Chapter 587: Notes on Journey to the West (Part 2)
In early October, the temperature in Xining was already very cold.
At the entrance of Nerduo Gorge in Nanchuan, which is about dozens of miles away from the Acropolis of Xining, three battalions of thousands of Ming troops were equipped for battle.
Counselor Military Affairs Lin Tailai bent down and curiously looked at the 350-pound cannon in front of him.
Dingfeng inspected, and Governor Shi walked over halfway and asked: "What are you doing here?"
Lin Tailai stood up, shook his head and said, "This cannon is too old and it's time to replace it with a new one."
Mr. Shi is not someone who knows nothing about military affairs, otherwise he would not have been ordered to be sent to the front line of Xining at this critical moment.
After hearing this, he said: "Are you talking about the new powerful long-range cannon? It has not been deployed here yet."
The newly released Dawei long-range cannon is not only more advanced in manufacturing technology than the old iron-hooked cannon, but also more powerful while being lighter. It is also equipped with a front sight and a rear sight, making the shooting more accurate.
Lin Tailai casually drew a pie: "When I return to the capital, I will try to take charge of the Arms Bureau and make arrangements for you as soon as possible!"
Master Shi: "."
Is it true that a famous man from Hanlin is so willful? He can run whatever yamen he wants to do as he pleases?
After finishing the chat, Lin Tailai said in confusion: "As the commander-in-chief, why did you come to me for a chat instead of inspecting the camp?"
Master Shi said a little nervously: "Is it possible?"
Under Lin Tailai's persuasion, the Taolu tribes began to leave the West Sea and return to the north.
Then Lin Tailai got mysterious information. The leader of the Hailu, Walatabu Nang, led thousands of fine cavalry, using the Taolu tribe returning to the north as a cover, in an attempt to approach the Xining Acropolis and carry out a sneak attack and plunder.
Later, the mysterious information became more and more accurate, and Lin Tailai was clearly informed that the Walatabang would pass through the Nerduo Gorge on roughly these two days.
Therefore, under the strong support of Lin Tailai, Counselor of Military Affairs, Xining Guard made targeted arrangements.
Master Shi and Lin Tailai led three battalions of 5,100 troops, dozens of miles out of the city, and ambush the enemy in front of the Nerduo Gorge.
Another guerrilla general, Dayun, who was transferred from Gansu, led 2,000 Han cavalry and surrounded them from both sides of the canyon.
Taking the initiative this time was a bit risky, and I didn't ask the governor for permission.
As the war approached, Mr. Shi, who was solely responsible for Xining's affairs, couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
Ming Dynasty had suffered two consecutive defeats before and could not afford to lose again.
He couldn't help but surrounded Lin Tailai and kept asking "Can it be done?"
Lin Tailai was annoyed by the question and replied: "I don't know if it will work. I won't know until after the fight!"
Master Shi almost jumped up, "You promised, you will win!"
Lin Tailai deliberately sighed in a nonchalant manner: "It's up to people to plan things, but it's up to God to make things happen! If I lose the battle, I will be dismissed from the Third Department of Doctors and become a Hanlin."
Master Shi was immediately filled with anger, "Most of the Xining Guard's troops have been pulled out!
If you lose the battle and you still want to be dismissed from office, just commit suicide here and die for your country!"
Lin Tailai shouted: "Then what are you thinking about? Just do it!"
"But..." Mr. Shi said again: "Even if Walata Bu Nang invades, wouldn't it be possible to defend and counterattack based on the Xining Acropolis?
After all, the risk of going dozens of miles out of the city to meet an attack is relatively high, and it is not enough to be cautious."
Lin Tailai explained: "The terrain around Xining Acropolis is not convenient for setting up ambushes and outflanking, and it is difficult to inflict heavy damage on the captives.
Besides, if we can’t leave the city and watch the captives plundering the surrounding areas, what’s the point of holding on to it?”
