Although it is the darkest time before dawn, there is still some light.
He vaguely saw that there were countless black shadows coming this way in the distance. Judging from the shadow, it seems that he is riding a horse.
I didn't hear any sound. He must have sneaked here deliberately. The horse's feet were wrapped in cotton or something, so the sound would be much less...
What are these Mongols coming to do? Grabbing food? It must be a grab for food!
Thinking about this, he hesitated whether to shout or not. Although he had no objection at all to the Mongols robbing the food, what if the Mongols wanted to kill people and silence them?
While he was still hesitating, Xilin Jueluo was the first to be alarmed.
Thanks to his years of fighting, he is very sensitive to everything related to war.
Although they deliberately concealed the movement, there were a lot of people after all, so there must be movement. After getting closer, Xilinjueluo was awakened.
When he got up and took a look, he suddenly panicked. Many people came here obviously for food, and they were enemies rather than friends. Then, he looked around and found that Chai Shihua's men, including Chai Shihua himself, were all fast asleep. Suddenly, he became angry and shouted loudly: "Enemy attack, enemy attack!"
His loud voice certainly woke some people up.
According to his idea, the army would immediately form a formation and wait for dawn before looking for an opportunity to move.
However, when Chai Shihua's men woke up and saw the movement, they all panicked. They shouted one by one, turned around and ran away. Many of them didn't even get their weapons.
Chai Shihua himself was also woken up. After discovering this situation, he also wanted to run away immediately.
However, he did not run away. Xilin Jueluo grabbed his clothes and shouted sternly: "Get ready for war immediately. If you lose food and supplies, you won't be able to chop off your heads!"
When Chai Shihua heard this, he realized that this was different from fighting in the northwest. This time he was escorting people and materials to Liaodong. He really couldn't explain why he lost so much population and materials.
Thinking of this, he immediately grimaced and said, "Sir, please shout, this is from Qing Dynasty, maybe the person on the other side made a mistake."
He knows his own business. In this case, preparing for war is a daydream! The only thing that might be useful is to hope that there is a misunderstanding, and these malicious Mongolians don't know that they are the food and grass supplies of the Qing Dynasty.
However, before Xilinjueluo had time to shout, he saw the movement coming from the other side. Knowing that he could no longer hide it, he began to speed up and rush over, shouting to kill. Rockets streaked through the night sky in an arc, looking particularly dazzling in the dark night, and landed in the messy crowd of fake Tatars.
Upon hearing the cry of killing from the other side, both Xilinjueluo and Chai Shihua were dumbfounded. Both of them were familiar with the accent of the murder shouts from the opposite side, the accent of Guanning Army in Liaodong. It's the Ming army!
As soon as he came to this conclusion, Chai Shihua didn't say anything. Anyway, Xilinjueluo didn't grab his clothes at this time. He immediately turned around and ran away, running faster than a rabbit.
Xilin Jueluo looked back at Chai Shihua's men who were fleeing in all directions. Looking at Chai Shihua's fleeing back, he knew that the defeat was certain and there was no chance of preserving food and supplies.
Having been a prisoner once, he was of course very sensitive and would never want to be a prisoner of the Ming army again.
So, without saying a word, he immediately started running away.
The people of the Ming Dynasty were stunned when they heard the shouts of killing in Ming Dynasty Mandarin. It took a long time to come back to my senses, and I was still a little unsure: could it really be an official army? However, how could the officers and soldiers suddenly appear on the grassland? This is impossible! Could it be...this is a dream!
Many people thought this way, so some people started to twist their legs, and some people slapped themselves in the face. Then they looked back and found that they had not woken up from the dream, which means that this was not a dream!
Many people were overjoyed at first, but it was so unexpected and they thought it was impossible. Therefore, most of them stayed still and did not dare to move, for fear of accidental injury. However, they all opened their eyes wide, wanting to confirm immediately whether they were officers or soldiers?
This sneak attack army was of course led by Wu Sangui. He had timed his attack, so after a while, the sky in the east became white. The morning light shines on the grassland, allowing people to basically see the situation clearly.
I saw that they were chasing fake Tatars everywhere, or dealing with a few cavalry troops who were stubbornly resisting, or they were the imperial officers and soldiers wearing red mandarin duck jerseys, with the Chinese character "Wu" on their flags fluttering in the morning breeze.
