When the Ming army just started to cross the Liugu River upstream, the Jiannu scouts discovered their tracks.
They reported the news to Tong Tulai as quickly as possible.
When Tong Tulai arrived with 3,000 soldiers, Li Xingzhong's more than 1,000 personal soldiers had already assembled, but the main force of the cavalry was still crossing the river.
"Attack them when they are halfway across the river! Kill them!" Tong Tulai immediately commanded his troops to charge towards Li Xingzhong.
In his opinion, his troops were three times as many as the enemy's.
One charge can scare the opponent away.
However, reality slapped him hard in the face.
When faced with an enemy that outnumbered them by several times their number, Li Xingzhong's cavalry did not retreat. Instead, they formed themselves into three rows and launched a counterattack.
The first row of two hundred cavalrymen rushed forward first.
Two hundred against three thousand, they have no advantage at all.
In just one encounter, more than ten of the two hundred Ming cavalrymen were shot dead by three thousand Eight Banners soldiers.
"Brothers, run quickly! We are no match for the Jiannu!"
"Run away, don't let the Jiannu make a fool of you!"
After leaving behind a few corpses, the two hundred Ming cavalrymen fled in panic.
The Eight Banners soldiers had not killed enough and kept chasing after them.
The defeated Ming army had not maintained its formation to begin with, and was completely thrown into disarray and fled in all directions under the pursuit of the Eight Banners Army.
Under their leadership, the pursuing Eight Banners soldiers also lost their formation.
At this time.
The second row of four hundred Ming cavalrymen set out.
They formed a neat formation and attacked the Eight Banners soldiers who had lost their formation.
If the cavalry loses its formation, it loses its attack power.
"Go to hell!" A Ming cavalryman aimed a bow and arrow at the Eight Banners soldier who was about to kill him.
The bowstring vibrated and the arrow hit the opponent's face.
The Eight Banners soldier who was shot felt a black screen in front of his eyes first, and then unbearable pain penetrated into his mind, causing him to lose control of his body.
During the bumpy ride, the injured Eight Banners soldiers fell off their horses and were trampled into the mud by the horses' hooves.
While the Ming army was shooting arrows at the Eight Banners soldiers, the Eight Banners soldiers were also shooting arrows at the Ming army.
But their formation was in disarray, making it difficult to launch an effective counterattack.
Not only did they fail to repel the second wave of attacking Ming troops, but they also suffered repeated losses under the organized attack of the Ming army.
After several waves of arrows, the Eight Banners soldiers who were chasing the Ming army began to collapse and fled in all directions like the Ming army that had fled before.
Just as the Ming army was preparing to pursue and kill, they encountered Tong Tulai's main force.
Tong Tulai stayed at the back of the team. He led hundreds of his personal soldiers to stabilize the formation, and then organized troops to counterattack again.
The Ming army was unable to withstand the second wave of counterattack and began to retreat.
Seeing this, Li Xingzhong personally led the third row of cavalry to meet the challenge.
In the early morning light, the national flag of the Ming Dynasty and the flag of Marshal Li were flying wildly in the wind.
Tong Tulai looked around and found that his troops were three or four times the size of the enemy's.
"The Liaodong Li family... I like to kill the generals of the Li family!" After sneering, he pointed at the Li flag and shouted to the flag-bearing soldier beside him: "Follow me closely, and kill all the Ming soldiers under that flag..."
"Report!" Before Tong Tulai could finish his words, a scout came from behind and said, "30% of the main cavalry of the Ming army has crossed the river and is gathering to launch an attack on our army."
"It's broken!" Tong Tulai slapped his thigh suddenly.
Just now, he was eager to make a contribution and only thought about chasing and killing the Ming cavalry, but he forgot that his mission was to prevent the main force of the Ming army from crossing the river.
Now the number of Ming troops crossing the river is as high as several thousand, and the gap in strength between the two sides is almost the same, so it is no longer possible to attack the enemy halfway across the river.
Considering that as time goes by, more and more Ming troops will cross the river.
Tong Tulai shouted at the flag bearer, "Order the troops to withdraw! Withdraw to Ningyuan Zhongyou immediately!"
As the order was given, Tong Tulai clamped his legs hard on the horse's belly.
The warhorse rushed forward in pain.
The flag bearer quickly followed.
When the others saw the central army's flag moving, they all waved their whips and chased after it.
Thousands of Eight Banners soldiers came quickly and ran away even faster.
In the blink of an eye, he had run several miles.
Li Xingzhong did not pursue, but gathered the deserters and cleaned up the battlefield.
After an unknown amount of time, the army finally crossed the river.
They went downstream and met Wu Sangui who was crossing the river downstream.
Under the cover of the left-wing troops, Wu Sangui successfully crossed the river.
Subsequently, the central army and right wing of the Ping Liao army also crossed the river.
The army rested for a night and then continued on their journey.
At noon the next day, the army arrived near Ningyuan Zhongyouso.
When Wang Yongji was about to eat, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside the tent.
Then a scout lifted the curtain of the military tent and knelt on one knee: "Your Excellency the Governor, several thousand red flag Jiannu cavalry were found in the Gaotaibao area, and Zha Binxun led his troops to fight with them."
Wang Yongji suddenly became nervous. He put down his bowl and chopsticks and walked to the table where the map was.
The other generals in the military tent quickly gathered around to check.
After watching for a while, Wang Yongji asked the deputy generals and lieutenant generals on his left and right: "Do you think it is necessary to provide support?"
"Gaotaibao is both our army's flank and our army's rear. We cannot afford to lose it! I think we should send our main force to support it."
"I don't think support is necessary! Cha Binxun's troops have 5,000 cavalrymen. They are our elite troops and will not be defeated! Our army is about to arrive at the city of Ningyuan. Sending troops to support us at this time will not only disrupt the marching plan, but also the combat deployment!"
While they were discussing, Huang Degong suddenly walked in.
He bowed to Wang Yongji and went straight to the dining table in the central military tent.
The table was filled with meat, vegetables and rice, which gave off an enticing aroma.
"Wait," Wang Yongji stretched out his hand to stop him, "There is an enemy in Gaotaibao, General Gao, help me think of a solution."
After hearing about the situation at Gaotaibao, Huang Degong thought for a moment and said, "I think we should send a cavalry of several hundred or a thousand men to investigate the situation."
"I think so too!" Wang Yongji nodded to Huang Degong, "It's just that I think about it more."
Huang Degong frowned and shifted his gaze from the food to Wang Yongji: "Governor Wang means... building a fort?"
"Yes!" Wang Yongji nodded again. "As the battle line moves forward, the gaps in the rear will become larger and larger! Our cavalry is already stretched thin and it is impossible for them to stay in the rear to defend, so we have to build a fortress."
"Indeed," Huang Degong nodded, "After the castle is built, only a few hundred infantry will be needed to withstand the attack of thousands of cavalry. Not only can it provide early warning, but it can also serve as a transit point for food and fodder to ensure that there are no problems with the food supply route."
"Is what General Huang said true?" Wang Yongji stared at Huang Degong and asked.
"It's the truth."
"I will submit a petition to the court to request permission to build a fortress. Can General Huang sign his name on the petition?" Without waiting for Huang Degong to answer, Wang Yongji said, "Think about it before answering. The court and His Majesty are always sensitive about spending money. If you are not careful, you will get into a lot of trouble. At the very least, you will be impeached, and at worst, you will be imprisoned!"
Huang Degong thought for a while and said, "General Wang, you should send a cavalry to investigate the situation at Gaotaibao first, and then we can talk about it after they come back."
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