"Xilulu..."
On the north bank of the Songhua River Valley, a team of several thousand people and horses appeared. Many of them were women, children, and the elderly. Only a few were on horseback. Men wearing animal skin armor were on guard in all directions.
Leading the team down the river was Shuerha, the second son of Xiyangha. He stood on the roadside, watching the people and horses leave, and at the same time looking at the mountains and forests to the north.
While he was looking around, several stocky leather-armored butangs also emerged from the mountain forest to the north.
"How is it?" Shuerha asked, and Nabutang answered truthfully: "Master, don't worry, there is no trace of anyone for three miles to the north."
After Nabutang finished explaining, an armored soldier who was also stationed next to the horse also said: "Master, every time the Ming army attacks, they always go by water, and they should not go by land, and there are no traces of anyone crossing the river on the river beach. .”
"It's always right to be careful, and even if you don't guard against the Ming army, the Udiha (savages) in the east must also be vigilant." Shuerha explained, and then began to follow the team to the east.
A quarter of an hour after they left, a searched grassland on Dahei Mountain was suddenly lifted up in a square shape, revealing a tunnel one foot long and wide.
Then, Ming soldiers wearing breastplates came out one after another, and staged a dramatic transformation into a living person in the forest.
After patting the dirt on his body, one of them said proudly: "The method His Highness taught us is so amazing that even these Donglu can't find it."
He was feeling proud, but the flag officer leading the team climbed to the edge of the hillside and looked down.
Looking at the valley road with only the traces of vehicles and horse hooves left, the flag officer breathed a sigh of relief, then turned around and greeted: "Two of you will go and inform His Highness, the rest and I will continue to guard."
"Yes." The two soldiers wearing breastplates responded in a low voice, and then trotted away into the forest.
In just a quarter of an hour, Zhu Gaoxu saw the two people who came to deliver the message.
"Continue to inquire. After Commander Fu fights with the previous troops, ignore Tangqi who went to Boyanzhai Fort to ask for help. Come back and tell me immediately after Xiyang Ha leads the troops."
"Yes!" The two soldiers bowed in agreement, then turned around and ran all the way back to the Daheishan Ridge.
Seeing them leaving, Yishiha bowed and said, "Your Highness, are you ready to fight?"
"No!" Zhu Gaoxu shook his head: "It's still three and a half miles from here to the river valley, and armor-piercing horses can't get through. When Xiyang Ha sends troops to fight Fu Rang, then we will rush to the river valley and block his retreat with armor! "
He made a decision here, but Fu Rang and others who had gone downstream in advance had already put on armor. All of them were lying in ambush in the mountains and forests, waiting for the group of old, weak, women and children in Buyan Village Fort.
"Calculate the time, it's almost..."
Wearing armor and holding a long knife, Fu Rang was sitting in the forest and felt very excited.
Compared to him, many soldiers who had never been on the battlefield were sweating in their hands, whether from excitement or fear.
"Form up a little to block the road and fight them head-on. There are only about a hundred steps on the riverbank road in this valley. There are a hundred cavalry in front and behind, and five hundred infantry forming a three-tiered base to block them!"
Fu Rang knew Zhu Gaoxu's thoughts well. After all, Zhu Gaoxu studied under his father, so what Zhu Gaoxu had to do was to block the river beach road frontally and attract Xiyang Ha to send troops for rescue.
There will be a lot of casualties in this way, but if you want to achieve the greatest results, you can only do this.
Thinking of this, Fu Rang turned to look at the Bohai Navy brothers behind him who were wearing armor and waiting for the order to charge.
Feeling his gaze, the brothers of the Bohai Navy also cast glances and smiles at him.
"After this battle, I wonder how many familiar faces I will see again..."
Fu Rang's heart sank, and he remembered Zhu Gaoxu's emotionless look when he gave the order just now.
"I'm not wrong, he looks more and more like the one in the palace..."
After the evaluation, he collected himself and prepared for the next fight.
Time passed little by little, and as the Xiyang Ha tribe's team emerged at the river bend, all the Bohai navy in the mountains and forests grasped the spears in their hands.
It was obviously only three miles away, but it seemed so far away yet so close at the moment.
