The day after the Datong Army left Pyaoi City, Mangtai had already discovered it.
He first sent out a small group of troops to conduct a tentative attack, and found that the south and north of the city were all empty camps.
Even so, Mangtai did not dare to pursue him immediately, fearing that the Datong army was trying to trick him out of the city. He was extremely cautious and sent a speedboat to find out the news. It was not until the Datong army traveled dozens of miles north that he dared to confirm that the enemy was real.
left.
Mangtai was both happy and angry about this situation.
Fortunately, the Datong Army dared to go all the way north alone without capturing Pyay. Sooner or later, they would be surrounded and annihilated by the Burmese army.
What makes him angry is that the Datong Army treats him like air and is not afraid of him chasing after him!
Mangtai left 10,000 refugees to defend the city and pursued with tens of thousands of troops.
Although he was angry in his heart, he did not dare to pursue him too fast.
First, there are only more than 3,000 main troops, and the remaining tens of thousands are all scum. If they march too fast, the team will collapse. Second, they are cautious, fearing that the Datong army will fight back.
Every time he arrived at a city that had been occupied by the Datong Army, Mangtai would first defend the city, and then send spies to inquire about the news. He would confirm that the Datong Army had gone far before continuing to pursue him. At the same time, he quickly wrote a good news report and recovered another city.
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Finally, the Datong army arrived at the gates of Bagan and camped a few miles outside the city.
This news made Mangtai completely let down his guard. He led his army out of Shaobu City in the south and advanced slowly to fight in Bagan City. By then, his troops would be in the south and the Burmese reinforcements would be in the north. Cooperating with the troops in Bagan City, they would be able to defeat the enemy.
Annihilate this arrogant enemy force!
Outside Bagan, the Datong Military Camp is still there.
More than a thousand baggage ships and more than 8,000 Mon sailors were stationed on the riverside next to the camp. In the military camp, there were still 3,000 regular troops, 5,000 patrol troops, and more than 10,000 Mon servants.
The defenders in the city did not dare to come out and were still waiting for reinforcements.
The artillery of the Datong Army continued to bombard the city wall every day, and seemed to be planning to storm the city. It did not look like the main force had left at all.
"The enemy is coming, run!"
A small group of Burmese cavalry ran into the dragoons exploring the road and fled a long way away.
Yang Zhan was a little helpless when he heard the news: "The enemy general is not a fool. He is cautious all the way. He can be called a good general in China."
"Abandon the baggage and speed up the march!" Ding Jiasheng immediately ordered.
Thousands of dragoons were the first to chase them out.
The Datong Dragoons in the southwest region are, to be precise, mountain cavalry.
They all ride southwest ponies and are good at crossing mountains and ridges. They are equipped with tiger crouching cannons, which are easy to move quickly in paddy fields and mountains and fire cannons. All members have flintlock guns, no bayonets, only waist knives and lances. They do not wear cotton armor.
, wearing only a layer of light chain mail and a rattan helmet to protect him from sun, rain and arrows.
To the south, Mangtai looked a little flustered when he received the news. The Datong Army actually made a comeback. Aren't they afraid of being chased down by the Bagan city defenders?
Or, how dare you divide your troops to attack your own army of tens of thousands?
"The whole army retreats to the camp!"
The so-called camp is the temporary camp they set up last night. Some wooden fences were inserted as camp walls, and a few trenches were dug, which was barely considered a defensive fortification.
Mangtai did not dare to rush back to the nearest city, because again, running too fast would scatter the troops.
The main force of the Burmese army is tens of thousands of standing troops. To expand the army during wars, local nobles recruit farmers. Local nobles have their own private soldiers and recruit farmers within their jurisdiction to ensure the combat effectiveness of the peasant army.
However, the Datong army killed too quickly, and the local nobles fled with their private soldiers. Many of them did not flee north, but fled eastward away from the front of the army, and went to the two cities of Bago and Toungoo to assemble.
Without local nobles to lead troops, it was difficult for Mangtai to effectively command the peasant army.
"The enemy is coming, the enemy is coming!"
Before the Burmese army could return to the place where they camped last night, the Datong Dragoons had already caught up with them.
Thanks to King Talong, who had passed away from illness, an official road was laid along the river. Otherwise, the river bank was covered with rice fields and the cavalry would not be able to run.
This area belongs to the middle and upper reaches of the Irrawaddy River, and rice is harvested two or three times a year.
It is obviously winter, but the seedlings are already knee-deep.
Mangtai hurriedly deployed his army, and he personally led the main force and formed a formation near the official road. More than a dozen local nobles, leading tens of thousands of peasant troops, marched on the rice fields and were distributed on both wings.
In order to pursue quickly, the Datong cavalry did not carry the Crouching Tiger Cannon.
"Abandon your horses and form a formation!"
The cavalry general is called Qin Fuguo, and he is Qin Liangyu's grandnephew.
More than four thousand dragoons were instantly transformed into musketry infantry. They hung their lances on their horses, armed only with flintlock muskets and sabers, and stood in formation on the field ridges.
The tens of thousands of Burmese peasant troops were not very organized to begin with, and they had to form formations in the rice fields. They dragged their feet for a long time and couldn't get it done. Everything was in a mess, and it couldn't compare to the military training of middle school students.
If it were a flat, open terrain, the Datong cavalry would definitely charge forward, and the whole army would be broken up after three or two attacks.
Mang Sigu said excitedly: "Father, the enemy only has a few thousand cavalry, which should be the vanguard. The cavalry is useless in this terrain, but our army has tens of thousands of people, so we should quickly encircle and annihilate them!"
