On the third night of the army's departure, due to the forced march, the army had to stop for a night to rest. They cooked and ate all the food they obtained along the way, as well as the horse meat cut from the dead Mongolian horses in Pingluo City, so that the 5,500 soldiers could eat their fill and then sleep comfortably. Ma Gui and Xiao Ruxun both had a feeling that if they continued to move forward, they would definitely encounter the city where the main force of the rebel army was stationed. This was because this place was less than a hundred miles away from the rebel army's main camp, Ningxia City.
The night was quiet and clear. Most of the soldiers were sleeping soundly, accumulating their strength. However, Xiao Ruxun found it hard to fall asleep. Dressed neatly, she stood at the top of the city wall, staring at the bright moon in the sky.
"What's wrong? It's already so late, why aren't you going back to sleep?"
Xiao Ruhui's voice rang out behind him. Xiao Ruxun turned his head to look at his second brother and smiled.
"I'm just thinking, after this war, after the rebellion is quelled, where should we go?"
"Where should we go?" Xiao Ruhui smiled, as if she felt that Xiao Ruxun was thinking too much. "Of course we'll stay in the northwest. Of course, Fourth Brother has made a great contribution and will at least be promoted to the position of Deputy Army Commander. As for me, I'll see how it goes. If I can make some contributions in this war, I might be promoted as well. However, for us martial artists, no matter how much we get promoted, we will not be able to rise back to our original position. At most, we will be conferred a title of nobility. But if we can really be conferred a title of nobility, it will be enough to bring glory to our family.
Fourth Brother, Silang, I look forward to it. "It was the tradition of the Daming Dynasty for scholars to be promoted and martial artists to be conferred a title of nobility. The Daming Dynasty still placed great emphasis on military achievements, and it was almost impossible for civil officials to be conferred a title of nobility. For example, the reason why Wang Yangming was conferred a title of nobility was because of his military achievements in quelling the rebellion of King Ning and the southwest rebellion, not because of his political achievements. Moreover, the conferment of nobility was very cautious in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.
Of course, this also had something to do with Qi Jiguang's own situation. In the Ming Dynasty, the most important military achievement was the northern border, followed by the northwest, Liaodong, and the southwest and southeast. There was also a hierarchy of military achievements, followed by the number of heads beheaded, and then whether or not the country was conquered. Qi Jiguang could be said to be a good fighter. He guarded the border so tightly that even the Mongols did not dare to attack. As the saying goes, a good fighter does not have outstanding achievements.
As for Xiao Ruxun's battle, it was almost enough for him to be conferred a title of nobility. First was the battle in the northwest. Although it was not a field battle, it was still a second tier battle to defend a city. He beheaded six thousand people, destroyed three thousand sets of captured cavalry, beheaded the Mighty Rabbit, and killed almost all of the strong men of the Mighty Rabbit tribe. This greatly shocked the tribes of the Mongolian Steppe.
Of course, Xiao Ruxun was also very clear that it was indeed easy for a general to be promoted and lose his position, but it was very difficult to be conferred a title of nobility. A general with a title of nobility was different from a general without one. In the Ming Dynasty, the title of nobility was not conferred to males, it was conferred to be a count.
"Elder brother, what do you think will happen if I submit a petition to Fu He Tao?"
Xiao Ruxun's sudden words shocked Xiao Ruhui so much that she was dumbfounded, unable to speak for a good while. Xiao Ruxun looked at Xiao Ruhui's horrified expression and laughed out loud.
"Hahahahaha! Elder brother, please don't disturb me. It was just a joke, hahaha! Look at how scared you are! Hahahaha! "
Xiao Ruhui only reacted after a long time. She looked like she just survived a disaster and slapped Xiao Ruxun's back. "Don't talk nonsense! This is not something we can say! Remember! "
"Okay, okay, okay!" Xiao Ruxun quickly agreed. "I will remember, I will remember!"
Xiao Ruhui patted her chest and sighed. She went back to sleep while mumbling.
Looking at Xiao Ruhui's back, the smile on Xiao Ruxun's face suddenly disappeared.
