The pirate team under Hu Dabao certainly didn't understand Yang Zhen's arrangement. They had never done this kind of work before, and they were not happy to do it now.

However, the soldiers on the left and right wings of Zhang Chen's musketeers had experienced the trench ambush battle at the mouth of the Xiaoling River before, and everyone at the top and bottom had realized the effectiveness of their own army's trench warfare style in the face of the Tatar cavalry attack.

Advantages.

Especially Zhang Chen, who has experienced battles for a long time, has seen clearly that on the plains and wilderness, his army forms an infantry formation to defend against the enemy. Facing the fierce charge of the Tatar cavalry, unless all the troops can be like the stone pillar chieftain commanded by Qin Liangyu,

The white pole soldiers are so disciplined that everyone puts life and death at risk. Otherwise, no matter how many infantrymen are in the formation and what weapons they use, almost all of them will be on the weaker side, and the result will be at the mercy of others.

But now, with trenches for shelter, parapets for cover, and improved firearms, the situation is completely different.

Once the infantry musketeers holding firearms moved from the ground to the trenches below the ground, they had a basic basis for protecting themselves.

With the trenches as shelter, when faced with the fierce attack of the Tatars, turning around and fleeing for their lives was no longer the only option they had.

Not only Zhang Chen himself, but also the veterans on the left and right wings of Zhang Chen's musketeers have already realized this.

Therefore, after receiving the task of digging trenches, they hurried all the way to the designated place, selected the location for digging, rolled up their sleeves and got to work without saying a word.

Fortunately, it was already late spring at this time, and the land on the Liaodong Peninsula had already thawed, so the ground was not hard.

And because the location of Xiongyue Town is on the estuary plain where the Xiangshui River is located, the shallow soil is mostly loose sand, so it is not difficult to dig.

Moreover, with the shovels that Yang Zhen deliberately asked Songshan Steel to prepare, it would be easier to dig trenches in such sandy soil with a special shovel.

In this way, on the early morning of April 29, the twelfth year of Chongzhen, from around three o'clock to Mao o'clock, Yang Zhentong led a team of hundreds of people for the first time to attack behind enemy lines. It took nearly two hours to quietly attack Xiongyue City.

On the periphery, various fortifications were excavated to prepare for attacking the city and defending on the spot.

By the time the sky in the east was already bright and the sun was about to rise, the fortifications on the north, west and south sides of Xiongyue City were basically completed.

The terrain of the Liaodong Peninsula is a typical mountainous and hilly terrain. Although there are no high mountains and dangerous peaks, there are shallow mountains and hills everywhere. Only on both sides of the peninsula near the sea are some small valleys and plains scattered here and there.

Xiongyue City is located on a narrow valley plain on the north bank of the Xiangshui River. Not far to the north are undulating mountains. Not far to the south is the Xiangshui River. Not far to the south of the Xiangshui River, there are

Pieces of hills and forests.

An ancient post road built as early as the early Ming Dynasty, winding from the south to the north, over mountains and ridges, connecting Lushunkou, Fuzhou City, Xiongyue City, Gaizhou City, and all the way to Haizhou

, Liaoyang and what is now the so-called Shengjing City.

This ancient post road, which has been in disrepair for a long time, passes through the stone bridge on the Xiangshui River near Shiqiaozi, enters the south gate of Xiongyue City, then passes through the small city, and exits from the north gate. Not far away, there is a hillside with gentle undulations.

Because this hillside is only more than one mile away from the north gate of Xiongyue City, it is called Yilipo.

In the past, Yilipo, like Shiqiaozi, was a place where hawkers and merchants traveling from north to south would rest and spend the night outside Xiongyue City. Although it was not as good as Shiqiaozi in terms of food and drink, there were still a few wild people here.

Tea shop.

But now, except for a few broken walls and ruins, there is nothing left in the Yilipo area.

The first echelon of troops led by Yang Zhentong detoured outside the north gate of Xiongyue and quickly selected the location of their position on a slope of one mile.

By daybreak, the one-mile slope of the ancient post road leading to Gaizhou from the north gate of Xiongyue City had been blocked by several deep trenches dug by Yang Zhen's team.

The trench fortifications excavated under the command of Yang Zhen consisted of two parts. The first half stretched out along both sides of the Yilipo Post Road, facing the north gate of Xiongyue City less than a mile away, relying on the remaining broken walls.

, forming an external splay-shaped trumpet mouth fortification,

At the same time, on the post road in front of this splayed bell mouth fortification, there are also horse traps dug by Yang Zhen's men.

Behind this outer eight-shaped trench fortification is an I-shaped trench excavated on a mile-long slope - two trenches in front and back. In front of each trench, there is a parapet made of excavated sand.

In the middle of these two trenches, they are connected by a communication trench.

