It was already dark, and after the soldiers completed their midnight shift, the replacement soldiers quickly fell asleep with their matchlock guns in hand.
Wang Shouren hardly slept for several days. At this time, he was still inspecting the camp. Next to him were Sun Shangqi, Liu Gui and several Jinyi guards. These people were almost his direct descendants in the army.
At this time, in the center of the hillside, herdsmen were being ordered to dig dirt and pile it into sandbags, and they were also laying out ropes for tripping horses, while people from Jingying Shenji Camp were burying gunpowder under the hillside.
Each artillery piece was not placed in the forward position, but behind the temporary defenses piled up in the sand.
"There are less than 80 cannon shells available now, and there are not many cannons available."
After the people from the artillery battalion reported the situation to Wang Shouren, Wang Shouren nodded.
He already knew the situation well before the war began.
After all, the cannon Zhang Zhou gave him was light. It had been brought over a long distance and was not transported properly during the journey. In addition, the gunner did not know how to maintain this kind of light cannon. After firing, the cannon body was easily deformed due to the high heat of the yellow gunpowder. The power of the firearm had already begun.
Big discount.
"Deploy five cannons at once, load them all, and fire all five at once. The key is not to kill or injure many enemy bandits, but to intimidate the bandits and cooperate with the cavalry to repel them!"
Wang Shouren is now a clever woman who cannot make a meal without straw. He obviously has a big weapon in his hand, but he cannot bring too much baggage on the expedition. As a result, after the Battle of Weininghai, he did not have enough firearms to use.
Wang Shouren raised his head and looked at the Mengoljin camp that was vaguely visible in the distance, and asked: "The frontline camp explorers haven't returned yet?"
A lieutenant under Guan Jing said: "General Guan went there in person and will probably come back soon, but he may have to wait a little longer."
Wang Shouren looked gloomy.
Now it is likely to be a war where the trapped beasts still fight. Any generals and soldiers who go out to explore the enemy's situation may defect to the enemy or flee. Especially before the grassland tribes have completed the encirclement, there is still a chance to withdraw at this time.
It's just a short walk to the north and south, directly bypassing the mountain, and heading east.
"General, it's only a hundred and twenty miles from here to the horse-hanging platform. Normally, there will be soldiers and horses patrolling the horse-hanging platform from Datong Town. Why don't we try to send troops and horses to ask for help."
The generals of the border army were also reminding Wang Shouren.
You have made so many arrangements, and the defense seems to be very good, but we can't understand the fact that you don't send troops to ask for reinforcements.
Even if you think Ming reinforcements will come, Ming reinforcements always need to know your direction, right? Just wait for it?
Wang Shouren said: "With one less soldier, we lose one point in our chances of winning. With Di Yi gathering around us, do the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty still not know where we are?"
The reason was also sufficient, leaving the border army generals speechless.
"Before dawn, send five hundred cavalry to attack the enemy camp. Prepare the gunmen and let Commander Ma personally lead the troops. Where is Commander Ma?" Wang Shouren then thought that Ma Yi, who was supposed to be stationed at the front line, was nowhere to be seen.
A general said: "Deputy Commander Ma was tired last night and was resting. Do you want to wake him up?"
Only then did Wang Shouren realize that even a battle-hardened general like Ma Yi was not infallible. If he followed the principles of running an army, he should have caught Ma Yi out immediately and let him continue patrolling.
But Wang Shouren also knew not to push people too hard. Since he was going to send Ma Yi to attack the enemy camp early in the morning, it was already past midnight, so he should let Ma Yi get some sleep first.
…
…
When Wang Shouren passed through the place where soldiers slept in the open, the soldiers were very fast asleep.
Even if someone stepped on their bodies, they had no reaction. If it weren't for the faint sound of snoring, they would have thought that these soldiers were all dead.
This also made Wang Shouren feel the cruelty of war and the torture of many days of marching on these frontier soldiers. Although most of these soldiers seemed to be elites of the Xuanfu frontier army, in fact, they had not experienced anything at all in the past few years.
A decent war, let alone a raid after a long journey, let alone a desperate rebound from the embarrassment before us.
"Am I too focused on paper talks?"
When Wang Shouren arrived at his temporary command post, which was a small open space surrounded by wooden fences and barely covered by a raincloth, he turned back and sighed.
Sun Shangqi said: "Master Wang, there is no need to belittle yourself. You are the most heroic and fearless commander I have ever seen in this humble position...second only to Mr. Zhang."
After Wang Shouren heard this, his face was not angry, but he wanted to laugh.
In the light of the campfire, his face rarely relaxed a little, and it was the first time in many days that he felt a sense of peace when talking to others.
