Ming politicians

Nearly two hours passed, and it was almost Xu time. Jierhalang's face was not only livid, but also pale. The two-hour attack had no effect, and increased casualties in vain. The sergeants of the Jiangning Battalion were impenetrable, and there was no hope of rushing out.

For two hours in a row, Jierhalang asked the soldiers to launch several charges. This was a real charge, without any meaning of preserving strength. The sharp artillery of the Ming army caused heavy casualties to the soldiers of the Xianglan Banner.

Because of the front and back attacks, Jierhalang had to allocate part of his troops to deal with the sergeants of the Jiangning battalion who were chasing from Xuanzhou City.At this time, Jierhalang finally understood why Huang Taiji repeatedly emphasized that the Jiangning camp was the greatest enemy of the Qing Dynasty and the most important force shaking the foundation of the Qing Dynasty.

Jierhalang is more aware that after such a long time, the dangers he faces are increasing. At this time, it is not just a question of reinforcements, but a more important question is how to retreat the army he leads However, if the army led by Daishan is defeated, more sergeants from the Jiangning battalion will surround them, and the army led by him is likely to be completely surrounded, or even face the danger of being annihilated.

In the temporary tent of the Chinese army, Jierhalang lost his usual calmness and turned around like a trapped animal. He was faced with a painful choice, whether to continue to reinforce Daishan and cooperate with Daishan's army, It is better to evacuate immediately. Evacuating at this time is not a big problem, and most of the soldiers can be preserved.

Such a choice is not so easy to make.

Fan Wencheng has always been relatively quiet.Several times, Jierhalang was about to ask Fan Wencheng. After all, Fan Wencheng was sent by Huang Taiji himself. At such a critical moment, Fan Wencheng's opinion is very important.

Jierharang forced himself to calm down.

It was getting dark, and after dark, there was a basis for the army to evacuate.The soldiers led by him are quite familiar with the surrounding terrain. There are not many Jiangning battalion sergeants who are blocking the front and attacking from the back. Taking advantage of this time to break through, the army can quickly withdraw from Xuanzhou and retreat towards Xiuyan. [

After thinking twice.Jierharang finally spoke.

"Master Fan, Dajun's current situation is very delicate. There are many reasons, so I won't go into details. Do you have any suggestions?"

This is a big question for Jierhalang, and Fan Wencheng must analyze it clearly if he wants to answer it.In fact, Fan Wencheng had been waiting for Jierhalang to speak, and he had been thinking for a long time.

"My lord, this servant thinks that the current situation of the army is somewhat dangerous."

Jierhalang looked at Fan Wencheng and didn't speak, obviously agreeing with what Fan Wencheng said.

"The servant thinks that Su Tiancheng's arrangement may have changed a lot. That is, before the army attacked Xuanzhou, Su Tiancheng had already made a targeted arrangement. The Zhenghong flag of the Prince Li and the Xianglan flag of the prince attacked Xuanzhou The [-] soldiers of the Jiangning Battalion should be sure to win, and the emperor's main attack direction is also here, but the actual situation is not like this, now. The servant can make a judgment. What Su Tiancheng meant was mainly aimed at Prince Li. The slaves admire Su Tiancheng's arrangement for Zhenghongqi. There should be a large army, the main force of Jiangning Battalion's attack, responsible for dealing with Prince Li's Zhenghongqi, separating the two armies of the Qing Dynasty and eating one of them. This is what Su Tiancheng really meant."

"Lord Fan, I have also thought about this. Su Tiancheng's key purpose must be aimed at Prince Li. The Jiang Ning camp prevented us from going to rescue Prince Li. This has been arranged long ago. It can be said that all our arrangements , were all taken advantage of by Su Tiancheng, and in terms of tactical arrangement, we made a major mistake."

When Ji Erhalang said these words, Fan Wencheng lowered his head. Needless to say, he had a lot to do with the mistakes in tactical arrangements. It was precisely because a lot of information was not clear that the current situation appeared. How to deal with it after going back is another matter to consider.

"Lord Fan, the current focus is whether the army should continue to attack and reinforce Prince Li, or withdraw troops decisively and retreat from Xiuyan to preserve their strength."

What Jierhalang said was very straightforward. Such a choice must be made within the fastest time. If the situation changes after dawn, it may be very difficult to retreat.Making such a decision was not a simple matter. On the one hand, Prince Li was waiting for rescue, and on the other hand, the army he led encountered difficulties. If he could not make a decisive decision, both armies might fall into it.

Evacuation from this place indicates that Daishan's Zhenghongqi is in danger, and it is very likely that the entire army will be wiped out.

Thinking of this, Jierhalang couldn't help trembling. Once upon a time, the warriors of the Qing Dynasty were against the enemy in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and they would not even consider the issue of being annihilated. How many years have passed, and they turned out to be born out of nowhere. The Jiangning camp actually caused such a huge shock and trouble to the Qing Dynasty.

