prosperous age

“There is a big mountain in front and a small river at the foot of the mountain. It is formed by the convergence of many streams on the mountain and merges into the Yalu River here, hence the name Sandokou.

Although the Yalu River is straight and open, there is a small sharp bend here, so the water flows quickly.

Coupled with the nearby mountains, it forms a slightly narrow valley, about two miles long."

The guide whispered the terrain ahead.

After quietly listening to the guide's words, Qi Jiguang frowned slightly and asked, "Is there a way around here?"

After listening to the guide's words, Qi Jiguang instinctively felt that the terrain here was a bit dangerous, so he deliberately avoided it.

"Yes, yes, it's just that if you go west, you have to go around for sixty miles and climb over the low mountains to reach Sandaokou. In total, it takes about a day's journey."

The guide thought for a while and then said: "If we go forward lightly and go up the mountain directly, it will take more time, but it is still a shortcut, and it will only take half a day longer.

But"

Qi Jiguang understood what the guide meant, that is, his team was carrying a large number of bicycle frames and could not go directly up the mountain.

As for the place where the guide said it was possible to climb over the mountain, he probably chose the route because of the large vehicles in his team.

"If I go up the mountain with light troops and control the top of the mountain, what will happen if the army passes by again?"

Qi Jiguang asked.

"Commander Qi, the mountain here is steep and difficult to climb. You need to go west for more than ten miles to get up the mountain."

the guide said hurriedly.

He was just a leader, but if anything happened to the army on the way, his safety would be in question, so he was conscientious of his duties along the way and did not dare to be careless at all.

After all, where they had just passed, there were countless small mounds piled up, which were the tombs of soldiers who had died in the battle not long ago.

"Will we pass through the three crossings you mentioned tomorrow?"

Qi Jiguang reined in his horse and asked.

"Yes, we will continue to move forward for more than ten miles tomorrow and reach Sandaokou. After crossing the valley, we will continue for another ten miles and there will be a wide area suitable for camping."

The guide hurriedly reined in the horse and said.

"Sandaokou is more than sixty miles away from Gule Village?"

Qi Jiguang asked with a frown at this time.

"Yes, Marshal Qi, our army should arrive near Gule Village in three or four days."

the guide replied hastily.

At this time, the guide more or less guessed Qi Jiguang's intention. He was obviously worried that there would be an ambush by Wang Gao's troops at Sandaokou.

So, the guide added: "If the commander is worried, you can send troops to follow me more than ten miles west to the mountains to explore the way for the army."

Qi Jiguang shook his head at this time and said: "If there is really an ambush on the mountain, it will be dangerous if there are too few people sent. Although more people can break the enemy's conspiracy, it will also alert the enemy.

Thinking about it, the terrain on the back of the mountain is relatively flat, making it easier for the enemy troops to go up and down the mountain? "

"What Marshal Qi said is that the mountains here are still a bit weird, which is really not conducive to the advancement of the army. This is why Wang Gao's tribe rarely transports troops from here."

the guide said hurriedly.

Of course, Qi Jiguang also found the mountains here very difficult.

Let's divide the troops, then this group of troops may be a bit dangerous. After all, they cannot carry the heavy firearms of the Ming army.

But if they advance according to the original plan, the army will be in danger of being ambushed.

In fact, in the "Records of Military Training" written by Qi Jiguang, there are clear tactics for valleys, that is, "Whenever there is a battle in a valley, an ambush must be set up, to lure it with feints, and to attack it in ambush."

In other words, if he arrived in Wang Gao's army to deal with the Ming army's attack, he would choose to set up an ambush at Sandaokou here.

As for how to deal with it, you can only be flexible.

Therefore, in the "Crossing Mountains and Forests" chapter of "Records of Military Training" compiled by Qi Jiguang, it can only be summarized as: "When the bandits encounter Jize, deep forests, or mountains, they must not pass by secretly. They must search according to the situation and report to the Chinese army." , follow the order and proceed.”

In other words, he didn't think that his concealed march could pass through here safely. He could only proceed carefully based on the situation and when it was unavoidable.

"Let's talk tomorrow."

Although he could reach Gule City in a detour of more than sixty miles, he simply calculated the time and found that with two extra days of effort, he could arrive within the time specified by the military order.

But don’t forget, a detour may be safe, but what you encounter on the road is out of your control. You still have to climb over the mountain, but the terrain is slightly gentler.

If there is any slight abnormality, military orders may be missed.

Therefore, Qi Jiguang decided to act according to the original plan and not change the marching route.

As for the dodge that is difficult to climb, it will depend on the situation at that time. If possible, send Ye Bushou up the mountain to investigate, and then the army will pass.

On that day, the Jizhen Army camped ten miles away from Sandaokou. Qi Jiguang immediately sent a large number of sentries to patrol the surrounding area, and one of them came directly towards Sandaokou to investigate.

