The ambitious Boshu Ketu led the main force to rendezvous with his partial division at Willow Fort in the Huamachi area. He combined 32,000 troops and immediately turned east without stopping, leaving the border town that originally belonged to the Ming Dynasty. I ran to Ixibal, an important town in the southern part of Ordos, Hetao.
Based on the top-secret information he got from Yilduzi, he learned that the main force of the highly pragmatic Ming army originally planned to go straight to Ningxia through the central Hetao. But later, for some unknown reason, Gao Pangshi suddenly changed his mind, changed his route to the southwest, and captured Baichengzi, which belonged to the Ordos Department.
Ilduzi did not put forward any of his guesses, but quickly informed Bosho Ketu of the situation.
After Boshu Ketu learned the news, he discussed it with the generals. The Mongolian generals agreed that Gao Pragmatic might have learned that his troops had withdrawn from the grasslands in eastern Ningxia, and he was afraid of fighting with the Mongolian cavalry on the grasslands, so he Change the route to the southwest, and the target is most likely Huamachi.
As for why Gao Pragmatic, who had defeated the cavalry with infantry twice in a row before, was suddenly afraid of the Ordos cavalry and turned around this time, the Mongolian generals had different opinions.
Some people think that Gao Pragmatic's so-called "stepping to control riding" is just in name. He knows it in his heart, so he gives up at the critical moment.
Some people think that Gao Pragmatism is just cautious in using troops. After all, there are no absolutes on the battlefield. Even if he has the experience of winning twice by "controlling cavalry with foot", what if he fails this time?
Defeat in the middle of the Hetao is obviously not the same thing as defeat in the southern part of the Hetao. In the southern part of the Hetao, even if the battle is defeated, you can retreat southward to the Jingbian area (the area under the jurisdiction of Jingbian Guards Qianhu), which is still firmly controlled by Governor Yansui, and the entire army will hardly be wiped out.
But if they were defeated in the middle of the Hetao, they would be besieged on all sides - the Ming army couldn't outrun the Ordos cavalry. As long as they were defeated once, they would basically be finished. They were so far away from the border that they couldn't even run back. They could only be eaten away bit by bit by the Mongols on the road.
This part of the Mongolian generals believed that Gao Pragmatic must have heard the news that the main force of the Tao Department had disappeared. Due to the above concerns, they temporarily changed the plan.
In addition to these two views, there are also some "minorities" who believe that Ilduzi may have been exposed. Gao's pragmatic behavior is actually because he is not at ease with Ilduzi and is afraid that Ilduzi will play tricks. , so I refused to go through the middle part of the Hetao.
However, few people supported this view, and it was quickly submerged in the chaotic discussion. After all, if Ilduz was really exposed, how could he still be able to pass on the highly pragmatic march news to them?
Bosho Ketu also felt that Ilduzi would not be exposed yet. Chejin has always been considered a die-hard pro-Ming faction. From the time when he, a Jinong, could remember, Chejin insisted on fighting for tribute market opportunities through good relations with the Ming Dynasty. It is impossible for the Ming Dynasty court to be unaware of this situation. Now that you know it, how can you doubt the eldest son of Qie Jin?
During the Monan War, did Ming Dynasty ever doubt Han Naji? No.
Moreover, according to the consistent style of the Ming Dynasty, if they really found out about Yilduzi's "rebellion", they were afraid that they would have to cut off his head on the spot, even if there was a fight, so Gao Pragmatic must not know about Yilduzi. Du Qi made a secret agreement with himself.
After this possibility was ruled out, Boshu Ketu felt much more relieved. Because no matter which of the first two items is true, it will not affect his battle plan.
It was simply because Gao was pragmatic and became cautious. After he succeeded in the sneak attack and burned down the Ming army's food and grass, he still needed to work harder and continue to harass and attack, so that the complete collapse of the Ming army would come earlier. Prevent them from having the opportunity to escape back to the Great Wall in the Jingbian area.
Boshu Ketu believed that this was not a problem for the Mongols. Although Gao's pragmatic temporary diversion made his combat more difficult, it was not insurmountable and he could still act according to the original plan.
With his determination, the Mongolian army began to judge Gao Jingshi's march direction, and finally determined that if Gao Jingshi wanted to "show off force" outside the Great Wall but did not dare to stray too far from the Great Wall, then his most likely next step would be Ixbal.
Ixibal was located in the southern region of Wushen Banner in Inner Mongolia in later generations. Since it was a pastoral settlement, there were few civil buildings in the Central Plains style, and the ruins were almost undiscoverable in later generations.
However, this is now a very important area: because it is very close to the Ming Dynasty, only more than 80 miles away, it is an important border settlement with the Ming Dynasty for tribute.
