Hearing Galtu mention the ship and the sea route, Abatai came to his senses: "There is this possibility, otherwise it would not have been possible to rush ahead of us." But this Qionghai Town is really hateful, the ghost is not gone, it is entangled with us, and I don't know what benefits the Ming Emperor promised him, so hard? ”

Gartu said worriedly: "Lord Belle, there is a sentence that my subordinates don't know whether to say or not?" ”

Abatai glanced at him, "What do you want to say?" ”

"We attacked Shandong this time, the money was lost, Ding Kou was not taken away, and the soldiers were lost, in the words of the Han people, 'I lost my wife and broke the soldiers', and the deadline for joining the army with the king of Wuying County was also delayed, and I will be dealt with by military law after returning to Shengjing......"

Abatai's face grew ugly. Although Gaertu also instigated the plundering in Shandong, it was his own decision after all, and saying this at this time didn't slap him in the face of Lord Belle? There is also the matter of delaying the division to be dealt with by military law, which is already his current heart disease, but he can't open which pot to mention.

Gartu quietly looked at his face, knowing that he was in a bad mood when he heard it, but for the fate of this army, he had to say it, so he gritted his teeth and said all the words in his stomach in one breath.

"Lord Belle, we have lost all the things we have worked so hard to grab and Dingkou, and we have suffered defeats again, and now the morale of the whole army is low, and it is not appropriate to fight with the opponent here. Subordinates suggested: It is better to avoid entanglement with this Guangdong army and go north, bypassing them and going north, so as not to delay the deadline for returning to Guannai. ”

Abatai's hand had already touched the whip, ready to teach this open-mouthed subordinate a lesson, so as not to embarrass himself more and more, and when he heard the latter sentence, he was stunned, is this the meaning of persuading him to flee?

He looked at the several Niu Lu Zhangjing around him, and found that these people all lowered their heads to avoid making eye contact with him, obviously thinking that what Galtu said was right.

Abatai was very sad, these elites of the Blue Banner, the absolute psychological advantage over the Ming army formed in more than ten years of battle, were actually defeated in a battle. You know, fleeing before the fight starts, this is the patent of the Ming army! When will it be your turn?

Speaking of which, this is not unrelated to his own decision-making, he left the money and Dingkou that he had worked so hard to grab in Changyi, went around in a big circle to avoid the army of Qionghai Town, and fled in a hurry, which has laid the groundwork for today's unintentional war of the whole army. Once an army is defeated and flees, even once, the spirit is scattered.

Suddenly, Abatai was able to understand the psychological state of the Ming army's repeated defeats: the successive defeats in the battles had formed a strong psychological suggestion, and as soon as he saw a strong opponent, he would deny himself, lose all confidence, and completely collapse at the slightest setback.

He couldn't help but sigh: "Hey, it turns out that my Dajin is not invincible, but I haven't met a strong enough opponent......"

Gaertu was afraid that Abatai would completely lose confidence, and tried to get the words back: "Baylor don't be arrogant, we're not afraid of these Guangdong soldiers, it's just that the deadline is coming, the military law is strict, and we won't entangle with them......"

"You don't have to say it." Abatai waved his hand to stop him, "I, Abatai, have fought for decades, and I can afford to lose if I win it, and I won't bury the elite of the Blue Flag here for the sake of my own face." If you want to accept military justice when you return to Shengjing, I will bear it alone, and it has nothing to do with you. ”

Hearing this, Gaertu and Niu Lu Zhangjing were moved, and they dismounted and knelt on the ground, and said in unison: "The subordinates are willing to advance and retreat with Lord Belle and share the punishment!" ”

Abatai raised his hand and motioned for them to get up, "Now is not the time to talk about this, all of them. At the moment of the great enemy, how to pass through here smoothly is the most important thing. Find someone to ask about the nearby terrain, and see if there are any other garrisons in the area, if there is only one army in Qionghai Town, it will be easier to do it. ”

Gartu found a Han army commander from his ancestral home in Hejian Province, and this man said: "Lord Belle, this place is very close to Tianjin Wei, if the little one remembers correctly, in addition to the Tianjin Sanwei nearby, there are also soldiers and horses of the Tianjin General Army, in addition, there are only the Baoding General Army a hundred miles away and the Tongzhou General Army farther away." These soldiers and horses are pulled out alone, and no matter which one of them is, they are not our opponents. ”

"There is still a team of soldiers and horses in Tianjin?" Abatai had a headache.

If it was only the infantry in Qionghai Town, he would be sure to retreat with his whole body, and he would be able to run for the first time in Changyi and the second time in Tianjin. Qionghai Town has always been a strange force, almost all of them are firearms, but they are extremely lacking in cavalry, and the other general soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are different, the advantages and weaknesses are equally obvious, without artillery, it is extremely difficult to defeat them head-on, but if you want to run, the other party can't catch up. However, if the soldiers and horses of the Tianjin General Army joined the battle, it would add a lot of variables, no matter how unbearable their combat effectiveness was, as long as they sent a few thousand cavalry to fight without their lives, they could win enough time and opportunity for the pursuit of Qionghai Town. The thought of the overwhelming artillery fire and the heavy bayonet array in Qionghai Town made Abatai feel uncomfortable, he really didn't want to go through such a bitter battle again.

He continued: "If you want to go to Shunyi, is it the fastest to walk from Tianjin, and what other way can you bypass?" ”

The commander of the Han army replied: "To the east is the sea, and there is no way out; A little westward bypass will pass through Baoding, where there are also soldiers and horses of the Baoding general army; Further to the west, go around a big circle, go to Xiongxian and Gu'an, there is no garrison there, but the terrain is complicated, and the Baiyangdian area is full of lakes, which is not conducive to marching......"

After listening to the introduction, Abatai fell into deep thought. In terms of geographical location, taking Tianjin is the nearest and easiest way to go; Detour to Baoding, in addition to walking a lot more, also have to face the threat of Baoding general army joining forces with Qionghai Town; Taking the route of Xiongxian and Gu'an, it is safe, but it is not easy to march, and maintaining the food supply of the army is also a great burden. Three choices, how to go?

He looked around, everyone waiting with anticrative anticipation for him to make a decision. This decision is directly related to the fate of this army, no one can help him, the decision is in his own hands.

After taking a deep breath, Abatai finally spoke: "Pass the order, send 3,000 people to entangle Qionghai Town, and the army will rush directly over and take the line of Tianjin." ”

Galtu and the others did not question his decision, and responded in unison: "Obey the order!" Then the order was passed down one by one, and the halted army began to move forward again, the sound of rumbling hooves echoing over the plain.