Prelude to the Great Battle of Tenryeong Plains - 2
Eight days later, the Mongolian army and the Black Wind Brigade joined forces. Since they couldn't trust each other, as per custom, the five tribal leaders sent their sons as hostages. This arrangement helped build mutual trust; each side believed the other wouldn't act foolishly, and the Mongols felt reassured by having sent hostages, thinking they wouldn't be suspected.
With the addition of the 80,000 Mongolian troops, the expeditionary force had now grown to 100,000 as they advanced toward the Tienling Plains near Machuha, where Cheoljincheon was organizing his forces. On the vast Mongolian steppe, shallow tactics were almost ineffective. Additionally, since both sides relied on cavalry, surprise attacks were nearly impossible. Night raids were advantageous, but they posed the risk of friendly fire, so only a small elite force could be dispatched to disrupt the enemy's positions.
The allied forces faced Cheoljincheon's 120,000 troops on the expansive Tienling Plains. As if forgetting their previous defeat, the Mongolian warriors were still filled with fighting spirit. The war had not started long ago; they had suffered a devastating blow in the last battle, yet they still had the capacity to fight. More importantly, they believed in Cheoljincheon, who, despite his injuries, was still alive.
General Okyeongjin observed the Mongolian troops maintaining their ranks with confidence and said to his deputy, "It seems those guys still haven't regained their senses."
"Yes, that must indicate their immense trust in Cheoljincheon. In fact, the main forces deployed in the last battle were his allied tribes. Most of the tribes that formed an alliance after the last defeat seem to have broken away, leaving only about three tribes willing to send soldiers to help him."
"Is that so? If we lose this time, that will be the end of it."
"That seems likely."
"Hmm, this time, let's opt for a frontal assault. In such a vast plain, using shallow tactics wouldn't work anyway."
"However, we should still employ some tricks. Otherwise, the losses could be significant."
"That's precisely it. The losses need to be substantial."
"Excuse me?"
"What I mean is..." General Okyeongjin explained by drawing lines in the dirt with the tip of his sword. "First, we need to spread the rough troops widely here. Then, order the tribal leaders of the five tribes to station themselves behind the rough troops."
"But what if they attack us first?"
"Well..."
"Previously, they charged us directly because their numbers were greater, but they lost many soldiers to our archers and crossbowmen. Now, with our forces being nearly equal, and without the rough infantry, we have 90,000 troops. To avoid fighting our infantry, they might refrain from a preemptive attack."
"Still, to prepare for any situation, we need to position the rough troops like this and keep the Mongolian soldiers behind them. If the enemy attacks, that's fine; if not, we can launch our own assault. And if the Mongolian troops betray us, we can retreat to where the rough troops are forming ranks and fight using them for support."
"Yes."
"If the enemy doesn't attack, we'll deploy the Mongolian troops on both sides of the rough troops to charge into the enemy camp and engage them in battle."
"..."
"Then, the five celestial troops of the Black Wind Brigade can push in further and strike at the enemy's rear, forming a vast encirclement. However, we will enter from behind while the five tribes withstand the front, meaning the losses for those tribes will be immense. This way, we can capture Cheoljincheon, and the Mongolian troops will end up fighting amongst themselves, weakening their forces—two birds with one stone. This time, we must completely encircle them and ensure Cheoljincheon's head is firmly severed."
"That's a good plan. But what if Cheoljincheon forms a rear guard and falls back like last time?"
"Last time, the gap between the main and rear troops was too large, causing them to be separated and defeated. This time, they'll definitely act together. If there's a rear guard, it could also serve as bait."
The next morning, both armies began to hastily form their battle lines. The Black Wind Brigade continued to lure the Mongolian troops, but having tasted defeat once, Cheoljincheon was not quick to take the initiative. It seemed he was concerned about his infantry.
For the infantry, retreat was not an option, as it would lead to chaos and annihilation. Thus, for them, holding their ground was the only course of action when the enemy was present. Due to this urgency, some cavalry would rush out to provoke the enemy with taunts or arrows, and when the enemy charged, they would quickly retreat to ambush or draw the infantry waiting in formation.
When the entire army retreated, the infantry would withdraw first while the cavalry always stayed behind to secure the escape route. With the advantage of rapid movement, the cavalry would always lead the retreat and hold the rear until the last moment.
