When the sun sets, a majestic mountain range lies in front of you, under the cold west wind, but you see the yellow and green grass and trees of the mountain, and the peaks of the mountains are continuous and there is no end in sight, desolate and lonely, it is inevitable that people hesitate.

The military interpreter rubbed his nose, which was blown red by the cold wind, pointed to the mountain range in front of him, and said with a tired expression: "Two generals, please look, that is Daqing Mountain!" ”

Xie Erjian and Qi Jingtong coincidentally grabbed the reins and followed what they were hoping for with solemn expressions. I saw that the battle on the two of them was already in tatters, their heads and faces were covered with dried blood and sweat, and the war horses under their crotches exhaled into mist.

Behind Xie Qi and the two were the brothers of the Shenji Battalion, and now with the wounded, there were only about 1,500 left, and nearly a quarter of the battle losses were lost, and the losses were not heavy.

It is said that since the morning of the tenth day of the first month of August, Xie Erjian and Qi Jingtong led the Shenji battalion to defeat Mai Li Gen, and immediately accelerated to the south, intending to rush through the territory of the Tatar Ordos Department, enter the fortress from Yulin Town in Shaanxi, and flee back to the border of the Ming Dynasty, but it backfired, Mai Li Gong had already sent a large army to block all the roads south to Yulin, after a bloody battle, the Shen Ji Battalion failed to break through the blockade, and had no choice but to turn around and return north, planning to wait until it was dark to find an opportunity to break through.

However, what Xie Erjian and Qi Jingtong didn't expect was that the situation they took was even more dangerous, the cavalry of the Tartars were like crazy, biting them day and night to chase and kill, and they didn't even leave time to breathe a sigh of relief. If the Shenji Battalion had not been for one person and two horses, with a small team and strong mobility, it is estimated that the entire army would have been wiped out.

On the afternoon of 11 August, the army under the command of Alta also rushed to the south of the Yellow River, so the situation of Shenji was even more difficult, although the grassland was vast, but the Shenji battalion was still driven by the hundreds of thousands of cavalry of the Tartars to the sky and no way to enter the ground, and the battle losses continued to increase, and finally the ammunition and food were exhausted.

Without the advantage of flintlock pistols, the combat power of the Shenji Battalion may not be able to defeat the same number of Tartar cavalry, so Xie Erjian and Qi Jingtong both understood that if they continued to entangle, all the brothers in the Shenji Battalion would have to confess here, so they decisively gave up the plan to continue south, but crossed the Yellow River north and came to the foot of Daqing Mountain.

Daqingshan belongs to the Yinshan Mountain Range, from the valley of the upper reaches of the Dahei River of Fengzhou River in the east, to the Baoketu Kundulun River in the west, about 500 miles long from east to west, up to 12 miles wide from north to south, the terrain is broad, and the mountains and shrubs are all over, and more than 1,000 people and horses of the Shenji Battalion can hide in the mountains in an instant, and they can turn into a drop in the river in an instant, so even if the Tartars know that the Shenying is hiding in the Daqing Mountain, it is not easy to encircle and suppress.

Of course, it is already the middle of August now, and the cold winter is coming soon, when the heavy snow closes the mountain, the Shenji battalion will be trapped in the mountain, and the severe cold of more than ten degrees below zero, or even dozens of degrees below zero, is not a joke, if there is no corresponding cold protection measures, people and animals will have to freeze to death in the mountains.

Although it is only the middle of August now, the temperature at the foot of Daqing has dropped below ten degrees in the morning and evening, but fortunately, the Shenji Battalion obtained a large amount of materials when it destroyed Bansheng City, although most of them were given to the five thousand Han slaves led by Liu Dali, but they also left enough warm clothes, the only thing to worry about is food, once the heavy snow closes the mountain, then we have to wait until the ice and snow melt in February and March next year, and it will take more than half a year, can you survive it?

Therefore, Xie Erjian and Qi Jingtong looked at the dark and continuous green mountains in front of them, and they were a little hesitant, now they are gambling with their lives, and the life and death of the more than 1,500 brothers in the Shenji Camp are just between their thoughts, and they can't afford to make mistakes.

Qi Jingtong licked his lips that were chapped by the west wind, and said in a deep voice: "Xiao Xie, what do you think?" ”

If Qi Jingtong and Xie Erjian knew that they had killed Mai Ligen Jinong the day before yesterday, it is estimated that they would not be so entangled at this moment, and they would definitely flee into Daqing Mountain to gamble for their lives without even thinking about it. You must know that Meligon Jinong was the nominal commander of 30,000 households on the right wing of the Tatars, and now he died in the hands of the Ming army, and the Tatars would not let them go even if they dug three feet into the ground.

"Let's hide in the mountains for a few days to avoid the limelight!" Xie Erjian pondered for a moment and said.

Qi Jingtong nodded in agreement, in the past few days, the brothers have been fighting and fleeing day and night, and they have not rested for two hours, they have already been exhausted, plus the ammunition is exhausted, and the cavalry of the Tartars at this time is undoubtedly equivalent to death, and the injured brothers are also in urgent need of treatment.

So, after a simple exchange, Xie Qi and the two finally decided to go to Daqingshan for refuge!

"Into the mountains!" Xie Erjian gave an order, and the brothers of the Shenji Camp took advantage of the twilight to enter the Daqing Mountains and disappeared between the black peaks.

…………

Youyu County, killing Hukou Guancheng, Xu Jin sent scouts to sneak into the grassland every day to inquire, but unfortunately the news he got was very vague, and soon, three days passed, and there was no exact news from Xie Qi and the others, and there was no movement on Yulin's side.

Fortunately, according to the news from the scouts of the Yulin border army, the Tatar Ordos Department occupying the Hetao Plain has frequently transferred troops in recent days, and it can be inferred that the Shenji battalion led by Xie Qi and the others is still in the Hetao Plain, but the road to the south has been blocked by the Tatars, and it is very likely that they will be trapped there.

"Brother-in-law, why don't you order the general soldiers of Yulin Town to send troops to respond!" Xie Sangun suggested with an anxious expression.

Xu Jin was also very helpless, not to mention that he currently did not have the power to mobilize the border troops in Yulin Town, even if he had, he could not do so. Now that the national strength of the Ming Dynasty has just improved, it is a good time to recuperate, the reason why the Shenji battalion was sent to attack Fengzhou River is to avoid a heavy burden on the treasury, and now if the tens of thousands of border troops in Yulin Town are used, it will go against the original intention.

This is still secondary, the key is that the combat strength of the border army is okay to defend the city, once it takes the initiative to attack and kill into the grassland, it is estimated that there is only a share of slaughter, once there is a big defeat, it will be dangerous, the Tartars may take advantage of the victory to break through the pass and go south, and the situation will be out of control.

Therefore, on the premise of not being completely sure, Xu Jin does not plan to use troops on a large scale against the Tatars, therefore, whether it is life or death, now they can only rely on the Shenji battalion themselves, I hope they can survive it!

On the morning of August 13, a team of freshly dressed and angry horses appeared on the official road on the bank of the Cangtou River, but saw a Xuanhuang regimental dragon flag waving in the wind, under the dragon flag, nearly 1,000 brocade guards wearing flying fish suits escorted a beautiful carriage, followed by the Yaowu battalion, estimated to have as many as 3,000 people, and finally there were 3,000 Xuanfu border soldiers escorting, the battle was not ordinary, 7,000 men and horses drove to kill Hukou. Fupin Chinese