The Prosperous Era of Longwan

According to "Liaodong Chronicles": "Xiong Mountain, one hundred and ninety miles northwest of the city, Kaiyuan, on the west bank of the Liaohe River."

It is recorded in this history book: "Zongzhou was located in Shixiong Mountain, Liaodong. Yelu Longyun (Han Derang) established it with the captured Han people. Shengzong was established as a state and was affiliated to Prince Wenzhong's Mansion." The important reference coordinates for confirming the specific location of Zongzhou are " "Shixiong Mountain, Liaodong".

Zeng Gongliang of the Song Dynasty wrote an important piece of information about the geographical location of Zongzhou: "Zongzhou governs Xiongshan County, located on the Yangtze River of Xiongshan, east of the Liao River, and a hundred miles south to Xianzhou. ".

"Dongliao Water" and "Xianzhou" are mentioned here, and "Xiong Mountain" is mentioned again.

But now, Xiongshan no longer has a county government. In the early Ming Dynasty, a post station was set up here, which is Xiongshan Station, also known as Anqing Station.

However, with the shrinkage of the Northland in the early Ming Dynasty, Xiongshan was isolated outside the border wall, so the post station was abolished early, leaving only a place name.

But today, at the foot of Xiong Mountain, two armies were galloping one after another on the Liaohe Plain. Nearly ten thousand horses and horses were galloping, sending up puffs of smoke. The scene was also spectacular.

After Yang Zhao's order was issued, the Ming army at the rear separated into two cavalry units of several hundred people. Without hesitation of speed, they quickly caught up with the forward Ming army from the left and right, and then overtook them toward the front. The Mongolian cavalry not far away rushed towards them.

However, the Ming cavalry unit near Xiong Mountain was affected by the mountain and was located closer to the middle, somewhat blocking the path of the Ming army's forward.

Xiongshan is named a mountain, but in fact the mountain is not very high and can only be regarded as a hilly mountain. However, it is located on the Liaohe Plain, which makes it stand out.

To the east of Xiongshan Mountain is the Liaohe River, which is also a famous yellow flood area on the Liaohe River. Every rainy season it will inevitably turn into a swamp due to the flooding of the Liaohe River.

Liaoze actually refers to the place east of Xiongshan and close to the Liaohe River.

However, now that the rainy season is over, the swamps are gradually receding.

However, for this reason, the east side of Xiong Mountain is not suitable for large army operations.

Moreover, as the pursuing Ming army, it was naturally impossible to take a long way around and pass through the other side of Xiongshan to outflank the fleeing Mongolian Tatars, not to mention that there were no road conditions to the east of Xiongshan for them to pass.

The two pursuing troops soon caught up with the Tatar troops responsible for cutting off the rear, but there was no contact between the two sides. The Ming army intended to outflank them from both sides, and naturally they did not want to fight with the Tatar troops who cut off the rear.

However, in this way, the pursuit of the Ming army far away from Xiongshan was fine, but the speed of the Ming army close to Xiongshan was affected, and the cavalry formation no longer remained dense, gradually becoming a long dragon, and the formation also appeared much thinner.

At this time, the Tatar forward team had already left Xiong Mountain, and the two sides became wider. The pursuing Ming army had also surpassed the Tatar rear guard and was close to the Tatar center army.

However, the two Ming army guerrillas keenly noticed that the Tatar forward cavalry did not continue to flee to the north, but began to circle to the left, apparently to change the direction of the army's advance.

The two guerrilla generals knew in their hearts at this time that because the Ming army was pursuing this, the Tatars would not continue to escape, but would form formations to fight the Ming army.

However, when I saw the formation of the Tatar cavalry, from forward to rearguard, because there were a large number of grain trucks in the Chinese army, the formation was stretched very long.

Moreover, the number of Tatar cavalry was obviously not as large as the Ming army that came out to pursue.

Therefore, the two of them were relatively confident at this time that the Ming army was capable of annihilating this group of daring Tatars.

Yes, the Ming Army's Liaodong troops, perhaps because they are located in the bitter cold of Liaodong, still maintain a tenacious spirit and their combat effectiveness is relatively strong.

After all, there are often wars with Mongolia and the Jurchen tribe in the north. Even the soldiers and horses around Liaoyang often have to be drawn out to support various places.

During this period, the Ming army, in terms of field battles, perhaps only a few Ming armies such as the Liaodong Army had the power to compete with them.

And this group of Tatars is so hateful. In the past two months, they have repeatedly raided around the border wall to the west of Liaoyang. They looted the nearby border wall and towns as if there were no one there. It really hurt the face of the Liaodong Army.

In the past, the Tatars would break through the border wall from time to time, plunder, and then leave in a big way.

