The commander-in-chief Chen Yongfu noticed that the officers and soldiers below had even lost their weapons, and the corners of his mouth twitched in anger.
But now we can't let the officers and soldiers go back to pick up the weapons.
I had to give the order again, not allowing officers and soldiers to throw away things anymore.
Even so, nearly one-third of the officers and soldiers in the army were without weapons, and the speed of the march did not increase much. Instead, some officers and soldiers deserted halfway.
"Report, rebel pursuers found in the rear."
When the chasing dragoons were still four or five miles away from the officers and soldiers in front, the officers and soldiers discovered the whereabouts of the dragoons.
"What? The rebels are catching up. How is this possible! Aren't the rebels still in Xingyang?" When Chen Yongfu heard the news that the rebels were chasing him, he thought he had heard it wrong.
The rebels can't fly over Zhengzhou and chase them.
"It's true. With at least a few thousand riders, we can catch up soon." Seeing that the other party didn't believe it, the soldier who delivered the letter said firmly again.
Chen Yongfu's expression suddenly changed.
As soon as he lost his baggage, the rebel cavalry caught up with him, which was a life-threatening incident.
"Chen Liu, take a few people and go see for yourself whether there are really rebel cavalry chasing after you." Chen Yongfu was worried and asked his cavalry to take people to the rear to investigate.
And he himself ran to Yang He's sedan and told Yang He the news that the rebels were chasing him.
"What? You mean the rebels are catching up?" Yang He's face darkened.
The worries in my heart became real.
"It should be true, but the general has sent his cavalry to check again." Chen Yongfu said, "If the rebels are really chasing us, please make an idea earlier."
Yang He in the sedan was speechless for a long time.
However, he will not regret leaving Zhengzhou City.
Considering the situation in Zhengzhou City, if he and the army stayed in Zhengzhou City, they would only be buried with Zhengzhou City, and at most they would allow Zhengzhou City to hold on for a day or two longer.
At this moment, Chen Liu, who had just left not long ago, came back on horseback.
"General, there is indeed a large group of cavalry chasing after them. There are at least three to four thousand cavalry. We may not be able to stop them with such a small number of troops." Chen Liu looked at Chen Yongfu nervously and said.
The infantry had no city wall to rely on and encountered a large group of cavalry outside the city. Unless there were formation vehicles, there was no possibility of facing the cavalry directly.
Chen Yongfu turned his attention to Yang He.
Yang He is the nominal commander of this army.
However, Yang He had no idea at this time.
Although he knew all kinds of strategies and military tactics, at this time he needed to fight the rebels head-on. As a powerless scholar, he had nothing to do.
"Mr. Chen, what do you think we should do now?" Yang He asked Chen Yongfu.
As a military general, the opponent would always be stronger than him at this time.
Chen Yongfu frowned and thought for a while, then said: "At this time, there is no other way. We can only leave a group of troops to break up the rear and delay the pursuing rebels as much as possible. Superintendent, you can no longer ride in a sedan. The general will ride on horseback." Take the supervisor and rush to Zhongmu County first."
"Okay, okay, I'll do as you say." Yang He nodded in agreement.
He did not want to fall into the hands of the rebels and become a prisoner. As for the pain of riding a horse, it was nothing compared to saving his life.
"Chen Liu, go tell Wang Qianhu and ask him to bring hundreds of people to stay and intercept the rebels." Chen Yongfu gave instructions to his soldiers, then turned to Yang He and said, "Please also ask the supervisor Get off the sedan and I will take you away."
Chen Liu turned around and went to Wang Qianhu to deliver the order.
"Stop the sedan, stop the sedan." Yang He called to stop the sedan, and then got out of the sedan.
Chen Yongfu asked his cavalry to ride with Yang He and rush to Zhongmu County first.
And he himself took the remaining soldiers and horses, mainly his own servants, and followed behind and continued on his way to Zhongmu County.
Soldiers and servants are the foundation of a general, so he will not give up his soldiers and servants until the last moment.
As for those ordinary soldiers and soldiers, he didn't care. No matter how many such soldiers died, as long as his personal soldiers and servants were still there, his strength would not be weakened.
There are no more ordinary camp soldiers, so you can recruit them again, and you can have as many as you want.
Although Wang Qianhu was left to stop the rebels, he felt bitter, but he did not dare to disobey the order, otherwise he would really be killed on the spot and become the chicken that killed the chicken and the monkey.
The dragoons chasing after them from the rear also discovered two Franco cannons and weapons abandoned by the officers and soldiers on the way.
"Yingzheng, it seems that the officers and soldiers have discovered us?" said a dragoon.
A Tiger Flag officer wearing cotton armor and a felt hat on horseback glanced at the weapons and various military supplies scattered on the road, looked up and said loudly: "The enemy is in front, we will pursue him immediately." Come on, speed up."
When these dragoons learned that the officers and soldiers were in front, they all became excited.
They had never been defeated in many battles with the Ming army. In their view, the officers and soldiers in front were not a threat, but their military merit.
The pursuit speed of the dragoon battalion chasing the officers and soldiers increased by another level.
Finally, traces of the officers and soldiers were discovered several miles away.
"There are officers and soldiers in front, come closer." The middle battalion of the dragoons led people and rushed towards the officers and soldiers on the slope in front.
Bidige
Although the charge of thousands of dragon cavalry was not as neat as the charge of the Tiger-shaped banner armored cavalry, the momentum of the charge of thousands of dragoons was still heart-stopping.
"What the hell, what the hell, we don't even have enough people to put a hole in someone's teeth. Get out, get out right away." Wang Qianhu cursed a few words on the slope and took the people around him with him. A dozen mounted soldiers and servants abandoned the ordinary soldiers and fled for their lives.
The soldiers who were left behind were not stupid either. They dispersed and ran for their lives.
The dragoons could not catch up with the ten or so cavalry officers and soldiers who escaped, but naturally those two-legged fleeing camp soldiers could not outrun the dragoons.
"Yingzheng, the number of officers and soldiers is not enough!" A captain of the dragoons looked at the officers and soldiers fleeing and expressed his doubts.
When they received the order, they heard that there were thousands of officers and soldiers, and a high-ranking official from Henan was inside. This news was also verified by the cavalry of the Tiger Banner outside Zhengzhou City.
The dragoon battalion was looking at the ten or so cavalry officers and soldiers who had escaped, and said: "These people should be the officers and soldiers who stayed to intercept us. The large group of officers and soldiers should be in front. Let's just leave a small group to collect the defeated soldiers, and the others will follow me to continue the pursuit." .”
A detachment of dragoons was left behind, and the remaining dragoons continued their pursuit along the road.
Not long after chasing them out, they discovered the officers and soldiers in front.
But this time it was no longer a team of several hundred officers and soldiers, but a large number of officers and soldiers, numbering five to six thousand.
"Quick, don't let them run away." The dragoon battalion looked at the officers and soldiers in front of them and shouted excitedly.
