The Battle of Shacheng, or the second Battle of Shacheng, broke out very suddenly. As a city in the late Ming Dynasty controlled by the Mongolian Tumuts, the greatest role of this city has never been in military affairs, but in trade.
Only a few dozen miles south of Shacheng is the side wall of the Great Wall of the Ming Dynasty. Within the side wall is Wanquan Youwei, which belongs to the jurisdiction of the Xuanfu Governor and the Xuanfu General Army Defense Area. However, it is not allowed or convenient to enter the customs directly south of Shacheng. The only pass that can be entered is Zhangjiakou Fort in the southeast of Shacheng - yes, it is the location of Zhangjiakou in later generations. The two places are about a hundred miles apart.
There is actually a place called Xinghe closest to the border wall south of Shacheng, but it is just an unsuspecting market. It is usually only used as the last stop before entering the customs, usually for the convenience of Mongolians who go to trade. Sorting out the cattle and sheep supplies brought.
It is Shacheng that really plays the role of a transit point for customs entry trade. Because of this, a lot of supplies were gathered in Shacheng before the war broke out, most of which were horses, cattle and sheep, unfinished leather (the tanning process was not up to standard) and other items that the Tumuts planned to trade with the Ming people, and even some Saddles, bows and arrows, etc.
Of course, the Ming Dynasty products brought back from Zhangjiakou are also indispensable, and there are all kinds of them. There are almost all kinds of products from the north to the south, from high-end to low-end, and of course the famous goods are indispensable: iron pots.
Before the war, Shacheng had never felt the threat of war at all. The people stationed here, including the vast majority of Mongolians and a small number of Han and Hui people, believed that the war was far away from Tumut's headquarters, and that Chacha, which was nearly a thousand miles away, believed that the war was far away. Hal, some people in Zhangjiakou even heard that the Ming Army had already arrived at the Hulunbuir Prairie.
Judging from this situation, Tumut's headquarters is obviously relaxed and happy, and doing business happily is better than anything else.
The warning came at noon that day, when a group of Tumuts galloped over on horseback, shouting that the enemy was attacking. After hearing the news, the nominal guard of Shacheng, a captain from the Western Post, immediately came out of his tent and called people over for questioning.
This Tumut tribe was stationed two hundred miles away in the northeast. They originally planned to take the exchanged goods back, but who knew that they found a large group of cavalry in front of them before they had gone far - there was something wrong here. Their so-called "big stocks" at this time were actually not many, only more than 200 people, who were Chahar's sentinels.
However, many of these Tumuts had also been recruited to fight. It was obvious at a glance that those sentinels were not Tumuts. They seemed to be Chahar sentrys. According to experience, a sentinel cavalry of more than two hundred people means that there must be a large army behind them, at least ten thousand people. This is bad, it means that a large number of enemy troops are coming.
Although nominally speaking, Tumote still recognizes that the Great Khan of the Chahar tribe is the Great Khan of all Mongolia, but the current Tumote is very distorted. As the "30,000 Tumote households", they are the Great Khan of Mongolia. The subjects of the Ming Dynasty; as the "Ming Dynasty Jin Kingdom", they are also the subjects of the Ming Dynasty.
But names are names, and Tumut people are not fools. Who doesn’t know that Tumut is now more inclined to the Ming Dynasty? Didn’t you see that the Great Khan had already gone to conquer the Outer Khalkha tribe with the Datong General of the Ming Army? It is self-evident who is the enemy and who is the friend.
So these Tumut people ran back in dismay and reported the situation to the Shacheng garrison. Actually, as members of a small tribe, they didn't have to come back. However, their trip was divided into two groups. They planned to bring some of the goods back first, and half of them stayed in Shacheng later.
There was nothing we could do at this point. We all had the same clan and we couldn't just leave our family members to die without saying hello, so we had to take the risk and come back to report the news. Of course, this would not be said to the guard.
The guard's name is very Mongolian, even a bit bad. His name is Badu'er, and his maternal lineage is even a bit of a branch of the Golden Family. It is a pity that the Mongolian bloodline is only based on the male line, otherwise his status may be able to reach a higher level.
After hearing about this situation, the general suddenly felt bad. When the Chahar people came to Tumut, there would definitely not be only a team of ten thousand people, because if there were too few people coming to Tumut, they would probably be beaten by meat buns. There is no return.
Since there is more than one troop of ten thousand people, it means that the Chahar people are attacking in a large scale. The emergence of this situation means that there are only two possibilities: one is that there is a loophole in the siege network of Chahar by the Ming and Mongolian coalition forces, and the other is that the Chahar people were defeated and came to Tumut like headless flies.
Of course, he hopes to face the second possibility, but he also knows that this is probably just a wishful thinking, because according to the news he just received, the other party is still sending sentries in an orderly manner - it is impossible for the defeated army to be beaten. So particular.
