Li Dingguo symbolically shot a few arrows at the Eight Banners soldiers in the river, and then led his troops to retreat.
This retreat is a real retreat.
Not long after the Ming army left, Shi Tingzhu arrived at the shore.
"Alas!" Shi Tingzhu sighed, "I told you that Li Dingguo was extremely cunning, but you just wouldn't listen. Now look what has happened... Not only have we lost soldiers and generals, but the morale that we had worked so hard to build up has also been drowned by the river."
Lekedehun was not convinced and said indignantly: "If I don't chase him, I will lose him."
"He can't be lost!" Shi Tingzhu sent scouts again to look for Li Dingguo.
The scouts followed the horse hoof prints and soon found Li Dingguo's trail.
While marching at a distance, Shi Tingzhu sent the message to Dorgon, who was forty miles away.
At this time, Dorgon had already arrived near Panshanyi.
"Lekdehun fell into Li Dingguo's ambush and lost more than a thousand soldiers. However, Li Dingguo did not take advantage of the situation to pursue him, but led his troops to retreat to the area of Dalingh Fort!" The post soldier sent by Shi Tingzhu said to Dorgon.
"Retreat?" Dorgon was a little surprised. "His purpose of going south was to attack Shi Tingzhu and open up the grain route. Why didn't he pursue the victory after winning the battle, but retreated instead?"
Hong Chengchou said: "Li Dingguo must have learned that the prince led his troops south, and he knew he could not defeat the enemy and had to retreat."
"This seems to be the only reasonable explanation at the moment!"
As soon as Dorgon finished saying this, a post soldier suddenly ran up to him.
This post soldier came from Shenyang. He went from the grassland, bypassed Liaoze and followed the grain route to find Dorgon.
"Your Highness," the postman said breathlessly, "the Ming army suddenly withdrew when they were still thirty miles away from Shengjing. Then someone sent a message to Prince Li saying that Wang Yongji led the main force of the Ming army to retreat to Liaoyang, and then continued to retreat from Liaoyang, preparing to attack our army from both sides with Li Dingguo!"
Dorgon was stunned.
After a moment, he came to his senses and asked, "Did Wang Yongji withdraw his troops?"
"Yes, we have withdrawn our troops from the south bank of Beisha River and are leading them towards here!"
"How is it possible?" Dorgon still found it hard to believe: "Shenyang is the capital of the Qing Dynasty. How could Wang Yongji be willing to withdraw his troops?"
"The news was sent by the Ming army, and we don't know whether it is true or not!" the postman replied.
"This..." Dorgon was even more embarrassed.
He naturally knew that the Ming army the postman was referring to was Wu Sangui.
He was the only one who would betray his allies and send messages to the Qing Dynasty.
If the news was true, he should retreat immediately.
But if the news was false, his retreat at this time would delay important matters.
"By the way, you just said that Wang Yongji is planning to attack me from both sides together with Li Dingguo?" Dorgon asked.
"yes."
"This is even more wrong. Li Dingguo is to the south of me, and Wang Yongji is also to the south of me! How do they plan to attack me from both sides?" Dorgon asked puzzledly.
The postman said quickly, "According to the people in the Ming army, Li Dingguo's march south is just a cover to lure the prince's main force south. After the prince goes south, Li Dingguo will immediately lead his troops north, and then set up defense lines in Zhen'an Fort, Weijialing Pass and Huaerying City to block our army's retreat."
hiss--
Dorgon took a deep breath and was shocked beyond words by this plan.
This plan is too complex and grand.
There are many similarities with the Battle of Wenyu River that year.
But this is Liaodong!
What's more, Li Dingguo only had 20,000 soldiers under his command.
Even if Li Dingguo tried his best, he was not 100% sure that he could stop his tens of thousands of cavalry.
"Wait," Dorgon suddenly realized something: "The news sent by the Ming army may not be true, right?"
"I don't know." The postman replied.
"Do you think this news is true or false?" Dorgon turned to look at his two advisers, Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou.
Fan Wencheng and Hong Chengchou both looked unhappy.
They were honored by Dorgon as Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick.
It would have been fine if he didn't see through Li Dingguo's scheme, but in the end he was tricked by Li Dingguo.
It's shameful, so shameful.
"Your Majesty," Fan Wencheng forced himself to calm down and said, "I think the news is true."
"Why?"
"The lips and teeth are interdependent. There is no need for him (referring to Wu Sangui) to deceive us."
"I also thought the news was true," Hong Chengchou narrowed his eyes and analyzed, "Wang Yongji is the governor of Ping Liao, and his vision is more far-sighted than others. If I were Wang Yongji, I would rather give up Shengjing, which is within my reach, and find a way to destroy the prince's main force."
"After all, we still have to face the prince's main force after we capture the city. But if we eliminate the prince's main force, then there will be no one to defend the city, and the army can recapture the city without bloodshed!"
"It seems that Wang Yongji is really coming!" Dorgon sighed, "The plan that I spent so much time, effort, manpower and food on has gone down the drain..."
"Now is not the time to be sentimental," Fan Wencheng reminded Dorgon loudly, regardless of etiquette: "Your Majesty, please lead your troops north immediately and return to the grassland before Li Dingguo sets up a defense line."
"I really can't bear to let you go!" Dorgon wanted to cry but had no tears.
He originally wanted to take the opportunity to destroy Li Dingguo, severely damage the Ming army, and prolong the life of the Qing Dynasty.
As a result, he fell into Li Dingguo's trap and had to retreat in order to preserve his strength.
I am unwilling to accept this. I really am unwilling to accept this.
"Your Highness, please order the troops to retreat quickly. What we are competing for now is the marching speed! Whoever can reach the Weijialing Pass area first will gain the upper hand." Fan Wencheng began to yell.
"Retreat! Quickly send the order to break camp and withdraw the troops immediately!" Dorgon finally turned his attention back to the present.
"Your Highness, please send a fast horse to notify Shi Tingzhu and ask them to retreat immediately!" Fan Wencheng reminded again.
"Go and inform them!" Dorgon asked after giving the order, "Should we wait for Shi Tingzhu? He has more than 10,000 soldiers under his command. Our chances of winning will be greatly increased if we join forces with him."
"It's too late!" Hong Chengchou tapped the map on the table with his fingers: "If nothing unexpected happens, Wang Yongji's cavalry is ready to attack Shi Tingzhu!"
"Impossible!" Dorgon shook his head: "Shi Tingzhu is good at strategy and cautious in using troops. He must be on guard against the Liaoyang direction!"
"Li Xianzhong and Liu Zhaoji under Wang Yongji are both famous for their bravery and courage. They will chase after the scouts sent by Shi Tingzhu and kill them directly into Shi Tingzhu's camp!"
Dorgon finally realized how bad the situation was.
After a brief hesitation, he led his troops northward.
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