The sun and moon flags are fluttering, and the wind and clouds are changing colors.
While Timur was marching cautiously, the Ming soldiers were not idle either.
In order to protect the rear army from cavalry attacks and prevent the troops from being too dispersed, Zhu Di ordered his sergeants to dig trenches as early as the end of the Harry War. More than 30 trenches were dug within five miles of the rear army, and wooden cones and wooden cones were placed in the trenches. Bamboo spears, no matter whether it is a person or a horse, there is no way to survive if they fall into it.
It is impossible for heavy cavalry to jump over more than thirty trenches in a row. With that kind of equipment, they will not be able to jump over even if they are exhausted. Light cavalry can come at will. Anyway, there is only a mound of soil less than three feet wide between several trenches. Horse hooves Can't let go.
There is no need to worry about the rear army, Zhu Di only arranged 15,000 military camp sergeants for defense.
The left wing, right wing and center army are the main force of the battle and the main direction of Timur's attack.
After careful consideration, Zhu Di ordered Xu Huizu to guard the right wing and Song Sheng to guard the left wing, with 30,000 troops each. The central army was commanded by Zhu Di, with 70,000 troops, and made preparations for defense and attack.
Timur finally came, and with all his main force, he stopped ten miles away from the Ming army and set up camp.
Gesuyedin, Shaharul and others brought more than 5,000 elite cavalry and accompanied Timur to the front line to observe the formation. Looking at the Ming army formation with flags in the distance, Timur frowned slightly.
"The name of the Ming Dynasty's general is Zhu Di, right?"
Timur asked in a deep voice.
Shaharul nodded: "Yes, the commander-in-chief Zhu Di, the deputy generals Song Sheng and Xu Huizu. According to the information from merchants and Wala, Zhu Di is good at using cavalry and has defeated the Tatar army. He is an outstanding general. This man He is also the uncle of Emperor Ming and the fourth son of Emperor Hongwu."
"What about those two people?"
Timur continued to ask.
Shaharul knew that this was Timur's habit. He had already investigated clearly who Zhu Di was, but every time he was unsure or thinking deeply, Timur would always ask again.
As a sultan, it is impossible not to have basic information about the Ming army.
Shaharul continued to introduce: "Song Sheng is a good cavalryman, extremely brave and powerful in the Western Regions. He once conquered Hami and defeated Hashiha's army, so that Wala did not dare to go deep."
"There is no information about Xu Huizu, right?"
Timur observed the military formation in the distance.
Shaharul affirmed: "There is no information about him. I only know that he is the eldest son of Xu Da, a famous general during the founding of the Ming Dynasty."
Timur's expression was as usual: "After being a general, he also served as a deputy general. I guess he has some abilities. I heard that Qiang Zhili faced him, and in the end he didn't even save his life."
Shaharul didn't answer. No one came up with any information about how Qiang Zhili died.
Timur sat on his horse and observed Ming's military formation from a distance. He couldn't help but frown: "The central army is thick, and there are heavy troops on the left and right wings. This Zhu Di is not simple. The strength of Ming's troops coming here is definitely not the 80,000 that Harry expected. There are at least 130,000 to 40,000 people around, Harry is underestimating the enemy!"
Seeing this, Gesuyedin quickly helped Harry speak: "According to the information provided by the Huihui people, the Ming Dynasty did not have such a large number of troops. In addition, Harry did not encounter much resistance while marching, so he thought of underestimating the enemy. Such a thick In the military formation, even if Harry leads people to rush in, as long as Ming Dynasty does not mess up the position, it will be difficult for Harry to win."
Timur nodded: "I searched for a lot of information about the Ming Dynasty, but it was limited to terrain, rivers, supplies, etc. I underestimated the determination of the Ming Emperor and the logistics of the Ming Dynasty. They actually mobilized so many troops to enter Yili was in the middle. The Huihui people's intelligence was not trustworthy, and it harmed Harry and 40,000 elites."
Shaharul lamented.
