weaving

Chapter 1207: Killing the Blind Man by Surprise

The officers and soldiers of the Ming army who fled in defeat from Shuipo Ji were like dogs that had lost their homes. Many of them were so panicked that they didn't know where to go, and they chose small paths and side roads that were usually sparsely traveled. As a result, the team became more and more scattered, and almost turned into small groups of dozens or hundreds of people.

Only generals such as Yang Wenyue, Hu Dawei, Ding Qirui, and Yang Dezheng have more people around them. After all, they are in high positions and are always surrounded by loyal guards.

As for Hu Dawei and Yang Dezheng, they were able to become the generals of a town because they had hundreds of servants around them and they all had long experience in battlefields. Whether it was chasing the fleeing enemy or escaping for their own lives, they all had some unique tricks.

The only ones who seemed different were Zuo Liangyu's people...

Although the Zuoying Camp also fled from the battlefield, it was because they retreated voluntarily, unlike Yang Wenyue and Hu Dawei who were forced to flee, nor like Ding Qirui and Yang Dezheng who passively escaped.

It was precisely because of the thorough preparations made beforehand, including which battalion would go ahead to open the way, which battalions would take turns to cover the flanks, and which battalion would be responsible for covering the rear of the fleeing army. Everything was arranged in advance, with each battalion having clear tasks, so things were much more orderly and the team was able to keep running without chaos.

Zuo Liangyu's central army followed closely behind the deputy general Wang Yuncheng who was responsible for leading the way. His general flag had been rolled up and was carried on the shoulders of his personal soldier who wielded the flag and followed closely behind his horse.

This is what is called "laying down the flags and ceasing the troops"!

It can be seen that "偃旗休鼓" can be used when attacking the enemy by surprise, and it can also be used when running away...

Although Zuo Liangyu wore a set of chain mail for protection inside, he wore an ordinary soldier's uniform outside. However, this did not affect his position as the commander-in-chief of the entire army at all. All situations of each camp could still be reported to him accurately, and his military orders could be sent to the retreating camps at any time.

From this we can see that in such a chaotic time at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Zuo Liangyu was able to become the commander-in-chief of more than 100,000 official troops and even took the position of General Suppressing Bandits. He was not a person who had no ability and gained the title for nothing.

Not only that, he also had many plans in his mind on how to deal with the possible pursuit of the enemy army, or how to meet the enemy army's ambush and kill them. He was not like those good-for-nothings like that.

Although the Left Army has more than 100,000 troops, there are actually not many cavalry among them, only about 10,000. However, they are elite knights who have been trained through fierce battles when fighting against "Eight Kings" Zhang Xianzhong.

According to Zuo Liangyu's assignment, a part of the cavalry followed Wang Yuncheng to open the way, another part was assigned to the two wings for cover, and there were also many rangers patrolling three or four miles away. If they discovered any movement of the enemy army, as long as a fire was lit, each camp could immediately occupy the surrounding advantageous terrain to defend and fight.

In addition, there were 20,000 elite infantry and cavalry led by his trusted generals, following his most elite 3,000 elite cavalry from the General's Battalion, and advancing together. If an emergency occurred somewhere, he could provide rescue at any time.

…………

The sun has quietly climbed up the branches and is shining on the earth, casting rows of swaying shadows of trees and many swaying shadows of people and horses.

After a long and intense run, Zuo Liangyu's central army had already escaped a long distance, at least fifty miles away from Shuipo Ji. After such a long and rapid march, the cavalry did not feel anything, but the infantry seemed very tired.

Moreover, everyone has not drunk much water and eaten very little in the past few days. Under normal circumstances, they might be able to run fifty miles and still maintain some energy, but today is completely different.

To be honest, Zuo Liangyu felt very happy riding on his war horse. His army had already traveled more than fifty miles. He had neither seen Li Zicheng send troops to pursue them nor encountered any bandits who blocked their way.

"Fortunately, I made a decisive decision and killed the blind man by surprise!"

The left army advanced another mile or two before the rear guard came to report that they had discovered the enemy army had caught up with them, with the vanguard cavalry numbering about 5,000 men.

