Chapter 141: Fighting in Front of the Battlefield
Chen Biao rode his horse forward and after seeing Kuyuk Timur, he opened the face shield of his helmet, revealing his true face, and gave Kuyuk Timur his signature obedient smile.
The baby fat on Chen Biao's face is soft and chubby, and he looks like a rich and lovable boy, which is very different from the demon child Chen Biao who is rumored to have many horror legends.
When Kuyuk Timur saw Chen Biao's face, he was dazed for a moment, and then quickly confirmed that this person was not a substitute.
Because if you want to find a young player to be a stand-in, that young player will definitely not be this kind of weak and weak rich boy who seems to have never seen the wind and rain.
Chen Biao looked at Kuyuk Timur curiously and said, "The King of Henan is indeed a great and extraordinary man. I have long admired him."
Kuokuo Timur said: "You are worthy of the name of the demon child. You are obviously a disaster at first glance."
Chen Biao laughed and said, "He's just a twelve or thirteen-year-old commander. History books record prime ministers, top scholars, and generals all of whom were twelve or thirteen years old. How can he be called a 'monster'? Your Yuan Dynasty has ruled the Central Plains for decades, so why are you still so narrow-minded? Or is it that General Wang Baobao, despite having a Han Chinese name, hasn't read Han Chinese history books?"
Kuyuk Timur was not angry and said, "You are quite eloquent."
Chen Biao opened his mouth and spoke again in a flurry of words: "Of course, I am a scholar after all. Your loyal minister of the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Zuren, is... Oh, I emphasize again, I didn't curse him to death, he died suddenly due to old age and frailty, I just spoke a little loudly, how could I curse him?"
Chen Biao smiled: "How can telling the truth be called cursing, right?"
Although Kuyuk Timur wanted to suppress his anger, when Chen Biao mentioned Chen Zuren, he couldn't help but draw his knife.
Chen Zuren repeatedly sided with Kuokuo Timur in the court, hoping that the emperor would trust Kuokuo Timur and allow Kuokuo Timur to come to Beijing to protect him. This is how he lost the emperor's trust.
Although Chen Zuren's advice was useless, Kuyuk Timur was very respectful and grateful to this Han Confucian official.
When Kuyuk Timur unsheathed his sword, Yan Qian, Zhao Desheng and Xue Xian also unsheathed their weapons.
The guards behind Kuyuk Timur also drew their weapons. It seemed as if this "peaceful" conversation between the commanders was about to turn into a battle of cavalry.
Chen Biao was protected behind him by Yan Qian, Zhao Desheng and Xue Xian, who also raised his neck and continued to talk trash.
"Honestly, I didn't expect the King of Henan to come. The bait in my letter was just to get rid of a major threat to the Yuan Dynasty. But what does this have to do with the King of Henan?"
"Emperor Yuan was still alive, and the Prince of Henan took advantage of the opportunity to transport grain to the capital to conclude an agreement with the Crown Prince, supporting him in his fight for the throne with the Emperor."
"Two years ago, the Yuan Emperor appointed you the King of Henan and ordered you to march south. You killed the imperial envoy, the slaves of the world, established your own province, and colluded with Goryeo."
"The Yuan Emperor stripped you of your military power and ordered you to hand over the city you were defending to other generals. You attacked the city and slaughtered all the newly appointed local officials. The Yuan Emperor then ordered you to lose your title and ordered all Yuan armies to attack you."
"Oh, now you are the King of Henan again. Because the Yuan Emperor was driven out of the Central Plains by us, he is in constant fear in Shangdu. I hope you can help the country."
Chen Biao laughed and said, "Not only do you distrust the Great Yuan Emperor, but he's also pressing for your life. The Great Yuan Crown Prince, while he's your ally, only comes to you when things get tough, and abandons you once he's in power. You're at his beck and call, and then you're gone. The Prince of Henan, however, is perfectly content to serve both the Great Yuan Emperor and the Crown Prince. He's truly a loyal minister to the Great Yuan."
Kuyuk Timur swung his sword and said, "Shut up!"
Xue Xian laughed loudly as he spurred his horse forward and said, "Okay, come!"
Two of Kuyuk Timur's personal soldiers also stepped forward, and Zhao Desheng held their weapons alone.
Chen Biao said to Yan Qian, "You go too."
Yan Qian remained motionless.
