After leaving Jinshan, the army continued to move north.
At this time, the land of Liaodong was still largely barren, but one good thing was that the terrain was flat, and the hard frozen soil underfoot prevented the wheels of the cannon from sinking in.
The journey has been smooth.
There is heavy snow almost every night, and fortunately there is almost always the sun during the day. However, the sun is not high, and it is absolutely impossible for the sun to reach the sky. The light was also very weak, with a hint of paleness in the golden sunlight, making it look weak.
But the further north you go, the more intense the wind and snow become. Sometimes, even during the day, the world will become a world shrouded in wind and snow. If it weren't for the compass, Han Du would not dare to continue marching in such wind and snow weather.
Having just survived several consecutive days of snowstorms and ushered in a rare sunny day, Han Du exhaled a long white breath, "I finally understand why the army would not choose to go north in winter in the past. This is simply unnatural." days."
Azashi glanced at Han Du and said nothing. He also did not expect that the Ming Dynasty would choose to go north to conquer the Tatars in winter. With such bad weather, the Tatar tribe would never even dream that the Ming Dynasty would attack at this time. them. The people in the Ming court who came up with this idea were so wicked that they smoked.
Han Du glanced at the army in front and could clearly see the huge difference between the two groups. On the Ming army's side, they were all wearing cotton clothes, cotton trousers, long boots, and cotton hats. Even if they were facing the wind and snow, they didn't care much. Their faces were flushed, white breath was blowing out of their mouths, and they wantonly exuded the essence of their bodies. heat.
These soldiers also creatively tied up their cotton-padded clothes with ropes in circles to keep them close to their skin, which made them warmer than wearing them loosely.
The men and horses on Wu Liangha's side wore animal skins. Although these things were warm, the torso, arms and legs were separated after all, so there would be gaps. The cold wind blows in, greatly reducing the thermal insulation effect.
In order to keep warm, these people sat on the horse and huddled together as much as possible to reduce the gaps and conserve heat.
On the contrary, the teenagers were in high spirits because they were wearing cotton-padded clothes given by Han Du, and they did not feel the coldness of the ice and snow at all.
Hai Sa Nan ridiculed his horse and walked on the right side of Han Du. He glanced at Han Du and sighed: "At this time in previous years, we would take our people to the Rehe land in the south to spend the winter. We will only wait until the ice and snow melt next year. After green grass appears, the cattle and sheep will come here to graze.”
Listening to Haisa Nan's taunting words, Han Du could imagine that in summer, this place must be a scene of grass growing and orioles flying.
"Where is this place?"
Azashili raised his head and looked around. Even though the surroundings were covered with snow, he could still see a hint of familiarity in them.
"Go back to the Marquis, this should be near the fishing sea."
"Oh? Then let's look for it." Han Du couldn't help but feel a little curious when he heard that Yuerhai was coming. Although I couldn't see with my own eyes the scene when Lan Yu broke through Beiyuan, it was good to come to Yuerhai to see his old place.
"Yes." Azashi waved his hand, and hundreds of cavalry scattered forward.
At noon, some cavalry came back to report that Yuerhai was less than thirty miles ahead.
When Han Du heard this, he immediately ordered his army to go to Yuerhai. After spending the night repairing in Yuerhai, the army continued northward the next day.
Until he came to Kuoluanhaizi, he didn't see a trace of Can Yuan at all. Han Du's face darkened, and he looked at Azashi and asked sternly: "Didn't you say that the Beiyuan Khan's court is here in Kuoluanhaizi?" Where are the people now?"
Azashili was also sweating anxiously on his forehead. He raised his head and looked around anxiously, hoping to see some shadows of people and horses, but he only saw a vast expanse of white and nothing.
"Master Marquis, Master Marquis Mingjian, they were indeed at the edge of Luanhaizi at this time last year. How could they not come this year?"
Han Du snorted in his heart, "You also know that was last year. What I want to ask is, why don't they come to Kuoluanhaizi now?"
Azashi was so anxious in this freezing cold place
, there was sweat on his face, which showed the tension and anxiety in his heart.
Xu Chengfei stood beside Han Du on horseback, staring at Azashili with murderous eyes. If Azashili was lying from beginning to end, then there would be a huge problem. Maybe this guy never thought about leading him and others to the Beiyuan Khanate. Instead, he might have conspired with the Beiyuan Khanate to ambush him and others.
Trukhuchar was also looking around. After a long pause, he suddenly said: "Obviously they all came here to spend the winter last year. How could they not come this year?"
Han Du glanced at him coldly. Kuoluanhaizi was indeed a good place to spend the winter. The terrain was low-lying and the surrounding hills could block the biting cold wind. This is extremely important for grassland people who want to survive the winter. Perhaps a small temperature difference can greatly reduce the losses of cattle and sheep.
