weaving

Chapter 934 At the end of the crossbow, what to worry about

The Qing army had already known about the Ming army's strategy in the direction of the Nuer River, but they had not been able to specify the specific landing site for crossing the river.

The countermeasure finally decided by Dorgon, Prince Rui of the Qing Dynasty, was actually very simple and clear, but very effective, that is, to abandon the position on the south bank of the daughter river and withdraw the whole army to the north bank.

According to Dorgon, all the pontoon bridges on the Daughter River must be dismantled. In this way, it is only necessary to concentrate on guarding the river bank, and there is no need to assign soldiers and horses to guard the pontoon bridge.

However, his decision was opposed by princes and ministers such as Yisu Prince Hauge and Wuying County King Azig. They also gave good reasons. It is okay to give up the south bank to the Ming army, but the pontoon bridge must be left behind. , in order to be able to attack quickly in the future, and then seize the north bank.

After some disputes, and finally under the mediation of Prince Zheng Jierhalang, it was decided to temporarily stay on the post road pontoon on the west side of Twin Mountains, and on the pontoon at the river bend to the west.

In this way, if the Qing army can kill the Ming army on the north bank of the Daughter River as planned, then their fine cavalry warriors can immediately pass through these two pontoon bridges and continue to fight to the south bank. Take back Rufeng Mountain and Shimen Mountain.

Of course, for this reason, the Qing army had to allocate part of its troops to guard the key point of Shuangzi Mountain and the two pontoon bridges. At the same time, it also had to keep a part of troops in Baimiaobao to support the defense of the two pontoon bridges nearby.

In order to concentrate its troops to the maximum extent, the Qing army only stationed a Jiala's troops in Shuangzi Mountain, while each of the two pontoon bridges had a Niulu, leading more than [-] soldiers to garrison with the army.

Even in Baimiaobao, there are only two Jiala, more than [-] Zhenghongqi warriors.

Although Dorgon was the military commander on the Jinzhou battlefield in the Qing Dynasty, Prince Su Haoge and King Azige of Wuying County insisted on their own opinions, but he could not ignore them.

What's more, Prince Zheng Jierhalang was on the sidelines to mediate. Although he supported Dorgon's opinion on the surface, he didn't want to offend Hauge in his words.

The most hateful thing is Prince Li Daishan. Although he appears to be standing in the middle and neither side is offended, his attitude is obviously to the west of Haug and Azig.

As Huang Taiji stayed on the front line in Jinzhou to check and balance Dorgon, their disapproval of Dorgon's opinion was a problem. Do they still need to oppose it face to face?

Now, according to the military report sent back from the front line, Dorgon dispatched troops to support Dudu to defend the Shuangzi Mountain, and also lured the Ming army to cross the river on the bank of the daughter river in order to defeat its main force on the north bank.

However, the flag of the Xuanfu army under Zhang Cheng of the Ming army was never seen appearing on the bank of the daughter river, and Hauge's Zhenglan flag did not dare to act rashly, so he could only continue to station on the east bank of the Xiaoling River to monitor the movements of the Xuanfu soldiers and horses.

The Qing army had to send troops to support Du Du, and also had to guard against the massive northward advance of the Ming army across the river, but after all, it was an elite in a hundred battles, but it did not show any panic.

As the main force of the Qing army, among the elite warriors of the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia, only a part of the Mongolian Xiangbai Banner was ordered to support Du Du, and the rest just drove to their respective flood areas to station.

It can be said that before the situation on the bank of the Naughty River is clear, the elite cavalry of the Manchurian Eight Banners of the Qing Army will not be easily dispatched, but the Four Banners of the Han Army, the Tianzhu Army, the Tianyou Army, and the Korean Army are different.

Dorgon has decided to use them as cannon fodder to consume the strength and vigor of the Ming army, and they are nervously advancing towards the bank of the Daughter River.

It's just that these Han and Korean armies have a lot of artillery. Although they worked very hard, they couldn't immediately appear on the bank of the Daughter River.

…………

Regarding the chaos of the Qing army outside Jinzhou City, Zu Dashou, the Zuo Dudu stationed in the city and the commander-in-chief of Liaodong Vanguard, could see clearly from the thousand-year-old Liao Tower.

Zu Dashou was old in military affairs, and he quickly understood the strategy of the Ming army based on the response and movements of the Qing army. He couldn't help saying to the generals beside him: "Order, burn everything that can be burned, and teach the soldiers to burn everything." Let's all have a good meal and get ready to go out of the city to kill slaves."

A guerrilla looked at the dense formation of the Qing army in the west of the city, and he couldn't help feeling a little fear in his heart. He hesitated and said, "Master Zu, the Tazi soldiers are gaining momentum, can our reinforcements come over?"

