More than 30,000 infantry troops were assembled in Shenyang to reinforce Liaoyang. When they arrived at Hupiyi, Li Laiheng led the cavalry to withdraw. The whole journey was non-stop, and we only rested for the night when we arrived at Anshan Inn.
Then they set fire to the Anshan Posthouse, and after destroying as much as possible, they continued to withdraw to Haizhou City.
On the way to Haizhou City, Li Laiheng's cavalry army caught up with the Han people who fled south.
Basically, these Han people were plundered by the Jianqi in the 11th year of Chongzhen, and most of them were from the capital and Shandong. After so many years, those who still survived were all young and strong, but all of them were very skinny.
Liaoyang is an important town in Liaodong, and there are actually quite a lot of Han people here. But Liaoyang is big enough, so the Han people belong to each family in the city, and they all live in the city, unlike Haizhou City, where the original city is too small, so the Han people who were plundered all live outside the city. Shed to live in.
When Li Laiheng's troops arrived outside Liaoyang City, there were not many Han people working in the suburbs near the south gate. When the war broke out, many people fled.
Therefore, later, after the Ming cavalry arrived outside Liaoyang City and forced the Jianlu captives to stay in the city, not many Han people escaped.
In the past few days when Li Laiheng's troops continued to spend time outside Liaoyang City, these Han people listened to the imperial master's call and hurriedly fled south.
At this time, Li Laiheng couldn't help but frowned as he looked at the people supporting each other and fleeing south along the way.
Previously, he was busy with the war and had no specific care for these people. When he had time, he found that each of these people were like candles in the wind, walking with difficulty.
Escape from Liaoyang is actually only sixty or seventy miles away. For normal people, it should be very easy in two days. However, the people in front of them seemed to have traveled thousands of miles, very tired and very difficult.
Some people are supporting each other on their way; some people are taking two steps and resting one step; some are even climbing south.
All of them have one thing in common, that is, in their eyes, they yearn for the south.
Seeing this scene, Li Laiheng sighed and immediately ordered: "The front and rear outposts will continue to explore further at night, and the other soldiers will take one with each other and give them a lift!"
Hearing this, his personal guard was a little dumbfounded, and quickly reminded: "Sir, we are still in the hinterland of Liaodong and it is not safe. What if we encounter Jianlu?"
"That's why I want the sentinels who stay awake at night to have a wider range!" After hearing this, Li Laiheng explained, "With the way they walk, they will only be able to return to the Liao River in the year of the monkey!"
Hearing this, the guard wanted to say something more. When Li Laiheng saw it, he added: "The more people we save, the more attention the court will pay to them, and the greater our contribution will be. Do you understand?"
As soon as they heard this, everyone around him suddenly understood and immediately went to do it.
While doing some good deeds and accumulating virtue, you can also get greater credit, which is naturally a pleasure. Even if you may take some risks, it is worth it!
In fact, Li Laiheng has measured this. It does not mean that he is kind-hearted and has no principles.
In addition to the reasons he just told his guards, he was also sure at this time that at least the Jianlu nearby did not pose a threat to them without cavalry.
As for their war horses, there will be an extra load. In fact, he was certain that after this raid on Liaodong, many war horses would be disabled.
In this case, let's use it more before it becomes useless.
Therefore, after Li Laiheng's military order was passed down, the Ming army officers and soldiers found their targets one after another, arrived in front of them, and asked them to mount their horses and go together.
When they said this, the Han people were all dumbfounded, or they simply couldn't believe what they heard.
When did the imperial officers and soldiers become so good that they still wanted to take them for a ride?
This simply overturned their impression of the imperial officers and soldiers!
Actually, they were very grateful for being able to escape. Now they saw that the imperial cavalry wanted to take them back with them. For a moment, they came back to their senses, and they were all excited and incoherent, kowtowing and crying. .
Seeing this scene, the Ming army soldiers who were a little reluctant at first felt a little ashamed, so they actively pulled them onto their horses and drove on together.
In the afternoon, not far from Haizhou City, I saw a fast horse galloping towards me and reported to Li Laiheng: "Sir, there is something strange happening among the captives in Gaizhou!"
When Li Laiheng heard this, he was a little startled. He didn't expect that it was the Jianlu from Gaizhou who made some changes, so he quickly asked: "What's going on?"
"I don't know yet. I only know that Jianlu in Gaizhou seems to be dispatching troops and generals, and Chen Youyi has already rushed there in person."
When Li Laiheng heard this, he frowned and the location of Gaizhou immediately flashed in his mind.
Gaizhou is right on the seaside, more than 120 miles away from Haizhou City, with Yaozhou Station in the middle.
With this map in his mind, Li Laiheng's mind was spinning rapidly. He is not afraid of Gaizhou's Jianlu reinforcements coming to Haizhou City. Because no matter how much Jianlu reinforces, they will give up anyway.
