Although the Qing army was not completely annihilated, and some people were let go, the battle of Hangzhou can still be regarded as a great victory, the Qing governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, Li Shutai, was killed, killed more than 5,000 enemies, captured more than 6,000 people, and more than 1,500 people surrendered anyway, and also captured piles of grain and grass supplies in the treasury of the political envoy.

But Su Yan said that it was too early for them to be happy, and the threat of the Qing army in the north was still like a sword of Damocles hanging high above their heads, ready to come down at any time.

According to the information provided by Jinyiwei, Tan Tai, the general of Qingping South, had already led 5,000 Manchurian Zhenghuang Banner, 15,000 Jiangnan Green Battalion, 8,000 Shandong Green Battalion, and 10,000 Henan Green Battalion, and requisitioned and sent more than 38,000 people, a total of more than 38,000 people, claiming that 100,000 soldiers went south in two routes, and ordered Wang Jing, the chief soldier of the water division, and Zhang Enda, the deputy general, to go south from the waterway, intending to rush to Hangzhou by land.

If the 38,000 men and horses of the Qing army were gathered together, Su Yan would still feel tricky, but the Qing army chose to divide the troops into two routes, with Tan Tai leading more than 23,000 soldiers and horses into Guangdezhou to the south, and the other route was to sit in the Liangjiang Governor Ma Guozhu, leading the 15,000 Jiangnan Green Battalion from Songjiang Mansion to the south, it seemed that he wanted to attack from both sides.

In the face of the menacing Qing army, Su Yan had an idea after finding out the division of the Qing army, he originally wanted to stick to Hangzhou to resist the invading Qing army, but after referring to the terrain of the dense water network in the north of Hangzhou, Su Yan decided to follow the old slave's tactics of "I will only go all the way no matter how many ways he comes", and directly led the army north to face Tan Tai's soldiers and horses in the water towns south of the Yangtze River.

However, in order to prevent Ma Guozhu from sneaking up on Hangzhou and cutting off his retreat, Su Yan asked Zhang Huangyan to lead Chen Xinyou's troops to stay in Hangzhou, and Zhang Mingzhen led Lu Wang's army east into Tongxiang County, Jiaxing Prefecture, to curb the road of the Qing army's westward advance, and ordered Huang An, the commander of the naval division, to go out of Hangzhou Bay to meet the Qing army's naval division, and he resolutely led the army north after two days of repairs in Hangzhou.

Because the successive battles have not been repaired, Su Yan's soldiers and horses have varying degrees of battle damage, this time, the Ming army has a total of 16,353 people, including 4,000 people in the Shenji battalion (600 newly incorporated into the line infantry, 600 Balgir infantry, 360 Cossack infantry), 1,785 people in the Chinese military battalion (600 newly incorporated into the Indian warriors), 1,205 people in the Xiaocai battalion, 3,511 people in the Su Ci department, 5,852 people in the Wang Yi department, and 8 12-pounder infantry guns, 52 Hongyi cannons, There are 86 Fran cannons and hundreds of tiger squat guns.

If you count the more than 6,000 people in the punishment battalion, the strength of the Ming army is just on par with the Qing army.

If you look at it from the point of view of firepower, the firepower of the Ming army under Su Yan is not inferior to that of the Qing army, and even the Ming army in the whole country may not have the firepower of any army that can compare with him.

The news that Su Yan led the army to the north was not deliberately concealed, so after he left Hangzhou Mansion with great fanfare, Tan Tai soon got the relevant military report, for this opponent who has been a headache for the Qing Dynasty so far, Tan Tai did not dare to underestimate it, so he sent a messenger to ask Ma Guozhu, the governor of Liangjiang, to converge with him, while speeding up the march, hoping to enter Huzhou Mansion before the Ming army and stabilize this city in the wave of righteous army.

On March 11, the Qing army defeated several self-defeating rebel armies and settled in Huzhou Mansion, Huzhou Governor was able to breathe a sigh of relief and count his worries to Tan Tai in the past few days, but Tan Tai did not have the patience to listen to his words, he ordered the army to hoard grain and grass supplies in Huzhou Mansion, and asked Huzhou Governor and a cadre to be vigilant to guard grain and grass, and then built a large number of shield vehicles in the city, hoping to restrain the Ming army's firearms.