Chen Biao took out his flintlock rifle and lashed Yan Qian's horse's rear end with his whip. "I told you to go. It's a perfect three-on-three situation. The King of Henan is still very reasonable. He didn't count me in the battle."
Kuyuk Timur: "..."
He had indeed not counted Chen Biao among the number of those fighting generals, and had not even considered fighting generals. Who knew Chen Biao could be so rude? And that he knew so much about him? Every word he said was like a knife in his heart! He had no choice but to fight!
Now he regretted bringing only two people. Why didn't he bring one more person to kill this foul-mouthed guy?
He believed that Chen Zuren was really scolded to death by Chen Biao. Who could stand such a mouth?!
Chen Biao rode his horse back a few steps, touched the flintlock rifle in his hand, and continued to speak while concentrating on observing the three-on-three fight in front of him.
The battle took place outside the range of both sides' crossbows, and they had a tacit understanding not to send any more men forward. Even if the Ming army was desperate, Deng Yu could only hold them down and not send any more men forward.
This is Chen Biao’s military order.
"The grasslands are vast, and to the west, even vulnerable nations have occupied vast tracts of fertile land. With the elite bannermen of the King of Henan, not to mention forming a new tribe on the grasslands, he could probably become a true king in the west."
"Even though the Yuan Dynasty prioritized family background, only the powerful and prestigious families of the grasslands could win over the people. The King of Henan wasn't from a prominent family, and despite his contributions, he wasn't valued by the Yuan Dynasty. Even though he had made many contributions, he was still ordered to be punished by the Yuan Emperor. The King of Henan still had a sincere heart for the Yuan Dynasty, determined to save the country from collapse. It's truly touching."
"I just wonder if the King of Henan will be attacked by the Yuan Emperor again for his meritorious service this time?"
"I wonder if the Prince of Henan is defeated this time. Will the Crown Prince, whose life you have saved countless times but who still treats you like a piece of trash, refuse to accept the Prince of Henan, who has lost everything due to the defeat?"
Chen Biao sighed and shook his head.
"The King of Henan is so loyal to the Yuan Dynasty that he certainly doesn't care about these outcomes. It's just a pity for the generals who followed you. They never received the Yuan Dynasty's favor and can't return to the grasslands."
"However, just as the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty and the Crown Prince viewed the Prince of Henan as a hawk, the Prince of Henan probably views the soldiers behind you in a similar way. They died here for your loyalty and courage, so it can be considered a worthy death..."
Kuyuk Timur used his sword to deflect Xue Xian's sword, and with his left hand he drew out the spear hanging on his side and pierced Xue Xian's horse's neck with it.
Xue Xian's body tilted and the horse was about to fall to the side.
Kuyuk Timur did not pursue the victory, but sheathed his sword, laid his spear horizontally, and took out his bow and arrow.
In fact, the most common practice in a duel between generals was to compete in archery and horseback riding. Many generals in the duel were shot to death.
When Kuokuo Timur aimed his bow and arrow at Chen Biao, Chen Biao did not dodge, and he also aimed his flintlock rifle at Kuokuo Timur.
Kuyuk Timur drew the bow very quickly and the arrow left the string quickly.
At the same time, the gun in Chen Biao's hand rang out.
Kuyuk Timur relied on his heavy armor to cover his face with his arms to block the bullets.
The arrow in Chen Biao's eyes was "slowly floating towards him". He leaned over and the arrow flew over his head.
Kuyuk Timur rode his horse forward, while Chen Biao rode his horse back, and the two men kept some distance between them.
Kuyuk Timur took the arrow and drew the bow, while Chen Biao opened the bow and loaded the ammunition, and the two of them started another round of archery shooting at the same time.
Yan Qian was extremely anxious. But Chen Biao had specifically warned him before he stepped forward. He knew that with only one person shooting the arrow, Chen Biao would definitely not be hit and would be completely safe. If he rushed forward rashly, he would only ruin the situation that was most advantageous to Chen Biao. So he could only desperately attack the Mongolian guards in front of him, hoping to eliminate this person before besieging Kuyuk Timur.
The same thing happened to Zhao Desheng. The horse lance in his hand kept colliding with the hook-and-sickle spears of the Mongolian guards, making a harsh metal-on-metal sound. The fight became more and more fierce, but he could not escape for the time being.
Yan Qian and Zhao Desheng were both powerful generals of their time, but weren’t the Mongols who served as personal soldiers of Kuyuk Timur also powerful generals?
