Immediately afterwards, news came that Shaoyang had fallen, and Sun Kewang, who was also considered a tycoon of the generation, was beheaded by Wang Sheng in public display. The Chu army crossed the river in large numbers and marched northward, pressing against Hanyang from several directions at the same time. not good! Escape! The movement of the Chu army was too fast, which greatly exceeded Tan Tai's expectation. When he felt bad, tens of thousands of Chu troops had already crossed the river. He and Tunbuer immediately withdrew from Hanyang and retreated to Henan. But at this time, Jin Shenghuan had captured Xiaogan and blocked Tan Tai's way. Tan Tai launched a fierce attack on Xiaogan and fought fiercely for several days. Jin Shenghuan saw that he could no longer hold on. Lu Renqing and other elite Chu troops arrived, and Jin Shenghuan turned the corner. Seeing that this road was blocked, Tan Tai turned to Huangpi and tried to bypass Xiaogan. However, Lu Renqing and Jin Shenghuan stuck up like rubber plasters, blocking Tan Tai and killing him ferociously. This road still doesn¡¯t work. If he opened up his posture to fight Lu Renqing and Jin Shenghuan, Tan Tai felt that the chance of winning was still relatively good. However, the Chu army's follow-up troops continued to cross the river. Every time there was a delay, more reinforcements arrived and continued to fight with Lu Renqing and Jin Shenghuan. , it is very likely that they will be bitten and eventually fall into a tight siege, so he and Tunbuer withdrew from the battle in time and no longer went to Henan. Instead, they diverted to Huangzhou Prefecture and retreated along the north bank of the Yangtze River towards Anhui. Anhui is right ahead. "The Four Generals of Hexi" are in front. Wu Sangui is right in front. As long as you pass Huangzhou Prefecture, you can escape. The main force of Tan Tai's army is the 38,000 bannermen transferred from Beijing. In addition, there are the troops of Tunbu'er, Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming. Kong Youde died in the hands of Li Dingguo not long ago, and his remaining troops are temporarily led by Geng Zhongming. , as well as the green camp troops in Zhili, Anqing, Wuchang and other places, the total number is still more than 70,000, of which about 40,000 are from the Manchu and Han Eight Banners alone. If he hadn't been defeated by Li Dingguo twice in succession and lost some troops piecemeal in other battles, Tan Tai's troops would have reached 100,000. Every time he thought about this, Tan Tai was full of resentment towards that dead ghost Kong Youde. It was because he underestimated Li Dingguo too much and repeatedly instigated him to go to war that the Qing army lost troops. Otherwise, Tan Tai would have had an extra 20,000 to 30,000 mobile troops, and he would have been more proactive whether walking or fighting. Kong Youde is dead, and there is no point in complaining about him. Fortunately, Tan Tai's main force is still there, and it can still be said to be a strong force. You must know that 48,000 banners are already quite a lot. Isn't there a saying - Jurchens are not satisfied with 10,000, The Forty Thousand Eight Banners are four invincible and powerful armies. A few years ago, they would have been enough to sweep the world. Nowadays, times have changed and the era when the Eight Banners swept across the world has become a thing of the past. However, Tan Tai, Tunbuer, Geng Zhongming and others are still confident of a successful breakout. The Chu army is indeed getting stronger and stronger. Not only do the 48,000 Banners not dare to claim victory, but they also Retreat as soon as possible, escape as soon as possible, but as long as you return to Anhui and enter the vast North China Plain, you can return to the home court of the Qing army and let the Chu army taste the unparalleled power of the Eight Banners disciples in cavalry and archery. "People in the north ride horses and people in the south take boats. This saying makes perfect sense. Tan Tai and Tuen Bu'er had talked many times about why the invincible Eight Banners soldiers were defeated repeatedly when they encountered the Chu army, so that the situation deteriorated to this extent. Think about how majestic the Qing army was before and after entering the Pass. In a few years, they were reduced to the point of running away. It really felt like they were in another world Tan Tai and Tunbuer finally came to the conclusion that the Eight Banners soldiers were not suitable to fight in the water network mountainous area in the south. They