On the north shore of the Weining Sea, the cavalry of the Ming Dynasty advanced for more than 30 miles.

There were about five or six thousand people left behind in the Menggoljin Department of the fire screen, but they were powerless to do anything about the advance of the Ming soldiers and horses.

Wang Shouren was very decisive in carrying out the military order, and at the beginning of the attack, he issued an order that all men and horses must turn back and go south, from the direction of Maoerzhuang into Datong, so that the distance could be shortened to 200 li.

But to enforce it...... Apparently inadequate.

"General Wang, at present, two thousand two thousand two hundred and sixty heads have been killed, and the number of prisoners is more than 10,000, which is difficult to count. Hundreds of thousands of livestock...... If you go south like this, you will only be afraid...... Slow ......"

When General Guan Jing reported the matter to Wang Shouren, his voice trembled.

This credit is much more than Wang Weining's surprise attack on Weininghai.

But the biggest problem now is that it is likely that so many gains will not be taken away.

Even if the Menggol Levin Department does not turn back and kill, the surrounding Tumut Department and Yong Xie Bu Department will not sit idly by, and the Ming Expeditionary Force only has 3,000 soldiers and horses, after the previous battle losses, it is good to have more than 2,500 people left who can go into battle, so they still want to drive such a large grassland tribe force south?

Cao Shun changed his previous arrogance and rudeness towards Wang Shouren, and said in a consultative tone: "Lord Wang, do we want to ...... They didn't take the animals or anything with them, and they took their children away. The horses are with them, and the rest ...... If you really can't do anything, don't force it. ”

With the greatest ability, I take away what I can take.

You can't kill someone's back garden without leaving a piece of armor, and you still want to take away all the useful and useless, right?

Aren't you afraid that the main force of others will come back, and we won't be able to leave?

Wang Shouren's attitude was very firm and said: "All the soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty have gone out of the pass, and if they go sixty or seventy miles to the south, they will definitely be able to meet the soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty, and Hu Lu will definitely not dare to chase them!" Everything you can take away, leave nothing behind! ”

When Cao Shun heard this, it was very uncomfortable.

He wanted to say, you want to take you with you, anyway, I want to go back quickly, you go to Datong and I can go to Yinshan, where did you come from.

……

……

Wang Shouren didn't want to leave any population and livestock for the fire sifting, since he chose to steal the house, he would steal it thoroughly.

Easy to say.

However, when it comes to implementation, it is extremely difficult.

The population of the steppe tribe is not bad, as long as this group of people is driven, it can be taken, but so many cattle...... It is necessary to pass through an area of nearly 200 miles to return to Daming, and it is not possible to graze cattle on the way, and it is a great trouble just to feed and replenish water for these livestock.

In the afternoon of the same day, sporadically there were tribesmen and horses approaching this side, but they were all killed and retreated by Ma Yi and his troops.

At this time, Ma Yi was responsible for leading about 1,200 soldiers and horses, and these 1,200 soldiers and horses were already about half of the remaining soldiers and horses in the Ming Dynasty, and the rest of the men and horses were scattered everywhere, about 200 people and horses all the way, driving different tribal populations, including men, women, old and children, as well as their cattle, horses, sheep, camels and other livestock to the south.

By the time it got dark, the group had not yet rounded the eastern shore of the Weining Sea.

It is also not possible to camp that night.

The soldiers were already exhausted, and after several days of marching and a great battle of blood and fire, everyone's spirit was on the verge of collapse.

Even Wang Shouren felt that maybe his plan was a little crazy, and the spoils this time were really exaggerated, and the soldiers were afraid that they would not be able to hold on.

"Stay put!"

Wang had to change his mind about going south quickly.

He now had to face a problem, that is, before he could go south to join the main force of the Chinese army of the Ming Dynasty, he would have to go head-to-head with the forces of the fire sieve or the rest of the right-wing tribes.

Not to mention the rear, even the front...... There are dangers lurking.

……

……

The night was dark.

The wind rose on the grassland that night, and there was also a great battle, and death happened again in the quiet Weininghai, and the sound of the wind outside the tent was like the whimper of people.

The soldiers swept away the excitement on the battlefield before, and they had to be stationed on duty that night, so they could only rest in batches.

