Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 399 Conspiracy and Confrontation

When Eduo heard this, his old face suddenly turned pale.

Even Ma Xiangyun, the Dongqing envoy, had his face changed drastically after hearing the news that the Tang army was coming.

Like Edo, he also realized the seriousness of the matter.

"How far is the Tang army from us now?"

Ma Xiangyun couldn't help but ask.

Eduo on the side seemed to react suddenly and quickly echoed the question.

"How far is it?"

The young herdsman swallowed and then spoke.

"It's not far from us."

"Just now when I returned to the tribe to report the news, those Tang cavalrymen were chasing after me, and I was not able to get away from them very far..."

When Eduo heard this, he was confused.

He stood up from behind the table and greeted them.

"quick!"

"Pass on the Khan's order to gather the warriors and prepare to meet the enemy."

"Hurry up!"

As soon as Eduo finished speaking, the soldiers around him immediately put their hands on their chests and accepted the order.

Then he turned and walked out of the king's tent.

Soon, the clarion call to assemble the troops and prepare for battle resounded throughout the camp.

The Mongolian cavalrymen of the Sunite tribe, leading their horses and carrying bows, gathered towards the open space in front of the king's tent like a tide.

Eduo also ordered his men to put on armor for him and prepare to meet the enemy.

Seeing this, Ma Xiangyun on the side couldn't help but speak up to persuade him.

"Great Khan, I believe that since the Tang army is coming to attack, they must be well prepared."

"And your army is totally unprepared right now. If you fight against a prepared enemy with an unprepared army and respond hastily, the outcome of this battle may not be very good."

"In my opinion, the best option for your army right now is to evacuate the camp as soon as possible while the Tang army is still some distance away from the camp to avoid their attack."

"When the Tang army is exhausted from chasing us on the grassland, it won't be too late to counterattack..."

This is a typical kite-flying tactic.

One of the most commonly used tactics by the Mongols!

Simple, but effective.

When Eduo heard this, he was moved at first, but then he waved his hand and said.

"No!"

"The weather has just started to warm up. After a hard winter last year, the cattle, sheep and horses in the tribe have lost a lot of weight. There is no condition for migration at all."

"And now the tribe has almost used up all the supplies that they looted from Zhangjiakou last year."

"If we choose to flee now, without supplies and cattle and sheep, I'm afraid the young men in the tribe will starve to death before they can run far away."

"The only choice before us now is to meet the enemy!"

"Besides, this is the grassland, our home ground. How could we be afraid of those Han people?"

Just like last year when we went south to grab Zhangjiakou, there is still no choice now because there are too many people.

Eduo stepped out of the king's tent, came in front of everyone, and shouted at the top of his voice.

"Descendants of Genghis Khan."

"The Han army is coming again!"

"They are coming to occupy our pastures, take away our cattle and sheep, snatch away our wives and daughters, and plant the Han flag on this land that belongs to the descendants of Genghis Khan."

"Warriors, tell me loudly, do you agree?!"

The response was mostly wolf howls.

"No!"

"We won't agree!"

"Long live Genghis Khan, long live the Great Khan!"

"Kill all the Tang troops!"

Edo continued.

"Since you don't agree, then hold your sabers tightly, grab your bows and arrows, and follow me to kill the enemy!"

"Let these Han people see how powerful our Mongolian warriors are!"

"kill!"

As Eduo finished speaking, the only sounds left in the entire Sunite camp were bursts of shouting and killing.

"kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!!"

"..."

Immediately, these Mongolian cavalry, led by Eduo, rushed out to meet the enemy and rushed towards the direction where the Tang army was coming.

Prepare to meet the enemy!

……

The sound of horse hooves!
The Tang cavalry galloped over a hill.

The next moment, a blue ice lake and a huge camp beside the lake came into view.

Outside the camp, a large number of Mongolian cavalry had just gathered.

Seeing this, Zhang Lexing's blood boiled and he whipped the horse to speed up.

"Brothers, the Sunite tribe is not far ahead, follow me and kill them!"

"Kill the Tartars, and the Tang Dynasty will win!"

The Tang army also shouted loudly.

"Kill the Tartars, and the Tang Dynasty will win!"

"The Tang Dynasty is victorious!"

"..."

Amid shouts, the Tang cavalry deployed their charge formation.

Jin Kuiyong took the lead and rushed to the front.

Gusts of chilly spring breeze blew on his face, but Jin Kuiyong only felt the blood boiling in his heart.

He drew his saber and charged forward.

"Kill!"

