The disgraced official I took care of was actually Zhu Houcong's childhood friend.

Chapter 518

Anda, being cautious, sent a scout into Datong City to gather information. After entering Datong City, Anda's scout was protected by the Prince of Jin's men and quickly found out the truth.

Having verified the information, Anda had no more reservations. He knew very well that if he wanted to attack Datong, speed was of the essence, and he had to reach Datong before the Ming army could react.

So Anda immediately mustered his troops and, like a sharp dagger, marched straight from the grasslands to Datong.

Unfortunately, the Mongols had been driven too far west by Lin Lu. Even though Altan Khan's forces were unstoppable and encountered almost no obstacles along the way, the Mongols had been driven almost all the way to the vicinity of Wuhai, which is nearly 1,500 li away from Datong.

Even if Anda's army marched at a fast pace, it would still take 10,000 troops half a month to reach Datong.

In fact, the capital city received this news on the seventh day after Anda began his eastward advance.

Anda only took about fourteen days to advance nearly ten thousand Mongol cavalry 1,500 li eastward, a speed that can only be described as astonishing.

This also demonstrates the importance of strategic depth. As long as the strategic depth is deep enough, there will be time to react to any blitzkrieg. If Anda had been in his original position, by the time the capital received the news, Datong would probably have already fallen.

If Zhou Chu hadn't been in Datong at that time, these garrison troops might have actually fallen into his trap.

As Anda watched his men suffer heavy losses from two volleys of fire, he felt a sense of familiarity.

"Could it be Zhou Chu?"

Anda's expression changed.

He led his army here, and it took him half a month. Anda did not believe that the Ming emperor would not react in any way. It was entirely possible to transfer Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, to Datong to garrison the city.

Thinking of this, Anda felt a surge of resentment, resenting the previous Khan's inaction, which allowed Lin Lu to drive their troops westward to Wuhai with almost no effort.

If we hadn't retreated so far to the west, even if we had come within another 500 li, Anda was confident that he could have conquered Datong and swept across the Ming Dynasty.

But at this point, Anda was almost certain that Zhou Chu was on the city wall directing the Ming army to attack them, and that the damned horse trap in front of them must have been dug on the orders of Zhou Chu, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The others had no idea they could have marched this far so quickly, because Altan Khan had deliberately created a time difference to catch them off guard.

Horse traps are deadly to cavalry formations. The Mongol cavalry in the rear echelons had to change their formation on the spot and bypass the horse traps in front of them. Trying to break through the horse traps would have resulted in heavy losses. The hook-and-sickle spears that emerged from the horse traps had already severed the legs of one horse after another, causing the cavalry in the front echelons to fall to their deaths.

Anda had no choice but to order his cavalry to split into left and right flanks and outflank the city, attempting to reach Datong and meet up with them. Once they reached the city, Anda was confident he could break through.

Standing on the city wall, Zhou Chu watched as the Mongol cavalry split into two, flanking from the left and right. He did not rush to give orders. At this time, the cannons of the mother-and-child cannons had been loaded. Zhou Chu was waiting for an opportunity, waiting for these Mongols to regroup, waiting for them to completely bypass the horse trap.

If the horse traps are within the range of artillery fire, it could easily cause friendly fire to the Ming soldiers inside, which is not what Zhou Chu wants to see.

Soon, the Mongols broke through the horse-trapping pit defenses. Anda, seeing his troops coming together, was once again filled with high spirits.

"put!"

Zhou Chu waved the command flag with a cold expression.

The moment the command flag was waved, the fuses of the mother and child cannons were ignited, and another round of earth-shaking cannon fire ensued.

"How is that possible? How could he still have cannons?"

Anda's expression changed drastically.