I

The grassland in late autumn is golden yellow as far as the eye can see.

Batu originally belonged to the Horqin Left Wing Middle Banner and was the leader of a small tribe. After years of fighting, the tribesmen suffered heavy casualties, and only about a thousand people were left including the old, weak, women and children.

It was almost dark, so Batu secretly speeded up his horse, ran to Lama Shixi, and whispered: "Master, the direction is wrong. Does Chahun want to escape back to Mobei?"

Lama Shixi also lowered his voice: "He said he wanted to take a detour to the west."

"It doesn't look like a detour, but more like a withdrawal," Batu fanned the flames and said, "Sir, Khalkha came from Mobei. They can just slap their butts and leave. We Horqin have been here for generations. People live here. Do you want to follow them to Mobei? After you go, will you give us pasture? "

Lama Shixi sighed: "Alas, our tribe, as well as cattle, sheep and grain, are all held in Chahun's hands. If we don't follow Chahun, are we going to leave our tribe alone?"

Batu said: "Go back and surrender to the Han army tonight and ask the Han army to take back the people and livestock!"

"Do you know where the tribe is?" Lama Shixi asked.

Batu said: "I have paid attention secretly. Although I don't know where it is specifically, it must be northwest of here. Chahun sent three thousand cavalry with livestock and food to the mountainous area over there."

Lama Shixi remained silent. In fact, he did not want to seek refuge with the Han people. In the entire Horqin Grassland, his territory was the only one that was farthest from the border of the Han family. He finally got rid of the Manchus, and now no one wants to join him. Even if he defected to Khalkha, it would be a helpless move. He was sure that Khalkha would not be able to gain a foothold here, and he had long thought of returning to his tribe and taking the opportunity to escape.

But Chahun Dorji has been guarding him. He has taken away all his people, livestock and food, and no one knows where he has hidden them now.

Lama Shixi said, "Wait a little longer."

Batu was very unhappy and silently returned to his team. He called his son and said, "Pass it on quietly. Prepare to leave tonight. No one is allowed to sleep."

At midnight, the sound of horse hooves sounded.

Batu and his men suddenly ran wildly. The nearby Mongolian soldiers were completely confused as to what was happening and thought that the Han cavalry was coming.

The large camp soon became chaotic, and Batu took the opportunity to lead his troops and rush out.

There was quite a bit of trouble, but there were actually very few people leaving. It was all planned, and Batu only had more than 200 horses in hand.

However, there are people who think like him!

After Batu left the Mongolian camp, several small tribes took advantage of the chaos to escape. The most powerful among them is Alukorqin, who has more than a thousand cavalry.

The next morning, people were in panic.

Chahu Dorji summoned the leaders of various tribes and said: "Don't worry, those who sneak away at night are cowards. Their tribesmen and livestock are all in my hands. If they abandon their compatriots, it will be equivalent to the destruction of the tribe. They have no women, how can they?" Go back and have a baby with the mare? I already have a complete plan, and I can tell you now. Before, there were Han armies to the south, north, and west. We cannot stay where we are, otherwise we will be surrounded by the Han army. "

"I took the initiative to lead my troops out of the encirclement. The Han infantry could not catch up. Only the cavalry could catch up. The Han infantry likes to form car formations, which is really difficult to fight. It is better to get rid of the Han infantry and lure the Han cavalry to come for a decisive battle. ! We Mongolian warriors have been riding horses since we were young. How can we still lose to the Han people in a horse battle?"

"The Great Khan is wise!"

The leaders of various ministries flattered him in unison, but only they themselves knew what they were thinking.

…

Zhang Tieniu and Li Dingguo, with three cavalry divisions, did nothing.

In order to attack southward in a roundabout way, Chahu Dorji sent more than 3,000 weak cavalry, repeatedly trampling on the grassland along the way, and luring the cavalry division to run northwest. These unlucky ones who were responsible for the bait had been eaten by Zhang Tieniu, and then they quickly turned around and headed south.

