Chapter 549 The first step to seal the Wolf's Lair!
Grassland outside the Great Wall.

A huge army stretched out endlessly, filling the entire field of vision, but still one could not see the beginning or the end.

This is the Ming court's northern expedition army.

It was ruled by Yan Shaoting, the General of the Northern Expedition who held numerous titles.

After the army was divided inside the pass, the original 70,000 soldiers were reduced to just over 60,000.

But the army is enforcing the military regulations that have been passed down for thousands of years even more strictly than before.

The vanguard army advanced thirty miles and was led by the cavalry from the fifth camp of the Beijing Army.

The central army was composed of the Jingying, Shenshuying and Shenjiying. Like a snowball, it was advancing at full speed under the flank cover of the cavalry battalions ten miles away on both sides.

And behind the army, about twenty miles away.

It was composed of the Beijing Camp's baggage camp and 10,000 old, weak, sick and disabled people from Datong, and was responsible for transporting food and most of the gunpowder.

Ever since he led his army out of the Great Wall, Yan Shaoting has been in a state of tension all day long.

Everything now is based on their ideas.

But only God knows what preparations the Mongols are making now and where they are heading.

maybe.

The Mongols were now lying in ambush in front of them, quietly waiting for them to collide head-on.

"Out!"

"We finally got out!"

Xuanfu Lieutenant General and Guerrilla General Guo Yuchuang rode on horseback and galloped from the front, shouting with a smile on his face.

Arrived close to Yan Shaoting.

Guo Yuchuang sat on his horse, clasped his hands together and said, "General, our central army has passed Guoba Mountain. In front of us is the Guimao River Valley Plain. If we continue to march west for a day and a half, we will see the front set."

Yan Shaoting had no expression on his face. He just nodded and then silently calculated in his mind: "So, the Dragon and Tiger Army should be near Laoshigou."

Laoshigou is located in Guimaochuan, which is the Red River in later generations, where it flows from east to west and turns southwest in northern Shanxi.

This place is a three-way intersection.

It is only forty miles to the north and you will officially enter the front zone, while two days' walk to the south will take you to Piantou Pass.

If you go west, it’s only about fifty miles before you can see the mighty Yellow River.

Guo Yuchuang seemed to see that Yan Shaoting was worried about the situation of the Dragon and Tiger Army, and immediately said with a smile: "The Dragon and Tiger Army is the elite in the capital. Now there is one man with three horses, not sparing any horsepower. According to the time, they should be near Laoshigou. With General Yan leading the army, I don't think anything will happen. As long as they reach Piantou Pass and Laoyingbao, the garrison generals of the two places will send troops to support them."

Yan Shaoting shook his head.

Even if the Mongols marched cautiously and chose to invade Shanxi from the south, and then left tens of thousands of soldiers in the front to guard the rear, there would certainly be no less than 50,000 troops in front of them.

Three thousand against fifty thousand.

This is why he is always worried.

But he also knew that even if he could go back to the day when he made the decision, he would have no choice but to let Xiao Que'er lead the three thousand Dragon and Tiger Army to rush on their journey.

As long as there is someone to stop the Mongols in front.

The Mongols, who were unaware of the situation, had no way of knowing that the Ming army had only 3,000 people.

As long as they could slow down the Mongols and wait for him to arrive with his army, the mission of the Dragon and Tiger Army would be accomplished.

Yan Shaoting frowned, reined in his horse, left the central army and went to the side.

"Get the feng shui."

Sitting on the horse, Yan Shaoting gave an order.

Guo Yuchuang immediately delivered the geomancy personally.

Looking at the geomancy map of the area outside the Great Wall drawn by Ye Bushou from the border town in front of him, Yan Shaoting kept determining his current position and the terrain ahead.

His finger slowly stopped near Guimaochuan, thirty miles ahead.

Then, following the indicated location, we paddled towards the northwest.

It is estimated that about forty or fifty miles away is the Qiantao Plain.

"Is there a way here to get straight into the front set?"

While Yan Shaoting was asking questions, his eyes turned to Guo Yuchuang.

Although the latter was the lieutenant general of Xuanfu, he was familiar with the general terrain of the border.

Guo Yuchuang nodded immediately: "General, you have a keen eye. We are actually only about 20 miles away from Datong Town's Shaohukou and Youwei City in the south. The road you just pointed out was indeed the road that Datong's troops used to leave the pass and enter Qiantao."

Yan Shaoting asked again: "Can the cart go?"

Guo Yuchuang nodded, "Although it is mountainous, we are close to the front area. The terrain is not difficult to travel. Even if the cart moves slowly, it will only take half a day to get out."

Confirm that what Guo Yuchuang said is correct.

