Chapter 1691: Zhu Youjian, Do You Dare Come and Fight?

The great army of the Mongol Chahar tribe had been in ceaseless campaigning for the better part of the past year. Even after seizing the rich lands of the Tumed Plain, they had not relaxed in the slightest. After all, most of the tumens and tribes of the Right Wing Mongols had merely been routed, and few had truly submitted at the feet of the Hutudun Khan.

So the Chahar army remained armored and saddled at all times. At a single command from the Hutudun Khan, they were immediately mobilized, forming a vast torrent that surged through the valleys at the eastern foot of the Yin Mountains and swept toward the Ming border wall at Datong.

This was a truly magnificent host! Standing in the middle of the column, one could see neither its head ahead nor its tail behind. With no fewer than eighty thousand soldiers and horses, it could be said they had nearly emptied their entire strength.

The Northern Yuan Hutudun Khan himself was, of course, among the great army. At this moment he rode a fine steed rarely seen on the Mongolian steppe, wearing a peaked hat with upturned brim adorned with golden flowers, a white Mongolian robe, and over it a yellow sleeveless jacket embroidered with many fine patterns. A broad golden belt was tied at his waist, making him look exceptionally noble.

The Hutudun Khan's name was Lindan Batur. He was thirty-six years old this year, and had ascended the throne as Great Khan of the Northern Yuan at the age of thirteen, reigning now for twenty-three years. At the time of his accession, the Northern Yuan court was already in considerable decline, able to command only the eight great camps of the Chahar proper. Even these core forces did not much obey him, a child ruler. Only ten years after his accession did he barely manage to gain control of the situation, after which he began frequently dispatching troops to attack the Ming line from Guangning to Jinzhou to build up his prestige.

So he and the Great Ming were old adversaries — he was the Great Khan of the Northern Yuan, the enemy destined by fate for the Ming dynasty!

But no one had expected that the times had changed! Before Lindan Batur could become, like his ancestors, a troublesome enemy of the Great Ming, the Jianzhou Jurchen had risen as if by miracle, beating both the Northern Yuan and the Great Ming — old adversaries who had fought for over two hundred years — until their teeth littered the ground.

But Lindan Batur was more quick-witted than the Ming emperors. Knowing the Jianzhou Jurchen could not be opposed, he adopted the path of flight and avoidance. Thus, apart from the troops left to hold the Liao River bend region being caught off guard by Hong Taiji and losing over ten thousand men, his core strength remained largely intact.

Even most of the people of the two great camps of Naiman and Aohan, who had submitted to the Later Jin, followed Lindan Batur away — the Mongols were all nomads, not so easily controlled by the Later Jin! Moreover, Lindan Batur the Great Khan still commanded very high prestige among the Chahar proper.

And in the subsequent westward migration campaign, the Chahar tribe, which had spent years sparring with the Ming and Later Jin armies in Liaodong (there had been no major battles with the Later Jin, but small-scale clashes had occurred), displayed formidable fighting strength, easily defeating the Right Wing Mongol tribes who had grown soft from years of ease.

Thus, although the Chahar tribe that had smoothly seized the Tumed Plain lost considerable supplies, cattle, sheep, and horses, their personnel losses were not great, and they could still mobilize eighty thousand cavalry!

Moreover, because they now held Kuku Hoto and the Tumed Plain, the old, weak, women, and children of the Chahar no longer needed to accompany the army, making this surprise raid on Datong even more swift and fierce.

The great army of eighty thousand was uniformly cavalry, each man equipped with two horses and carrying twenty days' rations. Like a sudden thunderclap, they hurled themselves at the border wall of Datong Prefecture.

Of course, Lindan Batur did not expect his army to break through the city of Datong Prefecture itself. Never mind that its defender was the famous general Man Gui — even if it were held by an incompetent, the Chahar army, which basically lacked siege capability, could not possibly break a strong city like Datong.

So Lindan Batur's goal was merely to plunder the surrounding areas of Datong city, while gaining more bargaining chips and leverage at the negotiating table. Even if he could not get five hundred thousand in market rewards, he at least wanted to secure three or four hundred thousand.

As for the famous general Man Gui, he was of course a somewhat thorny enemy.

But Lindan Batur was also a Great Khan grown old in the use of troops, and he still had ways to deal with Man Gui.

