Although the battle at Datong City was fierce, it was not as thrilling as the battle at Mount Baishan. Datong's commander-in-chief, Du Renguo, also held the seal of the Great General of the Western Expedition, commanding the Five Guards and Seven Stations. But now most of the army was stationed on the outer city walls. Since Datong City's walls were high and thick, there were only two guards defending the city. Xu Tai had taken seven thousand men and horses with him, so there were only five thousand left in the city.
Huo Sieve's original order was for the spy in the western city to open the city gates and let the army in. With his fifteen thousand elite troops, the whole of Datong City would immediately become his. That was why he did not even bring any siege equipment. He rode his light horse excitedly to the western city walls, but was shot back by a rain of arrows from the Datong garrison. Huo Sieve was so angry that he secretly cursed.
Although Boyan personally led a surprise attack on Mount Baishan, Huo Sieve thought that although the Emperor's Imperial Bodyguards numbered less than ten thousand, they were all elite troops. This battle was bound to be a bitter one. His own troops could take down Datong effortlessly. Burning, killing, and looting would allow the bitter soldiers to reap a fortune. Speaking of which, it was quite worth it. Unexpectedly, Datong City's defenses were so tight that there was no spy opening the gates to welcome them. Huo Sieve only thought that he had been tricked by Boyan Xue. He was indescribably angry, but he could not ignore the bigger picture and withdraw his troops alone.
Huo Sieve could only brace himself and fight bitterly. On the scaling ladders, which were made from local materials and still had branches, the fanatical soldiers who only had wine, women, and gold and silver in their holes advanced bravely and climbed with all their might. The defenders on the city walls were already waiting, calmly drawing their bows and releasing arrows, lifting stones and throwing them. The hooked spears mercilessly pushed the scaling ladders several feet off the city walls. The Tartar soldiers had just cried out when rolling logs filled with foot-long iron nails came crashing down.
The city walls of Datong were tall and majestic, sturdy and precipitous. They were equipped with all sorts of defensive facilities. The walls were made of 'Three Compound Earth', layer by layer, and the outer layer was lined with green bricks. The city wall was about five zhang high and five zhang wide, allowing a large group of men and horses to move. The city wall had a battlement, gate tower, corner tower, and watchtower, which were spaced apart, allowing for observation, concealment, shooting, support, and height control, forming a complete three-dimensional defense line.
Poison cannons, Sky Shattering Thunder Cannons, continuously fired merciless bullets at the bottom of the city walls, reaping lives. Countless soldiers moved back and forth on the city walls, using rolling logs, rocks, kerosene, and arrows to build an impenetrable defense line. The Tatars were like the receding tide, crazily attacking the city walls, arrows raining down, similarly reaping the lives of the Ming army.
Corpses piled up like a mountain, blood flowed everywhere, and battle cries shook the heavens. Their companions' corpses were trampled mercilessly like rags, and there were people constantly falling, becoming corpses that were trampled on. Although the city remained unmoved under the waves of Tatars' attacks, Hu Zan and Du Renguo were burning with anxiety, they wanted to vomit blood.
Mount Baideng was the real center of their attention. If something happened there, who knows what kind of future it would bring to Ming Destiny? Seeing a plume of thick smoke rising in the direction of Mount Baideng, Hu Zan and Du Renguo's expression was first joyful, then it turned ashen.
The warning from Mount Baideng indicated that the Emperor was safe and the mountain had not been taken by the Tatars. At the same time, it also indicated that the situation was critical, if there were no more reinforcements, the mountain would be in danger of being captured.
Hu Zan stamped his feet, his eyes bloodshot as he roared at Du Renguo, "Du daren, we should gather all the troops, abandon the city, and rush to Mount Baideng. The Emperor is there, the Emperor must be protected! As long as we hold the mountain, when Yang Yiqing's army arrives, we can still take Datong back! "
This idea was really stupid, the regular army in the city was no more than five thousand, plus the volunteers and the strong people, the total force was less than the Tatars attacking the city. Moreover, the Tatars outside the city were cavalry, if they really gathered their troops and charged out of the city, not only would the city fall, within an hour, all the troops would be separated and swallowed by them.
