On the banks of the Nuer River in the south of Jinzhou City, a sea of people gathered together with countless civilians and defeated soldiers. Driven by the fine cavalry of Ningyuan Town, they gradually fled towards the river bank in the north and the foot of the mountain in the south.
Although the defeated troops had retreated to both wings, the battle between the Ming and Qing armies had just begun.
Previously, the Qing army's offensive had been going very smoothly. With their strong military advantage, they suddenly appeared in front of the Ming army and took advantage of the surprise.
The more than 15,000 soldiers and horses of the Ming Army in Shanhai Town and Ji Town were defeated successively. Except for a few elite cavalry, they were still able to leave as organized troops, but the infantry were in dire straits.
Chased by the Tatars, they were like rabbits being chased by hounds. They ran away without their lives, killed each other, trampled on each other, and many of them died, not to mention died from the arrows, knives, and axes of the Tartars.
Down.
In this way, nearly half of the more than 20,000 soldiers and civilians in Shanhai Town and Ji Town were killed or injured, and the infantry were even more defeated, running around like headless flies. It seemed that they could escape the Tatar horses with their legs?
Fortunately, Wu Sangui was resolute and resolute, without the false mercy of a woman. Otherwise, his troops in Ningyuan Town might have been scattered by the defeated troops like Bai Guangen's troops in Ji Town, thus strengthening the ranks of the defeated troops.
With Wu Sangui personally in charge, the soldiers of Shanhai Town used the tactic of outflanking, intersecting and dividing the cavalry to drive the fleeing civilians back to both wings.
Even when faced with Shanhai Town and Jizhen Jingqi, who were charging from the front, he stopped them outside the formation without any mercy. Just now, Bai Houren, the deputy general of Jizhen, led his servants to charge into the formation, but they were also killed by him.
Kill them all in front of the formation.
Wu Sangui's strategy is very simple and crude, but it is very effective.
He used the elite cavalry of his servants to move forward and disperse the fleeing civilians so that they could not stick together. In this way, it was easy to drive them away. He only had to force the leading ones to both sides, and the rest
Follow naturally.
But the retreating cavalry who rushed forward greeted them with a volley of guns and artillery. Just like Bai Houren, what do you think the deputy commander in chief is doing?
Perhaps, he could still show off by flying his own banner in Ji Town, but in front of Wu Sangui's military formation, whether he, the deputy commander of Ji Town, or the commander in chief, Bai Guangen, could enter in person
It's hard to tell if Ningyuan's army will be able to form a large formation.
At this moment, Ji Zhonglun had been escorted back to the camp due to his serious injury, while the captain, Li Qinggong, led the remaining 500 or so Ningyuan Town elite cavalry and continued to march slowly westward.
As for the Jia La Zhang Jing Maisel of the Baya La camp in Zhengbai Banner, it has already become the military merit of Ji Zhonglun and Li Qinggong!
…………
At this time, He Youren, the commander of the left-wing battalion of Shanhai Town, had already led his servants to Bao Guangfu's camp. Naturally, he would not tell Bao Guangfu the whole truth.
He Youren only said that tens of thousands of Tatar bandits and cavalry suddenly attacked. The bandit army was very sharp and powerful. He and the general Ma Ke formed a formation to defend. Unexpectedly, the soldiers in front of the array fought fiercely against the Tatar bandits, but the civilian army behind the array was strong.
They booed and fled.
This caused turmoil in the morale of the troops and demoralization. Although he and the commander-in-chief Ma Ke tried their best to suppress it, they were still unable to stop the soldiers from fleeing, which led to the collapse of the entire battalion.
He Youren further said that he also took into account his deep friendship with Bao Guangfu, so he specifically came to his camp to tell him the truth, so that he could be prepared and not have the camp destroyed by the fleeing soldiers and civilians.
, the whole army was wiped out here.
His words were half true and false, and the results were consistent with the battlefield conditions. Bao Guangfu couldn't help but not believe it!
Bao Guangfu was also a veteran of Liaoxi general family. In fact, people like them were born to be warriors. They were not incapable of fighting on the battlefield, nor did they lack the courage to fight on the battlefield.
However, their courage and confidence can only be fully displayed when they are at home.
If the Tatars were attacking Shanhaiguan City, I believe they would be able to defend it with all their strength and fight to the death with the Tatars, just like Jinzhou today, which was besieged for more than a year and still held on as before.
After all, their relatives and property are all here. If the city is attacked by the Tartars, not only will they lose their heads, but even their parents, wives, and children will not be left alive. They will all be slaughtered by the Tartars, or they will be killed by the Tartars.
Captured into slavery.
If this is the case, not only will the family wealth accumulated over the years be useless, but the incense of this lineage will also be cut off. The superior will be unfaithful to the emperor, and the subordinates will be unfilial to the parents. If the incense is cut off, there will be no one to take care of him after his death.