"Let Butang go!"
Zhang Chun, who was sitting next to Fu Rang, watched the Xiyang Ha tribe release more than ten people into the forest. He subconsciously looked at Fu Rang to remind him.
"Tell the brothers to get ready and form a formation as soon as we get out of the river bend!"
Fu Rang changed his hand from the long knife at his waist to the Zhangsi long spear next to him. Not only him, but everyone in the Bohai Navy also held the long spear, and the cavalry's movements to comfort the lying horses were also much slower.
As if they sensed that a fight was coming, even the lying horses slowed down their breathing.
"Someone!"
"rush!"
As the Jurchen language rang out in the forest, Fu Rang pulled up the reins of the horse, and the horse began to stand up.
Everyone in the Bohai Navy immediately rushed towards the Jurchen Butang who discovered them. The man was so frightened that he turned around and ran away.
At the critical moment, Fu let him draw his bow and nock an arrow, aiming at his back and firing continuously.
Three arrows hit the Jurchen's back one after another. Although the arrows penetrated the leather armor and only damaged the flesh, the momentum brought by the arrows made him stagger.
In just this moment, Zhang Chun from behind led the team to kill him. He raised a knife and slashed at his neck, and then used three or five spears to stab him into a hole.
"There are enemies!"
Just killing a Jurchen Butang could not stop the message from being transmitted, but Fu Rang never thought that it could be stopped.
Their mission is to make this team a frightened bird, and then attract reinforcements from Xiyang Ha.
"Stop chasing, get on the road and form a formation!"
Fu Rang put away his long bow and rode his horse to rush past Zhang Chun and the others. Then more than a hundred cavalry rushed out with him and went straight to Shurha's team.
"It's the Ming Army!"
Shurha had just heard the news that there was an enemy. Before he could give the order, he saw dozens or hundreds of Ming army cavalry wearing bright armor rushing toward them. The distance between the two sides was less than half a mile.
The heavy cavalry of the Ming army was not like the uniform cavalry of the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Although there were vests, the vests were only on the front and there were no vests on the hips.
This may be to save weight, but more likely they don't think it's necessary.
"Quickly notify Amma to come for help!" Shurha ordered the centurion beside him, then turned to the men who had gathered and ordered: "Stop them!"
As the men of the Xiyang Ha tribe who are no different from bandits, they only know how to raise their spears when it comes to forming formations, but they don't know how to adapt.
Watching the heavy cavalry of the Ming army rushing towards them, many Xiyang Ha tribe men armed with crude spears fought in two groups and almost wanted to escape.
"Beep--"
The whistle in Fu Rang's mouth sounded, and the well-trained Bohai Navy cavalry hung their spears on the wooden hooks next to their saddles, took their bows and arrows, and finished in one go.
The lighter vest brought faster speed, and Fu Rang and the others quickly crossed the half-mile distance, and successfully stepped fifty steps in front of Shuerha and the others.
In one hour, the Bohai Navy had already rushed to the front of Shurha's formation, and Shurha and the others had barely assembled half of their troops.
Two hundred archers unfurled their bows and nocked arrows. They shot three times at a distance of fifty steps. Then they returned behind the three hundred spearmen as if they were running away, and picked up their spears with them to prepare for the enemy.
"Beep beep beep——"
The whistle sounded melodiously, and three waves of arrow rain did not cause any damage to Bohai Heavy Cavalry, but they rushed into a distance of twenty steps.
Under Fu Rang's whistle, hundreds of Bohai heavy cavalry made dexterous and circuitous circles. Before the spearmen of the Xiyang Ha tribe could react, the ready-to-go bows among the Bohai heavy cavalry began to move in more than ten steps. Aim at their cheeks and shoot arrows...
"Uh-huh!"
The arrows flew like locusts, hitting the faces of dozens of spearmen in the blink of an eye. Some of them were pierced through the skulls by the arrows, and some were scratched.
The heavy armored cavalry faces the enemy in surprise. This is a skill that the Ming army learned from the Mongolian cavalry when they fought against the Mongolian cavalry all year round.
The mobility gained by abandoning half of the vest was enough for them to complete a sudden roundabout in front of the formation, and this skill lasted almost throughout the Ming Dynasty, and was later learned by Nurhachi to use against the Ming army.
