Outside Mengjiazhuang, thirty miles east of Runing Mansion, Fu Zonglong, the governor of Shaanxi and the three border areas, stood up and said in a deep voice to the commander-in-chief He Renlong and Li Guoqi: "The two generals followed me out of Shaanxi and entered Henan to suppress the bandits. Today is the time for the two of them to serve the country with meritorious service. Now that they have met the thief, they can only move forward, not retreat.
If we retreat, we will definitely be defeated. Not only will I be subject to the laws of the country, but the two generals will also not be spared. Rather Stick to your guns.
What's more, the bandits have only a few thousand cavalry in front of them, but we have tens of thousands of soldiers and horses. As long as we work together and fight hard, it will not be difficult to defeat the bandits. To achieve great achievements and repay the emperor's favor is all done in one fell swoop.
Two generals, this opportunity cannot be missed! "
Commander-in-Chief He Renlong and Li Guoqi both responded to the order in unison, especially He Renlong who said generously: "Please rest assured, Governor Fu, Renlong is determined to fight the thieves to the death."
At this time, the bandit cavalry led by "One Tiger" Li Guo was approaching. They were arranged in a long snake formation, advancing step by step. Behind the Chinese army's banner, there were many cavalry, obviously After the battle, they were prepared to charge at the officers and soldiers in one go.
The officers and soldiers can only quickly form formations to meet the enemy without any further hesitation. Otherwise, once the morale of the army is shaken, the situation will become irreversible.
So Fu Zonglong, the governor-general of the three sides, waved his command flag and shouted: "Beat the drum. General He, General Li, go into battle and kill the thieves!"
At the same time, Baoding Governor Yang Wenyue also rode into the Baoding army. He also shouted loudly on his horse: "General Tiger, kill the thieves...kill the thieves!"
For a time, flags were flying in the Ming army formation, war drums were beating, roars were coming, and the shouts of killing were loud.
He Renlong, Li Guoqi, Hu Dawei and other generals also returned to their respective formations. They were all worried about where the majority of the invading army was, so they did not launch a charge for a while.
Although the war drums in the camp were beating loudly, the flag was never waved forward. Both the infantry and the cavalry were just waiting in formation and did not charge towards the rebels.
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Among the officers and soldiers of several towns, the commander-in-chief He Renlong had the largest number of soldiers and horses, as well as the largest number of cavalry. He had as many as two thousand elite cavalry in his camp, and he was also the most courageous and adept at fighting.
Ordinarily, he should have led his troops to fight immediately after receiving the general order from Governor Fu Zonglong, but this madman He was not crazy at this time.
Not only did he stand still, he also secretly ordered all the cavalry to line up around him, firstly to protect himself, and secondly to prevent his elite cavalry from being scattered by the intruders from the opposite side.
Of course, he had the cavalry around him and the infantry guarding the outside. He also had the intention of leading his elite troops to break through the encirclement if the battle went unfavorably.
Seeing this situation, the experienced Zhenbao General Soldier Hu Dawei naturally knew the meaning of congratulations to Renlong, but he was different from it.
Hu Da ordered the infantry to form a formation in front, with chariots and horses arrayed in front of the formation. He personally led his elite cavalry in the rear sweep formation, preparing to wait for the opportunity to rush out after the infantry formation exhausted the vigor of the rebel army. Fight with the thief.
Hu Dawei was originally a soldier who surrendered outside the Great Wall, so he had a group of Mongolian cavalry under his command. They followed Hu Dawei and fought in all directions to quell the chaos of the Ming Dynasty. They have always fought bravely.
It was precisely with the core combat force composed of these Beilu cavalry that Hu Dawei fought for many years and was promoted to the rank of commander-in-chief. However, to this day, his core combat force has more than 800 servants.
The more than 1,500 elite cavalry under his command were slowly formed after the Julu War. The remaining 2,000 infantrymen were quite capable of fighting, but they were not comparable to the cavalry.
Hu Dawei's strength is obviously weaker than that of He Renlong, but he is also stronger than Li Guoqi and others. Now his servants and fine cavalry are commanded by his nephew general Hu Zichen, while the infantry is commanded by another close general Zeng Xinjun. Commander.
Looking at the subordinates of the Central Military Commander, the governor of the three sides, Fu Zonglong and the governor Yang Wenyue, were feeling very anxious as they saw the formation of rogue cavalry approaching slowly, but the generals and officers were motionless.
At this critical moment, they did not dare to use Shang Fang's sword, for fear of killing a side general and causing other mishaps in front of the formation.
They also knew very well that if they killed another general at this moment, they would either immediately trigger a mutiny or the morale of the army would collapse. Not only would they be unable to fight against the traitors, but they themselves would probably die without a burial place.
Now I am afraid that I can only rely on loyalty to inspire and promise rewards to seduce the generals to rise up for the country and serve the emperor!
