Mongolia, Karaqin tribe, Qing City.
This place could not be called a city because it did not even have a wall, only a simple fence. The cattle and sheep were raised outside the city and behind the fence were yurts. Because there was a water source here, it became a gathering place. The Karaqin tribe was the closest Mongolian tribe to Daming and they were most familiar with the road from the grasslands to the Central Plains.
Do not underestimate the information about the road. It was often difficult to describe in ancient times and could only be a precious treasure left in memory by experience. Because the Karaqin tribe knew the way to the Central Plains through the Yan Mountain Range, they had always been able to live a better life than other Mongolian tribes through trade.
It was also because the Karaqin tribe knew the way that an uninvited guest came to the Qing City where they were. Amin, the second Beilei of the Jin Kingdom, set off from Guangning with tens of thousands of men and horses. They went west and then south and arrived at the Qing City. He was the westernmost of Nurhachi's four routes of advance. His purpose was to bypass Shanhai Pass and directly open the road to the Han capital region.
According to the description of Daming, the western fortress of Shanhai Pass was decadent, the army was lax, the guards were unrestrained and the checkpoint was not fortified. The Jin Army could break through the checkpoint and rob the Central Plains. Of course, this was for the Ming Army. As for whether the Revolutionary Army was the same, no one could say for sure.
It was Gao Hongzhong who was unlucky in front of Shanhai Pass who presented the plan. He was originally stationed in Guangning and knew a lot about the Daming border. He felt that the Revolutionary Army occupying the capital region must be busy and complicated. Zhou Qingfeng certainly did not have time to manage the border affairs. At this moment, the troops would definitely have a miraculous effect.
After the battle at Shanhai Pass started, Amin was ordered to send out his troops. Along the way, together with more than twenty Mongolian Beilei, including the Horqin Tribe, they headed south and arrived at the Kalaqin Tribe's Qing City in a mighty formation. Taigi and Burga of the Karaqin tribe personally acted as guides and prepared to lead the army south through the Yan Mountain Range and into the Han territory.
When Amin's army arrived, all the men, women, old and young of the Karaqin tribe were excited and prepared to follow them south to rob. When the surrounding Mongol tribes heard the news, they also joined in the robbery. In a short period of time, more than a hundred thousand people had gathered in the city.
Seeing so many people joining them, Amin, who was leading the army, was very excited. Zil Harang, Abatai, and other Jurchen nobles who came with him were also very confident about their victory. Compared to Mangurtai, who was blocked in front of Shanhai Pass, the morale of this army was obviously higher.
Because there were too many troops joining the army, Ah Min had no choice but to stay in Qingcheng for two days to reorganize and sort out the relationship between the subordinates so that it would be easier to organize the troops. Two days after he stopped, a Han army suddenly emerged from the southern mountains and appeared 50 li away from Qingcheng.
This was simply like someone who had walked too long at night and met a ghost. The person who wanted to rob was shocked to find that the target of the robbery had actually attacked him with a knife. The entire Qingcheng was in an uproar. Be it the Mongolians or the Daoist Ladies, none of them had expected this!
Once they left the Swallow Mountain Range, He Zhuo's army could no longer hide their tracks. After all, this was the territory of the Mongolians, and there were Mongolian herdsmen everywhere. These herdsmen were familiar with the terrain, so when they saw the army, they immediately ran away. At the same time, they spread the news that the Han army had appeared in the grasslands. How many years had it been since something like this happened? The last time it happened was when it was still Tumu Castle.
Amin was still in his tent, coordinating the troops, but when he heard the news, he felt as if the sun had risen from the west. "What? The Han are here! How did they get here? "
It had always been the nomads from the north who went south, and the Han who went north had to search for their memories from history. It was precisely because the Han rarely came here that every time a Han army appeared in the grasslands, it would leave a deep mark in the history books.
The people of the grasslands were not good at defense. It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they couldn't. There were roads everywhere on the flat ground, which forced them to attack continuously. When the Han army appeared, news came from all over the place. Amin couldn't stay in his tent any longer because every new piece of news indicated that the Han army was approaching.
"When did these Han become so proactive? This doesn't seem like the way they fight. " The constant approach of the Han army made Amin and the other commanders feel extremely uncomfortable. This was clearly not giving them time to think and make arrangements. The enemy was clearly aware of the nomads' strategy, which was to fight speed with speed, and use speed to counter speed.
"There are about 30,000 of them, and they are advancing together in the east and west."
"The Han have horse-drawn carriages, and a lot of them are pulling the army forward at a very fast speed. They are already less than 40 li away from us. "
"The Han cavalry are all riding especially tall horses, and they are chasing our scouts everywhere. Their horses are extremely fast, and even our best horses are not a match for them. "
"The Han army has the protection of their cavalry, and they are advancing without any restrictions. They are already 30 li away."
None of the news made Amin happy, so he could only order the Mongolian and Jurchen commanders to prepare for battle. As his subordinates were all from different tribes, it was extremely strenuous for him to command them. As the commander-in-chief, Amin could only order his men to swarm forward, intending to use their superior strength to surround the Han army.
