When the Ming army set off from the camp on the east bank of the Lin River and marched towards Shimenzhai, the Wulut Department of Qiuerji Taiji also took it, and the two Niu Lu, who were originally on the left near the sentinel, followed the Ming army in parallel.

The two Niu Lu led by Qiu Erji were all elated, and although the Houjin Mongol Banner at this time was stronger than the tribal army in terms of military discipline, the relationship between the upper and lower levels in the army was not as clear as that of the Ming army.

Whether it is the Jianzhou Jurchens or the Mongols, when they march and fight, they still retain some of the customs of the tribes when they hunt. Before the battle, the commander-in-chief will give a brief explanation of the objectives of the battle and the personal tasks.

Therefore, the two Mongolian Niu Lu who set off with Qiuerji already knew that their target this time was the baggage at the end of the Ming army, and it is said that there was a large amount of property there, which was the ransom that the Ming army intended to use to buy Shimen Village. As long as they waited until Engedel led the main force of Shimen Village to raid the Ming army and cause chaos, they could take the opportunity to attack the rear guard of the Ming army and seize the property.

These Mongols who belonged to the Later Jin did not yet consciously regard themselves as members of the Later Jin, and they were still more loyal to their own tribe in their hearts. Therefore, the main idea in the hearts of these Mongols is to rob more property and go back to Dingkou, not to fight to the death with the Ming army for the sake of the Later Jin Kingdom.

When they heard that there was such a large amount of money in the ranks of the Ming army, they were already excited. And let Engedel take the main force of the Inner Khalkha Department to attack the Ming army, and they took the opportunity to pick up the bargain, which made these Mongols of the Ulut Department feel a bad breath in their chests.

Of course, among these two bulls, there are also some mavericks. For example, Batu Zayan suggested to Qiuerji Taiji that a team of men and horses should be left to monitor Ma Shenqiao, and if there is any accident, it is good to report back to the rear at any time.

Batu Zayan's proposal immediately aroused the anger of the people, and the people who gathered around the Fen Shi Ku were clamoring, and no one wanted to stay in a daze against the stagnant Ma Shenqiao, and let others get rich.

Although Erji has a noble status, after all, he has not been in battle many times, and in the face of the clamor of this group of arrogant generals, he suddenly became a little overwhelmed. It was not until Batu Zayan expressed his willingness to stay with his men that the commotion was quelled.

His subordinates were naturally full of resentment about Batu Zayan's decision, and even Wen Erdu, who was closest to him on weekdays, also made several complaints. However, relying on the kindness that Batu Zayan usually forged between them, these subordinates finally accepted their fate. But if they want to be as serious as they did in the past, even Batu Zayan can't do it now.

Batu Zayan can only turn a blind eye to these subordinates sitting lazily on the grass at the moment, and he himself stands on a hill not far from the river, although he can't see the situation in the town of Mashenqiao, but the movement of the east gate of Mashenqiao to the Lin River can still be seen here.

As for the camp in Hedong, apart from time to time a horse team of 2 or 30 people leaving the camp and heading east, there was basically no movement. Batu Zayan stood on the hill for almost half an hour, and still didn't see any movement on the Mashen Bridge, and he finally felt a little relaxed in his heart.

In fact, from the moment he met the person who claimed to be Cui Zongbing's family, Batu Zayan had an inexplicable feeling of unease in his heart. It's like the feeling he had when he was young and herding in the wild, before all kinds of crises. This sense of smell before danger came allowed him to survive many difficulties.

This is also the reason why he insisted on keeping an eye on Ma Shenqiao until the last moment. Now, seeing that Ma Shenqiao in the distance still didn't move, he finally felt a little relieved. Soon he would lead the Mongolian Left Battalion to collide head-on with those Ming troops, and from his observations of these Ming troops, this Ming army would not hold out longer than the Ming troops they encountered after entering the pass.

Now even if there is another Ming reinforcement from Ma Shenqiao, I am afraid that there is nothing that can be done about it. While Batu Zayan was thinking like this, suddenly a faint voice came from the west.

Awakened, he looked up to the west, but found nothing. And bursts of cries are still coming, why are these Ming people crazy again? Batu Zayan thought in disbelief, and listened as hard as he could.

However, as he tried to listen, the voice suddenly disappeared again, and Batu Zayan was wondering if he had heard it wrong, when he subconsciously looked at the people below the slope, and found that they had also stopped chatting and stood up, and looked intently to the west.

"It's not an auditory hallucination." Batu Zayan admonished himself in his heart, and he immediately straightened up and whistled, and summoned all the subordinates on the side.

"Zabu, you take the three of you to cross the river at once, go around to the west of the Mashen Bridge and see what is going on. Wenerdu, you take 3 people to bypass the Ming army camp and go directly to the lower reaches of the river to monitor. The others stayed here with me..."

