Win the Ding 1617

"Report! Tongguan Cao Beile has an emergency military situation!"

"Read!"

"Li Chuang's puppet Wushan Bo Ma Shiyao's troops have millions of people in Tongguan, digging heavy trenches, erecting strong walls, building forts, digging and covering ditches to fight our army! Cao Beile's attacks were frustrated several times and suffered a lot of losses! It is also reported that Tian Jianxiu, the puppet Mianhou who was stationed in Chang'an, made a great contribution to the puppet rebels who were stationed in Suide and Hanzhong. Min commanded 30 troops to cross the river and go north from Pingyang. He also reported rebellion. Li Zicheng himself commanded 350 million soldiers and set off from Chang'an on the second day of July. Marching troops from three routes will come in the next day. Cao Beile asked the two masters to quickly reinforce Luoyang Tongguan Line!"

The urgent military situation was like a basin of cold water, which immediately cooled down the atmosphere in the banquet hall that was already in full swing.Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay.

After a while, Duoduo laughed wildly in the Yin'an Hall: "Okay! Okay! I'm not afraid of you, Li Chuang, fighting my Qing soldiers and horses! I'm afraid you will run around! This king will chase you everywhere!"

His attitude can be regarded as a reassurance for the generals present, that's right!Li Zicheng's Dashun Army's main force was all on top, and Cao Zhenyan was just a Baylor, commanding the side division of the West Road troops, how could he get a bargain in a place like Tongguan, which has always been a natural danger?

"Today we only need to drink enough wine and eat enough meat. We will return to the camp tomorrow to rectify our military equipment, and we will dispatch troops in three days!" Duoduo raised the copper bowl in his hand and shouted loudly.

"Subordinates listen to the general! After drinking enough wine and eating enough meat, we will send troops to Tongguan in the future!"

The generals of the Eight Banners and the newly attached army responded in unison like a pack of wolves howling.

Half a month later, Duoduo's army arrived at the front line of Tongguan via Luoyang and Shan County, and joined forces with Cao Zhenyan and Cao Beile in front of Niutouyuan. Not far ahead was Jindou Pass, the first pass of Tongguan.

This journey made Duduo and his generals miserable.There are ravines and ravines everywhere along the way, and fragmented earthen plains, earthen beams, and earthen ditches stand in all directions. Sometimes the distance between the two plains seems to be very short, but it is not easy to walk. Some people in Zhili, Henan, Shandong, etc. surrendered to the Qing army. The generals are extremely uncomfortable, and deeply feel what it means to be close at hand and far away.

This is the case here in Tongguan. The long-term erosion of running water, coupled with the strong water permeability and subsidence of the loess, has led to a lack of vegetation protection for thousands of years. It is like a plateau slope that has been divided into fragments, interlaced with ravines, and increased the difficulty of passage.

The road surface was very dry, when a gust of north wind swept past, the loess rose up all over the sky, and the sky and the earth suddenly became a khaki, wrapping people and horses in the loess.The road is not wide, and many places are so narrow that even a wheelbarrow cannot pass through it. There are also some broken gullies crossing it, making the road surface even more uneven.The steep plateau walls on both sides extend, full of weeds and vines intertwined, uneven, occasionally dotted with a few low jujube trees and dogwoods, the exposed soil walls seem to be like that for thousands of years, with an indescribable sense of desolation , as if immersed in the vicissitudes of history for thousands of years, the desolation and weight are deeply pressed in people's hearts.

However, Duoduo had no time to reminisce about the ancients and history at this time. He stubbornly responded to Cao Zhenyan's banquet to clean up the dust with a whip. Accompanied by Cao Zhenyan, he led his generals to observe the terrain in Tongguan.

At this time, his 10,000+ infantry artillery team was passing through the Xiyu Gudonggou Stone Bridge at the junction of Henan and Shaanxi, and camped on Pingchuan, five miles away from Jindouguan, north and east of Niutouyuan.

This Sichuan borders the Yellow River in the north, and although there are terraced plateaus, the drop is generally not large, and it is almost a flat plateau, which is suitable for camping.Originally there were quite a few villages in Sichuan, but at this time, of course, all the villagers and people had fled.In addition, the hilly land along the river was also controlled to ensure drinking water for the army.

