Mongolia, Karaqin Department, Qingcheng.

This place cannot be called a 'city' because there is not even a wall, only a rudimentary fence. Cattle and sheep are raised outside the city, and behind the fence are yurts. Because of the water source, it has become a gathering place. The Karaqin tribe was the closest Mongolian tribe to the Ming Dynasty and was most familiar with the road from the steppe to the Central Plains.

Don't underestimate road information, which is often difficult to describe in ancient times, and can only be left in memory by experience. Because they knew how to cross the Yanshan Mountains into the Central Plains, the Karaqin tribe had always been able to live a far better life than other Mongol tribes through business.

It is precisely because the Karaqin Department knows the road that an uninvited guest came to Qingcheng, where they were located. Erbel Amin of the Dajin Kingdom set out from Quang Ninh with tens of thousands of horses, all the way west and then south, and arrived at Qingcheng. He was the westernmost of Nurhachi's four-way marches, with the aim of bypassing Shanhaiguan and opening up a direct road to the Gyeonggi region of the Han Chinese.

According to the description of the Ming gentry, the city west of Shanhaiguan was in decline, the army was in ruins, the military guards were unrestrained, and the checkpoints were not fortified. As long as the Dajin Wangshi goes, he can break through and enter the Central Plains to rob - of course, this statement is aimed at the Ming army, and as for whether the 'revolutionary army' is the same, no one can say clearly.

It was Gao Hongzhong, who was unlucky in front of Shanhaiguan who offered this 'West Road Advance Strategy'. He was already stationed in Quang Ninh and knew a lot about the border passes of the Ming Dynasty, so he felt that the occupation of Gyeonggi by the 'revolutionary army' must be busy and complicated. Zhou Qingfeng definitely didn't have time to take care of border matters, and the miraculous effect of entering the army at this moment would definitely be reaped.

After the battle at Shanhaiguan began, Amin was ordered to send troops, all the way to the south with more than 20 Mongolian beylers, including the Horqin Department, and arrived at Qingcheng in the Karaqin Department. Taiji and Bulgadu of the Karaqin tribe personally served as guides, preparing to lead this army south through the Yanshan Mountains and into the territory of the Han people.

When Amin's army arrived, the men, women, and children of the entire Karaqin tribe were excited, and they all set their horses and drove to follow them south to grab a good hand. The surrounding Mongolian tribes also joined the robbery team when they heard the news, and for a time more than 100,000 people gathered in this Qingcheng.

Seeing so many horses joining, Amin who commanded the army was greatly excited, and the Jurchen nobles such as Zilharang and Abatai who accompanied him also had great confidence in the victory. Compared with Mang Gurtai, who was blocked in front of Shanhaiguan, the morale of this army was significantly higher.

Due to the large number of troops joining the army, Amin had to stay in Qingcheng for two days to rectify and sort out the relationship between the commanders and subordinates before he could command the group. And in the two days when he stopped, an army of Han people sprang out from the mountains to the south and suddenly appeared fifty miles away from Qingcheng.

It's like walking too much and meeting a ghost at night, and the person who wants to rob is stunned to find that the target of the robbery is actually attacking with a knife. More than 100,000 people in the entire Qingcheng suddenly exploded, whether it was the Mongols or the Jurchens, they never expected it!

Coming out of the Yanshan Mountain Range, He Zhuo's army had no way to hide it. After all, this is the territory of the Mongols, and there are Mongol herdsmen everywhere. These herdsmen were familiar with the terrain, and when they saw the appearance of the army, they fled immediately, and by the way, spread the news of the appearance of the Han army in all directions - this kind of thing has not happened for many years, and the previous time was the 'Tumu Fort'.

Amin was still coordinating various troops and horses in his military tent, but when he heard the news, he felt that the sun was coming out in the west, "What? The Han people are coming! How did they get here? ”

It has always been the northern nomads who went south, and the Han people swept the north to pursue their memories from history. It is precisely because the Han people rarely come that every time the Han army appears in the grassland, it will definitely leave a strong mark in the history books.

The steppe peoples are not good at defense, not because they don't want to defend it, but because they don't have it. The flat land is full of roads, which forces them to fight in the form of constant attacks. When the Han people appeared, news kept coming. Amin couldn't stay in the tent at all, because every new message indicated that the sudden Han army was approaching.

"When did these Han people become so proactive? It's not like the way they fight. "The approaching situation of the Han soldiers and horses made Amin and other generals very uncomfortable, which clearly did not give them too much time to think and arrange. The opponent obviously knows very well that the dispatch of the nomads is to fight fast with fast and fight fast with speed.

"There are about 30,000 Han Chinese, and they are divided into two parts, east and west, and go hand in hand."

"The Han people had horse-drawn carriages, and there were a lot of carriages pulling the army forward, and the speed was very fast. We are already less than forty miles away. ”

"The Han cavalry rode on particularly tall horses and drove our scouts everywhere. Their horses are fast, and our best horses are no match for them. ”

"The Han army, protected by cavalry, is advancing at an unrestricted pace, and it is almost thirty miles away."

There was no news to make Amin happy, and he could only immediately dispatch the Mongol and Jurchen generals around him to prepare for war. And because his men and horses come from completely different tribes, it is very difficult to command. As the commander-in-chief, Amin could only let people rush up, intending to rely on his own superior forces to surround the Han people on the opposite side.

