Volume 1: The Wind Rises in Tumubao Chapter 35: Sword Pointing to the Desert

The north wind was howling, and the sound of galloping horses broke the silence of the night.

Zhu Qizhen led the 3,000-man battalion and advanced seventy or eighty miles in one breath. At this time, the men and horses were already exhausted, and their speed gradually slowed down.

Li Zhen followed closely behind him and asked, "Your Majesty, where are we going now?"

Zhu Qizhen looked around. Under the hazy moonlight, his visible range was no more than half a meter. He could only vaguely hear some noises in the distance, as if the Oirat people were still chasing him.

"Which is the shortest line back to Beijing?"

Li Zhen replied: "Keep going forward, enter the customs through Gubeikou, and then go all the way south to Changping!"

Zhu Qizhen nodded and was about to make a decision when suddenly, an idea flashed through his mind.

Entering the country through Gubeikou is the shortest route back to Beijing.

But, what I can think of, can’t the Wala people think of it?

It was a dark and windy night. I couldn't see the other person and the other person couldn't see me either.

In this situation, what will they do?

"Li Zhen!"

"I am here!"

Zhu Qizhen suddenly asked: "If you were a Wala, what would you do?"

Li Zhen was stunned for a moment, then reacted and murmured, "I will guess the most likely route of the emperor's march, and then continue the pursuit."

"You're right!" Zhu Qizhen said thoughtfully, "The Wala people are all excellent riders. If we continue to move forward, I'm afraid we'll be caught up before we reach Gubeikou."

"Then...what should we do?"

Zhu Qizhen's brain was working rapidly. The pursuers had the upper hand in numbers, so it was obviously not a wise move to fight head-on. It was pitch dark and there was no time to set traps. If he wanted to get rid of them, he could only do the opposite.

After making up his mind, he stretched out his hand and pointed forward, saying, "Northwest!"

Li Zhen was puzzled and thought he had misheard.

The further we go northwest, aren't we getting further away from the capital?

Moreover, the northwest direction is the territory of Wala, and enemy troops may appear at any time!

"Your Majesty, I suggest that I take a thousand men to stay behind to block the pursuing troops, while Your Majesty leads the men ahead and enters the pass through Beigukou and returns to the capital!"

Zhu Qizhen knew that Li Zhen wanted to sacrifice the chariot to save the king, so he volunteered to be the chariot. However, I was unwilling to give up even the lives of the refugees, so how could I watch my soldiers die?

"Pass on my order, march northwest, and slow down a bit to minimize the noise made by the horses!"

Li Zhen said anxiously: "Your Majesty, I..."

"This is an imperial decree!" Zhu Qizhen interrupted him and said, "Execute it!"

"Your Majesty... obeys your order!"

Li Zhen shook his head secretly and said nothing more.

The Ming army traveled all night, and by the time the sun rose, they had no idea how far they had traveled.

Zhu Qizhen stood on a low hillside and looked around. The pursuers behind him had long disappeared. It seemed that they really went in the direction of Gubeikou.

Although they have temporarily escaped from the pursuers, the current situation is still not optimistic.

Yesen's main force was still at Badaling, and there were pursuers at Beigukou. Both passes were blocked, and there seemed to be no third way.

Li Zhen said behind him: "Your Majesty, we can't go any further north. If we go any further, we will enter the territory of the Oirat people!"

As soon as these words were spoken, an idea suddenly flashed through Zhu Qizhen's mind.

It is true that the grassland is the enemy's territory, but don't forget, there is a saying that the more dangerous the place, the safer it is. Now that the Wala people have come out in full force, how many capable fighters are left at home?

In fact, the Oirat attacked the Ming Dynasty with not just one army but four.

Yesen personally led an army of 90,000 and later added another 30,000, a total of 120,000 main forces to attack Datong and Xuanfu areas. He defeated Zhu Qizhen, who led the army in person, and besieged him in Tumu Fortress.

Alazhiyuan led 30,000 troops to attack Xuanfu, and later joined forces with Yesen's troops.

In addition, Ale, the commander of the Western Army, led 20,000 troops to invade from Suzhou, and Toghtobuhua, the commander of the Eastern Army, led 30,000 troops to raid Liaodong. The four armies almost drained all the troops on the grassland, and the old nest in Mobei had no troops to defend.

What would happen if a Ming cavalry suddenly rushed into Mobei at this time ?

The moment this thought came to his mind, he felt terrified.

If we advance alone into deep territory, we may be wiped out at any time.

If successful, it would be like a sharp sword piercing the heart of the Wala people.

This is a gamble, a gamble of life.

Zhu Qizhen thought for a long time but still couldn't make up his mind.

After all, there are three thousand soldiers behind him, and their lives should not be taken as a gamble.

However, when he thought of the bloody battles of the past few days and the soldiers who died in front of him, he suddenly felt the blood in his body begin to boil.

Why do you think you can invade my land and massacre my people?

Come when you want, leave when you want. Do you think my Ming Dynasty is a bus?

Zhu Qizhen slowly raised his head and said resolutely: "Continue to the north!"

Li Zhen was puzzled and advised: "Your Majesty, if we go any further, we will really enter the territory of the Oirat people!"

"Their territory?" Zhu Qizhen sneered, "The whole world belongs to the king. How dare the remnant Yuan forces dare to encroach on the territory of the Ming Dynasty? I will go to their hometown to see if it is really a den of dragons and tigers!"

Li Zhen was shocked and his first reaction was that the emperor was crazy!

However, on second thought, the road back to Beijing was now blocked. If we break into Mobei, we might be able to find a way out.

Zhu Qizhen pulled the reins, and the horse under him turned and faced the crowd.

"Soldiers!"

Seeing the emperor giving a speech, everyone immediately quieted down and waited quietly.

"You followed me out of the city to kill the enemy and rescue the people captured by the Oirat people. You have made an invaluable contribution!"

"But we can't just go back now. The Oirat have long been harassing our border towns and slaughtering our Ming people. I don't know if your family is among these suffering people, but sooner or later, their butcher knives will be placed on the heads of your parents, family members, brothers and sisters!"

"They rely on their cavalry advantage to come and go as they please. Where in the world can you find such a cheap deal?"

"So, I am going to take you with me to attack the Oirat's lair, let them have a taste of being slaughtered, and avenge the millions of Ming people who died!"

"I want to make the Oirat people understand one thing: blood debt must be repaid with blood!"

Buzz!

After Zhu Qizhen said this, the crowd below was in an uproar.

Everyone was excited and thrilled.

During this expedition, they were chased and beaten by the Oirat people in the first half, which was a miserable time.

Although the emperor later led everyone to turn defeat into victory, no one dared to go deep into the desert to massacre the Wala people's lair!

If it succeeds, it will be an unprecedented achievement!

Li Zhen no longer hesitated at this time. He finally understood the emperor's intention. At the same time, the blood in his body was surging.

He drew his sword and shouted, "Blood debt must be paid with blood!"

With Li Zhen taking the lead, all the soldiers followed suit and shouted.

"eye for eye!"

Seeing that the soldiers were in high spirits, Zhu Qizhen turned his horse around again and pointed his sword at the desert.