Master Shi came here to adjust his mood in Lin Tai, and then went to inspect the military formation calmly.
The overall landform of Hehuang Land is very unique, with mountains and rivers mixed in, resulting in many valleys and canyons.
Nerduo Gorge is the main transportation route from the south bank of the West Sea to Xining Acropolis, and it is also the only place that Walatab Nang must pass on its current marching route.
This time, three battalions of officers and soldiers set up positions at the mouth of the gorge to block the thousands of main cavalry from Walatabunang.
Each battalion has 400 cavalry, 1,300 infantry, and 100 artillery pieces of various types.
Nowadays, the Ming army mostly uses chariot formations to deal with the captive cavalry.
The large vehicles are horizontal and the small vehicles are vertical, forming a circle. There are carbines in the open space between the vehicles, and the infantry and gunners are covered in the vehicle array.
Especially in unopened places like the mouth of the gorge, it is more conducive to vehicle formations to block the attack.
After a round of inspection, Master Shi had new worries, so he came to harass Lin Tai again and asked, "Will the Walat divination bag come?"
Lin Tailai replied: "Walata Bu Nang was born well and has always been proud and arrogant. He also defeated our army and has a very arrogant temperament.
So he will definitely come, and even if he sees that our army is on guard, he will not retreat easily."
Everyone knows that under the leadership of Lao Anda, there are 30,000 households in the northern barbarian right wing, which are divided into three major groups: Tumut, Aoerdusi (Ordos), and Yongshaobu.
Among them, Yongshaobu is divided into two parts, one is in the east, and the other stayed in Qinghai after following Lao Anda to welcome the Buddha in Qinghai, guarding the holy land of Yanghua Temple.
Walata Bu Nang is the leader of the Bu tribe who stayed in Yongshao, Qinghai, and is also one of the three largest leaders who are causing trouble in the sea today.
So all in all, Walata Bu Nang and Bu Tu Jinong, who was dissatisfied with the horse market quota, were both relatives of Sanniangzi's husband's family.
Thinking of this, Lin Tailai couldn't help but sigh, these women are not merciless when selling relatives.
Those who sell them are all relatives with high nominal political status, "relatives of the emperor" at the level of princes.
Why does it feel a bit like Wu Zetian killing Li Tang's clan?
Forget it, stop complaining, it’s not easy for a woman to be in charge.
An hour later, the fighting started.
Just as Lin Tailai said, when the vanguard of the Walatap Nang army saw the Ming army blocking the gorge, the Walatabunang, who was used to running rampant, had no idea of retreat and directly led his army to attack the formation.
Suddenly there was a loud sound of cannons and arrows flying.
The two sides fought for more than half an hour and fought for several rounds, but the Walatabunang army still did not push back the Ming army, let alone break the position.
This is normal. Under normal circumstances, it is difficult for the cavalry to break through a well-prepared vehicle formation.
Just when the thousands of captive cavalry were exhausted and were dismounting in large numbers to rest, suddenly the guerrilla general Dayun led 2,000 Han cavalry and came out from behind the canyon.
The gunfire from the front rang out again, pouring out all the last ammunition.
Lin Tailai, who had been watching for a long time, immediately got on his horse, and under the protection of his servants, he led 1,200 cavalry to press forward in a roundabout way, forming a front and rear pincer attack on the captive cavalry.
The thousands of fine knights who were blocked at the mouth of the canyon immediately collapsed and scattered in all directions to seize the road and flee.
The Ming army was not good at fighting the highly mobile Luqi, and it was difficult to achieve a perfect annihilation record.
Especially the leaders of the cavalry, even if they lose the battle, they can always escape under the desperate cover of their personal guards.
When later generations look at the achievements of the Ming army, they can always see words such as "the chieftain only escaped with his own body."
Lin Tailai used the spirit of beating a drowned dog and chased the large number of fleeing captives for twenty or thirty miles before calling for gold and withdrawing his troops.
