This ditch does not have a unified name, but after tonight, it will be named after this battle.
The main battlefield is to the west of Zhen'an Fort. It is more than a mile deep and three or four miles wide, enough for large-scale cavalry to charge and move.
Bodi's sweat tent was moved to the corner of the mountain opposite Zhen'an Fort. This place was named Wayao.
To his southwest, there were still people guarding reinforcements that might arrive from the direction of Majiayao and Yunchuan.
But for the time being, we only need to attack the Zhen'an Fort, which is built in the valley and flatland.
"There are many mountains on all sides, with mountains on all sides, approaching the mouth of the two rivers in the east, and the path leads to the outside. The mountains are high and steep, and Shuo rides down, and it looks like a powerful building. Anyone who enters the interior will be trapped in the fortress, and there are thick trees outside the mouth of the two rivers.
It is particularly difficult. There are three houses and various places in the axis of the bay, and there are herders stationed there, so it is not easy to defend."
In the Longchuan Acropolis, Tang Shunzhi recited to Zhu Houcong the records about Zhen'an Fort in the Staff Department of the Ministry of War.
Zhu Houcong sighed: "When Bodi invaded, why did he only go all the way south from Dushi Fort and all the way west from Longmen Suo?"
He felt that this fort was more difficult to defend.
"The plan is very big, it's just difficult first and easy later." Yang Yiqing said solemnly, "Now the Tatars have chosen Fort Zhen'an to break out of the encirclement, and they are setting fire to block the pursuers. They are risking their lives to attack Fort Zhen'an. I am afraid that Fort Zhen'an will not be able to hold on for long.
"
Bodi was confused for a while, but still wanted to hold on to the Red Castle and wait for reinforcements, trying to turn defeat into victory. However, the previous strategy at the western foot of Yanshan Mountain was to let the prisoners ride into the mountains after encountering the enemy. The losses of Bodi's troops were very small. Then I answered Yu Tai
The Lingda victory shook the Ming army's morale, and all the armies were pinned to the northwest of Xuan Mansion. In the end, Anda retreated simply, and it was difficult to mobilize troops to encircle Bodi.
If Wang Shouren hadn't reacted first and recaptured Longmen Station, and if Bodie hadn't been unwilling to fail, I'm afraid the current encirclement situation wouldn't have happened.
However, Bodi still had nearly 10,000 elite soldiers and many captive civilians in his hands. Zhu Houcong, Yang Yiqing and others who were in the Longchuan Acropolis did not know the current situation in the valley.
This mountain fire cut off the retreat that Bodi and others were still holding on to, and indeed blocked the pursuit of the main force of the Ming army in the western foothills of Yanshan Mountain.
Now it just depends on whether Zhen'an Fort can do its best to hold on until reinforcements arrive.
At this moment, the Chahar cavalry that had previously attacked outside Longmen Station was also moving to the north with all its strength. Zhen'an Fort would soon be attacked from both sides.
Zhu Qi also led his troops to march along the border wall with his legs for reinforcements. Fu Duo led his troops to the northwest of Zhen'an Fort and circled around the mountain fire. Those who faced the enemy head-on in Zhen'an Fort were the only ones who had originally hid in Zhen'an Fort and stayed behind.
The one thousand defenders here - as well as the other fortifications and piers along the border wall - need to be recaptured, encircled, and dispersed for garrison.
In addition to the troops of the Qianhu Station, the number of people brought by Li Jin, He Quan'an, and Yan Chunsheng was less than 2,500 in total, and the composition was complicated.
Three thousand five to more than ten thousand.
Li Jin has the highest official rank and is the deputy commander-in-chief of the left army in Datong Town.
He Quan'an and Yan Chunsheng were from the Jinyi Guards. One was the commander of the Fusi Special Service Station in South Town, and the other was the instructor of the Fusi Special Warfare Battalion in North Town, commanding the general affairs.
Although the Zhengqian households stationed in Zhen'an Fort belong to Xuanfu Town, they can only obey orders at the moment.
