Huaerying and Weijialingguan requested support from Li Dingguo.

Li Dingguo's military strength was already stretched to the limit.

If he sent troops to rescue, he would be unable to resist Dorgon's attack.

If the troops are not divided, Huaerying and Weijialing Pass will repeat the failure of Zhenjing Fort.

The best outcome was that all the soldiers were killed in battle and the stored food and supplies were burned by the fire.

Anyone who was not determined surrendered to the Jiannu.

Not only will the military strength of the Jiannu be increased, but the stored grain in the city will also serve as supplies for the Jiannu.

It had a huge impact on subsequent wars.

This was the first major problem Li Dingguo encountered since entering Liao.

"General, I am willing to lead a thousand elite soldiers to provide support." Liu Wenxiu, who had never volunteered before, spoke up.

He knew that Li Dingguo was in big trouble.

So I chose to help at this time.

Can a thousand soldiers and horses break the siege?

It's impossible!

Then why did Liu Wenxiu take the initiative to volunteer?

Because he wanted to help Li Dingguo get rid of the crime.

Dividing the troops at this time would be tantamount to seeking death.

So we must never divide our forces.

The result of not dividing the troops was the loss of Huaerying and Weijialing.

When the imperial court investigates the case, Li Dingguo will definitely be found guilty.

But it's different with him around.

He volunteered to take the responsibility on himself.

Although Li Dingguo will also be responsible at that time, the main responsibility will be on Liu Wenxiu.

Li Dingguo shook his head: "It's not your turn to take this responsibility."

"We can't just sit there and do nothing, can we?" Liu Wenxiu looked a little sad. "Fan Ciwu just died in battle! His brother Zhang Qi is in Huaer Camp, and Huang Zhenshan is in Weijialing Pass. If we don't send troops to rescue them, they will die with their eyes wide open!"

Li Dingguo shook his head again, "They are all loyal ministers and filial sons of the Ming Dynasty. I will never sit idly by."

"You want to divide your forces?"

"Not really," Li Dingguo took a deep breath, "There are experts in the Jiannu army who offer advice. We can't use the conventional methods."

"What should I do then?" Liu Wenxiu looked confused.

In his view there were only two options now.

One is to sit back and do nothing, the other is to send troops to provide support.

There is no third option.

What else could Li Dingguo do?

Under his gaze, Li Dingguo gritted his teeth and said, "The only way at the moment is to abandon Zhen'an Fort and send troops to Huaerying and Weijialing Pass overnight to help the defenders leave the city. There is also a prerequisite here, that is, they can hold on until tomorrow!"

"Then shrink the defense line and lure the Jiannu deeper."

That evening.

Li Dingguo received news from the scouts again: before sunset, there was continuous killing and deafening sound of artillery in Huaerying and Weijialing Pass.

The sounds of killing indicated that the battle was still going on and the two fortresses were still in the hands of the Ming army.

So Li Dingguo ordered his infantry to carry all the baggage and retreat to Guangning overnight.

The cavalry was divided into three groups.

Led by Gao Wengui, they went to rescue the defenders of Huaerying from the city.

He led another route to rescue the defenders of Weijialing Pass out of the city.

Finally, they stayed in Zhen'an Fort, pretending that the main force was still there.

They would leave before the Jiannu launched an attack and burn the flags, tents and other supplies that they could not take away.

Marching at night is a challenge for any army.

Fortunately, the Ming army had plenty of time and the journey was not very far, so they moved very slowly.

But even so, some people still fell behind or even got injured or died.

(The causes of casualties include falls, attacks by wild animals, bites by venomous snakes and insects, etc. The venomous snakes in Northeast China are of a single species, mainly the white-browed pit viper.)

At midnight, they arrived at the designated location and hid their tracks to rest there.

At dawn, Li Dingguo led 5,000 cavalrymen and suddenly rushed towards Weijialing Pass.

The Jiannu scouts soon discovered Li Dingguo's whereabouts and immediately returned to the camp to report to Subai of the Zhengbai Banner.

Li Dingguo followed closely behind, not giving the other party any extra time to react.

"Report!" The scout rushed into Subai's tent, "Your Excellency, the Ming army is coming!"

"Ming army? Are they coming to attack us?" Subai rubbed his eyes with some disdain and said, "There are only a few hundred soldiers in the city, and they are all guards. They can barely fight if they stand on the city wall, but they are nothing if they get off the city wall. There is no need to make a fuss."

"It's not the defenders in the city, it's the Ming army outside the city who are coming to kill us!" the scout shouted anxiously.

"Outside the city?" Subai woke up immediately, jumped up from the mat and asked, "How many soldiers does the enemy have?"

"I don't know," the scout replied, "There are too many soldiers and horses. I can't even count them all."

"Who is leading the troops?" Subai began to put on his armor as quickly as possible.

"The other side is flying a flag with the Chinese character 'Li' on it!"

"The flag with the character Li on it?" Su Bai had a bad feeling. "Could it be Li Dingguo?"

He was not afraid of anyone except Li Dingguo.

Because the other side did not use troops according to routine tactics and specifically killed senior generals of the Eight Banners.

While hesitating, Li Dingguo had already led his troops to the outside of Subai's camp.

Because of the siege, there were not many obstacles outside the Subai camp.

While Li Dingguo was clearing these obstacles, the Jiannu soldiers on duty came up to him.

The two sides began to fight.

These soldiers on duty had not slept all night and were already exhausted.

After seeing Li Dingguo's flag, they lost all their fighting spirit and retreated one after another after a melee.

At this time, Subai was already dressed and led his troops to the edge of the camp.

"General Li Dingguo is here, why don't you dismount and surrender immediately?" The Ming army shouted while fighting.

"It's Li Dingguo!" Su Bai was shocked. "Go and report to Prince Rui quickly. Tell him that my troops were attacked and request support!"

While shouting, Su Bai mustered up the courage to charge towards Li Dingguo.

As a result, he was defeated by Li Dingguo.

The Eight Banners soldiers were indeed strong in combat, but their camp was attacked.

Many people were forced to mount their horses and join the battle before they even put on their armor.

In addition, the military camp was in chaos and messages could not be transmitted up and down.

Defeat is inevitable.

Just when Subai was planning to regroup his troops for a second charge, Li Dingguo had already rushed into the camp.

"Retreat!" Subai gave the order to retreat without hesitation.

It’s not too late to leave now.

Any later and you would surely die.

Li Dingguo did not pursue, but came to the city of Weijialing Pass in person.

"General Li Dingguo has ordered you to leave the city immediately and retreat to Guangning with the army!" While the Ming army soldiers shouted loudly, they tied Li Dingguo's order to an arrow and shot it into the city.

After receiving the order, Huang Zhenshan, the commander of Weijialing Pass, burned the food and grass in the city and left the city to meet up with Li Dingguo.