Xihan, who was stationed on the main road, found himself in deep trouble. Under the fierce assault of the Ming Army, his flanks were breached, and chaos erupted instantly. The front lines were shrouded in thick smoke, making it impossible to see the situation clearly. To prevent his entire force from being wiped out, Xihan made a decisive call: "Abandon the position and retreat!"
Before the order could even be fully relayed, his troops broke. The soldiers scrambled to flee, everyone terrified of being left behind to be slaughtered by the Ming Army. As they retreated, they ran straight into the Ming troops who had bypassed their flanks. The Ming Army had formed a horizontal line, blocking Xihan’s path of retreat.
To survive, Xihan led his personal guards into the fray. His men were elite Eight Banners cavalry. With a single charge, they shattered the Ming infantry blocking the way. Xihan had hoped to rally his troops, drive the rest of the Ming Army out of the camp, and restore order, but the Eight Banners soldiers had lost all fighting spirit; they only wanted to run. As he hesitated, countless fleeing infantrymen surged toward him. To avoid being swept up and trampled to death by the panicked mob, Xihan had no choice but to speed up his retreat to the rear.
Chapter 1176