But at the moment, the only one who can master this skill skillfully is Ming Jun himself.
As for the Mongols, since the Battle of Yuerhai, they have lost their craftsmen who are skilled in forging vests, leaving only light cavalry who look like thieves.
"Follow me!"
Shuerha has obviously experienced the heavy cavalry of the Ming Army, so he knows very well what the shortcomings of the Ming Army's heavy cavalry are.
During frontal combat, the Ming army's armor was indestructible, but once they began to take detours to prepare for a second frontal assault, their backs would become their most fatal flaw.
Without any hesitation, Shuerha personally led more than a hundred cavalry who had just assembled from the rear to charge towards the Bohai cavalry, preparing to attack from behind.
"Fell into a trap..."
Listening to the sound of horse hooves behind him, Fu Rang couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth hidden under the neck guard, and looked forward.
"Stop!"
Shuerha and the others were about to catch up with Fu Rang, but they saw Fu Rang and the others scattering in small numbers. They were greeted by hundreds of Bohai heavy-armored soldiers armed with long spears.
He tried to stop, but the horse was charging too fast, so he could only grit his teeth and signal for a detour.
"Go back in a roundabout way!"
There are still more than ten steps between the two sides. This distance is enough for Shuerha and the others to turn their horses and retreat. This is the best way to face the heavy infantry formation.
However, what he faced at this moment was not the Ming army in the past, but the heavy infantry with spears trained by Zhu Gaoxu.
"Push it to me!"
Suddenly, Zhang Chun's voice was like thunder, and a scene that Shuerha had never imagined in his life appeared.
The heavy infantrymen with spears in formation abandoned their formation, advanced their four-foot-long spears, and started running with their legs.
They ran very rhythmically. Even when they started running, their formation was not messy, but they could barely maintain their formation.
It was a pity that Shuerha was no longer able to appreciate such a spear-heavy infantry charge at the moment. He only saw the shining spear head heading towards them like a wall.
"Bang bang bang——"
Flesh and blood collided, horses whined, and some people were knocked away by horses and whined, but more of them were horses stabbed down by spears and Jurchens on horseback.
More than a hundred cavalry fell down in just an instant, as if they had rushed into a black hole, and no one could escape...
Shurha died on the front line, at the hands of an unknown soldier.
"Beep--"
The whistle sounded again, and the Bohai Heavy Cavalry, which had detoured for a second time, charged again from the rear. Zhang Chun and others did not perform last-ditch attacks on the Jurchens who stood up, but skillfully gathered in units of small flags to give Fu Zang them Make way.
"drive!"
Many Jurchens who stood up were knocked down, trampled by the high-speed Bohai heavy cavalry, and died suddenly before they could react.
"array"
A round of charge almost exhausted the strength of Zhang Chun and most of the spear and heavy armor soldiers. They were panting heavily, but they still dragged their tired bodies and began to form formation, slowly advancing towards the Shuerha infantry who had lost their cavalry.
"run!"
Seeing that more than a hundred cavalry were wiped out in an instant, Xiyang Ha's long spearmen began to collapse without Shuerha's supervision. They had never experienced a battle in which the cavalry was wiped out in less than a quarter of an hour after the war started.
Even though there are still more than 300 people on their side, they have collapsed.
"Hurry up and run to the city!"
"Get aboard!"
"Uh-huh!"
The more than 300 men who collapsed kept shouting at their tribesmen to retreat. Some cavalrymen who had just arrived at the front line from the rear were shot dead on the spot by Fu Rang who was chasing them before they knew what was happening.
Jurchens are a good source of soldiers, but they are limited to soldiers.
When they were not led by people like Wanyan Aguda and Nurhachi, they were just hunters disguised as soldiers.
When they meet real soldiers, they will be vulnerable...
It was only a hundred Bohai heavy cavalry, but they chased more than 8,000 Jurchens for several miles. It was not until the horses could no longer bear it that Fu Rang ordered to stop the pursuit.
They began to clean up the battlefield and captured those Jurchen men who were injured and unable to run.