When Ma Yi appeared in front of Wang Shouren with a gray and black face, Wang Shouren also understood that the expeditionary force he brought now was likely to be buried in Weininghai before bringing the results back to the Ming Dynasty.

"Major General, the soldiers have done their best! But there are too many tartars here! ”

"Now that we have a rough count, the population is nearly 15,000, and this is not counting the more than 2,000 people we killed......"

Ma Yi's general idea now is to bring those heads back.

For the soldiers, that was a great achievement, and it was almost impossible to bring back these captives, cattle and sheep.

Wang Shouren said: "Can you continue to leave before midnight?" ”

"I'm afraid it won't work." Ma Yi said, "Some soldiers were already asleep on horseback and fell off their horses...... This is not uncommon. I'm so tired today! Earliest...... It will also be early tomorrow morning. ”

Wang Shouren didn't force Ma Yi, he nodded and said, "Then continue the march tomorrow morning." Bringing together all the people of Diyi in one place, this time we brought the mighty heavenly gunpowder, if it really reached the last step, then it would be ...... Kill! ”

Wang Shouren also made plans to burn all the jade.

Although they are still deep into the hinterland of the grassland, and their whereabouts are no longer any secret, and escorting so many people and livestock southward, the journey is difficult, not to mention that they may not even be able to walk twenty miles in a day, but Wang Shouren does not feel that this is a dead end.

This tribal population of more than 15,000 is the bargaining chip in his hand.

Am I forced to retreat after the battle?

Obviously, you are escorting the "hostages" back to Daming, no matter how fast you are in the army, you dare to come and fight me head-on?

When the time comes, I will kill your people directly behind your back, and if you dare to get closer, I will kill dozens of people, and send you the heads over, and I will ask you if you are afraid?

Your cattle and sheep are slaughtered directly for you, and it is too slow to kill them with knives, so they are directly bombarded with artillery and blown up with yellow powder...... If you want to execute your population and livestock, you steppe people don't need to teach you to do this, and my Wang can definitely do it.

If you dare to fight you for a long time, you will be ready to die with you!

……

……

When Wang Shouren explained the plan to slaughter the hostages to Ma Yi clearly, he could obviously feel that Ma Yi's face was a little more bloody.

Ma Yi felt Wang Shouren's "unscrupulous means" as a general, or rather, Wang Shouren was far-sighted, and it made no sense to talk about the rule of not killing prisoners when you were dying, what he had to do was to bring the spoils back to Daming, and according to the agreement, unless there were those who could not take full account and escaped halfway, there was no shortage of people and animals.

It was quiet in the northeast corner of Weininghai that night.

Wang Shouren had the camp lit up with bonfires and even allowed herders to feed their animals overnight.

At the same time, Wang Shouren also called the elders left behind in the tribe over and explained his intentions to them.

"If you are defeated, you should submit to the Ming Dynasty, as long as the fire sieve surrenders, then you can be saved, and even the cattle are still yours. But if the fire sieve is obsessed and continues to fight with us, then the fish will be dead. ”

Wang Shouren told the prisoners of war.

Your fate does not depend on the attitude of the Ming soldiers towards you, we hope that you will live to the Ming border, and even give you the foundation to continue to survive.

Your lives are now in the hands of the fire sieve and your family, and if the men of your family, that is, the cavalry you went out, come back and fight us, then you will be killed and sacrificed to the flag.

The old people left behind in the clan were also very jealous.

Someone asked, "Shouldn't you say these things to our patriarchs and to the warriors who go out on battle?" ”

Wang Shouren said, "Therefore, if your army comes, I will send some of you who are old and weak as messengers, and then you will bring my letter and my intention and tell them it." ”

Wang Shouren would not let women and children report the news, because he also knew that for the grassland, women were the most important resource and an important factor related to the development of the ethnic group.

Children are also the future of the steppe tribes.

The lifespan of the steppe people is generally in their thirties or even twenties, and if one of them is missing, it is likely to mean the demise of one tribe, and it is impossible to survive the lack of a generation by plundering the women of other tribes to bear children for them.

