In March of the 15th year of the Zhengtong reign, Li Zhen, Marquis of Xiangcheng, led an army of 3,000 troops from the capital.
The Three Thousand Battalion was composed entirely of cavalry and carried no baggage. They moved very quickly, passed through Juyong Pass , and headed north. In half a month, they traveled over 2,000 miles and arrived at Yumuchuan.
Looking around, the river is gurgling, the grass is green, and the scenery is quite pleasant.
It’s a pity that such a beautiful scenery is about to be met with the baptism of artillery fire.
Deep in the desert, Yesen’s central military tent.
"Reporting to the Grand Master, the three thousand cavalrymen of the Ming army have already left the Great Wall!"
"Only three thousand troops?" Yesen's eyes lit up and he asked, "Is there no movement from the little emperor?"
"According to the spies hiding in Dadu, the Ming army has about 100,000 troops on this expedition, and they are still gathering."
Yesen pondered for a moment and said, "Call Boyan over here!"
Soon, the tent door opened and Boyan walked in.
"Brother, I heard that the southerners are gathering troops?"
During the Battle of Tumu Fort, one of his eyes was burned by the lime powder of the Ming army. Now he only has one eye left, and he looks even more ferocious.
He always remembered this grudge and was waiting to lead his troops south again, vowing to gouge out the little emperor's eyes and avenge his previous humiliation.
Yesen nodded and said, "According to the report from the scouts, 3,000 Ming cavalry have crossed the Great Wall and are heading towards Yumuchuan. This is an isolated army."
Hearing this, Boyan's one eye lit up and he said excitedly: "Brother, let me go!"
"The southerners are extremely cunning. We suffered a loss last time. We should be more cautious!"
"Don't worry, bro. We won't let their evil plan succeed this time!"
Yesen said again: "Tell me, how many people do you need?"
Boyan didn't even think about it and blurted out: "The Ming army has 3,000 people, I only need 2,000!"
Yesen shook his head and said, "How about this, I'll give you 5,000, and you must fight quickly and decisively!"
"Brother, you are worrying too much. Two thousand men are enough to deal with those southerners."
"Have you forgotten the loss you suffered earlier so quickly?"
Yesen looked serious and said meaningfully: "After arriving at Yumuchuan, don't rush to attack. Try to test the strength of the Ming army."
Boyan said with a hint of helplessness in his eyes: "Yes, sir!"
After saying this, he went outside the tent, selected five thousand elite cavalrymen, and rushed towards Yumuchuan.
Yesen thought for a long time, wrote a letter, then called his men together and ordered: "Go to Yingchang immediately and deliver this letter to Great Khan Toghtobuha, and tell him that this Grand Master is going to convene a kurultai assembly."
The kurultai was the most formal political and military council of the Mongols, used to elect leaders and decide on major events such as wars.
All the great khans of the Mongol Empire, such as Genghis Khan and Ogedei Khan, were elected by the kurultai.
After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Empire, the Northern Yuan Dynasty split into Tatar, Oirat, Uriankhai and other tribes. The Tatar tribe has always been controlled by the orthodox Golden Family. The current Khan is Toghto Bukha, who is nominally the Khan of the entire Mongolia.
Logically speaking, such a meeting must be convened by Tutubuhua himself.
However, Yesen had long wanted to compete with the Tatar tribe. What a bullshit Golden Family! The grassland advocates the use of force, and whoever has more soldiers and horses has the final say!
Therefore, he took this opportunity to propose convening the kurultai assembly, firstly to unite the various tribes on the grassland to fight against the Ming army, and secondly to put pressure on Toghtobukha.
If Toghtobuha accepted the invitation, it would mean that Yesen's influence had surpassed that of the Khan.
On the contrary, if he did not participate, then other tribes could make Yesen the Khan and completely replace the Golden Family.
The grassland was unobstructed and the five thousand cavalry marched at a rapid speed. After seven days, they had arrived at Yumuchuan.
Following Yesen's instructions, Boyan found a place with a water source to set up camp, and at the same time sent scouts to the front to gather intelligence.
Not long after, scouts came to report that the Ming army in front was the old rival's Three Thousand Battalion, which seemed to have just arrived and was setting up camp.
Boyan weighed the pros and cons for a moment and directly issued the combat order.
It wasn't entirely because of his impatience, because he knew very well that his advantage was his cavalry, and the strength of the cavalry lay in its formation and speed.
Genghis Khan invented the wedge charge tactic, which he used to conquer the world and was invincible.
Specifically, the troops formed a wedge shape, tearing a hole in the enemy's formation, and then turned back to launch the next round of charge. After wave after wave of charge and shooting, usually after three waves, the enemy's formation had already been shattered.
However, this tactic is only applicable to field battles, and it is difficult to capture cities and strongholds.
Now that the enemy’s camp has not yet been completed, it is the best opportunity.
Opportunities are fleeting. If you hesitate to make a decision, you will suffer the consequences!
Bayan took the lead and led the team to charge.
Five thousand people were like a sharp sword, stabbing towards the Ming army that was not yet prepared!
When cavalry fights against cavalry, there is no need to consider firearms. This is a battle of strength!
Today, you must pay double for the humiliation suffered at Tumu Fort!
Li Zhen walked out of the camp and saw the Mongolian cavalry descending from the sky, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
"Artillery ready!"
Twenty falconets were brought out and aimed at the aggressive cavalry.
The weight of this artillery is less than one-third of the General's cannon. After being disassembled, it can be carried by a horse.
Li Zhen estimated the distance between the two sides and found that the other side had reached the minefield set up in advance in a blink of an eye.
"put!"
Twenty falconets spewed out tongues of fire, and fist-sized shells turned into arcs and smashed into the cavalry phalanx that was roaring towards them.
Boyan seemed panicked when he heard the deafening roar.
Why are the 3,000-man battalion equipped with artillery?
At this point, retreat is impossible. Even if the enemy has artillery, at this distance, they can only fire one salvo at most.
He has 5,000 people, and even if a hundred or eighty of them die, it will not affect the implementation of his tactics.
Boom!
A shell streaked across the sky and suddenly exploded after landing, sending pieces of iron flying everywhere, causing casualties all over the place.
Then...
Boom!
Boom!
Boyan has realized that this time the shells are not the iron lumps like before, but shrapnel shells!
Shrapnel shells were extremely powerful, but they often exploded, killing one thousand enemies but losing two thousand of the Ming army's own troops. Therefore, the Ming army rarely used them on a large scale.
But for some reason, he dared to take out the blooming bomb this time.
As explosions continued, the number of casualties far exceeded expectations.
However, once the arrow is shot, there is no turning back, so we can only grit our teeth and continue charging forward.
Boyan secretly made up his mind that things had come to this point, even if there were casualties, as long as he rushed to the enemy, the advantage would still be on his side.
Cunning southerner, prepare to die!