The exchange of troops barely lasted more than a cup of tea, and the two sides just charged and fought.
The casualties caused were the largest in the confrontation between the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars in recent decades.
The Tatar side suffered more than half of the losses. Under such heavy casualties, even the prairie eagle, which prides itself on being brave, could not withstand it, and no army could maintain the determination to fight bloody battles in such tragic circumstances.
"Bang bang bang..."
The firecrackers of the Ming Dynasty are still ringing.
Because the flint gun is used, the projectiles used are almost standard. However, the shell may still jam, but it is still very convenient to replace. Even after firing two bullets, there is no need to change to a bow or cold weapon to fight with the Tartars. When fighting against enemies, you can just ride your horse back, or simply change the ammunition on the spot.
In this way, even if the Tatar cavalry had rushed into the Ming Dynasty's position sporadically, they were basically regarded as targets for close combat.
The bows, arrows and sabers that the Tatars relied on for survival, as well as their heavy armor, would be beaten to pieces at any time in front of the Ming Dynasty's cavalry equipped with new firearms.
As the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty finished replacing their projectiles, the two sides had entered into close combat. The number of Tatar cavalry that could rush into the Ming camp was only four to five hundred.
A small group of Tatar cavalry, numbering in the thousands, was already retreating north.
At this time, the Tatar army could no longer reach an agreement on whether to continue to advance to fight for their lives, or to retreat to protect themselves. As the saying goes, when they win, they swarm together and work together, but when they retreat, they all work on their own to compete with whose horse can run faster. .
"Clean up the mess! No need to pursue!"
"Keep going west!"
After Wang Shouren led his troops to charge and stabilize the formation, he immediately began to convey military orders.
As soon as the two armies came into contact, he broke up the Tatar formation, leaving behind the corpses of the Tatar cavalry scattered on the ground, as well as the horses lying in a mess. Not all the Tatars were dead after falling off their horses, including the wounded. There are also quite a few, and the Ming Dynasty wants to take advantage of the fact that the Tatars have been defeated to clean up the mess in front of them.
But unlike the previous two battles, they cut off ears and burned corpses.
The most direct way is to continue heading west and pursue the old, weak, women and children of the almost "unarmed" Tatar tribe.
The rules don't apply here. Both parties also know that it's either you die or I live. The Ming Dynasty doesn't want to withdraw from the pass to seek asylum now, because they themselves are gods of death and can walk sideways on the grassland. Seven thousand The cavalry can be wiped out with a snap of a finger, so what else is there to be afraid of?
Those more than 10,000 cavalry in the rear?
Just ask them, do they still dare to come over directly now?
…
…
The battlefield was cleared extremely quickly.
The hundreds of Tatar cavalrymen who rushed into the Ming Dynasty's position caused some casualties to the Ming Dynasty soldiers, but the losses on the Ming Dynasty's side were still minimal. In addition, the number of casualties such as those who were tripped by horse ropes, and those who were killed by stray arrows and barrel explosions was not much. Twenty or thirty people.
At the cost of twenty or thirty men, the Tatar cavalry lost nearly five thousand of its seven thousand. This only happened after a brief battle.
The Ming soldiers led by Wang Shouren used living cases to teach the Tatars about the huge gap in combat effectiveness between hot weapons and cold weapons. They also allowed the Tatars to appreciate the huge lethality of hot weapons in encounters.
When the Ming army gained a foothold.
Looking back at the Tatar pursuing troops who were only four or five miles away from the rear position of the Ming soldiers, they had already withdrawn six or seven miles away.
The Tatars pursued the troops and fought cowardly.
Even though they knew that Ming was chasing the old, weak, women and children of their tribe, and knew that Ming's side was likely to succeed, human instinct told them that if they just charged in, they and the seven thousand soldiers would not suffer much. difference.
It is very likely that the Ming army wiped out both of their troops and then continued to pursue...
By that time, the old, weak, women and children of the Chahar tribe in the Tatar headquarters may really be taken advantage of by Wang Shouren and the Ming Dynasty.
They seemed to understand the situation of the Mengoljin tribe in the fire sieve, and they also knew the feeling of the main force in the front plundering the Ming Dynasty, while the rear was being targeted by the Ming Dynasty army.
