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Khalkha Mongolia is a typical people addicted to food.

Historically, when the Manchu and Qing dynasties were about to unify China, the Khalkhas not only plundered Hulunbuir and Xilin Gol, but even dared to cross the southern reaches of the Greater Khingan Mountains and go to the territory of Bahrain to rob people and livestock. It's like messing around under the Manqing's nose!

Dorgon was busy attacking Nanming at that time and had no time to use troops on the grassland. He could only reprimand the envoys and order Khalkha to quickly return the people and animals they had plundered. Khalkha outwardly obeyed and donated ten camels and a hundred war horses, without saying a word about the people and animals that had been plundered. The Manchus had no choice but to hold their noses and admit it.

Later, Shunzhi took charge of the government and granted various titles to the ministries of Khalkha.

Khalkha was willing to accept the canonization and surrender to the Manchu Qing Dynasty. Then he would continue to plunder when it was time to plunder, and he did not take the Manchu Qing Dynasty as the suzerain state in his eyes at all. It was not until the twenty-seventh year of Kangxi's reign that the Galdan forces rose up and beat the Khalkhas to pieces, and the Khalkha Mongols truly returned to the Manchus (they were robbed so severely by the Galdans that they did not even have enough food to eat, He came to ask the Manchus to give him food and save his life).

"Report!"

"The main force of Khalkha went north and did not escape from the west!"

Zhang Tieniu carefully checked the map, twisted his neck and said: "This is to lure us out, stretch our army's supply line, and then find an opportunity to fight a decisive battle."

Li Dingguo smiled and said: "He goes his way, and I go mine. No matter how the Khalkha army pulls northward, we will slowly go northward and block all the passages in the remaining veins of the Greater Khingan Mountains. By then, they will not even want to return to Mobei. There's a way to go. Just close the door and beat the dog!"

Zhang Tieniu said: "There are several passages. If they are all blocked, the troops will be divided, and it will be easy for the enemy to defeat them one by one."

Li Dingguo said: "So don't be anxious. Go north slowly and make camp step by step. While marching, wait for the friendly forces from Liaoning to come and join us. If time goes on, the friendly forces from Shanxi and Shaanxi will also come over."

"This march is too slow. What should we do if the enemy escapes?" Zhang Tieniu asked.

Li Dingguo said: "If you want to run away, you have run away a long time ago. Why wait until now? The leader of Khalkha also wants to fight with us."

Zhang Tieniu felt very puzzled: "Why did the enemy commander stay and refuse to leave after grabbing so many things? Does he really think he can defeat our Datong Army? Khalkha does not have an advantage in terms of military strength, nor does it have an advantage in ordnance and equipment. It is still in Horqin." The grassland is not stable, the time is right, the place is right, and the people don’t occupy anything. Why should he fight a decisive battle with us? Just because he has more cavalry? "

Li Dingguo couldn't explain it and could only say: "I don't know either."

…

Chahun Dorji was just showing off his talents, relying on the Datong Army to enhance his prestige.

It took time for the Mongolian tribes to gather troops, and it took even more time for the Han people to go on an expedition, especially since they had to transport grain and grass from the south of Yanshan Mountain.

In Dorji, Chahu, by the time the Han people mobilized troops and transported enough food, it was almost snowing in the month. He could completely fight and retreat at the same time, lengthen the Han people's supply line, wait until the weather gets cold, and then look for opportunities to eliminate the tired and freezing Han soldiers. Even if the Han soldiers retreat early, he can still say that he has won the battle and gain a firm foothold in the Horqin Grassland.

"Why haven't the troops from Bahrain arrived yet?"

On the way to retreat northward, Chahun Dorji was very unhappy. They agreed to act together, but the Bahrain department actually broke the promise.

The left and right banners of the Bahrain tribe have moved to the edge of the Xilingol grassland. A hundred years ago, this was their territory. They were beaten by Chahar and had to move eastward. Now they are moved back by Chahun Dorji.

The reason why the Bahrain tribe missed the agreement was simple. They encountered the remnants of Horqin's troops who had crossed the Xing'an Mountains and detoured southward.

