When the military information from Yingzhou was received, the Xuanfu commander-in-chief Zhu Zhen and the general Zuo Qin had arrived in Datong, while the rest of the Xuanfu troops were still on their way.
"Finally caught you!"
Zhu Houzhao was overjoyed when he heard this, and immediately decided without consulting his generals: "Send an order for the entire army to go south and rush to the aid of Yingzhou!"
"Your Majesty," Jiang Bin immediately advised, "it won't be too late to wait until the Xuanfu army arrives, and then we can set out for rescue together."
Zhu Houzhao said: "The opportunity on the battlefield is fleeting, how can we wait any longer?"
Jiang Bin added: "Your Majesty..."
Zhu Houzhao said angrily: "Call me the mighty general!"
"Mighty General," Jiang Bin changed his words, "Governor Wang is always victorious and undefeated. He is a famous general on the battlefield. It is better to listen to his thoughts."
Zhu Houzhao asked: "What do Erlang think?"
Wang Yuan did not answer directly, but said: "Your Majesty, these days, I have been following Vice General Tao (Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Xuanfu Tao Gao), General Yang (Xuanfu General Yang Yu), General Hang (Yan Yan)
Sui Counselor Hang Xiong) and others discussed the military situation. I carefully understood the habits of the Tatar bandits and found that they would not attack any city when their strength was less than 100,000."
"What exactly do you want to say?" Zhu Houzhao asked impatiently.
Wang Yuan explained: "The siege of Yingzhou is really strange. I am afraid that it was General Wang's Datong Mansion troops. They were discovered by the main force of bandits when they were going south. The Tatar thieves therefore deliberately besieged the city, hoping to siege the city to reinforce and eat General Wang's troops.
The top priority now is to order General Wang to garrison the city nearby to avoid falling into the trap set by the enemy!"
"Yes, that's right!"
Jiang Bin, Xu Tai, Li Cong, Shen Zhou, Zhu Zhen, Zuo Qin, Tao Gao, Yang Yu, Hang Xiong and other generals all agreed with Wang Yuan's suggestion. They had all fought against the Tatars, even if they had not before
Thinking of it, they all understood after being reminded by Wang Yuan.
Zhu Houzhao said: "The Tatars can set traps, but I, the general, cannot set traps? I just want to use the officers and soldiers of Datong Prefecture as bait to hold back the main force of the Tatars, and then lead the army to annihilate them in one fell swoop!"
Wang Yuan advised: "I'm afraid General Wang won't be able to bear it."
"You have to carry it if you can't, otherwise what's the use of him?" Zhu Houzhao didn't listen to the advice at all.
"Your Majesty..." Eunuch Zhang Yong also wanted to persuade.
Zhu Houzhao interrupted directly and said: "Whoever dares to persuade me again will immediately seize the power to command the army and stay in Datong Mansion to wait for news of my triumph!"
All the generals were speechless for a moment, they just cursed in their hearts.
Zhu Houzhao added: "Send orders to Wang Xun and Zhang Xi, if they can't hold back the main Tatar force, no matter how many enemies they kill, I will remove them from their posts and investigate them!"
Wang Yuan didn't know how to evaluate it at all. He knew that the enemy was besieging the city for reinforcements, but instead of acting cautiously, he let the generals at the front take the initiative to attack.
It can only be remedied.
Wang Yuan said: "Your Majesty, please send an order to all the troops in the Xuanfu to have their cavalry abandon their infantry and come at full speed to join forces. Even if your Majesty wants a decisive battle, you must have a large-scale cavalry team, otherwise the Tatars will flee.
There’s no way to stop it!”
"Alternatively, let the Xuanfu army and cavalry under its command speed up immediately if they haven't arrived yet," Zhu Houzhao said, "That's it. The whole army is ready today and will set off early tomorrow morning!"
Wang Yuan, Jiang Bin, and Zhang Yong, a civil servant, a military general, and a eunuch, usually dislike each other, but they got together after the military meeting.
"Governor Wang, General Zhu (Jiang Bin)," Zhang Yong said, rubbing his forehead, "Our family always feels that something is not good. You two are both good at fighting, but you must protect His Majesty's safety."
