The snow was trampled into mud under the horses' hooves, wrapped in weeds, and looked soft. The horses were covered with mud, and the horses' hooves became heavier.
Heta was lying on the horse. His armor was extremely dirty. Even now, the smell of blood is still strong, and some bits of minced meat can still be seen vaguely.
His ears were red from the cold, he was breathing heavily, and his chest was beating up and down violently: "Where are you?"
"Great Khan, Dalai Nuoer (Hulun Lake) is ahead."
At this time, the soldier beside him said in a deep voice. His cheeks were red from the cold, and one of his ears seemed to be missing, but he didn't care at all.
“Dalainuoer (Hulun Lake)!”
Heta breathed a sigh of relief and fled thousands of miles from the Liaohe River, finally far away from the group of ferocious Ming people.
He looked back and saw that in the past, Japan's large tribe with more than 6,000 tents and nearly 20,000 cavalry in the left wing center banner now had less than 3,000 cavalry left. What a desolation it was.
"Akito deserves to die."
Heta gritted his teeth: "We must take revenge."
After saying this, he looked up and saw the vague yurt under a patch of snow.
Considering that there was not much food in stock, he waved his hand: "Let's fill our stomachs first!"
Immediately, the cavalry rushed towards his tribe like wolves and tigers, like arrows from the string.
On the grassland, the weak eat the strong.
After a series of killings, the entire tribe became their playground.
But Heta began to think again. Lake Baikal, where the Manchus were located, was already barren and could not feed too many people.
If thousands of them go there, they will be reduced to cattle and sheep, to be divided up at will.
Therefore, in order to preserve his strength and take revenge, he must make himself stronger.
Conquer the Dalai Nuoer area and regain the Central Banner.
As for the local Inner Khalkha tribe, I am not familiar with it at all, even if it is under the jurisdiction of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.
Even if the Immortal Heaven comes, it will not be as important as their recovery of strength.
By the time Oboi led an army of 30,000 people to this area, Heta had already annexed several tribes and had 3,000 herdsmen under his command.
Obai was furious. He rode on his horse and said condescendingly: "Prince Darhan, if I remember correctly, your headquarters should be in Liaohe River. Why did you suddenly come to Darhano'er?"
"This is the land of the Qing Dynasty. Do you want to rebel?"
Facing the ferocious Obai, Heta's energy dissipated in an instant, and he bluffed: "My headquarters has been scattered, and I can't wait for reinforcements, so I can only eat here."
"As for these tribes, I am working with them to better counterattack the Ming army."
Obei suppressed his anger and sneered: "That's fine, the prince will bring all the cavalry with me to conquer the Ming Dynasty!"
"How many soldiers and horses does Baturu have?"
He Ta was displeased that his dignified prince was being manipulated by a mere military general. He raised his head and asked in a deep voice.
"Thirty thousand people." Obai said confidently.
"It has been nearly five days since I retreated here. I am afraid that the Ming army has completely captured the left wing. I am afraid that a mere 30,000 people will not be enough."
Heta shook his head and looked solemn: "Even if I add ten thousand people, it won't be enough. They have at least one hundred thousand people."
"Could it be that Mingren has only three heads and six arms?" Obai snorted coldly.
If you can't beat them, just make it up. Where did the 100,000 people come from? And they are cavalry. Isn't this nonsense?
"Forty thousand people are enough."
Oboi waved his hand and said sternly: "I, the Qing Dynasty, are invincible in cavalry and shooting. I will bring all your soldiers and horses with me. I will kill the people of the Ming Dynasty."
Heta was furious.
But he could only stamp his feet and had to submit.
At this time, just as Heta expected, the Ming army gathered 60,000 troops and divided them into two. The overwhelming force of Mount Tai defeated the left-wing center banner and the Guoerluosian front banner.
In just one day, the main forces of the two banners were wiped out. Only a few people escaped, and more than 10,000 cavalry were killed.
Nearly 10,000 herdsmen became captives and were entirely at the mercy of the Ming Dynasty.
The remaining flags surrendered one after another and did not dare to move rashly.
This season is really too special.
At the end of winter and the beginning of spring, the cattle and sheep that have endured the whole winter are very thin. Once the entire tribe abandons their supplies and flees, it will be like a farmer who has no seeds and will starve to death in the coming year.
At the same time, unlike the Ming army, the herdsmen had a large amount of food to feed their war horses, which kept them fat and strong even in winter. However, the herdsmen's horses lost their fat and would die after a short run.
Coupled with the disparity in weapons, morale, and physical strength, the herdsmen at this time had no way out except to be captured.
Of course, if you abandon your tribe like He Ta did, you can still survive by running away along the way.
But the tribe and the pasture are fine, so why should they leave their wives and children? Isn't it okay to just live in an ignoble way?
