Hulunbuir, later generations generally connected these two words together, and many people also thought that there was a lake called Hulunbuir Lake.
But in fact they are two lakes, two sister lakes, Hulun Lake and Bell Lake.
At this time, the two lakes had not been called together, and Hulun Lake was called "栲栳溺" by the Khitan people.
栲栳 probably means a cylindrical container made of wicker. Luo is pronounced PO here, which has the same pronunciation as Bo and has the same meaning.
In the south of Hulun Lake, the smaller Bell Lake is called Yulerluo. It is very likely that the name of this lake in later generations, Bell, originated from Yulerluo.
And Zhang Zhou's cavalry blocked the large lake where tens of thousands of cavalry fled, just to catch fish.
As for why they were overtaken, it was not because of the speed of the Zhou army's cavalry, but because these tribal cavalry had no place to run.
The reason why they ran so fast before was because the women, children, old and weak people who had brought the baggage had gone ahead for two or three days. The fleeing prairie cavalry only had to ride alone to catch up.
I can't run away now, of course, because of the dragging down of the old, weak, women and children.
You must know that they can't just mount a horse and run away. Clothes, carriages, livestock, food and grass, and everything else must be brought with them. If they don't bring these, running out will mean death.
Moreover, the estimate of the former army scouts was also wrong. Those who were blocked in Yuerluo were not 30,000 prairie cavalry, but at least 70,000 to 80,000 old, weak, women, and children, plus almost 20,000 cavalry.
Zhe Deyuan and Yeluhe came to pay homage, but they were all a bit disgraced and cautious.
They received Zhang Gao's order and left the fortress on the third day of September, but like Zhang Gao, they basically encountered no grassland tribes along the way.
At this time, the grassland, like the Central Plains, was suffering from harsh climate and constant wars, and the population plummeted. It is estimated that the total number of all ethnic groups in Monan and Mobei is about 700,000.
Among them, the three tribes of Beizhu Bu and the Dalimi and Yefu tribes, which were barely controlled by them, totaled 256,000 people.
There are about 200,000 enemy soldiers in the Eight Divisions, and there are only 200,000 to 300,000 people in other places. It is normal that you can't encounter anyone when you go out of the fortress.
What's even more tragic is that they lost their way the first time they left the fortress. In the end, Zhe Deyuan was afraid of getting stuck in the Monan Gobi, so he had no choice but to return and make preparations before setting off again.
This time, they crossed the Great Gobi relatively smoothly, but after they caught some small Xizubu tribes who could not escape and asked about it, they found out that the Mobei War was over.
Now Zhe Deyuan, Yelu He, and Yelu Sizhong were dumbfounded. Especially Yelu He and Yelu Sizhong were in a state of confusion. This was a serious crime of missing the deadline!
Although Zhe Deyuan was the commander-in-chief of the army and had leadership responsibilities, Zhe Deyuan was the emperor's adopted son and was married to the emperor's niece Princess Changle. Both his father and brother were high-ranking officials with outstanding merits.
With such a profound background, even if he was offered an official position, he could only go home and recuperate for two years, and then he could become an official again when the emperor's anger subsided.
But the Khitans like Yeluhe and Yelu Sizhong, who were promoted because of extra mercy, might be the ones taking the blame.
So when they learned that the main force had gone east to fight against the Eight Tribes of Dilie, Yeluhe and Yelu Sizhong firmly refused to return and must follow the main force to the east.
Zhe Deyuan didn't get any military honors, but he was actually not happy about it. Moreover, when he went out to the fortress this time, he could only lead more than a thousand fine cavalry from Datong Prefecture and Bingzhou. The rest were brought by Yeluhe and others from the four tribes of Khitan.
people.
The two of them advocated heading east, and Zhe Deyuan wanted to stop them by force, which was exactly what Zhe Deyuan wanted.
So they ran all the way east, towards the later Erenhot, and on the way they met the vanguard of Yan Jin's army who had left the fortress from Datong Prefecture.
It turned out that after Yan Jin received the order, he immediately selected 20,000 infantry and cavalry to go north.
Zhang Yan is currently ranked at the top. Even though he was at a numerical disadvantage, he was still able to compete with Guo Wei. He succeeded in preventing Liu Zhiyuan from becoming a big general in Hebei when Zhang Yan was conquering Huainan. Naturally, he was not Zhe Deyuan, Yelu Sizhong and others.
Comparable.
While these guys were still wandering on the grassland, Yan Jin had already personally led his army to defeat the last stronghold of the Khitans and went to Linhuang Mansion in Beijing.
