In order to capture Zhenjing Fort, Dorgon made thorough preparations.
Not only did they produce a large number of siege weapons, but they also deployed a considerable number of archers.
Historically, archers in the Ming and Qing dynasties all used hard bows.
Combined with armor-piercing arrows, direct shooting can easily penetrate the opponent's cotton armor.
Iron helmets are even easier to come by.
The wall of Zhenjing Fort is only three meters high, and the archers standing under the wall can accurately aim at the defenders on the wall.
Dorgon used the soldiers attacking the city as bait to lure the Ming army in the city to attack.
Many Ming army soldiers were shot in the body or head by arrows from the Eight Banners soldiers as soon as they leaned out.
In mild cases, the patient will be injured and bleed, while in severe cases, the patient will fall to the ground or even die.
For a time, the Ming army defending on the city wall suffered heavy losses.
Fan Ciwu, the commander of Zhenjing Fort, was no fool. He immediately realized that this was a trick of the Jiannu.
To this end, he ordered his soldiers to hide behind the battlements of the city walls as much as possible when defending.
Although this reduced casualties, it was unable to prevent the Jiannu soldiers below the city wall from prying bricks and digging the wall.
As time went by, big holes were dug into the walls of Zhenjing Fort.
There are soil pillars between the holes for support.
Wait until enough holes have been dug.
The Jiannu tied a thick rope to the earth pillar and pulled it down.
The city wall, without support, naturally collapsed.
Fan Ciwu knew that the Jiannu were digging the city walls.
If you want to stop the Jiannu from digging the city wall, you have to order the soldiers to lean out and attack the Jiannu under the city wall.
But the Jiannu's archers were no pushovers and would shoot their arrows as soon as the Ming army exposed themselves.
His casualties would increase greatly.
When the number of casualties among soldiers reaches a certain level, Zhenjing Fort will be lost.
If not stopped, the Jiannu would dig down the city walls and rush into the city.
Zhenjing Fort will also be lost.
Fan Ciwu was caught in a dilemma.
Dorgon in the camp outside the city was also in a dilemma.
Fifteen miles south of Zhenjing Fort City.
Gao Wengui was leading 5,000 elite cavalry to attack the Jiannu army.
Although the cavalry under his command were all Li Dingguo's elite.
However, compared with the Eight Banners Army of the Jiannu, they were somewhat inferior in both individual combat capability and overall strength.
In addition, the two armies could only use conventional tactics in a head-on confrontation, so Gao Wengui suffered his first defeat since entering Liao.
After two consecutive attacks, not only did they return empty-handed but they also lost a lot of soldiers and horses.
After repelling the Ming army for the second time, Dorgon looked at Hong Chengchou beside him and asked, "My Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty have repelled these few thousand Ming troops twice. Why didn't Mr. Hong let me send troops to pursue them?"
Hong Chengchou turned his gaze away from the battlefield and asked, "What is the purpose of your sending troops to pursue us, Your Majesty?"
Dorgon was startled, frowned and said: "Of course, we should kill as many Ming troops as possible."
"Your Highness, do you think the Eight Banners soldiers can catch up with the Ming army?"
"Of course we can catch up. The war horses of our Qing Dynasty are superior to those of the Ming Army."
"Even if we catch up with them, we won't be able to kill many Ming troops. We may even be ambushed and defeated." Hong Chengchou pretended to be serious.
"What do you mean, Mr. Hong?"
Hong Chengchou said seriously: "Your Highness, have you forgotten that Li Dingguo has 20,000 soldiers and horses? Now these several thousand cavalry are just Li Dingguo's vanguard. If Your Highness rashly pursues them, he will definitely encounter Li Dingguo's main force next."
"Li Dingguo's main force is in high spirits when they first enter the battlefield, but the prince's pursuers are already showing signs of fatigue. The outcome of this encounter between the two sides is still unknown!"
