Hundreds of households in Liaodong, covering the light with one hand

Chapter 211 The strong live and the coward dies. This is the way of heaven.

News of the withdrawal quickly spread among the various camps of the Ming Army, from the general soldiers to the guerrilla generals, then to the small flag officers, and finally to the soldiers and civilians at the bottom. At this moment, no one believed that the Ming Army would fight again. of power.

Everyone is eager to return home.

From now on, it’s just a matter of guarding the Liao River safely.

From then on, He Houjin just crossed the river and ruled.

From then on, he never went to war with Hou Jin again.

Soon, the plan to withdraw the troops was made. At the beginning of Haishi, the Ming army began to leave the city and move southward.
  It seems that it is quite orderly and tidy, and it has not collapsed thousands of miles and lost millions of land.

"Zu Dashou led the vanguard battalion from the south gate, passed Anshan Station, and arrived at Haizhou Guard. As the first batch of troops, he went south. At the same time, he paid attention to sticking to the Sancha River and Liaohe River to prevent the troops from the Later Jin Dynasty from attacking and causing our army to suffer ambushes and ambushes on the way back. Strike!”

"Yuan Chonghuan and Cao Wenzhao led the Chinese troops, passed Guchengtun and headed directly to the mouth of the Sancha River. After arriving, they directly crossed the Liao River and stationed troops on the river bank for a generation to consolidate our territory to the west of the Liao River. At the same time, we dispatched soldiers and horses to strictly control Siping Fort and other places. Take extra precautions to prevent the Jian slaves from taking advantage of the situation and plundering across the river."

"The rest of the archers and infantry battalions, led by the guerrilla generals Xu, Zhao and Wang, left the city at midnight to distract the enemy and gain more time and space for the army to move south."

"Finally, Qin Erbao and Lu Xiangsheng led the right army and began to withdraw southward at the beginning of the month to break up the rear of the army."

That night, Qin Erbao and Lu Xiangsheng stood side by side on the top of the city, silently looking at the army stretching for dozens of miles under the moonlight.

"At the beginning of the Northern Expedition, Zu Dashou fought tooth and nail to gain the vanguard general and wanted to take the lead. Now that the situation has taken a turn for the worse, he took the first step and withdrew the first batch of troops. Tsk tsk tsk tsk, the Zu family. Hehe," Lu Xiangsheng chuckled. His face was full of mockery.

"Back to the other side of the Liao River, this time, the Duke of the country will not give them any chance," Qin Erbao said with a solemn face and murderous intent in his eyes. Since the Northern Expedition, he has treated his ancestral family and all the people in Liaodong. The powerful family has been trying to get rid of it for a long time!
  As early as a month ago, he had clearly stated in a letter to Wang Qi that the powerful families in Liaodong were more harmful to Ming Dynasty and Liaodong than the Hou Jin Dynasty. He suggested that Wang Qi take action to eradicate them. If he wanted to go to the Northern Expedition, he should first eliminate the weak ones internally. Soldiers and vampire borers!
  However, the imperial court was already preparing for the Northern Expedition at that time, and Duke Lang was not willing to take action within his own army at this time. He wanted to first observe the performance of the Zu family and other general families.
  If the current situation reaches Wang Qi's ears,
  Qin Erbao believed that under Wang Qi's anger, the Zu family and other powerful families would soon disappear from the land of Liaodong.

"What do the other people in our right army think about guarding Liaoyang and cutting off the rear?" After a while, Qin Erbao spoke again and asked Lu Xiangsheng.

After all, this time he decided to cut off the right army and almost risked his own life to protect the retreat of the other armies. Qin Erbao was worried that there would be strange emotions in the army.

"Since the Northern Expedition, only our right army has suffered almost no losses. It has strong troops and strong horses, and the morale of the army is intact. The rest of the armies have become disorganized and have no strength to fight." Lu Xiangsheng's face was extremely relaxed: "Facing the troops of the Later Jin Dynasty, I The generals of all the battalions in the army have nothing to fear. Since the Northern Expedition, they have received countless salaries from the imperial court, so it’s time to use their muscles!"

"It's just past midnight." Qin Erbao raised his head and looked at the sky. The bright moon that was still shining with brilliance just now has disappeared into the black clouds, and the sky is getting darker. "I think it won't be long before the sky will be dark." Come down, give the order, let the whole army rest, and wait until the end of the day, when the sky gets slightly brighter, and the army can set off again!"

"Sir, which way should we go?" Lu Xiangsheng did not hesitate or question. At this moment, it is best to follow the superior's orders.

Without directly answering Lu Xiangsheng's words, Qin Erbao just looked at the sky quietly, his eyes twinkling.

If Wang Qi is here, based on Qin Erbao's understanding of Duke Lang, he must have marched north with his entire army. Taking advantage of the Hou Jin army's siege and being distracted by the southward army, he directly besieged Shenyang City at night and destroyed his lair first. He set fire to burn the city, then marched westward, entered the grassland, crossed the Liao River, met Horqin, then went south to Guangningwei, and finally returned to the Ming Dynasty.

