"Who are you impersonating?" Li Dingguo smiled, "You can impersonate whoever you want!"
It would have been better if Li Dingguo had not said this, but after he said it, it aroused Li Xianzhong's interest.
He approached Li Dingguo and asked in a pleading tone: "Can I pretend to be you for once?"
"Who...are you trying to impersonate?"
"Who do you think I could impersonate?"
"How many Mongols do you have under your command?" Li Dingguo asked seriously.
"You want me to pretend to be a Mongolian?"
"Answer the question first."
"There are less than 1,500 people. Isn't that too few?"
"Not more, not less, just right!" Li Dingguo pointed at the map and began to talk about his evil plan.
The next morning.
Li Xianzhong set off with 5,000 elite cavalry.
He ordered 1,300 Mongolian cavalrymen under his command to march in front, while he led the remaining elite troops behind.
The two armies were twenty miles apart and marched at a constant speed.
Li Dingguo led the main force and remained motionless.
He wanted to give a false impression to the various forces on the grassland.
What illusion?
He hadn't moved at all.
After entering the grassland, Li Xianzhong first marched northward for half a day.
Then it turned west and rushed towards the grassland north of Taiping Fort.
That evening, they spent the night beside a river.
The next morning, Li Xianzhong did not move forward.
Instead, he sent out a large number of scouts to search for any traces of the Khalkha Mongols heading south.
At noon, the scout reported: "We found a large number of Mongols 20 miles ahead. We dare not approach them for reconnaissance, so we don't know which tribe they belong to."
"It doesn't matter," Li Xianzhong said with a smile, "Our mission is to disrupt the situation in Liaodong. It doesn't matter who we attack."
"Please give the order, sir!"
"Pass the order and have the Mongols in our army launch a surprise attack on the enemy before dark. It doesn't matter whether there is any victory or not, what matters is that our army does not suffer any casualties."
"I will obey your orders."
One thousand three hundred Mongolian cavalrymen, holding the flags of the Mongolian tribe, charged forward.
When they were ten miles away, their tracks were discovered by Mongolian scouts.
The Mongolian scouts were divided into two.
Someone immediately sent a message to the rear, while others gathered into small groups to inquire about the identity of this cavalry.
"Which tribe are you from?" the Khalkha Mongolian cavalry asked loudly in Mongolian.
"We are from the Eastern Sunite tribe. Which tribe are you from?" The Mongolian soldiers under Li Xianzhong answered in Mongolian.
"We are from the Zasaktu Khanate."
(The Khalkha Mongols were composed of the Zasaktu Khanate, the Chechen Khanate, and the Tushetu Khanate.)
"Zasaktu Khanate? Aren't you in the northern desert? Why did you suddenly go to the southern desert?"
"We are here to trade with the Ming court."
The Mongolian soldiers under Li Xianzhong shouted in a cold tone: "This is our territory. You must leave before dark, otherwise don't blame us for being rude."
"We are just passing through here to trade with each other. We have no intention of occupying your ranch. We hope you can give us some convenience."
"no."
"It has to be done no matter what. The grassland belongs to everyone. We can go wherever we want."
"The grassland does belong to everyone, but it's based on first come first served. We were here first, so this is our territory. You who came later must leave!"
"Never heard of it!" said the Khalkha Mongolian scout confidently.
"Then don't blame us for being rude."
The Mongolian cavalry under Li Xianzhong launched an attack on the enemy.
The enemy's scouts consisted of only a few men, and they were defeated in an instant.
The Mongolian cavalry under Li Xianzhong's command pursued closely and killed their way towards the Khalkha Mongolian camp.
......
Thirty miles north of Taipingbao.
The Khalkha Mongolian tribes are stationed here.
This was originally the grazing area of the Khorchin Mongols.
In order to ensure that they would not be robbed during the trade, the Khalkha Mongols assembled tens of thousands of troops and marched south.
When the Khorchin Mongols learned of this, they immediately sent people to make serious representations.
However, the Khalkha Mongols, in order to obtain supplies, forcibly invaded their territory regardless of negotiations.
The Khorchin tribe wanted to fight back, but they had already defected to the Jiannu.
The main forces of the tribe were in the lower reaches of the Liao River, waiting for Dorgon's dispatch.
They have no soldiers available.
In addition, Li Dingguo sent troops to the grassland and took the initiative to seek war.
The Khorchin Mongolian tribes, attacked from both sides, were forced to leave their grazing areas and flee to the upper reaches of the Liaohe River.
Inside the military tent.
Subadi, the Zasaktu Khan of Khalkha Mongolia, sat on the ground.
Shuolei of the Chechen Khanate sat next to him.
The two men were guarding the iron pot on the campfire with serious expressions.
Not long.
The water in the pot was boiling, making a gurgling sound.
Subati stood up, took out a handful of tea leaves from the paper bag in front of him and put them into the water.
The tea leaves open as soon as they come into contact with water, giving off a rich tea aroma.
They poured the tea from the pot into bowls that had been prepared and drank it while it was hot.
"Hmm, good tea!" Subati said as he sipped the tea carefully.
"It is indeed good tea. The merchants in the Ming court did not deceive us." Shuolei also made a voice of approval.
After they drank some tea, Shuo Lei asked, "The trade has already begun. At the current rate, we will have all the supplies ready in about a month. Shall we leave in a month?"
"One month is not enough," Subati shook his head. "The situation in Liaodong is too complicated. We cannot stay in such a troubled place for long. We must leave in twenty days at the latest."
"It seems that this is the only way."
Before he finished speaking, hurried footsteps were heard outside the tent.
The door curtain was quickly opened, and a Mongolian scout ran in: "Reporting to the Khan, there is a Mongolian army of about a thousand people coming here from the east."
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