Without Fu He Tao, he would always be in a passive position. If he wanted to solve the problem of Mongolia once and for all, he had to take back Fu He Tao, and then use the method of curing Wei Qing Huo from Fu He Tao to fight against the Mongolians in Mobei and completely solve the problem. Or he could just drive them to Europe to harm the Europeans, and then both sides would suffer heavy losses. This was the only way to solve the problem of the Nine Sides!
But …
Xiao Ruxun lowered her head. Naturally, she knew that the current Great Ming Dynasty no longer had the confidence and courage they had in the past. Zeng Xian proposed to recover Hetao, and even proposed a perfect strategic plan, but in the end, he was still beheaded. She was a military general, and her words carried little weight. If she said it, it was almost certain that she would be killed, and it was unknown whether she would lose her life. If she wanted to accomplish what seemed like an extravagant hope now, she could only wait for an opportunity.
On the morning of the 22nd day of the third month in the 20th year of Wanli, Ma Gui gathered the five thousand Ming Army, with City Secretary Xiao Ruhui and Qianzong Zhao Hu as the vanguard. They were the first to march. He commanded the three thousand central troops, and General Xiao Ruxun commanded the one thousand firearms battalion to back up the army. They set off after the central troops, and the army was not allowed to attack without orders.
At noon, the scouts sent by Xiao Ruhui came back to report that there was a rebel army camp ten miles ahead. From the looks of it, there were no more than five hundred people, probably the garrison army. Further ahead was Fort Zhang Liang. As they were very close to Ningxia, Ma Gui felt that there was no need to hide. Moreover, Ningxia was very tall and strong, and there were many guards. It was not possible to take it down with a sneak attack and five thousand troops. Methods such as night attacks were not reliable, so they chose to attack openly and expose themselves to shock the rebel army, creating a good opportunity for Wei Xuezeng's main force to advance.
Ma Gui then ordered Xiao Ruhui and Zhao Hu to lead the troops to attack and break through the camp, before launching an attack on the rebel army's stronghold in the west of Ningxia. Xiao Ruxun suggested using the firearms battalion's cannons to assist in the attack, and was approved.
Xiao Ruhui's troops, who were preparing to charge, officially began their attack. Xiao Ruxun ordered the thirty modified Franc Cycle Cannons to line up, and gave the command to Deputy General Wang Hui. Wang Hui raised his sword and shouted: "Load!!"
The gunners immediately loaded the cannons and lit the torches.
"Light the fire!! Fire!! "
Boom boom boom boom boom …
To the rebel soldiers who were enjoying the afternoon sun, the sudden artillery fire was a classic example of an unexpected disaster. All of them had just eaten their fill, played with the women they had stolen, and received quite a bit of the stolen jewelry. Liu Dongyang's men, who were hardcore rebel soldiers, were just enjoying themselves when an unexpected disaster came. A row of artillery shells fell, and lead flew everywhere. Their flesh and blood flew everywhere, their limbs were broken, and their internal organs were scattered everywhere. They were completely dumbfounded.
Many of the rebel soldiers were lying on the ground, crying for help. They could not even hold their weapons, and some even ran away the moment they heard the commotion. They had no intention of resisting, and the entire camp was in chaos.
"Kill!!"
Ma Gui realized that the rebel army camp did not have the posture of preparing for battle, and knew that this was a silver spear tip. In his joy, he pulled out his sword and gave the order.
Xiao Ruxun immediately gave the order to stop the artillery fire. The moment the artillery fire stopped, Xiao Ruhui and Zhao Hu rode their horses and led the one thousand and five hundred rebel soldiers who were eager to make a contribution. Under such circumstances, the Ming Army's combat power was astonishing, and they pounced into the rebel army camp like tigers. The rebel army had few soldiers, and did not dare to resist. The Ming Army chased after a rebel soldier, and not only did they cut him down, they also had to stab him. Only when he was bleeding did they stop, and then they went to find other rebel soldiers to kill.
With such ferocity, the rebel army was completely routed. In just half an hour, they had finished the battle. They had killed five hundred rebel soldiers and beheaded more than four hundred and thirty people. Only a few dozen people knelt on the ground and begged to surrender. They were on the verge of collapse and didn't even have the strength to run away. The Ming army's losses were only a few people who had sprained their ankles while chasing the rebel army.
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