Just when the officers of the First Infantry Regiment were worried that the Ming Army would launch a fifth or even sixth attack, the Ming Army at the foot of the mountain retreated!
When they saw a large number of Ming troops beginning to retreat, many Tang soldiers on the top of the mountain burst into cheers!
Facing four waves of onslaughts by nearly 30,000 people, this forward force of only over 4,000 people, with the 1st Infantry Regiment as its core, paid a heavy price, but in the end they were able to hold it off.
The commander of this forward force, Chief of Staff of the First Army Wang Chaohong also smiled!
As a senior general, he knew better than ordinary soldiers that winning this battle would not only hold this position and kill five or six thousand Ming troops, but it would also bring a series of reactions behind it!
He defended the fort and successfully forced the Hengyang Ming army to abandon ship and land, and then had to carry a large amount of baggage from land to Changsha!
With such a long distance from here to Changsha, there is no way for them to escape the interception of the main force of the First Army!
Currently, the main force of the First Army is intercepting them, and our own side and the third mixed group are pursuing them. The remaining more than 20,000 Hengyang Ming troops will be unable to fly even with their wings!
After the Hengyang Ming Army is annihilated, the main force of our First Army can move north to Changsha to join the Second Army, and then capture Changsha with an absolute advantage. Once Changsha is reached, all areas south of Huguang and south of the Yangtze River will be defeated.
Into the hands of the Tang Dynasty!
In the follow-up, the main forces of the First Army and the Second Army can be integrated to march eastward along the Yangtze River, sweeping across Wuchang and Jiujiang all the way to Jinling City in South Zhili!
The impact of this battle is far more profound than what appears on the surface!
And Wang Chaohong also believes that His Majesty can see this and the contribution that Wang Chaohong has made. Maybe it won't be long before he can be the commander of a main infantry division.
In a year or two, if the Tang Army expands in size, there is hope for him to become an army commander.
Wang Chaohong, who was in a good mood, ordered the soldiers to clean up the battlefield, mainly to bury the dead soldiers on both sides and treat the wounded on both sides!
Even though most of them were casualties of the Ming army, since the battle was won, as the victor, I didn't want to see their dead dead in the wilderness, so it would be better to let them bury them in their graves.
And the wounded are treated as long as they can be treated!
After all, respecting your opponent means respecting yourself!
It is a pity that although the Ming army failed in their attack, they still retreated in a very orderly manner. Except for a few exploded artillery, no other field artillery was left behind.
However, a lot of light weapons such as shotguns, muskets, swords, spears, armor, and shields carried by the Ming army that participated in the attack were left behind!
The shotguns and muskets among them naturally need to be recovered. Even if they are of poor quality, they can still be used.
As for swords, spears, armor, and shields, they should be carefully selected. The good quality ones should be used directly. The mediocre ones should not be taken away. They should be stored here and left for the troops behind to take over.
After Hengyang was captured without bloodshed, the Tang Dynasty has now completely opened up the river channel of the Xiangjiang River. A large number of civilian officials began to station in Hengyang Prefecture. At the same time, the First Supplementary Brigade also stationed in Hengyang and took on the responsibility of maintaining the entire logistics supply line.
The important task was to clear out some of the Ming army's defeated troops, bandits and the like.
The third mixed group traveled north along the Xiangjiang River day and night!
It is a pity that the ships in Hengyang at that time were all taken away or burned by the Hengyang Ming Army, and the Datang Army in the rear did not have many ships of its own, and most of them had to be used to transport supplies. Otherwise, the third mixed army would
The group can also take a boat directly to the north.
Even at Shenjiadu, the ships that the Hengyang Ming Army used to ride on were all set on fire by themselves before the Ming Army withdrew. Otherwise, the seizure of more than a hundred ships, large and small, would have greatly improved the situation.
Alleviating the problem of insufficient ships in the Xiangjiang River of the Tang Dynasty's royal division.
While cleaning the battlefield, Wang Chaohong, who was already the first cavalry detachment in the vanguard, issued an order for them to follow closely and harass the Ming army to delay their retreat. Of course, if they could take the opportunity to eat part of the Ming army, they would naturally
It couldn't be better!
However, although there are not many cavalry on the Hengyang Ming Army, the number of retreating Hengyang Ming Army is still very large. At the same time, they also have hundreds of cavalry. Lu Yuzhi's first cavalry detachment can delay it, but they want to take the opportunity to fight.
, I’m afraid it’s difficult.
Wang Chaohong himself, after letting his troops rest for a long time, also followed up with the First Infantry Regiment, artillery baggage and other troops. Of course, he did not follow too closely.
If the distance is too close, the Hengyang Ming Army will be in big trouble if they try to counterattack.
After all, there are still more than 20,000 people, and he only has 4,000 people under his command. If they really have to face a head-on confrontation in the wild, even if they can barely win, I am afraid that his forward force will be completely disabled!
Now that the situation is great, he will naturally not take risks again!
The task of intercepting and even annihilating the more than 20,000 people of the Hengyang Ming Army was the task of the main force of the First Army, not the task of his forward force, Wang Chaohong.