Hong Guoer had died of illness on the way, and many soldiers also died in the Greater Khingan Mountains. There were also a large number of tribal cavalry who did not go with them, but chose to join the Khalkha Mongols. Today, only Manzhu Xili leads more than 6,000 cavalry, all the way south to the edge of the Xilin Gol grassland.

"Horqin Cavalry appears in the north!"

"Brother, what should I do?"

"What else can we do? Run away!"

The two people speaking were Sebuteng, the leader of the Bahrain Right Banner, and Manzhu Xili, the leader of the Bahrain Left Banner.

Yes, the leader of Horqin's remnant tribe is called Manzhu Xili, and the leader of Bahrain Left Banner is also called Manzhu Xili.

While the two brothers were talking, a Mongolian prince holding a folding fan suddenly said: "You must escape. Where can you escape? I think we should join the Han people."

This man's name is Wen Chun, the nephew of Sebuteng and Manzhu Xili.

Wen Chun has been familiar with Confucian classics since he was a child. According to the order of succession, he should have been in charge of the Bahrain Left Banner. But he refused on his own initiative, thinking that since he was a junior, he should give up power to his uncle.

Sebuteng said: "The Han people are unreliable."

Wen Chun shook his folding fan and said, "May I ask these two uncles, are the Mongols and Jurchens reliable? At least the Han people still abide by etiquette and dare not break their promises too much. Let's take Badali as an example. After he defected to the Han people, how many soldiers did he get? A and grain? Our pastures are close to the Han people, so we should take refuge with the Han people. In order to exchange for the trust of the Han emperor, I can take my wife and children to Nanjing as hostages."

Manzhu Xili complained: "I think you want to go to Nanjing and enjoy the colorful world of the Han people. You have made your brain stupid by reading Han people's books!"

Wen Chun smiled and said nothing, nor did he explain anything.

After thinking about it, Sebuteng said: "That's all, leave immediately and join the whole family to join the Han people!"

The location of Bahrain is very awkward, located in the most accessible area of ​​the southern mountains of the Greater Khingan Range. Whether it is Horqin fighting out, Chahar and Khalkha fighting in, or the Ji Zhen Ming army fighting up, the most convenient and quickest way is to fight through the Bahrain territory.

Therefore, in recent decades, Bahrain has been repeatedly ravaged by forces from all parties.

First, there was a fight with Li Chengliang, and the leader of the Bahrain tribe was dead.

Then he chose to seek refuge with Nurhaci. Because he secretly flirted with Ming Dynasty, Nurhaci sent troops to beat him up.

Then, Chahar also came to bully him, and the Bahrain tribe had no choice but to seek refuge with Horqin.

Being oppressed too hard by Horqin, he went to seek refuge with the Houjin Tatars again. This time things finally turned around. Because of his hard work in the battle, Huang Taiji was very happy and even married his goddaughter to the chief of the Bahrain tribe. In fact, it was to support the Bahrain tribe to check and balance the Horqin tribes. The Bahrain tribe's territory expanded rapidly, far exceeding the Bahrain Left Banner and Bahrain Right Banner a few hundred years later.

Not long after the good days, the Qing Dynasty was over again. The Bahrain tribe declined again and was attacked in turn by Chahar, Horqin, and Khalkha. Now it has lost more than half of its territory.

When Zhang Tieniu and Li Dingguo led their troops northward and blocked the most convenient passage for the southern part of the Greater Khingan Mountains, the Bahrain Ministry finally came to seek refuge.

And it looked quite miserable. Most of the old, weak, women and children in the clan were killed by Horqin in a surprise attack. Now there are only more than 2,000 junk cavalry left, with a serious shortage of armor and weapons. Their combat effectiveness is estimated to be similar to that of horse bandits. The few people and livestock were the spoils of war given to them by Chahun Dorji.

"The guilty general Se Buteng (Manzhu, practicing rituals, and Wen Chun), pays homage to the general of the Celestial Dynasty!"

