Chapter 339 The night that decided the fate of Datong Town
Chapter 339 The night that decided the fate of Datong Town
The Battle of Heye Mountain 2.0 became the Battle of Jingping.
The Tatar offensive was so fierce that it was difficult to see clearly at night.
Outside the west gate of Jingping, amid the whistling sound of "hot and hot", the enemy cavalry braved the city wall and fired arrows and cannonballs in panic, and then returned the favor.
The buzzing sound of the bow string was oscillating, and Liu Kai suddenly hid behind the wall.
He didn't dare to look at it very much, but there were still people under his command who dared to take a look.
Then he said in panic: "General, the Tatars want to tear down the city wall, they are serious!"
"Ah?" Liu Kai lost his voice, "Did they leave in the afternoon to plunder hoe and rake from the surrounding villages?"
When the Tatars raided the border, they usually destroyed one or two forts to frighten the Ming border troops.
When the Mongols were at their peak in siege, they still had tools like trebuchets, but now the most commonly used method is to dig out the roots of walls.
The specific method is: while the cavalry shoots arrows to suppress the defenders on the city wall, light cavalry are sent with hoes and other useful tools to dig a gap at the root of the city wall.
There are many people and strength, coupled with the climate and soil conditions in the northern border towns, the Ming Dynasty fortresses are old and in disrepair and not all have moats, etc. Don't tell me, this trick is very effective.
Now, the cavalrymen of Gunbilik's brigade took turns throwing rain of arrows to suppress the city defenders, and a team of a thousand people had already rushed to the bottom of the city wall, throwing away their arms and brandishing the iron hoes they had looted along the way.
Waiting for farm tools.
That sound, every hoe and the blow, rang in Liu Kai's heart.
"Quick! Falling rocks! Boiling oil! Golden soup!"
"Whoosh!"
A powerful Tatar arrow passed by his ear, and Liu Kai's voice broke: "Quick! They are all here, let Lao Peng from the east of the city bring them over!"
Gunbilik also urged: "Hurry up!"
The people led by the Datong General were being watched and harassed by the sentries he had arranged. They were now in a tight formation and were marching slowly.
The good news is: they didn't know why, but they stayed outside the mountain pass leading to Jingping, maybe because they were worried about ambushing him.
The bad news is that Datong's commander-in-chief showed up here in person, and we don't know what happened over there in Anda.
How could he leave the more important Datong and come here in person? Unless Anda no longer threatens Datong.
Was he sold by that boy from Anda? He broke through Yutailing and plundered, then withdrew. He wanted to bury his Ordos tribe here and use the fat river to make up for the losses he suffered last year?
Gunbilik couldn't control that much anymore: while the general of Datong was delayed, he wanted to break through the incompetent Jingping as quickly as possible.
After plundering the Jingping, go back to Ying'en Castle via the better road that hasn't been plundered yet, and exit.
Only in this way can something be gained.
There is always something to gain!
That night, he was frantically attacking Jingping, and Guo Xun was arranging people to go frantically to explore the way: the Tatar retreat was too strange, and the mountain road leading to Jingping must not become his own fatal road!
Now he couldn't sleep until about four o'clock in the morning when someone arrived at his temporary camp.
"Are you under Yu Dayou? Seriously?"
"It's absolutely true. When the Marquis came here on patrol, he..."
He dressed up as an ordinary hunter, but he quickly used many details to prove his identity. Only if his identity is reliable, his words will be taken seriously.
So when he finished the rest of his words, Guo Xu jumped up in surprise: "Did the Tatars really suffer such a big loss at the foot of Huangya Mountain?"
"After the battle at noon yesterday, the Tatars had no choice but to go to Jingping in a rage. The Tatars had no choice but to go to Jingping in anger. The younger one was a local, and relying on the route, he was sent out by General Yu to investigate the situation. Mr. Hou, at least the Tatars
There are still more than 2,000 people left to watch us, but 70% of them are wounded soldiers. However, we have a lot of casualties and are almost out of food, grass and ammunition, but we dare not go down the mountain easily for fear that the Tatars are deceiving us."