But the old man of the clan ...... Especially those who don't have the physical strength to do the work, it is not of much value to the tribe, and putting them over to inform the intentions of the Ming army can be regarded as exerting their residual heat.

……

……

There was no fighting that night.

It is also the quality of the Ming Expeditionary Force in this battle that is too terrible, even if there are still the living forces of the tribes around, and even the people and horses left behind in the outer circle by the fire screen, they dare not come to the rescue easily at this time.

Wang Shouren set it up before dawn.

At each passing section, an old man of the clan would be left behind to stop and bring the conversation.

After a night of resting and recuperating, the soldiers of the expeditionary force were in a much better spirit, and they were able to continue their southward journey after dawn.

But go to Maoerzhuang...... For soldiers, it is still difficult.

Even if they dismounted and walked, they would be faster than the current procession, especially with so many cattle and sheep, who did not obey the call at all, and it would not help if there were herdsmen to help.

Cattle and sheep will go to find places with water and grass on their own.

Wang Shouren also calmed down at this time.

I simply can't go back to the Daming border pass without encountering the enemy, so I don't care if I go fast or slow, I will encounter it anyway, anyway, the deterrence method used before will not work, so I will fight steadily, Wang Yue can reach Weininghai through more than 20 days of day and night, why can't he use more than 20 days to bring these trophies back to Daming?

"It's not okay to go this way."

Cao Shun is the one who sings the most in the army.

At noon that day, there was no burying stove, and the soldiers were not short of food now, and from the grain stock of the Menggol Sect, they found a lot of dried meat and various grain crops, and now they belong to what they want to eat.

Many horse-drawn carriages were full of Tatar women and children, and they did not mourn along the way, as if they had expected that the end of being captives would be to be driven away like cattle and sheep.

As a result of this march, Wang Shouren could get rumors from time to time that Tatars were approaching everywhere, but it was also surprising that none of them dared to approach directly.

First, because the number of these horses is not large, they know that they can't compete head-on with the strength of the Ming Expeditionary Force, plus they don't belong to the same tribe, and they can't form an alliance in a short time.

For the Tumut and other tribes, don't look at them as allies with the Menggoljin tribe, but if the rear of the Menggoljin tribe is taken by the Ming Dynasty, then the pasture of the Menggoljin tribe will be owned by them, and now they might as well go to the fire screen to rob their cattle, sheep and women...... Do you want to go directly to the Ming Dynasty for the sake of these animals in the Menggol Jin Department?

In addition, now the main tribal forces of the Mongolian right wing are preparing for a decisive battle with Dayan Khan in the west, and now the army of the Ming Dynasty has only plundered the rear of the Menggoljin tribe, and has not moved their basic plate, and it is too late for them to protect their own people, and as for the matter of regaining the Menggoljin tribesmen, only the fire can do it themselves.

It's only been a day since the war happened, and it's likely that the fire sieve hasn't even gotten the news yet, and it will take a few days for it to return to the army, so everything is still so calm.

"Most of the men and horses close to us now are people from the Menggol Jin Department, in addition to the people who escaped from the battlefield yesterday, there are also some men and horses they gathered from the surrounding areas, and it seems that the number of soldiers and horses is one or two thousand years ago, and they do not have the strength to fight with us."

The next night.

The team that seemed to be fleeing finally walked out of the area of Weininghai, but it only walked out of twenty miles, and this was still the effect achieved by Wang Shouren's various urgings and methods such as killing people and establishing authority.

At the military meeting that night, Guan Jing did not accept the night on behalf of Daming, that is, the scouts came with news.

After Cao Shun heard the news, he said with a look of relief: "That's good, that's good." If everything goes well, it will take about five or six days to get to Maoerzhuang, and maybe the Tartars haven't reacted yet. ”

"No, it won't." Wang Shouren said, "Before we arrive at Maoerzhuang, even if Hu Lu can only gather one or two thousand people, they will rush over and kill them. ”

Cao Shun was puzzled: "Aren't they afraid that we will destroy all their people?" ”

Wang Shouren asked rhetorically: "What is the difference between a person being brought into the customs by us and being killed?" ”

"This ......"

Cao Shun couldn't answer.

