Mongols, both men and women, began to learn to ride horses at the age of five or six, so as to facilitate the nomadic life of following the tribe. As a result, even young women in the Mongol tribes were able to straddle horses like men and shoot arrows with bows on horseback. The treacherous natural conditions of the steppe and the wolves that attack livestock have forced ordinary Mongolian herders to get used to life and death.

As a result, once the Mongol tribes were mobilized and mobilized, the strong men and women of the tribe were the best soldiers, and they were able to adapt to the transition from ordinary herdsmen to warriors more quickly than those farmers in the interior who only knew how to farm.

However, when the Mongol tribes were not mobilized, they were easier to conquer than the Han Chinese, who were protected by the walls. Because the herders, who maintain a nomadic life, cannot gather together to graze. According to Han Chinese estimates, nearly 5 hectares of grassland are needed to feed a sheep.

In the Mongolian tribes, even the poorest herders have at least dozens of sheep, otherwise they would not be able to survive on the steppe. In addition to hundreds of sheep, there are also horses, cattle, camels and other large livestock that need to be raised, so in the tribal centers where Taiji and Nayan live, except for those herdsmen, it is rare to see the existence of ordinary herdsmen.

Therefore, with the exception of Guihua City, which relies on the support of Han farming and harvesting, most of the other large tribes on the grasslands usually gather together to live with no more than 500 people, otherwise it would be difficult for the surrounding grasslands to support such a large herd of livestock for a long time.

It is precisely because of this inherent limitation of the nomadic peoples that once the Mongols lose the constraints of the wartime system, they will soon revert to the mode of self-government of small tribes with strong independence. This is why, when the Mongols were expelled from the Central Plains, it was difficult to reunite into a centralized empire.

This characteristic of the nomads made the best way for the Central Plains Dynasty to deal with them was not to conquer the army, but to use elite cavalry to go deep into the grassland for decapitation operations. Once the nomadic court's recognized royal court was defeated, no one would be able to mobilize the Mongol tribes against the foreign attackers until they had elected a new king.

Huo Qubing of the Han Dynasty did this, and the famous generals of the Tang Dynasty did this, and the Ming Dynasty had several big victories. In fact, Li Chengliang, the former king of Liaodong, was the best in using this tactic. And since the death of Li Chengliang, this tactic of raiding the center of the Mongolian tribe was soon inherited by the Later Jin.

From nomadism to fishing and hunting, the Jianzhou Jurchens can be said to have become familiar with the life of the nomadic people, and also absorbed the advanced culture and war technology from the farming people. Compared with the Ming army, who lacked knowledge of the living conditions of the Mongol tribes, the Jurchens were familiar with the way the Mongols camped in normal life, and they also knew what kind of places they would choose as their wintering places.

The Jurchens, who still retain certain fishing and hunting habits, know more about the habits of horses than the Ming army, and also pay more attention to the storage of war horses. And their degree of hardship and hard work can be equal to that of the Mongols, a piece of cheese can allow a Jurchen warrior to support two or three days of battle, but the Ming army cannot.

Therefore, when the Jianzhou Jurchens obtained advanced combat concepts and armor weapons from the Ming army, they almost never lost their wars against the Mongol tribes. Although Du Du has never been given the opportunity to lead an independent army, he has been educated by his generals since he was a child, and he is no stranger to commanding operations. And he, who followed Amin to conquer North Korea, is not the first time he has been on the battlefield.

Parting with the Karaqin Self-Defense Army in Kuancheng, Du Du arrived near Longshan on the sixth day with 600 Zhongyi Eight Banners and 800 Horqin warriors, and successively defeated several small tribes, capturing 4 or 500 people and tens of thousands of livestock.

Du Du and others learned from these captured herdsmen that along the source of the branch of the Daling River to the south, there were more than a dozen tribes, about 2 or 3,000 people. And beyond Longshan to the east, between the Xiaoling River and the Daughter River, is the big tent of the leaders of Subudi and Seleng.

At the subsequent military meeting, Yasun and Chagan suggested that they should go south down the river to sweep away the small tribes on the periphery first, and then wait for the Central Route Army to send reinforcements, and then go to attack the big tent of Subudi and Seleng, which is the most secure battle plan.

However, Du Du disagreed, he looked at the colleagues in the tent and said: "The land of Daming is vast and densely populated, and heroes and heroes emerge one after another. In the past, a Li Chengliang suppressed the first khan for decades and did not dare to move, if it were not for Li Chengliang's death, it is still unknown whether the first khan could succeed in raising troops.

In the past, the Ming Dynasty had heroes and could not use them, all because the monarchs and ministers were ignorant. Today, His Majesty has made great efforts to make the country prosperous, selected talents and used energy, and eliminated the old evils, how can there be a reason for the heroes among the Han people not to come out.

