Wang Shouren led his troops to fight with the remaining guards of the Chahar Department.

The number of soldiers and horses on both sides was basically equal, and the Ming side had 6,000 cavalry, with artillery and long-range firearms such as guns and bows and arrows.

The number of men and horses on the Chahar side is relatively large, with more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, but they are scattered in different directions, not belonging to the same tribe and branch, and they are also mainly cavalry, but long-range firearms are limited to bows and arrows, and there are basically no strong crossbows, and the Ming cannot fight at a medium distance.

The result......

Wang Shouren's side attacked in a conservative formation, while Chahar's side relied on a scattered formation to "defend".

If you say it is good, it is defense, and if you don't hear it, you will avoid war.

Wherever the Ming Dynasty fought, they fled in the opposite direction.

"Major General, the Tartars have been defeated and retreated after several contacts, so it is better to send a surprise army to make a detour behind the Tartars all the way to a flanking attack."

"The last general is willing to lead the troops!"

The morale of the soldiers on Wang Shouren's side can be said to be high.

After several days of continuous fighting, the two sides thundered but did not rain, and after the first day and night of bloody fighting, they entered a buffer period, and the soldiers felt both tired and not happy enough.

It seems that the two sides have mobilized a lot of men and horses, and they are only within thirty or forty miles, but a decent battle has not been fought.

Wang Shouren said: "Don't underestimate the enemy, now the focus is to find the rear camp of the Tartars and force them to take the initiative to fight a decisive battle with us!" ”

In Wang Shouren's temporary Chinese military camp tent, there are ready-made maps.

"Major General, this place under our feet, it is very likely that the Ming soldiers have never been here, and this topographic map may not be accurate, so it is better to fight with them directly!"

The generals still had some opinions about Wang Shouren's way of gathering 6,000 soldiers and horses in one place, and advancing and retreating together.

But they will not argue with Wang Shouren, but will take the initiative to express their confidence in leading the troops to attack.

It was also because of the cowardice shown by the men and horses left behind by the Chahar tribe, and the self-confidence gained in the previous two battles, that they felt that the hinterland of the Tatars was nothing more than that, and that we could still conquer the land under our feet.

Wang Shouren's eyes were still staring at the map and said: "Along the way, all the markings, including the mountains and rivers, are all right. This is a topographic map drawn by Lai Guogong himself, do you have any questions? ”

Knowing that it was Zhang Zhou's map, the generals below had no opinion.

It is said that the generals in the army have great respect for Wang Shouren, mainly because of Wang Shouren's ability to lead the troops to fight.

But if you want to say who is the most awesome god of war in the Ming Dynasty, it is recognized that it is still Zhang Zhou.

No matter how strong Wang Shouren's ability is, he also needs Zhang Zhou's strategic support, but also Zhang Zhou's miraculous calculations, as well as the firearms developed and built by Zhang Zhou.

Without Zhang Zhou, Wang Shouren is a dragon without wings, and at most he can run on the ground.

"Did the scouts from the north report back?"

Wang Shouren looked at Han Zheng, who was in charge of intelligence on the side.

Han Zheng said: "General Hui, all the scouts have already investigated, and within a few dozen miles, there is no sign of the activities of the old and weak women and children of Tatars. ”

Wang Shouren's face showed a certain amount of worry and said: "We suddenly appeared here, and the Tatars suddenly gathered more than 10,000 soldiers and horses, which shows that the Khan Court of the Chahar Department is around, after these three days of testing, the old and weak of the other Khan's Court, as well as the cattle and sheep and goods, must retreat in one direction, if we still can't find the direction accurately before tonight and pursue it with all our might, I am afraid that it will be impossible to track it in the next three or four days." ”

The soldiers present probably understood what Wang Shouren meant.

Now they want to fight the Tatars head-on, in fact, the Tatars will not fight, only find and catch up with the old and weak women and children in the Tatar tribe, as well as their large number of cattle and sheep and goods, etc., in this direction, the Tatars in order to maintain the strength of the tribe, they have to fight the Ming head-on.

But after all, there are too many directions in all directions, and the old and weak women, children, cattle and sheep of the Tatar Khan's court must also be in the process of migration.

