Yes, it is always very dangerous to retreat before the formation. Although the Ming army was nearly two hours late, the Qing army, except for the cavalry, may not be able to run very far. With the number of ships of the Qing navy, it would be impossible to carry all the ships.

Soldiers and horses are not enough. Those sitting on the boat may be able to escape, but those traveling along the coast may be in trouble.

Do a group of bandits with the proceeds of plunder still have the determination to stop and fight? The rear line is still the Han army. As long as it is overwhelmed, the Qing army will probably turn around and fight again, which will be an unachievable task.

"Command, the Marquis of Yangcheng and the Marquis of Yidu have made great contributions to seizing the city. Order them to step up control of the city. I will lead the team into the city now." Zhu Yongxing nodded and smiled at the few knights who came to report the news to show his appreciation.

"Back to Your Highness, the Marquis of Yangcheng and the Marquis of Yidu would like to ask Your Highness to wait for a while. After the city is really calm, we will send someone to ask for a ride." The young officer who reported the message was articulate and respectful. Ma Xiangyun and Ta Tianbao were also cautious.

Think carefully.

"That's fine." Zhu Yongxing smiled and nodded, "That guy is waiting outside the city. Well, that -"

"The guilty general Fu Jiude, I dare not slander His Highness with his humble name." Seeing Zhu Yongxing pointing towards him, the surrendered Qing general kowtowed and introduced himself.

"Get up!" Zhu Yongxing felt better and his tone became more easy-going. "Follow the lonely king and tell me about the situation of the Qing army. Well, it's the Tartar generals. Tell me more about them."

………………

The sky turned light gray, and there were still a few lost stars in the northwest corner. Everything was still sleeping.

The Jingzhou Qing army, which began to retreat in the middle of the night, arrived at Jishan in the north of Jingzhou, then turned eastward and headed straight for Shayang County on the Han River.

If you look at the map, if you go directly east after leaving Jingzhou, the distance to the Han River is shorter. But there is a long lake in the north of Jingzhou. Taking this road requires crossing the river, which is very inconvenient. Therefore, Leerjin and others discussed

, decided to take a slightly longer detour on land, which would be faster than crossing the river.

The queue of more than 20,000 Qing troops is getting longer and longer, with the Manchu and Mongolian cavalry in front, the baggage vehicles in the middle, and the green battalion of Han troops in the back. When they first set off, the distance between the various units was still very close, but the distance became wider and wider as they went.

The Manchu and Mongolian cavalry looked back anxiously and scolded them one after another. However, they did not say that they were walking on four legs, but the Han troops in the green camp were using their steps.

If the Ming army discovers the situation after dawn and the whole army comes to pursue it, it will be too late. Leerjin thought secretly in his mind. He looked back at the vehicle in the middle and saw among them the property he had plundered. Well, if

If there was a fire in the city, he could buy more time. Thinking of this, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty made a good plan and finally brought our army out of danger, which is a great achievement!" Baile Shangshan seemed to be a little relaxed, smiled and flicked his riding whip.

Even famous generals are not as good as him."

"It's too early to say this before we have boarded the ship and left the shore." Leerjin felt proud, but his face showed no emotion.

"The rebel army lacks cavalry. Even if they notice it, they may not be able to catch up." Shang Shan analyzed: "As long as the rebel army only knows about it after dawn, our army will have no worries."

Le'erjin nodded in agreement. He turned around and told the messenger: "Send the king's military order and order the rear team to speed up. How can we be so procrastinating when life and death are at stake?"

Watching the messenger fly away, Leerjin continued on his way, thinking about how to report to the court. How to make the situation serious to get the court's understanding. If the court convicted him, would the property he had collected be worthwhile?

……………

"Follow up, quickly."

Urged by orders one after another, the Ming army's troops advanced rapidly. Unlike the Qing army, the soldiers of the Ming army were lightly armed, carrying only weapons, ammunition and a day's rations, and their morale was high, and they were not afraid of the Qing army.

Er Jin and others estimated that they had started the pursuit more than an hour in advance.

The faint dawn shrouded the village, trees, paddy fields and field roads blocked by withered thatch, and also illuminated the figures of people moving quickly on the edges of the fields. Along the way, there were only the sounds of human footsteps and horse hooves, mixed with the sound of startled people.

The barking of dogs and the chirping of birds broke the silence of the early morning.

Pursuing the Qing army were two groups of Ming troops, one along the retreat route of the Qing army, and the other group of marines, advancing straight from the east. After crossing the river at Guanjukou, they plunged straight into the Han River, looking like a volley.

