Although in the imagination of later generations, the grassland is beautiful, it is the wind blowing the grass to see the cattle and sheep, the wild flowers everywhere and the snow-capped mountains in the distance, and the Ming cavalry who entered the grassland should also sound the hooves neatly, from the flat and vast grassland to the Mongolian tribe with a thunderous speed to launch a surprise attack, and then escape again, facing the wind of the grassland all the way to the west.

But in fact, the steppe march was not like this at all, not only was it not beautiful at all, but it was even like a kind of torture for the Ming cavalry.

For example, Gu Huai at this moment, looked at the marching speed slowed down by the grassland blisters with a sad face.

The grassland is called water bubbles, and the Central Plains people call it swamps, to put it bluntly, because this plain is located in the middle of the Qujiang River and the snow-capped mountains, because of the diversion of the river and the effect of groundwater, a huge swampy area has been formed.

There was a rancid smell wafting in the air, Gu Huai opened the map he got from Qiu Cheng again, compared with the map he had searched from Naqubu before, looked at the surrounding terrain, and saw that there were only more than twenty miles left in the swamp area, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

It had been three days since the destruction of the Naqu Division, and Gu Huai had spent a day to complete the preparation of the whole army, wanting to complete the assembly and march before the news reached the grassland, but he didn't expect to be dragged alive by the swamp for two days.

Although there was a map drawn by the Qiu Cheng horse generals before, and there was also a path forced out of the mouths of the Naqu tribesmen, the swamp still caused a lot of trouble for the cavalry, and the whole five thousand cavalry cautiously passed through the safe area that had been protruded, and the speed was not fast at all.

Each cavalry was hung with food, and the five thousand cavalry barely managed to achieve one person and two horses, and the grenades were carried by the soldiers who temporarily served as personal guards under Chen Ping's Qianhu, as for the baggage... What else do you need to carry when you are fighting a rush battle?

Anyway, when you enter the grassland, there is grass all over the ground, and even in winter, there are grass roots, so you don't have to worry about what the horse eats.

Chen Ping rode over from the front and reported: "My lord, there is no trail in front of the water blister, and the people who caught the blister also said that there is no road to cross here, and you can only pass it when the water level is low in winter." ”

Gu Huai had long known that there was such a swamp to pass in the end, and he didn't show any unusual looks after listening to the report, but just nodded and gave a military order: "Let your people go over and build a pontoon bridge first!" Within half a day, it must all pass! ”

"Yes!" Chen Ping was about to leave after receiving the order, but was stopped by Gu Huai: "I heard that there are complaints in the army? ”

"Indeed, there are soldiers who gossip that the adults are partial, and the dirty work is given to them," Chen Ping thought for a moment and spoke seriously, "and then he was given twenty military sticks." ”

Gu Huai smiled at Chen Ping's seriousness: "I always have to vent... But don't think I don't know what they did in that section. ”

His face sank: "Although the two clans are at war and have feuds, the Mengyuan people are cruel by nature and have done all kinds of evil deeds to the Han people... But the wife and daughter of the adulterous woman still can't do such a thing as disembowelment, and I gave a military order to slaughter the tribe, but not let them vent their desires on the weak. ”

These words were a little twisted, Chen Ping thought about it silently, and probably understood what Gu Huai meant, ethnic hatred leads to war, and there will always be people who die in war, even if it is civilians, but civilians can be killed, but they cannot be tortured or humiliated.

He nodded: "Humble duty understands... There is a difference between us and them. ”

"It's good to understand," Gu Huai stroked the bandaged shoulder, and the arrow wound was faintly painful, "This kind of voice will definitely not be suppressed, but the punishment will always make them more afraid when they do this kind of thing next, it stands to reason that whether they can go back alive this time is not certain, it is inevitable to be hypocritical with these thoughts, but I still hope that my hands are cleaner, and I can hold my son or grandson in the future." ”

Chen Ping was stunned, the corners of his mouth unconsciously hung a smile, Gu Huai looked at him in his eyes, full of appreciation and encouragement:

"I heard Wei Laosan say that your wife is pregnant? Remember to go back alive and hold your child with your own hands. ”

"Do adults have children?"

"No, there are some you may not know, but strictly speaking, I have something to do with a child."

He looked south: "Count the time... Should the full moon wine have been done? ”

……

What is this rush war for?

Abandoning the pride of being enthusiastic at the beginning or the revenge mentality of witnessing the tragic situation, as well as the desperate gambler mentality, Gu Huai calmed down and thought about it for a few days and nights, and finally realized that he really just wanted to make things simpler.

