Bright Spring

The Ming army's right-wing cavalry rushed straight forward, and then outflanked and attacked from the right front.Holding an iron ax in his hand, Ping An also charged along with the army. He waved his weapon in the air for a long time, but he never caught up with anyone.The enemy fought and left. Some people were surrounded by the Ming army and were quickly killed by the superior Ming army; some enemy cavalry had already run northwest.

The cavalry from all walks of life chased for a long time, and at this time a large tent camp in the distance gradually appeared in people's sight.People on horseback continued to rush out from the distant camp, and fled in all directions like panicked ants.

"Northern Yuan King's Tent!" Someone shouted, and all the troops shouted one after another.After running for hundreds of miles, everyone finally found their target!

Under Ping'an's order, the left battalion cavalry rushed to the enemy's camp in the distance first.Crazy cavalry poured into the camp in the distance like mountains and seas, as if they were going to flatten everything.

... The sun has fallen on the horizon, and the light on the land is gradually dimming.However, a more dazzling flame has replaced it.

The cavalry of the Ming army rushed into the Tatar camp, and soon set fire to it. The tents on all sides ignited raging fires one after another, illuminating the sky brightly.Fire-arrows dragging black smoke, shining and flying in the air, like fireworks.

Even the huge Northern Yuan King's Tent was set ablaze; the big tent burned extremely vigorously, and the flames soared into the sky, like a big bonfire.Many Tatars ran around between the tents, and the Ming army's rebellious soldiers riding horses in the fire also rushed around.There was a lot of noise in the camps everywhere, and screams and cries could be heard everywhere.

The soldiers couldn't tell which ones were herders and which ones were enemy soldiers. At this time, the army was also in chaos, and they were simply slaughtering.Some Tatars seemed to be begging for mercy, but the Ming soldiers did not understand.

Outside a tent, a Han woman-slave curled up in a corner just woke up from a coma.She suddenly saw the turmoil around her, smoke and fire everywhere, and she didn't know what happened, so she looked around in a daze.

When she was panicking, she suddenly saw a group of soldiers running on horseback. Those people were actually wearing Chinese armor!She stood there in a daze, as if she still felt that she was dreaming.

At this time, the Tatar general in the tent ran out with a bow and arrow. When the woman saw the man, she took two steps back in fright.

"Da da da..." The sound of horse hoofs sounded in front of him, and he rushed past the Tatar general, and suddenly slashed him sideways. With a "click", the Tatar general's bow was split in two, and he fell to the ground with a scream.

A moment later, a Ming cavalryman got on his horse, stepped forward and kicked the Tatar, threw himself on the Tatar, swung his waist knife, and slashed at his neck.Until the bloody head was chopped off, the knight carried the head and went away satisfied.

The trembling woman leaning against the tent stared at the headless corpse on the ground with rounded eyes.She could hardly believe that the Tatar who had been ravaging her like a nightmare for more than a year had died like this!

At this moment, she saw a horse rushing towards her, and the man on the horse pointed his bow and arrow at her.The woman finally came to her senses and shouted: "My family is Han!"

The cavalryman actually heard it, and there was a "snap" sound, and the cavalryman raised his hand and shot the arrow into the air, and then patted his horse and whizzed past.

More and more tents were on fire, and the chill seemed to be dispelled in the brightly lit camp.

Chapter 698 Unfinished Victory

"Good news! Good news..." Several cavalry rushed into the camp of the Ming army, and couldn't wait to start yelling loudly.Many soldiers heard the movement and looked in the direction of the sound in the barracks.

Zhu Gaoxu and others in the camp of the Chinese Army were also alarmed, and they walked out of the big tent afterward.

Only then did Zhu Gaoxu realize that at some point in the sky, heavy snow fell again.The countless felt tents in the camp had already been covered with a layer of white snow.

On the permafrost that was originally barren, the sky was full of snowflakes, but it seemed to add a bit of vitality.

Yiqi, who had just been put into the camp of the Chinese army, turned over and dismounted in the snowflakes.He should have seen Zhu Gaoxu too, so he strode forward, took out the lacquered memorial, knelt down on one knee and said loudly: "My lord, the forward Duke E has broken the Tatar king's tent, and the last general sent back the victory report! "

Wen Wu at the gate of the big tent spoke, congratulating Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu took the good news and read it first.

Yesterday in the land of Fengquan and the Ministry of Security, a group of Tatar cavalry blocked and killed hundreds of enemies; then the Ming army pursued to the vicinity of the Tatar king's tent, and immediately burned down its large tents, tents, vehicles and other materials, and sent the Tatars The Tartar camp was completely destroyed... But Ben Yali escaped sweating in this battle, and the remaining Tatar tribes and Arutai troops never showed up.

Zhu Gaoxu handed the report to Qi Tai and the others, and looked up at the surrounding snow scene.Amidst the white snowflakes, the vast wasteland became hazy, and nothing could be seen on the land except the Ming army's barracks.

After everyone talked outside for a while, Zhu Gaoxu turned around and returned to the big tent, where he sat cross-legged before.There is also a map in front of him.

Not long after Qi Tai came in, he quickly stepped forward and said, "My lord, I think it's time to retreat."

Zhu Gaoxu turned his head and glanced at him, Qi Tai's face was very serious in the firelight, and he immediately bent down.

Qu Neng, Zhang Fu, Liu Sheng and others also stopped discussing quickly, and the atmosphere in the tent became very strange.Everyone is not unhappy, nor is it heavy, but it is not a surprise.

Not quite as expected, or so.