Harry was the first to eliminate Yili, and soon afterwards he fought a decisive battle with the Ming Dynasty, which ultimately ended in failure. This also meant that Timur had no time to build his own intelligence network. Many sources of intelligence came from Huihui merchants and Yili. -Slamists, but not only do these people have little information, they are also very subjective, and there is not much usable information at all.
Timur pointed to the Ming army formation in the distance: "You tell me, Harry was defeated, Qiangzhili was defeated, and Baqishan was defeated, why didn't even one person escape! They were cavalry, and the Ming Dynasty was defeated.
What stopped the fleeing cavalry? "
Gesuyedin hesitated for a moment and then said, "Harry said that he encountered many Ming cavalry during the retreat. After the guards died in battle, he led a thousand people away, and then he was captured by a cavalry force called the Scouts. , and said that some of the people there were like gods of war, very powerful. It must be because of their presence that they blocked the way out for all the cavalry, so that no one could send messages."
Timur stared, scout, war god, extremely powerful cavalry? Did Harry lie to cover up his failure and exaggerate the combat power of the Ming army, or was it true that the Ming army really had a group of elite cavalry as he said?
But even so, Harry should not have been defeated so completely, so completely that no one alive could escape!
This is not common sense!
No matter how thorough the massacre, there will always be a few survivors, no matter how brutal the battle, there will always be people crawling out from among the dead. It's really weird that no one came back alive. They are cavalry after all!
"Let's go back!"
Timur looked at the Ming army's formation and once penetrated within five miles, but could not find any flaws.
Chinese army.
Zhu Di stood on the high platform, holding a telescope and watching Timur come and go.
Yang Rong had already mobilized the sergeants of the Shenji Battalion, and Huo Lin was already standing behind the Shenji Cannon. They were waiting for Timur to get closer. As long as he dared to run within three miles, Ming would not mind covering it with firepower early and directly kill him. Timur sent him away.
Once Timur is killed, the morale of Timur's army without its general will be in chaos. The Ming Dynasty can win with one blow!
Unfortunately, Timur did not give Ming this chance and withdrew after observing the formation from a distance.
Zhu Di said to the disappointed Yang Rong, Huo Lin and others: "If Timur can be killed so easily, it would be an insult to a generation of famous generals. We must defeat him with our true strength on the battlefield."
Yang Rong stared, he had just become excited, it was not you, Zhu Di, who asked me to push the divine machine cannon. Why didn't you say it was an insult or not at that time...
Rubbing his cold face, Yang Rong said to Zhu Di: "The battlefield is to deal with the enemy. The general is good at using cavalry, and the brothers in the Shenji camp are good at the Shenji cannon. Whether it is close combat or long-range artillery fire, they are all against the enemy." respect."
Zhu Di said quietly: "But Timur didn't give Shenji Camp a chance to respect him..."
Yang Rong looked at the wide area directly ahead and said with a smile: "When they come, we will respect them even if they don't give us a chance to respect them."
Zhu Di nodded heavily.
How to defeat heavy cavalry is an extremely difficult problem.
Although Liu Qixia also built 3,000 heavy armored cavalry, and Yuan Yue also trained 3,000 heavy armored cavalry specifically to deal with heavy armored cavalry, these forces cannot be used lightly. They must ensure the safety of their own military formations.
Tamerlane died of 6,000 heavy armored cavalry, and he still had many more. After Ming Dynasty died, they were completely gone. This business is not a good deal.
To deal with them, we can only change our strategy.
Zhu Di looked at the somewhat desolate land in front of him, his slightly narrowed eyes revealing murderous intent. This area would become a hell.
After Timur returned to camp, he briefly drew the Ming army's formation and discussed with the generals: "Our logistics cannot last long. The weather is getting colder and logistics and transportation are becoming more difficult. We don't have much time left. Tell me how to open the Ming army formation and how to fight."
Facing the Ming Dynasty, which had shrunk its main force and set up heavy camps, Timur's most skilled generals were also somewhat silent.