"The officers and soldiers of the imperial court, the officers and soldiers of the imperial court, we are saved!" Immediately, someone shouted excitedly, and the joy came from the heart and was beyond words.
Some people saw the general under the handsome flag and couldn't help shouting: "It's Marshal Wu, it's Marshal Wu..."
Wu Sangui has been fighting in the northwest for more than a year. It is not surprising that someone can recognize him.
At this time, Wu Sangui suddenly appeared on the grassland and attacked Chai Shihua's troops who were escorting them. The people of the Ming Dynasty were no longer doubtful, and they spontaneously untied the ropes from their feet. As if they had infinite strength, they devoted themselves to fighting against the fake Tatars. under siege.
In fact, this war cannot be considered a war at all. Although the number of both sides is about the same, the level of elites is actually very different.
Wu Sangui's troops were the elite cavalry of Guan Ning's army, while his opponent, Chai Shihua's troops, were a rabble. More importantly, after being attacked by Wu Sangui's troops, both Chai Shihua and Xilin Jueluo chose to escape immediately.
As a result, the war was basically a one-sided war. From the very beginning, the Ming army officers and soldiers were just hunting down fake Tatars everywhere.
With the help of the morning light, Wu Sangui found that his men had killed many enemies. Chai Shihua's infantry could not escape anyway, while the cavalry only managed to escape fifty or sixty horses in a hurry.
The whole war didn't last long before it was over.
All the people of the Ming Dynasty cheered and knelt down to Wu Sangui, thanking him for his life-saving grace.
Seeing more than 4,000 young men kneeling all over the grassland, there were also more than 1,000 prisoners of Chai Shihua's army among them. Beside them, lying on the ground were corpses, blood, mutilated limbs, carts of grain, and the excited expressions of the Ming soldiers...
Such a picture made Wu Sangui feel excited like never before, and the man's blood boiled in his body.
Such a great victory was achieved by myself! Wu Sangui thought excitedly in his heart.
This battle can be said to be the biggest victory in his life, and he fought it happily. With pride in his heart, he couldn't help but feel even more happy when he heard that all the people of the Ming Dynasty were grateful to him.
He opened his mouth and was about to say something when suddenly, a memory suddenly flashed through his mind. Isn't it possible that there might be a factory guard spy around him? All his words and deeds will most likely be reported to the emperor.
Thinking of this, Wu Sangui immediately changed what he wanted to say, and saw him gesturing upwards with his hands clasped in fists, with a pious and serious expression on his face, and said loudly: "I have come to rescue you according to the emperor's secret order. You all want to thank me. You should thank the Emperor!"
In this case, for Lu Xiangsheng and the others, they would always keep it in mind. However, Wu Sangui, who had been influenced by Zu Dashou, found it difficult to say it out loud in the first place.
When the people of the Ming Dynasty heard his words, they naturally burst into tears of gratitude to the emperor. Needless to say, this goes without saying.
Watching these people collapse to the ground one by one after being excited, they were obviously hungry. Therefore, Wu Sangui ordered the prisoners to make a fire to cook immediately, and at the same time, waited for the chasing men to return.
This time, of course, the people of Ming Dynasty can have enough to eat. The so-called people's spirits are high when happy events occur, and the tragic experiences of families being broken up and wives and children being separated seem to be far away from these Ming people at this moment. They ate their meals and praised the emperor and Wu Sangui loudly. Their excitement could not be concealed at all costs. . Many people even expressed to Wu Sangui that they wanted to fight with him to fight against the rebels, the Mongolian Tatars, and the traitors of the Ming Dynasty.
As Wu Sangui patrolled, he felt the respect these Ming people had for him. It could be said that he had never felt so sincerely admired by others, which made him feel very happy.
Just when the people of Ming Dynasty had almost eaten, the pursuing Ming army came back and reported their situation to Wu Sangui.
Although they chased and killed some cavalry, Chai Shihua and Xilinjueluo escaped under the escort of their personal guards.
Wu Sangui didn't care at all about this, but immediately ordered the people and materials to be escorted back to the customs.
