Western Front, south bank of the Daughter River.
Nv'er River is a tributary of Xiaoling River, and its source is in Zhangmao Mountain area west of Ningyuan.
One characteristic of northern rivers is that the amount of water is small during the freezing period.
Although Liaodong had not yet reached the freezing period at this time, the drought caused by the Little Ice Age had seriously affected the water flow of the Daughter River.
In some places, the flow has already stopped.
In addition, the Nv'er River is relatively wide, so most of the river can accommodate pedestrians and livestock.
War horses are even less of a problem.
Looking at the dry river and the countless Eight Banners soldiers on the other side of the river, Li Xingzhong smiled bitterly: "I thought the Nv'er River on the western front could serve as a barrier against the Jiannu, but I didn't expect that there is no defense on the western front!"
"General Li," He Jin urged his horse to Li Xingzhong's side, "Our army currently has 26,000 cavalry and 9,000 infantry, for a total of 35,000 troops! And at least 40,000 cavalry have gathered on the other side of the river. And the number is still increasing."
"Should we... ask for support from the central army?" He Jin looked worried.
"No need," Li Xingzhong smiled faintly, "Don't be fooled by the large number of soldiers on the other side. The real elite troops are only the Eight Banners of Manchu, Han and Mongolian. The rest of the Outer Mongols are just minions who are not worth mentioning."
"But..." He Jin's expression was even more serious than before. "The enemy is all cavalry! Our mission is to defend the western line and prevent them from going around the flank or rear of the main force in the center line to form a two-sided pincer attack."
"The battle line on the western front is 20 miles long. Our army of more than 30,000 soldiers is not enough to form a long snake formation for tight defense. The Jiannu cavalry will definitely find a gap to sneak through."
"If they were all cavalry, we could still pursue them! But we have nearly 10,000 infantrymen, and they can only defend where they are and cannot pursue the cavalry. The number of our cavalry is already somewhat stretched, and if we divide our forces to pursue them, I'm afraid we will face a shortage of troops on the front battlefield."
He Jin's worries are not without reason.
On the battlefield, infantry has only two roles.
1. Attack the problem!
2. Defense!
In the plains, the infantry has no initiative against the highly mobile cavalry.
The initiative lies in the hands of the cavalry.
They can choose to fight or not.
The infantry can only passively accept it.
Looking at the Eight Banners soldiers ready to go on the other side of the river, Li Xingzhong began to think about how to respond.
He had to ensure that the western front was not lost, and at the same time prevent the Eight Banners troops from raiding the main force on the central front.
"Nine thousand infantrymen stay in the camp on the south bank and don't move. The cavalry should line up three miles behind the infantry camp and be prepared for any eventuality!" Li Xingzhong said after a long silence.
"Why don't you move the infantry?" He Jin was a little surprised. "We have fewer troops than Jiannu. If we don't send out the infantry, the gap in strength will only get bigger."
"Haha," Li Xingzhong smiled faintly, "Cavalry can contain infantry! Similarly, infantry can also contain cavalry."
"But..." He Jin hesitated to speak.
It has always been the cavalry that pins down the infantry, so why is it the other way around when it comes to Li Xingzhong?
Even if it can be contained, how much can it be contained?
He originally wanted to say that this was too far-fetched, considering that the other party was the son of the famous general Li Rusong, and was also from a legitimate official army.
After realizing that he was just a surrendered bandit, he swallowed the second half of the sentence back into his stomach.
Li Xingzhong smiled and continued, "Let me ask you, as long as our infantry stays in the camp and does not move, can the Jiannu know that there are cavalry in the camp? Can they know how many soldiers and horses are in the camp?"
"That can't be possible!" He Jin replied.
"If you were the commander-in-chief of the Jiannu, what would you do?"
He Jin was stunned, then suddenly realized, "If it were me, I would leave enough soldiers to deal with any emergencies! General Li is really smart!"
"Then make arrangements quickly!"
"yes."
Under Li Xingzhong's arrangement, the Ming army infantry did not leave the camp, but stayed in the camp on guard.
The 25,000 cavalrymen who had already lined up outside the camp retreated quickly.
The south shore soon became much wider, with only a campsite remaining.
The camp was filled with flags and the noise of people was deafening, as if thousands of troops were gathering in the camp.
North bank of the Daughter River.
Prince Li Man Dahai was using his telescope to observe the south bank.
As he was watching, he suddenly heard Lekedehun's voice: "Uncle Seventh Prince, there is something going on on the other side of the river."
"What's going on?" Man Dahai put down his clairvoyance and asked.
"Look there!" Lekedehun pointed to the southeast: "The Ming cavalry is retreating, and it seems... they want to retreat without a fight."
"No way?" Man Dahai raised his clairvoyance again and looked in the direction of Lekedehun's finger.
In field of vision.
The Ming cavalry is retreating in an orderly manner.
They retreated so quickly that they disappeared into the dust in the distance in the blink of an eye.
With the departure of the cavalry, the view of the south bank became much wider.
The Ming army camp that was originally blocked by the cavalry was now fully revealed.
The Ming army camp was arranged very tightly.
The outermost circle is surrounded by a circle of chevaux de frise and antlers.
Further inward was a circle of chariots with spears tied to them, with the spear points facing outward.
Various types of artillery were installed between the chariots.
Inside the camp were countless flags and tents, and upon closer inspection one could see densely packed figures, but it was impossible to estimate the number.
"The Ming army has not retreated!" Man Dahai said firmly, "The infantry camp is still there, so they are definitely not retreating!"
This sentence made Lekedehun a little confused. "Since there is no retreat, why don't the infantrymen leave the camp and form a battle array?"
"This is a large plain. Infantry has no way to fight cavalry. Hiding in the camp for defense is also a good idea!" Man Dahai said somewhat unconfidently.
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