Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 863 Absolutely Impossible
The journey of over twenty miles took more than an hour, with people walking in fits and starts.

"Come here?"

Zhu Hui thought it was pretty fast.

Because during normal marches, a soldier would only travel about 60 or 70 li a day, which was considered fast, and it would take at least five hours to complete the journey.

If they maintain their marching speed of over an hour today, they can cover more than a hundred li in a day, and the return of the entire army to the Ming Dynasty will not be far off.

"The Tartars are just ahead... You can see them if you climb up the hill ahead..."

Reports from scouts continued to arrive, but the latest report made Wang Shouren's expression turn serious. He turned his head and ordered, "The entire army shall halt its advance... General Zhu, shall we take a few men and go to the high ground ahead to assess the situation?"

Zhu Hui leaned forward and said, “We’re in a depression right now… The terrain around here is fairly flat, but if we rashly stand on the hill in front, won’t we be spotted by the Tartars? This isn’t a good place to fight; there’s nothing to rely on around here…”

Wang Shouren said calmly, "What's there to be afraid of? We have firearms to rely on. The Tatars are also afraid of death and may not dare to fight."

"hehe."

Zhu Hui forced a smile and said, "With so few of us, if the Tartars charge in, most of us will be in the underworld drinking Meng Po's soup... Mr. Wang, I'm not trying to be pessimistic, but it's best if we don't let the Tartars find out. You should settle the troops first... Someone, come with me to scout out the enemy's situation."

At this time, Zhu Hui was very careful, as he had to guard against both the Tatars and Wang Shouren's reckless actions.

But Wang Shouren seemed unaware of or concerned about these matters. He ordered the messenger to have the entire army hide in the nearest place, and then, without taking many personal guards, he went straight to the top of the hillside that was much higher than the valley.

……

……

The tall wild grass swayed in the north wind.

Zhu Hui, accompanied by his entourage, bent over and climbed the high slope. He hid in the grass and looked into the distance through his binoculars. His heart sank.

At this moment, Wang Shouren also came to Zhu Hui's side with his hunched body, took out his binoculars and looked ahead, and couldn't help but feel a chill.

In the distance, on the plain at the foot of the slope, there were rows of Tatar camps, with various flags fluttering in the wind, and large numbers of soldiers patrolling around the camps.

Although the enemy appeared to be about five or six miles away, which seemed relatively safe, the Tatars, with their unparalleled horsemanship of this era, could close the distance with just one volley of light cavalry charges.

"No wonder we couldn't find any trace of them before; they've all come here?"

Zhu Hui was astonished and said, "You can't see any further, and there's over there... If you turn at the foot of the mountain, that should still be their camp... As far as the eye can see, it should only be the troops of their peripheral tribes, right? How many are there in total?"

"They have at least twenty or thirty thousand men, but the problem is... why do their formations look so loose? Their vigilance is so lax... this is not like their usual style."

Wang Shouren shook his head and frowned.

Zhu Hui glanced sideways and asked, puzzled, "You said the Tatars are lax in their vigilance? How did you get that idea? They seem fine to me... Aren't the camps clustered together quite closely? Oh, isn't that a patrol over there? They've actually sent out several hundred riders to wander around the camp... We must make sure they don't see them."

Wang Shouren said, "Something's not right! We've already closed to within ten miles of them, and they still haven't discovered our presence, nor have they sent any troops to fight us... Isn't that enough to explain the problem?"

"Uh……"

Zhu Hui paused for a moment, then shook his head and sighed, "I guess the Tatars never expected that such a force would come from the Hetao region in the west, instead of from Datong in the south... This direction happens to be a gap in the Yinshan Mountains, right?"

"Does this mean that our journey back to the Ming Dynasty is fraught with Tatar defenses?"

Wang Shouren seemed to be deep in thought.

"No... that's not how you say it."

Zhu Hui immediately changed his tune, saying, "Since the Tatars are all gathered here, it seems that the Tatar royal court has not deployed any troops from here to Datong in the south."

"Isn't this place close to Weining Sea? The court's intelligence has long said that the places where the Tatars spend the winter include the area around Weining Sea... As long as we avoid a few sensitive locations, we should be able to return to the Ming Dynasty easily."

“No, they are in a state of war. Their perimeter is definitely fanned out to the south, meaning the further south we go, the greater the chance of being discovered. On the contrary, our current position is at a weak point in the Tatars' perimeter network.” Wang Shouren said seriously, “There might be an opportunity here.”

Zhu Hui's eyes widened, and he asked, "How did you figure that out?"

