Volume 1 Nightfall Border City Chapter 52 After the Rain

  In mid-May, Di Zhe sent Geng Guang into the pass and had Xiao Zhishu allocate 100 horse bandits to Meng Kang, who was to blockade and kill the merchant caravans exiting the border at Hu Kou and Hei Hu Shan.

  The border of the Great Ming has been closed, but for now there are no goods available for trade either. The Tumet people on the Tokto grasslands also need to live, and the herders have exchanged only daily necessities and do not want to sell too many livestock.

  It wasn't until late May that a refreshing downpour finally came to the vast southern grasslands.

  It seems that the heavens are making up for the lack of rain in previous months, with torrential rains pouring down for three days straight. The Yellow River is swollen and turbulent, and now no one dares to wade across it.

  Even in such a heavy rain, the Hanshan cavalry didn't get any rest.

  "Each team takes its position, each soldier in line, advancing with the sound of the bugle, no hurry, no delay!"

  The rain had just let up a bit, and on the grasslands by the Yellow River, Zuo Rou suddenly jumped up and shouted loudly, with the veins bulging out of her neck - she was training the bandits from the Han Village.

  Zhai Zhe had always been concerned about training troops, but to be honest, he was a complete novice until Zuo Rou mentioned a book "The Essentials of Training Troops" written by Qi Jiguang, the military god of the Ming Dynasty.

  "Drill troops, drill formations!" Zuo Ruo not only gave a detailed account of the book's contents to Di Che, but also became his assistant in training soldiers.

  "Waaaah!"

  The bugle sounded, the horse bandits lined up in two rows, and as the bugle's rhythm accelerated, the cavalry's speed gradually increased. The formation was still somewhat scattered, but it already had the embryonic form of a cavalry charge.

  Di Zhe handed over Ma Zei to be tormented by Zuo Ye at will.

  The rain grew heavier and the sound of a bugle call to rest rose, the drenched horse thieves led their horses into a nearby pine forest to take cover.

  Di Zhe lay on the grass under the pine tree, wiping the rain from his face, and loudly said to Zuo Ruo beside him: "I know, the truth of war is to use your hardest fist to hit the opponent's softest spot!"

  "Da Dangjia has said it too clearly!" Zuo Ruo exclaimed in admiration. The more days she spent with Di Zhe, the more she admired this bandit leader.

  "War is just a fight, training soldiers is just practicing martial arts! Everything will be alright!" Di Zhe turned his face away to avoid the raindrops getting into his eyes. The vast grassland was a white blur in the heavy rain, he had left Zhangjiakou for more than half a year now, everything was ready, all that was needed was the east wind, waiting for the Jurchen people to come and conquer the Chahar tribe.

  "What the master said is absolutely right!" Zuo Ruo nodded in agreement, even if Di Zhe's words were not correct, he would probably have reacted this way. As a battalion commander in Yulin Wei for so many years, Zuo Ruo could never have imagined that the skills he had learned would be used to go beyond the Great Wall.

  Di Zhe was busy with his affairs and couldn't join the training every day, but as long as he was in the Han camp, he never missed a session. The bandits who were exhausted from being tormented daily didn't dare to cause any more trouble, even the head of the household accompanied them in the rain, what else could be said?

  The rain had just stopped, and Di Zhe took the opportunity to visit Princess Wulan at Maotian Ridge.

  Geerdai Tu stayed in the Hetao Grassland and sent people to report to Princess Ulan on Mount Mote every seven or eight days.

  Every ten days or so, Di Zhe also went to Motian Ridge to exchange messages with Wulan Princess. After Ewenke Khan spent the winter, he disappeared from Tuketu Grassland, and even Wulan couldn't contact him.

  After half a year of adaptation, Wulan has also shaken off the loneliness of just entering the mountain forest and restored her Mongolian girl's liveliness and cheerfulness. When Zhai Zhe came to visit, it was her happiest moment.

  "Nice to meet you, Princess!" Di Zhe bowed his head in greeting.

  "I've told you many times before, no need for formalities!" Wulan stretched out her hand and gently pulled on Di Zhe's sleeve, signaling him to stand up straight.

  Di Zhe's lingering gaze swept over the guarding soldiers, yet he still insisted on bowing his waist to complete the grand ceremony.

  Two people chatted while walking to the top of the mountain, the sky was exceptionally bright after the rain, the sun drove away the mist in the mountains, and the grassy slope of Tokto Grassland undulated before their eyes.

  "Princess!" Di Zhe suddenly knelt down on one knee, and from his bosom, a package was lightly opened, revealing an exquisite golden headdress. This was something he had especially asked Ning Sheng to buy back for him.

