At this time, at the Wuming River Bend, the Ming army was busy repairing fortifications.
The fortification is actually a trench, about two hundred meters long and four meters wide. There is no limit to the depth. The deeper the trench is, the better, because the deeper the trench, the stronger the defensive function.
The excavated soil was piled up and a protective wall was built on the inside of the trench.
Because a four-meter-wide trench alone could hardly stop the Mongolian cavalry horses.
But adding a five-foot or even eight-foot-high protective wall would be enough.
Because no matter how splendid the Mongolian horse is, it is impossible for it to cross the four-meter-wide trench and then directly cross the five-foot-high protective wall.
As for the other three directions of the river bend, they are all water surfaces with a width of more than 30 meters. The river water is more than one meter and less than two meters deep. People and horses can wade across the river, but it is impossible to launch a cavalry charge from the river surface.
That is to say, the entire river bend is U-shaped, surrounded by river water on three sides, and only the west side is connected to the land. Therefore, as long as a trench is dug on the west side and the earth is built into a retaining wall, the Ming army guarding the river bend can be effectively protected, at least
It is impossible for the Mongolian cavalry to attack from the front and enter the river bend.
Even if the Ming army in the river bend is a mob, it is impossible.
What's more, these more than a thousand Ming troops are no longer a mob.
After winning several battles in a row, including the battle at Wuming Valley where they defeated the cavalry of the Gongtu tribe from the front, the mentality of the more than a thousand Ming army was completely different from before.
That's what the military is all about.
The more battles are won, the more veterans will survive, the more combat experience the entire army will have, the stronger its combat effectiveness will be, and the easier it will be to win battles on the battlefield. This is a virtuous circle.
Jiannu's combat effectiveness was accumulated by winning battles one after another.
The Dashun Army also became stronger in this way twelve years after Chongzhen.
In turn, the more battles are lost, the fewer veterans will survive, the less combat experience the entire army has, the weaker its combat effectiveness, and the easier it is to suffer defeat on the battlefield. This becomes a vicious cycle.
, this is how the Ming Dynasty's nine-town frontier army became weaker and weaker until they were beaten to ashes by the bandits.
Although the more than a thousand cavalrymen under Zhu Gaoyuan are still far from being elite, at least they are no longer a ragtag group. Facing the Gongtu cavalry who are not so well-equipped and not so disciplined, they can already break apart under certain terrains.
It's a duel, and the odds of winning are quite high.
Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoyuan felt a little confident.
The Gongtu Tribe is just a small tribe in Chahar Mongolia, with a maximum of five thousand string control men, and only about two thousand can be summoned in a short period of time.
With one thousand against two thousand, although the military strength is at a disadvantage,
However, with favorable terrain and pre-set fortifications, there is still a chance to counterattack and win.
As long as this wave of cavalry from the Gongtu tribe is disabled, they can retreat calmly.
While he was thinking about it, Jin Xuan came back with more than ten cavalry all night long, warning loudly: "Your Majesty, the Mongolian cavalry has entered within five miles!"
"I know." Zhu Gaoyuan waved his hand and said, "Let's explore again."
"Yes!" Jin Xuan bowed his hands on the horse and returned to the south with more than ten riders overnight.
Zhu Gaoyuan turned his attention to the river bend in front of him, but saw that with the concerted efforts of more than a thousand people, the entire trench and the protective walls in the trench had basically taken shape.
However, the depth of the trench is only a little over one and a half meters.
There's really no way around this because I don't have the tools at hand.
The Ming army used wooden tools to dig trenches.
The dustpans used to hold the soil are all temporarily sewn from sheepskin.
Fortunately, the soil on the grassland is still soft, otherwise it would be troublesome.
At that moment, Zhu Gaoyuan said: "Okay, there is no need to dig any more. Take the time to tie up the wooden picks and shovels with hemp ropes and tie them into fences to use as oars and shields."
The protective wall can provide frontal defense, but it cannot stop light arrows thrown from the air.
While we were busy here, there were distant sounds of horn horns coming from the south.
"Line up, line up!" Gong Yonggu and other nobles quickly shouted.
More than a thousand soldiers from the Beijing camp, Jinyi guards, eunuchs, minzhuang and servants quickly entered and lined up behind the parapet. Dozens of improvised oar shields were also pushed behind the parapet.
As soon as we lined up here, more than ten riders ran back without stopping at night.
Arriving at the front of the trench, Ye Busuo immediately separated from the left and right to wade across the river.
Not far behind Ye Buhuan, a black mass of Mongolian cavalry appeared.
The Mongolian cavalry came over like a tide, and the rumbling sound of horse hooves was like thunder in the sky, and like a dense drum beat, hitting the hearts of the Ming army soldiers hard, making people feel restless.
However, the performance of the Ming army was pretty good and there was no commotion.
…
But Boritie China's brows were already tightly knitted together.
As the leader of the Gongtu tribe, Boritiechi's life can be said to be very difficult now.
Because wars have broken out frequently on the grasslands in the past twenty years, the Gongtu tribe first followed Lin Dan Khan to fight against Horqin, and then followed Bogda Chechen Khan to attack the old master Lin Dan Khan. After they defeated Lin Dan Khan, they wanted to fight again.
