(0386) However, Xu Xingxia's order also has some truth. The reason for this can be basically understood by Feng Qingwu. At the most critical time, outsiders are indeed unreliable, but, conversely, it can be said that even in ordinary times, they are still useful. If the White Coats had not reached the point of corner, they should not have betrayed.

The most important thing is that if you pull them over, the enemy will have one less helper, and you will have one more helper and one less enemy. The balance of power between the two sides will slowly change. If the Tuyuhun people were forcibly kidnapped to the Tatar chariots, it would only enhance the Tatars' combat effectiveness in vain, and would not actually do the white-clothed army any benefit.

Besides, it is indeed unrealistic to want a large number of Han people to migrate over in the huge Bayannur grassland. The main strength of the Han people is that they cultivate the land. Obviously, in the Bayannur grassland, farming is not the mainstream. At the very least, at the moment, it's not mainstream. More often than not, it is used as a pasture. And only nomads can better breed horses, cattle and sheep here. Obviously, the Tuyuhun people fully meet these requirements.

"Da Da Da!"

As he spoke, the sound of horses' hooves came, and a small group of Tuyuhun cavalry slowly arrived.

In front of this group of Tuyuhun cavalry, there was an old man with a red face, who was quite burly and agile. However, his eyes were deeply sunken, his hair was all gray, and the wrinkles on his face were obvious, and he was estimated to be in his sixties. He was the father of Oyanga, the former chief of the Oyanga tribe. When he was old, he passed on the position of chief to his son.

After receiving Xu Xingxia's formal assistance, the Oyanga tribe officially declared that they were not Tatars, but Tuyuhun people, and were officially attached to the Ming Empire, in fact, they were dependent on Xu Xingxia. Such an announcement, apparently a declaration of war on the Tatars, naturally caused a strong reaction from the Tatars. Subsequently, the Tuyuhun people began to migrate over long distances. The one responsible for leading the migration of the core horse team is this old man Tuyuhun . His name is Houdefu.

Since the Eagle Cavalry came into contact with the Tuyuhun people, this old man of Houdefu has been very friendly. It doesn't matter if it's natural friendliness or disguised friendliness. The important thing is that Hou Defu has put himself in the right position and handled the alliance with the white army very well. While the white-clothed army escorted the Tuyuhun people, he also provided various conveniences for the white-clothed army as much as possible. This made the cooperation between the White Army and the Tuyuhun people very harmonious from the beginning.

The Tuyuhun cavalry, the squad brought by Hou Defu, and the stragglers of the Eagle Cavalry Army, are relatively familiar. They brought bags of fresh goat's milk, as well as roasted beef and lamb. It was the lunch of the stragglers of the Eagle Cavalry. For some reasons, the stragglers of the Eagle Cavalry have not yet officially come into contact with the ordinary Tuyuhun people, and their food is sent by the high-level Tuyuhun people. The old man Houdefu is in charge of this matter to show the sincerity of the Tuyuhun people.

"My lords, this is the best fresh goat's milk." The old man said with a smile.

Along the way, if there is any benefit that the soldiers of the Eagle Cavalry have enjoyed, it is the warm hospitality of the Tuyuhun people. They brought out the best food and entertained the warriors of the Eagle Cavalry. Milk, goat's milk, barbecue, lamb skewers, etc., quality assurance, quantity is sufficient. The warriors of the Eagle Cavalry do not need to do it themselves at all to enjoy the best food. They also get boots made of the best sheepskin. The Tuyuhun people even vaguely expressed their willingness to provide beautiful women for the Eagle Cavalry soldiers to alleviate their loneliness all year round.

It's a pity that the military regulations of the white-clothed army are absolutely unacceptable. Xu Xingxia usually grasps this aspect very strictly, and repeatedly emphasizes that the people below dare not violate the law at all. The soldiers of the white-clothed army can get married if they want to, and there is no limit to who they are marrying. However, there are conditions for marriage. The most basic condition is that you must wait until after retirement. The average soldier in the White Coats has a three-year term of service. Only after this period has passed can one be eligible to marry. As a result, the Tuyuhun people never continued to mention it.

