A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 306 Reluctantly retreat

Wang Dou, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Tingchen set off at Chenshi, with an army of more than [-] people, marching along Gaoloubao, Sungezhuang and other places, all the way to Pinggu.

The army quickly passed Gaoloubao, a local civilian fort that was looted and abandoned by the Qing army, and traces of the battlefield could still be seen.Apparently, He Renlong and Gao Jie's strikers had a brief fight with the Qing army here yesterday.

The army did not stop, but still went to Sun Gezhuang.Here, some Pinggu Qing sentry cavalry loomed around the army, but they were quickly driven away by Wang Doujun's Zhongyebushu.It can't be close to ten miles around the army at all.

The farthest Shun Township sentry cavalry had rushed to the area of ​​Sun Gezhuang, and they sent back news that there were no large numbers of Qing cavalry near Sun Gezhuang.Wang Dou ordered the army to keep walking, and the mighty force was still pressing towards Pinggu.

The smooth march and the bravery of Shunxiang's army, which never stopped at night, amazed Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen who were traveling with them.Usually when they were marching, the sentry cavalry in the army were afraid of the Qing people, so they couldn't launch a powerful reconnaissance at all, which made their marching prospects unpredictable, and they were repeatedly ambushed. How could they be as smooth as the Shunxiang army?

As for the reason why He Renlong fell in the ambush yesterday, Wang Dou was sure that it was because of his inability to detect soldiers in the army.Like Wang Dou, who does not collect at night, and spreads out for twenty or thirty miles, reporting the situation to all parties at any time. With this time to prepare, with the speed of cavalry, any attempt to surprise Wang Dou's army becomes empty talk.

"General Wang, at our marching pace, we can reach Pinggu City by tomorrow afternoon."

Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen accompanied Wang Dou on horseback, and their soldiers and horses were all led by the generals of the Chinese army.

Looking back, behind the hundreds of cavalry of Wang Douzhong's army, there is an infantry marching in order.The plain is wide, so they are ten people in a row. Although they are all wearing heavy armor, they are still full of energy after marching for dozens of miles, and the formation has always remained neat!

"What a good soldier."

Both of them were full of admiration, they had been in the army for a long time, just looking at this kind of marching lineup, they could see the strength of Wang Dou's soldiers.With these brave and skilled soldiers, it is not surprising that Wang Dou can make great achievements time and time again.

Behind the infantry of the Shunxiang Army, there are a large number of transportation vehicles in Wang Dou's army, with as many as seven or eight hundred vehicles of various types.No matter where they go, the Shun Township Army always carries half a month's or one month's grain and grass with them. This is an unshakeable rule.

Seeing that Wang Dou was carrying a large amount of food and grass, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen were also happy not to ask Chen Xinjia for it, and by the way relieved their burden of marching, Wang Dou also generously let them eat their own.

In the major department of supplies, Zhao Xuan's artillery army, Mr. Qian, was also among them, with 25 medium-sized artillery pieces of the Buddha Wolf machine accompanying the army, and four Hongyi [-]-pounder artillery pieces of the superintendent battalion.These four Hongyi six-pound guns had already received a lot of ammunition from Chen Xinjia, enough to fight for ten days or half a month.

The marching array of the army was very spread out. Behind the Shunxiang army were cavalry from the town of Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen, counting horses in parallel.These more than 1 infantry and cavalry seem to meander to the end of the sky.

"Indeed, even if the slave riders harass me, my army will definitely arrive in Pinggu tomorrow."

Hearing what Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen said, Wang Dou replied.

Although the road is easy to walk, but the army has a lot of food and supplies, Wang Dou decided to walk five or sixty miles a day.The Qing soldiers in Pinggu couldn't run away, unless they threw away the captured people and money, there was no rush for that.

"General, our army set out from Gaoloubao and marched another ten miles."

Zhenfu Chi Dacheng reported to Wang Dou.

Wang Dou nodded and said, "Order the army to rest on the spot, and continue marching in fifteen minutes."