Not only that, Duoduo ordered to cut down trees and build a bridge on Donggou. He didn't want it to be strong for ten thousand years, as long as people, horses and vehicles could pass within one or two years.Otherwise, a mere stone bridge cannot meet the transportation needs of the army.

The terrain of Tongguan is full of ravines and ravines. It is easy to set up an ambush, especially from Jindouguan to Dongchengmen. It's not working.

"Damn it! Such a dangerous terrain, and the intruders built fortifications relying on the terrain. Our army's soldiers and horses go in too much at once, and the mountain road is narrow and cannot be used. That is the target of others. If you go in less, it is useless , it’s also sending meat to wolves! No wonder Cao Beile suffers here!”

After seeing Jindou Pass, the generals under Duoduo frowned unanimously and took a breath of cold air.

On the plateau, in the gullies, you can vaguely see ditches, bunkers, forts set up by the Dashun Army, and cave-style fortifications with strong local characteristics, and it is not clear what they are used for.However, from the location of those fortifications, these battle-tested generals were able to draw a picture in their minds: their soldiers and horses rushed in along the mountain road, were shot from the artillery emplacements on the plateau, The cannons, lead bullets, and bows and arrows fired in the bunker fell to the ground like shooting prey.Even if they rushed over by chance, maybe at the turn of the mountain road, there is a brigade of Dashun soldiers hidden behind them. The knives and guns in their hands will happily release the blood of these Qing soldiers and horses who rushed in by luck, and use it to nourish the body. The yellow earth under your feet!

With the help of binoculars, people can carefully observe the Yuanwang Ditch, which is still strengthening fortifications and transforming the terrain, outside the effective range of the artillery.The scene in the lens tube made people a little dumbfounded. A few people behind Doduo made a "hissing" sound like a toothache, which was that they were sucking in air-conditioning.

People with white goat belly handkerchiefs on their heads shuttle back and forth non-stop, busy like hardworking ants, cutting cliffs, digging ditches, digging caves, and building earth walls.

There are many dangers along the Yuanwanggou, and many plateau slopes are steep and straight. However, there are still many trails crossing the ditch due to the long-term contacts between the people. There are also many gentle places in the ditch, and there are official roads on both sides of the passage.

The places where people are busy building fortifications and changing the terrain are those places where it is easy to cross the ditch and go up the plateau. From the middle uphill, dense low walls are built on the road. Slope road conditions are distributed layer by layer.

Unlike the straight high roads of later generations, the small roads at this time are of course winding and zigzagging according to the slope. The junction area between Henan and Shaanxi belongs to the plateau structure, and the slopes are mostly of that kind of step shape, like layers of terraced fields. Similarly, form a good natural line of defense.Those ladder cliffs are generally one foot high, or about two or three feet high, and basically have a ninety-degree slope.

A series of low walls are built on the ladder cliff, and the height is about the chest of a person.The defenders can shoot arrows with blunderbusses, or protect their own bow and arrow firearms, but if their own side attacks uphill, it is basically within the range of the defenders' side firepower behind the low wall, which is naturally at a disadvantage.

Because it is a small road, the troops cannot be deployed.It is not so easy to climb up from the bottom of the ladder cliff, so you can only squeeze on the road and get beaten.

Because of the low wall, the people on the opposite side dug soil under the earth cliff, making many trenches in those places, making it more difficult to climb.

Not only that, because of the topography of the plateau, there are gullies and some trails in many of them.It winds up the plateau from the valley, and on both sides of the road, there are many Liangmao soil bags.The road passes down, and the hills are on both sides. If there is a pass at one place, the defenders guard the two sides, and there will be one man guarding the pass, and no one will be able to open it.

This gully path.According to the favorable terrain, the defenders also built many low walls.If one's own side attacks, it will face fire from both sides.

At some of the wider intersections, fortifications were also built, and the black holes of the cannons could be vaguely staring at each other, and the two sides of the fortifications were also protected by low walls.Relying on the terrain, the artillery fortress was built like the horse face of the city, protruding from the fortifications of the low wall, and supporting each other with the artillery fortifications on the left and right wings within the range of range, forming crossfire. Once the Qing army broke in, the artillery fortress The artillery in it can be eliminated with side fire to provide fire support to one's own side.Not only that, in front of each fort, in addition to using thorn baskets and wicker baskets filled with soil to defend against shells, a deep pit was dug in front of the fort, presumably also for defense against artillery projectiles.