As for the way that is similar to a one-night stand in later generations, or a way similar to a comfort woman, it was resolutely rejected by Xu Xingxia. If an army degenerates to such a point, it is estimated that its combat effectiveness will be extremely limited. The appearance of a large number of women will only turn the sacred and solemn military camp into a miasma. In the initial stage of the White Army, Xu Xingxia absolutely could not allow his army to be tainted. If the foundation is not laid, it is useless to say anything!

Xu Xingxia's basic point of view is that no matter who it is, you can't a woman. If you engage someone else, you have to marry her, whether it is a wife or a concubine, you must give someone a name. In other words, when you are happy, you have to be responsible for others. Those who abandon the chaos from the beginning to the end, ignore it, and run away after doing it will be severely punished. It was with this in mind that Feng Qingwu resolutely rejected the suggestion of the Tuyuhun people. If the Eagle Cavalry soldiers and the Tuyuhun women have a relationship, the tail of the hand will be very long! It is also a very bad influence on the reputation of the white army.

However, this is enough to prove that the Tuyuhun people really want to have a good relationship with the white-clothed army wholeheartedly. In this regard, the warriors of the Eagle Cavalry are also willing to protect them. Those Tuyuhun women also look quite good, and now they have a good relationship with one of them, and after three years, they will retire and have the opportunity to marry them. With the current treatment of the white-clothed army, it is still entirely possible to accumulate 100 taels of silver in three years. That's enough for the average young person to start a family.

From the perspective of the Tuyuhun people, the refusal of the white-clothed army is also a kind of respect for them. After all, it is not a very decent thing to let the women of your tribe betray ** and serve other men against their will, no matter what you say. Of course, you can tell yourself that this is for the needs of survival, for the needs of the tribe, for the needs of the majority, to have to sacrifice a small number of people. However, your heart is always uncomfortable.

Unconsciously, the high-level people of Tuyuhun also have a heartfelt respect for Xu Xingxia. They felt more and more that this Xu Xingxia was different from ordinary Ming army officers. If there are other high-level Ming soldiers, the Tuyuhun people will not send a dozen or twenty young and beautiful virgins, I am afraid that they will not do their best at all. Being able to follow someone like Xu Xingxia, Tuyuhun people seem to have good luck! Such an opportunity is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and if the Tuyuhun people don't grasp it firmly, they will really regret it.

Feng Qingwu said with a smile: "Old man, you are too polite. ”

Hou Defu said gratefully: "Along the way, thanks to the protection of all heroes! ”

This old man Tuyuhun speaks Chinese quite well. According to his own account, the top leaders of the Tuyuhun people, no matter where they are, no matter what difficulties they suffer, have never stopped learning Chinese and learning Chinese culture. This proves from the side that the Tuyuhun people have never forgotten the Central Plains Dynasty. It's just that they have never had the opportunity to integrate with the Han people.

This time, Xu Xingxia let the Tuyuhun people migrate to the Bayannur grassland, which also means to integrate the Tuyuhun people. In fact, the integration of ethnic groups is not a difficult thing, as long as you insist on intermarriage for a long time. As the number of mixed-race children increases, the differences between the two ethnic groups will become less and less. Especially for a nation like Tuyuhun, which is already more seriously sinicized, it will be almost completely assimilated in about a hundred years.

"I guess there are still two days to get to my destination. However, we still cannot take it lightly and cannot be careless. Today the sky is not very good, it may rain, and there is a possibility that the Tatars will sneak attack. Your troops, be vigilant and be ready for battle. Everyone else should be prepared for an attack. Feng Qingwu said slowly. He was Xu Xingxia's plenipotentiary on the front line, and had the final say on the military front. Therefore, he was qualified to command the cavalry of the Tuyuhun people directly.

"I'll remind them to be careful!" Houdefu has lived on the prairie all his life and is naturally sensitive to changes in the sky. He also knew that the main weapon of the Eagle Cavalry was muskets. On rainy days, the use of muskets will be somewhat restricted. From an attacker's point of view, a rainy day is a good opportunity to attack. If he had been the commander of the Tatar cavalry, he would have chosen to attack on a rainy day and fight in hand-to-hand combat.