What he was afraid of was that Jianlu would block his retreat instead of reinforcing Haizhou City. It is about sixty miles from Gaizhou to the Liao River outlet, but there is no official road. If the army marches, it will take more time than on the official road.
Thinking like this, Li Laiheng immediately made a decision and immediately sent an order for the army to march as quickly as possible. In the evening, they arrived at Niujiazhuang.
This is not far from the Liaohe River Ferry. The navy's boats all go up the Liaohe River to replenish the cavalry's food and grass supplies at this ferry.
Just in time, Li Laiheng asked all the Han people he brought back to take boats and go out to sea along the Liao River overnight.
Then, he took the time to rest.
When it was getting dark, another cavalry team arrived and reported to Li Laiheng: "Sir, the Gaizhou Jianlu troops, about ten thousand infantrymen, left the city and headed toward the mouth of the Liao River. Chen Guerrilla led people to harass them and delay their march. , let the adults evacuate as soon as possible!"
More than ten thousand infantry? After hearing the news, Li Laiheng thought in his mind and couldn't help but ask: "Who is the general of Jianlu? He is so bold that more than 10,000 infantry troops dare to intercept us?"
At the same time, he was also a little surprised. Only five or six days have passed, and Jianlu has already figured out the reality on his side, and even knows that he landed at the mouth of the Liao River?
It feels a little impossible!
However, here in Liaodong, there were enemies all around. Just like when he was a bandit, there were officers and soldiers everywhere. Therefore, Li Laiheng did not dare to be careless. Don't think about things you can't figure out, and just plan for the worst outcome.
So, he sent an order to rest until midnight, and more than 3,000 cavalry troops set out overnight with torches and went south along the river.
After dawn, we took a short rest, mainly to let the war horses rest for a while, eat something to replenish their strength, and then immediately headed south again. And because it was dawn, the march speed also increased.
To be honest, this cavalry army has not had a good rest since they boarded the ship at Shanhaiguan.
Taking a boat at sea, although there is no need to march, is still tiring! After landing on the shore, I didn't rest for long before I started to rush, attack, and rush again. Although there were breaks along the way, they were all short.
At the beginning, at least when they first landed, the spirit of Guan Ning's cavalry was obviously better than that of the men and horses brought by Li Laiheng. However, at this time, it was Li Laiheng's men who clearly outshone Guan Ning's cavalry.
The officers and soldiers of Guan Ning's cavalry were obviously a little depressed and looked a little exhausted. However, the thousand or so direct subordinates brought by Li Laiheng still seemed to be in the same condition as when they landed ashore. This made Guan Ning's cavalry The officers and soldiers of the army secretly admired him.
On the way south, Chen Mingyu sent people to keep in touch with Li Laiheng from time to time and inform him of the situation there.
By noon, the latest news became clear. The commander of the Jianlu Infantry Army was Ying Erdai, the former commander of Haizhou City.
Haizhou City was raided before, and Ying'erdai escaped, eventually fleeing to Gaizhou. Then he strictly ordered the Jianlu troops in Gaizhou to mobilize more than 10,000 infantry troops and rush to the mouth of the Liao River.
After hearing the news, Li Laiheng couldn't help but admire Ying Erdai. It seems that he is quite capable. He estimated the situation in such a short time and guessed correctly that he would land at the mouth of Liaohe River.
In fact, from the perspective of hindsight, it is not difficult to guess.
The best way for the army to march is to march along the river. In that case, the transportation of supplies will be more convenient. Even if Li Laiheng's troops were all cavalry. But people have to eat, horses have to chew, and a lot of supplies are consumed every day.
If you cannot get replenishment locally, you must bring enough supplies yourself. Obviously, shipping is the most convenient.
In this way, it is self-evident to guess where the Ming army landed and launched a surprise attack on Haizhou City.
In addition, Chen Mingyu sent someone over to say that under the strict supervision of Ying Erdai, the captives were desperately rushing to the Liao River outlet, regardless of the casualties caused to them by Chen Mingyu's troops.
According to Chen Mingyu's original words, he estimated that Ying Erdai had a mentality of making up for his past mistakes and must stop him to make up for his loss of Haizhou City. Therefore, he was crazy.
Chen Mingyu has tried his best to slow down the Jianlu Infantry Army. He hopes that Li Laiheng's speed will be faster, so that the Jianlu Infantry Army will not be preempted by the Jianlu Infantry Army to seize the Liao River outlet. Otherwise, the infantry will form a formation. As for defending, the cavalry will also have a headache.
Of course, Li Laiheng also understood that his team was light cavalry and could not attack the formation of infantry. The advantage was its strong maneuverability.
So, he immediately ordered the whole army to speed up.
