Chapter 25: Shadow
Bandits will do what bandits should do, Zhai Zhe and Xiao Zhishan led half of the bandits to make a big circle on Duo Yan grassland, but they didn't even steal a sheep.
Mid-June is the hottest season of the year, and insects' shrill cries are not enough to leave an echo on the empty grasslands, but enough to annoy people.
"It's strange, a month ago, I found nomadic Chahar tribes here!" Xiao Zhi also couldn't understand.
"There's only one possibility - they've all been surrendered by the Jurchen people!"
Mongolian tribes that surrendered to the Jurchen would be assigned a fixed pasture by Huang Taiji and were not allowed to move freely. Only when all the Chahar tribes that had stayed behind also surrendered to the Jurchen did they completely disappear from the Doyan grasslands.
The Jurchen people are quick to act! As soon as the war started in the west, they took action here.
Di Zhe only then understood why in winter, Ertu Duo dared to escort the merchant team through Duo Yan grassland, probably at that time both sides had already made contact.
The various Mongol tribes had long been closely connected with the Jurchen people, and when Lindan Khan was on the Doyin Chaghan Plain, most of them wavered between him and the Jurchens. They were unwilling to be enemies of the Jurchens, nor did they wish to betray the great khan of Mongolia.
But after Lindan Khan's westward migration, the Mongolian tribes of Khorchin Grassland were the first to join Huang Taiji's camp. Through years of intermarriage, the Khorchin Mongols had long been inseparable from the Jurchen people. The Jurchens lured and enticed them, and none of the other tribes in eastern Mongolia dared to offend their powerful neighbors, all nominally submitting to them.
"It seems that I can only go to Liaodong to rob! The horse bandits are all doing this!" Xiao Zhiyan smiled and shrugged on the horse, as if nothing could make this person frown.
"Isn't that going to get yourself killed?"
"Dying in battle is better than starving to death! Let me teach them how to be a real bandit!" Xiao Zhi said with a carefree tone.
In June, the war between Tumet and Chahar continued. After a small-scale battle, Tumet abandoned Hohhot and retreated westward. The Chahar army pursued closely, and if they could not conquer Tumet, Lin Danhan would not be able to establish himself in the south of the grassland.
Di Zhe picked out 300 people and handed them over to Xiao Zhishen, who really went to Liaodong. Di Tang has always been a man of his word, now that the overall situation in Zhangjiakou is settled, he will absolutely not give himself more support.
After Lu Fu's departure, Zhangjiakou's business became increasingly prosperous. Every day, there were cargo teams leaving Xuanfu and merchant teams quietly passing through the desolate Duo Yan grassland to Liaodong. Di Zhe led the remaining 200 people along with Eru Zhuo to take charge of the guard.
The merchant teams were too frequent, Di Zhe carefully calculated the scale and number of the merchant teams. In June and July, nearly a thousand pack horses went from Zhangjiakou to Shengjing, and there were also some cargo carts, wrapped tightly outside. The drought had passed, this year's Liao wind was adjusted to rain smoothly, and the harvest season was approaching. Why would the Jurchen people need so many supplies?
The Dahan horse thieves could no longer resist the temptation of the frequent caravans.
There are no Mongolians here, but there are more horse thieves. Many herders who escaped from the southern grasslands also joined this profession. To survive, it's worth taking any risk.
Di Zheyi led his troops to follow the merchant group at a distance of about thirty or fifty miles, and Eru Zhuo's cavalry marched in front of the merchant group. After passing by several times, the merchant group gradually became accustomed to having two cavalry units accompany them not far away, knowing that these people were protecting themselves.
On summer nights, the mosquitoes on the grassland are particularly numerous. Between heat and being bitten, Di Zhe chose the latter. Wearing thick and long clothes to cover his body, he could still sleep for a while in the second half of the night. If he just wanted to be cool, he was afraid that one night would make his body swell up.
At this time, around midnight, Di Zhe was tossing and turning in his tent when he suddenly heard the guards outside shouting loudly: "It's on fire! The merchant caravan is on fire!"
Di Zhe lifted the tent flap, and under the thin moonlight, he saw clearly that more than 30 miles away, the merchant caravan's camp had lit up two large bonfires, which was a pre-arranged signal that the caravan had encountered an attack!
"Mount up! Charge!"