Du Renguo swallowed with difficulty, but before he could say anything, he roared, "Stupid beyond measure! Our army leaving the city will fall right into the Tatars' evil scheme, if the Emperor is in danger, this strong city will fall into the enemy's hands, who will be able to fight the Tatars who have obtained supplies? The whole territory of Shanxi, even the Capital, will be in imminent danger! "
The two of them quickly turned their heads around, they saw a group of armored soldiers escorting His Highness the Acting King into the corner tower. The sound of fighting was everywhere, Du Renguo and Hu Zan hastily stepped forward to pay their respects. With a sobbing voice Hu Zan said, "Your Highness, there is a warning from Mount Baideng, the Emperor is in danger!"
The Acting King also knew that no matter how reasonable his words were, his inaction in the face of danger and his words today would become grounds for impeachment once the Emperor died for the country. Even if he was a member of the royal family, it was inevitable that he would become a political sacrifice. Imprisonment until death might be the lightest punishment.
But his roots were here, his sons and grandsons were all in the city. The Acting King's bloodline had lived here for more than a hundred years. Other than entering the Capital the year before last, he had never even taken a step out of Datong. Hu Zan could open the city gates to meet his death, for the sake of a false reputation, but he could not.
The Acting King's face was ashen, he sighed and said, "I know, but the defending army of Datong is weak, opening the city gates to meet the enemy is useless, on the contrary, this side of Longzhong Town will be lost to the bandits."
Suddenly he turned around, drew a long sword from the Imperial Bodyguard's body, held it horizontally across his chest, and sternly shouted, "The Acting King's bloodline has been conferred the title of Datong, responsible for defending the border, protecting the country. The defending army of Datong must listen to my command!
Du Zongbing, Hu Zongfu, defend the city with all your might, do not let a single Tatars soldier attack the city walls. I am here to supervise the battle. If the Emperor dies for his country, it will be my fault. I will cut my throat to apologize, it has nothing to do with all of you, Daren! Why aren't you going? "
Du Renguo and Hu Zan were moved, they blurted out, "Acting King, you …"
The Acting King glared at them and shouted, "Why aren't you going?"
The two of them stomped their feet heavily and hurriedly walked out of the corner tower, running up the city gate tower to command the defense of the city. The Acting King walked to the side door, leaning on his sword and facing east, he looked at the distant Bai Dengshan and silently prayed, "The Emperor is a good man, heaven helps him, you must persevere!"
※ ※ ※
The giant cannon was three zhang tall, it could throw a two hundred catty boulder a hundred zhang away. Bai Dengshan was no more than three hundred zhang tall, and the weapon he threw was a six to seven catty clay seal type, clay pot type pyrotechnic weapon, so the size of the cannon was greatly reduced, using a thrower less than two zhang tall, made of eleven wooden poles of different lengths, matched to form a simple frame. Also, because of the speed of the attack, it was impossible to carry the weighing hammer that weighed several thousand catties, so they had to rely on manpower to pull the rope.
Cow dung, wolfsbane, mixed with arsenic and other poisons, the flammable substances emitted a nauseating, choking smell. There was wind on the mountain, but the Tatars kept throwing the flammable substances up the mountain from the downwind side. When they landed on the ground, there was still thick smoke. The choking smoke constantly drifted to the other side, many soldiers were choked with tears streaming down their faces, unable to open their eyes.
Fortunately this was an earthen mountain, not a city wall built with square stones. The generals immediately ordered the soldiers to dig the earth and use snow to bury the poisonous flammable substances. Fireballs continued to fall from the sky, the soldiers on the mountaintop used all their strength to dig and bury the poisonous substances. Although many soldiers' eyes were red and swollen from the smoke, they could not endure it.
