There are four cadences when a horse walks, from slow to fast: walk, trot, canter and trot.
The average war horse has a walking speed of 10 miles per hour.
The fast pace is 20-40 miles per hour.
The running speed can reach 50 miles per hour.
The maximum speed of the raid can reach 60 miles per hour (but the time is very short, it can only last about one minute).
Hauge calculated with his fingers and figured that even if the Ming cavalry marched at a slow pace, they would be able to reach the battlefield in two quarters of an hour.
If we speed up a little, we may arrive in just a quarter of an hour.
At this time, the two sides on the battlefield were evenly matched and could not break through the Ming army's formation in a short period of time.
After realizing this truth, Hauge began to consider quitting.
He waved his hand and summoned the messenger to his side: "Send someone to inform the Eight Banners that reinforcements are coming. Our army is already exhausted after a long battle and cannot be defeated!"
"Retreat in batches and cover each other."
"Man Dahai retreated first, retreated three miles to the east, and then formed a battle array on the spot, preparing to ambush the pursuing Ming army."
"Yue Le is next. Retreat five miles to the east, change horses, and prepare to ambush the Ming army."
"The rest of the troops, keep an eye on my central army flag and retreat with it!"
The herald thought for a moment and asked, "What about the Mongolian tribes? When will they retreat?"
Hauge smiled coldly and looked towards the battlefield: "How can the lives of the Mongolians be as valuable as the lives of the Eight Banners soldiers of the Qing Dynasty? We will notify him after we evacuate the battlefield..."
Hauge's voice stopped abruptly.
Because he found that the Mongolian cavalry on the battlefield were retreating, and in an organized manner.
Hauge couldn't believe what he saw. He rubbed his eyes hard and looked again.
That’s right!
The Mongolian cavalry is retreating in an organized manner!
Hauge was immediately furious and started to curse: "Damn it, the Mongols deserve to die! They actually retreated without informing me!!!"
In fact, this cannot be blamed on the Mongolian cavalry's lack of martial ethics. Their equipment was far inferior to that of Li Xingzhong, so their head-on confrontation with the Ming army was completely using their own weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths.
A common tactic used by the Mongolian cavalry was to lure the enemy deep into their territory and consume their horsepower.
Wait until the enemy's horse is tired and then launch a counterattack.
The Mongols have done the most they can by holding out until now!
"Pass the order quickly, pass the order!" Hauge yelled at the messenger.
The herald did not dare to delay and quickly sent someone to deliver the news of the retreat to the battlefield.
"Duke Fuguo, Prince Su orders you to lead your troops to retreat three miles to the east and form a battle array on the spot."
"Duke Zhenguo, Prince Su, you lead your troops to retreat five miles to the east, change horses and form a battle formation to meet the enemy."
As the two military orders were delivered to the battlefield, the Eight Banners soldiers began to retreat.
The first to retreat was Man Dahai. He led his Zhenghong Banner to quickly withdraw from the battle and found a gap on the battlefield to pass through.
The second person to retreat was Yue Le, and the problem also lay with him.
Hauge's original intention was to retreat in batches and provide alternating cover.
There is nothing wrong with this military order itself, but it is very difficult to implement.
Because the efficiency of conveying information on the battlefield is very low.
The ordinary soldiers had no idea why they were retreating, nor did they know what to do next. They just followed the general's flag.
When Man Dahai retreated, it caused riots among some of the Eight Banners soldiers.
They were not sure whether this was a tactical arrangement or a retreat after defeat. They only saw Man Dahai's red flag leaving the battlefield.
When Yue Le left the battlefield, a feeling of uneasiness began to spread among the Eight Banners soldiers.
"Why did the men of the Duke of Zhenguo and the Duke of Fuguo all leave? Do they have other missions?" asked an Eight Banners soldier.
"Mission? What mission could be more important than the Ming army in front of us?" another Eight Banners soldier replied.
"So what did they do?"
"They should be going to support the Mongols. You see, the Mongols are having a hard time fighting over there... Shit!"
By the time the Eight Banners soldiers on the battlefield realized this problem, the Mongolian cavalry had already withdrawn more than half of their forces.
"The Mongolian cavalry betrayed their loyalty and fled from the battlefield. Everyone, run away..."
The news spread quickly from one person to ten and from ten to a hundred, and soon spread throughout the entire battlefield.
"Hold the formation and don't retreat!" The Eight Banners generals rode on their horses, trying to stabilize their morale.
However, the defeat was like a landslide and could not be stopped by human power.
Even a powerful dynasty like the Tang Dynasty couldn't do it (refer to the Battle of Huangzhang Valley in 696 AD. Although Wu Zetian was in power at the time, the Tang army was still the same Tang army).
The Eight Banners soldiers ignored the orders given by their generals and rode their horses backwards.
Are you kidding? The earlier and faster you run, the greater your chances of survival!
If you run slowly you will surely die!
Nothing is worth mentioning in the face of life!
Li Xingzhong keenly captured this information and personally led his elite troops to chase after them.
The offensive and defensive momentum changed instantly!
Upon seeing this, Li Shunzu and Cha Binxun immediately divided their troops to pursue.
A small part of the troops went after the Mongolian cavalry, while the remaining main force pursued the Eight Banners troops at full speed.
Even He Jin sent out his precious two thousand cavalry to pursue the enemy.
The sound of horse hooves on the battlefield resounded through the sky.
There were scenes of chases everywhere, with the Eight Banners soldiers and Mongolian cavalry fleeing in the front, and the Ming cavalry chasing behind.
Amid the sounds of bowstrings and firearms, people kept falling off their horses.
"Kill!" Cha Binxun personally led hundreds of elite cavalry to pursue and kill.
Whoosh——
Countless arrows flew into the air and hit them.
The arrows were shot by the Mandahai tribe who had retreated in advance and were waiting here.
Cavalry has no attack power without formation.
Cha Binxun lost his formation while chasing the enemy and was repelled by Man Dahai.
After retreating more than a hundred steps, they met Li Shunzu and Li Xingzhong. The three parties joined forces and reorganized their formations before fighting Man Dahai again.
Man Dahai was unable to hold out and was forced to flee eastward.
While chasing after Mandahai's tribe, the Ming army's formation became chaotic again.
This has nothing to do with military quality. It mainly depends on the fact that some defeated soldiers run fast and some run slowly.
In order to kill the defeated soldiers who were lagging behind, the Ming army needed to constantly divide its troops, which led to chaos in the formation.
Woo!
At the sound of the horn, the Ming army met Yue Le who had just changed his warhorse.
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