That night, the cold wind blew and the icy winter night wind shrouded the Ming Army camp by the river. At this time, a large number of bonfires were lit inside and outside the Ming Army camp. Although there were many fires, they illuminated the dilapidated Ming Army defense line. But the soldiers of the Ming army didn't feel much warmth.
At this time, the officers and soldiers of each department were rushing to clean up their respective battlefields. They could no longer take care of clearing away the corpses and weapons of the Qing army. The officers and soldiers of each camp were picking up the bodies of their fallen comrades, rescuing the wounded, and counting the number of casualties. Everyone was busy, but not many people spoke. The atmosphere inside and outside the camp was very dull and depressing.
In the Chinese army's tent, Lu Xiangsheng's armor had been removed, and the clothes on his left arm were stained red with blood.
During the fierce battle during the day, Lu Xiangsheng was shot by a Tatar soldier with an arrow, which hit his left arm. Fortunately, the iron armband on his left arm was very defensive, and the arrow did not damage the bones. After Bao Xuezhen bandaged it himself, the bleeding had stopped. After applying the medicine, there was nothing serious for the time being.
So Lu Xiangsheng couldn't afford to rest, so he called Liu Yan, Hu Dawei, and Yang Guozhu to discuss the next step of the Ming army all night long.
First, Lu Xiangsheng asked Liu Yan, Yang Guozhu, and Hu Dawei to report the number of casualties in each department.
"To this day, the entire army has suffered a total of 1,875 casualties, of which 1,134 were killed in battle, 352 were seriously injured, and 389 were slightly injured. Commander-in-Chief Chen Xun and Commander-in-Chief Hundred Wang Bo were wounded, thirty-seven captains from each unit were killed, and twenty-three flag commanders were killed."
Liu Yan was the first to report the casualties of his unit. In Liu Yan's sad voice, the shocking list of casualties was reported one by one.
This time, Liu Yan led his troops to rescue Lu Xiangsheng's troops. Liu Yan led seven generals, totaling more than 3,700 people. Now, more than 1,800 people have been killed one after another, and more than half of them have been killed.
Then came Hu Dawei. At this time, Hu Dawei's troops suffered even more heavy casualties. Only more than 2,000 soldiers and horses under his command were left to continue fighting, and his general Hu Zichen died in the battle.
And Yang Guozhu was not much better. He also had more than 2,000 people under his command. Almost all of the servants he brought out were here, and only a dozen of them were still able to move.
General Zhang Yan was killed directly in the battle. More than 2,000 people under his command were almost wiped out. The remaining more than 100 remnants were temporarily accepted into the Chinese army by Lu Xiangsheng.
At this time, everyone in the tent had gloomy faces and the atmosphere was dull. At this time, even the elite and powerful new army of Xiahe Village suffered more than half of their casualties and their vitality was severely damaged. If it were not for the battle to defend the camp and the unique tenacity of the new army of Xiahe Village, this army would have collapsed long ago.
Lu Xiangsheng frowned even more. There were more than 16,000 troops from Xuanda and Shandong ministries, but how many were left at this time?
There are still more than 1,900 people in the new army in Xiahe Village. The Chinese Army and the Dubiao Battalion led by Lu Xiangsheng have gathered together, and there are still 700 or 800 people. Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu each have more than 2,000 people. Now Ming Ming The army's strength is only over 7,000 at full strength, and more than half of it has been lost!
Although the officers and soldiers led by Lu Xiangsheng were all the elites of the Ming army at this time, if it were any other Ming army, they would have collapsed by now.
At this time, Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei were not in the mood to say anything, and both lowered their heads and pondered over there. Lu Xiangsheng also felt heavy when he saw this, and seemed to be thinking about how to continue to hold on.
When Liu Yan saw this, he sighed slightly. The Ming army has been able to persist until now, which is already an extraordinary performance. It's a shame that Gao Qiqian, the eunuch, has not sent out troops until now!
So Liu Yan stood up and said: "Supervisor, in accordance with the military regulations of our new army in Xiahe Village, the chief officers of each banner, each general, and each team were killed in battle, and the subordinate generals of each department took over automatically. I have ordered all ministries to reorganize their organizations immediately. , please supervise the minister to order the entire army to follow suit and stabilize our army's combat strength as soon as possible."
Lu Xiangsheng said in a deep voice: "Yes!"
"In addition, it was difficult to transport the corpses thousands of miles away. Except for the generals who died in the battle, the remains of the remaining soldiers had to be cremated on the spot. The ashes, waist badges, and important clothing relics were collected and then returned to their hometown for burial. The memorial tablets were handed over to the Imperial Military Department for enshrinement. "
"allow!"
After Lu Xiangsheng arranged the manpower to implement the aftermath, everyone in the tent fell silent again.
Liu Yan was silent for a long time, then stood up slowly and said: "Master Governor, our army has been fighting hard in Julu for several days, and has severely damaged the slave and bandit tribes, and gained a lot. However, Gao Qiqian had tens of thousands of elites, but he never sent troops. The heart can be punished, and the actions can kill!"
As soon as Liu Yan said these words, both Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu's eyes were red. They wanted to eat Gao Qiqian alive. The servants and the main barracks that they had worked so hard to bring out were all maimed at this time. When years of hard work go down the drain, no one can calm down.
"What General Liu said is true!"
Hu Da stood up powerfully and said loudly: "If I can go back alive, I will definitely report it to the court and read it. From now on, I will be without it, and I will be without it!"
