While Li Zicheng was mobilizing his troops, Huang Degong was also mobilizing his troops.

He changed the front, middle and rear armies into the left, middle and right armies, with the middle army in the front and the two wings in the back, forming a V-shaped formation and attacking Yuan Zongde again.

Yuan Zongde responded to all changes with the same strategy. The front army used chariots to form a camp, while the old camp cavalry of the rear army waited for an opportunity to move.

Defend first and then counterattack, not seeking to kill the enemy, but to avoid defeat.

After three consecutive attacks, Huang Degong could only let the tired Ming army retreat to rest.

"Why haven't Qiu Yue and Tian Xiong come yet?"

"Reporting to the general, Qiu Yue and Tian Xiong were stopped by Liu Fangliang's troops, and the two sides are fighting." The messenger replied.

"Where are Huang Fei and Ma Degong who pretended to attack the east of the city?"

"We're being held back by the bandits in the east of the city. We can neither advance nor retreat!"

"Oh!" Huang Degong became more and more anxious after failing to capture the city for a long time.

He had previously agreed with Li Xingzhong to attack Li Zicheng from both sides.

Now, as the main force, he was blocked by Yuan Zongde in the north of the city and could not move forward.

According to news from various sources, Li Xingzhong has led his troops out of the city to fight in the field.

If there is any further delay, Li Xingzhong's entire army will be in danger of being wiped out.

Why did the emperor implicitly tell him that he could give up Daming Prefecture?

To put it bluntly, the Ming Dynasty was short of soldiers and generals, and the Jiannu invaded the country.

The emperor didn't want him to lose troops at this time.

It would be fine if Li Xingzhong could not be rescued, but once Li Xingzhong was eaten, Li Zicheng would turn his attention to him.

"Report!" Just when Huang Degong was in a critical situation, a scout with arrows stuck in his body came galloping over.

"Your Excellency the General, we have spotted five thousand cavalrymen fifteen miles to the east. They have no flags and their affiliation is unknown."

......

"Cavalry? Besides Wang Yongji, what other cavalry does the Ming army have near Damingfu?" Yuan Zongde frowned when he received this news.

He is thinking...

Where does the other party come from?

There are only two possible situations. The first is that the opponent is the Ming army, and the second is the Jiannu.

After all, before this, news had already been received that the Jiannu were heading south to Shandong.

The closest city to Damingfu in Shandong is Liaocheng, Shandong, which is less than 150 miles away.

"The enemy came with great force and without any flags, so I didn't dare to step forward to ask." The scout said with an embarrassed look on his face.

"This general has heard of it. Deliver this news to the emperor immediately, and quickly!" After giving the order, Yuan Zongde was still worried, so he called the cavalry general over and gave him detailed instructions.

The Shun army is not afraid of defeat, but is afraid of annihilation of the entire army!

As long as the elite can survive, the fire of Shun Army can be continued.

......

Ten miles away, five thousand cavalrymen were hiding in the woods making final preparations.

Drink water, eat rations, and put on armor!

As we all know, in ancient times, soldiers rarely wore armor when marching.

Most of the time, the armor was placed on the baggage cart, and the soldiers followed slowly beside the baggage cart.

In order to prevent the enemy from attacking our large army, we would send a vanguard to stand guard in front.

Once encountering an enemy attack, the vanguard will try its best to contain the enemy and create time for the main army to put on armor.

When the Jiannu fought against the Ming army, they often used surprise attacks and melee tactics, raiding the unarmored Ming troops on the march.

The Ming army, which was attacked by surprise, had no time to put on armor, let alone to form a battle array, so defeat was inevitable. Huang Taiji once said: To defeat the Ming army, you should be like a tiger attacking a rabbit. You should not form an army and fight it, and you will often win.

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, since most armor was made of thin cotton, people sometimes marched in armor.

Especially in cold seasons such as autumn and winter, soldiers would occasionally wear armor while marching to keep warm.

However, this situation is not common.

During the Little Ice Age, although the summer in July was not that hot, the sun still made people feel hot and uncomfortable.

Gao Jie's cavalry marched quickly all night.

In order to avoid being killed by the heat, all the soldiers except the front troops on guard were not wearing armor.

As the battlefield was less than ten miles away, for the sake of safety, General Gao Jie ordered all the men to put on armor and go into battle.

What is the position of the general of the aid and suppression?

The general of the aid and suppression army has only one duty: to suppress bandits.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, bandits were rampant everywhere. Wherever there were bandits, the general had to go there to suppress them.

Take Shandong in the 16th year of Chongzhen as an example.

Bandits appeared in Shandong, and the court appointed Liu Zeqing as the general of Shandong to be responsible for suppressing the bandits.

When Liu Ze was unable to wipe out these bandits, he would transfer troops from other places to Shandong.

At this time it was the turn of the general of the aid and suppression force to appear. As a mobile force, he had to help Liu Ze eliminate the bandits.

"Your Excellency, I have sent someone to contact Jingnan Earl Huang Degong." The scout wiped the sweat off his head and continued, "Jingnan Earl will launch another attack on Yuan Zongdi's troops later. He hopes that the general will attack the right wing of the bandits. With a combined attack, Yuan Zongdi will surely be defeated."

Gao Jie, the general of the aid suppression team, has sharp eyebrows, fierce eyes, a high nose bridge, a strong body, and is very handsome.

He stroked his beard on his chin, his eyes wandering.

From the moment he entered Guan County, he kept a close eye on Li Zicheng's movements.

no way.

After abducting Li Zicheng's second wife, Xing, and surrendering to the Ming army, he had no way out.

Li Zicheng was actually quite pitiful. He had three wives, and the first two of them framed him.

His first wife was Han, who had an affair with a fellow villager named Gai Hu and was killed by Li Zicheng.

His second wife, Xing, was betrothed to him by Gao Yingxiang, the old king of the Ming Dynasty. As Li Zicheng was not fond of wine and women, and his diet was rough, he fought all day long. Xing, who had been neglected, met the handsome Gao Jie and they immediately got along and surrendered to the Ming army together.

Only the third wife, Gao, did not add any more blame to Li Zicheng's name.

Gao Jie was not very interested in Yuan Zongde, but was interested in Li Zicheng.

As long as they can defeat Li Zicheng, Gao Jie will definitely support them.

So when he arrived in Guan County, the first thing he did was to send a letter to Huang Degong.

It was already nightfall when Huang Degong received the news. Although Gao Jie's troops could be used, it was too late in time.

Guan County is eighty miles away from Daming Prefecture, and it takes two or three hours for the news to be delivered.

It was already midnight when Gao Jie received the news. In order not to delay military operations, he decided to lead the cavalry on a long-distance attack on Daming Prefecture, while the remaining infantry marched at a normal speed.

After rushing and trying hard, I finally caught up.

Gao Jie took a sip of water and asked, "Where is Li Chuangze?"

"Reporting to the general, Li Chuangzi should be somewhere between Damingfu and Yuan Zongdi."

"That's easy. First, we'll fight Yuan Zongdi, then fight Li Chuang the thief! Brothers, here's your chance to make great achievements! If you kill Li Chuang the thief, in addition to the imperial reward, I, Gao Jie, will also reward you with another 1,000 taels of silver!"