Chapter 1318: Important Mission

The crescent moon is like a hook, and the stars are like brocade, reflecting on the Hulunbuir grassland, and the lake water of the Hundred Eyes Spring also reflects the sparkling starlight.

Unfortunately, Lan Yu had no intention of appreciating the beautiful scenery in front of him. He was overwhelmed by his own speculation.

"I can't refute the general's inference." Wang Bi heard it and whispered: "I wonder what the general is going to do?"

"One more day, there is no news at this time tomorrow, we must withdraw the troops." Lan Yu said sadly: "Otherwise, the army will be out of food, even if the war horses are used as rations, we can't go back."

"General, think twice." Wang Bi hurriedly advised: "We have waited for more than ten years to wait for such a good opportunity. Leading more than 100,000 troops, deep into the northern desert, but nothing was gained. If we return to the court like this, how can we report to the prince and the emperor?"

"But if this 150,000 troops have a mistake, it is not a matter of reporting, but a hundred deaths." Lan Yu looked at Wang Bi, his eyes were heavier than ever.

He was not cowardly, but the change of his identity made him feel a great sense of responsibility and dare not take risks without considering the consequences as before.

Originally, Lan Yu was just a vanguard, he could charge forward without worrying too much. But now he is the commander-in-chief, responsible for the safety of 150,000 Ming troops and the overall strategy of the Ming Dynasty.

His 150,000 cavalrymen are almost all the elite troops of the northern border army of the Ming Dynasty. With them, they can continue to maintain a high-pressure situation against the Mongolian tribes, so that the Northern Yuan court dare not set foot in the south of the desert. If these 150,000 cavalrymen have a mistake, the border defense situation in the north of the Ming Dynasty will deteriorate instantly. Not only can they not resist the cavalry of the Northern Yuan Dynasty from going south, but even those tribes that have already surrendered will show their fangs!

So although Lan Yu is crazy, he still dare not take risks with these 150,000 cavalrymen.

~~

Wang Bi thought for a moment, then said slowly: "Before the expedition, I asked my son-in-law if he had any tips. He said there was only one - once you take the first step, don't look back and forth, just go forward and you will succeed."

He looked at Lan Yu and said, "He also asked me to tell you this."

"Go forward and you will succeed?" Lan Yu repeated, muttering, "Could it be that the prince has foreseen this day?"

"I don't know. But we can certainly predict that we will encounter many obstacles on this trip." Wang Bi said in a deep voice: "But the prince firmly believes that we will win this battle and end this war completely."

"That's right." Lan Yu nodded, recalling the confident tone and decisive attitude of the prince when he told him the task, which showed that he firmly believed that they would find the Northern Yuan Dynasty!

"Besides, whether it is the Northern Yuan Dynasty or Wu Wang Duoerzhi, they have completely regressed back to a nomadic state. They lack food to feed their livestock and must frequently change pastures, otherwise they cannot have a huge number of cattle, horses and sheep, so it is very likely that they are just migrating normally on this grassland, rather than hiding from us."

"Yes, this possibility is also very high." Lan Yu nodded,

"And we didn't encounter any Yuan army, which is not a bad thing. This shows that the Yuan army probably didn't expect us to surrender Nahachu and come across the desert, so they were completely unprepared!" Wang Bi encouraged Lan Yu again.

"Is this possible?" Lan Yu's heart was pounding.

"It is entirely possible!" Wang Bi nodded heavily and said, "When the general ordered us to go north from the small road, wasn't it just to catch them by surprise?"

"Yes." Lan Yu thought for a long time, and his eyes finally became firm again. He had thought it through, and he was originally a character who sought wealth and honor in danger. Since the prince and the court asked him to be the commander-in-chief, it meant that they valued this point of him and were determined to fight for it even if they took some risks.

If I just play it safe, won't I disappoint the prince and the court? Isn't it the safest to let Fu Youde continue to lead the army? Why take the risk of using me?

Throwing all the hesitations behind him, Lan Yu said in a deep voice: "Pass the order to expand the search range! Even if we can't find the Northern Yuan Dynasty for a while, we must first find the Duoerzhi tribe and replenish the supplies."

After a pause, he ordered: "Early tomorrow morning, the army will move north!"

~~

But it seemed that God really wanted to go against the Ming army. The wind blew that night.

The wind was howling, sand and stones were flying, and the horses and men were shivering. They leaned on each other and finally survived until dawn.

After dawn, the wind was still strong, and the originally blue sky turned into a dim yellow. The whole world was shrouded in sand and dust, like the end of the world.

In this environment, it was difficult for people to open their eyes, and the visibility was extremely poor. Nothing could be seen a few feet away.

"How can my scouts search for it?" Hu Hai shouted, "It's good enough if they don't get lost!"

Lan Yu's face was livid, looking at the chaotic world, cursing the gods for generations. I don't know why I was so unlucky this time, and the weather and terrain were all against me?

Although Lai Tu didn't dare to say "Eternal Heaven bless the Golden Family" this time, Lan Yu started to wonder, could there really be some mysterious power that blesses the descendants of Genghis Khan?

Even the most determined Wang Bi was silent now. In his cognition, a general cannot go against the will of heaven, otherwise he will be punished by heaven.

"How about we retreat?" Zhao Yong saw this and paved a way for Lan Yu to step down and said, "Guantong and the others said that there will be sandstorms on the grassland in spring and autumn, which can last for a few days or half a month. We have run out of food and can't wait!"

"Yes." Guantong nodded in agreement: "When we encounter this kind of weather, we can only hide in the tent and can't do anything."

"What did you just say?" Lan Yu turned to look at Guantong after hearing this.

Guantong was a little frightened by his ferocious jackal appearance, and hurriedly whispered: "Bizhi said... When we encounter this kind of weather, we can only hide in the tent and can't do anything."

"Okay, that's great!" Lan Yu happily patted his shoulder and turned to the generals: "Did you hear that? God helps me! No one in Beiyuan will go out in this weather. , all hiding in the tent, waiting for us to find them! As long as we find them, we can catch them off guard!"

"That's what the general said." Hu Hai said: "But the premise is that we can find him. In this kind of sand and dust weather, the scout's search ability is greatly weakened, and it is difficult to find the target."

"Then send ten times more men and horses, and send 20,000 light cavalry to search together!" Lan Yu then ordered in a deep voice: "If the vision is too poor, use a net to search. If there are too many blind cats, you will always encounter dead mice!"

"General, think twice!" The generals couldn't help but advise: "If we can't find the enemy, our entire 150,000-strong army will be kept here."

"I have made up my mind, don't try to persuade me any more." Lan Yu said decisively: "Before the search for Kuolian Haizi is complete, who dares to talk about retreat again to shake the morale of the army?"

"Yes!" The generals looked solemn and did not dare to say another word.