After resupplying here and resting for five days, the following time becomes more and more precious.
A pure cavalry group, a group of cavalry and infantry, all began to march quickly.
Even the artillery baggage, which was inconvenient to move, was now pulled by more oxen and horses.
Most of the supplies of the Mongolian tribe were left behind and distributed to various tribes. As for them, no matter how unwilling they were, they could only accept it. Besides, Yan Chunsheng had promised them that they would have food when they went to Liangcheng.
Won't starve to death.
To the north of the Yellow River, near Baotou in later generations, the largest group of captives was located here. Naturally, they would not relax in the investigation and vigilance of the surrounding area.
The traces of the Ming army were finally discovered after approaching them for fifty miles.
At this time, there was a lot of noise along the Yellow River.
With one operation, Gunbilik finally reached the north bank of the Yellow River safely.
On the Yellow River at this moment, various tribes who have migrated to the south of the Yellow River are crossing the river. There are tens of thousands of households in Ordos in the Hetao area, pure herdsmen, almost half of them are from the north to the south of the Yellow River. But there are more cavalry in the south than in the north of the Yellow River.
After hearing the report from the Sentinel Cavalry, Gunbilik's expression changed: "The Ming army is only more than forty miles away from here? Where are the people from Haochit, Kleis, and Mingant's three tribes?"
There are many households in Ordos, and there are six major branches on the left and right wings under his command, for a total of forty-two branches.
The three tribes mentioned by Gunbilik are all tribes on the left side of the Ordos tent, and have now "surrendered" to the Ming Dynasty.
They should have gone south to contain the east side.
"Hurry up and cross the river!" Gunbilik was distracted for a moment and could only order, "Explore again and prepare to engage in battle! The west is still stable, don't be afraid of the east. Noyendala leads his army across the river and can attack the Ming army in the east.
!”
He was talking about the eldest son born to him by his first wife, who was also the successor of Wanhu in Ordos.
Now, Noyendala is indeed waiting for the section of the Yellow River next to the ancient ferry at the mouth of the river to freeze and become more solid.
But some sentries have already ventured across the river to find out what's going on on the other side.
It's okay to just have a few cavalry, but if it's really a massive army marching together, we have to wait until the ice becomes thicker.
Because of this, we have to wait until the twelfth lunar month.
Gunbilik could neither risk waiting until all sections of the river were frozen, nor could he support all his men and horses to cross the river in skins or rafts.
If they cross the river earlier, the Ming army will indeed be unable to break through the east-west defense line, but the number of skins and rafts required to cross the river will be terrifying, and it will also take too long. If they wade across the cold Yellow River in the winter months, they will be able to do so immediately.
Caught in your most vulnerable moments.
There is only the best strategy for now.
On the other side of Dengkou, Tang Shunzhi had been attacking for eight days, facing 50,000 soldiers and cavalry and more than 40,000 civilians, old, weak, women and children.
Today is already the twenty-seventh of the winter lunar month.
"Gunbilik must have started to cross the river. By the twelfth lunar month, the Yellow River south of Qantao will freeze solid." Tang Shunzhi was worried, "Even if there are tens of thousands of tribesmen, cattle, sheep and horses, it will take him as long as it takes to cross the river.
Not many days."
"Dutai, we can clearly defeat the enemy completely." Ningxia Wei's command was not understood.
Tang Shunzhi shook his head: "We can defeat the enemy, but we can't annihilate them. If we delay it now, we can still make them relax a little. We have to wait until Zhang Futai arrives and attack from the north. If we can't get rid of the capable cavalry here, we can't
Go east and rob and kill the captives across the river without any worries."
"Can……"
"Believe Zhang Futai!" Tang Shunzhi interrupted him, "So what if most of the captives have crossed the river? Seeing that they have even moved the Qinghai tribe, the captives are already timid. They will not be able to survive this winter, and it will be even harder next spring.
Defend, the defeat of the captives has been accomplished. If Zhang Futai still cannot arrive after two days, defeating the enemy in one fell swoop and driving them away will also make it easier for Zhang Futai to intercept their troops fleeing north."
At this time, the 3,000 elite soldiers led by Zhang Jing were interspersed with each other, and they also lost more than 400 people along the way.
The river network is especially dense in the Houtao area.
At this time, the north wind was blocked by the Yin Mountains, so the place was not completely covered with ice and snow, and the rivers were frozen. Although Zhang Jing set off immediately after being approached by Tang Shunzhi's messengers, he was still on his way.
