The sound of horse hooves gradually approached, but the three Ming troops in front were motionless and silent.
King Yan's figure stands majestically in the group on the far left, looking extremely burly. Lian Hua lay on the sand and looked at his back from a distance. Somehow, her racing heart slowly calmed down.
Rumble, rumble, the sound of horse hooves became increasingly clear. Finally, a group of cavalry appeared at the end of the field, Mongolian cavalry. I don't know whether it was due to carelessness or because they were only chasing a woman named Lotus, but there was no single rider in the front team to serve as a guard.
Zhu Di raised his right hand, and the soldiers in the middle team drew their bows and arrows in unison. The crossbows in the team on the right also opened silently. The strings were full and the crossbows were hard. The scouting soldiers stood up neatly and looked straight ahead.
Under the cold moonlight, a strong murderous aura filled the air.
Boom, boom, boom, the sound of horse hooves hesitated slightly, and the alert Mongolians seemed to have noticed something.
Zhu Di's raised right hand remained motionless. The green horse under the seat tapped its front hooves uneasily and jumped forward.
Rumble, rumble, the sound of horse hooves continued to move over, a bit chaotic. Lotus seemed to be able to see the Mongolian face. The Mongolian face is haunted like a nightmare.
Zhu Di's right hand suddenly struck down: "Let go!"
Arrows flew forward like rain, whistling. The bows and arrows of the middle team are designed to shoot cavalry, but the crossbows of the right team are used to shoot Mongolian horses.
"Ah!" "Ah!" screams continued, and someone shouted in Mongolian: "There is an ambush! Hurry!". Horses and cavalry continued to fall, but soon the Mongolian arrows came back in dense numbers. A scout in the middle team was hit by an arrow and fell on his horse.
The Mongolian horses are fast and are about to rush in front of them.
Zhu Di changed his left hand and raised it high. The soldier on the left raised his iron weapon in his right hand. As Zhu Di waved his left hand fiercely: "Let go!", the missiles flew out, landed on the Mongolian front team, and exploded. Come, the fire is flying, it's actually a fire bomb. Suddenly there was a neighing of horses, and the horse in front stood up high and refused to move forward. The eight people gestured non-stop, and the bullets sounded like a string of bullets as soon as they landed, creating a wall of fire to block the Mongolian team.
The Mongolian cavalry hurriedly hit their horses, but the horses were frightened by the fire and ran away in all directions, screaming. Horse hooves were heard in a jumble, and the cavalrymen who fell to the ground were trampled and screamed again.
The originally silent desert instantly turned into a noisy and bloody slaughterhouse. The rain of arrows from Mongolia was still coming back, but it was a little messy and gradually became less and less.
The three teams of the Ming army kept flying arrows, roaring crossbows, and fired fire bombs. The fire became more and more intense, and more and more people were hit by arrows and fell off their horses. A group of brave and skilled Mongolian cavalrymen, not one of them broke through the arrow rain and fire formation.
Someone shouted in Mongolian: "Retreat--!", and the remaining dozen horses turned their heads and fled.
Zhu Di grabbed the machete on his horse, turned his head and raised his arms and shouted: "Chase!" With a green horse on his side, he rushed forward at the lead. Wang Jinghong led the scouts to retract their arrows and change their swords. The team on the left simply turned their iron rods upside down. Everyone shouted in unison: "Kill! Kill! Kill!", with fast horses galloping behind them.
The scouts had been searching for enemies in the desert for a long time, and the murderous aura they had been suppressing for days was now aroused. The sabers and iron rods they held high flashed together, and the roaring killing sounds were terrifying. The Mongolian horse was actually overtaken.
"Leave no one alive! Kill!"
It was King Yan's cold roar that penetrated the stars in the dark night and vibrated in the air.
Looking at the lotus from a distance, it seems like a dream. At this time, the sky gradually turns white, and the night is about to pass.
In this ambush, Ming's reconnaissance team wiped out all 72 Mongolian pursuers, and only three of their own were injured. This battle was fought beautifully. Although they were elite scouts who had experienced hundreds of battles and had won many battles, it was rare to win such a clean victory.
The soldiers were talking and laughing, taking off their armor and resting, talking happily about the charge just now, and the frustration of many days was washed away. Wang Jinghong stood in front of King Yan and reported the results of the battle, with a rare smile on his usually expressionless face.
Lianhua vaguely remembered that when she caught up with Zheng Zongze and herself, there were more Mongolian cavalry than there were, and there should have been more than a dozen people killed by Zheng Zongze who risked his life to block the attack. These seventy-two people thought they were the ones who reorganized their team after Zheng Zongze died and continued to catch up.