had to fight on the great plains in the north. Taking advantage of the mobility advantage of the cavalry, if they continue to fight the Chu army in the south, sooner or later they will lose all the 48,000 bannermen. Therefore, the two of them proposed to Dorgon to abandon Hanyang and Hubei as soon as possible, and All the 48,000 bannermen retreated to the north. How many people did the entire Manchu clan have? For the Qing court, these 40,000 Eight Banners soldiers were the last support. Except for those who were killed, wounded, disabled or captured in the past years, almost all the young and strong sons of the Eight Banners were in Tan Tai and Tuen Buer's army. They must not have any If they were lost, as long as they were withdrawn to the north of the Yellow River, even if the Chu army launched a large-scale northern expedition, the Qing government would still have the capital to protect itself. Because of the Chu army's desperate interception, Tan Tai's plan to retreat to Henan was frustrated, and he retreated to Anhui. Although the road was longer, it was safer and could be supported by the "Hexi Four Generals" and Wu Sangui. If the Chu army followed and pursued Anhui , will definitely be attacked head-on by the main force of the Qing army. Convinced that his strategic choice was correct, Tan Tai led his troops to leave Huangpi and head east into Huangzhou Prefecture. The Yangtze River turns a corner in Wuchang, flowing from the northeast to the southeast. Therefore, Wuchang faces the river on three sides and the lake on one side (Liangzi Lake, Ax Lake and other large lake areas, not Dongting Lake). The terrain is very dangerous. The Yellow River on the north bank of the Yangtze River The state capital also has many rivers and lakes, all of which are tributaries of the Yangtze River, but there is no big river like the Han River. Not long after Tan Tai entered Huangzhou Prefecture, he was intercepted and killed by Li Guo at the Doushui River. After a fierce battle, the Qing army easily broke through.Li passed the defense line and crossed the Daoshui River. Immediately afterwards, he was intercepted and killed by Teng Shuanglin again in Jilong Town. Tan Tai continued his efforts and broke through Teng Shuanglin's defense line. The casualties of the Qing army increased slightly. Not far out, Tan Tai met Zhang Jiayu again in Bahe. Tan Tai cheered up, forced his way through Zhang Jiayu's blockage, and successfully broke through. However, during the process of crossing the river, he was beaten half-crossed by Zhang Jiayu, causing the Qing army's casualties to increase significantly. Just after crossing the Ba River, Jin Shenghuan chased him from behind. Tan Tai suddenly returned to Luotian and fought fiercely with him on the bank of the Guandu River. Tan Tai, Tun Bu'er and Geng Zhongming all came out to attack from three sides, and finally caught up with the reinforcements of the Chu army. Before, he had repelled Jin Shenghuan. After this battle, the Qing army was obviously a little tired. They fought four fierce battles in ten days and marched in a hurry at other times. The Eight Banners soldiers and the Green Camp were unable to stand it any longer. Tan Tai had to rest for a day in Luotian, and then Continue retreating eastward. Just as he reached Xishui, Li Guo caught up with him again. Seeing that his defeated general was taking advantage again, Tan Tai couldn't bear to be disturbed. He set up a pocket formation by the Xishui River to deceive the enemy and lure Li Guo's troops into hiding. He entered an ambush, preparing to eliminate him in one fell swoop. The two armies were fighting fiercely. Teng Shuanglin and Lu Renqing arrived one after another to assist Li Guo in breaking out. Tan Taigong was defeated, but the Qing army suffered thousands more casualties. Ignoring Li Guo, Tan Tai continued to retreat to Anhui. Just after crossing the Xishui River, Zhang Jiayu caught up with him again This battle is unwinnable! Tan Tai and Tunbuer then realized that retreating to Anhui might have been a mistake. The Chu army relied on the convenience of the navy and its maneuverability far exceeded that of the Qing army. They were not in a hurry to fight Tan Tai. Instead, they cut the flesh with blunt knives and slowly pulled it, weakening the Qing army bit by bit. Huangzhou Mansion had just arrived Half of Tan Tai's 70,000-strong army suffered casualties of 25%. If this continues, the troops will be dispersed before entering Anhui. "The morale of our army is very high. If the southern bandits fight me openly, they may not be