In fact, such fortifications are not complicated and have no technical content at all.

Although the post road surface here at Yilipo is firmer than the sandy soil near the river bank, about a hundred people worked for half a night and dug it out.

At dawn, the rising sun suddenly appeared in the east of Xiongyue City, and the fog on the ground began to gradually dissipate.

Yang Zhen inspected the Yilipo position and was very satisfied with the fortifications built by his soldiers. Then he summoned the military attachés around him at the edge of the trench and above, and said to them:

"It's going to be bright soon! After dawn, we will go to the north gate of Xiongyue City to alert the snakes and tell them that we are coming!

"Before alerting the enemy, the main forces from the west and south of the city must gather here to prepare for the battle. In a moment, Jin Shijun and Hu Liu will rush to deliver the order and summon Li Lu. After Anqing, Zhang Chen and Hu Dabao's troops will come here quickly!

"After alerting the enemy, when the Tatars in the city learn that we are here, they may have two reactions - one is to immediately go out of the city to fight in an attempt to use their existing strength to eliminate us on the spot!

"If the Tatars in the city are really so arrogant, then we will use our strategy to lure them here directly, rely on this fortification, launch a defensive counterattack, and try to prevent them from coming back!"

After Yang Zhen said this, he glanced at the faces of Lu Pinqi, Jin Shijun, Deng En and other military attachés. He saw that they all nodded and understood what he meant. Then he looked at Xiong Yuecheng in the distance and continued:

"Secondly, when the Tatars in the city learned that we were here, there is another possibility. They would immediately send a messenger to the south and order the Heavenly Assistance Army stationed at the foot of Shipeng Mountain to cross the river to come to the rescue! They wanted to give us an inside-out cooperation and an inside-out attack.

, also wiped us out under Xiongyue City——

"If this is the case, then things will be easy to handle! When the time comes, we will guard Shiqiaozi with some troops, and use the main force to cross the bridge and go south. God will help the troops who call for reinforcements first!"

Having said this, Yang Zhen looked firmly at Xiong Yuecheng who had a clear outline as the fog dissipated. He paused for a moment, then looked back at the people around him and asked:

"This is my next plan! Brother Lu, do you have any different thoughts or opinions in your mind?!"

Yang Zhen looked at Lu Pinqi, waiting for his answer.

Lu Pinqi originally had some objections, especially regarding the matter of leading everyone to dig trenches on a slope one mile away from the north gate of Xiongyue City in the middle of the night.

In his opinion, since the main purpose of encirclement and reinforcements this time is to set up an ambush on both sides of the post road between Shiqiaozi and Shipengshan, the main force should go south early, instead of going to the north of Xiongyue City.

What trench.

However, after he dug a trench in Yilipo in the middle of the night, and especially after listening to Yang Zhencai's words, Lu Pinqi, who originally knew something about the Manchu Tatars, finally figured it out.

The Manchurian Tatars with white flags in Xiongyue City are not the same Liaoxi Ming army as themselves.

These Manchu Tatars with white flags are not afraid of people like themselves at all. When people find out that someone is besieging the city, their first reaction is probably not to send people out to ask for help, but to attack directly from the city.

If one's side really compares one's feelings with one's own, and uses one's own heart to judge the Tatars' belly, that is, using one's own side's fighting style to guess the possible reaction of the Tatars, then it is possible to steal the chicken but not lose the rice, but be defeated instead.

It would be terrible if Niu Lu, the man with the white flag in the city, was caught off guard.

At this time, Lu Pinqi had already thought up many possibilities on his own, so even though he knew that many of his subordinates were unhappy, he finally shook his head after listening to Yang Zhen's question.

said:

"No! There is no different opinion! The Commander-in-Chief did not think about victory, but thought about defeat first. He thought carefully about it. This arrangement - it is very appropriate! It's just -

"It's just that the way you fight, one link after another, is a little complicated! There can be no mistakes in the front and back, the succession, the transition, and the transition. Everyone needs to be aware of this and make preparations for continuous operations in advance.

Prepare!"

After Yang Zhen heard Lu Pinqi's words, he nodded immediately, and he also fully recognized Lu Pinqi's statement in his heart.

The same is true of what he is most worried about right now. He is afraid that his tactical ideas are too complicated, that his requirements for the quality of his soldiers are too high, and that his troops will not be able to implement them properly.

Once this happens, no matter how good the idea is, it will come to nothing.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhen pondered for a moment, turned around and said to Jin Shijun: "Adjutant Jin! You go and deliver the order now! Please ask Zhang Chen, Hu Dabao, and Li Lu to personally lead the main force of their men after Anqing and come quickly.

Poe assembles!

"At the same time, I must also convey my order, asking them to leave a small group of troops outside Shiqiaozi and the West Wall, hiding in place, and waiting for orders!"
Chapter completed!