Inside the big tent, Zhengde and the others did not expect that the Tatars would use this kind of tactic. Yang Ling hurriedly rushed back to the tent and told the Emperor and the various leaders to hide in the cave for the time being. But right now it was a critical moment. Standing on the mountain, they could see the development of the enemy's and their own attacks, so they were not worried. If they stayed in the cave, although they would not be affected by the smoke, how could they endure the anxiety?
Yang Ling saw that Zhengde, Hua Dang and the others were unwilling to hide in the cave, he had no choice but to ask his men to tear a tablecloth and soak it in clear water to cover everybody's face. Yin Qi's pair of charming big eyes were squinting from the smoke, her eyes were brimming with tears, even the tip of her nose was red. Yang Ling had a secret agreement with her, he was not too worried about this young lady whose background he did not know. He had already instructed the two Imperial Bodyguards to keep an eye on her whereabouts. Seeing that she only cared about helping her father and the others to hide from the poisonous smoke and did not show any unusual signs, he finally felt relieved.
Dozens of wooden poles for one, dozens of men for one, the speed was very fast. One by one, the simple throwers were continuously pushed down the mountain and the amount of incendiary substances thrown up the mountain increased. Bayan had predicted that even with the blessing of the Heavens, there was no wind or snow today, plus the fact that the mountain peak could be dug up and buried everywhere, he would not be able to conquer the Ming army with just a few thousand poisonous gas bombs. His aim was to make it hard for the Ming army to see and greatly reduce their fighting power so that it would be easier for him to attack the mountain.
More than three hundred poisonous smoke and fire canisters were thrown up the mountain and smoke rose from all directions. While Bayan ordered his men to continue to throw the canisters, he organized the army to attack the mountain again. The smell of burning arsenic was too choking, the Ming archers and the Duoyan Guards who were crying non-stop were greatly affected. Very soon, the Tatars had reached the middle of the mountain and began to fight the Ming army.
The number of simple return cannons kept increasing and more and more smoke bombs were thrown up the mountain. The Ming army rushed to the mountain pass to stop the Tatars. The number of soldiers digging up the mountain to bury the smoke became fewer and fewer. As a result, the smoke on the mountain became thicker and the Ming army's fighting power was further weakened.
Everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before the mountain was breached. Their only hope was that this was Ming Destiny's territory and the Ming army had tens of thousands of soldiers stationed at the Great Wall pass nearby. What they could do now was to kill as many enemies as possible and buy as much time as possible.
If the reinforcements arrived a moment earlier, they could surround Bayan from all sides. Even if they could not kill all the Tatars who were fighting with the cavalry here, they could still severely injure Bayan and make him suffer a decisive victory. If the reinforcements arrived a moment later, they could only collect the corpses of everyone.
Hua Dang and the others were not stupid. By this time, they had already seen that the so-called plan of using themselves as bait to lure Bayan into ambush was most likely a sham. But right now the battle on all sides of Mount Bai was very likely to be fake. All the soldiers were squeezed together and fighting desperately. Even if they regretted it, they could not gather their own troops to fight back or escape.
The defending troops who were trapped on Mount Bai were at the end of their rope. The guns had all been fired and the arrows had all been shot. They could only use their swords and spears to fight. The Tatars were approaching the top of the mountain step by step, compressing the Ming army towards the center. Yang Ling only ordered a thousand sword and shield troops and two hundred imperial bodyguards to protect the main tent. The rest of the imperial army had been sent to all sides to block the enemy. He did not even leave any reserve troops.
The Ming army was retreating step by step. More accurately, it was the ferocious and desperate Tatars who were trampling over the corpses as they advanced inch by inch towards the top of the mountain. At this critical moment, the faint sound of hooves could be heard in the distance. The soldiers on the west side blocking the enemy looked down from above and could see a large group of cavalry galloping over. The bright armor, the fluttering banners, it was clearly the soldiers of Ming Destiny.
