The flames of war in the northwest burned to Ningxia's avant-garde, center-guard, and rearguard, and for a time, alarm signals came from everywhere on both sides of the Yellow River. Pen % fun % Pavilion www.biquge.info

However, it was precisely because the Tatars were used as the main force of the suspicious soldiers to advance westward, Liu Daxia basically did not encounter decent resistance along the way, and the soldiers took the lost Yulin Acropolis, Huaiyuan Fort, Qingping Fort and the surrounding counties such as Mizhi and Suidezhou in Yansui Town without bloodshed.

It's just that everywhere is full of devastation, whether it is a fortress, a fortress or a county seat in the prefecture, it has been completely destroyed, and the Tatars seem to have no intention of occupying and governing, preferring to destroy the walls of these places so that they can come to plunder again in the future, at least the generals of the Ming border army think so.

As everyone knows, what the Tatars want to plot is the rich land of Gyeonggi in the Ming Dynasty, and the soldiers and horses have been launched at the same time in Zhangjiakou Fort and Xuanfu Town, just a time difference has caught the Ming court off guard.

On September 28, Zhangjiakou Fort was attacked by the Tatar army on both sides, and on the same day, the Tatars again launched a fierce attack on the city of Xuanfu.

Even if the news could be spread by the two key passes at this time, the imperial court would not have time to send additional reinforcements to Xuanfu, and the only one who could really reinforce Xuanfu and have combat effectiveness was actually the "50,000 horses" led by Shen Xi.

On September 29, the war was still going on, and Tumubao, where Shenxi's army was located, had received letters from the Xuanfu to the capital asking for help.

Shen Xi's thought was that it was too late!

At this time, even if the news reaches the Beijing Division, let alone send reinforcements, even if it is a reply, it will take about five days.

With the intensity of the Tatar attack on Zhangjiakou Fort now, the Ming army will never be allowed to hold out for another three days, once Zhangjiakou Fort is lost, Xuanfu Town will fall within two or three days, and at that time, Shen Xi will directly face the Tatar tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.

In the afternoon of the same day, Shen Xi raised the account to discuss the matter.

At this time, Hu Songyue, Liu Xu and others could no longer sit still, and their suggestion to Shen Xi was nothing more than to withdraw their troops back to Juyong Pass and use the danger of Juyong Pass to resist the Tatar invasion.

“…… My lord, it is better to withdraw the troops sooner rather than later, if the Xuanfu is lost, the main force of the Tartars will inevitably advance eastward, how can the civil fort be held at that time? Even if there are thousands of Tartar cavalry outside the city now, as long as we fight and retreat, we can always retreat to Juyong Pass. Zhu Lie said with some assumptions.

The number of cavalry sent by Yisima to reinforce the Tumu Fort was about 2,000 men and horses, and these cavalry did not besiege the city like Huo Aya, but gathered in a large camp on a high ground five miles away in the northwest, and the defensive strength may not be as strong as that of Huo Aya, and even Shen Xi sent people to carry water outside the city into the city, but it also showed from one aspect that the military order obtained by this road was not to fight to the death with Shen Xi's troops, but to watch and drag the soldiers and horses in the Tumu Fort to prevent Shen Xi from advancing west or withdrawing his troops back to Juyong Pass.

Because no matter how you look at it, the 5,000 infantry in Shen Xi's hands can't outrun the 2,000 Tatar cavalry.

If he can't fight, he can't escape, and the only thing Shen Xi can rely on is the fortress of Tumu Fort, so that he can deal with the Tatars.

But now in fact, it is undoubtedly the same as waiting for death, once Zhangjiakou Fort and Xuanfu are lost, the main Tatar force will take the opportunity to advance eastward, and then Tumubao will no longer need to face only 2,000 Tatar cavalry, but tens of thousands of elite cavalry, and even face all the men and horses of the Tatar Khan and Yismayin.

Now it's a question of early or late death.

If it were someone else, they would definitely choose to withdraw their troops at this time, just like Hu Songyue and others, although they noticed that the more than 2,000 Tatar cavalry outside were very dangerous, but for the sake of their own lives, they were unwilling to sit and wait for death in Tumu Fort, and decided that they had to take the risk of withdrawing their troops.

