June is coming in a blink of an eye.

As the rainy season officially arrives, the climate on the grassland becomes more and more bizarre. The sun was scorching before and sweating profusely in the sky, and the next moment, the rain would pour down and the temperature dropped sharply, making it tremble with cold.

Because they were walking along the river bank, the soldiers did not have to worry about drinking water. This was also a problem that the army had been concerned about after leaving the customs. They were always worried about the Gobi Desert and desert on the road ahead. Once the water was short of water for several days, the Tatars would be finished first.

I was not familiar with the place. It has been seventy or eighty years since the Ming Dynasty gave up this fertile land, and there are too many unknowns in the future.

But what makes the soldiers in the army most confused is the battle that may break out at any time.

The Tatars were following behind, only fifty or sixty miles apart, and the scouts had basically found out that the number of Tatar soldiers following this group was about 5,000. Such a short distance could be killed within two hours, which means that the battle would break out at any time.

Although Chen Xi ordered the army not to be nervous, the panic of the soldiers was spreading for several consecutive days and they couldn't sleep at night.

After walking for several days, the Tatar cavalry that followed showed no sign of leaving, but instead showed an approaching trend. In other directions, Tatar cavalry approached, and even the figures of Tatar whistle detectives could be seen on the other side of the river.

Because the river surface is very wide, even if the crossbow shè is in the past, it may not be able to win the bid. In addition, Chenxi ordered that the Tatar scouts be unable to react to the enemies on the other side of the river, so that the Tatar scouts became more and more arrogant and often made some provocative actions. Basically, three or four groups of Tatar scouts could be seen every day.

On the third day of June, the soldiers did not know where they had gone, nor when they could return to the Ming Dynasty, and began to become irritable. Although this life, which did not fight, was in a state of fear every day, made them unable to sleep or eat.

After the regular military meetings every afternoon, Hu Songyue, Jing Yue and Liu Xu stayed to report to Chen Xi about the situation in the army.

"...Sir, this is not a solution. Now the bastards are uneasy. The Tartars are following them all the time. If they don't take the initiative, then we will go back and fight with them. Aren't there only a few thousand Tartars? We haven't fought before, so we must not be afraid of these guys..."

Jing Yue was excited and sweared.

Although Liu Xu and Hu Songyue were not saying anything, they felt that Jing Yue said what they were thinking.

Chen Xi smiled slightly and asked, "What are we sending troops to the grassland to do?"

A simple question stopped the three of them. Without anyone answering it, Chen Xi continued: "The purpose of our coming out is to lure the enemy. Now the enemy is attracted by us, and there are five or six thousand Tartars following behind them. They neither start a war nor withdraw, just stare at them. Do you know why this is?"

Liu Xu said: "They must be afraid of adults, so they dare not invade easily."

Chen Xi shook his head: "You can only guess 20% of what you said! Although the Tatars were defeated by me several times, this does not mean that they do not have the courage to fight. At most, they are just a little afraid. Without understanding our reality, they have no reason to fight with us, because the land under our feet does not belong to the Dayan tribe, but... the territory of the Yibula tribe!"

Hu Songyue didn't quite understand, "Sir, what can't you do? Are the Tartars on the grassland a group?"

Ordinary people are not sure about the factional divisions of the grassland tribes and their respective entrenchments. In their opinion, the Tartars they face after going out to the frontier are all enemies.

In the minds of Shen Xi, people who have a lot of attention to the strength of the major forces in the grassland and the current pattern. Various disputes and contradictions within the Tatars are precisely the premise for Chen Xi to propose to fight this war.

Chen Xi roughly introduced the division of forces on the grassland today, and then made marks on the military map. After reading it, the generals probably understood it.

Jing Yue said: "No wonder, the Tartars were divided into so many forces, which means that they are still fighting now, so after we go out of the border, we will not linger in the largest Dayan tribe, so they dare not start a war against us easily because they are afraid that we will join forces with this Yibula tribe, right?"

Chen Xi nodded: "They have concerns in this regard, but this is not the main reason why they will not go to war. In fact, they are more tempting and waiting for news feedback from the tribes in the Hetao region. More importantly, they are also making arrangements. I believe that the Tatar Khan has sent troops to attack the Daming Pass and formed a strategic trend of full bloom. In this way, all the troops from Sanbian and Xuanda areas cannot go out of the border according to the established plan, and the strategies previously formulated will be ruined!"

"ah!"

All three of them were shocked.

Chen Xi said: "Don't be surprised. I didn't say this when I was promoting the tent before. Considering that this incident had too much impact, it might make the soldiers worried about the next battle. But since you come to ask, I will tell you the truth. After all, you are the people I trust the most!"