Wang Shouren explained: "If they are spending the winter here, why are there no signs of grazing? I have looked, and this area is indeed a natural pasture... Look at where we are hiding right now, how tall is the wild grass? How long has it been since the cattle and sheep came to visit?"

"Due to the barrier of the high mountains to the north, the temperature here is much higher than in other places. As the blizzard stopped and the snow melted, the pasture grass was fully exposed. Logically, they should let the cattle and sheep out..."

Zhu Hui looked around with his binoculars, then frowned and said, "We didn't see any livestock, but this might just be a peripheral camp of the Tatars, mainly for defense against attacks from Ming troops and other tribes? Don't take it too seriously."

Wang Shouren kept his binoculars in his hand, observing for a while longer, before sighing again, "If that's really the case, this camp might not be easy to attack."

"Correct."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Hui realized that "great minds think alike," and thought to himself, "I was here arguing with you!"

They are currently in a state of war, which precisely indicates that it is not conducive to a surprise attack, right?

Since we can't launch a surprise attack, and the enemy has far more troops than us, what's the point of us still arguing here? Let's quickly take our men and run away, return to Datong as soon as possible, and enjoy the warmth of our wives and children.
Wang Shouren added, "We need to observe further."

"Cough cough."

Zhu Hui almost couldn't catch his breath.

"Look, some of their men are returning."

Wang Shouren seemed to see something and quickly called out.

"Where?"

Zhu Hui then set up the telescope again to observe carefully.

He then discovered that a Tatar cavalry force of about two or three thousand men, with their flags askew and their formation scattered, was returning to their camp in a disorganized manner. The camp sent men to meet them.

Zhu Hui looked surprised and uncertain: "It looks like... like they've just been in a tough battle."

"what?"

Wang Shouren asked in surprise, "Even General Zhu noticed?"

Zhu Hui was somewhat displeased upon hearing this.

What's wrong?

In your mind, young man, everyone else is an idiot? You're the only genius? You can see it, but no one else can?

Isn't it obvious that the people on the other side have just been evacuated from the battlefield?

otherwise……

"They were routed, covered in blood, and looked utterly pathetic."

Zhu Hui shared his opinion.

"Correct!"

Wang Shouren said confidently, "They must have been defeated by the Ming army and were pulled away to rest and recuperate." "Ah!?"

Zhu Hui asked in surprise, "Brother Wang, what are you talking about?"

Wang Shouren put down his binoculars and looked Zhu Hui up and down: "General Zhu, you haven't forgotten why we came here, have you?"

"Come... to observe the enemy situation?"

Zhu Hui was still completely bewildered.

"We are here to find allied forces that have marched from Datong, and to tie down the Tatar troops as much as possible... Have you already forgotten the task assigned by Minister Wang?"

Wang Shouren appeared very angry.

How could you, the general who helps me command the troops, forget even your most important task?
Zhu Hui was dumbfounded: "Brother Wang, do you mean... that this is it... that the reason why this group of Tatars is so lax in their defenses is because they are fighting against another Ming army? And that they are... at a disadvantage, and that the army that just withdrew is a defeated and remnant force that has retreated here to recuperate?"

Wang Shouren didn't speak, meaning, "Figure it out yourself."

Zhu Hui waved his hand and said, "Impossible, absolutely impossible! When we sent troops, the Tatars refused to fight us no matter what. How could they be clashing with another Ming army here? Don't they know how to avoid conflict?"

"Besides, if the Ming army wins, it will definitely send troops to follow. How could the Tatars retreat here so safely to rest?"
"Hmph, absolutely impossible!"

……

……

In the wilderness, the Tatar camp was constantly being reorganized.

Wang Shouren faced two paths.

It's either fight or retreat.

If they do nothing and remain there indefinitely, they will be doomed once the Tatars discover them, since the Tatars seem to have the advantage in terms of troop numbers and morale.

"Brother Zhu, if we launch a surprise attack, the chances of success are very high."

Wang Shouren stared intently at Zhu Hui.

Zhu Hui was so frightened that his face turned pale. He thought to himself, "Sure enough, when there's nothing to do, call the general; when there's trouble, call the brother."

Did they only treat me like one of their own when they were dragging me to my death?
He hurriedly said, “Military Advisor Wang, we can’t disregard the lives of our soldiers… The camp opposite us isn’t a small Tatar tribe’s camp. Look at them… This is a large wartime camp, filled with countless Tatar tribal militias. There isn’t even a single herdsman there. We can’t hold them back at all. If we charge over there, we’ll fight to the death with real swords and spears.”

Wang Shouren said, "Isn't fighting the Tatars to the death exactly what the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty should be doing?"