"What a Yu Dayou! What a brave general!" He asked quickly, "If you come from the mountain leading to the west of Jingping, can you see that there is an ambush hidden by the Tatars?"
"No. The villain first went to the west of Jingping to take a peek. The Tatars are attacking Jingping, but there are only more than a thousand people."
Guo Xun asked in confusion: "Only more than a thousand people?"
"When the villain arrived, there were indeed only more than a thousand people. However, the Tatars seemed to have won a battle. The villain saw them burning a pile of corpses. They should be Jingping's brothers." The man gritted his teeth, "At least there are
Four to five hundred brothers!”
Guo Xun clenched his fists loudly: Liu Kai is such a idiot!
"I met the Lu chief at Heye Mountain. He immediately turned back to Jingping. Did you see it? Or did you hear any noise in the mountain?"
Thousands of people were on their way, and the noise and smoke should be considerable.
"There are a lot of Tatar scouts at the moment. I took the risk to take a peek at the situation in Jingping, and then returned to the mountains. I was going to Shuozhou to ask for help. Unexpectedly, when I got here, I met the sentry sent by the Marquis."
Guo Xun nodded and began to pace.
"It's nearly forty miles away from Jingping...Huangya Mountain...it's only less than twenty miles away from Jingping, right?"
Guo Xun confirmed it, and after receiving a positive reply, he said flatly: "Since the Tatars have suffered such a big loss at your hands, they ran away when they saw me before. I'm afraid they didn't deliberately prepare to set up an ambush. You guys
, one person and two horses, immediately follow this brother at full speed around the small road to Huangya Mountain. Send an order to General Yu, if he can still bear it, he will only take the 100 people from the Yuanyang Camp, and then together with this brother, we will reach the southwest of Jingping from the mountains."
He looked at his subordinate Yu Dayou: "I will order the food to be made here and set out at dawn. The two thousand people here will first guard the hillside when they reach the southwest of Jingping. You ask General Yu to bring the general's flag, and I want to lend him his reputation."
Use it to scare the knight!"
"... Lord Marquis, we have been fighting hard for four days, and the Yuanyang camp has become less and less fierce as time goes by. The Tatars know it. When they see General Yu raising the flag, they will not believe that all the people on Huangya Mountain have come to Jingping. Even if they really go,
Well, how tiring it must be for us to go over mountains and ridges for two nights and one day. Besides, the Tatar sentries from Huangya Mountain to Jingping have not stopped."
"You don't need to worry about this. I'm still here, aren't you?" Although Guo Xun was confident, he still told him, "You took the leader of the captives with five thousand fine cavalry and met my two thousand people in Heye Mountain.
I will turn around and return to Jingping and report to General Yu truthfully. No matter what General Yu decides, I cannot wait and must get to Jingping as soon as possible!"
Jingping had already suffered a defeat, and he was afraid that after he went to Jingping, Jingping would have been destroyed.
Already wasted a whole night.
After that, he loudly ordered to bury pots and make rice, and sent a few more messengers.
They all went again to urge reinforcements from all walks of life to Jingping, including the large troops who had set off from Datong and came with Guo Xun.
"Tell Shuozhou to send more soldiers and civilians to transport five hundred stones of grain and cannonballs and gunpowder via a small road to Huangya Mountain! I went to Jingping. The Tatars can't attack Shuozhou, so don't worry! In Shuozhou
Promote it well and fly to Datong and Xuanfu. Yu Dayou resisted the capture of 10,000 troops in Huangya Mountain and killed 3,000 of the enemy. Huangya Mountain was safe and sound! The remaining Tatars were unwilling to be defeated and divided their troops into 5,000 troops with the intention of plundering Shuozhou, but they were defeated by this lord.
Hurry back to the west of Jingping!"
"...General, this military exploit has not yet been verified..."
Guo Xun's eyes widened: "Just do whatever you are told!"
From here to Shuozhou, it takes about an hour by horseback.
