Di Ming

Chapter 230 "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!"

As the chieftain of the tribe, Huoluochi was certainly not stupid. If he still didn't realize he had fallen into Zhu Yin's trap, he would be a complete fool.

One foot kicked the iron plate, the other bit into the rock!

Having suffered a crushing defeat in their very first exchange, Huo Luochi Taiji's eyes turned green with envy. He had roamed the Western Sea for so long, and had never suffered such a heavy loss before.

He did not underestimate these few hundred Ming soldiers, but he still underestimated them.

"Withdraw!" Wuzhe and Doge'atai, who were in charge of the attack, shouted the order, and the bronze gongs that ordered a retreat rang out urgently.

The more than two thousand Tatar soldiers who had already stormed into Danxia suffered heavy losses and were already demoralized. Upon hearing the clear and sharp sound of the gong, they immediately retreated like a tide.

"Kill!" Lancha, Mao Wenlong, Cao Wenzhao, and others, who had been waiting for the Tatars to retreat, each led a group of armored soldiers to seize the opportunity to charge and kill, like tigers descending the mountain, rushing straight at the wolf pack.

"Pfft—Pfft—"

"what--"

The retreating Tatar soldiers, who were already hesitant to fight, were now subjected to a fierce attack from the Ming army, who were positioned on higher ground. Their fear caused them to collapse completely.

Lancha, needless to say, wielded his heavy spiked club, moving with unparalleled ease, slaughtering the Tatars until their souls were shattered. The Tatar helmets were no match for the club's blows. Before Lancha, they were no different from being unarmored.

Mao Wenlong, also clad in two layers of iron armor and wielding a Miao sword, moved with the ferocity of a tiger among sheep, his blade striking with deadly precision. He only targeted the faces of his enemies, who lacked protective face shields, killing one every two steps, leaving behind a trail of blood.

Cao Wenzhao wielded a long halberd, striking like a god of war, killing one Tatar soldier after another with speed, ruthlessness, and precision. He was a warrior in the Ming army who rarely used the halberd; the halberd was a deadly weapon that pierced armor, and the Tatar armor could not withstand his halberd strikes. This handsome young general charged ahead, like Wen Hou reborn, and those who stood in his way were swept away.

Ding Hongying, the "matchmaker" guarding Zhu Yin, looked at Cao Wenzhao with a mixture of joy and worry, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

This Cao Wenzhao is truly extraordinary. Uncle Hu really knows how to recognize talent.

However, he must not make any mistakes.

Zhu Yin, who was good at reading people, noticed Ding Hongying's unusual behavior. Seeing his niece admiring Cao Wenzhao, Zhu Yin couldn't help but feel secretly pleased.

My dear niece! You have excellent taste! You're so reliable!

If my niece finds a man she likes, then I, her uncle, will have one less worry.

Over the past few years, Zhu Yin had worried a great deal about his niece's marriage. Unfortunately, Hongying was too picky, and they hadn't found a suitable candidate. Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei felt embarrassed to face her father, Ding Liyang, and even felt guilty, believing they hadn't fulfilled their responsibilities.

This time, there's a good chance it will work.

Zhu Yin couldn't help but laugh, "Cao Deyu is a true hero! He will surely become a famous general in the future! Hongying, what do you think of Deyu? To tell you the truth, he is not engaged yet. If you are interested in him, Uncle Hu will act as matchmaker!"

Ding Hongying, having her thoughts read by Zhu Yin, smiled confidently and said, "De Yu is indeed very good, but I'm three years older than him, this..."

Zhu Yin laughed loudly, "A woman three years older than you is like a golden brick! What's so difficult about that? I'm just afraid you won't be willing. If you are, that's good!"

Even the usually chivalrous and spirited Hong Niangzi blushed a little. "Uncle Tiger, what if Deyu is unwilling?"

"Unwilling?" Zhu Yin's expression hardened slightly. "My Hongying is such a talented person, and he's unwilling? If he's unwilling, then he's being rather ungrateful..."

Zhu Yin stopped there and didn't continue.

If Cao Wenzhao refuses his benefactor's matchmaking and is unwilling to marry Ding Hongying, then he will not become a true confidant, and thus cannot be cultivated as one of his own.

I won't make things difficult for him, but I certainly won't reuse him.

