More than 45,000 riders rumbled forward with great momentum.
However, seeing that we were getting closer and closer to the Tianshan Mountains and the pre-determined target, the forwards stayed up all night but did not encounter a single sentry from the Zhungeer tribe, not even a nomadic person. , after the news came back, although the emperor had clever calculations before, they could not help but have doubts.
Generally speaking, if the Jungar tribe really has to hide nearby, they will definitely send sentries outside to avoid being killed by the Ming army without knowing it.
Judging from the Battle of Hami, the Jungar tribe is extremely cunning. It is absolutely impossible for their leader to not think of this and not forget to send sentinels. However, there is none here, that is to say, it is basically impossible for the Jungar tribe to hide here!
However, they only dared to think about it in their hearts. Neither the generals nor Hong Chengchou dared to question the emperor's judgment.
On this day, the army finally arrived at the outskirts of a pre-selected valley. The army spread out and searched the valley throughout the night.
On the outskirts of the valley, the Ming troops who were waiting in full formation were all curious in their hearts, could the Jungar tribe really be here?
During this period, Hong Chengchou turned his head to look at Emperor Chongzhen's profile from time to time. Seeing that he was very calm, he couldn't help but deny himself: Could it be that Geerbu really was hiding here?
However, the Ming army officers and soldiers who entered the valley quickly sent out a signal, saying that they had not found the Jungar tribe, but only found some herdsmen from the Heshuote tribe hiding here.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen just said lightly: "The next valley!"
After saying that, he tightened the reins and drove the horse away first.
The army began to rush to the next valley, but they still didn't encounter any sentinels from the Jungar tribe along the way. This made Hong Chengchou and other generals couldn't help but start to worry again, there weren't any, right?
Sure enough, there was still no second valley.
Seeing this, Hong Chengchou tactfully reminded Emperor Chongzhen on the way to the third valley: "Your Majesty, I have seen the battle in Hami. The cunning of the Zunger slave chief is really rare. Such rebellion, The most difficult thing to deal with is, how about I lead Wan Qi away from home, so that if I meet the Jungar sentry, I will be more confident in finding out where he is hiding?"
He did not explicitly say that there would be no Jungar tribe in the valley enclosed by Emperor Chongzhen, but by reminding the emperor of the cunningness of the Jungar tribe's surprise attack on Hami, and the fact that there were not even Jungar tribe sentries here, it was certain that It is far away from the hiding place of Jungar tribe.
Who is Emperor Chongzhen? How could he not understand what he meant? He looked at him and just smiled and said: "Hong Qing, please be patient for a moment. You still have to explore the valleys everywhere, just watch!"
His words were full of confidence.
In fact, it's true that you can't be confident. Baturhui, the Khan of the Jungar tribe, personally told him that he wanted to take back all the sentinels and just hide in the valley to reduce the possibility of being followed by the Ming army.
At this time, although Baltu was no longer with Baturhun, according to the information fed back by the Class-A eavesdropping seeds on Baltu, there were also feedbacks from the Class-A eavesdropping seeds on the prisoners of Junggar sentinels released from Hami. All the information proves that the Jungar tribe is still huddled in the valley and is torturing other tribes who still refuse to surrender.
At this time, Hong Chengchou saw that Emperor Chongzhen was still so confident, so he stopped admonishing him. As a human minister, he did not have the consciousness to remonstrate to death. He had already done his duty after being reminded.
It didn't surprise him that there was still no valley in this area.
On the way to the last three valleys, there was still no trace of the Zhungeer tribe's sentinels, as if they had disappeared, which made people a little suspicious. Could it be that the Zhungeer tribe had already left the country and was no longer in the Tianshan area?
Thinking about it, this is also possible. After all, the Jungar tribe's previous raid on Hami was a stroke of genius, catching the Ming army by surprise. However, even so, they did not get much benefit in the end. From this, they must have understood that the current Ming army was definitely not something they could defeat, so it was reasonable to go far away to avoid the enemy. After the Ming army leaves, the Tianshan area will still be their sphere of influence. There is no precedent for the Ming army to leave a large army in the Tianshan Mountains.
Thinking like this, more and more generals began to doubt the correctness of the emperor's judgment this time. Many people privately feel that the emperor is only a mortal after all, and even Zhuge Liang sometimes makes miscalculations. This time, the emperor may have miscalculated!
We were getting closer and closer to the third valley, but we still didn't see even a ghost of the Jungar sentry. Many people were a little relaxed, feeling that there would be no Jungar hiding here. If the emperor hadn't personally held the battle, many people would have thought of stopping and letting Ye Buzui take a look.
…………
Although Baturhun has withdrawn all the sentinels on the grassland, there are still lookout posts in the valley itself. No, there is a Jungar sentry post high up at the mouth of the valley.
After so many days, Baltu finally had a rotating duty, which was to take turns at this guard post with about a dozen other accomplices.