Once you chase in the wrong direction, after chasing for a few days and find that the direction is wrong, and then correct the direction to chase, it is basically too late...... can only "pass through the treasure mountain and gain nothing".

If you can loot the Khan Court of the Chahar Ministry...... Slaughtering the clansmen left behind by Dayan Khan, the Ming Dynasty is famous on the grassland, Wang Shouren doesn't care about fame and fortune, what he cares about is to establish the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty in this way.

For ordinary soldiers, this means a monstrous achievement.

Qianhu Gelin on the side asked: "Young General, do you think Hu Lu will do the opposite, knowing that we are going to chase west, so their tribesmen and horses will retreat to the east?" So no matter how much we chase, we can't catch up? ”

"No, it won't." Wang Shouren shook his head first, and then said, "Even if there is such a possibility, the chance is not great. ”

Then Wang Shouren pointed to the topographic map and said: "The direction our army is coming from the east, there are tribesmen and horses of Duoyan Sanwei over there, and the thickness of the grassland along the way shows that there are no big tribes migrating past. And if our army is encircled and needs to retreat, retreating to the east is also the most likely direction to choose, and if they go east, they will fall into the net. ”

Guan Jing said: "That's the northwest side, didn't you find out that there are their flocks?" ”

After Wang Shouren thought about it, he shook his head again.

Obviously, in Wang Shouren's opinion, the answer to this question will not be so simple.

Guan Jing added: "After all, they are going west or north, not south, right?" It is possible in the northwest and southwest, they are always going to gather with the little prince of Tatar to return to the army, if it is to the south, they are going in the direction of the Ming Dynasty's Guancheng, not afraid that my Ming three armies will kill them and kill them without leaving a piece of armor? ”

"Yes, what General Guan said is reasonable."

A group of people supported Kwan's view.

Guan Jing also represents the most primitive marching strategy...... In order to avoid the pursuit of the Ming soldiers and horses, the old and weak women and children of the Tatar Khan's court naturally retreated in the direction where the Ming soldiers and horses had to pay the greatest price for the pursuit.

And the last thing the Ming Dynasty wants to see is naturally to continue to go deep alone, that is, to continue to go northwest, which will be farther away from the territory of the Ming Dynasty and easier to be surrounded by Tatars from all walks of life.

Wang Shouren said: "What if the Tatar people themselves do not expect the little Tatar prince to return to the army to help, but only hope to rely on the men and horses they sent out at the Daming Pass?" ”

Guan Jing said: "Then they should go south, or southwest." ”

"That's not right."

Wang Shouren stared at the map again, as if he had found some clues, "We have passed the capital, Ningxia is already in our southwest, and our south should be Datong Town." If the Tatar tribes did not rely on the men and horses of the little Tatar prince, and the main Tatar forces were basically concentrated in the partial pass and the great equal, then they would be ......"

Immediately, Wang Shouren used a stick to compare the straight line from their possible location to Xuanfu from the map.

And this line does not deviate to the left...... That is, the line is pointing to the southeast.

Han Zheng asked, "Tartar is going to retreat in the direction of Xuanfu?" So why isn't it bias or harmony? ”

Wang Shouren said: "Why do you still need to say it? Datong and Biguan are the places where Lai Guogong is deeply cultivated, and the number of soldiers and horses stationed in the Ming Dynasty and the number of firearms reserved are also very large, and there are Wang Zhongcheng and others who can send troops at any time. On the contrary, the Xuanfu, although it is the core of the Xuanda, has not sent more troops and horses in the past two years...... And the main force of the Tatars left in Datong is also here. This used to be a pasture for fire screening......"

Guan Jing said with a little excitement: "From this road, you should still be able to pass by Weining Haizi." ”

"That's right!"

The soldiers also got excited.

For the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, Weininghai is simply the glory of the Ming army, Wang Weining has made contributions here, in the past two years, the Ming Dynasty has twice sent troops to Weininghai, by Wang Shouren for the second time to achieve the victory of Weininghai, and Maoerzhuang and other places of the Ming Dynasty began to build the city fortress......

Guan Jing asked eagerly, "Young General, are we going in the direction of Xuanfu?" ”

"No!" Wang Shouren said, "When the Tartars find out that we are going south, they must think that we are going to retreat to Daming, and they must be afraid of being met by us on the way, so after they learn the news, they will rush to the west, and we need to intercept them on their way westward." ”

"Where is that?" The generals looked at the map curiously.

