Chapter 540: The consequences of abandoning the car to protect the commander-in-chief
He Tuhai personally destroyed more than half of the Qing's elite in Jiangnan!
He personally fought this disastrous defeat that almost shook the foundation of the Qing Dynasty!
He pictures the sea!
He is a sinner of the Qing Dynasty!
…
Tu Hai stood on the south bank of the Yangtze River, looking at the countless fragments of ferry boats on the river, and his face gradually became despairing...
I was filled with reluctance. Could it be that half of the main forces of the Qing Dynasty were really going to be annihilated in Jiangnan?
Looking at the river in front of him, which was so wide that he couldn't see the other side, Tu Hai's heart at this moment no longer had the heroic and majestic feeling he had during the southern expedition across the river.
Instead, it is full of despair!
Looking at the greenish-yellow river, Tuhai's guilt continued to ferment, and he gradually had the urge to jump into the river and die for his country.
At this time, Li Guoying came to report eagerly.
"Sir, the Ming cavalry is less than twenty miles away from our army!"
Tai Ying'a on the side heard the words and spoke.
"My Lord Governor, please give the order!"
"We, the Qing Dynasty, will fight against the odds, and we will definitely defeat the enemy in one fell swoop and turn the tide of the war!"
Knowing that at this time, Taiying still had unrealistic fantasies in her heart.
Tuhae ignored Taiying and asked Li Guoying.
"General Li, do you have any suggestions for the current situation?"
Li Guoying pondered for a while, then spoke.
"My Lord Governor, our army may be able to move up the river, withdraw to Zhenjiang and set up defenses, and then ask for help from the north of the Yangtze River to plan for the future."
The current Qing army certainly does not have the morale to fight in the field with the Ming army.
If Li Guoying and others wanted to survive, they could only find a way to find a strong city to rely on.
In this area of Jiangnan, the best choice should actually be Jiangning!
After all, it was the southern capital of the Ming Dynasty. Jiangning City was surrounded by tigers and dragons, surrounded by mountains and rivers, and its city defenses were absolutely solid.
It is no exaggeration to say that it is easy to defend but difficult to attack.
If it weren't for the fact that there were so many talented people in the Hongguang court, it would not have been an easy task for the Qing army to conquer Nanjing.
At the very least, Nanjing’s brick-clad city wall, which is more than a hundred miles long, is no joke.
However, Jiangning was too far away. By the time Tuhai and others retreated to Jiangning, they would probably have been wiped out by the Ming army in the wild.
After weighing the pros and cons, Zhenjiang, which is not far from Jiangyin, is the best choice currently facing the Qing army.
It’s close to Jiangyin and can barely be considered a fortified city!
Tuhai nodded and said.
"Quickly, order the army to withdraw towards Zhenjiang!"
Tuhai gave an order and the Qing army began to move towards Zhenjiang.
The marching team dragged out for a long time.
During this process, some people continued to break away from the main force of the Qing army and became stragglers.
Tu Hai and others are now only focused on escaping, and they don't care about the older deserters.
Choose to turn a blind eye and choose to turn a blind eye to the deserters that keep appearing.
Because the Qing army went up the river.
As the Qing army marched along the river, the Ming army's navy continued to harass them along the way.
One artillery piece after another was aimed at the Qing army on the shore, firing round after round of volleys!
Amidst the rumbling sound of artillery shelling, solid artillery shells ruthlessly plowed out bloody gullies composed of broken limbs and broken arms in the Qing army's formation.
Or the bomb exploded, and the shock wave knocked a Qing soldier away.
Many cannonballs missed the target and hit the river, shooting up water columns.
Many Qing soldiers had their clothes wet by the surging river water!
Waves of cold wind blew from the river, and the Qing soldiers whose clothes were soaked couldn't help but shiver.
…
At this moment, the forward cavalry of the Ming army chasing the Qing army arrived.
Zhang Meng looked at the Qing troops not far away who were forming a line for the purpose of marching. Without any hesitation, he led the troops and rushed towards them.
The Ming army's elite cavalry galloped on the battlefield. The strong bodies of the war horses complemented the strong knights on the horses.
It looks more mighty and majestic!
The cavalry in iron armor roared towards them. That kind of power and movement will never be forgotten once you take a look at it.
The Ming army's cavalry did not use wall cavalry tactics this time. Instead, they quickly adjusted their formation, formed a flying geese formation, and charged directly at the ranks of the army.
In just an instant, the Ming army's cavalry cut off the Qing army's march in the middle and divided it into two.
Then it went back and forth several times!
The Qing army's array turned into a mess.
There was chaos everywhere along the Yangtze River.
The Qing army was suddenly attacked by the Ming army's cavalry. A large number of Qing soldiers scrambled to escape and were crushed. Many Qing soldiers were pushed into the Yangtze River.
Facing the roaring Ming cavalry, the Qing infantry was completely beaten unilaterally.
Their array was continuously cut and trampled by horse hooves, leaving countless corpses behind.
However, when the Qing cavalry saw the Ming cavalry approaching, they not only did not turn around to fight the Ming cavalry, but instead covered their own infantry.
Instead, he ran faster and faster!
It's obvious that Tu Hai is giving up his car to save his handsome man again!
Since Jiaxing, he has been giving up his car to save his handsome man!
From abandoning the common people and keeping the soldiers; to abandoning the old and weak and keeping the elite; to abandoning the infantry and keeping the cavalry...
Even until you abandon the Green Camp and keep the Eight Banners!
Tuhai has always weighed and made the best choice in his eyes.
"Quick! Speed up the march!"
"Don't be bitten by the Ming thief cavalry. If you are bitten, it will be difficult to escape!"
Li Guoying rode quickly and kept giving orders to his subordinates.
Looking back at the battlefield behind me, seeing the Qing infantry being driven away like cattle and sheep by the Ming cavalry, my heart felt cold.
From a profit perspective, Tu Hai's choice in abandoning his car to keep his coach is indeed the optimal solution!
This is true!
But his behavior made the Qing army's already low morale even worse.
The green camp soldiers below will think, since Tuhai can abandon the infantry now, next time, will they simply abandon the cavalry in the green camp soldiers and only keep the Manchu and Mongolian cavalry?
Then, the Mongolian cavalry in the army would also think, since Tuhai can abandon the Green Camp cavalry now, will they also abandon them next and only retain the Manchurian soldiers?
Then, the soldiers of the Eight Banners under the Five Flags will also think about it.
Since Tuhai can abandon the green battalion cavalry, will they also abandon their Eight Banners troops under the Five Banners as cannon fodder, and only retain the Eight Banners under the Three Banners?
If everyone thought this way, how could the morale of the Qing army be so high?
Li Guoying was full of worries about this.
…
On the battlefield, the Ming cavalry was fighting against the Qing infantry.
The cavalry charged and broke the formation again and again, causing the Qing infantry to complain endlessly.
Facing the charge of the Ming army's cavalry, they were simply unable to resist!
As Tuhai withdrew the Qing cavalry from the battlefield, more and more people realized that they had been abandoned.
In desperation, he chose to surrender to the Ming army!
On the battlefield, large areas of Qing troops abandoned their weapons and knelt on the ground begging for surrender.
Zhang Meng ordered the Ming cavalry to receive the prisoners of war and report the victory to his main army in the rear.
Looking at the countless surrendered troops on the battlefield, Zhang Meng's heart was filled with joy and a touch of pride.