Wang Xiao observed for a long time, and saw through the so-called advantages and real weaknesses of the Mongols very early.

Superior mobility is indeed an advantage, but it can be limited. As for their weakness, it is that they also have to hold on.

Once the mobile army needs to hold on, it will be like the German army in the late Soviet-German war, giving up its advantage and being beaten by others in positional warfare.

The Mongols ran happily, but as long as they mobilized a strong army, they rushed straight to their base camp without hesitation. The cavalry who were out there had to come back to the rescue and put up a tough face-to-face fight.

Since taking over the Shenji Battalion for more than a year now, Wang Xiaoke has not been idle. For the training and equipment update of the Shenji Battalion, they are very tight.

Although there were only five or six thousand musketeers, it was very useful to arrange them in a square formation against cavalry.

Wang Xiao personally led the firecrackers to press forward, and ignored the firecrackers who came to harass and provoke them around.

He had used the phalanx of the European musket era in his training, and now it was time to use his power.

As long as the Mongol cavalry came into the range of the firebolt, it was directly fired by a row of guns.

The range of the new flintlock pistol was much longer than that of the soft bow of the cavalry, and it was difficult for the Mongols to hurt the Shenji battalion with cavalry fire.

After many attempts, the Mongol cavalry retreated.

It's not that you can't beat it and run, it's about starting to build up strength.

Zhu Di soon got the news that the Mongols who were pestering the Ming army around them had retreated. He immediately judged that the Mongols were concentrating on besieging Wang Xiao.

The 3,000 battalion received an order to support Wang Xiao, but if Zhu Gaoxu went to rescue Wang Xiao, it was really the wrong person.

The reinforcements didn't come up, and Wang Xiao didn't deliberately wait for them. Dozens of phalanxes converged into a group and pressed towards the banks of the Tribulation River.

The Mongols finally rushed up, and the black pressure was like a dark cloud.

They shot hard against the guns of the Ming army, desperately trying to rush into the array and defeat the Ming army.

Wang Xiao's linear musket phalanx originated from Napoleon's tactics, and there was no difference except that he did not bring artillery.

Although there were no cannons in the phalanx, the quality of the muskets was much better than the breech-loading flintlock pistols of the Napoleonic period. And the opponent was not a strong enemy such as the British lobster soldiers, the Prussian battle line soldiers, or the Russian Cossacks.

Few Mongols were able to get close to the phalanx, and even a few rushed in without fear of death, but muskets were pointed at them from all sides, and they were knocked off their horses before they could do anything.

Watch as hordes of cavalry rush into the Ming array, and then quickly be devoured. The people behind all began to hesitate.

This is not a hundred years ago.

A hundred years ago, the Mongol cavalry was fierce to the extreme, and it was invincible across the Eurasian world island.

However, a hundred years later, the Mongol cavalry not only lacked armor and sharp weapons, but even war horses.

As for the spirit, they have long forgotten the glory of their ancestors who fought to the death.

What's more, the various tribes of Mongolia were fragmented, and there were no strongmen who could bring them together.

The first to retreat were the Arutai people, who were crippled as early as the last time Zhu Di went out to conquer Saibei, and they had already suffered heavy losses after the fierce battles along the way. If this continues to be consumed, there will be no men in the entire Arutai tribe.

The most important resources on the grassland are not horses, cattle and sheep, but people, especially young and strong men.

When the men are gone, the tribe is finished.

After the Arutai retreated, the Uliangha and other tribes of all sizes also retreated. After all, this is not their home base.

In the end, the only ones left were the Varat and the Tatars.

Before Wang Xiao's firecrackers could reach the base camp, the Warats retreated.

Mahamu saw that the battle could no longer continue, so he chose to evacuate early.

They left early, and could retreat from the wings early. The remaining main force of the Tatars was forced down the river of difficulty.

The Ming army came to the bank of the river and opened heavy fire on the countless Tatars who were trying to cross the river.

The rain of bullets fell into the river, killing countless people and horses. The waters of this river of distress were dyed bright red.

Mahamu on the distant hill turned pale, and he knew that the Tatars in a desperate situation would either be completely defeated or surrender to the Ming army.

Without the powerful Tatars, the Mongol tribes would no longer have the courage to continue to resist.

"Immortal Heaven, doesn't this plateau no longer belong to us Mongolians?"

Mahamu raised his head to the sky and roared, his words full of endless pathos.

The people on the side also showed sadness on their faces, feeling that the future of the Warat people was bleak.

'Smack! ’

A few drops of rain fell on the tearful face of Mahamu. He opened his eyes suddenly, and saw that it was already raining in the sky.

"Hahahaha~~~"

Maha laughed loudly like a mad tiger, "It's raining, it's raining!" Immortal Heaven has come to save us! ”

The rain on the prairie came very quickly, and the dripping raindrops soon turned into a downpour, sweeping the entire battlefield.

Wang Xiao, who was on the bank of the River of Suffering, raised his hand to touch the cold raindrops on the iron armor, lowered his eyelids and was silent.

This heavy rain is really at the right time!

Muskets and artillery could not be used in heavy rain. As the gunfire ceased, the Tatars fleeing into the river thundered with joy.

They had almost collapsed, but the rain had saved them and allowed them to flee to the other side and regroup.