The two men were unable to distinguish the superiority of the Mongolian guards for the time being. If they distracted their attention to Chen Biao, they might be defeated by the enemy. They could only concentrate more and seek a quick victory.
Sensing the two men's desire for a quick victory, the Mongolian guards changed their fierce offensive strategy and switched from attacking to encircling in order to give the main general more time to shoot and kill Chen Biao.
In less than half an hour, Kuokuo Timur and Chen Biao had exchanged more than ten arrows and spears. The two of them circled around, switching positions several times .
Kuyuk Timur was so angry that he gritted his teeth so hard that it seemed as if he could break them.
He never expected that this dwarf would actually dare to fight him.
If Chen Biao became timid and turned back to the army, he would be confident that he would shoot Chen Biao to death!
What made him even more shocked and angry was that Chen Biao not only shot back at him, but also repeatedly dodged his confident bow and arrows, and each shot was aimed at his face where he had removed the visor to shoot.
He knew that Chen Biao would definitely aim at his face, so he used his arm armor to block Chen Biao's shots. Every shot from Chen Biao actually hit his arm armor, leaving dents on his arm armor, which showed how accurate Chen Biao's shooting was and how powerful the gun was!
Kuyuk Timur's murderous intent towards Chen Biao rose again.
This young man is incredibly powerful and clever! He absolutely cannot be allowed to stay!
This time, Kuyuk Timur drew two arrows on the bowstrings, intending to make Chen Biao reveal a bigger flaw.
He doubted how long a spoiled young man, judging by his appearance, could dodge on horseback. He only needed to use his arm armor to block, but Chen Biao had to dodge left and right on horseback. Chen Biao expended far more energy than he did.
Chen Biao had indeed started to breathe heavily, but his hands were still very steady and not at all confused.
He knew what his shortcomings were a long time ago, so he did special training in other areas.
For example, he can still maintain his speed, endurance, and accuracy.
Kuyuk Timur could shoot two arrows at the same time, but Chen Biao could not fire two shots in a row.
But it didn't matter. Chen Biao shot at Kuyuk Timur again, forcing Kuyuk Timur to block it with his arm armor. Then he pulled out the spear with his other hand, swung it forward, and actually knocked down the two arrows.
When Kuyuk Timur shot two arrows at once, the shooting angle and posture would change, and the accuracy and power of the arrows would be greatly different.
The arrows were not gunpowder-propelled bullets, so Chen Biao was confident that he could shoot them down with this amount of force, and he actually shot down both arrows.
Kuyuk Timur was shocked. Chen Biao's eyesight was so good, and his courage and agility were even more amazing!
Kuyuk Timur drew his bow and arrow again, and Xue Xian, who had fallen off his horse, rushed over with a saber in his hand.
Xue Xian sprained his foot when he fell from his horse.
He took off his boots, gritted his teeth and quickly straightened his bones, wrapped his ankle with the red cloth on his arm , put on his boots, and without turning back, rushed towards Kuyuk Timur with his saber in both hands: "Don't run away, thief! Your grandfather is here again!"
Xue Xian shouted and slashed at Kuyuk Timur's horse, regardless of the possibility of being kicked by the horse.
Kuyuk Timur led a group of heavy cavalry, and his horses were also heavily armored. Xue Xian's strike on the armor of his horse only caused some distress to the horse, but did not injure it.
The heavy cavalry could only cut the horse's legs if they wanted to cut it, but Xue Xian was tall and Kuyuk Timur was always moving, so it was difficult for him to cut the horse's legs.
Even if he couldn't hurt the horse, Xue Xian was very strong. He used his saber as a hammer, hitting the horse under Kuyuk Timur's crotch again and again, and occasionally hitting Kuyuk Timur's leg armor, which gradually caused great trouble to both the man and the horse.
Kuyuk Timur roared angrily, slashed at Xue Xian with his longbow, and drew out his ring knife with his other hand.
Chen Biao seized the opportunity and aimed his gun at Kuyuk Timur's face again.
Kuyuk Timur quickly turned his head, and the bullet passed by the side of his face, making a harsh sound when it rubbed against the side of his helmet.
Seeing that Kuyuk Timur was moving slowly, Xue Xian laughed loudly, "Eat your grandfather's sword!" While avoiding being trampled by the warhorse, he continued to slash at the armored horse and Kuyuk Timur.
Chen Biao and Xue Xian did not have any rehearsal, but because of Xue Xian's bravery and Chen Biao's superb shooting skills, they cooperated very well.
