Looking at the Jiannu cavalry rushing over, Li Dingguo formed a horizontal formation to meet the enemy.
One hundred steps!
Xihan began to charge forward at an accelerated speed.
Eighty steps!
Xihan raised the bow and shot the arrow in his hand.
Although this type of attack is difficult to kill, it can cause chaos in the enemy's army.
He had just shot a round of arrows and was about to shoot again.
Li Dingguo suddenly moved.
"Gee!" Li Dingguo squeezed the horse's belly with his legs, and the horse ran forward in pain.
The Ming cavalry behind him quickly followed and launched a counterattack towards Xihan.
The noise of four thousand cavalrymen running frightened Xihan. He put down the bow and arrow in his hand, and couldn't believe his eyes: "Li Dingguo...why did the whole army attack?"
During the hesitation, the two armies were less than fifty steps apart.
Xihan hurriedly adjusted the angle and attacked the Ming army with flat shooting.
After the two sides fired two rounds of arrows at each other, they engaged in hand-to-hand combat.
Man Dahai originally thought that even if Xihan was defeated, he could still test Li Dingguo's background and lay the groundwork for his next attack.
But what he didn't expect was.
Xihan could only hold on for a short while before he could no longer hold on and was on the verge of defeat.
Most of Xihan's troops came from the Zhenghuang Banner.
The Plain Yellow Banner was the emperor's personal army and was the elite among the Eight Banners.
Even if he cannot defeat Li Dingguo, he can still hold out for a while.
What Man Dahai didn't know was.
Although Xihan's subordinates are all elite soldiers, Xihan himself has no intention of fighting.
In Xihan's opinion, the Eight Banners Army clearly had an advantage in terms of military strength.
Li Dingguo already had insufficient military strength, and he even divided his troops.
And after dividing their troops, they came out in full force and launched a counterattack against him.
What does this mean?
This means that Li Dingguo has an ambush!
In order to avoid an ambush, Xihan decided to fight and retreat, moving closer to Mandahai.
Even if they encounter an ambush, they can ask Man Dahai for help at the first moment.
His idea is good, but there is a principle on the battlefield.
Don't retreat unless it's absolutely necessary.
Once we retreat, the slightest carelessness will lead to defeat.
Li Dingguo keenly grasped the information of Xihan's retreat.
He led the charge and launched a fierce attack on Xihan's central army.
Looking at the huge flag with the word "Li" on it, Xihan was so frightened that he shuddered all over and turned his horse and rode away.
Seeing this, the flag-bearing soldier behind him also retreated.
When the Jiannu cavalry saw the central army flag suddenly move backwards, they thought a rout had occurred.
In order to survive, they immediately ended the fight and moved back.
At first, the formation was maintained.
As more and more people retreated, the situation began to get out of control.
The army began to collapse.
By the time Xihan realized his mistake, the defeat was irreversible.
He slapped himself hard in the face and ran away with his confidants.
Li Dingguo was chasing closely behind.
Man Dahai originally wanted to deploy his troops next to the road where the defeated soldiers were fleeing, letting them go and blocking Li Dingguo.
But the terrain there was narrow and there was no room for him to maneuver.
In order to avoid being affected by the fleeing soldiers, Man Dahai had to retreat with his troops.
"Report!" The scout came to Dorgon and said, "Prince Rui, Prince Li was defeated by Li Dingguo and is leading his defeated troops to retreat here."
"How is this possible?" Dorgon's expression could no longer be described as shocked.
He stared and asked, "How many people does Li Dingguo have?"
"About five thousand cavalry."
"That's even more impossible," Dorgon shook his head and said to himself, "I gave Man Dahai 10,000 cavalrymen, 10,000 versus 5,000. The advantage is on the side of the Qing Dynasty! Not to mention 10,000 cavalrymen, even 10,000 steamed buns would be enough for Li Dingguo to eat for a while! How could Man Dahai be defeated so quickly?"
"We can only know the specific battle situation after Prince Li arrives."
Dorgon said angrily: "Tell him not to retreat here, but to retreat to Jiefan Village!"
"But Your Majesty," Hong Chengchou reminded, "Wu Sangui is in urgent need of support..."
Before Hong Chengchou finished speaking, a Jiannu scout with arrows stuck in his body ran over and said, "Your Majesty, Wu Sangui's army has been defeated!"
"Wu Sangui was defeated???" Dorgon almost popped his eyes out: "He has nearly 30,000 Guanning troops under his command, and Wang Yongji only has 3,000. How could he be defeated?"
However, bad news came one after another.
Just when Dorgon was in disbelief, another scout came to report: "Shangshan underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, and was surrounded and killed by Liu Zhaoji! Our army's morale is low, and all units are planning to retreat."
"It's over!" Dorgon closed his eyes, as if he had accepted his fate.
He had three opportunities to inflict heavy damage on the Ming army, but failed each time.
The first opportunity was the battle of Abudaligang with the southern army.
At that time, he used ambushes to burn the food and grass of the Southern Army, causing the Southern Army to be defeated.
If we can take advantage of the situation and launch a surprise attack, the Southern Army will suffer heavy losses even if it is not completely wiped out.
The southern army was composed of naval forces that were good at land warfare.
If the Southern Army can be severely damaged, it will also be good news for the Qing Navy.
Unfortunately, it was blocked by Zeng Ying and Yang Zhan.
The second opportunity was the Battle of Sarhu.
Wu Sangui took the initiative to request a change of guard and told him the news of the change in advance.
He originally wanted to launch an attack during the change of guard, but Huang Degong and Gao Yigong, who replaced Wu Sangui, were both tough guys.
Not only did they defend the camp in Sarhu, but they also killed many Eight Banners soldiers.
The result was fruitless.
The third chance is now.
Wu Sangui knew that he had been exposed, and in order to survive he had no choice but to rebel and surrender to Dorgon.
Wu Sangui took the lead and attacked Wang Yongji, the governor of Pingliao outside the city.
The Eight Banners soldiers surrounded and attacked the reinforcements to deal with the Ming army that supported Wang Yongji.
The plan was very good, but the result was terrible.
Wu Sangui, who besieged Wang Yongji, was defeated.
Man Dahai, who supported Wu Sangui, was also defeated.
Dorgon was in charge of besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements. His general Shangshan was killed in battle.
The successive defeats made Dorgon lose the desire and courage to continue fighting.
He first glanced at the generals around him, then sighed and gave an order helplessly: "Order all troops to retreat to Jiefan Village immediately. Luo Keduo of the Bordered Red Banner and Bolhui of the Plain White Banner will be in charge of the rear guard. Anyone who disobeys the order will be executed!"
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