General You Shilu's tent was located in the Horqin Left Wing Center Banner. It was located in the upper reaches of the Liao River, close to Jilin and Liaodong, and it was convenient to supply food.
The nobles of various banners drove their horses forward one after another to surrender, with their heads lowered and their eyebrows lowered. Their faces were full of obedience, and there was no trace of unruliness at all.
Regarding these nobles, big and small, You Shilu said clearly: "We, the Ming Dynasty, have divided the Mongolian nobles into three classes: Tabu Nang, Taiji, and Prince (Khan)."
"Honorable General, I wonder how these three levels of nobles are divided?"
"Nobles below five hundred tents are Tabu Nang, those below one thousand tents are Taiji, and those below ten thousand tents are county kings."
You Shilu glanced at the crowd and said casually: "Beile, Beizi, Dukes and the like should all be deposed, and everything must be done according to the Ming Dynasty."
In Mongolia, "Tabu Nang" in Mongolian refers to the title of a person who marries a descendant of Genghis Khan, so it is also the lowest-ranking noble.
Taiji, on the other hand, is divided into three levels.
Currently, the top princes are Chahar Khan Abul and Beihai Prince Budari.
"It is indeed a wise move for you to change your mind and submit to our Ming Dynasty." You Shilu said with a chuckle:
"However, after the titles are registered, you will be asked to send troops to accompany me."
"Dare you disobey me."
The nobles were shocked. The war was not over yet?
Where is this going to hit?
Manchu?
"In addition, in order to punish you for betraying the Ming Emperor, Tabu Nang cut off 30 tents, Taiji cut off 100 tents, and the prince cut off 300 tents. There must be no mistake."
After speaking, You Shilu drove out the group of nobles with wry smiles on their faces.
At this time, Budali, the king of Beihai County, appeared at the right time: "You must remember that only those who submit to me, the Ming Dynasty, will have a future. Those who are popular and drink spicy food will only die if they become slaves of the Manchu Qing Dynasty."
"The debt reduction this time is just the slightest punishment. Thunder, rain and dew are all your kindness..."
The nobles felt dizzy after hearing this, and immediately focused their attention on the younger King Abda of Chahar County.
After all, no matter what, he is also a direct descendant of Dayan Khan.
Abda nodded slightly: "The Prince of Beihai is right, everything must be obeyed."
"But don't worry, these reduced herdsmen will not be stripped away for the time being. As long as you perform well, the punishment will naturally be gone."
As soon as he was reassured, Horqin's left-wing tribes, large and small, immediately felt at ease, and then sent out nearly 10,000 herdsmen to follow his orders.
At the same time, news of Horqin's thunderous tactics on the left wing immediately spread to the right wing, and the nobles including Prince Badali of Tushiye were frightened and came to see him.
You Shilu Yanguo immediately asked the right-wing tribesmen to take one piece from three tents and accompany them to the battle.
In addition, both wings will also contribute a large number of cattle, sheep, and war horses.
At this time, even the most obtuse person could understand that the Ming army's attack on Horqin's left wing was just a matter of picking up grass and hunting rabbits. Their real purpose was to Manchu Qing.
For a moment, Horqin Grassland shook.
Horqin drew 20,000 men from both wings, preparing to fight with the Ming army.
At this time, Chahar, Heilongjiang, and Liaodong each sent 10,000 cavalry to gather.
As a result, on the Liao River, the Ming army assembled a total of 60,000 cavalry and 20,000 Mongolian troops, a total of 80,000 people. They wanted to set off towards the North Sea to destroy the Manchus.
At this time, Obai finally arrived at the Horqin Grassland from Lake Baikal, witnessed the Ming army's conquest, and was very angry for a while.
Forty thousand people versus eighty thousand people, he is not so brainless.
But if he was allowed to retreat so easily, he would not be willing to do so.
A grain transport team moved slowly, transporting grain from Liaodong and Jilin to the army.
After the breakthrough, there was a dull rumbling sound between heaven and earth. It was not loud, but it seemed to come from heaven and earth all-pervasively and could be heard no matter where it was.
In the wilderness, the snow was dazzlingly white under the sun, and a large black mass of people and horses slowly approached the grain team.
Obai smiled: "Kill——"
Tens of thousands of troops rushed toward the grain team, and hundreds of carriages immediately panicked.
Immediately, carriages were laid out one after another, forming a primary line of defense.
Unexpectedly, before they even got close, there was a burst of sound in the air.
"Crackling..." There was a sound of strings, and the crossbow flew over into the wind.
From time to time, someone would scream and fall down from the galloping horse, making a loud thud.
The front troops charged forward and could not stop immediately. They rushed forward to face the missing crossbows and then turned around. The cavalry and archers fired arrows one after another.
At this time, the sound of muskets rang out again, and the crackling smoke filled the air. The sound was very loud and scary.