In the imagination of Hu Songyue and others, even if most of the soldiers and horses were lost in the process of withdrawing troops, they could always withdraw to Juyong Pass, so they could sit back and relax.

But Shen Xi didn't think so.

With the number of war horses in the army now, if he wants to escape, it shouldn't be a problem for Shen Xi to return to Juyong Pass alive.

The point is that the reaction of the imperial court is too strange now...... Shen Xi sent war reports to the capital several times to remind, and even sent letters to the direction of Datong Town and Taiyuan Town, hoping to get reinforcements from Liu Daxia and other troops, who knew that now these war reports are all in the sea, and the imperial court seems to have forgotten him, even if he defeated Huo Aya in Tumu Fort, he could still only watch Zhangjiakou Fort and Xuanfu be ravaged by Tatar iron cavalry.

In this case, if Shen Xi withdraws his troops back to Juyongguan, it is very likely that the imperial court will take the responsibility for the defeat on him, and Shen Xi's previous efforts will be in vain.

Shen Xi said: "In the previous assumption of this official, the Tatars invaded Xuanfu Town, and we pretended to advance westward to attract the attention of the main Tatar force, force it to divide its troops, and attract one part of it to the front of Juyong Pass. ”

"In this way, the Tatars will only think that our Ming court has seen through their conspiracy, and has no choice but to quickly attack Zhangjiakou Fort, and make Xuanfu temporarily safe, then the Beijing division and the three sides and two reinforcements can rush to the aid of Xuanfu, with Xuanfu as the center, and the Tatars skillfully maneuver."

"Even if the Xuanfu is lost, my Ming soldiers and horses are all here, and I can hold many passes, and the Tatars can only operate on the front line of the inner and outer Great Wall, and cannot break through the Juyong Pass and the Bauhinia Pass and threaten the Beijing Division."

However, the reaction of the imperial court now is greatly beyond the expectations of the official. The imperial court does not seem to have paid attention to the battle strategy of the official Shangchen, and there has been no news of the reinforcements of the Beijing division so far, and there is no news from the headquarters of Liu Shangshu on the three sides. Now it seems that it is likely that the Tatars have fallen for the plan to divert the tiger from the mountain, so that the land of the Great Wall inside and outside is only our soldiers and horses. ”

"Behind us is Juyong Pass, and behind Juyong Pass is Jingshi. If the troops are withdrawn at this time, more than half of the losses will be lost on the way, after retreating to Juyong Pass, the soldiers and horses are not enough to defend against danger, the main force of the Tatar Chinese army is advancing eastward, and the Tatars can provide grain, grass and soldiers in the land of Zhangjiakou and Xuanfu, and Juyong Pass is in danger. ”

"At this time, we may be able to attack, but as long as the two thousand Tatar cavalry outside the Tumu Fort do not engage us head-on, but mainly attack and guerrilla, and from time to time attack from a distance, our military formation cannot be maintained for a long time, once there is a flaw, let the Tatar cavalry take advantage of the weakness, it will be a situation of total annihilation."

"This battle has come to this point, my Ming Dynasty has completely fallen into a passive situation, why not defend the civil fort, for the imperial court to send additional reinforcements to Juyong Pass to win valuable time, but also allow the imperial court to have more time to prepare, for the final victory to lay the foundation!"

Shen Xi's attitude is clear and cannot be withdrawn!

If you withdraw, you may be chased by the Tatar 2,000 cavalry on the road, and there is a possibility that the whole army will be wiped out at every turn, and in this way, the people and horses on this road will lose the meaning of existence, and it will not play a role in hindering the eastward advance of the Tatars.

Hu Songyue said eagerly: "My lord, what do you mean is to let us, the five thousand men and horses, stay in the civil fort, and wait for the tens of thousands of Tartar soldiers to come, and fight with them?" In the end, he will be loyal to the country? ”

Shen Xi nodded: "That's true!" ”

"Never!"