Following Bogda Chechen Khan to fight against the Ming Dynasty, all kinds of battles never stopped.
Then there are natural disasters, droughts, snowstorms, plagues and other disasters that have never stopped.
War and natural disasters caused the Gongtu tribe's cattle and sheep to die of illness in large numbers, and the population has been greatly reduced. The number of string controllers has dropped from more than 5,000 at its peak to 3,000.
Otherwise, facing the provocation of the Ming army this time,
It's not like we can only summon 2,000 cavalry.
Boritichina originally thought that two thousand cavalry would be enough to defeat the Ming army.
After all, it was just a small Ming army that had fled to the Chahar Grassland, and its strength was limited.
But when he saw the Ming army on the river bend, especially when he saw the earthen wall in front of the Ming army, he knew that he had thought the problem too simply. This group of Ming army was much more difficult to deal with than he thought.
.
"Come on." Boritie China shouted softly and reined in his horse.
The more than two thousand riders who followed behind also reined in their horses and stopped.
"Headman, what should we do now?" asked a head of a thousand households, "attack by force?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "No." Boritiechina shook his head and said, "The Ming army has dug the trench and built an earth wall behind the trench. Our Gongtu troops have no horses.
Find a way to cross the earth wall and attack the Ming army."
"Then dismount and climb the wall to attack." Another Qianhu leader said.
"The earth wall is only five or six feet high, and the trench is less than one foot high."
"Such a height cannot stop our warriors from the Gongtu Department."
"Climb the wall! Climb the wall!" Several belligerent household heads immediately started shouting.
"Headman, you must be timid, right?" the head of the Thousand Households who was in charge of the battle said again.
Boritie China's brows became more and more frowned. Hai Rigu really looked down on him as a leader less and less, and actually dared to mock him in public.
Then let's teach him a lesson through the hands of the Ming army.
It might also help him know how to respect him as the leader of the tribe.
At that moment Boritiechina said: "Hai Rigu, then lead your tribe to climb the wall and attack. But we have a word first. If you are going to lose the battle, don't blame me for being unkind."
"Lost? Chief, you praise the Ming Dynasty people too much." Hai Rigu snorted, "These cowardly Ming Dynasty people will be scared to death when they see our Gongtu warriors showing their scimitars.
They will turn around and run away like rabbits. The only thing we need to do is to use bows and arrows to shoot these Ming Dynasty people one by one in Hala Hetao."
Boritichi snorted and said no more.
Hai Riguze raised his machete and shouted: "My sons, follow me!"
After more than a thousand riders, they dismounted and followed Hai Rigu on foot.
Seeing this scene, a haze flashed across Boritie China's eyes.
I really don’t know what kind of bad luck this guy Hairigu got. The dozen or so big families in the entire Gongtu tribe have suffered heavy losses over the years, but the Hairigu family has hardly been affected at all.
Because of this, the Hairigu family became the most powerful family in the Gongtu tribe.
I hope the Ming army can teach this guy a cruel lesson this time.
But, can the Ming army really do it?
…
Although there were no horses on horseback, more than a thousand Mongolian cavalry wearing sheepskin coats lined up in a slightly messy ten-row formation and slowly approached the river bend, which was still very oppressive.
Especially the Mongolian cavalry in the back row still hold horn bows in their hands.
About a hundred steps away, the eight rows of Mongolian cavalry behind them stopped one after another, then drew their bows and arrows and aimed them at the bend of the river at an angle of 45 degrees, using light arrows.
"Put up the shield!" Zhu Gaoyuan shouted loudly.
The Ming army then raised their improvised oar shields.
Because the number of "oar shields" was insufficient, felts were raised.
Felt is really a good thing. It can be used as a mattress, bedding, tents, and even as a shield to resist the light arrows of the Mongolian cavalry.
Wang Chengen held up a piece of felt in front of Zhu Gaoyuan,
But he was pushed away by Zhu Gaoyuan. He was wearing mountain armor and could not be penetrated by light arrows.
The first wave of arrow rain from the Mongolian cavalry quickly poured down, and a continuous thumping sound immediately sounded in the Ming army's formation. Almost all the arrows were blocked by oars, shields or felts.
Only a few unlucky ones were hit by arrows and fell to the ground wailing.
After the Mongolian cavalry in the rear row fired more than a dozen waves of arrows, they finally stopped, because the Mongolian cavalry in the two rows in front had already approached the trench, and it would be easy to accidentally injure them if they fired any more arrows.
But before the Ming army could take a breath,
More than two hundred Mongolian cavalrymen in the first two rows also drew their bows and arrows while marching, aiming at the Ming army behind the protective wall, and this time they used heavy arrows with triangular arrow clusters!
"Hide!" Zhu Gaoyuan shouted and the people squatted down.
The Ming troops guarding behind the protective wall also squatted down one after another.
Then there was a whizzing sound in the air, and heavy arrows flew through the air.
However, some Ming soldiers were slow to respond or did not hear Zhu Gaoyuan's roar. As a result, they were penetrated by heavy arrows and fell to the ground and died on the spot. The cotton armor could not block the heavy arrows at all.
PS: During the new book period, please continue to beg for support. Readers, please don’t find the author annoying.