"If we can't annihilate them all, let's see how many can be left behind," Mangtai said to the herald. "Raise the flag, blow the trumpet, and surround us with the right wing!"
The local noble generals took action immediately after receiving the order and led a small number of private soldiers to move forward slowly. However, the peasant army under their command was unable to quickly learn the military order and could only follow the action subconsciously.
Crooked and messy.
Qin Fuguo almost laughed out loud when he saw this: "The whole army mounted and retreated two miles."
More than 4,000 soldiers ran back to the official road from the field ridge, mounted their horses and drove away. They had all run away, and the Burmese army was still dilly-dallying, and the outflanking troops had become a mess.
In this situation, Mangtai was a little confused.
He had an army of tens of thousands, but he didn't dare to pursue him. If he pursued him, it would be even more chaotic. If he wasn't careful, the whole army would be broken up.
"Collect all the ministries and slowly withdraw to the camp last night!" Mangtai ordered helplessly.
Seeing that the Burmese army had retreated by half, Qin Fuguo immediately issued an order: "The rear team becomes the front team, catch up, dismount and form a formation!"
"This is too much!"
Mangtai was so angry that he did not dare to gather his troops anymore and ordered them to be deployed again.
They haven't gathered yet, but they are about to form their formation again. The tens of thousands of peasant troops are becoming more and more chaotic.
Definitely lose!
Mangtai called his son: "Prepare to lead the main force to retreat. This battle cannot be fought. The enemy cavalry is stalling for time. Once the enemy's main force arrives, our entire army will definitely be wiped out. Except for the baggage on the ship, we abandoned everything else and fled back at full speed.
At Shaobu City, we will garrison the city and wait for friendly forces in the north to move."
"Don't want so much food?" Mang Sigu was a little reluctant.
"It's important to keep the troops," Mangtai said.
The Burmese ships docked at Pyay had been snatched away by the Datong army. Mangtai could only collect small boats along the way. How much baggage could be carried by hundreds of small boats? The baggage of tens of thousands of people had to be carried entirely by livestock and manpower.
"Outflank the enemy!"
Mangtai continued to give orders to the miscellaneous soldiers, and at the same time asked the main force to prepare to flee.
As long as the main force can escape smoothly, tens of thousands of civilians will die. And most of them will not die. They will be defeated and run around. Many of them will definitely be able to escape back to their hometowns.
Seeing that the Burmese army was spreading again, Qin Fuguo once again ordered a retreat. He believed that if this happened a few more times, the Burmese army would collapse in chaos.
"The whole army is pursuing you!" Mangtai waved the command flag and blew the charge horn.
The local nobles rushed forward with their private soldiers, and tens of thousands of civilians followed suit. They couldn't rush forward, and the rice fields were filled with water. They moved forward one foot deeper than the other.
It was too difficult to walk through the rice fields, and more and more Burmese troops rushed to the official roads and field ridges, blocking the passages that allowed quick movement.
"Let's go!"
Mangtai felt that the time had come and quickly ordered the main force to retreat.
Qin Fuguo was riding on horseback and was furious when he saw this: "Damn it, the enemy general has no conscience, he actually abandoned the army and ran away! Kill him!"
Tens of thousands of Burmese troops crowded the official roads, blocked the fields, and could be seen everywhere in the rice fields.
They raised their weapons and rushed towards the Datong Army, while the Datong Army also dismounted and marched in formation in the rice fields.
"Raise the gun!"
"Bang bang bang bang!"
The fire cannon struck in three stages, a burst of smoke dissipated, and the enemy in front of him had been routed.
Countless Burmese refugees ran towards the official road one after another, trying to escape along the official road, completely blocking the official road. However, the Burmese army further away was still coming in disorder, and some were confused about the situation here.
"Come back and mount your horse!" Qin Fuguo shouted.
The military bugle sounded, and the Datong troops in the rice fields retreated to the official road one after another.
The official road is very narrow and can only accommodate three horses running abreast, but if you want to gallop, you can have up to two horses running abreast.
Qin Fuguo rushed to the front on horseback, slashing and killing the defeated soldiers blocking the official road. However, there were too many blocks in front, and he would not be able to rush through for a while. The more he killed, the more corpses were on the official road, and the cavalry completely charged.
Can't get up.
The Datong cavalry in the rear squatted on the official road, quickly reloaded their ammunition, and took turns shooting at the rice fields on both sides.
At this time, more and more Burmese troops discovered that their general had fled with the main force. The local nobles were the first to react, calling the private soldiers to turn around and flee, and the nearby militiamen immediately followed.
The surrounding rice fields were all in retreat, and the Datong army was unable to pursue them.
After killing all the way, the defeated soldiers on the official road finally took the initiative to jump into the rice fields to escape.
"What the fuck!"
After the defeated troops on the official road were dispersed, Qin Fuguo finally discovered that there were still countless baggage and even several artillery blocking the road ahead.
The baggage of tens of thousands of troops were all lying on the official road, and it was impossible for the cavalry to pass by.
Qin Fuguo roared angrily: "Get off your horse and enter the fields, capture prisoners, and transport heavy supplies!"
There was no way to pursue them. By the time these baggage items were moved away, the enemy's main force would have probably fled back to the city. We could only capture as many prisoners as possible, seize the baggage items, and return for delivery.
This battle was a nonsense. Although the enemy army was routed, the main force fled.
Fortunately, the supplies were seized!
When Ding Jiasheng and Yang Zhan led the main force of the Datong Army in pursuit, they were equally dumbfounded by this situation.
To thank the enemy generals, they came hundreds of miles away, turned around and left after delivering the supplies, without even staying to hear a thank you.
No matter what, the Chinese army, which is alone and deep in the country, does not have to worry about food problems for the time being.