By noon, Yang Tianchen had found Tumen Khan's royal tent again, not far from the sacrificial tent. Unfortunately, Tumen Khan's eldest son had already received the urgent report and was breaking camp to head north to rendezvous with the Khalkha people.
However, the mountain paths were difficult, and Tumen Khan's sons were fleeing in haste, stretching their cavalry into a long line. Prince Jing also quickly caught up to intercept, and the three Ming armies broke the royal tent's cavalry into three sections. After more than an hour of fierce fighting, Tuman suffered over ten thousand casualties, and Tumen Khan's sons barely escaped.
Before nightfall, the mountains and deserts of the northern desert were already desolate. Prince Jing looked at the fires on the grassy plains in the valley, the corpses piled along the mountain paths, and listened to the continuous reports of pursuit. A smile of satisfaction finally appeared on his lips.
Guo Hu had initially refused to believe this person could fight, but now he had no choice but to admit defeat. He had been pondering: although a large part of this victory was due to luck, this luck was actually related to courage; with the courage to take risks, came such incredible good fortune.
After all, Prince Jing had roughly pinpointed the location of the sacrificial and royal tents. This was not purely luck, but a sharp judgment of the battlefield situation.
Tuman had sent the largest force this time, at least fifty to sixty thousand men on the Liao River plains. Their supply lines certainly couldn't be very far. Therefore, if the camp wasn't on the west side of Zhuo Mountain, where else could it be? Although he had thought of it himself, years of habit prevented him from venturing out, especially with the entire army…
At this very moment,
He looked at Prince Jing, his hair disheveled in the blood-red setting sun, his eyes sharp and deep, his face pale and devoid of color, and that strange, wild smile… a sudden, inexplicable fear arose in his heart, or rather, a nameless awe…
Wu Ding was Prince Jing's confidant. This surprise raid had been a great success. The inventory of captured supplies was incredibly vast, far exceeding any battle in the past decade.
Cattle, sheep, and other livestock captured numbered over two hundred thousand, not including those shot by arrows at the sacrificial tent camp. Enemy casualties exceeded thirty thousand, with at least sixteen to seventeen thousand dead; over three hundred prisoners were minor tribal leaders, along with a dozen or so Esoteric Buddhist monks…
He had already been briefed by Ge Jing: Prince Jing was highly likely to succeed to the throne. He hadn't believed it before, but now, with such a great victory before his eyes, how could the court and the Emperor ignore this Prince Jing? It could be said that from this moment on, Prince Jing had become independent, no longer relying on any faction… If he could succeed to the throne, there would be no problem for himself to become the Governor of Jiliao or something…
Unable to hide his joy, coupled with the pride of victory, Wu Ding's voice grew louder and more confident.
"Your Highness, your subordinate believes that although Liaoyang has fallen, our army has at least crushed Tuman… If there is no action from Jizhou, we cannot account for ourselves to the court! Tumen Khan's main force should be returning to reinforce them soon. What is the next course of action, please advise, Your Highness!"
As he spoke, his eyes swept over Guo Hu and Yang Tianchen, his face already showing considerable pride.
Everyone thought that Tumen Khan, upon hearing of his sons fleeing north and the destruction of his two main camps, would naturally return to preside over the defeat. Otherwise, according to Tuman customs, internal strife would soon begin. As for their own army, they would naturally set ambushes along the way to intercept…
Unexpectedly,
Prince Jing smiled mysteriously:
"Do not pursue a cornered enemy. Our army will immediately return to defend Yizhou…"
Return to Yizhou?
We should be descending the mountain to attack Liaoyang!
If we have to return,
It should be to Miyun…
All three were greatly puzzled.
Prince Jing snorted through his nose and said slowly:
"Hmph, Wu Ding, you people have been fighting on the border for years, yet you have no understanding of the war situation… When the news of Liaoyang's fall spread yesterday, Tumen Khan must have already entered the passes.
With his strength, whether it's Juyong Pass, Xifeng Pass, or Gubei Pass, he can break through anywhere… However, by tonight, upon receiving the news of the supply camp's attack, Tumen Khan will naturally withdraw his troops… He will likely bypass Yizhou and reassemble his various tribes north of Zhuo Mountain, and then he will fight us to the death… The siege of Liaodong has not been lifted, and we still need to see the movements of Yang Bo and others in Jizhou… Our army defending Yizhou can advance or retreat, which is naturally the best strategy."
Mmm,
Wu Ding followed his line of thought, and the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
If they could enter the Yizhou area in advance, and if Tumen Khan knew about it, fearing an ambush, he would likely not dare to come and would instead take a long detour. This would create an opportunity to recover Liaoyang. If Yang Bo and the others were incompetent, then that would be their fault.
Guo Hu, a renowned general, thought for a long time, but one thing remained unclear.
With such a great victory, they should immediately inform Jizhou, with the governor commanding the overall situation, and all armies should launch a full-scale attack. Perhaps Liaoyang and its surrounding cities could be recovered within a few days. This was the most important thing to do. Why was this Prince Jing going to Yizhou first? This was strange… Yizhou was just a fortress, why was it so important? Did he deliberately not want to recover Liaoyang?
At this thought, he recalled the dark political situation over the years and suddenly guessed something: perhaps Prince Jing wanted to appear as if he was rushing to aid the emperor? To immediately cut off Tumen Khan's rear, so that the court and the emperor could not blame him? As for Liaoyang, it would be recovered sooner or later, so there was no rush?
Prince Jing smiled and glanced at them, inwardly amused.
How would these people understand?
The political situation was the most important thing!
Tumen Khan had likely invaded the passes last night, at the latest this morning. The capital was so close, and the city was already in a state of panic. In such a crisis, how could Yan Song and his son not act? Liaoyang falling at this time, not before or after, was likely due to the Yan family's manipulation.
If he guessed correctly, the Yan family had already forced the emperor's hand. They thought he was Zhu Xue, the youngest son of Prince Ning, and were clamoring for him to ascend the throne. This operation would naturally leave the Emperor with no choice, and they would likely get their way.
And when the news of his victory arrived later, all parties in the court would be stunned! At this time, people would finally realize that a savior had suddenly appeared in the Great Ming dynasty.
And one more thing, which was the most important.
If he went to Yizhou first, the situation in Liaodong would remain unresolved, thus creating a delicate balance of power. If it were completely resolved, the Emperor would have no pressure, and the Yan family would feel that they could no longer control him, making his desire to ascend the throne a pipe dream!
And to make all parties in the court aware of his strength, yet not reveal his ambitions, that was the most crucial. To achieve this, he could only go to Yizhou, appearing as if he was rushing to aid the emperor and intercept Tumen Khan. In this way, he could let the Emperor know his loyalty, without offending the Yan family, and the political situation would remain in a delicate state of struggle among all parties.
The only change was—
In the midst of everyone's panic, he suddenly appeared as the linchpin, yet not so ostentatious, capable of preserving everyone's face and interests.
This was the harvest he most desired from this expedition.
He smiled, not wanting to say more, and said in a monotonous, dull voice:
"It's passable..."
Yan Song felt that the situation was a bit unexpected, but it was largely proceeding as he had anticipated. At the very least, Tumen Khan was still capable of fighting. At this moment, the capital's army was lured away by him, and he could probably charge straight into the Gubei Pass area, perhaps even reaching the outskirts of Beijing? At the latest, tonight.