By the sea.

Scarface, Monk Zhang, Cheng Jie and other twenty generals have already arrived, Wang Pu asked Xiao Qi: "Xiao Qi, where are Tang Sheng and the bearded man now?" ”

Xiao Qi said: "Tang Sheng and the bearded man are each driving away the other two groups of Tumuts with four or five hundred cavalry, the bearded men and horses are about thirty miles away from here, and they should be able to arrive before dark, Tang Sheng's men and horses are still nearly a hundred miles away from here, and they may not be able to reach the sea until noon tomorrow." ”

Wang Pu asked again: "What about the retreating group of Mongolian remnants?" ”

Xiao Qi said: "I have withdrawn to fifty miles north of Haizi. ”

Wang Pu said: "Xiao Qi, you take someone to deliver the message in person, tell the bearded man and Tang Sheng don't have to pay attention to the Tumut people anymore, and let them immediately lead the men and horses to assemble, and they must rush to the Haizi before dark today!" As for the plundering of cattle and sheep, let Zhang Gonggong's border army do it, "Yes!" ”

Xiao Qi responded, and took two horsemen and horses to fly away.

Wang Pu glanced back at Scarface, Monk Zhang and the others, and said, "You take some people to tear down the carriages and tents abandoned by the Tumuts, set up a fire by the sea, and slaughter hundreds of fat sheep for the brothers to eat, and then sleep beautifully, and talk about other things tomorrow in the morning!" ”

"Yes."

Scarface, Monk Zhang, and Cheng Cheng and other two dozen generals agreed to the promise and took the order.

When everyone walked away, Zhen Youcai asked in a low voice, "General, why don't you tell them now?" ”

"Now is not the time." Wang Pu shook his head and said in a low voice, "Tell them before the troops are dispatched tomorrow morning." ”

Zhen Youcai hesitated for a long time, but still asked in a low voice: "General, do you also have to go with the army to fight?" ”

Wang Pu had a faint smile on his face, and said: "You don't have to go out with the army, you take Xiao Qi and two hundred personal soldiers, and escort the camel team back to Datong, these two hundred camels can carry the gold and silver treasures we captured from naturalization this time, you must be careful along the way, and you must not make any mistakes." ”

Zhen Youcai nodded and replied: "General, don't worry, you will definitely escort the camel team back to Datong safely." ”

Wang Pu nodded, and suddenly said a nonsensical word: "Youcai, you have been following General Ben since the end of August last year, helping to make suggestions, first fighting Shengjing, then transferring to North Korea, and suppressing the White Lotus Sect in Jining, speaking of which, you have helped General Ben a lot, and you have saved General Ben's life in Beijing." ”

Zhen Youcai rubbed his hands a little unnaturally and said, "What did the general say about this?" ”

Wang Pu looked at Zhen Youcai sincerely, and said with some guilt: "It's really ashamed to say it, General Ben should have thanked you a long time ago, but after returning to Datong, he never stopped, and he didn't even bother to tell you about family affairs." ”

"General, where are you talking about this?" Zhen Youcai's face suddenly swelled with a flush, and he said, "If it weren't for the general, you would have returned to Daming with your humble position, and you would still be a slave for Jiannu in Liaodong!" If you want to say thank you, you should also be a humble thank you, the general. ”

"Okay, let's not talk about that." Wang Pu waved his hand, and then said, "There will inevitably be a fierce battle in Sanbula Sichuan this time, and General Ben doesn't know when he will be able to return to Datong, so I have to ask you to do two things." ”

Zhen Youcai said solemnly: "Please give the general's orders." ”

Wang Pudao: "The first thing, after returning to Datong, I will find a way to buy grain, at present, Shaanxi, Henan, and Huguang are making trouble, and these three provinces cannot buy grain, but the White Lotus Sect in Shandong has been exterminated, the Cao Road has been dredged, and the grain in the south can already be transported to Jingshi, so this grain has to be bought in Beijing." ”

Zhen Youcai said: "How much food do you want to buy?" ”

Wang Puying said: "You bring 200,000 taels of silver, and you can buy as much as you can." ”

Zhen Youcai said: "What about the second thing? ”

"This second thing is more difficult to do, it is gunpowder!" Wang Pu sighed and said slowly, "There is not much gunpowder in the armory of the Datong border army at all, because there is no silver to enter the raw materials, and the gunpowder bureau in Datong Town has not started work for more than half a year!" On this expedition, Zhang Zi'an's old eunuch can be said to have taken out all his family funds, but even if we save it, this bit of gunpowder is only enough for the brothers to put a few shots. ”

Zhen Youcai said: "Then general, what do you mean ......?"