The most heroic and fearless, second only to Zhang Zhou... It sounds like a curse, but I understand that Sun Shangqi, as a guard of Qianhu, is actually Zhang Zhou's retinue. This person is a Baihu, and he relies on Zhang Zhou's support.
The person who was promoted to the position of Qianhu was naturally on Zhang Zhou's side... Not only did he say that his boss was the most heroic, how could he be said to be his temporary comrade in the same trench?
"I don't know what the outcome of this battle will be, and I don't know if we can still work together."
Wang Shouren is still from a humble background, he is just a new scholar. Almost all his prestige comes from Zhang Zhou's forcible gift, so he has no airs in front of Sun Shangqi who fights alongside him.
Sun Shangqi grinned, showing his teeth and said: "I don't dare to hope for another chance, but if there is still a chance to serve Mr. Wang, I will do it to my death."
"I cannot bear the name of sir." Wang Shouren felt the change in Sun Shangqi's title, and seemed to feel Sun Shangqi's respect for him from the bottom of his heart.
This is the feeling of sympathy and sympathy that comes from sharing weal and woe.
He was not Sun Shangqi's boss, and even Sun Shangqi came to help him, but he and Sun Shangqi had a comradeship in sharing weal and woe.
Sun Shangqi said: "Mr. Wang, you're too polite. If your command these days is consistent, it will open your eyes to this humble position. You may become a famous general of the Ming Dynasty in the future. In this battle alone, your reputation will be no less than that of Marquis Weining."
.I’m afraid I won’t have the chance to serve by your side after taking this humble position.”
"Sun Qianhu, you promoted me because you are serving the imperial court. All of this is... Zhang Zhitai's arrangement."
Wang Shouren was still somewhat disappointed.
Throughout the entire war, he tried his best, but everything was in accordance with Zhang Zhou's plan.
Now that he was frustrated in his march south, he had to wait for Zhang Zhou's reinforcements to escape death. He didn't even feel that he was qualified to compete with Zhang Zhou for the first victory.
Besides...even if he robbed it himself, who would agree with it? The emperor would think that all this was done by a little-known young man who was even temporarily appointed as the head of the Ministry of Industry?
Then Wang Shouren saw Liu Gui dozing off holding his sword, and nodded in approval: "You are also very good."
Liu Gui was startled.
Are you talking about me?
I just follow the army out to make soy sauce. Although I am a Jinyiwei, I have never even drawn a sword before. I always hide behind on the battlefield. Wherever there is danger... I will definitely not appear anywhere, even in Weininghai.
During the war, I was always guarding the prisoners of war from behind. This young marshal actually thinks that I am also very good?
Sun Shangqi smiled and said: "Liu Baihu, this is Mr. Wang's appreciation for you. At such a young age, you can be appreciated by two talented people, Mr. Zhang and Mr. Wang. You will have a bright future."
"Thank you for your appreciation. I... humble my position... and will try my best."
Although Liu Gui appears to be very shrewd, he is always a bit out of his wits at critical moments, just like how he was cheated out of ten cents by Zhang Zhou.
But his vision and ability are pretty good. The important thing is that he is like a mountain rat, always able to dig holes and find what he needs. In other words, his luck is very good.
"Report...General Guan Shen is back!"
"Account increase!"
…
…
Inside the temporary command post.
All the generals with names were brought here. Even Ma Yi was woken up from his sleep and came to attend the military meeting.
Guan Jing came back to inquire about the enemy, and the situation he brought back to Wang Shouren was not that bad, but it was not good news either.
"...The Huoshan headquarters should not have returned yet, but the few troops he had in the rear, which may have been used to guard against other tribes, are now gathered together, plus their front banner troops coming from the south, and together they are in Wanwan
More than a few. And they have begun to set up camp, but perhaps because they are afraid of my Ming Dynasty's artillery, their tents are relatively loose..."
Ten thousand people are not a strong opponent to the people of Ming Dynasty.
In this kind of field battle, the Ming side still has firearms as an advantage, and the other side is not the most elite main force among the Huoshai tribe. The Ming army's morale is still relatively strong, and they have the enemy's hostages in hand.
If it's just one against four, let alone a breakout, even defeating them is not impossible.
Guan Jing said: "But we can't go south now. If we delay it any longer, it will only cause more people from all walks of life to gather here."
Wang Shouren nodded and said: "The opponent's tents are loose, which means that the number of buried stoves and tents is as bluff as possible. Maybe they don't even have six or seven thousand soldiers and horses."
"ah?"
Guan Jing was startled. Are you questioning the results of my investigation after spending half the night?
