sir, the Tatars have retreated and are heading towards the river bank. Do we want to pursue them?"

When Guo Jun said this, all the officers and soldiers in the Chinese army heaved a sigh of relief.

Not everyone can clearly see the situation ahead. They were originally worried that the Tatars just wanted to take a rest, but when they learned that the Tatars had already begun to retreat to the river bank, it was as if God had given them a life... It was not originally If the Tatars are killed, they may be killed by the supervising team behind them.

"Back off! Back off!" When Zhang Xun heard the news, he was so excited that he almost fell off his horse.

Yang Yiqing said: "Eunuch Zhang, I also know that it is time for the three armies to reorganize. The soldiers should eat and rest. Only after taking a rest in shifts can they have the energy to deal with the situation that may happen next."

Zhang Xeng said: "Then Yang Junmen should be accommodating. If we catch up, the Tatars will be entangled and unable to stop us... don't force it. The court can also understand us. How many people do we have in total? Even if it is No matter how hard I fight, I can't resist the Tatars who are several times more numerous than us!"

At this point, Zhang Xun noticed something was wrong in Yang Yiqing's eyes, and quickly added, "If you want to blame it, it's all the fault of Duke Baoguo. If he brought troops, why would it be like this? He can't just lead troops and do nothing, right?"

Yang Yiqing said coldly: "At this point, even if we know that the soldiers are unable to fight anymore, we still can't retreat. When the Tatars retreat, we must push forward, even if it means causing some trouble for the Tatars to cross the river, it is necessary. "

"Ah? What is this picture?" Zhang Xun seemed to have difficulty understanding.

Yang Yiqing explained: "With the Tatars' ability to cross the river, they can carry up to 2000 people across the river at a time. In the end, there will definitely be thousands of people left in a dilemma. When the time comes, we can cover up and kill them, and then we can kill the people who have not crossed the river on the south bank." Defeated.”

"This……"

Zhang Xun's eyes lit up, and he obviously thought what Yang Yiqing said was reasonable, but then he shook his head and said, "You can't force things. How could the Tatars be unprepared? Besides, the Tatars would also increase the equipment used to cross the river, or set up an ambush." Waiting for us to take the bait."

Yang Yiqing looked ahead again and said: "Instruct the three armies to advance slowly!"

"Still going in?"

At this time, not only Zhang Xun, but also many court guests and generals on the side could not understand Yang Yiqing's "madness".

The Tatars have already retreated. They did not take advantage of the situation to fight us. We have already burned incense. If we attack now, wouldn't we push our brothers to die?
"Are you deaf? Anyone who refuses to enter will be killed by me as a sacrifice to the flag! If you don't shrink from the former, don't talk about your previous achievements. After the war, you will definitely be punished. Every one of you will be counted!"

For the first time, Yang Yiqing felt the pressure of leading this group of people, the kind that made him breathless.

In the past, no matter how the war situation developed, as the governor, he was always able to mobilize the group of reckless men in front of him, but now...this group of people has vague signs of disobeying orders...if it weren't for the merits of the two previous battles. , this group of people know that disobeying orders or withdrawing from the battlefield will result in lost achievements, and they may not follow Yang Yiqing's tactics.

You tell us to go and die and we go?

Now just to give you some face, let's press forward. If the Tatars really come back, we will definitely escape faster than you, Yang!

……

……

The Tatars' retreat was unreasonable in Yang Yiqing's opinion.

But only the Tatars knew what the difficulty lay at hand.

The Tatar coach, Prairie Khan Batu Meng, accompanied by his eldest son Tulu, arrived at the south bank of the Yellow River. Then he was surprised to find that a tragic war was going on on the other side of the river, and more than 2000 people who had crossed the river had already Many people were escaping south by boat. Those who had no time to escape were already being hunted down by Ming soldiers.

"boom!"

The cannonballs fell from the sky, actually from the other side of the river, and destroyed a wooden platform set up on the water on the southeast bank of the river. A group of Tatars fell into the river.

"Rescue!"

Everything here on the south bank looks chaotic.

On the other side of the river, those who had no time to escape by boat were even more panic-stricken, and some jumped directly into the water.

"What's going on?" Batu Meng couldn't even see how many Ming soldiers were on the opposite side, because the terrain on the opposite shore was slowly rising, and many people fled down from high places, so that the south shore couldn't even be touched. Know the situation on the other side.

Tulu said: "It is said that Lao Er lost the battle on the opposite side, and Ming's army took advantage of the situation to cover them up. They have enough firearms, and our people have no choice but to retreat."