Kuyuk Timur had to deal with Xue Xian's slashing attacks from his horse, and also dodge Chen Biao's shots that were always aimed at his face, and he was suddenly in great danger.
When the Ming army saw this scene, led by Deng Yu, they all shouted excitedly: "General, you are mighty! Military advisor, you are mighty!"
Morale boosted!
Deng Yu was so nervous that his hands were sweating. None of them had expected that the young military advisor would be so bold as to dare to fight against the famous general Kuokuo Timur, and even cooperate with Xue Xian to gain the upper hand in this battle!
Young military advisor, you are so awesome! General Xue is so awesome!
Chen Biao and Xue Xian pressed Kuokuo Timur, forcing him to be overwhelmed and lose his composure. Seeing this, Yan Qian and Zhao Desheng felt a surge of strength in their hearts, and their agility and strength suddenly increased a lot.
The two men shouted loudly and knocked the Mongolian guards off their horses one after another. Then, regardless of the fallen Mongolian guards, they came to support Xue Xian and Chen Biao.
But when the two of them arrived, Xue Xian's pressure was relieved, but Chen Biao could no longer see anyone.
He looked at the Mongolian soldier who had fallen to the ground, rode his horse closer, fired a shot, reloaded, and fired again.
After two gunshots, the Mongolian soldier who was about to get up from the ground had blood splattered on his face and died instantly.
Chen Biao put away his flintlock rifle, picked up his spear again, and turned around to attack Kuyuk Timur.
Although he was weak, the horse's eyes were not armored.
"Xue Xian! Back off!"
At Chen Biao's order, Xue Xian withdrew from the battle and ran towards the Ming army.
Now the only general left on the Yuan side who is fighting against the enemy is Kuyuk Timur, so there is no need for him to fight to the death.
Although Xue Xian was not afraid of death, he was no fool. Without a horse, he ran away as fast as he could.
Yan Qian and Zhao Desheng attacked Kuyuk Timur from the left and right, while Chen Biao poked the horse's eyes.
Like Kuyuk Timur, the horse also had a lot of combat experience. When it saw Chen Biao's spear coming, it naturally shook its head left and right to avoid being hit by Chen Biao.
But when the warhorse shook its head, its movements were no longer under Kuyuk Timur's control.
Kuyuk Timur was hit several times by Yan Qian and Zhao Desheng, and was injured even though he was wearing armor.
"Hit his arm! His arm armor is almost broken!" Chen Biao shouted while continuing to poke the horse's eyes.
Yan Qian and Zhao Desheng immediately changed their tactics and chopped at Kuyuk Timur's arm.
With a "snap" sound, a small piece of the arm armor on Kuyuk Timur's left arm broke.
More than ten cavalrymen from the Mongolian army rushed to the rescue. The Ming army's fire musket team, led by Ning Zheng, also rode forward and pointed their guns at the Mongolian cavalry.
Chen Biao heard the sound of the Ming army's bugle call and, as he retreated with Yan Qian and Zhao Desheng, he laughed loudly, "King of Henan! I'm stalling for time to debug the artillery. What's your reason?"
As Chen Biao finished speaking, the three of them and the musket team rushed back to the Ming army. Kuokuo Timur and the Yuan cavalry who came to rescue him also returned to the Yuan army.
Kuyuk Timur turned his horse around and heard the continuous "boom" of cannons, and his eyes widened in surprise.
So far away! How could they fire?!
But the Ming army fired anyway, and the artillery fell into Kuyuk Timur's army.
The earth trembled, dust flew, and heavy armored cavalry were blown over by artillery shells, screaming in pain.
The artillery's range was adjusted to the center of Kuyuk Timur's army formation, so he was fine in front of the formation, only his horse was frightened.
He tightened the reins, steadied his horse, and looked back blankly.
His well-prepared cavalry formation was thrown into chaos by the incredible artillery attack.
Kuyuk Timur did not fight against his generals on impulse, nor did he care about etiquette.
First, he bet that Chen Biao would not dare to come out, or he would kill Chen Biao after he came out to destroy the morale of the Ming army.
But unexpectedly, Chen Biao was so tenacious and had excellent spear skills. The other three Ming generals were also fierce generals of the time. They actually let him fall into danger.
Second, during this period, Kuyuk Timur sent a small group of cavalry to go around the mountain to the rear of the Ming army, taking advantage of the Ming army's attention to Dou Jiang, hoping to create a double-sided encirclement.
