The soldiers who escaped from the city of Ningxia with Suibai were all desperadoes. For them, bloodshed in battle was not a big deal, but not having wine to drink was the saddest thing.
Cai Chengen specifically emphasized that the Ming army had a large amount of supplies, just to stimulate the fighting spirit of the soldiers. In the past, when they were still officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, every time they fought, Cai Chengen would use looting to motivate them. After a battle,
, they robbed more things from the people than the Tatar cavalry did.
After completing the pre-war mobilization, Yi Chengen gave an order, and 1,000 cavalrymen drove their horses, roared out of the camp, and galloped towards the east. They were all light cavalry, and their horses were extremely fast, and they were able to catch up with the Ming army before they advanced.
In front of the mountains, seize the advantageous position first. When fighting in mountainous areas, the difference in troop strength will be greatly reduced. Although the Ming army has 20,000 people, if it cannot be dispersed, what is the difference between it and 1,000 people? What should Yi Chengen do?
, just find a suitable place and use these thousand people to block the Ming army's way.
For the various passages in the Helan Mountains, Yi Chengen considers himself very familiar with it, because he is a Tatar himself, and in the past few months, he has repeatedly conducted on-the-spot inspections of these places. Compared with
Under this situation, the Ming army should have turned a blind eye towards Helan Mountain. This is also a major disadvantage of the Ming army.
Choosing to intercept the Ming army at Luyugou was a plan that Kuai Bai, Kuai Chengen and others had discussed long ago, because this place was really suitable as a place for an ambush.
Luyuguo is a ravine that must be passed through when crossing Helan Mountain from Daxiakou. The road passes through the bottom of the ravine. Along the road are gravels left by floods. The Ming army carried heavy artillery carts. The passage will be very difficult. The entire road will be very difficult.
The ravine is not wide and can only accommodate four horses passing through it side by side. When the Ming army reaches this point, it will inevitably form a long queue, thus providing countless opportunities for the attackers.
According to Kuai Chengen's idea, he led his troops to Luyu Valley first and could hide his troops on the hillsides on both sides of the ditch. When the Ming army entered the bottom of the ditch, Kuai Bai's army could attack with bows and arrows first. Killing and injuring a large number of Ming troops.
The Ming army fell into chaos. Afterwards, the Yibai army launched a cavalry charge, rushing down the gentle slope from both sides. With the speed brought by the downhill slope, the power of the cavalry will be maximized, and they will be trapped in the ditch.
The Ming army could only sit back and wait for death.
Unable to estimate the marching speed of the Ming army, Yi Chengen kept urging his men. He rushed forward without stopping, fearing that the Ming army would take the lead. However, when they arrived at Luyu Valley, Yi Chengen found that the ditch was peaceful.
There was no sign that the Ming army had arrived.
"Bagan, please take a few people to the front to see how far the Ming army is from here." Kuai Chengen ordered an officer under his command.
Bagan agreed, took a few of his subordinates, and continued riding along the bottom of the ditch to detect the whereabouts of the Ming army. Chi Chengen commanded the remaining soldiers and first set up some roadblocks at the entrance of the ditch. Then he divided his troops into two.
They walked up the hillside on both sides of the road and lurked down, preparing to ambush the passing Ming army. Kuai Chengen ordered all the troops not to light fires for cooking, but to eat only the dry food they brought with them to avoid being noticed by the Ming army.
Bagan and others walked forward for more than ten miles and were almost out of the mountain pass. They saw no sign of the Ming army. Instead, they met the small group of troops sent by Kuaibai to be on duty at Daxiaikou.
"Uliji, where are the Ming troops?" Bagan knew the flag officer of the small group and asked him loudly.
"Mr. Bagen!" Wuliji called Bagan according to his official title when he was in Ningxia Guard, and reported: "The Ming army has entered the mountains and just passed through Daxiaokou. We are small and dare not fight with them.
Once contacted, he withdrew."
"What? It has taken so long, and the Ming army has just arrived at Daxiaikou?" Bagan asked in surprise, "Are the Ming soldiers crawling and walking?"
"This... even the villain doesn't know." Ulji responded.
Bagan asked his men to hide first, and he rode forward cautiously on his horse to observe the movements of the Ming army. When he was approaching the entrance to the sea, he rode up the hillside and looked up, and sure enough he saw
The abandoned Daxikou Pass was crowded with people. Countless Ming troops were coming and going. Some were setting up camp, some setting up defenses, and a group of people were busy in front with various tools. Bagan looked carefully.
After waiting for a while, I realized that the group of people was building the road, moving away the big rocks that blocked the passage, and filling in the big holes on the road. It was a hard job.
So that's it... Bagan felt that he understood the reason for the slow movement of the Ming army, so he drove his horse down the hillside, went back to gather his troops, returned to Luyugou, and reported to Yi Chengen.
"You mean, the Ming army was delayed because of road construction?" Kuai Chengen asked Bagan.
"That's right." Ba Gen said, "According to the general's opinion, what the Ming army valued most was their firearms. And their artillery was very heavy and had to be loaded on carts and pulled along. They were building roads.
The purpose was to allow the artillery carriages to pass smoothly. They walked very slowly precisely because they had to build roads as they walked."