Ding Hongying had followed Zhu Yin for several years, so she naturally knew this "Tiger Uncle's" temperament. She smiled and said:
"It's not like I can't get married, Uncle Hu, don't force me. Even if Cao Deyu is unwilling, he's still a talented person. Let's talk about this later."

Zhu Yin said, "I care most about my own people, and only then about talented people."

...

At this moment, hundreds of soldiers also fought bravely, each one unstoppable. Long-term arduous training had made them the most professional warriors in the Ming Dynasty, transforming them into passionate yet ruthless killers.

The Tatar soldiers were fierce and skilled in battle, and had always been quite confident in front of the Ming border troops. They often dared to raid the passes with only a few hundred cavalrymen, and were not afraid even when facing Ming troops several times their size, sometimes even taking the initiative to attack. The Ming border troops rarely attacked them first, and mostly relied on the defense of the passes and fortresses.

But today, the previously arrogant Tatar soldiers realized that there are always stronger opponents. Their close-quarters combat skills were far inferior to those of the Zhu family's personal guards!

This stark contrast shattered the confidence of the Tatar soldiers.

After the Tatar soldiers completely withdrew from Danxia, ​​the Ming army, with fewer troops, killed more than two hundred of them.

From the moment Huo Luochi ordered the attack to the moment the Tatar soldiers withdrew from Danxia, ​​less than a quarter of an hour had passed.

However, the brief but fierce battle resulted in the deaths and injuries of over a thousand Tatar soldiers, leaving more than five hundred corpses in the Danxia landform! There were also two or three hundred seriously wounded who were unable to retreat.

Not counting those who were slightly wounded and evacuated, the number of people killed in battle and seriously wounded alone exceeded eight hundred!
Lancha, Mao Wenlong, Cao Wenzhao and others drove all the Tatar soldiers out of Danxia before calmly retreating back into the depths of Danxia.

The smell of gunpowder and blood mingled together, pungent and irritating to the eyes. Two or three hundred severely wounded Tatars wailed in agony amidst the Danxia landform, their voices filled with despair and misery.

The Ming army did not finish off the wounded Tatars, leaving them to struggle and scream on the ground.

From Tatar nobles like Huoluochi to Tatar soldiers without armor, everyone fell silent.

For a moment, the battlefield seemed to freeze.

The desert was already very hot at the end of April, but Huo Luochi felt cold. It was as if he wasn't in the desert, but in a snow-capped mountain.

This is nothing! He has already lost more than eight hundred elite soldiers!
Although he brought 10,000 men, only a little over 3,000 were actually armored soldiers. These 3,000 armored soldiers were not only the elite of the Doruo Tuman tribe, but also Huo Luochi's own men, and his source of strength among the Mongol tribes of the Western Sea and the Greater and Lesser Songshan Mountains!
Seeing that the returning soldiers, including the wounded, numbered only a little over two thousand, Huo Luochi felt a pang of heartache that made it hard to breathe.

hiss--!
The morale of the Tatar army was like that of a vicious dog that had been struck on the head; one moment it was barking wildly, and the next it was whimpering mournfully.

Many Tatars looked at the noble young man on the highest Danxia landform not far away, their eyes flashing with awe.

"Your Excellency, Taiji!" Wuzhe and Duoge'atai approached Huoluochi, their expressions grim, and said, "You incompetent lackeys, like a broken-horned ram, not only failed to annihilate the Ming army but also suffered the loss of so many warriors. We can only kneel before you in fear, offering you this shameful whip..."

As he spoke, he took off his hat, revealing his shaved head with braided hair, and presented the riding whip with both hands, raising it high.

Huo Luochi, his face ashen, took the whip and lashed it across Wu Zhe's head with a sharp crack, leaving a bloody welt.

Then he threw away Wuzhe's whip, took Doge'atai's whip, and gave Doge'atai a whipping lash as well.

Huo Luochi symbolically whipped two men in front of the army before shouting sternly:

"Your bones are softened by mare's milk, your courage is corrupted by beauty, and your swords are rusted by fear! Even your warhorses bow their heads in shame because of masters like you!"

"You will be punished by having to return home and hand over fifty mares, twenty iron pots, and one hundred tea bricks!"

