Chapter 786 The King of Qin was besieged by the Mongolian army
Hundreds of thousands of prairie cavalry attacked Zhu Xi from the east and west.
The strongholds of the Ming army were constantly broken through by the prairie cavalry. A large number of artillery, muskets, and grain became the spoils of war for the Tatars and Oaras.
The Asut tribe and some other grassland tribes went south to block Zhu Xi's retreat.
They launched a three-party encirclement and suppression campaign against Zhu Ping, hoping to deal a huge blow to the Ming army.
If they can destroy Zhu Xi's Ming army, they will first gain a huge harvest in terms of capture. Armor, firearms, and cannons that are enough to equip more than 100,000 troops will definitely increase the strength of the tribes in the grassland, and thus have the ability to follow.
The power of Ming Dynasty's confrontation.
Moreover, this was also a staged victory, and it was also a very important blow to the morale of the Ming army.
Therefore, for the grassland tribes, this battle must be won.
"This Ming army is too rich, Prime Minister. The Ming army we captured this time alone was less than 10,000, but they actually had fifty cannons, more than 8,000 armors, and a lot of food."
"Damn it, Prime Minister, you don't know that these soldiers of the Ming Army eat better than us. They even carry a lot of condiments. These condiments are sprinkled on the roasted young lambs, tsk tsk tsk, tsk tsk tsk,
Just thinking about it makes my mouth water."
"We have really made a fortune this time. Even in the past, we have never been so wealthy."
Taiping smiled like a fool. This time he had gained too much. Although he was one of the three leaders of Wala, life in Wala was actually not that good.
Especially after the Ming Dynasty embargo, it means that their supplies are constantly decreasing.
One tael of gold and one or two meters.
Not to mention the condiments used in barbecues, many Wala nobles can only fill their stomachs. As for the taste, it is difficult to pursue it, not because they don't want to, but because they don't have the conditions.
Even if they go south to plunder, what good things can be found in the border passes? Many places are clean and clear with strong walls.
Many spices used for barbecue were extremely expensive in the Ming Dynasty, and it was naturally impossible to grow them in the border areas.
After hearing Taiping's words, Mahamu didn't look very good.
"This time we captured a total of about 20,000 Ming troops. Most of them were infantry. It was because we came too fast that they were unprepared. But even so, we still lost nearly 30,000 warriors."
"Their artillery and muskets caused too much damage to us. When the artillery exploded among the horses, the horses were easily frightened."
"We must remember this lesson. If we attack the Ming army's camp like this, it is easy for the horses to be frightened halfway. However, the Han people gave us an idea. They plugged the horses' ears and blindfolded them.
This will prevent the war horses from being frightened to a great extent."
"The camp of King Jin of the Ming Dynasty must have more muskets, artillery, and cavalry in heavy armor. Attacking his camp will definitely cause a lot of losses to the warriors in the clan."
"It's best to let the Tatars take the initiative first and let them withstand the Ming army's attack, and then we can take the opportunity to attack the Ming army's camp."
"I'm afraid the Tatars also have the same idea," said Tupolo.
Mahamu nodded and said: "So we have to find a way to let the Tatars take the lead. But what matters now is to capture more scattered Ming troops, so that we can have stronger strength."
Although Wala suffered a lot in terms of numbers, the Ming army's armaments gained greatly increased Wala's overall strength.
Especially armor and artillery.
On the contrary, the matchlock is too unfamiliar to many Oara warriors, and in a short period of time, they have no chance to become familiar with the use of the matchlock. Familiar bows and arrows are more suitable.
A large number of captured Ming troops were brutally killed, and their bodies were used as military rations for Oara.
Cannibalism is not a strange thing to the grassland people, but it is very common, and they have no psychological barriers.
This word, which represented terror in the Ming Dynasty, seemed to be a matter of course on the grassland.
Last winter, due to lack of food, the bodies of many elderly people were not buried after they died, but instead became an opportunity for the entire tribe to survive.
Some elderly people are even willing to be used as food for the sake of the tribe's survival and self-understanding.
Of course, more were slaves and untouchables who were killed and became food for the winter.
This time, a cavalry army of 200,000 came to Oara. In fact, they did not have sufficient logistical support at all. Even if they captured a lot of Ming army food, it was still a drop in the bucket for the entire Oara army.
Moreover, it is impossible for a Ming army stronghold with several thousand people to carry a large amount of food.
The reason why they kill people and eat meat is because many cavalry are hungry now. Only when they are full can they have more strength to fight.
On Zhu Ping's side, a large number of soldiers were suddenly attacked, which made him furious.