Then we went to Datong, relaying all the way, and it only took half a day.
Guo Xun wanted to tell Datong, tell the Xuanfu, and tell the emperor that the bandits in Datong were not a serious problem.
Although the number of people was large, they suffered such a huge defeat and their spirits were dampened.
He figured out that the capture of the chief was not to set up an ambush, but was worried that he would be ambushed, so he turned around and ran away.
Guo Xun had no idea before that they had suffered such a big loss.
Now, he is still advancing towards Jingping according to the pace that a march should have - not too fast, not too fast. Otherwise, he will appear in Jingping with a tired posture. If he is washed away as soon as he meets him, the good situation that Yu Dayou has fought for will be lost.
live.
News of Guo Xun's arrival in Jingping arrived at Huangya Mountain before noon. Several people spared no effort in running through the mountains, and it took them nearly three hours to arrive.
Three of Guo Xun's soldiers were stunned when they saw the more than two hundred heads hanging outside the village wall: This is definitely a solid victory.
Such a hastily built fortress in less than a month blocked nearly ten thousand captives for three and a half days, forcing them to take a detour.
"Why didn't Jingping come to help?" They couldn't believe it.
"I'm afraid there is another reason." Yu Dayou listened to what the sentinel he sent out told him, and pondered the importance, "Master Zhao, what do you think?"
Zhao Benxue shook his head: "The general will make his own decision. At this critical moment, I can only say that no matter what order you give, the generals will listen to it."
"Marquis Guo has ordered the Pinglu Guards to go south? When will the military order be sent to the Pinglu Guards?"
After receiving the answer, Yu Dayou counted the time, and then said: "I won't go! Go and report to Marquis Guo here and ask him to go to Jingping and call the chief of the captives. This is a plan to lure the enemy deeper. The guards of the captives have gone to greet En.
The fort has cut off the road behind it, and Jingping has been surrounded on three sides: south, south, north, and south. I, Yu Dayou, am also on the west road. I can defeat them but cannot completely destroy them, and that is because I do this on purpose. I, the Ming Dynasty King, know that the Tatars have sent out all their troops but have not gained much, so I will definitely meet
If you are unwilling to go deeper into Shuozhou."
After saying that, he pinched his wrist and said: "My generals will have another day of rest. Tomorrow, I will lead the people to recover Naihe Fort and wipe out hundreds of defenders and wounded Tatars in the fort. The military information reached Jingping, and the Tatars
Zi must turn around to rescue and go to Piantou Pass here. Only then can we break through the pass and escape to the west. Please tell the Marquis that we will block the five thousand captives here again. Can we annihilate thousands of enemies in one battle?
It just depends on whether the Marquis can lead his troops to attack in time."
Guo Xun's soldiers heard this with excitement.
How much credit should it take to wipe out thousands of enemies in one battle?
Compared with Guo Xun, they actually trusted Yu Dayou's plan more.
Without saying much, they stopped to drink water and eat some dry food. They immediately turned around again and headed from the mountains to Jingping under the leadership of local people who had been recruited to serve under Yu Dayou.
When they set off, Zhao Benxue asked Yu Dayou privately: "Isn't there only two thousand people around Marquis Guo? The Tatars will not let him enter the city safely. Can he defend the siege outside the city? He is afraid of becoming a bait, but he can still
The Diaojingping garrison went out of the city to rescue."
Yu Dayou stopped pinching his wrist: "The Pinglu Guards should have arrived at Jingping. Since they haven't arrived yet, there is no hope. The Tatars have suffered losses here before and will not relax their sentry. Ying'en Fort is in their hands.
, they know whether the Pinglu Guards have gone or not. In this case, they will only think that Marquis Guo is lying. I only led a hundred mandarin duck battalions to join forces with Marquis Guo, but it was useless. Now, I only hope that Marquis Guo can have two Marquises of Wu Ding.
Three points of skill, at least hold on for a few hours."
Zhao Benxue was a little surprised and opened his mouth slightly: "Are you also using Guo Hou as bait?"