Liu Xu asked, "Sir, what will we do next? Continue to go west? Why don't we go south and return to the Ming Dynasty?"

"Yes, sir, the reinforcements are not coming, so what kind of enemy do we lure? Even if we lure the enemy over, it will be futile!" Hu Songyue said from the side.

Because Jing Yue had been called for a fight before, he was embarrassed to suggest retreating at this moment, but when Liu and Hu had asked questions, he nodded repeatedly, obviously deeply agreeing.

Chenxidao: "If you were Tatars, what would you think if you saw us returning in a hurry?"

"Well……"

The three of them looked at each other and then understood. Liu Xu sighed: "Sir, I am afraid that the Tartars will react too aggressively, so I will choose to take action in advance! Let's go west and go south to the appropriate place, so that the Tatars will not have any doubts."

Chen Xi nodded: "It is not a good idea to fight the Tartars at present. After all, Yibu La. Yongxibu and other tribes are eyeing each other. Even if we can wipe out the five thousand elite Dayan tribes following us, we will suffer losses themselves. At this time, Yibu La. Yongxibu may jump out to get a bargain, and our way south will be full of dangers. On the contrary, if the three parties maintain a balanced power, as the reinforcements of the Dayan tribe continue to arrive, Yibu La. Yongxibu and other tribes will definitely become more and more afraid, and the situation may not necessarily reverse at that time."

The three of them nodded repeatedly after hearing this. They were determined to ask for a fight before, but after Shen Xi finished speaking, the three of them retreated.

Liu Xu said: "Sir, you are right. At this time, there is no meaning to go to war with the Tatars who are following us. Let's go west slowly and be at peace with the various Tatar tribes... What do you guys say?"

Jing Yue was a little unwilling to accept it: "Sir, let's go back like this, how do you calculate the credit?"

Chen Xi cursed: "When is it now? I'm still thinking about the credit? It's good to be able to go back alive. Who knows what the various troops in the imperial court are now being restrained? The Tatars only need to dispatch 10,000 or 20,000 cavalry to raid along the Great Wall line to block the troops on my defense line thousands of miles away. Do you still want to make great contributions?"

Chen Xi's attitude suddenly changed, which made the three people present unexpectedly.

However, when they thought about Chen Xi's words carefully, they nodded repeatedly, thinking that even if they failed this expedition, they had nothing to do with them, and the responsibility was all on the cowardly Ming officials.

Liu Xu was filled with righteous indignation: "The lord takes us out of the frontier. It's still very hard not to mention the danger. Those high-ranking officials, one by one, may have to worry about it. They were so scared that they shivered and hurried in the fortress and did not come out. They even sent emergency documents to the court. We have been in the army for a long time, so this kind of thing is not common?"

Liu Xu criticized the darkness of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom, which quickly resonated with Jing Yue and Hu Songyue.

Hu Songyue said: "Those guys fear the Tartars like tigers, without any blood at all, pushing us to a dangerous situation... Fortunately, we are following Lord Shen, who are afraid of Lord Shen's reputation and dare not fight. If someone else led the troops, they would have rushed over long ago!"

"right!"

Jing Yue followed suit, "Mr. Shen has a great reputation and shocked those Tartars. Otherwise, there would be more than 10,000 people, which is not enough for those Tartars to get stuck in the teeth. They are all incompetent officials and generals of the Ming Dynasty! After Lord. Shen returns, he must bring down those guys. Let's see who is still so bad in the future!"

Chen Xi nodded: "You are right. It is urgent that we must return to the Ming Dynasty safely, contact Your Majesty, and then make the next arrangements... Don't worry, as long as you can retreat smoothly, I will submit a memorial to Your Majesty for your contributions and be able to come and go freely in the Tartars' territory. You are all heroes!"

Inspired by Shen Xi, the three of them felt their faces shining.

They themselves think so. They can walk around where others dare not get involved, and after they go back, they also have the capital to brag. Look, we followed Lord Shen to "stroll" around the grassland. Not only did the Tartars not dare to go to war, but also "escort" us along the way. What a glory is this?

Under Shen Xi's analysis, Hu Songyue, Liu Xu and Jing Yue were convinced and went back to arrange patrol matters with peace of mind. A crisis was resolved, and Chen Xi felt a little bit of gratitude.

It was late at night and the river still had no rest.

It was already the third day when Yun Liu came to report the matter. Chen Xi still didn't feel tired, and he was holding paper and pen in his hand to write and draw.

"grown ups……"

Yunliu greeted him after coming in, but Chen Xi did not look up and said casually: "It's so late, you can rest first. It's not too late to talk about it tomorrow morning if you have something to do."

