"The general has ordered us to retreat!"
"Don't fight any longer, retreat quickly!"
After Yi Bangcai gave the order to retreat, the flag-bearing soldiers beside him whipped the war horses' buttocks hard.
The warhorse felt the pain and exerted force with all four hooves at the same time, rushing out like an arrow.
Seeing this, the other Ming troops quickly followed and began to retreat.
However, they did not flee in all directions like a swarm of swarms, but retreated in an organized manner under the leadership of a captain in teams of twenty-five.
The Mongolian cavalry took advantage of the situation and pursued and killed them.
Whoosh——
They drew their bows and arrows and shot continuously at the backs of the fleeing Ming soldiers.
Although the Ming army had armor to protect them, the Mongolian arrows were too dense and the arrows penetrated the gaps in the armor, causing considerable damage to the Ming army.
The Ming army was not willing to be outdone and also fought back with bows and arrows and firearms.
The armor-piercing arrows shoot people, the shovel arrows shoot horses, and the bullets fired from the three-barreled gun hit both people and horses!
In the air, smoke filled the air and arrows flew everywhere!
Soldiers from both sides kept falling off their horses. Before they could stand up and call for help, they were trampled under the hooves of the horses galloping behind them.
Bones broke and blood gushed out!
After chasing for a while, Guluge, the commander of the left wing of the Xitumed tribe, discovered flags and flying dust in the distance.
"Whoa--" He took the lead in reining in his horse and looking into the distance.
When the other soldiers saw that the central army flag had stopped moving, they all stopped as well.
As the distance between the two sides increased, Guluge, whose vision was unobstructed, could see clearly what was happening in the distance.
All I saw was the grassland in the distance was densely packed with Ming cavalry, so many that they were countless.
They rode on sturdy war horses, wore heavy standard armor, and stood solemnly in the wind with various weapons in their hands.
"It's the main force of the Ming army!" Guluge shouted out.
The other Mongolian soldiers also saw the situation in the distance clearly. Although they didn't say anything, they all showed fear on their faces.
Whether in terms of manpower or equipment, the two sides are not at the same level.
At this time, the scouts who were investigating the situation outside sent a message: "Report, the number of Ming cavalry ahead is at least 20,000!"
hiss--
The Mongols who heard the news gasped at the same time.
They encountered the main force of the Ming cavalry!
While the left-wing commander-in-chief Guluge was looking at the right-wing commander-in-chief Hanggao, Hanggao was also looking at him.
They saw relief in each other's eyes.
Fortunately, we did not pursue them rashly, otherwise we would have been surrounded and eaten up by the main force of the Ming army.
While they were feeling relieved, they also began to have thoughts of quitting.
They only brought a part of the troops out of the city this time, with the purpose of finding out the strength of the Ming army. The main forces were gathered in Guihua City and on standby.
Unable to confront the main force of the Ming army.
Just when they were considering when to retreat, the main force of the Ming army moved.
They first opened a few gaps to let the friendly troops go back, and then they all turned around and left.
Gone...
Gone?
Guluge and Hanggao were completely dumbfounded.
All the Mongolian cavalry were dumbfounded.
"This...what's going on? Why are they retreating without fighting?" Guluge said in astonishment.
"I... don't know either, it's just fucking weird!" Hang Gao also widened his eyes.
"Perhaps the Ming army is afraid of fighting..." a Mongolian cavalryman guessed.
"How dare you advance alone when you are afraid of fighting?"
"It takes guts to march deep into the enemy's territory alone. It takes guts and courage to fight. This Ming army has more guts than courage, so they retreat without fighting!"
"It's weird, really weird!" The Mongols fell into deep thought as they watched the Ming army leaving.
They really couldn't understand why the Ming army, despite having the dual advantages of numbers and equipment, not only did not attack, but instead retreated directly.
Not only did they not understand, but several deputy generals under Liu Zhaoji also did not understand.
"General, our army clearly has the advantage, why do we retreat without fighting?" asked Deputy General Ma Yingkui.
"Yes, sir, I am willing to fight! If I lose, I will be subject to military law!" Deputy General Zhuang Zigu said while riding on his horse, clasping his fists and bowing.
"I also request to fight. I beg the general to approve it!" Yi Bang, who had just completed the task of luring the enemy, urged his horse to come to Liu Zhaoji and asked for orders while panting.
Liu Zhaoji said in a cold tone: "Don't go to war, this is an order!"
The generals lowered their heads unwillingly and sighed.
After returning to the camp, Liu Zhaoji ordered the camp to be moved five miles back, making it look like he was going to retreat.
The next day.
Not only did Liu Zhaoji not go into battle, he moved his camp back five miles.
The Mongols were overjoyed when they received the news.
The left wing commander-in-chief Guluge found the right wing commander-in-chief Hanggao to discuss: "This Ming army is afraid of fighting, our chance has come!"
"You mean... a decisive battle with them?"
"right!"
"when?"
"Tomorrow."
"Are you sure you can win?"
"That's about right."
"What do you mean almost?" Hang Gao frowned.
Guluge did not answer the question, but smiled and asked: "Do you remember when the Ming army sent troops to the grassland?"
Hang Gao tilted his head and thought for a moment, "If the news is correct and I remember correctly, it should have been six days ago."
"Yes, it was six days ago!" Guluge said excitedly, "The Ming cavalry is lightly equipped and can only carry seven days of food and fodder at most. In other words, their food and fodder can only last until tomorrow."
"Even if we add the food and fodder looted along the way, they can only eat for one or two more days, otherwise they wouldn't have moved their camp twice in a row!"
Hang Gao suddenly realized: "That means the Ming army is going to run out of food?"
"Yes, that's why I had the idea of a decisive battle!"
"Okay, I'll do as you say!"
After the two men had discussed it, they immediately increased their forces and prepared for war.
The grassland is very quiet in the evening.
The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the earth, dyeing the green grass into golden yellow. The mountains in the distance became mysterious and dangerous under the reflection of the setting sun, making people afraid to look at them.
Liu Zhaoji stood beside his warhorse with his hands behind his back, looking to the south.
Seven or eight senior generals stood beside Liu Zhaoji, seeming to want to say something but stopping themselves.
Yi Bang was about to speak when he heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance.
As the sound of horse hooves got closer, a dusty scout appeared in sight.
He ran to Liu Zhaoji and bowed, saying, "Your Excellency the General, Governor Lu's 3,000 cavalry have arrived five miles away. The other 20,000 infantry, 5,000 baggage soldiers and 10,000 civilians have arrived 20 miles away."
call!
Although there was no expression on Liu Zhaoji's face, he finally felt relieved.
He pretended to be calm and asked, "How many artillery pieces did you carry?"
"One hundred light artillery pieces plus one hundred red cannons!"
"Okay," Liu Zhaoji turned and looked at the generals behind him: "Everyone, our army has been showing weakness to the enemy for three consecutive days. The purpose is to attract and contain the enemy's main force and wait for the arrival of our main force."
"Now that Lord Lu's main force and food have arrived, we can finally have a real fight with the Mongols tomorrow!"
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