"Their numbers are still a little smaller!" The old man Houdefu whispered to himself in his heart. Along the way, he was carefully observing the battle of the Eagle Cavalry. There is no doubt that in a one-on-one competition, the Eagle Cavalry skirmishers have a good chance of winning. Their muskets, very powerful and at a very long range. However, once the number of Tatars exceeded 3,000 and it rained, the combat effectiveness of the Eagle Cavalry could be greatly weakened.

Now, the most critical question is whether the nearby Tatar cavalry has noticed the change in the weather and whether they will take advantage of the change in weather to launch an attack. Houdefu's final judgment was that the Tatars were likely to launch an attack. Judging by the intelligence from all sides, around the Tuyuhun there were at least two or three thousand Tatar cavalry units active.

As he spoke, a scout from the Eagle Cavalry hurriedly came and reported to Feng Qingwu: "Captain, the people from the Munch tribe have come up again!" It's only thirty miles from us! ”

Feng Qingwu's brows furrowed inadvertently. This damn Munch tribe is really positive! It was only thirty miles away! At a distance of thirty miles, the cavalry could kill it with a single charge. It seems that the Tatars are indeed preparing to take advantage of the rainy weather to launch an attack on the Eagle Cavalry. I just don't know, how many thousand people are there in the cavalry mobilized by the Munch tribe? And in addition to the Munch tribe, how many other Tatar cavalry were there?

This time, the Tatar cavalry that tried to attack the Tuyuhun had two parts, one from the Munch tribe and the other from the Arata tribe. They are all sworn enemies of the Tuyuhun people, and they have always had a bad relationship with the Tuyuhun people. Among them, it is the Munch tribe who plays the striker. According to the information provided by Tesna and Houdefu, the total strength of the Munch tribe is 4,000 troops. The total strength of the Aratha tribe was five thousand troops. The two tribes combined, for a total of nine thousand-man teams. Among them, the elite cavalry of the two tribes are about two thousand people. In addition to this, there may have been Tatars of other tribes, about three thousand-man troops.

Comparatively speaking, on the side of the Tuyuhun people, there are fewer troops that can be used. Tuyuhun's cavalry, all combined, is only five thousand people who are not satisfied, and the equipment is not very good. Fortunately, with Xu Xingxia's assistance, some of the equipment was updated. However, in order to protect the safety of the tribesmen who remained in place, most of the Tuyuhun cavalry remained in place. This time, there was only a full team of 1,000 people.

Although it is said that this full Tuyuhun cavalry thousand-man team is equipped with a large number of standard armor weapons of the Ming army obtained from Xu Xingxia, and its combat effectiveness has been improved to a certain extent. But, in general, they are still at a disadvantage. The number of Tatar cavalry was indeed too much. If there was no escort from the Eagle Cavalry, as long as two Tatar thousand-man teams moved, they would be able to severely damage this thousand-man team of Tuyuhun people. There is no doubt about it.

Zhang Yi pondered for a moment and said calmly: "How many people are there?" ”

The scout replied cautiously: "It is estimated that there are five thousand troops, all of whom are gathering in this direction. It is estimated that by tomorrow afternoon, all the assembly will be completed. ”

Feng Qingwu said coldly: "Grass! Do you really think we can't be bullied? Really thought we wouldn't be able to fight on a rainy day? Hmph, come on! Who's afraid of whom? ”

A thousand-strong force of five Tatar cavalry assembled here, apparently targeting Houdefu and the other Tuyuhun people. It is estimated that the Tatars also knew that the Han army was not very numerous, so they decided to give it a go. Gathering a force of five thousand people is basically the limit of strength for the Tatars. The rest of the Tatars, who are far away from here, are not needed for the time being. In the eyes of the Tatars, as long as the Eagle Cavalry is killed, the remaining Tuyuhun people are not to worry at all.

Depending on the weather, it is highly likely that tomorrow will also be rainy, which is not conducive to the use of muskets. The Tatars chose to do it tomorrow, which is also quite sensible. It seems that the commander of the Tatars is not completely amused. If the Eagle Cavalry does not want to be passive, they must attack in advance, strike first, and kill the Tatar cavalry before they can complete their assembly. It is an eternal truth that the first strike is strong, and the second strike suffers.

(To be continued)