The reason why they didn't draw their guns was because the Tang Army's cavalry combat regulations stipulated that when the cavalry was fighting, no one was allowed to fire their guns unless they were soldiers in the first row.

The reason for such regulations.

On the one hand, compared with other arms, cavalry’s greatest advantage is mobility, and speed is its primary combat power.

Firing on horseback will undoubtedly affect the speed of the cavalry.

On the other hand, when shooting forward while riding on horseback, it is easy to accidentally injure comrades running in front of you.

Therefore, the Tang army issued special regulations stipulating that cavalry were not allowed to fire at will during combat.

The war horses galloped and whistled, rushing towards the camp of the Sunite tribe.

The rumbling sound of horse hooves sounded like thunder, as if it was going to crush the earth.

……

On the other side, the Sunite cavalry had just assembled and left the camp when they ran into a large group of Tang cavalry rushing over the hills.

Looking at the Tang cavalry charging forward, Eduo felt as if his heart was being grasped by someone.

A pressure that almost suffocated him came over him.

"Warriors, kill!"

"For the glory of Genghis Khan!"

Edo shouted at the top of his lungs.

After he finished speaking, he took the lead and charged towards the charging Tang cavalry.

Behind him, Mongolian cavalrymen galloped on their horses, making whistling sounds.

In the wilderness, the distance between the two sides was rapidly closing.

Just as the two sides were about to engage in battle, the Mongolian cavalry of the Sunite tribe turned their horses' heads and prepared to fly past the flank of the Tang cavalry.

Moreover, while they were turning their horses' heads, they also bent their bows and drew their arrows. Arrows made of fine iron were placed on the bowstrings, ready to be released at any time.

Although the Qing authorities' attitude towards Mongolia was mainly suppression and vigilance, it became very difficult to obtain salt and iron materials on the grassland.

But he benefited from the fact that the Sunite tribe went to Zhangjiakou to rob before the winter last year.

Therefore, the Sunite tribe can still use iron arrows.

Unlike other Mongolian tribes, they did not even use bone arrows.

collapse! Bang bang!

The sound of the bowstring trembling could be heard.

Arrows flew through the air and shot towards the galloping Tang cavalry.

At the same time, the Tang cavalry seemed to be completely unaffected and continued to charge forward. The hooves of countless war horses trampled the ground hard, as if to crush everything.

Arrows flew past them and even hit their comrades who were charging, but the Tang army didn't care at all.

Just keep charging!

Their purpose was very clear, and they did not engage in reckless entanglement with the Sunite cavalry.

The Tang cavalry may have trained very hard, and their riding and archery skills were also good.

But this is good, it depends on who you compare it with.

If compared with the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty and the Green Camp within the Great Wall, their riding skills are naturally amazing.

However, no matter how amazing their riding skills were, they were destined to be no match for the Mongols who grew up on horseback.

Therefore, in order to narrow the gap, the best way is not to fall into the opponent's rhythm.

Instead, you must grasp your own battle rhythm!
Let the other person go at their own pace.

The Tang army set the battle rhythm for this battle by not engaging with the Mongolian cavalry and attacking their main camp directly.

They wanted to attack the Sunite camp directly to force the Mongolian cavalry to charge and fight them head-on.

Instead of riding and shooting!
On the other side, Sunite's Eduo also obviously noticed the movements of the Tang army. In an instant, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.

"Damn it, the Tang army is heading towards our camp..."

"Quick, turn the army back and block the attack!"

"We must not let the Tang army rush into our camp!"

Eduo shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice clearly trembling.

As he spoke, he turned with his troops and headed towards the Tang army that was rushing past, trying to stop them.

There are many reasons why Eduo fell into the trap so easily.

The first reason is that those who came out to fight against the Tang army now are only the young and strong warriors of the Sunite tribe.

But their families, young and old, are still staying in the camp.

Once the Tang army rushed into the Sunite camp, their families would fall into the hands of the Tang army, and there would be no need to fight.

The second reason is that most of the remaining food and supplies of the Sunite tribe are in the camp.

Once these food and supplies were obtained by the Tang army.

Then, these Mongolian cavalrymen under Eduo will become wandering ghosts on the grassland.

By then, the outcome will be obvious!

Therefore, Zhang Lexing's move was clearly an open conspiracy.

Naked conspiracy!

His purpose is clear.

By raiding the Sunite camp, he forced the Sunite tribe into a decisive battle with him.

If you come to fight me, I will defeat you head-on!

If you don't come, I will cut off your escape route and turn you into a wandering ghost!
That's it!