"I'm afraid not." Wen'erdu's voice suddenly sounded in Batu Zayan's ears, which made him suddenly reprimand with some anger: "What is not necessary? You dare to intervene in my assignment of military affairs, Wenerdu, do you want to be whipped by me? ”

Wen Erdu looked at Batu Zayan's angry appearance, and he was also frightened and took a step back. But then he stretched out his hand and pointed into the distance and said, I mean we don't need to find out the intentions of the Ming army, they are now coming out of the Mashen Bridge.

Batu Zayan and the others immediately looked in the direction of Wen'erdu's finger, and saw a group of Ming Army cavalry, walking along the official road east of the Mashen Bridge to the bridge over the Lin River.

These Ming cavalry were all draped in a series of red cloaks, and most of the harness under their command was dyed red, which, combined with the marching discipline displayed by this cavalry, made them look like a group of flames that beat according to the law. These Ming cavalry poured out of the Mashen Bridge in a steady stream, and a rough estimate estimated that there were about several thousand.

The cavalry was followed by a mixed force of vehicles and infantry, and the army was still spitting out from the bridge. Just counting these troops that have already left the city, there are about more than 5 or 6,000 people, and the entire Ming army is not going to exceed 10,000 people? Batu Zayan and his men stood still, their eyes straight as they watched the Ming army cross the bridge and continue eastward.

After a long while, Batu Zayan reacted, and said to his subordinates angrily: "Wenerdu, you and Zabu go to chase after Yuerji Taiji, and tell him that the Ming army in front of him is the bait of the Ming, and there are tens of thousands of well-trained Ming troops marching towards them.

Let Erji Taiji collect the Niu Lu under the Wulut banner, and quickly withdraw from the battlefield, so as not to be surrounded by the Ming army. I will continue to monitor the Ming army here, find out the origin of these Ming troops and who will lead the team..."

Windu and Zab looked at each other, agreed, and turned their horses and ran northeast. Only then did Batu Zayan settle down to continue to observe the movements of the Ming army, the marching discipline of this Ming army was not only incomparable to the Ming army just now, but also the ordinary people of the Jurchen Eight Banners, it was impossible for them to walk so neatly.

Looking at the orderly marching columns of the Ming army troops crossing the river, Batu Zayan knew that this army was not something that his small sentinel and horse scouting troops could harass and waver. All he can do now is to observe some information about the enemy army so that it can be transmitted to the rear at any time.

Batu Zayan clasped his hands together and prayed to the immortal heaven in his heart, hoping that he would receive the news he had sent in time and lead the men and horses of the Ulut tribe to evacuate the battlefield first. As for the others, let the Immortal Heaven bless them.

While Batu Zayan was praying, one of his subordinates suddenly turned his head to look to the east, and then shouted to him in a panic: "My lord, Wen'er has run back again, and there seems to be someone behind him, Zabu, Zabu is gone." ”

Batu Zayan quickly turned his head to look and saw that Wendu was lying on the back of his horse, as if he was injured, and about 200 meters behind him, a small group of people appeared. These people wearing black clothes are obviously also Ming soldiers.

With the appearance of this small group of people, Ming troops in similar costumes also appeared in other places. These Ming troops were in a team of 5 people, and the distance between each team was about 100 meters, and from the north, east, and southeast directions, completely blocked the path for their group of people to flee to Shimenzhai.

There is more than one such cavalry blockade circle, and seeing that the Ming army spent nearly a hundred cavalry against these 12 people, even Batu Zayan, who has always been bold, is a little discolored.

He was not worried about himself, but realized that the purpose of the Ming army's operation this time was not simply to defeat the Mongolian Left Battalion and recapture Shimenzhai, but to completely annihilate the Mongolian Left Battalion.

When Batu Zayan was thinking about how to break through the blockade line built by these Ming cavalry, Wen Erdu drove his mount and finally ran to Batu Zayan's side.

"There is an ambush to the east. We had barely run two miles before we encountered these Ming troops. Zabu and I tried to rush hard, but I was injured in the arm by these Ming soldiers, and Zabu fell off the horse directly, and his life and death are unknown. ”

Batu Zayan glanced at Wen Erdu, who was clutching the wound on his right arm, and then said calmly: "Hari, you bandage Wen Erdu, and you will guard him and stay in the middle of the team." The others checked their harnesses and armor and weapons, and then followed me and rushed north.

As long as we break through the blockade of these Mings, we will go further east. In this kind of terrain, can't we still outrun these Mingren? ”

Batu Zayan immediately boosted the confidence of his subordinates, yes, as long as the Mongols still have a horse under their buttocks, there is nothing in the world that can stump them. As for the combat effectiveness of the Ming cavalry, haven't they already seen it?

Batu Zayan stared at his subordinates sorting out their equipment, and at the same time carefully looked at these Ming black knights who were unhurriedly surrounding them. He struggled to find loopholes in the encirclement, and traced in his mind a route to break through the two encirclements.

He quickly saw that the Ming cavalry did not want to capture them, but wanted to force them to the west of the Lin River, so as to cut them off from the battlefield. This discovery strengthened Batu Zayan's desire to break through the blockade line of the Ming army and make peace with Erji Taiji.