In this battle, the Khitan coalition forces were defeated, more than 3,000 people were beheaded, 60,000 to 70,000 people were captured, and countless supplies were seized, including more than 200,000 shi of food.
Now that he knew Yan Jin was nearby, Zhe Deyuan was overjoyed. Yan Jin's head was big enough, so he was right to listen.
So the two armies then joined forces and went north to defeat the black chariot Shiwei.
The Black Chezi Shiwei, also known as the Black Chezi Dadan, were nomadic in the Xilin Gol League in later generations. They had a close relationship with the Xi people and the Khitan people.
When Yelu Abaoji established the Liao Kingdom, a considerable number of them were absorbed into the Liao Kingdom.
Shuluping's natal family was originally very close to Hei Chezi Shiwei, so they were also Shuluping's staunch supporters.
With the addition of Yan Jin, who was willing to have eight thousand cavalry, the cavalry force immediately increased to 20,000 cavalry, and there were also 10,000 elite infantry. The combat effectiveness was more than doubled.
In this battle, the black chariot Shiwei was directly defeated, but among the more than 4,000 of them, more than 3,000 were killed, and they were almost on the verge of destruction.
At this point in the battle, the fog of war had dispersed. Zhe Deyuan had so many Khitan people under his command, and they were very familiar with the geographical conditions of this generation.
So Zhe De was willing to order Yelv Sizhong to lead two thousand cavalry to serve as guides for Yan Jin, and let them guide Yan Jin's troops to continue northward to clear out the tribes loyal to the Khitan in the greater Xianbei Mountains.
Yan Jin then handed over one of his Taiyuan elite cavalry to Zhe Deyuan and asked them to continue heading north to reinforce Zhang Xian.
Yan Jin believed that among the more than 30,000 people led by Zhang Yan, more than 20,000 were recruited from Helong who had never been on the battlefield. It was still a bit dangerous to travel thousands of miles to fight against the enemy's eight tribes, so he quickly let him go.
Zhe De is willing to go north for reinforcements.
However, Zhe De hoped that they would be late if they hurriedly hurried and took their time to get there.
Uh! It's not too late. With them, the herdsmen around Yu'erluo can't escape.
Looking at the anxious looks of Zhe Deyuan and Yelu, Zhang Hao didn't want to do anything to them.
How should I put it? Zhe Deyuan's ability was originally considered poor among his adopted sons. Zhang Gao used him to guard Datong because he actually liked his reliability and stability.
This time they were ordered to leave the fortress, and they were given less than a month of preparation time in total.
The ten thousand households in the four upper Khitan tribes controlled by Yeluhe, Yelu Sizhong and others were not originally led by Zhe Deyuan, but were temporarily under the command of Ningxia Province's defense envoy, Yang Jiye's father, Yang Hongxin.
Under a hasty order, he commanded unfamiliar soldiers and generals. Zhe De wished that there were no major problems and he also made some small achievements in a decent manner. This was enough.
For the people below, the requirements of military law must be strict, but there are some things that should not be too demanding.
Seeing that the emperor had no intention of pursuing them, Zhe Deyuan and Yeluhe felt much more at ease.
With the arrival of their army, Zhang Zhi's troops suddenly became richer and he could take action against the few hundred thousand people in Yuerluo.
....
A gust of cold wind blew, and Zhang Yan, who was wearing a leather robe, couldn't help shivering. It was so damn cold that even the war horse under his crotch neighed slightly in discomfort.
Although the surrounding soldiers remained motionless, Zhang Yan could clearly see that their faces were all cold and red.
The pursuing officers and soldiers of the Zhou army were all in this state, and the herdsmen on the opposite side were even more unbearable. At least the Zhou army still had a piece of cloth-covered iron armor to block them, while most of the herdsmen on the opposite side only had a single piece of clothing.
Not to mention fur robes, even on the grassland, they are only available to nobles. Ordinary herdsmen stay warm in winter, firstly by not going out, and secondly by various rotten animal skins or animal hairs collected in daily life.
Now they were fleeing in a hurry. In order to reduce their burden, many of them did not bring any thick clothes at all. When the cold wind blew, there was a sound of teeth chattering along the fishing line.
Zhang Gao raised his eyes and saw that these were not soldiers. Most of them were herdsmen with runny noses due to the cold. It was estimated that with just a few charges, they could be driven into the fishing pond.
Does Shu Luping, a vicious woman, want to drag these little 100,000 people to be buried with her?
