Chapter 373 372 Formation

"This battle is not only my will, but also the intention of the capital. They want to know the actual combat effectiveness of the chariots against the Tatar cavalry."

At this time, Yu Dayou changed the topic and suddenly talked about the capital.

"Huh?"

Liu Han looked over in surprise, a little confused, but soon realized what Yu Dayou meant.

In fact, Liu Han knew more or less that Yu Dayou had committed a crime.

This guy was sent to prison because he offended Hu Zongxian, the governor of Jiangnan who was now in the emperor's favor. Who is Hu Zongxian?

Of course Liu Han knew, and Hu Zongxian had a close relationship with Yan Song, the prime minister of the dynasty, and he had heard people talk about him many times.

Yu Dayou was able to serve as the general commander under Hu Zongxian, which was enough to show his command ability, but it was a pity that he offended people.

But such a person was able to escape unscathed after being thrown into prison by his superiors, which made people look at him with admiration. Yu Dayou had someone behind him, and his ability was not small.

Yu Dayou was thrown into the imperial prison in the capital, in the territory of Yan Ge Lao. He was able to come out of the imperial prison in good condition. At least the person behind Yu Dayou was able to compete with Yan Song.

People in the officialdom naturally knew that Yu Dayou could walk out of the imperial prison, which must be because the person behind him had some kind of interest exchange with Yan Ge Lao, otherwise he would never be released casually.

Now, Yu Dayou finally confessed in front of him that this battle was related to the capital, so should he listen to him?

Before, Liu Han also found out some information, that is, Lu Bing used to take good care of him.

However, in Liu Han's view, Lu Bing was born in Anlu and followed the emperor into Beijing. How could he become friends with Yu Dayou? It was probably because the person behind Yu Dayou asked Lu Bing to take care of him.

But it was hard to say, who knew what was going on behind the scenes.

Now that Lu Bing is dead, if it is said that Yu Dayou is behind Lu Bing, it seems that he should keep his tail between his legs and do things.

But, just now, what did Yu Dayou say?

Someone in the capital wants to see the actual combat effect of this crude and unbelievable one-wheeled chariot. Who wants to see it?

I think Yu Dayou will not say it, so Liu Han can only remember it in his heart and never ask it out loud.

However, now Liu Han is determined in his heart, that is, there must be someone behind Yu Dayou, this person can persuade Lu Bing to help take care of him, and can also sit down with Yan Ge Lao to negotiate conditions to get him out of the imperial prison.

Faced with such a person's request, Liu Han cannot refuse.

In a beautiful misunderstanding, Liu Han gave in, he changed his position and chose to support Yu Dayou's decision.

Are you kidding, who is Yan Ge Lao?

Every year during the solar terms, he has to send people to the capital to send ice and carbon to the officials of all sizes in the various yamen, and Yan Ge Lao's mansion will never be left behind.

With such a big shot standing behind Yu Dayou, he had to give in.

Fortunately, he had this precaution at the beginning, so he had always been courteous to Yu Dayou.

"Since General Yu is so confident in this chariot, I don't have much to say. Don't worry about the left and right wings. I will let Malu lead one team and I will lead the other team myself. I will definitely protect your two wings."

Malu is a Mongolian who defected to him. He is skilled in archery and horse riding, brave and good at fighting. He is the number one fighter under Liu Han. That's why he was selected to serve in Yu Dayou's army and participate in the attack on Bansheng City.

The purpose is, first, with Malu's participation, Liu Han will be more confident of winning the final victory, and second, to give him a chance to be promoted.

If you want people to defect willingly, you naturally have to give them sweet things.

For military generals, promotion and wealth are the hard truth.

Malu participated in this battle. After the battle, he asked for merit and was promoted from a lieutenant general to a deputy general. It seemed natural. Anyway, as a Mongolian who had surrendered, it was impossible for him to be a general, so Liu Han didn't worry that Malu would replace him.

After listening to Liu Han's words, Yu Dayou nodded slightly, which was considered to be an approval of Liu Han's arrangement. After all, having fought in his hands, Yu Dayou knew that Malu was indeed a good fighter.

In the middle of the afternoon, there was finally movement on the grassland east of Anyin Fort. With the rumbling of horse hooves, only smoke and dust could be seen in the distant sky, and a large group of cavalry was killing towards Anyin Fort.

At this time, Liu Han and Yu Dayou had climbed the city wall again and looked at the Tatar army coming from afar.

The grassland is a natural marching road. For the armies of the warring parties, they can travel freely, unlike when they arrive in the pass, they need to move along the road because of the existence of mountains and hills.