Between those layers of low walls, it is dark, and it seems that there are trenches between each other for mutual communication and mobilization of troops.Duoduo clearly saw that some of the ladder cliffs were piled up into oblique waves, which was convenient for the defenders on all lines of defense to reinforce or retreat, and they could also rely on these facilities to carry out counterattacks.

In addition to the layout on the plateau slope, there are also large and small cannons in many places on the edge of the plateau, and the surrounding areas are protected by soil baskets filled with loess.

Because the distance between the two plateaus is different, some are more than 100 steps, some are more than one mile, and some are two or three miles. close to each other.

This kind of fortification made Duoduo look very familiar.It wasn't just him, many of the Eight Banners generals and officers who followed him all the way to the Sanqin gate under his Golden Dragon banner were familiar with this defensive position.If they were not on the attacking side, they would feel that such a position looks very friendly!

The Tashan Department adopted a similar defense system against Li Huamei in Tashan.It's just that they are now on the offensive side, and they are not like Li Huamei, who can flood the defenders' positions with flames at any cost.

However, unlike Li Huamei's coming across the sea, Duoduo has a lot of cannon fodder that can be used for consumption. Among the 10,000+ troops, the Eight Banners' troops are no more than ten thousand, and the rest are all obtained from surrendering and rebels along the way, which can be used for him to squander.

"I don't know how many casualties will be caused by taking this Yuanwanggou."

"It's just that this is the only official road to go west. Don't go here. Cannons and luggage are difficult to transport."

Duoduo and Cao Zhenyan were talking in low voices in Manchurian.

"Without cannons, Tongguan City cannot be captured. Fight! This Yuanwang ditch will be filled with 1 people, and I will take it down for him!"

Duoduo was very firm, but Cao Zhenyan was born as their brother's coat, so he was very clear about the master's thoughts in his heart.Duoduo wanted to use Tongguan's offensive to attract the main force of Li Zicheng's troops here.He also saw the military newspaper that Yulin City in the north had been captured by Jiang Xiang and others, and nearly 10 people came from northern Shaanxi to Guanzhong.Tongguan's terrain is certainly not conducive to offense, but it is also not conducive to maneuvering for the defensive side.As long as the army from the north reaches Guanzhong, Li Zicheng's Dashun army will be in chaos without a fight!

Moreover, the strategic significance of Yuanwanggou is indeed worth fighting for at the cost of casualties.This official road in Yuanwanggou controls east-west traffic. Although there are roads in other places, such as the village-level roads of later generations, they can only communicate with each village.Even taking the trail would work.I often don't know how many unjust detours to take, and many roads are not suitable for the passage of large stocks of luggage.The importance of roads to the transportation of supplies is naturally clear to the generals of the Qing army who have had many artillery pieces since the period outside the customs.However, if it takes so many troops to fight for each ditch, it will not only delay the time, but also be detrimental to Duoduo's reputation.

Cao Zhenyan pondered for a moment and said: "Master, this servant has also surveyed the terrain around Tongguan these days. In my humble opinion, it is better for our army to capture Niutouyuan and deploy soldiers and horses along the slope of Huangtu Lane, so that we will not be afraid of intruders." Set up an ambush."

Everyone looked towards Niutouyuan, looking up from the bottom, the plateau was like continuous mountains.This plateau is located in the south of Pingchuan. After crossing the Xiyu Gudonggou at the junction of Henan and Shaanxi, it spreads from east to west and extends to the side of Yuanwanggou.There are still many trails in Shangyuan, and it is easy for horse infantry to go up, which is also a countermeasure.Moreover, if the heavy artillery of the artillery team is pulled up, it can provide artillery support for the Qing army's infantry attack.

"Go! Go and see!"

