On the icy and snowy wasteland, dozens of long teams of Ming army were squirming.On the west side of the army is Lake Ruhai (Hulun Lake), but now people cannot tell the difference between land and lake surface.
By tomorrow, you will not be able to see the lake!Someone in the central army said a loud voice.
Everyone looked very bloated, and the soldiers' helmets and chain mail were wrapped in cotton cloth and felt towels, covering their ears; so they had to speak loudly so that others could hear clearly.
Zhu Gaoxu sat on the back of the horse, opened the rough map and looked at the scene in the sky for a while, and estimated that tomorrow the army would be able to walk to the northeast of the Lake of the Sea (Hulun Lake).
Except for the Ming army's men and flags, there were almost no living creatures on all sides.
At the beginning of this month, in the battle west of the Fishing Sea, the Tatars suffered a head-on attack from Liu Sheng's troops and were chased by the Ming cavalry and suffered heavy losses.
But since then, the main force of the official army has never encountered the Tatar army again.
If it weren't for the definite goal of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Gaoxu himself felt that it would be difficult to pursue it again...
In winter here, the daytime seems to be particularly short.After noon, after about two hours of march, the sky gradually dimmed, so each army chose a place to camp.
After the Central Army tent was built, thick oil cloth curtains were hung at the door.
A fire was raised in the middle of the tent, and an iron pot was hung down from the top of the tent. The soldiers threw horse meat, tea, cheese and dry food into the iron pot to cook.
The water in the iron pot was boiling, making a gurgling sound, and the white steam was mixed with a smell of meat. The meat of the dead horse has no seasonings. It smells fragrant when cooked, but it tastes very bad.
The generals gathered in the central army's tent, waiting to eat horse meat while discussing military affairs.
Everyone reported the problems of each battalion, and the injured soldiers and sick people gradually increased the burden on the baggage battalion.
Zhang Fu, the Marquis of Xincheng, suggested: I think that at this time, the troops can be divided into two groups.The injured soldiers and some baggage battalions were divided into large armies and formed the southern army, and they retreated slowly to the south first; the main elite troops were the northern army, pursuing the Tatar king's tent.After the war is settled, the two armies will reunite.
But Wu Gao immediately raised objections: Some tribes in Alutai should still be moving east of "Like the Sea Lake".If the official army's wounded and baggage leave the army, it may be easily attacked and increase losses.
Zhang Fudao: The enemy was defeated in the fishing sea. Now it is winter, and it is difficult for the Tatars to gather their troops again.We should divide our troops to protect the South Road, so there should be no major obstacles.
The two argued a few times.But Qu Neng, Wang Bin and others didn't say anything.
Soon the speech in the big tent stopped, and Zhang Fu and Wu Gao both looked at Zhu Gaoxu sideways.
Zhu Gaoxu was holding a dead branch in his hand, breaking it and adding firewood to the fire.Before he could think about Zhang Fu's strategy, he was a little distracted just now and thought about something else.
After camping today, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but examine the strategy of continuing to advance north again.
Zhu Gaoxu didn't have much hope at the beginning of how much practical benefits Ben Yari's tent had.
Perhaps the entire Northern Expedition has long been destined to be a loss-making business. Even if the Ming army had the means to steal all the grassland, it would probably not be able to make up for the huge expenses of hundreds of thousands of troops mobilized and expeditions.
However, if the court wants to change the hostile relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty, it must fight Benjali's Khan.
According to the news from Zhu Gaoxu, after Benyali Shikhan became the nominal co-lord of the grassland, his political proposition was to restore the power of the Great Yuan and promote his expansion strategies everywhere; regardless of whether the Mongolian tribes still have strength or not.
If the Ming army could eliminate Benjali's Khan headquarters, its reputation and influence should be of the greatest significance.Perhaps, this will make the Mongolian tribes a little calmer and more rational...
Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while, turned to look at Zhang Fu and Wu Gao, and said: The Forward Peace Security Department has not reported it for several days. Let's wait a moment to figure out the recent military situation before making a decision.
After hearing this, the generals clasped their fists one after another and said, "I will follow the order!"