The soldiers from the special operations battalion originally sent by Yan Chunsheng to join him also told him that no captives had been found in the east. Knowing that there were more than 40,000 captives at Dengkou, Zhang Jing understood that the march could be bolder, but he still could not leave.
Too fast.
The important thing is that they have been away from Helan Mountain for too long, their food is not sufficient, and their physical strength is continuing to decline.
Not far away, Zhang Jing once again boosted morale: "Bite your teeth! We have defeated the Tatars in Dengkou, and the cattle and sheep are full!"
"Futai, the soldiers are all hungry. This battle is not easy to fight! There are more than 40,000 Tatars..."
Zhang Jing was silent for a moment, and then said: "There are also Dutai's troops! They have been fighting for several days over there, and the Tatars are at the end of their war effort!"
How could they not be at the end of their efforts? They originally wanted to penetrate behind enemy lines, support the war with war, and block the Tatars who might flee west. But just like the special operations camp, they could not find any tribe of Tatars spending the winter in that area.
It can be said that Gunbilik also expected that the Ming Dynasty would do this, so he adopted a different method to cross the river and forcibly built a stronghold that had to be destroyed just like the Ming Dynasty.
After marching for several miles, we had to stop and rest again.
Not long after, I heard the faint sound of horse hooves coming from the northeast, and there were a lot of them.
After Zhang Jing looked over with vigilance, he saw hundreds of black dots of different heights appearing in the distance.
"Formation! Formation!"
Not long after the order was issued, they saw the armor of the Ming army and discovered that the group on the opposite side was unusual.
"He's one of ours!" Hundreds of households from the special operations camp who met Zhang Jing said excitedly. They put down their binoculars and stretched out their hands and shouted, "Old Mo!"
Fifty people from the special operations battalion came, bringing more than 200 horses and even driving more than 100 sheep.
"This..." Zhang Jing was stunned.
"Uncle, I know you are also hungry. It took us brothers more than four days to get here."
Hundreds of households named Mo from the special warfare camp brought shocking news to them. They had set off with two hundred sheep, one man and five horses, just after Yan Chunsheng had just collected the Taolu tribe.
Now, they have found their brother and also found Zhang Jing.
On the grassland, horses are both tools of war and food rations.
The horses and sheep that came here were not many, but they were enough to feed the more than two thousand generals here.
This is enough.
"After you've eaten and drank enough, there's still big business to be done, Zhang Futai!"
"...Zhen'an Bo...the true god general!"
…
On the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, after twenty-four days, the imperial chariot of the Emperor of Heaven arrived in Kaiping from Zhangjiakou.
This place is located on the grassland known as the Jinlian River on the Lightning River. It was built nearly three hundred years ago and was once the core area of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty.
Once upon a time, there were palaces inside the city and camps outside the city that could stretch for more than ten miles.
But in the 18th year of the Zhengzheng Period, the Red Scarf Army broke through here, and the palace and city walls were destroyed by fire. In the early Ming Dynasty, the Kaiping Guards were set up and their headquarters was here. After the Kaiping Guards moved south to Dushi during the Xuande period, this place gradually became ruins.
Now, the Ming army is here.
Outside the Mingde Gate directly south of Shangdu in the old Yuan Dynasty, the flags were neatly displayed.
At the front of the welcoming team were the three generals Guo Xun, Li Quanli, and Yu Dayou.
Guo Xun commanded the three major battalions of the Northern Expedition, Li Quanli commanded the Xuanfu and Jizhou Northern Expedition armies, and Yu Dayou was the vanguard general, commanding the Datong Northern Expedition army.
In addition, there was Chen Jiuchou who entered the State Palace because of preparations for the Northern Expedition. He succeeded Wang Shouren as the Minister of State and became the governor of the Xuanda Border Region. He was responsible for the entire Northern Expedition before the emperor arrived.
He doesn't need to come up with strategies, he doesn't need to fight battles, he needs to be responsible for logistics.
Gramtai, the lord of the Duoyan tribe, is also here. After the Ming army swept away Yongxiebu, the large pastures and remaining herdsmen here need the help of the three Duoyan tribes to control them.
The Gram was ecstatic about this.
Huadang said that they would need to make a decision in the future, and since the Gram Tower was attacked the year before last and the Ming Dynasty took back Tucheng, they no longer had to hesitate.
