I

Cao Bianjiao knew how to raid the enemy's scattered troops and cause the enemy's entire army to collapse. Would Zu Dashou, who had been fighting for decades, not know this?

When the two armies were about three or four miles apart, Zu Dashou began to adjust his troops.

He placed more than 30,000 infantry with normal combat effectiveness in formation at the front. He also used more than 10,000 Liaodong elites from himself and Wu Sangui as the central army and reserve force. The cavalry is placed on both sides of the central army. While protecting the central army, it can also coordinate the front army's formation, and can come out to parry the dragoons at any time, or harass the infantry of the Datong Army.

As for the more than 20,000 weak soldiers with no fighting capacity, Zu Dashou placed them at the back. If it collapses, it will collapse. In such a position, it will generally not attack friendly forces.

Cao Bianjiao and Wei Guoxiang, who were already preparing for the raid, felt helpless.

Jiang Dashan, who had been walking with the soldiers, finally rode his horse and rushed to Huang Shun's side: "Shunzi, the enemy's fighting strength is mixed, there is no need to fight hard with them. Slowly withdraw the troops, disrupt the enemy's formation, or simply drag them to the sky. black."

"Okay, I'll listen to you." Huang Shun smiled.

Both of them are division commanders, and they have no higher or lower positions after joining the army. This is a taboo in war. There must be a leader, otherwise disagreements will easily arise.

The Datong Army had a rule when it first formed an army.

If an officer is killed in battle, a corps commander will be temporarily elected among five people, and a commander will be temporarily elected among ten people. By analogy, when several top officials are of equal rank, it should be decided in advance whose orders will take priority.

Jiang Dashan and Huang Shun were from the same village, and they followed Zhao Han in the uprising at the same time. Their relationship was pretty good.

Moreover, Jiang Dashan was promoted to division commander first, and his qualifications were older. The two of them had already agreed to join forces this time, with Jiang Dashan as the commander-in-chief and Huang Shun as the deputy commander-in-chief.

In order to take care of Huang Shun's mood, Jiang Dashan took the initiative to ride over to discuss changes in tactics.

Use a telescope to observe the enemy's situation, and the two discuss while watching.

Huang Shun said: "Just looking at the marching lineup and flags, the enemy's front army is not even as good as our farmers and soldiers in the countryside. The enemy's middle army should be elite, with neat military formations and undisturbed flags. The enemy's rear army... I'm afraid It’s never been a war.”

Jiang Dashan smiled and said: "If the enemy advances again, we will retreat, and their rear troops will definitely be far behind."

To put it bluntly, pull repeatedly!

The two armies were still one and a half miles apart. Zu Dashoudu sent troops to outflank them. The Datong army suddenly retreated as a whole, giving the enemy no chance to outflank them.

This is an unconventional operation, because the distance is too close, and it is very likely that the enemy will take the opportunity to pursue them, and they will collapse if they pursue them.

However, the Datong army came lightly armed, not even carrying baggage, and was very disciplined. The situation when retreating was more orderly than when the enemy army was advancing.

Zu Dashou marched forward in formation, as slowly as a turtle crawling.

There is no other way. If the improvised army moves quickly and can't walk dozens of steps, the various units will become uneven.

Seeing the Datong army retreating slowly, Zu Dashou suddenly became anxious.

If we continue like this, we won't even think about fighting. It is impossible for a group of miscellaneous troops under his command to catch up with the Datong Army. Once the pursuit is ordered, chaos will arise. At that time, if the enemy seizes the opportunity, the entire army may be defeated.

This situation has nothing to do with the general's command ability, nor with the tactics and equipment of both sides.

It is purely a difference in the quality of the army. The well-trained and disciplined Datong Army crushes the enemy's motley crew in terms of execution.

what to do?

Zu Dashou has three options:

First, move forward to catch up and fight immediately.

Second, let the cavalry attack to block the enemy's main force and prevent it from retreating calmly.

Third, stop advancing and camp on the spot. It only takes one day, and the enemy troops without baggage will run out of food.

The first method is easy to defeat yourself, and the third method may make the Datong Army run away.

Zu Dashou chose the second option. He ordered Wu Sangui to take the cavalry out to harass the retreating Datong army.

