After receiving Zhu Yuanzhang's transfer order, Xu Da immediately led his elite soldiers and rushed to Lanzhou at a speed of 800 miles to take charge of the overall situation.
We changed horses and rested along the way, never staying overnight, and finally arrived in Lanzhou in ten days.
At this time, a large number of supplies and troops transferred from Guanzhong to Lanzhou had not yet arrived, and the officers, soldiers and people of Lanzhou Xingdu Division were in chaos.
A large number of victims flooded outside the city, and many warehouses of the Ming army were also damaged in the earthquake.
Many people were worried that Wang Baobao would take this opportunity to attack Lanzhou, and many people fled their homes and poured into the city.
Many generals in the Ming army were afraid that Wang Baobao would come to attack, so they took the initiative to shrink the defense line, abandoned some seriously damaged fortresses, and gathered their troops in several big cities. However, after Xu Da arrived, he had completely opposite views on this.
, he felt that the Mongolian and Yuan troops must have received news of the Lanzhou earthquake disaster before he did.
But there was no attack on Lanzhou for such a long time, which shows that Wang Baobao must have other intentions.
On the one hand, Xu Da presided over the affairs of Lanzhou Xingdu Division, and on the other hand, he sent people to inquire about Wang Baobao's movements.
Sure enough, as Xu Da expected, the Mongolian and Yuan troops under Wang Baobao did not come to Lanzhou to attack, but turned their heads to the west to fight with the Golden Horde.
"God is really helping me! The opportunity to regain the Western Region and conquer Huozhou is right in front of me!"
After Xu Da got the news, he immediately clapped his arms happily.
However, his words shocked his generals.
The Ming army has now suffered considerable losses, and its various weapons and food reserves are seriously insufficient.
Under such circumstances, how could it be possible to attack Huozhou, which Wang Baobao was strictly defending?
"Marshal, think twice before you act..."
"Marshal, this might be a trap set by the Tatars, just waiting for us to fall into their trap!"
"Yes, Marshal, we cannot take risks easily now. Once the attack on Huozhou fails, Lanzhou will also be in danger!"
…
In response to the objections of these generals, Xu Da insisted on his own opinions.
Finally, in the name of Lanzhou Dusi Generalissimo, he made the decision to personally lead his army to Huozhou to attack.
Xu Da's attack was a surprise attack, so it was naturally impossible to advance with great fanfare.
Everything highlights the word "quick".
Therefore, the size of the army Xu Da dispatched was not large. The Lanzhou Xingdu Division had 100,000 troops, but he only removed 10,000 elites.
These Ming army elites all had one person and two horses. In addition to the necessary weapons, armor and gunpowder, they only brought a small amount of the required food and grass.
This does not mean that the elite army is not human and does not need to eat, but Xu Da has his own way to solve the problem of feeding the 10,000 people in the Ming army.
When Xu Da was in charge of the Lanzhou Xingdu Division, he had already secretly bribed and won over a large number of Weiwu'er people.
Uighurs, also known as Weiwuer, their ancestors were the Uighurs who lived on the grasslands.
They originally lived a nomadic life chasing water and grass. At the end of the Tang Dynasty, they moved to the southern part of the Tianshan Mountains and gradually merged with the local ethnic groups to form a group engaged in farming and business.
The Uyghurs have extremely high business talent and are an important link on the Silk Road.
They had frequent contacts with the Ming Dynasty merchants here in Lanzhou, and naturally they gradually realized the power of the Ming Dynasty.
From the Uyghurs' perspective, the demise of Wang Baobao's Mongolian court is just a matter of time.
So after Xu Da extended an olive branch to them, these Uyghur businessmen actively welcomed him.
Now that Wang Baobao is leading his army out to fight, the interior is very empty. As long as Xu Da and his elite Ming army arrive outside Huozhou City, they can gain support from countless Uyghurs.
After all, Xu Da has made a promise to the Uyghurs to ensure their property and life safety on their own land, and after surrendering to the Ming Dynasty, Uyghur merchants will enjoy the same tax benefits as Ming Dynasty merchants.
Therefore, as long as the Ming army arrives at Huozhou City, there is no need to worry about logistics and food problems.
Xu Da led 10,000 elite troops of the Ming Dynasty and marched quickly with light equipment. After leaving Jiayuguan, he quickly cleared away the scattered scouts of the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties with lightning speed.
When Tuoin Timur and Empress Dowager Qi in Huozhou City received news that the Ming army was coming to attack, the Ming army led by Xu Da was already less than 200 miles away from Huozhou.
The distance of two hundred miles could be reached in two days if the infantry marched desperately.
If the cavalry moves forward quickly, it will only take one day.
For the Mongolian and Yuan court in Huozhou, the sudden appearance of the Ming army led by Xu Da could almost be described as a divine soldier descending from the sky.