"Let the Mongol tribes go up from both flanks and do what they are good at." Although Amin didn't know how this Han man appeared, he knew that this sudden battle situation was very important. The Mongols were good at riding circuitous, so he let them attack the rear of the Han Chinese. And the Jurchens are good at dismounting and foot fighting, so they line up head-on and regret their opponents.

"Fight, fight, don't panic. This is our territory, and there are not many Han Chinese, so there is nothing to be afraid of. While cheering up the generals under him, Amin rode his war horse and led the troops in the direction of the Han attack. Thirty thousand female Allah poured out and hurriedly prepared for a great battle.

More than ten miles from Qingcheng in the Karaqin Division, Amin could already see the advancing smoke and dust in the distance. He frowned, puzzled. In his heart, the Han people have always been good at defending cities, and they also like to defend cities. I have fought against the 'Revolutionary Army' a few times before, and what impressed them the most was their strong defensive ability.

But the generals who commanded the Han people in front of him were very different, and they didn't pay attention to anything safe and steady, and they worked every step of the way. As soon as he made a move, he carried out a surprise attack, traveled thousands of miles but regardless of fatigue, fought continuously, and had the posture of smashing Huanglong.

"The one who commanded the troops on the other side shouldn't be Zhou Qingfeng's kid." Amin said secretly in his heart. The Jurchen high-level has studied Zhou Qingfeng, and feels that this opponent is always unexpected. However, he was often very conservative in leading his troops to fight, and he would never easily throw troops into the battlefield when he was not sure. "Although it's not Zhou Qingfeng, it seems to be more difficult to deal with than Zhou Qingfeng."

The two sides of the battle were last five miles away, and the Han army on the opposite side began to slow down. A large number of soldiers dismounted and lined up, using the carriage as a cover, and advanced on foot.

Amin had a telescope purchased at a high price from the Dutch, and when he looked at it from a distance of five miles, he saw that the two wings of the Han people were covered by cavalry, and in the middle were a very neat phalanx of more than a dozen infantry. And in the gap between the infantry phalanx, there were still artillery towed by horse-drawn carts.

Cannon?

How did this gang of Han people drag the cannons?

Amin's army also had artillery, but his artillery was too heavy to keep up with the speed of the troops' advance, so he simply abandoned it in Quang Ninh. It was amazing that he had seen a lot of artillery that could be dragged by two horses on the steppe.

"Let those Mongols go up and take the lead, attack the flanks and rear of these Han people, and disrupt their formation." Seeing the artillery, Amin knew that a head-on charge was not the way to go. And what the Mongolian cavalry is best at is flanking and outflanking, so it is natural to use it in the right place.

In the Han army, Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting were both inexplicably excited.

He Zhuo led the troops out of the Yanshan Mountains, and left most of the migrant workers who followed him to build fortresses as retreats and supply points. She herself led 10,000 Wehrmacht troops and 20,000 militiamen in horse-drawn carriages and made a long-range attack, trying to reach the enemy's concentration points before they could react.

Lu Sun and the others also showed some talent along the way, so they went to war together as a small number of migrant workers with the army. They were now in the middle of the great army, sitting in carriages and following forward. After arriving at the battlefield, they had to direct the migrant workers to connect the wagons and arrange them as a barrier to provide a convenient combat position for the infantry.

The wind is strong in the steppe, and the arquebus medicine pool is difficult to use without protection. The militiamen who wielded arquebuses followed the example of the Ming army, staying in the carriages of the carriages to avoid the wind. In addition, there were a large number of armored spearmen to fill the gaps in the ranks and prevent the enemy cavalry from charging them.

And due to the limited space in the carriage, it was inconvenient for the militiamen to operate the arquebus. Lu Sun and his wife led some migrant workers to assist the militia in loading ammunition outside the car. After a few days on the march, they were organized to specialize in a series of arquebus operations.

With the officer's order, Lu Sun and the others felt the tension and excitement of war for the first time. Two brigades of Wehrmacht advanced on the front, while the flanks and rear were protected by militias. Far and near, a large number of Mongolian cavalry were already galloping to fight, and the cavalry of the Wehrmacht did not hesitate to chase and fight with them.

Lu Xiangsheng was trembling and reloading an arquebus, and the battle situation in front of him was completely different from the battlefield he imagined. This is not a close-range fight with a knife and a shot at all, but a downpour of hot weapon firepower filled with gunsmoke.

The Han army is stabilizing its position, and the twenty-four guns of two artillery battalions are building positions. The militia's small guns were simpler, and several pits had been dug to advance the gun mounts, and when they were reloaded, they opened fire to expel the approaching enemy cavalry on the periphery.

"Hold steady, don't fire indiscriminately. Violators will be subject to battlefield discipline. "A Wehrmacht officer patrolled the battlefield on horseback and ordered the ill-trained militia. When he rode past Lu Xiangsheng, he also shouted loudly: "What are you stupid? Do your job, those brutes can't beat it. ”

Lu Xiangsheng woke up like a dream, he hid behind a carriage, bowed his head and continued to reload the militia. And on a lookout car raised by the Chinese army, He Zhuo, who was holding the railing with his cloak flying and his sideburns floating, stared coldly at the Jurchen army in front of him. She gritted her silver teeth and whispered, "I said I would come back sooner or later." As long as I live, I will have to pay the price for Nurhachi! ”