The sound of horse hooves was rapid, and more than two thousand Ming soldiers on horseback, carrying muskets on their shoulders, rushed along the road in a chaotic manner, galloping towards the front. In order to pursue the Qing army, even the draft horses pulling the carts were used, and soldiers who could ride horses were mobilized.

The soldier had just ridden a horse, and it was obvious by looking at the posture of the horse.

Since the founding of the army, the real dragoons in the Zhenshuo Army and the Peishuo Army are only a few hundred, and they are only organized at the battalion and company level. The small number of good horses are allocated to scouts and sentries. Only the Zhenshuo Army in central Sichuan has five

More than a thousand real war horses were exchanged for horses from Mongolia and Tibet with tea, ironware, glass products, mirrors, silk and other items. Three thousand horses per year was already the limit of government finances.

The Mining Shuo Army in Fujian Province and the Zhengshuo Army in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River each have three thousand dragoons. This is because they fought frequently and were raised from captures along the way.

This riding skill and this horse are really impressive. Xingping Hou Dang Shousu turned his head and took a look. A Ming Army knight put his arms around the horse's neck, stuck his butt out, and looked nervous. There was nothing he could do, even the saddle was tied.

They are not all equipped, but it cannot be said that this guy's riding skills are too poor.

Dang Shousu sighed secretly. He was not very lucky. He thought that he wanted to make a contribution, but the Qing army left without a fight. Ma Xiangyun and Ta Tianbao were better off. They tried their best and captured Jingzhou City. This was also

That's too much.

Zhu Yongxing's strategic vision was to form another army in Jingxiang, use Yunyang and Xiangyang as bases, and suppress Henan; the Shuo army would face Gansu and Shaanxi. After Henan and Gansu and Shaanxi were contained, the Ming army could more easily move along the river.

March eastward and recover all the land south of the river.

If it forms an army again, it is estimated that the highest officer should be Lin Guogong Li Laiheng, but he is not sure whether he can get a full-time division commander! Dang Shousu knows that only by finding a position in the regular army can he be integrated into the Ming army. Now what?

, it’s time to perform well and grab some credit.

With the wind blowing in his ears, Dang Shousu drove his horse very fast, gradually standing out from the group, and even a few personal guards fell behind.

……………

Shayang was originally an ancient town of Hanjin, a battleground for military strategists of all dynasties, and an important port for water transportation on the Han River. In the eighth year of Tang Zhenguan (634), Emperor Yu Chigong (Jingde) of the Tang Dynasty built the "Shayang Fort" on Qiongtai Mountain near the entrance of Hanjin.

”, the name of Shayang originated from this.

There were densely packed boats on the water, and people on the pier were shouting and neighing. Under the noon sun, it was noisy and chaotic.

"Anyone who dares to board the ship will be killed without mercy!"

"Let the soldiers of the Eight Banners go first. There are still horses, and none of them can be left to the thieves!"

Zhang Xiaosi was kicked on the buttocks and almost fell off the springboard into the water. He heard scoldings in his ears: "Hurry up, lead the horse, and move the box."

"What a bastard, I'm not even as good as a horse!" Zhang Xiaosi cursed in his heart and jumped ashore.

The intimidating officer was still shouting and giving orders on the boat behind him, but he ignored his soldiers and only focused on carrying property and pulling horses.

Although there are many ships, there are things to transport, and the horses of the Manchu and Meng Taijun also have tickets, so they can only suffer from the Han troops in the green camp who cannot board the ships. Walk along the coast and return to Wuchang at your pace!

A war horse suddenly went crazy, screaming and running around, kicking and biting, causing a chaos. After struggling for a long time, the crazy horse was pinned down and subdued. However, it was discovered that a sharp wooden prong was inserted into its anus.

It's impossible to live without seeing it.

Naturally, it was impossible to find the saboteurs at this time. Moreover, there were too many Green Camp Han troops who could not board the ship, so they might be resentful, and it would be a bad idea to go deeper. Zhang Xiaosi, on the other hand, hid in the crowd and sneered secretly.

"Damn it!" Green Camp Lieutenant General Shen Jizhao gritted his teeth, spat in the direction of the dock, and cursed: "You won't let me lead the troops to board the ship. If you don't let me lead the troops first, will I be your scapegoat?"

Not only were many Green Camp officers and soldiers unable to board the ship, but they were also unable to march along the coast immediately. They had to make every effort to maintain the rear front to resist possible pursuers and ensure that the Manchu and Mongolian soldiers and treasure horses could board the ship calmly.

