While the Shun army's infantry was fighting fiercely, the Shun army's cavalry began to retreat in an organized manner.
The first to retreat was Gao Yigong in the east of the city.
When he received the news, he was competing in archery with Cha Binxun's troops.
"General, the emperor has ordered us to retreat quickly, otherwise there will be the risk of annihilation of the entire army!" The messenger came to Gao Yigong and shouted.
"What?" Gao Yigong narrowed his eyes.
After a slight hesitation, he turned and ran.
What tactics did the Dashun rely on to get started?
If you can beat them, fight them. If you can’t, run away.
As one of the most outstanding generals of Dashun, any hesitation on his part would be disrespectful to himself.
When the cavalrymen saw the central army's flag moving backwards, they all rode their horses to follow.
Cha Binxun, who was fighting against them, thought it was a trap and did not dare to send out his main force to pursue. He only sent a few hundred cavalrymen to symbolically cover the rear.
At the same time as Gao Yigong retreated, the cavalry units in the north of the city also left the camp and fled northward.
At first, the soldiers did not pay attention to what was happening behind them.
As more and more cavalry left, the infantry realized something was wrong.
Especially the baggage soldiers standing at the back acting as the front, they looked at the empty space behind them and did not feel a bit of security.
"Why are all the cavalry leaving? Are they going to go around the rear?" someone asked.
(Cavalry must be able to take the enemy by surprise when going around the rear. Generally, they must first leave the battlefield before going around the rear, and then make a detour to go around the rear.)
"He didn't go around, he ran away!" a soldier said confidently.
"Don't talk nonsense, or I'll chop off your head." Another soldier reminded in a low voice.
"Beheading? I'm not afraid!" The soldier showed no fear at all.
He pointed at a row of tents and said, "If this isn't running away, then what is it? Has anyone seen anyone running away with a blanket on his back?"
That row of tents were the cavalry's tents. Looking around, there was nothing inside.
The soldiers quickly told Tan Wen the news.
Tan Wen blinked and looked at the soldier who delivered the message: "What do you think?"
The soldier stammered and was unable to speak.
Tan Wen laughed and stood up to pack his belongings.
After cleaning up, he shouted loudly to the people nearby: "The emperor has already run away, what are you still fighting for! Run!"
After saying this, he jumped on his horse and was the first to run out of the camp.
The task Qin Liangyu assigned to him was to work without putting in any effort during the attack and to run for his life during the escape.
He did the same.
The damage caused by Tan Wen's words was even more severe than that of the Ming army.
"What? The emperor ran away? That's impossible!"
"General Tan told me this himself, how could it be false?"
The soldiers looked at each other, turned around and ran in tacit understanding.
The earlier and faster you run, the greater your chances of survival.
News of the cavalry's flight and the baggage train's rout soon spread.
The Shun army began to collapse.
The charging Shun army infantrymen were about to raise their weapons to kill the enemy when they suddenly found that there was no space behind them.
Looking again, they saw that the comrades who were supposed to charge with them were now running away.
They ran very fast and in a very chaotic manner.
"What's going on?" some soldiers asked in confusion.
"What the hell, run!" While the new recruit was still confused, the old soldier had already run away.
They ran for their lives in the opposite direction of the Ming army, fearing that if they ran too slowly they would be caught up by the Ming army and lose their lives.
The slower soldiers were quickly caught up by other soldiers and fell to the ground due to various factors.
However, after falling down, he could never stand up again.
The panicking soldiers behind them were tripped by them one after another.
As more and more people fell, the escape route was soon blocked.
Under the threat of death, the soldiers behind chose to ignore these former comrades.
They continued to run, stepping on the bodies of the fallen soldiers.
The highest mortality rate on the battlefield occurred in the form of fratricide.
People pull people, people squeeze people, people step on people...
As soon as the soldiers in front stepped on their comrades, the soldiers behind stepped on them.
The soldiers who were trampled had their limbs broken first, and then their chests were compressed, making it impossible for them to expand and breathe, and they suffocated to death.
Life is so fragile.
These young lives died without even having the chance to call for help or say their final goodbyes.
Looking around, blood was constantly oozing out of the broken chest, and red and white brain matter was oozing out of the crushed skull.
In the blink of an eye, the battlefield was filled with corpses.
The white-pole soldiers were all stunned.
Some soldiers said to themselves in disbelief: "How did they lose?"
"If the uniform on my body hadn't told me that I was a government soldier, I would have thought I was a bandit!" another soldier followed.
No wonder they were surprised.
After all, the government troops had been at a disadvantage before, and they were the ones who deserved to lose.
Qin Liangyu rode forward and swung her spear, "My men, kill them!"
"kill!"
The White Spear Soldiers burst out their last bit of morale and strode towards the battlefield.
The battlefield was littered with deserters.
The trampling of each other blocked the escapees' way, and they either ran around or knelt down in surrender.
Thousands of White Spear Soldiers died at the hands of these Shun troops. They had no mercy in their hearts, only anger and hatred!
"No surrender, kill!" A White Spear Soldier general swung his sword and killed a Shun soldier.
"Kill!" Thousands of white-pole soldiers roared, raised their weapons and rushed towards the nearest enemy.
The blood rose into the air like steam, and then fell like rain.
The earth soon turned dark red.
The Ming army from the south, west and east of the city had also come to support. As they joined the battlefield, the speed of the Ming army's slaughter began to double.
The cavalry pursued the deserters in the distance, while the infantry reaped the lives of those nearby.
The killing continued until evening when it was forced to stop.
It’s not that they don’t want to kill, but if they continue killing, there is a possibility of accidentally injuring friendly forces.
It was already the first watch when the army returned to the city, and the soldiers and civilians in the city had already lined up to welcome them.
They waved their arms and shouted, "The Ming army is mighty! The Ming army is mighty!"
"General Qin is mighty!"
Qin Liangyu smiled and clasped her fists: "Thank you for your praise. This victory is thanks to the Emperor's blessing and the soldiers' dedication!"
The continuous exemption of taxes across the country for two years led to a drastic change in the people's attitude towards the court.
The previous hostility turned into friendship.
In fact, the people of all dynasties have never had high demands on the court.
You can collect taxes, but you have to leave them enough to eat.
If this is achieved, the emperor will be a good emperor in the eyes of the people.
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