As soon as he said this, Chen Dachui, the Marquis of Zhending, lifted the curtain, and stood at the door and bent down and said: Master, General Ping, send a quick horse to report!
Take it over.Zhu Gaoxu stretched out his hand.
Chen Dachui will submit the report.Zhu Gaoxu tore it apart and read it, then handed it to Qi Tai beside him.
After a while, Zhu Gaoxu buried his head, stretched out his hand to smooth the map in front of him, pointed his finger at the map and said: The distance we have shortened to the Beiyuan King's tent, and it is estimated that there are only two or three hundred miles left.
After hearing this, everyone gradually started talking. The generals circulated each other's report of peace, and their emotions rose a little.
Zhu Gaoxu's fingers moved on the map and said: At the beginning of the month, he learned from the Tatar prisoners that Benyari's tent was located on the east side of the Ruhai Lake and the south bank of the Xueshui River (Helal River).My vanguard sent out multiple cavalrymen, searched for their positions, and then took turns to monitor them with light cavalry.
A few days later, Benjali crossed the Xueshui River (Helal River), and retreated west along the north bank of the Xueshui River, and then cut the road to the northwest.
However, the safe light cavalry discovered a few days ago that the tribe crossed the Xueshui River again and began to move westward.
The Tatar Khan seemed to admire Temujin very much. This road was the road that Temujin had walked many times. It is said that there were camps left by Temujin along the way.
However, the Ming Dynasty's official army advanced north along the east bank of the "Luke of the Sea"; Benjali's headquarters made such a break, and the distance between the two armies was greatly shortened within a few days.
Qu Neng clasped his fists and said: I would like to attack with 20,000 elite cavalry. I will catch up with this group of people within three days and annihilate them!
Zhu Gaoxu looked at him and said: General Qu's army has fought hard, and Ping'an is in front. It is more appropriate to ask Ping'an to lead the army to attack in this battle.After saying that, he turned to look at Qi Tai. The cavalry rushed to fight for two or three hundred miles and must be fed with fine grain. Qi's ministry should mobilize military rations from the baggage battalions of each army to meet the needs of the cavalry.
Qi Tai bowed and said: The emperor clearly understands that if the official army has nothing to seize after this battle, the return journey will be able to kill the horses and fill the hunger.
Zhu Gaoxu nodded and thought for a while.
At this time, he looked back at the generals on both sides and finally slapped his thighs and said: Order Ping An, lead the army to attack the Tatar King's tent, and fight quickly.After this battle, our army immediately turned around and returned from the grasslands on the east side of the fishing sea to further weaken the strength of the Alutai tribes.
Everyone bowed one after another: The wisest emperor!
Zhu Gaoxu immediately deployed military affairs and ordered the selection of elite cavalry from the seven armies, plus a part of the cavalry of Ping'an's vanguard army, forming a cavalry brigade and handing it over to Ping'an's command.
...The Ming army had more than 200,000 soldiers, and the military ration consumed within tens of thousands of war horses was not as good as tens of thousands of war horses.
People mainly consume horse meat that was killed and injured in previous battles, as well as the robbed Tatar cattle and sheep, but war horses do not eat meat, and they can only eat military rations to fight.
In the baggage camp behind, most of the Wuhan Iron and Steel Truck transporting military rations was empty.However, more and more wounded soldiers and fell ill.
The next morning, in the military camp surrounded by Wuhan Iron and Steel Cart, there were moans and crying sounds filled with the cold air.
Starting today, the major camps will be stationed on the spot and no longer marching. The injured and sick stay in the tents, at least it will be a little better.
A soldier with a high fever after being injured was sweating just now, and then his body was shaking with coldness. Even if he was covered with a few layers of felt bedding, it would be useless.
He opened his eyes, turned his head to look at the endless wasteland outside the tent, and then saw the soldiers lying on the floor next to him, with their eyes open and their eyes were dull. It turned out that they were dead!
The wounded soldier trembled for a while and then struggled to find a dagger from under the blanket.
Unexpectedly, a baggage soldier noticed his movements, rushed up and grabbed his hand, and started yelling.
After a while, a general came over with a few soldiers.