But the Duke of Lang is the Duke of Lang, and Qin Erbao does not have the courage and means of Wang Qi, let alone the power to command the army to death at this moment.

"Zu Dashou went south, passed Anshan Station, and arrived at Haizhouwei. Yuan Chonghuan went to Guchengtun and went directly to Sanchahe. We didn't go with them." Qin Erbao pursed his lips and said with a smile: "Someone is not as good as the Duke of the country. , but you can also learn a little bit."

"Huh?" Lu Xiangsheng's face was filled with doubts. What does this have to do with the Duke?
  "You will know when the time comes," Qin Erbao said, "Let the battalions prepare!"

"General, I obey!" Since Qin Erbao was unwilling to say anything at this time, Lu Xiangsheng didn't ask any more questions, bowed before going down to do his work.

----

The moonlight has disappeared into the clouds, and the city of Liaoyang behind them has begun to become blurry.

Zu Dashou was riding on the horse, his mind was in chaos, and he was still in a daze at this time.

This feeling is indescribable and unclear.

During this Northern Expedition, in just seven days, they went from being high-spirited to losing their lives, being driven southward like cattle and sheep.

In this way, although I can go back alive, how can I face the court, the people, and Wang Qi?

Thinking of Wang Qi's deep and dark eyes, Zu Dashou shook suddenly and almost fell off his horse.

"Sir!" The guards who were following him hurriedly stepped forward to help him.

"I'm fine!" Zu Dashou waved his hand to indicate that he was fine, and exhaled heavily, as if he wanted to exhale all the turbid air in his chest.

Zu Dashou clamped his legs on the horse's belly, feeling a little relieved, and thought to himself: By then, even if Wang Qi is dissatisfied with him, the influence of his family in Liaodong will definitely make Wang Qi afraid. After all, in the future, Wang Qi will be afraid of him. If he wants to march, Wang Qi still has to use himself. This time, the most he can do is scold him or two, right?
  Thinking of this, Zu Dashou felt relieved. He raised his head and looked forward and asked, "Where are the troops marching?"

"General, we are still seven miles away from Anshan Station. According to our marching speed, we will be there in about three sticks of incense," the guard replied from the side.

"Well, pay attention to the surrounding area, release all the scouts, and rotate them every half an hour," Zu Dashou nodded. As long as he passed Anshan Station, his army would be safe and sound.

"Qin Erbao's right army has been cut off. I'm afraid it has already begun to be besieged by Hou Jin's army at this time, right?" Zu Dashou muttered silently and subconsciously turned his head to look north in the direction of Liaoyang City.

call out! ! !
  The moment Zu Dashou turned his head and looked back, a cluster of arrows with dazzling light and a scream pierced the dark night sky above the heads of the Zu family's army.

"What is that?" Zu Dashou was startled and asked sharply: "Who is shooting arrows?"

"Who is shooting arrows?" The guards immediately rode out, trying to find out who was shooting arrows randomly in the army!

Zu Dashou hated unorganized and undisciplined people most in his life!

"Someone must have missed the arrow," Zu Dashou comforted himself: "After all, there is only one arrow." As soon as he finished speaking, countless arrow feathers soared into the sky from the surrounding mountains and forests, like a stream of arrows. The sharp blade cut through the dark night sky, making Zu Dashou who was sitting on the horse horrified, as if he was facing hell.

Is it an enemy attack?
  No matter how slow his reaction was, Zu Dashou now knew that Houjin Cavalry was ambushing him here!

The arrow feathers all over the sky have already made it clear that what is waiting for him is definitely the main army of Hou Jin.

Zu Dashou turned his horse around and wanted to know how many Houjin cavalry were ambushing him. There were countless questions in the mind of the Zu family’s commander-in-chief and he wanted to find someone to answer them:

When did the Houjin Cavalry ambush here?
  How many troops do they have?
  Why would his withdrawal route be known in advance?
  Even if they were known, it would be absolutely impossible for them to rush in front of their own army so quickly and ambush here early!
  unless! Unless Dai Shan had already expected that the Ming army would retreat south, he had no plan to attack the city and directly sent his army south to ambush him!
  Sitting down, the horse neighed. Zu Dashou tightened the reins of the horse with one hand and held the long knife tightly with the other. For a moment, he didn't know whether to run or fight.

Arrow feathers poured down, and for a moment, the surroundings were filled with wails of pain and scattered troops fleeing in all directions.

He was originally retreating, but he was ambushed at this time. Do he still have to fight back with a knife?

At this time, most people in the ancestral army wanted to escape without looking back!
  Whoever runs slowly will die!
  Whoever runs faster will survive!
  After bursts of arrow feathers, there were bursts of thunder-like loud noises from behind the hills in the distance.

