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

Chapter 679 Messenger

In war, the commander's decision is the most important and the key to victory. If you take other things into consideration, the victory that could have been easily won will change, which will lead to many unpredictable situations.

As for the horsepower, it was not the time to consider this issue at all. The key was to defeat the other tribe. Once we won this battle, we would have as many war horses as we wanted. We had to know that this was the Mongolian grassland, and the Mongolian tribes were never short of good war horses.

So Wu Sangui commanded his cavalry to charge, and attacked the Kharchin headquarters directly without sparing any effort. When Wu Sangui's cavalry arrived at the Kharchin headquarters camp like a whirlwind, the Kharchin tribe had not yet reacted. When they heard the rapid sound of horse hooves and looked up to see the murderous cavalry rushing towards the camp, everyone was dumbfounded.

There was no obstruction at all, and Wu Sangui's cavalry rushed directly into the camp. After entering the camp, these cavalry were like dragons entering the sea, riding their horses and burning and killing in the camp without restraint.

For a time, many herdsmen, regardless of gender, age or weakness, cried out in agony whenever Wu Sangui's cavalry passed by. They were chopped to the ground like broken straws, and blood flowed on the spot.

By the time the tribe's cavalry had barely organized themselves to resist, the entire camp was in chaos. Wu Sangui had caught the enemy by surprise, and he was not keen on fighting during the attack. He commanded the cavalry to attack the camp from the left and right, constantly chasing and killing the enemy, and even setting fire to the enemy's tents along the way. He showed disdain for property and did not give the enemy any chance to react or gather for resistance, repeatedly charging and encircling them.

The battle lasted from dusk till dark, and by the time it was completely dark, the entire Kharchin headquarters had completely collapsed.

Except for the Kharchin tribe's Taiji Bilash who escaped with less than a hundred people, most of the rebels were killed, and the remaining herdsmen, including the elderly and the weak, knelt down and begged for surrender after losing their will to fight.

In this battle, Wu Sangui, relying on two thousand cavalrymen and the young and strong Mongolian cavalrymen from several small tribes that he had recovered before, directly defeated the main camp of the Kharchin army in Chahar, killed more than nine hundred enemies, and captured more than ten thousand tribal herdsmen. Except for Taiji Bilashi and a few hundred people who escaped, none of the other nobles, heads and elders escaped, and were either killed or captured alive.

After the battle, Wu Sangui counted the losses and found that his cavalry did not suffer much, with only more than 30 casualties, of which less than 11 were killed in battle or accidentally fell off their horses and were trampled to death.

Wu Sangui was extremely happy about the great victory in this battle. As for the escaped Taiji Bilashi and some Mongolian cavalry, he did not order a pursuit, because his purpose of fighting here was to force the Mongols in Baimachuan to return for support, and letting them leave would just allow him to bring what happened in his headquarters to Baimachuan.

After a short rest that night, Wu Sangui rested here, replenished his war horses and supplies, and then selected some herdsmen from the Kharchin tribe to be incorporated into the cavalry, and handed them over to the Mongolian deputy general for command. These Mongolian herdsmen cavalry were different from the Mongols who had followed him on the expedition before, and were actually not trustworthy. However, Wu Sangui used them not for real fighting, but to increase his momentum and for the next attack on the Ongniud tribe.

This method is actually no different from Gao Yingxiang and other bandits who mobilized the rioters. They are all human beings, Mongolian herdsmen and Ming people are the same. Under the threat of the butcher's knife and life and death, and their families are controlled by the other side, if they do not do as Wu Sangui asks, Wu Sangui will not be soft-hearted. For him, it is no problem to start a massacre here, or even kill all the Mongols, even if this method is too cruel, but for the victory of the war, any means can be used.

After the rest, Wu Sangui did not stop at all, but continued to lead his troops eastward to attack the neighboring Ongniud tribe.

By this time, the Ongniud tribe had received the news. When they heard that a large group of cavalry had attacked the headquarters of the Kharchin tribe, they were terrified. Originally, the strength of the Ongniud tribe was not as good as that of the Kharchin tribe. In addition, because Huang Taiji was using troops against the Ming Dynasty this time, he also mobilized a large number of elite soldiers to follow the army. There were not many troops left in the tribe, and they never expected to be attacked on the grassland.

Now the Kharchin tribe has been defeated by the enemy who came from nowhere, and even the Taiji has fled. How can the Ongniud tribe stop such a powerful enemy? For a time, the Ongniud tribe was in chaos. The Taiji and the tribal leaders and elders had different opinions. Some said to leave here immediately and flee to the east to avoid the enemy, and some said to go south to Baimachuan or the area where Huang Taiji's main force was located to ask for shelter and support. Others said to send an envoy to ask the other party's intentions and find out the other party's origins. Is it only against the Kharchin tribe or others? Maybe they can talk about it. The two sides don't have to go to war, and even pay some price. As long as the other party doesn't come to fight, it doesn't matter even if the price they pay is higher.

For a while, everyone was arguing, each with his own reasons, and even Taiji Karma was undecided.

Dong Daiqing, the most capable fighter in the tribe, is Taiji's brother. He is currently leading his troops to follow Huang Taiji to fight against the Ming Dynasty. There are not many capable fighters in the tribe, and most of them are the elderly, the weak, women and children. In addition, the headquarters of the Ongniud tribe is not far from the Kharchin tribe, only less than fifty miles apart. A fast horse can reach the destination in one day. With such a short distance, it won't take long for the enemy to attack us.

