I

  Chapter 449 447 [Turtle battle]

  Haoge left with the army at the front, and smoke rose from the back of Pinlu Fort.

  The castle is too small to accommodate the musketeers and luggage, which already looks very crowded. It is impossible for Lu Xiangsheng's cavalry to be stationed here, and they all camped in the valley further south.

  During half a day, Lu Xiangsheng led more than a dozen cavalrymen to meet up with 7,000 cavalrymen a few miles away from the Manchu army.

  Man Qing's sentry cavalry had already noticed it, and was so frightened that they quickly went back to report.

   "The enemy has nearly 10,000 cavalry?" Hauge was startled.

  The overwhelming number of cavalry is really hard to count, and the Manchu spies can only make a rough estimate.

  Doni also ignored the factional struggles, and said with a stern face: "The cavalry alone is nearly ten thousand, and the enemy's infantry may be even more. You should cross the river immediately and join the regent's army. Don't harvest any more wheat for now."

  These guys came along the Daqing River, and they also cut the wheat on the south bank of the Daqing River.

  Haug looked at the large wheat field, gritted his teeth and said, "Ignite fires everywhere to burn all the wheat! Eight Banners warriors form a defensive formation, and the soldiers and civilian husbands cross the river first with their luggage!"

   This is not an escape, but a tactical retreat, and the Eight Banners soldiers did not run first.

  About hundreds of servants, holding torches, ran to the surrounding wheat fields to ignite the ripe wheat.

   Knowing that the Manchu Qing army was approaching, the peasants went into the mountains to hide a few days earlier. Hauge couldn't plunder people and livestock, and now even cutting the wheat was dangerous, so he simply destroyed the wheat field in front of him.

  This situation made Hauge very depressed.

  Because before facing the Liaodong Frontier Army of the Ming Dynasty, the Manchu Qing always came and left whenever they wanted. The frontier army of the Ming Dynasty could only be on guard at all times. When they found out that the Manchus were coming to grab grain, they organized the people to collect the grains in advance.

   Instead, the Datong Army dared to send troops to prevent the Manchus from harvesting wheat!

  Lu Xiangsheng came with 7,000 brave cavalry, and first went to kill the soldier Bao Yi who set fire to the wheat field, and roared: "Don't let go of those who have forgotten their ancestors!"

  These soldiers were separated by a long distance. When they heard the sound of horseshoes, they threw away the torches and ran frantically in the direction of the Manqing formation.

   "Boom boom boom!"

  The Manchu and Qing artillery fired together to prevent the cavalry of Datong from advancing.

  Lu Xiangsheng only had cavalry in his hands, and he didn't dare to attack the enemy's formation, or even get too close. They could only watch helplessly as several wheat fields closer to the Qing army were burned.

  In the whole battle, the Manchu Qing belonged to the attacking side, and the Datong Army belonged to the defending side.

   The defender is even more passive!

   Not only are the troops at a disadvantage, but they also have to defend three cities and the farmland around the three cities. Gaizhou City and Pinglubao are the most convenient route for the Manchus to send troops. The Manchus can also go in other directions to drill valleys, and they have to fortify everywhere and send out sentries.

   Only by understanding the main direction of the Manchu Qing, the Datong Army can slowly gather.

  When Haoge attacked Pinglu Fort, the Datong Army further south was already gathering towards Gaizhou, but it would take two or three days.

  Haoge rode a horse and stood in the middle army formation on the bank, facing Lu Xiangsheng far away, neither side made any further moves.

  It wasn't until the artillery of the Manchu Qing Dynasty was also shipped to the opposite bank one after another that Lu Xiangsheng ordered the cavalry to step forward to put out the fire and prevent the fire from spreading to other wheat fields.

   "Boom boom boom!"

  The Manchu and Qing artillery were mounted on the opposite bank, and began shelling again to cover the other Eight Banners soldiers crossing the river.

   Lu Xiangsheng just looked at it like that, he has achieved his goal. This battle has only two purposes, first, to defend the city; second, to prevent the Manchus from taking too much food.

   Just drive Haug's army across the river and stop them from harvesting food.

   As for how many casualties can be caused to the enemy, it doesn't really matter. Just wait for the time. This is the first year, when the Datong Army was at its weakest in Liaodong, and after two or three years, the situation can be completely reversed.

  Liaodong is too far away, and the transportation of military rations is not easy.