As far as the eye can see, there is endless grassland with nothing. Days like this, day after day, are honestly extremely boring. You can't let your horse gallop on the grassland. For those who are used to running, it's really going to drive them crazy. However, the Great Khan had strict orders that no one was allowed to go out, so he had to endure it.
Seeing Baltu coming, a strong friend asked Baltu: "I heard that the Emperor of China plays polo over there in Luntai?"
Baltu found a place to sit down, nodded and said, "Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."
"Haha, if you want to play polo, you have to watch us!" After hearing this, the strong man suddenly thought, "What if our war this time is not a fight with swords and guns, but each of us sends people to decide the outcome by playing polo?" , we can definitely beat the shit out of the Ming army, and we still have to hide here to get moldy!"
This idea was a good idea, and all of the bored Jungar sentinels joined the discussion with interest.
"That's right, the key to playing polo is riding skills! The Ming army is definitely not as powerful as us!"
"That's not necessarily true. Aren't those boneless Mongolians in the Ming army? Their riding skills are also pretty good."
"Damn it, why were those people so tough when they beat us? They would rather die than surrender?"
"..."
When Baltu saw them talking to this point, he guessed and said: "Don't tell me, I saw it with my own eyes. The Ming army's equipment is very well-equipped, and everyone is well-fed and well-fed. If you want to keep this job, you must He risked his life."
Regarding what he said, these people from the Zhungeer tribe had already seen it during the Battle of Hami. When they heard this, everyone was envious.
Not to mention anything else, just the armor, the Ming army has a lot of arrows hanging on them, and they can still fight as long as they are not in critical places; and the people of their Zhungeer tribe will basically lose their power as long as they are hit by arrows or shot. increased combat effectiveness.
This is the gap in equipment between the two sides, which in turn affects the outcome of the war!
It was the same strong man who asked Baltu with curiosity: "By the way, didn't the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty conduct the military expedition himself? Have you ever seen the Imperial Guards of the Ming Dynasty in the Ming army camp? Are their equipment more advanced?" sharp?"
Baltu listened, recalled a little, and then said a little uncertainly: "It's impossible for me to walk around in the military camp, I just saw some when I came in and out. But the Ming soldiers around the Ming Emperor seemed to have muskets." , just like the ones in Tsarist Russia, the kind that don’t need to be lit, and it seems to have a short gun in the waist. "
Among the Jungar tribe, Baturhun's guard is the most elite. What these Jungar tribes desire most is to become a member of the Great Khan's guard. Now that they were discussing the Imperial Guards of the Emperor of the Central Plains Dynasty, they were naturally even more interested. When many people were about to ask Baltu for details, suddenly, someone screamed: "There is movement!"
Upon hearing this, the strong man said a little disapprovingly: "Is it another tribe that has no eyesight and slipped through the net and jumped here?"
It has happened before. If they are close to the valley, people here will be sent to catch them in; if they leave if they are far away, we will not care about them.
"No, there is no herd, so they came here. There seem to be more than ten horses."
No herd? This was a bit abnormal, so these people stood up one by one to take a look.
Baltu stared at it for a while, suddenly became a little nervous, and said quickly: "Don't...don't be the Ming army's Ye Bu Shu, right? They are also wearing the clothes of ordinary herdsmen."
"Impossible!" The strong man said with disapproval after hearing this, "Aren't all the Ming troops over there in Luntai? It's so far away from here, so it's possible for them to come here if they don't stop at night!"
The others nodded after hearing this. From a distance and logic point of view, it was absolutely impossible for the Ming army to stop at night.
However, Baltu was caught by the Ming Army at night, and he was familiar with the Ming Army's reconnaissance team at night.
Therefore, the more he watched, the more frightened he became, and he emphasized again: "I feel like this is probably because the Ming army refused to collect at night, so I quickly reported to the Khan that it is no longer safe here."
After he finished speaking, he didn't care what others thought and ran downstairs, eager to report to Baturhun.
…………
In the distance, Emperor Chongzhen saw Baltu's conversation through the eavesdropping system, and immediately understood that the valley in front was the hiding place of the Jungar tribe.
It’s really not easy to find this little turtle!
Emperor Chongzhen sighed in his heart, and then issued an order to his left and right: "The Jungar tribe is hiding in the valley in front, conveying my orders, and the entire army is on alert and preparing for battle."
When the some lazy Ming army officers heard this order, they immediately became energetic. Have they finally found it?
Hong Chengchou and other generals were a little disapproving, especially since the emperor was a little anxious when he saw that there were only the last three left, right? After all, we are still a little way away from this valley, and we haven't even seen the news coming back from Ye Bushou.
However, although they were thinking so in their hearts, the decree had been made, and whether it was true or false, they had to start preparing for war.
Let’s see if there are any turtles in this valley!
