Instead of gnawing at the city that the Ming army defended, the Tang Army was more willing to engage in a decisive battle with the Ming army in the wild with inferior troops!
After all, no matter what, head-on battle in the wild is their best fighting method!
However, the high-level officials on both sides had different optimistic expectations for the battle situation. The strategy of the Ming Army was also different from that of the First Army. Their idea was to surround the main force of ten thousand people of the First Infantry Division that was heading north. Well, the Ming Army was already in
They were frightened by the Tang army in the previous battle, so even though they mobilized a large number of troops and almost deployed their entire army, their strategic goal was actually to surround and annihilate the main force of the 10,000-strong First Infantry Division heading north to Hengzhou.
They did not plan to wipe out all the Tang troops heading north to Huguang. That would be unrealistic.
In their vision, a 100,000-strong army surrounded and annihilated the main force of more than 10,000 puppet Tang rebels, and there were tens of thousands of Changsha reinforcements at the rear. This battle could be won as long as it was not commanded by a fool.
However, in the strategic vision of Hao Bainian and other First Army generals, it is not just the main force of the First Infantry Division to face the enemy, but the enemies in Guiyang and Yizhang will be defeated in advance, and then the enemies in Chenzhou will be blocked.
Chenzhou City will then gather most of the First Army, especially the Second Infantry Division located in Baoqing Prefecture, to participate in the battle. In the end, more than 20,000 troops will fight against the Ming Army in the direction of Hengzhou and Changsha.
Set the course!
Although the strategic concepts of both sides are different, if the strategic concepts of both sides continue, a super war in Hengzhou Prefecture will be inevitable.
When Hao Bainian sent a messenger, he rode a fast horse and rushed towards the 2nd Infantry Division almost day and night, asking the 2nd Infantry Division to abandon the Ming army in Baoqing Mansion, bypass Shaoyang, and rush to Hengzhou quickly.
when.
Hao Bainian himself also personally led the main force of the First Infantry Division to turn around and head toward the southwest. His goal was very clear, which was to first defeat the tens of thousands of Ming troops in the direction of Guiyang Prefecture.
Now, the Ming armies in Chenzhou, Yizhang, and Guiyang Prefecture are attacking separately. If one of them cannot be stopped, it will pose a major threat to the supply line of the First Infantry Division, and Hao Bainian will not allow such a thing to happen.
Hao Bainian turned around and headed southwest, while the temporary fourth regiment continued to block the outside of Chenzhou City, preventing the tens of thousands of Ming troops outside Chenzhou City and the thousands of Ming troops in nearby areas from moving.
As for the First Infantry Regiment and related auxiliary troops, after going in a big circle in pursuit of Yizhang Ming Army, they finally rushed to Yizhang, and then they did not attack the city. After all, there were thousands of Ming Army in Yizhang City.
Even though the First Infantry Regiment was powerful, it could not be won in a day or two. What's more, Sun Shuangxi was not willing to pay a large price of casualties for a mere Yizhang City.
Therefore, he did not lead his troops directly to the city of Yizhang. Instead, he lay in ambush about ten kilometers southeast of Yizhang, waiting for the 8,000 Ming troops who attacked Yizhang to return to Yizhang, and then launched an interception operation.
In order to conceal the traces of the army, Sun Shuangxi did not lead his troops directly to Yizhang City, nor did he station them in nearby villages and towns, but stationed them in the wilderness.
Although there is no house to live in, there are tents to protect from wind and rain, and the soldiers also have cotton-padded jackets and quilts to keep out the cold, so it is not too miserable. This situation is much better than the continuous march and pursuit in the previous few days, at least
They can now have a good rest and eat a hot and full meal!
The 1st Infantry Regiment and its affiliated troops could hide and rest, but the 1st Cavalry Battalion had no way of resting because they needed to keep tracking and harassing the Ming army attacking Yizhang.
However, the First Cavalry Battalion also achieved some results. In the past three days, they followed the Ming Army to harass and killed at least one hundred Ming Army soldiers. Some of them were reconnaissance cavalry of the Ming Army, and some were Ming soldiers.
A small group of troops in the rear of the army.
It was precisely because the Ming army discovered the existence of the 1st Cavalry Battalion that they gave up attacking the 4th Transport Group and returned to Yizhang.
But now, it is unknown whether they can return to Yizhang, because the soldiers of the First Infantry Regiment have arrived outside Yizhang City one day in advance.
If they want to return to Yizhang, they will definitely be intercepted by the First Infantry Regiment!
At this time, Yizhang attacked the Ming army. Several Ming army generals also had anxious looks on their faces. They were not fools. Judging from the cavalry that had been lingering behind them, they could guess that the people behind them were
There must be a main force of the puppet Tang bandit army chasing after them.
Yes, they still don't know that the main infantry force of the Puppet Tang rebel army, which was still behind them, has given up the pursuit and rushed directly to Yizhang, arriving outside Yizhang City one day earlier than them.