Although Zhu Di camped in the plains, and although the Ming Dynasty mainly used infantry, from a camp perspective, the Ming Dynasty's formations were connected one after another, and they were related to each other. No matter where they attacked, they would be attacked by at least two places at the same time.
On the left and right wings of the Ming Dynasty, there were also tall wooden towers built. There were sergeants on top of the wooden towers who could shoot arrows from a high position. If you want to pull out the left and right wings, you must cut down the wooden towers of the Ming Dynasty first if you don't have heavy cavalry. On the contrary, although the Ming Dynasty's central army was thick, there were no wooden towers, wooden carts, etc. around it.
Miran Shah said firmly: "Sultan, the Ming army's formation is so tight that it is difficult to fight on either side. You might as well take the central army directly. As long as the central army is opened, its left
Since we can't take care of both the right and left, we will dig into the center, cut off the two wings, and gather together to annihilate them! "
"The strategy of central breakthrough is advisable, I agree."
*** approved Miransha's proposal.
Failed Zhe said with some concern: "Most of the main force of the Ming Dynasty is in the Chinese army. If we attack the Chinese army directly, it will be a hard battle. Should we divide our forces to reduce the pressure on the Chinese army?"
Gesuyedin shook his head: "It is inappropriate to divide the troops. The Ming army's formation is now stable, and it will be difficult for a flaw to appear for a while. Even if it divides its troops to attack the left and right wings, it will block its army. Once it reaches a stalemate, it can only retreat and increase the number of troops." Casualties. If you want to attack the two wings of the Ming army, you must make Zhu Di feel that the Chinese army can no longer hold it. He needs to mobilize the strength of the two wings to defend. Once a flaw is revealed, we can use troops from the north and the south!"
Timur listened to everyone's discussion, and when he saw that everyone still insisted on the strategy of breaking through the center, he nodded and said: "Harry lost his sword at Qandura and 40,000 cavalry were destroyed. This is a rare defeat in my life. It is My only defeat since I became the Great Emir is also my biggest stain since I became the Sultan!"
"This time I personally led the troops. It was also in Qamdo, and it was also against Zhu Di, the Ming Dynasty. I want to use my victory to tell all the soldiers that their Sultan is invincible. I want to use my victory to tell Zhu Di that his victory is only It’s just because of Harry’s underestimation of the enemy, not the strength of Sergeant Ming! Who will fight first tomorrow?”
Miran Shah, Gesu Yedin and others all asked for orders.
As the first battle, it is the most difficult but also the most glorious. Winning is the first achievement!
Timur looked at everyone, and finally fixed his gaze on Shuishi Zhe, and said solemnly: "Shuishei Zhe, are you willing to take my riding crop, attack the Ming army without fear, and not withdraw your troops until the victory is won?"
Failed Zhe walked out and shouted in a loud voice: "I am willing to use the Sultan's sword to kill the disobedient!"
"Okay, I'll give you 6,000 heavy cavalry! We will fight tomorrow and be sure to win!"
Timur stood up, ordered someone to bring his riding crop, and then solemnly handed it to Shuishizhe.
Failed Zhe took Timur's riding crop and saluted respectfully: "I am ordered by the whip of the emperor to break the enemy's formation and kill the enemy chief!"
"Go get ready!"
Timur was overjoyed.
Six thousand heavy cavalry, this is one of the rare times that Timur has invested in heavy cavalry from the beginning since his campaign. This also means that Timur did not underestimate the Ming Dynasty!
The next day, early morning.
Defeat Zhe ordered 6,000 heavy armored cavalry, and a black torrent flowed out of the military formation, while Timur himself led an army of 50,000 to suppress the formation five miles away.
The sun shines on the heavy armor, and the black armor shines with a dark luster.
The war horse seemed to be wearing a heavy iron coat. Except for its limbs and abdomen, everything was covered by iron armor.
Indestructible and unstoppable.