Trukhuchar looked over to no avail, and suddenly said: "It can't be the case. The weather has been very cold this year. They haven't withdrawn from the north yet, have they?"
Azashili's eyes widened for a moment, and a sudden realization came to his mind. He almost couldn't control his voice: "Yes, they must be trapped in the north because the white-haired wind came earlier this year."
"Master Marquis, as long as we go further north, we will definitely find them." Azashili's eyes were like bells, full of longing, hoping that Han Du could trust him again.
"Still going north?" Han Du's tone revealed extreme reluctance.
In order to reach Kuoluanhaizi, the army has been marching in the ice and snow for more than a month, and even encountered snowstorms several times. The most recent snowstorm lasted for three days, and I almost couldn't get out.
Continuing further north, the frequency and intensity of snowstorms will be greater, which is really risky.
Xu Chengfei also echoed and said to Han Du: "It's too risky to continue going north. Besides, I don't know if they are conspiring to trap us. What if there is a trap waiting for us ahead?"
Han Du frowned and looked back at Xu Chengfei. In fact, this was also what Han Du was worried about.
Han Du never thought that he had the aura of a king and could make others kneel down and sing conquest as soon as they saw him.
At this moment, Azashi suddenly turned over and dismounted, knelt directly in front of Han Du, clasped his fists and said: "Master Marquis, please trust me once more. If I don't find the Khan's court in the north, I will kill myself in front of Master Hou." "
"Your Majesty..."
"Your Majesty..."
Haisanan Daxi and Truhuchar quickly dismounted their horses, kicked away the snow and came to Azashili, trying to pull him up.
Azashili waved his arm directly, shaking their hands away, and looked at Han Du expectantly.
"I beg you, Lord Marquis, to trust me one more time! Just once!"
Han Du stared at Azashili, as if he wanted to see clearly whether he was acting, or whether he really just needed to continue north to find the Beiyuan Khanate.
Xu Chengfei saw Han Du's expression was different and couldn't help lowering his voice, "Han Du, no... our target is the Tatar tribe, not the Khan's court."
Han Du understood what Xu Chengfei meant. The Tatar tribe was to be wiped out in this Northern Expedition. As for the Northern Yuan Khanate, no one in the court had even heard of it. If the Beiyuan Khan's court can encounter them, then it won't matter if they are destroyed easily. But if you can't find it, then it's only right to go west to conquer the Tatar tribe. Even if the Khan's court is eliminated, it may not be able to achieve much merit.
But Han Du knew better that the Khan's court was the sacred mountain in the hearts of the Meng Yuan people. As long as this sacred mountain existed, the entire grassland could be unified and once again become the Ming's confidant.
Only by completely annihilating the Khan's court, and using other means to break up the grassland, can the Ming Dynasty eliminate the threat of the grassland forever.
"Okay!" Han Du gritted his teeth fiercely, "I will trust you again. If you can't find the Khan's court when you go north, I will definitely crush you to ashes!"
"Thank you, Lord Marquis!" Azashi didn't have any fear or resentment, but stood up with a happy face.
Han Du waved the riding crop in his hand and pointed towards the north, "Let's go, keep going north!"
...
The further north you go
, the wind and snow are getting bigger.
After more than ten days of trekking, the army experienced successive snowstorms, and only one day was lucky enough to see the sun in the sky.
But even after walking for so long, there was not even a trace of human activity, let alone a Mongolian person.
Even Han Du, who chose to believe in Azashili, began to have his confidence shaken, and couldn't help but wonder whether he really deliberately led him in the wrong direction.
"Azashili!" Han Du's face was stern, his brows furrowed deeper, and he said, "Are you still going north?"
In fact, Azashili had already despaired, because when he saw the surrounding scenery clearly, he knew where this was.
Reaching out to grab the leather hat on his head, Azashi took out the short knife from his waist and could only sigh: "It's the fault of the lower official. The lower official will give an explanation to the Marquis."
"No, you can't..."
Haisanan Daxi and Truhuqar immediately flew forward, each holding Azashili's arms firmly.
Han Du lowered his head and frowned, actually feeling that Azashili would not lie to him. After all, if he really wanted to lure himself into a trap, there would be too many opportunities along the way. There is no need to go to this far north and not do anything to yourself.
But Azashili's words have already been spoken, and the army has traveled tirelessly to this point without seeing a single enemy. If you don't give an explanation, how can you explain it to the entire army?
"Go away, you two, get out of here. I will do what I say, and I will give an explanation to the Marquis..." Azashili shook his head from side to side, trying to shake the two of them away, but was blocked by The two of them were holding on tightly, unable to break free!