At the same time, one thing that has to be said is that Ixibal is the southernmost point of the entire territory. Since Ji Neng was sealed, border market trade has had a great impact on Ordos. With the deepening of economic exchanges, Qie Jin has paid more and more attention to Ixibal, and it is almost the most important stronghold besides its old camp.
Bhosh Ketu was simply ecstatic about this. Since Ilduqi surrendered to him, wouldn't it be more likely to win in a sneak attack on Gao Pangshi's Ming army in Ilduqi's territory?
In order to ensure that his side could reach the battlefield before the Ming army, Boshu Ketu ordered the entire army to attack. His idea was simple. According to the march route and speed of the Ming army given by Ilduzi, if he rushed to Ixibal with all his strength, he would arrive two days earlier than the Ming army.
In this way, not only can the men and horses recover their physical strength, but also they can wait and see, leaving the Ming army to wait for work, and the chance of winning will inevitably increase again. Several pieces of good news were piled up together, and Boshu Ketu even thought that if he had better luck, it would be very possible to defeat the Ming army on the spot, and maybe he could capture Gao Pragmatic himself!
Thinking of this, the young Mongolian Jinong was so excited that he trembled all over.
If God doesn't take it, you will be blamed for it; if you don't welcome it when the time comes, you will suffer disaster. The main force of the 30,000-household Jinong headquarters in Ordos, in the eagerness of Boshu Ketu to make great achievements, galloped eastward with all their strength, leaving only billowing yellow dust on the fortress.
Bhosh Ketu is in a hurry, while Magui is in a hurry.
As the main force brought by Gao Shutai on this expedition, Ma Gui's headquarters is almost responsible for most of the conventional combat tasks - this is what he himself understands and requires.
After all, he also knew the situation of the Imperial Guard. Although the weapons and equipment were very good, and Qi Jiguang was in charge of training and leadership, after all, the formation of the army was too short, less than half a year. What is the actual combat effectiveness? Who dares to take advantage of this? ticket?
Moreover, the Imperial Guards were specially sent by the Emperor for military use in Gao Shutai. According to the Ming Dynasty's custom, they would not "easily fight" unless they had to. Therefore, Ma Gui did not expect the Imperial Guards to fight in the first place. What help did he have? To be honest, he probably saved some troops for himself. He didn't have to use them to protect the safety of Gaoshu Tower, but could use them for front-line operations.
But what Ma Gui didn't expect was that as soon as he arrived at Ixibal, Gao Shutai gave him the most enviable treasure of the Imperial Guard - Gao pragmatically handed over the artillery belonging to the Imperial Guard. The battalion was allocated to Ma Gui so that he could better complete the tasks assigned to him.
What is Ma Gui's mission?
Under the guidance of the guides sent by Ilduqi, they surveyed the terrain near Ixibal and judged which way Boshu Ketu's troops would come, so they arranged an ambush in advance, combined with infantry and artillery, and defeated Boshu Ketu in one battle. The main force even tried to capture Boshu Ketu himself, forcing the Ordos Ministry to completely withdraw from the war.
What does this order mean? This means that the main force of the Ming army under Gao Pangshi's command has actually arrived at Ixibal!
The information Ilduzi reported to Bosho Ketu was accurate except for the time.
However, time determines everything.
Ma Gui personally went out and traveled throughout the Ixibal area in one day, observing the terrain of the entire area, and finally determined that Boshu Ketu's headquarters would definitely pass by a peak called "Hurihuliang". He went to the south of Hurihuliang Mountain and went to the creek in the east to drink and rest his horses.
The ambush started immediately, but Ma Gui still did it personally, carefully allocating the troops. At the same time, he discussed the arrangement of the artillery positions with the battalion commanders of the two artillery battalions of the Imperial Guard and the captain of the artillery team of Gao Jiading Guards - Gao Pragmatic has been emphasizing for so many years. Artillery is a technical branch, and blind command is never allowed without professional artillery knowledge. Therefore, even a famous general like Ma Gui at the general level must discuss artillery tactics with the chief officer of the artillery unit.
After determining the hidden positions of the artillery and basically deploying the troops, Magui dragged his tired body back to the Ixibal settlement and reported the corresponding situation in the high-practical march tent.
Before Gao Pangshi could express his position after listening, Yilduzi on the side was a little anxious and asked quickly: "Mr. Ma, it sounds like you didn't arrange errands for my department? This is not possible. My department is in Iraq." Kesibal is the master, and he is most familiar with the terrain and environment here. If he can fight, he will definitely be able to defeat Boshu Ketu with one against two!"
Ma Gui was stunned for a moment, wondering if this guy was so proactive, was he sincere, or did he have other agendas?
However, it was okay to think about this in my mind, but obviously I couldn't say it out loud, so he had to smile and replied: "After all, your department is not under my jurisdiction, so it is not easy to assign people randomly." When he saw Yilduzi opening his mouth to defend, he hurriedly replied Said: "But the pivot is right here. If you want to have a chance to fight, why not directly ask the pivot to fight?"