Now the cavalry he sent to encircle the enemy were still unaware of the situation and were in chaos facing the main army.
Kuyuk Timur immediately gathered the panicked army. Chen Biao handed over the command to the generals leading the troops, and only commanded the artillery team without interfering with the generals' actions.
The Yuan army's formation was in chaos, and its morale plummeted due to the failure of the fight and the sudden artillery bombardment; the Ming army had strong firepower support and Chen Biao's unexpected performance in the fight, so its morale had reached its peak.
The victory of the Ming army has been established. The next step is just to see how much it will cost to swallow up the most elite cavalry of the Yuan Dynasty and whether they can capture or kill Kuyuk Timur.
When the two armies start fighting, all strategies will be ineffective, and it will depend on the abilities of the soldiers.
What about the cavalry sent by Kuyuk Timur?
They encountered a group of elite soldiers hidden by Chen Biao - the Fujian soldiers led by Chen Huoxing.
After Xu Shuzhen and Chen Huoxing arrived in Peking, they took over the city's security. These Fujianese soldiers were not cold-tolerant, and their combat effectiveness declined during the winter. Furthermore, since they were women, the city's spies simply did not take the troops led by these two female generals seriously.
After they told the information to Kuyuk Timur, Kuyuk Timur also thought that this army was just a "weak soldier" to maintain public order in the city, and was similar to militiamen and civilians.
Since Kuyuk Timur did not see the two female generals in front of the battlefield, he thought that the two female generals were maintaining order in the city of Beiping.
Chen Biao said that the entire army should be dispatched, but he would definitely not leave so many people in the city alone. He would definitely leave some behind. Otherwise, the spies in the city could set fire to the city and seize the city gate without any soldiers or generals.
But he didn't expect that Chen Biao was so bold.
Xu Shuzhen only brought a few personal soldiers with him, and then led the new recruits and civilians to maintain order in the city; Chen Huoxing led the Fujian soldiers who had gradually become accustomed to the cold in the past few months, and ambushed behind the army, waiting for Kuyuk Timur to go around.
Chen Biao thought from Kuokuo Timur's perspective. If Kuokuo Timur ignored the two female generals' troops, he would know from a visual inspection of the Ming army formation that Chen Biao had really pulled out all the defenders and there were no ambushes elsewhere. Then Kuokuo Timur would definitely let his own cavalry become an ambush!
The high mobility of the cavalry and Kuyuk Timur's familiarity with the terrain near Peking allowed Kuyuk Timur to do this with confidence.
Kuyuk Timur, taking advantage of the battle, sent his cavalry around. Chen Biao flipped over his own hidden card, and Chen Huoxing intercepted the cavalry, which had removed its heavy armor for greater mobility. The battle began in the mountains and forests.
Half an hour later, Chen Huoxing took advantage of his rest and wiped out all the Yuan army's light cavalry. Following Chen Biao's instructions before the expedition, he circled to the north.
Chen Biao asked Chen Huoxing to block Kuyuk Timur's escape route to the north!
…
Shangdu (Duolun County, Inner Mongolia), where the Yuan emperor lived, and Yingchang (Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia), where the Yuan prince lived, both received letters from Kuyuk Timur requesting them to send troops together.
Although the Yuan Emperor was incompetent and the Yuan Crown Prince was incompetent, they were not stupid. Even if they were stupid, not all of their subordinates were stupid.
While Kuyuk Timur was attacking Dadu, the Yuan prince sent troops south to Gansu, hoping to tie down the Ming army in Gansu and relieve the pressure on Kuyuk Timur; Shangdu also decided to send troops to Dadu to assist Kuyuk Timur.
When they were about to set out after selecting their troops, they were blocked by two Ming armies.
It turned out that when Chen Biao made a bet with Xu Da and Zhu Yuanzhang, they had already decided on the military strategy after losing the bet.
There were two armies stationed near Yingchang and Shangdu. When Zhu Yuanzhang learned that Kuyuk Timur had "disappeared" from Ningxia City, these two armies moved.
Zhu Wenzhen was the main general and Lan Yu was the deputy general, and they attacked Shangdu; Li Wenzhong was the main general and Chen Ying was the deputy general, and they attacked Yingchang.
On the day Zhu Yuanzhang ascended the throne, no one in the crowd noticed that four young generals were missing.