"What to do? What to do? Think of a way!"
Empress Dowager Qi was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot.
None of them expected that the Ming army in Lanzhou would have the courage and ability to attack Huozhou after suffering an earthquake.
Moreover, they also knew that the general leading this Ming army was none other than the famous Xu Da.
Except for Wang Baobao, no one in the entire Meng Yuan court could survive two rounds under Xu Da.
Faced with the panic of Empress Dowager Qi, her brother-in-law Tuin Timur also had no way to deal with it.
"If you don't hurry up and summon the surrounding soldiers and horses to come to Huozhou to rescue, the Ming army will definitely retreat after their attack is blocked. I heard that they don't have many soldiers and horses, only 20,000 people at most!" Tuoyin posted.
Mu'er was a little unsure when she said this.
Because the Huozhou city wall is not as tall and strong as in the Central Plains, it may be difficult for the Mongolian and Yuan armies to withstand the artillery attack of the Ming army.
"No, no! The whole army is defending Huozhou. Once the Ming army breaks through the city wall, they won't be able to escape even if they want to!"
A person next to him immediately objected loudly.
This person was none other than Kong Kejian, Duke Yansheng of the Yuan Dynasty.
As an official representing the Han people, Yanshenggong Kong Kejian's voice became increasingly important in the Mongolian and Yuan court.
Moreover, as a master of fortune-telling with a family background, Kong Kejian has now grown into an escape master.
Kong Kejian's words immediately won the approval of many Mongolian nobles and generals.
They had already been frightened out of their wits by the Ming army, and their successive defeats made them extremely afraid of the Ming army.
Even if Xu Da led more than 10,000 people to attack, most of the Mongolian and Yuan generals would not dare to stop him.
In fact, in their eyes, even holding on to the city is extremely dangerous, lest they be dumped by the Ming army and end up being annihilated!
But without even seeing the shadow of the Ming army, it was really embarrassing to abandon Huozhou City and run away.
Tuoyin Timur himself was still a bit shy and had no intention of agreeing to Yan Shenggong Kong Kejian's proposal.
However, a series of news came a moment later, causing Tamerlane to immediately change his mind.
Because one after another intelligence came in, rebellions broke out in many towns where Uighurs gathered outside Huozhou City.
These Uighurs killed the generals and officials of the Mongolian garrison, raised the flag of the Ming army, and shouted to welcome the Ming army.
Obviously, the Ming army dared to take the initiative to attack Huozhou City precisely because of the internal support of these Uyghurs.
The Uyghurs are the largest ethnic group here. They joined the Ming army, which means that the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty lost their basic foundation here.
"Huozhou City will be finished sooner or later!"
Tuoyin Timur knew that Huozhou City could not hold on, so he could only order the Meng Yuan court to quickly pack up the weak and prepare to run away again.
The Ming army was approaching fiercely and marching very fast. In order to delay the Ming army and buy time to escape, Tuoyin Timur sent thousands of cavalry to stop the Ming army.
It's just that the morale of these thousands of cavalrymen is low. They know that their mission is close to death, so they naturally refuse to die obediently.
These thousands of Mongolian cavalry left the east gate of Huozhou City with their front legs and ran ten miles west of Huozhou City with their hind legs.
After learning about this situation, Meng Yuan in Huozhou City was even more panicked.
Tuoyin Timur protected the Empress Dowager Qi, the young emperor Bayan and others, and took the lead in escaping from Huozhou City.
Before leaving, Tuoin Timur ordered fires to be set everywhere in the city!
All houses, food and supplies that cannot be taken away will be burned down!
Determined not to leave anything useful to the Ming army.
Soon, Meng Yuan's escape team surged to nearly 100,000!
The Uighur towns and fortresses along the way originally planned to beat up the drowned dogs, but they were too frightened by the sheer size to move at will.
Tuoyin Timur commanded this huge escape team to go all the way west. In order to prevent the Ming army from chasing behind him, Tuoyin Timur ordered that before leaving a place, he immediately destroyed the local wells and ditches to let the Ming army follow him.
No access to drinking water.
Wang Baobao was busy sweeping away thousands of troops in the Hezhong area, and those Tianfang believers were just a bunch of lambs waiting to be slaughtered in front of him, with no power to fight back.
Just when Wang Baobao was enjoying the killing, he did not expect that his old nest would be taken away by the Ming army again.
Tuoyin Timur led the embarrassed fleeing army and met Wang Baobao.
After learning the news, Wang Baobao was so angry that he almost fell off his horse.
If the soldier next to him hadn't been quick-sighted and quick-handed to hold him up, he would have been knocked down and chewed up by a dog.