As they grew up under the traditional educational ideas of the Han cultural circle, what could be more unacceptable to them than this?
Therefore, when they go out to fight, they are always timid and cowardly, always thinking about how to survive their own lives, but most of them are not thinking about themselves, but their family members and relatives behind them.
In life, one must always have some ambition!
Most people want to make their parents live in peace and their wives and children happy, even the soldiers in these border towns are no exception.
Of course, this does not include those soldiers who have nothing to do all day long and make trouble all day long. Most of them have been separated from their wives at home, and they themselves have become "eat, drink, whore, gamble, smoke, rape, lazy, greedy and slippery".
The incompetent soldiers are exhausted and scum.
However, these tired and scumbag troops may be more common among other border troops, especially those in the mainland.
On the Liaodong side, since Sun Chengzong, the governor of Jiliao and Ge Lao, proposed the concept of "defending Liao soil with Liao people", most of the local armies in Liaodong have been filled with young men from Liaodong.
Moreover, most of them were local people with families, so they still had a strong sense of protecting their territory. Sun Chengzong also valued this.
Furthermore, many Liao people at that time had various kinds of hatred against the Tatars. Some of them had their parents and brothers killed by the Tatars, and some had their wives and children killed or robbed. Everyone was filled with hatred and started fighting against the Tatars.
Naturally, I won't show any mercy.
But as time went by, their endless hatred for the Tatars was replaced by deep fear and cowardice. They no longer had the courage to fight with the Tatars in the wild, but only dared to trap themselves in the fortified city to protect their families.
Only by keeping one's own business can one barely fight against the slaves.
Let's just say that Shanhai Town guerrilla Bao Guangfu was such a person. When he first met He Youren, he felt that something was not good.
Because when he saw He Youren and the others, they were in a panic and were all covered in blood. Most of them had various injuries. From this, it could be seen that the chariot must have been withdrawn.
Although he was a guerrilla in Shanhai Town, He Youren was a staff general, and his military position was one level higher than his. Even though there was no reporting relationship between them, Bao Guangfu still came forward with a smile on his face.
He opened his mouth and asked: "General He, you have fought bloody battles with slaves, and you are truly an example to me in Shanhai Town. However, I don't know how the general broke out of the siege, and why he came to the end of the general?"
He Youren refused to be polite to him and said directly: "Brother, you treat me as one of my own, and this is why I am the first to tell you the news."
He raised his finger and pointed at the Tatar military stronghold in the northeast, and said anxiously: "The Tatars are guarding the pontoon bridge on the opposite side. Although they have not attacked yet, they are by no means an empty stronghold. If there are more Tatar thieves coming from the west, then
At this time, the inside should be combined with the outside, and attack from both sides.
How will my brother respond?"
Bao Guangfu was speechless when he asked him, and his face turned pale. Indeed, as He Youren said, if the Tatars really pursue them after a while, then they will cooperate with the Tatar soldiers guarding the bridge in the village.
, what should I do?
"Brother He, as you see it, what should I do, brother?"
At this moment, Bao Guangfu actually had the idea in his heart that he wanted to withdraw from the camp. However, he did not want to bear this responsibility, so he asked General He Youren for advice.
He Youren has also been a general for many years, so he doesn't understand the meaning of his words. However, he knows that he is responsible for the collapse of the entire camp and it is really difficult to escape. Everything he did today is to make a little bond in the last moments.
good karma.
It can be regarded as making one last contribution to future generations and the He family!
He didn't think for long before he said to Bao Guangfu: "If the Tatars attack from the west, and this place is sandwiched between the Tatars and the slave stronghold, and there is no danger to defend, it will only be a matter of time before they are defeated."
He Youren pointed to the east again and said: "No, brother, please move your camp to the east and take advantage of the mountains there to form a formation to defend yourself. If the Tatars come to attack, they will only be attacked on one side. If you advance, you can attack."
If you are defeated, you can retreat into the mountains and valleys and go east to find the Tang general of Miyun Town."
"Look, Brother He is indeed a veteran of our Shanhai Town. With such knowledge, my brother is really inferior to me."
After Bao Guangfu praised He Youren, he took a step forward and clasped his fists, saying, "I will do what Brother He wants."
As he spoke, he seemed to have just remembered, and said to He Youren sincerely: "General He, why don't you and the last general move the camp to the foot of the mountain to the east, and you and I can form a formation to defend against the enemy. How about that?"
He Youren spent a lot of thought, and here is what he planned.
The moment the left-wing battalion collapsed, he began to think in his mind. This was the reason why he fought hard to disperse the rushing left-wing battalion in front of the main barracks of Marco.