Zuo Liangyu was shocked when he heard the news. He immediately ordered the three battalions of the rear team to form a battle array and prepare to fight against the enemy's pursuit. At the same time, he dispatched 3,000 elite cavalry and 5,000 elite infantry from the central army to support the rear team. But what was strange was that the vanguard cavalry of the enemy army did not approach the left army, and they always kept a distance of two or three miles from the left army's rear team.

They only occasionally sent out small groups of cavalry to harass the enemy, and had no intention of engaging in a serious battle. They would often retreat immediately after the slightest contact with the left army.

Zuo Liangyu guessed that they did not launch an attack because they had few men and horses, and only carried out small-scale harassment to delay Zuo's escape so as to wait for the large group of infantry bandits behind to come up.

He promptly sent a thousand elite cavalry to follow behind to deal with the harassment from the enemy cavalry, while the main force continued to speed up its march to avoid being caught up by the enemy, which would have made it difficult to escape.

In this way, the Zuo Army was walking in front and the bandit army was chasing behind. When the Left Army moved faster, the bandit army also moved faster. When the Left Army slowed down, the bandit army also slowed down. It was as if they came to see Zuo Liangyu off.

Although Li Zicheng's pursuers were discovered from behind, their number of men and horses was not large and posed no great threat to the left army, and they did not seem to be pursuing them relentlessly.

The most important thing is that they did not find any ambush or interception by the rebels along the way. This shows that Zuo Liangyu's sudden withdrawal also caught Li Zicheng off guard, which was completely beyond the rebels' expectations. Therefore, Zuo Liangyu gradually let go of the worry that had been hanging in the air all the way.

Until this moment, he began to worry that his men would inevitably be overly tired after running so fast all the way. If they really encountered any accident along the way, they would not be able to fight hastily, so he ordered all the soldiers to rest quickly.

Although he ordered the entire army to take a rest, Zuo Liangyu still did not dare to be careless. He ordered each battalion to take turns to rest and be on guard, so as to prevent the enemy army from launching a sudden attack and making it difficult to respond.

After a while, the soldiers of the left camp ate some dry food, and the men and horses also drank some river water nearby. Their spirits and physical strength were restored. He did not dare to stay for too long and hurriedly ordered the army to continue moving forward.

The bandit army chasing behind was also strange. When the left army was resting, they just watched from afar. Now that the left army broke camp and continued to flee, they still followed from a distance as before and did not approach.

Some people in the left camp couldn't help but wonder: although the number of the chasing bandits was small, they controlled the water source, had sufficient food and grass, high morale, and were all cavalry. Why did they just follow instead of charging and fighting hard?

Zuo Liangyu also noticed this situation. He knew that the soldiers were suspicious of the regiment, so he said loudly to his followers on horseback: "Since ancient times, the principle of fighting a war is 'don't pursue a desperate enemy, and don't stop a retreating army'. Now we are not defeated, but the whole division has withdrawn from Shuipoji and rushed to Xuchang. We are united and in good order. Blind Li is not stupid, so he naturally doesn't want to fight a tough battle with us, and he is also afraid of losing men and horses.

Why are they following behind?

They just want to rob the military supplies we left behind along the way. If they see an opportunity, they might come and take advantage of us. What’s important now is that we must not be careless and must not give them a chance to take advantage.”

Xu Ensheng, a close general who followed him, said, "General, the ones following us are only part of Blind Li's cavalry. I'm worried that his main force will catch up with us."

Zuo Liangyu smiled and said, "I think Blind Li will pick the weak ones. Most of his troops are definitely going to chase Ding Qirui and Yang Dezheng. There will be no main force of the enemy army chasing us in a day or two."

"Fortunately, the commander made a decisive decision and unexpectedly sent troops to Xuchang, killing Blind Li by surprise, so that our army could retreat without losing a single soldier."

Zuo Liangyu was also somewhat proud, but he shook his head in a solemn manner and said, "We still have to be more careful now. Blind Li is much more cunning than Zhang Xianzhong, so we must be on guard!"

"Yes. The Marshal is right."

(End of this chapter)