"That's indeed the truth," Dorgon suddenly realized, "Then what do you think we should do next, Mr. Hong?"
"Order all troops to maintain their formation and wait for Li Dingguo's main force to arrive."
"What if the Ming army continues to charge? Can we send troops to pursue them after we repel them?"
"We can do it this time," Hong Chengchou nodded. "The Ming army is strong at first, weak at second, and exhausted at third. The morale of the soldiers and the physical strength of the horses have reached their limits. When they retreat, they will be panic-stricken and may even completely disrupt Li Dingguo's main force."
Dorgon smiled and looked at the battlefield again.
On the other side of the battlefield, Gao Wengui, a general under Li Dingguo, was reorganizing his formation.
Two consecutive defeats have made him a little dizzy.
Since entering Liao, he has not lost a battle except for pretending to retreat.
This is the first time today.
Just as he was about to launch a third charge, Li Dingguo led the main force to the battlefield.
"General, the Jiannu are besieging Zhenjing Fort. I have attacked several times in succession, but was repelled every time. I request that you allow me to attack once more, and we will surely gain something." Gao Wengui requested, gritting his teeth.
"How many soldiers does the Jiannu have?" Li Dingguo ignored Gao Wengui's request and asked instead.
"At least more than 20,000, and most of them are cavalry!" Gao Wengui replied.
Li Dingguo pointed at the Jiannu army with his whip and said, "The defenders of Zhenjing Fort are less than a thousand men. Even if the Jiannu use ten times the force to besiege the city, they still have 10,000 idle troops. You attacked their army with only 5,000 men, but they did not pursue you after you were repelled."
Gao Wengui was stunned: "What do you mean, sir?"
"This is the Jiannu trying to lure you to continue your attack so that they can capture you in one fell swoop."
"But..." Gao Wengui pointed in the direction of Zhenjing Fort: "Fan Ciwu is facing a siege by enemies several times or even dozens of times his size. If he cannot be relieved in time, Zhenjing Fort will be in danger."
Li Dingguo shook his head and said nothing.
It means there is nothing that can be done.
"Since I can't save him, why did you ask me to come to his rescue?" Gao Wengui's eyes began to moisten.
Although he did not spend much time together with Fan Ciwu and other leaders of the Yuyuan Army, they still had a friendship, and it was a friendship that was forged through fighting.
Seeing that Fan Ciwu's city was about to be destroyed and his people were about to be killed, he could only watch.
You can imagine how uncomfortable it is.
Li Dingguo sighed, "Before I asked you to rush to help, I didn't know that the Jiannu had already besieged the city. Now Zhenjing Fort is trapped in the Jiannu's siege. Our army has come a long way to help and our troops are not superior.
"If we rashly lift the siege, not only will we not gain anything, but we will also fall into the Jiannu's plan of surrounding the point and attacking the reinforcements."
“So all we can do is sit back and watch.”
"But sir..." Gao Wengui wanted to say something.
"Stop talking," Li Dingguo said with a firm expression. "I don't want anything to happen to Fan Ciwu either, but kindness does not dictate military affairs, and justice does not dictate wealth. At times like this, we must be more rational and not be disturbed by the enemy."
"We should try to drag the enemy into our plan instead of letting them mess up our minds and rhythm."
Gao Wengui was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head and asked, "I know I was wrong. I wonder what your Excellency's plans are next?"
Li Dingguo took a deep breath and ordered the army to deploy defenses along the three cities of Zhen'an Fort, Weijialing Pass and Huaerying. At the same time, he ordered Zhenyuan Fort, Zhenbian Fort and Zhenyi Fort in the rear to prepare to retreat to Guangning.
"Evacuate?" Gao Wengui's eyes widened. "What are you doing, sir?"
Li Dingguo smiled bitterly: "The Jiannu are coming with great force, and they are obviously well prepared. If I am not mistaken, the Jiannu want to force us to fight a decisive battle."
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