Chapter 435: The Worry of the Retreat Route

"General Sun, your efforts are appreciated! The wagon camp is truly a formidable weapon of this era! This official and Governor Qin witnessed firsthand the wagon camp's display of might! This battle has truly established the wagon camp's reputation! There's no need to pursue the enemy hastily—the eastern barbarians have suffered heavy losses this time and will need time to rest and recover; they certainly won't turn north again anytime soon! After we've cleared the battlefield, then we can pursue the enemy!"

Under the great victory, even the usually stern and composed Sun Chuanting couldn't help but smile, while Qin Liangyu exchanged greetings with Sun Yingyuan before hurrying away.

Seeing that her men had suffered considerable casualties in their fierce fighting, Qin Liangyu as commander felt both gratified and pained—but having not spotted Ma Xianglin for half a day, she needed to rush over and see what was going on.

Sun Chuanting and Qin Liangyu had witnessed every scene on the battlefield clearly from the observation tower.

When a crisis emerged on the right flank, Sun Chuanting had stopped Qin Liangyu from personally charging into battle.

Unlike her, whose judgment was clouded by concern for her troops' casualties, Sun Chuanting made his decisions based on the overall battle situation.

He knew that although the current situation looked perilous, the Qing army was actually at the end of its strength—Zhou Yuji was already dispatching grenadiers to provide support.

Moreover, the wagon camp advancing from the east had already routed the Qing troops blocking their path and was pressing toward the rear of the Two White Banners.

Unless the Qing commander was incompetent, ordering a retreat was the only option at this point; otherwise they would fall into the dangerous position of being caught between two fronts.

Sure enough, as Zhou Yuji deployed grenadiers to both flanks, the Qing army's ferocious assault was immediately checked, and sensing the possibility of being attacked from two sides, the Qing commander decisively issued the order to retreat.

"General Sun, send someone with orders to bring your camp's medical teams over! Although our army has won this battle, our casualties are considerable, and the soldiers have expended enormous energy—they need rest and recovery!"

Sun Yingyuan cupped his hands in acknowledgment and gave the order; a personal guard sprinted off.

"Can adequate forces be left to defend the supply camp? We must guard against the eastern barbarians taking advantage of our army's complacency to launch a sneak attack on our vital position!"

Sun Chuanting withdrew his roaming gaze and looked directly at Sun Yingyuan as he asked.

"Reporting to Your Excellency! Your subordinate has reserved twenty war wagons within the camp—if the Jianzhou barbarians dare to launch a sneak attack, I'll make sure they never return!"

Sun Yingyuan replied with great confidence, cupping his hands.

"Mm, with such preparations in place, I trust the Jianzhou barbarians won't gain the slightest advantage! However, to guard against the unexpected, General Sun should first lead your troops to follow behind them, pressing toward the eastern barbarians' main camp to keep them from acting rashly. Once the soldiers here are reorganized, this official and Governor Qin will lead our forces to rendezvous with yours!"

Sun Chuanting nodded and issued the order.

The Qing troops on the left and right flanks and in the center were steadily withdrawing; with several thousand cavalry holding the rear, the White Pole troops, having suffered heavy losses in the great battle, could no longer coordinate with the Qin army in pursuit.

Everywhere on the battlefield, figures of civilian laborers and medical personnel bustled back and forth.

They were searching for wounded government soldiers to treat, the remains of fallen soldiers needed to be cremated and their ashes collected as soon as possible, and the corpses left by the Qing army also needed to be buried in pits quickly.

It was already late February, and temperatures were rising—if the corpses and blood-soaked ground weren't cleaned up promptly, an epidemic could easily break out.

The Qing army would also need time to recover from such a heavy blow; they wouldn't hastily turn north within at least two days. Moreover, Chen Qiyu had already gone to the north, so the Qing army opposite wouldn't find it easy to retreat smoothly back to the Songshan-Jinzhou line.

The Ming army's goal of inflicting massive casualties on the main forces of the Eight Banners had essentially been achieved; now they merely needed to follow the Qing army northward and look for further opportunities to strike along the way.

