Wang Yuan is going on an expedition on behalf of the Son of Heaven this time, and he must act according to the etiquette of the Son of Heaven.

But the military situation is urgent, and everything is simple.

Mao Ji accompanied the army on behalf of the cabinet, and the six departments were all accompanied by Zuo Shilang (except for the Ministry of Rites), and the six departments were all accompanied by the army. The Hanlin Academy, the Metropolitan Inspectorate, the Celebrant Supervisor, the Imperial Horse Supervisor, the General Administration Division, the Five Temples, the Five Military Governor's Mansion (there was no Navy Governor's Mansion at the time of departure), Jinyiwei, Tengxiang Siwei and other departments also selected officials to accompany Wang Yuan on the expedition.

With a bunch of civil officials and eunuchs, the march was slow enough.

After arriving in Datong, Wang Yuan threw these people down, and the emperor's imperial chariot also stayed in Datong City, and only took Tengxiang Siwei to carry Daxu and the dragon flag to the grassland.

"How's the teacher?" Wang Yuan asked.

Xi Shu smiled: "It's okay. ”

Wang Yuan blamed himself: "You shouldn't let the teacher work so hard in Datong." ”

"Haha, Datong Town has been rectified, and this is enough," Xi Shu laughed, "This time I go back, I should say goodbye to my hometown." ”

Xi Shu should have died of illness three years ago, three years longer than in history. He was in Datong to rectify military affairs, but he had already become ill from hard work, and he planned to resign when he returned to Beijing.

Zhu Houzhao has already agreed, and appointed Xishu as a scholar of Dongge University, plus Zhuguo and Prince Shaobao, and returned to his hometown as a cabinet minister and three young people.

On the Datong side, Wang Yuan commanded 50,000 troops.

Among them, 9,000 rifled bayonet musketeers and 18,000 smoothbore musketeers were all new troops of the Leopard House.

Another 3,000 artillery units, 3,000 rifled musketeers of the Beijing battalion.

There were also 2,000 cavalry from the border towns, 10,000 infantry soldiers from the border army, and 5,000 charioteers, all of whom were not issued muskets.

The main army of 50,000, including more than 100,000 auxiliary troops, and known as 300,000 to the outside world, crossed the Yellow River to attack the grassland from the partial pass of Datong Town.

Yuan Da's battalion of 3,000 gods was also equipped with rifled muskets, but not with bayonets. From southern Liaoning to Tianjin, take a boat to Tianjin, go to Datong to rest for a few days, and cross the Great Wall from Yulinwei to attack. Its strategic goal is to attack and harass the Tumut Department outside the Hetao, prevent the Tumut Department from rushing to the aid of the Hetao, and find an opportunity to detour around and block the fleeing Ordos Department.

Ningxia Town sent 8,000 troops to enter the Hetao from the west to deter the Xitao grassland; Yansui Town sent 10,000 troops, entered the Hetao from the south, and tried to attack the hometown of Chahan Naoerwei (Hanshuo Fangjunzhi, Xiongnu Tongwancheng). These 18,000 men must not advance lightly, drive small tribes along the way, and immediately retreat cautiously if they encounter the main Mongol force.

Not counting the grain transport auxiliaries, there were 71,000 men in all armies.

Wang Yuan's main force of 50,000 was the first to set out, with 3,000 rifled musketeers of the Beijing battalion as the vanguard, and went straight along the tributaries of the Yellow River to the Babai Room (Genghis Khan Altar).

Then set off was Yuan Da, a battalion of three thousand gods, one man and two horses, and a rifled gun.

Due to the lack of war horses, the war horses in the entire southern Liaoning region were temporarily transferred to Yuan Da. This is a strange army, not only to attack and harass the Tumut department, contain and interrupt the local reinforcements, but also to find an opportunity to stop the fleeing Mongol main force.

……

Wanquan Dusi sent three hundred cavalry, the same one person and two horses, to follow Yuan Da to attack the grassland, in fact, he came to be a guide.

Yuan Da's 3,300 cavalry troops plunged along the Yellow River into Fengzhou (near Hohhot), where the old nest of the Tumut Wanhu was located.

