"Woo~woo~woo!"
Outside Jinan Fucheng, one after another the sound of horns resounded through the sky.
Liu Yan led the seventh battalion of the Lingshan Guard New Army. More than 7,000 soldiers assembled in the northwest of the city. On the left were more than 5,000 soldiers of the Dubiao Battalion led by General Lu Huaiying, and on the right were the Jimo Camp, Wendeng Camp, and Dengzhou Camp. of more than 16,000 soldiers.
Nearly 30,000 soldiers of the Ming Army formed several huge square formations, standing ready under the scorching sun. The generally red military uniforms and armor were like a sea of red, which looked spectacular from a distance.
A few miles away in front of the Ming army's formation, Dorgon led 70,000 to 80,000 Qing troops retreating north. The soldiers and horses of the Eight Banners of Manchu and Mongolia were marching in an orderly manner. The banners were covering each other, and the numerous phalanxes were like a wave. Generally, moving north does not give the Ming army any opportunity to take advantage of it. Even the remnants of Shang Kexi's troops were able to move quickly with the main army at this time, which made Liu Yan a little surprised.
Liu Yan frowned. It was undeniable that the Qing army at this time was indeed one of the most powerful armies of this era. They were fierce and well-trained. After suffering consecutive defeats, 20% of the soldiers were killed and wounded, and the morale of the entire army was low. Sometimes, it is really commendable that the formation can not be messed up when retreating.
"Sir, why don't we have a fight? Even if we can't keep the army of slaves and thieves, we can still take a bite!"
Miao Shao said bitterly, and Xu Ming on the side also asked for a fight and wanted to lead his troops to attack.
In the minds of the new Lingshan Guards officers, the Qing army was no longer a scourge, but a relatively tenacious enemy. From the commander-in-chief Qian down to the soldiers, they were confident enough to defeat the Qing army, even if the Qing army's strength accounted for excellent!
But Liu Yan still maintained his rationality. Now the Ming army was still at a disadvantage, and at least half of the troops were miscellaneous soldiers with worrying strength. Taking the initiative to attack at this time was tantamount to handing over a good situation to others.
"Instruct all officers and soldiers to stay where they are, not to move rashly, and wait for orders!"
"grown ups!"
"grown ups?"
Liu Yan glared at the two of them and shouted: "Listen to the order!"
At this moment, Liu Yan noticed a cavalry of hundreds of people coming from the rear of the army in the direction of Jinan City. The flags were those of Lu Xiangsheng and Yan Jizu.
So Liu Yan pointed to the cavalry in the distance and said, "You two go back to your own formations and wait for orders. I will go to greet Lu Duchen and Yan Futai."
Not long after, Liu Yan took Lu Xiangsheng and Yan Jizu back to the Chinese army. The three of them came to the observation deck and continued to watch the Qing army retreating north in the distance.
Among the three, Yan Jizu was the most excited and said with a smile: "Haha, I can't believe it. In just a short period of time, one hundred thousand Qing troops collapsed under Jinan City, and were forced to retreat northward in a hurry by Commander Liu. This is An unprecedented victory, beheading tens of thousands, tens of thousands!"
Lu Xiangsheng's face was also filled with joy. He stroked his beard with his hand and said with a smile: "Yes, the battle situation is unpredictable. Commander Liu has made great contributions. I will definitely give Commander Liu credit in the victory report!"
Liu Yan cupped his fists and said a few words of humility, feeling proud in his heart.
Then Lu Xiangsheng asked: "Commander Liu, the Dubiao Camp, Jimo Camp, Wendeng Camp, Dengzhou Camp and the Lingshan Guard New Army are all gathered here. The Fubiao Camp and other troops are stationed in Jinan Fucheng. There is no army." Worry about the future. Should we attack it? This will not allow the slave thieves to retreat calmly."
At this time, all the Ming army's troops were in good order and looked very energetic. Naturally, Lu Xiangsheng would not sit back and watch the Qing army retreat calmly. He wanted to take advantage of the great victory to hit the Qing army again.
Liu Yan was unmoved, clasped his fists and said: "The governor clearly knows that although our army is strong at the moment, the only ones that can really fight are the new troops under my command and the governor's Dubiao camp. As for Jimo Camp, Wendeng Camp, The Dengzhou camp can only fight with the wind. Once the slaves and bandits launch a massive counterattack, the three battalions will most likely collapse and even harm friendly forces." m.