"Impossible!" Batu Munch said in a very firm tone, "The Ming Dynasty will never send an army of more than 2000 people on the other side. They have already run out of ammunition and food. It is impossible for them to still have such strength! How many people are crossing the river?"

"Back to the Great Khan, two groups have passed by, with more than [-] riders."

"With three thousand six hundred cavalry, can't they even defeat the Ming Dynasty's thousand infantry?"

Batu Munch was also annoyed.

He clearly knew the movements of the Ming army, so he chose to forcefully cross the Yellow River here, but now he clearly had the advantage. As long as he crossed the river with a few more groups, he would be able to gain a foothold on the other side and escort most of the troops across the river. …

Why is this suddenly in chaos?
Where did the Ming Dynasty come from, and how could they beat the elite troops they had deployed on the other side of the river to such a miserable state?

At this time, the first batch of fast-running Tatars had already returned from the opposite side, and Batu Munch was shocked to find that his second son Urus, whom he was proud of, actually appeared on the first batch of ships to escape. .

"Tie him here!" Batu Munch was furious.

Tulu was the happiest when he saw this scene. The second brother was originally fighting with him, but now he will let you know what is not yours. Don't fight!

……

……

Urus was tied up in front of Batu Monk, and more Tatars were fleeing from the other side.

"boom!"

There was another cannon blast, this time it hit the river and did not hit any boats. It only caused a wave of waves, but it frightened the nearby Tatar boats and accelerated their pace of fleeing south.

"What's going on?" Batu Munch jumped off his horse and grabbed his second son from the ground.

Urus said: "Father Khan, the Ming Dynasty set up thousands of ambushes on the opposite side. We didn't notice it when we arrived. We had already led troops to intercept us, but they used firecrackers to beat us back and took advantage of the situation to kill us again. ... I have tried my best to block it, but the opponent’s firearms are too powerful!”

Urus obviously couldn't tell his father at this moment. The Ming army on the opposite side didn't look that big, maybe only about a thousand.

Even his subordinates knew that there were not many soldiers in the Ming Dynasty, but when the Ming Dynasty army came over, everyone knew that the person on the other side was wrong and wanted to escape... This was the "deterrence tactic" used by Cui Yuan before.

200 people can scare 6000 or 700 of you into retreat. This time, we brought more than 4000 people. Proportionally speaking, wouldn’t it be easy to scare away [-] of you?

Last Stand?
Do you all think you are Han Xin?
Besides, you still have ships on the shore that can go south, and there are large troops in the south that can respond. When you, Urus, bring more than 1000 elites to fight and return defeated, you should know that the people's hearts have been dispersed, and you will burn the ships immediately. Maybe there is still a chance for a fight to the death.

However, you can't burn the boats. After all, they are the basis for your crossing the river, and no one knows how many firearms the Ming side has.

"Incompetent!" Batu Munch said angrily, "How could the Ming Dynasty's army have thousands of people? You must be cowardly and afraid of fighting! Why do you want to cross the river? Stay over there! Put him on the boat and transport him past!"

Tulu said helplessly: "Father, my second brother may not be blamed for this matter. Ships have been transporting people back and forth all the time. Some people took advantage of the ship to go south and jumped on the ship saying that they were coming to help. The result was..."

Tulu didn't speak specifically for his second brother, he just wanted to show his magnanimity.

But what he said also made Batu Munch unable to refute.

If all the ships stop on the opposite side, and anyone who gets on board is killed, it may be possible to stabilize the morale of the army.

But the problem is that when Urus retreated to the river bank, thinking that they could reorganize their formation to resist the attack of Cui Yuan's troops, the Tatar people's plan to transport people was not over at that time. The ships would still go south to the river bank to pick up people. At that time, they were close to People on the river bank, especially the troops responsible for escorting them, would take the opportunity to jump on the boat and escape to the south bank on the pretext of coming back to deliver a message or pick up someone.But once someone gets on the boat, the remaining people will estimate that the space on the boat may not be enough, and then a bunch of people will crowd onto the boat.

A vicious cycle is formed, and people's hearts will naturally disperse.

Originally Urus thought he could support him, but when Cui Yuanfang charged forward without any scruples, the Tatars, including Urus, felt that the Ming army was emboldened. This meant that the Ming army had enough guns and shells... Even Urus himself joined the ranks of deserters.

"Father, it seems a little difficult to cross the river!"

Tulu said, "It's better to fight the Ming army in the south now. With the previous posture, I believe it won't take long to defeat them!"

