Liu Zhaoji hesitated.
He had only ten thousand men under his command.
Gao Di also had more than 10,000 men under his command.
Theoretically speaking, dividing the troops and pursuing them is the best option.
However, this will cause his troops to be dispersed, and it will take time to regroup.
The opponent may take this opportunity to launch a sneak attack, or rely on the advantage in numbers to escape pursuit.
After quick thinking, Liu Zhaoji said: "Divide the troops into two groups. One group will intercept the troops heading north, and the other group will intercept the troops heading east."
"What about the south and west?" Ma Yingkui asked.
"Don't worry!" Liu Zhaoji said calmly, "There is Liu Wenxiu to the south, he will stop the deserters. To the west is Liaoze, there is no way to escape."
Ma Yingkui nodded and led thousands of cavalry out of the city and marched eastward.
Liu Zhaoji personally led the remaining troops out of the city and pursued northwards.
When he caught up with the troops, he found that they were training on the spot.
Liu Zhaoji's men asked, "Where is General Gao Di?"
"I don't know. We came here to train under his orders."
When the soldiers told Liu Zhaoji the news, he didn't believe it at all.
He suspected that Gaudi was hiding in the army.
To this end, he took out the Governor-General's order for Ping Liao that he had prepared in advance and asked all the enemy generals to come before him to meet him one by one.
While he was inspecting, Gao Di also received Liu Zhaoji's military order to leave the city.
"Sir, after Liu Zhaoji left the city, his troops split into two groups, one heading east, and one heading north!"
Gao Di thought for a while while riding on his horse, and then gave another order: "Continue to divide the troops and send a thousand soldiers westward. Let them travel light and go to the edge of Liaoze."
When the troops left the camp, Gaudi ordered the remaining thousand men to follow him and hide in the camp without making any noise.
The scout quickly informed Liu Zhaoji of the news: "Sir, a team of a thousand people left Gao Di's camp and headed west towards Liaoze."
Liu Zhaoji was stunned when he heard the news: "Could it be that Gao Di is planning to escape from the edge of Liaoze?"
But on second thought he felt something was wrong.
The edge of the Liaoze was indeed accessible for marching, but escaping from there meant taking a long detour.
This doesn't make sense to run away.
Deputy General Yi Bangcai stepped forward and said, "Sir, do you want to divide your troops and give chase?"
"We must pursue them," Liu Zhaoji said with narrowed eyes, "but we must not fall for Gao Di's trick of luring the tiger away from the mountain."
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Take two thousand soldiers and horses to pursue westwards towards Liaoze. When you meet Gao Di, don't rush to attack. Follow him and catch his trail, and ask me for help at the same time! Once the reinforcements arrive, launch the attack."
"Yes." Yibangcai took the order and left.
After Yibang left, Liu Zhaoji counted the troops again.
At this time, he had less than three thousand cavalrymen around him.
That was enough for him.
Liu Zhaoji ordered: "Deploy a horizontal array and surround Gao Di's camp."
Boom!
The cavalry set out.
The noise made by the three thousand cavalry charging directly alarmed Gao Di.
He climbed to a high place and looked into the distance, and saw that thousands of cavalry were charging towards his camp.
Gaudi was immediately horrified.
His original intention was to confuse Liu Zhaoji by dividing his troops so that the other party would not know the direction of his escape.
Then wait for an opportunity to escape northward.
Before escaping, he had already planned his escape route.
To the east is the main force of the Ping Liao army, and running there would be tantamount to seeking death.
There was Liu Wenxiu in the south, and he couldn't defeat him.
To the west is Liaoze, where there is no way to escape.
So, the best option is to escape north.
As long as he escaped to Kaiyuan, he could go north to the grassland to join the Mongols, or go southeast to the territory of the Jiannu.
Thus completely getting rid of the Ming army's pursuit.
As a result, Liu Zhaoji did not use his troops according to the routine and led them directly to attack his camp.
what to do?
Seeing Liu Zhaoji getting closer and closer, Gao Di panicked.
"Sir, what's wrong with you?" The soldier next to him noticed that something was wrong with Gaudi.
They didn't know that Gaudi was planning to escape, they only knew that Gaudi was unwilling to go into the city for the banquet.
Gao Di pretended to be worried and said, "Liu Zhaoji and I have a personal grudge. I'm afraid his coming here will be bad for me."
"Do you think he will take revenge?"
"That's right."
"Don't worry, sir. We will protect you."
"We only have a thousand people, and Liu Zhaoji's troops are several times more than ours. You alone cannot protect me."
"What do you mean, sir?"
"I have a close relationship with General Wu Sangui, let's go to him."
"But I heard from the soldiers and civilians nearby that General Wu has surrendered to the Jian Nu. Should we surrender to him now?"
"Nonsense!" Seeing Liu Zhaoji getting closer and closer, Gao Di could no longer care about anything else. He said directly, "General Wu Sangui has always been at the forefront of every battle since he entered Liao. He is very loyal. He will never surrender to the Jian Nu. Even if he surrenders, it will be under duress."
"Then let's run east?" The soldiers seemed to be persuaded by Gaudi and began to offer suggestions.
Gao Di shook his head: "Liu Zhaoji has sent a troop of soldiers to the east to block the road. If we go east now, we will be walking into a trap!"
"What do you mean, sir?"
Gao Di said quickly: "Let's set up an ambush in the camp first, and launch a surprise attack when Liu Zhaoji rushes into the camp. No matter how many casualties we cause, we must not linger in the battle, and immediately leave the camp from the west gate, and then flee north. After escaping to Kaiyuan, we will take a detour to the outside of Fushun Pass and join up with General Wu Sangui."
The soldiers looked at each other and said, "Don't worry, sir. We will do our best."
Under Gaudi's arrangement, the soldiers hid themselves one after another.
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