Ming Empire

Chapter 125 regret

Cao Yue was thankful that Jiannu did not continue to attack with all his strength, and gave him the opportunity to withdraw all his troops to the city.Jiannu, who had suffered heavy losses, was also thankful that they had the opportunity to withdraw from the battle, and the Ming army, which had gained the absolute upper hand, did not pursue them, otherwise they might not have the chance to escape.

The situation on the battlefield, in fact, in many cases, the two sides have no way to truly judge, even for a person like Dorgon who is so talented and has rich battlefield experience.He was also thankful for being able to successfully withdraw his troops from the battlefield. He did not expect that the Ming army was at the end of its strength. As long as his troops persisted for another half an hour, or even shorter, the Ming army's muskets would no longer be able to organize a strong force. With the firepower net, the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty could rush to the front of the Ming army and fight to the death with the Datong army.The authorities are obsessed, and this cannot be avoided at any time.

After withdrawing the troops and returning to the camp, Dorgon did not dare to be careless, and ordered all the generals to be on guard, not to give the Ming army any chance to sneak attack.If any camp is attacked by the Ming army, it will be severely punished.Because Chahan and Sonamu died in battle, the remnants they led were also merged into the names of Man Zhulixi and Wu Keshan.The remnants of Geng Zhongming were also divided up by several other traitors.In addition to reorganizing the forces, Dorgon also strictly arranged the defense of the big camp, and added a large number of defensive measures such as horse refusal, traps, and tripping ropes.

Having fought against the Ming army for many years, Dorgon had never encountered such a battle before. He was puzzled. How did Cao Yue, a young man in his weak years, train such a powerful army?The combat effectiveness of the Ming army is reflected in the high-intensity and intensive shooting of muskets, but the ability to display such frightening power of muskets is also inseparable from the overall high quality of the Datong army.

If the Datong army were just a group of mobs, it would be impossible to exert such combat power if they were given more muskets and gunpowder.In the past, the Ming army, which was guarding a strong city and also possessed firearms, faced the attack of the Qing army with inferior forces and fled without fighting from time to time.Almost no Ming army could be so calm and not mess up when the Qing army launched a large-scale attack.

Dorgon knew that if the soldiers of the Ming army were afraid and messed up their formation when the Qing army attacked, it would inevitably cause a chain reaction, and the entire musket formation might collapse without a fight.Therefore, he determined that the combat effectiveness of the Datong Army was inseparable from their overall quality in addition to possessing a large number of muskets.This is an excellent army in every respect, with strict discipline and orderly advance and retreat.

Even if they are not equipped with a large number of firearms, it is certain to pay a high price to eliminate them.

"No matter how much it costs, the Datong Army and Cao Yue must be wiped out. Otherwise, the myth of invincibility established by the Qing army in front of the Ming army will soon be shattered. There will be no Ming army in future wars." Things that collapse without a fight happen!"

Morale is a very strange thing, invisible and intangible, but it has a great impact.

Originally, when the Qing soldiers faced the Ming army, they never had any fear. Hundreds or even dozens of horses dared to attack the tens of thousands of Ming troops. It can be said that the morale of the Qing army completely overwhelmed the Ming army. .But after two battles of Datong, things turned around.

The soldiers of the Qing Dynasty were almost frightened when they faced the musket fire of the Ming army.When the Datong army faced the Qing army, they had no fear and their morale was high.This trend will be difficult to reverse if we do not deal a severe blow to the Datong Army and disseminate its news.

If the Datong army is wiped out, then the Ming army will be frightened again, and no one will dare to line up to meet the Qing army when they face the Qing army.Therefore, Dorgon decided that no matter what, he must capture Datong City and wipe out the Datong Army.

"It's a big deal to bury all the Han army and the Eight Mongolian Banners under the city of Datong!" This is Dorgon's secret determination.

He was going to adopt Fan Wencheng's suggestion, instead of hoping for a quick battle, he would adopt tactics of siege and attrition to surround Datong City in groups, cut Datong from the outside world, and consume the gunpowder in the city through continuous siege , Let the muskets of the Datong Army become decorations.

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Cao Yue was of course very happy to have won the night raid and used the pre-set musket array to successfully injure Jiannu who was trying to fight back.After withdrawing all the troops to the city, he, together with Sun Chuanting, Wei Daben, and Zhang An, reported the news of Datong's victory to Emperor Chongzhen in Beijing and asked for credit for the soldiers.

The brilliance of today's battle is far better than the result of defeating Geng Zhongming outside the city last time.According to Cao Yue's estimate, at least [-] to [-] Jiannu died in yesterday's battle.

For Jiannu, the small population is their biggest shortcoming.

It is very cost-effective to consume a lot of their vitality, even if you pay double the price.The population of Daming was over [-] million, but the number of slaves was only a few hundred thousand. With such a loss ratio, when the population of slaves disappeared, Daming was not even injured.

The victory made Cao Yue very excited, but there was a reality that worried him.

That is, the number of muskets and muskets in Datong City is seriously insufficient.

After several months of overtime production and procurement from other places, the number of muskets originally owned by the Datong Army reached about [-], and the amount of gunpowder was also very spectacular.But after the last battle, last night, and today's daytime battles, muskets and gunpowder were greatly consumed.In particular, the loss rate of muskets was so high that Cao Yue was worried.

According to Cao Yue's estimate, there are no more than [-] muskets that can be used in the Datong Army and those that can be repaired and used. That is to say, there is no way for two and a half musket battalions to be equipped with a gun.If there is another battle, the loss rate of muskets will continue to increase, and eventually there will be no guns available.The situation of gunpowder is a little bit better. Although the finished gunpowder consumes a lot, there are still a lot of raw materials for making gunpowder, and there may be surprise production.Also, now that Datong City is not completely surrounded by Jiannu, some supplies can be brought in from outside the city.

After withdrawing troops and returning to the city, together with Sun Chuanting, he convened the generals to discuss the follow-up arrangements, and after making the latest arrangement, Cao Yue also immediately asked for Wei Daben. A batch of saltpeter came in, just in case.

Wei Daben knew that Cao Yue was in urgent need of saltpeter, so he agreed without any excuses.

But just when Cao Yue was nervously making arrangements and at the same time guarding against the possible attack of Jiannu, another piece of very bad news came.

The rogues led by Liu Zongmin and Li Yan, who had already retreated westward, stopped their retreat and came towards Datong again.

There is no need for too much analysis, Cao Yue can immediately come to the conclusion that the bandits must have heard the news that Jiannu invaded the south and was planning to attack Datong, and wanted to reap the benefits of the fisherman.

"Damn rogues, damn Li Yan, I really shouldn't be kind to them," Cao Yue regretted letting Li Yan go!
(End of this chapter)