The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 309 What is despair?
Neither Huo Chiluo nor Bingtu Taiji expected that the main force of the Ming army would attack from Xining Wei.

They were all looking towards Taozhou Wei.

As for the traitor that Wanli was worried about, he had already run away.

When the three major families in Puzhou heard that Wanli was personally leading more than 100,000 cavalrymen to charge towards them, they ran away.

They were afraid of being caught by Wanli and being cut into pieces. Anyone who didn't run away would be a fool.

As for the Duolun Tumed and Weiwushen tribes, they were originally chess pieces in their hands. They had to abandon them decisively when it was time to do so. They didn't care about their lives.

Huo Chiluo and Bingtu Taiji may have never fought against Wanli, so they don't know how terrifying Wanli is.

They even speculated based on common sense that the main force of the Ming army would attack from the direction of Taozhou Wei.

They didn't even know when Wanli led more than 100,000 cavalrymen to Xining Guard.

The next morning, at about 1 a.m., just as the sky was getting light, the sound of horse hooves could be heard all around Xining City Wall, and the earth was shaking.

The main force of the Ming army attacked, and more than 100,000 cavalrymen turned into two long dragons and galloped westward.

The target of the troops led by Wanli was the area between the southern part of Qinghai Lake and the northern bank of the Yellow River.

Xining Wei was only a hundred miles away from the mountain pass leading to Tibet. Before the hour of Si, they had already rushed out of the mountain pass.

There was indeed an endless expanse of sand ahead. If they were not familiar with the situation here, they would probably be discouraged if they rushed here.

What if this area is a big desert?
If they rush in rashly, they will be courting death!
Fortunately, they had Qi Bingzhong, who was familiar with the terrain, to lead the way.

Wanli led his troops into the desert without hesitation and rushed westward.

Sure enough, after more than a hundred miles there was a low hill, and there was already obvious greenery on the hills.

Beyond the hill was a grassland of dozens of miles in radius. Their plan was to first clear out the Northern Tartars on that grassland, and then spread out on the north bank of the Yellow River to prevent the Northern Tartars in the south from building a pontoon bridge to cross the river.

Unexpectedly, just as they saw the hill, smoke rose into the sky from the hill.

When Wanli saw this, he couldn't help but frown.

Were the Duolun Tumed and Weiwushen tribes well prepared?

There won’t be an ambush in the hill!

There would be no problem for their 50,000 cavalry to fight the enemy head-on, but it would be a different situation if they were ambushed in the rolling hills.

Even if the enemy throws hay at them from a high position and then shoots them with rockets, it will be a disaster.

He frowned and pondered for a moment, then decisively raised his hand and said, "Order the entire army to halt. Bangping, quickly send out scouts to thoroughly investigate the hills ahead to see if there's an ambush."

With the waving of flags, 50,000 troops quickly stopped in front of the hill.

Immediately afterwards, earth dragons rolled in, and scouts were sent out in all directions, scattered all over the hills and below the hills. Moreover, each of them had a telescope in their hand, and as long as they scanned carefully, not even an ant could hide within a radius of several miles.

Not long after, the scouts rushed back.

After a while, Qin Bangping rode over and bowed anxiously, "Report, Your Majesty, there is no ambush inside the hill. There is a grassland in front of the hill. They have built a pontoon bridge over there, and they are now running across the bridge to the other side."

And a floating bridge?

Wanli thought about it carefully, then said decisively: "Bangping, quickly lead your men over and destroy their pontoon bridge."

Upon hearing this, Qin Bangping quickly waved his hand and led the 30,000 troops of the Shenwu Front Camp to transform into several long dragons and rush into the hills.

When Wanli saw that the cavalry of the Shenwu Camp had rushed in, he immediately led the imperial guards and the Jinyiwei light cavalry to rush in.

There was indeed a grassland behind the hill.

However, this grassland is a bit peculiar. To the west of the grassland are vast mountains, and to the south of the grassland is actually sunken.

At this moment, the cavalry of the Shenwu Front Camp seemed to be surrounding the edge of the sunken area in the south.

Why are they standing there without moving?

Wanli rode his horse over to take a look out of curiosity, and was stunned.

It turned out that there was a slope two or three miles long in front of the Shenwu Camp cavalry. Below the slope was partly the river channel and partly a mudflat.

The Northern Tartars' floating bridge was built on the largest mudflat. However, that mudflat seemed to be less than a mile wide, and there were hundreds of tents on it. Thousands of cavalrymen from the Shenwu Camp had gone down there, and it was almost impossible to squeeze in.

