Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 876 Only One Step Forward

Wang Shouren probably understood that the so-called "understanding the big picture" meant being good at interpersonal relationships and social etiquette, and that if he asked for firearms, the other side would have to give them to him.

"Besides, shouldn't we be communicating with the commander-in-chief? Why should we bother with a mere commander of the Imperial Guard?"

Zhu Hui said with a hint of smugness, "I'd like to see what kind of person this imperial relative has become, since Zhang Guojiu has personally led his troops here."

"Only by making a good impression on him can we achieve great merit before His Majesty and the court. And to achieve our goal, we need to make the world see it, right? But how can we make it visible?"

Wang Shouren frowned slightly upon hearing this.

He clearly disagreed with Zhu Hui's utilitarian mindset, but didn't know how to refute it, so he changed the subject and asked, "What happened to the defensive fortifications built by the Tatars?"

"What else can we do? Of course, we'll destroy it all!"

Zhu Hui said, "Most of the timber was dismantled and stored as firewood. Speaking of which, the Tartars were really cunning. They actually prepared kerosene, which was black and sticky, and could not be extinguished by water once it was lit. I don't know what it was made of. In addition, there was a lot of black powder, which was stored in ceramic jars and had an amazing explosive power when it exploded."

"The Tartars are scheming and definitely planning something. Fortunately, all their catapults were destroyed last night, otherwise... it's hard to say what the consequences would have been."

Wang Shouren, however, remained calm and shook his head, saying, "Such a large target is not easy to conceal. The Ming army cannot sit idly by and watch them set up catapults. Even if they secretly transport them at night, they will still be easily discovered... And once exposed, they will only suffer annihilation!"

Zhu Hui said, "In addition, we also captured a few Tatars. According to them, the Tatar prince may be planning a large-scale military operation. At this time, tribal forces are gathering here in an endless stream... It seems that all the tribes on the grassland are going to fight to the death for their survival. Whether they are from the east or the west... they will all gather here in the next few days."

Wang Shouren frowned slightly upon hearing this and asked, "Why is there still no movement from the imperial court?"

"Hey, don't get your hopes up."

Zhu Hui sighed, “I don’t know about other things, but everyone knows how the civil officials in the court are treating this war. No matter how cruel the Tartars are, they only want to take your life, but those corrupt scholars in the court… they really want to skin your whole family alive.”

What are you talking about?

Wang Shouren was furious and questioned him in dissatisfaction.

What kind of insight is that?
In your eyes, are the civil officials of the court so despicable? By the way, my father is an official from the Hanlin Academy, with impeccable political credentials... Are you indirectly attacking my father?

Zhu Hui pursed his lips, then, as if discovering something, pointed into the distance in surprise and said, "Huh? Are those Tartar cavalry over there? It seems they've turned back again? They've regrouped so quickly?"

Wang Shouren picked up his binoculars and looked carefully. He nodded and said, "There are indeed Tatar cavalry at the mountain pass opposite, and there may also be armed forces from other grassland tribes. They only retreated hastily last night; they couldn't possibly have given up all their territory to us."

"Then I'll take some men and go meet them."

As Zhu Hui spoke, he prepared to go down the hillside to reorganize his troops.

Wang Shouren waved his hand and said, "I think it's unnecessary... Look, even Qin Yun has led his troops back."

"Let me see... hey, it really is."

Zhu Hui said, “However, our territory has expanded quite a bit. At least we’ve taken the valley back from the Tartars… Didn’t you ask us to find a water source before? There’s a river in the valley below the mountain that runs east to west. Although it’s frozen now, we can get water by breaking through the surface… The Tartars shouldn’t be able to take it back, right?”

Upon hearing this, Wang Shouren immediately issued an order: "Immediately dispatch troops to the valley and form a battle formation in the area south of the frozen river."

"In that case, aren't we at a lower position?" Zhu Hui asked, puzzled. "Didn't we agree on a strategy of taking a commanding position?"

Wang Shouren shook his head and said, "Occupying high ground does make it easier for us to observe the enemy's situation, but because it is far from the water source, it is easy for the enemy to take advantage of us. Back then, Ma Su lost Jieting because he neglected the role of the water source. Now we have no shortage of food and firewood. As long as we ensure the water supply, we can attack or defend as needed."

Zhu Hui frowned and said, "That place is too low-lying. If the Tartars are on higher ground and use catapults to drop oil bombs down, wouldn't that be..."

"Don't worry, the 'Huihui cannons' equipped by the Tartars are all cumbersome old machines. They can only fire a mile at most. Even if they are launched from the mountaintop, the landing point will only be on the north bank of the Xiaohe River. The range is simply not enough."

Wang Shouren reassured them, "We only need to keep the Tartars on the other side of the river to ensure the safety of our camp."

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Zhu Hui stopped arguing, immediately went back to reorganize his troops, and then charged down into the valley below.

……

……

After another half day of fierce fighting.

The Tatar cavalry were very brave and charged to the front of the valley several times, but were repelled by Zhu Hui and his men each time.

The number of soldiers involved in the battles between the two sides remained at several hundred...