Near Wang Hui's camp, Zhang Tieniu received a message from Li Zheng.

Zhang Tieniu said speechlessly: "Old Li transferred his troops away and wanted to cooperate with us to encircle and annihilate the main force of the enemy's army. The enemy ran too fast and abandoned the camp here before we could come over. Now we can't encircle them. South There are several openings in the mountainous area, and the enemy troops can escape wherever they want."

Although Li Dingguo was helpless about this, he could not blame Li Zheng. After all, the battlefield was changing rapidly, and Li Zheng had reasons for mobilizing troops.

Moreover, even if there is no mobilization, it can only slow down the enemy's escape speed, and it is impossible to completely block the passage.

Jiang Quan said: "Chahun robbed too many things in Horqin. Unless they threw away the trophies, they would not be able to escape quickly. When they detoured south, they certainly did not bring the trophies with them, otherwise they would not have been able to march so fast. The top priority is , is to find those hidden people, livestock and food!"

"Where can I find it in the vast grassland? I have been looking for it these days. They are all fake traces deliberately created by the enemy cavalry." Wang Tingchen said.

Li Dingguo said: "The passing geese leave traces. It is impossible for so many people to disappear in thin air. I guess it is somewhere in the mountainous area in the southwest. Only by hiding there can we cooperate with Chahun Dorji and lead his troops to escape westward."

Zhang Tieniu said: "Li Zheng thinks so too, and has already sent dragoons to look for him."

Li Dingguo said: "Abandon the baggage, one person and two horses, and go south at full speed. You only need to bring food for two or three days. We will ask Li Dusi (Li Zheng) and General Wan (Wan Sitong) for food halfway."

I won’t take any extra food with me, and I certainly won’t take away the squatting tiger cannon or anything like that.

Including the Mongolian cavalry who took refuge halfway, all of them had one person and two horses. If the tribal warriors didn't have enough horses, half of them would be left behind. About 40,000 cavalrymen chased southward like a whirlwind.

On the way, they bumped into the dragoons sent by Li Zheng, saying that they had discovered the humans and animals hidden by the enemy.

Everyone was overjoyed and hurriedly followed the traces, and suddenly found that the grass traces had bifurcated. The ones to the northwest are fresher and should be left over from the past two days. It seems that they want to escape westward along the Heimulun River Valley.

Zhang Tieniu led his army to pursue them. After only a few dozen miles, they saw 20,000 to 30,000 Mongolians.

They were all Horqin's tribe, most of whom were women and children, and there were very few livestock and grains.

"We were deceived. These people were thrown out deliberately." Wang Tingchen said.

Feeling that he was being played, Zhang Tieniu was furious, spat out and said: "Turn back and continue chasing south!"

A few days later, near Bahrain Right Banner, it was discovered that the grassland had been trampled on a large scale.

The main force of the Khalkha Mongols really ran away!

After a short rest, Zhang Tieniu led the cavalry to continue the chase, this time bringing more than 10,000 dragoons with him. The cavalry division, dragoons, and Mongolian cavalry totaled more than 50,000 cavalry.

Following the footprints along the way, the place where the main force of Khalkha left the mountainous area was exactly at the edge of Ujimqin Mongolian territory.

Ahead, there is a war!

The Shanshan Military Region where Fei Ruhe was stationed was too far away from the Horqin Grassland. He could not mobilize too many troops, so he could only lead eight thousand dragon cavalry personally, and brought ten thousand Chahar Mongolian cavalry with him along the way, rushing to join the battle.

Two days ago.

Internal strife broke out among the Mongols. Lama Shixi, the leader of the Horqin tribe, and Dorji, the leader of the Ujimqin tribe, were unwilling to follow the Khalkha Mongols to retreat northward.

Dorji was so stubborn that he went to question Chahu Dorji in person. He said, "My pasture is here. My great-great-grandmother and her tribe have settled here to graze for a hundred years. You want us to follow you back to Mobei." , then how much of Mobei’s pasture do you plan to give me?”

