On the 25th, the weather was fine, there was no snow, and the strong winds that had been blowing for several days finally stopped, and the yellow calendar said that it was advisable to marry and move, and the retreat of the Jinzhou army in Shenyang finally began.

Cao Bianjiao sent someone to deliver an urgent report on the evening of the 24th, and the sentry cavalry found that thousands of Tartar cavalry had crossed the Liao River and entered the area of Changshan and Jingyuanbao.

Dayong sent people to take a map to inspect it, and found that Changshan and Jingyuan Fort were the two military forts of the original Ming army in the upper reaches of the Liao River, which were only more than 140 miles away from Shenyang, and nearly 200 miles away from Xiping Fort where Cao Bu was located.

Dayong analyzed that the Jin army that appeared in the area of Changshan and Jingyuanbao was likely to be the vanguard soldiers and horses sent by Hong Tai, in order to hurry, they did not come from the direction of Yizhou, but crossed the Horqin grassland and crossed the Black Mountain directly, although this would increase the burden of the march and increase the non-combat attrition of men and horses, but it could shorten the distance and achieve a surprising effect.

In fact, it is true that after the Jin army attacked the Ming artillery in Xipingbao, Cao Bianjiao shifted the center of gravity of the wolf cavalry to the direction of Xipingbao, focusing on preventing the Jin army that might reinforce Shenyang from Yizhou and Guangning, so that the Jin army would appear in the direction of Changshan unexpectedly without any defense.

According to the Sentinels, it is likely that the Jin army has been here for some time, but for some reason, they have not been able to move. Because the Jin army's anti-reconnaissance ability is also quite strong, at least more than 100 sentry cavalry haunt every day, so the Ming army rangers cannot get close to reconnoitre, nor can they find out the origin and intentions of this Jin army, so they can only report in a hurry.

Tieling in the upper reaches of the Liaohe River, Kaiyuan direction does not have the main force of the Jin Army's Eight Banners cavalry, Tieling guard Sun Degong has been beheaded by the Ming army, according to Sun's personal soldiers, there are only more than 2,000 Han army flag soldiers in Tieling City, Kaiyuan is only a few hundred Han army flags stationed, in the absence of the full eight banners or the Mongolian eight banners, the pure Han army flag is not the courage to take the initiative to attack the Ming army, not to mention the Ming army that occupies Shenyang, so it can be ruled out that it is the Han army that is reinforced by Tie and Kai to Shenyang, so the only explanation left is the main force of the Eight Banners led by Hong Tai.

Manggultai once said that Hongtai's expedition to Mongolia this time was the same as last year's attack on the Daling River, and it was all a national army, with a total of 80,000 troops from Manchu, Mongolian, and Han armies, plus small tribes that came to annex one after another in Monan and Mobei along the way, and the soldiers were afraid of more than 100,000 people.

The action of the 100,000 army is really a move on the whole body, food, grass, baggage, logistics and so on are enough to give any commander a headache, and no commander in this world can make the 100,000 army can march thousands of miles day and night, even if it is forced for several days. If he did, he would only drag down his own army.

Dayong thought that if Hong Tai wanted to rush back to Shenyang in the shortest possible time, his only way was to leave the main force behind and select thousands of elite cavalry to march to Shenyang, and there was nothing he could do otherwise, unless he could make 100,000 people grow wings.

This cavalry is likely to be led by Hong Tai himself, and Dayong later decided that if it were him, he would personally lead the army to drive back, because it was the old nest of the Eight Banners, and it was the foundation of the Jin people. Once there is a loss, the consequences are unimaginable.

Dayong's analysis was agreed by the generals who remained, but Guo Cheng raised a question, if the Jin Qi who appeared in Changshan and Jingping Fort was really Hong Tai's personal rate, then this place was only two days away from Shenyang, since they were rescued thousands of miles, they should have gone straight to Shenyang immediately, how could they stop in Changshan and Jingping Fort, this is unreasonable.

Dayong couldn't answer this question for a while, yes, if it was really Mrs. Hong who led the army to rescue, this was still more than a hundred miles away from Shenyang, how could he not hurry up, but stop.

The generals are speculating about Hong Tai's moves, and some say that they are afraid that the Eight Banners will travel thousands of miles, and the people and horses will not be able to bear it, and it is great to be able to run all the way to Changshan, and there is no way to move forward, so it is a temporary rest, and wait for the horses to nourish their spirits and then go all out to Shenyang.

It is also said that Hong Tai was waiting for the main force behind Hou, or he had heard the news of the loss of Shenyang, so he stopped.

Dayong's speculation is another reason, the reason why the Jin army stayed in Changshan is probably because of this heavy snow that caused great trouble to the Ming army.

Hong Taili led the army back to help, he could not know the astronomy and geography, so the heavy snow that fell near Shenyang was not his expectation at all, it is true that this heavy snow made the retreat of the Jinzhou army difficult, but it did not slow down the actions of the Jin army. If they didn't prepare for the cold in advance, the Jin army was also a human being, how could they march in a hurry in this temperature of more than 20 degrees below zero, and then fight with the Ming army.