The only reason for this is that Emperor Chongzhen had explained in his secret decree that the Tatar leader should just let them run away. Even if they didn't run away and were caught, he would find a reason to let them go. They are responsible for losing people and materials. Even if they escape, they will definitely not have anything good to eat. It will also exacerbate the internal conflicts among the captives and be able to send back the news of defeat with authority.
…………
Jierharang, who was here in Guihua City, certainly didn't know that the population and materials he carefully selected as tribute to Liaodong were robbed by Wu Sangui's troops sent by Emperor Chongzhen on the way. At this time, he was wondering why the Ming Emperor in Yulin had been gathering for so long. It was already mid-October! Logically speaking, even if we have to make perfect preparations, we should be almost there. Why haven't we attacked Guihua City yet?
While he was wondering, the quartermaster of the army came over and reported that the army had insufficient food and grass to last for a month.
Hearing this, Jierharang was suddenly startled. Faintly, he felt that he had been deceived?
In Guihua City, in order to cope with the Ming Emperor's personal expedition, elites drawn from various Mongolian ministries have been assembled, including Jianlu himself, which has nearly 30,000 cavalry. Moreover, as they are always preparing for war, the news of food and supplies consumes much more than usual.
Could it be that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty knew that he was short of food and grass supplies, so he wasted his own money? Jierhalang couldn't help but think so in his heart, but when he looked back and thought about it, he felt it was impossible. If he didn't send those grain and grass supplies to Liaodong, he could still hold on for at least two months.
The emperor of the Ming Dynasty in Guannei was assembling a large army to prepare for war, and he also had to consume grain and grass supplies. Did the Ming Kingdom have so much grain and grass supplies?
Therefore, Jierhalang did not dare to confirm whether what he was thinking was right.
At this moment, the personal guard suddenly reported that the leaders of various Mongolian ministries were waiting outside the house.
Now is the time to use them, and Jilharang is not as hot-tempered as Azig, so it is natural to meet these Mongolian tribe leaders. However, he vaguely felt that these Mongolian tribal leaders came to see him together. Maybe they had made an appointment in advance. Otherwise, it was absolutely impossible for them to come together, and it was not him who had issued a military order to see them.
Sure enough, after meeting, these leaders of various Mongolian ministries almost unanimously complained to Jierhalang, saying that their food and grass were not enough, and hoped that the Qing Dynasty could allocate some to them.
In Jierhalang's military order, these Mongolian ministries were asked to send elites to come, and of course they had to bring the necessary food and supplies themselves.
These Mongolian tribes thought that after defeating the Ming Emperor, they could enter the customs and plunder at will. When the time comes, the quality of the places assigned to plunder will be entirely decided by Jilharang. For the future, they have to tighten their belts again.
However, they did not expect that after so long, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty still wanted to attack the grassland, but he did not come. They couldn't hold on any longer, so they had no choice but to come to Jierhalang to complain.
When they said this, Jierhalang became more and more suspicious. Could it be that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty really had plans to consume food?
However, there was nothing he could do about it. He had no choice but to order the entire army to rest and recuperate, halve the daily food supply, and send more detective horses to the Ming Dynasty border to monitor and guard against Ming Dynasty cavalry raids.
"It must be coming soon. The strength of the Ming army is far greater than ours. They consume countless amounts of food and grass every day. It is definitely impossible to stand still." Jirhalang comforted the Mongolian tribe leaders and said, "He still understands The emperor of this country has countless things to deal with in such a big empire, and it is impossible for him to stay in Yulin for a long time. If my prediction is correct, he should be almost ready and will be out of seclusion soon!"
The Mongolian tribal leaders could barely accept this statement, but the inability to obtain food and grass support from the Qing Dynasty made them dissatisfied, but they did not dare to show it. After returning, in accordance with military orders, we lifted our war readiness and reduced our food consumption.
Then, time passed slowly, and Jianlu Tanma stepped up his inquiries about the news inside the pass.
"Report, the Ming army's troops have been assembled, and the number of soldiers leaving the country has suddenly increased. Our army's detective horses are outnumbered. Please send more detective horses to fight against the Ming Dynasty's soldiers!"
This is a sign that the Ming army is about to leave the border! Jirharang couldn't help but be overjoyed. However, he did not send more scouting horses. Otherwise, if the Ming Dynasty continued to increase its troops and started fighting directly at the pass, how would it be possible to determine the military food route?
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