On the north bank of the Weining Sea, the Ming Dynasty's cavalry advanced for more than thirty miles.
There were about five to six thousand men and horses left behind by the Menggol Jin tribe in the fire sieve, but they were powerless against the sudden advance of the Ming Dynasty's troops.
Wang Shouren was very decisive in executing military orders. At the beginning of the attack, he issued an order that all troops must turn back south and enter Datong from the direction of Maoerzhuang, which could shorten the distance to 200 miles.
But when it comes to execution...it's obviously not enough.
"General Wang, we have killed 2,260 heads so far, and captured over 10,000 people, which is hard to count. We have hundreds of thousands of livestock... If we use this to go south, I'm afraid... the journey will be slow..."
When General Guan Jing reported the matter to Wang Shouren, his voice trembled.
This contribution is much greater than Wang Weining's surprise attack on Weininghai.
But the biggest problem now is that it is very likely that so many victories cannot be taken away.
Even if the Mengoljin tribe does not turn around and attack, the surrounding Tumut tribe and Yongxiebu tribe will not sit idly by and ignore it. The Ming expeditionary force only has only three thousand soldiers and horses. After the previous battle losses,
It would be great if there are more than 2,500 people left who can go into battle. Do you still want to drive such a large grassland tribe force southward?
Cao Shun changed his previous arrogance and rudeness towards Wang Shouren and said in a discussion tone: "Master Wang, why don't we... take away the animals and so on, and escort their children away specifically. Take the horses with you, and leave the rest with us.
If you really can't do anything, don't force it."
Use your best ability to take away what you can.
You can't kill every last bit of someone's back garden and then take away everything that is useful and useless, right?
Aren't we afraid that the main force will come back and we won't be able to leave?
Wang Shouren's attitude was very firm and said: "All the soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty have left the pass. Sixty or seventy miles south, they will definitely be able to meet up with the soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty. The barbarians will never dare to chase! Everything that can be taken away will not be lost.
Keep!"
When Cao Shun heard this, he felt very uncomfortable.
He really wanted to say, "I want to take you with me. Anyway, I want to go back quickly. If you go to Datong, I can go to Yinshan Mountain and go back to where I came from."
…
…
Wang Shouren did not want to leave any population or livestock to be sifted by the fire. Since he chose to steal the family, he should steal it thoroughly.
Easy to say.
But when it comes to implementation, it encounters great difficulties.
The population of the grassland tribe is not bad, and they can be captured as long as they drive this group of people, but so many animals... they have to cross an area of nearly 200 miles back to the Ming Dynasty, and they cannot graze in the middle.
Forage and water replenishment are huge troubles.
That afternoon, sporadic tribesmen approached, but they were all driven back by Ma Yi's troops.
At this time, Ma Yi was responsible for leading about 1,200 soldiers and horses to the rear. These 1,200 soldiers and horses were already about half of the remaining soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty, and the remaining soldiers and horses had to be scattered everywhere. There were about 20 soldiers and horses along the way.
About a hundred people were driven southward by people from different tribes, including men, women, old and children, as well as their cattle, horses, sheep, camels and other livestock.
By dark, the group had not yet circumnavigated the east coast of Weining Sea.
You can't camp that night either.
The soldiers were exhausted. After several days of marching and a battle of blood and fire, everyone's spirit was on the verge of collapse.
Even Wang Shouren felt that his plan might be a little crazy, and the loot this time was really exaggerated, and the soldiers might not be able to hold on anymore.
"Stay where you are!"
Wang Shouren had to change his mind about heading south quickly.
He now had to face a problem, that is, before heading south to join the main force of the Ming Dynasty's central army, he would have to engage in a head-on confrontation with Huo Si or the other right-wing tribes.
Not to mention the rear, even the front... there are dangers lurking.
…
…
The night is solemn.
That night there was a wind on the grassland. It had also experienced a battle, and death happened again in the tranquil Weining Sea. The sound of the wind outside the camp was like the sound of human whimpering.
The soldiers had swept away the excitement on the battlefield. They had to take turns guarding that night and could only rest in batches.
When Ma Yi appeared in front of Wang Shouren with a gray-black face, Wang Shouren also understood that the expeditionary force he brought now would probably be buried in Weining Sea before bringing the results back to the Ming Dynasty.