"It's nothing more than a matter of life and death." Wang Shouren himself added, "At that time, if the fire does not fall, then his tribesmen will be completely gone." And the people and horses left behind will not be treated kindly! will be the first to be threatened by the army. ”

This means that after the fire sieve came back, he found that most of the clansmen were taken away by the expeditionary force of 3,000 soldiers and horses all the way to the Ming Dynasty, and he himself left four or five thousand soldiers and horses to garrison, even if these four or five thousand soldiers and horses were just reserves, in order to boost the morale of the army, the fire sieve would kill this group of inactive guys first.

And this group of people who stayed behind also knew that what they were doing would not be tolerated by the clansmen and would not be accepted by the fire sieve, so they were now waiting for an opportunity to attack.

They are also observing the flaws of the Ming army.

"So it's best to take the initiative to go out." Wang Shouren gave a strategy.

"Still fighting?"

Cao Shun looked incomprehensible.

Escorting so many people and livestock to the south, and carrying so many goods on the wagons, there were dozens of wagons of cattle and sheepskins alone...... The other party didn't dare to come forward, it should have burned high incense, but this young general of the Wang family didn't seem to be afraid of things at all, and he could always make something evil.

"Let Commander Ma see the opportunity and lead the troops to rush out, and there is no need to rush to the battle, and drive the thieves away fifty miles away!"

Wang Shouren gave a specific strategy.

……

……

There was no overnight garrison that night, and by midnight the men and horses continued to march.

Wang Shouren fully understood Zhang Zhou's strategic intention for him, and tried not to fight night battles on the grassland as much as possible, especially night raids, otherwise it was likely that the Ming soldiers would get lost on the grassland without too many markers.

At night, he would not carry out any plans to drive Di Yi away, everything would have to wait until after dawn.

When the sky was bright, Wang Shouren looked up at the sky, and Ma Yi was also rotated and came to report to him.

"Commander Ma, within three days, we must get rid of the trouble behind you, otherwise when you go to the surroundings of Maoerzhuang, our army will be very passive when you encounter front and rear attacks."

Wang Shouren was also telling Ma Yi.

It's just expedient for you to drive Di Yi away, and it's best to eat the one or two thousand cavalry that followed behind you at once.

Only in this way can we ensure that we can concentrate on dealing with the former bannermen of the Menggoljin Department stationed in Maoerzhuang and other places.

Ma Yi asked: "Didn't Zhang Zhitai say that he would clear the way for us to go south?" ”

"At the current speed of our march, it is impossible for the soldiers and horses of Xuanfu to reach Maoerzhuang, and the soldiers and horses of Datong Town may not be sent north under orders, even if the speed of going north will not be too fast, it is good to be able to travel one or twenty miles a day, and it will take at least five or six days before there is a chance to meet the soldiers and horses of the border town."

"But I expect that the soldiers and horses in front of the official department will go north from Maoerzhuang and other places after hearing the news, and they will be handed over in three days at the latest."

Wang Shouren has some understanding of the urine of the Ming border army.

Zhang Zhou had already ordered Datong Town and Yatou Pass to send troops.

But it is impossible for the people and horses of Yitouguan to come to Maoerzhuang to respond, that is to say, Zhang Zhou's descendants, Wang Qiong and Zhu Feng cannot come to help, counting on Hong Han, the governor of Datong, although it seems to be more reliable than Ma Zhongxi, but Hong Han will not be too quick when executing military orders.

As for Zhang Zhou himself...... Wang Shouren didn't dare to give up too much hope, because the road from Xuanfu to Maoerzhuang was long.

In fact, what is even worse is that Wang Shouren has captured too much loot and marched too slowly, so that it will delay the time to go to Maoerzhuang......

The previous view was that the soldiers and horses of the front banner of the fire screen would retreat west after the war, but now that Wang Shouren has uprooted the nest of the fire sieve department, and the families of the people and horses of the front flag of the fire screen are estimated to be among them, how could they lose their homes and run west by themselves?

This also made Wang Shouren deeply realized.

The credit is small and not worth mentioning.

The credit is too great, and it is also troublesome to serve the old nest of the fire sieve, and it is likely that he will not be able to return to the Central Plains by burying himself in the grassland.

(End of chapter)