Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 973: Two Thieves Join Forces
Because of Azashili's withdrawal, thousands of herders recruited by Azashili lost their leader. Most of them were already shaken, and now seeing that Azashili had abandoned them, they naturally dropped their weapons and surrendered to the Ming Dynasty in an organized manner.

Chang Mao immediately ordered the rear team to detain and guard these surrendered people, while he himself returned to Daning City with his grandson Zhu Xiongying.

On the way, Chang Mao asked Zhu Xiongying how he could shake the morale of so many people. Zhu Xiongying told him everything without hiding anything. Chang Mao was surprised to learn that they actually set up a high platform in front of the battlefield to "perform opera" in order to shake the morale of the enemy. "It's good that these 'art soldiers' can boost the morale of our own army."

"It can actually affect the enemy's morale?"

"Tsk tsk, this is really... our Ming Dynasty set up a stage to perform a play in front of the battlefield, which scared the thief Azashili out of his wits. If this matter spreads to Yingtian, your Highness's actions will also be considered a strange news."

"Uncle, please stop teasing me." Zhu Xiongying smiled bitterly. "It was because I was too ambitious and stubborn, thinking that I could persuade Azhashili's troops to serve me... Now that I think about it, such an idea was really childish."

"Uncle, you were so tired that you left your military duties behind and came to help, and you even released the tiger Azashili back into the mountains."

"Azhashili and Bayanshili have joined forces, and I don't know what kind of trouble they will cause... This is all my fault. I will be scolded by my grandfather and father in the future."

"Ah, what kind of tiger is Azashili? At best, he is just a thief!" Chang Mao waved his hand. "If it weren't for you, the prince, tempting him with your body, who knows how long this thief would have stayed dormant. It's much better to rebel now than later."

"It's just right to pack this thief together with those Tatar dogs and deal with them together later!" Chang Mao rubbed his hands and said.

"By the way, where is the Tatar tribe now?" Chang Mao mentioned the Tatar tribe, and Zhu Xiongying then remembered to ask about the situation of the Tatars.

At this point, Chang Mao's face became a little heavy, and he said: "I don't know, I only know that the Tatars besieged Quanning Guard in the north, and the commander Wang Yi sent an envoy to ask for help a few days ago."

"But we have already dealt a heavy blow to the Tatars before, and it has not been long since then. I think the Tatars have not recovered yet."

"They may not be a match for the entire Ningwei. We can just return to Daning City as soon as possible and send reinforcements to rescue them."

Zhu Xiongying remained silent. From Chang Mao's evasive words, he guessed that Chang Mao was anxious to save himself first, which delayed the plan to rescue Quan Ningwei.

I just hope that it is just as Chang Mao said, that after saving him and then saving Quan Ningwei, it will still be in time.

However, God never fulfills people's wishes.

……

"Report! Duke, the Tatar thieves Ben Ya Shi Li and A Lu Tai defeated the Quan Ning Guards. The commander of the Quan Ning Guards, Wang Yi, was killed in the battle. The seat of the Quan Ning Guards, Wu Dan City, has fallen into the hands of the thieves!"

Zhu Xiongying and Chang Mao traveled day and night and just returned to Quanning Wei. Chang Mao, without taking off his clothes, was about to mobilize troops to rescue Quanning Wei immediately, but at this moment, he received the news that Quanning Wei was defeated.

There was a great uproar in Daning. Chang Mao's face was as gloomy as water. He immediately ordered the drums to be beaten to gather the generals to discuss the matter.

"...According to the battle report sent back by General Wang Yi who risked his life, the Tatar army has at least 10,000 people. Although it is still not as strong as it was at its peak, it is far more than we expected."

"Moreover, among them there are many cavalrymen, armored troops, and well-equipped weapons. They are not a mob."

"The Quanning Guards focused their defense on the north, and they did not expect the Tatars to attack from the south. They were caught off guard and were unable to resist."

"After General Wang regrouped, he misjudged the strength of the Tatar army and took the initiative to attack. The Tatar pseudo-Grand Tutor Alutai set up an ambush, waiting for General Wang to fall into the trap, and then the entire army came out, causing a great defeat for the Quanning Guards."

In the main hall, Chang Sheng was facing the sand table, reviewing the defeat of Quanning Guards based on the news from Quanning Guards. Everyone in the hall stared at the sand table intently, and the air was filled with a heavy feeling.

"It must be that Azashili of Taining Guard had colluded with the Tatars long ago, secretly providing them with money, food, armor and weapons. Otherwise, how could the Tatars recover so quickly?" a general said angrily. "Damn it, our Ming Dynasty treated Azashili very well, allowing him to graze and trade, and giving him money and goods, but we didn't let him use this kindness to support the Tatars!"

"It's useless to say this now." Chang Sheng's face was also serious. "The current situation is probably worse than we expected."

"Although Azashili failed to take away all the troops of Taining Guard, we were also unable to stop him from escaping north with his thousands of elite cavalry."

"I think now, Azashli and Tatar have joined forces. If the two join forces, the number of troops may be close to 20,000."

"These two thousand people roaming the grasslands are enough to pose a great threat to the various pastures and markets of our Ming Dynasty on the grasslands, and further threaten the foundation of our Ming Dynasty's rule on the grasslands."

"We, the Great Ning Command, must find a way to annihilate these 20,000 people. We must not let them flee across the vast grasslands again." Chang Sheng turned to look at Chang Mao. "Otherwise, there will be endless troubles."

Chang Mao looked unhappy, frowning in thought. He also knew that the Tatars had just joined forces with Azashili and had defeated Quan Ningwei. They were still thinking about achieving greater results, so they would not think about retreating for the time being. What he had to do was to kill them with one blow before they slipped away, and find a way to kill this venomous snake with one blow.

But this venomous snake was not a good person. Once they realized that Daning had mobilized a huge force, they would definitely sneak back to the grassland. However, the tactic of using a small number of elite soldiers to launch a surprise attack would not work. If they failed to complete the attack due to the small number of soldiers, they would still escape to the grassland and become a scourge to the Ming Dynasty.

Chang Mao was not a wise general. Although he saw the problem, he had no solution, so he was very troubled.

Below, a group of generals have begun to offer their strategies. Some said to imitate the previous bait tactics and lure Bayanchur and Azhashiri to a certain place to kill them; some said that Alutai was cunning and would not fall for it again, and they should unite with Liaodong Dusi and the Helin Xu family to ambush these Tatar thieves from all sides... A group of people had their own reasons, and in the end, the military discussion did not reach a proper conclusion.

Finally, Chang Mao had no choice but to dispatch a troop to the north to stop the Tatar invasion and delay time, and then send someone to inform the Liaodong Military Region, the Beiping Military Region and the Helin Xu family to see if they could come up with any proper solutions.

(End of this chapter)