Volume 1 Nightfall at the Edge of Town Chapter 63 Ambush (Part 1)

  In mid-May, the 100,000-strong Chahar army marched a long way to surrender, and after two months of traveling to the north of the desert and returning, both men and horses were exhausted.

  The Jurchen army tracked the Chahar people's movements, like a shadow following a form, without any burden of herdsmen, and the speed of the army's advance was much faster. When he learned that the three khans of the northern desert refused to accept Lindan Khan, Hong Taiji knew that from this moment on Mongolia was finished, and the vast grasslands would become the backyard of the Jurchens. Fingers that cannot be clenched into a fist will only be a dish for others to enjoy.

  The Jurchen army no longer had any worries about its rear, and it moved swiftly. The city of Guihua would be the site of the final battle.

  Guihua City

  Lindan returned to this land with a heavy heart, filled only with defeat. He resented all the Mongolian tribes and hated watching the Chahar people being chased by the Jurchen army across the vast grasslands without anyone lending a helping hand. The gaze of the surrounding herdsmen towards him was fearful, sympathetic, and hateful - none of which should be directed at the Great Khan of Mongolia.

  Late at night, Lin Dan came alone to Genghis Khan's tomb, feeling lost and helpless.

  Great ancestors! Please tell me what to do! He has been taking the person in the tomb as his goal since he was a child, but his life path is vastly different from his.

  Two days after his return, Lin Danhan gathered his troops in front of Genghis Khan's mausoleum to hold a ceremony, declaring himself the "Lin Dan Batu Khan" of all Mongolia. He then prepared to lead the Chahar herdsmen to move Genghis Khan's mausoleum from Tumu Grassland west across the Yellow River and escape into the Ordos region. At this point, he still believed that the clothes and crown in the tomb could give power to the Mongols.

  Chahar people returned to surrender, one hundred thousand tired herdsmen were in a state of confusion, and naturally could not escape the eyes of Tumote scouts.

  South of Guihua City, and the Helinger Mountain area.

  The grass and trees nourished by the heavenly water grow luxuriantly, and the mist brought by the rain shrouds the secrets here.

  The old, weak, women and children of Tumet all hid in the deep mountains and forests. Princess Ulan had already selected the strong young herdsmen, organizing them into a cavalry of 10,000 people, led by Gerdengtu, this was the last real strength of the Tumet people.

  In the Han village, after a year of training, the cavalry was also ready for battle. Di Zhe allocated the 300 sets of armor he had taken from Fan Yongdou to Lei Yanqian's border army, with good steel used on the blades. The Han village cavalry were mostly former horse thieves and only the border army was accustomed to wearing armor in battle. Fan Yongdou gave him a lot of face, with uniform heavy helmets and heavy armor, much stronger than Lei Yanqian's equipment in Yulinwei.

  After the rainy season, Moganshan has been overcast all along, at night, without stars or moon, can't see five fingers when stretching out a hand.

  Every day, Xiao Zhen and Che Feng led the best scout cavalry to observe Hua Xia from afar, paying attention to the movements of the chaotic Chahar herdsmen.

  In the Khan's palace, Di Zhe, Princess Wulan and Ge Rile Tu gathered together, this is where the leaders of various tribes gather.

  The scout sent intelligence into the Han camp, and the Chahar tribesmen began to move towards the Junzi River ferry.

  "The Jurchen people are far away from their homeland and the current Chahar people are like a mourning dog, with no will to fight. Perhaps we can seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on them, not only can we plunder their livestock, but also show the Mongolian tribes and the Jurchen people that the Tumet people have not declined."

  Di Zhe's words were shocking to everyone present. This was his carefully thought-out plan, and the benefits that the Tumet people could gain from this battle were too great, tempting him to take action.

  Xiao Zhiyan, who had just returned to the Han camp, slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "What a great idea! When most of Chahar's troops have crossed the Yellow River, we'll launch a surprise attack on the remaining forces at the rear. This battle will surely be won!" He had never experienced a large-scale cavalry battle before, and just thinking about it made him excited beyond control.

  "Alright, let's fight! We Tumet people have been bullied enough too." Geriletu also clapped in agreement.

  Wulan's face also flushed with a hint of redness, saying: "I'll listen to you all!"

  The Tumet people have been humiliated enough, and everyone has a grievance in their heart.

