Even though the Qing army experienced a few defeats, the remaining soldiers were all elite soldiers and generals, and they were mainly cavalry. Basically, all the infantry who could not ride horses were abandoned.
Guan Ning's army, which originally had the most advantage in terms of strength, abandoned its infantry and had only more than a thousand and less than two thousand cavalry left.
On the other hand, there are still more than 3,000 Eight Banners soldiers left, less than 1,000 Mongolian soldiers and dozens of Han banner cavalry.
In terms of troop strength, Zu Dashou's Guan Ning Army no longer had an advantage over the Eight Banners soldiers.
There were only five or six thousand Qing troops left out of tens of thousands.
Even so, there were more people than the Tiger Flag Cavalry Battalion that followed closely behind, and even several times as many as the Cavalry Battalion.
However, neither Jierhalang nor Zu Dashou thought about counterattacking the pursuers behind them.
It's not that I'm worried that I won't be able to defeat him, but that I'm afraid that if I take action, I'll be entangled by the chasing tiger-shaped flag cavalry, which will lead to a steady stream of pursuers from behind.
As long as he did not escape back to the Qing Dynasty, he would not dare to slack off.
Everyone knows that the Qing army cannot have reinforcements, and even if there are, they will not be able to arrive in a short time. On the contrary, it is the Tiger Character Banner side, because it is close to the border town, and there can be a steady stream of reinforcements arriving.
The Qing army fled eastward and did not dare to rest. They could only eat the dry food they carried when letting their horses rest.
There was no more beef and mutton. Last night was the last meal. Most of the remaining cattle and sheep fell into the hands of the pursuers of the Tiger Flag.
It's not that they didn't want to take the cattle and sheep on the road, it was because the speed of driving the cattle and sheep was too slow to keep up with the Qing army's withdrawal. Therefore, except for some temporary slaughter, the rest of the cattle and sheep were left behind. As for who ended up in the end. I can no longer control it in my hands.
A day passed in the process of chasing and escaping.
Night is not suitable for large-scale marches, and naturally it is not suitable for large-scale cavalry pursuits. Even a night attack on camp can only be carried out with a small number of troops.
Nowadays, the remaining people in the Qing army are all elites in the army, and the generals leading the army are all soldiers. Naturally, it is impossible for someone to easily sneak into the camp and attack the camp.
However, the pursuers of the Tiger Banner Cavalry Division had no intention of making a sneak attack and set up camp a few miles away from the Qing army's camp.
Because the Qing army did not set up camp until dark, so the time to eat had to be after dark.
As the commander-in-chief of the army, Jirhalang naturally had his subordinates prepare a tent for him in advance so that he could have a good rest in the tent.
"Brother Ninth, I got some dried meat and brought you some." Dorgon came to Jilharang carrying a small cloth bag.
Opening the cloth bag, he found several pieces of dried meat inside, which he placed in front of Jilharang.
Jirhalang reached out and picked up a piece of meat, and said in greeting: "You have been traveling all day, and you can eat it too."
"I've eaten. This is for you, Brother Ninth." Dorgon said with a smile.
Jilharang picked up the dried meat and put it under his nose and smelled it, then threw it into the boiling pot in front of him, then picked up the spoon on the side and stirred it a few times.
"Did Duduo let him go?" Jierhalang raised his head and looked at Dorgon, putting down the wooden spoon in his hand.
Dorgon nodded and said: "Last night I arranged for Duduo to go back first and try to borrow some soldiers and horses from Khalkha."
"If you have such an arrangement in the future, let me know in advance. After all, I am also the commander of the army and the ninth brother of you two." Jilharang said.
Hearing this, Dorgon knew that Jierhalang was a little unhappy.
But he also knew that if he told Jierhalang, Duduo might not be able to leave.
"Be sure to tell me in advance next time."
After everyone left, Jierhalang knew that it would be useless to pursue Duoduo, so he changed things and asked: "What do you think of the tiger bandit chasing the soldiers today?"
"It's hard to say." Dorgon pursed his lips.
Jierhalang said: "There are only two brothers here, you and me. It doesn't matter if you say it wrong."
He knew that Dorgon was one of the few people in the Qing Dynasty who had a broad mind. Many times, he was willing to listen to Dorgon's thoughts.
"Then I said it?"
Jirharang nodded.
Dorgon said: "I think the current situation is not good, and we need to find a way to get rid of the pursuers."
"Why is the situation so bad? Please tell me carefully!" Jierhalang asked.
Dorgon glanced outside the tent and saw that no one was paying attention, so he lowered his voice and said: "Brother Ninth, I think the tiger thief's pursuers are deliberately following us. I'm afraid an ambush has been set up ahead. Wait. Let’s take the initiative to get involved.”
"You also thought of it." Jierhalang was not surprised by what Dorgon said.
He had also experienced many battles in the north and south. Just today, the pursuers kept chasing and refused to let go, but they did not take the initiative to attack. He guessed that there would be an ambush.
Dorgon said: "It seems that Ninth Brother has guessed it a long time ago. I wonder how Ninth Brother plans to solve it next?"
"This matter is not easy to handle. The enemy is strong and we are weak. Even if we know that there may be an ambush on the road ahead, it is difficult to avoid it..." Jierhalang shook his head with a sad look on his face.
Dorgon did not answer the question this time, but stared at the dried meat in the pot.
The dried meat that has been cooked for a while has become swollen, and the aroma of meat can be heard in the pot.
"Old Fourteen, you have been smart since you were a child. What better way do you have to solve the current predicament?" Seeing that Dorgon didn't say anything, Jierhalang took the initiative to smell it.
Dorgon hesitated for a moment, then said: "I have two methods, which may be feasible, but I am not completely sure whether we can avoid the tiger bandit's ambush."
"Tell me first, maybe you can give it a try." Jirhalang immediately asked after hearing that Dorgon had a way to solve the current predicament of the Qing army.
Dorgon said: "My method is very simple. The army can leave secretly at night like Duduo did. Another method is to leave the army as targets and a few people leave overnight."
This time it was Jierhalang's turn to be silent.
Dorgon's words seemed to be two ways, but in fact there was only one way, and that was to abandon the army and sneak away overnight with a small number of people.
As for leaving with the army, it is almost impossible.
No matter how cautious an army of five to six thousand people is, it is impossible for them to make no movement at all. It is difficult to hide from the pursuers several miles away.
"Brother Ninth, it's not that I'm cruel, but that the tiger thieves have set up an ambush. Now one of them can escape, otherwise no one can escape." Dorgon stared at Jierharang.
"Let me think about it." Jierhalang did not immediately agree to Dorgon.
Matters are too important to be decided by a slap on the head.
He had given up some soldiers and horses before, most of them were Mongolians and Han soldiers under the Han banner. As long as he could bring the Eight Banner soldiers back to Liaodong, even Huang Taiji's punishment would not be too severe.
But if the Eight Banners soldiers were left on the grassland and left with the Tiger Flag, even if he went back, the Qing Dynasty would not let him go lightly. By then, not to mention his status as a prince, even his status as the flag owner would be Hard to keep.
Daishan is the best example of the previous two red flags.
(End of chapter)