"Zongze!" Lianhua thought of the tragic murder of the Zheng family, the inhuman life of Zheng Zongze in recent years, and the laughter and chasing when he was a child. However, the end of his life was to be buried in the desert to save himself, and she couldn't help but feel sad in her heart. Great mourning.
Zhu Di leaned lazily beside the sand dune, listening to Wang Jinghong's report with squinted eyes, obviously absent-minded.
After taking off his helmet and armor, King Yan was still wearing only an old purple tang robe. He lacked the sharp and solemn look from last night, but he was indescribably comfortable and graceful. The old robe was torn when I wrote the military order yesterday and one corner was missing. It was floating in the desert wind so casually, echoing the carelessness on his face.
Wang Jinghong led his soldiers to dig a huge hole in the sand, pushed down all the corpses and buried them. He also carefully searched around the road, picked up the remaining objects that fell on the ground, and buried and covered them all. In the blink of an eye, the desert returned to a piece of yellow sand. Except for the addition of dozens of horses, there was no trace of the fighting last night, as if it were a dream.
Lotus slowly knelt down to the edge of the sand pit, took out the glazed pagoda, moved her lips slightly, and recited the "Ksitigarbha Sutra" to save these dead Mongolian soldiers. "Namo Amitabha Ye Duotagadu Ye Duolow Yeta Amilidu Po Via Amili Duo Sidanda Po Via Milita Vikalanda Amili Duo Vikalanda Gami Gagana Zhiduo Kali Sao Po He…”
While reciting, I thought that life is like dew, and birth, old age, sickness and death are inherently painful. The battles and killings never stop, and life is as light as grass. These Mongolian soldiers also had parents, wives and children, but they ended up buried in the desert.
"The poor bones by the Yongding River are like those in a spring boudoir's dream." The battlefield last night was like hell, but also like a Shura field. In the past, Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva made a compassionate and great wish: "I will never become a Buddha until hell is empty." But when will the suffering in the world end? Nan Huo, Zhao Ke, Shan Xi, Hai Shou, Zheng Zongcheng, and more than 200 guards and migrant workers have only gone through a short period of time...
Thinking of the sadness, Lotus couldn't help but burst into tears, and her vision was blurry.
There was a slight sound of clothes beside him, but King Yan lifted the corner of his robe and sat beside him. Lianhua hurriedly wiped away the tears in her eyes and shouted softly: "Your Majesty!"
Zhu Di stared at her inquiringly.
This little pity, as if falling from the sky, suddenly appeared after searching the desert for more than two months, bringing the long-awaited news from the Mongols. Why did the Mongols come all the way to kidnap her from Tieling? Thorin Timur's station was heavily defended. How could a weak woman escape? She was injured while escaping at night, but was pursued by such a large group of Mongolian cavalry; although a sand painting was simple, it was clear that there was a lot in her heart; and after only a short time of knowing her, the Three Treasures of Renjinma trusted her wholeheartedly!
Who is she? Is it a blessing or a curse for me to make this bet
Lian Hua lowered her head and softly called out: "Your Majesty!"
Zhu Di looked at her with squinted eyes and asked calmly: "Who are you?" His tone was calm, but his eyes were as sharp as a knife.
Lianhua raised her head, met King Yan's eyes, and said softly: "Your Majesty is still marching north in the desert, and the women of the people dare not trouble him with trivial matters. The women of the people have no ill will towards the prince. When the prince returns in triumph, the women of the people should be truthful." Report to Your Majesty, if Your Majesty has some free time, the ladies of the country still have a few things to ask for."
Zhu Di looked at the lotus. His black and white eyes were clear, full of prayer and sincerity. Was it because of these eyes that Ma Sanbao believed in her
The sharpness in Zhu Di's eyes gradually disappeared, and he finally curled his lips and said with a half-smile: "Okay! Then I'll ask you to give me good advice until my army returns in triumph!"
Lotus thanked him gently: "Thank you, Your Majesty." He breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed his tight little face.
Zhu Di felt relieved for some reason. He paused for a while and asked gently: "Is this your first time seeing a war?"
"yes."
“It’s very uncomfortable the first time, but you’ll get used to it later.”
It's obviously meant to comfort you, but it sounds so awkward.
Lian Hua paused and asked, "Is it difficult for the prince too for the first time?"
Zhu Di was stunned, as if he had never answered this question before. He looked up at the yellow sand in the distance and answered after a long time: "Yes, it's very uncomfortable. I couldn't eat anything for two days and even drank water."
"How old was the prince at that time?"
