Yiling.
Li Dingguo led 30,000 troops by land and sea downstream and stopped here.
The news of the fall of Jingzhou had already reached his ears.
In stark contrast to the panic of others, Li Dingguo looked calm.
"The King of Daxi asked us to support Feng Shuangli. Now that Jingzhou has been lost, what should we do?" asked Jin Tongwu, the general in charge of the camp.
"Yes, Jingzhou City is easy to defend but difficult to attack. We may not be able to take it by force. Even if we succeed in taking it, the losses will be immeasurable." Gao Wengui shook his head.
Li Dingguo smiled slightly: "Don't worry about the problem of Jingzhou, this city is already in our pocket! I am thinking about how to capture Yueyang!"
Jin Tongwu and Gao Wengui were startled: "Yue...Yue Yang?"
"What else?" Li Dingguo asked back.
After fighting with Qin Liangyu, Li Dingguo gained a new understanding of leading troops in battle.
Advantageous location, advantageous location, and advantageous location!
As long as you make good use of the terrain, you can be able to block the passage of ten thousand men!
There were two reasons why the Dashi Army could not defeat the Ming Army in eastern Sichuan.
One is the terrain, and the other is Qin Liangyu and the Xidong soldiers.
The Dashi Army had a high proportion of cavalry and was good at long-distance raids and sneak attacks.
The complex terrain in eastern Sichuan greatly weakened the role of cavalry.
At the same time, Qin Liangyu made targeted deployments.
Divide your forces to resist, lure the enemy deep into your territory, and launch a surprise attack from behind.
Most people would use cavalry to get around the enemy, but Qin Liangyu used the Xidong soldiers to get around the enemy.
They did not attack the main force, only the baggage.
With their baggage and food supplies destroyed, the Dashi Army had no choice but to retreat and rest.
The Dashi Army sent cavalry to pursue them, and the Xidong soldiers retreated into the mountains and forests to avoid fighting.
The Dashi Army sent infantry to pursue, and the Xidong soldiers fought and retreated and then took the opportunity to counterattack.
The terrain in the mountains and forests is complex, and there are insects, snakes and ferocious beasts.
The Dashi cavalry suffered heavy losses.
This unreasonable tactic made Li Dingguo suffer terribly.
He also tried to recruit soldiers from the Xidong area, but the result was that the recruits disappeared without a trace.
After repeated failures, Zhang Xianzhong removed Li Dingguo and replaced him with Sun Kewang.
Now that he has returned to the Huguang Plain, Li Dingguo’s confidence has also returned.
After the three of them had a careful discussion, the army set out the next morning.
Jin Tongwu led the cavalry to land on the south bank of the Yangtze River and then disappeared into the vast wilderness.
Gao Wengui landed on the north bank and disappeared into the vast wilderness.
Li Dingguo led the central army to advance by land and sea and reached the outskirts of Zhijiang County.
At this time, Zhijiang County was still in the hands of the Dashi Army.
The magistrate of Zhijiang County and the garrison commander went out of the city to welcome them.
"Send scouts to the vicinity of Jingzhou to gather information. Remember, do it in a high-profile manner." This was the first military order issued by Li Dingguo after he arrived in Zhijiang County.
When hundreds of cavalrymen carrying the flag of the Dashi Army arrived outside the city of Jingzhou, the Ming army on the city immediately reported the news to Yuan Jixian.
Yuan Jixian climbed to the top of the city wall, picked up his telescope and looked into the distance.
After several years, he saw Zhang Xianzhong's cavalry again.
Compared with the previous ones, these cavalrymen had brighter armor and neater uniforms.
They are no longer the bandits they once were.
The previous situation where government troops chased the bandits was gone forever.
"Ignore them. We will withdraw from Jingzhou tomorrow. Today, all units must hurry and load the baggage and food onto the ship."
As soon as he walked down the city wall, someone from the imperial court delivered an official document.
The official document only mentioned one thing, which was to ask him to draw 5,000 soldiers from his army and march north to Shandong to attack the Jiannu.
This official document intensified Yuan Jixian's idea of retreating: "Order the navy to go down the river to Yuezhou first."
"The rest of the troops broke camp and retreated to Yuezhou after nightfall."
Yuan Jixian's idea not only saved himself, but also saved the Ming army under his command.
One morning later.
When Li Dingguo's 10,000-strong army arrived at the city of Jingzhou, there was no soldier or single person in the city except the civilians.
"Chase!"
Li Dingguo was unwilling to give up and ordered his men to pursue.
After chasing for a whole day, we didn't even see the shadow of the Ming army, let alone the Ming army.
Li Dingguo stamped his feet and beat his chest: "Yuan Jixian, Yuan Jixian, if you had run a little slower, your entire army would have been wiped out."
At this time, Yuan Jixian's army had just arrived outside Jianli County.
"Yuezhou Tang report!" The scout rushed to Yuan Jixian, "Thousands of bandits suddenly appeared on the river outside Yuezhou City."
"They hijacked passing ships and tried to go upstream, but were discovered and defeated by the retreating navy, and then retreated to the Dongting Lake area."
Yuan Jixian was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. Thousands of bandits appeared in his heartland, Yuezhou.
Who are they and why are they behind me?
What Yuan Jixian didn't know was that this army was Jin Tongwu's base camp.
After landing on the south bank of the Yangtze River, he rushed a long distance to the vicinity of Dongting Lake, then robbed fishermen's boats and entered the Yangtze River.
The original intention was to use these ships to transport the cavalry to the north bank of the Yangtze River, but they suddenly appeared behind Yuan Jixian.
At that time, Li Dingguo would be in front, his cavalry would be behind, and Gao Wengui's troops would be on the flanks.
Under the siege from three directions, Yuan Jixian was doomed to fail.
As a result, he was discovered by the Ming navy retreating to Yuezhou and defeated.
After retreating to Dongting Lake, Jin Tongwu did not dare to stay and returned along the same route he came.
Another day later.
After successively abandoning Jingzhou, Gong'an County, Jiangling County, Shishou County and Jianli County, Yuan Jixian and tens of thousands of troops finally arrived outside the city of Yuezhou.
Before entering the city, Yuan Jixian said to the messenger beside him: "Send a report to the court that our army's attack on Jingzhou is unsuccessful and we will retreat to Yueyang. According to the court's order, I will let Lu Ding lead 5,000 troops to Shandong to wipe out the Jiannu."
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