Chapter 55 Battle of Pingcheng
Ye Chen lay on the stretcher and told everything about his time in Korea.
Let’s talk about it quickly, after the Battle of Datong River.
Ye Chen moved a little uncomfortably. The battle of Datong River was the beginning of Ye Chen's failure, but it was not the most critical moment. The real crisis came after the Battle of the Datong River. Ye Chen said; "In the Battle of the Datong River, our army lost a lot of baggage and food. I originally wanted to return home quickly, but counting the food and grass, I only had a few days' rations, which was simply not enough." Yalu River. Coupled with the Jurchen tribes, the losses were heavy. There were already complaints in the army. I had no choice but to stay near Pingcheng to replenish food and appease the morale of the army."
Ye Chen can control his subordinates, but he manages the Jurchens and these new vassals indirectly. If something goes wrong, there is no good solution.
It's just that he didn't elaborate.
He Xi can also think of it.
To replenish food and fodder is to plunder. Without looting, would food and grass fall from the sky? Fortunately, this is autumn, and there is still a lot of local food and grass. To appease the morale of the military is not to appease them with real money. On the one hand, the baggage was lost and the army did not have much food. on the other hand. Even if there is money and food, the money and food are of little use in the army.
That is to let go and plunder.
Fighting a war with rabble, that's what it is.
Ye Chen continued; "At first, I thought Li Chenggui would chase me and be ready to escape at any time. But I never expected it. Across the river, Li Chenggui didn't cross the river for more than ten days. I didn't know what happened. So I found a large temple as a camp. The Korean people believe in Buddhism, and the temple is very large. There is also a lot of food and grass in it. It is enough to last for a period of time."
"But I think it's almost done. But the Jurchen tribes want to delay it for a while. Even if Timur, the fierce brother, speaks, it won't work."
Ye Chen was also very angry when he said this.
This is what it means, the people's hearts are scattered and the team is difficult to lead.
They were originally a ragtag group of people, but they only became obedient because Ye Chen used the Ming Dynasty's name and supplies and Ye Chen's superb command to give them enough rewards. However, Ye Chen suffered a huge defeat and let them know that Ye Chen was nothing more than that.
Another point is that within a month or two, Ye Chen fought several battles with Goryeo and turned thousands of miles around, which put high demands on the army.
Although, these Jurchens are also in good physical condition. But not tough enough. So, they want more rest. It is also a matter of course. They didn't dare to say it before, but now that Ye Chen's prestige has declined, they dare to say it.
And Ye Chen's headquarters has too few people. I have to take everyone’s opinions into consideration.
But there is nothing that can be done about it.
Ye Chen said, "I couldn't say anything, so I took my troops and set up camps separately. A few days ago, Li Chenggui suddenly arrived, and Li Chenggui's main force also came. I estimated that there were 30,000 people on horseback. Half and half. Very sophisticated. I led three assaults, but could not break Li Chenggui's infantry formation. This was the first time since I entered Goryeo. Seeing that I could not defeat, I ordered a retreat. But my order had not yet been given, these people They scattered and fled.”
Speaking of this, Ye Chen couldn't help but said: "A bunch of idiots."
In terms of commanding ability, Ye Chen and his group are undoubtedly number one. When it comes to retreat, if Ye Chen is in charge, they won't be able to escape unscathed, but the losses will be much smaller. But these people didn't listen at all and made a mess.
They even affect each other's retreat speed.
Ye Chen could only lure more than a thousand people away.
So when Ye Chen thinks about it now, he just feels like his teeth are itching with hatred.
He Xi shook his head secretly in his heart: "Ye Chen is still young. He knows how to fight, but he doesn't understand people's hearts." Retreating will definitely lead to failure. it is necessary. According to Ye Chen's method, more people will definitely be able to evacuate, but the question is, who will cut off the rear.
Those who have been cut off will definitely have a narrow escape from death.
Ye Chen has a mob under his command. Hundreds of Ming army cavalry are Ye Chen's foundation. Ye Chen would definitely not sacrifice them. But among the Jurchen tribes, who is willing to sacrifice themselves for the so-called overall situation.
They are not stupid, they are obviously too smart.
Then they all retreated on their own.
According to Ye Chen, the biggest risk is that his own team will become a broken queen and narrowly escape death. Although retreating on your own involves great risks, it is lower than the risk of retreating. So, they all chose the one with lower risk.