The wounded soldier said in a trembling voice: Wang Baihu, give me some fun...
The general advised kindly: The arrow wound on your body is a flesh wound, and it will neither die nor be disabled.Brother, bear it, it will be fine when you go back.
The wounded soldier seemed to not listen to advice, and only heard the word "Go back". After his weapon was searched, he started crying there: I want to go home, go home.
The soldiers reached out to touch his floor for a while, and confirmed that there were no weapons, so they left the bed.Then several soldiers found two dead people in the tent and carried them out.
The cold land seemed to be filled with pain and death. Not only was the Ming army very difficult, but everyone here might not feel good; even the jackals and animals growing here would die in the winter.
People are different from jackals. They not only have to survive, but also find ways to kill each other's people...
At this moment, there was another situation in front of the camps of each army, and the preparations for the battle continued.
Countless cavalrymen were alive, and the war horses that were full of beans and rice were mobilized in the cold air, moving all the way to the forward Ping'an Army.
The red and blue flags fluttered in the air, bringing some vitality to the dead land.
Ping'an handed over the military power of the vanguard's infantry and cavalry to the general Wang Bin. He obtained the imperial edict himself and had taken over the newly mobilized 20,000 elite cavalry power.
In the afternoon of that day, the cavalry transferred from each army had gathered near the vanguard's camp.Ping An ordered to start immediately!
There is a vast expanse of hills on all sides, with some ups and downs.Apart from the Ming army's cavalry, no Tatars were seen around, and no one knew whether the Tatars had found out about the Ming army.
The jogging herd spread across the earth, and the air was covered with the sound of horse hooves.The Ping'an Army marched northwest in the direction of the vanguard's light cavalry.
The Xueshui River (Hailar River) is directly north of the vanguard's position, and the Ming army will not be able to reach this river again.
The Ministry of Peace will rush from the west bank of the Xueshui River to the northeast of the Lake Ruhai in the next two to three days.
According to this arrangement, the Ming army would catch up with Benyali's tent somewhere northwest of Fengquan (Manzhouli).
By tomorrow, you will not be able to see the lake!Someone in the central army said a loud voice.
Everyone looked very bloated, and the soldiers' helmets and chain mail were wrapped in cotton cloth and felt towels, covering their ears; so they had to speak loudly so that others could hear clearly.
Zhu Gaoxu sat on the back of the horse, opened the rough map and looked at the scene in the sky for a while, and estimated that tomorrow the army would be able to walk to the northeast of the Lake of the Sea (Hulun Lake).
Except for the Ming army's men and flags, there were almost no living creatures on all sides.
At the beginning of this month, in the battle west of the Fishing Sea, the Tatars suffered a head-on attack from Liu Sheng's troops and were chased by the Ming cavalry and suffered heavy losses.
But since then, the main force of the official army has never encountered the Tatar army again.
If it weren't for the definite goal of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Zhu Gaoxu himself felt that it would be difficult to pursue it again...
In winter here, the daytime seems to be particularly short.After noon, after about two hours of march, the sky gradually dimmed, so each army chose a place to camp.
After the Central Army tent was built, thick oil cloth curtains were hung at the door.
A fire was raised in the middle of the tent, and an iron pot was hung down from the top of the tent. The soldiers threw horse meat, tea, cheese and dry food into the iron pot to cook.
The water in the iron pot was boiling, making a gurgling sound, and the white steam was mixed with a smell of meat. The meat of the dead horse has no seasonings. It smells fragrant when cooked, but it tastes very bad.
The generals gathered in the central army's tent, waiting to eat horse meat while discussing military affairs.
Everyone reported the problems of each battalion, and the injured soldiers and sick people gradually increased the burden on the baggage battalion.
Zhang Fu, the Marquis of Xincheng, suggested: I think that at this time, the troops can be divided into two groups.The injured soldiers and some baggage battalions were divided into large armies and formed the southern army, and they retreated slowly to the south first; the main elite troops were the northern army, pursuing the Tatar king's tent.After the war is settled, the two armies will reunite.