The commander immediately took action, ordering the city gates to be closed, arranging troops and defense materials, and personally leading people to climb the tower to check the situation.
Speaking of which, the city defense facilities in Shacheng were pretty good at this time. This was thanks to the Ming Dynasty's Grand Master Gao who had guarded the city here. Many of the city defenses were temporarily repaired by him at that time.
Although to Grand Master Gao it was just a semi-finished product that had been temporarily repaired, in the eyes of Ba Du'er, it was a big deal. The waterproofing of this city was at least among the top five in Tumut, and it was truly a fortified city. If there were enough troops and supplies, Baodu'er even thought that even if Tumen came in person, he wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
However, there is a saying that goes well, when you think things are going to be bad, things will only get worse. Not only did the enemy actually have the Great Khan of Tumen in person, but the capital did not have "sufficient troops and supplies."
To be precise, he only has about 500 people, and... all of them are cavalry. As for supplies, bows and arrows are enough, and food, including cattle and sheep, is more than enough.
But the problem is that after the city was handed over to Tumut, some rolling stones and wood gradually disappeared. As for the kerosene, gold juice and other materials commonly used by the Ming army, not a single bit was left. Was it taken away by the Ming army or later abandoned by the Tumut people. As for the Ming army's more deterrent and combat-effective city defense artillery... If you think too much, you don't have any Tumote, and even if you have them, it's useless, because since the decline of Mongolia, the current Mongolians don't know how to play with such things. .
In short, only the Ming army can use the method of defending the city. When it is Tumut's turn, only one or two tenths of the strength is left. In addition to the strong city itself, the bows and arrows of the Tumut people can also play some role. .
When Jiuzi Baihan appeared in the field of vision, Du'er's heart suddenly tightened and he thought to himself: Tumen is really here!
However, although he was a little nervous inside, he was still a veteran on the battlefield and subconsciously observed the opponent's formation. After some observation, his high-spirited heart finally relaxed a little.
The other party arrived in a hurry, and it seemed that they didn't have any siege equipment. If there is any good news for Shacheng at this time, this is probably the biggest good news. After all, the Mongols understand the Mongols. Mongolia is no different now than it was two hundred years ago, and its ability to siege cities has basically been reduced to zero.
The lack of siege equipment means that even if they face a solid city with the crudest defenses, it will be difficult for them to capture it quickly, because no matter how brave you are, you cannot hit the city gate on horseback, let alone expect the horse to jump over the city wall. .
Jiangdu'er decided to stick to it, and even planned to go to the direction of Jiu'e Baiji in person to cheer up and encourage the warriors under his command.
The Chahar people placed their main attack at the main gate, which was the south gate. Nine white banners quickly arrived and were set up outside the south gate.
Ba Du'er immediately went to the south gate, quickly climbed up the tower, and looked at the Jiu Zhi Bai in front of him with a stern expression. He felt quite a bit in his heart, but he quickly shook his head vigorously to clear some things he shouldn't think out of his mind.
"Minhan's face is really sweating... What should we do now?" A subordinate of Guangdu'er asked cautiously.
Minhannayan means chief of thousands, but there is a customary deviation here. In fact, according to the Mongolian and Yuan military system, he should be called the chief of thousands of households, and "thousands of households" is actually a basic military policy set by Genghis Khan. control, which is equivalent to a standard position that can independently command one side of the battle.
At that time, Genghis Khan divided the people of Mongolia into 95 thousand households, and then based on the principle of reward according to merit, he enfeoffed them to the founding heroes and noble relatives, and appointed these heroes and noble relatives as the thousand households Nayan (Nayan means official , lord, military lord), who exercise hereditary management over the people.
Genghis Khan issued a decree saying: "Thousands of those who work for the establishment of the country will be appointed as officials of thousands of households." At that time, he entrusted Qianhu Nayan with a total of 88 people, including 78 heroes and 10 princes-in-law. Since there were three princes-in-law who owned ten thousand households in total, the number of enfeoffed persons was less than 95.
Although the thousand-household system is nominally based on one thousand households, in fact the number of establishments for each thousand-household system is not exactly the same. Below a thousand households, there are several hundred households, and below a hundred households, there are ten households. This formed a military and political organizational system with layers of subordinates, tight governance, and flexible command.
The Mongolian period was still in the historical stage where war of conquest was a profession, and the Mongols basically lived a militarized life. In the event of a war, those with fighting ability were signed into the army, and after the war they were scattered back to the grasslands to serve as people. Therefore, although the Thousand Household System is a system of joint military and civilian management, in terms of its main functions, it is obviously more inclined to a form of military management organization.