Batu Meng looked at the tragic situation on the other side of the river where his side was being chased and massacred by the Ming army. His face was dark with anger, but he was still wise. He said angrily: "The army's morale has been shattered. Why should we care about the length of time? Pass the order and start from the northeast. Come on, head towards Daming Pass!"

Tulu said in surprise: "Father Khan, if we don't swallow up the Ming army behind us, then we will... be completely defeated in this battle!"

What Tulu means is, even if our purpose is to cross the river and rob, crossing the river is too difficult now, but we still can't give up fighting the Ming army. As long as we can eat some of the Ningxia defenders in the rear, we will at least have an explanation after we go back.

If you just want to escape along the south bank of the river to the grassland, then you will be truly defeated.

Batu Meng looked at Tulu and said: "Remember, when fighting with the Ming Dynasty, don't engage in meaningless fights, but know how to choose. Only by retaining the elite of the army can we gain a foothold on the grassland, otherwise... look around you Jackals, the wolfishness in their eyes, isn’t that enough to make you wary?”

Tulu seemed to understand his father's pattern instantly.

A decisive battle with Yang Yiqing's men was completely unnecessary, and even something that would make "relatives hate enemies".

You waste your troops fighting against the Ming Dynasty. Even if you win, you will also waste the strength of your own tribe, and you may also fall into the encirclement of the Ming Dynasty army. After all, the people of the Ming Dynasty are gathering here...

What we have to do now is to preserve our vitality and return to the grassland.

After all, the enemies Batu Munch had to face mostly came from the jackals around him, and the relationship with Daming... was just the relationship between the robber and the master of the courtyard.

As a robber, when you can't grab anything, no matter how much you tear the yard apart, it's better to retreat to the cottage intact, because the cottage is your base camp.

face?

Ever since the Ming Dynasty had powerful firearms, prairie people no longer care about face!

……

……

The Tatars had already chosen to retreat along the southeast bank of the Yellow River to the lower reaches of the Yellow River before they had brought back all the soldiers on the other side of the river.

The Tatars on the other side of the river were basically defeated when they found that there were no boats to cross the river. They could only follow the guidance of the main Tatar force and ride their horses towards the northeast. That was the land of the Loop, which was where they came from. Off direction.

The army of the Ming Dynasty will continue to pursue them, and soldiers from the Ming Pass Fortress will come out to intercept them along the way. The Tatars who do not retreat to the south bank will find it difficult to gain a foothold on the north bank and have the opportunity to knock the pass and leave the territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, in the middle and late stages, even though many Tatars themselves did not know how to swim, they still chose to swim from the north bank to the south bank holding logs and other floating objects. However, most of them were swept away by the rapid current of the Yellow River before they reached the middle of the river. Rush away.

The Tatars were in great contrast. They suddenly changed from being brave and fearless to retreating in panic.

This made everyone around the battlefield a little confused.

Even Cui Yuan's troops on the northwest bank of the Yellow River were a little confused. When they finally reached the river and looked at the various floating objects floating on the river, while their own soldiers were beheading people excitedly, Cui Yuan was also looking at the river. Tatar troops retreating from the other side.

"Master Cui, the Tatars were defeated by us!"

Xu Shen was very excited.

Previously, 200 people scared off [-] or [-] Tatar troops, which was already a miracle. Although they also killed many heads later, they did not directly kill nearly [-] heads like this time. This is not included. Those who were drowned and those who were washed away in the river.

In the three battles, regardless of the outcome of the opponent's battle, at least Xu Shen enjoyed the fruits of the greatest victory. In this battle, they achieved more first victory than Huamachi and Shigou City.

The point is... we still have to fight with less to defeat more. If we go back... we can be praised as the God of War.

Cui Yuanze was not as rude as Xu Shen. He was a little thankful and said: "Fortunately, the Tatars did not continue to send troops to cross the river. If they send people over again, we may not be able to bear it."

"Report!"

The messenger came over immediately and reported his side's losses, "Sir, general, we have calculated that more than 170 of our fellow soldiers have been lost, more than 200 have been injured, and there are still more than 400 soldiers left."

Cui Yuan's victory can be called a "miserable victory".

Despite the fact that at the beginning, the Tatars were a little defeated and rushed to the other side of the river, even falling into the water and drowning rather than staying on the north bank.

But when most people later discovered that there were no ships going south and organized a confrontation with the Ming Dynasty, even Urus ran away. The Tatar crowd was leaderless. Even though they collapsed, they still gave Cui Yuan's soldiers a headache. After a battle, , killing two thousand enemies, more than 170 soldiers on his side also died, and there were many wounded.

