Chapter 178

178. Chapter 176: Those Who Ride Well Fall, Planning Strategy

The northern border of the former Danning Regional Military Commission, between Datong and Jizhen, near the Yanshan Mountains, five hundred li from Jielingkou and over seven hundred li from the Xifengkou tribute pass.

The hills rose and fell, the grassland was boundless, and where the two met, dawn was about to break, the morning light faint.

The dull sound of killing and the explosive sound of firearms broke the silence of the morning under the Yanshan Mountains.

The sound was short.

It had a feeling of coming to an abrupt end.

The sunlight cast upon the earth could not break through the mist and gunpowder smoke mixed together, only vaguely reflecting a military formation with clean outlines, and corpses with ferocious faces, broken limbs, lying horizontally and vertically, being harvested of their heads by armored soldiers under the horses' hooves.

The armor of the military formation was clearly of the Great Ming dynasty style.

The clothing of the corpses was needless to say of the barbarian kind.

The dripping blood dyed the grass red.

The unpleasant smell of gunpowder rushed into the nasal cavity.

Military law officers shuttled back and forth in the ranks, either counting or recording faults.

A few greenhorns who hadn't been on the battlefield for long were vomiting while holding their horses.

Some young masters who had been selected into this unit from the Beijing Military Academy, seeing the soldiers cutting off heads and hanging them at their waists, kicked their legs and fainted.

"Rest on the spot for a quarter of an hour, check the firearms, fill the gunpowder, feed the horses, and set off in a quarter of an hour!"

The leading general rode on his horse, looking around like a wolf and an eagle.

Hu Shouren is the Regional Commander of the Southern Troops in Jizhen, besides his high position and great power, he has the prestige of being unquestionable brought by conquering the battlefield.

"Time is tight, military law is strict, don't delay!"

The battalion officers and deputy generals at all levels responded solemnly and conveyed the order up and down.

After Hu Shouren finished saying this, he untied the water bag on the horse's back and began to pour water into himself and the horse under him.

Long-distance raids and an unexpected battle had exhausted both people and horses to the extreme.

In order not to alert Dong Huli, Wang Chonggu went through the path of the Third Lady, allowing Hu Shouren to detour from Xuanda and pass through the pasture area of Qingbaduer safely.

Only after day and night of rushing did they reach the pasture area of the Duoyan Guard.

It was just that the people could bear it, but the horses were a bit weak.

Fortunately, they were about to go up the Yanshan Mountains and head straight for the old nest of the Duoyan Guard.

Thinking of this, Hu Shouren took out the telescope in his bosom and looked toward the Yanshan Mountains while the sun had just risen.

From Hu Shouren's official position, it can be seen that he must be the core of Qi Jiguang's core.

The Regional Commander of the Southern Troops, the so-called Southern Troops, is an army composed of the core of three thousand old troops brought by Qi Jiguang from Zhejiang.

And Hu Shouren himself followed Qi Jiguang all the way from Zhejiang and Fujian to resist the Japanese, to conquering the outside of the Great Wall today, and can be called the core of the Qi family army.

At this time, the military law officer had finished counting the military achievements of this battle and rode to Hu Shouren's side: "Regional Commander Hu, that guy Bada was hit by three musket shots, he definitely won't survive, cut it off."

Hu Shouren nodded directly upon hearing this: "Cut off the head and count it as a military achievement!"

Bada is the son of Dong Huli who is not favored.

He is also the unlucky guy encountered this morning—it can't be said to be unlucky, after all, he was left by Dong Huli to watch Chang'ang, and now bumping into Hu Shouren is a matter of course.

But this kind of small role, whether alive or dead, makes no difference to him, the Regional Commander.

As soon as the words fell, Boerhan on the side changed his face and said urgently: "Regional Commander Hu, Commander Qi promised my father that he would not kill the innocent bloodline of Gelantai!"

"All 170 people in Bada's unit have returned to the embrace of Eternal Heaven, how can the Regional Commander still kill prisoners."

"Does the Regional Commander want Commander Qi, such a warrior, to also become fat by eating his own promises?"

Hu Shouren turned his head and glanced at Boerhan.

This Tatar traitor is the son of Wulusihan—from the fact that his speech is neither Tatar nor Han, one knows that his political identity is hard to say.

Setting aside the strange words like eating one's words and becoming fat, the Gelantai he mentioned is the father of Dong Huli, Wulusihan, and Yingke.

If the hereditary power of the Great Ming dynasty needs to be propagated through party cliques, students, old subordinates, and societies, then the power inheritance of the Mongols is much simpler—the son of a noble must be a noble, and the son of a slave is always a slave.

Therefore, the bloodline of Gelantai is the group of real-power leaders of Duoyan today.

Today, the Duoyan Guard is sandwiched between the left and right wings of the Mongols and the Great Ming dynasty, and these people each have their own positions.