Therefore, unlike the Ming Dynasty where the government and the army were separated and the government was greater than the army, the guard general of Shacheng controlled thousands of households in the capital and was not only the military commander of Shacheng, but also the political leader. Therefore, in addition to choosing "how to fight" like a local guard in the Ming Dynasty, he can also choose "whether to fight".
At this time, the situation is clear. The Chahar army outside the city can be seen with the naked eye. It is the Chahar Khan Court. There are only about 500 people on our side, how can we hold it?
To be fair, Bao Du'er himself didn't want to defend it. The power disparity is really too great. He is not a Ming general, and his subordinates are not Ming troops. Relying on the defense of a fortified city is really not our strength, but going out of the city to fight in the field. Besides, the other party is the Great Khan of Mongolia, and I have not received orders from Taiji or even the Great Khan that I must hold on. So... is it reasonable to obey the Great Khan of Mongolia?
But he quickly abandoned this idea and decided to defend the city. This is not because he suddenly realized his conscience and strengthened his determination to kill Han Naji Khan in retribution; nor is it because he defeated the possession and suddenly felt that I had the advantage. He just thought clearly: the cost of betrayal is greater than the possible benefits.
Bao Du'er believes that the Ming-Mongolian coalition mobilized a total of 600,000 troops this time, and it is a real number rather than a claim. Such a large army can only be said to have combat power. The national power revealed behind it is enough to make people dare not Fight against each other.
Based on his understanding of the Ming army over the years, if the Ming army today sends 200,000 troops to obtain naturalization, Han Naji Khan will only be defeated in the end, even if he can get the desperate support of thousands of households in Ordos. As for where to go, I don’t know. Anyway, I definitely won’t be able to gain a foothold in naturalization.
Together with Ordos, the paper strength of Tumut and Ordos should be slightly stronger than that of Chahar and Khalkha. Therefore, Du'er's thinking naturally fell into a kind of "since I can't do it, then you must not be able to do it either." situation.
So obviously, despite the fact that the Tumen Great Khan's 60,000 troops are overwhelming the city, in fact, as long as the Ming and Mongolian coalition forces discover his whereabouts and come, the old man, the Great Khan, can only continue to run like a bereaved dog.
Simply put, there is no future in following him.
So what's the price of betrayal? That's a big deal.
He has a dignified Minhan Na Yan, who is also the head of a thousand households, but now he only has 500 soldiers. Is it because he really only has these few soldiers?
Of course not, that's because his troops were divided into three parts: one part was summoned by the Great Khan and took him to the Outer Khalkha; one part stayed in the Khan's Guihua City as a garrison to defend the Khan's tent; the remaining He only took the weakest part with him because this place was too close to the border between Ming and Mongolia. If there were too many troops stationed there, it would easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings, which Tumut would never dare to try now.
The movement of Chahar's army outside the city was also a bit strange. They took on a very cold posture, but stopped to form an array for a while, but never made any move to attack the city.
When Shacheng was facing a formidable enemy and made a desperate posture to defend the city, Burihatu, who stood under the nine-pin white banner, sighed regretfully, shook his head and said: "I don't know who is defending the city, but it's okay. I'm a bit brave, and it seems I can't trick you anymore. Khan, will you follow the plan?"
Tumen also sighed and said helplessly: "My time is precious, how can I allow such short-sighted people to linger, and they will surely burn down the sand city again, and let out a breath of bad breath for the past setbacks! Anyway, now, This is not the time to argue with such unknown people...Buyan, go ahead and remember to fly Huang Taiji's flag to avoid any accidents."
"Yes, Khan." Buyantaiji didn't seem worried, but he still followed his instructions and asked the people around him to raise Huang Taiji's flag high, and followed him towards the city tower like a horse and a horse.
On the city tower, Wang Duer watched the flag representing Mongolia Huang Taiji getting closer and closer, but there were only two people around the knight who seemed to be Huang Taiji himself. He couldn't help but feel a little surprised for a moment, and even a little inexplicably nervous.
Fortunately, Buyantaiji had rich combat experience and knew very well the range of bows and arrows on the tower. He stopped at a distance that only Jebie's divine archer could reach but that was absolutely beyond the reach of ordinary archers.
The appointed next Great Khan of Mongolia took a deep breath and shouted loudly: "I am Buyan Huangtaiji of the Great Mongolian Kingdom. I am here under the order of the Great Khan. I order you to listen carefully: I will donate 500 yuan of military rations." With ten large carts, three hundred sheep, and two carts of wine, the Great Khan exempted you from the crime of disrespect, and led his troops to naturalize and question Tumed Chechen Khan!
The soldiers and generals upstairs should know that the war here has nothing to do with you. All merits and demerits will have to be explained to Han Naji by the Great Khan! If you don't obey the Great Khan's order, this Huang Taiji swears by the supreme blood of the Golden Family that after breaking through Shacheng - no chickens or dogs will be left behind! "
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