"Your Highness, wait a minute!" Man Dahai's fourth brother, the national defender General Wakda, suddenly stopped him.
Daishan had eight sons, Wakda was the fourth and Mandahai was the seventh.
Mandahai looked at Wakda and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Fourth Brother?"
Wakda pointed at the battlefield and asked, "Who is the commander of the Ming army on the opposite side, and how many soldiers does he have?"
Mandahai looked towards the southwest.
He was fighting against Wu Sangui.
Due to the narrow terrain, the Ming army did not have many soldiers in formation, only about 25,000.
His total force was thirty thousand, and the number of troops in battle array was about twenty thousand.
There were even fewer troops participating in the battle, with only two teams of about a thousand people fighting.
"The main general of the Ming army on the opposite side is Wu Sangui, and he has about 25,000 soldiers in battle array." Man Dahai replied.
Wakda continued to ask: "You said... Wu Sangui was so passive in the war, wasn't he afraid that the military supervisors and civil officials would report him to the court and punish him?"
"Why do you say that, Fourth Brother?"
"The battlefield could have accommodated 20,000 to 30,000 people, but Wu Sangui only sent out 1,000 people. Isn't that a passive fight?"
Man Dahai thought for a moment and said, "I think the order Wu Sangui received was to contain our main force. As long as our main force does not move, he has completed his mission. As for the number of participants, it is not a big problem judging by the results."
“Not necessarily,” Wakda frowned and shook his head, “I think he is waiting for an opportunity.”
"What chance?"
"Our army has a chance to show a flaw! Our total strength is 30,000, and the number of troops in battle array is about 20,000. Prince Su Haoge needs 15,000 troops, which accounts for half of our total strength. In other words, 5,000 people need to be transferred from the battlefield array. No matter how careful we are when transferring troops, there will be clues."
"If Wu Sangui seizes this opportunity and launches an attack with superior forces, how can our army not be defeated?"
"This..." Man Dahai hesitated.
Hesitation.
Two riders came running from the rear in the distance, and the dust raised by their horses' hooves rose more than ten feet high, causing all the generals to turn their heads.
When they were about ten steps away from Mandahai, one of the cavalrymen shouted as he rode: "Prince Su's military order, Prince Su's military order."
When they finished shouting, the two of them had already arrived in front of Man Dahai.
The cavalryman who had called out earlier continued, "Prince Su has issued an order to quickly order Prince Li to dispatch 15,000 troops to support us. There must be no mistakes!"
"What?" Man Dahai was a little surprised.
The war in the lower reaches of the Ningyuan River must have fallen into an extremely disadvantageous situation, otherwise Hauge would not have sent out two groups of messengers to convey military orders in a short period of time.
"What's the battle situation in the lower reaches of Ningyuan River?" Man Dahai asked.
"In reply, Prince Li, Prince Su has ordered you to quickly dispatch 15,000 troops to support us. There must be no mistake!" The messenger did not answer the question, but repeated his previous words.
Although the herald did not say it explicitly, this sentence confirmed Man Dahai's guess.
what to do?
Man Dahai was in danger.
If we don't support Hauge, he will also be implicated if the army downstream is defeated.
If Wu Sangui discovered his intention to support Hauge and launched an all-out attack while he was withdrawing troops, he would not end up well.
"Please ask Prince Li to dispatch troops for support immediately!" The messenger's voice began to tremble as he rode on his horse.
Before they set out, one of the three defense lines downstream had been breached by the Ming army, and the second line of defense was also somewhat weak.
If Man Dahai delays any longer, the second line of defense might be lost.
Next is the third line of defense, which is the source of morale for the army.
As time goes by, the army's morale will be exhausted and eventually it will be defeated.
"Please ask Prince Li to send troops to support us!" the herald repeated.
Man Dahai looked at the army formation behind him, then stared at the battlefield in front of him for a while, and finally gave the order: "Lekedehun."
"I will be here in the end."
"You must lead 15,000 soldiers to support Prince Su immediately. There must be no mistakes!"
"I obey your command!" Lekedehun waved the whip again and galloped away.
"Seventh Brother," Wakda raised his voice, "Aren't you afraid that Wu Sangui will take advantage of the opportunity to attack you if you do this?"
Man Dahai sighed: "Scared!"
"If you are afraid, why are you still withdrawing troops?"
"I'm gambling."
"What's the bet?"
"I bet Wu Sangui pretended not to see it."
"How is that possible? Wu Sangui is not blind!" Wakda's voice was a little distorted.
"Wu Sangui is indeed not blind, but he is not stupid either! As Sun Tzu's Art of War says, those who are in a high position have an advantage! Our army occupies the commanding heights of Canglong Mountain. Wu Sangui must pay a huge price to win! This runs counter to his original intention!" Man Dahai replied.
Wakda looked at the Guanning Army in the distance and fell into silence.
"The Manchu and Mongolian Cavalry Battalions of the Plain Red, Bordered Red, and Plain Yellow Banners; the Han Army Firearms Battalions of the Plain Red, Bordered Red, Bordered White, and Bordered Yellow Banners, follow me immediately!" Lekedehun came to the rear of the army and began to mobilize troops.
The Eight Banners generals named by him led their troops to retreat quickly and withdraw from the battlefield.
In order not to attract attention, they even left many unnecessary flags in place.
However, this is of no use.
As the saying goes, when there are more than ten thousand soldiers, there is no end in sight.
No matter how careful they were, the soldiers running and the horses galloping raised dust.
Although the Ming army scouts could not see the specific situation clearly, they could see that the flying dust had dyed the sky yellow.
"General, there is dust flying behind the Jiannu army, it seems that they are mobilizing troops!" reported the Ming army scout.
Wu Sangui raised his clairvoyance and observed for a while.
Dust first rose from behind the Jiannu army, then turned into an earth dragon, rushing quickly into the distance.
If the dust comes from far away, it means that troops are being reinforced.
The reality is that the dust is spreading from near to far, indicating that the troops are being reduced.
Not only Wu Sangui understood this principle, but the scouts and other generals in charge of reconnaissance also understood it.
"General," said Deputy General Gao Dejie, pointing to the dust rising in the distance, "the Jiannu army seems to be reducing its troops."
Wu Sangui pondered for a while and looked at Hu Xinshui and Xia Longshan.
Both of them were military generals and advisers to Wu Sangui.
"General, I think this is a trick of the Jiannu." Hu Xinshui said mysteriously.
"Oh?" Wu Sangui didn't believe it at all.
Because the dust is moving downstream of the Ningyuan River.
It was obvious that the Jiannu army was withdrawing troops from the upstream to support the downstream.
Seeing that Wu Sangui didn't believe it, Hu Xinshui looked at Xia Longshan and said, "Brother Xia, do you think this is a trick of the Jiannu?"
As the two watched, Xia Longshan said, "It should be the Jiannu's strategy of confusing the enemy. They must have imitated Zhang Fei in the Three Kingdoms, tying a broom to the horse's tail and running downstream to create the illusion of supporting the downstream!"
"If our army takes advantage of the situation and launches an attack, we will fall into the enemy's trap!"
"I understand!" Wu Sangui deliberately showed an expression of sudden enlightenment, "The Jiannu want us to take the initiative to fight. Especially at this time, the more we must keep calm and not be fooled!"
"General, you are a master at commanding troops. I admire you."
"Haha," Wu Sangui said with a smile, "Order the three armies to continue the confrontation and contain the main force of the Jiannu!"
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