Taiji Galma wanted to leave immediately, but it was not so easy to leave. Although the Mongols were nomadic people, migration was a normal thing, but such a large tribe, with more than 10,000 herdsmen, would take time to pack up and leave as quickly as possible without the main force. It would take at least two to three days to pack up the family belongings, and even if they left, they would not be able to move fast. With such a large-scale migration, they would not be caught up by the enemy before they could go far. By then, without the cover of the camp and the tribe without enough cavalry for defense, wouldn't they be slaughtered?
Migrating eastward or southward was not a good idea. Besides, if they left the grassland, where would the tribe go in the future? Without the grassland, how could the Mongols feed their cattle, sheep and herdsmen? The weather was getting colder. If the weather suddenly changed and heavy snow fell on the grassland, and there was no camp in the snow, it was very likely that everyone would die on the way.

As a Taiji, Galma dared not take such a risk. He did not want the entire tribe to disappear in his hands. If that was the case, he might as well stay where he was and fight to the death.

As for the suggestion of sending envoys to negotiate, this suggestion made Galma very excited. He thought that perhaps the other party’s surprise attack on the Kharchin tribe was because they had a grudge against the Kharchin tribe, and the target was not himself?
If he could pay a certain price and persuade the other side to withdraw the troops to save the tribe, Karma would still be willing to do so. The law of the jungle is natural on the grassland, and it is not shameful for a Taiji to bow his head when he should, and survival is the first priority.

After much deliberation, Galma finally decided to send someone to contact the other side first to find out their background and requirements. It would be best not to fight if possible. As long as the tribe can be saved, any price is worth it. So Galma sent his confidant with gifts to the northwest. While sending the envoy, Galma also made another arrangement, which was to send someone to the south to find Dong Daiqing who followed Huang Taiji to the expedition, tell Dong Daiqing about the situation here, and let Dong Daiqing lead his troops back to the headquarters as soon as possible. It would be even better if Huang Taiji could send troops to help.

Not long after the people sent by Galma walked northwest, they ran into Wu Sangui's troops who were marching towards them. When Wu Sangui heard his subordinates report that Galma's envoy had come and brought gifts, he burst into laughter. He guessed Galma's plan at once. Wu Sangui thought about it and did not refuse the envoy's request for a meeting. Moreover, they had been marching for a day, and it was getting late. They were still some distance away from the enemy's headquarters. It was impossible to start a war today, so it was better to meet this so-called envoy.

"Are you the envoy of Karma?" The envoy was brought up. Wu Sangui sat carelessly on a stool with the Mongolian deputy general standing next to him. Wu Sangui could not speak Mongolian, so he asked questions directly in Chinese, which were then translated by the Mongolian deputy general next to him.

"I am the envoy of Karma Taiji of the Ongniud tribe." Unexpectedly, when the other party saw that Wu Sangui was a Ming general, he was stunned at first, and then answered Wu Sangui's questions in Chinese with an accent.

"Hey, you can actually speak Chinese?" Wu Sangui asked in surprise.

"I have learned Chinese and can speak it barely. I am sorry to make a fool of myself, General." The Mongol replied respectfully.

"It's not easy to speak Chinese so fluently. You must have a high status in the Wengniute tribe, right?" Wu Sangui asked with a smile.

The other party replied: "I am only a centurion, but because I assist the Taiji in handling tribal affairs, I am considered a civil official, and my position is not high."

Wu Sangui immediately understood that the Mongolian tribes, especially the Chahar and Tumed tribes, had been enfeoffed by the Ming Dynasty in the past, and most of the tribes still retained the official positions of the original Yuan or Ming Dynasty, such as Tai Shi, Wan Hu, Qian Hu, Bai Hu, and Zhen Fu. The same was true for the Wengniud tribe. It seemed that the Bai Hu official position of the other party was conferred by his ancestors, and as a civil officer of the Taiji, this Bai Hu could be said to be the Taiji's confidant. Although the official position was not high, his status was not low.

He nodded, waved his hand and asked someone to bring a stool, and invited the centurion to sit on it.

After thanking Wu Sangui, the centurion sat down. Wu Sangui then asked him his name, and he told him his name was Morgan.

"I, Taiji, was overjoyed to learn that the Ming army had arrived on the grassland. My Ongniute tribe has lived in Chahar for a long time and has always been on good terms with the Ming. When I learned that the general was leading his troops, Taiji asked me to bring gifts to pay my respects to the general, but I don't know the general's purpose of coming. If there is anything that my tribe can do for you, please tell me. Taiji has told me when I come here. As long as I can help the general, my tribe will never refuse..."

This guy, Moergen, was good at talking. Although he was a Mongolian, he was as smooth as a Ming person. He spoke clearly and logically. If he had a little accent, you would think he was a Ming person. After meeting Wu Sangui, Moergen told him the purpose of his visit directly. He did not mention Wu Sangui's defeat of the Kharchin tribe, nor did he ask whether Wu Sangui would lead his troops to attack their tribe. He only talked about the relationship between the Ongniud tribe and the Ming Dynasty, and took the initiative to offer to assist Wu Sangui.

This set of rhetoric made Wu Sangui look up to this guy. He didn't expect that there was such a person in the Mongolian grassland. Unfortunately, Wu Sangui was not a scholar, but a military general. If he had said this to a civil official, he might have been embarrassed. But Wu Sangui regarded the other party's words as a joke. The enemy was already at the gates of the city. What was the point of saying this to him? It would be better to be straightforward.

(End of this chapter)