The three uncles and nephews knelt down when they got off their horses. Their father and grandfather had repeatedly jumped among various forces, and they had already passed down the gene of being defeated by the wind.

I will take refuge with whoever is stronger. Anyway, this is not the first time I have taken refuge with the Han people.

Back then, Li Chengliang killed Subahai, the chief of the Bahrain tribe. Subahai's son shouted to avenge his father, while quietly trying to join the Ming Dynasty's border troops - you killed my father, you are so fucking awesome. Grandpa, let me be your grandson!

A group of beggars came to vote. Zhang Tieniu was very satisfied and felt that these guys could be used.

Zhang Tieniu helped Sebuteng up with his own hands: "The three of them are loyal men. As long as they join us sincerely, our Datong court will not treat them lightly!"

"I am willing to die for His Majesty the Emperor!"

The three uncles and nephews quickly expressed their opinions.

"Da da da da da!"

A fast horse came galloping, and the spy sat on the horse and shouted: "Captain, there are thousands of Horqin cavalry coming from the west, saying they are coming to join our Datong Empire."

"Okay, okay, the more, the merrier!"

Zhang Tieniu didn't know many idioms, but he still knew this word for Han Xin's command of troops. The more the better.

An hour later, the Horqin cavalry who came to chase the Bahrain tribe also rushed to the Datong Army's station. Manzhu practiced rites and rode a horse into the camp alone. He knelt down and kowtowed and said: "The guilty general Manzhu practiced rites and paid homage to the great governor of the Celestial Dynasty!"

The two people were practicing rituals with their beads and finally met each other.

Even if there was no other grudge, just the same name, the two of them would probably dislike each other.

Zhang Tieniu asked: "How are you doing in the north?"

Manzhu Xili from Horqin said with an aggrieved look on his face: "Please send troops to save our tribe. Our tribe will be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor from generation to generation!"

"Don't worry, I will definitely rescue him." Zhang Tieniu promised.

After being rescued, how to deal with it is another matter.

The resettlement pastures were disrupted and then divided into ten guard posts. No leader will be able to gather more than 3,000 troops unless they also organize ordinary herdsmen into cavalry.

The territory of the Han people will continue to expand northward. At least the territory of Bahrain must be in the hands of the Han people. It is a strategically important area!

In this way, without fighting a single battle and just marching two hundred miles north, Zhang Tieniu's troops increased again.

The equipment of the Bahrain cavalry was so bad that they had no combat effectiveness at all. When Zhang Tieniu assigned the task, he said: "You all go out to investigate. If you encounter the enemy, you don't need to entangle. As long as you can find out the enemy's situation, you will be considered meritorious."

Sebuteng said: "General, the warriors of the Bahrain tribe can also fight. General, please lend the extra armor to our men for the time being."

Zhang Tieniu raised his hand and said, "No, you should just be sentry riders."

Manzhu Xili from Horqin said: "Our unit can take the main attack, and we will fight bravely to kill the enemy!"

"Very good, just follow me. You will be of great use during the war." Zhang Tieniu agreed. After all, Horqin's people, animals and property were all robbed by Khalkha, so he would definitely fight tooth and nail during the war.

The Datong Army continued to move northward slowly. A few days later, the Liaoning friendly forces, which were advancing along the remaining lines of Yanshan Mountain, came to join forces under the leadership of Li Zheng.

Zhang Tieniu, Li Zheng and others seemed not to be chasing the enemy.

Every time they arrived at a key location, they left 10,000 people to garrison, cut down trees in the mountains to build camps, and dug trenches on all sides to prepare for long-term defense. They ignored the main force of Khalkha at all, and only wanted to block the Khalkha army so that Chahun Dorji could not lead his army back to Mobei.

Chahun Dorji, who wanted to lure the enemy deeper and stretch the supply line of the Changtong Army, was angered by Zhang Tieniu's approach.

"This is looking down on me, and they actually divided their troops along the way. Let them continue to divide their troops, and after the division is over, we will fight back! Also, send 10,000 cavalry to detour south to cut off the Han soldiers' food routes!"