Li Qing and Zhu Zhanji galloped all the way, their horses' buttocks were almost bruised, and they finally made it back to the camp without any danger.
"Encountered an ambush?" Zhu Di asked.
"It's not an ambush." Li Qing took a breath and shook his head slightly, "Your Majesty, something is wrong."
He talked about his achievements along the way and the doubts in his heart.
Zhu Di frowned after hearing this, "There is indeed a problem."
After pondering for a long time, Zhu Di said firmly: "Mahamu must have deliberately led our troops deeper and then launched a surprise attack."
"Then what should we do?" Zhu Zhanji asked.
Zhu Di sneered and said: "All conspiracies and plots will be vulnerable in the face of absolute strength. No matter what plots he has, I will accept them all. There will always be a time when the plan will be revealed."
"Your Majesty, if Mahamu dares to do this, he must have someone to rely on. Why should we be led by his nose?" Although Li Qing's military ability is average, he still understands the basic principles.
——Don’t do what the enemy wants you to do!
Zhu Di held a different opinion, "Suppress the ten societies with one force. If we don't let the other side succeed, they will never start a decisive battle with us;
It is obvious that Wala is retreating in an orderly manner, and if this continues, it is likely to turn into a long pursuit battle. In that case, we don’t know how long the battle will last.”
Li Qing sighed and nodded slightly.
The consumption of hundreds of thousands of troops is simply terrifying. Staying for one more day is a huge expense.
Wala could afford it, but the Ming army couldn't afford it. If ten shi of grain and grass were transported to the grassland, it would be good to have three shi. In addition, there were military pay, meat and other necessary expenses. Fighting was a waste of money.
Especially a war of this scale.
"Send the order, let the army rest for a day and advance at full speed!" Zhu Di issued the military order, "Let the soldiers have a good meal and fight hard to kill the enemy on the battlefield."
Soon, the smoke from the cooking fires in the camp was curling up, and the smell of rice was mixed with the smell of meat. It smelled very appetizing.
Two quarters of an hour later, Li Yuan led his troops back after cutting off the rear. Only 3,500 of the nearly 5,000 cavalry were left. It was obvious that they had endured a fierce battle.
In the handsome camp.
Li Yuan talked about the battle, "The number of Ora cavalry is about 8,000. They are all strong and mature men. They are all strong and fierce. They are definitely the elite of Ora."
"Eight thousand?" Zhu Zhanji asked doubtfully, "Isn't this number too small?"
Zhu Di said calmly, "Wala is deliberately showing part of its strength so that we can march along their planned route."
"Your Majesty is wise!" Li Yuan cupped his hands and said.
Zhu Zhanji asked: "Then what should we do?"
"Knowing that there are tigers in the mountains, you prefer to travel to the tiger mountains!" Zhu Di snorted coldly, "I still say the same thing, no matter what Wala has in mind, he will be vulnerable in the face of absolute strength. Get ready, the army will advance tomorrow morning
.”
The generals looked at each other and bowed their hands.
~
Zhu Di and Zhu Zhanji were sitting opposite each other, and Li Qing was accompanying them. Apart from a daily official, there was no one else in the commander's camp.
"Zhanji, how does it feel on the battlefield?" Zhu Di took a sip of wine and asked, "What's the gain?"
"My blood is boiling and my heart is full of joy!" Zhu Zhanji looked yearning, and then said sarcastically, "We haven't gained much yet. Although we have won many battles, we have not broken the enemy's muscles and bones."
"I'm not asking you this...forget it." Zhu Di shook his head and laughed, "Perceive and study hard."
It was his first time on the battlefield, and Zhu Di didn't want to be too harsh. Others could tell him ten thousand words of truth, but he couldn't understand even one by himself.
As the saying goes, you have to make your own chicken soup!
Zhu Di turned to look at Li Qing, "You have gone on many expeditions, what do you think of Mahamu's behavior?"
"The Yuan people are good at riding and shooting. They make a living on the grasslands. Almost all of them are natural cavalry, and their elite must also be cavalry." Li Qing said in a deep voice, "From the current point of view, Mahamu is definitely holding back his big move!
I believe that in all likelihood, they are trying to lure our army into a dangerous area and use the cavalry to launch a surprise attack, hoping to achieve victory with this method of attack."
"Well, I think so too." Zhu Di nodded, "But they are still too optimistic. They only know themselves but not the enemy. How can our Ming army be what they think it is?"
After a pause, "Zhan Ji, if the hypothesis is true, how do you think our army should respond?"