According to preliminary statistics, more than 800 people were beheaded in this battle, which basically defeated the main force of the Walatab Nang tribe. It was regarded as the first major victory in Xihai in the past two years.
That night, Lin Tailai, Mr. Shi and the guerrilla general Dayun had a few drinks to celebrate the victory.
In history, Dayun was also a famous general in the west. He defeated the pirates several times and made great contributions to eliminate the major troubles in the west. He rose to the rank of governor of the left and the chief military officer of Gansu.
Knowing that this person could fight, Lin Tailai felt confident and let Dayun attack from behind.
Today's great victory actually refers to and imitates Dayun's battle deployment in history.
Seeing that Lin Tailai seemed a little unhappy, Master Shi, who felt relaxed, asked, "What's wrong? Why are you sighing so much?"
Lin Tailai sighed: "Unfortunately, my martial arts skills are of little use in today's battle formations, and I cannot fight with a thousand enemies against ten thousand enemies.
It may also be that I have fought too many battles involving hundreds of people, and I am still not used to fighting such battles involving tens of thousands of people."
Master Shi: "."
Lin Tailai, do you really think of yourself as a military general? Do you still want to think of yourself as Xiang Yu?
Dayun, the ancestor of the Fan clan who has been Chineseized, held the wine bowl in his hand and said regretfully: "Today's opportunity is very good, but it's a pity that the captive leader Walata Bu Nang escaped."
Then he cursed: "This group of shameless captive chiefs will become rampant once they gain power, but if they are defeated, they will often apologize and beg the court for forgiveness!"
Lin Tailai was about to chime in and say a few words, when suddenly Zhang Wen, the Zuo protector, walked into the tent and whispered softly to Lin Tailai: "There is someone looking for you outside, from Madam's side."
Lin Tailai frowned slightly and said to Master Shi and Dayun: "You two drink first, I'll come back as soon as I can."
Master Shi and Dayun didn't pay much attention, thinking that Lin Tailai had gone out to use the toilet.
After a while, Lin Tailai was seen striding back to the tent, but with one more thing in his hand.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a human head.
Dayun smiled and said: "Counsellor Lin, do you want to use this head to record merit?"
Lin Tailai said loudly: "This is the head of Walata's divination bag, and I captured it!"
Damn it! Dayun was shocked!
When they went into battle during the day, they found nothing, so the captive chief escaped.
Sitting here drinking at night, Lin Tailai was able to chop off the head of the chieftain from the air. What kind of mysterious power is this?
Damou has been in the army for twenty years and has never seen such a bizarre beheading.
Is this Walata a fool? He has obviously escaped from the battlefield, but he can still be beheaded?
Lord Shi looked at Lin Tailai thoughtfully, he was indeed a contemporary Han Derang.
It is rumored that Lin Tailai can become a grand master immediately as long as he moves to Beilu. It seems that this rumor is true.
After coming back to his senses, Dayun immediately suggested: "We should take advantage of the opportunity when Walata Bu Nang is dead, the main force is defeated, and the remnant bandits are leaderless, to continue marching and sweep the south bank of the West Sea in a large scale!"
After Lin Tailai thought for a while, he said to Dayun: "Just leave the matter of sweeping the south bank of the West Sea to Master Shi."
Da Yun is confused, so what is Da Yun doing?
Lin Tailai added: "The captives will pass through Gansu when they return from the north to the east. I will follow and monitor them all the way, but there will be no generals accompanying them.
And Commander Da was transferred from Gansu and is familiar with the situation in Gansu, so I would like to ask Commander Da to follow me."
Da Yun was reluctant, it was so satisfying to sweep the West Sea, and he could get more credit by clearing out the remaining bandits.
The job of following and "escorting" captives out of the country is really boring.
But he was temporarily transferred from Gansu just to cooperate with Lin Tailai, the military counselor, and he could not refuse Lin Tailai's normal orders.
