1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 698 Red Snow ([-])

On February 1654, 2, Uiju (now Sinuiju, Korea).

Standing on a high hillside, Yue Le looked at the north of the river, remained silent for a while, and showed no surprise on his face, as if he had expected the presence of the Ming and Qi allied forces on the north bank of the Yalu River.

"Lai Da, go to the army to select a thousand elites. No matter what method you use or how many people you lose, you must sneak across the river within one day to find out the size and defense of the enemy army on the other side, and send someone to report to the commander. In addition, you still need to try to lurk behind the enemy, choose the opportunity to raid the enemy's logistics and command posts, disrupt the enemy's deployment, and if possible, assist the army to defeat the enemy in Jiangbei." Yue Le stared at the commander of the guard, Lai Da, word by word He said, "If you can't do it, don't come back."

"Hey!" Lai Da promised loudly, received the military order, turned around and walked to the rear.

"Marcee, let the accompanying North Koreans move, cut down trees, and prepare to build a camp."

"Commander?" Marcel was a little stunned. The [-] troops marched to the south bank of the Yalu River, only one step away from Liaodong. Although there were enemy troops blocking the Yalu River, they could not attack rashly. They needed to investigate the situation carefully before making a decision.But it is not enough to mobilize those North Korean civilians to cut down trees, build semi-permanent camps, and pretend to be fighting for a long time.

"Marce, it's been several months since I invaded North Korea with an army of [-]. Tell me, do the enemy troops on the north bank of the Yalu River know the strength of our army?"

"...The enemy army probably knows our strength."

"Since the other party knows that I have more than [-] troops in the Eastern Expedition, they dare to stop my Qing soldiers from returning to the north." Yue Le's expression was a little dignified, "If they didn't gather heavy troops in Jiangbei, they must have What we hold on to... Let's prepare for the worst."

"...Hey!" Marcee looked at the young Xuanwei General and King Doroan, and solemnly promised.

After Yue Le led the troops to Yizhou, he found that this important North Korean town on the south bank of the Yalu River was a piece of white land, and there was hardly a complete house that could shelter from the wind and snow.He remembered that three months ago, when the troops led the attack on this small city, they just massacred the city, and the houses and government buildings were not seriously damaged. It should be no problem to station a large army and take a temporary rest.

However, the Qing army detoured from Anzhou. When they arrived here yesterday, they found that this small town had been destroyed artificially. Although the walls and houses were not collapsed, the entire small town was set on fire, and the roofs and windows were overturned and destroyed. , there is hardly a single habitable dwelling.Wells in the city were also filled with masonry and mud, and a large number of livestock and poultry were scattered in several streams and rivers, which were frozen by the river water. Obviously, the enemy army deliberately cut off and polluted drinking water sources to make it more difficult for the Qing army to supply supplies here.

Villages, towns and residential areas several miles away from Uiju were also completely burned by the enemy, and the people were all transferred.What made the Qing army even more angry was that the surrounding woodlands were also artificially set on fire, so that the Qing army stationed here had to trek for several miles to find firewood for heating and cooking.

"Marshal!" Hubai (the eighth son of Li Yongfang), the deputy commander of the Eight Banners of the Han Army, knelt down on the snowy ground with a disgruntled face, "The slave is incompetent. He attacked the enemy's stronghold in the north of the river three times, but was killed and retreated. "

"How many people have you lost?" Yue Le asked expressionlessly.

"More than 260 people died in battle, and more than 180 people were injured."

"Huh?" Yue Le couldn't help but frowned, it was just a tentative attack, how could he lose more than [-] people.

"It's the soldiers and horses of Qi Fan!" Hubai said: "After the Qi army lined up behind the strong fortification in the north of the river, they shot and killed me across the river. The troops and horses lost a bit."

"Did you see the Qi army's artillery?"

"...When the servant commanded the troops to attack Jiangbei, the Qi army did not fire any artillery." Hubai thought for a while and said, "However, with the equipment configuration of the Qi army, the servant thought that they must have artillery."

"Let's step back and rest for now." Yue Le waved his hand and said.

"Commander, for tens of miles along the Yalu River, the Qi army may not be able to deploy soldiers and horses to intercept all of them. The servant suggested that more than ten thousand Eight Banners elite should be dispatched to sneak across the river, and then launch an attack on the back of the Qi army. In this way, it may be possible to break Qi. Army on the north bank, open a passage across the river." Sharhuda said in a deep voice.

"It is naturally easy for more than ten thousand soldiers and horses to sneak across the river. However, the troops crossing the river cannot carry supplies. If they cannot break through the enemy's blockade in a short time and pass through the river road, a large number of them may die of cold and starvation, which will waste our lives in vain. Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty." Yue Le shook his head and rejected Sarhuda's suggestion, "Let's make a decision after Lai Da investigates the enemy's situation in Jiangbei."

