As soon as the enemy cavalry began to divert to the left and right flanks, Hou Xuanyan ordered the Chinese army to retreat, and the Fengzi battalions on the left and right protected the flank infantry. The fire battalion fought and retreated, and 100,000 men formed a moving fortress, with arrows like rain and fire like the wind. In the formation of the Liaodong Army, people turned on their backs and suffered heavy casualties.

Wu Sangui finally realized that this army was not as unbearable as the previous Ming army, and the hundreds of small battles between the two sides on the Jingzhou defense line were not as many as the soldiers and horses lost this time. He didn't want to lose any more troops, so he ordered Mingjin to withdraw his troops and wait for Azig and Haug's troops to arrive.

After retreating, the Ming army waved the military order flag and retreated calmly. On both positions, only their respective artillery battalions are still shelling each other. Hou Xuanyan made a quick decision, gave up the opportunity to chase and kill, and quickly retreated south with the wounded soldiers.

Wu Sangui's face turned pale, and he reprimanded: "The green camp in the back, why hasn't it come up yet." ”

When Li Benshen heard this, he secretly said that it was not good, the prince of Pingxi couldn't catch the rabbit and kill the chicken to eat, this is to shirk the responsibility. He hurriedly stood in line and scolded: "This group of wastes is greedy for life and afraid of death, and the fighter plane that the prince's pro-army fought to the death was delayed by them." Li Benshen patted his chest on the ground: "When Prince Su and Prince Ying arrive, the last general will tell the truth and punish them for the crime of cowardice." ”

Wu Sangui snorted coldly, his face softened slightly, and said: "I am outnumbered by the enemy, follow them, and it is unreliable to be too close." ”

Li Benshen breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, his palms were wet with sweat, and he scolded in his heart: I have long said that you should not underestimate the enemy, but you should hit more with less, and you will be provoked by Hou Xuanyan, and you will harm others with a black heart and lungs. In the future, if you follow such a person, you have to have a long mind, and you may have a cauldron falling from the sky at any point.

Hou Xuanyan in the distance was also afraid, in case Wu Sangui broke out bloodily and bit himself. When the Qing soldiers behind catch up, they will be truly defeated.

Fortunately, Wu Sangui is still the same Wu Sangui, and the Liaodong Army is also the Liaodong Army, and they are destined not to fight to the death for anyone. Because in their bones, they are a private soldier and a local warlord whose family is more important than the country. Jiashen was in a national disaster, Li Zicheng entered the Beijing Division, they betrayed the Ming Dynasty and surrendered to Li Zicheng. Halfway through, they betrayed Li Zicheng and took refuge in the Manchu Qing Dolgon. During the Kangxi period, they betrayed the Manchu Qing and rebelled.

At the same time that Hou Xuanyan led his troops to retreat south, from Yuezhou to Changsha Mansion, they were clearing the wilderness.

The people nearby were all driven into Changsha Mansion, and the Manchu banner soldiers were notorious, only saying that they came over immediately, and the people were extremely cooperative. Helping the old and the young, fleeing to Changsha Mansion and further south, the Changsha city wall was already strong, and it was constantly strengthened during this time. At the same time, Zhang Wenxiu in the camp was also politely sent back, and Hou Xuanyan told him the information that the decisive battle in Changsha would be held soon, and asked him to tell Zhang Xianzhong. Zhang Xianzhong is not a stupid person, there is only one such opportunity, if he does not take the opportunity to take Hanzhong, he will have no chance to ease up the Qing army in the future.

Zhu Dadian of Yangzhou also received the news that all the soldiers and horses in Yangzhou gave up garrisoning the counties and counties and assembled all. Zhu Dadian Chen Bing Huai'an Mansion, and the pseudo-Qing Huai'an prefect hurriedly wrote to Dolgon to ask for reinforcements. Dolgon has been distraught lately, and there is no good news for him to be written everywhere.

The fourth battalion of the Northern Expeditionary Army, which belongs to Yan Yingyuan's men and horses, is the most comfortable, and the king of Sanshun doesn't know what to think, hiding in Dabie Mountain to eat game every day, but he doesn't show his head. Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming wrote a letter a day, stretching out their hands to manage the Qing court to ask for food and money, and Dolgon did not tire of it, and sent people several times to condemn them for not sending a single army, urging them to enter the lake to reinforce Guangzhou.

Kong Youde poured bitter water, saying that Yan Yingyuan had bitten them to the death, and once they retreated, they would definitely be defeated. Dorgon had no choice but to hold a grudge, and did not dare not give any money or food. The big war is imminent, and if this team is against the water, it will be a big bad thing.

Only Hauge and Azig, who were at the center of the storm, were the happiest. They don't spend a single soldier. They easily captured the two important towns of Jingzhou and Yuezhou, and by the end of the month, they had already hit Changsha Mansion. At this time, Hou Xuanyan's people had just retreated into Changsha, less than three days.

Hou Xuanyan, who has always been extremely tough, suddenly retreated, and the Qing soldiers were not without suspicion. However, they have no way out, although they occupy the north, but the natural and man-made disasters north of the Yangtze River have been decades, and they are simply unable to support 300,000 people to hold on to Huguang for a long time. On the contrary, Jiangnan is rich, especially the place occupied by Hou Xuanyan, and there is countless money and food. Hou Xuanyan was eager for a decisive battle, and the Manchus were even more urgent than him.

On the school field in Changsha City, Hou Xuanyan was on the stage, and the audience gathered.

Hou Xuanyan stood in the wind, the fatigue of more than ten days was swept away, and he raised his voice: "The terrain of Changsha is not suitable for cavalry, and the Qing soldiers entered Changsha with their own shortcomings and attacked my strengths." I have made up my mind, and at this time I will fight a decisive battle with the enemy, and the enemy and us will add up to 500,000 soldiers and horses, and the national fortune will fight here. ”

The generals in the audience had already known about this decision, and they had been preparing for half a month, and they were all gearing up to start the war.

"Plug Yinxi and Li Jin went out from the north gate, Zhang Huangyan and Li Haoxian came out from the east gate; Gu Yanwu, Zheng Zunqian, and Wu Shengzhao came out of the west gate. Today, there are cities that are not defended, and there are rivers that are not strong, so take the initiative to attack and fight a decisive battle with the enemy! "If you hold the city, you will completely lose the initiative, and the enemy can easily retreat. And firmly hold the territory he has given up, and then he will be able to steal chickens and rice. If they can't beat Changsha and push to Yuezhou, then Hou Xuanyan will be famous in history.

The loyal battalion of the Chinese army has 200,000 horses and horses, which have been in battle for a long time; The right army was recruited by Suzhou and Hangzhou, and the combat strength was relatively weak with the smallest number of troops, so it attacked from the side with the least enemy; Zhang Huangyan's Hunan Barracks and Li Haoxian's Agni Battalion served as the left army. After the three armies received the order, the generals stood up and set off.

Hou Xuanyan arched his hand and said, "Please." ”

Zhang Huangyan smiled and said, "Don't worry, the commander can rest assured, today's battle, either death or victory, there is no third result." ”