After realizing the seriousness of the matter, Hauge suddenly became a little panicked.
Although he had fought on the battlefield for many years, this was the first time he encountered such a situation.
"Your Majesty," Tong Tulai was the first to ask, "Please give me 5,000 soldiers to open up a retreat route. If I fail, I will be beheaded."
"I am willing to go!"
"The general is also willing to go!"
The generals in the central military camp requested orders one after another.
These Eight Banners generals seemed enthusiastic on the surface, but in fact they all had their own little thoughts.
first.
According to previous information, the number of Ming troops appearing behind them was not large.
Five thousand Eight Banners soldiers are enough to deal with it.
Secondly.
They were attacked from both sides by the Ming army, which was very similar to the situation in the Battle of Songjin.
The only difference is that it was the Ming army that was being attacked at that time, but now it is them that are being attacked.
If a rout really happens, they are closest to the rear and can escape from the battlefield at the first opportunity.
"Wait, let me think about it carefully." Haoge said with his eyes closed.
No one dared to make a sound and could only stand there and watch quietly.
Hauge's brain was working rapidly.
The situation is now very clear.
The Ming army attacked from both sides, so he had to divide his troops to deal with it.
The first thing to do is to open up a retreat route, otherwise it will not only affect the morale of the army, but also lead to the cutting off of food supply.
Secondly, we must guard the downstream.
Haoge glanced around the military tent and finally stopped at Bolo: "Bolo."
"I am here." Bolo stepped forward and saluted.
"I will give you 5,000 soldiers. After you have assembled them, go to Tashan to scout the enemy situation and defeat the enemy who is flanking you."
"Your Highness, five thousand soldiers are too many. Three thousand will be enough!" Bolo said arrogantly.
"Don't talk nonsense, five thousand is five thousand!" Hauge said with his eyes wide open.
"Yes." Bolo took the order and left.
There were two reasons why Hauge gave Bolo 5,000 soldiers.
First, be cautious. After all, no one knows how many enemies are lurking behind.
The more soldiers you have, the greater your chances of winning.
The second reason is selfishness.
Hauge was the leader of the Zhenglan Banner, and Bolo was the general of the Zhenglan Banner.
If the Eight Banners Army was defeated and routed.
After receiving the news, Bolo could flee back to Liaodong as soon as possible to reduce the losses of Zhenglan Banner.
After all, strength is the key within the Eight Banners.
As long as his Zhenglan Banner had enough troops and strong enough strength, Fulin could not do anything to him.
After Bolo left, Hauge quickly issued an order: "Send a message to Man Dahai, ordering him to defend the upper reaches of Ningyuan River and Canglong Mountain, otherwise he will be subject to military law."
"Lakedehun, I will give you 15,000 soldiers to guard the middle reaches of the Ningyuan River."
"The rest of you, lead your troops and follow me downstream to stop the Ming army." Hauge left the words and walked quickly out of the military tent.
"yes!"
"I obey your command."
Everyone followed out quickly.
The situation downstream was far more serious than Hauge had imagined.
He Jin's 4,000 infantrymen were the first to cross the river.
Because the Ming army placed artillery on the earthen hills on the shore, the Eight Banners soldiers were unable to form a battle array and could only attack in a dispersed manner.
The attack power of the cavalry that lost its formation was greatly reduced.
After resisting several cavalry attacks, He Jin gained a foothold on the other side of the river.
At the same time He Jin crossed the river.
Yang Zhan received the military order from Wang Yongji and led the navy upstream from the mouth of the Ningyuan River.
His navy had basically no warships, but had a large number of pontoon boats for laying pontoon bridges.
With the help of trackers on the shore, they crossed the estuary, then hoisted a simple sail and paddled towards He Jin.
After arriving at the appropriate location, lay the pontoon bridge immediately.
Immediately afterwards, Li Xingzhong's cavalry began to cross the river.
With the entry of Ming cavalry, the Eight Banners Army on the north bank of the Ningyuan River began to show signs of decline.
The Ming army’s firearms were powerful, especially the Rumi gun, which could penetrate armor from a hundred steps away.
The Eight Banners soldiers paid a heavy price for every charge.
After finally charging to the front, they were counterattacked by the Ming army's infantry before they could even shoot arrows.
The attack was blocked and we had no choice but to retreat.
At this time, the Ming cavalry attacked from behind.
This happened several times and the Eight Banners soldiers suffered heavy losses.
While rushing downstream, Hauge continued to receive reports from scouts.
"The Ming army used the newly added floating boats to build eight floating bridges, and countless Ming troops were crossing the river."
"We were blocked when we were halfway across the river, and our army retreated three miles."
"Our army launched another charge, but was defeated again!"
"More than 10,000 Ming troops have landed on the north bank of Ningyuan and are expanding their positions."
"Whoa!" Hauge reined in his horse and looked into the distance.
In the distance, flags were waving and dust was rising.
The armor of the Ming army reflected dazzling starlight under the sunlight.
The infantry advanced slowly with powerful steps.
The cavalry protected both wings and moved forward steadily.
"How many troops does the Ming army have?" Hauge asked behind him.
The scout behind him climbed up and counted, "Your Highness, there are about 15,000 Ming infantry and 10,000 cavalry who have crossed the river. The number of those who have not yet crossed the river is unclear and cannot be estimated."
After getting this number, Hauge began to hesitate.
His total force was seventy-five thousand men.
Among them, 30,000 troops were deployed in the upper reaches of the Ningyuan River, 15,000 were deployed in the middle reaches, 5,000 were sent to Bolo, and there were 5,000 troops in Ningyuan City.
The remaining 20,000 troops were taken downstream.
The current strength of the Ming army downstream is 25,000, 50,000 more than his.
The Eight Banners soldiers did not have an advantage in terms of numbers.
However, victory in war has never been based on numbers, but on the morale, combat effectiveness and strategy of the soldiers.
Haoge used his clairvoyance to stare at the earthen hill for a while, "Retreat half a mile to get rid of the threat of the Ming army's artillery! Then form a battle array and prepare to meet the enemy."
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