His words seemed to express the hearts of the generals. He went out of the city to fight several times before, but he was killed and returned. He only attacked the last ditch of the Qing army's siege once, but he was unable to continue to break through.

Now, there are more Qing soldiers gathering outside the city than before, no wonder they have this worry in their hearts, but Zu Dashou can't care about these now, he has a premonition that today seems to be an opportunity.

Yes, and I'm afraid there is only one chance!

From Zu Dashou's point of view, even if the Qing army still focused on the strategy of "surrounding the spot and fighting for aid" and did not attempt to break through Jinzhou City for the time being, it would be difficult for him to persist for a long time.

At this moment, the grain and rice in Jinzhou City can last for a while, but the lack of firewood will not destroy Zu Dashou, can't we just eat raw grain all the time?

That's why he had no choice but to send a brave servant to break through the siege the night before yesterday, in order to tell the truth about the city to Hong Chengchou, Governor of Jiliao who was nearby Songshan Fort.

Now, looking at the layout of the Qing army outside the city, one knows that the Ming army must be very active. Although standing here, you can vaguely see the other side of the Nuuhe, but the shadows the size of ants are very unreal.

However, Zu Dashou still guessed based on this that the Ming army must be preparing to cross the Nuer River. Now there are less than [-] soldiers in the city capable of fighting, and the number of cavalry is even less than [-]. He dare not put all his eggs in one basket.

For the time being, he can only let the soldiers have a full meal first to restore some strength, and when the situation outside the city becomes clearer, he will lead the crowd out of the city and join the reinforcements.

Looking at the wilderness Pingchuan in the south and west of the city, once the main force of the Ming army can safely cross the Naughty River, even if they can't attack the city in one fell swoop, but as long as the Ming army can stand on the north bank and attack from inside and outside, they will not be afraid of the fierce Tartars. It is also necessary to kill a passage.

However, with the cunning and fierceness of the Tartars, how could the Ming army kill the North Shore so easily?
Watching the teams of Manchurian cavalry set off in the fields outside the city, they set foot on Rolling Yancheng, and galloped quickly to the west and south. As far as their eyes could see, the array of galloping Tartar cavalry was like a huge wave that overwhelmed the mountains. .

Zu Dashou was concerned: "I don't know if the reinforcements can quickly cross the Nuer River and gain a firm foothold on the north bank, thereby relieving the danger of Jinzhou."

However, the questions from the generals around him also caused some doubts in his heart: "But don't lose your troops and lose your generals, and you will lose a lot? Otherwise, Jinzhou will be hopeless!"

But he could only hide this worry in his heart silently, but he said very firmly: "Hmph, the Tartars have been besieging the city for more than a year, and it is already at the end of their strength, so what is there to worry about?"

Zu Dashou then said: "Order to go on, all those who are full will be gathered at the south gate by the commander, and the master will take you to kill the slaves!"

…………

The roar of the artillery continued to come, and the screaming of the shells could also be faintly heard.

On the Tucheng outside the South Gate of Jinzhou City, many large puffs of white smoke rose from the Qing army's artillery formation, with sharp flames interspersed, and then the cannons burst out like muffled thunder.

Fiery iron balls spun rapidly and smashed towards the surface of the Daughter River and the south bank of the Daughter River.

"boom!"

The same big iron ball kept bombarding the North Bank of the Daughter River, and even a few shots hit the Tucheng, almost hitting the red cannons that were newly built for this battle.

The south bank of the Naughty River was also filled with smoke billowing from the canopy, and while the flames continued to flash, the huge cannon quickly flew to the north bank of the Naughty River, towards the direction of Tucheng outside the South Pass of Jinzhou.

Kong Youde, King of the Qing Dynasty, was hit by a cannon one zhang to the left, causing a large cloud of dust to fly up immediately, and he was also terrified in his heart.

But in front of the soldiers under his command, he didn't dare to show a loss of composure. His body froze in place, and he couldn't even speak except breathing.

On the Nuerhe River, a pontoon bridge of more than two feet was built by the peasants in Ningyuan's army when it was hit directly by a cannon shot by the Qing army. mouth.

The moment the plank collapsed and shattered, the large iron ball flew towards it, bringing with it numerous sharp debris and wooden thorns, flying in all directions and shooting them randomly.

"Pfft!"

"Pfft... puff..."

The peasants who were laying the pontoon bridge on the side had no time to escape, blood mist appeared on their heads and bodies, and they screamed for a while, and many people fell directly into the river. He picked it up, moved it or carried it back to the south bank.