He didn't know now that the various Mongolian tribes had gathered hundreds of thousands of cavalry to encircle and suppress him, but his keen military sense also allowed him to discover something was wrong, because both the east and west sides were attacked.
The loss of tens of thousands of people was a real shame and humiliation for Zhu Ping. The Ming army camp in the center of the storm continued to receive news of being attacked everywhere, and it felt like an ambush from all sides.
"Your Majesty, according to the news from the soldiers, they saw Mongolian cavalry all over the mountains and plains. I am afraid there are at least hundreds of thousands of them."
"Hulunbuir is of great significance to the Mongols. Maybe this made all the Mongolian tribes unite and attack us together."
"At this moment, we are going deep alone and are far away from His Majesty's camp. The general believes that we should gather our soldiers at this moment and return to Daqing Mountain."
The speaker was Changxing Hou Geng Bingwen.
Zhu Yuanzhang knew that his second-in-command was impulsive, angry, and violent, so he specially appointed the mature and steady Geng Bingwen as his deputy, which could bring peace to a certain extent.
Although the current situation is not detailed and the information about the fleeing soldiers is very confusing, Geng Bingwen has a bad feeling in his heart.
Zhu Feng agreed to gather the soldiers, but rejected the proposal to return to Daqingshan.
"We are returning like bereaved dogs at this time. How do you want others to view me, and how do you want your father to view me?"
"No matter how many barbarians there are, they are just a group of barbarians. Under the artillery, they are just ants."
"These barbarians are really abominable. I heard from the soldiers who escaped that they actually killed and ate our soldiers."
"Give me the order to immediately kill all the prisoners in the camp, cut off their heads, and cast them into Jingguan."
"Inform all the armies that our officers and soldiers were treated as meat by the Mongols, and let them know that there is no way out in the face of the barbarians."
Because of the news of defeats everywhere, the morale of the troops in Zhu Ping's camp was low and their morale was low.
In addition, the soldiers went deep into the field alone, so the soldiers' fighting spirit became relatively low.
Zhu Ping spread the news that the defeated captured soldiers were eaten by the Mongols, which was a good way to boost morale at this time.
In this way, the soldiers knew very well that there would be no retreat when facing the Mongols.
It is better to die in battle than to be eaten.
Geng Bingwen reluctantly handed over his hand: "I obey."
In any case, Zhu Feng is the commander-in-chief, and he is the deputy general. He can provide suggestions, but whether to adopt them depends on the commander-in-chief's wishes.
Not only Zhu Ping, but also other generals in the big tent were more inclined to fight than to escape.
In the Ming army camp, there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers, and almost all of them were equipped with matchlocks and hundreds of artillery pieces.
No one thought that the Mongolian cavalry could capture their camp.
Shrinking the defense at this moment is obviously the best choice.
Following the military order, thousands of Ming soldiers carrying matchlocks approached where the prisoners were being held.
It's all nonsense that killing prisoners is unlucky.
The news that Paoze was eaten by the Mongols spread among the army, and many soldiers who fled back reported that no one thought that Shangfeng was deliberately deceiving them.
The opportunity to kill the prisoners was scrambled in various camps, and they wanted to avenge Pao Ze.
"Fire!"
With a loud shout, he aimed the match at the soldiers in the prison camp and pressed the trigger without hesitation.
As gunshots continued and smoke filled the sky, everyone in the prisoner camp was shot to death.
After the execution, soldiers wearing armor came in to finish the job.
No matter they were dead or still wailing on the ground but still alive, they would all be penetrated by a long knife. The only ones who could survive were women under the age of forty who were still able to give birth.
The corpses of these prisoners would be piled up into a hill, and their heads would be cut off and displayed outside to intimidate the enemy.
As Zhu Ping sent orders to gather his soldiers, the losses continued to decrease, and the intelligence of the investigation became clearer.
"Damn it, what happened to the third child? Why did Wala even come to this king? And the fourth child, the father wanted him to beat Wu Liangha and Alutai. Wu Liangha did, Ah Lutai.
But Lu Tai also came to this king."
Zhu Ping was very angry. According to his father's arrangement, the three kings dealt with the three major forces of Wala, Tatar and Arutai Uliangha respectively.
As the leader of the kings, he dealt with the Tatars without hesitation and was currently the nominal Mongol Khan.
Among the three major forces, the Tatar tribe is obviously the strongest in terms of comprehensive combat strength. After all, they have annexed everything in Beiyuan.
Although the Oara is strong, it is still inferior to the Tatar tribe, otherwise the Oara would have unified Mongolia long ago.