"Xu Da, you despicable villain!" It took Wang Baobao a long time to regain his clarity, but he immediately became furious again.
This news really shocked him.
He originally wanted to use the Yili Bali area as a base, and then expand the territory to the surrounding areas, at least replicating the appearance of the Western Liao Empire.
It's better now, even the old nest has been taken away by the Ming army.
Forget about Xiliao, now we can only become a bandit and embark on the road to escape again.
Wang Baobao was angry and resentful towards his brother Tuoyin Timur and Empress Dowager Qi, two incompetent people, but there was nothing he could do about them.
The most important thing now is to unite all the remaining tribesmen and find a new way out for them.
Otherwise, once these hundreds of thousands of people lose confidence during their escape, they will easily collapse.
The Hezhong area is full of enemies. Once the Tianfang believers see that they are fighting among themselves, they will definitely launch an attack and leave them without a place to die.
"The world is so big! Is there no place for me, Dayuan, to go?"
Wang Baobao looked at his more than 100,000 subordinates and family members who were in panic and confusion, and for a moment he had no idea.
Just when Wang Baobao was worried, a voice came from beside him.
"Your Highness, you have just defeated the Golden Horde. Why not take advantage of this opportunity to pursue the victory and fight all the way to Salai, the capital of the Golden Horde. As long as the city of Salai is captured, we will have millions of Slavs by then.
The people are under your command!"
The person who said this was none other than Andrei, a Slavic prisoner who had surrendered to the Yuan army not long ago.
Andrei's full name is Andrei Vasilyevich, and he is a lord of the Principality of Nizhny Novgorod.
The Principality of Nizhny Novgorod and the Principality of Moscow are the two most powerful countries among the many Slavic states under the rule of the Golden Horde.
In order to compete for the trust of the Golden Horde, the Principality of Nizhny Novgorod and the Principality of Moscow not only helped the Mongols to bully other Slavic compatriots, but they also disliked each other and often had small-scale battles.
According to what they did, the Principality of Moscow and the Principality of Nizhny Novgorod are complete Slavic traitors.
Now Andrei Vasilyevich began to want to give advice to the new Mongol master.
"Lao An, if you have any good ideas, please tell me!" Wang Baobao said with a majestic look.
During these days, Andrei and other Slavic soldiers performed very well in the process of massacring Tianfang believers, and were appreciated by Wang Baobao.
It's just that the names of these Slavs are too long, and they are very convoluted no matter how you pronounce them. Wang Baobao didn't bother to remember their long names, so he just called Andrei Lao An.
After some time of study, Andre quickly mastered a lot of Chinese.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! He was already able to speak some Mongolian, and now he can communicate with Wang Baobao more smoothly.
He often used his rude image to say flattering words. The contrast made him appear to be rude, straightforward and reliable, and he was very popular with Wang Baobao.
Now, Wang Baobao appreciates him even more and has taken Andre by his side to become a member of the Guards.
"Since there are powerful enemies in the east, let's go directly to the west!"
Andre then gave his suggestion.
It turned out that Andrei wanted Wang Baobao and the Mongolians in the east to attack the Mongols in the west, that is, the Golden Horde.
The rule of the Golden Horde was brutal and decadent, and many Slavs could no longer bear it.
Now if there is a group of Eastern Mongols to replace the rulers of these Golden Horde, then the Slavs will definitely not fight for the Golden Horde.
However, Wang Baobao has many doubts about this suggestion.
Whether they are the Mongols of the Golden Horde or the Mongols of the Yuan Dynasty, aren't they still Mongolians?
Why would the Slavs really welcome the Mongols from the East?
"Your Highness, of course it's because of religion! The Golden Horde has chosen the evil Tianfang Cult. They are the proper conquerors of the pagans. If, Your Highness, you can drive away and defeat these Tianfang Cultists and establish a country with Orthodoxy as the state religion.
Country! Those millions of Slavs will definitely obey your orders!"
Andre knew in his heart that if these Eastern Mongols could not be allowed to return to the Slavic grasslands, then they, the Slavic captives, would never have the chance to return to their homeland.
In the minds of the Slavic captives at this time, the Mongols were invincible.
Although the Golden Horde failed, it was defeated by another more powerful Mongolian group.
And Andre had seen with his own eyes the power of Wang Baobao's army.
He had no idea at all of seeking independence for the Slavic nation.
All he wanted to do was use these new conquerors for his own benefit.
Andrei felt that if he could persuade these Eastern Mongolians to convert to Orthodoxy.
That would not only help them return to the Eastern European plains, but also allow them to gain supreme glory in the church.
for any Christian denomination.
Converting a group of powerful conquerors without faith to your own religion is a great achievement.
After spending this period of time with Andrei and other Slavic prisoners, Wang Baobao already had a good understanding of the so-called Orthodox Church.