But Wu Gao immediately raised objections: Some tribes in Alutai should still be moving east of "Like the Sea Lake".If the official army's wounded and baggage leave the army, it may be easily attacked and increase losses.
Zhang Fudao: The enemy was defeated in the fishing sea. Now it is winter, and it is difficult for the Tatars to gather their troops again.We should divide our troops to protect the South Road, so there should be no major obstacles.
The two argued a few times.But Qu Neng, Wang Bin and others didn't say anything.
Soon the speech in the big tent stopped, and Zhang Fu and Wu Gao both looked at Zhu Gaoxu sideways.
Zhu Gaoxu was holding a dead branch in his hand, breaking it and adding firewood to the fire.Before he could think about Zhang Fu's strategy, he was a little distracted just now and thought about something else.
After camping today, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but examine the strategy of continuing to advance north again.
Zhu Gaoxu didn't have much hope at the beginning of how much practical benefits Ben Yari's tent had.
Perhaps the entire Northern Expedition has long been destined to be a loss-making business. Even if the Ming army had the means to steal all the grassland, it would probably not be able to make up for the huge expenses of hundreds of thousands of troops mobilized and expeditions.
However, if the court wants to change the hostile relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty, it must fight Benjali's Khan.
According to the news from Zhu Gaoxu, after Benyali Shikhan became the nominal co-lord of the grassland, his political proposition was to restore the power of the Great Yuan and promote his expansion strategies everywhere; regardless of whether the Mongolian tribes still have strength or not.
If the Ming army could eliminate Benjali's Khan headquarters, its reputation and influence should be of the greatest significance.Perhaps, this will make the Mongolian tribes a little calmer and more rational...
Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while, turned to look at Zhang Fu and Wu Gao, and said: The Forward Peace Security Department has not reported it for several days. Let's wait a moment to figure out the recent military situation before making a decision.
After hearing this, the generals clasped their fists one after another and said, "I will follow the order!"
As soon as he said this, Chen Dachui, the Marquis of Zhending, lifted the curtain, and stood at the door and bent down and said: Master, General Ping, send a quick horse to report!
Take it over.Zhu Gaoxu stretched out his hand.
Chen Dachui will submit the report.Zhu Gaoxu tore it apart and read it, then handed it to Qi Tai beside him.
After a while, Zhu Gaoxu buried his head, stretched out his hand to smooth the map in front of him, pointed his finger at the map and said: The distance we have shortened to the Beiyuan King's tent, and it is estimated that there are only two or three hundred miles left.
After hearing this, everyone gradually started talking. The generals circulated each other's report of peace, and their emotions rose a little.
Zhu Gaoxu's fingers moved on the map and said: At the beginning of the month, he learned from the Tatar prisoners that Benyari's tent was located on the east side of the Ruhai Lake and the south bank of the Xueshui River (Helal River).My vanguard sent out multiple cavalrymen, searched for their positions, and then took turns to monitor them with light cavalry.
A few days later, Benjali crossed the Xueshui River (Helal River), and retreated west along the north bank of the Xueshui River, and then cut the road to the northwest.
However, the safe light cavalry discovered a few days ago that the tribe crossed the Xueshui River again and began to move westward.
The Tatar Khan seemed to admire Temujin very much. This road was the road that Temujin had walked many times. It is said that there were camps left by Temujin along the way.
However, the Ming Dynasty's official army advanced north along the east bank of the "Luke of the Sea"; Benjali's headquarters made such a break, and the distance between the two armies was greatly shortened within a few days.
Qu Neng clasped his fists and said: I would like to attack with 20,000 elite cavalry. I will catch up with this group of people within three days and annihilate them!
Zhu Gaoxu looked at him and said: General Qu's army has fought hard, and Ping'an is in front. It is more appropriate to ask Ping'an to lead the army to attack in this battle.After saying that, he turned to look at Qi Tai. The cavalry rushed to fight for two or three hundred miles and must be fed with fine grain. Qi's ministry should mobilize military rations from the baggage battalions of each army to meet the needs of the cavalry.
Qi Tai bowed and said: The emperor clearly understands that if the official army has nothing to seize after this battle, the return journey will be able to kill the horses and fill the hunger.