Because he knew that Man Gui could not have too many troops at hand. The Datong garrison had been at peace for so many years that the shortfall in its defenders was surely considerable, and in recent years many troops had been drawn off to support Liaodong. So the forces remaining in Datong could not be many — otherwise Man Gui would not have brought fifteen thousand Liaodong troops to take up his post. By Lindan Batur's estimate, counting the men Man Gui had brought back from western Liao, the Datong garrison could have at most forty thousand troops actually in service.

And the Datong garrison covered a vast area, with as many as seventy-two forts and castles under its command, plus several hundred li of border wall to guard. So the troops were surely very dispersed, and within Datong Prefecture city there could be at most twenty thousand men. Of these, five thousand could under no circumstances leave the city — otherwise, if Datong city were lost, what then?

So the most Man Gui could lead out of Datong city was fifteen thousand men, of whom at best five thousand could be cavalry.

And Lindan Batur's great army numbered eighty thousand. As long as they kept their distance from Datong Prefecture city, they should not encounter Man Gui's main force. And if he really did come out with only five thousand men, that would be suicide!

Rounding a bend in the mountain road, what appeared ahead was still range upon range of mountains. Lindan Batur, accustomed to marching and fighting on the open steppe and desert, could not help feeling somewhat restless. "Ulhang, where has Guiyingqia gotten to?"

"Elder Brother, Guiyingqia's vanguard is already close to the border wall at Desheng Fort. Perhaps tonight they can break through the wall!"

The speaker was actually a woman! Dressed in men's clothing, under thirty years of age, quite attractive, bearing a slight resemblance to Lindan Batur, though without the latter's fierce, imposing air.

This woman was Lindan Batur's younger sister, the Great Princess Ulhang, and also Guiyingqia's wife, and at the same time a female general under Lindan Batur — not a female general for show, but one who truly could lead troops in battle! In the original course of history, when Guiyingqia went to Xinping Fort to extort rewards, he was ambushed by the Ming army and killed on the spot. The Great Princess Ulhang then led her followers to avenge her husband, serving as Lindan Batur's vanguard, breaking through the border wall near Desheng Pass and charging all the way to the walls of Datong.

But this time, because Li Chengyun and Zu Kefa had arrived at Kuku Hoto, the "Xinping Fort ambush" had never happened. Guiyingqia was still alive, and had even become the vanguard, leading over ten thousand cavalry to strike at Desheng Pass.

Desheng Pass was less than a hundred li from Datong Prefecture city, a pass on the Datong border wall, and not particularly strong. Since the Anda tribute treaty, the area inside and outside the Datong border wall had remained peaceful, so naturally no one had maintained the useless wall. And even if someone had maintained it, it would have been useless, because the Datong garrison's border wall required over a hundred thousand men to defend. Now Man Gui had at most forty thousand men, and after deducting the troops needed to defend Datong Prefecture city and the sixty-odd forts under it (originally seventy-two forts, but some had already been abandoned), how many men could be left to guard the border wall? Being able to hold the watchtowers and light the warning beacon fires was already quite good.

So the border wall at Desheng Pass simply could not be held!

Lindan Batur nodded and said, "Ulhang, take five sum of iron cavalry and join forces with Guiyingqia. After breaking through the border wall, you and Guiyingqia are to advance together toward Mount Baideng. You must occupy Mount Baideng."

"Elder Brother," the Great Princess Ulhang knew the location of Mount Baideng, and her face lit up with joy at once, "are we going to attack Datong Prefecture city?"

"No!" Lindan Batur shook his head. "Datong is a famously strong city, and with Man Gui defending it, even the Jianzhou Jurchen could not break it. So you and Guiyingqia need only occupy Mount Baideng and establish camp. I intend to wait there for the Ming Emperor to come and do battle!"

"Is Elder Brother joking?" The Great Princess Ulhang laughed merrily. "How would the Ming Emperor dare come? If he did, he would be a second Ming Yingzong!"

Lindan Batur laughed. "I know he won't dare come. If he doesn't dare come, he has already lost in spirit! After that, we'll keep making outrageous demands and ask for more market rewards! With the market rewards, we can placate the Right Wing tribes, stabilize the situation, and gain a firm foothold!"

(End of Chapter)