Batu Meng arrived at the Dushi River half an hour after the defeat of Dushi City. By that time, the Ming army had already crossed the river and reached the other side.
The anger in Batu Meng's heart can be imagined. He wasted a lot of time in the city to search for the whereabouts of the Ming Emperor. It was not until he received the news that the Ming Emperor had broken through that he hurriedly led his troops to
Come.
"Why didn't you report it immediately? Why? Why didn't they let Ben Khan know until they crossed the river?" Batu Munch roared like a lion.
Asbas said hurriedly: "The Great Khan calmed down. I led my army to attack the south wall, but I didn't know that the enemy broke out from the city gate. My son Jida got the news later and led his army to pursue him, but it was too late.
"
Batu Munch said angrily: "Why didn't Jeddah report it earlier?"
Jida said from the side: "Great Khan, you can't blame me for this. It was Dahar, the leader of the three Doyan tribes, who first discovered the news of the enemy's breakout. But Dahar did not report it. Dahar wanted to make a contribution alone, so he concealed the news
.After I learned the news and rushed over, the enemy had already begun to cross the river, so I arrived a step too late."
"Dahal? Where are the others? Ask him to come see me." Batu Munch said angrily.
"Dahar... has died in the battle. He led 600 soldiers to surround the Ming army, and as a result... the entire army was destroyed." Jida said solemnly.
"What?" Batu Munch asked in shock.
"In order to grab credit, Dahar underestimated the combat effectiveness of the Ming army. It would be fine if he died. He also ruined the big event of the Great Khan. He was really confused and deserved his death. Great Khan, he is a member of my Duoyan tribe. I
He is also responsible. Please punish me, the Great Khan." Asbas said solemnly.
Batu Munch stared at Asbath and his son, full of doubts in his heart. He was doubtful about the words of Asbath and his son. Dahar was extremely shrewd and was definitely not a muddle-headed person. He did not believe that he would do anything just to grab credit.
Chase the enemy alone without notifying others.
The words and deeds of Asbath and his son in this battle are puzzling, but at this moment, they can't find any clues. There is no time to get involved in this matter at this time. They can only investigate it secretly and then make a decision.
"We will discuss this matter later. We must build a platoon immediately and pursue the enemy. We must not allow the little emperor of the Ming Dynasty to escape. Commander Asbas, I order you to build a floating platoon bridge before dawn. There must be no mistake." Ba
Tu Meng shouted in a deep voice.
Asbasi said in astonishment: "Great Khan, do you still want to cross the river to pursue me? Can you still catch me?"
Batu Munch said solemnly: "At this point, don't you ask me to stop? The duck flew away, killed and injured tens of thousands of brothers, and gained nothing. I, Batu Munch, have become the laughing stock of the world.
. They have no mounts, and it’s dark, so they can’t run very far. If we transport the horses over, we’ll be able to catch up with them quickly. They can’t run away.”
Asbas frowned and said: "Great Khan, but if their reinforcements arrive, chasing them will be a trap."
Batu Meng shouted sternly: "Brother Asbath, Ben Khan has already decided, you don't need to say more. Take your men and horses to build the pontoon bridge immediately. If the pontoon bridge fails to be built before dawn, don't blame Ben Khan for curing you.
sin."
After Batu Munch finished speaking, he flicked his cloak, turned around and strode away.
Asbath looked at his back with a sneer on his face.
"Abba, I'm afraid he's going to go crazy. Are you going to chase me now? He's really furious." Jida said softly from the side.
Alsbath sneered and said: "He is going to die, so we don't have to stop him. There is no need to mess with him now, just do as he says."
Jida nodded and whispered: "If we didn't have so few troops at hand, we would really like to deal with him here."
Asbath shouted in a low voice: "Shut up, don't even think about it. Not to mention that he has two thousand elite guards guarding him. We are no match for him at all. Even if we have the chance to do it, we can't do it. His detectives
There are still 50,000 to 60,000 elite men in Haer's headquarters. Kill them.
He and our Duoyan tribe will be finished immediately. It will take time to prove whether the people of the Ming Dynasty are trustworthy. Before that, we can only pretend to be cowardly. In the future, only when we are strong enough can we fall out with him. Do you understand? Jida, you can't be impatient.
, some things cannot be rushed.”
Jida nodded slightly after hearing this.
In the early morning, a wooden raft pontoon bridge was completed. Originally this was a difficult task to complete. After all, the river was fast and it was extremely difficult to build a wooden raft pontoon bridge. The key was that the water was deep and fast, making it difficult to fix the raft. The only thing that could be done was
Each piece of raft was covered with bluestone and sunk to the bottom of the river to fix it, and it was extended forward piece by piece, which was extremely time-consuming and laborious.
However, halfway through the construction of the pontoon bridge, when it reached the center of the river with the deepest and most turbulent water flow, the river water suddenly fell at a speed visible to the naked eye. Before dawn, the water flow basically returned to what it was before the surge.
Situation. In this case, the construction of the floating bridge will be much easier immediately.
In fact, if the water flow drops further, the pontoon bridge is no longer necessary to cross the river, because you can swim across the river.
