Ahai Daiqing climbed over the rolling snow-capped mountains with frostbite on his face, counted all his men, and crossed the Yellow River eastward while swearing.
He led the remaining 800 tribesmen around him to rush into the Huangnan Xiaohetao, followed the figure of Chuoke Rabbit Taiji all the way eastward, and fled into the Bajiao City of Jishi Prefecture in embarrassment.
Bajiao City belongs to Jishi Prefecture. It is a hollow cross city with a special shape. The city wall is built layer by layer with sand, reeds, tamarisk and other materials. There are eight towers in the corners of the city, a moat, a horse-faced sheep wall, and no blind spots. Easy to defend but difficult to attack.
This city has had many names. In the Han Dynasty, it was called Baishi City, in the Tang Dynasty, it was called Diaowo City, and in the Song Dynasty, it was called Yigong City. Later it belonged to the Han family of Sala Tusi.
When Huo Luochi entered Qinghai, it was captured by Xiao Lazun. It was his home base in the hinterland of Huangnan. Now Xiao Lazun withdrew and was occupied by the advance cavalry of Chuoketu Taiji.
This is also the only place where Liu Chengzu and Chuoktu Taiji failed in their battle for Huangnan city defense.
When Ahai Daiqing arrived at Bajiao City, Han Qingjian, a young chieftain from Jishi Prefecture, led his men to try to seize the city. However, they were scared away by Ahai Daiqing's men before they even reached the edge of the city.
But even so, Chuck Rabbit Taiji didn't look good when he saw him.
In fact, Chuck Rabbit is still the uncle of Ahai Daiqing, but the Golden Family is more numerous than the stars in the sky. If you really count, Chuck Rabbit and Xiao Lazun are distant relatives.
Chuck Rabbit was furious. In just ten months, he experienced extreme psychological changes.
First, thousands of troops were stationed in the Xiaohetao in the south of Huangnan. Three armies were stationed in Wulan Mountain, the source of the Yellow River, and the Xiaohetao in the south of the Huangnan. They were only one step away from ruling Qinghai.
The envoys sent to unite with Lin Dan Khan have all gone out, but they encountered extraordinary resistance in front. First, the troops were blocked in Guide. Until now, he didn't know whether the army competing with him for Guinan City was the Marshal's Mansion or the Ming Army.
This situation made him very puzzled. How could it be so easy for Lazun to occupy Huangnan, and there was no large-scale conquest by the Ming army. As soon as Lazun ran away, the Ming army crossed the Yellow River and rushed to rescue him. .
It was not Liu Chengzong's turn to block his retreat. Liu Chengzu directly split Guide County in half from north to south and occupied the northern mountains without sending troops or retreating.
After finally breaking into Bajiao City, he ended up provoking Sarah's Han chieftain again.
The ancestors of the Han chieftains were the pro-army troops of the Western Regions formed from Samarkand in the Yuan Dynasty. They are now divided into two groups. The big Korean chieftain is called Han Jinzhong, who is now the commander-in-chief of Xiaohe Camp; the little Han chieftain is called Han Qingjian, who was awarded a gold medal in the Ming Dynasty. There are hundreds of official households.
In the past, Han Qingjian was very respectful to Lazun Na Tianba, but once Lazun left, he became more courageous and pulled more than 200 people from Jishi Prefecture to take back Bajiao City.
Naturally, it was impossible for more than 200 people to attack Chuoktu Taiji, who was surrounded by thousands of troops. Han Qingjian had no intention of attacking the city, but he kept hiding day and night to hide his disgusting Chuoktu.
They were familiar with the terrain here. They hid in the nearby mountains during the day. Once it got dark, they approached the city with several bowl-mouth cannons. They lit torches and fired firecrackers and shells into the city across the moat. They didn't even clean the barrels of the cannons. After two rounds, Get up and shoot.
Chook Rabbit did not dare to pursue them further. His troops were now scattered in the southwest of Guide to communicate with Wulan Mountain and transport guns and artillery from there.
These days, it is difficult for the Ming army to realize how important firearms are because they are very familiar with firearms; but the Mongols are different. Almost every battle tells them how important firearms are.
In an era of alternating hot and cold weapons, the final factor that determines victory or defeat is still close combat, but that is under the premise that both sides have firearms.
If one has firearms and the other does not, it will be a big disadvantage in a fight.
Ahai Daiqing knew about muskets and artillery in Mobei. In his hometown of Khalkha, if you go a little further north, you will enter the forest area of Zhongshu Province in Lingbei. The people living there are the Buriyati tribe, who live in the forest. That is Buryatia.
Before going south to Subei, Ahai Daiqing had fought in the north. Those people built wooden villages in the forest based on the rivers and mountains, bullied the tribes attached to him, and demanded furs and property.
Ahai Daiqing wanted to march north at first, but those people had muskets. They set up small boats with muskets and went down the river until they approached the grassland. Each of them had a victory or defeat.
In the end, the two sides negotiated. The Mongols pointed to the Cossacks' iron weapons, and the Cossacks pointed to the Mongols' furs. The two sides reached a deal, and Ahai Daiqing also got many good horses.