Fu Zonglong sent a message to all the generals, deputy generals, as well as the participating and traveling generals. If they lose this battle, they will inevitably be punished. In the light case, they may be dismissed from their posts, or in the worst case, they may be imprisoned and face charges, and even their families may be affected.
Therefore, all the generals had to do was to rise up in front of the battle and defeat the thieves in front of them. However, if they had a small achievement, he and Yang Wenyue would definitely report to the court and try their best to claim credit for each general, in order to make his wife and son his wife and leave his name for generations to come.
After repeated urging by the two governors, the commander-in-chief Li Guoqi finally failed to resist. As a last resort, he led his troops to take the lead in the battle. However, as soon as they came into contact with the rebel cavalry, his troops became disordered and the soldiers started to panic. Turn around and run away, completely unstoppable.
He Renlong had been fighting with the intruder Li Zicheng for more than ten years, and he knew the intruder best. He naturally knew that Li Zicheng was always good at using tricks and setting ambushes, so he was careful along the way.
Furthermore, "Crazy He" at this time is no longer as crazy as he was back then!
In his early years, He Renlong led the army to suppress bandits. He was indeed brave in battle and not afraid of death. He always charged forward, so he got the nickname "Crazy He".
But as time passed, He Renlong's courage shrank and seemed to be getting worse day by day. Maybe it was because his family's wealth was getting heavier and the rewards were all gone, so he no longer had any other big pursuits.
Especially in the 13th year of Chongzhen, after the Battle of Manao Mountain, Yang Sichang, the governor at the time, had promised him in advance that he would be a general of ping thief after his success, but later awarded this title to Zuo Liangyu.
The turn of events hit him hard, and He Renlong became very dissatisfied with Hong Chengchou and the Ming Dynasty. From then on, he was in charge but not in charge, trying his best to avoid fighting with the traitors and only trying to protect himself and his strength. It’s just wealth now.
Even today, he still had this idea. When he saw that General Li Guoqi's troops were defeated, He Renlong did not step forward to respond. Without even saying hello, he led his men to the northeast. Walk.
Of course, He Renlong also sent a soldier with a message: Report to the governor, I, Mr. He, are going to the northeast to fight against thieves!
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In fact, the officers and soldiers led by the two governors Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue totaled 50,000 to 60,000 horses. They could still fight against Li Guo's 8,000 bandit cavalry.
What He Renlong was afraid of was just the suspicion that the intruders were ambush, and the fact that he just wanted to keep his family's wealth at the moment, rather than working for the Ming Emperor and the court.
But as the most powerful elite of the brigade, He Renlong's more than 10,000 soldiers and horses were undoubtedly the largest force among the official army. His every move was related to the direction of the Ming army.
But now, the real guard general Hu Dawei saw Li Guoqi's retreat first, and watched He Renlong lead his army to escape to the northeast. He knew that although he still had an advantage in terms of military strength, the defeat was certain.
However, Hu Dawei was originally a general who had rebelled against the Northern Barbarians. Although he always fought bravely and bravely, he never gained the true trust of the imperial court. Dare to give him too many troops.
Now, although he knew that it was a inevitable defeat, he did not dare to retreat without orders. He immediately shouted the general's orders, hoping to lead the army to rush out, stabilize the position, and fight with all his strength.
Who would have thought that after the defeat, the commander-in-chief Li Guoqi also tried to gather some troops and retreat to Mengjiazhuang so that he could reorganize his army and fight again.
But when his generals saw that the main force of He Renlong's troops had fled to the northeast, they guessed that they were going to Xiangcheng, so everyone was naturally panicked.
Surrounded by his officers and soldiers, Li Guoqi had no choice but to lead the remaining soldiers in the camp to follow He Renlong's footsteps and rush to Xiangcheng.
As the saying goes: "A defeat is like a mountain falling!"
He Renlong and Li Guoqi can be said to be the backbone of the Shaanxi soldiers and horses led by Fu Zonglong. Now that they are the first to lead the troops away, the remaining Shaanxi soldiers will naturally be in disarray.
Hu Dawei did not dare to attack rashly when he saw this. After all, no one knew whether the intruders still had any backup plans. Moreover, with the retreat of He Renlong and Li Guoqi, the Shaanxi army was in chaos, and Fu Zonglong could no longer stop it.
Seeing that the Ming army was about to collapse, Hu Dawei shouted loudly: "Zeng Xin's army, quickly lead the infantry into formation and go eastward, along the flood to the north."
Hu Dawei turned his head and called to his general Hu Zichen, who was guerrilla, and shouted: "Hu Zichen, follow me to the central army and protect Yang Du Wanquan."
As the flag waved, Hu Dawei's soldiers and horses were divided into two. The infantry formed a formation and ran eastward, while the cavalry stepped on the billowing smoke and galloped towards the central army.