Ordinary discrimination is enough. At this critical moment, the resentment accumulated is even greater. Many soldiers and generals of the Green Camp Han Army were livid and cursed secretly. If you walk a moment longer, you will be safer, but the military order has been

Next, those who leave without permission are beheaded. Doesn’t this clearly show that they don’t care about their life or death?

Resentment was simmering, and the fuse that ignited the resentment was the burst of gunshots that suddenly came from a distance.

"The Ming army is catching up." The same thought arose in the hearts of the Qing soldiers, followed by fear and despair.

The sound of gunfire was getting closer and closer, and the rear army was defeated quickly. Or it should be said that it collapsed at the slightest touch. After seeing the smoke and dust rising, they panicked. When thousands of cavalry rushed in front of their formation, the Qing soldiers had already turned around.

Escape. This is the chaos and loss of morale that the retreat brings.

The defeated soldiers fled in all directions, and many people, hoping for a chance, rushed to the dock, hoping to catch a ship. The Ming army's pursuers chased their butts, shouting to kill, and pressed them over like chasing ducks.

"Those who rush into the battle will be killed without mercy!" Accompanied by the officer's shout, the shield was knocked, the spear was pointed like a dense forest, and the bow and arrow were aimed forward.

The second line of defense of the Qing army was the Green Camp in Henan. Compared with the Green Camp in the south, the Qing court believed more in the Han army in the north, and the combat effectiveness of the Han army in the north was much higher than that in the south.

"Fire arrows!" Following the command, dense arrows flew into the sky and shot at the fleeing Qing soldiers.

Accompanied by screams, a large number of deserters fell down. The dead ones had their eyes wide open in disbelief, while the surviving ones were wailing and rolling on the ground. The ones in front couldn't help but stop in shock and fear, but the ones behind them didn't know why, and they hugged upward.

Pushing, pushing, squeezing.

"Those who rush into the formation will be killed without mercy!" "Those who rush into the formation will be killed without mercy!"...

The uniform shouts rang out, suppressing the screams and wails, and suppressing the desire of the deserters to rush back to the main formation. There were military formations in front of them, and pursuers behind them. The deserters roared and fled to both sides, leaving behind corpses and wounded people.

, and a mess of weapons and armor.

"Henan guy, you are so cruel." Shen Jizhao swallowed and felt a chill on his back.

"Sir," one of his subordinates shouted, "the king of the county has sent an order for our troops to outflank the enemy."

"Outflank?" Shen Jizhao rolled his eyes, chuckled twice, and said: "Okay, let's go from the flank. Send the order, go east along the river, and let's outflank the enemy."

Seeing the deserters scattering to both sides, a tight military formation appeared in front of them. Dang Shousu and others did not dare to be careless and ordered to stop advancing. The Ming troops dismounted one after another, tied the reins of their horses together, and also listed the formation.

At this time, we can see the benefits of wearing military ranks. Soldiers listen to officials, and junior officials listen to senior officials. Although they are not their previous superiors, they always have orders to follow.

A gust of cold wind blew up, blowing up the dead leaves and grass on the field. The two military formations faced off, and the atmosphere of murder became increasingly intense.

There were more than 4,000 people in the Henan Green Camp, and they were not in a hurry to attack. They were waiting for the friendly forces on the flanks to detour. Although the Ming army was small in number, they were not timid. They checked their weapons, loaded their bayonets, and then slowly pressed forward.

This is the momentum of the Ming army now, the confidence that has grown after consecutive battles and victories. Most of them are veterans of the Xianshuo army, and they know more about the weapons in their hands and are more proficient.

"You are really trusting us. You treat us like those useless Huguang Green Flags." The deputy general of Henan Green Camp sneered. In his eyes, the Ming army's formation was too thin, with four people in a row. It was spread out.

If it is large, it can be cut apart if it is punched by the concentrated force.

"Where are the outflanking troops?" The deputy general looked south, but couldn't see anyone. He couldn't help but feel angry, "These weaklings used to run very fast, but now they are as slow as a tortoise."

The party guard Su Lema stood on the mound behind the formation. The big gun in his hand drew a small ditch on the ground, and he stared at the battlefield intently. He had seen the training of musketeers. He also knew some terms and knew that this was apart from the hollow square formation.

Another type of battle formation is called the skirmisher line. It can be three people in a line, four people in a line, or even five people in a line, so that firepower can be more fully utilized.
To be continued...