  The Toktogul steppe's Junzi crossing, herdsmen crowded.

  Sweat account cavalry first crossed the river to explore the Hetao grassland, Amur anxiously reported to Lin Dan Khan: "The Tumote people on the Hetao grassland have disappeared."

  "The Mongolian plains are so big, they can't hide from them, those who should escape have already escaped!" Lin Dan's heart was filled with despair, he turned his head towards the direction of Guihua City and said: "Let's cross the river, we don't have many days left!"

  One hundred thousand troops crossed the river from Junzi Wharf, a spectacular scene. In addition to people, there were also livestock, which was the Mongols' reliance on survival in the grasslands. After the rainy season, the water level rose, and strong cattle and horses had no trouble crossing the river, but old and weak livestock and herdsmen had to take sheepskin rafts to cross the river, moving slowly.

  The first day, they marched day and night, crossing over 40,000 troops.

  On the second day at noon, Chahar Khan's yurt crossed the river. Lindan Khan ordered Amur, who was left behind: "I'll go first, tonight all the tribes will cross the river, and tomorrow we'll move to the west of the great grassland."

  "Roger!"

  The continuous light rain made the lawn soft and wet, and the dry grassland that had been dry for a year was still greedily absorbing water, as if preparing for the next drought.

  On cloudy days, even the sun doesn't know when it will set.

  The gentlemen at the ferry crossing, the Chahar people lit torches, and the crowd was noisy. The irascible Mongolian warriors loudly cursed, occasionally swinging their whips at the slow-moving herdsmen beside them.

  Xiao Ziyuan led more than 2,000 cavalrymen to march quietly on the soft grassland, he was the right-wing cavalry of this surprise attack. The personal guards of the Han camp accompanied him, walking in the front row of the cavalry team, they deliberately slowed down the speed of the war horses to prevent the loose formation of the Tumet people who had no experience in marching.

  In the distance, the torches at the Yellow River crossing are clustered together, shining like daylight; that is our destination.

  Xiao Zhi secretly estimated the distance and urged his warhorse to accelerate into a small gallop. The pace of the 2,000 cavalrymen quickened, with their horses pressing against each other in dense formation.

  A few miles away, the left wing had already sounded the killing shout. That was Di Zhe and Che Feng's cavalry, they must have encountered Chahar scouts.

  In the darkness, Yan Qi waved his longbow towards the bright place and ordered: "Charge over, kill them."

  Bandits' cavalry led the way in front, two thousand horsemen galloped like a snake, avoiding the middle of the Junzi crossing, and surrounded the right side of the crossing. The urged war horses were restless and made low whinnies.

  Amur heard the shout of "Kill!" earlier than Xiao.

  "Jurchen!" He was suddenly refreshed from his days of fatigue, and broke out in a cold sweat. "How did you get here so quickly?"

  The sound of iron hooves pounding the earth in the darkness was deafening, and although he couldn't see clearly, Amur estimated that there were several thousand cavalrymen attacking.

  The three thousand cavalrymen left behind were the most elite Chahar warriors, and many of them quickly came to their senses from a state of confusion, gathering around Amur. There were also seven or eight thousand herdsmen who had not crossed the river at the crossing point.

  The cries of killing were getting closer and closer, Amur didn't have time to think much, led his troops to charge forward.

  Che Feng's Tumet cavalry charged at the forefront, these people had a deep blood feud with Chahar and were all skilled killers who emerged from piles of dead bodies, fearing no death. Closely following behind were Zhai Zhuo's troops and more than 2,000 Tumet horsemen.

  Darkness is a nuisance for both warring parties, neither of whom lacks skilled archers, and holding up torches would make them live targets.

  Che Fengqing eliminated the outer sentries and scouts, and happened to run into the Amur cavalry who came to reinforce.

  Two raging currents collided head-on, curved blades flashed, and several people fell off their horses beside Che Feng. Under the trampling of iron hooves, flesh and blood as well as screams quickly disappeared. The Chahar cavalry swarmed in and surrounded Che Feng, with the surrounding riders rotating like a merry-go-round, turning so that they couldn't even tell direction.

  Che Feng wielded his long sword with all his might and shouted anxiously forward and backward: "The Chahar people are here!"

  Without him shouting, Di Zhe had already heard the intense killing sound not far away, and commanded the large army to swarm up.