The Tatars made full use of the mobility of their light cavalry, attempting to rush to the front of the Ming defensive formation so that their crossbows could be effective and scare the Ming army away through close combat.

Unfortunately, the Tatars had previously built many defensive fortifications in the valley, which became the best cover for the Ming soldiers to hide and fire.

This meant that even when the Tatar cavalry managed to get close using their mobility, they were repeatedly driven back because they were exposed to the effective killing range of Ming firearms and could not penetrate the thick fortifications with their bows and crossbows.

By noon, the Tatars finally gave up and re-established their camp on a slope three miles northwest of the river, effectively abandoning the valley area.

When Wang Shouren arrived with the remaining troops, Zhu Hui was cleaning up the mess and interrogating the wounded Tatar soldiers.

"Why isn't Qin Yun here with his men?"

Wang Shouren looked around and asked.

Zhu Hui said, "They seem to have stayed on the other side of the river and haven't returned... It looks like a great victory, and we've once again triumphed over the odds with the weak, but we still have too few men on our side. Qin Yun only has so few men, yet they still managed to cross the river several times. It seems... the Tartars are also intentionally retreating. Could it be that they want to trap Qin Yun and his men in there?"

"Will not."

Wang Shouren said, "The Tartars have no reason to cause trouble for themselves. With their strength, they simply can't handle those three or four hundred people. Nine times out of ten, they'll deliberately leave an opening for them to break through..."

Zhu Hui asked curiously, "Shouldn't the Tartars have separated our various forces at this time? Speaking of which, our Ming forces are scattered around the area, some several miles apart, some even more than ten miles apart. Why isn't Zhang Guojiu in a hurry to gather all the forces together?"

Wang Shouren shook his head.

There are some things that even he himself doesn't quite understand.

Zhang Yanling was not the traditional type of military commander. He used almost no weapons he had ever seen before, and his tactics were even more puzzling.

Zhu Hui said, "If someone else had led the troops using this method, they would probably have been killed long ago. Having new firearms gives us confidence. This thing is really good... I don't even want to use it."

Wang Shouren couldn't help but look over.

I thought to myself, "I gave you a firearm, and you're holding it like a toy?"
However, after carefully studying the structure of the firearm and discovering its ingenuity, even Wang Shouren had to sigh... times have truly changed.

……

……

When Qin Yun led his troops back to the Ming army camp south of the valley, he was surprised to find that Zhu Hui and Wang Shouren had already occupied all the relatively flat areas of the valley.

Qin Yun's helmet was tilted, and he looked disheveled as he hurriedly entered the camp.

"How's it going ahead?"

Wang Shouren personally helped him lead the horse and asked him questions along the way.

After jumping off his horse, Qin Yun looked helpless and said, "We lost more than a dozen brothers. When the Tatars retreated, they actually set up an ambush in the middle of the way. We were caught off guard... Alas..."

Zhu Hui asked, "A dozen or so people? What about their firearms?"

Wang Shouren glared at him, as if to say, "You really know how to bring up the most sensitive topics."

They finally managed to retreat and were still lamenting the deaths and injuries of their brothers, but you only care about those firearms.

Zhu Hui said awkwardly, "Don't take it to heart. After all, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war."

Wang Shouren comforted him, saying, "This isn't a defeat. The Tartars' losses must have been much greater than ours, right?" "Yes."

Qin Yun said with a wry smile, "The Tartars have suffered at least four or five hundred casualties. But considering the ratio of troops on both sides... we still shouldn't be so reckless."

Zhu Hui said, "Trading a dozen or so brothers for the lives of four or five hundred Tartars... well, that's a bit of a loss..."

He was about to say, "Isn't this a sure-fire way to make money?"

It's almost a 1 to 40 or 50 ratio!
But seeing that Qin Yun's expression was off, he had no choice but to hastily change his words.

"Where are General Qin and Zhang Xiaoguojiu's troops now? Is there any possibility of them joining forces?"

Wang Shouren continued to press for answers.

Qin Yun shrugged and said, "Originally, they were less than five miles apart and could see each other through binoculars. But then the Tatars sent a large force to cut them off... The Tatars even went so far as to set fire to a patch of land and pile up a lot of firewood to form a fire dragon formation to block them."

Zhu Hui suddenly realized: "No wonder there was a smell of smoke and dust today, but I didn't know where it was coming from. I thought it was the residue from the fire that burned down the Tartar camp last night... Have the Tartars gone mad? The grasslands are their territory. How many cattle and sheep could they feed with so much pasture? How could they set fires everywhere?"

Wang Shouren nodded and said, "The Tatars have no better way to stop us now than to set fires to try to hold us off as much as possible. No matter how powerful our firearms are, our soldiers are still flesh and blood and cannot pass through the wall of fire."

Qin Yun said, "Fortunately, everyone has occupied this place. There is a river blocking the way ahead, so even if the Tatars set fire, they can't threaten us. We have finally stabilized our position."