But this time, it was disgusting enough to catch one place and raid them repeatedly. It felt like they were being bullied.

Otherwise, Yang Zhao, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong Army, would not be so excited that he would dispatch all the armies around Liaoyang and venture out to pursue them.

If this group of Tatars cannot be eliminated, the border wall in Liaodong will never have peace in the future, and I am afraid that it will be harassed by the Tatars.

Well, killing them all will also establish your authority.

As long as the power is established, their lives will be easier in the future.

Seeing that the Tatar army was turning to prepare for a head-on battle, the two Ming guerrillas began to curb their power and no longer galloped as before.

Before the battle even started, the war horse under his crotch was out of strength and was unable to fight.

On the Liaohe Plain, without their horses, these cavalrymen, who were looked up to by other Ming armies in the past, would not even be as good as infantry.

In fact, they had already thought that if the Tatars stopped escaping, then after the arrival of the chief military officer, he would lead his troops to retreat to the back of the formation, and take advantage of the opportunity when the two armies formed their formations to feed their horses. Some bean cakes and some horsepower back.

To ordinary people, it seems that as long as they are riding on horses, they are cavalry.

But for those of them who make a living from this, they know that cavalry is actually far from that simple.

If the knight cannot retain enough horsepower, no matter how superb the knight's riding skills are, it will still be very dangerous in the battle formation.

The war horse may lose the ability to run due to lack of physical strength, or even fall down directly.

It is conceivable that when the two armies are fighting, if they fall off their horses, their comrades in the rear will have no chance to give way. Then they will either be trampled to death by countless horse hooves, or they will be directly hit to death by the war horses.

When they rushed out of the Ming army just now, they had already consumed a lot of horsepower, but this was because military orders were difficult to disobey, not because they were unaware of the dangers of this military order.

In fact, the reason why these two guerrillas were assigned to this dangerous mission was naturally because they were not Yang Zhao's direct relatives, so they received this assignment.

It's just that in the army, if you have already stood in line, you will naturally have to go to the dark side. There is no way out by looking forward and backward.

Just like this order, if they dare to disobey, Yang Zhao may not stop and stop pursuing the Tatars, but all the blame will be placed on them.

As for the result, there is a high probability that it is not as simple as being beaten to the end. Even being directly killed is possible, and the people behind them can't say anything about it.

After all, this is the punishment for disobeying military orders in military law.

Soon, what appeared in front of them was that, just as they had judged, the Tatar forward stopped after a circle. At this time, the Chinese cavalry had also rushed out of the Xiongshan boundary, and they were also turning along their previous route. Complete the 180-degree turn.

However, they also discovered that the Tatars had abandoned the grain truck in front of them on this road, so they chose to turn around lightly.

The Ming army slowed down, allowing the Tatars' middle and rear troops to gradually overtake them.

However, when faced with the already prepared Tatar forward army, the Ming army's outflanking troops did not dare to rush into the formation and hit the Tatar's elite forward cavalry.

What's more, they are obviously at a numerical disadvantage.

In this way, the Tatar cavalry completed the turning of the army before the Ming army caught up with them. They were facing the Ming army directly and no longer had their backs hanging in front of them.

At this time, the two guerrilla generals had a hint of regret.

If they had not acted mechanically according to Yang Zhao's military orders, instead of rushing to attack the front line of the opponent's central army, but directly rushing to kill the rear of the Tatar army, perhaps they would still have a chance to create chaos for the Tatar army.

However, the result of doing so is actually disobeying military orders. It is hard to say what will be waiting for them.

Yang Zhao has a bad temper and is headstrong.

Maybe if they win, they will only be given a slight punishment, but if the losses are serious, they will be blamed for it.

The two Ming armies gradually began to slow down, rein in their horses, collect their cavalry, and reorganize their formation.

This time is not the time for them to relax.

The Ming army was about to arrive. It would be very dangerous for the Tatars to launch a surprise attack at this time.

However, whether it is the Mongols or the Ming army, when the two armies are fighting head-on, they will also talk about some battlefield rules.

At the very least, they will not rush over before the opponent has completed their formation or before three consecutive snare drums sound.

This is different from an ambush, which of course involves taking the enemy by surprise.

The battle between the two armies this time was a battle on the plains, and naturally it had to follow the rules of head-on combat.

Soon, Yang Zhao, the chief military officer of Liaodong in the Ming Dynasty, urged his horse to the front, and his men began to organize their troops.

A pursuit battle turned into a head-on battle. In fact, Yang Zhao was mentally prepared at the beginning.

Not to mention anything else, after he led his troops to chase out the border wall, as long as the Tatars turned back to fight, they would face such a scene, so he didn't care at all.