This wasn't out of anger towards his subordinates, but rather to maintain the commander's authority; someone had to take the blame. Huo Luochi, of course, knew very well that the responsibility lay with him, not his subordinates.

Despite being beaten and scolded by him, Wuzhe and Duoge'atai's expressions softened, and they said with relief:
"The whip of the Taiji makes this servant feel much better. Your Majesty, please do not worry. Zhu Yin is a trapped beast with nowhere to run. He cannot escape."

Huo Luochi's eyes were as cold as water, his grip on the hilt of his knife was tight, and his killing intent was as strong as iron.

With so many soldiers lost, if we were to withdraw now, we would not only lose the opportunity to capture Zhu Yin, but our prestige would also be greatly damaged, and the entire Western Mongol Empire would laugh at our incompetence and cowardice.

So how do we proceed with supporting Prince Qing and establishing a separatist regime in the Northwest?

However, if the fighting continues, although we will certainly be able to capture Zhu Yin, we will have to pay a greater price, possibly losing one or two thousand soldiers! This loss far exceeds our previous expectations.

Huo Luochi gasped as if in pain, caught in a dilemma, unable to move forward or backward.

"Taiji Nayan." The Han scholar cautiously stepped forward and said with a cold expression:
"Although our army suffered many valiant losses, Zhu Yin also suffered losses. Taiji, he only had a few hundred men. If it weren't for this Danxia land, which is easy to defend and difficult to attack, our warriors would have captured him long ago."

"Even if his guards could take on ten men each, how long could they last? How many times could they draw their bows, and how much ammunition could they carry? Even if you just piled them up, you could still kill him."

He pointed to the sun in the sky, "There are still one or two hours until dark. Can Zhu Yin's few hundred men hold out until nightfall?"

"Taiji, we must not give up halfway. As long as we can capture Zhu Yin, it will be worth it even if we suffer another two thousand casualties."

After hearing the advice of the Han Chinese strategist, Huo Luochi, who had been struggling to make a decision, finally made up his mind.

Fight! Keep fighting! I don't believe my 10,000 troops can let Zhu Yin escape alive!

We can't let our previous losses go to waste!
However, they could no longer deploy their own elite troops; it was time to send those self-proclaimed brave Tuda soldiers to the front lines. Although they had been incorporated into their tribes, they were not true Mongols.

"Wu Zhe! Doge Atai!" Huo Luochi shouted, "I'll give you one more chance! If you still can't capture or kill the Han Chinese Ji Xiang, then you can forget about living under the heavens!"

“You shall select three thousand Tuda warriors and take this Danxia before nightfall! Tonight, I, the Taiji, will skin Zhu Yin alive as a sacrifice to my Harasuru Ding!”

"Yes, sir!" Wuzhe and Duoge'atai accepted the order and immediately went to select Tuda soldiers from the army.

Huo Luochi, mounted on his horse, began to play his morin khuur (horsehead fiddle) and sang with solemn emotion:

"My young warrior, he bid farewell to his maiden by the blue lake, and followed the Taiji Harasurudin to this place..."

His voice was a little hoarse, rough like the sound of wind and sand on the Gobi Desert, carrying a poignant sense of vicissitude.

It turns out that this Taiji of the Duoluo Tuman tribe was also an excellent singer.

As Huo Luochi played and sang, other Mongolian nobles also began to play the morin khuur (horsehead fiddle) and the hujia (a type of reed pipe instrument), and sing songs.

Some people even danced on horseback.

An indescribable power suddenly filled the Tatar army, and their morale soared once again.

A mournful horn sounded, and groups of unarmored Tuda warriors were selected and lined up.

These Tuda warriors were not true Mongols, but each of them was skilled in horsemanship and archery. Unfortunately, they had no armor, and their clothes were a motley crew, making them appear at first glance as a rabble. However, their fierce and wild aura was impossible to conceal.

These natives of the Western Sea were no less capable than the Mongol soldiers, and were even stronger in close combat.

Although they were called up for a second attack, Huo Luochi did not lend them the armor of his elite soldiers, but instead made them fight without armor.

Huo Luochi didn't want to lose any more of his elite armored soldiers, so he could only use these Tuda soldiers to wear down the Ming army's stamina and gunpowder. Once the Ming army was too exhausted to shoot arrows and had run out of gunpowder, he would send his elite armored soldiers out for the final attack.