Zhu Hui glanced at the Tartar camps that were gradually appearing on the opposite hilltop, shook his head, and sighed: "I thought we had won a great victory last night, but now it seems... we've only taken a small step forward... How can we possibly wipe out all the Tartars if this continues? This is a real headache!"

……

……

In the afternoon.

Another great battle has quietly begun.

The Tatars, positioned on higher ground, launched successive assaults on the valley, attempting to retake the previously lost camp.

The two sides engaged in a tug-of-war around the northern river valley, and the Tatars employed a very simple and brutal tactic... fire attack.

Each cavalryman had firewood and flammable materials tied to his horse, which he would immediately drop and set on fire once he approached the Ming camp.

Those Tatars who were shot and fell to the ground, or who fell with their horses, were set on fire without hesitation.

As a result, thick smoke billowed across the battlefield, forming a smoke barrier.

The Tatars intended to disrupt the Ming soldiers' line of sight, create chaos, or force the Ming soldiers to retreat with the thick smoke.

It seems that only in this way will they have a chance to "engage in close combat".

Although Qin Yun's forces had suffered some losses in a breakout battle, the remaining well-trained officers and soldiers were still able to advance and retreat with proper discipline.

With the full cooperation of Wang Shouren and Zhu Hui's troops, they were able to engage in a protracted struggle with the Tatars in the river valley, gaining a clear advantage.

As sunset approached, the Tatars, seeing that they could not reclaim the valley, had no choice but to retreat. However, they did not retreat to the hillside three miles away, probably fearing a night attack by the Ming army. This time, they retreated six or seven miles and re-established their camp on the mountaintop.

Neither Qin Yun nor Wang Shouren showed any intention of pursuing them.

After all, the soldiers had been fighting for a day and a night and were exhausted. They sat limply on the ground, panting heavily, and could only rest for the time being.

"This is not the way to go."

Zhu Hui shook his head with a solemn expression and said, "I think I've figured it out. The Tartars are planning to use a war of attrition. If one group can't defeat us, they immediately send another group... They're taking advantage of our small numbers to keep tormenting us, aren't they?"

Wang Shouren said, "As night approaches, their attack intensity has decreased significantly, and our troops can take turns resting. Tell Qin Yun that we will be stationed there tonight, so their men can get some rest."

"What?"

Zhu Hui asked in surprise, "Are we going to volunteer to take on the night watch?"

"Ah."

Wang Shouren nodded and said, "Let's clean up the battlefield while we're at it. I've figured it out; Zhang Guojiu's men don't seem to care much about collecting heads on the battlefield, but our people..."

"There's nothing we can do; it's a bad habit that the border troops developed long ago."

Zhu Hui said with a smile, "It's very reassuring to have a head cut off, and even cutting off an ear feels different. This trip has been quite fruitful."

……

……

Even after nightfall, the distant roar of artillery fire could still be heard.

Every Ming soldier knew that those were the firearms of the Ming Dynasty, or more precisely, the sounds of cannons firing and exploding upon impact...

This clearly demonstrates that other Ming forces are currently engaged in combat with the Tatars.

Wang Shouren was somewhat restless and couldn't fall asleep in his tent, so he went to the camp of Qin Yun's troops.

After a day of cooperation and joint operations, the two sides have overcome their differences and are no longer as wary of each other as they were at the beginning.

When Qin Yun's officers and soldiers saw Wang Shouren arrive, their faces lit up with friendly smiles. Some even came forward to help him lead his horse and guide him to see Qin Yun.

Wang Shouren knew that after continuous bloody battles, these arrogant soldiers of the Ming Dynasty's new army, armed with sharp weapons, had fully realized the extraordinary nature of their allied force.

They had never paid any attention to him before, but it was through his and Zhu Hui's, and the two thousand soldiers under his command, that they finally earned the respect of these elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

"General Qin is currently meeting with the people sent from above."

The soldier leading the way gave a quiet reminder.

Wang Shouren saw from afar that Qin Yun seemed to be talking to someone.

Wang Shouren hurriedly asked, "How did this comrade-in-arms manage to get through the Tatar barrier?"

No one could answer this time.

Wang Shouren waited for a while, and only went over after everyone had left.

Qin Yun said, "I've kept General Wang waiting."

Wang Shouren pointed in the direction the people left and asked, "Are they going to cross the Tatar defenses to return and report back?"

"General Wang, we have a way to send a message."

Qin Yun smiled and said, "The Second Young Master... also known as Zhang Guojiu, just sent word that he commended our heroic performance in the previous battle and said that our army can remain stationed in place and await further instructions."

Wang Shouren said, "No wonder they dared to divide their forces to fight the Tatars despite having fewer troops. It turns out they have a unique method of intelligence transmission, but I don't know..."

Qin Yun did not intend to answer Wang Shouren's question, and continued, "General Wang, the second young master told me that the Tatars are trying to negotiate with us and seek peace."

"Make peace?"

Wang Shouren was quite surprised.

Despite the commotion, the Tatars showed no signs of exhaustion, and neither side was confident of defeating the other. So why would the Tatars suddenly make peace at this point?

Are you giving in now?

(End of this chapter)