"Send the order for the dragoons to harass the enemy's formation!" Jiang Dashan made a quick decision.

When the order sounded, Cao Bianjiao and Wei Guoxiang immediately led the dragoons, took the initiative to avoid Wu Sangui's cavalry, and went to harass Zu Dashou's two wings.

The Datong army stopped retreating and formed a formation to face Wu Sangui's cavalry.

Zu Dashou's infantry formation also stopped advancing because the troops on both wings were already in some confusion. The 5,000 dragoons, only half the strength, were volleying their guns from a distance, and Zu Dashou's two wing troops became panicked.

Although there was no chaos in formation, the advance was slowed down. As a result, the troops in the middle moved to the front, and the troops on both wings gradually fell behind.

On the other hand, Datong soldiers faced Wu Sangui's cavalry attack and calmly responded in formation, showing discipline and decisiveness.

"Blow the trumpet and take back the cavalry." Zu Dashou made a helpless decision. He felt that he should not fight in the wild, but should run to Taikang County to defend the city as soon as possible.

However, the Datong army advanced rapidly with no baggage, armor or artillery. This temptation made Zu Dashou unable to resist.

Upon hearing the order, Wu Sangui immediately led his troops back to support and drove away the dragoons that were harassing the friendly forces.

As soon as Wu Sangui's cavalry left, the Datong Army's infantry retreated calmly again.

The sky is getting darker and darker. With this kind of approach, there is no way to fight today. The two armies will not be able to fight each other at all.

Zu Dashou ordered again: "Stop the entire army!"

As soon as the enemy army stopped, the Datong army also stopped, always maintaining a distance of one and a half to two miles.

Being so close, Zu Dashou did not dare to retreat, or even order to set up camp. If he made any move, his formation would be thrown into chaos, and the Datong Army would seize the opportunity to rush over.

It’s hard to get off the tiger, unable to advance or retreat!

It was getting dark, and the Datong Army retreated again. The distance between the two sides was about two and a half miles.

Jiang Dashan ordered the match ropes to be extinguished. Not only did they not have enough luggage, but the fire gun soldiers also did not carry many match ropes with them. Moreover, fighting at night is also very disadvantageous. Once the match rope is lit, the enemy will definitely find it.

At night, the moonlight is bright.

The two armies lined up and sat down where they were. The cavalry also retreated to feed the horses and restore their strength.

The dragoons only had one piece of cake left per person. Although they also brought beans and water, these were only for the war horses. War horses not only need to eat beans and water, but the water must also be mixed with salt, otherwise it will be difficult to replenish physical strength and it will be more likely to get sick.

Sitting there, many soldiers under Zu Dashou's command began to stagger and lie down.

Anyway, the enemy didn't attack. It's been a tiring day. How tiring it would be to continue sitting. Let's lie down and rest for a while.

Zu Dashou asked the law enforcement team to scold him, but it was of no use. The soldiers on this side were called up, and the soldiers on the other side lay down again. They were really tired from marching for a day, but they were still very nervous at dusk.

Enforce military law, either to maintain military discipline when no enemy is encountered, or to punish deserters when a battle has already begun.

No general dares to enforce military law easily before the battle is started.

Killing a general before the battle is a taboo in the army!

Especially with a group of miscellaneous troops under his command, Zu Dashou did not dare to act randomly at this time. If any of the generals were resentful and started making trouble in the middle of the night, the situation would definitely be unmanageable.

Wu Sangui came to Zu Dashou and whispered: "Uncle, this battle cannot be fought. The enemy's army is like an arm and a finger, and our army has its own orders. Although our army has an advantage in strength, the more people there are, the more chaotic it will be. It's not as good as... Come down!"

Zu Dashou shook his head: "The regent's tens of thousands of Eight Banners troops have already killed Shangqiu. If the Eight Banners army wins, wouldn't it be a joke for us to surrender now?"

Wu Sangui said: "Even if Dorgon can win a game, can he really conquer the world? We didn't know the Datong Army on the opposite side before, but we still don't know it now? They are the best elites in the world, and they are no better than the Eight Banners Army. Poor, military discipline and morale are even better than the Eight Banners Army. Dorgon can't win, even if he wins the battle, it's just a matter of crossing the river. The south is rich and has a sufficient population, and it will take a few years to recover. And the north The population is scarce and there is not enough food. How can we survive the counterattack in Nanjing?"