That was the sound of galloping war horses. The Ming army infantry standing on the ground could clearly feel the slight trembling of the earth.
  Not long after, the Ming army saw the heavily armed and murderous Eight Banners cavalry in the darkness.

The iron hoofs trampled on the bones, and the armor glowed dark red.

Speeding like thunder, killing people like butchering dogs.

As soon as the battle started, it was a one-sided massacre.

Jierhalang's anger and desire to kill, which had been suppressed for months, finally broke out at this moment. The Prince of Houjin personally led the cavalry to fight left and right in the Ming army formation. After a while, his body was covered in blood and his sword was curled.

The blood was all splattered from other people's bodies.

The knife has been replaced twice since the blade was curled.

The fact is that the Ming army collapsed after being killed.

The Ming army that retreated south had no courage or ideas to resist.

And no one expected that the army of the Later Jin Dynasty would leave Liaoyang City in good condition and not attack it, but instead go south to ambush the retreating Ming army in advance!
  This time, even the lining of the fur coat was seen through!

Zu Dashou had no chance to stop the counterattack at this moment.

Not to mention whether the Golden Cavalry would give him this opportunity.

But when the entire Ming army retreated, it was impossible for the army stretching for several miles to be organized to carry out an effective counterattack.

At this time, Zu Dashou could only lead his own soldiers and galloped towards the Haizhou Guard in the south as if they were desperate, no no! !

It is heading towards Sancha River, towards Liaohe River, towards Ningyuan City.

Zu Dashou could even feel that the arrows of the Eight Banners soldiers were aimed at his back. If he slowed down his horse and whipped his whip, he would be overtaken and his horse would be cut into pieces!

"Your Majesty, the Ming army suffered more than 10,000 casualties and captured countless horses and baggage. The remaining soldiers took advantage of the chaos and fled south."

About an hour later, the massacre was over, and his subordinates were reporting the battle situation to Jilharang, who was sitting on a stone and bandaging his wounds.

"Where is the ancestor of the Ming Army?" Jierhalang waved his arm and rolled two steel knives, causing the arm muscles to tear. After being bandaged, the prince felt better.

"As soon as the battle began, the man and his bodyguards ran as fast as they could without hesitation." Obviously, Zu Dashou's behavior left the Houjin general speechless.

"It doesn't matter, the remaining soldiers are defeated and can't stir up any trouble." Jierhalang stood up, picked up the steel knife again, weighed it in his hand, and said with great expectation: "Next time, I hope I can cut down the legendary king. Qi's body"

Zu Dashou's army was ambushed, and the armies of Yuan Chonghuan and Cao Wenzhao on the other side also encountered the same trouble.

Fortunately, Erden was eager to serve and acted in advance. The scouts sent out by Cao Wenzhao detected the news, allowing half of the Ming army to prepare in advance and escape from the ambush. Cao Wenzhao even led his battalion to protect Yuan Chonghuan. He fought bloody battles with Xiong Tingbi and others, killing many people, and finally broke out of the siege, escaped and ascended to heaven.

But at the end of the night, the right-leg army of Liaoyang City was also besieged by Houjin outside the city. They directly opened the city gate and poured out in the darkness.

However, what was different from Hou Jin's soldiers and horses who expected to escape south was that after Qin Erbao led the army out of the city, he did not take even a step to the south, but went directly to the west to kill. Hou Jin's soldiers and horses were not well prepared. Down, they fought their way out of the encirclement, then jumped out of several layers of encirclement to pursue and block them, and headed westward along the upper reaches of the Taizi River. When the Houjin cavalry was able to pick up, they crossed the Changning Fort on the border in time, entered the Horqin grassland, and galloped away. Daishan was also worried that Horqin would send troops to support the Ming army, so he stopped pursuing and the entire army retreated to Liaoyang City.

At this point, from the beginning of preparations to the defeat and retreat to the south, it took more than 100,000 Ming troops led by Liaodong Manager Xiong Tingbi three months to end this massive war against Jin.

Nearly five million taels of silver were spent, and countless manpower and material resources were spent. In the end, no territory was gained, and more than 30,000 soldiers were lost.

After this battle, Hou Jin once again received a large amount of food, weapons, and population. The originally precarious Eight Banners regime gradually stabilized during Daishan's thunderous operation. Daishan himself also successfully blocked the Ming army because of this battle. His achievements have firmly established him as the leader of the king's ministers in political affairs.

----

On October 3rd of the second year of Tianqi, an urgent message of 800 miles traveled across Shanhaiguan, passed Jizhou Prefecture, and arrived in Beijing.

Boom.
  Over the city of Beijing, there were bursts of thunder and dark clouds pressed over the city.

"This weather is not a good sign!" An elderly man looked up at the sky, frowned his gray eyebrows, and shook his head: "I'm afraid something big has happened."

(End of this chapter)