Chapter 91 Waiting for the East Wind to Come

Chapter 91 Waiting for the East Wind to Come

Chapter 91 Waiting for the East Wind to Come

The morning breeze blows by, bringing the unique freshness and moisture of the grassland.

Lu Yunyi stood on a high slope not far from the camp, looking out at the Buyuer Lake that carried the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

He glanced at the soldiers who were busy dismantling tents and yurts.

They moved quickly and orderly, filled with a sense of urgency to escape.

The soldiers were scattered in every corner of the camp, moving among the crowd, maintaining order and ensuring the safety of the entire migration process.

As the sun rose, the tents and yurts in the camp began to fall down one by one.

The soldiers and civilians rolled up the ropes and canvas and placed them neatly aside.

The wooden stake was pulled out with a creaking sound.

To the northeast of the camp, countless baggage carts had been loaded, forming a long dragon that stretched toward the northeast with no end in sight.

Around it, people walked slowly, with their backs bent, carrying packages, bags and shabby furniture.

The children sat in the gap between the donkey cart and the cart, their big eyes filled with confusion and fear.

They experienced this scene more than once.
I just don’t know where we will go this time.

Countless cattle, sheep and horses set out on the road early, forming another long queue that stretched as far as the eye could see, filling the air with a unique stench of livestock.

The neighing of horses and the bellowing of sheep continued,
The smartest ones are the old cows. They are very well behaved and keep looking around with their big eyes.

When the sandstorm came, he would gently dodge and follow his companions' steps.
Heading towards the unknown distance.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, bringing up a cloud of dust.
Lu Yunyi frowned and quickly ordered the soldiers to wear turbans to cover their mouths and noses.

The horse also shook its head back and forth in the wind and sand and ran with its hooves non-stop.

It has been three days since the Northern Yuan Dynasty began its migration.
There were fewer and fewer tents and yurts in the camp, and it gradually became empty.

Tents were dismantled one by one, leaving behind a mess, blood, and bodies lying on the yellow sand.

They may be servants of their masters, or horse slaves who raise livestock.
The royal court moved hastily this time in order to save food and to replace better slaves.

They were not taken away, but were left behind in the camp.
No one offered him a helping hand, and every convoy that passed by him looked indifferent, as if they hadn't seen him.
Only those slaves who were also slaves would quietly give him a look of pity, but they would eventually look away.

Lu Yunyi stood on a high slope, watching the bodies crawling on the ground, trying hard to keep up with the group.

But they crawled all night, just crawling from one camp to another.
But they did not stop, still moving little by little on the ground,
When all their strength is exhausted, they will lie there and fall into a deep sleep.

If they blocked the road, the soldiers would move their bodies out of the way.

If there are too many of them, they will be sent to a large pit that has been dug long ago and buried hastily.

As for the scattered bodies lying on the road, no one cared about them.
The jackals on the grassland would handle the flesh and blood for the soldiers, and the gerbils and mosquitoes would handle the bones.

In a few days, everything disappeared without a trace.

When spring comes, the weeds growing here may be taller than those around it.

After three days, only 40% of the Northern Yuan Dynasty's evacuation was completed, which made many people in the central and southern parts of the country anxious. They had already packed up their mules, horses and other valuables.
As soon as it is their turn, they will dismantle the tent, but this goes on day after day.

No matter how long they waited, it was still not their turn.

They climbed up the hill and looked out over the entire camp, hoping to see the progress of the migration.

But when they saw that only a small piece was missing from the northeast corner of the camp, they couldn't help but look despairing and cast their gazes towards the few soldiers standing quietly by.

Although Lu Yunyi was already accustomed to these gazes, he still turned his neck and looked over there.

The moment his gaze reached them, almost all the people turned their eyes away, not daring to look him in the eye.
But the doubts in their hearts forced them to turn their eyes back.
A boy of fifteen or sixteen hesitantly stepped forward, took out a dry biscuit from his pocket and handed it over.

Asked softly:

"Your Highness Arsleng, here is the dry biscuit for you. Can I ask you a question?"

Liu Heiying on the side waved his hand gently, and two soldiers wearing linen gloves came forward, took the dry biscuits, and carefully checked them.
One of the soldiers took out a silver hairpin, then took the water bag, put in the soap water that had been prepared long ago, and stirred it gently.
After taking out the knife, shake off the soapnut water and carefully insert the dry biscuit.

This method is the commonly used silver hairpin method of detecting poison.

After doing all this, they took out the welcoming guard and examined it carefully. Finding that it had not turned black, they took the silver hairpin back.

Another soldier grabbed a gerbil from the horse bag, broke off a small piece of dry biscuit, and stuffed it into the gerbil's mouth unreasonably.