Yu Dayou nodded: "At this moment, there is only one thing that can completely upset the hearts of the Tatar army, and that is the fall of Naihe Fort, and all the wounded and wounded defenders left there have been lost! There are nearly 3,000 people there, how many troops are there?
Can you accept the death of so many soldiers? Besides, I fought fiercely for several days and suffered a lot of casualties. If Naihe Fort is captured simply and neatly, they will think that reinforcements may be coming from the direction of Tuoguan, and attack Naihe Fort together.
That’s how it can be done!”
"But can we capture Nohe Castle now?"
"Others can't take it, but I can." Yu Dayou said solemnly, "How little do they think of my general's flag? They can fight with less than a thousand men!"
After saying that, he began to give instructions: "Divide into three teams! Go all the way around the back mountain of Huangya Mountain to block the direction of Piantou Pass. Follow me all the way between Block Hu and Naihe Fort. The rest start from Huangya Mountain and go directly to the front.
In the afternoon, sleep hard, eat and drink enough! As soon as it gets dark, set off!"
it's dark.
Guo Xun arranged for the news to be sent to Datong and Xuanfu. It was only on the third night of the fierce battle at Huangya Mountain that it was relayed all the way to Zhu Houcong.
Yang Yiqing couldn't help but slapped the case and shouted: "Okay! What a Yu Dayou! Your Majesty is wise!"
If Yu Dayou hadn't been sent to Shuozhou, even if Guo Xun risked his life to go there this time and wanted to take over the army reinforcements by killing his own generals, Shuozhou would have been destroyed by now.
Zhu Houcong could not suppress his inner excitement, and he breathed a sigh of relief: "Now, I only have to concentrate on announcing the palace."
When the news came that Ying'en Fort had been breached, there was finally movement in Anda, and Bodie also appeared in Longmen River.
The war situation was still changing. Anda and Bodi turned out to be jointly attacking Xuanfu. Among the Tatars outside Gubeikou, less than half were from the Chahar tribe and more than half were from the Uuliangha tribe. The three guards of Duoyan were
The Three Guards of Wuliangha.
As Zhu Houcong said before, who among the three guards of Duoyan will win and help whom.
As long as the Ming Dynasty is defeated in Xuanfu, then even if the Duoyan Three Guards do not attack Jizhou, they will still restrain the Jizhou defenders from moving at all, allowing Bodi to use Anda as the forward and concentrate on attacking the Xuanfu First Town defenders.
Now, Xuanfu is under the greatest pressure.
Not only did Bodie come, but Anda turned out to be waiting for his reserve army. Now, in addition to the three thousand cavalry who are still harassing or waiting for opportunities outside Yanghekou, his total force on Yutailing is also increasing.
There are more than 150,000 Tatars in the northwest of Xuanfu, and the Longmen castles in the northeast are also facing more than 10,000 elite soldiers from 10,000 households in the central part of the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
In addition to the civilians who transported grain and fodder to them, it is not an exaggeration to call them an army of nearly 100,000 people.
If the Taolu were allowed to penetrate the bottom of the Sanggan River Valley again, it would be an unimaginable situation.
The results of the Battle of Huangya Mountain greatly boosted the morale of the army that was now re-defended to the north, west and east of Xuanfu.
Zhu Houcong issued an order on the spot without hesitation, promoting Yu Dayou to the post of General of the Datong West Road Branch.
The battle achievements have not yet been verified, but the emperor has conveyed a message: those who have made meritorious service in this battle will be rewarded.
As for the guarding general on the West Road belonging to Liu Kai, everyone does not know the details of the battle on the Datong West Road. They only assume that Liu Kai may have died in the battle.
After all, Huangya Mountain is right next to Jingping, and Liu Kai is the general guarding the West Road. This should be the defense line he arranged, right?
Liu Kai is not dead yet, because death inspired his great potential.
It's not that he didn't want to surrender and give it a try, but after trying his best to defend the night last night, the captive cavalry who took a short rest in the early morning once again started to attack the city like crazy. And the person supervising the battle shouted, Liu Kai
The people under my command who went to engage in "private trading" in Tatar accounts before understood this.
