Lu Daqi actually knew very well in his heart that with his old bones, if he escaped at this time, even if he did not die in the pursuit of Jungar's cavalry, he would definitely die from his bones being scattered. Even if he didn't die and returned to Jiayuguan alive, he couldn't bear the responsibility of defeating the army.
Of course, being so old also has advantages, that is, you have more experience, and you know what to do at this time, so that you can have a chance to survive. That is to boost your morale and make a last-ditch fight to have a chance of survival!
Not to mention, Lu Daqi's words "See you again at the Martyrs' Shrine, the Ming Dynasty will be victorious!" were like magic, calming down the panicked Ming army soldiers: Why run away? What's so terrible about death? The worst is the Martyrs' Shrine See you soon!
If you die on the battlefield, not only will your soul return to the Martyrs' Shrine, but your family and children will be taken care of by the court, so you will have no worries!
A Ming Army soldier thought this way, and fought to the death with the enemy in front of him; another Ming Army soldier did this, and another Ming Army soldier did this... All the Ming Army soldiers in Hami ultimately fought to the death and refused to retreat. Those who got up fought desperately, and immediately killed the Jungar cavalry and retreated in succession.
This sudden reversal saw his men slowly driven out of Hami by the Ming army who had regained their fighting spirit, leaving Seng Ge, who was commanding nearby, stunned. But when he came back to his senses, he could figure it out.
In general, the Ming army was well-equipped and far superior to the Jungar cavalry army. In particular, some of the muskets used by the Ming army were the same as those used by Tsarist Russian soldiers. They did not need to be fired. The rows of guns fired at them very densely. With every volley of musketry, Jungar's cavalry troops fell on their backs and could not stop them at all.
I understand, but seeing that the only thing left to do to resolve the war was to fight like this, made Seng Ge very anxious and unwilling, so he quickly ordered his men to counterattack again.
But at this moment, the horn sound of "woo woo woo" sounded, which was the retreat horn of Jungar's cavalry.
Seng Ge knew that this retreat order could only be given by his father Khan, so he did not dare to disobey it, so he had to restrain his men to retreat slowly and leave the battlefield.
He urged his horse back to where the Khan's flag was, and when he got there, he said to Baturhun: "Father Khan, why did you let the army retreat? You can destroy this Ming army in one go. If you don't turn around and fight again, your morale will be gone!" "
This first battle went smoothly because the success of the raid made the Ming army unstable and the morale of Jungar's cavalry was greatly boosted.
After hearing this, Baturhun just smiled and said: "You did a good job, we almost beat him down!"
Having said this, he pointed to the flag of the governor of Hami and said: "The Ming army is determined to fight to the death, and the soldiers have become dead soldiers. If we continue to fight, we will not be able to bear the casualties. Even if we win, it will be meaningless."
After hearing this, Seng Ge turned around and saw the banner with the word "Lü" fluttering in the wind. The Ming army was raising their arms and shouting: "The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"
In the past, these Ming troops shouted this slogan, and their morale was as high as if they had been given blood.
Thinking of these, Sengge's heart suddenly became heavy. There is absolutely no army with such firm confidence in the Western Region. This means that such an army will be extremely brave when winning battles, but will never give up when encountering setbacks and will never retreat. If the army of the Ming Dynasty were like this, the future of the Zhungeer tribe would not be very good!
Thinking of this, Sengge couldn't help but turned around and asked Baturhui: "Father Khan, the Ming army in the past didn't seem to be like this, right? Why were they like this? If our Jungar cavalry can do the same, why not worry about being able to dominate?" Tianshan?"
Based on his experience, he could not understand what gave the Ming army such spirit, or in other words, a military soul!
Hearing his words, Baturhui stopped smiling and couldn't help but sigh and said: "This is the result of winning battles all year round, and they are actually winning battles. I heard before that the Ming army destroyed Chahar and other tribes. There is absolutely no water in these things about the establishment of captives in Liaodong. Perhaps this is the reason why the three tribes of Mobei and Eqirtu all joined. But the most important point..."
Having said this, Baturhui paused and said slowly: "The army has no worries and clear rewards and punishments, so there is such an army!"
"That's it..." Seng Ge felt a little unbelievable after hearing this. He believed that anyone who led troops would know this truth. But I haven’t seen many armies that are as powerful as the Ming army in front of me!
Baturhun knew that although his son was excellent, he had too little experience after all, so he sighed and said: "You will know when you stand alone in the future. If you want the army to have no worries, reward and punishment Obviously, that is definitely not a simple matter. Even I am actually powerless sometimes!"
At this point, he sighed again. Seeing that Seng Ge wanted to ask again, he seemed to not want to dwell on the matter anymore, so he immediately said: "Pass this Khan's military order to surround this Ming army. Don't let them Breaking through, without food and baggage, we can still wipe them out when we turn back!"