Like they had been injected with a shot of adrenaline, the exhausted soldiers cheered. Their swords and spears danced. The more they fought, the braver they became. The reinforcements had finally arrived. As to how many reinforcements there would be, it was still impossible to estimate. But the news of the reinforcements had caused the morale of both sides to visibly rise and fall. Even with the valiance of the Tatars, they could not help but feel very dispirited. The entire army was slightly discouraged.
When Bayan received the news, his heart trembled. The thing he was most worried about had finally happened. If the main Ming army arrived and completed the encirclement, not only would it be difficult to succeed in this desperate attempt, under the pincer attack from inside and outside, if he did not break out in time, then his entire army would be annihilated and he would be finished.
Just one step, just a little less than an hour, and Zhengde would be in his pocket. Was he going to retreat to the desert just like that? Bayan felt a lump in his throat and roared madly, "Hardan Barter, take your men. You must stop the Ming reinforcements. I only need an hour, just an hour!"
The shrill cry caused a commotion among the surrounding retainers and tribal leaders. There were six thousand men left in the vanguard, commanded by his blood brothers, Hardan Barter and Xuri Gan. These two had followed Bayan Meng unhindered across the desert and grasslands. They were invincible and were the most valiant and skilled generals.
Hardan Barter also knew what gaining an hour meant for the entire grasslands. He suddenly pulled out his shiny steel knife and roared, "Follow me to meet them. Even if the Ming army is a sandstorm, we must firmly block them. Charge!"
The three thousand elite horsemen roared in unison, pulled out their shiny curved knives, and charged towards the galloping Ming army without hesitation. Compared to the large Ming army galloping towards them, the three thousand Tatar elite horsemen were like a sharp knife. If the two armies clashed, the Tatar elite horsemen, who were waiting for the exhausted and fighting with their backs to the wall, would be able to open a long gap in the loose formation of the Ming army. They would be able to break through half a li and begin a slaughter.
However, the Ming army did not seem to understand Hardan Barter's intentions and continued to move forward in a loose formation. When Yang Ling, Zhengde, Hua Dang and the others saw the large Ming cavalry from the top of the mountain, they couldn't help but feel their spirits rise. What surprised them the most was that this was an all-cavalry unit. From the top of the mountain, they could clearly see that their numbers were several times more than the three thousand Tatar cavalry charging towards them. Where did this heavenly army come from?
A commander's flag was held in the hands of a strong flag-bearer. The galloping horses created a strong wind that caused the large flag to flutter. The flag-bearer had to use his legs to control the horse and his hands to hold the flagpole firmly. Only by inserting the handle into the ring on the side of the saddle could he hold it in place. There was only one large character on the flag: "Wang"!
The commander's flag with the character "Wang" in front, the flag-bearer in front of him suddenly raised his bow and shot three arrows in each hand. Three of the Tatar cavalry galloping towards them immediately fell from their horses. These three arrows were like a signal. The Mongolian elite horsemen on the other side all raised their bows and nocked their arrows. A rain of arrows came flying over.
This elite commander was the Third Pass Deputy General Wang Shouren, who led two guerrilla warfare generals to play hide and seek with the Fire Sieve outside the Pass. Because he was leading his troops outside and was entangled with the Fire Sieve, he lacked mobility and was bound to lose. Therefore, Yang Yiqing gathered most of the cavalry from the defending armies and temporarily formed an all-cavalry unit for him to command.
Wang Shouren's total strength was about twenty thousand men, which was above the Fire Sieve's. However, he rarely fought the Fire Sieve head-on. After all, riding and archery was not something that could be achieved in a day. There was still a gap between the strength of his troops and the Fire Sieve's troops. However, what gave the Fire Sieve a headache was that this General Ming Destiny was constantly following him. No matter where he wanted to attack, this troop would always follow behind and loot the burning house.