With a single whip and Juechen, Duoduo was in front, Cao Zhenyan followed closely behind, and hundreds of fine horsemen set off the sky full of yellow dust.A group of people went up to the plateau, and the vast plateau in front of them gave people a kind of spiritual shock.This Niutouyuan is also called Dongyuan locally.The area is larger than that of the southern plateau, and the terrain is higher in the north and lower in the south. Because it is cut by the Yellow River valley, Yuanwanggou, and Tiegou, the loess platform is named after its shape like a bull's head. It is part of the dry plateau, although there are some fortresses.But soldiers and civilians have been worrying about drinking water for generations. There is a saying in the local area that "if a woman does not marry Niutouyuan, drinking water is more difficult than eating oil".

Right now it is the dry season in winter, and the water in several river ditches in the valley has been decreasing day by day. How can the supply of water be supplied if hundreds of thousands of troops of the Dashun Army of the Qing Army are stationed within a radius of tens of miles?We only got deep and steep iron trenches, and even went to the Yellow River to carry and carry water, and the logistics supply was even more difficult.The mighty soldiers and horses have filled the plateau and plains, and countless auxiliary soldiers and servants are sweating profusely.Busy cutting down trees, excavating soil, transporting stones, digging trenches and setting up camps, all kinds of tents spread all the way to the north of the Yellow River.

On the official road to Yan Township in the east, there are still a steady stream of troops coming. There are carts, wheelbarrows, mules, horses and donkeys like the tide of the sea.

The sound of tsk tsk came from the generals beside him, Prince Yu Duoduo was also very satisfied.The field of vision on this plateau is vast, not to mention the Yellow River, even the Wei River, and the confluence of the two rivers can be seen faintly.

"Master, this servant thinks that your camp should be set up on the plateau. You can control the whole situation from a high position. The river under the plateau can be used as a gathering place for luggage." Cao Zhenyan flattered him very appropriately.This place is where he specially reserved for Duoduo to camp.

The eastern plateau is generally flat and wide, except for the two ends of the plateau, especially near the iron ditch at the southern end, there are many gullies everywhere, such as steep deep ditches, or two opposite and steep cliffs. The slopes on both sides are straight and less curved. This terrain is called "崾崄" by Shaanxi people.

Along the way, Duoduo listened to Cao Zhenyan's introduction to the characteristics of the terrain along the way, and he knew what is a beam, what is a plateau, and what is a mao.The scouring of the river turns the plain into "plateaus", and many ditches divide the "plateau" into many "beams". You can sing to each other, but when you meet, you have to go down the ditch and then up the beam for a long time.

The "beam" was eroded again and there were ditches. These ditches cut the beam into several sections, and each section was surrounded by ditches, leaving only a high mound standing alone. These beams and hills are not a simple matter.

Such terrain is extremely unfavorable for the movement, deployment, and attack of a large number of troops.After seeing the terrain and returning to the camp that Cao Zhenyan prepared for Prince Yu, Duoduo changed his anger when he first arrived in Tongguan, and comforted Cao Zhenyan with nice words.Originally!In such a wicked terrain, it is already a great achievement to be able to fight back to Henan without being counterattacked by the Dashun army.

In Xingyuan, Duoduo comforted and encouraged Cao Beile and Cao Zhenyan with kind words. Outside the camp, on the road leading to Niutouyuan, gunners, drivers, and civilians from the Wuzhenchao Ha camp of the Qing army began to carry the cannons and headed towards Niutouyuan.

The weather was cold, and the ground was frozen as hard as steel.The actions of the heavy artillery seem to be better, but the heavy artillery of the Shenwei generals in the Wuzhenchao Ha camp, which can easily weigh three, four, four, or five thousand kilograms, are full of potholes, and there are car ditches and rain ditches lying on the road from time to time. During the process, every tens of steps forward, he had to stop and find a way to carry the heavy artillery cart over.

The four-wheeled iron gun mounts ran over deep marks on the ground. When passing through these potholes, the gunners even whipped the cattle and horses in front of the guns. Beside each door, a large number of soldiers and civilians gathered, shouting. Desperately carry out the slogan.

In order to hurry, many of the horses and cattle in the camp were exhausted, and even some civilian husbands who were captured to accompany the army and push the cannon were so tired that they vomited blood and fell to the ground.There are also some cows and horses that are so tired that they are foaming at the mouth, and no matter how much the driver whips them, they just can't move forward.