Its mouth was stuffed full and its big eyes were filled with joy.

After doing all this, the soldier put away the biscuits.

The half-grown child who saw all this opened his eyes wide, not knowing what was going on.

Lu Yunyi smiled gently: "What do you want to ask?"

The half-grown child reacted quickly, took a step back, then took another half step forward hesitantly, and asked in a trembling voice:

"Your Highness Arsleng, we want to know when it will be our turn to migrate."

Lu Yunyi raised his eyes and looked at these people. Their clothes were worn and stained, and their faces were dark red from the wind and snow.

Most of the people and herdsmen living south of the royal court do not have much wealth. They usually make a living by helping others raise horses and herd livestock and processing furs.

If a war breaks out, the young and strong men in these families will have to take up swords and go into battle to stop the approaching enemy troops, and the half-grown children in front of them will also have to participate.

Now, everyone in the king's tent knew that the Ming army was about to attack, so they were becoming more and more eager to migrate.

Lu Yunyi's eyes were calm, and he spoke without a trace of emotion:
"If the migration goes smoothly, it will be your turn within five days."

When the child heard that it would take another five days, his face turned pale, his fingers tightly grasped the corner of his clothes, and his eyes were filled with despair.

For them, the attack from the Ming people in the south was secondary.
The important thing is that the rations are not enough to sustain them for another five days.

They couldn't wait to catch up with the main group and serve the adults in the tribe in exchange for daily food.

If they just wait here, they might starve to death.

The half-grown child clasped the tattered package tightly against his chest, not knowing what to do for a moment.

They had enough food left for three days, just three days!

They usually had some savings, but because of the relocation of the royal court, they spent all their money.

He bought a shabby cart and piled all his few possessions on it.

The shabby tents had to be taken away, as had the tables and chairs that had long been tilted, and the same thing happened with the musty bedding.
From the northwest to Buiyuer Lake, they carried everything on their shoulders and backs.

They once thought that the royal court would stay here for a long time, at least to give them time to give birth to children.

But now they were in a hurry and had to pool all their wealth to buy a cart, leaving a small space on it for their woman and the man with a tired back to sit on.

The half-grown child stood in the dust, slightly tilted his head, looked at the adults waiting behind him, and suddenly he mustered up some courage.
He turned around and spoke again to the soldier in front of him:
"Your Highness Arsleng, when will the Ming army attack us?" As soon as these words came out, the men behind them suddenly became anxious.
They all understood the rules of migration on the grassland. If they wanted to get help from the soldiers or ask something, they had to pay a price.

His Highness Arsalan was easier to talk to, and the price was just a dry biscuit.
In these days, many people have paid with dry bread and got the answers they wanted.

With their savings, they could only ask one question and pay a dry biscuit.

His Highness Arsno did not say anything, but just glanced at them quietly, which made them feel slightly relieved that they did not have to pay extra for that dry biscuit.

The half-grown child showed an anxious look. In the past few days, he had seen the fear and anxiety of the tribesmen around him in the camp, and he had also seen the adults at home unable to sleep all night.

He simply thought that they would migrate in five days.
If the Ming army arrived in five days, they might be able to get safe if they moved faster.

He believes that this question needs to be asked.

A firm look flashed in his eyes, his lips pursed tightly, and he looked down at the tattered package in front of his waist.
There were the few dry food he had been allocated, and the last half-dried biscuit was left.

He put one hand into the package, and the slight friction of the rags touched his skin.

When he touched the dry biscuit, he felt a dry and powdery sensation.
He turned around and looked at his master. His anxious expression and waving arms told him not to take it out.

Time seemed to stop at this moment.

The child's hands were in the package, his head turned away, and his eyes were filled with panic.

When he turned around again, his eyes were full of determination.

He took out the last dry biscuit without hesitation, held it in front of him with trembling hands, and asked in a voice that was barely clear enough:

"Your Highness Arsleng, I want to ask when the Ming people will attack us?"

Two soldiers stepped forward to take the biscuits, repeated the same actions, and put the biscuits away.

Lu Yunyi then spoke softly: "Five days later."

The sound was brief and powerful, causing the half-grown child to lose all his strength and fall to the ground with a plop, a look of joy on his face as if he had survived a disaster.
Even though he only had half a dry biscuit left.

He stood up excitedly, bowed deeply to the soldiers where Lu Yunyi was, and rushed back without looking back.

When he jumped up and down to tell the adults the news, he could clearly feel that the burden on those people was slightly relieved, and their frowns were slightly relaxed.
They bowed respectfully to Lu Yunyi and then slowly left.

Two dry biscuits brought a little comfort to my heart.