  "They are surrounded by the Chahar!" Meng Kang shouted loudly, the Tumet cavalry and the Chahar had already engaged in battle, but Che Feng's battle cry was still further ahead.

  "Break through the encirclement and rescue them for sure." Zhai Zhe's heart was burning with anxiety. Che Feng was too careless, only focusing on his own fierce charge.

  Meng Kang led the charge, urging the main army to attack in the direction of Che Feng's encirclement. The cavalry of both sides clashed in the darkness, and the chaotic battle was more advantageous for the Tumet people who had just experienced war.

  Che Feng's body was in a precarious situation, and he heard the most intense shouting and killing sounds coming from the east. The people and horses gathered around him were fighting with all their might.

  The front was stuck, and the young Tumet herders were no match for the Chahar cavalry.

  Meng Kang looked anxious, let out a loud roar, held up his shield high, grasped his short axe tightly and personally charged into the dark Chahar cavalry. Equipped with heavy armor, his battle became even more frenzied.

  "Kill!"

  Meng Kang held up his broad shield with his left hand to protect himself, disregarding the curved blades of the Chahar cavalry in front of him. He bravely charged forward until he was close enough, then swung his short axe, which could crush anything. Occasionally, arrows flew past his shield, but he also had thick armor for close combat defense.

  Only Meng Kang led his personal troops to charge into the chaotic enemy army, and the Chahar cavalry without helmets and armor were caught off guard in close combat, creating a gap in the battle array.

  The battle-hardened Chahar people reacted quickly, and Amur led his troops to intercept. The opportunity was fleeting, and just as Meng Kang felt that the resistance in front of him was heavy and could not be advanced further, Che Feng's sudden and violent charge made him breathe a sigh of relief. Both teams were surrounded.

  Che Feng was still shouting loudly: "We are here!" His voice was covered by the neighing of war horses and the screams. The Tumet horse thieves rushed to Meng Kang's flank, with both armies forming a horn-shaped formation, trying to maintain the line.

  The Daur cavalry finally caught up.

  Fire!

  A dark sky with long arrows flying like locusts, Meng Kang's front legs overturned, pressure suddenly reduced.

  Before he could regain his composure, the guards beside him fell down in a heap, and long arrows rained down from the sky. Meng Kang's soul flew away, and he turned over to get off his horse, holding up his shield on top of his head, shouting: "Arrows!" This was the counterattack of the Chahar people.

  "They were Tumet people, kill them!" Amur gritted his teeth, he was not afraid of the Tumet people.

  Under the impact of the crack Chahar cavalry, the men and horses around Zhai Zhe were like broken ships drifting in the vast ocean, ready to disintegrate at any moment.

  The victory was already decided, how could the Tumet people's herders be a match for the elite Chahar cavalry?

  "Kill them all!" Amur's mouth curled up in a cruel smile, washing away the repression of so many days. The guards beside him suddenly shouted in terror: "Look over there!"

  To the right of the Junzi River crossing, a fiery torch appeared, and thousands of cavalrymen charged towards the Chahar herdsmen preparing to cross the river like fire dragons.

  "It's done!" Amur exclaimed, breaking out in a cold sweat. He gave the order: "The first thousand-man unit will stay behind, the rest of you follow me to provide reinforcements!"

  Three thousand Chahar elite cavalry divided into two routes.

  The Toktogul steppe was filled with the sounds of killing, bowstrings, crying, and neighing horses on both sides of the Kyzart River crossing, making it impossible for the night to be peaceful.

  A few li away, Ge Rile Tu carefully examined the situation at the ferry crossing. Lei Yan Qian occasionally tightened the reins, and his warhorse lightly stamped its front hooves in dissatisfaction.

  "Charge!" Gerd yelled.

  Lei Yanqian loosened the reins, his legs exerting force, and finally the relaxed warhorse shot out like a sharp arrow, the armored cavalry behind him heavily colliding with the rear of the Amur cavalry.

  This was the most fatal blow! The three hundred armored cavalrymen of Rei Gankyō were like a large iron hammer, cutting off Amur's cavalry at the waist.

  The Chahar people were divided into several pieces and could no longer concentrate their forces. The four thousand cavalry of Gerdengtu and the more than two thousand cavalry of Yan Qi surrounded Amur's two thousand men, and what was left would be a massacre.