"But, isn't this too slow?" Qi Cheng'en said, "The Ming army only has a distance of forty or fifty miles from the border wall to Daxikou. But Wuliji sent people back to report the news, and then we rushed
It has been three days since we came here. Did the Ming army only cover a dozen miles in one day?"
"That's true." Wuli Ji stuttered and reported: "After the villain discovered that the Ming army came out of the border wall, he has been sending people to keep an eye on their movements. In these three days, they can only walk ten meters a day.
For several miles, most of the time was spent on road construction."
Yi Chengen frowned: "In war, it is important to be quick and unexpected. Xiao Ruxun's movements are so slow. Does this mean he has no intention of hiding his whereabouts? Aren't they afraid that we will get the news in advance and ambush them halfway?"
"This... the general doesn't know." Bagan lowered his head and said. He is just a low-level officer, how can he understand such strategic matters?
Chengen also knew that it was meaningless to discuss this matter with Bagan and others. He ordered his men to continue hiding to prevent the Ming army's scouts from discovering it. At the same time, he also sent his own scouts to observe in front to keep abreast of the Ming army's movements.
Dynamic. Next, he can only wait patiently.
Another day passed, and the scouts in front came back and reported that the Ming army had only advanced five miles in that day, and that it was only a forward force of 3,000 people. The rest of the large force was still at Daxiaokou. It seemed that
It seems that there are also plans to repair the Daxikou Pass and set up camp there for a long time.
At this time, Kuaibai came over with the follow-up troops. He left 500 Cangtou soldiers to guard the tribal camp, and brought the remaining Cangtou soldiers and the newly recruited tribal soldiers to Luyugou. In addition,
The total number of the 1,000 people Kuai Chengen brought earlier has reached more than 6,000, which is a ratio of one to three with the Ming army. Kuai Bai believes that with the advantage of the terrain, he can defeat the enemy with 6,000 people.
Xiao Ruxun's 20,000 people should have no difficulty.
"Xiao Ruxun hasn't come up yet?" Kuai Bai asked when he saw Kuai Chengen.
"No, they are still more than ten miles away from here. According to their current marching speed, it is estimated that they will have to walk for three days." Yi Chengen said depressedly. It was too uncomfortable to lie in wait in this barren mountain for three days.
He didn't dare to light a fire every day and could only eat cold food. He and his men had never suffered like this.
"Xiao Ruxun's move is a bit abnormal." Kuai Bai said, "Could it be that he was feinting along the way and took another pass to attack us?"
Tu Wenxiu said: "I think it's possible. Xiao Ruxun has always been very cunning in using his troops. This time the march is so slow. It's probably just to show us, to attract our main force here, and then pass through other passes to cut off the enemy."
Our escape route."
Kuaibai said: "However, I have received reports from various passes, and they all said that they have not seen the shadow of the Ming army. Before setting off, I have sent additional troops to each pass. Xiao Ruxun should know that,
The Helan Mountain pass is so steep that almost one man can guard it and no one can open it. As long as there are a few hundred people guarding the pass, the Ming army will have to use thousands of people to break through. Xiao Ruxun doesn't understand this, right?"
Tu Wenxiu said: "Maybe he is really at the end of his skills, so he still wants to try it even though he knows he can't deceive us."
Bai Bai said: "Wenxiu's statement is not unreasonable. According to the informant's report, the imperial court also put pressure on Xiao Ruxun, saying that he was allowed to send troops, but he has been unable to make achievements. Maybe Xiao Ruxun is this
I had no choice but to resort to this clumsy plan."
Kuai Chengen said: "Father, in my opinion, we don't have to try to figure out Xiao Ruxun's thoughts. Even if he has any conspiracy, haven't the twenty thousand people already entered the mountain? We just need to find a way to eat him.
With 20,000 people, the attack on other routes will fall apart."
"My father has the same idea." Kuaibai nodded and said, "What my father is worried about now is that Xiao Ruxun guessed that we would ambush him in Luyugou, so he simply stopped and spent time with us. Then
We are passive."
Yi Chengen smiled and said: "My son has already thought about this. We will observe for another day. If Xiao Ruxun really notices our intention and refuses to move forward, then we will take the initiative. His striker is now
It's in the Baiyanggou area, which is also a dangerous place. I request you to lead a team of elite soldiers to go around from the side, catch him off guard, and eat the 3,000 men in his vanguard. Let's see how Xiao Ruxun responds."
"This is also a way." Kuaibai was overjoyed, "The Ming army first entered Helan Mountain and the terrain was unfamiliar. They would not have thought of where we could attack. If you lead people to steal the camp, you can make a profit from them if you can succeed. Even if you cannot succeed,
, it’s not difficult to escape intact.”
"Father, don't worry, this Helan Mountain is our territory, and we will never let Xiao Ruxun take advantage of it." Kuicheng Enniu said coaxingly.
Kuai said: "Then let's wait for another day to see what Xiao Ruxun does. You choose a thousand elite soldiers and go to the back to rest for a day to recharge and prepare to steal the camp."
"Yes!" Kuai Cheng'en agreed and withdrew with great ambition.