Jiang Bin said depressedly: "His Majesty is going his own way, who can persuade him? He is not willing to wait for a few more days!"
Wang Yuan smiled and said: "The Xuanfu army has come in two or three batches in the past few days. Our strength is close to 40,000. Even if Your Majesty insists on going south in advance, as long as you are careful, you are not afraid of losing your troops."
Jiang Bin hesitated to speak, too lazy to speak anymore.
In fact, if the emperor was not here, this battle would be much easier to fight. But with the emperor there, many military deployments were useless, and Wang Yuan and others did not even dare to divide their troops.
…
Wang Xun and Zhang Xi, who were marching slowly, looked ashen when they received the military order, feeling that the emperor was just asking them to die.
You will be out of town, and your orders will be ignored, but this time you are out too!
If they don't hold back the main Tatar force and put them in jail, what other options do Wang Xun and Zhang Min have? Just hurry up and die.
The closer they get to Yingzhou City, the more Mongolian sentries there are. Zhang Yu's sentries can no longer escape, and the entire battlefield information is obscured by the Mongolian sentries.
Wang Xun and Zhang Xi only knew that there was the main Tatar force ahead, but they did not know how many enemies there were.
Fortunately, they are all veteran generals. Although they are unable to attack, they are more than enough to protect themselves.
Even during the march, they were very cautious. The Mongolian cavalry could only circle around and had no chance to order an attack.
North of Yingzhou City, Wuli Village.
This village has been captured by the Tatars. Dayan Khan personally took charge and recalled troops from various places. He had more than 10,000 cavalry around him.
"Report, the Datong Ming Army has arrived ten miles north of the stronghold! They are marching in good order. Our cavalry has harassed them with several feint attacks, but they have not panicked. They can't find a good opportunity to attack for the time being."
Dayan Khan got on his horse and said, "All the men of the grassland, come with me to meet the Ming army."
Dayan Khan led the 10,000 Mongolian main force and took the initiative to go out of the stronghold to fight Wang Xun.
In the northwest of Yingzhou, Datong Right Guards Commander Ma Sheng and Pinglu Guards Commander Gao Shi also followed a group of Mongolian cavalry from a distance. They were supposed to be the first batch of officers and soldiers to engage with the enemy, but they encountered
The enemy defended the city to the death, and only slowly followed after the enemy left.
They actually followed from the border of the Great Wall to the outside of Yingzhou City without fighting a single battle along the way!
Especially Datong Youwei, that place is in Yulin. The Mongols crossed the Great Wall and collided with each other. It's awesome that they haven't lost a single soldier yet.
Dayan Khan received military information that Ming troops appeared in the northwest, and he was originally worried about being surrounded.
Unexpectedly, a moment later, another sentry came over to report that the Ming army in the northwest had gone directly to Yingzhou to defend the city.
Dayan Khan laughed loudly: "The Han people are so cowardly. The friendly forces are fighting here, but they are so scared that they hide in the city."
More than ten thousand Mongolian cavalry deployed and surrounded the Datong Prefecture army.
Wang Xun and Zhang Xi felt extremely cold instantly. Together with the civilian men in the transport team, their strength was barely over 10,000. How could they fight in the field with the same number of Mongolian cavalry?
Fortunately, the two marched cautiously, and after discovering a large group of cavalry, they immediately formed a vehicle formation with baggage vehicles.
However, the formation of vehicles was still not enough to cover the entire army, leaving a huge gap facing the Mongolian cavalry.
Soon, three thousand Mongolian light cavalry launched a tentative attack. They rushed straight into the Ming army's formation. Another two thousand cavalry on the left and right wings rushed out and fired arrows to harass. If this move could cause a disturbance, the entire Mongolian army would rush forward.
Wang Xun and Zhang Xi's pro-troops served as the law enforcement team and killed a dozen panicked civilians. The troops quickly stabilized.
Both sides shot arrows at each other, but neither side took any advantage.
The Mongols were running and firing volleys, and their formation was loose. It was difficult for the Ming army's bows and arrows to hit the target. However, the range of the cavalry shooting was closer, so the Mongolian cavalry did not dare to get too close, and they also did not kill many enemies.
In the gap between the car formations, three thousand Mongolian cavalry rushed towards them.
