The Shun army's infantry was already showing signs of collapse, and Yuan Zongde had finally managed to stabilize the army's morale, but he didn't expect to be slapped in the face by the people in an instant.

Seeing the civilians rushing over, the Shun army soldiers thought that a rout had occurred ahead of them, so they gave up fighting and turned around to run.

Counterattack?

joke!

How many people can be killed by a sword?

Most of the casualties on the battlefield come from trampling on each other!

What slogans like "the Shun army is elite, fight to the death, and anyone who escapes without permission will be killed" have all become nonsense in this chaotic army.

If you run fast, you still have a chance to survive. If you run slowly, you will be caught up in the defeated army and there is only one way to go, which is death!

"Run! The Ming army is coming!"

"The credit belongs to others, but your life is your own. Run quickly if you want to live!" More than a dozen Ming soldiers disguised as Shun troops ran and shouted in the crowd.

Everything happened in a flash.

Looking at the defeated Shun army, Yuan Zongde's face suddenly changed.

It’s over, it’s all over!

Once the army's morale is broken, even ten thousand oxen cannot pull it back.

There is only one thing he can do now: notify the emperor as soon as possible!

"Immediately inform the emperor that our army has been defeated. Please retreat 20 miles to avoid the Ming army and take in the defeated troops! Then we can regroup and attack Beijing!"

"Go quickly!" Yuan Zongde pushed the soldiers around him and watched him ride away on horseback.

After doing all this, he mounted his horse and led dozens of his personal soldiers into the chaos to try various methods to contain the defeated army.

But the defeat was so overwhelming that even if Li Zicheng came in person, he would not be able to stop the defeat, not to mention that he was just a general.

Yuan Zongde and dozens of his personal soldiers were quickly dispersed by the chaotic army, and were caught up in the crowd of fleeing Shun troops. Driven by the Ming army, they ran towards the west of the city.

Seeing that the infantry formation was broken, the commander disappeared.

The 15,000 Shun cavalrymen who were fighting with the Ming army on the battlefield immediately fell into chaos!

Xie Junyou, Ma Chongxi and Ma Shiyao fled in different directions with their troops without any hesitation.

Upon seeing this, the Ming cavalry immediately sent troops to pursue and kill them.

The situation on the battlefield changed suddenly.

The main casualties in cold weapon warfare occur after one side's formation collapses, and then large-scale casualties are inflicted when pursuing the disorganized fleeing army.

The Shun army fled in all directions like headless flies, trampling on each other, and countless people died.

What's worse, the main general organized the defeated army to counterattack, but was stabbed to death in the back by the fleeing peasants.

"Fuck you, I've had enough of you!"

The entire eastern battlefield changed from a confrontation between the two sides to a unilateral massacre by the Ming army.

The fire in the army and the shouts of the defeated soldiers as they fled soon alarmed Li Zicheng.

He stood on the slope, picked up his telescope and looked eastward.

It didn't matter that he just took a look, but after seeing it he turned pale with shock.

This morning he gave Yuan Zongdi 25,000 elite troops in order to prevent the Ming army from launching a surprise attack in the east.

Unexpectedly...

These 25,000 elite soldiers were defeated so quickly!

On the other hand, Zongmin's siege team had already gained the upper hand. If he was given another hour... no, just half an hour, they would be able to defeat the Ming army under the city, open the city gate and attack Beijing.

However, all this came to nothing.

Faced with tens of thousands of defeated soldiers, he had no way to stop them.

After thinking this through, Li Zicheng reluctantly gave the order: "Send the messenger to inform the central army and all the generals to withdraw to Juyong Pass immediately."

Juyongguan is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is less than a hundred miles away from Beijing city and can be used for attack or defense.

As long as he gains a firm foothold he will be able to make a comeback.

As soon as the messenger left, Li Zicheng suddenly remembered Liu Xiyao who was stationed in Tongzhou.

He still has 25,000 elite Shun troops!

Once the Ming army clears out the enemies under the city, it will be Liu Xiyao's turn.

By then, Liu Xiyao would have Liu Wenyao and Wu Sangui in front of him and the Ming army in Beijing behind him. Liu Xiyao would surely be defeated as he was chased from both sides.

We can accept failure in the siege of Beijing, but we cannot let these elite troops die in vain.

"Messenger!" After thinking this through, Li Zicheng gave the order again.

"exist!"

"Immediately send a message to General Liu Xiyao, telling him to abandon Tongzhou and head towards Juyong Pass!"

"Understood!" The messenger jumped on his horse, bypassed the chaotic army, and galloped towards Tongzhou.

"Messenger!"

"exist."

"Inform General Liu Fangliang and Advisor Mr. Li that our troops will retreat to Juyong Pass and ask them to retreat to the Baoding Prefecture area."

"Yes, sir!"

After giving the order, Li Zicheng personally led the central army to cover the rear and then marched towards Juyongguan.

When they retreated to the foot of Shijingshan Mountain five miles away, they finally saw thick smoke rising from the direction of Beijing.

Along the way, defeated soldiers continued to join the team, but they were followed by the pursuit of the Ming cavalry. In the wild without the protection of fortifications, these people became targets of the cavalry.

Under the rain of arrows from thousands of Guanning troops, the Shun army suffered heavy casualties. Just when Li Zicheng was organizing the central army to counterattack, the Guanning army seemed to have received some news and quickly retreated.

Li Zicheng did not dare to pursue and could only retreat to Juyongguan with his remaining troops.

......

When the Ming troops on the Beijing city wall saw the bandits were defeated, they all cheered in unison.

The army of more than 100,000 besieged the city for seven or eight days. They not only defended the city but also repelled the bandits.

This victory is so rare and precious.

"Victory! We won! The bandits retreated!"

"Bullshit!" Lieutenant General Li stretched out his right hand and slapped the man. "The bandits are not retreating, they are defeated!"

"Deputy General Li is right. The bandits are defeated! Defeated!"

While the defenders on the city wall were shouting, the Ming army below the city wall also heard the news.

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