Chapter 765 Pick up
Altan thought about various processes and outcomes of this battle.
The worst outcome would be to inflict huge casualties on the Ming army, rush into the capital area to plunder and then withdraw.
He didn't think the Ming army could stop him from advancing southward.
If he had not been afraid that Jiang Qingzhi would cut off his retreat, Altan would have gone straight south instead of stopping in Datong and forcing the Ming army to leave the city for a decisive battle.
He was full of confidence and was ready to use this battle to establish his position as the overlord of the grassland. As for the so-called Khan of the Golden Family, let him become history!
He also thought about various ways that the Ming Dynasty could respond.
For example, he ordered the Ming troops in Datong and Xuanfu to stay put and not go out, and the elite Ming troops blocked his army before the capital.
In this way, the Ming army in Datong and Xuanfu destroyed his food supply route from behind, cutting off his way back, while the elite Ming army intercepted him from the front.
But he was not afraid at all.
He even hoped that the Emperor Ming would respond in this way.
All his men are cavalry!
Comes and goes like the wind.
All he needs to do is kill!
After rushing into the pass, they killed people everywhere, making the so-called elite troops of the Ming army run around in exhaustion.
Of course, if the Ming army just sits back and watches, it will be fun to watch.
He would look for a breakthrough along the Ming capital area.
The Ming army had only tens of thousands of elite soldiers. How could they guard the entire capital?
He could mobilize the entire Ming army by just sending in a small force.
Afterwards, he could attack the capital city, or retreat... Could the Ming troops in Datong and Xuanfu still stop Ben Khan's army?
What a fucking joke.
But Jiang Qingzhi came.
In Datong, Altan and Jiang Qingzhi tested each other.
Biji led a small army south to attack Luanling Pass, which was like a trial move in Go.
Throw a stone to test the water.
Let’s see how Jiang Qingzhi responds.
Altan had high hopes for this.
But what was unexpected was that Jiang Qingzhi actually burned his boats and transferred all the elite Ming troops on the Shanxi front to Luanling Pass, and the Ming Emperor even sent his eldest son to Luanling Pass.
Jiang Qingzhi abandoned the entire Shanxi.
Either you capture Luanling Pass, and then Shanxi will have no more soldiers available.
It’s up to you.
Either I hold Luanling Pass, forcing you to make a choice: either go all out and march south, or you have no choice but to fight with me, Jiang Qingzhi, in Datong until you run out of food and retreat.
Altan felt that he and Jiang Qingzhi were like the two chess players mentioned by the Ming people.
After these moves, he gradually fell into a disadvantage.
Then let’s fight to the bitter end!
Altan used his trump card.
He prepared to march southward, risking being attacked from both sides by Jiang Qingzhi and the Ming army at Luanling Pass.
But he was 70% sure that he could use this method to force Jiang Qingzhi out of the city.
really.
Jiang Qingzhi left the city.
Although Altan Khan seemed calm and composed, he was actually extremely proud.
Even madly excited.
I haven't been this excited in many years!
After learning that Jiang Qingzhi had left the city, Altan seemed to have returned to his youth.
He felt that he had Jiang Qingzhi in the palm of his hand.
This famous general of the Ming Dynasty is nothing special!
Before the decisive battle, Altan was full of confidence.
With Zhao Quan's White Lotus Sect as an internal supporter, they had an army of 100,000, while Jiang Qingzhi only had 20,000 Beijing guards.
If he can't win this battle, no!
This Khan cannot possibly lose!
At that moment, Altan felt that he had entered a wonderful state.
He could feel the slightest breeze.
Can smell the scent of grass.
You can see the enemy's flag in the distance.
I can hear the nobles complaining.
His eyes were sharp and his spirit seemed to have reached a peak state.
He swore that he was twenty years younger.
And defeating Jiang Qingzhi will prove this.
When people get old, they won’t accept defeat at first.
They will compare themselves with young people in every way, find their own strengths, and use this to prove that they are still young.
This emotion comes from the fear of death.
Altan was not afraid of death. He had experienced too many hardships in his life and felt that death was not a big deal.
The only regret is that I cannot die as an emperor.
Zhao Quan repeatedly advised him to establish a country and become emperor, and Altan was tempted, but he thought about it carefully and realized that although he had great power, there were many people under him who were not convinced.
Moreover, the blood of the Golden Family still flows on the grassland. If he becomes emperor, those dissatisfied tribes will defect to the Khan, and he will have an additional powerful enemy.
So Altan resisted the temptation.
His ultimate goal of this trip south was to recapture Dadu.
The so-called Dadu is the capital of the Ming Dynasty at this moment.
During the Yuan Dynasty, it was their capital.
He recaptured Dadu and ruled the northern part of the Ming Dynasty. He then returned to the grassland with his power and destroyed the so-called Golden Family. With this power, he commanded the grassland. Who dared to disobey?
This is the imperial hegemony!
Even though the food and grass were burned, Altan's ambition remained.
This ambition reached its peak when the Datong defenders began to retreat.
Altan even envisioned himself returning to Dadu from the grassland with his power and repeating the scene of Kublai Khan's destruction of the Southern Song Dynasty.
But when the smoke cleared, Altan felt that those dreams instantly turned into ice water and flowed into his body from the Baihui point on the top of his head.
He was cold all over, with cold hands and feet.
"Sweat!"
"Sweat!"
Who is calling?
Altan looked at it blankly.
It’s Meng Xian.
Meng Xian's lips were moving and he looked anxious.
What is he saying?
Altan seemed to be deaf at this moment.