Not only did Hu Songyue not agree, but this time even the prison guard Zhang Yongdu anxiously shouted, "Lord Shen, you are playing with fire and setting yourself on fire!" I knew that it was so dangerous, why did I send troops, wouldn't it be good to stay at Juyong Pass directly? Now break through, even if the Tatars catch up, they can fight, even if they can survive a few people to Juyong Pass. The imperial court is not unreasonable, knowing that Lord Shen is dedicated to the country, why would he even die here? ”

Liu Xu and the others also hurriedly clenched their fists: "Yes, my lord, please think twice!" ”

Unlike in the past, when these people were all working against Shen Xi, even if they thought that Shen Xi's current decision was tantamount to waiting for death, they would not dare to openly disobey Shen Xi's military orders.

Hu Songyue and the others are not stupid, they can see that Shen Xi can become a top civil official like the governor of Yansui at a young age, not by luck or nepotism, but by real talent and learning.

Shen Xi's heroic posture of commanding Ruo Ding on the battlefield and annihilating all the 4,000 Tatar cavalry has long been engraved in the minds of these people. At this time, they hope that Shen Xi will adopt their point of view, or make a better arrangement on their point of view, and then they will go against Shen Xi at this time, that is, they will not be able to live with their own lives, if even a capable person like Shen Xi can't take them back to Juyongguan safely, let alone rely on their own strength.

Shen Xi said: "Staying at Tumu Fort is not only to buy time for the imperial court to garrison troops and increase the defense around Gyeonggi, but also for our own safety. Our army is dominated by infantry, and the most threatening Fran cannons are heavy and slow, and the Tatars only need to hold us back, believing that one day the army of Xuanfu will catch up with our retreating army, and then there will be a situation of death and no life. ”

"Since we can't fight the Tatars head-on in the wilderness, it is better to stay in the Tumu Fort, at least with the protection of the city, even if the Tatar soldiers are strong, it will take time to conquer the Tumu Fort, we have artillery and fire guns as a barrier, and the Tatars will be killed and wounded!"

Zhang Yongdao: "Lord Shen, you are too optimistic, not to mention that this Tatar knows that we do not have many soldiers and horses in the Tumu Fort, and will only send a small number of soldiers and horses to attack, and the main force can still enter the Juyong Pass eastward, and we can't stop it." Speaking of the Tatars coming like a tide, no matter how many people there are in the city, there are only 5,000 men and horses, no matter how strong the artillery is, there are only a few shells, and even fewer guns and bullets, and the food, grass and materials in the city are extremely scarce, how can they have the strength to fight with the Tatars? ”

Shen Xi nodded: "Gonggong Zhang's words also have some truth. ”

"Since you know that it makes sense, then withdraw your troops quickly, or take advantage of the Tatars to break through Zhangjiakou Fort and Xuanfu before they fight with the two thousand Tatar cavalry outside the Tumu Fort, since the adults can defeat the four thousand men and horses led by the ugly woman, these two thousand men and horses are naturally not a problem."

"After it is defeated, our three armies will withdraw their troops to the land of Juyongguan, and when I declare the merits, I will definitely ask for credit for Lord Shen and the generals, and Your Majesty and the court will thank you for your kindness!" Zhang Yongdao.

Shen Xi squinted at Zhang Yong and asked, "Do you really want to fight?" ”

"It's a real fight!" Zhang Yong nodded firmly.

Even Liu Xu and the others said: "My lord, give the order, tonight or early tomorrow morning, I will fight with the Tatars outside the city!" ”

"Yes, fight!"

Several commanders and tour leaders also began to clamour.

Shen Xi was very satisfied with the current military spirit, but he was very worried about things that were beyond the determination of these fanatical militants, and now the three armies were a little proud and complacent, thinking that since they could defeat Huo Aya's 4,000 men and horses before, now fighting 2,000 cavalry would be like a joke.

However, he did not know that the defeat of Huo Aya was due to its unstable foothold, its hasty response to the battle, and its strategy was also wrong, and it did not give full play to the characteristics of the Tatar cavalry's mobility and flexibility.

Now two thousand men and horses outside the city are together, the army is neat and mourning, under the defense of the Tatars, Shen Xi took the initiative to attack, once the opponent does not choose to retreat, and so the Ming army will fail to attack with all its might, it will have to meet the enemy's more fierce counterattack, and the situation will be critical. (To be continued.) )