"Marshal, several beacon fires have risen on the other side!" A Ba Yala suddenly pointed in the direction of Jiangbei and said loudly.

Hearing this, Yue Le looked up at the north of the river, and saw three huge beacon fires rising from the opposite bank. The blazing thick smoke pierced into the sky, which was very clear on a clear winter day.Not long after that, beacon fires rose one after another along the banks of the Yalu River and in the direction of Liaodong, apparently conveying some kind of message.

"Go down and restrain the soldiers and horses, so that you can rest.... Two days later, we will meet the Qi Fan army again." After Yue Le finished speaking, he turned and went down the hillside, and walked towards the army camp.
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"To tell you the truth, I'm really worried that the Qing army will attack the whole river without their lives. If so, we may have to blow up the ice in advance to prevent the Qing army from crossing the river." Chief of Staff of the Ming-Qi Allied Forces , Lieutenant Zhaoxin (Colonel) He Yunfeng put down the binoculars, said with a smile: "Maybe, the Qing captives will be forced to detour upstream, abandon their luggage, disperse into the mountains, and flee back to Liaodong."

The commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, General Mingwei (brigadier-general) Li Fade shook his head and said: "The Qing invaded North Korea for two months and destroyed the capital of North Korea, Seoul. Avoid the risk of freezing and starving to death, avoid going upstream, and then return to Liaodong through the dense forest and snowfield. If it is really so decisive, it will save us from fighting here, so that all the young men in the army can have their tails back home.”

"Why, are you worried that the troops will suffer heavy casualties?"

"We have fought in Daming for more than ten years. During this period, no less than 3000 people died in battle, were sick, captured, or missing. They arrived in Hanzhou after untold hardships. They were supposed to live well in Hanzhou, marrying wives, having children, and farming. Work hard, and live each of their lives in peace and tranquility." Li Fade watched many soldiers wrapped in cotton coats gather around the fire in groups of three or four to keep warm behind the mound, and burst into laughter from time to time. All with relaxed expressions.

"In the past ten years, the sacrifice of every officer and soldier in our Qi country is of great value." He Yunfeng said solemnly: "Although we don't know how the future situation of Ming Dynasty will change, if we don't take action, And make certain sacrifices, whether it is Daming or our country of Qi, we will definitely lose a lot. I have a hunch that as long as these [-] Qing troops are wiped out, it is likely to have a positive effect on the development of the entire Ming situation. The change."

"What changes?"

"If all the [-] Qing soldiers were wiped out by the Yalu River, the Qing soldiers would lose an elite group of heavy soldiers, which would deal a huge blow to the fragile ruling foundation of the Qing soldiers and deter many surrendered Han troops. And Therefore, the entire Liaodong will be empty. We can take advantage of the situation to seize Shenyang and Liaoyang, and attack the rear of the Qing captives. Even, under the condition of fully mobilizing the Qing captive army, we can surprise Shanhaiguan or Tianjin and threaten Beijing. You say, the Qing captives are in front of them. How would you deal with this situation?"

Li Fade listened and nodded.If this army of Qing captives was really destroyed by the Yalu River, then the strength of the Qing army in the entire Liaodong and Gyeonggi regions would suddenly tighten. The Qing army returned to aid, or the Qing army in the Jianghuai area of ​​​​Shandong was transferred back to the north.But in this way, Liu Wenxiu in Sichuan, Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo in Jiangnan and others will seize the opportunity to take advantage of the situation to seize Shanshan and Jianghuai, and further compress the area ruled by the Qing army.

"After seeing the beacon fire, the troops carrying out the fortified wall and clearing the field should return to Dandong within three days. I hope that in the next few days, the Qing army's offensive will not be too violent, so that the accompanying Ming army can fully adapt to the battlefield." General Li Fade Turning his gaze to the south bank again, tens of thousands of soldiers of the Qing army were walking to and fro on the snow-covered land, as if they were building a camp.

"The commander-in-chief of the Qing army should not be so decisive. He came up and attacked with all his strength regardless of casualties." He Yunfeng said: "They should first make a tentative attack gradually, and at the same time send a small group of troops to infiltrate the rear of our army, waiting for an opportunity to attack. If possible, It will destroy our army's logistics facilities. Of course, it is also possible to attack our rear when we are fighting fiercely with the Qing army on the other side."

"Sneak attack?" Li Fade smiled when he heard the words, "In the daytime, they probably have no chance. Therefore, they can only approach our camp at night. Fortunately, we have collected a lot of hunting dogs from North Korea, which can just come in handy. ...However, tonight we need to send a few cannonballs to the Qing camp on the other side, so that they have no other choice but to rush here and return to Liaodong."

(End of this chapter)