"Let the Mongolian tribes surround them from the flanks, and do what they are good at." Although Amin did not know how the Han army appeared, he knew that this sudden battle was of great importance. The Mongolians were good at roaming about, so he ordered them to harass the rear of the Han army. On the other hand, the Jurchens were good at dismounting their horses, and that was to face the enemy head-on.
"Fight, fight, don't panic. This is our territory, and there aren't many Han here. There's nothing to be afraid of. " Ah Min was encouraging his generals as he rode his horse and led his troops towards the direction where the Han are coming from. The 30,000 Jurchens rushed out in full force, hastily preparing for the upcoming battle.
After traveling for a dozen li from the Karaqin tribe's Qingcheng, Amin could already see the advancing dust in the distance. He frowned in confusion. In his heart, the Han have always been good at defending cities, and they like to do so. He had crossed swords with the 'revolutionary army' a few times, and the deepest impression he had of them was their formidable defensive capabilities.
But the commander of the Han army before him was different. He did not care about stability, and advanced step by step. The moment he made his move, he launched a surprise attack, traveling a thousand li without any regard for fatigue, as though he was going straight for the enemy's nest.
"The one leading the army shouldn't be that lad Zhou Qingfeng." Amin thought. The Jurchens had studied Zhou Qingfeng before, and they felt that this opponent's way of doing things was unconstrained and unexpected. But when he led his troops into battle, he was usually very conservative, and he would not easily send troops into battle unless he was confident. "Although he isn't Zhou Qingfeng, he seems to be more difficult to deal with than Zhou Qingfeng."
When the two sides were five li apart, the Han army began to slow down. A large number of soldiers got down from their carriages, and with the carriages as cover, they advanced on foot.
Amin had a pair of binoculars that he bought from the Dutch, and from five li away, he could see that the two sides of the Han army were covered by their cavalry, and in the middle were dozens of infantry formations. And in the gaps between the infantry formations, there were even cannons dragged by carriages.
Cannons?
How did these Han manage to drag the cannons over?
Amin's army had cannons as well, but his cannons were too heavy and couldn't keep up with the army's speed, so he decided to abandon them in Guangning. But now, he actually saw cannons that could be dragged by two horses on the plains, and there were quite a number of them. This was too shocking.
"Let the Mongolians take the vanguard and charge at the rear of the Han army to disrupt their formation." When he saw the cannons, Amin knew that a frontal assault was not a solution. And the Mongolian cavalry was most proficient in flanking, so naturally, he had to use them at the right place.
In the middle of the Han army, Lu Xiangsheng and Sun Chuanting were both excited.
He Zhuo had led his army out of Mount Yan, and left most of the workers behind to build a fortress as a retreat route and supply point. She herself brought 10,000 soldiers and 20,000 soldiers to ride on carriages, moving quickly and carrying out a long-distance assault. She wanted to kill her way to the enemy's gathering point before the enemy could react.
Lu Sun and Wang Chong had shown some ability along the way, so they joined the army as a small number of workers. They were currently in the middle of the army, riding on carriages as they advanced. When they reached the battlefield, they had to instruct the workers to connect the carriages together to form a barrier, providing convenient fighting positions for the infantry.
The wind was strong on the plains, and the gunpowder pools were not protected, so it was difficult to use them. The soldiers who used the guns learned from the Ming Army and stayed in the carriages to avoid the wind. In addition, a large number of armored spearmen filled the gaps in the formation to prevent the enemy cavalry from charging in.
Due to the limited space in the carriages, it was very inconvenient for the soldiers to operate the guns. Lu Sun and Wang Chong led some of the workers outside the carriages to assist the soldiers in loading the ammunition. In the few days that they had been marching, they were specially organized to learn how to operate the guns.
Following the officer's orders, Lu Sun and Wang Chong felt the tension and excitement of war for the first time. Two brigades of the National Defense Army advanced at the front, while the two flanks and the back were protected by the soldiers. There were already a large number of Mongolian cavalry charging towards them, and the National Defense Army did not hesitate to chase and kill them.
Lu Xiangsheng was currently loading ammunition for a gun, and the situation in front of him was completely different from the battlefield he had imagined. This wasn't a close-range fight between swords and spears at all, but a torrent of firepower from firearms that filled the air with smoke.
The Han army was stabilizing their formation, and the 24 cannons of the two artillery battalions were setting up their positions. The soldiers' cannons were simpler, and they had already dug a few holes and pushed the cannons into them. Once they were loaded, they would fire to repel the approaching enemy cavalry.
"Steady, don't fire randomly. Those who disobey will be punished by battlefield discipline. "An officer of the National Defense Army rode on a horse and patrolled the battlefield, giving orders to the poorly trained soldiers. When he rode past Lu Xiangsheng, he shouted, "What are you waiting for? Do your job well, those barbarians won't be able to reach us. "
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