The Ming army used their shield-hands to withstand a round of cavalry fire, and suddenly unleashed their firecrackers. A total of two thousand firecrackers, coupled with ten small general cannons, blasted at the oncoming enemy.
In the sixth year of Zhengde, Wang Jing, the governor of Shanxi, made more than 10,000 firecrackers. Eleven years later, there were still two to three thousand of those firecrackers available, and they were all equipped in the hands of Datong Prefecture officers and soldiers!
As for those small general cannons, they were actually installed in wheelbarrows. This type of gun carriage was invented by Yang Yiqing.
The three thousand Mongolian light cavalry charging ahead suffered nearly a hundred casualties in an instant. They were originally a tentative attack, and it was impossible for the light cavalry to charge into the formation. As long as the Ming army did not mess up their positions, let alone use firearms to effectively fight back.
Dayan Khan could only reorganize the attack and send light cavalry to shoot arrows at a certain distance in an attempt to put psychological pressure on the Ming army, thus consuming the Ming army's gunpowder.
Wang Xun shouted: "The Tatars are not within shooting range and are not allowed to fire muskets and shoot arrows at will. Violators will be punished by military law!"
The fighting lasted from noon to evening, with both sides killing each other, but that was all.
The Mongols couldn't get in, and the Ming army couldn't get out.
At the same time, Liaodong General Xiao Chu, who was responsible for supporting the front line, and Xuanfu guerrilla Shichun, also followed the enemy all the way to the vicinity of Yingzhou. They were also very good. They followed the enemy for about ten days, but they did not fire an arrow or a single soldier.
Not damaged.
Because Dayan Khan ordered the army to assemble, the enemies they were "pursuing" also moved closer to Yingzhou, so the two of them came to Yingzhou inadvertently.
The troops of Wang Xun, Zhang Xi, Xiao Chu, and Shi Chun were all surrounded. As long as Dayan Khan continued to harass and attack, the classic siege and reinforcement tactics could be realized.
Why is it said that Zhu Houzhao won because of his overwhelming luck?
Because in history, whenever Dayan Khan was preparing to launch a general offensive the next day, he would encounter heavy fog inexplicably, and it was full of fog in the morning for several days in a row!
Otherwise, how could Wang Xun hold back the main Mongolian force? He would have been completely eaten up long ago.
But if you understand the situation in Shanxi, you will know that heavy fog does often occur in Datong Town during this season.
It was getting dark, and Wang Xun and Zhang Min had sad faces. Their current situation was very embarrassing.
Although the Mongolian army retreated, they left two thousand sentry cavalry nearby. Once they withdrew in the middle of the night, they would be followed by the Mongolian army, and the retreat was likely to turn into a rout. But they have been staying here, and the Mongolian cavalry is slowly grinding every day.
, in just two or three days, the morale of his troops will collapse.
The situation that Wang Yuan and the border generals were most worried about appeared. This was all due to the emperor's random military orders.
In the middle of the night, veteran general Zhang Xi was inspecting the military camp. Suddenly he bent down and touched the weeds on the ground. He suddenly laughed happily: "The dew is very heavy tonight."
When I went back and told Wang Xun, Wang Xun immediately issued an order: "All the troops should take off their belts, lead them in pairs, and withdraw to the city tomorrow morning!"
The next morning, heavy fog filled the air.
Dayan Khan could only postpone the attack, but Wang Xun and Zhang Shi, who were familiar with the terrain, used their sight in the fog less than two meters away to move the entire army towards Yingzhou City without leaving even the artillery carriages and baggage behind.
Xiao Tan and Shi Chun on the other side were also watched by the enemy cavalry and did not dare to move. They felt that they would definitely die this time. Unexpectedly, when they woke up, the surrounding fields were filled with fog, and the two men immediately organized their troops and set off. They were not familiar with the terrain.
, they could only move in the general direction, and when the fog cleared, they actually ran to the south of Yingzhou City.
Wang Xun, Zhang Xi, Xiao Chu, Shi Chun, as well as Ma Sheng and Gao Shi who had previously hid in the city, the three forces safely met in Yingzhou City.
Therefore, when fighting in ancient times, it was important to know astronomy.
The right time, the right location, the right people, and the right time come first.