Wanli took the telescope and scanned it carefully, speechless. The pontoon bridge was broken, but it was cut off by the northern barbarians from the opposite side.

The string of sheepskin rafts was swaying on the river like a swing.

Across the pontoon bridge was a dusty earth dragon. The Northern Tartar cavalry guarding the bridge had long since disappeared.

These guys run really fast.

If you run, I'll see where you run to.
Wanli snorted inwardly, then rushed to the mudflat with a group of expert guards and came to the river to take a closer look.

The river here is only about 20 to 30 feet wide at its narrowest point. There is a mudflat on the opposite side, and a slope beyond the mudflat. It is indeed a good place to build a floating bridge.

He looked up at the sky, thought it over carefully, and then said decisively, "Bangping, order the men to dig a trench about ten feet along the river, half a man deep. Build a half-man-high earthen wall on the river side, and make many lookout holes in the middle of the wall."

What is this for?
Although Qin Bangping was a little puzzled, he quickly ordered his soldiers to dismount and quickly take out hoes and shovels to dig trenches.

The soil on this riverbed is originally soft, and the depth of the trench only requires half a person's height. The excavated soil is piled to the south, which becomes a half-person-high earth wall. Digging this trench is extremely easy.

Thousands of men worked for less than two quarters of an hour and the trenches along the river were dug.

Wanli rode his horse back to the severed pontoon bridge and raised his hand to give the order, "Look through the lookout holes to see where the pontoon bridge is. Once you've got it right, throw in a few dozen kerosene cans and try."

The floating bridge was about ten feet in front of them. Although it was a bit shaky, it was not difficult to hit it.

Soon, dozens of kerosene cans flew out of the trench, most of which hit the pontoon bridge.

Seeing this, Wanli waved his hand and ordered: "Release the rockets and ignite them."

Upon hearing this, Qin Bangping quickly ordered his men to bring rockets and longbows, took out a lighter, lit them, and then shot an arrow.

With a bang, the floating bridge made of sheepskin rafts and wooden boards immediately caught fire. The flames were like an explosion, burning the surface of the river.

This fire is really terrifying. Forget about putting it out. It would be a blessing if you don't get burned to death if you stand within the range of the flames.

After a while, the floating bridge was burned off, and the sheepskin rafts turned into fireballs and floated downstream. The surface of the river suddenly looked like a row of wolf smoke, and the billowing smoke columns were connected into a string.

Wanli nodded slightly upon seeing this, and then gave detailed instructions: "Bangping, only 5,000 troops will be left here to garrison, there is no room for more.

First, order your soldiers to cook and let the horses eat some grass and have a good rest for an hour or so. Then disperse the troops along the river, stationing a thousand troops every five miles or so.

Remember, wherever there are hilltops, send people up there to observe with telescopes, and wherever there are river sections where pontoon bridges can be built, dig trenches like this to block them."

Upon hearing this, Qin Bangping quickly bowed and said, "I understand."

It was not yet noon. They would cook and rest for an hour or so, which would be around noon. There was still time for the 20,000-odd troops to disperse along the river section of less than 200 miles.

The northern barbarians on the two large grasslands in the south had no time to escape.

They never expected that tens of thousands of cavalry would come from the direction of Xiningwei.

This pontoon bridge was indeed the one they planned to use to cross the river and escape.

Originally, they thought that when the main force of the Ming army came out from the direction of Taozhou Wei, they would see the situation first. If they really couldn't win, they would flee to the north.

Who would have thought that before there was any movement in the direction of Taozhou Wei, the north bank of the Yellow River was suddenly occupied by tens of thousands of Ming troops.

It was the afternoon of the third day when Huo Chiluo received the news.

He was shocked to hear that the pontoon bridge for crossing the river had been cut off and that the north bank of the Yellow River had been occupied by tens of thousands of Ming cavalry.

Where are they going now?
Running south?
Those are endless snow-capped mountains!

Running east?
That is Taozhou Wei!
Running west?
Those are endless mountains!

Running north?
That is also a mountainous area. Even if you cross that mountain, you will still reach Xining Wei!

Their only way to escape was to head northwest across the Yellow River and run to Qinghai Lake.

Who would have thought that the north bank of the Yellow River would be occupied by the Ming army.

This time, he was really a little desperate.

The young emperor of the Ming Dynasty is sick!

Didn’t they just launch a surprise attack on Taozhou Wei?
The young emperor of the Ming Dynasty actually mobilized nearly 200,000 cavalry to fight them!
All their young and strong men combined don’t even have 200,000!
(End of this chapter)