People in the Middle Ages, draw cards to get promoted

Chapter 622 Shaman and Monk
What kind of war did Zhu Qizhen imagine?
Wherever the heavenly soldiers went, the enemies were slaughtered completely. Yesen's son knelt in front of him and swore that he would never dare to violate the border again in his life and would fulfill his duty as a "respectful and obedient king".

Or it could be just like what happened during Emperor Chengzu's three northern expeditions. The enemy fled before they even encountered him, abandoning their cattle and sheep along the way, and ended up with their people scattered and torn apart.

Unfortunately, he was not Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming army was no longer the invincible force it once was.

A team of Tatar cavalry trampled on the fleeing army and slaughtered them wantonly. Their hunting dogs, which were like prairie wolves, were even more ferocious. They could bite through a person's shin bone with one bite.

More Tatar cavalry were roaming on both sides of the defeated army, like shepherds driving a flock of sheep, driving the defeated army to counterattack the Ming army camp.

The chief of the Mahar tribe sneered and said, "The Ming army is good at fighting stupid battles and building strong camps, but in the current situation, no matter how many chevaux de frise traps you set up in the camp, once these defeated troops rush in, there will be nothing left, right?"
"Follow the Southern Dynasty's defeated army and kill all these southerners!"

A Tartar general shouted orders and led his own troops to attack.

Including Yesen, many Tatars who were driven from the south still regarded the Ming court as a separatist regime and considered themselves the Northern Dynasty. They thought all day long about returning to the south and returning to that glamorous world instead of suffering the bitter cold on the northern grasslands.

However, when the Tartar general rushed into the camp, he found that the defeated army was dispersing to both sides like water. It was not that they still retained their sanity, but that in front of them was a camp within a camp composed of chariots and trenches.

The trench was limited by the lack of supplies. Although there were no traps such as wooden wedges and caltrops, it was extremely high and deep and difficult to cross. They had no choice but to follow the fleeing army and rush to both sides of this "camp within a camp".

But after running for a while, they were shot at by the Ming army in the camp, suffering heavy casualties, so they had to retreat in a hurry.

Duke of England Zhang Fu, who was in his seventies, wore a precious sword, stood on a military carriage, and shouted, "Fire!"

The command flag was waved, and hundreds of fires were fired, instantly shooting down more than ten Tatar cavalrymen.

"Shoot them with fire arrows!"

The Tartar general roared, and they lit and shot arrows. Since they were not specially made fire arrows, they went out in mid-air. However, the arrowheads burned red, and the cloth wrapped around them also had embers. They landed on the Ming army tent and soon caught fire.

However, the Ming army was large in number and they quickly put out the large fires with sand. The small fires were not a big deal and could not spread across the prairie.

"Fire!"

When arrows were fired at him, Zhang Fu remained motionless, standing where he was and observing the battle. Immediately, two guards with great martial arts skills came forward and knocked down the arrows.

The Ming army pushed out small copper cannons, filled the barrels with shells and gunpowder, and then ignited the fuse at the rear to fire.

This copper mortar was filled with iron sand, which flew into the air and fell like raindrops. The Tartar cavalry and their hunting dogs were hit by it and instantly turned into sieves. The screams of the Tartar cavalry were so frightened that they retreated again and again.

In addition, there are several bronze mortars that existed in the late Yuan Dynasty, which were improved and miniaturized, and shot out iron balls like catapults.

An iron ball directly pierced through the belly of a Tartar general's horse, tearing out a large piece of internal organs. The whole warhorse suddenly lost a piece of the puzzle and crashed into the trench. The Tartar general on top fell headfirst and soon died.

The Shenji Camp fired several more rounds of musket fire, killing hundreds of enemies. The chief of the Mahar tribe saw that he could not take down the Ming army camp in a short time, so he withdrew his personal soldiers and shouted at the tribesmen who had been recruited from below to come up and eat the bullets.

Zhang Fu's face was as gloomy as water. He was an old minister in the Jingnan Rebellion. He had led the army to conquer Annan and followed Zhu Di in several northern expeditions to the Tatars. Although he was old and weak now, he was definitely a famous general. He was very clear that the war situation was critical.

The Shenji Camp can still use a limited amount of gunpowder, as well as arrows. If the Tartars attack recklessly, both sides can suffer heavy losses, giving Your Majesty a chance to break out. But now it seems that the Tartars are not going to be fooled at all.

These grassland tribesmen and Jurchen vassal troops are simply consumables.

He clenched the sword in his hand and murmured in a low voice: "I regret that I drew my sword and killed that treacherous eunuch in the palace."

He was a veteran of four dynasties, married into the imperial family, and closely related to the country. But now he could only watch this national disaster happen. For a moment, he could not help but feel disheartened. If he lost this battle, the ministers in the capital would probably discuss moving south.

Move south, move south.
Throughout the dynasties, have there been any examples of the imperial court fighting back after moving south?

"Master, Master, look!"

The guards beside him suddenly exclaimed at this moment.

Deep inside the central army camp, Wang Zhen, who was looking far ahead, also showed a look of surprise: "Your Majesty, look!"

"The Wala rear army is in chaos, and our army is also mobilizing. Reinforcements must be coming!"

Zhu Qizhen was delighted, but still a little bit incredulous: "General Fan, observe the movements of the Wala people, are there reinforcements coming?"

"That's how it should be."