After a long journey of 300 miles, he ignored the small tribes and soon arrived in Fengzhou (near Hohhot).

Liu Yu, the general of Wanquan who was the guide, said: "General Zhao (Yuan Da), in front of you is Fengzhou Bansheng City, do you want to sneak attack at night?" ”

Yuan Da said: "The soldiers are fast, how can you wait for the night?" Change horses and attack now! ”

Liu Yu wanted to speak and stopped, but he didn't dare to dissuade him, so he could only accompany this madman to mess around.

Ahead is the old nest of the Tumutwan household, with a large area of fertile land, where many plundered Han people cultivate.

From Tuoketuo County in later generations to Hohhot, all belong to semi-cultivated and semi-pastoral areas. There is a river called the "Tumo River" (Great Black River), and along the river is fertile black soil, and the Tumut tribe is not only self-sufficient in grain, but also has a large amount of grain stored to control other tribes.

Three thousand three hundred cavalry, six thousand six hundred horses, galloping three hundred miles, such a large battle, has already alarmed the Tumut department.

However, the Tumut tribe lived along the Tumo River, and there were many other small tribes scattered in various pastures, so it was impossible to gather too many troops in a short period of time.

The old generals had already dispersed the envoys, went to the various departments to gather cavalry, and led 5,000 cavalry to face Yuan Da across the river.

"Kill!"

Yuan Da gave an order, and 3,300 cavalry attacked and killed Mongolian herdsmen along the river, and did not cross the river for a decisive battle at all.

Xie Wang, a talented talent who was exiled to southern Liaoning, has become the leader of Yuan Da's personal guards. He chased after Yuan Da and asked, "General, are these Hanmin people taking away?" ”

"No time, whatever!" Yuan Da replied.

There are tens of thousands of Han people along the Tumo River. Most of them were captured by the Mongols, and some were fugitive military households, fugitive households, and White Lotus cultists. Historically, in the early years of Wanli, the number of Han people cultivating here even exceeded 100,000, and several leaders of the White Lotus Sect became large landlords to help the Tumut Department manage Han people.

If Wang Yuan conquered here, even the immigrants would be saved, and tens of thousands of Han people would be enough to restore the guards.

The leader of the Tumut tribe, the old general, saw Yuan Da on the other side of the river, slaughtering the Mongols without any scruples, and his eyes immediately turned red with anger. But he only had five or six thousand cavalry in his hands, and the rest of the cavalry had not yet arrived to converge, so he did not dare to cross the river to stop him, for fear of being attacked by Yuan Da.

Yuan Da led his troops along the river to kill the west, and the old generals led his troops along the river to the east.

Towards evening, Yuan Da had killed many Mongols and robbed more than 10,000 head of livestock, including hundreds of war horses and horses.

Finally, the old man crossed the river by detour, and the cavalry under his command had gathered to 8,000.

"Change horses! General Liu took care of the horses and livestock. ”

Yuan Da took 3,000 musketeers to change horses, let Liu Yu's 300 cavalry from the border town stay behind, and then took the initiative to lead the army to kill the enemy.

Three thousand against eight thousand.

The old man was so angry that the three corpse gods jumped violently, his subordinates were suddenly attacked, and he finally crossed the river by a detour, and the other party actually dared to kill more with fewer blows.

Eight thousand Mongol cavalry immediately dispersed and set up a formation, intending to attack from the south and east.

To the north of the Ming army was the Tumo River, and to the west were the horses and captured livestock, which had to fight the Mongol cavalry head-on.

————

Halfway through the run, Yuan Da shouted: "Raise the gun!" ”

The herald immediately blew the horn, and the three thousand Shenxiao battalions collectively reined in their horses and slowed down, and after a stop, raised the flintlock rifled muskets in their hands.

"Bang bang bang!"

At a distance of about 150 meters, a salvo of three thousand rifled guns immediately inflicted casualties on the enemy in front.

They immediately retreated after releasing their guns, jumping out of the encirclement before the enemy could close in, and Yuan Da shouted at Liu Yu: "No more war horses and livestock!" ”

Liu Yu was stunned, immediately abandoned his horses and livestock, and retreated with three hundred cavalry.