Although the artillery fire of the Qing army was fierce, it was still far behind the Shenji Battalion.

First of all, there is a big gap in the number. The Qing army only has [-] newly cast red cannons, which can blast to the south bank of the Naughty River.

As for the Shenji Battalion, in addition to the [-] Shenwei General Cannons that can shoot for several miles and are extremely powerful, there are also many Dafo Langji and Damoru Cannons, which can also blast as far as Tucheng where Kong Youde is located.

Furthermore, in terms of artillery skills, the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion are far better than the soldiers of Kong Youde's Uzhenchao Ha Pao Battalion. Although they are a little timid, they are veteran gunners who have been using cannons for many years.

What's more, today they are firmly in the rear, there is almost no risk of death in battle, and Wu Sangui, the commander of Ningyuan, even promised a heavy reward, so they will naturally fire all the cannons like clouds and flowing water.

In contrast, Kong Youde was obviously at a disadvantage. No matter how much he yelled, strength was something that no one could change.

In less than a stick of incense, six or seven cannons in red clothes were hit by the cannons of the Ming army. Not only were the cannons torn apart, the gunners were almost lost, and even the sergeants transporting the cannons around were killed or injured.

At this moment, a few more cannons flew towards them, but they exploded immediately after landing. For a while, thick smoke rose everywhere, and a stench spread quickly.

As the thick yellow smoke spread in all directions, many gunners fell to the ground and couldn't help but roll. They all had hideous faces, and their eyes seemed to be about to roll out of their sockets, and they stared round.

His hands scratched vigorously on his face and neck, and bloody red scratches appeared, as if he didn't know the pain, until the scratches left blood marks, and the whole head, face and neck were bloody, and he didn't know how to stop.

"Toxic...the smoke is...poisonous..."

"... poisonous smoke... is a poisonous smoke bomb..."

"...run away...run away..."

All the Tartars of Wuzhenchaoha Pao Battalion screamed in terror, no matter how loudly the officers yelled and reprimanded them, it was of no avail. In the face of death, only death can scare people.

Usually, when encountering this kind of situation during wartime, most of the officers would draw out their knives and lead the trusted sergeants around them to hack and kill a few leading ones, and most of them could immediately stabilize the situation.

However, today is slightly different, that is, the officers shouted and shouted without making a sound. As the officers at all levels died or fled, the entire Tucheng Qing army's artillery formation suddenly became chaotic.

Kong Youde also did not expect that the Ming army's poisonous smoke bombs could hit so far, and he was completely unprepared, but he was able to climb to his current position, how could he lack loyal guards around him.

As soon as the yellow smoke rose, dozens of soldiers from the Tianyou Army rushed up. Without saying a word, they rushed down to the earth city to protect Kong Youde.

…………

It turned out that Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan, immediately ordered the soldiers to start crossing the river, and before he could wait for the north bank to establish a line of defense, he ordered the strong men who accompanied the army and civilians to start building and laying pontoon bridges ahead of time.

With such a two-pronged approach, the speed will naturally be greatly improved. This is why Ning Yuan's army can be called an elite force in Liaodong, so that it can do orders and prohibit them like commanding arms.

However, the Ningyuan army was also strongly blocked by the Qing army. On the north bank of the Daughter River, there were soldiers and horses of the Han army with red flags, as well as a Tianyou army, a Tianzhu army, and more than a thousand Korean troops stationed in formation.

Although Bai Guangen and Ma Ke's Jizhen Army and Shan Haijun fought hard and did not hide their personal interests, the princes of the Qing army were not fools either. Although they also sent troops there to reinforce them, it was still important for Wu Sangui. defense.

Therefore, Bai Guangen and Ma Ke attracted some of the main force of the Qing army, but it was very limited and did not relieve Wu Sangui much of the pressure.

However, Wu Sangui's Ningyuan army was the Ming army that was the most prepared for this battle of crossing the river. Not only did they collect the most ships, they even called the Longwu navy stationed on Juehua Island to help in the battle.

The Nuerhe River is not as wide and deep as the Xiaoling River, but Wu Sangui crosses the river at the junction of the Nuerhe River and the Xiaoling River. Although the river here is not very wide, it is deep enough for boating.

However, limited by the water depth and width of the Xiaoling River, the ships of the Longwu Navy were unable to sail into the inland river, but even so, with the help of dozens of river boats from the Longwu Navy, their power was greatly increased.

Different from those ships that temporarily installed small artillery, these warships of the Longwu Navy, although they cannot be compared with the sea-going ships they own, are all built for combat purposes, and they are equipped with fixed guns. artillery.

With them, it is really even more powerful!

(End of this chapter)