Liu Yan's meaning couldn't be more clear. Except for the new Lingshan Guard Army, most of the rest of the Ming army could only fight with the wind. If they were to attack, the main force would still be their own soldiers. Even if they could win, the losses would be theirs, but the credit would be all theirs. Damn it, I would never do such a loss-making business.
"In addition, the governor should also know that although the slave bandits have suffered repeated setbacks, the main force of each banner is still there, and most of them are cavalry. The combat strength of our army's departments is generally not high, with few cavalry and many infantry. It is easy for the slave bandits to overturn the situation when they are pursued. Therefore, the main purpose of our army this time is to follow them."
"If the slave thieves reveal a flaw, our army will naturally fight. But if it is as invulnerable as it is now, my subordinates think that our army should not attack forcefully, so as not to ruin the good situation."
Lu Xiangsheng was noncommittal upon hearing this, and just looked at the Qing army's formation moving further and further away. Yan Jizu looked at Lu Xiangsheng, then at Liu Yan, and said, "Then if we lead our troops to follow here, we can only watch?"
Liu Yan smiled bitterly and said nothing.
After a while, Lu Xiangsheng firmly raised his riding whip, pointed at the Qing army formation that had gone far away, and said: "As ministers of the Ming Dynasty, we cannot kill the enemy for our country, but we can only send the enemy troops off here. It is really a shame." !”
Then Lu Xiangsheng said to Liu Yan: "I have made up my mind to lead the Governor's Battalion to pursue the army of slave thieves. At least I will gain something, so that all the slave chiefs will know that I, the Ming Dynasty, will never come or leave whenever they want. Place to go!”
Liu Yan looked at the impassioned Lu Xiangsheng. Although he was moved in his heart, he said rationally: "Think twice, Governor, Dorgon, Duduo and other slave chiefs are old foxes who have experienced battles for a long time. They will definitely deploy heavy troops to the rear. , the pursuit is too dangerous at this time.”
When Yan Jizu saw what Liu Yan said, he also changed his mind and said: "Supervisor, since Commander Liu said so, forget it this time. Our army has killed tens of thousands of people. This is already a great achievement. What's more, Why bother?"
Lu Xiangsheng said: "There are still many people who have been robbed in the slave army. Our army has stopped. Are we going to let the people of the Ming Dynasty be kidnapped by the slaves?"
Liu Yan's heart suddenly moved when he heard this, and he made up his mind again in the blink of an eye: "The governor is so righteous, my subordinates are ashamed of themselves!"
Then Liu Yan said loudly: "In that case, I will take the initiative to join the army. Please order the governor to lead the subordinates to pursue the army of slave thieves! However, my new army lacks cavalry, so I also ask the governor to order the supervision of the Biao camp together." Come along."
"good!"
Lu Xiangsheng said happily: "I asked General Lu Huaiying to lead his troops to go with you. Although Lu Huaiying is a general and has a higher official position than you, I have specially ordered that in this pursuit, you, Liu Yan, will be the main general and let General Lu Huaiying Be your lieutenant!"
Liu Yanzheng got what he wanted. He smiled and clasped his fists at Lu Huaiying who was standing behind Lu Xiangsheng and said, "Then there will be General Lao Lu this time."
When Yan Jizu saw this, he also thought carefully and said with a smile: "Since the governor and Commander Liu are killing enemies for the country, I can't lag behind."
"In this way, let Xu Tonghui, the staff officer of Fubiao Camp, also go together and serve as deputy general for Commander Liu. He will also bring along the two thousand cavalry from Fubiao Camp to build up momentum for Commander Liu!"
"Isn't this old fox just worried that he won't be able to share the benefits with his achievements?"
Liu Yan despised Yan Jizu in his heart, but if he could get a little more strength, Liu Yan would not refuse, so he cupped his fists and thanked him.
After the three people discussed it, Lu Xiangsheng and Yan Jizu returned to Jinan Fucheng together. General Xu Tonghui also went back together to mobilize the Fubiao Battalion cavalry, and they would arrive within two hours to join them.