Although they don't have a formal title yet, facing the increasingly powerful Ming Dynasty a few years ago, they will naturally do whatever the Ming Dynasty says.
Now, he knelt aside in fear to welcome the arrival of the Emperor of Heaven - he himself had never met the Emperor.
Zhu Houcong didn't care about the kind of ceremony that he had to attend before surrendering to foreigners and being granted a title. Strength was the foundation.
Now, Zhu Houcong stepped down from his coat.
Huang Jin put a cloak on him to keep out the cold, with Lu Bing guarding him from the side and behind, followed by Zhang Bi, Yang Bo, Zheng Xiao, Gao Gong and others.
"We sincerely welcome your Majesty to Kaiping. Long live your Majesty! Long live! Long live your Majesty!"
The total number of Ming troops that have been gathered in this area is nearly 20,000, and there are many temporary camps of Ming troops on both wings that stretch dozens of miles away to help defend.
"Let's all get up." Zhu Houcong said loudly, "It's cold, so don't make so many red tapes. Except for those who have duties, let the soldiers have a good rest. Recapture Kaiping, wipe out Yongxiebu, and the military achievements will be recounted after this battle is over. I'm here.
I am here to spend the winter with the soldiers, there are still many days left, I will see you all."
The Gram Tower quietly watched the young and energetic Emperor of Heaven, and was in awe of his power.
What kind of Ming is the Ming Dynasty today? Such a Ming Dynasty could not be seen before he ascended the throne. And it has been almost 12 years since he ascended the throne. The Ming Dynasty has already beaten Anda and fled north, leaving the entire Yongxiebu in name only.
It was completely wiped out, leaving only some remnant soldiers and herdsmen who had fled.
Now, this young emperor is the most powerful person in the world.
In order to welcome Zhu Houcong's arrival, the old capital of Yuan Dynasty, which was already in a state of ruins, was reorganized.
This is both a fortress and a military stronghold of the Ming Dynasty's central army. Naturally, there must be stronghold walls and sentries. Even if it cannot be built with stones and bricks, it is full of good wood inside and outside and is equally solid.
As Zhu Houcong is about to stay here to spend the severe winter, his palace must also be meticulous.
On the cleared stone platform of the Da'an Pavilion in the old Yuan Shangdu Palace, a palace has now been built. It is nearly ten feet long and wide, and it does not look rough in appearance.
Zhu Houcong glanced at Chen Jiuchou, who understood what he meant and said immediately: "After the capture of Kaiping, in addition to the great masters accompanying the army, the main contributors were the Duoyan Tribe. Your Majesty, the Ninth Five-Year Plan, will be here for several months, so I will
Don’t be slow to wait.”
"Oh?" Zhu Houcong looked at the Gram Terrace not far behind him, "Is it the manpower provided by your Duoyan Department?"
To build such a decent palace in just a few months cost a lot of manpower, material and financial resources.
Zhu Houcong knew that his status as emperor made it impossible for them to neglect him, and he had no pretensions about sleeping and eating with ordinary generals. However, he was only worried that the Northern Expedition army would spend manpower, material and financial resources on unnecessary places.
Now I heard Gram Tai walking over and saying respectfully: "With the help of Master Wang, there will be more pastures for the three tribes of Duoyan. How can we not use the hard work of dogs and horses? The clan has already followed the instructions of the imperial envoy to worship.
Practicing farming, construction and other methods is the right time to contribute to the army's master craftsmen and hone their skills."
Zhu Houcong smiled and said: "You are interested. Come in and talk."
Upon entering the palace, there are charcoal basins for heating, imperial couches and desks, and many other items are readily available.
It had been several months since the Ming army captured this place, and all the things the emperor needed had arrived, even if they were transported slowly.
Zhu Houcong rose to his seat, and after they formally met again, he was finally the first to look at Yu Dayou.
"Zhifu, after more than five years of separation, I, the king and my ministers, are reunited here in the north of the Great Wall. Thank you for your hard work these past five years."
Zhu Houcong looked at Yu Dayou with undisguised admiration in his eyes.
Yu Dayou, who was already thirty years old, had stayed in Datong for so many years and fought in Saibei for a year. He was now calmer and more imposing as a general.
But in front of Zhu Houcong, Yu Dayou could only say sincerely: "Your Majesty is so kind to me, and I will never forget it. How can I dare to express my sorrow? It is my great fortune to gain your Majesty's trust and kill enemies for my country."