Now they should think about why they didn't let all the tribesmen follow Batu Meng to the north of Ningxia?
Just because you think it’s impossible for the Ming Dynasty to cross thousands of mountains and rivers to reach the hinterland of the grassland?
Now the Ming army, led by Wang Shouren, let them know that as long as they have cavalry, light artillery, and firecrackers, the Ming cavalry can also walk sideways on the grassland, and they must not let the Ming army find their "weakness", otherwise Under pressure, this kind of encounter must be carried out, and whoever wins will die.
…
…
"Major General, it looks like the Tatars don't dare to chase them anymore! Do you want to rush over and hold them down too?"
Guan Jing and other generals appeared beside Wang Shouren.
After completing a hearty victory, everyone in the army was in high spirits.
The fly in the ointment is that most of the battles are completed in long-range shooting, just like playing games in the air. As the prescribed actions are over, the enemy has fallen, and even the corpses are torn apart, and there is no time to cut them. They cut off their heads without even having time to cut off their ears.
Wang Shouren waved the long sword in his hand and said, "Continue to the west. We must achieve victory within one day and one night!"
He set a deadline.
The remaining pursuit mission must be completed within one day and one night.
Otherwise, the 50,000-strong main force of the little Tatar prince will come back from Ningxia, and Tatar troops from all walks of life, not only the Chahar tribe, but also other tribes will sweat in the nominal grassland of Batu Monk. They gathered under the call... No matter how powerful their firearms were, they couldn't face nearly 100,000 Tatar cavalry at once.
Mainly because there are not enough shells.
Furthermore, with 600 cannons and 4,000 flint muskets, it would be just as easy to fight against 18,000 Tatar cavalry. However, if the Tatars were besieged from all sides and the opponent slowly advanced with iron armor, shields, etc., the weapons in their hands would be destroyed. Seems stretched thin.
Therefore, before the main Tatar force is fully assembled, Wang Shouren must realize his ideal of ravaging the grassland.
…
…
The Ming army continued its pursuit.
When they climbed up the hillside where the Tatars had garrisoned before, and looked from the top of the hill to the southwest on the other side, every Ming soldier knew why the 7,000 men and horses had to fight to the death.
There are continuous cattle and sheep, countless ordinary herdsmen, and a large number of moving carriages.
Looking from a distance, it seems that it is only twenty or thirty miles away, which is much closer than expected.
At this time, every Ming soldier's eyes were bloodshot. They had just completed the killing on the battlefield. But now they were facing an undefended enemy camp. They could rush down and fight casually, or even let them kill each other. The Tatars thus cut off their descendants.
"kill!"
When the military order was issued, Ming's cavalry divided into three groups.
The former army consisted of a thousand men and was mainly responsible for driving away and killing the Tatar defensive cavalry, which was still a regular rule.
Two thousand people from the Chinese army rushed over in a pincer shape and were responsible for carrying out a horizontal push and mopping up.
The rear army was the largest, with three thousand men and horses. In addition to ensuring the necessary charging speed, it was also necessary to prevent the Tatars from behind.
After all, the Ming Dynasty had to complete the massacre of the enemies in the front with the absolute combat power of the Tatar chasing troops at the back. Therefore, the most important thing to guard against was the more than 13,000 Tatar troops in the rear.
…
…
Ming's cavalry rushed forward quickly.
Ordinary Tatar tribesmen, especially the old, weak, women and children, already knew the defeat of their own side in the rear, and knew that their tribesmen were almost undefended in front of the Ming army. They were allowed to be massacred by the Ming army. All they could do was to Almost all the tribe's cattle and sheep were abandoned.
Women and those who could mount a horse continued to run west on horseback. Children basically followed their mothers or old people on horses. There were still many old women, old and weak, who stayed behind to drive cattle and sheep to block the Ming army's offensive.
The temporary defense line arranged by the Tatars was unable to stop the iron hoofs of the Ming cavalry.
But one thing is that the tribesmen they rushed to escape in front of them, such as women with children on horses, basically moved faster than the Ming Dynasty side. This was mainly because the Ming Dynasty army also carried heavy loads. Moreover, there were cattle, sheep, scattered Tatar baggage, and vehicles blocking the road, making it impossible to sprint at full speed.
