Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 413 Can’t wait
At the peak of his power, Lindan Khan had 400,000 soldiers under his command, which is why he once claimed to be the leader of 400,000 Mongols.

However, due to the many expeditions he had fought in the east and west over the years, and the fact that various tribes had betrayed him and left his base one after another, Lindan Khan's military strength had shrunk a lot. When Huang Taiji set out to deal with Chahar, the number of troops Lindan Khan could mobilize was less than 300,000.

After several battles, Lin Dan Khan suffered some losses, and the betrayal of the Naiman and Aohan tribes also reduced his number of troops. Now that Huang Taiji's Eight Banners and the Mongolian coalition had already invaded Chahar, Lin Dan Khan had lost nearly 10,000 more troops on the battlefield.

After the decision to move westward was made, Lin Danhan had to allocate part of his troops to block and contain Huang Taiji's army, so the remaining troops in his hands were not many, only a little over 100,000.

These troops were only a quarter of the number of troops that Lindan Khan had in his heyday, but even so, his military strength was still more than twice that of Bu Shitu. More importantly, Bu Shitu was not Huang Taiji. Bu Shitu had less than half of the elite Mongolian cavalry, and the rest were just Mongolian herdsmen who were pieced together. Although they could fight, their equipment and combat effectiveness were not strong. They were okay in favorable battles, but they were disappointing in tough battles. Lindan Khan was confident that he could defeat Bu Shitu and annex his tribe in one fell swoop.

Ligdan Khan divided his troops into two routes. One of them was led by his trusted general Intetabunang, who marched out from the Chahar Right Front Banner with 30,000 cavalry from east to northwest.

He personally led the main force from the Chahar Right Central Banner and marched directly westward.

The two armies formed a pincer attack, one above and one below, one north and one south, and their target was Fengzhou.

Fengzhou is located to the east of Guihua City and is one of the most important areas of the Tumote grassland. Due to Fengzhou's special geographical location and the relatively fertile land and rivers, many years ago many Ming people migrated here to open up wasteland and cultivate land, forming a relatively rare agricultural and animal husbandry area on the grassland.

During the Sanniangzi period, the number of Ming people who reclaimed wasteland in Fengzhou continued to increase. Coupled with Sanniangzi's relatively relaxed ethnic policies and encouragement, Fengzhou became a rare grain-producing area in Tumed.

Although Sanniangzi died many years ago, the reclamation and cultivation in Fengzhou did not stop after her death, and Bu Shitu still implemented the original policies in this place. It was precisely because of these Ming people that Bu Shitu's tribe was the most powerful in Tumed, especially under the influence of natural disasters in recent years, it was still able to maintain its rule over the surrounding areas well.

In addition, Fengzhou has another special feature, that is, it was the place where the decisive battle between the Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty took place at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

In the seventh year of Hongwu, Duke of Cao Li Wenzhong led a large army to attack the Northern Yuan Dynasty. He fought a fierce battle with the main force of the Yuan army in Fengzhou. He won two great victories, defeated the Yuan army in succession, captured twelve Yuan officials and countless people, cattle and horses. His record was brilliant, and this battle is also known as the Battle of Fengzhou.

Now, more than two hundred years have passed since the Battle of Fengzhou. There is no trace of the ancient battlefield in Fengzhou any longer. As summer is about to pass and autumn harvest is about to begin, Fengzhou, which is full of grain, looks like the south of the Yangtze River. Crops that are about to be harvested can be seen everywhere. It is a beautiful scenery of the south of the Yangtze River outside the Great Wall.

Lindan Khan's actions were not concealed. As the news of the war spread, people in Fengzhou were in panic. The Ming people living there and the Mongolians who were accustomed to farming were anxious. They were worried that Lindan Khan would attack and that the year's harvest would be ruined.

If they wanted to run, they could still run away, because Guihua City was not far to the west. As long as they fled to Guihua City, they would be safe for the time being. Moreover, even if Lindan Khan defeated Bushitu, he would not do anything to them. After all, Lindan Khan was the Khan of the Mongols in name only. He couldn't just kill all the Tumed people, right? This was not in Lindan Khan's interest, let alone his rule.

But if they didn't run away, Fengzhou would be in great danger if a war broke out. More importantly, what would happen to the crops that were about to be harvested? After working hard for a year, the crops in the fields were about to mature. If the crops were destroyed in the war, how would they survive the coming winter?

The weather has been abnormal in recent years, and even the Ming Dynasty has suffered disasters, not to mention the grasslands further north. With the abnormal climate, heavy snow fell in winter, and large numbers of cattle and sheep froze to death. There were many small tribes wiped out by the wind and snow in one winter, not to mention the Ming people and herdsmen who relied on farming.

If all the food was destroyed, they would not be able to survive the following winter, and they would starve to death. In this case, it would be better to stay here. It is not impossible that Ligdan Khan would let them go. As long as they hold on to the food, there is hope. If the food is gone, everything will be over.

The people of Fengzhou and the herdsmen generally had the same idea, so when the news of the war came, not many people left Fengzhou to flee, and most people stayed. Although they knew there were risks, they were willing to take the risk. For them, dying in battle was quicker and easier than starving to death without food, right?
Bu Shitu originally planned to hold on to Guihua and fight against Ligdan Khan by relying on the solidity of Guihua City. However, due to the special situation in Fengzhou, Bu Shitu had to take the initiative to lead his troops eastward to fight against Ligdan Khan in order to buy time.