When Yilduqi heard that it was reasonable, he quickly turned to Gao Pragmatic. He cupped his fists and saluted like a scholar and Ming army general, and said: "Shu Tai, the last general, please be the vanguard!"
Gao pragmatic smiled and thought to himself: Why do Mongolians like to be pioneers so much? You Mongolian cavalry are obviously not the most suitable for this job... Wouldn't it be better to be a scout? After the Chinese army defeats the enemy, wouldn't it be a good idea to use it as a claw to tear apart the enemy's effective lineup? Wouldn't it be better to be a battlefield cleaner and clear out the enemy's defeated soldiers one by one?
The light cavalry only does the work of the light cavalry. Why do they always think of themselves as heavy cavalry? If you want to do this, with so many infantrymen on hand, should I just come to Hetao to make soy sauce and wait for victory? So how can I use this opportunity to verify whether the combat effectiveness of the Ming Dynasty's frontier army has increased or decreased after many years of peace?
Gao pragmatically was organizing his words, trying not to dampen Ilduqi's enthusiasm and prevent him from "stealing credit", but he heard Chatterji on the side laughed and said: "Yiluduqi, you don't have to worry, in Gao Shuqi's case How to fight a battle under Tai's command is different from that in Mongolia. Don't think that the pioneer officer will definitely win a big battle. It is very likely that the pioneer officer will go up and scold the formation, then feign defeat and retreat, luring the enemy into an ambush. Nothing will happen next.”
Yilduzi was stunned when he heard this, and asked Gao Pragmatic in astonishment: "Shu Tai, is this really the case? Isn't the vanguard used to break the formation?"
"Soldiers have no constant momentum, and water has no constant shape. The vanguard can break the formation or lure the enemy. What to do depends on the needs of the battle situation." Gao pragmatically said a set of words, and then said with a smile: "But you don't have to worry, you The department and even General Tuotuo’s headquarters have tasks this time.”
Ilduzi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly asked: "What is my ministry doing?"
Gao Pragmatic originally planned to let Yilduzi lure Boshu Ketu into ambushes, but he didn't even arrange the title of "Pioneer" for him. However, seeing that he is now eager for success, if he still follows the original plan, he is afraid that It will dampen the person's enthusiasm, which is not beautiful.
However, Gao Pragmatic then thought about it, if you want to fight a dozen more times and submit a certificate of submission, that's not a bad idea.
So he pondered for a moment, and gave half of the tasks that were originally planned to be given to Totuo to Ilduzi, and said: "Your department has two tasks. One is to take the initiative to send some troops to 'response' Boshu Ketu. Make sure that he will definitely pass by the southern foot of Hurihuliang Mountain - General Yilduzi, the headquarters must first emphasize one point: although it is just to lure the enemy, this task is very important, and can even be said to be the basis of this operation. If If you do a good job, you will be the first to win this battle."
Ilduzi was really happy to hear that he could get the first meritorious service. However, he was a Mongolian after all, and he always felt that this alone was not enough to prove his bravery. Therefore, he expressed his gratitude first and said: "This is The matter rests with the general, and Boshu Ketu, the general, knows very well that he is reckless, has little strategy, and has great ambitions but few talents. As long as the general sends someone to flatter him a few words, he will definitely succeed."
Then he couldn't help but ask: ""But I don't know what this second task is? To be honest, the general still wants to fight with real swords and guns..."
Chataiji smiled and said, "Are you afraid that Gao Shutai will underestimate you before you fight a single battle?"
Yilduzi felt a little embarrassed when he heard this, but he did not dare to contradict Chaterji in public. He was looking a little embarrassed. Who knew that Chaterji had already turned his face and said pragmatically to Gao: "Shu Tai, Yilduzi Qi was often cut off when he was a child, and he was in the sweat camp for many years. He is also a young man who I watched grow up...
Sir, although this guy looks a little lean and frail, he doesn't look like us Mongolians at all. In fact, his skills are not bad. Let's put it this way, in terms of equestrian skills, he can at least be ranked among the top three in the right-wing Taiji; in terms of martial arts... among their generation, he can probably be ranked in the top five. Overall, it's still worth using. "
Gao Pragmatic was also a little surprised when he heard this. He didn't expect that Tuotuo would take the initiative to recommend Yilduzi.
Yilduzi was also stunned for a while after hearing this, but he was Qie Jin's son after all. He quickly realized what he was doing and made a Mongolian salute to Qataiji. He said thanks: "Thank you Uncle Totu for the compliment. I wish your cattle and sheep the best." Peace forever.”
Gao Pingshi's heart moved, but he understood Tuotuo's intention. He couldn't help but smile and nodded: "Since it is recommended by General Tuotuo, well, there is an important task for you to handle here in the headquarters..."
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