Your Majesty's use of us is because Your Majesty is broad-minded and willing to accept us to abandon darkness and turn to light; Second, it may not mean that there will be a horse bone in the gold market. Dare to ask you, if the heroes among the Han people come out, it seems that today we will have more chances to take charge of the army alone? If we had not made any miraculous achievements when we were leading the army, would Your Majesty not need those Han heroes who knew the roots to lead the troops in the future, would you continue to rely on us to lead the army? ”

Du Du's questioning, except for the investigation of the Horqin Department, which was not very shaken, the other Jurchens all had their eyes flashing, and they did not dare to answer Du Du's words. After a while, Ada Hai, who was named the man of Fengcheng, finally spoke up and said: "What the master of Du Du said is right, since we have already voted for the Ming Dynasty, we must always earn a future, do we really go to be with those little officials with swords and pens, and only mess around?" Master Dudu, tell me about the plan, if it's really worth the effort, I'll sell you the life of Adahai. ”

Seeing Adahai's statement, several other Jurchen generals hesitated, and also followed Adahai's opinion and asked Du Du to talk about the battle plan first, and then they would express their position.

Du Du had obviously thought of a plan a long time ago, and when he saw that everyone no longer objected to his idea, he immediately put it together and said: "When we defeated these scattered small tribes, although they had already received an order from His Majesty to go to Chengde to apologize, they did not make a final decision.

Moreover, His Majesty's previous order was to ask the tribes in the Longshan area to go to Chengde to apologize, but there was no requirement for the tribes living east of the Longshan-Daling River. They didn't think that they would cross this line and attack them.

Of course, now that we've defeated these small tribes, the nearby small tribes will definitely be watching our movements. If we cross the Daling River directly, I am afraid that Subudi and Seleng will either run away or gather their troops to deal with us.

But if we first move a force south and draw the attention of the small tribes in the vicinity to the south, then it will be possible for one force to cross the river quietly. In the way the Mongolian tribes deliberated on the government, if it was not a very urgent situation, whether it was to convene the tribes to meet the battle, or to order the tribes in the area to retreat, it was necessary for the tribes Taiji and Nayan to jointly make a decision.

In the winter season, if you blindly migrate and cannot find a pasture that is enough to survive the winter, the migrated tribe will not be able to support its livestock, and it will be difficult for the tribe to sustain itself in the coming year. Therefore, as long as we create a false impression that they are only cleaning up the tribes west of the Longshan-Daling River, then Suburi and Seleng will not be able to mobilize the forces of the entire tribe quickly, and this is also our best chance to uproot the Karaqin tribe battalion..."

Yasun subconsciously asked, "What if we cross the river and find that Subudi has mobilized the people?" ”

Cha Gan asked with concern: "Then who will lead the army that will go south to confuse the enemy?" How many people is Du Du Qi going to take to cross the river? ”

Du Du only pondered for a while, and then replied: "If Subudi really reacts so quickly, then we can only monitor the movements of the Karaqin Division, and then wait for reinforcements from the Middle Route Army to come up."

As for the division of troops, I think it would be most appropriate for you to take the Horqin tribe south and make some noise. As for the battle to cross the river, it is better for the Eight Banners of Loyalty and Righteousness to be in charge. ”

Hearing that the warriors of the Korqin tribe did not have to take risks, Chagan immediately fell silent. Yasun and the other Jurchen generals fell silent, feeling that the plan was too desperate, so they hesitated.

Looking at the expressions of these Jurchen colleagues, Du Du had to add another fire to them, "Everyone, I know that this plan is very risky, but as long as it succeeds, the Karaqin Department that has taken refuge in Houjin will no longer have any climate.

Let's think about it, isn't Your Majesty trying to establish a no-man's land between Houjin and Daming when we sent troops to sweep the grassland this time? These Karaqin tribes not only guarded the frontier for the Later Jin, but also served as the best springboard for the Later Jin to attack the Ming Dynasty.

If we can uproot the Mongol tribes in this region once and for all, and take His Majesty's as a human being, are you still afraid that you will not be rewarded with satisfaction? In the past, you were in the country of Houjin, and that time you went to the battlefield not to fight hard, did you live a comfortable life for two days in Daming, did you even forget how hard you worked? ”

Although Du Du's words were not good, Yasun and other Jurchen generals were finally convinced. For these Jurchens, if they want to be prosperous and rich, they have to fight with their lives, and this concept has been deeply rooted in the bone marrow.

After gaining the support of everyone, the Eastern Route Army led by Du Du once again divided the troops. The next day, Chagan continued to attack to the south with great fanfare with the Horqin warriors, while Du Du hid in the mountains and forests with six hundred Zhongyi Eight Banners, and waited until there was nothing unusual on the other side, and then took advantage of the darkness before dawn to cross the Daling River from a shallow water that had already been detected.

On November 25, the day and night Dudu Division, led by a few captives, finally bypassed the tribes along the way and came to a hill seven or eight miles away from the Great Horde of Subudi.

Even if you don't use a telescope to observe, the yurts that are visible to the naked eye everywhere in front of you indicate that a large tribe has gathered here. Looking at the distance between these yurts in front of them, Du Du and other Jurchens also recognized that the Karaqin Subu Prefecture had begun to assemble its troops, but it had not yet been assembled.

So around whether to attack or retreat, Du Du and several colleagues argued again. In the end, Du Du hated and said that he would divide the troops into three teams, and he would lead the first team to move forward.

If it goes well, the two teams will follow. If it didn't go well, he broke off for the other two teams, which convinced the others.