As long as they could hold off Lin Dan Khan for some time and buy time for the people of Fengzhou to harvest food, then Bu Shitu would have more confidence in defending Guihua City. When winter came and the snow fell, the pressure would shift to Lin Dan Khan. After all, Bu Shitu was playing at home and was geographically stronger than Lin Dan Khan. The longer the time dragged on, the more advantageous it would be for Bu Shitu, and Bu Shitu knew this very well. Lin Dan Khan's two armies attacked Tumed from Chahar and came towards Fengzhou with great momentum. Bu Shitu, who had already mobilized his troops, personally led his troops to Fengzhou. On the one hand, he asked the people of Fengzhou to harvest food and withdraw to Guihua as soon as possible, and on the other hand, he prepared to fight with Lin Dan Khan's main force.

"How many days are left to Fengzhou?" Lin Danhan's southern army had already set out from the Chahar Right Front Banner and marched very quickly. Although they encountered resistance along the way, these were nothing to Intertabunang. He easily drove away the small intercepting troops without much effort, and the main army marched forward in a mighty and mighty manner.

"General, our army has passed Liangcheng and will reach Fengzhou in five days at most." A captain replied.

Liangcheng was an important stronghold of the Ming Dynasty outside the Great Wall. In terms of distance, it was located exactly halfway between Chahar Right Front Banner and Fengzhou.

Because this time the troops were aimed at Tumed, especially Bushitu, Lindan Khan did not want to touch the bottom line of the Ming Dynasty at this time, so he instructed Intertabunang to march around Liangcheng and go through the north of Liangcheng. Therefore, Intertabunang's army did not pass near Liangcheng, and the marching route was some distance away from Liangcheng.

"Five more days? Where is the Khan's main force now?" Frowning, Inttabunang turned around and asked.

"I don't know about that. The scouts haven't sent any news yet. But before we set off, the Khan has made arrangements, requiring our troops to arrive in Fengzhou on time. Judging from the time, there should be no problem." The captain answered carefully.

Intetabunang thought for a moment and immediately gave the order: "Pass on my military order. The entire army must hurry up and reach Fengzhou within three days. Anyone who is slow will be killed!"

"General! I'm afraid we won't be able to make it in these three days. We have a large army with a lot of cattle and sheep. We are already marching fast. If we speed up, the army will be exhausted. Even if we arrive ahead of time, if the Khan's main force has not arrived, we will not be able to launch an attack alone. Besides, it is inconvenient to fight with exhausted troops..."

"How could I not know about such a small matter?" Before the captain could finish, Intertabunang raised his hand to interrupt him, and said with an unhappy look: "In this case, I naturally have my own plan. Just follow my military orders and make the arrangements! Haha, in the past, our Mongol cavalry destroyed countless countries and roamed the world. It was common for Mongol warriors to travel a thousand miles in a day. Now it's just to get to Fengzhou two days ahead of schedule. Is it more difficult than before?"

"As for the cattle and sheep, they are even more trivial matters. Tell everyone to take dry food and march lightly, leaving two thousand-man teams to guard the rear and drive the cattle and sheep slowly. As long as the army arrives in Fengzhou ahead of time, this general will definitely commend you in front of the Khan. After defeating Bu Shitu, the Khan will reward you handsomely!"

"This..." Qianhu wanted to persuade him, but seeing Intertabunang's face changed and revealed murderous intent, he immediately swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth.

He was just well-intentioned, worried that Intetabunang would underestimate the enemy, because they were not in Chahar's lair, but in Tumed. Although the Tumed tribes, including Bu Shitu's troops, had intercepted them in the past few days, not many people came, and they almost collapsed in the face of their large army, and could not be stopped at all.

But as they got closer to Fengzhou, the possibility of Bu Shitu's army appearing became greater. Although Bu Shitu's strength was not as good as Lin Danhan, he was the leader of Tumed after all. If their 30,000 people encountered Bu Shitu's main force, they would probably face a fierce battle.

But then he thought again, the commander of this army was not him but Inttabunang. Since Inttabunang had already given the order, it would be natural for Inttabunang to chop off his head if he opposed the Israeli military rules again.

He was just reminding Intetabunang, not going against Intetabunang, so why risk his life? Moreover, according to intelligence, the main force of Lindan Khan should be in Fengzhou now. According to the plan made in advance by Lindan Khan, the two armies will meet in Fengzhou on time. At that time, the two armies will attack Bu Shitu together, and this battle will definitely win.

From this point of view, the purpose of Intertabunang arriving near the battlefield one day in advance was to ensure that the troops could join forces on time to start the battle. In this case, Intertabunang's arrangement was not unreasonable. Even if they really encountered Bu Shitu's army halfway, what would happen? With their military strength, they could protect themselves even if they could not defeat them. Moreover, although they did not know where the army of Lin Danhan was, they could be inferred from the distance that it would not be too far away from them. As long as they delayed the enemy and waited for Lin Danhan's main force to arrive, they could win the battle.

(End of this chapter)