If it is difficult, it will be difficult, and there should be no foreign race to come and mix; Fight wars, fight, don't fucking come to harm the people.

If you don't listen, then force you to listen, whether it's copying your nest to give you a heart-warming blow or being your boss, in short, there are some things to do, peace of mind waiting in the south to see Zhu Di lay down a tattered Datong, and then watching hundreds of thousands of border people crying in the war, Gu Huai can't do it.

He's not a saint, but he's at least a human being, and guilt is often especially bad when you have the power to stop it but don't do it.

It's already deep into the grassland, and it's obviously not appropriate to think about it this time, the battle plan has been set, and all that's left is to execute, five thousand cavalry are running blindly on the grassland and then rushing to the tribe, and even waiting for the royal court cavalry, it looks like they're looking for death, but if you really want to achieve the goal, all you need is four points.

The first point is to have a perfect route, to avoid the defense troops patrolling the steppe, to smash the tents of those tribes, to avoid facing the Mongol cavalry, and to implement the three-light policy, to feed the war and feed the enemy.

The second point is the morale of the army, such a lonely army is deep, and there is no logistics support while the strong enemy is around, which is often a huge test of morale, after all, the soldiers are also people, and there will be fear and evasion, Gu Huai is not a famous general, he looks more like a scholar, which makes them especially desperate, but fortunately, the presence of grenades gives them some confidence, and the casualties and battle losses of the raid on the song are even smaller to negligible, as long as the grenades are not used up, I believe they can still hold on... What's more, Gu Huai let them go and rob, which is particularly crucial to boosting morale.

The third point is the quality of their own army, to attack the seven tribes, and there is no replenishment of troops, it is necessary to have elite soldiers, if it is the imperial army, I am afraid that people are already panicking at this moment, but the cavalry of the Yan army has always been elite, and the cavalry of the three guards of Duoyan is the most cavalry in the world, which fully meets this condition.

The fourth point, the speed of the attack, the intensity of the attack, and these two points are often the Han cavalry is the least possessed, but at this moment the five thousand cavalry led by Gu Huai can be satisfied, after the defeat of the Qu Department, one person and two horses provide the speed of the attack, and the grenade provides the success rate of the attack, so to speak, under the same number, this cavalry is the strongest cavalry that has never appeared on the grassland!

If you are satisfied with all four points, why don't you dare to fight this battle? If Gu Huai was still a little uncertain in his heart before the first battle, now he looks at these cavalry who are stepping on the pontoon bridge with the materials of the Qubu, and finally has some confidence and pride of the generals of this era.

It's all here, it's crazy, then it's a fight!

From time to time, cavalrymen fell into the swamp from the pontoon bridge, and sank with the horses, but fortunately, there were comrades next to them, one by one, either by hand or with ropes, and finally they were able to pull people and horses up.

But there are also particularly unlucky, after sinking into the swamp, the war horse struggled wildly, causing it to sink too quickly, but the person was fine, and the horse had already lost his breath when he came up.

For a while, there were still many cavalry complaints, dignified cavalry, what did they do when they came to the swamp without anything? And this road is going farther and farther to the north, and I'm really not afraid of being cut off? What general would dare to fight such a battle? Since following this coach into the grassland, it seems that he has been on an inexplicable road and never returned.

Even as the commander-in-chief, Gu Huai couldn't control the thoughts and voices of everyone in the army, and in the face of the complaints of the cavalry, Gu Huai simply pretended not to hear, anyway, after the swampy area, even if you want to rest, you don't have time.

The cavalrymen who had already passed the swamp began to camp and make fires, wisps of cooking smoke floated up, and the food looted from the Naqu tribe made the cavalrymen eat a refreshing meal, Gu Huai sneered in his heart, eat, I am afraid that you will have to gnaw dry food in the next few days, and then you will feel how happy your life is now.

Opening the map again, Gu Huai fell into thinking again, although he had planned a marching route before, but when it was really time to attack, he still had to make constant adjustments, the grassland was easy to get lost, the Ming cavalry needed guides, and they needed to adjust their positions according to the changes in the situation of each tribe, all Gu Huai could do now was to let himself know in his heart, at least he could be prepared when something happened.

After the plain sandwiched between Jinchuan and Qujiang, it is the Binlan Mountains, and the Jinchuan River flows down from the highest peak of the Binlan Mountains.

Gu Huai looked at the map carefully, although it was not drawn on the map, Gu Huai seemed to see a line, which bypassed the Binlan Mountains, crossed the Yak River, crossed the vast grassland, and went straight into the heart of the grassland.

