On February 26, 2016, the Luan River "Zhi" Bay at the southern end of the Xilingol Grassland, 50,000 main troops of the Northern Expedition were stationed here. Although it was dark now, the camps of the Ming army were still brightly lit, and some rotating officers and soldiers and civilians were working overtime to build defensive fortifications.

After two days of construction, the high slope next to the river bay has changed a lot, with an extra fortress that is easy to defend and difficult to attack out of thin air. Not only has a few miles of earth dikes built along the river, but a large number of trenches that are several meters deep were dug on the open area on the right side of the slope, including both open and hidden trenches. If these trenches are not filled, it will be difficult for the cavalry to operate here.

Once the enemy plans to fill the trenches, the artillery in the Ming army camp is not a vegetarian. Xu Jin brought not many people this Northern Expedition, but there were not many various types of Folang machine cannons, which were a total of two hundred. If these things were fired together, it would be a disaster. Otherwise, where would our Duke Jingdao get the confidence to lead only 50,000 people to the Northern Expedition?

At this moment, the lights were still on in the head coach's tent. Xu Jin, who had just taken a shower, was wearing a scholar's outfit and was studying the map under the lamp. He saw four red circles on the map, namely the Chahar Khan Court, Yongsebuwanhu Headquarters, Fengzhou Chuan (Tumetwanhu Headquarters), and Ordos Headquarters.

Xu Jin held a red pen in his hand and his sword eyebrows were locked in deep eyes. He stared at the map and fell into deep thought. His strategy for this Northern Expedition was to "main the main attack along the way and bloom more points." He personally led 50,000 main forces to attack Altan's Khanate, while the generals of Xuanfu, Datong and Yulin attacked three thousand households on the right wing of Tatars respectively to attract Altan to divide his troops back to rescue, thereby reducing the pressure on the front battlefield.

However, along the way, Xu Jin received news from the Jinyiwei who was placed on the outer edge of the Great Wall. All signs indicate that Altan did not seem to follow the script at all. He did not divide his troops back to support the 30,000 right-wing households. In other words, Xu Jin's main force may be about to face several times, or even seven or eight times, which is undoubtedly quite terrifying.

However, thankfully, Xu Jin was very cautious in advancing north. At present, he only left the Ming Dynasty's border for 500 miles and built a fortress in Luanhe Bay. Advance can attack and retreat or defend. With the firepower of the Ming army, even if the enemy attacks several times, it is easy to defend him for ten days and half a month, and it is not even a problem to fight back.

The only thing Xu Jin was worried about was the supply of food and grass. I hope Qiu Luan would not lose his chain, because the current food and grass brought by the army is only enough for ten days to supply. Once the supply of food and grass cannot be increased, the morale of the army will inevitably fluctuate.

"Come!" Xu Jin suddenly put down his pen and called out. The guards guarded outside the tent immediately walked in and asked respectfully: "The Grand Marshal has any instructions?"

"Can the rear army be connected today?" Xu Jin asked. The rear army he mentioned refers to Qiu Luan's 20,000 troops. In order to ensure that there is no problem, messengers will be sent to communicate once a day.

Shiwei replied: "Report to the Grand Commander, I have not seen the messenger of the Later Army so far."

Xu Jin's heart skipped a beat. He was really afraid of anything. Could it be that Qiu Luan had a problem?

"Send someone to contact the rear army immediately." Xu Jin ordered decisively.

"It's the Grand Marshal!" Shiwei agreed and left the account.

Xu Jin stood up and walked back and forth a few steps a little uneasy, hoping that Qiu Luan would not have any trouble. However, at this moment, there was a rush of horse hooves in the quiet night. Xu Jin frowned and walked out of the commander's tent quickly. The personal soldiers guarding outside immediately surrounded Xu Jin, and someone put a big command on him.

"Big Head, what happened?" Xu Jin asked in a deep voice.

Zhao Datou replied: "Master, the sound of hooves came from the south. I don't know my enemies and friends, but the number of the opponent is obviously not large, so it's not enough to worry."

As soon as they finished speaking, Isana and Chilu Buhua walked over with a nervous look. They lived in the tent near the Shuai Treasure, and they obviously heard the movement.

"Dude Yasukuni, but did Altan send troops to invade?" Chilu Buhua asked a little panic.

Xu Jin smiled calmly and said, "Don't panic, it's just a small army. I don't know my enemies and friends. Even if Altan attacks a big shot, why not be afraid of it? Princess Yisana can rest assured. Come and send Princess Yisana back to the camp for rest. At night, the princess is a daughter after all, and it is inconvenient to walk in the military camp."

The six personal soldiers immediately went up and said politely: "Prince, please wait in the tent."

Isana snorted coldly, turned away angrily, returned to her tent. After entering the tent, she called Chilu Buhua in and whispered: "Chilu Buhua, this Duke of Jingguo Xu Jin is not very reliable. He only led 50,000 main force to fight the Northern Expedition. He underestimated Altan too much. Now he is hiding here to build a fortress, which is obviously a sign of lack of confidence. We should be more vigilant, so don't be implicated by this arrogant guy at that time."

When Chilu Buhua heard this, he couldn't help but smile and said, "Your Highness, Princess Yisas County, now we only have dozens of guards who came from the Khan Court. Once the Ming army was defeated, we will definitely be doomed. What if we are more vigilant?"