This is also because Cui Yuan's group has poor individual combat capabilities with cold weapons, and they only have light armor. Many of the casualties of the soldiers were caused by Tatar bows and arrows.

Some people were still excited and excited, thinking that they would get the credit for nothing, but they were shot into sieves by Tatar bows and arrows.

Fortunately, the Tatar army was defeated and more than 1000 Tatars rushed to cross the river. The remaining people did not form an effective blockade, so Cui Yuan led the troops to achieve this victory.

"The Tatars seem to have withdrawn their troops." Cui Yuan did not evaluate the losses of this battle. He was still looking at the other side.

Xu Shen said: "Master Cui, don't worry. With experienced generals like Governor Yang and Uncle Xiangcheng here, the Tatars will not be given the chance to escape."

Cui Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I don't know what it is. It looks like...it's quite difficult."

The words were so ambiguous that Xu Shi didn't understand. Who is more difficult?
But at this moment, another messenger came over and said: "Sir, there are people from Ningxia who are coming here, like the group that intercepted the Tatars on the river bank and then fled."

"Are they, these idiots, here to take the credit?"

Xu Shen felt a headache from hearing this.

Previously, the local defenders of Ningxia were ordered to intercept the Tatars on the north bank, but they only fired two symbolic cannons and ran away. The archers were not used. Now they are back. In addition to grabbing the credit, he can't think of anything else in this group of people. What purpose.

Cui Yuandao: "The casualties among our officers are not enough to support the pursuit. We have to guard against the Tatars and find another place to cross the river. It is necessary to bring more men and horses with us. We must also let Ye Bushou go to the surrounding earth forts along the way. Recruit more people.”

After all, Cui Yuan had some insight and knew that there was no point in resting on his credit. If the Tatars went northeast just to find another place to cross the river, then their previous victory would be in vain.

Xu Shen asked: "We don't have many people. If we continue to chase...will we be...unstoppable?"

"It's okay." Cui Yuan answered Xu Shen in vernacular, "Although there are not many of us, the Tatars can't get across many people at one time. As long as we follow them, they can't cross the river to fight us! We The task is considered completed."

Cui Yuan said, looking at the people who were still carrying the corpse not far away, he felt suddenly unbearable.

Cui Yuandao: "Hurry up and sort out the troops. There is no need to wear heads or anything like that. At most, cut off the ears. When Uncle Xinjian came out of the grassland, he was wearing ears, and the court recognized it."

Xu Shen cupped his fists and saluted, "Yes."

……

……

opposite shore.

The Tatars are organizing a withdrawal.

Batu Munch, Tulu and others have been looking at the other side. Batu Munch also wants to know how many people there are in the Ming Dynasty on the other side.

In the middle and late stages, the remaining Tatar cavalry, without command, could still kill the Ming Dynasty people and retreat. In the end, the Ming Dynasty relied on their numerical superiority to rush back and put the Tatars' final resistance Destroyed by the power of...

Batu Munch's face was ashen, and he even looked at his second son Urus, who had withdrawn from the battlefield early, with eyes that were peeling skin and bones.

"Second brother, you have seen it all." Tulu took the opportunity to add insult to injury, "The Ming Dynasty's army was not very strong, and their firearms were insufficient. Why did you choose to retreat in that situation? You stayed over there, Ming The North Korean army will be defeated."

Urus was still tied up. Seeing this scene, he was a little ashamed and wished he could just jump into the Yellow River to wash away his grievances.

"Who is that?"

Batu Munch looked at a young general on the other side who was looking at this side with a telescope.

After Tulu saw it, he didn't recognize it.

Someone immediately reported: "Great Khan, that man's name is Cui Yuan. I heard he was the consort of the Ming Dynasty. He was the one who led two hundred soldiers from the south of Shigou City earlier."

"It's actually him."

After Batu Meng knew Cui Yuan's identity, he also seemed very emotional, "I thought that apart from Zhang Zhou and Wang Shouren, there were no heroes in the Ming Dynasty. Who knew there was such a person? He is As a prince-in-law, if you don’t live a stable life in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, if you dare to come to the battlefield, and if you are so fearless in taking on the challenge, we will have one more opponent in the future.”

Tulu said: "Father, don't worry, this kind of people will be ostracized in the Ming Dynasty."

"That was before." Batu Munch said, "With Zhang Zhou in the Ming Dynasty, they would have many more powerful generals, because the emperor appreciated this man. But now the generals in the Ming Dynasty that we see are all from him. It’s just that I don’t understand how a consort could be appreciated and discovered by him? Why is everything planned by Zhang Zhou?”

(End of this chapter)