Wang Shouren gave Guan Jing a look and told Guan Jing not to talk nonsense. He would say that the other party was bluffing, which was obviously to boost the confidence of his own soldiers.
"Early tomorrow morning, Commander Ma will personally lead five hundred cavalry to attack the camp. They will light it with mighty gunpowder and then throw it away. It will explode as much as it can!"
Wang Shouren adjusted his tactics.
Send "suicide squads" to blow up enemy camps.
What I want is to risk my life, rush into your camp, light the yellow gunpowder, and run away. If I can't run away, I will die with you.
Of course, you can't tell the soldiers clearly that you may not come back, but the general tactics still need to be explained clearly.
Ma Yi hurriedly asked: "How many artillery pieces should you bring?"
"Don't bring a single cannon!" Wang Shouren said. "If the soldiers are unwilling to bring the mighty gunpowder themselves, they can tie it to another horse. When they approach the enemy camp, they can light the gunpowder and stab the horse with a sharp knife.
With your body, let the horses charge into the enemy camp!"
When the soldiers present heard this, they all exclaimed "Holy shit!"
Can you still play like this?
I was originally thinking about how to project gunpowder into the enemy camp, but now it would be better to sacrifice a horse to ignite the gunpowder and use the horse as a mobile bomb?
"Ahem!"
Cao Shun coughed and asked, "If you can just use horses, why do you need people?"
Sun Shangqi said: "The enemy camp is six or seven miles away from here and ten miles away. How can we force the horses into the enemy camp? If there are no soldiers and horses to cooperate, the horses may be shot in the middle."
Only then did Cao Shun realize that the biggest problem with this tactic was whether the horses could rush into the enemy camp. If the riders were not on top, just stabbing the horse's butt with a sword to make the horse run around. The Tatars saw this kind of horse
Rush over and shoot you into a hedgehog from a short distance? The method of moving explosives won't work.
After hearing this, Ma Yi was very excited and said: "It's feasible! Look at it!"
Originally, Ma Yi was about to retreat when he heard that he was going to rush into the enemy camp and weave explosive packets. But now he knew that he was just going to coordinate the horses to rush into the enemy camp, and he immediately became energetic.
This tactic is practical. At least personal safety can be guaranteed to a certain extent, so it doesn't matter whether you become a death squad or not.
Anyway, no matter whether the five hundred riders who rushed down can come back, with his character Ma Yi will definitely find an opportunity to sneak back.
This was also the "advantage" of the Ming Dynasty's frontier generals. Before the battle, everyone shouted Wang Weining's slogans loudly, and once the battle started, everyone was drunk.
"There is still more than an hour before dawn. Let the soldiers rest first."
"Tomorrow morning, we will have a bloody battle with Di Yi!"
"Got the order!"
…
…
The sky is dark and bright.
Wang Shouren was still awake. He was condescending and used his binoculars to explore the enemy camp. He remained silent for a long time.
Sun Shangqi asked: "Commander Ma has ordered all the people and horses, and even the gunpowder has been tied up. Do you want to set off now?"
"No, the wind direction has changed."
Wang Shouren put down the telescope and said.
Cao Shun listened and frowned: "We are going to blow up the camp. What does the wind direction have to do with it? How can there be wind today?"
Wang Shouren said: "Retreat and wait for the enemy to invade!"
"Got the order!"
Sun Shangqi and others went to make arrangements immediately.
"Why is this?"
Cao Shun couldn't understand it at all.
You, Wang Boan, said last night that you would send horses to carry explosives to blow up the enemy camp. You excited our family for a long time, thinking that you had found a way to defeat the enemy. But you changed your mind early this morning?
How about playing?
…
…
The battle formation immediately shrank, and the Tatar troops also rushed in. It seemed that they could no longer bear to fight towards Tushan.
Ma Yi was waiting for the order to dispatch troops. At this time, he returned to the position and asked Wang Shouren, who was riding a horse in armor and holding Wang Weining's sword to boost morale: "Major General Wang, what are you doing?"
Wang Shouren said: "The direction of the wind has changed."
"What is the direction of the wind?"
Even Ma Yi didn't fully side with Wang Shouren this time.
You were the one who said they were attacking. Now that you see the enemy showing signs of attacking, are you going to retreat and defend?
This place needs to be defended, but I'm afraid it won't be possible, right?
It is said that there is no way behind, but the Tatars did not encircle on three sides, but only attacked from one side. The Ming army still had two directions to escape from the north and the south. There was no last-ditch or desperate situation at all. So stubbornly defending... Are you treating the Ming soldiers?
What misunderstanding is there about the desperate determination?
