Cao Yue was glad that Jiannu did not continue to attack with all his might, giving him the opportunity to withdraw all his men and horses to the city. And Jiannu, who suffered heavy losses, was also glad that they had the opportunity to withdraw from the battle, and the Ming army, which had achieved absolute superiority, did not pursue, otherwise they might not have a chance to flee for their lives.

In fact, the situation on the battlefield is often impossible for both sides to truly judge, even if someone as majestic and experienced as Dolgon is. He was also glad that he could smoothly withdraw the men and horses from the battlefield, but he didn't expect that in fact, the Ming army had already been strong, as long as his men and horses held on for half an hour, or even shorter, the Ming army's muskets could no longer organize a powerful firepower network, and the Qing soldiers could rush to the front of the Ming army and fight desperately with the Datong army. The authorities are obsessed, and this cannot be avoided at any time.

After collecting the troops and returning to the camp, Dolgon did not dare to be careless, and ordered the generals to be strictly vigilant and not give the Ming army any chance to sneak attack. If any of the battalions were attacked by the Ming army, they would be severely punished. Because Chahan and Sonamu were killed in battle, the remnants of their command were also merged under the names of Manju Lixi and Ukeshan. Geng Zhongming's remnants were also divided among several other traitors. In addition to reorganizing his forces, Dorgon also strictly arranged the defense of the large battalion, and added a large number of defensive measures such as horse rejection, traps, and tripping ropes.

After fighting with the Ming army for many years, Dolgon had never encountered such a battle today, and he couldn't figure out how Cao Yue, a young man who was only a weak champion, trained such a powerful army? The combat effectiveness of the Ming army is reflected in the high-intensity and intensive shooting of the musket, but the ability to exert such a terrifying power of the musket is inseparable from the overall high quality of the Datong army.

If the Datong army was just a rabble, and they were given more muskets and gunpowder, it would be impossible to exert such combat power. In the past, the Ming army, which was defending the fortified city and also had firearms, faced the attack of the Qing army with inferior troops, and fled without a fight. There is hardly any Ming army that can be so calm and not chaotic when the Qing army launches a large-scale attack.

Dolgon knew that if the Ming soldiers were afraid and messed up the formation when the Qing army was attacking, it would inevitably cause a chain reaction, and the entire musket array might collapse without a fight. Therefore, he determined that the Datong army had such combat effectiveness, in addition to having a large number of muskets, it was also inseparable from their overall quality. This is an army that is excellent in all respects, well disciplined and orderly.

Even if they are not equipped with a large number of firearms, it will certainly cost a lot to eliminate them.

"No matter how much it costs, the Datong army must be wiped out and Cao Yue must be eliminated, otherwise the invincible myth that the Qing army has built up with great difficulty in front of the Ming army will soon be shattered, and in the future, there will be no more Ming army collapse without a fight!"

Morale is a very strange thing, you can't see it, you can't touch it, but it has a big impact.

Originally, when the Qing soldiers faced the Ming army, they never had fear, and hundreds or even dozens of horsemen dared to attack the Ming army's 10,000-strong array, so it can be said that at that time, in terms of morale, the Qing army completely overwhelmed the Ming army. But after two battles of Datong, things were reversed.

When the Qing soldiers faced the musket fire of the Ming army, they were almost frightened. When the Datong army faced the Qing army, it had no fear and its morale was high. If we don't crack down on the Datong Army and send it to the news, this trend will be difficult to reverse.

If the Datong army is wiped out, the Ming army will be frightened again, and when the Qing army rushes to kill, no one dares to meet each other in a horizontal formation. Therefore, Dolgon decided that no matter what, he would capture the city of Datong and wipe out the Datong army.

"It's a big deal to bury all the Han army and the Mongolian Eight Banners under Datong City!" This was Dolgon's secret determination.

He was ready to adopt Fan Wencheng's suggestion, no longer pinning hopes on a quick victory, but adopting siege and attrition tactics to surround Datong City, cut off Datong from the outside world, and then consume the gunpowder in the city through continuous siege, so that the muskets of the Datong army will become decorations.

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Having won the night raid and using the pre-set musket array to successfully inflict heavy damage on Jiannu who was trying to fight back, Cao Yue was of course very happy. After withdrawing all the men and horses to the city, he immediately reported the news of the victory of Datong to Emperor Chongzhen in Beijing together with Sun Chuanting, Wei Daben, and Zhang An, and asked for merit for the soldiers.

Today's battle was far more brilliant than the last time Geng Zhongming was defeated outside the city. According to Cao Yue's estimates, at least one to twenty thousand Jiannu were killed in yesterday's battle.

For Jiannu, the small population is their biggest shortcoming.

It is very cost-effective to consume a large amount of their living power, even if it costs twice as much. The population of Daming is over 100 million, and the Jiannu is only a few hundred thousand.

Cao Yue was thrilled by the victory, but there was a reality that worried him.

That is, the number of muskets and muskets in Datong City is now seriously insufficient.

After several months of overtime production and procurement from other places, the number of muskets originally owned by the Datong army reached about 20,000, and the amount of gunpowder was also very spectacular. But after the last battle, and the fighting of last night and today's day, muskets and gunpowder were greatly consumed. In particular, the damage rate of muskets was so high that Cao Yue was worried.

According to Cao Yue's estimate, the muskets that can be used in the Datong army now and those that can be repaired are at most 10,000, which means that the two and a half musket battalions are no longer equipped with one gun per man. If there is another battle, the loss rate of the musket will continue to increase, and eventually there will be no guns available. The situation of gunpowder is slightly better, although the consumption of finished gunpowder is very large, but there are still many raw materials for the manufacture of gunpowder, which may be produced by surprise. Also, now Datong City is not completely surrounded by Jiannu, and some materials can be transported from outside the city.

After collecting troops and returning to the city, and Sun Chuanting convened the generals to discuss the follow-up arrangements, and made the latest arrangements, Cao Yue also immediately asked Wei Daben to take advantage of the opportunity that the east and south gates of Datong could still enter and exit freely, and find a way to transport a batch of saltpeter in case of emergency.

Wei Daben knew that Cao Yue was in urgent need of saltpeter, so he agreed without any excuse.

But just when Cao Yue was nervously arranging and at the same time beware of Jiannu's possible siege of the city, a very bad news came.

Liu Zongmin and the liukou led by Li Yan, who had already retreated westward, stopped retreating and came in the direction of Datong again.

There is no need to analyze too much, Cao Yue can immediately conclude that the Liukou must have heard the news of Jiannu's southern invasion and is preparing to attack Datong, and wants to take advantage of the fisherman.

"Damn the rogue, damn Li Yan, you really shouldn't have a soft heart for them," Cao Yue regretted letting Li Yan go!