At this time, they also realized that they all had brains, but in terms of analytical ability, everyone together could not be compared with Wang Shouren alone.

Wang Shouren pointed to the two points marked on the map and said: "It is between Weininghai and Guanshan that the people and horses of the Tartar tribe will be blocked!" ”

"Good!"

The soldiers were full of confidence.

It seems that Wang Shouren said that the old, weak, sick and disabled of the Tartars are waiting for them to slaughter, and the man is waiting there, as if he is unguarded.

Wang Shouren said: "Set off immediately, go in the direction of due south and east first, and deliberately let the Tartar scouts detect it with great fanfare." Two days later, it turned southwest...... Don't pay attention to the direction of Tatar soldiers and horses along the way, but if you encounter an enemy in the future, you must overcome it and continue to march! ”

"Order!"

"Troops!"

……

……

After walking west for three days, Wang Shouren's headquarters suddenly turned back to the south, and the incident happened so suddenly that even the remaining guards of the Chahar Department did not expect it.

As Wang Shouren's men and horses went south, it only took one day to walk more than 170 miles.

The feeling to the Tatars is that Wang Shouren should take advantage of the Tatar main force to return to help, jump out of the encirclement as soon as possible, approach the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and successfully break through into the Ming Pass.

That's the truth.

But in fact, the Tatar tribes, including the leading generals of the Chahar tribe, such as the sons of Batumunk, found this unlikely.

With Wang Shouren's courage, he dared to lead the army commander to drive straight into the grassland, and he would not passively avoid the battle, after all, Wang Shouren's marching route in the previous three days also showed that he was not looking for a breakthrough, because there was no need to find it, and none of the branches of the Chahar Department dared to confront Wang Shouren head-on all the way.

This shows that Wang Shouren is looking for the people of the Chahar tribe.

When Wang Shouren suddenly rushed south, this can only show one problem...... Wang Shouren may have found the direction of their people's escape.

Over the next two days.

Even without Wang Shouren to guide the generals and soldiers in the army, the Ming soldiers will find that the people and horses who were originally standing still suddenly do not seem to be afraid of the Ming army, and they have always maintained a distance of thirty or forty miles from the Ming army before, and at this time they are reluctant to follow, and when the distance between them and the Ming army is close, not even ten miles.

Even so, the Ming soldiers also followed Wang Shouren's requirements......

As long as it is not an enemy in their way, there is no need to engage them, as the Tatars are likely trying to lure them in the other direction.

Even if the troops are exchanged, it will not be a real decisive battle, and the Tatar cavalry is likely to be defeated and retreated at the beginning of the engagement, leading the Ming soldiers and horses to pursue.

Therefore, everything only needs to be done according to Wang Shouren's request, that is, to continue south, find the direction of the retreat of the Tatar people, and complete the slaughter of the Tatar people, who are almost powerless to resist.

……

……

The march soon entered the third day of the plan.

At this time, they were only about 200 miles away from Weininghai, and more than 300 miles away from Guanshan, and then when Wang Shouren had not found any trace of the Tatar people, the soldiers and horses directly advanced rapidly in the direction of Guanshan in the southwest, and it was day and night.

On the night when the Ming army turned around and went southwest, the Chahar Department tracked the people and horses in the back, gathered the soldiers and horses scattered all over the place, gathered about seven or eight thousand soldiers and horses, and also began to move closer to the direction of the Ming army.

Even so, the side of the Ming army remained indifferent.

"Major General, the Tartars have been chasing us for more than an hour." After Guan Jing sent someone to investigate the enemy's situation, he rode his horse to Wang Shouren's horse to report the situation.

Wang Shouren said: "This shows that we have judged correctly, I believe that before noon tomorrow, we will encounter another main force of Tartars to intercept us!" ”

Guan Jing asked: "Then do you want to eat the rest of the way first?" ”

Wang Shouren personally raised the torch, waved the torch in his hand a few times, and then a signal flare was lifted into the air, which was a signal to remind the army to continue to advance rapidly.