But when everyone makes a choice that is beneficial to themselves. Instead, they pushed their situation into an abyss.
Although Ye Chen decided to retreat only after the entire army collapsed. But Ye Chen had a plan from the beginning and reserved a retreat route. And now this retreat route is used by more than a thousand people from Ye Chen's headquarters, so they naturally get there first. Run out of the battlefield first.
And Li Chenggui was not mediocre, so he just let Ye Chen go. These Jurchens are a ragtag group of people. How can we not stay?
Therefore, in this battle, Ye Chen's troops returned to their original form, with only a thousand cavalry left. Among them, the Ming army's cavalry accounted for 80%, and 20% were people who were determined to follow the Ming Dynasty, including Jurchens, Koreans, etc.
Ye Chen hesitated here for a moment, but he still spoke out and said, "I actually feel that Li Chenggui seemed to have let me go. Of course, he made a decision to hurry up at that time. It's not that I can't leave, but a fierce battle is inevitable. However, his cavalry equipped with our armor and weapons suddenly came out when I was halfway through my retreat. Our unit did not fight with this unit. This was somewhat similar to the battle at Datongjiang. I You still don’t know why?”
After hearing this, He Xi immediately stood up and paced back and forth. He murmured: "Li Chenggui."
The founder of North Korea. He can be considered a person with a place in history. He Xi didn't know much about the internal situation in Goryeo. But one thing is for sure. That is, Li Chenggui was definitely not a pure minister of the Goryeo Dynasty. Although he was still doubtful about Ye Chen's judgment. But at this moment, a thought suddenly came to him, and he thought to himself: "Is it possible for Li Chenggui to surrender to the Ming Dynasty?"
When he thought of this, He Xi's heart suddenly jumped.
Because the temptation is too great.
Li Chenggui's troops were small in number, but they were the absolute main force of Goryeo. Compared with the five central guards of Goryeo and the soldiers and horses from various places, they are much stronger.
Just as Ye Chen said, he charged into the formation three times, but there were no Goryeo infantry that broke the formation, something he had never seen before.
The most important thing for infantry to fight against cavalry attacks is organization. If this is done well, the cavalry will naturally return without success. The same goes for the military. Whether the army can fight or not depends, to put it bluntly, on how organized the army is. Strong organization. Even if they were all scattered, three or five of them got together and immediately formed a fighting group to continue fighting. The cavalry was weakly organized and rushed in front of the formation. One person wavered, but within a moment, the whole army gave up.
Most of Goryeo's troops are the latter. Even if they are lucky enough to be unable to break through once, if they try a few more times, the Goryeo generals will be unable to maintain their position and the whole party will be disbanded. Therefore, in the battle between Ye Chen and the Goryeo army, the Goryeo infantry had always been a supporting role, but this time, they were the protagonists.
This shows the combat effectiveness of Li Chenggui's troops.
He is worthy of being a famous general who once fought against the Mongolian army.
And Li Chenggui is not a Korean in the complete sense. Although Li Chenggui was said to be from a noble family in Goryeo, the Li family had been serving as officials in the Yuan Dynasty since the generation of Li Chenggui's great-grandfather, and had adopted a Mongolian name. Although I have been working in Korea and Northeast China. But after all, he and the Goryeo Dynasty were two different people.
Moreover, since Li's father changed sides and became officials from the Yuan Dynasty to Goryeo, the Li family has always been the Tu emperor in the Shuangcheng area. It even feels like some princes.
Of course, many of the wealthy Goryeo families were like this.
It's just that Li Chenggui has military power, but other wealthy families don't.
This is different, and it might not be possible to persuade Li Chenggui to switch sides.
Once Li Chenggui defected, it would not be as simple as Ming Dynasty having 30,000 more troops and Goryeo having 30,000 fewer troops. The more important inside story of Goryeo will be fully revealed to Ming Dynasty. Ming Dynasty had more ways to divide and disintegrate Goryeo.
Of course He Xi cannot go into battle, but it is possible to make good plans and use the power of the Ming Dynasty to recruit surrender and rebels.
When Ye Chen saw He Xi murmuring Li Chenggui's name, he was very unconvinced and said, "Li Chenggui is not a big deal. If I have the same troops as him, no, I have more than ten thousand cavalry, I will definitely let Li Chenggui You can come, but you can’t go back.”
He Xi smiled slightly and said nothing. After all, there are no ifs in war. He said: "Go on, what happens next?"