At this time, Fu Zonglong, the governor of the three sides, was already following He Renlong's footsteps to the northeast under the protection of the generals and troops of the Governor Biao Camp, fighting and retreating.
Hu Dawei met Zhang Dechang, the deputy general of Zhenbao Town, and heard him shout: "Commander Hu, this place is no longer sustainable. Governor Yang ordered us to wait for the break and escort the army to retreat to Xiangcheng."
In fact, as experienced commanders of the first army, Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue both had their own personal troops, namely the Supervisory Biao Battalion, and almost all the generals and generals in their camps were personally selected by him.
Naturally, loyalty is relatively high, so at this critical juncture, the officers and soldiers of the Dubiao Battalion were loyal to their respective governors, rushing to Xiangcheng to fight and retreat at the same time.
However, the deputy general Zhang Dechang lied, saying that the military orders he should have borne were orders from Yang Wenyue to him and Hu Dawei.
It's no wonder that if Hu Dawei hadn't come to the door himself, Lieutenant General Zhang would have led the army and fled in panic. It was Hu Dawei's arrival that emboldened him, so he enlisted Hu Dawei's elite cavalry to join him. After the military break.
But the oncoming bandits were all cavalry. On the other hand, although the Ming army had 50,000 or 60,000 soldiers, there were less than 10,000 cavalry. These cavalry were scattered among the generals and two generals. In the governor's camp.
Being so scattered, they were completely unable to cooperate closely when facing a battle and could only fight independently. This was the reason why He Renlong retreated.
However, He Renlong himself had more than 2,000 elite cavalry, accounting for almost a quarter of the Ming army's cavalry. Once he fled, it would have a devastating blow to the morale of the Ming officers and soldiers.
No matter how brave Hu Dawei's servants are, the cavalry is helpless because of the large number of thieves and cavalry. They fight back and retreat after one wave. Fortunately, both sides are cavalry and when the situation is unfavorable, they can still fight. Run away.
In the process of retreating, Fu Zonglong's troops were ambushed by more than a thousand cavalry troops. Even the Shang Fang sword and imperial edict given by the current emperor were lost. Fu Zonglong himself was almost captured alive by the troops.
It was all thanks to his soldiers and generals from the Dubiao Battalion who fought to protect him and fight back the intruder cavalry that rushed to his side that he was able to escape completely.
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"One Tiger" Li Guoce was on his horse and saw that the army group was in chaos. Some of them followed several general soldiers and fled to the northeast without fighting, including many cavalry.
Although the other part was also in great chaos, it was still able to fight and retreat, and still organized counterattacks during the retreat. In his opinion, this side was undoubtedly the pro-army troops of the two governors.
Therefore, he decisively decided to personally lead the main force to chase those officers and soldiers who fled without fighting, and only sent a small number of cavalry to pursue the Ming army that was fighting and retreating, but did not pursue them fiercely.
The reason why Li Guo arranged it this way was to try his best to prevent his troops from suffering too many casualties in the melee.
He believed that the officers and soldiers who fled without fighting must have been demoralized, and it would be relatively easy to pursue them. Moreover, as long as they were completely defeated or dispersed, the rest would not be a concern. .
As for those Ming troops who can still organize a counterattack, they only need to send a small group of cavalry to pursue them appropriately and prevent them from running away with all their strength. They cannot fight to the death with them at this moment.
On the other hand, Governor Fu Zonglong and Yang Wenyue, under the protection of their respective Biao camps, fought and retreated. Seeing that the intruders did not pursue and fight fiercely, they gathered up the scattered officers and soldiers along the road.
Finally at dusk, the Ming army retreated to a place called Huoshaodian, which was about twenty miles away from Xiangcheng.
This fire shop only has a very desolate small street, and there is a slightly crude wall around it. Many places have collapsed, and people and horses can enter and exit at will through the gaps.
It seems that banditry has been frequent in recent years, and no one dares to defend the stronghold anymore, so they no longer repair the collapsed walls. Judging from the size of the stronghold, there should be dozens of families, but now it is empty without a single citizen. .
After entering the Huoshao shop, Fu Zonglong immediately met with the governor Yang Wenyue to have a secret discussion on horseback. Even the two generals were ordered to retreat twenty steps away, obviously not wanting them to hear their conversation.
According to Yang Wenyue's wishes, he thought he would have to flee north for a while before he could feel safe.
But Fu Zonglong insisted on not escaping. He said: "This place is only twenty miles away from Xiangcheng. If we escape again, we may be chased and killed by bandits before we reach Xiangcheng."
Nowadays, men and horses are exhausted, and the army is panicked. Even if they want to leave, they really can't leave anymore, so they might as well stay here and wait for help. "
Due to Fu Zonglong's repeated insistence, Yang Wenyue could not object too much, so they stationed themselves at the Huoshao shop and firmly defended it.