The pursuers of Altan Khan were divided into two teams, one on the left and one on the right, advancing side by side. From a distance, they looked like two small dots, and then gradually became two lines, like caterpillars, arching towards Anyin Fort.

When the Tartars got closer, they could tell from their service that one team should be the elite cavalry of Altan Khan, and the other team seemed to be the Bansheng soldiers composed of the White Lotus Sect of Bansheng City.

From a distance, the Tartar army began to turn and turn to the southeast of Anyin Fort, and finally stopped in the south of the east side of Anyin Fort, giving up the passage between Anyin Fort and Shahu Fort.

Along the wall of Anyin Fort, Liu Han and Yu Dayou also moved in this direction, watching a team of the Tartar army dismount and start to set up camp, while there were thousands of cavalry troops standing by.

"They don't plan to fight quickly."

Yu Dayou smiled.

"If there were no wall, it's hard to say whether the Tartars would attack the camp directly, thinking of defeating us first and then occupying our nest."

Liu Han also laughed on the side, "But the Tartars are cunning enough. They actually gave up the escape passage and wanted to defeat us. Let us continue to run south? Then they hacked and killed us from behind."

Speaking of this, Liu Han couldn't help shaking his head.

Leaving an escape passage is naturally good for ordinary soldiers. They don't stand in a high position and naturally won't think too much. The seemingly survival road is actually a deadly trap.

"Let someone go out and take a look, otherwise the other side can still sleep well tonight, which is not good for us."

At this time, Yu Dayou suddenly turned sideways and said to Liu Han.

"Go out and take a look?"

Just repeating these four words, Liu Han's confused eyes lit up, he understood what Yu Dayou meant.

In the past, when the war was about to come, he always arranged for his soldiers to have a good rest and conserve their energy, but it seems that Yu Dayou's idea is not bad.

So without saying much, Liu Han ordered the lieutenant general Malu behind him: "Take 3,000 cavalry out of the south gate and go back to the north gate from the west to enter the city."

"Go around?"

Malu was a little confused and didn't understand what Liu Han meant.

"Do as you say."

Liu Han just ordered again.

Then, Malu clasped his fists and turned around to go down the city wall and organize the team.

This is why Liu Han admires Malu. It doesn't matter if he doesn't understand, just do as he is told.

"After running around like this, how many people will the Tartars reserve for night watch tonight?"

After Liu Han could no longer see Malu, he turned around and asked Yu Dayou.

"Three or four thousand people, probably divided into two shifts, so that seven or eight thousand people can't rest well, and the victory rate tomorrow will be half a point higher."

Yu Dayou thought about it and said.

Liu Han sent out 3,000 people to show off his muscles. Altan's tribe must be on guard against the Ming army's sneak attack tonight, because the Ming army dared to go out of the city and hang around under their noses.

As for exposing their strength, it was no longer a matter for the two of them to consider at this time.

The Tartars were able to accurately pursue here, obviously their team had been discovered and exposed long ago.

The other side should know how many cavalry and infantry there were in the team.

Soon, there was movement at the gate of Anyin Fort.

Although the tower of Anyin Fort was still intact, the gate had long been gone. Perhaps it had been dismantled by that family to burn for heating. Now the Ming army guarding the gate was pushing away the chariots and carrying away the simple barricades in the front row to clear a way for the army to leave the fort.

The same work had also begun at the north gate.

Not long after, Yu Dayou and Liu Han, who were standing on the wall of the fort, felt a slight tremor, which was a stronger vibration than the Tartars' attack.

Led by Malu, three thousand elite cavalrymen of Datong rushed out of Anyinbao Gate with murderous intent, charging towards the Tatar camp more than ten miles away, and then turned a beautiful arc and ran to the west of Anyinbao.

When the Ming army lifted the barricades in front of the gate, the Tatars had already discovered the movement of the Ming army, but their usual strength made them not react.

In the face of an absolutely superior army, according to the Ming army's previous practice, they would hide in the city and wait for reinforcements.

But unexpectedly, it was three thousand Ming cavalrymen who rushed out of Anyinbao, and they rushed here with murderous intent.

The two Tatar thousand households on the front line became nervous in an instant, reporting to the camp behind, while arranging their troops to fight with the Ming army.

However, before their horses could run, the Ming army turned and ran.

It would be a good opportunity to bite and chase them at this time, but there was no order, and the Ming army was large in number. Who knew if they had prepared an ambush in the west?

The Ming people were not good at fighting, but they could also use some conspiracies and tricks.

While they were hesitating, the 3,000 cavalrymen of the Ming army had already run past them and headed west of the military fort. Now if they urged their horses to chase them, they would be seven or eight miles apart, so it would be difficult to chase them.