Wang Shouren loudly said to the soldiers present: "The Hulu have rushed to invade. It must be that our reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty are close at hand. They want to fight to the death. This is the best opportunity for us to make achievements."
"The time, place, and people are favorable, and everyone is on our side, the Ming Dynasty. This battle will be won!"
Cao Shun and others were stunned when they heard this.
You, Wang Shouren, can just comfort yourself, but if you do this now...are you bullying the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty for being stupid?
No matter how you look at it, the Tatars are afraid of long nights and nightmares, so they directly lead their troops to fight. You forcefully explain that this is the arrival of reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty, and they have to rush to fight. If this is the case, then why don't they attack at night and insist on waiting until dawn?
Invasion with great fanfare?
"Prepare for war!"
Wang Shouren doesn't talk so much nonsense.
I tell you to fight as you please, why are you nagging me?
But his military orders seemed to be unable to be carried out.
If we say that everyone in Weininghai rushes together to grab the credit, or that they have to fight, but now the options for the soldiers are still fighting and breaking through. Obviously the grassland tribes also know that it is a bit difficult to eat all this group of people, so they all
It left a way to escape, if he had to fight to the death like this...
Wang Shouren ordered: "The tactics of the front army remain unchanged. When the enemy's vanguard is three miles away from our position, rush forward with fast horses, and tie gunpowder to the horses to ignite them..."
When Ma Yi heard this, she let go of her prejudice a little.
Ma Yi looked at Cao Shun first. After many days of continuous fighting, these soldiers no longer completely sided with Wang Shouren. It was also they who began to have their own opinions and wanted to take back some of their achievements. This involved
to matters of life and death.
Looking at Cao Shun, that means... Ma Yi also has plans to retreat.
Leave all the people and animals of the Tatars behind. Do the Tatars still have the heart to pursue us when they take in the men, women, and children of their own tribe?
Perhaps the heads that were beheaded before can be brought back to the border of the Ming Dynasty.
"war!"
This time, Sun Shangqi and other members of the Beijing camp firmly sided with Wang Shouren.
Even Liu Gui was riding on his horse and raised his embroidered spring knife.
It can be regarded that what Wang Shouren said to Sun Shangqi and Liu Gui last night had an effect. At this time, they are needed to supervise the battle team and the people from the artillery battalion to boost Wang Shouren's morale.
If you dare not fight, first ask the supervising team if they agree. If there is a mutiny, no one will necessarily suffer!
In particular, our war team was sent by Zhang Zhou, the commander-in-chief of Xuanda. If you dare to disobey the order, then you will return to the border, and you will not get any military merit, and you will have to bear the punishment of disobeying military orders!
"war!"
Guan Jing and others raised their sabers.
In the end, Ma Yi and others had to agree.
…
…
The war finally started again.
This time it was the Mengoljin tribe who took the initiative to attack, and Ma Yi led 500 cavalry to stop it... There were four to five thousand men and horses who came up to charge, and it seemed that they were going to knock down the mountain top in one go.
Five hundred cavalrymen, in the eyes of the other party, are just a fraction of their own side.
Even if the Ming Dynasty soldiers and horses rushed down from the hillside, they would not have the slightest advantage.
Wang Shouren watched the cavalry formations from both sides gradually approaching, and kept his hand on the hilt of his sword. He was carrying an aura that made Cao Shun on the side feel that this major general was serious.
Cao Shun went over and asked: "Master Wang, are you saying... Zhang Zhitai really led the army?"
"Yes." Wang Shouren answered simply.
"Why?" Cao Shun asked.
Wang Shouren pointed to the battlefield in front of him and said: "Otherwise, the Hulu could have waited for a day or two until our three soldiers were exhausted and exhausted, instead of going out in full force like this. The men, women, and children of their tribe are still in our hands and can be slaughtered at any time.
. There is only one explanation for this. They are more eager to fight than we are. If we don’t fight today, we may never have another chance. This is a desperate move!"
"The Ming Dynasty's reinforcements may not even be fifty miles away from here. If they cannot win on the battlefield before noon, they will definitely retreat!"
Just talking.
Ma Yi led five hundred cavalry in the front line and released the five hundred horses they brought at the same time. At the same time, their offensive momentum slowed down.
Five hundred horses quickly charged towards the enemy's position like wild horses.
It was originally five thousand versus five hundred, but now it's five thousand prairie tribesmen cavalry versus five hundred horses.
Obviously, the cavalry of Mengoljin's tribe had never seen such tactics in their lives, and they were not aware of the danger, or in other words...the momentum of their charge could no longer be stopped midway...