Sun Chuanting was very satisfied with Sun Yingyuan's caution and steadiness. His Majesty truly had an eye for talent—the several great generals promoted in recent years all possessed the ability to command a front independently.

Judging from the battle just now, the twenty side-shield wagons had an extremely wide field of fire, and the severely battered Qing army was utterly powerless to oppose them—the supply camp could be said to be as solid as iron.

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Sun Yingyuan accepted the order, bowed to see Sun Chuanting off, then led his personal guards back to the wagon camp.

"We've fallen for the Ming people's scheme this time! After successive great battles, our Eight Banner warriors have suffered enormous casualties! The Ming infantry are ferocious, and with those strange cannon wagons, continuing to engage would only increase our losses! Let's discuss this now! What should we do next?"

Dorgon suppressed the anger, regret, and unwillingness churning inside him and cut straight to the point.

Dorgon and the others who had returned to the main camp gathered inside the tent, summoning Geng Zhongming, who had remained behind, and Shang Kexi, who had fled back, to discuss their next strategy.

Kong Youde and his three thousand men were covering the Qing army's retreat alongside Abatai, so the two of them were not present in the tent.

In today's battle, the Two White Banners had suffered the heaviest losses.

After a rough count, the Two White Banners had over two thousand men killed, with the wounded numbering several times that; many of the severely injured, struck by cannonballs and thunder-crash grenades, would likely not survive more than a few days.

Most critically, over a hundred of the white-armored elite soldiers sent out had been killed or wounded, which cut Dorgon's heart like a knife.

In this era without antibiotics, the chance of wound infection was extremely high—especially soldiers hit by lead shot, who had almost no chance of survival; the death toll would continue to climb.

The Two Red Banners, having launched only one assault and suffered heavy casualties from the thunder-crash grenades, had been busy hauling away corpses and clearing the wreckage of shield carts; before they could attack again they received the alarm, so their final casualties were only five to six hundred—nothing compared to the Two White Banners.

The Two Blue Banners on the right flank had gained no advantage whatsoever in their clash with the White Pole troops, and after being hit by a round from the Ming grenadiers, they withdrew having lost nearly a thousand men.

Of the three thousand Mongol Banners on the left flank, only slightly more than half returned; the cavalry on the right flank, having not yet found an opportunity to join the fight, remained essentially intact.

All told, the Qing army had over four thousand men killed in this battle, with more than five to six thousand lightly or seriously wounded; in the following days more wounded would certainly continue to die—how many would ultimately survive was anyone's guess.

These losses approached or even exceeded those of the Battle of the Hun River years ago—but that battle had ended in Qing victory, while this one was a crushing defeat, and what's more, the rare sight of Qing troops fleeing in disarray had occurred.

All of this filled Dorgon and the others with shame and fury, while a faint thread of fear began to stir in their hearts.

When had the invincible Eight Banner warriors become as fearful and cowardly before the enemy as the Ming people?

When had the Ming army become so formidable and skilled in battle?

The successive Ming forces they encountered were not only difficult to overcome in firearms, but even in the white-blade melee combat the Eight Banners prided themselves on, they could no longer gain any advantage.

"Prince Rui speaks truly! Our strategy of cutting off the Ming supply lines seemed clever, but we've actually fallen into their trap! We must quickly learn what the Ming intend to do next so we can formulate a response! But first and foremost, this place can no longer be held—the sooner we return north, the better!"

Yoto no longer had any inclination to mock the severely depleted Two White Banners.

The situation was now extremely grave—the Ming army's numerous cannon wagons were simply unsolvable; on the flat terrain of western Liaoning, no matter how strong the Eight Banner soldiers were, they simply couldn't get close.

As long as the Ming army advanced with cannon wagons in the lead, retreat was the only option.

"Your Highnesses, this slave believes that since both princes intend to return north, the retreat route must be well protected! The Ming are always cunning and full of schemes, and every fortress along the way has troops stationed—if all these Ming forces come out at once, our retreat route may well be cut off!"

Geng Zhongming, usually a man of few words, suddenly voiced his concern.

And indeed, just as he feared, Ajige's forces covering the rear were at that moment locked in a bitter struggle.