Although Yang Guozhu did not get angry like Hu Dawei, he still said loudly with a livid face: "Count me in!"
Lu Xiangsheng glanced at Liu Yan, Hu Dawei, and Yang Guozhu, sighed heavily, and said: "The high supervisor army has not rescued for a long time. This is something I never expected! Just for this plan, our army's defense line has been so broken. , how can we continue to persevere? This is the most urgent thing now!"
After saying that, Lu Xiangsheng, Hu Dawei, and Yang Guozhu all looked at Liu Yan.
This war has been going on so far, the Ming army has suffered heavy casualties, and the defense line is also in disrepair. There is no point in holding on any longer.
So Liu Yan said loudly: "My lord, my subordinates believe that the reason why our army fought the decisive battle with the Qing army in Julu is to use our army as an anvil and Gao Qiqian's army as a hammer to attack from both inside and outside. Tens of thousands of Qing troops gathered in the Julu area and annihilated them!"
"But now we are waiting to bury our troops and wait for our army to be defeated. More than half of our army's departments have suffered casualties. It is unsustainable here. There is no point in continuing to hold on. In this battle, our army is already in Julu. All Qing army units were severely damaged here, and the number of casualties in each banner of the Qing army in this battle was at least thousands, or even tens of thousands. Our army's combat objective has been achieved."
"If our army continues to stand here, once our army is completely defeated, I will not regret waiting for death, but let a castrate like Gao Qiqian continue to be at large. Wouldn't it be outrageous!"
At this time, Liu Yan had already begun to curse, and Lu Xiangsheng frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.
Hu Dawei and Yang Guozhu couldn't sit still at this moment, and they all agreed.
Lu Xiangsheng's expression changed when he saw this. Although he had already had the ambition to die to serve the country, thousands of soldiers in the army could not accompany him in the burial, otherwise it would be difficult for others to do so.
So Lu Xiangsheng said: "If our army breaks through and withdraws, the Qing army will definitely launch a pursuit. In that case, our army will also be completely annihilated. What should we do?"
After saying that, Lu Xiangsheng looked at Liu Yan. After the battle of Julu, although Liu Yan had the lowest official position among the people, the new army of Xiahe Village was strong, and Liu Yan was also outstanding in commanding the battle, so Lu Xiangsheng At this time, he regarded Liu Yan as his right-hand man and asked directly.
Liu Yan had already known this for a long time. At this moment, he clasped his fists and said, "I would like to report to the Governor, after several days of fierce fighting, especially after the brutal bloody battle today, the Qing army must have suffered heavy casualties. In the opinion of my subordinates, even if the Qing army There are more people, but judging from the population of the Qing army, it is already exhausted even today."
Then Liu Yan pointed to a map in the Chinese army's tent and said to Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Guozhu, and Hu Dawei: "So our army will be ready tomorrow. If the Qing army does not continue to attack, it will mean that the Qing army has no strength to fight anymore. The army also needs to rest and recuperate. Our army can just take the opportunity to rest for a day, and then take the opportunity to retreat from Xidu River."
At this time, Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei looked at each other, and both thought that what Liu Yan said was very reasonable. In today's bloody battle, various departments of the Ming army suffered heavy casualties. It can be said that the number of casualties today has exceeded the total number of casualties in the past few days!
With such tragic casualties of the Ming army, the real number of casualties of the Qing army must be twice that of the Ming army, or even more!
Hu Dawei said loudly: "It makes sense! I think the Qing army will probably be unable to fight again tomorrow!"
Yang Guozhu also pondered and said: "Indeed, judging from the strength of the Qing army, although there are tens of thousands of troops here, this is already the main force of the entire Qing country. Today's casualties must have caused all the slaves of the Qing army to The chief cannot bear it and will definitely not attack again tomorrow."
Lu Xiangsheng nodded when he saw this. Logically speaking, the Qing army should not fight again tomorrow, and his side would have at least one day to rest.
But……
Lu Xiangsheng asked: "But what if our army withdraws tomorrow?"
After saying that, Lu Xiangsheng denied himself. After a series of fierce battles, the Ming army's various units were on the verge of collapse. They had to take a break, otherwise the retreat would turn into a rout regardless of whether the Qing army pursued it or not.
Liu Yan said: "The Governor is a warning! Our army will be in formation tomorrow for a day of rest. In the early morning of the day after tomorrow, our Xiahe Village new army will be the vanguard to cross the river first and set up a defense line on the west bank to cover the retreat of the Governor and the two military gates!"
Lu Xiangsheng thought for a moment, then agreed and said, "This is the best."
At this time Yang Guozhu said: "General Liu, where will our army withdraw after crossing the river?"
Liu Yan thought for a while and said: "The general believes that after crossing the Haoshui River to the west, our army should immediately go north into Zhending Prefecture, and then withdraw to the capital area via Baoding Prefecture."
"This road is the safest. Although Gao Qiqian refuses to rescue our army, his troops are in the north, which can at least scare the Qing army who may pursue it."
After Liu Yan finished speaking, Hu Dawei stood up, clasped his fists and said loudly: "Supervisor, give the order!"
Yang Guozhu also stood up at this time, clasped his fists and said: "Master Governor, I would like to lead my troops to retreat, please give me the order!"
When Lu Xiangsheng saw that the three of them had made up their minds, he said loudly: "Okay! Tomorrow, all the troops will strengthen their vigilance and rest in the camp for a day. At dawn the day after tomorrow, the entire army will cross the Haoshui River to the west and retreat!"
Some people died, but not completely...
