In the camp of the Chinese army in the middle of the night, there was a miserable scream from time to time, which was very terrifying. The Ming army was torturing and beating the prisoners.

Zhu Gaoxu hadn't slept yet, he was pacing around in front of a pot of charcoal fire.

There was a map on the floor, but he didn't look at it, but walked around for a while, and then crouched down in front of the brazier. His face reflected the light of the charcoal fire, and he looked stunned.

In addition to Zhu Gaoxu, there was another person in the tent, Duan Xuehate. She sat quietly next to her, sometimes with her eyes closed, and occasionally looking up to observe Zhu Gaoxu...... He seemed a little restless at this point.

Zhu Gaoxu turned around and said, "It's late, you go to sleep first." ”

Duan Xue hated raised her head and said softly, "I didn't sleep at night before, I was mostly alone. I feel good to be by my side tonight. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said no more. But the two of them stayed in the tent late at night, and he gradually felt a certain unique atmosphere.

Duan Xue, who is silent, and a young woman who rarely smiles, her skin in the night is even paler; The concave and convex and tight figure makes people faintly feel the lust. At this time, there seemed to be an atmosphere of decadence in the tent.

This situation is really a bit out of place.

Duan Xue hated the previous hatred and wandering situation, but it was long gone; Zhu Gaoxu also asked her if she was unhappy, but she didn't. It's just that a person's dull personality that has been formed for a long time does not immediately become cheerful because the situation has improved.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't feel sleepy, thinking back and forth in the tent, I don't know how long it took.

At this time, Hou Hai's voice came from outside the tent: "Hasn't the saint fallen asleep yet?" Someone replied: "The last general is not very clear." ”

Zhu Gaoxu lifted the thick oilcloth curtain and saw Hou Hai standing outside the tent with his neck curled. Zhu Gaoxu immediately beckoned: "Come in and say." ”

Hou Hai hesitated for a moment, then bent down and walked into the warm tent. He glanced at Duan Xue Hat, who was sitting on the felt carpet, and hugged his fists and said, "The ministers will meet the saint and the concubine." ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, waiting for Hou Hai to continue speaking. Hou Hai came to the account late at night, there must be something important.

Sure enough, Hou Hai quickly said: "The Holy Lord, the ministers tortured and interrogated nearly a hundred prisoners, and got an important news. The king's tent of the Great Khan of Tatars, Benyali, was south of the 'Lake of the Sea' (Hulun Lake). Many prisoners confirmed the news, and the officials carefully interrogated and determined that the military situation was true! ”

"Hou Zuo did a good job." Zhu Gaoxu praised it, immediately squatted down in front of the map, and buried his head in looking at it. After a while, he spoke: "Our army is still about two hundred miles away, but the Tatar camp tribe can't all run on horseback, and the monks can't run the temple......"

Hou Hai bowed and said, "Holy Wisdom!" He then said, "Please take care of the dragon's body, and please retire." ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded in agreement. However, he did not take off his clothes all night, and took a nap on the blanket against the tent in the early hours of the morning......

The next morning, just after dawn, Zhu Gaoxu walked out of the tent. Suddenly, he saw sparse snowflakes in the air.

The snow falls silently, often surprisingly. The military camp and countless tents in the light snow also seemed to be quite different from before, and suddenly became hazy. The originally endless wilderness no longer seems to be so wide.

The grasslands to the east are particularly flat, with hardly any undulations. Zhu Gaoxu stood in the snow and looked out for a while, faintly having an illusion, as if the plain in the distance was hanging high above.

He reached out and took a few snowflakes, and when the snowflakes melted in the warm palm, he shook off the water droplets and strode towards the big tent of the Chinese army.

Zhu Gaoxu came to the big tent and put on his armor. Zhu Wenwu came to the big tent early in the morning.

After the civil and military officials saluted, Zhu Gaoxu cleared his throat a little, and then said straight to the point: "I learned of a military situation last night, Benjari lost his sweat in the south of the 'Lake Like the Sea', two hundred miles away from here. The message is more reliable. ”

The generals immediately looked up at Zhu Gaoxu, but only Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department, was still buried his head, as if he was pondering something.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The royal tent of the Tatar Khan, the camp tents of the tribes, and the families of the tribes cannot go as fast as the cavalry. I also believe that many of the tribes of the Tatars were still in the vicinity of the 'Lake of the Sea'. ”

He frowned and pondered for a moment, then continued: "If our army sets out at once and pursues the Tatar king's tent to the northeast, there is a chance to catch it in the north of the north of the sea. Then retreat south from the lake of the sea and the eastern side of the fishing sea, and sweep along the road, which will surely expand the results of the battle and further deter the Tatar tribes! ”

Jiangyin Marquis Wu Gao hugged his fists and said: "Yesterday, the military rations of the Qibu Hall were insufficient, if this is the case, the time will have to be delayed for more than half a month, and the saint will inspect it." ”

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, and Wu Gao returned to the queue with a fist bow.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu stood up from his seat, took two steps, and said: "This Benjari has been running around for many years, and he has received the support of Timur; He insisted on going his own way, calling on the Mongolian and ancient ministries to restore the status of the Yuan Dynasty, so it was difficult to get along with the Ming Dynasty. This time Benjari may run away from sweating, but the 'temple' can't!