"The number of Tatars in the rear will not be under our army, and fighting with them will definitely waste more than half a day, now is the time to compete, even if we are short of tea, we may not be able to stop the men and horses of the Tatar Khan's court! There is no need to be afraid of the Tartars coming from the rear, and there is no need to worry about being attacked by two sides tomorrow, as long as they dare to enter within two miles, let them know the power of the salvo of six hundred guns! ”

"Yes!"

Guan Jing immediately understood what it meant.

The battle was time-consuming, and the Tatars did not necessarily really want to fight a decisive battle, but just wanted to drag the Ming army back.

As for the fear of the other party's encirclement...... Daming is really not afraid here.

The Ming side itself is also a very mobile cavalry, even if it is surrounded, the Ming Dynasty breaks through in one direction, and the Tatars can only camp in a hurry, and whoever enters the range of the Ming artillery is looking for death.

It's the same as saying......

What you surround you, we have to go in one direction, and you can't surround it.

Which direction we go is where your weak link lies.

As for what you want to do, you want to use the method of leading the battle to pile up the soldiers and horses...... As long as it's not on our route, we're too lazy to chase and fight.

……

……

After a day and a night of rapid marching, the Ming Dynasty walked nearly three hundred miles.

After dawn, when the sun rose in the east, the number of men and horses caught up by the Chahar Department in the rear had increased from seven or eight thousand to more than 10,000, and there was a tendency to gather men and horses from all over the place to continue to increase their strength.

But for the Ming side, that's just a number.

Their goal is to find the weakest link of the Tatars, that is, their migratory people, who said that they use knives to kill chickens?

We just like to kill chickens with knives, and the closer you get to your people, the more you have to fight us, or you will have to watch our people slaughtered by us.

"Cattle and sheep, a large number of cattle and sheep!"

When the Ming side crossed a hill, many soldiers were still riding horses, eating dry food and drinking water.

At this time, in a clearing in the distance, there were a large number of abandoned cattle and sheep, the number of which was at least twenty or thirty thousand.

Wang Shouren waved his horsewhip and said in a morale-boosting tone: "The people of the Tartar Khan Court must not have been in the past for half a day, in order to escape, they even abandoned the cattle and sheep used for survival in the wilderness, and they also knew that their end of the road had come!" Keep on the pursuit! ”

"Chase!"

It's like looking at plums to quench your thirst.

Originally, after several days of marching, the Ming soldiers didn't figure out what they were doing.

said that he was going to find the people of the Tatar royal court, but after chasing for a few days, he didn't see anyone.

But now they seemed to feel that victory was at hand, and that the last few days of running had been to catch up with the Tartars and then open their arms to kill the enemy.

So......

The Ming army didn't even have time to rest for a short time, and directly embarked on the journey again.

……

……

When the Ming army continued its rapid march after dawn.

The Tatar pursuers were clearly unable to sit still.

What can't enter the Ming army's two or three miles range, and what should lead the Ming army to pursue in other directions...... It doesn't seem to matter anymore.

If there is no more fighting, it is really to hand over the old and weak women and children in the tribesmen to the Ming to bombard, and even without cannons, the Ming soldiers can directly use sabers to kill the people they want to protect.

With the march of the Ming Dynasty.

As prophesied by Wang Shouren, the Tatars also came.

When a large number of Tatar soldiers and horses were assembled in front, the generals in the army also admired Wang Shouren's judgment, and even this could be expected...... It's just divine.

But in fact, for Wang Shouren, this is just a basic judgment of the battle situation.

Because when they were about to catch up with the Tatars, the Tatar Department who was responsible for escorting the people would definitely stay where they were, so as to fight the Ming Dynasty to delay time and cover the continued transfer of their people.

When encountering the Tatar army in the way, this means that the distance between the Ming side and the Tatar people will not exceed fifty miles, and it will be able to catch up in two or three hours at most.

"Array!"

The Ming side is also not polite.

There is no need to chase, if there is an enemy in front, then fight, and when you enter the range, you will shoot...... First artillery, then guns and bows, and finally hand-to-hand combat...... In the end, the routine is very fixed.

If the Tatars still want to play the routine of feint defeat and transfer, the Ming will not chase it, because now we all know where your weak point is, what is the point of chasing you regular troops?

As long as you take control of your "soft underbelly", you must gather all the men and horses that can get on the horse and fight us in a decisive battle.

That's the best tactic.

(End of chapter)