The Qing army settled in Huzhou Mansion for a full five days, and Su Yan also led the army to settle down in Xinshi, only waiting for the Qing army to leave Huzhou City and then continue north, however, Tan Tai did not wait for the news that Ma Guozhu came to converge, but got a bad news from the sea.

Huang An, the commander of the Ming Army's naval division, broke the Qing army's naval division chief Wang Jing in the waters around Dajinshan Island in Hangzhou Bay, and sank several Qing warships.

Not only that, the messenger sent by Ma Guozhu also told Tan Tai that because the Ming army occupied Tongxiang County, the department could not bypass the county and continue to advance westward, and if it went around the city, it was very likely to be surrounded by the Ming army, so Ma Guozhu could only be blocked out of Tongxiang County out of prudence.

However, there was another piece of news that could barely be called good news, Chen Tai, who had broken through from the siege of Hangzhou, led his army to join Ma Guozhu, which increased the strength of Ma Guozhu's army by several thousand - even if it was only a disheartened rout.

On the third day after getting the news from Ma Guozhu, the Qing army in Huzhou finally couldn't hold back, and under the leadership of Tan Tai, they went out of the city and headed south, heading towards Tongxiang County.

Seeing the Qing army dispatched, Su Yan immediately ordered the camp to be demolished and went north to meet the Qing army, Xinshi was just between Huzhou and Tongxiang County, so the Ming army soon arrived at the Qing army's inevitable path to set up a position, Tan Tai learned from the scout that the Ming army was in front of them, and knew that today's battle was inevitable.

However, after the Qing army arrived at the predetermined battlefield, looking at the terrain here, Tan Tai's face changed slightly, the terrain here is too disadvantageous for the Qing army, the water network here is dense, which is not conducive to the cavalry maneuver of the Qing army at all, and there are paddy fields on both sides, and the shield cart will fall into the soft soil if it is pushed forward dozens of meters.

"Damn Mingren, he really knows how to choose a place." Tan Tai couldn't help but curse.

"General, the last general thinks that it is better not to fight this battle, the battlefield here is completely unfavorable to our army, if you insist on fighting, I am afraid that you will be defeated!" Henan General Chen Yongfu said with his fists clenched.

Tan Tai nodded and agreed: "That's true, but if you retreat like this, the Ming army is very likely to turn around and rush to help Tongxiang County, so isn't it dangerous for Lord Ma, the governor of Liangjiang?" ”

After speaking, he paused, and before Chen Yongfu could speak, he had an idea in his heart, and ordered: "It's inconvenient to fight today, blow the horn of retreat, and the whole army will retreat ten miles!" ”

"The general has an order, and the whole army will retreat ten miles!"

"Ten miles back! Ten miles back! ”

On the other side, Su Yan watched the Qing army's military formation slowly retreat according to the retreat horn, he couldn't help frowning slightly, and said: "This Tan Tai is so cautious, knowing that this place is not conducive to him as a battlefield, but it's a pity that this good battlefield is a good battlefield." ”

"Indeed, if the Qing army were to engage our army here, its horse and shield chariots would not be of use." Wang Yi nodded, and then he changed his words and asked, "Supervisor, since the Qing army has retreated, is our army going to the aid of Tongxiang County and relieving the siege of Xihou?" ”

"No." Su Yan waved his hand, looked at the gradually retreating Qing army formation and some shield carts that were abandoned in puddles, and said: "If I were Tan Tai, I would not directly return to Huzhou Mansion, I would only retreat a few miles, and wait for the Ming army to make a move before deciding where to go next."

If the Ming army rushes to Tongxiang County as you said, I will catch up with Ma Guozhu, the governor of the two rivers, to join forces to flank the Ming army, and if the Ming army retreats south, then I will go to Tongxiang County according to the original plan and annihilate the Ming army in Tongxiang County with Ma Guozhu. ”

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