"Six years old. I still went to Taiping with my father in the first year of the Yuan Dynasty."
"The prince is so young, why do you need to take him there?" Lianhua asked curiously.
"I don't know. Maybe it's because of experience." Zhu Di said nonchalantly again: "Anyway, I'm lucky. No, after decades of fighting and killing, I still have my arms and legs."
Lotus couldn't help but laugh. Looking at King Yan, he somehow remembered Li Fangyuan.
They both have the same pride and the same impressive momentum. However, Li Fangyuan was stubborn and stubborn, with a kind of solitary courage that said, "Even if there are thousands of people, I will go." King Yan was undeniably domineering, and maybe a little bit rogue. If Li Fangyuan is the white birch standing proudly on the white water and black soil, Yan Wang is the vigorous poplar euphratica that survives in the desert.
Lianhua stopped her reverie and asked Zhu Di: "Your Majesty, what was that the left team had in their hands yesterday?"
Zhu Di looked at her and said, "That's a firearm invented by the Three-Eyed Gun."
"How awesome!" Lianhua's eyes were filled with admiration.
Zhu Di seemed to be smiling but not smiling: "This thing has just been made. It is extremely difficult to make. In my entire army, there are only these eight personal scouts yesterday. The range is very short, and they often malfunction and explode. Last time, the launched soldiers were One of them was injured. In fact, apart from blowing up Mongolian horses, it is no better than a bow and arrow. The soldiers said that they could just use it as an iron hammer instead, which is better than a broadsword."
Lotus chuckled.
Zhu Di glanced at Lotus again and said half truthfully: "You are a girl, so you can't play this, it will easily blow up yourself. Forget about your arms and legs. It will be too late to regret if you hurt your beauty."
"Oh..." Lianhua was a little disappointed. I originally thought that if I couldn't recruit reinforcements from China, I might be able to get some of these three-eyed muskets to go to North Korea to fight against Japanese pirates. But if the chamber fails frequently...
Zhu Di saw her disappointment, and his doubts deepened. He asked casually: "What are you chanting?"
"The Ksitigarbha Sutra can save the souls of the dead and reincarnate as soon as possible."
Zhu Di smiled and was noncommittal. He stretched out his arms to pick up the glazed pagoda on the ground and asked with interest: "Is this the glazed pagoda?"
Sure enough, the prince of Ming Dynasty was well-informed and recognized him at a glance. Lianhua admired in her heart: "Yes".
"The colored glaze is the best in Shanxi. The crucible soil there is very special and the colored glaze produced is the moistest.
"Is colored glaze made by burning? Do you use soil? How to burn it?" Lianhua was very curious.
"It's similar to pottery, except that after firing at high temperature, it needs to be painted with lead glaze and then fired at low temperature to color. It's called lead glaze on pottery. I don't know the specific process. The firing process of colored glaze is passed down from father to son. Children pass on to grandchildren, and colored glaze is not passed on to people with other surnames. Each workshop will be different." Zhu Di looked at the lotus and smiled slightly: "I will show you when I return to the Central Plains."
"Really?" Lotus shouted happily. The eyes full of joy and expectation are as clear as a baby's eyes.
Zhu Di didn't know why he said "Yeah": "Really".
At this time, Wang Jinghong strode over and bowed to Zhu Di: "Your Majesty, everything has been cleaned up. You are ready to go."
Zhu Di nodded: "Okay!" He stood up and looked back at Lianhua: "Can the arms be used to ride horses?"
Lianhua replied softly: "Okay." But she felt a little frightened in her heart. Her left arm still hurt badly. Can she do this with one hand
Zhu Di looked at her hesitant expression and opened his lips slightly to say something, but finally said nothing. He turned around and strode back to the team, taking the lead on the green horse. The scouts also got on their horses one after another, and Kong's horses were also led along. A group of people lined up, dozens of pairs of eyes looking at the lotus.
Lianhua walked up to the horse, and Wang Jinghong was waiting beside the horse, supporting and pushing him. Although he was stumbling and crawling awkwardly, he finally got on the horse. The scouts who were watching and waiting in the distance could not hold back from shouting "Come on" for a long time, and then they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhu Di breathed a sigh of relief for some reason, suppressed the smile on his brows, waved his horse and whip, and roared energetically: "Let's go! Cheche'er Mountain!"
(Note: Firearms in the Ming Dynasty were extremely developed. The three-eyed gun mentioned in this article was widely used during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. It was the standard equipment of the Liaodong cavalry and played a significant role in the Mongolian battlefields and the battlefields of aiding Korea and anti-Japanese wars. )