I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 316 The Li Brothers
On the Liaohe Hetao grassland, the lush green grass turned yellow, filled with the bleakness of early winter.

Li Chengliang led 10,000 Liaodong cavalrymen and galloped at lightning speed. They formed a triangle and quickly climbed over the hills and waded across the rivers.

Li Chengliang rushed to the front, whipping his mount with the whip in his hand, leaving blood marks on the horse's butt.

This was his favorite Northeastern sacred horse, but he could no longer care about it at this moment. Li Chengliang only wanted to go faster and faster.

When he received an urgent report in Tongliao City, Heishitan led 20,000 cavalrymen to surround Li Chengcai and Ye Mengxiong's 2,000 grain transport teams at Silanzi Mountain, and was so anxious that he was furious.

Li Chengliang knew that his brother did not have the good skills like Qi Jiguang, who could not fight against Xin Ai's tens of thousands of cavalry with only 6,000 men.

Twenty thousand cavalry ambushed two thousand cavalry and infantry on the grassland, which was very disastrous.

He was familiar with Heishitan, the uncle of Tumen Khan, a veteran thief who was extremely cunning and vicious.

Although Li Chengliang knew that Li Chengcai must have informed Qi Jiguang, he still sent someone to deliver the message to Xinghua City as usual, and then ordered his deputy general to temporarily take charge of the defense of Tongliao City on his behalf and be vigilant against enemy attacks.

He gathered ten thousand elite cavalry and headed straight for Silanzi Mountain.

My silly brother, you are with the cavalry, if you can't stop them, just run away.

On the vast grassland, we could not defend against the Chahar cavalry, and it was also difficult for them to catch up with us.

Li Chengliang hoped that Li Chengcai would be smart and save his life, but he was also worried that he would really do so.

Abandoning the guards' food and fodder, as well as the food escort official Ye Mengxiong and a group of civilians, they fell into the hands of the northern barbarians. If this matter is reported to the higher authorities, it will be a huge matter.

According to military law, Li Chengcai should be executed!

If we really get to the bottom of it, the Li family will be in trouble.

In the past, if Li Chengcai really ran away, Li Chengliang could still think of a way to take his property to the capital, use his connections, and secretly slip generous gifts to the homes of several powerful officials and eunuchs.

My brother's violation of military law can be turned into a small matter.

But not now.

The crown prince was in power, rectified military affairs, and carried out military reforms. The most important thing was to enforce strict military law. Hu Zongxian, Tan Lun, and Qi Jiguang, who were promoted and appointed, were all strict military officials who clearly distinguished between rewards and punishments and showed no mercy.

Moreover, the Prince of Xiyuan had issued strict orders again and again to rectify the military law. If he knew that he dared to use connections and bend the law for personal gain, not only Li Chengcai, but also the entire Li family would be killed.

Third brother, don't run away. Stay in the camp. Your brother is here to save you.

Li Chengliang felt a little bit expectant.

The Ming army was experienced in fighting on the grasslands, and was fully prepared for such a risky task as transporting food and fodder.

Scouts were sent out everywhere on the road. When encountering an enemy attack, flares were fired and messengers were sent everywhere to seek help. At the same time, the grain carts were connected end to end to form a line of defense.

The civilians hid inside, the infantry organized resistance, and the cavalry patrolled outside, supporting the defense and waiting for reinforcements.

The tactics are mature and the training is good. As long as the team does not slack off or encounters any unexpected situations, it is rare for the defense to be breached and the whole team to be wiped out.

Li Chengliang also believed that his younger brother Li Chengcai would not fail, but he was afraid of accidents!

There is no constant situation in war.

One of the most dangerous things about the battlefield is that you can never predict what will happen next.

It’s like everyone thought that Tumen Khan would fight a decisive battle with the Ming army in the Liaohe Hetao area, but he just made a feint, ran to Heishan with his main force, and attacked Liaodong from the north.

Yes, Li Chengliang received urgent news shortly after leaving Tongliao City.

The urgent report from Liaodong first went to Tongliao and then to Xinghua. Tan Lun's urgent report was also a clear report, and all the garrison commanders above the rank of deputy general along the way could receive it and make preparations for response and be on standby at any time.

Who could have thought that Tumen Khan, this simple-minded man, would suddenly learn the art of war, use a tactic of making a feint to the west and attacking in the east, and even fooled many famous generals and counselors of the Ming Dynasty.

You dare not say whether he listened to the advice of some counselor or had a dream at night and made this crazy decision.

Anyway, the Ming army is in a very difficult situation now. The east is in danger and may be disrupted at any time. The west is being held back by a small army and cannot move for a while.

"Report!"

A scout came back to report.

"Coming?"

"Yes, General. It's five miles ahead. You can see it when you climb the hill." "Let's go to the hill and take a look."

Li Chengliang, who was so anxious just now that he wanted to whip his mount soaring into the clouds, is not in a hurry now.

