"Prince Su, it's getting late, let's withdraw our troops!" Abunai came up to Hauge and said.
"Yes, Your Majesty, our army is not good at night battles, so we should withdraw our troops and return to the camp to rest early!" Yue Le and Man Dahai also came forward to persuade.
Although Hauge felt helpless, he had no choice but to order his troops to withdraw.
Even if there is a chance of winning if we continue fighting, the corresponding risks will increase.
He is the commander-in-chief of an army and cannot put the army at risk.
"Order all units to withdraw!"
On the way back, Haoge questioned Yue Le: "I gave you 4,000 cavalry and asked you to use the wrapping formation tactics to contain the Ming army's infantry."
"What's the result? The scouts told me that the Ming army's infantry is slowly approaching! How...do you explain it?"
It would have been fine if we didn't mention this matter. When he did, Yue Le's face was filled with sorrow: "Your Highness Prince Su, I have something to say."
Seeing that Haoge did not stop him, Yue Le continued, "I did follow the prince's instructions to use the wrapping formation tactics to contain the Ming army, but the Ming army's infantry's bird guns were too vicious."
"It can penetrate armor and kill people from a hundred steps away!"
"After circling the Ming army formation four times, the Ming army suffered dozens of casualties, and my cavalry suffered dozens of casualties. We had no choice but to retreat a hundred steps away and wait for an opportunity to harass them!"
"The Ming army took the opportunity to slowly move their troops, which led to the scene on the battlefield!"
After listening to Yue Le's explanation, Haoge was shocked and angry.
What shocked them was that the Ming army was equipped with Rumi guns on a large scale, and what angered them was that the mighty Qing Dynasty could not even imitate it.
"I will believe you for now." Haoge sighed.
"Thank you, Your Highness," Yue Le thanked him and then asked in a low voice, "Prince Su, how are we going to fight tomorrow?"
When it comes to fighting, Hauge was in trouble.
How to play?
Based on today's battle results, it can be inferred that this Ming army is very difficult to deal with.
Although their technical and tactical level in close combat needs to be improved, their daring and aggressive style has left a deep impression on people.
Especially the momentum when they were fighting each other, which made the Eight Banners soldiers unable to raise their heads.
In terms of overall strength, these people are no worse than the Guanning Army.
The Eight Banners Army and the Guanning Army were at the same level.
After returning to the temporary camp and having a simple meal, Hauge called a meeting of all the generals.
"If you ask me, we can just send the heavy armored infantry to join the battle tomorrow! The heavy armored soldiers will lead the way in front, and the cavalry will follow behind. As long as they break through the Ming army's defense line, the Ming army will be defeated!" Yue Le said confidently.
"No, heavy infantry is our trump card. We should not use it unless it is absolutely necessary!" Man Dahai clearly expressed his objection: "Our advantage is that we have a large number of cavalry! The advantage of cavalry is speed. Instead of fighting the Ming army head-on, we should use the advantage of cavalry's speed to surround them without attacking."
"Surround but not attack?" Everyone, including Hauge, looked up at Man Dahai at the same time.
Man Dahai coughed lightly and said, "Yes, as Sun Tzu's Art of War says, to surround without attacking, to attack without fighting, is the best strategy!"
......
The next morning, both sides lined up again to meet the enemy.
The Ming army's formation was the same as yesterday, with a north-south array, facing east and back west.
The infantry was in front and the cavalry was behind.
Unexpectedly, the Eight Banners Army changed its formation.
They divided the cavalry into four parts, each with about 10,000 soldiers, and deployed them in the four directions of the Ming army: east, west, south and north.
After Gao Yigong saw the enemy's formation, he asked He Jin: "What are the Jiannu going to do? Are they going to surround us? Doesn't the military strategy say to surround them if there are ten of them? They don't have enough troops!"
He Jin shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.
Just as he was wondering, a messenger brought Li Xingzhong's military order: send a thousand cavalrymen to test the battle.
"Yigong, you go, but remember to be careful!" He Jin said to Gao Yigong.
"Okay," Gao Yigong took the order and left.
He led a thousand cavalrymen and rushed out of the army formation and headed directly south.
Seeing this, the Eight Banners soldiers in the south also sent out a thousand cavalry to fight back.
The two sides competed in archery and horsemanship on the battlefield, and suffered casualties on both sides.
Quarter of an hour later, Li Xingzhong ordered Gao Yigong to withdraw his troops.
As soon as Gao Yigong returned to the formation, Li Xingzhong personally led 6,000 cavalrymen to charge to the south.
The enemy forces in the south did not send troops to meet the enemy as before, but retreated southward.
When the Ming army chased them, they retreated.
After chasing for more than a hundred steps, Li Xingzhong did not dare to chase anymore because he found that the Eight Banners soldiers and Mongolian cavalry on the east and west sides were slowly approaching to the south, trying to surround him.
"Return to your original position!" Li Xingzhong ordered.
An interesting scene occurred. As soon as the Ming army retreated, the enemy troops in the south came back and followed them.
After figuring out the matter, Li Xingzhong smiled bitterly and said, "I finally understand what the Jiannu are thinking. They want to trap us to death here."
"Too sleepy?" Li Shunzu was puzzled.
"Yes," Li Xingzhong took a deep breath. "The Jiannu deployed cavalry from the four directions of east, west, south and north to stalemate with our army. If our army sent a small group of cavalry to attack, they would send a small group of cavalry to respond. If we sent the main force to attack, the attacked group would retreat to lure the enemy."
"As long as our army dares to pursue, the enemy forces on the east and west sides will cut off our retreat and surround and annihilate them with superior forces."
"Don't we still have infantry? We can let them provide support from the rear!" said Li Shunzu.
"No, if the infantry doesn't move, there won't be any flaws! Once they start moving, the flaws will be revealed. It won't be a big problem in the short term. But if they move for a long time, the flaws will be exposed for a long time, and the risk of being caught and defeated by the enemy will be greater!"
Li Shunzu frowned: "Then... can we let the infantry and cavalry attack together?"
"Where should we attack?" Li Xingzhong asked in return: "If we attack southward, the soldiers in the north will think we are retreating southward; if we attack northward, the soldiers in the south will think we are retreating northward again!"
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