According to the military law of Shun Township, he rested for 15 minutes every ten miles. Hearing Wang Dou's order, the golden drummer of the Central Military Department immediately rang the gong in his hand.Amidst the bang bang sound, the officers shouted orders from the Central Military Headquarters: "Stop advancing and rest on the spot."

The marching army stopped like a train, and the sergeants stood or sat, each took out drinking water and dry food, and made a lot of noise.

He was fully armored, and the long-distance march was still very tiring. It was necessary to take a rest every ten miles, especially when most of Shunxiang's army was infantry.In the Battle of Zhuozhou, although Wang Dou captured a lot of horses and mules, many soldiers did not know how to ride horses. Using mules and horses to carry armor also increased the burden of food and grass in the army. Let them walk for the time being.

Seeing Shunxiang's army resting, Cao Bianjiao and the cavalry behind Wang Tingchen also took the opportunity to relax.

Wang Dou, Cao Bianjiao, and Wang Tingchen also dismounted, drank a little water, and discussed military affairs.

All three of them thought that this march was too peaceful, and Abatai of Pinggu was one of the famous generals in the Qing Dynasty, so he would not let the army approach Pinggu so quietly.The fact that the Shun Township Army didn't accept any large numbers of cavalry at Sun Gezhuang did not mean that Abate had no soldiers and horses in other places. Presumably in the afternoon or tomorrow, Abate would use whatever trick he had.

Wang Dou was not worried, this time with the army, there were nearly [-] cavalry in the army, and Abatai's soldiers and horses were not many, no matter how he jumped, it would not change the overall situation that the army was approaching Pinggu.

Soon, the sound of Polo sounded, and the soldiers got up and rolled forward again.

……

In the afternoon, the army marched to Xuzhuang, and did not receive any reports at night. On the east bank of Baoshui, more than a dozen miles away, a group of slave riders with hundreds of people was found, and they rushed towards the army.

Cao Bianjiao laughed: "The slaves of Pinggu can't bear it anymore."

"There are hundreds of them, and they also want to delay the progress of my army?"

Wang Dou said with a smile: "To meet the harassing slave cavalry, I have to ask the two military sects."

Cao Bianjiao smiled and said, "General Wang, you are being polite."

He ordered his subordinates to attack Yang Shaofan to fight, and under the guidance of the Shunxiang Army Yeburei, Yang Shaofan led more than 1000 cavalry under his command, and went aggressively.

Wang Dou and other troops continued to advance without even changing their marching ranks.

As the army advanced, Ye Bushou found that there were more and more harassing Qing cavalry around them, and there were dozens, hundreds, or hundreds of them each.

Soldiers came to block, water came to cover, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen's cavalry were dispatched in teams, and every time they found an enemy, they would attack with superior force, firmly blocking them in front or five miles around.

After nearly 5000 cavalrymen under the command of the two chief soldiers were dispatched, there was no news of Qing cavalry harassment. Wang Dou estimates that the Qing soldiers in Abatai Pinggu have already sent more than 3000 people to harass, and there cannot be more Send troops out.

There are more than 3000 people in this area, of course, it is impossible to stop his own army. So far, the marching array of Wang Doushun's township army has not changed at all.Behind his army, there were still three thousand cavalry from Cao Bianjiao's main barracks.

The advance of the army will not stop unless Abatai joins all the Qing troops in Pinggu and fights the Shunxiang army in this field. This is what Wang Dou could only wish for.

……

In the evening of that day, the army camped by the Cuoshui River not far from Machang Camp. Seeing that they would reach the outside of Pinggu City tomorrow, the whole army laughed and laughed.

When the army set up camp, the cavalry from the two towns who attacked also came back one after another, and they were all in high spirits.The harassing Tartar cavalrymen were very angry, seeing their large cavalry approaching, they didn't dare to fight, turned around and ran away, but let them chase after them for a long time, it was very happy.

When the generals of the three towns had a banquet that night, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen were full of pride. As long as they reached Pinggu, within two days at most, they could defeat the enemies of Pinggu and rescue the captives there.

