The topography of the Korean Peninsula is characterized by low terrain in the southwest and high terrain in the northeast.
More than 80 percent of the terrain is mountainous or hilly.
The few plains are located in the coastal areas in the west.
Li Dingguo's Western Army was passing through the plains, and in theory it could have quickly moved south after taking Yizhou.
But Li Dingguo didn't.
Because the mission of this military expedition to Korea was to eradicate the Jiannu completely.
So he had to change his tactics.
At noon, the Ming army entered Yizhou City.
Deputy General Dou Mingwang came to Li Dingguo and said, "Sir, the commander of Yizhou is waiting outside."
"Let him in."
"yes."
The Yizhou garrison commander was very excited when he saw Li Dingguo.
According to the rules, it was impossible for a Korean official of his level to meet the Ming army commander.
But he did see him, and he saw him in the central military tent.
He knelt down on one knee excitedly and said in his not very fluent Central Plains dialect: "I pay my respects to the general."
Generally speaking, border guards know multiple languages.
Although I can't say I'm proficient at it, I still have no problem doing some simple communication.
Li Dingguo nodded: "Get up."
"yes."
"How many soldiers are there in the city?"
"Your Excellency the General, there are a total of 1,500 soldiers in Yizhou City."
"How many young and strong are there? How many old, weak, sick and disabled are there?"
"About 500 young and strong, the rest are old, weak, sick and disabled."
"Pick out the young and strong men in the army to join my team, and the old, weak and sick will stay behind to transport food and fodder."
"yes."
In less than half a day, the Yizhou garrison commander selected suitable Korean soldiers.
When they arrived at Li Dingguo's army, Li Dingguo had already made arrangements.
He divided the five thousand cavalry into fifty teams, each equipped with a varying number of Korean soldiers.
Then he sent them all out.
Search for traces of the Jiannu in the center of Yizhou City.
If you encounter a small group of Jiannu, kill them immediately.
If you encounter a large army of Jiannu, return immediately and ask for help.
It was the first time for the Korean soldiers to follow the Ming army, and each one was more excited than the other.
Fifteen miles east of Yizhou City, a small Ming army team arrived outside a village.
The Korean soldiers immediately entered the village and asked, "We are the Ming army. We are here to wipe out the Tartars. Are there any Tartars in the village?"
"No."
"Report any traces of the Tartars immediately, otherwise you will be considered as collaborating with the enemy."
"No problem, smecta, but..."
"But what?"
"Two outsiders came to the village chief's home a few days ago. They asked the village chief's son to lead them to the mountains, and they haven't come back yet. The village chief delivers food to the mountains every day, but he won't tell me what happened when we ask him."
Several Korean soldiers looked at each other, and one of them guessed, "It must be a spy from the Jiannu. Let's report it immediately."
After receiving the news, the Ming army squad immediately rushed over.
Li Dingguo’s idea was not to let any of the Jian slaves go.
Whether it is a Jiannu spy or a large Jiannu army.
As soon as they are discovered, we will immediately send troops to pursue and suppress them.
He was not afraid of wasting time because there was plenty of time to pacify the Liao army.
When Li Dingguo was searching for the Jian Nu everywhere.
Li Xianzhong of the Eastern Army also crossed the Yalu River and arrived outside the city of Jongseong in Hamgyong Province, North Korea.
There are several relatively large cities in Hamgyong Province.
From north to south they are Jongseong, Seosulae, Gyeongseong, Danchon and Hamheungseong.
(The names of the eight provinces of North Korea are composed of the first characters of the two largest cities in the province, such as Hamgyong Province is composed of the first characters of Hamhung and Gyeongseong; Pyongan Province is composed of the first characters of Pyongyang and Anju.)
Although North Korea lent Hamgyong Province to the Jiannu, there were still many North Korean officials and soldiers in Hamgyong Province.
They didn't want to stay.
But their homes and families were all here, so they had no choice but to stay and work for the Jiannu.
The Jiannu army did not have many troops, so Dorgon only deployed a small number of troops in Zhongcheng to be responsible for guarding, and the main force was stationed in the Jingcheng area.
Li Xianzhong led the Ming army to cross the river before dawn and then established a bridgehead on the other side of the river.
The main force immediately began to cross the river.
When the first rays of morning sunlight shone on the walls of Zhongcheng, the Ming army had already lined up outside the city.
"Report!" The Korean soldiers guarding the city ran into the city and reported to Li Sizhong, the Jiannu general stationed there: "Sir Li, the Ming army suddenly arrived at the city."
"What?" Li Sizhong stood up from his chair. "How many soldiers does the Ming army have?"
"Too many to count."
Li Sizhong suddenly felt something was wrong, and immediately put on his armor, assembled his troops, and climbed up the city wall to check the situation.
It would have been better if he hadn't watched it. After watching it, his heart sank.
There were at least five or six thousand Ming troops outside the city.
He had only 800 soldiers under his command, and some of them were wounded soldiers who had not yet fully recovered their combat effectiveness.
Fortunately, the Ming army outside the city only surrounded three sides and left one side open, so he still had a chance to escape.
"Sir, the Ming army is coming in full force, why don't we retreat!" the personal soldier next to him whispered.
Li Sizhong nodded: "We must retreat, but the prerequisite is to find out who the enemy's main general is."
to this end.
He sent people out of the city pretending to discuss surrender.
Soon, the soldiers who left the city came back and said, "Sir, the enemy commander is Li Xianzhong."
Upon hearing this, Li Sizhong's face changed drastically and he led his troops towards the South Gate, intending to retreat from there.
As the city gate opened, he rushed out first.
The troops under his command followed closely behind him and retreated southward together.
The Ming army outside the city immediately reported the news to Li Xianzhong.
At this time, Li Xianzhong also knew Li Sizhong's identity.
He hesitated for a moment and then ordered Li Shunzu: "Li Sizhong is a member of the Li clan but he works for the Jiannu. He is a complete scum! I will give you two thousand elite soldiers. You must catch up with him and eliminate him."
"Yes, sir!" Li Shunzu quickly chased after them with two thousand elite soldiers.
In the past, Li Shunzu would not have been able to catch up with the Jiannu cavalry.
But now things have changed.
Since leaving Liaodong and entering Korea, the Jiannu have been facing the problem of food shortage.
The soldiers were not well fed, but they were not starving either.
Although war horses can eat their fill, they cannot eat well, even if they are fed with rice, wheat and other grains.
(The Imperially-Decreed Strategy for the Pacification of Jinchuan records that war horses that eat grain for a long time will become "tired and thin, which is dangerous.")
Before this, the Eight Banners soldiers had been feeding black beans to their war horses.
When they arrived in Korea, where black beans were hardly grown, the war horses could no longer eat black beans.
in addition.
Hamgyong Province is mostly mountainous and hilly, and there are not enough suitable places to train war horses.
War horses are like people.
Without adequate nutrition and training, physical fitness will begin to decline.
The difference with them is.
The army that pacified Liao had always had an adequate supply of military rations, and horse fodder such as soybeans and alfalfa was in constant supply.
As one side gained strength while the other lost strength, the Jiannu's war horses lost their advantage.
The Ming army's war horses gained the upper hand.
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