Zhu Gaoxu nodded and thought for a while.
At this time, he looked back at the generals on both sides and finally slapped his thighs and said: Order Ping An, lead the army to attack the Tatar King's tent, and fight quickly.After this battle, our army immediately turned around and returned from the grasslands on the east side of the fishing sea to further weaken the strength of the Alutai tribes.
Everyone bowed one after another: The wisest emperor!
Zhu Gaoxu immediately deployed military affairs and ordered the selection of elite cavalry from the seven armies, plus a part of the cavalry of Ping'an's vanguard army, forming a cavalry brigade and handing it over to Ping'an's command.
...The Ming army had more than 200,000 soldiers, and the military ration consumed within tens of thousands of war horses was not as good as tens of thousands of war horses.
People mainly consume horse meat that was killed and injured in previous battles, as well as the robbed Tatar cattle and sheep, but war horses do not eat meat, and they can only eat military rations to fight.
In the baggage camp behind, most of the Wuhan Iron and Steel Truck transporting military rations was empty.However, more and more wounded soldiers and fell ill.
The next morning, in the military camp surrounded by Wuhan Iron and Steel Cart, there were moans and crying sounds filled with the cold air.
Starting today, the major camps will be stationed on the spot and no longer marching. The injured and sick stay in the tents, at least it will be a little better.
A soldier with a high fever after being injured was sweating just now, and then his body was shaking with coldness. Even if he was covered with a few layers of felt bedding, it would be useless.
He opened his eyes, turned his head to look at the endless wasteland outside the tent, and then saw the soldiers lying on the floor next to him, with their eyes open and their eyes were dull. It turned out that they were dead!
The wounded soldier trembled for a while and then struggled to find a dagger from under the blanket.
Unexpectedly, a baggage soldier noticed his movements, rushed up and grabbed his hand, and started yelling.
After a while, a general came over with a few soldiers.
The wounded soldier said in a trembling voice: Wang Baihu, give me some fun...
The general advised kindly: The arrow wound on your body is a flesh wound, and it will neither die nor be disabled.Brother, bear it, it will be fine when you go back.
The wounded soldier seemed to not listen to advice, and only heard the word "Go back". After his weapon was searched, he started crying there: I want to go home, go home.
The soldiers reached out to touch his floor for a while, and confirmed that there were no weapons, so they left the bed.Then several soldiers found two dead people in the tent and carried them out.
The cold land seemed to be filled with pain and death. Not only was the Ming army very difficult, but everyone here might not feel good; even the jackals and animals growing here would die in the winter.
People are different from jackals. They not only have to survive, but also find ways to kill each other's people...
At this moment, there was another situation in front of the camps of each army, and the preparations for the battle continued.
Countless cavalrymen were alive, and the war horses that were full of beans and rice were mobilized in the cold air, moving all the way to the forward Ping'an Army.
The red and blue flags fluttered in the air, bringing some vitality to the dead land.
Ping'an handed over the military power of the vanguard's infantry and cavalry to the general Wang Bin. He obtained the imperial edict himself and had taken over the newly mobilized 20,000 elite cavalry power.
In the afternoon of that day, the cavalry transferred from each army had gathered near the vanguard's camp.Ping An ordered to start immediately!
There is a vast expanse of hills on all sides, with some ups and downs.Apart from the Ming army's cavalry, no Tatars were seen around, and no one knew whether the Tatars had found out about the Ming army.
The jogging herd spread across the earth, and the air was covered with the sound of horse hooves.The Ping'an Army marched northwest in the direction of the vanguard's light cavalry.
The Xueshui River (Hailar River) is directly north of the vanguard's position, and the Ming army will not be able to reach this river again.
The Ministry of Peace will rush from the west bank of the Xueshui River to the northeast of the Lake Ruhai in the next two to three days.
According to this arrangement, the Ming army would catch up with Benyali's tent somewhere northwest of Fengquan (Manzhouli).
![[Xuanhuan Novels] Ge Lifu's Travels: The Little Man Country - Good writing style, supernatural, different world, different country](/templates/nvshen/themes/img/thumb_1.png)