Yingke, the eldest son of Gelantai, died at the hands of the Great Ming dynasty, and Chang'ang, the son of Yingke, has lost power, not to mention.

The second son, Mengke, has over two hundred cavalry, stationed in the Tangtu boundary, two hundred li south of Lengkou, three hundred li to the tribute pass, attached to the Western Barbarians, that is, the leader of the Mongol right wing, Nalin.

The third son, Menggudai, has over seven hundred cavalry, stationed in the Huizhou Taojuntu boundary, two hundred li southwest to the tribute pass, attached to the right wing Antan.

The fourth son, Makechi, has over three hundred cavalry, stationed in the Mulu boundary, three hundred li straight to Yiyuankou, five hundred li southwest to the tribute pass, attached to the right wing Nasun.

The fifth son, Dong Huli, is biased toward the Chahar tribe, trying to use the Mongol Khan to get rid of the control of the right wing.

As for the sixth son, Wulusihan, he is much more sensible and is a rare figure who is friendly to the Great Ming dynasty.

When Dong Huli plundered last year, Wulusihan followed the imperial court's order to go and announce the edict, ordering him to return the kidnapped population, and arrested two scapegoats under Dong Huli to give an account to the Great Ming dynasty.

And this time this year, when Dong Huli gathered various tribes to invade Jizhen and Liaodong again, Wulusihan directly reported to Qi Jiguang.

And after negotiating something with the imperial court, he simply sent his son Boerhan to be a guide.

Facing Boerhan's questioning, Hu Shouren shook his head seriously: "Commander Qi ordered me to come and help Chang'ang, the grandson of Gelantai, take power. Killing those who don't submit is because Chang'ang succeeded to the position of Commander of our dynasty, and is respectful to the imperial court, relying on it as a suzerain."

"Including Mengke, Menggudai, and even your father, they are all like this, willing to be the people of our dynasty, so they can pass the test of distinguishing between friend and foe."

"But what about Dong Huli? He repeatedly started border troubles, as many as six times last year alone! Killing common people! Plundering mutual markets! Lawless!"

"This year, he even refused to give up, gathering Eastern Barbarians again to invade Xifengkou!"

"Boerhan actually says Dong Huli's descendants are innocent!?"

He was too lazy to popularize the power of firearms to an ignorant Tatar, saying things like vital shots are bound to die.

Instead, he directly tortured Boerhan on the standpoint.

Boerhan's face turned red upon hearing this, and he couldn't say a word.

Hu Shouren saw him speechless and turned his head back.

Seeing that the marching state was orderly and the time was about right, he reined in his horse and ordered: "Go!"

After the order was given, the whole army did not move.

Turning a deaf ear, it seemed there was no discipline at all.

In fact, this reaction is exactly where the military order of the Qi family army lies—when marching on land or water, no matter what happens, listen to the flags and drums, and do not allow oral transmission. Words transmitted orally, even if said by the general, are not allowed to be followed.

Sure enough, after a drum beat, the ranks finally reacted.

The marching flags were raised.

The horns sounded loud.

The officers and sentry leaders went to the central army, and the whistles sounded one after another.

The whole army moved with a roar, acting in unison, like a whole, moving slowly toward one direction.

Like an arm, orders were followed and prohibitions were stopped.

On the city tower of Xifengkou.

Qi Jiguang held a telescope and looked outside the Great Wall frequently.

Several li away, sentry cavalry were patrolling, running back and forth, clearly visible.

Further away, circles of Tatar tents and iron cavalry in formation were blurry in the mirror, not clearly visible.

Although there were only vague outlines, combined with the fact of several ten-thousand-cavalry charges in these days, the situation of the army pressing on the city was clear at a glance.

Chen Zilu on the side reported the enemy situation outside the pass: "Commander Qi, according to the sentry cavalry's investigation, the Habushen tribe and the Chaohua tribe seem to have withdrawn last night, leaving only tribes like Subahai, Heishitan, Beimataiji, and Laxitaiji."

Chaohua and Subahai belong to the Duoyan Three Guards, the former occupied Fuyu Guard, the latter is the leader of Prince Tai Ning Guard, both are good friends with Dong Huli in plundering Liaodong.

Heishitan, Beimataiji, and Laxitaiji belong to the Chahar tribe of the Mongol left wing, and the invasion of Jinzhou and Yizhou never lacked these few.

Habushen is the Kharachin tribe of the Mongol right wing, which used to violate prohibitions every year before Andan surrendered, but after Andan surrendered, they traded in the mutual market, and then grabbed the goods back.

In short, they are all good Tatar heroes.

Qi Jiguang narrowed his eyes and scanned around with the telescope, not looking back: "Now there are at least ten thousand cavalry waiting for an opportunity around Xifengkou."