If our army can take and kill the king's tent and raze the Tatar tribes who follow the king's tent, we will be able to deal a fatal blow to Benjari's loss of prestige! In addition, if the forage tent materials of the Tatar tribes were destroyed at the beginning of winter, the men and animals of the Northern Yuan tribes could also be reduced this winter, which would be quite effective in weakening the enemy army. ”

At this time, Qi Tai stepped forward and bowed: "Holy Lord, the minister seconded the words of the Marquis of Jiangyin." At this time, the Chinese army had to pay attention to grain and military supplies. If the army attacks again, prolongs the time, and consumes men and horses, I am afraid that the squad will face an extremely serious shortage of food and grass on the way. The Chinese military cannot but take a long-term view. ”

Soon, a few people in the queue of generals subconsciously nodded slightly, as if they agreed with Qi Tai's statement.

"Don't we still have tens of thousands of horses?" Zhu Gaoxu said quietly.

Qi Tai was stunned for a moment.

Xinchenghou Zhang Fu's voice said: "On the way back, if the food runs out, the soldiers can kill horses to satisfy their hunger!" ”

The big tent was suddenly very quiet, and even Qi Tai didn't say anything more. War horses are expensive, Zhu Gaoxu is actually ready to use them to fill the army food, and only the emperor dares to make such a decision in advance!

Everyone was quiet for a while, and then Zhu Gaoxu said in a deep voice: "We are fighting!" You can't always have enough abundance, and in order to achieve victory, you will inevitably find ways to do everything. ”

Seeing that no one agreed, he added, "As long as we are determined, we can overcome many difficulties." But if you want to find a reason, you can easily find a hundred excuses to back down on any major event! ”

Finally, Wang Bin, Zhang Fu, Liu Sheng and other generals all stood up and bowed one after another: "The ministers obey the will, please make a decision!" ”

Qi Tai, the secretary of the military department, also said: "Where to go, it is still up to the saint to make a decision." ”

Zhu Gaoxu sat down and was silent for a while. After a while, he spoke: "If we are lucky, we will have seized a large number of cattle near the 'Lake of the Sea' and found the camp where the grass was hoarded, so we would no longer have to slaughter the horses. Even in the worst-case scenario, we are not completely out of the question. ”

When he said this, he slapped his palm on his thigh, and his eyes lit up: "That's it!" Deploy the whole army and continue to pursue the lake area. ”

The people in the big tent saluted, "Ministers obey the holy decree!" ”

Then Zhu Gaoxu arranged the march routes of the various armies. The order was to the northwest, to meet the left post of the Qu Neng Division, and after joining up with the Qu Neng front army, to the east; The remaining corps, together with the Chinese battalion, marched to the northeast.

The snow is getting heavier and heavier before you know it. This snow seems to be the "real"; The first light snow on the grassland fell for a day and soon cleared.

The armies pulled out their camps and continued their march in the snow. The whole world seems to be shrouded in snowflakes.

The main forces of the Chinese army and other armies began to advance in the direction of north-east in the area roughly west of the fishing sea. The vanguard had sent several small teams of horses to the front to search for the king's tent to spy on the Tatars.

Five days later, the army joined Qu Neng and other troops on the southeast shore of the "Lake of the Sea".

The tent of the Tatar king had already left the place, but the soldiers had dug through the snow and found a large amount of ash from cow dung and traces of a large number of camps.

The endless "lake like the sea" is already in sight. As long as people look north, their eyes can see the vast surface of the lake; But at this time the lake is not very noticeable, the lake water has frozen, and the snow has covered the lake with snow for several days in a row.

For five days, there were no more fighting. The Ming army only burned some Tatar tribes' tents, looted a few pasture piles and some livestock.

Zhu Gaoxu felt that it would be difficult for a decent battle to happen in the future. The build-up of the Tatar army will not last long; After the battle on the west side of the fishing sea, their cavalry should have dispersed.

The Tatar army gathered tens of thousands of cavalry, and if it wanted to maintain it for a long time, it was generally when it attacked the territory of the Ming Dynasty, because it could grab the food in the village. However, in the steppe, if the enemy army has tens of thousands of troops deployed for a long time, it is difficult to ensure supplies in winter.

In the evening, Zhu Gaoxu stood on the shore of the "Lake Like the Sea", observing the scene in the north. Although there is snow on the ground, if you look closely, you can tell the boundary between the lake and the land. Like the east shore of the lake of the sea, the shore of the lake seems to extend in the shape of the word "丿".

The vast horizon does not have anything unusual on all sides. However, Zhu Gaoxu still repeatedly reminded himself that the Tatar king's tent must be in front, and sooner or later he will be able to catch up with the target!

Continuing to chase in this way, Zhu Gaoxu hoped that the army could be north of the "Lake Like the Sea" and in the valley of the Xueshui River (Hailar River), so that the Tatar king's tent could enter the strike range of the Ming cavalry......

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the ice-covered lake and stood in the wind and snow for a long time. When he came back to his senses, he felt very stiff.