After several failed provocations, Okyeongjin signaled for the second operation to commence. Immediately, all the cavalry under his command charged toward the enemy camp. Seeing this, the enemy also surged forward, resulting in a large-scale cavalry battle. The enemy, realizing that we had deployed a large number of cavalry, thought there was no longer a need to worry about their infantry. Unless they were a mad commander, they wouldn't give the order to fire crossbows while the two forces were entangled.
Countless cavalry clashed on the Tienling Plains, creating a magnificent scene. As General Okyeongjin watched the fighting between the Mongolian troops and the Black Wind Brigade, he was taken aback by the sudden shift in the tide of battle and shouted to his deputy, Ma Gilsu, who was standing next to him, "Take the remaining four hundred White Infantry to stop the enemy's retreat, quickly!"
As the Black Wind Brigade cleverly circled around, surrounding Cheoljincheon's troops, Cheoljincheon, feeling the pressure, ordered a flanking maneuver. Consequently, the Mongolian troops launched a fierce assault on what they considered the relatively weaker side of the Mongolian alliance. General Ma Gilsu attempted to halt the enemy's advance with the four hundred troops he had kept in reserve, but it was like trying to hold back a dam that had begun to break; he couldn't quell the enemy's momentum.
As if to mock General Okyeongjin, the massive Mongolian force cleanly broke through the encirclement and began to retreat. Thus, the first battle of the great confrontation could be deemed a decisive victory for the allied forces, but that was where the problems began.
As the Black Wind Brigade, which had surrounded the enemy in a jar shape, began to chase the escaping rats within, the area of the jar naturally narrowed, leading to fierce combat with the fleeing rear rats. However, the Mongolian troops, led by Cheoljincheon, who was risking his injuries to command, did not plan to retreat after breaking through one side. Instead, they split into two directions and began to attack the pursuing allied forces. As a result, the inside and outside became reversed, and the allied forces found themselves surrounded by Cheoljincheon's vast army.
Once encircled, the trapped rats in the center had allies on either side, meaning they could not wield their weapons and were forced to rest. Instead, fierce battles raged outside with the rats on the perimeter facing off. Since the area of collision was the same for both sides, if they fought desperately, it would not matter whether they were encircled or not. However, once surrounded, it felt like enemies were everywhere, causing morale to plummet rapidly, leading to the ensuing problems.
The operation completely exceeded General Ok Yeong-jin's expectations. Contrary to the assumption that a single encirclement operation could lead to annihilation, they found themselves surrounded by the enemy, causing the first signs of panic to arise within the Mongolian coalition, which was aware of Cheoljincheon's ferocity. Furthermore, General Ok Yeong-jin was separated from the Black Wind Brigade, positioned with the infantry. Without a commanding officer to lead them, the coalition forces became no match for the Mongolian soldiers, even if the latter were injured.
However, at this moment, Major General Ma Gil-soo of the coalition forces, who was locked in fierce combat surrounded by the Mongolian army, managed to break through the frontal encirclement with his 400 cavalrymen and the nearby Mongolian coalition. Major General Ma Gil-soo issued a command to his entire cavalry.
"Retreat to the position where the Auxiliary Army is stationed!"
"Black Wind Brigade, support the retreat of the Mongolian forces!"
As the 90,000 coalition forces began to retreat like the wind, the 120,000 Mongolian troops initiated a pursuit. In fact, while Cheoljincheon's Mongolian troops were large in number, they were a singular military group relying solely on Cheoljincheon. In contrast, the 90,000 coalition forces, although stronger due to the power of the Black Wind Brigade, were unable to respond swiftly to the unexpected developments in the large-scale cavalry battle as they moved separately, leading to this predicament.
As the 90,000 cavalry retreated at full speed, General Ok Yeong-jin was busy solidifying the formation of the Auxiliary Army to prepare for the enemy's incursion, while also reorganizing the cavalry that was retreating alongside the infantry. Soon after the Black Wind Brigade, Cheoljincheon's pursuers rushed in, and crossbows were fired in unison, sending countless arrows flying towards the Mongolian troops. As the line fell to the arrows, Cheoljincheon seemed to have no intention of continuing the fight and began to retreat.
A long day was coming to an end. The soldiers, thanks to the intense maneuvering battles, had no time to eat, barely managing to satisfy their hunger by swinging their swords while chewing on jerky. Once they were separated, they hurried to set up their cauldrons and prepare for a meal.