This number was not seen by the telescope, but synthesized from the understanding of these tribes, the information of the sentry cavalry, and finally the telescope's estimation of the number of tents and horses.

Ten thousand cavalry is naturally not a small number, especially on the open grassland.

It is not an exaggeration to call it a flood.

However, Chen Zilu was not worried about this number.

After all, besides the conventional recruited soldiers guarding the pass, there were six thousand cavalry and thirteen thousand infantry in Xifengkou, ready to go—originally there were ten thousand cavalry, but Hu Shouren took away four thousand.

He was full of confidence: "Don't look at Dong Huli gathering many people, they are just a mob. Seeing that there is no advantage to take, they will scatter in a moment."

"Chaohua has a grudge against the Chahar tribe, and even if they attack the pass these days, they have constant conflicts with Beimataiji, and they almost fought each other; Habushen is controlled by his elder brother Qingbaduer, following to eat the benefits of our dynasty in the mutual market, now following Dong Huli, they have the heart to gather for rewards, but no courage to invade the border and attack."

"The withdrawal of the two was expected."

"Besides, the three Chahar tribes are far from the headquarters, and have the Jurchens eyeing them covetously. Now that the elite have been drawn away, and they haven't seen any advantage for several days, I think they won't stay long."

"Once these three tribes leave, we will have full confidence, and we can take the initiative to meet the enemy and kill them in one blow!"

Qi Jiguang frowned and looked at Chen Zilu: "Don't be so impetuous! Haven't you suffered enough from the impeachment of Governor Liu and the investigation of the Censor!?"

Chen Zilu was a chivalrous man, and his caution as an official and commander was really too poor.

All day long, it's either his own full confidence or the enemy being a mob.

He is too far from taking charge alone.

It is precisely because of this impetuosity that he was impeached by Liu Yingjie, and even almost sent to prison.

At the end of last year, because Dong Huli repeatedly invaded the border, killing and plundering, the border soldiers all regarded the Tatars as enemies, so Wu Qing and others of the Southern Troops took advantage of the mutual market to cross the border privately, killed Andan Khan's people without authorization, and fabricated enemy situations, falsely spreading beacon fires.

Garrison Commander Chen Zilu, Deputy Regional Commander Chen Xun, and Supervisor Wang Fengming responded and moved out, shouting and killing without asking for reasons, almost causing a disaster.

Fortunately, they were old people brought from Zhejiang, so while Qi Jiguang brought them along to share military achievements this time, he couldn't help but teach them a lesson.

Chen Zilu admitted his mistake sullenly upon hearing this.

Qi Jiguang then eased his expression.

He gently put down the telescope, put it in his bosom, and said earnestly: "Since Dong Huli has left his nest, he is bound to die. If you can be safe, don't take risks."

The risk he refers to, besides military, is not wanting to have too much conflict with the Chahar tribe and the Kharachin tribe of the Mongol left and right wings.

The Emperor and the Grand Secretariat specifically instructed not to turn the matter of killing the chicken to warn the monkey into a big war with the two Mongol Khans.

As for the Duoyan Guard?

It's just four thousand cavalry, just jumping happily, in fact, they have long been on the list.

Qi Jiguang had long wanted to kill Dong Huli.

During the Longqing years, after Yingke died, Dong Huli led four thousand cavalry to invade the Jizhen border.

Qi Jiguang reported to the imperial court at that time, saying "The native barbarians are the leaders, Dong Huli is the source of the disaster, it is appropriate to declare his crimes and destroy him."

Pity, the Jizhen Governor and the Ministry of War Supervising Secretary did not support the use of troops against the Duoyan Guard at that time, and did not get the approval of the central government.

The former said "The subordinate barbarians should be destroyed, but the terrain is rugged, it is appropriate to destroy them slowly"—should destroy Dong Huli, but it is not appropriate to destroy Dong Huli.

The latter said "I am afraid the border terrain is dangerous, the generals are not used to it, it is appropriate to be cautious and safe, then we can talk about war."

Although the opinions were conservative, they were not groundless.

At the beginning, the Chahar tribe of the Mongol left wing moved east, and the Prince Tai Ning and Fuyu of the Duoyan Three Guards were immediately swallowed.

Only the Duoyan Guard, relying on "all entering the deep mountains, resisting the danger, the grass and trees are dense, all difficult to penetrate," resisted for several years.

It can be said that if you want to hit the door, you must fight away from home and be restricted everywhere.

If it weren't for this, the border army would have acted during the Longqing years, and would not have allowed Dong Huli to toss until now.

It is precisely because of this that Qi Jiguang said that Dong Huli is bound to die when he leaves the nest—Dong Huli has plundered the Xuanda and Jizhen borders for more than ten years without cost, I am afraid he has forgotten that the Great Ming border army still has the choice of actively showing its fangs.