  "Since last year, the princess has been giving me a lot of help on the grassland, and my business has also benefited greatly. This ornament is what I presented to the princess!"

  Mongolian women wear ornaments as a norm, their character determines that they always like to show the most beautiful place.

  "Ah!" Ulan exclaimed, then immediately returned to normal and reached out to take the headpiece. As the Khan's sister, she had once owned many ornaments more beautiful and delicate than this one, but they had all been lost in battles.

  "Get up!" Wulan suppressed her smile and said seriously: "What I did was all for my Tumote Department, when the day of Tumote Department's revival comes, you will get your reward!"

  Di Zhe stood up and said firmly: "Don't worry, Princess. The Tumote Department will surely revive!"

  Ever since he saw Ulan Princess crying in the sky in March, he couldn't help but feel a kind of pity for this Mongolian woman deep down. He was here because he was a man, and the responsibility of reviving the Tumet tribe fell on a woman's shoulders. But Ulan obviously didn't think so, as could be seen from her smile after crying.

  "If the Tumet tribe were to reoccupy the south of the desert, I would definitely persuade the Khan to grant you a tribe!" Ulan's smile was like a blooming flower on the prairie.

  What a lovely Mongolian girl with a bright smile! Zhai Zhe lowered his head and looked down.

  Spring grasslands are the most beautiful, summer grasslands are the most enchanting. This is the season when water and grass are most lush throughout the year. Livestock need to accumulate fat reserves at this time, and by autumn they will be in their prime, so many battles take place on the grasslands during autumn.

  But this year's situation is different.

  Returning to the north of Guihua City, Amur led a large cavalry team with a worried look at the Heihe River in front of him. He was ordered to clear out the horse thieves hiding deep in the Daqing Mountains and passed through this place.

  The Black River flows northeast to southwest, crossing the southern grasslands of Hohhot, and eventually empties into the Yellow River. In the past, during the spring rainy season, the Black River was wide and deep, with a riverbed dozens of meters wide; even in summer, there were still several meters of water. Now, after heavy rain, only two or three days later, it has dwindled to a mere trickle, seemingly on the verge of drying up at any moment.

  Last year, after defeating the Tumet tribe, not all Tumet tribes chose to surrender. Liangcheng and Daqingshan both hid some Tumet horse thieves, waiting for an opportunity to attack Chahar herders. Lin Danhan received a report and ordered Amur to come and eliminate them.

  After touring the Daqing Mountains, Amur found that horse thieves were just a minor problem, and a more terrible drought was beginning to hit the grasslands. The Tumu River already had some withered pasture grass, and the area of Jining Haizi had shrunk by half compared to previous years. Herdsmen were concentrating on the water sources around Jining Haizi and Daihai for cattle drinking water.

  The Daqing Mountain is too big, and the number of horse thieves is not as many as he imagined. Amur had no intention of entangling with the horse thieves, leaving his own generals behind, and went to the garrison of Lin Dan Khan's army at the intersection of the eastern grasslands.

  Although the eastern grasslands receive little rainfall, the drought in Liaodong and Doyan grasslands has been alleviated, and it is far less severe than that of Tumu River.

  Amur entered the barracks in a hurry.

  Lin Dan listened quietly until he finished speaking, then looked puzzled and asked: "I know that the south of the desert had little rain this year, but is the drought really as severe as you said?"

  Amur's face was solemn, and he said: "It's not that serious yet, but now that the rainy season is over, if there is no rain in the next few months, the Chahar tribe will be in big trouble."

  Lindan Khan disliked Amur's tone and rebuked him, saying: "The Eternal Heaven will not abandon the master of Mongolia, do not speak alarmingly."

  "The Great Ming dynasty has been plagued by drought in Shaanxi for two years, many people have starved to death and rebelled. Now I see the Jurchen people lurking in the east of Chahar, and the Tumet people with treacherous intentions in the west, so we must prepare for the worst. It's better to migrate some tribes to the Hetao grasslands, although it also has little rain, at least there is still the Yellow River water to nourish, and we can't let the Tumet people take advantage of us." This was the strategy that Amur thought of on his way.

  Lindan Khan said, "I have taken great pains to occupy the southern grasslands of Mobei. Now that I have some achievements, if I retreat to the Hetao region, won't it be laughed at by the Mongolian tribes? The Khalkha and Khorchin tribes in the eastern part of Mobei have just sent envoys to pay homage to me. If I leave now, wouldn't it be abandoning those who have surrendered to the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty, and how can I unify Mongolia?"

  Amur did not dare speak again and withdrew from the khan's tent, only hoping that the Long-lived Heaven would bless Chahar Mongolia with sweet dew.