"Yan Qianshi, can your brother, like he did at Yehuling before, reach the top of the mountains in the north and south and attack the generals?"
Faced with Li Jin's question, Yan Chunsheng shook his head: "It was just a surprise at that time. Although there are places to hide in the north and south, the Tatars must conquer Zhen'an Fort before the main force can withdraw. Besides, the distance is too far.
, the arrows are out of reach. When facing the enemy head-on, my brothers in the special operations battalion will not be of much use."
He looked at the relatively bright spot of light in the west under the mountain fire in the night: "We can try to touch the Wayao Mountain opposite to see if we can sneak attack the leader."
"We can't attack the captive chief first!" Li Jin immediately shook his head, "Once the captive chief dies, the Tatars will lose their backbone and will definitely flee in all directions. It's not easy for them to concentrate on attacking Zhen'an Fort here and annihilate all the enemy troops."
"..." Yan Chunsheng looked at He Quanan.
In such a situation, do you really want to annihilate all the enemy troops? The Tatars have more than 10,000 troops. If they can't take down Zhen'an Fort for a while, won't they attack the side wall next to it and rush out in a swarm?
"Just stick to it. The number of people the Tatars can rush into the fort at the same time is not much different from the defenders." He Quan'an said calmly, "With so many people, the Tatars must break through the border wall or Zhen'an Fort and slaughter all the defenders before they can leave.
But if there is only one person left, we need to divide our forces and cut off the rear. Is this the way for the Lord of the Northern Yuan Dynasty to flee north? Here he comes!"
He was right, the Ming army was not without cavalry. If the Beibei were really that panicked and fled blindly, they would still have to climb some mountains to get to the dam after leaving Zhen'an Fort.
That would be too ugly.
Now that the military fort is in front, their strength is several times greater, and they break out of the fort with the same hatred of the enemy. They are not in a situation where they need to disperse and flee.
In the limited space, the cavalry began to charge.
Bodie looked at his subordinates with tears in his eyes.
How famous was the cowardly Xue army back then? Now, they have to use it to attack the fortress in this way, just to flatten the fortress and let their Khan "escape".
Even if it was a true breakout, Bodie still didn't want to leave in such an embarrassing situation.
Since Xue's army went south, it has never been truly defeated!
Even though it was vaguely surrounded by the Ming army, didn't the Red Castle defend for nearly a month? Couldn't the Ming army defeat it quickly?
Right now, I just can't really become a rabbit with foxes and wolves blocking all the holes.
Now Bodie feels more ashamed and angry than worried.
"Those who fall into battle and break the fort will have their families sealed off!"
He issued the Khan's order, and people inside and outside Zhen'an Fort shouted to kill Zhentian.
In the mountains to their northwest, Fu Duo had just bypassed some of the areas with the largest fires.
Separated by Majiayao and Tuogou, the mountain range between Maoeryu and Zhen'anbao is safe and sound.
"General! There are Tatar defenders at the Majiayao Pass!"
The sentinel reported back, and Fu Duo quickly asked: "How many people?"
"Outside Zhen'an Fort, there is room for at most three to four thousand cavalry to charge in formation, and there will be at least three to four thousand in the rear!"
Fu Duo thought about the number of people he brought, gritted his teeth and said: "No matter what, we can't let them take turns to rush to Zhen'an Fort. If a hundred people go to the mountain opposite Majiayao, they set the mountain on fire, so we can't
Let go! The Tatars don’t know that the mountain wind blows downwards at night, so let them get into trouble first.”
"...General, if that happens, it will be very difficult for the brothers in Zhen'an Fort."
"There is a ditch across it! Was it the Tatars who were disturbed by the smoke and hot wind first, or the Zhen'an Fort? Go quickly!" Fu Duo looked behind him, "Go down the mountain, form a formation, and march to Majiayao!"
A few mountains to the east of Muma Castle is the Black River Valley, which is already outside the Ming Dynasty border wall.
At this moment, Bodi arranged to watch the Duoyan Guards and contain the subordinates of the Jizhou Army at Gubeikou, and was leading more than 6,000 cavalry to the north at high speed.