However, the previous change in the Tatar queue could be said to be at a loss in terms of time. Obviously, the person leading the opponent's team was also an experienced veteran. He could not help but pay attention to it and ordered his men to carefully organize the formation.

However, the Tatar cavalry was outside the mountain at this time, but one side of the Ming army's formation was Xiong Mountain, which was naturally disadvantageous for their formation.

However, for the cavalry, such a formation has limited impact.

If the formation is not wide enough, then increase the thickness. Anyway, the two armies will collide by then.

He has more cavalry and a thicker formation, which actually gives him an advantage in such a battle.

After the two armies clashed, they killed each other through the enemy's ranks, then circled back and killed them again. This group of Tatars would definitely be unable to fly.

Yang Zhao was thinking in his mind at this time, and gave the order to the entire team in the same way.

There are so many Tatars, and they will have at least a thousand heads after the war. When they report to the court, how can they be promoted to a higher level? Even if they cannot become the Grand Governor, it is reasonable to be given the same knowledge as the Governor.

During the confrontation between the two armies, Yang Zhao was thinking about good things in his heart and could not help but show a proud look on his face.

At this time, in the Tatar army, Huang Taiji and Da Laisun beside him were pointing at the Ming army in front of them, with a look of excitement on their faces.

Yang Zhao's military flag was among the enemy troops. It was certain that the person caught this time was really Yang Zhao, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Army of the Ming Dynasty.

Killing him or capturing him alive would be a great achievement for them. At the very least, it would severely damage the morale of the Ming army.

Thinking about the offensive they planned, if Yang Zhao was escorted to attack the Ming army's city, and the Ming army on the opposite side saw that their commander-in-chief was captured, what would their morale be like.

The generals on both sides are full of confidence and are thinking of defeating the other side in a battle to establish victory.

It's just that all of this is done deliberately and unintentionally.

As the Ming army completed its formation at the foot of Xiong Mountain, the troops were densely arranged and ready to launch a decisive battle with the Tatars. A Tatar cavalry unit had quietly circled out from the side of Xiong Mountain and blocked the Ming army's formation. rear.

The sudden change was naturally discovered by the soldiers behind the Ming army. When they saw the large group of Tatars appearing and rushing towards them in attack formation instead of forming a formation, they were all shocked.

surrounded.

At this time, this was the thought that came to all the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

The Tatar cavalry rushed out from behind, and the ground shook slightly, which was naturally noticed by Yang Zhao who reined in his horse. When the Ming troops in front looked back, the smoke from the cavalry's trampling was clearly visible.

When Yang Zhao looked back at the Tatars in front, the horn had been blown on the opposite side, which was a signal to attack.

Yang Zhao was being plotted by the Mongols at this time. Not only was he being attacked from the front and back, but he also lost the most important thing for the cavalry, which was speed.

Now they are standing quietly in place.

If the cavalry cannot charge, they are not even as good as the infantry.

At this time, the only way out in front of Yang Zhao was to rush forward, and absolutely not to run back or to the left. The Tatars rushed out between the front and rear armies, although they were close enough to the Ming army's border forts Zhenyuan Fort and Big and Small Black Mountain Fort. , should only be a few dozen miles away.

Because the formation of the army was limited, he could not turn around immediately. Unless he abandoned his men and fled, he should have a chance.

But he can't.

For frontal combat, in fact, when the formation is unfolded, it is the time when the generals of the two warring parties compete with each other in a battle of wits and courage.

After the formation is completed, winning or losing is the final battle.

Yang Zhao didn't hesitate at all. What he wanted now was to rush over, break through the Tatar army's formation, and then run directly towards the Ming army's border wall to the west, instead of going around in a circle and coming back to fight again.

As long as you can run to the side wall, you can be protected by the city wall.

He had already seen that there were at least 3,000 Tatars behind him, and they were all capable soldiers waiting for work.

"Drum roll, rush."

Yang Zhao drew out his long sword and waved it, commanding the entire Ming army to attack.

At the foot of Bear Mountain, three groups of cavalry began to move.

However, at this time, the Tatar cavalry led by Huang Taiji did not charge head-on to the Ming army, but inserted diagonally towards the right wing of the Ming army.

In this way, although the Ming army's forwards can rush forward unimpeded, their rear team will definitely be disrupted by this Tatar force and completely destroyed by their impact.

What's even more terrible is that the Tatar rear army, who was waiting for work, also attacked the right wing.

The right flanks of the front and rear armies, and when the Ming army arrived, the left and right sides were divided and surrounded by the Tatars.

Before the Ming army's military formation had fully accelerated, the rear column was already overtaken by the Tatars, and the battle formation was torn apart like a torrent.