However, it didn't hit many people, but it frightened many horses of the Qing army into panic.
Oboi did not hesitate and continued to let the cavalry attack.
Soon, waves of cavalry were beating against this simple defense line, sapping its morale, and it took only a moment to find the loopholes.
"rush--"
The hole continued to expand, and the defense line collapsed instantly.
Ao Bai did not pursue the defeated army, but directly opened the grain bag. When he saw the fried noodles, he couldn't help but take a bite.
It's salty and greasy, but it's undeniable that it's the best military food.
"Each person brings one bag back."
Soon, less than half of the food was gone.
The remaining Obai were directly set on fire and were never left to the Ming army.
"Okay!" You Shilu also noticed Obai's move at this time, but he didn't take it personally and instead showed a smile.
"They robbed the military rations and moved some of them away. It seems that the slaves are short of food."
With a plan in mind, You Shilu immediately changed his mind about the decisive battle, and instead kept issuing military orders:
"Each grain transport team needs five thousand cavalry to protect it."
"Deploy thousands of cavalry to inspect the grain roads and provide support at all times."
"In addition, all tribes are not allowed to support or sell any cattle or sheep, regardless of whether they are given to the Manchus or not."
"Even if you die of illness, you still have to be sent to my commander's tent."
"I'm going to bore you to death."
You Shilu smiled proudly.
In such a vast Horqin grassland, there is no shortage of water resources, but cattle, sheep, livestock and food are most in short supply.
According to his estimation, the Manchu army must not have enough rations, so they could only rob the rations.
Sure enough, within a few days, Oboi felt uncomfortable.
The Ming army was like a hedgehog, unable to benefit at all.
His army of tens of thousands was increasingly short of food.
If it were spring and summer, the grass would be lush and the cattle and sheep could be driven to follow the army, but now that the snow has not gone away, how can we feed them?
"At this time, we can only borrow food."
Heta said solemnly: "Those tribes were shameless and surrendered to the Ming army. It is only natural that we go to their tribes to borrow food."
Obai glanced at Heta and fell into silence.
In this lean time, no one is willing to borrow food.
The so-called borrowing here is nothing more than robbing.
But if he was allowed to leave just like that, he would be reluctant to do so.
No matter how stupid he is, he still understands that if he retreats at this time, Horqin's tribes may really be captured by him.
In this way, the Qing Dynasty lost its eastern barrier, and the Ming army could inquire about information at will, and even raid the North Sea.
"borrow--"
Oboi gritted his teeth and said.
In this current predicament, this is the only way out.
As long as the Ming army is driven away, the worst possible thing is to make up for it later.
The Horqin tribes are good dogs of the Qing Dynasty and should understand this truth.
Sure enough, within a few days, the Qing army attacked a dozen tribes, large and small, and robbed tens of thousands of cattle and sheep.
The people are left behind and the cattle, sheep and livestock are taken away. This is no different from massacre.
It is conceivable that after a few more days, when the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, and the snow melts, these cattle and sheep will multiply, bringing a steady stream of livestock to them.
No matter how bad things get, we can still wait for support from the Qing Dynasty.
When Beihai County King Budali and Chahar County King Abda told You Shiwei the news, the latter did not hide it and showed a smile.
"You two princes, please don't worry. Creating slaves is a recipe for death."
You Shilu stood up, his smile getting brighter.
The two of them looked confused and didn't really understand what this meant.
The king of Beihai County was surprised and said: "General, the Manchus are still staying in Horqin. It is like a wall blocking our path to the Northern Expedition. If it is not removed, we will not be able to move."
"What's the benefit of this?"
You Shilu suppressed his smile and spread out a map.
This is the Horqin area that has been initially drawn based on businessmen's exploration over the years. To the west are the Khalkha tribes and the area west of the Greater Khingan Mountains.
Among them, the territory occupied by the Manchu and Qing Dynasties was particularly significant.
"On the Horqin Prairie, tribes of various sizes are scattered like chess pieces. No one knows how many tribes there are in Horqin and whether they recognize themselves as Horqin people."
"However, as soon as the Manchus attack tribes wantonly and the behavior of robbing cattle and sheep spreads, those tribes who had a good impression of the Manchus in the past will immediately become vigilant."
"At that time, the Manchu Qing Dynasty will no longer have guides or spies on the Horqin Grassland."
"People's hearts are open to the bright future!"
The two of them suddenly understood something.
You Shilu suddenly became generous and lent some military rations to the besieged tribe to help them tide over the difficulties.
So, on the Horqin grassland, the Manchus and Qing dynasties carried out looting, and the Ming army carried out grain distribution, and people's hearts fell unconsciously.
Oboi suddenly realized that his army suddenly seemed to have fallen into a quagmire, becoming deaf and blind, unable to move even an inch.
Because a large number of tribesmen have become the spies of the Ming army and can inform at any time.