Yun Liu said: "Are you afraid that the Tatars will suddenly come?"

Chen Xi shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Of course I am afraid that although defensive measures have been taken, if the Tatars make a desperate bet, we will still suffer heavy losses and the next step will be difficult."

Yun Liu said worriedly: "But sir, it's not a solution to drag on like this. Today, the scouts we sent to the east were killed and injured. It seems... the main force of the Tatars has come to chase him, and the war will break out at any time..."

Chen Xi raised his hand and did not let Yun Liu continue, "So what if the main force of the Tartars comes? This just fulfills my wish and makes the Tartars fall into my plan!"

"But... Your Majesty's reinforcements didn't come with you..." Yun Liu was anxious. The strategy of seducing the enemy was no longer possible, and Chen Xi's persistence was meaningless.

Chen Xi asked, "Do you think my troops are not enough to defeat the Tatars?"

"yes!"

Yun Liu answered very directly, "I think that the number of people in front of us is not enough. If we are guarding the city, we may not be able to stop the Tatars from siege, let alone now we are just on the grassland without any dangers?"

Chen Xi smiled and said, "That's good." Then he picked up the paper spread flat on the table and handed it to Yunliu: "Look at it."

Yun Liu was held in his hand and read it in detail. To be precise, this is a simple map, which seems to be a way to set up a formation for different terrains.

Chen Xi asked: "Which formation do you think is more suitable for our army to fight the enemy?"

"grown ups!"

Yunliu then understood what was drawn on the paper. She did not continue to look at Chen Xi, her eyes full of surprise.

Chen Xi's face was a little displeased: "If you understand, say, if you don't understand, or if you don't want to think, I won't force it. It's too tormenting to think about these things in the middle of the night. I'm tired, and I don't want you to persuade me now. Since I've already arrived here, I have no intention of retreating."

Yunliu gritted her teeth: "The adults still insisted on going to war with the Tatars, and even had already made plans to have no reinforcements before sending troops, right?"

Chen Xi did not answer this question, but his next words were almost answered: "You can know some things, but you shouldn't ask about some things even if you don't know them!"

Yun Liu said: "Why are you so paranoid? Why are you making such a great sacrifice for the Ming Dynasty and putting yourself in danger again and again? Do you think it is worth it to sacrifice for the Ming Dynasty?"

Another question with no answers.

Chen Xidao: "You have to hurry up tomorrow morning, and it's time for you to go back and rest. Maybe my problem is too complicated and it makes you embarrassed."

"Sir, your contribution is already great enough. Even if you live your life in peace, history will remember your name. The matter of pacifying the grassland can be waited for decades, or even handed over to future generations to do. That is not the responsibility of the adults. You should be a good official and let the people of the world live a good life. This is in line with the people's expectations for the adults!"

Yun Liu could no longer control her emotions. She spoke with a crying voice and her true feelings were revealed, which made Chen Xi feel helpless.

Chen Xi waved, "Stop talking."

"I want to say something about humble responsibilities."

Yun Liu's tears flowed out, "All this is really not worth it... The battle plan formulated by the lord is very good, but no one implements it. The lord even dares to take risks with his own risk. But does Your Majesty and the ministers in the court appreciate it? Even the defenders from all over the country don't care about it, and they wait and see. Even if there are only dozens of Tatars invade the territory, they pretend to be a sign of a large army being overwhelmed, asking for help from the court, and refuse to send troops, and sacrifice the lord for this! Is it necessary for such a court to be so loyal..."

At the end of the day, Yun Liu was crying.

Chen Xi smiled and said, "Maybe in your opinion, I am too crazy. Even though I know that all the troops cannot rush to support me, I still have stubborn opinions and insist on taking out the frontier with my troops. Facing enemies that are several times or even ten times as good as my own, I am still in a terrain that is not conducive to our army's performance... But you must understand that if this is not the case, the Tatars cannot fight us! Only by making the Tatars feel that they will win will they take the bait. This is also a choice I was forced to make, and it is not my wish!"

Yun Liu said: "Why did the adult insist on choosing a battle?"

"Because I will encounter many obstacles in the Ming Dynasty, and it will not be much easier than before. Only when the external environment is safe enough can reform be implemented. War can quickly establish an incomparable reputation and give me an advantage in the fight with civil officials and old ministers. Otherwise... I will be suppressed by Mr. Xie and others forever, and have no right to speak in the court. Can I have to wait thirty or forty years before I can realize my ambition? Even if I can wait, time will not forgive me."

Chen Xi's tone was filled with sadness.
Chapter completed!