"Quick, when we reach the fork in the road, follow me and take the path first, over the mountain."
Everyone is scrambling for time now.
Although the total distance is only a hundred miles, it is not easy to walk. After all, it is night and among the mountains.
Zhu Qi was also urging him. He had just arrived at Muma Fort, so he must be behind the speed of the horsemen. After all, he relied entirely on his legs.
"Bring all the torches! Are you Qianhu who is stationed at Muma Fort? Take your family soldiers and follow me! The Tatars no longer care about this side, and the Tatar Khan is blocked in the town. Anbao!”
At this moment, all that is needed is real fighting power.
Those who can't keep up with the team may as well stay and garrison.
Zhu Qi just wanted to rush to Zhen'an Fort as soon as possible.
Li Quanli and He Xun arrived to the south of Yunchuan Fort at this time. They were faced with the mountain fire that was already burning fiercely. Thick smoke and hot wind were pouring into the valley from the mountains on both sides of the valley in the northeast. Go down.
"We can't wait!" He gritted his teeth, "We all wet our clothes in the river, covered our mouths and noses, and charged at my general! The Tatars also passed by like this, and it was not easy for them. They only had their last breath left!"
That night, each of the encircling and intercepting troops needed to have the endurance to march for dozens of miles.
After all, Bodie still didn't wait until the last moment when the encirclement was really thick and dense, although setting the mountain on fire was a mistake.
Now, this mistake inspired Fu Duo.
After suffering from the thick smoke and hot wind carried by the mountain fire on the way from Yunchuan Fort, a fire also broke out on the mountain behind him.
In the ravine to the northwest, the war drums and shouts of the Ming army rang.
Li Jin's eyes lit up: "They came so fast! Brothers, the reinforcements are coming! We must block every side wall!"
He even raised his sword: "If you fall into the camp, I will kill them down from Qingyun Temple so that they cannot go up the mountain from the north!"
Qingyun Temple is on the mountain outside the north gate of Zhen'an Fort. Li Jin knew that reinforcements had arrived, and the Tatars were surrounded from all sides. With Wayao Mountain also on fire, they would definitely charge even more crazily.
But he, Li Jin, was also crazy. He was obsessed with preventing the Tatars from rushing out.
Now, he wanted to cut off the way for the Tatars to rush from this narrow ravine to the north of Zhen'an Fort and break out from the side wall with fewer defenders.
With the flag fluttering, Li Jin was the first to shout: "Datong Li Jin is here! I am the one who goes out to burn wasteland at the border this year!"
Due to wildfires, Bodie's large tents had to be moved to the valley.
On such a battlefield, the movement of the banner means that the situation of the battle has changed.
The sound of war drums and shouts of the Ming army coming from the direction of Mayaogou made many horsemen look back at the valley to the southwest that was illuminated dark red by mountain fires.
The Han people are chasing us so fast, so what if we wait a while? Will there be shouts from that direction?
The first shout was heard not from the southwest, but from the southeast.
Muma Fort was less than twenty miles away, and Zhu Qi shouted in a hissing voice: "Keep shouting! Shouting so loud that all the brothers in Zhen'an Fort can hear it, so that they can grit their teeth and persevere! Shouting makes the Tatars fearful and panic and not choose their way out!"
In panic, it is possible to become even more desperate, so the defenders of Zhen'an Fort must know that reinforcements are on the way and grit their teeth and persist.
It is also possible that they are really panicking and fleeing in all directions, so their strength will also be dispersed. And on the Great Wall, after all, there are defenders at regular intervals.
Now, when Zhu Qi passed by Muma Fort, there were 500 more people. They were still nearly ten miles away from Zhen'an Fort, but all of them were shouting and wasting energy.
The sound shook for miles and became a fact.
This sound was also heard by the Bodi reinforcements east of the Great Wall.
What could they do? They could only speed up their horses and try to rush to the east of Zhen'an Fort as soon as possible.
Li Jin was fighting in a bloody battle, and he had already heard about Yu Dayou's mandarin duck formation.