While these two troops were heading north one after another, in the northwest direction, the main force of the First Army was also speeding up!
After receiving the information that the Hengyang Ming Army fled north, Hao Bainian had already changed the direction of march. Instead of heading directly towards Changsha, he headed eastward in an attempt to intercept the Hengyang Ming Army.
Hao Bainian could not let this Hengyang Ming army enter Changsha City. In that case, the battle against Changsha would be difficult to fight.
Hao Bainian, who was on his way, received news from Wang Chaohong today. He learned that the forward troops led by Wang Chaohong had repelled the attack of the Ming army in Hengyang, forcing them to abandon ship and disembark and rush to Changsha by land.
Hao Bainian said with joy on his face: "This Wang Chaohong has finally lived up to His Majesty's painstaking efforts for him!"
The Hengyang Ming army could not quickly go down the river by boat, which meant that his first army could stop them!
Calculating the distance, it is estimated that the two armies will be in contact in two days. By then the main force of his first army will be deployed, and he does not think that the Hengyang Ming Army will be able to break through his interception and move northward!
The fact was exactly as he expected. The next day, the reconnaissance cavalry of the First Army contacted the First Cavalry Detachment and learned the exact location of the Hengyang Ming Army.
But then the Hengyang Ming Army seemed to have discovered that the main force of the First Army was intercepting them in front, and then turned eastward!
Looking at the map, Hao Bainian knew what these Ming troops were planning to do. They wanted to cross the Xiangjiang River and get rid of the interception of the main force of the First Army!
Calculating the distance, we were still far away from them and there was no way to stop them before they crossed the river. Hao Bainian immediately gave the order to continue eastward and then cross the river directly!
At the same time, he personally gave an order to Brigadier General Lu Yuzhi of the First Cavalry Detachment, asking the Cavalry Detachment to delay their crossing of the river to buy time for the main force of the First Army to set up an interception circle!
Lu Yuzhi, a veteran cavalry general in the Tang Army, did not act recklessly after receiving the order. Instead, he first made a big circle. After getting rid of the entanglement of more than 500 cavalrymen of the Ming Army, he appeared in the north of the Ming Army in Hengyang and faced the enemy.
The Ming army crossing the river came to attack!
Although this attack was blocked by the Ming army's rear troops, it also successfully disrupted the Ming army's rhythm of crossing the river, forcing the Ming army to slow down the crossing speed and deploy more troops to the rear to guard against Lu Yuzhi's attack.
Cavalry raid.
At the same time, the forward troops and the third mixed regiment chasing behind also received orders and also crossed the river directly!
Ever since, this battle has moved from the west to the east of the Xiangjiang River!
Although the armies of both sides are still dozens of miles apart, both sides have a large number of reconnaissance cavalry, and the armies of both sides are not hundreds or thousands of people, but tens of thousands of people.
Both Tang Jun and Tang Jun were able to learn about the other party's situation.
Cheng Hongan almost watched helplessly as a huge encirclement gradually took shape on the east bank of the Xiangjiang River!
The road leading north to Changsha is even more blocked!
If you continue to go north, you are courting death!
At this time, Cheng Hongan was decisive enough. He directly abandoned almost all the field artillery and ammunition and other baggage that slowed down the speed. In order to prevent these artillery and baggage from being used by the Tang army, he simply put these heavy field artillery
And the ammunition was abandoned directly in the Xiangjiang River!
Then he continued to flee eastward with the army unencumbered by baggage!
He is going to Jiangxi!
Although going to Jiangxi is also dangerous, it is better than being surrounded like now!
When he learned that the Hengyang Ming army abandoned all their artillery and baggage and fled lightly, Hao Bainian snorted coldly: "I have to be wary of taking these artillery, but now!"
Soon he called the adjutant: "The troops were ordered to pursue lightly, the infantry marched quickly, and the artillery and baggage followed closely!"
"Send a fast horse to send a letter to the forwards, so that they can follow lightly!"
"As for the third mixed regiment, they are too late. Let them take the artillery and baggage of the forward troops and go directly to Changsha."
After that, he looked up to the southeast and murmured: "If you want to run away, you have to see if I answer or not!"
After the emergency march order was issued, the four infantry regiments and two five-pound field artillery battalions in the main force of the First Army only carried five days of rations and light weapons ammunition and began to speed up. In addition, an infantry regiment was left to cover the heavy artillery, baggage, etc.
The troops continued their pursuit.
A pure infantry unit under rapid march can march at a speed of only thirty kilometers in a day!
Although this would consume a lot of physical energy of the soldiers, the Tang Army gave the soldiers a full meal every day and then conducted physical training, just for today!
Four infantry regiments plus some auxiliary troops, nearly 14,000 people, ran all the way, covering a hundred kilometers in three days, and finally blocked the front of the Hengyang Ming Army!
When he learned that the reconnaissance cavalry reported that a large group of puppet Tang rebels had appeared a few miles ahead, Cheng Hongan's dim eyes were full of despair.