Simple, but unsolvable!

On the battlefield, the situation changed suddenly. The Mongolian cavalry turned their horses and charged towards the Tang army.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Lexing did not hesitate and immediately ordered his troops to turn around and prepare to fight against the Mongolian cavalry of the Sunite tribe.

The sound of horse hooves rumbled as two black masses of cavalry marched towards each other.

The distance is getting closer!

Just when the two sides were about to go to war.

There was a burst of gunfire and the sound of bowstrings trembling.

Bang bang! Bang bang bang!

collapse! Bang bang!

The next moment, the soldiers on both sides who were rushing in the front fell off their horses.

After these front-row soldiers fell off their horses, cavalrymen armed with swords, spears and other cold weapons appeared.

"Brothers, kill!"

Jin Kuiyong shouted loudly and held the saber in his hand horizontally at his side.

Keep urging your horses to gallop!

Seeing the enemy getting closer and closer, Jin Kuiyong's eyes flashed with excitement.

The next moment, the cavalry of both sides crossed.

The sharp saber cut through the flesh, and blood spurted out like wildfire.

Jin Kuiyong clearly felt a pain in his waist, and then blood sprayed all over his face.

After crossing paths with the enemy, he subconsciously reached for his waist.

Then he felt an obvious dent on the single-sided breastplate he was wearing.

There was a wound on his waist in a place that was not covered by the breastplate, and blood was oozing out.

Fortunately, the single-sided breastplate on his body blocked it, otherwise, it would definitely be more than just a shallow wound.

I guess I would be ripped open by the sharp saber just like the enemy in front of me.

With a feeling of fear, Jin Kuiyong continued to ride his horse and charge.

The Tang cavalry and the Mongolian cavalry crossed each other, and by the time both sides broke through the formation and ran away, a field of corpses was left on the ground.

But it is obvious that the Mongolian army is larger and the Tang army is smaller.

The reason is simple: there is a clear gap in equipment between the two sides.

The Tang cavalry did not wear heavy armor because this battle was a long-distance raid.

But basically everyone wore a single-sided breastplate.

Although the single-sided breastplate can only protect against attacks from the front of the body, it is much better than the Mongolian cavalry who only have a leather robe.

In addition, there is a clear gap between the two sides in terms of weaponry.

The sabers used by Tang army soldiers were all mass-produced in arsenals.

Although it is mass-produced, the quality is quite guaranteed.

The material is made of high-quality steel, the blade is professionally hardened, and the length, weight, and curvature of the blade are all the best data obtained after experiments before being finalized for mass production.

What about the sabers used by the Mongols?
Most of them were crudely made products made of pig iron, and there were no two identical sabers in the entire army.

The quality is certainly far inferior to the Tang army's sabers.

The Tang army's sabers chopped at the Mongols, and almost every strike was able to penetrate their armor and cause actual casualties.

However, when the Mongolian sabers were used on the Tang army, they could only cause casualties by hitting the unarmored parts.

The gap here is naturally huge.

The two sides passed each other, kept some distance between them, and then started charging again.

"kill!"

"The Tang Dynasty is victorious!"

"For the glory of Genghis Khan!"

"..."

The two sides collided with each other for the second time.

There are still corpses everywhere.

There were scattered corpses on the ground and blood was flowing everywhere.

The horse looked a little sad as it licked its owner's cheek which was gradually losing its body temperature.

"kill!"

After regrouping slightly, Zhang Lexing led his men to charge towards the Mongolian army for the third time.

You know, land was divided among all the soldiers in the Tang army.

Moreover, they not only received land, but also had sufficient food and wages, and their benefits were fully met.

The combat effectiveness of the Tang army can only be imagined!

They are not afraid of death!

As long as the military order is given, they will charge forward bravely despite the risk of death!

Soon, the third hedge broke out.

The two sides shouted and fought again.

But it is obvious that in this confrontation, the Mongolian army began to lose pace.

After the earth-shaking clash, the number of Mongolian soldiers' corpses lying on the ground increased significantly.

The reason was that the Mongolian army's horses could no longer run!
Most of the Tang army’s horses were kept in captivity, and winter was the time for them to fatten up.

After gaining weight over the winter, its fighting capacity is now at its peak.

But the Mongolian army's war horses were just the opposite. Their war horses were free-range.

Free-range horses lose a lot of weight in winter.

After a winter, most of the Sunite tribe's war horses had become skinny and bony.

After running two laps, I can’t run anymore. If I run any further, I’ll have to give up!
……

PS: That’s just one chapter today.

(End of this chapter)