It is already one hundred and fifty miles away from Lingzhou North Ferry. The direction of the Yellow River channel has become steeper from southwest to northeast. Like an elevated curve, the Yellow River channel extends northward, eventually forming a 'J' shape.
River Bend. The middle position of the 'ji' shape is the Hetao. As the name suggests, it is a place surrounded by the Yellow River. It is the territory occupied by the Tatars.
On the west bank of the Yellow River, a soldier and horse were crawling in the wilderness under the scorching sun.
After nightfall yesterday, He Jinyi, Ding Guang and others issued the order to evacuate Lingzhoudu.
The night before, news of the fall of Ningxia City spread throughout the military camp. In addition, He Jinyi killed Ma Changshun, the former commander of the Ningxia Central Guard, in the tent. This made the already turbulent military morale uncontrollable. The former Ningxia Central Guard's soldiers and horses were killed.
A mutiny broke out, causing some soldiers in other rebel camps to flee, causing chaos in the army.
He Jinyi and others spent a lot of effort to quell the riot. However, the 30,000-strong army fled to death in the riot, losing as much as 30%. Less than 20,000 troops were left.
The morale of the army is unstable and the people are panicked. In addition, supplies and food have been cut off, making the situation critical.
He Jinyi, who had originally decided to evacuate, no longer hesitated. He spent half a day packing up supplies and vehicles, purging the intimidating army officers and men, and threatening them with severe punishment, forcing the army to follow him and evacuate.
Ding Guang's suggestion was to evacuate the army to the west. Pass through the Helan Mountains via Chimukou and reach the desert Gobi area west of the Helan Mountains. This can avoid being pursued by the enemy. After all, the mountainous Gobi terrain is complex, and it is very advantageous to block the enemy or hide.
Moreover, Ding Guang's idea was that by going west, he could stay away from Ningxia City in the northeast and avoid the disturbance of soldiers and horses in Ningxia City, which was already occupied by officers and soldiers.
However, He Jinyi didn't think so. He told Ding Guang and others that although it was a good idea to cross the Helan Mountains to the west, it had many disadvantages and great dangers.
First, the journey is relatively long, and there are a large number of forts to pass along the way, so the whereabouts will be discovered quickly. If you are blocked by a fort in a dangerous terrain, it will waste a lot of time and give the pursuing enemy an opportunity to approach.
The second is that even if they reach the west of Helan Mountain and reach the vast Gobi Desert, it will be a disaster. The soldiers and horses lack food and supplies and cannot go north to enter the Blackwater City, the only place where the Tatars can provide supplies on the Moxi Grassland. At least that
It will take ten days and a half. By then, the food will be exhausted and we will be in the Gobi desert. Will we be waiting to die?
He Jinyi's idea is to go east along the north bank of the Yellow River, and it only takes two days to reach the bank of the Yellow River in the easternmost section of Ningxia Town. By then, he can cross the river and enter the Loop, and he will be completely out of trouble. Because there are Tatars in the Loop
A large number of Tatars moved forward to camp, and in less than a day's walk along the Gobi west of the Hetao, they could reach Otok City on the banks of the Dusitu River. Everything was guaranteed.
The Hetao is a restricted area for the Ming Dynasty soldiers and horses. They have never dared to set foot here for many years because the Tatars firmly control it.
As for marching eastward, it has to pass through the jurisdiction of Ningxia City. The closest distance to Ningxia City is less than 80 miles, which is indeed a bit dangerous. However, He Jinyi believes that there are not many officers and soldiers in Ningxia City, only less than 3,000 people.
, even if they found traces of the army, they would think they were going to attack Ningxia City. They only dared to close the city gates to strengthen defense, how could they dare to go out of the city to intercept?
By the time they realized it, the army had already crossed the river to the east.
In fact, Ding Guang didn't have any opinions. At this time, He Jinyi was the only one who took the lead. The other generals did not dare to participate in the decision-making. At this time, the situation was critical and people's hearts were fluctuating. If you were not careful, even if you said the wrong sentence, you would be in trouble.
He might offend He Jinyi and be killed by him. So it's better not to talk too much.
So, after nightfall yesterday, the well-organized army began to evacuate under the cover of darkness. In order not to disturb the imperial soldiers and horses on the other side, the soldiers and horses set off quietly in the darkness. Only a cavalry squad of fifty people was left.
Stay at the ferry and monitor the movements of the imperial troops.
Another task of this fifty cavalry team is to blow up ten Zhankou general cannons when the imperial troops cross the river, burn down the camp, and leave nothing useful for them.
When Yang Yiqing led his army to cross the river, the roar on the top of the cliff on the other side was the sound of the cannons being blown up when these people learned that the imperial army was crossing the river. At that time, the soldiers and horses crossing the river were frightened. The fifty cavalry were also shocked.
They didn't waste time setting fire to the camp, because they were also eager to escape, so they blew up the cannon and fled quickly.
At this moment, it was already mid-afternoon, and it would be dark in more than an hour. Although it was only early summer, the sunlight was still very powerful. Everyone was exhausted and dripping with sweat.
The soldiers began to evacuate quickly after dark last night. They have traveled more than a hundred miles. Apart from drinking a few sips of water, they did not eat a grain of rice or sleep a wink on the road.
.
They were already feeling depressed and had low morale. At this moment, they were even more exhausted, hungry, frustrated, and frightened. Their faces were pale, they were panting like cows, and they were walking with difficulty as if there were two lumps of iron hanging from their feet.
However, He Jinyi could not let them stop. This place was more than eighty miles away from Ningxia City, which was the closest area. Moreover, they would soon reach the scheduled crossing point, so they must not relax.