The hot weather, most of the horse thieves did not sleep, after receiving the order, they quickly crawled out of the tent, rode on their war horses, and followed Zhai Zhe in the direction of the merchant team.
Di Zhe's dark horse was the fastest and left Che Feng and others far behind.
Caravans traveling out of the pass at night are most wary of horse thieves' sneak attacks, and have strict camping habits. The campsite is usually chosen on high ground with good visibility and convenient defense. The pack horses are tied together in a line, and the cargo carts are arranged in a circle around the outside, with sentries posted outside and guards standing inside the circle, while the porters hide in the center of the circle.
This merchant caravan was made up of seasoned veterans, highly vigilant, and the sentries on the periphery discovered someone secretly approaching, and the guards immediately lit the signal fire for help. On the grasslands, more than 30 miles away, war horses galloping for over half a day could arrive in time.
But now all the guards hope this time will be shorter!
It was unclear how many of the mounted bandits there were in the darkness, but as the cavalry charged closer and were blocked by the pack horses, they dismounted and attacked with swords.
Experienced guards carefully controlled the linked pack mule train lest it be scattered, outer fringes beginning hand-to-hand combat.
The bandits were clearly not on the same side, and their attack was somewhat disorganized. The merchant's guards only grasped one principle: "Drag it out!"
The longer the time drags on, the more advantageous it is for them. The sparse long arrows come and go in the sky, and some of the partners who are hiding in the encirclement circle are shot and make a miserable cry, and some partners take out their weapons and guards to fight side by side. After all, the defense circle was breached, and no one can survive here.
All around were the bandits' shouts, and as soon as you heard them, you knew they were Han people. The Mongols had always been accustomed to attacking in silence.
The caravan's guards fought and retreated, continuously shrinking their defensive lines, extinguishing all the lights within the encirclement, allowing the bandits' arrows to attack. The battle grew more intense, with corpses hanging everywhere on the piled-up sacks that formed the defensive line, and the numerous bandits began to break through the southern defensive line.
Di Zhe charged straight from the periphery in the darkness, and the horse thieves couldn't tell friend from foe as he killed two of them. The black horse galloped on the grassland, and when the horse thieves reacted and surrounded him, Di Zhe retreated back into the darkness. There were too many horse thieves; he had to wait for Che Feng and others to catch up.
As they waited, a commotion arose from the northeast direction, with cries of killing filling the air. That was when Erye Zhuo arrived. Che Feng and others quickly followed suit, with over 200 people rushing towards the southern part of the merchant caravan where the battle was most intense.
The merchant team's southern defense line has been completely breached, the pack horses are scattered, and the horse-drawn carriages are isolated. The guards and bandits are mixed together, fighting to the death, more bandits are rushing in, someone grabbed a package, placed it on the horse's back, turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
Di Zhe led his troops in a surprise attack from behind, killing anyone they didn't recognize without hesitation, and scattering the horse bandits who were busy plundering goods.
Di Zhe and Eru Zhuo have arrived to reinforce, the horse bandits see that the situation has already gone, shouting all sorts of slogans retreat into the darkness.
Just as the situation was about to be settled, Di Zhe put on a mask and held a torch, ready to chase after them. Suddenly, Meng Kang let out a cry of surprise from not far away: "Ah, so many weapons!"
Di Zhe urged the horse to pass by, under the bright light of the torches, a carriage wrapped in oilcloth was cut open with a knife, and inside, densely packed and neatly arranged were long knives about one meter long.
"Split!" Zhāi Zhé gave the order.
Meng Kang swung his axe at the other side of the carriage, tearing open a large hole in the oilcloth, revealing a pile of black armor that reached all the way to the top.
"They actually smuggled weapons into Liaodong!" Zhai Zhe gasped!
"Retreat!"
Two hundred people disappeared on their way here, and Zhai Zhe didn't even exchange a glance with Zhuo.
It's time to leave, since Fan Yongdou and Liao Dong started business, Di Zhe has been thinking about this moment, but he didn't expect it to come so soon. He worries that if he continues, one day he won't be able to convince himself either.
The Jurchen people are buying up grain and weapons in large quantities! Do they have some sinister plot? Thinking of the frequent and somewhat excessive merchant caravans and the deserted and eerie Doyan grasslands, Di Zhe's mind was a jumbled mess.
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