After hearing this, Seng Ge and other leaders knew that business was important, so they quickly agreed and went to arrange the arrangements.
Watching them leave, Baturhun's face looked a little grim. He turned around and looked east. He should be able to end the war here before Ming reinforcements arrive!
…………
In Hami City, after retreating from the Jungar cavalry, the Ming army officers and soldiers were so tired that they sat down on the ground one by one, panting. You don't know how tired you are during the war, but now, you look exhausted.
They were awakened from their sleep and began to respond to the enemy in a panic. Not to mention anything else, they were all very hungry at this time. At this time, most of the Ming army officers and soldiers could not help but turn their heads and look at the place where the food, grass and baggage were originally accumulated.
Although the fire has been extinguished, the smoke is still there, and the mountains of food, grass and baggage are no longer there.
Under the banner of "Lu", Lu Daqi holds a sword in his hand, as if fighting. However, his sword did not drink blood, and he did not even rush forward to meet the enemy. At this age, and it's not Lu Xiangsheng, if he really wants to go up, it will be a military achievement for the enemy.
At this time, he was listening to the reports from his generals.
Of the more than 15,000 Ming troops, only 10,000 are left, including many wounded soldiers. The most critical thing was the food and baggage. Although they tried their best to save it, most of it was burned by the enemies who were desperately trying to burn the food. The only amount they had was enough to last them about ten days, no matter how much they saved.
However, it is more than 1,200 miles from Hami to Jialing Pass. Calculating the distance, Governor Hong probably did not reach Jialing Pass. The most optimistic estimate is that it will take at least twenty days to wait for reinforcements. However, can the army persist until that moment?
After listening to the report, Lu Daqi couldn't help but feel very heavy thinking about this. Looking up from a distance, I saw that Jungar's cavalry had already set up a formation, obviously intending to encircle them, waiting for their own army to run out of food and prepare for their own side to break through.
Looking around again, the soldiers who had calmed down all had serious expressions on their faces. Although they did not show fear, they could all tell that the situation was not good.
Morale must not be lost! Otherwise, we will definitely not be able to wait for the reinforcements to arrive! With this thought in his mind, Lu Daqi returned the sword to its sheath. Regardless of his old age, he also had not eaten breakfast, and began to patrol Hami.
Although the Jungar cavalry seems to be under siege and will not attack like before, if they really don't make defensive preparations, they might launch a second surprise attack. Therefore, defense inspections are Lu Daqi's top priority. After completing his inspection, he went to comfort the wounded soldiers. After doing all this, my legs and feet felt like lead, and I could no longer stand up as soon as I returned to his house.
The guards were shocked when they saw him and quickly offered him water and food.
However, Lu Daqi looked at the group of worried-looking generals waiting around him and forced a smile. Without eating or drinking, he said to them: "The Jungar cavalry must be on guard to prevent our army from breaking through. In the end, The best plan is to stick to your treatment. You will explain this matter later and let the soldiers be prepared to stick to it!"
Hearing this, a general with a bandaged forehead immediately asked: "Master Zhongcheng, stick to your treatment, I'm afraid that the reinforcements have not arrived and the food and grass have been exhausted!"
"Yes, Master Zhongcheng, we are not afraid of fighting with these Tatars, but..." Another general also said, "But if the soldiers are hungry, how can they fight with these Jungar tribesmen?" Are the Tatars fighting?"
The other generals nodded after hearing this, with worried looks on their faces.
Lu Daqi's face darkened after hearing this. This was the crux of the problem!
Looking down at his drinking water and food, Lu Daqi ordered: "From today on, everyone from my officer on down will save food. Except for the officers on duty, other officers and soldiers, including me, will only eat one meal of gruel a day." .”
"But... Mr. Zhongcheng, even so, I'm afraid I can only hold on to the remaining food for seven or eight days." After hearing this, a general reminded him in a serious tone.
Lu Daqi frowned after hearing this, and then said: "Since our army is holding firm and waiting for reinforcements, we should only keep some of the horses, or not at all!"
They are all from the cavalry, and they treat their horses as if they were lives. But at this moment, they had to kill horses to satisfy their hunger, which made every general look very heavy.
But even so, a general still reminded Lu Daqi: "Lord Zhongcheng, even if this is the case, I'm afraid we can only hold on for ten days. I don't know if the reinforcements can arrive?"
Hearing this, Lu Daqi fell silent. There is no other way but to hope that Governor Hong can arrive in time! If we can have a few more days of food, we will be more certain of waiting for reinforcements.
Thinking of this, he suddenly remembered what he had seen during his inspection, and he suddenly had an idea in his mind. He raised his head and scanned the generals, and shouted in a cold voice: "The ambition is to eat the meat of Huns when they are hungry, and to drink the blood of Huns when they are thirsty..."