He struggled violently, and the world returned to him again. "Khan, you must respond immediately. Otherwise, Jiang Qingzhi will launch a counterattack!" Meng Xian swore that he had never seen the Khan so frustrated.
Altan, who thought he could still control his expression, didn't know that his face was pale and his eyes were dull...
He looked ahead and reacted instantly.
"Let the warriors prepare for the general attack!"
Faced with Jiang Qingzhi's brutal attack, Altan Khan responded in a way that was befitting of a powerful leader.
"Tell them that the Ming people only have firearms in the middle. Attack the middle fiercely, and attack the left and right sides... with all your strength!"
"The Khan's order, all troops move out!"
"Attack!"
The nobles looked livid, but they knew that the critical moment of the battle had arrived.
Moreover, Altan also pointed out the weakness of the Ming army, that the guards on both sides were still using cold weapons.
"Don't be stingy with the warriors." Altan said to the nobles and generals: "The warriors on the grassland are like weeds. If you cut one crop, another will grow back."
Some nobles murmured, "Where are the Khan's elite troops?"
Our warriors have all been killed, but you still have many left. When the time comes, you can gather our tribes together. Who dares to resist?
Tuotuo took one look at the man and put him on the death list. He was ready to find a reason to kill him.
Altan's desolate voice came, "All of my elite troops will attack! This time, it's life or death!"
He drew his sword and shouted, "Let the people of Ming Dynasty witness our bravery. Warriors, attack!"
"Long live!"
Buting raised his knife and rushed out first.
What an idiot!
Although he hoped that this brother, who seemed rough but was actually kind-hearted, would die soon, Sengge now hoped that he could return to the grassland alive.
Once defeated, Altan needed to conquer everywhere and make up for his losses by annexing those small tribes. The brave and warlike Butin was the best tool.
He rode his horse to the side of Altan Khan and said, "Father Khan, Butin..."
Altan saw this and said, "Pull it back quietly."
"Yes."
"Long live the Khan!" When the warriors saw the Khan's son personally going into battle, their blood boiled and they all galloped after him on their horses.
Several riders caught up with Buting, and someone pulled him. Buting slowed down involuntarily and asked angrily, "Why did you pull me?"
"Sweat!"
Butin turned around and saw the warriors following him enthusiastically.
He hesitated for a moment, then was overtaken.
"Kill the enemy!"
Butin raised his knife and shouted.
"Kill the enemy!" The man who came to pull him also shouted with his knife raised, and then quietly returned to the center of the army with Butin.
"Why?" Boutin asked angrily.
"Father Khan needs you more!" Sengge said coldly: "What is needed now is not warriors, but responses."
"But warriors need someone to lead the way!" Butin retorted, "A coward like you naturally can't understand."
"Look what's behind our father Khan?" Sengge looked at his brother with disgust.
Altan only had two thousand cavalrymen left behind him, which was his privilege as the Great Khan.
"If... Father Khan needs someone to protect him." Sengge whispered.
"We still have a chance to win this battle!" said Boutin.
"But we must be fully prepared." Sengge looked at the nobles, "Once the war goes badly, those people will abandon us without hesitation. At that time, we need to stick together. There is a saying among the Ming people, brothers quarrel within the walls, but we must defend ourselves against external aggression. Buting, at this time, we need to work together to deal with it..."
Boutin gritted his teeth and said, "That's all."
Reluctantly, he turned his horse around and looked at the warriors rushing forward.
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!"
There were constant sounds of explosions coming from the central Ming army front, and the smoke was constantly blown away... revealing a tragic scene.
The corpses piled up like a mountain, and the subsequent enemy troops had to rein in their horses to face the Ming army directly.
"Boom!"
"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!"
The enemy soldiers who had just passed the corpses of their comrades fell off their horses one after another under the musket fire.
"Follow me!" Zhu Shitai shouted.
His small flag troops stepped forward.
"Raise the gun!"
Zhu Shitai raised his gun.
Yang Sheng did the same. He held his breath and aimed at an enemy soldier.
father!
Are you watching me kill the enemy?
Yang Sheng thought of his father Yang Zhao.
My father is a little timid. This is what my mother said when he heard my parents arguing.
Cowardly and afraid of death!
This is what my mother said about my father.
But his father's love for him was as deep as a mountain.
The night before his father left for the north, Yang Sheng heard his parents talking. His mother strongly objected, saying that she would rather eat bran and wild vegetables than let the family be together.
But his father Yang Zhao said: I don't want to travel far, but Dalang likes to practice martial arts. As the saying goes, the poor are good at literature and the rich are good at martial arts. It costs money to strengthen the muscles and bones, right?
It costs money to treat damaged bones and muscles, right?
Besides, can we just watch Dalang become a soldier?
"No!" said the mother firmly.
"Then we need to hire someone to teach Dalang the art of war." Father sighed, "I've asked around, and it's not cheap to hire someone to teach you the art of war."
"Is it expensive?"
"Those military strategies are... known to the former Song generals, right? They are all passed down in the family, passed down to sons but not daughters. Why would someone teach them to Dalang? It costs money!"
"Well... maybe I can weave more cloth and earn some money by washing for others."
"It's far from enough." The father smiled and said, "I will be away for three years this time, and the salary will be generous. When I come back in three years, it will be enough to hire a martial arts teacher for Dalang."
"But what if..."
"What if? Death?" The father, who did not say where he was going, smiled and said, "The pension has tripled."
That father who is afraid of death!
He resolutely embarked on the journey of no return.
"Fire!"
Zhu Shitai's voice drowned out the sound of the drums.
Yang Sheng pulled the trigger.
father!
I come!
Pick you up!
Bah!
(End of this chapter)