After the city was broken, no one was left alive. All the proceeds from the plunder went to the soldiers.
Then he can still surrender?
Liu Kai cried and had to hold on.
"Don't take any chances! The Tatars have already promised that they will massacre the city after breaking it! They went crazy and attacked the city because they knew that reinforcements were on the way! Hold on for three more days!"
Pingluwei, where are the people?
Li Jian, where is the person?
According to the previous military order, these two people should be the fastest to bring their troops down to help defend!
The so-called guarding for ten days does not mean letting oneself guard for ten days, but letting these three people plus Yu Dayou guard for ten days in total!
Why am I the only one holding on to it now?
Liu Kai felt Yu Dayou's previous isolation and helplessness, but he forgot that he had left Yu Dayou isolated and helpless.
This day was the most difficult for Liu Kai.
Because after the Tatar army left and returned last night, his people were very tired after a hard night of fighting. Under fear, the supplies for the city defense were consumed desperately, and now they are getting less and less.
But the Tatars seemed really crazy, and they didn't seem to need to rest.
You should take a break, right? How much!
As if they heard Liu Kai's prayer, in the afternoon, the Tatars finally temporarily stopped their offensive and began to rest on the hillside north of the mountain pass from Huangya Mountain.
During this period, the sentries in the Tatar formation kept going to the southeast, north and Huangya Mountain directions of Jingping.
As dusk approached, Liu Kai was already very sleepy, but he didn't dare to sleep.
With tired eyes, he saw the Tatars regrouping, and he couldn't help shouting in his heart: Another night battle? Are all the Tatars beasts?
But he soon learned that there was another reason for the Tatar's reaction.
To the southwest of Jingping, coming from Shuozhou, the flag of the Ming army finally appeared.
"The reinforcements are coming! The reinforcements are coming!" Liu Kai was so happy that he immediately asked his subordinates to make a noise, "Pass it on, the reinforcements are coming!"
Amidst the cheers in Jingping City, the cavalry were divided into two groups. One group with nearly 2,000 people stayed in the main camp, while the other group with 4,000 people divided into two arrows and rushed directly towards the incoming reinforcements.
They had just arrived and their footing was not yet stable.
Guo Xun felt that the cheers from the side of Jingping City were too harsh, so he could only order loudly: "Array! Array! The sentry has said that they have been attacking Jingping for a day and a night, and they only have one breath left! Hold this place first!
For a while! Those who can speak Tatar, shout out those words!"
Now he was yelling at Liu Kai in his heart: Damn it, just let the Tatars attack the reinforcements like this? Can't you lead your troops out of the city to contain them? Are you so happy that I call you mom?
Liu Kai's expression changed on the city wall.
Through the telescope, he saw who was coming to help: Wu Dingguo.
The commander-in-chief came in person, and was surprised as soon as he arrived.
Save or not?
He must be saved! If his coach doesn't save him, he will be killed even if he wins this battle.
"Order troops! Order troops! Follow me out of the city!"
This time I must go in person, using my own soldiers who regard my life as my own.
Even if the rescue fails, at least there must be an attitude of going out of the city to rescue.
Guo Xun was struggling to hold on and was on the verge of collapse.
After all, except for the two hundred soldiers he brought with him, the rest were brought by Mayi to guard Qianhu. Among them, only Li Jian's original more than 300 soldiers were considered to have good combat capabilities.
But there were four thousand horsemen who pounced on these two thousand people.
"Steady! Steady!" Guo Xun himself was very nervous and his life was already on the edge of the cliff. "The city gates are already being opened and reinforcements are on the way!"
For a moment, I couldn't figure out where the reinforcements were.
In fact, he was lying because Liu Kai opened the east gate and he couldn't see it from this direction.
It is safer to open the east gate, but the distance to be covered by walking is longer.
After all, Liu Kai left the city gate and led nearly two thousand people - many were killed and injured, and some were left to guard the city gate.