A little further north, it is even close to the royal court of Mongolia, although now Mongolia is divided into Warat, the Mongolian Khan only plays a symbolic role, Warat is in power is the Taishi, and the administrative system is not in the royal court, but... After all, it was the Mongol royal court.

Huo Qubing went many years ago, and Lan Yu also went a few years ago, but it's a pity that I can't go this time.

Gu Huai looked up in that direction, the corners of his mouth curled slightly.

If you run over and set a fire, let alone retreat, the Mongols are afraid that they will go crazy directly, right?

It's exciting to think about.

……

The higher the terrain, the howler the wind howled over the Binlan Mountains, and the sound of horses' hooves continued in groups, trampling on the bare ridge and struggling to the other side of the mountain.

After the swamp, there is the Binlan Mountains, where the 5,000 cavalry line up in a long queue passing through the gap between the two mountains, on both sides are towering cliffs, and when you look up, you can only see the severed sky, which makes people sigh at the magic of the axe.

Thinking that the nomads of the steppe have passed here every year for thousands of years, this sigh becomes even heavier.

But Gu Huai obviously didn't have the heart to sigh, he didn't look at the scenery at all, just quietly watched the slow-moving cavalry.

Only by passing through this mountain range can you face the huge Warat tribe.

The march was very hard, but fortunately there was a swamp in front of them, and the cavalry who were trying to cross the mountains complained much quieter this time, probably getting closer and closer to the rear of Warat, and these elite cavalry gradually became silent, but without saying a word passed between the two cliffs, and advanced towards the other end.

If the location of Gu Huai is marked on the map of later generations, through this mountain range, they entered the Inner Mongolia Plateau, thanks to the speed of the march is not fast, few people in the army have altitude sickness, in the past few days into the grassland, these cavalry from the Ming Dynasty have become accustomed to the air on the grassland.

The trail was long, the army had been on the march for a day, and according to the scouts, they would be able to get out in half a day.

Gu Huai stood on a high place, riding a horse and constantly issuing military orders, he occasionally looked up at the sky and always thought, if there is a Mongolian cavalry at this time, it is estimated that there is no need to charge, as long as they stand on it and throw stones, these Ming cavalry will all die in this ravine.

Fortunately, the Mongols had no gods, and no one would tell them that the Ming cavalry was struggling to make their way through this mountain road.

Occasionally, there is a wolf howl, and the Ming cavalry who heard it all licked their lips subconsciously, the wolves on the grassland are in packs, after passing the swamp, in order to reduce the load, they are all open to eat, and they have eaten dry food two days ago, if those wolves do not open their eyes and run down, they can fight tooth sacrifices.

Although wolf meat is not delicious, it is still much better than dry food.

It's not that there are no horses that are a little panicked because of the wolf howl, but they are quickly pacified by the cavalry, and at this time the other cavalry will let out some sneer--what kind of cavalry is it if they can't even control their own horses?

Gu Huai didn't care about this kind of small fight, he just counted the time in his mind.

Starting from entering the grassland, wandering through the grassland and the border of the Ming Dynasty, delayed for two days in Hara Mang and Qiucheng, entered the grassland with a guide and a small amount of supplies, and went straight to Naqu for a few more days, and then the swamps and mountains, carefully calculated, it was almost the New Year.

For more than ten days, if it was in a restaurant in Texas, it was estimated that it would have passed in the blink of an eye, but now, he actually dragged a cavalry into the grassland, which is really incredible to think about.

But the difficulty is still to come, and everything now is just to avoid the Mongolian rangers.

The cliff that had been repeating had finally changed a little, and with the march, the mountain road expanded sharply, and the sky finally occupied all the vision at the end, Gu Huai took off his helmet and breathed a long sigh of relief.

came out, those Mongols who were tortured to death did not lie, and the end of this mountain road should be the real steppe.

The cavalry behind him also began to cheer because of the sudden appearance of the whole sky, and the whole mountain road was falling stones because of the continuous sound, and the cheers of the cavalry quickly stuck in their throats - if they shouted any more, they would have died here from a landslide, it would be really stupid.

The exit was halfway up the mountain, and in front of him was the cavalry's favorite downhill, Gu Huai took out the map and looked at it, on the marching road, the conspicuous tribe lay on the other side of the mountain.

He didn't look up, but gave the order: "The whole army rests, and in a quarter of an hour the whole army will mount and attack." ”

"Target, Faqiang tribe."