In order to find out whether Li Dingguo’s main force is in the camp.
Dorgon began to gather troops and prepare for an attack.
While they were gathering, scouts brought news again: Li Chengdong outside Huaerying City was ambushed by the main force of the Ming army, and the battle situation was unclear.
"Quick," Dorgon finally panicked this time, "quickly attack the Ming army camp."
The war drums thundered and the horses’ hooves rolled.
Countless Jiannu cavalry attacked Li Dingguo's camp.
Li Dingguo withdrew last night.
Seeing this, the Ming cavalry who remained in the camp immediately started setting fire.
Items such as tents and flags were already flammable, and the Ming army had poured kerosene and sprayed gunpowder on them in advance.
Wherever they went, a raging fire soon broke out.
Make sure nothing is left out before evacuating calmly.
When Dorgon arrived near the Ming army camp, it was already a sea of fire.
Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou both looked livid.
It’s a slap in the face. It’s so slap in the face.
Just now, the two of them swore that this was Li Dingguo's strategy of confusing the enemy with an enemy and a false empty city plan.
The result was that the camp was empty!
A complete vacuum city plan!
Dorgon's face looked even uglier.
He thought the two counselors could help him avoid wrong answers.
Unexpectedly, both of them avoided the correct answer.
He couldn't help but doubt the true level of Fan and Hong.
Just when Dorgon looked embarrassed, the scouts bypassed the burning camp and came to the outside of Zhen'an Fort.
The city walls were empty, with no sign of defenders.
After close reconnaissance, they found that one of the city gates was open. After searching the city, they still found no trace of the Ming army.
Obviously, the city is deserted.
When the scout told Dorgon the news, he was already a little overwhelmed.
Hong Chengchou anxiously reminded: "Your Majesty, since Li Dingguo's main force is not here, then it must be in the Weijialing Pass and Huaerying area. Please send troops immediately to find Li Dingguo's main force and fight him head-on."
"I agree. Li Dingguo's move is to avoid a direct battle with our army. Please send troops immediately!" Fan Wencheng expressed the same view.
"Yes," Dorgon slapped his forehead, "You two gentlemen are worthy of being my dragon and phoenix, able to remind me at the critical moment."
Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou blushed and lowered their heads at the same time.
Dorgon began to give orders.
He divided his troops into three parts.
A group of people were stationed in Zhen'an Fort to prevent Li Dingguo from returning.
The other two teams of troops headed towards Weijialing Pass and Huaerying City respectively.
Halfway through the journey, Dorgon first met the defeated Subai.
Subai's troops suffered few casualties, but they all looked frightened and had no fighting spirit.
They were frightened by Li Dingguo's attack.
After gathering Subai's defeated troops, Dorgon led his army to Weijialing Pass.
There was no sign of a soldier outside Weijialing Pass, only the unextinguished flames and rising black smoke.
Troops were sent into the city to search, and the situation inside was the same as outside.
All the supplies were burned, leaving only a mess.
Just as Dorgon was about to get angry, he met Li Chengdong who was fleeing.
"You...how come you lost too?" Dorgon didn't know whether to be angry or to comfort him.
"Your Majesty, help me!" Li Chengdong cried, "I attacked the city for a whole day yesterday, and when I was preparing to attack again today, I was ambushed by Gao Jie. Many of the soldiers under my command are Gao Jie's confidants. When they saw Gao Jie, they immediately turned against me and attacked me."
"If I hadn't run fast, Gao Jie would have captured me alive and skinned me alive!"
"Gao Jie?" Dorgon's mind was completely in a mess. "Wasn't it Li Dingguo who attacked you?"
"It's not him, it's Gao Jie!" Li Chengdong said stubbornly.
Although he did not see Gao Jie in person, he saw a flag with Gao Jie's name on it.
The soldiers under his command also rioted because of this.
If he doesn't get to the bottom of this matter, the main responsibility for the defeat will fall on him.
"When did Gao Jie come?" Dorgon asked.
"I don't know either, but he's here anyway."
"Wait, let me figure it out!" Dorgon put his right hand on his head and began to think.
He is thinking...
Did Gao Jie come?
Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou followed suit and thought about it.
After a moment, Hong Chengchou spoke first: "Your Majesty, Li Chengdong did not meet Gao Jie."
"What's the reason?" Dorgon asked.
Hong Chengchou said quickly: "Gao Jie has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under his command! If it is really Gao Jie, Li Dingguo would not have to retreat from Zhen'an Fort. He can completely join forces with Gao Jie and then fight a decisive battle with the prince."
"Mr. Hong is right!" Dorgon also breathed a sigh of relief.
He glared at Li Chengdong: "You are more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything. You are simply going to piss me off to death!"
"Your Majesty, spare my life!" Li Chengdong knelt down and begged for mercy. "Gao Jie's flag appeared too suddenly. Many soldiers said they saw Gao Jie himself. I have to believe it, especially those..."
"Don't talk about these useless things for now," Hong Chengchou interrupted Li Chengdong, "Hurry up and lead the way, and fight back to Huaer Camp immediately."
Li Chengdong looked at Dorgon, and after getting his consent, he stood up, mounted his horse and led the way back.
When they arrived outside Huaerying City, they saw the same scene as at Weijialing Pass: flames, black smoke and a mess.
Dorgon was very angry, but there was nothing he could do.
The army was exhausted after continuous marching, so he could only order them to rest on the spot.
"Gentlemen, what should we do next?" Dorgon asked Fan and Hong while sitting on the grass.
When Fan Wencheng looked at Hong Chengchou, he found that Hong Chengchou was also looking at him with the same eyes.
None of them wanted to answer the question.
How to answer?
I've been slapped in the face before, and if I say something wrong I'll be slapped in the face again...
They will both lose face.
Seeing that the two were silent, Dorgon was very unhappy: "Have you two gentlemen forgotten your original intention?"
"I dare not." The two of them lowered their heads at the same time.
"Then let Mr. Fan speak first!" Dorgon began to call out names.
Fan Wencheng thought for a while and said, "I think we can advance southward according to the previous plan and force Li Dingguo to fight a decisive battle with us. Only if Li Dingguo is defeated, there will be no Ming army in Guangning and Songjin areas that can stop the prince's attack. At that time, Wang Yongji will definitely return to rescue."
"Where is Mr. Hong?" Dorgon looked at Hong Chengchou.
Hong Chengchou served as a military commander in the Ming court for many years.
Have rich practical experience.
He saluted Dorgon and said, "I think the most urgent task is neither to march south nor to have a decisive battle with Li Dingguo."
"What is that?" Dorgon asked.
Hong Chengchou frowned and said, "We should have found Li Dingguo's trace!"
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