Noon on the first day of February in the 12th year of Chongzhen.

Near Daxing Village, Rao Yubeile Abatai with a white flag looked at the formation of the Ming army slowly approaching from a distance, with a complicated expression in his eyes.

He had tried his best, but he still couldn't change the trend of the Ming army approaching step by step.Wang Dou and others came to Pinggu without any flaws. They fought on foot and cavalry. Guan Ning's cavalry relied on Wang Dou's momentum, and Wang Dou relied on their cavalry.

He sent a large number of cavalry to harass, but he couldn't even delay for a little time. To stop Wang Dou from approaching, the only way is a decisive battle.

"But the decisive battle..."

Abatai looked at the generals of the banners beside him. They looked at the Wang Dou and other troops approaching ahead, with expressions of fear in their eyes, especially those remnants of the Red Banner... How dare they fight with Wang Dou in such a state? Fighting armies to fight wars?
"Rao Yu Baylor, you can't fight. After entering the customs this time, my warriors from the Qing banners have already lost a lot. If the damage continues, will my Manchurian banners still exist?"

"If you don't fight, just wait for Wang Dou to capture Pinggu and take away the people and money we have worked so hard to capture?"

"There is a famous saying in the Ming Dynasty: If you can run away, monks can't run away from the temple. As long as our warriors of the Qing Dynasty are still there, you can come and seize them at any time."

"Hude Jiala is right. Money can be robbed again. If all our warriors die, there will be nothing left."

"If there is a decisive battle, the Ming army will have more than 1 people, especially the Ming general Wang Dou with more than 4000 people. Our army will only have 6000 people, and the rest will stay inside and outside Pinggu City. In this fight, the outcome is unpredictable."

"Hude Jiala is right. From Tongzhou to Dingzhou, then to Julu, and then to Zhuozhou, all the adults have fought against Wang Dou, and you know how powerful their guns are. If you fight, I'm afraid you won't die 1000 times. people, 2000 people."

"Hulumu, you coward, you and Hu Detai sang together, fearing the enemy and fighting so cowardly, it is really embarrassing for our Qing Dynasty."

A sharp sneer sounded: "Aole Jiala, you are so good at fighting, let Rao Yubeile send you as the vanguard, and go to fight Wang Dou first."

The previous rude roar fell silent, and everyone present was also silent.

After a long time, La Zhangjing, a Zhengbai banner, said: "We don't want to fight the king, but we can retreat to the Pinggu city camp and wait for the reinforcements to arrive."

Lazhangjing, the man named Hu Detai with a red flag, said: "The reinforcements will not come. Didn't Rao Yubeile receive the reinforcement information from the general who was ordered this morning? The thousands of reinforcements sent from Tianjin have already been captured Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei and others stood in front of the Xianghe River."

"I'm afraid they won't arrive within a few days. You also know Wang Dou's ability to attack the camp. If a few days pass... look at the red flag in Manchuria..."

He glanced at the twitching Yuetuo's son Luo Luohuan, and sighed: "With Wang Dou around, my Qing soldiers will never divide their troops. Now the main force is in the Tianjin area, and our army in Pinggu can only watch helplessly. Fight and break."

"While there is no war, let's withdraw our troops and leave Pinggu to save the lives of some warriors in the banner."

His words were unanimously agreed by all the Qing generals present, and Abatai sighed deeply: "When did our Qing warriors fear Wang Dou so much?"

Seeing that the Ming army is still approaching continuously, it is unstoppable, but our own generals have no intention of fighting at all.

Abatai frowned for a long time, and decisively sent an order: "The whole army retreats, leaves Pinggu, and goes to Tianjin!"

His words were greeted with cheers from everyone around him.

……

On the second day of February, in the afternoon.

When Abatai led the Pinggu army to retreat not far from Baodi, a panting Zhenghuang Banner envoy was greeted by his army, but he came from the Xifengkou.

After hearing about the military situation, the envoy patted his legs and lamented: "The emperor has already entered the customs, why did Rao Yubeile give up Pinggu?"

(End of this chapter)