"I'll think about it again." Zu Dashou neither agreed nor refused directly.

As for the life and death of their respective families, Zu Dashou and Wu Sangui did not even think about it, and did not even bother to mention it.

Zu's longevity will not be reduced unless it is absolutely necessary.

He had a premonition that he was likely to be defeated tonight, but he would rather escape than surrender. This stemmed from his own hesitant character.

Each side sent a small number of soldiers to collect dry firewood and dry grass from everywhere and set up fires. It can provide both lighting and barely enough warmth.

The Datong army ate dry food here, while Zu Dashou asked the rear army to set up pots to cook rice, and then transported it to the front to keep the soldiers full.

In this case, it was impossible to set up camp, and both sides had to rest in formation.

After eating, the Datong army took turns sleeping, and Zu Dashou also took turns sleeping. There are cavalry on guard between the two armies. No one can make a sneak attack and wait until tomorrow to continue fighting.

Second watch.

The Datong Army lit up little by little, but it was the match that lit it.

"Woooooooo..."

Zu Dashou's sentinels quickly blew their trumpets to warn them, and then the bugles sounded loudly, and the sleeping soldiers were woken up one after another. A few troops even panicked, thinking that the enemy had already come over.

As soon as the bugle sounded on the opposite side, the Datong Army put out the match again.

Midnight watch.

52 missionary officers of the dragoon troops rushed out with tin trumpets and began to shout to the enemy in turn.

"Brothers from Liaodong, you have been born and raised in Liaodong for generations, and your ancestral graves are also in Liaodong. Your fathers and fellow villagers were all killed by the Tatars, and your elders, wives and children were humiliated by the Tatars. You If you don’t remember the blood feud, you still have to sacrifice your life for the Tatars? Who will pay homage to your ancestral graves every Qingming Festival? When you die one day, your ancestors will ask you, why don’t you sweep your tombs and offer incense? How should you answer your ancestors!”

"Brothers in Henan, the Ming government was so greedy that nine out of ten households in Henan were empty. The Manchu Qing Dynasty was even more cruel than the Ming Dynasty. They burned, killed and looted everywhere. How many fathers and brothers were killed? Many of you were rebels in the past. Why? Rebellion? Because we don’t have enough to eat! Our Majesty the Emperor of Datong in Nanjing also killed officials and rebelled because he didn’t have enough to eat. He has the same background as you. Your Majesty the Emperor of Datong knows how miserable the poor are. Your Majesty abolished exorbitant taxes and allocated land to the poor. Life is so good. Let’s just say that in Runing Prefecture and Nanyang Prefecture in Henan, the people have already divided their fields. Don’t work for the Tatars anymore, vote for His Majesty the Emperor of Datong, divide the fields into households, and farm for yourself from now on. Every day We can all have enough to eat, and the baby can study for free!”

"Brothers from Shanxi, most of you are from military backgrounds. The Tatars have invaded and plundered the country for many years, and you have been ordered to serve the king time and time again. How many of your fathers, brothers, elders, relatives and friends have died under the swords of the Tatars. You still want to Are you worthy of your dead relatives and friends by working for the Tatars? Surrender quickly. His Majesty the Emperor of Datong has abolished military households. From now on, soldiers and wars will be all voluntary. Those who do not want to fight can be given land and grow their own food. There is no official government Exploitation, and there are no officers to make you behave like cows and horses..."

As the shouting continued, Zu Dashou's army became noisy.

Those surrendered generals who have benefited may only feel a little bit. But the low-level officers and ordinary soldiers were shouted at so hard that their morale was shaken, and the missionary officers spoke every word that spoke to their hearts.

"Han brothers, if you want to surrender, when fighting, throw away your weapons and lie down on the ground, or squat on the ground. The Datong army will not kill the prisoners, but will also give you land. Remember, when fighting, throw away your weapons, Get down on the ground, or squat on the ground!”

Zu Dashou's expression changed drastically: "The cavalry, hurry up and drive away those who are shouting!"