The entire Qi Jiguang camp was made up of side carriages on the outside, with the carriages facing the outside, and small chariots connected inside to form a camp wall, which could also be used to restrain various ministries.

Nothing happened that night, and the army set out after breakfast at dawn the next day.

Yesterday, the sentry detectives had explored three intersections and found no abnormalities along the way.

The hillside on one side is quite steep and it is indeed difficult to climb up.

It was dark at this time, so there was no way to climb up.

However, in this march, the original vanguard army marching column was two steps behind. In front of them, there were two Ming army columns with ten carts each and a mixed vehicle and infantry battalion.

These two groups were naturally elite soldiers sent by Qi Jiguang to control the entrances and exits on both sides of the river valley.

When marching and fighting in ancient times, generals had long noticed that in some areas, there were often sections of roads that were difficult to bypass.

And these road sections are areas where it is extremely easy to be ambushed. How to crack the enemy's ambush tactics is naturally also a very important tactic.

The simplest response to this is to go around and avoid the dangerous area directly.

But since it is already a place that is impossible or difficult to go around, then naturally we can only bite the bullet and pass by here.

The so-called ambush mostly involves setting up an ambush circle and carrying out pincer attacks from the front and back.

Therefore, in dangerous areas, it is particularly important to control the front and rear exits before the army passes by, so as not to be taken advantage of by the enemy.

"Whenever an army is marching in a place surrounded by mountains and forests, to guard against an ambush, it must first select three to two hundred strong men to sneak past in dangerous and unprepared places and get them out. It is also necessary to select brave men to search on the road, or to use them from high mountains or treetops. People inspect it to see if there is any hidden ambush, divide the troops at the front and rear, and then send out the troops first, young and old, and follow them with infantry. "

This is the way to deal with this situation proposed by "Wu Jing Zong Yao", and Qi Jiguang also deeply agrees.

The first two teams were all soldiers who were strong and good at climbing. They were the troops in the Jizhen Army who specialized in seizing the entrance and exit of the valley.

As the two groups moved forward, the vanguard group slowly followed up. The distance between the two sides was only a few miles, so that they could be seen from both front and back, so that information could be conveyed through the flags.

Soon, the ten carts at the front covered more than 300 soldiers and arrived at Sanhekou.

Qi Jiguang looked at it from a distance and found that it was difficult to climb as the guide said.

However, the difficulty of climbing refers to ordinary soldiers. For those who are good at this, such as military sentries, there are always powerful people who can climb up.

As long as one person can go up, there will be a way to pull more people up the mountain.

After measuring the distance, the ten carts selected the correct location to form a simple camp, and the Fran cannon was also set up. After all preparations were made, a hundred or so Ming soldiers approached the foot of the mountain and began to observe carefully to find the route up the mountain.

Qi Jiguang was not in a hurry and inspected today's march.

The baggage vehicles were divided into three teams, with the cavalry and infantry mainly distributed in the front and rear of the queue. Only the chariots and the killer team temporarily attached to the chariots followed closely beside the large vehicle.

Finally, the Ming army in front selected a route and began to climb. At this time, Qi Jiguang's attention was also looking at the distant mountains.

There were no traces of people on the mountain top, and there was nothing unusual about it.

However, if infantry cannot be arranged to occupy the front and rear entrances and exits today, Qi Jiguang's army will never pass through here.

The time given by the military order is sufficient. He will never take risks in such a place. He would rather waste time and use a rapid march to recover than secretly cross in a dangerous area.

At this time, behind the mountain, Wang Gao and his generals gathered here. The spies he had previously deployed on the top of the mountain had sent back the news that the elite Ming army had climbed up the mountain.

Although he had arranged everything long ago, there were not many ways he could deal with the Ming army's cautious tactics.

If they lead the army up at this time, there is no doubt that their combat purpose will be exposed.

But if they don't move out, they will still be at risk of being exposed after the Ming army takes over the hilltop.

Moreover, attacking the mountain top controlled by the Ming army does not seem to be an easy task. There are tens of thousands of Ming troops at the foot of the mountain.

Although it is difficult to climb here, it is just not conducive to the Ming army quickly sending troops to support. It is possible to climb the mountain along the rope, but the speed is slightly slower.

"Mange, go up, otherwise the Ming army will seize the top of the mountain and it will be difficult for us to fight."

"Yes, even if we can't ambush Ming Gou, we can still stop them here for a few days."

The men began to talk nonsense.

Of course they knew the consequences of doing so, and they also knew that if they didn't initiate it, the ambush behind them would be even more difficult to fight.

Anyway, this is what happens when you encounter a cautious Ming army general. It is definitely impossible to set up an ambush.

Wang Gao brought only more than 3,000 troops with him on this trip. He blocked the two ends and arranged 1,000 people. The remaining 1,000 people were on the mountain to kill the Ming army.

