Dorgon used three thousand iron cavalry and the former Fengyang Prefecture cavalry to form a large army of ten thousand cavalry (actually nine thousand cavalry) to attack Jiangdu, Taizhou, and Rugao to the east. At this point, it was actually very clear.

That is to cut off the retreat route of the Northern Expedition Army that attacked Yangzhou, and then encircle and annihilate the north and south.

The ancestor of Huai'an City, Dabi and the two troops of the Yuele in Yancheng, had only one purpose, firmly attract and restrain the forces of the Northern Expedition Army, and then cut horizontally by the cavalry to achieve their contributions in one battle!

There are no vain men under the reputation.

When Dorgon discovered that the conspiracy was useless to Wu Zheng and was almost immune, he suddenly realized that he was wrong, so he changed his strategy and set up this situation.

This is an open conspiracy. Whether you avoid it or not, it is there. Unless you don’t want to fight the Northern Expedition and plan to rest in peace, you will never be able to escape.

Dorgon calculated correctly. Once the war broke out, with the natural danger of the Yangtze River, the Northern Expedition Army could not quickly transport heavy artillery across the river, so it would be impossible to form real combat power. Taking advantage of this time difference to fight a local advantageous battle, it would definitely make Wu Zheng lose his troops and lose his generals and drink a pot. At that time, the Northern Expedition Army could not retreat, but could not break through if he wanted to advance. He was trapped in the northern part of Yangzhou and could not move.

At most, they retreated to Gaoyou and Xinghua, but the city defenses of these cities did not hinder the Qing army's attack.

This question is difficult to solve. If the enemy cavalry breaks the front lines of Jiangdu, Taizhou and Rugao, then all reinforcements will face the trouble of natural dangers of the Yangtze River. Even if the navy can control the river surface, the farthest range of artillery is only more than ten miles, and it is impossible to control the depth of the shore at all. Once the reinforcements land on the north, they will be under the assault threat of the enemy cavalry. There is no city defense or depth. They rely solely on warships on the surface to assault north for up to thirty miles, and then they will be slaughtered by the enemy cavalry.

But there is one variable that Dorgon did not expect, that is, Wu Zheng actually came to Baoying and directed the Taizhou Guard to attack Huai'an.

Dorgon didn't want Wu Zheng to die. When he set up this game, he never thought about letting Wu Zheng die immediately.

It’s not that Dorgon doesn’t want to avenge Duoduo, if he is tough, it’s nothing.

But now he is in danger of his life and is arranging his affairs after his death. If Wu Zheng dies, the court will relieve his biggest heart disease. Then one day he suddenly died of illness. The court will kill the donkey and annex his three-type three-flag man. How could he have any concerns?

The south of the Yangtze River is different from the southwest and northwest. It is close to Shuntian Prefecture. The key is that Wu Zheng has three navy troops in his hands, which can harass Dagukou at any time. The Qing court had to walk on thin ice.

If Wu Zheng died, then the Yixing Dynasty would be an empty affair and would be overturned at any time. If Jiangnan's heart disease is eliminated, the Qing court will be stable, which is inconsistent with Dorgon's interests.

Dorgon wanted to weaken Wu Zheng's power and make him unable to advance northward. He could only trap south of the Yangtze River, and could not make Wu Zheng's power weak and could not threaten the Qing court.

Therefore, the situation set up by Dorgon was limited to the north of the Yangtze River. His goal was to recover the three prefectures of Taizhou, Taixing and Rugao in the north of Jiang. It would be better if he could lead to Jingjiang. At the same time, he would annihilate at least 30% of the living forces of the Northern Expedition Army and conduct a practical assessment of the actual combat effectiveness of the 30,000 new troops on his side, so as to determine the real training ability and loyalty of Shen and Qian.

But what Dorgon didn't expect was that Wu Zheng actually arrived at Baoying in person. This was probably the biggest variable in this preset game. Dorgon didn't know at this time. If he knew, he would make great strategic adjustments, because Wu Zheng was not the head coach who inherited Zu Yin, but a head coach who rose from the war. This was the biggest variable and unstable factor.

Many times, a head coach is enough to influence and reverse the end of a war. Dorgon himself has a deep understanding of this.

Unfortunately, just as Wu Zheng didn't know that Dorgon came to Yanzhou in person, Dorgon also didn't know that Wu Zheng was in Baoying.

This is the biggest variable between the two sides!

....

Wu Zheng received an urgent report from Chen Sheng, and it was already on the evening of the next day.

This is the most difficult and dangerous moment that Wu Zheng has encountered in the past five years.

Wu Zheng had a panic. He planned to withdraw his troops quickly and ordered Chen Sheng's troops to force the enemy cavalry from Fengyang Prefecture. There was no need to do more. In just one day, Taizhou Guard could cross to Baoying and retreat to Xinghua.

Then, Fang Guoan's military academy corps was ordered to defend Jiangdu and also fight for a day to seek the Taizhou Guards and Wusong Guards to join forces in Taizhou. In this way, they would have more than 30,000 troops in their hands.

Such troops will be invincible whether they are defending or retreating.

The only price is Chen Sheng's five thousand Jinhuawei and Fang Guoan's 10,000 military academy corps. These two units cannot escape safely if they are responsible for the task of blocking enemy cavalry.

But it is still worth it compared to the fact that all the 60,000 Northern Expedition Army were dragged in Jiangbei.

Wu Zheng discussed with Jiang Quanyi and others for one night.

But Jiang Quanyi firmly opposed the withdrawal of troops in this way. He believed that the defenders in Huai'an City were also humans. As long as they tried their best to break Huai'an City, the situation would disappear. At that time, we will be the one who controls the initiative in the war.

This statement has some truth, the premise is that Huaian City can be broken within two days, otherwise the enemy cavalry will advance very quickly and the retreat will be cut off, and you will not be able to retreat if you want to retreat.

Jiang Quanyi argued that if the sacrifice of 15,000 people was exchanged for the lives of 30,000 of us, I would rather die under the city of Huai'an. In the past four years, I have been defeated, escaped, and even been captured, but never once did I take the initiative to let my brothers die for me. In this case, I dare not open my life!

Wu Zheng was moved when he heard this, and he couldn't bear it. Chen Sheng and Fang Guoan's Ministry of Security were in a position that could quickly retreat to the riverside. With Zhang Mingzhen's navy, it was entirely possible to retreat to the south bank or go to Jingjiang to defend it.

Wu Zheng really couldn't bear to let them die for themselves, especially the students in the military academy, who were the backbone of the Northern Expedition Army who had been trained for three years.

Wu Zheng was in a dilemma.

Seeing the sky gradually getting brighter and time was tight, Wu Zheng finally made a decision. He issued four orders in a row, urging Chen Sheng and Fang Guoan Security Ministry to retreat south quickly, and the Zhang Mingzhen Navy was taken to Jingjiang to defend.

The Lu Regional Division continued to attack Yancheng, striving to make progress within two days.

The first battalion of the First Northern Expedition Army, who was ordered to go north, will temporarily station in Taixing after crossing the river, assist in the defense of Taizhou, and wait for the next order.

The First Army of the Northern Expedition in Hangzhou was ordered to dispatch another 10,000 troops to Wusong to stand by.

These four orders made Jiang Quanyi look shocked. He asked anxiously: "Prince, are you going to fight the enemy to the death?"

Wu Zheng was silent for a while and said, "Many times, you can win if you fight!"
Chapter completed!