He doesn't know how to do that kind of thing, he can only fight bravely.
To the south of Mayaogou, the people led by Fu Duo also began to engage the enemy.
When the fire from the direction of Chicheng spread from both sides of the Longchuan River, he first led the army to break through the Yunchuan Fort blocking it there.
By the time Bodie led his troops to the southeast of Yunchuan Fort, it was already late at night.
They then entered the valley leading to Zhen'an Fort and burned the back road. Fu Duo only had time to clean up the remaining cavalry in Yunchuan Fort.
Then, there was another rapid march overnight, and he fell behind a lot. The less than 1,500 elite soldiers under his command were now faced with three times the charge of cavalry in the narrow valley.
This valley is very narrow, only a hundred paces wide.
On Fu Duo's left hand side is the mountain fire he ordered his people to light, and now they have to deal with the troubles it brings.
But in the small valley facing the southeast, he stared at the generals with his red eyes: "I have been guarding the border all my life, when did I have such an opportunity? The Lord of Beiyuan is in front! Arrange! Guard! Tianyi
Liang, they will never have a chance to escape again!"
It's indeed almost dawn.
The whole night was filled with mountain fires and burning winds, as well as escape and blockage.
Military orders? It's too late. Every Ming army general around the battlefield can only make decisions based on their instincts.
Now is the moment when General Zhenshuo and the chief military officer of the Xuanfu Fu Duo have the fewest soldiers around them. The valley is narrow, and once the military formation is broken through, there will be no escape.
What weapon? What strategy?
At this moment, it is a real encounter on a narrow road.
But Fu Duo was right. The Mongolian cavalry who wanted to escape had very few opportunities to be truly blocked in this way.
Now, Zhan Zhan even captured the Lord of Beiyuan, which prompted their instinct to make a decision, stimulating them to use adrenaline to support the rapid march all night, so that they could still forget the fatigue and pain at this moment, and clenched their hands
weapons.
The same principle applies to the Mongolian cavalry - they fight for their lives.
At dawn, it was Bodie's men who rushed to the east of Zhen'an Fort first.
"It's hot! It's hot!"
The Mongolian cavalry inside the Great Wall heard the roar of their compatriots coming from outside the border wall.
"It's hot! It's hot!"
They cheered up inside the border walls and responded with shouts.
But at the same time, this also prompted them to strengthen their determination and risk their lives to attack Zhen'an Fort.
"...Thirty-seven! Thirty-eight!" At the top of Zhen'an Fort, Yan Chunsheng counted the numbers, with more joy in his eyes, "It's dawn! Let's fight the officials!"
He saw the banner of the Lord of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, which stood in the middle of the valley about 500 steps southwest of Zhen'an Fort.
"You three, bring a squatting tiger cannon and follow me to the mountains to the south!" Yan Chunsheng's eyes lit up.
The people in the special operations battalion must be able to do everything. Previous missions did not require them to do this kind of thing, but now there are cannons in Zhen'an Fort.
"Boom!" The defenders in Zhen'an Fort could now aim their cannons more accurately and hit farther, instead of staring at the cavalry rushing closer and crowding in more.
"Don't worry about arrows and shells! Reinforcements from the south will arrive soon, and reinforcements from the north are on the way! If we hold on for another hour or two, even if the Tatars break through the wall, we must continue to fight! Xiong Baihu, you three Baihu will follow
I will go to the east to reinforce, don’t let the Tatars break the Zhen’an Fort from the outside!”
In Zhen'an Fort, He Quan'an did not take over the defense, but he could serve as the commander of the other wing.
To the east of Zhen'an Fort, the sound of horse hooves extended far away.
From that direction, a cavalry force, no less numerous than the Tatars in the Great Wall, was running towards them.
The east and west sides of Zhen'an Fort will soon be attacked by nearly 20,000 troops. After Li Jin led 600 people down the mountain to block the Tatars from going up the mountain from the north and broke through the border wall, the number of troops in Zhen'an Fort was now less than 2,000.