  The grain transportation team from the south encountered a storm some time ago, and one ship sank because of this, and several other ships suffered multiple damages.

   Even if the Eight Banners Army can be severely damaged this time, the Datong Army will not be able to continue to expand northward, and at most take the opportunity to occupy two more coastal cities.

  The heavy infantry and firecrackers of the Han Army Banner once again became the last troops to cross the river.

  Lu Xiangsheng did not choose to charge, because there were enemy artillery on the opposite bank, and there were gunfire soldiers from the Han army on the bank. Even if he could kill the last enemies who crossed the river, his cavalry would definitely suffer casualties. This kind of life-changing is not worthwhile.

   After Haoge crossed the river and left, Xiao Zongxian's firecrackers followed, dragging some artillery and luggage.

   "It seems that a big battle will be fought in Gaizhou City." Xiao Zongxian said.

  Lu Xiangsheng said: "If you can't capture Gaizhou City, the enemy army will not dare to cross the river easily. If you can't cross the river, you can't plunder, then our army will be considered a victory. It just depends on how far Dorgon wants to fight!"

Xiao Zongxian smiled and said: "I definitely want to take Gaizhou. Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou are located in Liaodong, and they are like a threat to the Tatars. If we delay for one more year, our army will be stronger and our food and grass will be more abundant. The Tartars also understand this truth."

   Zhao Han's military plan to regain Liaodong is exactly the same as that of Zhu Yuanzhang in the early Ming Dynasty.

   It's just that Zhu Yuanzhang was more difficult at that time. Navigation technology is not as advanced as it is now, and transporting food and troops from the sea is extremely dangerous. After arriving in the Liaodong Peninsula, there were no cities for defense. At first, the walls could only be made of wood.

   Facing the counterattack of the Mongolian Yuan army, the soldiers of the early Ming Dynasty were extremely brave. After the wooden wall was damaged by the enemy, it was completely blocked by human lives, and even the families of soldiers participated in the battle.

  Zhu Yuanzhang used sea boats to send soldiers to Liaodong. In the first few years, he only did three things: garrisoning fields, building cities, and defending.

  After the results are received in the fields, the army rations are sufficient, and the soldiers are capable, immediately send troops to the north!

  …

   "Boom boom boom!"

   Inside and outside Gaizhou City, the sound of artillery was loud.

   This situation has been going on for several days. The two sides did nothing else and kept bombarding each other with artillery, as if it was a reenactment of the battle of Dalinghe back then.

  Dorgon imitated Huang Taiji and dug a circular trench outside Gaizhou City.

  Dig a ditch, and use the excavated earth and rocks to build a high wall in front. Then use parallel trenches, continue to dig circular trenches forward, continue to build high walls with earth and rocks, and at the same time place artillery at the gaps in the high walls to bombard the city walls of Gaizhou.

  Such siege tactics are somewhat similar to the "Vauban Siege Method", which is used to attack bastions.

  In the battle of Daling River, the Qing Dynasty used 168 artillery pieces.

   At this time, Dorgon attacked Gaizhou City, brazenly dispatching 183 artillery pieces, and even the city defense artillery in Shenyang was dismantled and transported over!

  These artillery are various, and the smallest caliber is the 4.5-pound cannon. Bombarding the city wall is like scratching an itch. The largest caliber is the 12-pound cannon, which is an imitation of the "Wanli General Cannon".

  All kinds of shells, Dorgon prepared a total of 15,000 shells.

   Still can’t compare with Huang Taiji. Huang Taiji prepared 17,000 shells when he attacked Dalinghe. Just pulling out the piers and abutments around Dalinghe City fired two or three thousand shells.

   "Boom boom boom!"

  The shelling of Gaizhou City has not stopped yet, and the river and sea stretches to the west of the city have begun again—the Datong Navy is bombarding the Manchus.

  This seems to be another reenactment of the war. Historically, the Manchu Qing spent five days deploying 80 artillery positions along the coast to confront the warships of the Ming Dynasty in Gaizhou.

  No tricks, just shelling, shelling, shelling...

  The bombardment inside and outside the city has lasted for half a month, and only a small crack was shot in the city wall. Although the city wall of Gaizhou is not as good as that of Jining, it is similar to the city wall of Shangqiu. If it is bombarded by Manchu artillery, it will not be able to collapse in ten and a half months.