He was the first serious martial arts champion in the Jiajing Dynasty. Only a few years have passed and he is already Han Haibo.
Only when the emperor gave him a chance could he express his ambition.
Zhu Houcong looked at Li Quanli again: "Where is the son of Marquis Chicheng? You brought him here and asked him to come over so I can see him."
"I'll go right now!"
How can he use himself to call people?
But what the emperor said made Li Yuan feel more clearly: the emperor was very concerned about Li Yuan, a hero, which shows that Li Quanli made the right choice!
As for him, an old minister, his skills were not comparable to that of Yu Dayou. The emperor asked him, Li Quanli, to continue to take care of Li Yuan, in order to make the Xiangcheng Hou lineage closer to the new ministers in the future.
Guo Xun waited eagerly until the third emperor looked at him: "In the last battle against Yongxiebu, you chased him for more than sixty miles?"
"...I am being reckless."
"It's not a bad thing for a military commander to be reckless, but why did he almost get himself trapped by burning the wasteland?"
Guo Xun couldn't laugh or cry: "Who knew the wind direction suddenly changed..."
After defeating Yongshebu, the original plan was to burn the grassland north of the front line to create a wide isolation zone. If the situation on Chahar changed, they would unite and attack southward without any bloodshed.
, then we have to consider the problem of horses not being able to find so many places to graze.
When he was responsible for setting fire to the grassland, Guo Xun almost surrounded himself in the fire scene.
Now when the emperor came, he cared so much about Yu Dayou and admired Li Quanli, but he ridiculed himself.
Zhu Houcong looked at him and smiled: "After this battle, you won't have to fight so hard in the future."
"In this life, wherever Your Majesty asks me to fight, I will fight even when I am old!" Guo Xun immediately expressed his stance, and then said, "I also want to stand in the Hall of Heroes like Marquis Chicheng in the future."
Zhu Houcong laughed out loud and just said okay.
This guy knew what he was doing and didn't say anything about wanting to accompany him in the Ancestral Temple.
It cannot be said that the emperor was in his prime in the Spring and Autumn Period.
When arriving in Kaiping, danger may still exist, but Zhu Houcong's main purpose was to maintain morale and convey determination to the frontline soldiers and the enemy.
Where the emperor is, the soldiers must at least fight tooth and nail. In such a northern place, fighting in winter, the Ming army can only exert a certain amount of success. Zhu Houcong is here, no matter how the plan progresses, it can deter him from rushing
The future of the entire Mongolian tribe is bet on this battle in winter.
So Zhu Houcong's main job when he came here was to talk to many generals.
After this battle, the Northern Expedition Army must be the most important military force of the Ming Dynasty.
Coming here will make it easier to win over their hearts. At least the emperor is willing to come and accompany them to endure hardships. At least when the emperor is here, there is no need to worry about food, grass, and logistics.
Li Yuan was brought here by Li Quanli. Facing a young boy, how could the emperor's concern and encouragement not make him burst into tears?
When a teenager's personality is easy to change, it is not that Zhu Houcong has not heard of some of his performances in the capital, and now he encourages him to inherit Li Jin's glory.
While the generals of the Northern Expeditionary Ming Army were waiting for the emperor to receive them, fast horses kept coming here.
It seemed like they had made an appointment.
Zhu Houcong sat calmly and calmly ordered: "Read it."
"Good news from Nanyang! General Zhao Jun, the admiral of the Navy, reported that on September 23rd, the Navy defeated the city of Malacca, captured alive the governor Juan appointed by the Portuguese barbarians, and other seventeen barbarian officials, and conquered the city of Malacca!"
"Good news from the Hetao! On November 21st, the Marquis of Funing Zhu Qi led his army to detect that more than 30,000 people from the Taolu Haoqite and other three groups moved south to guard the king's division at the ancient ferry at the mouth of the river. He then led his elite cavalry to delay the captives in Fengzhou.
South of the beach, we fought hard for several hours with more than 5,000 captives and cavalry. Zhen'anbo led 600 special warfare battalions and drove the soldiers from the west. The three groups of captives with more than 30,000 soldiers and 1,459 of their cavalry were killed in the battle.
All the rest surrender!"
"Good news from Hetao! On November 29th, Jingbian Bo was exhausted and captured more than 40,000 people in Dengkou for ten days. Ningxia Governor Zhang Jing led 3,000 elite soldiers from three sides to move in for more than two months and crossed to the north of Dengkou.