Chen Zilu was honest after being reprimanded.

He tentatively opened his mouth: "Commander Qi, Regional Commander Hu should be arriving soon. What if Dong Huli hears the news and leads his troops to withdraw with the Eastern and Western Barbarian chiefs?"

Dong Huli led his troops to invade, only dividing part of his confidants into two, one part stayed in the Tuoguogen boundary to guard the old nest; the other part was stationed in the Danning northern boundary to restrain Chang'ang.

Hu Shouren is rushing to these two places.

Dong Huli knows this, I am afraid he may not dare to return to Yanshan.

Qi Jiguang shook his armor and examined the outside of the Great Wall with a discerning eye: "Beimataiji is not the Tumut Khan, he has no reason to make wedding clothes for others."

Speaking of this, he couldn't help shaking his head: "Don't treat the Tatars as our army, the tribal chiefs are ultimately barbarians."

If they weren't barbarians, they wouldn't have made the Mongol left and right wings have two spokesmen.

Mongols don't have any central government, no big picture.

A few more days passed.

The invasion of the ten thousand Tatar cavalry was like fire, seemingly bowing down to the immobility of the Great Wall.

Within a few days, Dong Huli tried to rush the pass several times, all returning without success.

Turning like the wind to other passes, they were all waiting for work by the defenders.

Dividing troops to various places, leaving a few corpses after not agreeing with each other, they gathered together again.

The flags on the city tower waved, showing no signs of fatigue.

The defense of Jizhen is too normal.

Normal, unlike the Great Ming dynasty army.

Finally.

After many days of futility, the Mongol tribes attacking the Great Wall finally scattered in a mass.

The Mongol tents were quietly packed up at night.

The sentry cavalry were silently withdrawn for the most part, leaving only a small part to look after the rear.

The leaders of each tribe didn't even meet, and left in different directions without a word.

Dong Huli rode on his horse, looking at the scattered iron cavalry in the moonlight, his heart heavy.

Qi Jiguang is too difficult to deal with.

He has plundered the Jizhen border for more than ten years, and only after Qi Jiguang came has he been frustrated so repeatedly.

During the Jiajing years, he followed Huang Taiji to invade Xuanfu, straight to the Luanhe River, which can be called entering no man's land.

At the turn of the Jia and Long years, Jielingkou was like a back garden, entering and exiting at will, and the supplies for the winter were within reach.

Until Qi Jiguang arrived at Jizhen, the situation took a turn for the worse.

In the fourth year of Longqing, he gathered over ten thousand troops with Subahai and Chaohua to attack the pass, but under his resistance, it was futile.

In the first year of Wanli, he thought the new and old were changing and the border army was unstable, but after attacking Xifengkou, he almost became his military achievement.

He originally thought that with the support of the Tumut Khan this year, gathering the Chahar tribe and the Duoyan Three Guards to make a comeback, he could have some results and consolidate his position, but he didn't expect to end up in a scattered mess.

Perhaps... he should have started from Liaodong with Subahai, Heishitan, and Chaohua.

Maybe Li Chengliang could be defeated in one blow.

Dong Huli was thinking wildly in his heart, and after counting and gathering the four thousand cavalry, he whistled and returned.

Four thousand cavalry is not accurate, it should be four thousand two hundred and ninety cavalry—so Wang Chonggu is extremely reliable in military affairs.

At the year-end review, Wang Chonggu had a rough estimation of the Duoyan Guard's troops—the troops should be sixty thousand, with eleven thousand young and strong, about four thousand cavalry.

This number is indeed not much different from the actual situation.

The Duoyan Guard is gradually being eaten by the Mongol left and right wings.

It is also reflected in the cavalry.

Now the cavalry of the Duoyan Guard directly digested by the Tumut controlled by Andan Khan has four tribes with 2050 cavalry, and those directly digested by the Chahar tribe controlled by the Tumut Khan have five tribes with 1800 cavalry.

The remaining fourteen tribes with 4290 cavalry are the deployments that Dong Huli can directly control, and also his capital to suppress Chang'ang, intend to get rid of the right wing, and lean toward the Tumut Khan.

Therefore, as long as Dong Huli preserves these four thousand cavalry, there will eventually be a day of comeback after some setbacks.

Just at this time.

In the direction of the return journey, a rider came like dust.

Dong Huli's eyes narrowed.

A bad premonition emerged in his heart.

He was about to stop the other party from speaking, so as to tell him privately.

Pity it was too late.

As the rider's horse hooves approached, his shrill voice also approached from far to near.

"Master! Wuyiye Te Wulusi has been destroyed by the Han people! Chang'ang, that bastard, led the Han people to sacrifice all of the Master's descendants to Yuelun Hadun!"

Dong Huli's face changed greatly upon hearing this.