Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 670 Pursuit
The Tatars' follow-up central army was already preparing to reinforce the vanguard troops. Some impulsive individuals were even halfway there. At this moment, they suddenly discovered flames on the valleys on both sides and heard shouts of killing. Only then did they realize that the Ming army was attacking their vanguard troops.

The Tatars realized that the situation was not good, and they reined in their horses, ready to turn around and flee at any time.

In this kind of encounter, if one side has a clear advantage, they may pursue and kill the other side. But if they are at a disadvantage, or if the two sides are equally strong, there is no possibility of a long-term confrontation. It is wise for the weaker side to flee. In theory, the side that has the upper hand but the advantage is not obvious will not rashly launch a pursuit.

Seeing that he could not gain any advantage, the Tatar commander immediately organized a retreat for his entire army.

The Tatar cavalry may not be good at other things, but in terms of marching speed and mobility, they believe they are afraid of no one.

Originally, some people in the first group wanted to bring their injured and dead companions out of the camp, but when they saw the Ming reinforcements rushing in from the mountains on both sides, and their momentum was fierce, with flickering torches all over the mountains and plains, the number of the enemy was probably around 10,000. At this time, they had no choice but to turn their horses around and flee.

As the Tatar cavalry outside the camp began to retreat, the Ming soldiers who were originally running towards the rear suddenly became excited.

Reinforcements will arrive soon and the Tartars have already fled. How can we continue to be deserters?
Wouldn't you be laughed at if you tell others about it?

More importantly, there were Tatar corpses in the camp. During the Ming Dynasty, military merit was determined by "heads". Whoever held the head would get the military merit. Although such merit was often not paid out for years, some soldiers even had to "sell" their merits to others in the end.

But this time the situation is different.

This was a war led by the emperor. It was an encounter battle led by Li Zisheng, a former powerful minister of the Ming Dynasty, and Tan Chang, the eunuch of the Ministry of Ceremonies. It was the first foreign war launched by the emperor after he ascended the throne. If he could bring back the head of the Tartar in this war with special symbolic significance, then he might have a place to live for the rest of his life.

As a result, those Ming soldiers who had been fleeing in all directions before now swarmed towards the camp in front. Even though the fire was big in some places, it did not affect their looting of the Tatars' bodies. For them, this was more active than fighting.

As for the Ming army soldiers who rushed down from the mountains later, their situation seemed rather miserable.

The matter of snatching heads did not seem to have much to do with them, and they were not qualified to complain... Originally, this group of people in the camp were a suicide squad, and it was agreed in advance that whoever was willing to go would have the opportunity to make merit... But those who were smart would think that in a battle, only a few enemies could be killed, and sending hundreds of people to set an ambush, even if they could get credit in the end, how much of the credit would they get?

Why do you want to risk your life?

In the end, it was Li Zisheng who used all kinds of threats and inducements to "trick" a group of people over. This was also because most of them did not believe that the Tatars would really approach the pass of the Ming Dynasty's outer Great Wall from this road.

But this time, only the soldiers who participated in the ambush had the opportunity to gain military merit. Nothing could be more amazing than the changes in life.

……

……

Li Zisheng followed the team on horseback, but the distance between him and the soldiers in the front was getting farther and farther.

But that didn't stop him from yelling on horseback.

Li Zisheng was very excited at this time.

This was his first time on the battlefield and he was commanding such an important battle. He also had the opportunity to become the mastermind of the first foreign war since the new emperor ascended the throne. Even if he lost the battle in the end, he could brag about it for the rest of his life.

Who says that I, who was born as a Taoist priest, cannot make contributions to the Ming Dynasty?
Who says I'm useless?
I even dared to go to the battlefield and set up an ambush, confronting the Tatars head-on. I would like to ask, throughout the history of the Ming Dynasty, how many people can compare with me?

Li Zisheng, who had experienced the ups and downs of officialdom, attached great importance to the opportunity before him and did not want to miss the rare opportunity to save himself, as if his life, including his future, was in the midst of a life-and-death situation. Tan Chang, who also went to the expedition with him as a military supervisor, did not have the same indomitable spirit as Li Zisheng.

At this time, Li Zisheng couldn't even find where Qin Chang was. He probably rushed down with the main force, but where exactly he was... He might only be able to find him to communicate and exchange ideas after the battle when the battlefield was cleaned up.

"Sir, the Tartars are trying to escape."

Wang Fang rode his horse and followed Li Zisheng.

He was riding a real war horse and could obviously run faster, but he knew very well that it was better to follow well than to charge hard.

Why isn't he trying to curry favor with Li Zisheng now, instead of just rushing out to grab the credit?
The problem is that the credit has basically been taken away by the people in the camp. If he rushes over now, he probably won't even be able to see the Tatar's horse's tail. Now, following Li Zisheng and showing an image of a loyal protector seems to be the best choice. Whether he can follow Lord Li back to Beijing to take up an official post in the future and whether he will have the opportunity to eat and drink well depends on his performance now.

Li Zisheng asked, "Captain Wang, what are you still doing here? Why don't you lead your troops to charge and kill the enemy?"

"All my men have already rushed out. It will be difficult to control the situation. I can only rely on you to do what you want. I am willing to stay by your side and protect you."

Wang Fang expressed his loyalty.

Li Zisheng was a little annoyed: "I am fine, do I need you to escort me? You should charge forward quickly. If you can earn the credit, I will also be proud. I will have a bright future in the court and will definitely ensure your prosperity. Captain Wang, when charging, there must be a commander to support the troops. Only then will the soldiers fight for their lives. You can't retreat."

"Yes Yes."

Wang Fang agreed verbally but was thinking in his heart, you are the commander in chief, why don't you take the lead and boost morale, but instead let me charge into battle?
……

……

The Tatars initially retreated in an orderly manner. Perhaps in their view, no matter how brave the Ming soldiers were, they would not really fight them to the death.

After the small-scale engagement, you took the credit that belonged to you, and we acknowledged the small loss. After that, we each took a step back and stopped fighting. This seemed to be the tacit understanding they had formed in their previous battles with the Ming border soldiers.

But this time...

The Ming soldiers were obviously filled with blood and murderous intent, and they came out in full force to chase us relentlessly?

Don’t you know that we have hundreds of elite cavalrymen behind us?
Even if you achieve some success in the pursuit, are you sure you won't lose more people than us? You don't care about your lives?

Why aren't you being reasonable?
What the Tatars didn't know was that the enemy was not a border army at all, or rather, only a part of it was a border army. Among them was a group of young men who had come out of the Beijing camp and had never been to the battlefield. Although they were very afraid of death, they thought that after winning the battle they should charge forward and take the opportunity to reap the credit.

If it were the border troops, they would definitely know the principle of not pursuing a desperate enemy, but at this time, for the soldiers in the Beijing camp, the most important thing is that I won, and I have to take the credit.

As a result, the Tatars were unable to organize an effective defensive formation and retreat in an orderly manner, and were chased by a team of various donkeys and carts from the Ming Dynasty.

If it wasn't night time and the vision was obstructed when looking from the ground, if the Tatars saw that it was such a group of people chasing them, they would definitely be so angry that they would vomit three liters of blood and fall to the ground on the spot.

(End of this chapter)