The distance of twenty miles was only an hour, and they had already caught up.
The white flock of sheep met with a thousand pioneers of the Ming Dynasty, and the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty used firecrackers and spears to kill a gap in the flock of sheep. While the cattle and sheep were scattered, the troops of the Ming Dynasty that followed up attacked the Tatars. Abandoned vehicles and tents were swept away to facilitate the subsequent pursuit.
The Tatars also started setting fires everywhere.
They set fire to their own belongings, but in order to hinder the charge of the Ming cavalry, they didn't seem to care.
Many old and weak people even set themselves on fire and tried to rush in the direction of the Ming Dynasty cavalry when it approached them. Before they died, they wanted to provide some help to protect the tribe.
But what the Ming Dynasty's cavalry remembered was that the Tatars had looted and killed at the Ming Dynasty's borders. Facing such a group of old, weak, women and children, no one seemed to have mercy.
In an era when even survival is a problem, any benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom, and trust are based on Wang Hua. There seems to be a natural hatred between the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars. This hatred is engraved in their bones. Even Wang Shou Ren did not regulate his army with benevolence and righteousness. His purpose was no longer to fight the Tatar regular army, his purpose was to level the grassland.
Inheriting the legacy of his idol Wang Weining was also the lifelong dream of Emperor Zhu Youtang, and it also became his ideal of Wang Shouren.
…
…
The Ming Dynasty's pioneer troops successfully completed the task of opening a road, but there was no guarantee that subsequent troops could pass through in every direction.
The more than 13,000 soldiers and horses pursued by the Tatars actually watched helplessly as the Ming army, which did not even have half of their own soldiers and horses, attacked their tribesmen, old, weak, women and children, but could not charge directly.
Because the Ming Dynasty's army still maintained a complete formation at this time, the main artillery and other firearms were basically left in the rear army, and the vanguard troops mainly used firecrackers, bows and arrows, and cold weapons, and they were still able to complete their tasks well.
The Ming army chased and killed them all the way. After walking for two hours, the number of Tatar tribesmen killed by the Ming soldiers along the way exceeded one thousand.
The number of cattle and sheep lost on the Tatar side has exceeded 100,000.
The Tatars used their own wealth to block the unstoppable force of the Ming army, and achieved certain results. At least the Ming side did not catch up with the backbone of the Tatar tribe, or rather their most……
"Major General, we can see Tatar reinforcements coming from all directions, the number is estimated to be tens of thousands."
"Report! The main Tatar force is found in front, already fifty miles away!"
When Wang Shouren climbed to the next high slope, he used a telescope to examine the surrounding situation, and combined with the map in his hand, he knew that the Tatars were still free from the risk of "genocide."
It had been nine days since they completed the first battle and appeared in front of the main Tatar force. The Tatars began to gather various people to outflank and besiege them. During these nine days, even though they completed a thousand-mile pursuit, And successfully drove the Tatar people to a dead end, and also completed a hearty encounter and victory.
But this also delayed some time, and the Tatars also blocked their progress by sacrificing the old, weak, sick and disabled, as well as their own cattle, sheep and property.
The Tatars finally gathered together and seemed to be finishing their strangulation!
"Stop pursuing before sunset, stay where you are and rest!"
Wang Shouren issued a new military order.
The soldiers actually felt strange after hearing this order.
If you want to pursue, continue to pursue. If you want to retreat, continue to retreat. If you want to pursue until dark, but stay in the same position, is it equivalent to saying that if you can't catch up with the enemy, you will just wait to be surrounded and then die?
In the past, some people must have doubted the correctness of Wang Shouren's military order.
But now, Wang Shouren's military orders are like imperial edicts, and no one doubts his authority in commanding operations.
…
…
The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty chased the Tatars for hundreds of miles along the route they took to escape.
After dark, all the people still had not completely withdrawn.
Judging from the battle reports compiled... Just by chasing the Tatar tribesmen, more than 4,000 Tatars have been successfully strangled. In addition to the more than 5,000 people completed before, there are also the killings completed in the first two battles... There are tens of thousands of enemies.
Although nearly half of them were "civilians", such a record could no longer be described as an ordinary victory.