But whatever the reason, the fact that Hong Tai has already returned, and right under his nose is basically a foregone conclusion, and the most optimistic estimate is that there are only two days left, and once the Jin army of Changshan and Jingping Fort is replenished, then they will emerge from the ice and snow.

Withdrawing must be done immediately, and we must not stay for a moment, and if we stay for a moment, it will be more dangerous.

Dayong immediately made a decision, and while instructing the generals to immediately arrange for personnel to leave the city, he sent someone to order Cao Bianjiao to immediately lead his troops to withdraw from Xiping Fort, move in the direction of the Hunhe River, and respond to the main retreat at any time; On the other hand, he sent people and horses to Liaoyang to send an order, ordering Jiang Wanli, who had arrived in advance, to immediately integrate the men and horses who had arrived one after another, and send all the non-combatants to Gaizhou as soon as possible, and the rest of the men and horses to fortify Liaoyang immediately.

In the direction of Gaizhou, the commander of the artillery battalion Song Qing has organized the defense line, in addition to the artillery battalion of 3,000 households, there are also 2,000 households of the right battalion of the infantry army, plus the Han army in southern Liaoning, the rescued original Ming army is young and strong, totaling 18,000 people.

The other two thousand troops of the right battalion of the infantry army were participating in the battle of attacking Lushun under the leadership of the battalion officer Li Dashan, and the baggage battalion was organized by the Han people to move in Wanghaibao under the leadership of the battalion officer Qi Sanbao and the deputy commander Wang Tiande.

Dayong is now worried that after the army leaves Shenyang, Hong Tai will chase after him like a wolf, and he is not afraid that Hong Tai will attack the fortifications like the Battle of Jinzhou, so as long as he can withdraw to Liaoyang safely, Dayong is half sure that all the personnel will be safely evacuated to Gaizhou.

With nearly 20,000 troops on the Gaizhou defensive line, plus the troops withdrawn from Shenyang and Liaoyang, Dayong was confident that Hong Tai's teeth would be broken and he would taste the bitter fruits of the Battle of Jinzhou again.

As long as you can get to Gaizhou, this battle of crossing the sea will be a complete success, as for Lushun's side, Dayong is not worried at all, Hugh said that there is an assist from the right battalion of the Jinzhou Army Infantry Army, that is, there are nearly 10,000 soldiers under the command of Huanglong, the general soldier of Phi Island, if such a strong force can't take Lushun, which is only defended by a thousand people, then it should really wipe all the necks.

When Dayong's side was completely assured of the battle of Lushun, Lushun's side was a different scene - a complete defeat.

At the beginning of the attack on Lushun, the progress of the Huanglong Department was very smooth, and the first battle was under Lushun, which caused the Jin army in the city to withdraw to Lushunkou.

After taking Lushun, the Ming army of Phi Dao became proud of the enemy, thinking that the Jin army that fled to Lushunkou was not worried, so they did not want the Jinzhou army to participate in the attack on Lushun, so as not to share the merits. At the instigation of his generals, Huang Long refused the cooperation of the Jinzhou general Li Dashan to lead the army to attack Lushunkou in the north and south, but the enemy was ambushed, but was defeated by the Lushunkou Jin army in one fell swoop, discarding a large number of artillery and ordnance, and the Lushunkou Jin army then gained the ability to attack the fortified position and surrounded Lushun.

In the desperate situation, Huang Long expected that Lushun would be difficult to hold, but he did not want to lose his face to the Jinzhou army that was rejected by him for help, and it was too late to ask for help, Li Dashan was born as a bandit, he was loyal to Shi Dayong alone, and he had no overall situation, and after being rejected by Huang Long, he led his troops back to Nanguan in a rage, Huang Long asked for help at this time, and it was also far away that the water could not save the near fire!

Huang Long knew that the Jin army was about to break the city, so he sent his general Tan Yinghua to cross the sea to Dengzhou with the seal letter of the chief military officer, and wrote in his suicide note, "I don't love a five-foot body in life, and I only have a three-foot sword after death."

Before Tan left, he instructed: If you encounter an enemy on the way, throw the seal letter into the sea. After the arrangement was completed, he killed himself on the 19th.

Li Weiluan, a subordinate of Huanglong, knew that the destruction of Lushun City was inevitable, and also set himself on fire to his family, and Xiang Zuolin, Zhang Dalu and others were all killed in the bloody battle. Shang Kejin, the deputy general of Phi Dao, and Shang Keyi, the guerrilla general, were both killed in battle, and the two were Shang Kexi's brothers, who are now the generals of the Jinzhou Military Department.

On the day of the destruction of the city, 5,302 men, women and children in Lushun were slaughtered by the Jin army that attacked the city again, and only 6 people escaped by pretending to be dead in the pile of corpses. More than half of the 12,000 Ming troops brought out by Huanglong from Phi Dao were killed and wounded, and the remaining 3,000 people fled to Nanguan under the leadership of General Fan Dalong.