Fu Rang and Zhang Chun wanted to kill them, but Zhu Gaoxu had promised to take prisoners before the war, so they were determined to kill them.
They began to rest and prepare for Xiyang Ha's counterattack, because Xiyang Ha could not leave so much baggage without saving.
"It's over, it's over!"
"Looks like we lost the battle!"
"Okay! I'll say these Donglu are vulnerable!"
On the ridge of Daheishan Mountain, a Tang soldier who came forward greeted other Tang soldiers hiding in the tunnel. After hearing this, the others also cheered in the tunnel.
Although they were cheering, they tried to keep their voices down to avoid being discovered by the fleeing Jurchens.
On Hewan Road, thousands of scattered Jurchen women and children kept running towards Buyan Fort. This scene was discovered by the outer sentry tower of Buyan Fort a quarter of an hour later, and the smoke was quickly released.
"Clang clang clang!"
A piece of iron was knocked by the Jurchens on the city wall. All the Jurchens who were playing around in the city dispersed. They ran back to their homes and took out their bows, arrows and weapons, and put on the leather armor that they thought was strong.
Not long after, Xiyang Ha appeared in front of the thousands of men who had gathered, wearing the armor that the Ming Dynasty had given him. At this time, several cavalrymen from Shuerha's tribe who had returned from fleeing were also brought to Xiyang Ha.
"Great Khan, there is a Ming army!"
"There were thousands of people!"
"Shulhataj was killed by the Ming army..."
"Shut up!" Looking at the cavalrymen who were reporting hurriedly, Xiyangha angrily told them to shut up.
Only when they shut their mouths did Xiyang Ha react.
"Do you think the Ming army is here? Where are they from?"
He did not ask about the death of his son because he had enough sons and Shulha was not the best one.
What he was more concerned about now was the sudden Ming army and his own baggage.
"In the third bay of Daheishan, there were thousands of people. They killed them from the mountains. By the time we gathered, Shuerhatji and the people in front were already dead. They had hundreds of cavalry chasing us..."
Because they did not know the situation of the battle, these cavalrymen exaggerated the number of Zhu Gaoxu and others several times, and such a large number of Ming troops made Xiyang Ha stand on his head.
"Mutaha!" Xiyangha quickly shouted to one of his sons: "Quick, let's take a detour from the north to Hulawen!"
"But we still have thousands of tribesmen and food in the east." Mutaha did not expect that his father actually wanted to abandon the tribe directly.
"Thousands of Ming troops are over there. They can't survive. Get out quickly!"
Xiyang Ha, who was familiar with the strength of the Ming army, did not hesitate at all. Even though they had nearly two thousand men and thousands of women and children here, he did not choose to risk it all.
Under his arrangement, the soldiers, horses, women and children in the city began to withdraw towards the West Fort Gate.
During this period, many soldiers, old, weak, women and children who escaped from the south using draft horses were gathered by Xiyang Ha, and the organization began to retreat.
This situation quickly attracted Zhu Gaoxu's attention.
"Something's wrong..."
Standing on the ridge of Dahei Mountain, Zhu Gaoxu, who had already put on his armor, squatted in the grass and frowned.
"How long has it been?" He turned around and asked Yishiha. Yishiha also looked at the sky, estimated and said, "It's been almost two-quarters of an hour."
"For two quarters of an hour, it's impossible for Xiyang Ha to not move." Zhu Gaoxu noticed something was wrong, immediately stood up, and ordered back:
"Send someone to tell Fu Rang and let him lead troops to attack Buyanzhai Fort!"
"Your Highness, what about us?" Yi Shiha was a little confused. He didn't understand what the more than 300 cavalrymen should do if Buyan Village Fort was handed over to Fu Rang.
"Take off the armor, let's go west through the Dahei Mountains."
Zhu Gaoxu took off his armor as he spoke. Seeing this, Yishiha also took off his armor and reacted: "Your Highness, are you saying that Xiyang Ha can run away?"
"This old slave has escaped not once or twice. Every time the officers and soldiers go out, it's not that they can't defeat him, but that they can't catch him to fight." Zhu Gaoxu explained, and Yi Shiha also reacted and called everyone: "Take off your armor." !”