able to defeat them. I hate that Wang San is so slippery and doesn't hold back his hands. He is so powerful that he can't do anything!" Tan Tai's teeth itched with hatred, but he still couldn't. Nothing can be done. As the saying goes, don¡¯t stop after returning to the army. The Qing army is eager to break out, and everyone is willing to fight desperately. If the Chu army encircles the Qing army at this time, Tan Tai has enough confidence to break through the encirclement and defeat the Chu army. But whether Zhang Jiayu or Jin Shenghuan , they all left as soon as they got involved, and did not fight Tan Tai head-on. They did not try their best in several battles, and the threat to the Qing army was even greater. In this case, we should have taken a detour and stayed away from the Yangtze River. However, to the north of Huangzhou Prefecture is the endless Dabie Mountains. If the Eight Banners cavalry enters the mountains, they will tie themselves up and the situation will be even more unfavorable. "Now we can only leave Huangzhou Mansion as soon as possible and let Wu Sangui and Zhang Yong come to take over. Other than that, there is no other good idea." Zhishun Wang Geng Zhongming suggested that his plan was ordinary and there was nothing particularly clever about it. However, it was the only feasible way at the moment. Tan Tai had no choice but to accept it and ordered the troops to throw away the excess baggage and materials and move forward as lightly as possible to speed up the march. At the same time, he sent several waves of messengers to rush to Wu Sangui and Hexi Si. Among the generals, ask them for help. Tan Tai and Tunbuer marched hand in hand and tried their best to break through Zhang Jiayu's defense line. The Qing army left Xishui and took a detour to Yingshan at the junction of Anhui and Hubei. The Yingshan County area belongs to the remaining range of the Dabie Mountains. Although it is also a mountainous area, it has crossed You can enter Anhui through the mountains and avoid the lower half of the journey to the east of Huangzhou Prefecture. "The southern thieves thought that our army did not dare to enter the mountains, so I went into the mountains. This is called surprise, but it can have miraculous results." After three days of marching toward the northeast, Yingshan County was already in sight, and Tan Tai's face finally showed Smiling, the Chu army took advantage of the geographical advantage and wanted to block him in Huangzhou Mansion, but he happened to find the only flaw in Yingshan. He was about to break through successfully, but the Chu army had not yet reacted. According to the scouts' reports, they They ran to Qishui, east of Xishui, to block the Qing army's path in advance, but they didn't expect that Tan Tai had already turned to Yingshan. "Speed ??up and go to Yingshan County for dinner tomorrow night." Tan Tai's order was passed on, and the soldiers of the three armies cheered. After fighting for many days, the Manchu and Han Eight Banners and the Green Camp soldiers were looking forward to returning to the north, even if they could not return for a while. In the capital, at least you can eat delicious steamed buns and noodles instead of eating old rice all day long. At this time, the scouts suddenly came to report that the road to Yingshan was cut off by a large army. The opponent's company and camp were endless. I don't know how many people there were, but there were at least 100,000 people. The flag was from Li Laiheng who was entrenched in the Dabie Mountains. and Yuyuan Army. "Oops! Why is Li Laiheng here?" Tan Tai was shocked. He quickly led the generals to the front army to observe the enemy's situation. On the distant mountain ridge, the Yuyuan Army camped on the mountain, blocking the way to Yingshan Mountain. The road to the company and camp can't be seen at a glance, and it is very solidly built. The defenders in the camp can see clearly.When he came, he had no intention of leaving the camp to fight. He just closed the door tightly and guarded the camp wall, as if he was holding on to the danger. "Our army has come here, let's fight a dozen of them. The Yuyuan thieves are all grass bandits and are vulnerable to attack. Although there are hundreds of thousands of them, they may be able to defeat them with one blow." Tan Tai hesitated for a moment and ordered to attack Yuyuan. The Yuan army launched an attack, and it took three days for the troops to get here. If they turned around and went back, they would have wasted six days and the situation would become even more unfavorable.