The news of Huanglong's defeat and suicide was reported to Beijing by Tan Yinghua, and the court was both shocked and angry when he learned the news.

The young son of heaven was furious when he heard the news of Huanglong's defeat, and asked Huanglong why he attacked Lushun from Phi Dao after being furious.

Hearing that it was Shi Dayong again, Chongzhen was so angry that his face was pale, he had previously sent the internal supervisor Zhao Quan to Dengzhou to announce the decree, asking Shi Dayong to enter Beijing to see, Shi Dayong first played and said that the military affairs were too heavy to enter Beijing, so angry that he scolded Shi Dayong at that time for being so bold, and asked someone to announce it again, but Shi Dayong played again and said that he was infected with a vicious disease and could not enter Beijing, and Zhao Quan also played and said that he was infected with an epidemic in Dengzhou, and he could not return to Beijing for a while.

The land of Dengzhou has just experienced a great chaos, there are many dead, there are countless corpses buried between the mountains and fields, and it is not impossible to have a sudden plague, so Chongzhen no longer doubts the report of these two people, and no longer blames Shi Dayong, but let the division send personnel to inspect the epidemic, and also give imperial medicine to Shi Dayong and other dyed generals, and ask the hospital to send people to Dengzhou to deal with the service.

Chongzhen did all the thoughtful considerations, but now he heard that Shi Dayong was not sick, but led his troops to cross the sea to attack Dongyu, the young son of heaven was naturally furious, he hated his subordinates to deceive himself, even if his subordinates were working hard for the country!

In anger, he asked Wen Tiren to draft a decree to dismiss Shi Dayong from the post of Jinzhou general, and used Xiong Mingyu to send another general to Dengzhou to accept the Jinzhou army, and asked Jinyiwei to immediately send someone to escort Shi Dayong back to Beijing to punish the crime, and asked the celebrant to immediately recall Zhao Quan, a bold eunuch, to be executed, but no one dared to carry out these orders.

Wen Tiren squeaked for a long time and asked a question that made Chongzhen speechless, Shi Dayong is now on the territory of the eastern captives in southern Liaoning, how to remove his officials, and how to arrest him and return to Beijing?

Xiong Mingyu also said that Shi Dayong didn't care whether he was domineering or not, now he did go to cross the sea to attack the Dongyu, so he should also put aside his crime of resisting the order, and wait until the war is over to make a decision. Besides, the soldiers and horses under the command of this person are elite soldiers who can compete with the Eastern Emperor, and he has won several victories before and after, which can be described as arrogant soldiers, how can these arrogant soldiers obey others, if the court really wants to stop Shi Dayong and ask him for his crimes, can these arrogant soldiers and fierce generals under him agree?

Wang Chengen on the side also euphemistically reminded Chongzhen that the court owed Shi Dayong and his arrogant soldiers.

Chongzhen was also silent by what they said, and only said in a half-loud voice how it was good.

After Wen Tiren thought about it, he said that Shi Dayong's expedition to the north was a foregone conclusion, and he was also loyal, but after all, he resisted the decree and sent troops privately, and this wind must not rise, so the court does not have to support him explicitly, but it can't drag him back, everything should just not happen, and see how his northern expedition ends.

If it is a big victory, the imperial court will naturally have something to say, a big book, after all, this is the first major counterattack of the Ming army against the Donglu since the forty-sixth year of Wanli, and the military heart can be used, and the people's heart can also be used. If there is a big defeat, he will be punished for several crimes, so that other generals can do the same. As for how to deal with it, it will naturally be taken by the Son of Heaven.

Chongzhen nodded in goodness.

Xiong Mingyu committed suicide in the defeat of Huanglong, most of the Ming army on Phi Island lost most of it, and the hearts of the people in Dongjiang Town were fluctuating, and the imperial court must immediately send personnel to appease the people's hearts, so as to avoid the recurrence of the surrender of a large number of Ming troops to the Dongyu after the death of Mao Wenlong.

Chongzhen hurriedly asked Wen Tiren if there was a suitable candidate, Wen Tiren glanced at Xiong Mingyu and said that he was a personal candidate - Shen Shikui, the deputy general of Shandong.

Shen Shikui Wanli 22 years in the army, successively served as a reserve, guerrilla, general and other positions, after offending Wei Zhongxian in the Apocalypse was dismissed, Chongzhen ascended the throne after re-enablement in Shandong deputy general, more familiar with Shandong affairs, and has the reputation of "knowing soldiers", once participated in the pacification of the Laizhou White Lotus Rebellion, is a good general.

Chongzhen didn't have a good candidate for a while, Xiong Mingyu didn't dare to disobey Wen Tiren, and also said that Shen Shikui was the most suitable to serve as the chief soldier of Phi Dao, Chongzhen thought about it and agreed, and asked the military department to immediately transfer Shen Shikui to Phi Dao to serve as the chief military officer.