In the late Ming Dynasty, rising from the grassland

Chapter 62 Take the initiative
Winter in the eighth year of Chongzhen was earlier than in the past seven years. As soon as September entered, the temperature suddenly turned cold, and it didn't take long for heavy snow to fall.

After more than a month of training, the Mongolian teenagers are no longer as lazy as before, and their words and deeds are more like soldiers. Lin Rui also selected those with good performance from them to serve as team, sentry, and corps commanders respectively.

The progress of the two Han war barracks was also huge. With the old leading the new, Lin Rui didn't have to worry at all. He changed his former cowardly character and his spirit and spirit changed drastically.

All the required spears have been made. There are more than 1300 people, nearly 600 of whom have swords and shields, and the remaining 700 or so people all have spears.

The basic configuration of each team has also changed, that is, it consists of two sword and shield bearers and three spearmen. Among them, the sword and shield bearers wear three layers of leather armor, while the spearmen only have one layer.

During this period, there were a lot of frictions between the Han people and the Mongols, and they even fought with each other with fists and kicks, and they even got into fights with swords.

However, Lin Rui dealt with them impartially every time. He neither favored the Han people nor treated the Mongols favorably. He treated everyone equally with rewards and punishments.

In this way, after constant running-in, both parties gradually adapted to each other, and no longer started fighting like they did at the beginning when they disagreed, and then turned into a group fight.

"Han Jialang, the grassland in winter is no joke. Not only will the snow limit the speed of the war horses, but it is also easy to lose direction. The cold at critical nights will frostbite the war horses. Historically, we Mongolians have not launched wars in winter. "

Namuzhong persuaded with a worried look on her face. She didn't expect Lin Rui to want to destroy the three Khalkha tribes in the north during the winter.

"Namuzhong, these difficulties can be overcome. On the contrary, you Mongolians are the most vulnerable in winter. The snow not only limits the speed of the cavalry, but also prevents their camps from moving quickly to reinforce each other, and our Han people The infantry will not be affected, so this is a great opportunity to annihilate them all!"

Lin Rui explained patiently that although the weather is very cold now, it has not yet reached the coldest period. They have coke for heating, and the sleds that have been modified during this period, plus the three Khalkha tribes are not far away. At this time If we don't attack, how long will it take?
Although they had exchanged salt and several Chahar tribes for a lot of cattle and sheep in the past month, the food was still not enough to survive the winter, and there was not enough fodder.

"Now that you have made up your mind, okay, when will we set off?" Namuzhong could only nod in agreement.

"The heavy snow has stopped for the time being. We will set off tomorrow. We can't delay any longer." Lin Rui clenched his fist and said.

The two agreed upon their opinions, then called everyone together and announced the combat mission.

The Han people were nervous and a little expectant, while the Mongolian teenagers were excited and worried. Obviously, they still had some concerns about attacking other tribes in the cold winter.

However, under Lin Rui's explanation and Na Muzhong's encouragement, everyone gave up their worries and started screaming.

The next day, after breakfast, the army headed north in a mighty manner. The snow on the ground covered the calves of the war horses. Although the horses could walk normally, they found it difficult to run. It's even more difficult to catch people.

Therefore, more than 1500 people did not ride horses, but sat on sleds. More than 1000 war horses took turns pulling more than two simple sleighs modified from horse carriages.

The horses had to be rotated almost every ten miles, and they only walked more than forty miles a day. However, in the winter grasslands, such a marching speed was already very rare.

At night, everyone formed a circle around the sleigh, tied the horses inside, and set up tents. Although the wind and snow were heavy, there were pots of charcoal for warmth, so neither the people nor the horses would die of frostbite.

Because in addition to having charcoal for heating, almost everyone was wrapped in thick leather jackets, and even their hands were wearing gloves made of wolf skin, which was far more effective in protecting against cold and cold than ordinary cotton jackets.

"Han family, you Han people are so smart that you can actually make a carriage without wheels that can walk in the snow. Why didn't we Mongolians think of it before?"

At first, Namuzhong and other Mongolians felt very miraculous about the sled. Later, they discovered that the carriage could walk in the snow just by relying on two bent pieces of wood. They could only admire the Han people's brains for how well they worked. "Haha, this is the advantage of us Han people, we know how to use tools and anything we can use to fight against the enemy!"

"I am already full of confidence in this expedition."

Namuzhong handed over a cup of steaming broth and said with fiery eyes.

Five days later, Lin Rui and the others found one of the Khalkha tribe's campsites at the foot of a hillside.

Obviously the Mongols know the Mongols best. As long as the general direction is determined, they can determine where the other party chooses to escape the cold winter.

This tribe is the Aruk tribe among the three Khalkha tribes. Although they blew the horn as soon as they discovered Lin Rui and the others, almost everyone looked in disbelief.

They didn't expect that an enemy would attack them in this cold winter. How did the enemy find them, and how did they avoid the cold at night?
"Zaru, you lead two warriors on horseback and immediately go to the Naiman and Kato tribes to ask for help. The others all get their weapons and prepare to fight!"

The chief of the Aruk tribe immediately ordered.

As several warriors mounted their horses and left the camp, others, both men and women, old and weak, picked up knives and bows and arrows and came to the front of the camp. In front of them, there was only a one-meter-high snow wall.

The Aruk tribe originally had nearly 600 people, nearly 130 adult warriors, but after several battles with Lin Rui and the others, the number had dropped sharply to about [-]. At this moment, everyone was nervous looking at the approaching cavalry convoy.

When approaching the opponent's camp, Lin Rui asked two hundred Mongolian warriors to mount their war horses and guard them on the left and right sides of the sleigh. Only when they were a hundred steps away from the snow wall did they order the troops to stop and all the soldiers to get off their vehicles and line up.

There is no way, the snow on the ground is too thick, and the soldiers must maintain their physical strength to the greatest extent.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

The leader of the Aruk Tribe felt numb when he saw that the opponent not only had 200 cavalry, but also thousands of infantry. The other tribesmen also looked desperate.

"We are the Lin Jiajun, your old friends, the Han people from the south."

Lin Rui answered loudly while letting the soldiers move their hands and feet to warm up before the battle.

As for the few cavalrymen leaving the camp, he didn't care at all.

In this weather, let alone whether the other two tribes would come to rescue. Even if they did, they would not be able to collect the bodies even if they arrived slowly.

This was also the reason why he chose to attack in winter, otherwise they would not be able to get close to this tribe and would be discovered, and then quickly notify other tribes for reinforcements. It would not take long for the war horses to really start running after dozens or hundreds of miles away.

Or maybe they would be discovered by the nearby tribes not long after they left the castle, and they would always pay attention to their every move, just like he monitored other tribes.

(End of this chapter)