Yan Shaoting immediately looked at the messenger beside him and said, "Immediately send a message to the Shenji Camp to mobilize 3,000 cavalry and the Shenji Camp to turn northwest 30 miles ahead and enter the front set along the mountain road. Also, send a message to the rear camp to mobilize half of the troops to escort the gunpowder and follow the Shenji Camp to take a detour."

Guo Yuchuang immediately looked over.

He immediately asked: "General, do you want to save the Mongols and cut off their retreat?"

Yan Shaoting just hummed, and then changed the topic and shouted: "Order the entire army to leave enough food for one day, and leave the rest to the rear camp. The central army will advance at full speed and rush to the Laoshigou area."

The heralds faithfully carried out the general's orders.

Soon the military order was passed to all parts of the army, and everyone began to throw unnecessary objects on the ground. Then, they gathered together at the shouts of a famous general and began to speed up their advance towards the turning point of Guimaochuan.

Guo Yuchuang accompanied him at the side, his eyes gradually tightening.

He could be considered a veteran in the border town, so he naturally understood what Yan Shaoting was going to do now.

According to the news that the scouts at the front have been sending back over the past two days, there is a 70% to 80% chance that the Mongols are heading south, preparing to invade Shanxi through Piantou Pass and Laoyingbao.

At this time, the Shenji Camp was allowed to escape in order to use its artillery to cut off the Mongols' retreat. Then the front and central armies abandoned all their belongings and marched forward at full speed with only one day's rations, in order to seek a decisive battle with the Mongols outside the pass.

Just stop the Mongols and force them to retreat.

Then the Mongols would naturally run head-on into the Shenji Camp that had been blocking their way behind them.

There is no problem with the idea.

The only thing Guo Yuchuang was worried about was whether the Dragon and Tiger Army that had already advanced could stop the Mongols.

That is at the same time.

It is at the fork in the road where the Guimao River suddenly turns from flowing west to southwest.

The entire Dragon and Tiger Army of 3,000 men were riding their horses along the south bank of the river.

Although there are three thousand people, there are actually nearly a hundred fewer people in the entire team than when they set out.

As for the war horses.

Still one person and two horses.

But the horses that the officers and soldiers were riding were obviously beginning to become exhausted.

Ma Xiaoer, who is exactly eighteen years old this year, rides on his warhorse and follows the footsteps of his general with his head down.

Looking back at the time when Changping suffered a disaster, it was the general's brother who saved them all and made Changping a place that everyone in Beijing envied.

And he has grown up and become a member of the Dragon and Tiger Army.

What he said back then about protecting Yan Binke never came true, but now he is the personal soldier of Yan Binke's younger brother.

Chop off a few Mongolian heads, collect the reward, follow the general back to Changping, and then you can ask your parents to take the betrothal gifts to propose marriage to Juan'er, who is studying medicine in the academy.

Ma Xiaoer was thinking about winning the battle and returning home to get married.

Yan Hu was also thinking about Changping.

After this trip, when I return, I can ask my sister-in-law to go to Xiuhong's house to propose marriage.

It would be best if Xiuhong could give birth to a few more big fat boys for me.

young people.

In addition to the desire to gain great military merits on the battlefield, there is also the love that is unique to young people.

The warhorse began to become more and more bumpy.

Yan Hu raised his head and looked towards Mao Guichuan who had already started to turn.

He knew that the warhorse under him was no longer able to run and it was time to switch to the last warhorse.

The best option is to leave the exhausted war horses here, and let the equally exhausted soldiers stay here to wait for the arrival of his brother's army.

Yan Hu looked at Mao Guichuan, whose river was actually very shallow. "Ma Xiaoer, pass the order. Stop at the bend in the river ahead. Everyone change..."

Just when Yan Hu opened his mouth to speak.

Ma Xiaoer, however, looked dully at the other side of Mao Guichuan, at the foot of the mountain on the northwest side of Lao Shigou.

After a long while, Ma Xiaoer swallowed his saliva and pointed to the other side: "General... General... there is smoke..."

Yan Hu had already looked over by now.

I saw a large cloud of dust and smoke floating in the air behind the foot of the mountain on the northwest side of Mao Guichuan. It was pressing in from the north and becoming thicker and thicker.

Yan Hu's heart tightened and he immediately raised the spear in his hand.

The entire team stopped almost instantly.

"Change horses immediately!"

"Prepare for war!"

As Yan Hu opened his mouth and shouted at Ma Xiaoer, he jumped from his own horse onto the back of an empty warhorse nearby.

Loosening the reins of the warhorse, Yan Hu drove the horse forward several dozen steps.

It was only then that Ma Xiaoer reacted and hurriedly switched to the last warhorse.

It was only half an hour.

All the members of the Dragon and Tiger Army rode on the last warhorse.