There was a fierce battle all night, resulting in many casualties.
Facing nearly ten times the number of captives and cavalry, Zhen'an Fort could no longer hold out for much longer, even though reinforcements were on the way.
Now every time we hold on for a little longer, the Ming army's chances of winning will be greater.
Bodi also understood this truth. After listening attentively to the sounds from the east of Zhen'an Fort, he drew out his machete and said, "Leave a thousand Han people in the south to bite the Han people there, and the rest will charge with the big banner!"
As a great Khan, how can he not be brave?
He also grew up on a horse!
The trumpet shakes the sky and the earth, the sun gradually rises, and the wind direction between the valley and the mountain top is changing.
"How far is it?"
In the southwest valley, Li Quanli, He Xun and others arrived at an open area where there was a ravine running east and west.
"After this pier, there is only ten miles of land!"
"Hurry up and chase!"
Their movement was quickly detected by the Mongolian sentries scattered in the south.
The sentry cavalry quickly reported back, and Bodi was already on the way to charge. Those who stayed behind to intercept the reinforcements were the only ones who rushed into Mayaogou to defeat Fu Duo's Qianqi.
There's still a time difference. It's ten miles away. If Li Quanli and the others want to get there, it will take an hour no matter how fast they go.
Can you make it there with weak legs? Can you fight immediately?
"Guard the Great Khan! Kill!"
The fighting here was much more brutal than in Huangyashan and the suburbs of Jingping.
The Ming troops who can arrive here at this moment are all truly elite.
Fu Duo is surrounded by his most powerful family soldiers and personal soldiers, and they are also the strength that the other generals he brought with him rely on to establish themselves in the border town.
Although the total number of people is just over a thousand, it is still being consumed.
"Bite your teeth and hold on!" Fu Duo heard the marching cry from the southwest, "The reinforcements from Akagi and Yunchuan have also arrived, less than ten miles away!"
The sound can echo farther between the valleys.
Bodie also heard it, but can he turn back now?
The most important moment!
At this time, Yan Chunsheng led only three people and ran quickly through the mountains south of Zhen'an Fort.
Bodie's fire was in the southwest.
It burned all night, and now it has spread to the nearby area, but the ridges are intertwined, so it has not yet reached the top of the mountain south of Zhen'an Fort.
Such a mountain is naturally a target for Tatar attacks, so Yan Chunsheng detoured further.
"Faster! Faster!"
Yan Chunsheng held the bow, and the three men under his command carried the gun barrel, gun mount and ammunition respectively. After getting off the city wall, they seemed to be able to walk on level ground in the mountains.
They were on the top of a small hill with a radius of less than half a mile, circling along the woods on the mountainside.
When we ran to the south side of the mountain, there was a huge fire on another mountain more than a hundred steps away, and the sound of the trees exploding was like firecrackers.
"Be careful where you step, it's very steep here!" Yan Chunsheng added after he finished speaking, "You can't get over it with fire."
There is an extremely steep small valley that separates it. Unless the wind carries sparks to the top of this mountain, it will not be burned.
Even if the fever is over, there is still some time.
After only a hundred steps, they reached the west side of the mountain.
Not far from their feet, people were rushing towards the hilltop from a slightly lower terrain, hoping to defeat Zhen'an Fort's cavalry from high ground to the south.
At this moment, looking from a high place, the southeast, northwest and northwest of Zhen'an Fort are full of enemy troops - the north side, which originally had the least pressure, is now being attacked by Tatar reinforcements from outside the city wall.
None of the four people made any big noise. Yan Chunsheng's subordinates asked in a low voice: "What should we do? Yan Tou, we are still more than 400 steps away from the big banner, and we can only fire one shot."
"Two shots at most. If you don't want your life, three shots." Another person added.
Yan Chunsheng knew that there was really only a chance of two shots at most - the Tatars are not fools, can they stay where you are and let you shoot?
As soon as the cannon fires, there will be Tatars underfoot who will target them. With the second cannon, Yan Chunsheng can buy some time with his own archery skills.
