Although the northwest wind is already blowing on the grassland, and the temperature has dropped sharply, according to the guide's experience, it should be some time before the first snow. However, after discussing with the guides, Bai Shixiong and Feng Taichu decided to return to the gate immediately.

Because the territory of the Ao Han Department where they are located is already very close to the Qing State, and they go to the south, and they are mostly mountainous, so they are extremely easy to be ambushed by the Qing State. So they still decided to return from the same way or return to Guannai from Zhangjiakou. There are mostly grasslands on this road, and it is a familiar road that has just been walked, so it should be relatively safe. The only bad thing was that the distance was a bit long, so they decided to return early.

Originally, they came this time, in addition to recovering some face from the Qing State, that is, to punish the Mongolian tribes who followed the Qing State with iron hearts. The first target was the Naiman Department, but when I was about to arrive, I had to go back. A few more days further east would allow them to enter the pastures of the Naiman tribe, but there was a good chance that they would encounter heavy snow on the way back. After weighing the pros and cons, they decided to return immediately.

Their return journey was much faster, and the caravan was almost traded. The large number of horses exchanged were also used as pack horses to carry food and supplies, and the baggage wagons were much lighter and faster. The small amount of supplies left was used to exchange some cattle and sheep along the way to eat, and they did not bring much food and needed a lot of meat to fill their stomachs.

However, on the fourth day of their westward retreat, the cavalry guards in the rear spotted a large number of enemy horsemen chasing after them.

"How many people? How far is it? Bai Shixiong rode on horseback and asked lightly.

For the arrival of the enemy, each of them was not much surprised. They were originally here to fight on this expedition, but the Mongol tribes they passed through were surprisingly honest and did not give them a reason to do so. At this time, when I heard the arrival of the enemy, I even felt a little steady.

"There are about forty miles left, and the number is not clear, but there should be tens of thousands." The soldier reported cautiously. The Qing army also sent a large number of cavalry to block it, some of them were also equipped with handcuffs, and the captured Qing soldiers were all dead and could not speak, so although they had killed and wounded more than 20 people, they still did not have an exact enemy situation.

Bai Shixiong turned his head and asked Feng Taichu, "What do you think?" ”

Feng Taichu was silent for a while before replying: "I think it's better to ignore them and move on." Wait for tomorrow, and it's not too late to engage the enemy again. It would have been better if they had caught up with them as fast as they could, taking advantage of their lack of men and horses, just in time to give them a devastating blow. However, he believed that the Qing army would not make such a mistake. ”

"Well, it coincides." Bai Shixiong nodded and said, "As for the night, it shouldn't be a problem to sprinkle some thistles on the periphery and plant a few bombs as a warning." ”

"The general is thoughtful." Feng Taichu complimented.

Bai Shixiong said casually: "You don't need to shoot the horses, you are responsible for these things, if there is a leak, the head will not be guaranteed." ”

"Humble duty understands." Feng Taichu smiled and agreed, without any pressure.

Bai Shixiong also instructed his own soldiers: "Inform the whole army and strengthen vigilance." Then go and inform the caravan so that they don't mess around and continue to march in order. Which one disturbs the team, and immediately kills it. ”

"Yes!" The soldiers agreed and conveyed the order to the team.

The caravans that followed the caravan to do business outside the fortress were all mentally prepared, and the horses they bought were used as pack horses, and it was easier to manage than the herd. Therefore, after receiving the news that the enemy was chasing them, they all tried to manage their team well and not let the team become chaotic. In fact, the main reason is that they saw that the troops did not panic, so they themselves were relatively calm.

Although the procession was a little noisy, the basic order was still maintained, and after a while, it continued to march silently. Those merchants just let the guys take care of the horses and obey orders, and they must not mess around. They all knew that without the protection of the army, they would be nothing more than lambs to the slaughter on the steppe.

Before nightfall, they camped in a leeward place for the night. The caravan slaughtered the sheep they had bought one after another, and rewarded the soldiers, so that the troops could eat well and go to battle, and let the army think of their good and not leave them behind. Although the trade was lucrative, they were also facing the threat of death, which really frightened them.

The soldiers didn't have any effect, they ate when they needed to eat, and they slept when they slept. After two years of tempering, especially under the leadership of the veterans, the soldiers under Li Yan have enough self-confidence, and they are not afraid of any opponent. Even in the steppes, they were no less afraid of the enemy's cavalry.

Feng Taichu arranged the vigilance and defense at night. First of all, dozens of bombs were planted at a distance of 500 paces on the periphery, and then some were scattered on the periphery at 400 paces with thistles, which played the role of early warning and delaying the enemy, so that the troops could prepare for battle. Of course, the gap in the middle is not for your own scouts to pass through.

Since most of their bombs are fire-pulling, there is also this mine-type use. Killing and injuring enemies comes second, but it can serve as a warning in the dark night. Especially when used in conjunction with thistle, even if the enemy's cavalry rushes over, it can temporarily cause the enemy to lose speed and fall into chaos, giving them time to prepare for defense and counterattack.

In the second half of the night, the scouts in the rear came back like a marquee, and reported that the enemy behind did not camp, but continued to pursue, and had reached within twenty miles. However, after some time, the scouts finally came to report that the Qing army had stopped camping, but for this information, more than 40 people were wounded and nearly 100 were killed in battle.

It was Feng Taichu who was on duty in the first half of the night, and it was Bai Shixiong who was in charge at this time. He listened to the report of his subordinates, and had already concluded in his heart that the goal of the Qing army this time was to keep all of their team as last time. Now that we have approached twenty miles, we will definitely catch up tomorrow.

However, he was faintly excited at this time, last time he only had 2,000 men and horses, and there was no way to deal with the encirclement of tens of thousands of Qing troops. But this time, he has nearly 20,000 cavalry, and he still has a secret weapon in hand, this time he wants to completely defeat the Qing army that catches up, and defeat the last bit of self-confidence of the Qing army.

"Grand Commander, the captive speaks." A general came in and reported: "The pursuers in the rear of the Qing army are led by King Zheng Jierharang, King Su Haoge and King Duoduo of England, and there are 50,000 Manchu, Mongolian and Han cavalry. In addition, more than 100,000 enemy troops will rush over. ”

Bai Shixiong sneered and said excitedly: "Okay, the more comes, the better." Give them a profound lesson at once, so that even the cavalry will not dare to compete with us again. ”

...