"General, the brothers are too tired. The crossing point is twenty miles ahead. We might as well let the brothers have a rest and eat something. We might as well cross the river overnight." Ding Guang came galloping from the front on horseback, full of joy.
With a greasy and sweaty face, he cupped his hands and said to He Jinyi.
He Jinyi sat on the horse with a gloomy expression and frowned: "No. When will we cross the river and when will it be safe? Are the boats at the ferry ready? There must be no mistakes."
Ding Guang hurriedly said: "Thirty small boats and more than a hundred sheepskin rafts have been prepared. However, the four thousand soldiers and horses stationed at the downstream ferry now have only more than a thousand left. The officers and soldiers in Ningxia City sent people to deliver the order yesterday.
, saying that the prince was dead and wanted them to surrender immediately. There was also internal strife here. Fortunately, Wang Shisan took action in advance and killed the two Qianhu who were about to surrender, thus curbing the matter. Otherwise, it would be really troublesome."
He Jinyi cursed, nodded and said: "Very good. Just have a boat ready. You can also cross the river with a sheepskin raft, and the current in the river in front is not too fast. You can definitely cross the river successfully in one night. Brother Ding, don't take it lightly.
We must ensure that we cross the river successfully."
Ding Guang nodded and said: "Don't worry, General, nothing will go wrong."
He Jinyi nodded and scanned the chaotic marching troops around him. The soldiers moved like ants, and their movements were too slow. He Jinyi frowned, feeling quite annoyed.
"Ouch!" A soldier not far away fell into the dust and lay on the ground panting and groaning.
He Jinyi rode over, leaned over and looked at the soldier, and shouted in a cold voice: "What's wrong? Get up and hurry up."
The soldier gasped and said: "General, I can't walk anymore. I'm too tired. Let's rest for a while."
The surrounding soldiers also stopped and looked at He Jinyi helplessly along with the rebel soldier lying on the ground.
He Jinyi shouted: "Keep on holding on, we will arrive at the ferry soon. After crossing the river and entering the Loop, we don't have to travel like this. I will order people to kill pigs and sheep to reward you."
The soldier smiled bitterly and said: "General, if we cross the river, are we surrendering to the Tatars? Then we won't be able to come back in the future. My father, mother, and sister are all in Ningxia Town. How can we not cross the river?
Surrender to the Tatars?”
The surrounding soldiers also looked at He Jinyi with expressions of prayer on their faces. Like this soldier, their families were all in Ningxia Town. Their worries were the same as this soldier's.
"Everyone, don't worry, we will come back. We are just going to avoid danger temporarily. You don't have to worry." He Jinyi shouted in a deep voice.
"General, don't lie to us. It's enough for us to rebel, but once we surrender to the Tatars, will we be able to come back? Our families may be implicated and reviled. We can't come back.
Already." The soldier lying on the ground sighed.
He Jinyi's face turned cold and he said in a deep voice: "Are you too tired to walk, or is it because you don't want to leave your parents?"
The soldier said: "It's true that I can't walk, and I don't want to leave my parents and relatives. General, why don't you accumulate virtue and do good deeds? Let us go home. We will be grateful to you for your kindness all our lives. We really
I don’t want to leave my hometown, parents and relatives.”
He Jinyi frowned and thought.
When the soldier saw He Jinyi groaning, he thought He Jinyi had been persuaded, so he got up, knelt down and kowtowed: "Please, General. Come on, let's all beg the General for mercy."
Seeing this, dozens of soldiers nearby knelt down and kowtowed, pleading loudly: "Please show mercy to the general. We are grateful to the general for his great kindness."
He Jinyi sneered and asked: "So, you all want to stay in Ningxia Town and don't want to leave here. Well, in that case, I will be merciful and let you stay."
"Ah! Are you serious? This is great..." the soldiers shouted in surprise.
He Jinyi smiled grimly and said: "Of course it's true. Not only are you allowed to stay here, but you are also allowed to stay here forever and never have to leave."
As He Jinyi spoke, the long knife on his waist suddenly rose up, shining with an arc of golden light under the setting sun. With a pop, a stream of blood splashed into the air, covering He Jinyi's head and face. The kneeling man on the ground
The heads of the soldiers who were kowtowing on the ground were already rolling around on the ground.
"Ah!" dozens of soldiers kneeling on the ground and kowtowing nearby exclaimed.
He Jinyi rode his horse into the crowd, the sword in his hand flashed, and blood splashed in the air. In the blink of an eye, he killed seven or eight soldiers.
"Want to be a deserter? Unless you die. The enemy is facing a great enemy. Are you deserting and shaking the morale of the army? If you want to stay, I will help you. If you die, you can stay."
He Jinyi was slashing and cursing angrily. There was a lot of blood splattered on his face and armor, making him as terrifying as a devil.
Upon seeing this, more than a dozen soldiers got up and ran away screaming. He Jinyi chased them on horseback, catching up and killing them all one by one.
All the soldiers nearby looked at He Jinyi in horror, their eyes full of resentment and fear.
"Why don't you hurry up? What are you waiting for me to do? You all listen to me. Whoever wants to be a deserter at this time will suffer the fate of these people. Who else wants to stay? Come forward and I will help him. "He Jinyi raised the bloody sword and shouted sharply.
All the soldiers lowered their heads and did not dare to look at him. They quickly moved forward.
The soldiers who were still walking and talking all became mute at this moment. The entire team was silent for a while, and only the sounds of chaotic footsteps and tired breathing could be heard. It was dull and depressing.