Arutai and Ulyanha, the combined forces of the two parties can be compared with the Tatars and Walas. The main reason is that the marriage relationship between the Asut tribe and the Ulyanha tribe is very close.
But now, except for the three guards of Wuliangha who were captured by Lao Si, other large grassland tribes have come to him.
"Your Majesty, with such a large number of cavalry, the opponent must be well prepared. Maybe the retreat may have been cut off at this moment."
"Now we should camp in the deep water to effectively guard against the Mongolian cavalry's surprise attack."
Geng Bingwen suggested.
This time, Zhu Xi naturally adopted his suggestion.
The Hulunbuir Prairie is so flat that you can see into the distance at a glance, and there is nothing that can be used to build fortifications.
In fact, the best place to move the camp is to somewhere with mountains, or near Hulun Lake or Bell Lake.
In this way, the Mongolian cavalry will be hindered and unable to attack from all directions.
If you can go to Aershan, you don't have to worry about the Mongolian cavalry at all.
But Aershan is more than 500 miles away from here. The cavalry can rush over, but the infantry cannot. In addition, there are a large number of artillery to be hauled, so it is obviously impossible.
However, Geng Bingwen had long observed that there is a winding and narrow river in the Hulunbuir Prairie. Here in Mongolia, it is called the Mozhgrad River.
The river is several meters deep in places, and people and horses can walk directly on it in shallow places.
Therefore, Geng Bingwen suggested that the camp should be moved to a place near deep water so that there would be no need to worry about water sources.
The Ming army camp quickly moved to a bend in the river, where they only had to face enemies from two sides at most.
Mongolian cavalry cannot cross a river several meters long, which is equivalent to a natural moat.
But in this way, the Ming army became a trapped beast.
But there is nothing that can be done about it. This kind of situation is very common for the Ming army on the grasslands.
Zhu Xi was not too worried, because the food he carried, plus the looted cattle and sheep, were enough for the army for nearly a month. If the Mongols wanted to invade, they could only use human lives to fill it.
Not to mention matchlock guns, hundreds of artillery pieces alone can form a huge deterrent to the Mongolian cavalry.
Zhu Xi sneered in the tent and said: "It's time for me to establish my meritorious service. I don't believe that they can break through my artillery bombardment. Even so, when there are more than 100,000 matchlocks in my camp, they are vegetarians."
Is it?"
"These Mongolian cavalry have arrived at my place. I, the Ming Dynasty, will definitely notice it. I would like to see how long they can surround me."
"These people kill my Ming soldiers and eat the flesh and blood of my soldiers. They must be suffering from a logistical deficit. Before they can attack my camp, I will starve to death first."
Zhu Ping's arrangement is undoubtedly very consistent with the current situation.
In order to prevent the Mongols from poisoning the water, Zhu Ping asked the soldiers to fill the reserve with water at the same time when they set up camp.
The way to poison water in this era was generally to use rotting corpses to contaminate water sources.
As long as a large number of animal or human corpses are thrown in, the water will naturally become undrinkable.
Obviously, Zhu Ping's response was very good. Hundreds of thousands of cavalry surrounded Zhu Ping's camp. On only the third day, a large number of rotting corpses of people and animals were floating in the river, cutting off the water source.
In fact, for the Mongolians, polluting the Mozhgrad River is not what they want. The Hulunbuir Prairie is a holy land in their hearts, and the Mozhgrad River is a holy spring.
However, in the face of the Ming army's preparations for a strict defensive defense, this was the only method that could carry out an effective attack.
After surrounding the Ming army's camp, the Mongolian cavalry did not charge directly into the camp, because at this moment they were quarreling internally over who should be the vanguard.
From a slightly higher place, you can see the situation of the Ming army's camp. Who would not have a headache seeing the hundreds of artillery placed at the gap of the Mozhgrad River.
As long as they launch an impact, these artillery pieces will undoubtedly take away the lives of countless grassland warriors.
Which tribe is willing to make wedding clothes for others?
The quarrel lasted for three or four days, but no result was produced. The tribes kept blaming each other.
In the end, Arutai, as the grand master, proposed that each department should send some personnel to serve as a death vanguard army to attack the Ming army camp.
Arutai's proposal was approved by everyone. Everyone knew that if the quarrel continued like this, something would really happen.
Because the food they carried, including some they had robbed previously, was only enough for ten days.
If the Ming army's camp cannot be captured within ten days, the army will have no choice but to disperse.
Moreover, within about ten days, other Ming troops would definitely notice it and provide support to King Qin.