Squinting at the situation, he said in a deep voice: "Wait!"
They need to wait for an opportunity so that they can get closer and hit more accurately.
Yan Chunsheng believed that this opportunity would not be too far away, because reinforcements from the south had already marched along the border wall for several miles.
Zhu Qi's own legs were already very sore. He didn't know how long he could stand firm after arriving on the battlefield.
What is the concept of being on the road almost overnight, with uneven terrain?
But he believed that the Tatars were not much better off.
When they arrived, it was like a strong crossbow versus a strong crossbow, just to see who was stronger.
He and his men may not be strong enough as cavalry, but they have walls - if the walls of the Great Wall and Zhen'an Fort are still there.
"Have a rest, eat and drink! In a quarter of an hour, we will finish the last two miles!"
In order to be stronger when he arrived at the battlefield, he chose to trust the defenders of Zhen'an Fort. He could fight so hard to comfort Marquis Ning, so would the generals over there? What's more, if they were to breach the fort, no one would be able to survive.
Zhu Qi and Li Quanli made this choice coincidentally, taking the final rest before entering the battlefield.
Only Fu Duo was crumbling in Mayaogou, and the number of soldiers around him had quickly dropped to less than 600.
Crazy like Li Jin, there are less than three hundred left, and there is no chance to return to Zhen'an Fort.
Now, if Bodie's troops point toward him, he can escape through the valley going north to the west of Zhen'an Fort.
But Bodie chose not to do this.
There were also reinforcements from the Ming Army to the north, so the subordinates who had been fighting fiercely for most of the night rolled over to the ridge and suffered arrows and artillery fire from the Ming Army from the side wall?
At this moment, this Zhen'an Fort is too fragile to withstand a few blows.
Because of his personal charge, the soldiers around him also fell quickly.
The big banner attracts artillery fire and arrows, but Bodie is fearless and blocks many of the arrows for him. If destiny dictates that he will be hit by bullets, what's there to say?
On the contrary, he is making the cavalry in other directions face fewer bullets.
In one turn, he ran southward nearly two hundred steps away from the city wall of Zhen'an Fort. The cavalry guards in front of him and behind him turned sideways and rained arrows into Zhen'an Fort.
"Bodi is here! The Immortal God is above, and Great Yuan will win!"
He wanted to shout this to the reinforcements east of Zhen'an Fort.
What followed was a series of responses from the east and west sides of the Great Wall.
"The Immortal God is above, and the Great Yuan will surely win!"
Yan Chunsheng did not expect that he would have the opportunity so quickly. He did not have to wait for the reinforcements from the direction of Muma Fort in the south to allow the Tatars to reorganize their offensive on the south side of Zhen'an Fort and make room for them.
Now, he saw the Lord of Beiyuan under the banner leading his men to circle outside Zhen'an Fort, and was about to circle around the mountain in the south and charge again.
More than three hundred steps, more than two hundred steps, two hundred steps...
In an instant, he felt that the world had become quiet, the air was no longer filled with the pungent heat of smoke, and his hand naturally drew the strong bow.
Without his instructions, the three brothers under his command also knew that this might be the best opportunity.
At a certain moment, Yan Chunsheng still heard the sound of the fuse being ignited beside him, but he held his breath and did not smell the smell of gunpowder.
In sight, there was only the Mongol Khan waving his sword and motivating his men.
A few years ago, Yan Chunsheng was a hunter in Huguang.
Now, the prey he is targeting as a hunter is too important.
This is destined to be the most important arrow in his life. If he misses it, he will regret it for the rest of his life.
"boom!"
A deafening sound sounded nearby, and Yan Chunsheng released his bowstring at the same time.
The sound of the cannon was so close to Bodie that he subconsciously looked in that direction.
Those around me reacted quickly and only had time to tighten the reins, hoping to let the horse leap to the south side of Bodie.
An arrow and a bullet quickly appeared in Bodie's sight.
The direct grandson of Dayan Khan and the lord of the Northern Yuan Dynasty, Arakhan Boljijin Bodi commented: Arrows are faster than bullets.