Operation for Certain Victory - 1
After finishing a late lunch, the senior officers of the Heavenly Man Army gathered to start an operation meeting. In the first major battle, the Mongolian troops of Cheoljincheong were mostly composed of reinforcements from other tribes, so their mobility was not exceptional, allowing the Black Wind Brigade to achieve an easy victory. However, once they actually clashed with Cheoljincheong's main forces, the dismissive thoughts about the ignorant Mongols disappeared entirely. General Ok Yeong-jin praised Major General Ma Gil-soo for saving the entire army from destruction and spoke in a serious tone.
"The enemy's strength is stronger than expected. This is quite troubling. What do the generals think?"
Major General Ma Gil-soo was the first to speak up in response to General Ok Yeong-jin's words.
"Cheoljincheong is not a figure who has read any noteworthy military strategy books, and his tactical sense is gained from extensive battlefield experience. He possesses an almost beast-like sharpness of perception. Therefore, rather than an obvious trap, we need to prepare a very intricate one. He may have a sense of danger, but we must make it so he cannot utilize that sense—so that he knows but still falls for it..."
General Ok Yeong-jin, intrigued by Major General Ma Gil-soo's words, asked, "What measures would be effective?"
Major General Ma Gil-soo deliberately slowed his speech to heighten the atmosphere and explained slowly.
"First, we can call the generals and the Mongolian forces to a standstill, so let's end today's operations and mobilize just one Heavenly Man unit for a night raid. It may not yield significant results since it's not a direct confrontation, but it will help raise the morale of our allied Mongolian troops."
"Hmm, that makes sense."
"And while doing that, we can pretend to draw this battle out into a long-term one."
General Ok Yeong-jin asked with a slightly puzzled expression, "Pretend?"
"Yes, we will select two units from the Black Wind Brigade and completely ravage the nearby Mongolian villages. Then Cheoljincheong will think that we are engaging in a long-term conflict while keeping his main forces here, trying to weaken his own power by attacking the remaining weak tribes, most of whom have lost their men. His subordinates will be demoralized as their families are destroyed. Thus, the only option left is..."
"To draw out some troops to divide his forces to fight against our raiding units..."
"Aha! Then we can completely destroy the enemy. That's quite a good idea."
At this remark, General Kwan-ji added, "General, from my perspective, it might be more effective not to touch the villages of Cheoljincheong's allied tribes."
"Why?"
"If we don't attack the strongholds of the allied tribes, they will not return to their villages, which will result in a lower proportion of soldiers trained by Cheoljincheong. Thus, they won't be able to demonstrate their quick response capabilities as they did this time."
General Ok Yeong-jin clapped his knee as if impressed by the suggestion. "That's a clever plan."
In response, General Jang Gak retorted, "But General, isn't this too cowardly a tactic? Do we really need to use such underhanded methods against ignorant Mongolian soldiers?" General Jang, a commander from a traditional martial family, valued righteousness above all else. He believed that even if the opponent was evil, he should face them with orthodox methods so that their honor would force the enemy to submit.
In contrast, General No Yeong countered, "Hehe, I think it's fine. There's no need to choose a fair fight against Mongolian barbarians."
"Let's put that aside for now. Have we investigated the villages near Cheoljincheong?"
Major General Ma Gil-soo replied, "Yes, I sent ten units of ten men each to investigate the area as soon as we arrived. We abducted and interrogated a few Mongolian tribesmen, and after gathering all the information, we discovered that there are four villages nearby."
"Good. Then let's send five units of one hundred men to each village. After they annihilate those villages, they should not return but continue to scout for other nearby Mongolian villages and wipe them out as well."
"Who will you send?"
"Gong Ji! No Yeong!"
"Yes!"
"You will depart with your subordinates right now! Major General Ma Gil-soo will provide the detailed locations."
"Yes."
As the commanders of the 7th and 10th Heavenly Man units left the barracks, Major General Ma Gil-soo asked, "Will we execute tonight's night raid?"
"Indeed! We must carry out tonight's raid. Kwan-ji!"
"Yes."
"You will detach from the main force and lie in wait for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack at night."
"Yes."
"We'll have to move about 80 li (approximately 32 kilometers) to a place with water, so if we light campfires here and there tonight and carry out the night raid simultaneously, the enemy will have a hard time knowing whether we've escaped in the chaos."
"That's a good plan."
"Also, inform the Mongolian chieftains that we will retreat and establish our positions again after a certain distance tonight."
"Yes."