Chapter 763: Firearms Opening
"Those wealthy merchants are gathering together and talking about starting a rebellion and surrendering the city. It's funny, they also said they want to become Altan Khan's imperial merchant."
The spy of the Imperial Guard reported back to the captain.
The centurion stood outside the general's mansion with a sword in hand. The wind blew, bringing with it a hint of blood. He said in a deep voice, "This kind of person has no king or father. He deserves to die."
"What about their families?" asked the spy.
"Search all of them and escort them to the capital." The captain said coldly. When he saw Zhang Da coming out, he asked, "Where are you going, General Zhang?"
"Let's go to the top of the city and take a look." Zhang Da had a good impression of this Jinyiwei captain. "Let's go together?"
"Alright."
The two men rode their horses along the way. They saw some corpses on the road, and the bloodstains in some places looked very fresh.
When you reach the top of the city wall, you can vaguely see the dark army formation in the distance.
The captain was a little uneasy, and then he laughed at himself, "I pride myself on being brave, but looking at the endless enemy army, I feel quite uneasy."
"Everyone has moments of anxiety," Zhang Da said, "but our army will not lose this battle."
"But Altan has 100,000 cavalrymen!" The captain laughed bitterly, "We can't even muster 100,000 men here."
Although we can see far from here, the distance is too far, so we can't see the details of the fighting clearly.
The captain said softly, "I don't know how the war is going."
"Did you hear any fire?"
"Nothing."
"Then there's nothing to worry about."
"Please give me some advice, General Zhang."
"Once the firearms come out... it's time for the decisive battle!"
……
Altan's men were frantically attacking the Ming army's defense line. The defense line formed by the Datong defenders gradually showed signs of fatigue and was repeatedly penetrated by the enemy. Even though the enemy was later driven out, the morale gradually dissipated as they were exhausted.
"My Khan has a hundred thousand cavalrymen. Even if they attack in turns, Jiang Qingzhi will find it difficult to resist with just those men and horses." Altan has regained his confidence at this moment.
Altan pointed at the Ming army and said, "We have 100,000 troops, and the enemy has 70,000 or 80,000. If we take turns to attack, the Datong defenders will be 30,000, and we also have 30,000 troops. 30,000 against 30,000, we still have 70,000 troops, and Jiang Qingzhi can only rely on 50,000 troops. Among them, 20,000 are guards of Beijing. 70,000 against 50,000, and among them, there are only 20,000 elite troops. In this battle..."
Altan didn't look back, "My elite troops are also on standby. Seventy thousand against fifty thousand! We will win! My Khan is sure of it!"
Everyone gradually became excited.
"Seventy thousand versus fifty thousand, Jiang Qingzhi...to be honest, the best outcome is a draw." Zhao Quan said.
Ma Tianlu shook his head. "Don't forget, the Khan's troops are all cavalry, while the Ming army is mostly infantry."
Zhao Quan was startled, "Yes, I forgot about this."
Altan said excitedly: "The key point of this battle is to entangle Jiang Qingzhi!"
Meng Xian smiled and said, "Let's do our best to charge in. Even if Jiang Qingzhi can hold on, he has to go back to the city, right?"
Altan looked at his trusted general with admiration, "If he doesn't return to the city, once it gets dark, our army will continue to harass him and attack again in the middle of the night... Even if the gods come down to earth, they can't save Jiang Qingzhi!"
"If he returns to the city..." Zhao Quan's eyes lit up, "We'll chase him all the way and not give Jiang Qingzhi a chance to escape."
"Infantrymen are slow, but our cavalrymen are fast. We will surround the Ming army from the front and attack them with bows and arrows. When we find an opportunity, we will rush in and cut off the Ming army..."
"This battle shall be a great victory!"
"The Great Khan is wise!"
The nobles' eyes lit up and they all volunteered.
Ji Neng sneered at the side, "Couldn't Jiang Qingzhi have thought of all this?"
Ma Tianlu sighed, "He could think of it, but he couldn't avoid the battle. Otherwise, if our army went all out to the south, he wouldn't be able to bear the blame."
"I feel like Jiang Qingzhi was not right today," Jineng said. "He didn't take any action today. This is not like his character."
"You mean..." Tuotuo looked back in front.
Seeing that Altan was cheering up his subordinates with high spirits, Ji Neng lowered his voice and said, "Don't forget, he could fight with Datong City as his back, but he took the initiative to distance himself from Datong City. Why?"
Tuotuo sighed, "Our army is composed of cavalrymen. If he turns his back on Datong, he will be a coward. Once he shows his cowardice, the Khan will be able to bypass Datong... and force him to chase us... Once he chases us, he will naturally stay away from Datong. It's all the same. It would be better for him to face our army directly from the beginning."
"That makes sense, but I always feel it's not right." Ji Neng thought for a while, "Jiang Qingzhi is too calm."
"Tell the warriors that this is the best chance." Altan was mobilizing the troops. He looked excited and seemed confident of winning. Even... Jineng could see the foam at the corners of Altan's mouth.
"Defeat the Datong defenders and let the Beijing guards that Jiang Qingzhi relies on see the bravery of our grassland warriors."
Altan raised his hand, and ten thousand cavalrymen behind him rushed out of the formation.
"Jiang Qingzhi, how long can you endure this!" Altan looked coldly at the other party's flag, as if he saw the young man smiling.
Altan thought of the time when someone suggested to keep Jiang Qingzhi who was on the diplomatic mission to the royal court, but Altan proudly refused.
He felt some regret at this moment.
But so what?
Altan Khan raised his eyebrows. He could defeat Jiang Qingzhi today as well. And by defeating Jiang Qingzhi, he could gain everyone's support.
——The so-called number one general of the Ming Dynasty was actually a defeated general of this Khan.