   "Boom!"

  Another Manchu Qing artillery was scrapped.

  Although there are earthen walls as cover, the accuracy of the shelling on the city is much higher than that of the siege artillery on the ground.

  The combat missions of the two sides are different. The Manchu and Qing artillery want to blow down the city walls, while the Datong artillery wants to destroy the Manchu and Qing artillery.

  Haoge came outside the city of Gaizhou and joined forces with Dorgon. When they met, they said: "There are Nanman troops behind, and there are nearly 10,000 cavalry!"

  Dorgon said with a smile: "I'm afraid they won't come, just besieging the city to fight for aid."

  Besieging the city and fighting for aid is a tried and tested trick of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties.

  Because the walls of the Daming Frontier Army were too high and thick, they could not be defeated in two or three months. Then keep shelling around, and then annihilate the rescue troops. After killing a few reinforcements, the city surrendered after running out of ammunition and food.

  At this moment, Dorgon's tens of thousands of troops have crossed the Daqing River and moved to the south of Gaizhou City. Also dug trenches and earthen walls, waiting for reinforcements from the Datong Army to come.

  Twenty miles south of the city.

  Li came by sea boat, but was blocked by the temporary coastal defense batteries of the Qing Dynasty, so he simply retreated and landed on the coast.

  After learning about the situation in Gaizhou City, he did not take the initiative to attack, and camped more than ten miles away from Dorgon. At the same time, let sea ships continue to bring grain and civilians from Fuzhou, and dig trenches and build earthen walls inside and outside the camp.

  Lu Xiangsheng's cavalry also covered Xiao Zongxian's infantry, and ran to the sea to join Li Zheng.

   The scene froze completely.

   Dorgon and Hauge's nearly 70,000 troops, as well as hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilian husbands, surrounded Gaizhou City.

  In Gaizhou City, there is only one division of Hu Dinggui, and the peasants who have withdrawn into the city from the surrounding areas.

  Twenty miles to the south of Gaizhou City, there are reinforcements from Li Zheng, Xiao Zongxian, and Lu Xiangsheng. There are more than 20,000 regular soldiers (some are left in Pinglu Fort), and there are also a large number of farmers and civilians.

   A few miles to the west of Gaizhou City, the navy of the Datong Army is fighting against the forts of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

   Fighting for half a month, all in shelling, all in digging trenches and building earth walls.

  No one wants to take the initiative to attack, because they can't rush in. For all kinds of fortifications, whoever rushes will die, and the attacker will always suffer more.

   "What if the enemy's reinforcements don't come?" Hauge was a little depressed.

  Dorgon said: "Wait for a while, the enemy will definitely show his weakness."

  War is like this, let's see who can't stand it first.

  The Ming Dynasty fought against the Manchu Qing, and many times it was the same. The two sides froze completely, the Ming could not defeat the Manchus, and the Manchus could not break through the city.

  Under normal circumstances, the Manchu and Qing troops ran out of supplies, so they chose to withdraw their troops.

   But it is often abnormal, such as reinforcements underestimating the enemy and rushing forward, or the court urges reinforcements to fight quickly, or traitors appear in the city—the defenders of Liaodong, some of whom are Mongols. Several cities were lost due to the surrender of the Mongols.

  Li Zheng has a calm personality, which is true in fighting and dealing with people.

  Although he decided to set up camp and wait for the enemy to show his weakness, he still asked sincerely, "General Lu and General Xiao, how do you think we should fight?"

  Xiao Zongxian had the lowest qualifications, and said: "General Lu must have a clever plan."

  Lu Xiangsheng said with a smile: "The best strategy is to stand still until the Tartars' rations are exhausted."

   Li Zheng also had the same idea, and immediately made a decision: "I will immediately notify the navy and tell them not to confront the Tartars. Hurry up to North Korea and urge North Korea to get more food."

   "That's the reason." Lu Xiangsheng likes the atmosphere of the Datong Army. Although there are also township party phenomena, overall there are not so many intrigues.

   There will be no such thing as the imperial court urging troops to enter!

  During the battle between the Datong Army and the Eight Banners Army, North Korea was the first to have a headache, because the navy went to Ganghwa Island for a walk again, and they would not leave without giving a few thousand shi of food.

  The Datong Army does not bully people, trades fairly, and pays high prices for grain purchased.

  (end of this chapter)