The Fire Sieve only wanted to fight him, but the other avoided his attacks. When he had no choice, he would lead him into the mountains and valleys, relying on the terrain to win the battle.
In the only battle on the plains, the Fire Sieve wanted to defeat the main force of the Ming cavalry in one blow. However, he did not expect that Wang Shouren had already dug horse trapping pits in the snowy ground. He even had the front end sharpened like a thorn, the tail end nailed to a horizontal board, and the bottom of the pit was dug with a thin round log.
When the warhorses in front stepped on it, the round log at the back would be raised high and actually pierced through the warhorses that were running towards them. The two armies had not yet met, but not only did they suffer heavy losses, the cavalry also did not dare to rush forward. The Mongols were invincible in the world not because of their swords and spears, but because of their sharp arrows and fast horses. If a fast horse lost its advantage, it was as good as losing half of one's martial arts. After this battle, the Fire Sieve would have a headache whenever he saw the "Wang" flag, so he decided to play hide and seek with him.
Today, Wang Shouren tailed the Fire Sieve's army from afar until they were near the Krupp Gate. Suddenly, he lost the Fire Sieve tribe in front of him. There were many mountains in this area. At first, Wang Shouren thought that the Fire Sieve would imitate him and set up an ambush to deal with him. Therefore, he ordered the army to camp near the mountains, with their backs to the Kanhu Fort, and sent scouts to check on the Fire Sieve's whereabouts.
In a flash, a beacon was lit, followed closely by a report from the scouts. The dense sounds of horse hooves disappeared into the valley of the Krupp Gate and disappeared without a trace. However, the Krupp Fort's mountain pass was still raised high with the flag of Ming Destiny. Wang Shouren immediately felt suspicious. Although the Fire Sieve had been patrolling the pass, he was as cunning as a fox. If he wanted to set up an ambush, there was no reason for him to take the risk of ambushing tens of thousands of men and horses near the mountain pass of Ming Destiny. Moreover, the two sides of the valley were steep mountains, it was impossible to hide someone. Could the Fire Sieve's men have ascended to heaven or entered the earth?
As soon as he thought of this, Wang Shouren immediately gave up the task of tracking the Fire Sieve and broke camp to knock on the pass. He entered the pass from the Krupp Fort which was several li away. When he asked the guards on the beacon tower, they only knew that the beacon was lit and the pass was heavily guarded, but they did not know where the Tartars were attacking the pass.
As soon as Wang Shouren heard the news, he immediately rushed to Datong and took a few of the weapons guarding the pass. He also knew that today the Emperor and the three Duoyan Guards were discussing an alliance at Mount Baideng. Although the idea of guessing that the Tartars had easily entered the pass and attacked Mount Baideng was too bold and unimaginable, but this was a matter of life and death, so it was better to be prepared. At worst, it could be considered as returning to the army to rest and reorganize.
The army had just arrived at the Shuiqing Fence and was still several li away from Datong when they heard the sounds of fighting on the Heaven Shaking Stairs from afar. At this time, the beacon was also lit on Mount Baideng. Wang Shouren was familiar with the local terrain and immediately ordered the army to abandon the main road and take a small path to Mount Baideng. They arrived just before the mountain was broken.
From afar he saw that the mountain was covered with soldiers. Wang Shouren did not know whether the Emperor was dead or alive and was frightened out of his wits. He immediately leapt forward and led the army to gallop forward. The Tartars' arrows rained down and the soldiers took down the round shields hanging on their saddles to block. Wang Shouren held the bow in his left hand and the shield in his right. He shouted from the horse: "Release the divine fire arrows!"
The soldiers at the front were all carrying strange looking weapons. These weapons were taken from the Hu Fort and were all portable fire arrows. There were 'Swarm of Bees' arrows, 'Flock of Eagles Chasing Rabbits' arrows, 'Fire Crossbow Meteor Arrows', 'Long Snake Piercing Enemy Arrows'. Other than the heavier forty-nine Fei Lian arrows and the 'Hundred Tiger Galloping Arrows' which had to be carried by two people or a small cart, he had collected all of them. He let the soldiers use straps to carry them in front of their chests. There were about twenty boxes.