……

At this time, the Ming army that had taken the initiative to attack also withdrew to Danxia, ​​and everyone was covered in sweat.

Zhu Yin counted the casualties and found that fifty-two men had been killed or wounded, representing a tenth of his forces. Most of them were Ming border troops under the command of Cao Wenzhao. Zhu Yin's personal guards and personal soldiers suffered only three deaths and about ten injuries.

The Tatars suffered over a thousand casualties, a ratio of twenty to one, an astonishing battle loss ratio.

But that's not how the accounts are actually calculated.

Even someone as formidable as Lancha, capable of taking on a hundred men, has limited stamina and cannot fight indefinitely.

Once your strength is completely exhausted, it's pointless. No matter how skilled an archer you are, how many times can you draw your bow?

Despite having just won a great victory, the Ming army's situation remains perilous given the disparity in troop strength.

Right now, although the Ming army still has more than 400 men who can fight, they are all a bit tired.

So as soon as they finished fighting, they took out milk candies and popped them into their mouths one by one to replenish their energy.

"Cao Deyu, how are you?" Ding Hongying, dressed in red armor, walked to Cao Wenzhao's side, making no attempt to hide her concern.

Cao Wenzhao, who had been exceptionally fierce on the battlefield, like a reincarnation of Wen Hou, blushed slightly upon seeing the smiling Hong Niangzi.

"That's great, we can charge back and forth a few more times." Cao Wenzhao was very pleased with Ding Hongying's concern.

Ding Hongying nodded and said gently, "Okay, then be careful."

Cao Wenzhao's eyes sparkled. "I understand, Hong Niangzi. Be careful too."

Zhu Yin, however, paid no attention to Ding Hongying and Cao Wenzhao. Instead, he held up his binoculars and looked at the enemy troops who were organizing their attack, his expression grave.

"My lord, do not worry," Shangyang said, stroking his beard. "Although our army only has a few hundred men, we can definitely hold out until nightfall. Once it gets dark, the Tatars will be unable to attack again."

Zhu Yin sighed slightly, "It's not difficult to hold out until dark. I'm just worried that Wei Zhongxian's letter might not be delivered in time, or that Hao Yunlai and Zheng Guowang might settle personal scores, or that they might refuse to obey military orders out of cowardice."

"Refuse to obey military orders?" Shang Yang frowned. "They shouldn't dare, right? How could the imperial court not punish them?"

Zhu Yin's expression turned slightly cold. "If we all die here and no one returns to the court, what will they say? Who can say they are necessarily guilty?"

……

While Zhu Yin was resisting the Tatar army's attack in Danxia, ​​Wei Zhongxian had already traveled more than 130 li.

Both of his horses were exhausted from the frenzied gallop.

However, Wei Zhongxian dared not waste his horses; he had to see the rear guard as soon as possible.

Seeing the warhorse foaming at the mouth, Wei Zhongxian's heart sank.

He didn't have the skills of a Mongol scout to find a wild horse's habitat and harness one as a mount.

Wei Zhongxian climbed a sand dune, stopped his horse and looked around. Suddenly he saw two herdsmen riding towards him, a man and a woman, who appeared to be from a nearby oasis.

Wei Zhongxian suddenly swayed, dismounted, and fell motionless on the sand dune.

Two herdsmen nearby saw this and immediately rode over.

"Is he dead? Is he dead?" the male herdsman said, taking out his water bottle. "Maybe he's thirsty. If you see someone dying of thirst in the desert, you should save them if you can, otherwise the gods will be angry."

The female herdsman checked on Wei Zhongxian's horses, which were nearly exhausted, and shook her head, saying, "This man has no regard for the horses."

The male herdsman, holding a water jug, had just turned Wei Zhongxian over when Wei Zhongxian flicked his wrist and stabbed the dagger into his chest!
"Ah!" the female herdsman exclaimed and turned to run away.

Wei Zhongxian rushed forward and slashed her neck with his dagger!
Then, before the other two horses could run away, quickly pull on the reins.

"I'm so sorry, I really apologize!" Wei Zhongxian said, then quickly mounted his horse and galloped away without a care in the world!
P.S.: Happy New Year to everyone!

(End of this chapter)