Fan Wencheng only thought for a minute or so before speaking.

"My lord, this servant believes that it is better for the army to withdraw from Xuanzhou at night and retreat along the direction of Xiuyan. The servant also suggests that the army led by Prince Yu should also withdraw from Fuzhou as soon as possible to avoid encountering the Jiangning camp. encirclement and annihilation."

This answer was within Jierhalang's expectation, but he wanted to see what the reasons for Fan Wencheng's explanation were. [

"The servant thought that Su Tiancheng had already made preparations. Our Qing Dynasty was divided into three armies, and Su Tiancheng was also a three-route army, and his focus was even clearer. The soldiers stationed in Fuzhou and Xuanzhou were responsible for holding back the two armies. Lu Dajun, and the other army along the way, are the main force of the attack, and the focus is on Prince Li. Since Su Tiancheng has made such an arrangement, he will consider all matters very clearly, and will make all the arrangements well. We can expect Su Tiancheng to make mistakes."

"Since it was aimed at Prince Li, there were far more than 2 soldiers from the Jiangning Battalion participating in the attack. They must have an advantage in terms of military strength. The slaves don't believe that Su Tiancheng can completely defeat Zhenghongqi and Prince Li. Judging from the current situation, after Prince Li retreated from the valley, he must be headed towards Pyongyang or Zhenjiang, and would not continue to come towards Xuanzhou. When Prince Li withdrew, Su Tiancheng would definitely order the army to counterattack. Those who come to besiege the prince, if such a situation occurs, it will be really dangerous."

Fan Wencheng's explanation is basically credible, but there are two problems that have been bothering Jierhalang.

"Lord Fan, I have two questions. First, if Prince Li is in danger of being destroyed and the army cannot go to rescue him, what should he do? Second, can he lead the army to come to reinforce Duduo who attacked Fuzhou? Shuai Liang Duoduo has an army of [-], once reinforcements arrive, all problems can be solved."

Fan Wencheng shook his head.

"My lord, this servant has said before that Su Tiancheng must have made all the arrangements. Judging from Su Tiancheng's attack on Lushun, he has made all the arrangements. He occupied Fuzhou and Xuanzhou and did not rush to attack. This is what this servant is like." Said, it's not about boosting other people's ambitions and destroying one's own prestige, the servant is just looking at the matter, the prince is going to reinforce Prince Li, but encountering such resistance, the army could not advance a step after two hours of attack, if Prince Yu came to reinforce, there would be a meeting along the way No one can tell what the problem is, and there is still some distance between Fuzhou and Xuanzhou, if there is a major change in the battle situation within this time, it will be too late to regret."

Fan Wencheng avoided the topic of Daishan's possible annihilation of the entire army. Jierhalang was a little dissatisfied with this. He looked at Fan Wencheng without opening his mouth, hoping to get further explanation from Fan Wencheng.

Fan Wencheng sighed, knowing that he could not avoid this sensitive question.

"My lord, Prince Li's Zhenghong Banner is in great danger. This is the deployment made by Su Tiancheng. It's not because the lord didn't try his best. The lord launched a continuous attack, but he couldn't break through the blocking of the Jiangning battalion sergeants, and he also encountered many difficulties. The situation of pincer attacks is very dangerous. If it takes a long time, something will happen. At this time, Prince Li must break through the ambush designed by Su Tiancheng. Relying on his own strength, the prince has already recovered. The servant believes that if the emperor makes a decision, he will do so."

Jierhalang breathed a sigh of relief. What he was most worried about was the issue of dying. In the current situation, he was faced with a painful decision, which he had to make.

At midnight, the army began to prepare for retreat.

Everything is arranged in secret. The army can only retreat in the direction of Tieshan, which is the road by the sea. It can bypass Xuanzhou and go from Tieshan to Xiuyan or Zhenjiang. There is no need to stay in Zhenjiang , the army must go to the Haizhou area immediately, and then report the situation here to the emperor, and bluntly say that the Qing Dynasty is in great danger.

The retreat was carried out very secretly, but movements were inevitable.

The scout reported that Jierhalang was about to retreat, but Ma Xianglin did not adjust his deployment. He received a direct order from Su Tiancheng, if Jierhalang was about to lead the army to retreat, don't get too entangled, let Jierhalang retreat, Jiang Ning The current focus of the battalion is to completely wipe out Daishan's Zhenghongqi.

Jierhalang's retreat was relatively smooth. He didn't encounter any twists and turns, and he didn't even encounter much fighting. He quickly withdrew from the road by the sea to the Iron Mountain area. Although the road was difficult, for the safety of the army, Jier Harlan decided to retreat from this road anyway.

After daybreak, Jierhalang, who arrived at Iron Mountain, looked up to the sky and sighed. He knew that the result of this duel between Huang Taiji and Su Tiancheng had come out, and Su Tiancheng had won again. (to be continued...)