At this moment, it seems worth it.

Liu Heiying's eyes were full of pity. He sighed softly and said to himself:

"I hope they can spread these two pieces of news so that these people can be more stable and not be in such a mess anymore."

"They won't."

Lu Yunyi had a calm expression as he looked at the grassland people with sad faces in the southern camp and spoke softly.

Liu Heiying opened and closed his mouth, wanting to say something, but finally stopped.

That’s right, they won’t.

The comfort they got from two dry biscuits was their most precious thing, and they would not share it easily.

They also did not have the cunning of the common people. They would not exchange the news for dry biscuits, but would keep it in their hearts and enjoy it slowly.

"Brother Yun'er, the army has sent a message that they are traveling very fast and will arrive near Bui'er Lake in seven days.

This march has 120,000 soldiers, including 40,000 cavalry and 50,000 infantry.
The remaining 30,000 are the vanguard troops that set out in advance, and another 30,000 civilians are following behind, and their speed will be slower." Liu Heiying's face became more serious as he spoke.

He had studied warfare when he was in the Qianhusuo of Gyeongju, and after a long raid,
There must be at least two civilians behind each soldier, so that the battle can proceed smoothly.

But this time the army set out, because they had discovered the traces of the grassland royal court in advance, they implemented new tactics.

So much so that the army could march smoothly without even one civilian laborer behind each soldier.
This is something worth writing about no matter which dynasty it is.

Only those in the military understand the significance of this matter.

If this battle is successful, with such a precedent,

The imperial court will pay more and more attention to scouts of the front army, and will also pay more and more attention to exploring the location of the enemy in advance when going abroad to fight.

Instead of just knowing an ambiguous location as before, they rushed into the grassland to look for it.

Thinking of this, Liu Heiying couldn't help but doubt in his heart.
Is all this a follow-up plan that Brother Yuner came up with to highlight the front-line scouts?

The purpose is to make these more than a thousand people more dazzling in the war.

Lu Yunyi frowned, the army seemed to be moving too fast.
He could only attribute it to the layout of the outpost.

After a pause of thought, he asked, "Have we decided on the location where we will engage the army?"

Liu Heiying hurriedly took out the map, and he and another soldier each held one side in their hands and unfolded it in front of Lu Yunyi.

Liu Heiying gently tapped a small black dot on it and said:
"The location Wu Fuliu and I chose is in the south of Lianfeng Valley. There is a depression that stretches for more than ten miles, and there are many earth slopes in it.
I have personally explored it. If you are in a depression and look around, you cannot detect the enemy hiding in the cracks of the slope.
The army hid in the cracks of the earth slope, waiting for us to attack.
The army that had been hidden for a long time rushed out and could easily defeat us.

Moreover, the terrain of Lianfeng Valley is rugged, with many high slopes and depressions, which is a natural barrier that can isolate fish from both inside and outside the country.
Fighting outside can, to the greatest extent, avoid the sounds of shouting and horse hooves alerting the grassland soldiers cruising in the Buyuer Sea.

If the situation allowed, we could allow our front scouts to enter Buyuerhai and carry out a one-day strangulation.

I believe that within this day, we can wipe out the grassland soldiers within 30 miles of Buyuer Lake.
After waiting for the scouts in the front army to complete this military mission, we can lead the majority of our troops southward from Lianfeng Valley.

Even if some soldiers flee, we will be far enough away to pursue them without exposing the battle."

Lu Yunyi looked at the map thoughtfully, and after a long while he nodded gently:

"How many soldiers can be hidden in the cracks on the slopes south of Lianfeng Valley?"

"Twenty to forty thousand." Liu Heiying answered without hesitation.

"Okay, that's it. Send the battle plan to the army. If the general agrees, we will march in eight days.

When the army arrives, I will wait for an opportunity to see them.
It is safer to talk about the battle in person."

Liu Heiying thought for a moment, looked at the two long dragons in the distance, then looked at the king's tent that was being dismantled in the center of the army, and nodded slightly:
"Brother Yun'er, these grassland nobles will set off today and tomorrow. They will be in the middle of the majority.
When they leave, we won’t have so many constraints.”

Lu Yunyi sighed: "It has finally come to this. When will Wu Fuliu's people leave the camp?"

"After waiting for the departure of the Central Army, Wu Fuliu will lead 10,000 soldiers to cruise north of Erhai Lake.

However, Tianbaonu has already told Wu Fuliu that if the Ming army appears in the south and encounters our soldiers,
Wu Fuliu can decide for himself whether to rush to help or not."

"Have him keep an eye on the king's tent for a few days, and let him return on the last day."

"Got it, Brother Yun'er."

(End of this chapter)