This is beneficial to the people in the forest. Lingbei Province was once the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, but it was very poor. With its vastest land, the commercial tax accounted for only 40,000% of the country's total. There were still Han troops and farmers. , under the conditions of craftsmen.
To this day, Ahai Daiqing believes that it is not worth it for him to lead his army across the grasslands and deep into the forests to fight against enemies with wooden forts and muskets.
For him, as long as he can pay him tribute, it is not necessarily a bad thing for a group of bandits who are richer than the people in the forest to occupy the forest.
In Bajiao City, the Mongolian soldiers under Chooktu were busy repairing the city wall, and their tribesmen also scattered outside the city and cut down trees to prepare for the defense of the city.
Ahai Daiqing was scolded by Chuoketu and was very angry, but he still advised: "Taiji, we have to retreat to the west. This place is bounded by Hezhou Guard to the east, Xining Guard to the north, and Songpan Guard to the south. If you can’t stay, it’s better to retreat to Wulan Mountain.”
Chuo Ke Rabbit knew that what Dai Qing said made sense, but it only made sense.
He asked: "How did you lose? Can you win without firearms?"
Ahai Daiqing originally wanted to nod and give a positive answer, but the moment before nodding, he hesitated when he thought of the artillerymen in Liu Chengzong's formation who jumped out to fight on foot.
It may be a bit surprising to say that the most terrifying time for the nomadic army is not when the herdsmen shoot arrows in groups on horseback. Firstly, this skill does not require special training for the herdsmen. Secondly, mounted shooting also means safety. .
But the ability of the herdsmen to dismount and fight on the ground can explain two things very intuitively. They really dare to risk their lives, and they have been well trained.
For Ahai Daiqing, the same reason applies to artillerymen being able to abandon their guns and jump into formation to fight on foot. Infantry fighting may not be better than their use of guns and artillery, but it can show that their fighting will is superior.
Soldiers who can stand still in the center of hand-to-hand combat will only be stronger when they pick up muskets and artillery.
He shook his head.
Chuk Rabbit Taiji then asked: "In the field battle, can you beat Liu Manzi?"
Ahaidai Qingxin said it was bullshit for you to ask: "Taiji, if I can beat him, why bother coming here?"
Choktu rolled his eyes at him: "Then why do you think I can defeat him?"
"You can run away even if you can't fight." Ahai Daiqing frowned and said, "It's better than being stuck here and living like a bastard."
Chuck Rabbit ignored him and only looked at the cannons at the top of the city.
He was panicked.
No matter how much planning and fighting begins, the situation will soon get out of control as all parties compete. No one can clearly calculate all the moves, especially an unfamiliar opponent.
Originally, in his plan, the Huangnan Xiaohetao was supposed to be the battle between him and La Zun, and the Marshal's Mansion should be in a position to watch the fire from across the bank. Daming was used to doing this. Looking at the two sides fighting, they were not considered friendly forces anyway.
As long as the Marshal's Mansion did not participate in the war, he could use his power to win over Lazun's men. He never expected that Lazun could run so decisively.
If being scolded once meant sneezing twice, little Lazun would have more or less contracted tuberculosis from the time Lazun left Huang Nan.
Because both parties involved in the war scolded him almost every day.
Liu Chengzu naturally wanted to scold him, but the Chuk Rabbit who occupied the territory also scolded him.
Chuck Rabbit believed that it was Lazun's escape that forced the Marshal's Mansion to participate in the war.
Of course, the biggest factor affecting the war was that Liu Chengzong from the south arrived too quickly, with overwhelming force from south to north, abruptly interrupting Chuo Ketu's plan to attack Qinghai Lake on three fronts.
Now his question is, stay or go. To stay means to stay here and defend the city; to go means to retreat westward in a large scale.
Each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
If he stays here to defend the city, he has enough defenders and livestock. At least he can use the strong city to stop Liu Chengzong. If he defends well, he will not be quickly attacked. However, he will be isolated and helpless. He can only hope to defend until next year. Maybe Lin Dan Khan can lead the Chahar cavalry into Qinghai.
While retreating westward, there is a chance of escaping, but he loses almost everything. If he takes advantage of the excitement and returns disgraced, he may not be able to be the leader of this army, and he may be intercepted by Liu Chengzong.
Ahai Daiqing led an army of more than 10,000 and was beaten with only a few blows. Even Guyang died. He fled westward with the same force. If he was intercepted by Liu Chengzong, he might not be able to fight better.
Chuck Rabbit watched the artillery in the city hesitate, and finally made up his mind that instead of being beaten to a bloody head on the grassland, it was better to stick to the city and fight to the death.
At this time, several tribesmen came over carrying a bronze Buddha, saying that they had found the Buddha statue that Lazun had not taken away in Bajiao City.
Chuck Rabbit bowed to the Buddha statue again and again, abandoned the city defense and went to sleep... He had already sent a message to Arslan, ordering him to lead his army over to complete the strategic concept of a pincer attack from the east and west.
But now Liu Chengzong may have cut off the Yellow River. If the messenger cannot arrive on time, he will have to try to give his son a dream.