After the Ming Dynasty's army withdrew, they stationed themselves in the camp left by the Tatars. According to Wang Shouren's instructions, the yellow gunpowder and artillery they brought were scattered around the camp. This was to prevent the Tatars from attacking the camp at night. .
"Major General!"
"Uncle!"
After the generals who were pursuing him came back, they all came to Wang Shouren with excitement on their faces to ask for orders.
Many of them hoped to continue chasing and killing all night long, as if life was no longer a concern for the Ming soldiers.
Enough killing.
Six thousand people killed more than 10,000 Tatars. It is best to bury a few people with each person before dying. Then even if he dies on the grassland, his name will remain in history.
Wang Shouren said: "I am ordering the three armies to have a good rest tonight. There will be tough battles to be fought tomorrow."
"Got the order!"
When the soldiers hear that there is a battle to be fought, they don't care whether they are surrounded by enemies or not. So what if there are enemies on all sides?
On the first day I entered the grassland, I knew that such an outcome would be possible.
Now, even if I have been exhausted for a few days, I can still sleep soundly if I take a nap. The worst thing is to wait until dawn and start the killing spree.
…
…
It was surprisingly quiet in Daming's camp that night.
None of the Tatar troops dared to come within twenty miles of the Ming camp.
After the Tatar tribesmen had successfully fled westward, even the more than 10,000 troops pursued by the Tatars felt relieved. They withdrew the Ming army twenty miles away and stationed themselves in the distance. At the same time, they also sent a large number of scouts to observe the Ming Dynasty. The situation of one camp to ensure that the Ming army is really stationed in place.
They were also afraid that the Ming army would rest until midnight and continue to pursue...
All night long.
The grassland was dead silent.
After dawn, when the sun rose in the east, the Ming army had already begun cooking in stoves. This seemed to be the most relaxing and comfortable day since they entered the grassland.
Everyone was talking and laughing.
What we are talking about is yesterday's bloody battle, and there is no way to care about who killed how many. Unlike in the past when the first contribution in cold weapon warfare was easy to calculate, now it doesn't matter who killed the person. Victory belongs to the entire army and is a collective honor. Personal honor is to be a participant in a big battle, to share the same hatred with the enemy without flinching during the big battle, and to complete the task well during the pursuit.
"Yesterday, I caught up with a little girl and screamed at me. She was called ugly. I just slashed her neck and pulled it down!"
"Don't you think about taking me back to be your sister-in-law? I heard that your brother is still a baby."
"Too ugly, I can't stand it! Who knew she was talking about a birdie?"
"Hahaha……"
Everyone had breakfast.
The meeting in Wang Shouren's camp has ended, and military orders have begun to be issued throughout the army.
"The Major General ordered us to clean up the battlefield today and cut off all the ears that can be cut! After cutting, go south. If you encounter Tatars, fight to the death. If you don't meet them, go to Guancheng and enter!"
"Is this the end? We haven't had enough killing yet!"
"Save your strength and come back to kill me next time! Do you know about Caogu? In the past, the Khitans, Tatars, and Jurchens attacked our Caogu, and now it's our turn to fight them!"
"Commander, I'm afraid that next time we come, we won't be able to find where they killed Cao Gu!"
"With Duke Lai Guo's clever calculation and Major General Wang's command, I'm afraid it won't be possible without your contribution? Do you want to go back and reunite with your wife and children at home?"
"That's right. If you take the credit for this time back and exchange it for a few big bucks, I'm afraid I won't be able to spend it all in a few lifetimes!"
"I'm afraid that if you want to go back, the Tatars won't be happy with it! On the way back, we'll have to fight a few times to see who's going to leave the corpse in this mess!"
"Look who is the coward!"
…
…
Wang Shouren stood in front of the military tent. The soldiers had already begun to pack up their belongings and were also preparing to cut off their ears.
"The soldiers who were killed or injured yesterday, no matter how difficult it is, take them back and cannot stay on the grassland." Wang Shouren said to Guan Jing.
Guan Jing asked: "What if the Tatars come to attack?"
"Divided into three groups, ready to fight at any time! However, I expect that unless the little Tatar prince returns, the situation will remain the same as the previous few days, and we will maintain a stalemate without attacking. There are still regrets in this battle!"
(End of chapter)
