weaving

Chapter 153 Fortify the stronghold, fight dumbly?
The cold wind in winter is cold and strong, and the wilderness, which is already frozen solid, has been repeatedly trampled soft by the war horses, and a thick layer of floating soil is blown up and rolled by the cold wind from time to time.

Ten miles to the northeast of Julu, in the wilderness west of Wangjuzhuang, I saw groups of Ming soldiers picking up corpses strewn about on the ground.

If it was the Qing army, then the head would be chopped off, and the little pigtail like a money mouse tail would be tied with a hemp rope, and dozens of heads were already tied on the hemp rope.

From time to time, there were bleak screams in the wilderness, which were the last desperate wailing of those Qing soldiers who were not yet dead.

They also tied a dead horse with a rope. Under the corpse of the horse was tied the armor pulled from the corpse of the Qing army. The two dragged the rope and dragged the horse, preparing to drag it back In the camp, it is used as military food.

In the distance, there are teams of Ming army knights galloping back and forth, gathering up the scattered horses.

The cold wind was biting, and many soldiers' hands were bruised from the cold, and their lips and faces were also swollen from the cold, but they were full of enthusiasm, and bursts of cheers came from time to time.

…………

On the rather high mound where Hauge was just now, Lu Xiangsheng, dressed in sackcloth and filial piety, rode his beloved Wuming steed, standing on his horse and looking around.

Zhang Cheng and other Xuanda generals gathered around him, everyone's face was full of exhaustion, but in the exhaustion was full of excitement.

Hu Dawei said excitedly: "Minister, it's really enjoyable to kill more than a thousand Tartars in two battles."

"Haha, depending on how many times he came, I will only go all the way. Let's feed him the old slave's fighting methods back then." Yang Guozhu was also very excited.

Lu Xiangsheng's face was solemn, and he said in a deep voice: "Although it was a great victory, our soldiers suffered heavy casualties. Fortunately, we captured a lot of horses. The wounded soldiers must be taken care of and escorted back to the camp."

Zhang Cheng interjected: "My officers and men are wounded more often than killed, and most of them are arrow wounds and knife wounds. As long as they are well taken care of, they will not be fatal. However, there are quite a few Tartars who have been injured by guns in our army. Even if you escape, Most of them are helpless."

All the generals nodded, and Zhang Cheng said again: "There are a lot of wounded and dead horses this time, and they all have to be consigned back. The soldiers also have a good meal of meat to replenish their strength."

Lu Xiangsheng nodded in agreement, he pondered for a while, and then said: "General Tiger, you lead the troops back first, and ask Zhang Yan to order people to boil more hot water and prepare stew. The whole army is full tonight, and we will fight again tomorrow." prisoner."

After Hu Dawei left, Lu Xiangsheng ordered again: "Jiang Mingwu led the army to open the way, and General Yang was in charge of breaking the line. Zhang Cheng and Chen An, you two dispersed all the cavalry under your command and strengthened the sentry. After a quarter of an hour, the army returned. camp."

…………

Julu, Jia Zhuang.

After Lu Xiangsheng ordered the battalions to speed up the construction of the camps, Zhang Yan, the general of Xuanzhen Town, was left to take charge of the construction of the camp defenses. He personally led the battalions of elite cavalry to meet the Qing army that was rushing towards Julu.

Zhang Yan knew very well that whether the camp was strong or not was related to the life and death of the entire army, so he dared not be negligent. After Lu Xiangsheng led the cavalry out of the camp, he commanded all the soldiers to build the camp defense together.

He designated camp locations for the commanders of each battalion, and delineated the locations of low walls and trenches required for defense in various places. The soldiers then cooperated with each other according to their respective division of labor, digging trenches on the spot, and borrowing soil to build walls.

There are also special sergeants who drive carts between the camp and the Haoshui River. Truckloads of large ice cubes are transported into the camp non-stop. They are melted and used to water the earth walls here and there. in a large wooden barrel for emergencies.

Jia Zhuang's side is relatively easy. Most of the walls of the village itself are intact, and it only needs to be heightened and reinforced. The amount of work is not too large, so only hundreds of infantry in Lu Xiangsheng's supervising battalion are busy.

Zhang Yan's Infantry Thousand Headquarters was divided into two, helping Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei's troops to build camps, while Jiang Mingwu's subordinates were arranged to transport ice and cold water.

All the courtyards of houses in Jia Zhuang were demolished, except for one larger one that was reserved for the Chinese army’s large tent, and the other two relatively intact ones for storing key military materials such as gunpowder.

The dismantled logs, beams, bricks, tiles, and remnants of the walls were used to pile up the camp. With these as the skeleton, they were covered with sand, and finally poured with cold water. The outside was frozen with a layer of hard thin ice, which was more than solid and indestructible. , It is extremely slippery, and it is impossible to climb at all.

At the outskirts of the three camps, some [-] or so steps outside, some deep trenches were dug first, and then every few tens of steps, there were rows of trenches. These trenches were not required to be very deep, but must be wide and So that slaves can't easily step over.

The excavated soil was used to reinforce the camp, pile up the wall, and build a low wall to protect the gunmen. As Zhang Cheng suggested, the earth wall was piled up half a person's height, which could cover our fire gunners. Archers can shoot.

In the entire camp, the infantrymen of each battalion were busy in a tense and orderly manner. Everyone knew very well that the camp defenses being repaired at this time were to defend against the impending attack of the Tartars. .

The cold wind in the northern winter was particularly bitter. All the soldiers' hands were blue and red and swollen from the cold, and their faces were also cracked by the cold wind.

The trees along the Haoshui River were all cut down, even the trees within a few miles around Jiazhuang were cut down in general, dragged back by mules and horses, and the rest of the camp was cut into sections.

Inside and outside the camp, fires were ignited everywhere, and there were large pots on them, and the hot water was boiling hot in the pots, so that they could provide a place for the soldiers to warm themselves.

The second is to bake the frozen ground, so these fires kept changing positions, and as the fires moved into the camp one after another, it also marked that the trenches were dug seven or eight times.

Although the weather was very bad, the sergeants were still working hard. Even if their hands were cracked and bruised from the cold, they were still working hard.

Even Zhang Yan personally picked up the pickaxe and worked hard to chop and plan on the hard ground. Under his encouragement, the morale of the whole army was high, and finally completed the trench digging before dark, and the wall of the village was basically completed, but there were some key points. The parts still need to be repaired and strengthened.

It was as if a huge city had been built on the ground, and the three camps had finished writing lines, standing in the wilderness. Between each camp, a chest-length earth wall was built, which was beyond the plan.

Between the camp of Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei and Jiazhuang, an extra chest-length earth wall was built, and only on the side near Jiazhuang, there was an opening several feet wide for the cavalry to attack.

This earthen wall can be defended or not, anyway, the Qing army is useless, and if the Qing army advances from here, there is only one opening for easy entry and exit, which is not conducive to their army exchanges.

There are some artillery positions reserved on the wall of each battalion. Outside the gates of each camp, there are three or five cannons, blocking the camp gates.

Normally, the army can stand firm on the walls of the village, or go out outside the camp and form formations behind the earthen walls. The spaces left between the earthen walls are places for artillery.

Once the cavalry attack, they only need to move the artillery to the two sides, which is convenient and quick.

(End of this chapter)