Zhu Zhanji attached great importance to his grandfather's test. He thought carefully for a moment and said, "My grandson thinks that we should use firearms to deal with it. Although the cavalry charge is strong, it is still unable to compare with the sharp muskets and artillery."
Zhu Di laughed, obviously very satisfied with the answer.
"What else?"
"Uh... my grandson is stupid and can only think of so much." Zhu Zhanji said sarcastically.
"Where are you, Li Qing?" Zhu Di asked again.
Li Qing smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, you don't need to test me, right?"
"You have participated in so many battles, even if you are a dog, you have made progress." Zhu Di said with a straight face, "What I said is not going to work, right?"
"...I have a plan!"
"Tell me and listen."
Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief and said seriously, "The cavalry of the Yuan people are different from our Ming army. They don't like to use spears, but have a soft spot for scimitars;
Therefore, if you want to fight against the Yuanren cavalry, you must first find a way to deal with their scimitars."
"What about?"
"Mace!" Li Qing said, "As far as I know, we have at least nearly ten thousand soldiers using this weapon. Although the mace is cheap, it is the only way to fight against the Yuan people's scimitar;
The Mongolian scimitar has only one edge, but the mace is full of thorns. Once it is swung, it can effectively kill the enemy at any angle."
After a pause, "On the final main battlefield, Wala will definitely adopt a flank attack. We need to disperse the soldiers holding maces on the left and right wings, and at the same time, shrink the camp..."
Barabara...
Zhu Di nodded frequently, "Well, that's right, I think so too."
Li Qing was speechless, he felt that the fourth child was plagiarizing his idea.
After discussing strategies to deal with the enemy for nearly an hour, Zhu Di finally said, “Be prepared for an assault first, but the specific tactics will have to wait until then to plan;
After all, it is still uncertain what tactics Wala will use. We will wait until the decisive battle battlefield."
"Your Majesty is wise." Li Qing said a cliche and returned to the camp.
In the evening, Zhu Zhanji came over with wine and meat, invited Li Qing to eat and drink, and asked Li Qing for advice on the thirteen fatal shots.
…
The next day, the army advanced again.
Hundreds of thousands of combat troops were marching on the grassland. The target was too big to hide from others. Zhu Di didn't even think about hiding it. He just wanted to crush it with force.
Don’t you, Mahamu, want to lure the enemy deeper?
Okay, I'll show it to you!
The Ming army was like a steamroller, leaving no grass behind wherever it went. The Oara army retreated again and again, and those who were killed were completely defeated.
The army fought and won again and again, winning and fighting again and again, looking at where it was heading.
Under such a battle, the Ming army advanced very quickly. In just a few days, they marched more than a hundred miles, and Oara could not stop them at all.
~
the other side.
Mahamu, who had been repeatedly defeated in battles, not only did not worry, but seemed extremely happy after learning the Ming army's march route.
"Everyone, the Ming army has been dazzled by the victory and is falling into the trap we set step by step." Mahamu was full of confidence, "This time, we will definitely win!"
The generals were also extremely excited and confident of victory.
They all responded in unison: "We will definitely win!"
Mahamu was in high spirits and looked at his son, "Are you all ready?"
"Father, don't worry, all the elites have gathered on the predetermined battlefield." Tuohuan said with an excited expression, "As soon as the Ming army arrives, they will be given a head-on blow!"
"Very good." Mahamu said, "After defeating the main force of the Ming army, you take 20,000 troops to cut off their food and grass supplies, and then counterattack from the rear."
At this moment, his ambitions were unprecedentedly high. "The day when the Ming army will be completely annihilated will be when we counterattack the Ming Dynasty. We will take control of the Central Plains and it will be just around the corner!"
All the faces of the generals turned red. Finally, they could return to the Central Plains without having to live in the wind, sun or wind.
When they thought about the wealth of the Central Plains, they were so excited that they wanted to go crazy.
…
Here, the Ming army marched again after defeating a small group of Wala troops.
Along the way, there were more than ten battles, and each battle was a crushing victory, but the achievements were not great because the size of the Oara army was too small.
The army continued to march forward for dozens of miles without fighting a decent battle. They only encountered a few Oara squads of dozens of people, who seemed to be specifically guiding the Ming army.
In the handsome camp.
Zhu Di unfolded the map, observed it carefully for a long time, and said firmly: "The decisive battle is coming!"
"Where is the battlefield?" Zhu Zhanji asked.
Zhu Di pointed to the mountainous area in the corner of the map, "Fifty miles ahead, there is a sudden loss of temperature!"