The two men's orders confused all the Bohai navy cavalry who were preparing for the battle, but they still obediently took off their armor, leaving only their breastplates to prevent emergencies.
When Zhu Gaoxu saw that everyone had taken off their armor, he immediately ordered Yishiha: "Send someone to tell Fu Rang that if the old slave doesn't leave, I will naturally join him from the west to outflank Buyanzhai Fort. If the old slave Let’s go, catch up immediately!”
"Yes!" Yishu Hazuo bowed in agreement and ordered a cavalryman to deliver the message, while he led the horse and Zhu Gaoxu across the Daheishan Mountains.
Time was passing. After receiving the order, Fu Rang no longer rested. Instead, he rushed to Buyanzhai Fort with a large number of captured livestock and thousands of prisoners.
"This old slave thief really ran away!"
When Fu Rang arrived at Buyanzhai Fort with his troops, as Zhu Gaoxu expected, there was nothing else here except hundreds of Jurchens who had not left with the large army.
Fu Rang left 200 infantry to guard Buyanzhai Fort and the wounded and prisoners. He mounted the draft horse he had just captured and started pursuing the pursuit along the footsteps of Xiyang Ha's team with less than 300 people.
As night began to fall, Zhu Gaoxu and Fu Rang had a clear division of labor and tried to intercept Xiyang Ha before he could escape.
The dark mountains and the dark night, even though the Bohai Navy has been training for more than half a year, some people still can't stop falling behind.
Eight days of continuous trekking over mountains and ridges, a distance of nearly 700 miles, made everyone in the Bohai Navy very tired.
Since the torches they carried had burned out, many people had no choice but to lead their horses in the dark.
As a result, more and more people fell behind in the march.
Cui Jun, who came north from Nanjing, has flat feet. He has walked on flat land and water all his life. He has never walked such a long mountain road, let alone climbed the mountains in the Northeast.
After walking for the past few days, his feet were already in terrible pain. On this dark mountain road, he would fall down every few steps.
For example, this time, he failed to step firmly and almost fell over again. Fortunately, a pair of big hands grabbed him: "Hold on!"
Cui Jun heard the voice and quickly looked up, and sure enough he saw Zhu Gaoxu holding a torch in one hand and holding him with the other.
"Your Highness! I..." Cui Jun wanted to explain something, but Zhu Gaoxu didn't say anything more. Instead, he put his spear on Chi Huan's saddle and encouraged him: "We'll be out soon, come on. "
"Yeah!" Cui Jun didn't know what cheering meant, but he thought it was a word of encouragement, so he continued on his way despite the excruciating pain in the soles of his feet.
But his legs seemed to be getting heavier and heavier, and he was walking slower and slower, getting further and further away from the team.
In this black mountain, Cui Jun was afraid that he would be left behind, so he was so anxious that he almost cried.
He is not old, only seventeen years old. Although he is two years older than Zhu Gaoxu, he is still a baby compared to other soldiers.
"Get on your horse when you can't walk anymore."
Zhu Gaoxu's voice came again. Cui Jun subconsciously turned around and saw Zhu Gaoxu holding Chi Huan.
Only then did he realize that Zhu Gaoxu had not left the nursing home since just now, so this section of his road was illuminated by firelight.
"Your Highness, I..."
Cui Jun knew very well that it was easy to break the horse while riding on such a mountain road, but Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but lift his collar and lift him onto the horse he was holding.
"It is true that war horses are expensive, but you can buy them again if they are gone. If you lose them, they are really gone."
After comforting Cui Jun, Zhu Gaoxu handed him the torch in his hand: "Light the road..."
"Yes!" Cui Jun couldn't tell what he was feeling, he just felt a sore nose.
Military households like them, even when they had twelve guards in Nanjing City, if they dared to break a horse, they would be punished with ten sticks at least.
This was the first time in his life that he heard Zhu Gaoxu say that people are more important than horses.
He tightened the cannon in his hand and tried his best to light the way forward for Zhu Gaoxu.
As time passed, Cui Jun also saw Zhu Gaoxu helping the fallen soldiers onto their horses, or throwing them directly onto their horses.
But no matter how rough his behavior was, his good intentions for them were genuine...
(End of chapter)