"Major General, the soldiers have tried their best! But there are too many Tatars here!"
"Right now, according to a rough count, the population is nearly 15,000, not counting the more than 2,000 people we killed..."
Ma Yi's general idea now is to just take those heads back.
For the soldiers, it was an unparalleled achievement. It was almost impossible to bring back all the prisoners, cattle and sheep.
Wang Shouren asked: "Can we continue to leave before midnight?"
"I'm afraid it won't work." Ma Yi said, "Some soldiers have fallen asleep on the horse and fell off the horse... It's not uncommon. We are too tired today! The earliest... it won't be until tomorrow morning.
"
Wang Shouren did not force Ma Yi, he nodded and said: "Then continue the march tomorrow morning. Gather all the people of Di Yi in one place. This time we have brought the mighty gunpowder. If it really comes to the last step, then... kill!"
"
Wang Shouren also made plans to die together.
Although they are still deep into the hinterland of the grassland, and their whereabouts are no longer a secret, and they are escorting so many people and livestock south, the journey may not even be twenty miles a day, not to mention the difficulty, but Wang Shouren does not
I feel like this is a dead end.
This tribal population of more than 15,000 is the bargaining chip in his hand.
Am I forced to retreat after the battle?
We are obviously escorting the "hostages" back to the Ming Dynasty. No matter how fast you advance the army, do you dare to challenge me head-on?
When the time comes, I will kill your people directly from behind. If you dare to come within a mile, I will kill dozens of people and send their heads to you. I will ask you if you are afraid?
All your cattle and sheep will be slaughtered directly for you. Killing with a knife is too slow, so just use cannons and explode with yellow gunpowder... To execute your people and livestock, you don't need to be taught by you prairie people. My king
Someone can definitely do it.
If I dare to travel long distances to fight you, I will be ready to fight you to the death!
…
…
When Wang Shouren clearly explained the plan to massacre the hostages to Ma Yi, one could clearly feel that Ma Yi's face became a little more red.
Ma Yi felt Wang Shouren's "unscrupulous" attitude as a general, or in other words, Wang Shouren had foresight. There was no point in saying the rule of not killing prisoners when it was life and death. What he wanted to do was,
It means bringing the loot back to the Ming Dynasty, and according to the agreement, unless there are people who can't take everything into consideration and escape along the way, there will be no less than one person or one animal left.
The northeast corner of Weininghai was very quiet that night.
Wang Shouren asked people to use bonfires to light up the camp, and even allowed the herdsmen to feed their animals overnight.
At the same time, Wang Shouren also called over the elders of the tribe who were left behind and explained his intentions to them.
"If you are defeated, you should surrender to the Ming Dynasty. As long as Huo Si surrenders, you will be protected, and even the livestock will still be yours. But if Huo Si persists and continues to fight with us, then everything will be dead."
Wang Shouren basically told those prisoners of war.
Your fate does not depend on the attitude of the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty towards you. We hope that you will reach the border of the Ming Dynasty alive, and we will even give you a basis for continued survival.
Your lives are actually controlled by Fire Sieve and your family members. If the men of your family, that is, your cavalry from the expedition, come back and fight with us, then you will be killed and sacrificed to the flag.
The elders in the clan who were left behind were also very afraid.
Someone asked: "Shouldn't you say these words to our clan leader and the warriors who are going to war?"
Wang Shouren said: "So, if your army comes, I will send some of you old and weak people out as envoys. Then you will bring my letter and my intention to them and tell them."
Wang Shouren would not let women and children go to report the news, because he also knew that for the grassland, women were the most important resource and an important factor related to the development of the tribe. So much so that when Huo Si went on an expedition, many women in the tribe were actually
Those who accompany the expedition can not only help the soldiers on the expedition with some logistical matters, but also protect their most important property.
Children are also the future of the grassland tribes.
The lifespan of grassland people is generally thirty or even twenty years old. If one of them loses one generation, it may mean the demise of a tribe. Just relying on plundering women from other tribes to give birth to children for them is not enough.
There is no way for a generation to survive the lean years.