The old man took back his livestock and picked up more than 3,000 war horses for nothing. Although he was shocked by the range of the Ming army's muskets, he was still happy in his heart, and he divided five hundred horsemen to guard the livestock, and he continued the pursuit with the remaining cavalry.

Suddenly, Yuan Da led his troops around to the south, getting farther and farther away from Tumo River, and stopped ten minutes later to reload the paper-shell ammunition.

The veterans all spread out their formations again, raised their bows and arrows, and ordered to charge.

This time, at a distance of about 100 meters, 3,000 flintlock muskets were fired in a volley, and immediately after the firing was completed, the Mongol cavalry was put down by more than 40 people.

Yuan Da led his troops to the east, and then turned northwest halfway and killed the five hundred Mongol cavalry escorting livestock.

The 500 Mongol cavalry immediately threw down their livestock and horses to escape the surprise attack of the Ming army.

Yuan Da once again led his troops to evacuate the riverbank, leading thousands of enemies to fly kites. The old man was about to explode, he lost more than 60 people before and after, and he didn't even touch a single hair of the other party.

"Don't save horsepower, chase at full speed!" The old man shouted.

This move gave Yuan Da a headache, and the enemy was chasing at full speed, and he didn't even have time to reload his ammunition. This musket can be fired two or three times per minute, but it must be reloaded when it is stationary, and it is difficult to operate the horse when it runs.

Running east, there are all mountains, which belong to the remnants of Yin Mountain!

Yuan Da chose the nearest mountain, at first the mountain was gentle, and he could rush up on horseback, but gradually he could only dismount and walk.

The Ming army all dismounted and loaded ammunition, and more than 8,000 Mongolian cavalry could only dismount.

The old commander divided 2,000 men on the left and right, climbed the hillside to outflank the enemy, and the remaining 4,000 men attacked from the front. He was already about to be driven crazy, and he was determined to eat the three thousand Ming troops in front of him.

"Bang bang bang!"

Three thousand musketeers, who had been temporarily converted into infantry, condescended and fired freely at the more than 4,000 Mongols who were climbing the mountain.

This was much more accurate than shooting on horseback, and a flurry of shots was fired, and the Mongols were put down by nearly a hundred. Reloading again, the two sides got closer, and instantly wounded more than 200 enemies, so that those Mongols lay on the ground and did not dare to raise their heads.

Purely out of survival instinct, these Mongols learned to lie down and avoid bullets, but they didn't know what it meant to crawl forward.

The old generals all drew their knives and shouted: "Fools, all rise up and charge, their firearms don't have time to charge!" ”

One after another, the Mongols began to charge, and the enemies on the left and right slowly approached.

But after a delay just now, the Ming soldiers completed the reloading again.

Shooting at a closer range, there was a thud thump, and more than three hundred enemies were reimbursed. At this time, if the Mongols rushed forward, they would be able to engage in hand-to-hand combat with more hits and fewer before the Ming army loaded its ammunition.

However, the Mongols were cowardly again, lying on the ground and not daring to get up, they had not fought such a battle before, only a few warriors were still getting up and advancing.

The old man drew his knife again: "Rush, get up and rush!" ”

The marksman Kuai Laosan raised his gun to aim, and suddenly pulled the trigger, and the leader of the Tumut tribe, the old general, suddenly fell down in response.

The Mongolian soldiers were in chaos, and they all protected the corpse of the old general, and fled down the mountain without their lives. The Mongols who were outflanked on the left and right, hearing the shouts from the front, also chose to retreat on horseback down the mountain.

"Kill!"

The whole army gathered their guns and led their horses through the steep terrain, then mounted their horses and swooped down on the enemy.

Whether you believe it or not, at this point in the battle, none of the 3,300 Ming cavalry was killed, and only a few were slightly injured when climbing the mountain.

Especially the 300 cavalry from the Wanquan Division, they were not equipped with muskets, and Chun Crush came to be a guide, and they watched the play on the battlefield the whole time.

Of course, there were also losses, due to one man and two horses, and the other three thousand three hundred war horses, all of which were captured by the Mongols by the river.