Wang Pu said: "After Zhang Zi'an drove the cattle and sheep of the Tumut people back to Datong, the matter was not over, because these cattle could not be turned into silver, and he still could not pay the military salary, so he finally had to come to our Wang family to spend silver to buy these cattle, sheep and livestock, and then you came forward to reduce the price." ”

Zhen Youcai said: "How much price?" ”

Wang Pu said: "300,000 taels to buy all the cattle, sheep and horses!" ”

"Huh? 300,000 taels! Zhen Youcai lost his voice and said, "General, according to the market price, a sheep is worth at least one tael, a horse is worth at least six taels, and a cow is sold for at least ten taels, but the cattle, sheep and horses of the Tumut people add up to at least one million heads, even if some of them are lost, the ones who are finally driven back to Datong by the border army will not be less than 800,000 heads, and it is estimated that the humble position is worth at least 1.5 million taels of silver, and it is not too hard to give only 300,000 taels?" ”

[For the prices of cattle, sheep and horses, you can refer to the prices of the Middle and Ming Dynasty related to the works]

Wang Pu said: "Of course, this is not the reserve price. ”

"What is the reserve price?"

"The reserve price is to buy all the cattle and sheep at half the market price, but on the condition that it is ...... The management rights of the three weapons workshops and the two gunpowder bureaus in Datong Town for the next three years will be unconditionally transferred to our Wang family, and we can provide weapons and gunpowder to the border army according to the original amount, but the imperial court is not allowed to intervene in specific business affairs. ”

Zhen Youcai counted with his fingers and said, "General, I'm afraid the silver in the treasury is not enough." ”

Wang Pu said: "If you don't have enough money, you can go to my eldest brother." ”

"Understood." Zhen Youcai nodded and said, "After returning to Datong, I will definitely do these two errands well." ”

Wang Pu patted Zhen Youcai's shoulder and said with a low smile: "When General Ben returns to Datong, I will ask someone to tell you about your relatives." ”

Zhen Youcai said happily: "Then I will thank the general first." ”

■■■

Nothing was said all night.

The next morning, as soon as the sun rose, the edge of the sea had begun to churn, and the soldiers who had slept well had come out of the low cowhide tents, first washed their faces by the sea, and then devoured the mutton on the fire, and finally began to form a formation in a hurry under the reprimand of the chief.

In less than half an hour, all the soldiers had completed the formation with their respective mounts.

Dabeard and Tang Sheng's men had arrived yesterday afternoon and evening respectively, and had suffered dozens of brothers killed and wounded in the pursuit of the Tumuts, and more than 100 brothers had been killed in a short but fierce battle with the Korqin people yesterday, and now there are only more than 3,800 of the more than 4,000 people left at the time of the expedition.

There are fewer people, but more horses.

When Wang Pujun first came out of the fortress, each person only had one war horse, but now almost everyone has three war horses, and the extra nearly 8,000 war horses were stolen from the Tumuts, and they also snatched enough saddles from Guihua City and various settlements, and these 8,000 war horses can be changed at any time.

In this way, Wang Pujun's mobility ability has been greatly improved.

This is also an important reason why Wang Pu dared to attack Sanbulachuan, with this batch of war horses, even if he can't kill the Horqin people, he can always escape, right?

Wang Pu turned over and got on his horse, and rode his horse slowly in front of the formation.

The eyes of nearly 4,000 soldiers fell on Wang Pu in unison, the north wind was howling, there was silence between heaven and earth, only the heavy snort of the war horse and the hunting sound of the big flag fluttering in the wind in Lu Liu's hand could be heard clearly.

Wang Pulema stopped and asked sharply, "Are you all full?" ”

"I'm full."

All the soldiers who heard Wang Pu's question responded in unison.

Wang Pu said coldly: "What did you say? General Ben can't hear it! ”

"I'm full!"