Chahu Dorji said to his left and right: "Kill him and annex his tribe!"

The leader of the Ujumqin tribe was hacked to death with random knives.

With this approach, Chahun Dorji obviously did not intend to come to Monan again, and even gave up the extravagant hope of unifying Mongolia.

Lama Shixi was on guard for a long time. Hearing the movement in the commander's tent, he immediately ran away with his cavalry, successfully avoiding the danger of being annexed. Of course, it was not easy to fight out. There were only more than two thousand cavalry left dead around them. This was because the Khalkha army was in a hurry and was too lazy to distract themselves from the pursuit.

Lama Shixi fled south with the remaining troops, and happened to run into Fei Ruhe's troops.

"General, avenge me, Horqin!"

Lama Shixi burst into tears and knelt on the ground, kowtowing and said: "That guy from Chahun is not trustworthy. He promised to return his people and livestock, but suddenly he turned against him and wanted to kill and annex him. As long as the general avenges me, Horqin will be the best for generations to come." Be loyal to His Majesty the Emperor!"

Fei Ruhe's troops were not large, and he was too busy on an expedition to be able to fight against the main force of Khalkha.

He asked for the specific situation and did not know whether Zhang Tieniu would pursue him, so he decided to try to chase and entangle him first.

In fact, regardless of Fei Ruhe or not, the main force of Khalkha will definitely be caught up!

The leaders of various Mongolian tribes in Mobei grabbed too many trophies. Even if some were thrown out to confuse Zhang Tieniu and delay Zhang Tieniu's pursuit, the rest would still be an astronomical number, with more than 100,000 livestock alone. They were reluctant to give up and insisted on bringing them all back to Mobei. How could they march faster?

About 150 miles southwest of Huolingol, Zhang Tieniu, with tens of thousands of cavalry, finally caught up with Fei Ruhe, who was pulling the enemy.

On the Mongolian side of Khalkha, there are still about 85,000 riders. There is plenty of food and grass, and numerous cattle and sheep.

There are about 76,000 cavalry on the Datong Army side, of which more than 10,000 are Mongolian cavalry who have taken refuge. Food and grass are running out, people and horses are exhausted.

"All troops are wearing armor, dismount and rest!"

The one wearing armor is the man, and the one resting is the horse. The horse is too tired after chasing all the way. Not only must you rest, but you must also seize the time to feed the war horses salt water.

Chahu Dorji was so angry that he drew his sword and said: "These Han people are too bullying. I have left so many people and animals behind, and I have given you enough face to chase them all the way here. All the ministries obey the order and prepare to fight!"

Darkhan led the troops and circled towards the northwest side of the battlefield. If the battle goes well, he will charge in with all his might. If the battle doesn't go well, he will immediately flee with his men, leaving Chahun Dorji behind to cut off his own rear.

Darhan is not his name, but a Mongolian noble title.

He can be called "Darkhan Khan" or "Darkhan Noyan", but his real name is actually Bentar.

In another time and space, just next spring, Bental had a falling out with Chahu Dorji. His tribe was killed to only a thousand households, and even his wife and children were robbed. He took his three brothers and a nephew all the way south to seek refuge with Emperor Shunzhi, and was named "Prince of Darhan" by the Manchu Qing court. .

For Darhan (Bentar), if this battle is successful, he can return to Mobei with the spoils of war. If this battle fails, he will be the first to escape. As long as he escapes faster than Chahun Dorji, he can return to Mobei in advance and annex Chahun's tribe.

Morgan's thoughts were similar: If you can fight, fight, if you can't, run away!

Mergen is also a title, namely Mergen Khan, Mergen Noyan, his real name is Angahai, and he is Chahu Dorji's cousin in terms of seniority.

The Khalkha army, which had superior strength and sufficient food and fodder, already had some people thinking of running away before the battle actually started.