Together with one hundred and fifty generals of the special operations battalion, they attacked Dengkou and defeated the captives! The front and rear formations killed 2,793 captives. The enemy who fled into the river had no chance, and a total of 13,000 old, young, women and children were captured alive...
"
Yu Dayou, Guo Xun, Li Quanli and others listened dumbly to the success reports one after another, and then looked at the smiling but calm emperor.
It is normal for the good news from Nanyang to arrive at this time. In late September, we crossed the ocean and first arrived in Guangdong, and then rushed it all the way to Beijing and then delivered it here. Maybe the time was just right.
But with the good news from Fengzhou Beach, there is no reason why it hasn’t arrived here after more than ten days.
Only in the battle that took place at Dengkou six days ago, if the victory was reported to the soldiers desperately, they could cross the entire Hetao in six days, and then run more than three hundred miles to reach Kaiping.
The emperor was afraid that he would have known about it on the way, and he arranged such a victory now to boost the morale of the Northern Expedition army.
Yu Dayou was the first to leave the table and said loudly: "Congratulations to Your Majesty! Congratulations to the Ming Dynasty! The great victory in Nanyang, all tribes surrendered! The great victory in Hetao, there will be no more captives south of Yinshan Mountain!"
It was different to have a scholar background, and the military situation in the Ming Dynasty was even more different. Chen Jiuchou's reaction was only a little slower than him.
The Gramm was shocked to hear this series of news, and then joined others in congratulating the Emperor of Heaven.
Outside, deafening cheers soon erupted one after another. The soldiers of the Northern Expedition of the Ming Dynasty were very excited about the news. They were envious of the great achievements of the Hetao side, and they also understood that the chances of winning in the direction of the Northern Expedition were getting bigger and bigger.
.
"Long live your Majesty!"
"The Ming Dynasty will be victorious!"
Zhao Benxue, who came here with Yu Dayou, watched all this outside his barracks and couldn't help but moisten his eyes.
This is no longer just the sixteen states of Yanyun, but if the Ming Dynasty takes back the Hetao, and if the Ming army has pushed the front to Kaiping at the southern end of the prairie, Northern Xinjiang will have returned completely.
But this is not the end. The most talented heroes of this generation on the grassland are still preparing to unite the power of the grassland and try for the last fight.
There must still be a decisive battle.
Either eliminate them completely or drive them away completely!
There were loud cheers in the Northern Expedition camp, but six days had passed, and the battle in the middle section of the Yellow River in Hetao had been going on for more than three days.
Originally there were only pure cavalry on Noyendala's side, but now on the Yellow River to the west, the first batch of old, young, women and children who were frightened by the battle on the other side and rushed to their side have also arrived.
The ice was not very solid, but Noyendala could not wait any longer.
He did not know that Tang Shunzhi on the other side of the Yellow River had ordered people to use telescopes to pay attention to the movements in the east when he arrived at the decisive battle site, and had judged Gunbilik's possible tactics very early.
Many cannons along the side wall of Piantou Pass have been dismantled and are being transported north.
Zhu Qi led his infantry and held the battle formation firmly.
"Boom! Keep banging me!"
When there was artillery fire in the east, pure cavalry commanded by Yan Chunsheng in the north, and Tang Shunzhi's army appeared in the west, things were actually in chaos here.
"Eternal life is in the sky..."
Gunbilik, who believed that the strength of his entire clan would be able to hold off the Ming army on the east and west wings, and believed that the cattle and sheep brought by the tribes could support the Beidu tribesmen who had gathered together to retreat to the north of Yinshan Mountain, would have defeated the entire Ordos.
Wanhu was brought into desperate situation.
At this moment, of the nearly 20,000 elite cavalry he personally led, only a small half of them made it through first, followed by Zhu Qi and Yan Chunsheng.
Yan Chunsheng fought with their cavalry, but Zhu Qi's infantry only withstood the pressure and approached the river, bombarding and hurling missiles at the captives in the river.
When they crossed the river to the upstream direction just west, Tang Shunzhi and Zhang Jing also arrived.
Gunbilik watched helplessly as his entire tribe collapsed and began to flee without any purpose.
Those who jumped into the river ran wildly north.
He glanced back at the more tribesmen who were still struggling in the Yellow River. There were tribesmen and cavalry on the south bank who were already running to the east, and then looked east.
Should we break through the east to meet up with Noyendala, or should we take the tribesmen here and go as far north as possible?