The soldiers at the front braved the rain of arrows and hit the flaming rocks. Amidst the sharp whistling sound, the fire arrows flew out. There was no way to count on the accuracy of the rocket, especially on a fast horse, it was even more impossible to aim accurately.
Fortunately the Tatar cavalry at the front formed a dense knife formation, they were practically live targets. The famous general Qi Jiguang of the later generation had a very interesting way of describing the fire arrows. The general idea was: When firing a fire arrow in an army of ten thousand horses, there is no need to aim at all. Once the arrow hits the ground, it is up to fate. We cannot guess the direction of the arrow, the bandits cannot guess it either. It is really interesting and wonderful.
The main thing about this cluster of arrows was their speed. The arrows were fired in rapid succession, they were several times faster than the Tartars' best archers. The sharp arrows flew horizontally and vertically, some flew forward like dragons. The two armies were getting closer and closer. Dozens of Ming soldiers were shot down by the arrows, while nearly a hundred Tartars were killed by the fire arrows. The most puzzling thing was that the sharp arrows flew out crookedly, some actually bypassed the enemy at the front and shot the cavalry at the back.
The more than a hundred warhorses that had lost their riders immediately disrupted Hardan-Bartel's unstoppable charging formation. Their momentum that could destroy a mountain came to a halt. Then the two forces crossed each other and killed each other. The battle cries were deafening and the sound of blades clashing was incessant. The frenzied soldiers of both sides used the fast horses to fight desperately.
This kind of close combat between two groups of horses did not involve a one-on-one fight. Often, as soon as the weapons of the two sides clashed, the two horses had already crossed each other's stirrups. They had just exchanged blows with a new opponent when they crossed shoulders again, leaving the enemy to the charging riders from behind.
At this moment, they could only kill to prevent themselves from being killed. These usually insignificant soldiers, no matter if they were lowly or wretched, resolute or weak, sinister or upright, at this moment, they all exploded into a magnificent roar, stirring up a wave of impact that made one's heart race.
Being in the meat grinder battlefield, all one could hear was an ear-piercing grinding sound. Because the Ming cavalry's horsemanship was not as good as the Tartars', and in order to unleash the sharpness of the saber, they needed to rely on the strength of the arms, the waist, and the impact of the warhorses. Their horsemanship was a level lower than the Tartars', and they could not unleash the full potential of these three aspects. Wang Shouren could not improve the skills of this makeshift unit for the time being and could only tamper with their weapons.
The nearly five thousand cavalrymen at the front all used spiked maces. Their arm strength could not wield a spiked mace made of pure iron, so they used a hard and heavy pear wood club with many iron nails that were half a foot long and as thick as a pinky. When they collided with the opponent's sharp saber, there was a continuous' zi zi 'sound. They could also use the hooks of the iron nails to effectively slow down the speed of the opponent's saber.
The light spiked maces that swung left and right blocked forward and smashed up offset the warriors' own weaknesses. The absolute advantage in numbers suppressed the bravery and skill of Hardanbartel's elite cavalry. Huge waves surged forward, and the three thousand elite Tartars fell into the sea of nearly twenty thousand Ming soldiers.
Looking from the top of the mountain, the Ming vanguard and flanks were still charging, but the center of the formation was like a turbid wave, surging endlessly. The three thousand cavalrymen of the Rising Sun Gan also charged up. Using the advantage of the rain of arrows, they slightly blocked the Ming attack and then fell into the Ming encirclement.
It was another terrible battle. Wang Shouren only took a few hundred people and charged out of the Rising Sun Gan's blocking formation. Together with the thousands of troops on the flanks, they charged straight at the Great Hairy Wolf in front of them.
