In the grassland in autumn, the sky is high and the clouds are light. The breeze blows, and the tall grass undulates like ocean waves. The herdsmen of the grassland are seizing the time to harvest the pasture and stock up enough forage before the winter so that more cattle and sheep can survive. The old and weak cattle and sheep will be made into jerky after the winter, which will become their food for a long winter.

If in the past, after they had done these things well, perhaps the sons and men would have received a call from the princes and Taiji, and went to the border of the Ming Kingdom to harass and plunder, and get some grain and money back. But now it's different, the Ming Kingdom has changed its master, the army is very powerful, and the tribes along the Great Wall have lost their temper, and they, who are far away from the Great Wall, don't dare to attack easily.

However, they were still able to obtain grain and cloth, but they had to buy it with silver money and exchange it for horse skins. Although they also survived when the Han people were strong, they followed the Qing State into the Central Plains in the past few years, and they were still a little uncomfortable with the rules all of a sudden.

Now, although it is already known on the grassland that there is a contingent of tens of thousands of Han people entering the grassland, saying that they are here to trade, tribes such as the Ao Han Tribe, the Naiban Tribe, and the Zalut Department still gathered their cavalry early. However, the tribes did not agree on anything, just in case. The cavalry of two or three thousand of each of their tribes was no match for the tens of thousands of Han cavalry.

Among them, the king of the Nabarian tribe, Gunchuk, was very nervous, because he had heard the news that the Han cavalry had entered the grassland this time to punish those who had reported to the Qing Dynasty. He knew that it was him, and he didn't know if the other tribes had reported to the Qing court.

So after he received the news, he immediately notified the Qing State and asked the Qing State to send troops to help in the war. Last time, the Han cavalry of 2,000, the Qing State dispatched more than 20,000 cavalry to drive the Han cavalry away. This time, tens of thousands came, and with their own strength, they simply hit a stone with an egg.

Although the Qing troops have not yet arrived, the Han troops have only just arrived in Karaqin, and they still have time.

Bai Shixiong and Feng Taichu led the troops to the territory of the Karaqin tribe, although it took dozens of miles to see a small group of people living together, but the people here were very enthusiastic, and they all prepared their things early to trade with the merchants who came over. They needed tea, cloth, grain, spirits, needles and threads, rouge gouache, in exchange for their horses, cattle and sheep, and furs.

Of course, these are ordinary herdsmen, and those princes are different. The princes had robbed a lot of gold and silver from the Central Plains, and they had all kinds of wealth in their hands, and what they needed was a novelty, silk and satin, and delicate ornaments.

Bai Shixiong looked at the bustling crowd at the temporary trading point, as well as the herdsmen who drove horses and sheep from afar, frowned and said, "It's really troublesome to take these merchants. Everywhere you go, there's always a time to lose. With so much time, he would have caught up with those Qing cavalry a long time ago. ”

He was besieged by the Qing army last time and lost more than 500 horsemen, and this time he came to the grassland to seek revenge from the Qing army.

Feng Taichu persuaded: "This is also something that cannot be helped. Time is tight, and we can't get so much food and grass ourselves. Moreover, the generalissimo's meaning was to come to the steppe to show the Mongols that the Qing State did not have absolute rule over the steppe. Not only that, but wouldn't the merchants come with us, so that we can get more horses for what we need? ”

"I think these people are a burden." Bai Shixiong was still dissatisfied and said: "Look at the things they are carrying, although they are all loaded in carriages, but if the Qing soldiers attack again, we can't protect them." ”

Feng Taichu smiled and said, "Don't underestimate them, they are very shrewd." You see, they asked for very few sheep, and most of them were exchanged for horses. The sheep were used for food, and the skins, gold and silver they had bought were carried on horseback, and they were in danger, and they could not lose their lives and wealth. ”

Bai Shixiong kept a cold face and did not speak. He now wanted to capture the Qing troops and avenge the dead and wounded brothers. Nearly thirty percent of the casualties were lost in a battle, and if he hadn't given a satisfactory explanation to the brothers and the commander, he, the commander of the cavalry, would probably have moved to another place.

Since they entered the steppe, there has been little fighting. Together with the caravan they followed, there were tens of thousands of horses, and even a few tribal alliances did not dare to provoke them. Moreover, the generalissimo had an order that they could not go to war against these tribes who were not hostile. Bai Shixiong and the others had nowhere to use their strength at this time, and they were feeling uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, commander," Feng Taichu persuaded: "We have such a big battle, the Qing side has long known about it, it depends on whether they dare to send troops over." Besides, it's useless to be in a hurry, those cavalry of the Qing Kingdom, after attacking you, they will immediately go back to Liaodong, even if we chase non-stop, we can't catch up. ”

Faced with the reminder of his deputy, who was also the most powerful contender for the position of cavalry commander, Bai Shixiong quickly regained his senses. He knew he couldn't make any more mistakes and had to stay calm. At the same time, he was not worried that Feng Taichu would make a stumbling block, and the matter of tearing each other down was absolutely not allowed by Li Yan.

Bai Shixiong took a deep breath, and then ordered: "You go and choose the camp tonight, and arrange the rotation of the troops." After all, it's in a foreign land, and you can't take it lightly. ”

"Subordinates receive orders."

And in Shengjing, the princes of the Qing Kingdom were also discussing this Li Yan army that entered the grassland.

"The Mongolian tribes are my Great Qing Dynasty, and Li Yan must not be allowed to come and go at will." Dolgon said eloquently: "If we lose the Mongol tribes, our Qing Dynasty will lose the weapon to threaten the Central Plains. At that time, Li Yan will be able to concentrate without distractions and mobilize all his forces to directly attack my Qing Dynasty. At that time, even if I wanted to negotiate peace with Li Yan in the Qing Dynasty, I definitely had no chance. Therefore, Mongolia must be protected, and the Mongolian tribes must be completely subordinated to our Qing Dynasty. ”

The last time the cavalry that mobilized a large army to attack Li Yan was made by Dolgon's full effort. And the results of the battle were not bad, at least five or six hundred Li Yan were annihilated, and twenty-six were captured. Although all of these captives were injured, two of them had already spoken, and they also knew the truth of Li Yan, which was very important for their future strategy. With this achievement, Dolgon was restored to the title of county king, and he was able to participate in court politics again.

Everyone was silent and did not express their opinions, even the two of them, Dodor and Azig, and did not cheer Dorgon on. Last time against Li Yan's 2,000 cavalry, they dispatched 20,000 Manchu and Han troops, with more than 3,000 casualties, not to mention that Li Yan sent more than 20,000 horsemen this time. Whoever has the flag in his hand does not fall from the sky, if the casualties are too heavy, the right to speak in the court will be reduced.

What's more, with Li Yan's growing strength, those Han people who have entered the banner are not as loyal as they used to be. Last month, there were even cases of families running away from the sea. Although the family drifted to Wu Sangui's territory, was sent back, and had been beheaded by the whole family, this was not a good sign after all, and the banners had begun to strictly monitor the Han people.

Therefore, for the dispatch of troops at this time, the flags basically have little enthusiasm, including two white flags.

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