Wang Xiao held the saber in his hand tightly, and after a long time, he put the knife back into its sheath.

Turning the horse's head, he slowly walked towards the Ming army camp.

The rainy season on the prairie has arrived, almost half a month earlier than usual.

Constant rainfall slowed down the movement of the Ming army.

Muskets and artillery were unusable in the wilderness, and the muddy ground greatly limited the range of movement of the Ming army's infantry and cavalry.

The surging river blocked the Ming army on the south bank and could not cross the river, so they could only watch the Mongols on the other side regroup and build a defensive line.

A large number of Mongol cavalry began to harass the Ming Dynasty's logistical supply lines that stretched for thousands of miles. It was difficult to send all kinds of supplies in the muddy ground, and it was difficult for the wounded to be sent back to the customs.

The morale of the Ming army began to gradually decline, and the right choice at this time was to retreat.

In any case, the Ming army has already inflicted heavy losses on its opponents. Earn benefits, make a contract, and retire. If you want to fight, you can come back next year.

But Zhu Di was unwilling to withdraw his troops.

For Zhu Di, he has no regrets in his life. The real last wish is to catch up with the pinnacle of the Chinese soldiers once set up by Huo Quzhi, and seal the wolf Juxu.

Now that Wolf Juxu Mountain is on the north bank of the Troubled River, as the first commander of the Central Plains to arrive here in 500 years, Zhu Di does not want to leave the last regret in his life.

Therefore, even if the battle situation has fallen into a stalemate, Zhu Di still has no intention of retreating.

The two sides fought fiercely along both sides of the river, crossing the river and counter-crossing each other, and sneak attacks and counter-sneak attacks were staged every day.

Every day, a large number of wooden boats of the Ming army and sheepskin rafts of the Mongols sink into the surging river of suffering. The war has entered a stage of brutal mutual attrition.

Wang Xiao has remained silent, not in favor of withdrawing from the army, nor supporting the continuation of the fight. Be a low-key person and only obey orders.

In fact, whether it is Zhu Di or other generals, they have already paid attention to the great changes in the Shenji Battalion.

A few thousand men crushed tens of thousands of Mongol cavalry, forced them back into the river, and almost fed them all to the fish. You can't pay attention to it if you don't want to.

However, just as Wang Xiao had speculated before, in this current environment, no one would propose to adjust the control of the Divine Machine Battalion.

Everything will have to wait until after returning to Beijing.

By the time the rainy season is over, it's September.

It seems to be a crisp autumn season, but in the far north, it starts to snow in October.

Zhu Di wants to seal the wolf Juxu, and there is not much time left for him.

The Ming army did not attack immediately after the end of the rainy season, as the previous continuous rainy season had almost destroyed their logistical supplies.

The soldiers lacked food, the wounded lacked medicine, and the horses lacked forage and salt. Even the musket artillery of the Shenji Battalion was unusable due to the dampness of the gunpowder.

Before launching an attack, they need to restore the transport lines and stock up on supplies.

Walking out of the cowhide tent that was smelling because of the soaking water, Wang Xiao, who had two pieces of cloth in his nostrils, stepped on the muddy grass and came to the outside of the camp.

"It's finally clear."

"Taisun." Yu Qian, who had a scruffy beard and a haggard face, followed, "It seems that this battle will be fought until next year." ”

Wang Xiao moved his sore shoulders, "How do you say that?" ”

"Although it is said that after crossing the Troubled River and then going forward, there is the Wolf Juxu Mountain, but the north side of the Troubled River is a stretch of mountains. If our army enters the lofty mountains, the numerical advantage will be completely negated. ”

Yu Qian said worriedly, "This is the birthplace of the Mongols and their home. They're going to fight to the death. Our supply line is thousands of miles long, and even an iron nail has to be transported from Shanhaiguan. But people are fighting in their own homes! ”

"After crossing the difficult river, it is the mouth of the Three Gorges, and only when you enter the mouth of the Three Gorges can you really enter the mountain and advance towards the Wolf Juxu Mountain. But the mountains at the mouth of the Three Gorges are steep, and the middle path is extremely narrow, so we can't get through it at all! ”

Wang Xiao turned to look at him, "What exactly do you want to say?" ”

"Retire."

The corners of Yu Qian's mouth trembled: "Go and ask the emperor to withdraw the army!" If you continue to fight, you may not be able to walk in the winter when it snows. The entire Ming Dynasty's finances will be dragged down by this battle! ”

Daming invested more than just hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the front line in this battle.

In order to maintain a logistics line that is thousands of miles long, there are millions of people who are constantly transporting supplies to the front line. This is not counting the forces used by the Ming Dynasty to raise and transport supplies in China.

The consumption of the people along the way, the loss on the transportation road, and the mobilization of forces in all aspects.

It is no exaggeration to say that the real consumption of a Ming soldier's meal in a day on the front line is equal to a month's ration for a family in China.

Hundreds of thousands of large livestock have been lost so far.

The Ming Dynasty is only an agricultural country, and maintaining such a long front for a long time has already pushed them to the side of the cliff.

"I know what you're talking about."

Wang Xiao found a clean grass and sat down, looking up at the blue and pure sky.

"The Emperor's time is running out. He knew that once he retreated, he would never have the chance to come here again. Therefore, even if it is until next year, we must continue to fight. No one could persuade him. ”