In Taozhou City, the new governor Zheng Luo, who was personally in charge here, summoned the newly appointed military commander Li Chengzhi and some newly transferred generals to discuss the situation.
"We must not be impatient at the moment and must be steady. We can no longer afford to lose, so we must be conservative for the time being.
There is no need to take risks in the military, focus on political measures, give priority to defense, train soldiers, and repair border walls!
Use two to three years to recover, accumulate military strength, isolate the Hailu, and then launch a multi-pronged raid to fight the Hailu!"
Governor Zheng was talking when he saw an officer from Biao Camp rushing into the lobby and shouted:
"Urgent report from Xining! Great victory! The Xining guards set up an ambush to attack the Waratah Bu Nang tribe. They fought fiercely for half a day and beheaded more than 800 people. Lin Tailai, the military counselor, beheaded the chief Waratah Bu Nang!"
Governor Zheng: "."
This sounds very unreasonable and does not conform to my own strategic policy.
Everyone in the hall glanced at the governor secretly, and saw that the governor's face was stunned and motionless.
After a while, Governor Zheng came back to his senses and said to everyone: "Fortunately, we won. If we failed, we would be doomed!
If even the Acropolis of Xining is lost, then we have lost an arm!
Therefore, although it is a great achievement, this kind of risky behavior is still not encouraged by this ministry."
Then Governor Zheng asked again: "Where is Lin Tailai?"
This kind of behavior of starting a war lightly is Lin Tailai's style at first glance. Neither Shi Jiancha nor Dayun has such courage.
The Chinese officer replied: "Lin Tailai has left Xining and followed the surveillance captives through Gansu and out of the country."
Governor Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. It is Lin Tailai's main task to send the captive gifts out of the country.
When Lin Tailai completes this task, he must be transferred back to his side as soon as possible. Lin Tailai cannot be left alone in an important frontline city.
It was very important for the Taolu to return to the desert via Gansu, and Yu Zhizhen, the governor of Gansu who was stationed in the Hexi Corridor, also personally participated in the monitoring.
In Shuiquanbao, Military Counselor Lin Tailai met with Governor Yu and held talks.
Lin Tailai waved away the rest of the crowd and whispered: "Yu Zhongcheng, I have important news about Songlu.
But I don’t think this matter needs to be reported to Governor Zheng. You must first agree to keep it confidential before I can tell you.”
Governor Yu: "."
You actually want to go behind the governor's back. What on earth do you, Lin Tailai, want to do?
Lin Tailai added: "I just think it's enough for you and me to share the work. There's no need for one more person."
A few days later, Lin Tailai, Dayun, and Governor Yu stood on Ganjun Mountain on the Gansu border. Looking north, they could already see a large number of captives.
"Commander Da, do you still regret it? Do you still want to stay in the West Sea and conduct raids?" Lin Tailai said calmly.
Dayun's face was full of disbelief: "No way? Are the members of Bu Shitu Ji Nong really here?
Do they really want to take advantage of the chaotic situation when the captives are crossing the border and rush across Hexi to the West Sea?
Counselor Lin, how do you know so accurately?"
Lin Tailai said impatiently: "Stop talking nonsense! It's all credit, hurry up and do it!"
Dayun said doubtfully: "Counsellor Lin won't personally participate in the battle?"
Lin Tailai stood with his hands behind his hands and sighed: "Life is really as lonely as snow.
No matter how hard you fight in battle, the result will not be as good as killing a captive chieftain. I'd better wait here for the behead of Jiminong, the lost rabbit."
Dayun: "."
If there are three major directions: Taohe, Gansu, and Xining, you Lin Tailai can handle two directions in one month.
If the fire falls red, the truth is Taiji, Walata is the fortune teller, fortune teller is the rabbit to benefit farmers, and Qingbadu'er are the five great chaos chiefs. You, Lin Tailai, can kill two of them in a month.