It has to be said that the Ming Dynasty monarchs and ministers were slightly unlucky. Originally, the water flow in the Dushi River would definitely fall back to a swimming level within two days after the heavy rain. Zhang Yanling calculated the time when the river water would fall back to a swimming level. But in fact
But this is not the case.
The reason was later found to be that a flash flood in the upper reaches caused a collapse of the mountain, resulting in a barrier lake in the valley. After heavy rains, the unstable dam of the barrier lake collapsed, causing a secondary flood, so it caused
The water level of Dushi River remains high.
By early morning, the floodwaters in the barrier lake were completely discharged, and the water flow in the Dushi River dropped to the normal water level very quickly. Therefore, the pontoon bridge was quickly built.
In the dim light of dawn, Batu Meng led a thousand cavalry across the Dushi River from the pontoon bridge to chase the Ming Dynasty monarchs and ministers. Just as Zhang Yanling guessed, he was like a gambler who lost his bet, with red eyes and ignored
I want to make up for everything, I want to win back everything I lost.
However, Batu Munch did not completely lose his mind. He could have built a raft to cross the river, but he chose to spend a few more hours to let Asbath build a pontoon bridge. That was to leave a way out for himself.
The retreat will not be cut off.
In addition, Batu Munch also left more than a thousand soldiers and horses here to protect the pontoon. To put it bluntly, it was Asbas and his son who were defending here. Batu Munch had already received some news and knew some things.
Although the matter could not be verified for the time being, he no longer dared to trust the Asbaths and his son. But this was naturally not the time to fall out with them. He had to resolve the major issue first, then go back and check the evidence carefully, and then settle the score with them.
Not only that, he also ordered Asbas to take his soldiers and horses to destroy all the Great Wall walls and beacons north of Monolith City. Destroying these obstacles and destroying the Ming Dynasty's border defense system was a must after every raid.
Let Asbath do the dirty work. It would be better to keep them away from the pontoon.
…
It's almost noon and the weather is hot.
They did not dare to stay overnight. The troops of the Ming Dynasty monarchs and ministers who evacuated all the way south along the mountain road were exhausted. They were already tired after the fierce battle, and they had to walk for several hours at night on the rugged mountain road, running uphill and downhill.
, even Zhang Yin, Chen Shi and others with very good physiques were a little overwhelmed. Not to mention Zhu Houzhao, Liu Jin and others, as well as some injured personnel in the team.
After the sun rose, we were tired and hot. We didn't carry nearly all the supplies before leaving. At this moment, everyone was tired, sleepy, tired, thirsty and hungry. Everyone was about to collapse.
Finally, Liu Jin could not bear it any longer. He panted heavily and came to Zhang Yanling and said: "Master Marquis, we have to find a place to rest. The emperor is thirsty and tired and cannot leave anymore. If this continues, he will not die at the hands of the Tatars.
I'm going to die of exhaustion and thirst on the road. I need to take a rest and find some water to drink. It's best to find something to eat to satisfy my hunger."
Zhang Yanling was actually in trouble. But he never ordered to stop and rest because he only walked more than 20 miles in one night and was far from out of danger. If the Tatars sent troops to chase them, they would catch up quickly. Although Zhang Yanling
We dare not completely conclude that the other party will definitely pursue us across the river, but we must not make any mistakes at this time. Traveling a hundred miles is half a century, and the further south you go, the safer you will be.
However, looking at the situation of the team, Zhang Yanling also realized that he had to rest. Otherwise, if someone couldn't hold on and fell, it would add a greater burden. Is it possible that the fallen person would be left behind? Take it with you.
It will hinder progress even more.
Zhu Houzhao stood there with a tree stick in his hand, his back turned pale, and he was panting heavily. Gu Dayong was supporting him beside him. Gu Dayong was in good shape. Without his support, Zhu Houzhao would have collapsed on the ground.
"Your Majesty, how about we take a rest and find some water to drink." Zhang Yanling said to Zhu Houzhao.
"Listen to uncle, if you say... take a rest, take a rest... if you say keep going... then keep going." Zhu Houzhao's throat was parched and his voice became hoarse.
Zhang Yanling admired him a little. The young emperor had a bit of a stubborn backbone. He had always been well-dressed and well-fed, how could he have ever suffered such a crime? But he didn't complain a word along the way, gritting his teeth and persisting.
"Okay. Zhang Yin, order people to look for a resting place nearby. There must be a water source and it cannot be too far from the road. Everyone must rest before leaving." Zhang Yanling ordered.
Zhang Yin agreed, and took his people to search nearby for a while, and soon came back to report that there was a small valley on the west side of the road. There was a pool in the valley and shaded by trees, where you could go to drink water and rest.
Zhang Yanling immediately ordered to go. After arriving, he saw a pool in a small valley shaded by trees. The surrounding grass was luxuriant, wild flowers were everywhere, and the ground was very flat. It was an excellent place to rest.
When everyone saw the water, they felt like they had seen a savior. Everyone crawled to the edge of the pool and drank to their fill. Zhu Houzhao drank a large pot of water and sat down on the grass under the shade of the tree with satisfaction.
"This is the sweetest water I have ever drunk in my life." Zhu Houzhao sighed.