The Jurchens are a nomadic people and are naturally familiar with bows and arrows. It can be said that most of the people he brought can draw a few arrows with their bows.

However, the current situation let him know that his original plan had failed.

Unexpectedly, the Ming army generals were so cautious. Thinking of this, Wang Gao decisively ordered: "Aqig, Dekole, you lead two hundred people out of three passes to pretend to attack the Ming army.

As long as they fight back, you will immediately lead your subordinates to withdraw. "

Wang Gao saw that there was no way to successfully attack the ambush, so he sent troops to lure him.

If the temptation doesn't come in, then this plan has failed.

In order to preserve his strength, he could only withdraw to Gule City and defend the city.

"Yes."

The two people who were named immediately trotted away, and soon a group of cavalry was dispatched, galloping towards Sandaokou.

At this time, the Ming army who was climbing had reached halfway up the mountain. Suddenly, the people on the mountain sent out a burst of semaphores downwards.

These actions were naturally seen clearly by Qi Jiguang.

These semaphores were created by him. Although they are not original, the content has been enriched by him and the information they can convey is more accurate.

"There is an enemy attack in the valley."

Qi Jiguang just frowned slightly and understood immediately.

At this time, the Ming army had not yet gone up the mountain, and there was no sign of the enemy on the top of the mountain. It was obvious that the enemy was coming from the river valley to kill.

If there is an ambush, it means that there is an ambush by the Jurchens here.

Qi Jiguang's smile on his lips can expose the opponent, and he will win most of the battle.

Obviously, his caution left the enemy general with no choice but to lure the enemy deeper.

This is a double-edged sword. If you expose yourself, it depends on what kind of person the opponent's general is. If you are impatient, you may lead your troops to pursue him, and then fall into the opponent's trap.

Of course Qi Jiguang is not such a person. He is strong enough, so he doesn't need to use any scheming or tricks, he just needs to attack openly and openly.

When the enemy is strong and outnumbered, what else can I say about tactics? I can win with a steady and steady attack.

This is also the reason why the Ming Dynasty rarely suffered defeats in foreign wars after it established itself.

With its strong national power, the Ming Dynasty could assemble an army far superior to its enemies and dominate the battlefield with a crushing attitude.

As for the strategy, it is a trick that only the weak will choose.

Facing the sudden attack of a large group of cavalry, the Ming army formation at Taniguchi seemed to have been prepared for a long time. Some soldiers quickly sprinkled iron caltrops outside the formation, and at the same time connected ten chariots in series with iron chains. Firearmsmen were already ready Start loading ammunition and be ready to fire.

This was Qi Jiguang's strategy against the enemy, using firearms to defeat his opponents.

As for why the gunmen were used to replace the archers who were preferred by various towns in the Ming army during this period, it was not because archers were difficult to train.

In fact, there were many archers in the Ming army, and their archery skills were inherited from their families. But so what, many archers had actually changed their jobs and became farmers, only tending the fields.

Although the bowstrings of the Ming army were not made of beef tendon in the past, they were made of mulberry silk. More than 20 silk threads were used as bones, and then the silk threads were wound tightly in circles.

The cost of bowstrings made in this way is also high, so in fact, except for the generals' personal soldiers, most military households cannot get such bowstrings.

Even in order to make ends meet, even if you have such a bowstring, you will usually find a way to cash in and solve the problem of food.

This also resulted in fewer and fewer archers in the Ming army, and most of the good archers were recruited by the generals.

So by this time, the Ming army's medium and long-range fire strikes had almost been taken care of by firearmsmen, using artillery and blunderbuss.

When the cavalry led by Azige and others entered the range of the Ming army's firearms, the rumbling sound of artillery started immediately.

"Boom boom boom"

Twenty Fran cannons fired rapidly, and the iron balls smashed bloody alleys in the cavalry queue.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Aziger quickly ordered the troops to retreat, and the Ming army formed a military formation in the courtyard.

This place is inherently narrow and the cavalry cannot deploy at all, but they will lose more than twenty people in one fell swoop.

"withdraw."

Knowing that there was no way to fight, Aziger decisively ordered.

And when Wang Gao, who was behind the mountain, heard the Ming army's artillery fire, his face turned pale.

Of course the Jurchens were also familiar with the weapons of the Ming army and knew that they were the sound of cannons being fired.

Just with so many cannons, Wang Gao knew that the situation over there was probably not good.

"Withdraw, return to Gule City."

There is no point in continuing to struggle here. If he stays out for too long and gives Li Chengliang an opportunity, Gule City will be in danger.

He has received news that there is not much that Lailihong can do to intercept the Ming army's advance, and they can only retreat all the way.

It can be said that the combat power of the two sides is not at the same level at all. (End of chapter)