Isana frowned and said, "Don't let Chilu live for you for decades. You are so confused. Once the Ming army is defeated, the Xu person may betray us to Altan for peace and save his life."

Chilu Buhua was shocked and said, "It's better that the princess is thoughtful."

Isana said in a deep voice: "So we must always be vigilant. As long as the situation is wrong, we will wait for an opportunity to escape from the Ming army. If it really doesn't work, we will catch the Xu as a hostage."

Chilu Buhua swallowed his saliva with difficulty. Alas, I hope I won’t get to this point. This Duke of Jingguo Xu Jin made great achievements in the Ming Dynasty and was known as Xu Changsheng. He wouldn’t be so inferior, right?

After Xu Jin ordered people to "send" Yisana, who was in the way, back to the tent, he walked towards the camp gate under the escort of his personal soldiers. At this time, the rumbling sound of hooves was heard more clearly. In the darkness, the direction of the downstream of the Luan River clearly saw sporadic lights of torches.

When Xu Jin came to the vicinity of the camp gate, he found that the deputy general Wang Liner and a group of generals had already arrived first.

"I've met the general!" The generals saluted Xu Jin one after another.

Xu Jin nodded and asked calmly: "Did you understand what's going on?"

Wang Lin'er replied: "You have reported to the Grand Marshal, the last general has sent a scout to inquire, and there should be news soon."

As soon as Wang Liner finished speaking, he saw three fast horses running from the downstream of the Luan River. They held up torches and skillfully walked around the light and dark trenches in various places, and successfully came to the camp gate. It was obviously their own people. Looking at the clothes, the two riders in front were the scouts who had just been sent out to inquire.

"It's three guns!" My brother-in-law Xie Yidao was sharp-eyed and recognized the third riding behind the two scouts at a glance. It was Xie Sangun.

Xu Jin's heart skipped a beat and a foreboding feeling arises in his heart.

At this time, the guards at the camp gate confirmed their identity and let them go. The three horsemen rode their horses up the high slope with torches, and came to Xu Jin and others to turn over and dismount.

"Report to General Wang, the one who came from the south was his own people, and the leader was General Xie Sanqin, the guard of Gubeikou. General Xie said there was an emergency military situation, so he brought him." The scout loudly reported.

"The last general Xie Sanliang will meet with the general!" Xie Sanliang saluted Xu Jin on one knee.

Xu Jin looked at Xie Sanqin, who was covered in dirt, couldn't help but be surprised and said quietly: "Xie, please guard it, and you all talk to me in the tent." After that, he turned around and walked.

The generals looked at each other and followed Xu Jin back to the coach's tent. Only under the bright light did everyone see clearly that Xie Sanqin was not only covered in dust, but also covered in blood. It was obvious that after a fierce battle.

"Three guns, what happened?" Xu Jin asked in a deep voice.

After Xie Sanqian successfully broke through and got rid of the pursuers of the Tartars, he led more than 2,000 brothers all the way north, but he got lost in the desert and went around for a long time before he left the desert area. At this time, it was completely dark and he didn't know where he was. Fortunately, he finally found the Luan River with the sound of water.

So everyone went upstream along the riverside. It happened that the Ming army camp was brightly lit and they worked overtime to build camp defense. Xie Sanqiu and others found the Xu Shishiqiu who were on the high slope. They were overjoyed and rushed to the side. They soon met the scout sent by Wang Liner to inquire. The scout found that the person was from his own, so they went up to investigate. After learning that the team was Xie Sanqiu, the guard of Gubeikou, led him back to the camp.

At this time, Xie Sanqian said with a heavy expression: "Master General, Qiu Luan encountered 20,000 cavalry from the Tartars in Duolun. The entire army was completely out of the way, and more than 100,000 stones of military ration were also lost!"

"What!" The generals were shocked when they heard this, and Xu Jin was also shocked. When he saw Xie Sanqian, he had an ominous premonition, but he did not expect that the situation would be so bad.

Next, Xie Sanqiang said the story in detail. After hearing this, the generals were shocked and angry, and some even cursed Qiu Luan bastard. Xu Jin's face had returned to calm at this moment. It was so much useless to curse her. Now the most important thing is to find a way to get out of the predicament, and the rest must be put aside first.

Wang Lin'er's face was extremely serious, and he said in a deep voice: "Master, the food route has been cut off by the Tartars. Our military rations are only enough to last for ten days. Before the news spreads among the army, it is still time to withdraw troops immediately."

The generals all looked at Xu Jin in a flash. There was no doubt that Wang Liner's proposal was the most feasible. Now that the food road is broken, the food supply cannot be increased. Once the food is exhausted, the enemy will not attack, and the army will collapse.

However, as the saying goes, blessings come unparalleled, but misfortunes never come alone. Just as everyone was waiting for Xu Jin to make an idea, a front-line scout came to report it quickly and found a Tatar army about 80 miles north, with a population of at least 100,000. It was probably the main army of the Tatars, moving towards this side.

It was like a thunderbolt in the sunny day. It was broken. A strong enemy came in front, the retreat behind was cut off again, and the military rations were in a hurry again.
Chapter completed!