Zhang Yan couldn't help but feel a little angry. Even though there were a few hundred thousand people on the opposite side, they were all frightened birds and a large number of old, weak, women and children. They couldn't withstand a few attacks. This was not a battle, it was just a massacre.
"Sage, you can't go to war! If you drive a hundred thousand herdsmen into Yuerluo just to sue an old woman like Luping, the image of the Supreme God's great mercy will not be upheld.
Moreover, there are very few people on the grassland now. If the saint wants to use them as a base to attack other Huangtou tribes, he cannot do without these 100,000 people."
Yuan Heng looked at Zhang Gao with a worried look on his face, as if he was afraid that Zhang Gao would immediately order an attack.
How could Zhang Gao not know that this was Shu Luping's poisonous plan? These Six Dharma Sects on the grassland have always claimed that the Supreme Heaven is the spokesperson of the Buddha, with great wisdom, great wisdom, and great compassion.
But if one hundred thousand people were killed in one war, most of them were old, weak, women and children, no matter how you look at it, you would not be merciful.
But if we don't fight, if we can still find ways to slowly disintegrate on weekdays, but now it's October, tens of thousands of troops are wearing single clothes, and they won't retreat within ten days. If a heavy snow suddenly comes, they won't be able to leave even if they want to.
.
After thinking about it for a while, Zhang Hao waved his hand and said, "Ask Li Cunhui to command and open a small gap to the east. All units will attack in sequence according to plan!"
No matter how merciful and merciful the Supreme God is, he cannot risk the lives of tens of thousands of his elite men, so Zhang Yan decided to take action.
Suddenly, the sky was filled with cries, and nearly 100,000 people were surrounded by the small lake. Many people even stood in the lake in the cold wind. The frightened cattle and sheep clung to their owners.
They were next to each other, as if they were all crying.
Zhao Jingangnu raised the bow and arrow in his hand, but he still couldn't make a choice between left and right.
The laws on the grasslands are different from those in the Central Plains. People in the Central Plains talk about the old and the old, and the young and the young. They always put the protection of the old and the young first.
On the grassland, survival pressure is extremely high, and an adult and strong man is the hope for the survival of the entire tribe.
Therefore, when there is no other choice, the choice of grassland herdsmen must be to sacrifice the weak and leave the strong so that the ethnic group can continue.
Therefore, Zhao Jingangnu faced almost half-year-old children, old men with gray beards and hair, or entirely women.
They held various wooden spears and even farm tools in their hands, crying desperately, trying to defend themselves with the poor things in their hands.
Li Cunhui scratched his head. He didn't have as much inexplicable sympathy from later generations as Zhang Xian. Apart from feeling that it was a pity to kill so many healthy women among them, he had almost no pity in his heart.
This is a natural killer who is rarely restricted by other factors besides victory. He looked at Feng Jiye, the son of Feng Hui, and said beside him.
"The boys in Helong have read too much and are a little reluctant to do anything. Feng Silang, you lead your troops out into battle and teach them a lesson.
Now on the battlefield, no matter he is a man or a woman, he is an enemy, and no one can be soft-hearted on the battlefield."
Feng Jiye nodded in agreement, not feeling embarrassed at all that Li Cunhui asked him to massacre the old, weak, women and children across from him.
This guy who grew up in a group of top warriors like Yin Qiang Xiao Jie Du was also a talented killer. Historically, he even dared to kill his brother who stood in his way. Killing a few herdsmen was nothing.
As soon as Feng Jiye left, the grassland retinue cavalry brought by Huang Yingda and others also began to take action. These people still did not hesitate.
The old and weak in the periphery were like withered grass, being killed one by one and fell to the ground. With the influence of Feng Jiye and the retinue of cavalry, Helong Jian'er, who had been a little reluctant just now, gradually relaxed his hands and feet.
Zhang Hao didn't know whether he should call for a stop. He really didn't know whether this almost massacre-like combat method was good or bad for an army.
Fortunately, there was someone who couldn't stand it before Zhang Yan, so Zhang Shengren didn't have to worry about it.
On a bullock cart by the lake, Han Kuangye jumped anxiously. He looked at his third brother Han Kuangsi and said.
"I said that the Queen Mother has lost her mind, but you still don't believe me. If he really thinks he treats you well, then he should really treat you as one of his own. He wants to drag our family to be buried with the Khitan people."
Han Kuangsi wanted to refute, but he felt that what his brother said was reasonable. How could a great leader like Shao Ming be restrained by such a woman's kindness?
After a while, Han Kuangsi nodded, "I'm going to find Xiao Siwen. My second brother asked Si Lang and Wu Lang to follow me. If he still refuses, I'll kill him too."