Now these Ming troops were focused on escaping back to Yizhang. As for the task of intercepting the transport team of the puppet Tang rebel army and cutting off the main supply line of the puppet Tang rebel army heading north, they had already forgotten about it at this time.
In order to cut off the supply line of the Puppet Tang Bandit Army, the prerequisite is that there is no main force of the Puppet Tang Bandit Army here. Their purpose is just to attack the transportation team of the Puppet Tang Bandit Army.
Fight against the main force of the Puppet Tang thief army? You wouldn’t dare to give them a hundred courages!
Because most of the other Ming armies who dared to do this had already been defeated, and they did not want to follow in the footsteps of other friendly armies.
As long as they escape back to Yizhang, everything can be restored to the original state. At least their lives can be guaranteed, not to mention that they also know that the Ming army in the direction of Linwu is also heading towards Yizhang.
Calculating the time, it should be possible to reach Yizhang in these two days. By then, Yizhang will be able to gather at least 20,000 troops. In this way, Yizhang cannot be said to be impregnable, but the puppet Tang rebels want to capture it.
, if we don’t send out the main force of 20,000 people, we definitely won’t be able to take it down without killing and injuring thousands of people.
And this is definitely not a cost-effective business for the Puppet Tang thief army with a relatively small number of troops, because if the Puppet Tang thief army had the determination to pay such heavy casualties to attack Yizhang, they would have directly attacked Yizhang long ago.
He will not bypass Yizhang and attack Hengzhou.
These eight thousand Ming troops fled all the way towards Yizhang!
But one day, they were only thirty miles away from Yizhang. If they work harder tomorrow, they can return to Yizhang City!
So that night, they finally had a relatively peaceful sleep, but it was only slightly peaceful, because they knew that the danger was still coming, so at dawn the next morning, they started to bury the pot and make rice.
Then, not long after the sun had risen, we were already officially on the road, heading towards Yizhang City.
Thirty miles, twenty-five miles, as they gradually approached Yizhang City, they gradually relaxed. At the current speed, they would be able to rush back to Yizhang City this afternoon.
Moreover, they also sent fast horses to get in touch with Yizhang City. Now there is no trace of the puppet Tang rebels inside and outside Yizhang City. This means that Yizhang is currently safe.
But at noon, the Ming army general he led suddenly received a report from the forward troops, saying that the cavalry scouting in the front had been intercepted by the cavalry of the puppet Tang rebel army.
"Pseudo-Tang cavalry? Aren't they behind us? When did they run in front of us?" The Ming army generals present were a little confused. Behind them was a pseudo-Tang cavalry, and they were haunted.
They dispersed and did not take the initiative to attack their own army. They only launched sneak attacks from time to time to intercept and kill some small groups of their own troops behind them. Although this would not cause much damage to the army, it would still make them extremely uncomfortable.
"Could it be that the cavalry of the Puppet Tang Bandit Army came around in front of us and tried to intercept us?"
"It's unlikely. There are only three to four hundred cavalrymen of the Pseudo-Tang rebel army behind us. It's okay for them to sneak attack on our small army, but if they want to intercept our army head-on, they are asking for death!"
In any case, they have eight thousand men. As long as the enemy's cavalry commander is not stupid, he will not choose to face the trap head-on. At most, he will choose to attack his own small-scale troops.
Even such an attack was actually not very effective, because the Ming army maintained sufficient vigilance, marched in groups, and chose terrain that was not too gentle and difficult for the cavalry to perform.
The area near Yizhang is all mountainous, which is not suitable for cavalry operations. If the terrain here was a flat plain, the 8,000 Ming troops would have been eaten in batches by the 400 cavalry of the Tang army.
The combat effectiveness of cavalry is very different in plain terrain and hilly and mountainous terrain.
"Then who are these cavalry? Is it possible that another cavalry unit from the Puppet Tang Dynasty is coming?"
"This possibility is not very likely. The Puppet Tang Dynasty is located in Guangdong, Guangxi and Guizhou. Although they have southwest horses, they are like us and are unlikely to get too many horses. The Puppet Tang thief army has hundreds of cavalry battalions per battalion.
Wait, according to rumors, they only have a few cavalry battalions in total. In our area of Chenzhou and Hengzhou, there is only one cavalry battalion. Unless they send a cavalry battalion all the way from other places, otherwise, we will not
It is very likely that we will encounter another Puppet Tang Cavalry Battalion!"
"But what if it is a cavalry battalion transferred from other places by the puppet Tang rebel army?"
"If this is the case, then there is no need to fight this battle. Behind the cavalry battalion of the Puppet Tang thief army, there will definitely be a main force of the Puppet Tang thief army. When have you ever heard of the cavalry battalion of the Puppet Tang thief army acting alone?
of?"
"Is there another main force of the Puppet Tang thief army?"
"If that's really the case, then it wouldn't be good!"
However, just as everyone was making random guesses, suddenly two cavalrymen rushed forward and dismounted directly in front of these Ming army generals. Although they were panting, their faces showed obvious expressions.
They looked panicked, and one of them said: "Sir, it's not good!"