Below the Great Hairy Wolf were the Tatar Khan and the tribal leaders who no longer had a large army to protect them.
To catch thieves, first capture the king!
If you want to save yourself, you must first attack the enemy's!
If Wang Shouren rode his horse up the mountain, he would not be able to use the advantage of cavalry on the hillside. Halfway up the mountain, he would inevitably dismount and fall into a bitter battle with the Tartars attacking the mountain. Even if he managed to kill all the Tartars in the end, it was hard to say if he could guarantee the Emperor's safety in the chaos. This counterattack forced the Tartars who were about to take down the mountain to immediately turn back and save people. The danger on the mountain was immediately resolved.
As expected, the various Tartars commanding the attack on the mountain had been paying attention when the Ming cavalry charged over. Once they saw the dangerous situation, they immediately gathered their troops and counterattacked.
Boyan and the tribal leaders only had a little more than a thousand personal guards around them. But these people were the bravest of the Tartars. They immediately brandished their weapons and stood in front of the leaders to fight the Ming army.
The corpses of men and horses were strewn all over the place, the severed heads and limbs were too horrible to look at. Fresh blood mixed with the mud. The originally pure white ice and snow ground had long lost its original color. The smell of blood was nauseating.
Yang Ling saw the opportunity and immediately said to Xu Tai and Mahalu, whose battle robes were stained with blood. "Victory or defeat depends on this one move. Gather the troops and charge at the enemy front. Receive General Wang's approaching troops!"
Xu Tai received the order and immediately gathered the panting officers and soldiers. Other than the foot soldiers, everyone got on their horses and charged down the mountain. Mahalu wielded the heavy iron mantis and also called the remaining soldiers of the three guards. They roared and charged down the mountain. Two groups of troops in different attire galloped out. Smoke and dust rose. Long spears and steel sabers flashed with a threatening murderous aura.
Surrounded by Wang Shouren in the center, forming a large and a small semicircle, were the six thousand Tartars from the reserve army and the one thousand elite troops from Boyan Khagan and the other tribal leaders. On the outside were the large groups of Tartars who had returned to reinforce, trapping them in the middle. Following closely from the mountain were the eight thousand Ming Destiny and the three Duoyan Guards cavalry. They were trying to take advantage of the fact that the Tartars had not formed their encirclement formation to open a gap and welcome the reinforcements up the mountain.
The horses galloped madly, the earth shook. The charging cavalry let out an intimidating howl. All around them were mixed warriors from both sides and enemy. Different languages erupted into similar beast-like roars.
Zhengde's blood was boiling as he watched from the top of the mountain. He was eager to try. But unless Yang Ling died on the spot, as long as he still had a breath left, how could he let Zhengde get on his horse and join the battle?
At this moment, thunder rumbled and battle cries shook the sky. From the direction of the Flying Fox Crossing, a group of men and horses were seen galloping through the snow. This group of cavalry was dressed in bright armor and all of them were wielding long sabers. The men were like tigers and the horses were like dragons. The war horses were galloping and their bellies seemed to be sticking to the ground.
There were not many of this group of cavalry, only about a thousand men. Their formation was very long and they did not pay attention to coordination with each other as they advanced. They did not even raise a battle flag and appeared sparse. But for the Tartars who had already lost their confidence in victory, this sudden appearance of another group completely destroyed their fighting spirit: the Ming army's reinforcements have begun to appear!
Under the protection of more than a thousand bodyguards who had sworn to fight to the death, Boyan Mengke and the other leaders broke out of the encirclement and met up with a group of five thousand men who were waiting at the foot of the mountain for reinforcements. At this time, their bodyguards had lost only about three hundred men. Boyan Mengke's heart felt like it was being fried by a knife. He knew that this gamble had completely failed. If they did not leave now, he was afraid that the entire army would die here.
A mournful and intense horn sounded. The Tartars gave the signal to break out and retreat …
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