More than a hundred people were left behind to guard the horses that were exhausted and unable to charge.

Several military generals rode their horses to Yan Hu's side.

"General, could it be that we have really encountered the Mongols?"

A general looked at the increasingly thick dust ahead and asked with some concern.

Yan Hu just put down his armor silently and held the spear tightly in his hand.

"Only the Mongols could make such a big noise."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of horse hooves like war drums coming from afar.

Suddenly everyone's heart tightened.

The Mongols really are coming!

Yan Hu looked back at the Dragon and Tiger Army who had changed horses and formed a battle formation behind him, and then looked at Mao Guichuan where the water was only up to the horses' legs.

A ding-dong sound.

Yan Hu dropped the spear in his hand onto a stone on the ground, making a crisp sound.

He turned around and looked at the Dragon and Tiger Army generals around him.

"Everyone, the opportunity to make achievements has come!"

"The opportunity for us to seal the Wolf's Lair has come!"

"You will become a hero or a coward today!"

The young general, holding a spear, suddenly raised it high and pressed forward.

"Everyone..."

"Charge with me!"

A roar came out.

Immediately, earth-shaking roars rang out across the entire Maogui River.

In an instant, it was like thousands of horses galloping.

Yan Hu lowered his body on the horse, thrust his spear forward, and instantly rode his horse into the river.

Behind him, nearly three thousand Dragon and Tiger soldiers also began to rush into the river.

The waves are splashing.

The water droplets burst.

The horse's hooves stepped onto the north bank of the river and began to speed up completely.

Yan Hu always rode his horse at the front of the team.

Ma Xiaoer followed behind and chased after him desperately.

In front.

After reaching the shore and running forward for three or four miles, Ma Xiaoer was finally able to see the endless Mongols in his sight.

At this time, the horse's speed has reached its fastest.

Just one glance and Ma Xiaoer's eyes widened.

There are simply too many enemies!

Although the terrain ahead is a mountain pass with gradually rising elevations on the east and west sides, looking north from the mountain pass, there are endless Mongols behind.

They had discovered the Mongols.

It also shows that the Mongols discovered this Ming army that suddenly ran into them head-on.

"It's the Ming Army!"

"The Ming army has arrived!"

After discovering the Dragon and Tiger Army, the Mongolian front team immediately sent a message to the rear.

The encounter came too suddenly.

The actions of the Dragon and Tiger Army were swift.

The Mongols were not given any time to react further.

The tens of thousands of Mongols who were leading the way in the front had no choice but to bite the bullet and speed up their charge from behind the mountain pass.

This is the only option.

If they choose to retreat due to unknown numbers of troops, everyone will crowd into this mountain pass.

rush out!
The only way to survive is to kill all the Ming troops.

The general of the Mongolian front team immediately ordered the entire front team to charge towards the Ming army without even asking for orders from the rear.

wind!
wind!
It kept rushing in from outside the visor and hitting the face hard.

On horseback, Yan Hu could suddenly hear his own breathing and heartbeat. His ears had blocked out the sound of horse hooves around him, and the only sound was his own heartbeat that was getting faster and faster.

He silently opened his mouth to allow more air to enter his chest.

The spear in his hand was also tightly tucked under his right armpit, while his left hand held the reins tightly while also holding his sword horizontally.

The Mongolian man with tangled hair kept getting bigger and bigger in Yan Hu's sight.

Those Mongols, each as small as a sesame seed, began to become clearly visible, and it seemed that even the fear and anxiety on each other's faces could be seen.

Yan Hu shows no signs of slowing down.

Roared.

"charge!"

With the roar, Yan Hu almost fell on the horse's back.

In the sky, several eagles were circling with their wings spread, constantly circling in the air, their sharp eyes observing the two torrents of flying dust on the ground, like two pieces of steel colliding heavily.

A huge roar was heard as the Dragon and Tiger Army and the Mongolian vanguard collided with each other.

For a moment, the sounds of war horses neighing, screams and swords clashing were heard continuously.

It also happened in an instant.

The spear in Yan Hu's hand had already been stuck into the chest of some Mongolian and disappeared.

He leaned forward, constantly waving the long sword in his hand.

There were constant muffled sounds coming from my body.

That was the sound of the Mongolian scimitar hitting his armor.

And every time he swung the knife, there would be a scream.

The Mongols have always been short of copper and iron, and ordinary soldiers are not equipped with armor.

"charge!"

"rush!"

Yan Hu kept swinging his sword and roaring.

The entire Dragon and Tiger Army, led by him, was like a sharp sword, piercing fiercely into the front team of the Mongolians, and under the leadership of Yan Hu, they continued to advance deeper.

An expected yet unexpected encounter began.

…………

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(End of this chapter)