All the soldiers responded with all their strength, and the huge sound shattered the silence on the grassland, alarming a group of wild horses who were drinking water by the sea, and they rushed towards the distance, and the soldiers of the border army who were gathering cattle and sheep not far away also turned their heads sideways, showing a look of shock.

"Okay." Wang Pu nodded, and said loudly, "Tell the brothers, the horse has been reported, there is a group of Mongolian cavalry coming here, and they want to snatch back the cattle, sheep and livestock that we have in hand, what do you say?" ”

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

"They must not be allowed to snatch back their cattle and sheep and livestock!"

The soldiers responded.

"Well said!" Wang Pu said loudly, "How can there be any reason to spit out the fat in the mouth?" If the Mongols wanted to snatch back the cattle, sheep and livestock, they had to ask the brothers if they would say yes! ”

"No!"

"We don't say yes!"

"If you don't have cattle and sheep, if you want to have a life, the Mongols will come and get it!"

More than 3,000 soldiers waved their weapons and roared hoarsely.

"Brothers......" Wang Pu drew his knife and shouted, "Beat these Mongols who don't know how high the sky is and how thick the sky is!" Kill! ”

Wang Pu brandished his waist knife and rushed forward in the direction of the rising sun in the east.

Seeing this, more than 3,800 soldiers suddenly howled like wild wolves, turned over on their horses, and swarmed behind Wang Pu, the horse's head was crowded, the iron hooves were churning, and in less than a moment, tens of thousands of war horses had turned into faint black lines in the sky, and the rumbling sound of horses' hooves gradually faded away, and finally nothing could be heard.

Zhang Zi'an got out of the tent wearing a thick mink fur, and said abruptly: "If you want to lead the troops, it is still the master of the horse who can lead the soldiers the best......"

■■■

Sixty miles north of the Sea of Siege, the 800 remnants of Banktu's cavalry were encamped here.

Recalling yesterday's battle, Banktu can be said to be unremorseful, he almost even had the heart to commit suicide, he knew that this result should not have been rushed out in the first place, and now the three thousand iron guards handed over to him by Ukeshan are only eight hundred remnants of horsemen, and he can no longer complete the task of dragging the Ming army.

It would take at least two more days for Sogar's 8,000 cavalry to arrive, but after two days, the Ming army would have fled back to Datong.

When Baktu was at a loss, the captain of the pro-soldier suddenly came into the tent and said: "Little prince, I found a large group of Ming army cavalry!" ”

"Ming cavalry?" Bandtu Horan stood up and asked sharply, "Where?" ”

The captain of the pro-soldier replied: "In the southeast direction, I went to the sea of Qi'er." ”

"I'm going to the sea!" Banktu frowned and said, "How many cavalry did the Ming army dispatch?" ”

The captain of the pro-soldier said: "There are more than 10,000 war horses, at least 3,000 cavalry!" ”

Banktu roared, "Damn, when did the people of the Ming Dynasty also learn to ride and ride three times?" ”

"Little prince, what should I do now?" The captain of the pro-soldier asked, "Do you want to divide half of the cavalry to follow the Ming cavalry?" ”

"Don't rush yet." Banktu asked, "What about the rest of the Ming army?" ”

The captain of the pro-soldier said: "The rest of the Ming army is still gathering the cattle, sheep and livestock of the Tumut people in the area of the Shoju Sea. ”

"That's weird." Banktu frowned and said, "Why did the Ming Dynasty army divide its troops? There must be a conspiracy in this! But what kind of conspiracy could it be? The sea of children, the sea of children? The sea of children! ”

Banktu muttered twice, and suddenly his face changed greatly, and he exclaimed, "Oops, it's not good! ”

The captain of the pro-soldier was startled and asked in surprise: "What's wrong with the little prince, what's wrong?" ”

Banktu said: "Less than 300 miles to the north of the Qi'er Sea is the Sanbula River, and the cavalry of the Ming army is riding three horses, which is enough to drive 300 miles in one day and one night!" The 8,000 cavalry of the Sanbula River are on the way to the sea, and there is no army left around the father Khan, in case of a sudden attack by the Ming cavalry at this time......"

The captain of the pro-soldier was also taken aback by the terrible scene described by Banktu, and exclaimed: "The prince is in danger!" ”

(To be continued)