To chase them, they would naturally pounce on them when the Ming cavalry turned around, and then they could just catch up with the opponent's tail, and then it would be easy.

As for now, it seems that the opportunity has been missed.

At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came from behind, and more than 20 war horses ran over, and only the smoke and dust splashed by the Ming army cavalry in the distance could be seen.

Soon, more than 20 horses on the Tartar side left and returned to the camp.

In the brief conversation, they already knew the actions of the Ming army. The big move of 3,000 people rushing out was not afraid of being eaten up by their side.

However, it was obvious that they had missed the opportunity. The 2,000 troops in the outpost did not catch up and entangle the Ming army in time. At this time, attacking again would only be eating dust behind the opponent's buttocks.

The Tartars began to set up camp in an orderly manner, while the Ming cavalry, led by Malu, circled Anyin Fort for half a circle and returned to the city from the north gate. The two city gates were soon restored to their original state, with chevaux de frise in front and a shield car defense line built by multiple chariots in the back.

After arranging the night watch, Yu Dayou and Liu Han both ordered their soldiers to have a good rest tonight.

Originally, they were sent out as soon as the Tartars arrived, and many Ming soldiers thought they were going to rob the camp tonight, but after repeated explanations from the generals and team officers, they put aside their worries and rested in the tents temporarily built in the fort.

The battle will start tomorrow, so let's have a good meal tonight and talk about tomorrow's affairs tomorrow.

During this period of time out of the border, the Ming army's food was also the best they had ever eaten in their lives.

Although the team following Yu Dayou was given a lot of dry food before leaving, they seldom ate it after entering the prairie. They killed and robbed the cattle and sheep of the Mongols to fill their stomachs, and ate large chunks of mutton.

No wonder the older generation said that entering the prairie to forage was the most leisurely time.

After all, it was an opportunity for the Ming army to improve their lives. Although they had not gone north for many years, the legend of going out was still passed down in the families of the military households.

These days, the Datong Army finally experienced what kind of life it was.

One night passed quietly. Except for the night patrols and scouts who were busy all night, they began to rest with the morning light and delicious broth. The Ming soldiers in the tents gradually woke up from their dreams and prepared to eat after a simple wash.

At this time, Anyin Fort seemed a little chaotic.

After checking, only one of the more than a dozen wells in the entire military fort was still usable. The drinking water for 8,000 people naturally caused a lot of trouble.

Fortunately, Liu Han immediately sent his personal soldiers to guard the place after the incident, and asked the soldiers who came to fetch water to line up, so that order was restored and no bigger incidents occurred.

Even so, the Ming army's preparations were not completed until the hour of Si, which was about ten o'clock in the morning.

The reason why there was no such a big mess yesterday was that the soldiers brought a lot of water with them. Many people saw that there was a well available in the military fort, so they naturally no longer paid attention to saving it as before.

With the completion of the preparations, the obstacles at the South Fort Gate were cleared, and the Ming army began to slowly move out of Anyin Fort.

The movement of the Ming army soon had a response in the Tatar military camp opposite. The drums and horns that sounded in the military fort and the Tatar military camp opposite completely broke the tranquility of the grassland, and also indicated that a war was about to start again.

The Ming army was led out of the military fort by two thousand cavalrymen, and then the cavalrymen made way for the chariots behind them to move forward. The last to leave the fort were still two thousand cavalrymen.

The chariot soon began to deploy three miles away from the military fort, and the 4,000 Ming cavalrymen were also divided into left and right wings to protect the side.

At this time, the gate of the Tatar camp was also opened, and pairs of Tatar cavalry rushed out of the camp, quickly dispersed to the left and right, and completed the arrangement of the military formation.

"The other side reacted very quickly, worthy of being the elite of the Tatars."

Yu Dayou saw that the other side almost completed the formation with its back to the camp, and couldn't help but sigh.

But soon he noticed Liu Han's tense expression, which seemed to be wrong.

"General Liu, what's wrong with you?"

Yu Dayou asked.

"It's a bit troublesome. At least 3,000 of this team of Tatars are the guards of Altan Khan, and the remaining thousands of people should also be the elite under some Wanhu. Our intelligence is wrong."

At this moment, when the two sides faced each other, the true military appearance of Altan Khan was completely exposed in front of the Ming army.

The information that the Ming army had previously obtained was that they were temporary conscripted Wanhu. Such a team was slightly insufficient to fight against the ordinary Ming army. It was the advantage in numbers that made Liu Han a little worried.

But now, what appeared before him were the temporary conscripted herdsmen.