Bajiao City was heavily guarded, and the defenders throughout the city were in panic. Four hundred miles away to the west, Liu Chengzong's army was stationed on the Heka Grassland, and was intensively completing the arrangements before the final attack.
His army is cooperating with Nanshan Fort Zhonghu's troops to sweep along the Xikang Road, recruit and expel tribes on the west bank of the Yellow River, complete the connection between the north and the south, and rebuild the post station. On the one hand, he is sending Dai Daozi to the east to explore the enemy's situation, and on the other hand, he is waiting for his father to send him from Ju'erwan. intelligence.
In addition, he had to wait for Yang Yao of Juerwan to lead the garrison to reinforce Nanshan Fort to guard against the enemies at the foot of Wulan Mountain in the west. He was worried that the Mongolian army would attack his abdomen and back while he was attacking Chok Rabbit.
Moreover, after the battle in the river valley, he had more than 3,000 prisoners in his hands. After all, the Qinghai Marshal's Mansion is a separatist regime that values food very much. These people cannot just eat food idlely, but must participate in the construction of Xining Mansion as soon as possible.
He planned to divide this group of people into four groups and send them to Xining, Haibei, and Haixi. Those who should quarry and cut wood should quarry and cut wood;
At the same time, his army also completed further reorganization in the Heka Grassland. The right battalion was disbanded due to excessive losses, and the remaining noble cavalry was organized into the middle camp and received its own title of arms: Fanma Auxiliary Soldiers.
But before he could send the prisoner to his father, Master Liu's reply came over.
After Liu Chengzong read the reply, he clapped and laughed happily, and said to Zhang Tianlin: "My brother captured Guide Qianhu Station. Chuock Rabbit couldn't get Guide, so he had to go all the way east. Now he is trapped in Bajiao City. I told the frontline intelligence that the Mongols from Khalkha were actually cutting down trees and preparing to defend the city."
Zhang Tianlin didn't know why Liu Chengzong was so happy, so she just shook her head and said, "Bajiao City is the city that Xiao Lazun used to occupy, right? It's easy to defend but hard to attack. It's not a good thing for them to defend the city."
Storming a city has always been a battle with heavy casualties. Unless the city is too big and the defenders are too few, it is not easy to capture the city.
The advantage that artillery brought to the siege was not as great as people imagined. It was difficult for people to rely on artillery to blow down the city wall. In Liaodong, the most common method of destroying the city by Hou Jin was to besiege the lone army and persuade them to surrender.
If you want to seize the city by force, you often have to pay the price of stacking corpses on the city. That is, the corpses of the siege army are piled up on the slope outside the city wall, and they step on the slope to climb the city.
When Liu Chengzong heard this, he suppressed his smile and waved his hands: "What I'm happy about is not that he defended the city, but that he went to Bajiao City. That place is very close to Hezhou Guard. He occupied Bajiao City better than the Hezhou Guard army occupied Bajiao City." The city is easy to fight."
In fact, Liu Chengzong's original expectation was that he would have to attack Bajiao City by force, but he did not expect that Bajiao City's enemy would be Chuck Rabbit.
Xiao Lazun ran to the south. What worried Liu Chengzong most was the ownership of Bajiao City. In his imagination, the Lintao Ming Army would definitely take this opportunity to send troops from Hezhou Wei to occupy Bajiao City.
In that case, after he finishes cleaning up the Chuk Rabbit and the old land of Huo Luochi, and builds another mansion, the eastern gateway will be Bajiao City.
There is no reason to hand over the portal to others, so there will definitely be a battle in Bajiao City by then, and the Ming army defending the city will be a more difficult enemy for him to deal with.
After all, the Lion Army has the ability to fight in the field, but lacks experience in siege; while the Ming Army has rich experience in defending cities.
On the contrary, the city is now occupied by the Mongols. The Khalkha Mongols' experience in defending the city is at best on par with Liu Chengzong's experience in siege.
Liu Chengzong smiled easily: "We have to attack the city no matter what. Let's choose the lesser of two evils... But since we are going to attack the city, these prisoners cannot be sent to the north for the time being. Let them collect wood. I want Let’s quickly make a batch of siege equipment, it’s great to see so much green here.”
Not only did he need to build siege equipment, but in order to storm Bajiao City, Liu Chengzong also transferred a group of guns and artillery from Haibei to prepare for the siege and suppress the defenders.
The preparations for the siege on his side had just begun. Dai Daozi had made some gains in the east. He came back with the prisoners and reported: "Commander, I caught a Tatar messenger and said he was going to Ulan Mountain to deliver a message to Chook Rabbit's son. Send a message, this old guy wants to flank us with something."
It was the same as what Liu Chengzong was worried about, but at this moment, he was no longer worried.
"Great, let him go back." Liu Chengzong thought for a while and said to Dai Daozi: "Let him tell Chuo Ke Rabbit that the news has not spread, and I already know about it; then send a prisoner to Wulan Mountain, Tell that Arslan that Chuck Rabbit asked him to flank me, but he must know that I let him know this news."