But the elders in the tribe...especially those who don't have the physical strength to do work, are of little value to the tribe. Letting them go to inform the Ming army of their intentions can be considered as using their remaining energy.
…
…
There was no fighting that night.
It was also because the quality displayed by the Ming Expeditionary Force in this battle was so terrifying that even though there were still effective tribesmen around, and even some of the people left behind by Fire Sieve in the outer circle, they did not dare to come to the rescue easily at this time.
Wang Shouren arranged it before dawn.
Every time they passed a section of the road, an old man from the tribe would be left behind to ask them to stop and carry the message.
After taking turns to rest and recuperate throughout the night, the soldiers of the expeditionary force felt much better and were able to continue their journey south in high spirits after dawn.
But walking to Maoerzhuang... is still difficult for the soldiers.
Even if they dismounted and walked, they would still be moving faster than the current team, especially since there were so many cattle and sheep that were not obeying orders at all, and it was of no avail if there were herdsmen to help.
Cattle and sheep will search for places with water and grass on their own.
Wang Shouren also calmed down at this time.
If you simply can't return to the Ming border without encountering enemies, then you don't care if you go fast or slowly, you will encounter them anyway. Anyway, the deterrence method used before has not been effective, so just go slow and steady, and Wang Yue will be able to pass through the day.
Fu Ye arrived at Weininghai in more than 20 days. Why couldn't he bring these trophies back to the Ming Dynasty in more than 20 days?
"It's not possible to go this way."
Cao Shun was the most dissident person in the army.
At noon that day, there was no stove buried, and the soldiers were not short of food now. From the food storage of the Mengoljin tribe, they found a lot of dried meat and various grain crops, and now they can eat whatever they want.
The carriages pulled by many horses were full of Tatars, old and weak women and children. They didn't complain much along the way. They seemed to have expected that the fate of being prisoners would be to be driven away like cattle and sheep.
As a result of such march, Wang Shouren could get rumors of Tatars approaching from various places from time to time, but surprisingly, no one on the road dared to approach directly.
Firstly, it was because the number of these troops was not large, and they knew that they could not compete head-on with the strength of the Ming Expeditionary Force. In addition, they did not belong to the same tribe, and they could not form an alliance in a short time.
For the Tumut and other tribes, even though they are usually allies with the Mengoljin tribe, if the Mengoljin tribe's rear area is taken over by the Ming Dynasty, then the Mengoljin tribe's pastures will be owned by them. Now
They might as well be prepared to rob their cattle, sheep and women... Do they want to directly fight against the Ming Dynasty for the sake of these people and animals in the Mengoljin tribe?
In addition, the main tribal forces on the right wing of Mongolia are now preparing for a decisive battle with Dayan Khan in the west. Now the Ming army has only plundered the rear area of the Mongol Jin tribe without touching their basic base. They are now protecting their own.
It's too late for the tribesmen. As for snatching back the Mengoljin tribe members, only Huo Si can do it himself.
The war has only been going on for one day now, and Huo Si probably hasn't even gotten the news yet, and it will still take a few days for his troops to return, so everything still seems so calm.
"Most of the troops approaching us now are from the Mengoljin tribe. In addition to those who escaped from the battlefield yesterday, there are also some troops they gathered from the surrounding areas. At present, it seems that the number of troops is one or two thousand.
, they don’t have the strength to fight us yet.”
The next night.
The team, which seemed to be on the run, finally made it out of the Weininghai area, but only for twenty miles. This was only achieved by Wang Shouren's various urgings and through killing people to establish authority.
At the military meeting that night, Guan Jing, representing the Ming Dynasty, was informed by the scouts.
After Cao Shun heard the news, he said with a look of relief: "That's good, that's good. If everything goes well, it will take about five or six days to get to Mao'erzhuang, and maybe the Tatars haven't reacted yet."
"No." Wang Shouren said, "Before we arrive at Mao'erzhuang, even if the Hulu can only gather one or two thousand people, they will rush over."
Cao Shun wondered: "Aren't they afraid that we will wipe out all their people?"
Wang Shouren asked: "What's the difference between us bringing people into the pass and killing them?"
"this……"
Cao Shun couldn't answer.
"It's nothing more than a matter of life and death." Wang Shouren himself added, "By then, if the fire sieve does not come down, then his tribe will be completely gone. And the people left behind will not be treated well! They will be the first to be attacked.