He ordered his men to gather at the foot of the hill, take a short rest and prepare for battle, and then he led his entourage up the hill.

Li Chengliang raised the monocular telescope and observed the situation.

On a hill four or five miles away, dozens of carriages were connected end to end, forming a circle. However, they looked damaged in many places, and must have experienced multiple impacts.

But the Ming flag has not fallen yet, and the Northern Tartar cavalry has not yet attacked!

Tens of thousands of Northern Tartar cavalrymen circled around it, shouting and screaming, shooting arrows at the chariot formation. From time to time, a cavalryman saw an opportunity, rode forward, and rushed into the broken part.

The most feared thing about such a chariot formation is that the Northern Tartar cavalry would rush in, causing a chaos inside, and then join forces with their comrades outside to break through in one fell swoop.

Just as two or three Northern Tartar cavalrymen rushed to the broken part, there was a sudden flash of fire. A musketeer hiding in the dark opened fire, and the Northern Tartar cavalrymen fell down.

The sharp-eyed Li Chengliang also saw that the Northern Tartar cavalry had arrows stuck in their bodies before they fell.

There were also archers lying in ambush.

Li Chengliang was relieved. The defenders were not in chaos at all and were defending in a very orderly manner. They could at least hold out for a while.

He raised the telescope and looked elsewhere, and soon saw a group of Northern Tartar cavalry beside a small river. There were about ten thousand of them, and more than half of them had dismounted and were sitting on the ground, eating dry food or feeding their horses.

Judging from the banner, it is the main force led by Black Carbon.

The Northern Tartar detachment is just a detachment.

No matter where you are on the battlefield, you must be prepared for combat and never relax for a moment, because you don't know when and where the enemy will appear.

Having decided on the idea, Li Chengliang immediately made arrangements.

He ordered the lieutenant general with two thousand cavalry to wait for two quarters of an hour while he led the main force to go around behind the main force of Heishitan. Then the lieutenant general led his troops to rush out to rescue the chariot formation and attract the attention of the Northern Tartars.

He led the main force, took the opportunity to attack from the rear wing, killed towards Heishitan's central army, and went straight for his head!
Soon, when Heishitan was staring at the rushing lieutenant general and his troops and calling on his men to prepare quickly to meet the enemy over there, Li Chengliang drew out his steel knife, stared at Heishitan in the distance, and chopped it down fiercely.

Eight thousand Liaodong cavalrymen galloped on their horses and rushed down from the hills behind like a whirlwind.

Heishitan was indeed an old thief. When he saw the situation, he knew he could not stop the Ming army, so he gave stern orders, ordering his troops to form a team and charge forward to stop the Ming army's charge. He then called his trusted guards, rolled up the flags, and fled north.

These were all troops from the Doyan and Taining tribes, not the Chahar main force, so if they were lost, they were lost.

But Li Chengliang had set his sights on him, so how could he lose him?
So Heishitan fled in front with hundreds of cavalry, and Li Chengliang chased him with a thousand cavalry from behind. He chased and fled, and he could not escape even if he had wings!
Heishitan was also unlucky. While escaping, his horse suddenly stumbled and he and his horse rolled to the ground. His trusted guards quickly turned around to rescue him, but Li Chengliang's troops were chasing him in a hurry and immediately drew their bows and shot arrows when they saw this situation.

After more than a dozen of his trusted guards were shot to death, the rest of the people dispersed, leaving Heishitan lying alone on the cold grass, looking at the blue sky, the biting cold wind chilling him to the core.

The fighting spirit of this detachment was weak. When the Ming army attacked, their leader, Heishitan, only wanted to escape, but he stumbled and was captured by the Ming army. The rest of the troops immediately fled in all directions.

Li Chengliang ordered his men to tie up the black charcoal and keep it under good care, then he rode his mount excitedly towards the chariot formation.

Outside the chariot formation, the Ming army was cleaning up the battlefield, searching for wounded Northern Tartars and those pretending to be dead.

Li Chengliang and his entourage walked in through the gap left by the chariot array.
"Third brother, Chengwu, you did a good job, the bait was good, and you caught a big fish, black coal!
This old fellow, our old rival, the uncle of Tumen Khan, the old thief! He has been dealing with us for many years, and many times, he either wanted to kill us or we caught him.

Well, this time he finally fell into my hands. Chengwu, I caught him, but you deserve the credit!"

Li Chengliang jumped off his horse and shouted loudly, but he didn't hear Li Chengcai's voice or see his figure, and he suddenly felt panicked.

"General Li!" Ye Mengxiong came out from somewhere and called him.

Li Chengliang turned around and saw Ye Mengxiong covered in blood. He rushed up and grabbed his hand, asking in a stern voice, "Where is my third child?"

"follow me!"

Ye Mengxiong took Li Chengliang to a place.

Li Chengcai was lying on a pile of grass in the corner, covered in blood, his eyes staring at the blue sky, without a trace of breath.

"When General Li rushed out, Lieutenant General Li had just breathed his last!"

(End of this chapter)