It is not advisable to eat too much before going to the battlefield, because being too full will make you sluggish.
Ma Yunjiu did not arrange for the cavalry in the cavalry battalion to eat, but simply took care of their respective horses to restore their strength.
After more than half an hour, Zhou Youhe and the sentry sent out to investigate the news returned.
The captain of the sentry cavalry came to Ma Yunjiu and said: "In the middle of the camp, ten miles away in front, there is indeed a Mongolian tribe. Judging from the number of yurts, it is at least a tribe of a thousand people. The number of string control soldiers will not be less than Three or four hundred.”
Ma Yunjiu nodded slightly.
The news brought back by the sentries and the information sent by the Foreign Intelligence Bureau confirmed that the strength of the Hatan tribe was pretty good. Ordinary horse bandits would definitely not dare to provoke such a tribe with hundreds of string-controlling soldiers.
Zhou You asked: "When is Ma Ying preparing to take action?"
"Do it now." Ma Yunjiu stood up.
Tu La on the side also stood up.
"Pass the order, the entire army should put on breastplates and set off as a whole, targeting the Hatan Department." Ma Yunjiu ordered.
As his order was issued, the cavalrymen of the armored cavalry battalion helped each other put on their breastplates, and the cavalrymen using firecrackers also began to load their firecrackers with gunpowder and lead.
A quarter of an hour passed.
The cavalrymen of the two cavalry brigades put on their breastplates, polished their weapons, and rode on their horses.
"Let's go." Ma Yunjiu waved his right arm.
Hundreds of horses were riding on the grassland. From a distance, they looked like a black wave.
When they were less than two miles away from Hatan, the running cavalry began to slow down.
In the direction in front of you, you can vaguely see yurts.
The team slowed down not to stop and rest, but to prepare for the charge of the horses.
Ma Yunjiu said to Tan Zaiwang next to him: "You and your first brigade entered the Hatan tribe. I don't care what method you use, you will never give the Hatan tribe's herdsmen a chance to gather together and launch a counterattack against our people."
"I understand," Tan Zaiwang promised while riding on horseback.
Ma Yunjiu looked at the Hatan tribe in front with cold eyes and ordered: "Take your people and attack the Hatan tribe.
"Yes." Tan Zaiwang agreed, and then shouted, "First Cavalry Brigade, follow me to attack the Hatan tribe, kill!"
As he finished speaking, more than three hundred cavalrymen separated from the large group of troops and rushed towards the Hatan tribe in front.
"Liu Chao!" Ma Yunjiu shouted a name.
"Here are my subordinates." A cavalryman wearing a black breastplate came to Ma Yunjiu on horseback.
Ma Yunjiu said: "Take your second brigade, guard around the Hatan Department, intercept and kill the herders who are preparing to escape, and at the same time be prepared to support the first cavalry brigade."
"Yes." Liu Chao agreed.
Ma Yunjiu said: "Go."
Liu Chao turned around and shouted to the cavalry behind him: "Second Battalion, follow me."
Another cavalry team of more than 300 people galloped towards the Hatan Department.
At this time, Ma Yunjiu only had a cavalry team of more than thirty people left.
Tu La held a monocular telescope in his hand, observing the Hatan tribe in front, and said: "The people of the Hatan tribe have discovered our people."
Herdsmen often interact with horses and are very familiar with the sound of horse hooves, especially the sound of horse hooves made by the herd.
As soon as Ma Yunjiu and the cavalrymen of the Armored Cavalry Battalion appeared outside the Hatanbu Ranch, they were discovered by herders outside the yurt.
However, the two sides were far apart, so the herdsmen didn't take it seriously. They just thought it was the armored cavalry of some noble family passing by.
But as the cavalry led by Tan Zaiwang rushed towards the Hatan tribe, the herdsmen of the Hatan tribe realized that something was wrong. At the same time, they also noticed that the black armor worn by the visitor was different from the Mongolians, and looked like Han people.
"There are horse bandits, there are horse bandits." The herdsmen of Hatan tribe shouted.
A large group of Han cavalry appeared in front of them, and the herdsmen thought it was horse bandits attacking their tribe.
Although the Hatan tribe is not a large tribe in Tumut, it is backed by a large tribe. Except for horse bandits, the herdsmen cannot think of anyone who dares to attack their Hatan tribe.
Some herdsmen ran to their yurts, wanting to get the weapons in the yurts to fight with the horse bandits.
There were still some herdsmen running towards the horse pen, and all the horses were in the horse pen at this time.
There were even herdsmen who heard the shouting and ran out of the yurt. These people were holding riding bows, and some even held a rusty spear.
Tan Zaiwang led his team outside the yurt of the Hatan tribe.
"kill!"
Hearing him shout, he took the lead in killing the herdsmen in front of him.
More than three hundred cavalry rushed over with him.
Most of the Hatan herdsmen ran out of the yurts. Many unlucky herdsmen were overtaken by the cavalry as soon as they left the yurts and were killed on the spot.
The Hatan tribe, which was completely unprepared, became completely confused due to this sudden attack. The herdsmen running around screamed in panic. Some herdsmen just ran around without looking at the direction of escape. He ran straight towards the cavalry of the armored cavalry battalion. By the time he realized something was wrong, it was already too late to escape for his life.
These people were killed with sabers by the cavalry of the Cataphract Battalion who pursued them.
The Hatan tribe was in a panic, with herdsmen running for their lives everywhere. They saw cavalry in black armor chasing after them and stabbing them with swords.
Each herdsman was killed and fell to the ground, and the blood quickly stained the yurts.
It was almost a one-sided massacre, and the cavalry of the armored cavalry battalion did not encounter even a decent resistance.
From time to time, the sound of fire cannons was heard in the gaps between the yurts, and herdsmen were left on the ground injured and killed by hand cannons or mounted cannons.
Not long after the cavalry of the armored cavalry battalion rushed into the Hatan tribe, the smell of blood permeated the entire tribe, and the screams of the herdsmen also echoed among the yurts.
"Captain, look ahead. That guy is protected by several armored cavalry. He should be an important figure in the Hatan Department."
A cavalryman following Tan Zaiwang pointed forward.
In the direction that his finger pointed, there was a yurt that was larger than other yurts, and several Mongolians ran out of it.
These Mongolians wore leather armor, iron helmets on their heads, quivers on their backs, riding bows in their hands, and scimitars in the other.
From the clothing of these people, it is obvious that they are different from other herdsmen.
In particular, these people were protecting a Mongolian as he fled.
The Mongolian guarded in the middle held a scimitar in his hand. The scabbard was inlaid with gold. Even the clothes on his body were much better than those of ordinary herdsmen.
"Rute!" Tan Zaiwang shouted a name in Mongolian.
The Mongolian, who was protected by several armored cavalry, subconsciously turned around and looked in the direction of the sound, his expression suddenly changed.
"Haha, he is Tai Ji from the Hatan tribe, don't let him get away." Tan Zaiwang on horseback grinned, crossed his saber, and rushed over first.