Fan Zhong's voice was a little low. Although he was reluctant to speak for Wang Zhen, he believed that Wang Zhen's judgment was indeed correct. The mobilization of the Oirat troops was undoubtedly intended to block their own reinforcements.

Fan Zhong's judgment made Zhu Qizhen feel relieved.

"Good, good, good!"

Zhu Qizhen said three good words in a row.

Nothing could describe the excitement in his heart.
"Lothar, this Lothar has lived up to my trust. I will remember his merit and list that country of Ha as one of the countries that my Ming Dynasty will never conquer. I will reward him, a huge reward, and make him a duke! Let him marry the princess!"

Zhu Qizhen even spoke incoherently.

Fan Zhong lowered his head and thought that the Kingdom of Kazakhstan was said to be farther away than the Kingdom of Timur, being located in the west of Thailand. It would have to be within reach if you wanted to conquer it. Unless the whole country of Kazakhstan was rich in gold and silver, how could the civil and military officials in the court agree to let you conquer such a faraway country?

On the hillside, looking at the dark masses of Tatar troops all over the mountain, and the Ming troops below who had thrown away their armor and weapons and desperately fled to the hills nearby, Losa sighed softly:

"It's only been twenty years since Zhu Di's northern expedition to the Tatars, right?"

Losa turned around and looked at Ye Bushuo Xiaoqi beside him.

Ye Bu Shou Xiao Qi did not dare to care about the disrespect in Losa's words, and replied in a low voice: "Twenty-five years."

In twenty-five years, the once invincible Ming army had become like this.

One of the reasons was lack of food and water, and insufficient logistics, but Losa still felt that the Ming army fought too badly.

"From ancient times to the present, there has never been a country that has not perished, nor a tomb that has not been dug up."

Lothar sighed and looked back at his followers, who were covered in blood and panting heavily. Speed ​​is of the essence in war, and Lothar had the reinforcement of Tatar horses along the way, so he rushed here at almost no speed.

He didn't say anything, but silently raised the golden lance in his hand.

The cavalrymen behind him followed suit, raising their guns like a forest.

The kite flags and square flags look like flying birds.

Although the enemy outnumbered us, the soldiers under Lothar never asked how many enemies there were, but only where they were.

"drive!"

He squeezed the horse's belly gently.

He led the troops slowly down the hillside as if on an outing.

The flying double-headed eagle and the cross flag fluttered in the cold wind.

The central army of the Oirat.

"Are they those Semu people? Where is Boluo? Where are his people?"

"They were defeated, and His Highness Boluo was killed in the battle."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Yesen's face was full of disbelief. He knew that the enemy who could wipe out the Alazhiyuan tribe should not be underestimated, but that was Boluo, his biological brother, who was even recognized as the bravest warrior in the Wala tribe on the grassland.

The messenger showed fear on his face: "They used evil magic and summoned a monster."

"Let Shaman Bayantu come over!"

The shaman priest soon came to Yesen's side. Unlike the shaman priests that ordinary people imagined, who wore human bone necklaces and looked outdated, he was dressed in a white robe, riding a white horse, with eagle feathers on his head, and a highland red on his face, looking quite heroic.

The Tatars believe in both Buddhism and Shamanism. This primitive belief, shared by almost all nomadic peoples, is extremely tenacious, and Shamanism still occupies an important place in the Yuan court.

The person who came was a shaman who had passed through nine levels and was extremely powerful.

Yesen asked: "Master, didn't you say that Boluo was protected by a dragon? How could he be killed by the enemy?"

"I only said that Boluo was protected by a demonic dragon, but I never said it was a dragon."

The shaman shook his head.

"What is the difference between the two?"

"Grandmaster, just assume that this demon dragon is not very powerful."

"This mixed-race barbarian can even kill a demon dragon. Is there any way to deal with it?"

"I have figured out what the newcomer is. With the help of Changshengtian, it will not be difficult to destroy him."

Shaman Bayantu nodded slightly.

Right now, Shamanism and Buddhism are fighting fiercely, both are competing for the believers on the grassland. Buddhism is okay, at least it has its base on the plateau. If they retreat again, they will really disappear in the long river of history.

After all, the remaining khanates in the West have all converted to the Green Sect, and it is too difficult to compete with them.

Therefore, you must demonstrate your own value.

Shamanism is not a sect in the standard sense, but a primitive religion under pantheism. For example, many nomadic peoples regard the sky as the supreme god, but they have different names for the sky, so in many documents it is translated as "Changshengtian", as if the early Turks, Huns, Cumans, etc., who are obviously far apart, all have the same belief as the Tatars.

In fact, nomadic tribes in various places may all believe in Changshengtian, but their sacrificial methods and legends are different.

Yesen nodded slightly and said: "Master Boyantu, next, I will send Boyan Temur to lead 5,000 elite soldiers to protect your safety. We must kill all the Semu Hu who are trying to murder my brother."

Boyantu did not comment and silently glanced at the red-robed lama wearing a human bone necklace on the other side.

"Master Sangjie can go with Master Boyantu. I also want to see which of the two sects has higher magical power."

The red-robed lama, whose presence had always been low, opened his eyes and looked into the distance. He felt that the one rushing down the hillside was not a general wearing a golden mask, but a huge and ferocious black dragon. He could not help but look bitter.

"I am willing to go."

(End of this chapter)