Zhu Hui was furious at Wang Shouren's seemingly selfless adventurism, but also felt a bit amused and exasperated. He said with a bitter face, "If the Tatars are mainly herdsmen, and their strong men are all transferred elsewhere, then we'll definitely have a good fight. But if they're all elite troops, then we'll be in the same situation as before, unable to win and being led around by the nose."

When Wang Shouren thought of the northern foothills of the Yin Mountains, he recalled how he, as the vanguard, had fought against the Tatars for a long time...

He immediately said, "The worst-case scenario is a stalemate, isn't it?"

"It's different, absolutely different!"

Zhu Hui corrected, "Although we only had two or three thousand men at the time, we had General Wang's army of ten thousand behind us. The Tatars had no fear of us, but they had been fearing General Wang for a long time and had developed a mental block against him! We must know why we were able to win."

The implication is that Wang Shouren really thinks he's a god of war?
Wang Yue had been through countless trials and tribulations, rising through the ranks. The Tatars all knew he was a tough opponent, and no one dared to fight him to the death.

Even if you, Wang Shouren, consider yourself the strongest, if your reputation hasn't spread, why should anyone be afraid of you?

If you're not afraid and the two sides fight each other, what are your chances of winning against a Tatar force that outnumbers you by tens of times?

No matter how powerful your firearms are, you still need bullets, right?
But right now we are seriously short of bullets, with only a few dozen bullets per person. Once the ammunition runs out, will we really have to send our soldiers into close combat with the Tatars?
Seeing that Wang Shouren was unmoved, Zhu Hui quickly said, "Brother Wang, I'm not trying to discourage you, but that's really the case. Why don't you go and ask the soldiers below for their opinions?"

This was intended to be fair, to get Wang Shouren to listen to the opinions of his subordinates, and more importantly, to undermine Wang Shouren's resolve to continue fighting.

Wang Shouren said, "In the army, orders are strictly enforced. The commander-in-chief has already made up his mind. Why do we still need to listen to the opinions of those below him?"

"But we can't be so stubborn, can we?"

Zhu Hui was speechless.

Wang Shouren looked up at the sky and said, "Given the current situation, unless we want to go back and bear the blame, we don't even have the right to retreat. Even if we don't fight, we have to find a place to stay nearby and keep an eye on the Tatars' movements."

Zhu Hui said, "We won't say anything when we get back..."

Zhu Hui had barely uttered those words when he immediately shut his mouth.

Given the emperor's favor towards the Zhang family, it was a huge sin for him to say such things in public.

You can just think about it, but would you really dare to say it in public? Wang Shouren was sent by Wang Yue to supervise the army, so isn't this tantamount to admitting guilt without being asked?

Just as Zhu Hui was getting a little nervous, Wang Shouren was in no mood to worry about such things.

Wang Shouren continued to observe the enemy camp through his binoculars, saying, "Since the Tatars are here, there must be Ming troops within a hundred miles. If we cooperate from within and without, attacking from both sides, the Tatars will dare not make any rash moves. Come with me back to discuss the matter of setting up camp nearby."

"Brother Wang, you..."

Zhu Hui was somewhat caught off guard and quickly chased after them, trying to figure out what had happened.

……

……

"Really want to fight?"

When Wang Shouren returned to his temporary camp, a group of junior officers gathered around. Upon learning that there was a high probability of fighting the main Tatar force, they all appeared quite apprehensive.

Although this group was small in number, it was the elite of the Ming Dynasty and can be considered a valuable legacy left by Wang Yue to Wang Shouren.

The problem is that after these people achieved military merit, they lost their ambition and longed to go back and reunite with their families as soon as possible.

Even those so-called direct followers of Wang Shouren did not entirely side with him when it came to fighting.

Wang Shouren said, "Not retreating when encountering the enemy is the duty of a soldier and the minimum requirement for a Ming general. Besides, the Tatars are right in front of us. Even if we retreat, they will send troops to catch up once they find out, and then we will still have to fight."

"Then why did we drive here? Isn't this just asking for trouble?"

Someone immediately raised a question.

The criticism mainly came from a few of Zhu Hui's close associates.

Wang Shouren said, "This is a task left to us by Vice Minister Wang... We are carrying out orders. Now that we have come this far and a powerful enemy is right in front of us, do I still need to explain the principles to you again?"

Everyone present fell silent.

In any case, they are all soldiers who have undergone rigorous training, especially since many of them are new recruits. No matter how hard they have worked, they have all been tested by blood and fire to get to where they are today.

As Wang Shouren said, "If you don't advance, you'll fall behind; if you don't fight the Tatars, they won't let you off easily."

(End of this chapter)