Later, Liu Yan sent people to contact Zhang Youxun, Han Xu, and Lu Tingyan, and asked the three to return to Jinan Fucheng with great fanfare, giving the Qing army the illusion that the Ming army had given up the pursuit in order to confuse the Tatars.
At the same time, Liu Yan and Lu Huaiying led more than 5,000 soldiers of the Lingshan Guard New Army and Dubiao Battalion to quickly go south, turn eastward several miles away, and finally quickly pursue the Qing army northward.
At night, the Lingshan Guard New Army, Du Biao Battalion, and two thousand cavalrymen from Fu Biao Battalion who came to join forces set up camp in a wilderness. Thirty miles further north is the Daqing River. After crossing the Daqing River, we reach Jiyang, Linyi, and Deping, and further north we reach the boundary of Shandong.
In the Chinese army's tent, all the battalions had gone out. Chen Xun, Wang Yue, Wang Bo, Zhang Yi, Shen Tuo, Miao Shao, Xu Ming, and Xun Jingyun gathered here.
Chen Xun said: "Sir, after we have made such a long circle to the south, can we still catch up with the army of slave thieves?"
Liu Yan said: "There are a large number of civilians in the slave army, and they also have looted money and food. They cannot catch up quickly unless those Tatars give up their population, money and food. Don't worry, we will definitely catch up."
Wang Yue still had a flattering smile on his face and said, "Sir, our troops in this pursuit are too thin."
Liu Yan said: "Pursue, pursue, the point is to chase, not to attack, understand? So don't think about how many beheads, but think about how to get the maximum benefit from the pursuit."
Chen Xun, Wang Yue and others looked at each other, and suddenly Zhang Yi said with a smile: "It turns out that the master is eyeing the people and money and food that the slaves and thieves have kidnapped!"
Everyone suddenly realized.
Liu Yan looked at Zhang Yi approvingly, and then said to everyone: "So, everyone must remember the goal of this battle. After catching up with the army of slaves and thieves, fight if you can, don't fight forcefully."
"Got the order!"
At this time, Chen Xun whispered: "Sir, the people from Supervisory Biao Camp and Fubiao Camp are also following us. If people, money and food are seized, we can't hide it."
Liu Yan waved his hand and said: "There is no need to hide it. It doesn't hurt to give them some money and food. The main thing is population. We help Lu Duchen and Yan Futai resettle the captive people. They two adults should be very happy."
Early the next morning, Lu Huaiying, the staff general of the Supervisory Biao Battalion, and Xu Tonghui, the staff general of the Fubiao Battalion, came to the Chinese army's tent. Seeing that Liu Yan was ready to go, they all said hello.
"Commander Liu, are we leaving now?"
"Shall we continue our pursuit northward today?"
Liu Yan looked at the anxious two men and said with a smile: "Two generals, please be patient. I have given orders that the army will set off in half an hour. I ask the two generals to guard the two wings of the army for me."
"Haha, that's easy to say."
Liu Yan then said to Xu Tonghui: "Don't worry, General Xu. Before dawn, all the camps have already set off. The army will pursue northward first, and then make adjustments after Ye Bushou replies one after another."
"Ah That's good."
Half an hour later, the Lingshan Guard New Army, Du Biao Battalion and Fu Biao Battalion cavalry reorganized and set off, with more than 10,000 soldiers chasing north, all the way towards the Daqing River in the north.
Just before noon, a team from the front camp returned with their horses overnight and reported to Liu Yan: "Your Majesty, a group of slaves escorting supplies and people were found on the south bank of the Daqing River ahead, waiting for the boat to cross the river. !”
Liu Yan was slightly stunned, but he didn't expect to catch up with part of the Qing army.
Liu Yan understood that the Qing army must have divided the looted population, money and food, and whichever banner they looted belonged to whom.
So Liu Yan asked: "Which banner of slave thieves are stranded on the south bank of the Daqing River?"
"Manchuria is decorated with red flags and the number of people is about two hundred."
Liu Yan nodded and said with a smile: "They are slave chief Dudu's people. There are more than two hundred people, and the number is just right. Then fight!"
"Send the order: The entire army will advance quickly and attack the south bank of the Daqing River!"
Some people died, but not completely...