After all, the imperial court dispatched 30 to [-] troops, including the elite Ming army who had experienced many battles, as well as many fierce generals who survived previous wars;

There was not even a decent battle, and many battles were almost always harassed and chased by a small number of enemy troops.The only time when the Tatar army dispatched tens of thousands of cavalry, under Liu Shengjun's fierce firearms counterattack, the main enemy army ran away in a day.

No wonder the generals have such an expression.Compared with the life-and-death decisive battle of 10 people in the "Battle of the Lake", there is really no decent battle on the grassland during this Northern Expedition...

"Ben Yali lost his sweat and left the king's tent to escape. Alutai's troops have dispersed. It is difficult for our army to find a clear target now." Zhu Gaoxu finally said, "And our army's rations are exhausted, it is indeed time to retreat. .”

All the generals had no objection, and everyone echoed one after another: "Your Majesty is wise."

Qi Tai said: "In this northern expedition, the officers and soldiers won the Tatar King's Banner, which was quite a gain. At the same time, they burned a large number of Tatar tents and pastures. With the current strength of the Mongolian Kingdom, it has been greatly weakened like this. Congratulations to the Holy Majesty for deterring all parts of the north and punishing the Tatars for their crimes of disturbing the border!"

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu followed Qi Tai's words, nodded and said: "Qi Butang is right. The Northern Expedition has won a complete victory. After returning to the court, I will reward you for your merits."

After hearing this, all the generals thanked each other.

The people of the Ming Dynasty, and even the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty, may not really understand how much the strength of the Mongolian Kingdom was weakened by the Ming Army's Northern Expedition.However, breaking through the king's tent and capturing the king's banner must be used as a proof that one can sing praises.It was also out of this consideration that Zhu Gaoxu insisted on continuing to advance northward for hundreds of miles, and finally allowed Ping An to catch up with Ben Yali's sweaty Wang Zhang.

Only achievements that can be written can make all parts of the north fear the imperial court's force.

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a while, then clapped his hands on his legs, and said decisively: "Send someone to send an order for safety, and immediately lead the vanguard back to find the main force of the Chinese army to join. The battalions of the army will set off tomorrow, and return from the east road. Sweep the pastures of the tribes of Alutai."

"The minister waits to obey the order!" The civil and military officials clasped their fists and saluted together, saying in unison.

After discussing the matter, everyone thanked and resigned one after another.Zhu Gaoxu still stayed in the big tent of the Chinese army.

In front of him is a large rough map, because the map covers a large area, it is obviously not very accurate.However, at a glance, the northern area where the Eastern and Western Mongolian tribes are active is obviously larger than the entire territory of the Ming Dynasty!

This time Zhu Gaoxu led an army to attack for thousands of miles, but actually only hit the main forces in Eastern Mongolia.To the west, there are the tribes of Wacha, and to the west, there are the forces of various khanates. These forces are scattered and active in the vast territory of thousands of miles.

Zhu Gaoxu deeply felt that the way of fighting this time would make it difficult for Ming Dynasty to maintain its national strength.

However, before he set off on the expedition, he never planned to solve the problems in the north in one go. In addition to attacking the Tatar forces this time, he also planned to solve the problem of the vassal kings in the Ming Dynasty.So when Zhu Gaoxu thought of this, he didn't feel much frustration.

Thinking back to history-on Zhu Di's five expeditions to Mongolia, which lasted for more than 20 years, still failed to completely eliminate the Mongolian forces.However, Zhu Gaoxu's weapons and tactics have not changed much at this time, and it seems that it is just a dream to win a decisive victory at once.

Zhu Gaoxu could only think of another way, thinking hard about the northern border defense strategy since the Hongwu period, trying to find an effective method...

In the early morning of the next day, the seven armies, the main force of the Ming army, pulled out their camps one after another and began to head south and east.The Chinese army did not wait for the Ministry of Security, because the Ping'an army was cavalry and could catch up with the main army in a few days.

When they came, a large number of WISCO vehicles brought with the army were filled with grain sacks; at this time, most of them were replaced by injured soldiers who could not walk.The wounded soldiers were covered with thick felt blankets, and their heads were also tightly wrapped, with only their faces exposed.People were still looking back to the north in the car, as if they were watching the land where the Ming army fought all the way.

The Chinese army has already decided on the general route of returning to the division.In the northern section, go to the "Lake Like the Sea" and east of Yuyuerhai. There are large pastures here; the tribes under the rule of Alutai in Mongolia (Northern Yuan Dynasty) may have been active in these places.

While marching, the army will send out cavalry to burn down the tents and pastures of the Tatar tribes along the way, destroying their supplies for the winter, in order to further weaken the number of people and animals of the Tatar tribes, and to retaliate against the looting, burning, and killing of the border of the Ming Dynasty last year. .

After the army marches to the south of Diaoyuerhai, the Ming army will find the way they came and return on the same way.There are still some corpses of Ming soldiers buried on the road, which have to be dug out and transported away.

After that, as long as the armies go to Kaipingwei (Xilinguole League), the situation will improve.A few months ago, the Ming army had established a warehouse there, and it happened to be able to get supplies in time for the return journey.

... The fire in the land of Fengquan has not been completely extinguished, and the wooden carts and logs on the camp are still burning.Smoke mixed with snowflakes drifted together in the wind, and the air was filled with the sound of howling wind.

The snowflakes all over the sky did not extinguish the embers of Mars, but only covered countless corpses under the snow.

On the snowy ground, many soldiers of the Ming army were looking down for something, as if they were picking fruits on the ground.From time to time, the sound of "click, click" chopping sounded, and the sound of hatchets was like chopping hard wood; but the soldiers were not chopping wood, but frozen corpses!