When they appeared in the southeast corner of Jingping City, Guo Xun finally saw them: "Bang the drum! Beat the drum! Hold this wave!"
Liu Kai also said: "Array up! Beat the drums! Hold this wave!"
He did not forget that there were nearly 2,000 people beside the leader. The Jingping defenders could only help Guo Xun enter the city. How could they be too far from the city gate? What should I do if I get dumped?
Then Guo Xun's eyes were splitting: Are you fucking playing monkey tricks? Does anyone care about you? Can I get along?
Liu Kai listened awkwardly to the sound of his own war drums in the formation. The captive chief remained motionless, and the four thousand cavalry just continued to attack Guo Xun's military formation.
Both sides complained to each other.
Liu Kai: Am I okay? This is obviously the Tatars trying to get the defenders out of the city. If I go a little further, they will rush over! Lord Marquis, are you a waste? How can you bring only such a few people?
Guo Xun: Waste Liu Kai! Waste Ping Lu Wei! Dead waste Li Jian!
Only Gunbilik was serious: success or failure depended on this.
He bides his time like a hunter.
Liu Kai's guess was absolutely correct.
Two days later, the sentries reported one after another: There were really only 2,000 people around the commander-in-chief of Datong, and during the march, it was obvious that the good and the bad were mixed. No reinforcements were found in other directions. Naihebao, on Huangya Mountain
There is no movement yet, Naihe Fort is safe and sound.
In this case, while he attacked Jingping all night long and lured Guo Xun to hurry up for reinforcements, he also let half of the people have a good rest during the night.
In addition, after resting for a while in the morning, those who are most tired now are also resting beside him.
It would be better if we could capture Jingping before. Since we can't capture it right away, this is the best strategy now.
The 4,000 men who attacked were not doing their best despite the great momentum.
Now, Gunbilik is waiting for the defenders to come out of Jingping City before moving in the direction of their commander.
That was their commander-in-chief. Based on Gon Brick's understanding of the Ming army, as long as their commander-in-chief was not completely defeated and died in the battle, General Jingping could not just sit idly by and watch, unless the commander-in-chief ordered him to return to the city and be willing to die in battle.
At least the general of Datong will be killed in formation, if not better, the main force of Jingping will be lost.
In any case, this is the best chance to turn the tide of the war!
If the commander-in-chief of Datong dies in battle, messages are passed back and forth, and the command is chaotic, he can at least give himself a month to loot and loot in Datong with peace of mind, and then retreat calmly.
It became completely dark.
It was dark, and the horses did not dare to run fast for fear of not being able to see the road clearly.
The Jingping garrison should be bolder and start moving, right?
Liu Kai had no choice but to move. If he continued to beat the drum in place, he was afraid that the beating would make Guo Xun more and more angry.
"Have you heard what Marquis Guo is shouting? The Pinglu Guards have cut off their retreat. The Tatars have been attacking the city like crazy in the past two days, just for this reason! With all their strength, as long as they can hold on for a while, they will have to retreat.
! Everyone must be very energetic, form a formation, and go to save Guo Hou!"
It was completely dark, and Huangya Mountain was as usual.
However, the two teams ventured across the mountain path that was difficult for the captured soldiers to detect.
The number of people was not large, only two or three hundred.
With fewer people, there will be less movement.
Yang Bo stayed in the village and was very nervous.
With just such a small number of people, they still have to divide the Tatars into three groups to block them in Naihe Fort. How audacious is that?
Because Yu Dayou had already established unimaginable prestige in one battle, these people did not dare to follow him to death.
But think about it, it's not impossible: there are less than a thousand people, plus some wounded soldiers.
When we defend Qianhu Station in Shuozhou against the Tatars, it seems that one person can replace five...
I wonder if this time I am attacking rather than defending, so I can be as fierce.
At least I rested for two days and ate as if I didn’t lack food...
Over at Jingping, Gunbilik looked at an indistinguishable black shadow in the distance and coldly ordered: "Let's go!"
The night that will decide the fate of Datong Town has arrived.