Altan needed this reputation to intimidate the grassland.
Moreover, once Jiang Qingzhi was defeated, the entire Ming Dynasty would be shocked.
This will be of great benefit to subsequent attacks.
So after weighing the pros and cons, Altan felt that it was wise to let Jiang Qingzhi go.
Jiang Qingzhi on the opposite side also saw Altan's actions.
"Ten thousand men!"
Du He said: "My Lord, Altan is trying to force us to take action."
Xu Wei said: "The Datong defenders seem to be unable to cope with the situation."
You Qing looked a little unhappy, "Master, how about I go to the front to supervise the battle?"
Jiang Qingzhi shook his head. "The 30,000 Datong defenders have fought in turns until now, and the courage they have shown has made me look at them with new eyes. That's enough."
"My Lord's intention..."
Jiang Qingzhi said, "Is it about time?"
Yan Song looked up at the sun and said, "It has been more than an hour since the war started. Qingzhi, is the decisive battle coming?"
Jiang Qingzhi nodded, "It's almost done. If we finish early, maybe we can still make it in time for lunch."
"Have you brought the bacon?" Yan Song asked.
"Yes, there are also quite a few side dishes."
"I have brought some good wine." The old minister raised his eyebrows, "If you defeat Altan, I will celebrate for you on the battlefield!"
"Is there enough wine?" Jiang Qingzhi looked at the old prime minister.
Yan Song smiled, "Enough!"
Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "Order the Datong defenders to prepare to retreat. Beijing Guards!" The Beijing Guards behind him sat up straight on their horses, "My Lord!"
"Rotate!"
"Leader!"
"Yan Xu!"
"exist!"
"Qin Yuan!"
"exist!"
"The Tiger Guards' Left Guard and the Palace Army's Vanguard are in the middle."
"Leader!"
The Beijing guards moved.
Altan on the other side laughed, "Jiang Qingzhi really did move."
"Sweat!"
Meng Xian looked at Altan and said, "The time for a decisive battle has come."
Zhao Quan's eyes sparkled, "Great Khan, I am willing to lead the army into battle."
Zhao Quan brought a thousand troops this time, almost all of them.
"No need!" Alda said lightly.
Zhao Quan retreated, and Ma Tianlu whispered, "The Khan doesn't think highly of you taking a thousand bandits."
Zhao Quan smiled and said, "But I have to let him know that the White Lotus Sect is willing to fight for the grassland. Otherwise, how can we share the credit and harvest after the war?"
"You are indeed cunning."
"If you support tens of thousands of people, you have to rack your brains for them and find ways to get benefits from various places."
"Tsk! You are the leader of a religion after all. Do those followers dare to turn against you?"
"Eating, drinking, defecating and urinating are natural. Once a person is hungry, not to mention me, even if he is an emperor, he will be chopped up and cooked by those people."
“That’s human nature.”
"That's right. Look at those people. Their eyes are glowing, just like wild wolves... They are a pack of wolves. If they are allowed to rush into Datong City, many people will die under their iron hooves."
"Are you feeling distressed?"
"There are many followers in Datong City... But, they can die if they want. As long as the army can sweep across the north, the hearts of the people in the midst of war are worthless.
Everyone is afraid of death. If I say that they can ascend to paradise after death, those fearful fools will die for the Holy Religion and for me, the leader. In just a few months, I can raise a large army. "
"Aren't you afraid that I will tell others about this?"
"Are you willing to work for Jinen? Come to me, I am second only to you, and above all others!"
"I……"
"Once the army sweeps across the north, Altan will be too busy to govern. This is a good opportunity for development. I need a helper!"
"it is good!"
The two were talking in low voices and seemed quite excited, which in the eyes of outsiders seemed to be the joy for the upcoming decisive battle.
Everyone was happy, except Ji Neng. He stared at the other side's flag and said, "Jiang Qingzhi would not do this. He uses both regular and unusual tactics and never passively takes a beating. But why is he so silent?"
"Great Khan, the Ming army has begun its rotation."
At this time, a big flag was waving behind Jiang Qingzhi.
After holding out for more than an hour, the Datong border army generals turned back.
"Fight back!"
"Fight back!"
"Fight back!"
The Datong defenders launched a fierce counterattack to force back the enemy, and then retreated exhaustedly.
Puff puff!
Puff puff!
Amid the sound of heavy footsteps, teams of Beijing guards marched forward in an orderly manner.
Both the left and right routes are equipped like the Datong border troops.
But in the middle.
Thousands of people marched forward in neat formation.
Boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom!
The footsteps and drumbeats are so synchronized that it is hard to tell whether it is the footsteps directing the drumbeats or the drumbeats directing the footsteps.
"What is that? A fire stick?"
The enemy was about to counterattack, but they found that the Ming army in the middle was holding...
A wooden stick!
When the news reached the central army, Altan said with a smile: "Tell the warriors not to underestimate the enemy."
Everyone looked at the Ming army's center route curiously.
"What could it be?" Zhao Quan was also very curious.
Ma Tianlu shook his head.
Ji Neng murmured, "I have a bad feeling. This is what Jiang Qingzhi has been preparing for a long time. He has been forbearing all this time just for this moment..."
"Stop!"
The drums stopped.
The footsteps stopped.
Eight thousand soldiers were lined up in neat battle array.
The enemy troops in front were ecstatic, galloping on their horses with a grim smile, rushing towards the group of enemies holding "fire sticks".
"Raise the gun!"
"Raise the gun!"
Zhu Shitai shouted: "Raise your guns!"
His men raised their flintlocks.
The enemy's hideous smile seemed to be right before my eyes.
Zhu Shitai held his breath and aimed at an enemy general.
Bang!
The drums sound.
"Fire!"
bang bang bang bang bang...
(End of this chapter)