However, He Youren had already seen that Marko's main barracks might not be able to withstand the Tatar attack, so he did not dare to stay longer and hurried over here.
The picture also shows Bao Guangfu. Although this person is a guerrilla in Shanhai Town, he is not very close to Ma Ke on weekdays. Moreover, he and He Youren belong to the same local military family and have many private contacts.
At this time, He Youren was very happy when he saw that Bao Guangfu invited him to form an offensive and defensive formation with him, but he said: "Since Bao Guerrilla has this intention, our left wing battalion will do our part. Today, you and my brothers are here
Let’s fight against the Tartars together.”
Finally, under He Youren's operation, Bao Guangfu did not go to rescue Shanhaiguan General Ma Ke, but moved to camp with him to defend himself.
…………
Besides, Ma Ke, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan Pass, was escorted by his general Ma Zhiyong and his servants, and fled westward. Just before Wu Sangui descended from Shimen Mountain, he ran over and missed him.
Although his main barracks collapsed and was defeated, the family members and guards who were the core of the whole camp, as well as the elite cavalry in the camp were still there, which gave Ma Ke some peace of mind.
Ma Ke thought in his mind that although he was defeated, it was not a huge defeat. As long as there were hundreds of servants and elite cavalry nearby, it was possible for him to make a comeback.
But the most important thing now is to find a place for everyone to stay.
Although the elite of the army are still there, they have just lost their strength and were defeated too quickly. Everyone has no time to carry tents, food and other supplies, so it is better to just wander outside like this.
In fact, most of Ma Ke's army's baggage was still on Rufeng Mountain. For him, the losses in this battle were actually not large. Of course, this did not take into account the losses of the defeated infantry.
After all, these infantrymen in the army mostly do chores such as cleaning, and they may be driven forward during wartime to serve as cannon fodder that consumes the enemy's physical strength and energy. How can Marco care about them?
More than a thousand of them galloped on horseback, quickly leaving behind the fleeing infantry and civilians.
As soon as he was out of danger, Marco reined in his horse and stopped. He called Han Shichen, the first hundred households of the servant team, and Cheng Ruheng, the capital commander, and ordered them to each lead ten servants to collect the defeated soldiers in the north and south.
Ma Ke also gave special instructions that no matter whether he was originally a soldier of Shanhai Town, a soldier of Ji Zhen, or a civilian soldier of that battalion, Jun Zhuang, as long as he was re-registered under the command of General Ma of Shanhai Town, he would be defeated in battle today.
The crime will no longer be investigated.
Cruel, Marco is so cruel!
Although Marco is not good at fighting, he is still so ruthless in what he does.
After he was out of danger, he immediately judged two points. The first was that although Bai Guangen of Ji Town did not allow his troops to enter the camp, it would be difficult to hold on for long under the repeated attacks of the defeated troops and the Tatars.
The second thing is that someone must take responsibility for today's defeat. For the defeat at Shanhai Town, he can pass the blame to He Youren, the commander-in-chief of the Left Wing Battalion, but when Shanhai Town broke out and attacked the Ji Town camp, it was really difficult for him to escape.
Therefore, he made a decisive decision to send his confidants Han Shichen and Cheng Ruheng to stay behind to collect the defeated soldiers and civilians who had escaped.
The purpose of his move is obvious, that is, to recruit these broken soldiers and civilians to make up for today's losses.
The reason why Ma Ke did this was entirely based on his understanding of the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty at this moment and his judgment of the current situation in Liaodong.
At the end of every dynasty, there will be soil that breeds warlords. After the Civil War Revolution in the Ming Dynasty, although the Wuxun Group failed, civil servants were able to rise.
Eventually, the rule of using civil society to control military affairs was formed, which became a regular practice in the Ming Dynasty and became more and more intense, especially during the Chongzhen period.
But after all, in the past ten years, most of the people who were arrested and punished by the imperial court, and even beheaded by Ling Chi, were civil servants. Looking at the generals in charge of the army in various places, no matter whether they won or lost the battle, how many of them were arrested and punished?
What's more, the current situation in Liaodong is at a critical moment in the decisive battle between the two armies, so how can one easily punish and kill the general.
Of course, for those who have no soldiers and soldiers and become useless to the court, they will not be loved and cared for by the court even if they think about it.
Just like Zhang Cheng of Xuanfu, it was not because he trained an elite army for the imperial court that he was so favored by the current emperor. Even Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, was unable to deal with him!
He therefore judged that as long as he could gather a large number of defeated troops and maintain the military power of the past, he would never bear the responsibility for today's defeat.
Furthermore, those who can escape all the way here, whether they are defeated soldiers or the civilians and soldiers are strong, must also be physically strong.
If you can really use them for your own use, wouldn't they be stronger than the original horses?