A man of true military might."
This means that when Huo Si came back, he found that most of the clan members had been taken away by the Ming Dynasty's expeditionary force of three thousand soldiers and horses, and he himself had left four to five thousand soldiers and horses to garrison. Even if these four to five thousand soldiers and horses were
It's just a reserve force. In order to boost the morale of the army, Huo Si will kill these inactive guys first.
And these people who stayed behind also knew that what they were doing was neither tolerated by the tribe nor accepted by the fire sieve, so they were waiting for an opportunity to attack.
They are also observing the flaws of the Ming army.
"So it's best to take the initiative to fight." Wang Shouren gave the strategy.
"Still fighting?"
Cao Shun seemed unable to understand.
Escorting so many people and livestock to the south, the carriages also carried so much goods, including dozens of cattle and sheepskins... The other party did not dare to come forward, probably because they were burning incense, but this Wang family
The young general, on the other hand, seems not to be afraid of trouble at all and is always able to pull off some evil things.
"Let the horse commander spot the opportunity and lead the troops to rush out. There is no need to rush to the battle. It's okay to drive the bandits fifty miles away!"
Wang Shouren gave specific strategies.
…
…
There was no overnight garrison that night, and the troops continued to march before midnight.
Wang Shouren fully understood the strategic intention given to him by Zhang Zhou and tried his best not to fight night battles on the grassland, especially night raids, otherwise the Ming soldiers would probably get lost on the grassland without many markers.
He would not carry out any plan to drive away Di Yi at night, everything would have to wait until dawn.
At dawn, Wang Shouren looked up at the sky. Ma Yi was also rotated and came to report to him.
"Commander Ma, within three days, we must get rid of the troublesome people behind us. Otherwise, our army will be very passive when encountering attacks from both front and rear around Mao'erzhuang."
Wang Shouren was also telling Ma Yi.
Asking you to drive away Di Yi is just a temporary measure. It is best to eat the one or two thousand cavalry following behind you at once.
Only in this way can we ensure that we concentrate on dealing with the former banner troops of the Mengoljin tribe stationed in Maoerzhuang and other places.
Ma Yi asked: "Didn't Zhang Zhitai say that he would clear the way for us to go south?"
"At the current speed we are traveling at, it is impossible for the soldiers and horses of Xuanfu to reach Maoerzhuang. The soldiers and horses of Datong Town may not be able to obey orders and go north. Even if they go north, the speed will not be too fast. They can travel one or twenty times a day.
The road is already good, and we have to wait at least five or six days before we have a chance to meet the soldiers and horses in the border town."
"But I predict that the soldiers and horses from the front banner of the Manguan Ai tribe will go north from Maoerzhuang and other places after hearing the news, and the battle will take place in three days at the latest."
Wang Shouren knew something about the urinary properties of the Ming Dynasty's frontier troops.
Zhang Zhou had already ordered Datong Town and Piantou Pass to send troops.
However, it is impossible for the men from the Piantou Pass to come to Maoerzhuang to support them, which means that Zhang Zhou’s direct lineage, Wang Qiong and Zhu Feng cannot come to help. They are counting on Hong Han, the governor of Datong. Although he seems to be more reliable than Ma Zhongxi, Hong Han
The Han Dynasty was also not very quick in executing military orders.
As for Zhang Zhou himself...Wang Shouren didn't dare to have too much hope, because it was a long way from Xuanfu to Maoerzhuang.
In fact, what's even more terrible is that Wang Shouren captured too many trophies and was traveling too slowly, which would delay his journey to Maoerzhuang...
The previous view was that the Huoshiqian Banner soldiers and horses would withdraw westward after encountering a battle, but now that Wang Shouren has uprooted the Huoshiqian Banner's lair, the families of the Huoshiqian Banner soldiers and horses are probably among them. How could they possibly leave their homes behind?
If you lose everything, why don't you run west?
This also made Wang Shouren realize deeply.
The credit is too small to be worth mentioning.
The credit was too great, and it would be troublesome to destroy Huo Si's lair in one fell swoop. It is very likely that he would be buried in the grasslands and would not be able to return to the Central Plains.
