The storm was about to come. Ever since they heard that the Liao Army had taken over Shanhaiguan and Yongping Prefecture, the Peiping Army had set up first-level combat readiness, while the three prefectures in Shuntian, Baoding, and Hejian had seized the time to organize a battle, and the people also left the countryside. Take temporary refuge in the city, and implement a thorough clearing of the North Parallel Province.
On March 15, Wan Lei returned to Beiping City, and with him was the main force of Zhao Quanjie's Second Group Army. Only a few people stayed in Baoding and Hejian Prefectures to maintain public security, while the First Group Army was also in Beiping City. The main force of more than 20,000 troops was assembled in the northeast, ready to meet the Liao army heading south.
Excluding the defenders who must stay in various places, the Peiping Army has about 50,000 mobile troops. It is said that if all 50,000 people return to Beiping City, the city will definitely be preserved. After all, almost all the people in Beiping City are militiamen. There is no reason why a hundred thousand people cannot defend a fortified city.
However, today is different from the past. With the simultaneous use of the two prefectures of Hejian in Baoding, the Peking Army must not only defend the city of Beiping, but also take care of the people of the other two prefectures. If the two prefectures fail, the Peiping Army will not only lose the support of the people, but also the people of Liao. The army will also take the opportunity to grow stronger, and by then I am afraid that even Beiping City will not be able to defend it.
Therefore, the Peiping Army cannot retreat and has nowhere to retreat. If it wants to fight, it must block the Liao Army outside Shuntian Prefecture. Even if it cannot resist it, it cannot allow them to cross Shuntian Prefecture and enter the two Hejian Prefectures of Baoding. Therefore, Shuntian Mansion is the last line of defense.
How to block the Liao army? The Peiping Army Military Commission held an enlarged meeting for this purpose. All generals at battalion level and above attended the meeting. There were dozens of people present. Wan Lei and the important officials of the Military Commission sat in the front row. Without any extra words, the meeting went directly to the topic.
"Everyone, everyone now understands the situation. The Liao army is determined to destroy our Peiping army. Now either they die or we die. Therefore, this battle is related to the fate of our Peiping army. If we do not defeat the Liao army, our Peiping army will be defeated." There will never be peace." Wan Lei glanced around, and the generals below nodded in agreement.
"I have discussed with several members of the Standing Committee of the Military Commission and believe that the Peking Army should take the initiative to prevent the enemy from entering Shuntian Prefecture. If you have any ideas, please feel free to mention them."
"Sir, the Liao army is just the Yan rebels. We were able to drive them away before, and we can do the same this time," a regiment-level general stood up and said. His words were echoed by most generals.
"What's the point of running away? According to me, we should kill all those bastards, let them die without a burial place, and let everyone in the world know what will happen if they offend our Peking Army," another young general said angrily. words caused greater repercussions,
In fact, most of the generals here have experienced the Peking Guard Battle a few years ago. It can be said that they have come out of blood and fire, so they are absolutely confident that they can defeat the Liao army. In addition, many of their relatives and friends died. Under the iron hooves of the Yan rebels, they had long held a hatred in their hearts. This time the Liao army came to their door, of course they would not be polite.
The generals were excited and wanted to support the Liao army now. Wan Lei waved his hands to signal everyone to stop getting excited, "Everyone, our Peiping army is not afraid of any enemy, but we do not despise any enemy. The Liao army is also experienced. After hundreds of battles, they have used every possible means of insidiousness and cruelty. It will not be easy for us to deal with these evil wolves."
"There is a saying in the art of war that only by knowing oneself and the enemy can one win a hundred battles. I have the latest information sent back by the Jingzhong Guards. Please take a look at it before speaking." Wan Lei asked the conference staff to pass out a stack of printed paper.
In fact, since he learned about the change of owners in Shanhaiguan and Yongping Prefecture, Wan Lei ordered all Jingzhong Guard field departments to dispatch, firstly to inquire about the movements of the Liao army, and secondly to incite the soldiers and civilians of Yongping Prefecture to join Shuntian Prefecture. Here " During the transitional period of the handover of power, Shuntian Prefecture received tens of thousands of people from Nanfu every day, almost poaching all the people in Yongping Prefecture.
Of course, a large number of outsiders poured into Beiping City, and the security situation in the city was certainly not optimistic. However, Wan Lei still had a way. While he sent people to resettle the people who had surrendered, he also strictly investigated the spies. And most importantly, Wan Lei asked these people The people made a promise: as long as they stay in their own land and be obedient people, after the war, all the land in Yongping Prefecture will be distributed to them, and no taxes will be collected for three years.
As soon as the policy of land allocation and tax exemption came out, these newly arrived people immediately became obedient and lived in the resettlement site in the north of Beiping City. Although it was a bit crowded due to the large number of people, they had food and shelter, and they did not complain much. Some Young and strong people must strongly urge to join the Peking Army in order to make contributions, but the Peking Army will not accept them. They are temporarily assigned to the militia as a reserve army.
By poaching the common people, this is reducing the reserve resources of the Liao army. The Liao army cannot recruit strong men on the spot, and there will be less cannon fodder. They can only rely on their original strength to compete with the Peiping army. According to Jingzhongwei, the Liao army The army itself has a strength of 70,000, and it has also recruited about 30,000 "DPRK traitor" troops from North Korea, and has also united with Liaodong Huli Gaibu, Oduolian and other female straight tribes, with a total strength of about 120,000, plus There are about 200,000 frontier troops in Shanhaiguan area.
Among the 200,000 people, the original 70,000 people of the Liao army are powerful enemies. The 30,000 traitor troops can be ignored. An army that does not even protect its own country, what can they be expected to protect? As for the female straight tribe , they are just a group of things that work for tigers, wolf cubs who take advantage of what is good and flee when there is no good. The border troops of the Ming Dynasty are absolute scum of war, but it is no wonder that this kind of army that the father does not want and the mother does not want can only be The value of cannon fodder,
However, it is worth noting that the troops of Duoyan Sanwei, who have always been in collusion with the Liao army, have not yet gone south. As for whether they will go south to become accomplices in the future, it is difficult to say.
After reading this piece of information about the distribution of the Liao army's military strength, the generals began to discuss among themselves. Wan Lei took a sip of tea and discussed in a low voice with Zhou Tianshou and Zhao Quanjie beside him.
"Brother Zhou, you have always been in charge of the defense in the Jizhou area. How confident are you that you can keep the Liao army out of Jizhou this time?" Jizhou is located northeast of Shuntian Prefecture, close to Yongping Prefecture. The border is one of the important defense areas of the Peking Army.
"I have been in charge of Jizhou's defense line for several years. After these years of operation, I have set up a security line. But as you know, Brother Wan Xian, the Jizhou area is mostly plains, and there is no danger to defend it. It is very difficult to do so. Ah," Zhou Tianshou frowned and said,
The so-called security line cannot be regarded as a defense line. When the enemy invades, the scouts on the security line will release emergency information to the garrison as quickly as possible, and the garrison will immediately send troops to intercept. That's it.
Of course, the guard line is enough to deal with the Ming army, which is mainly infantry, but it is not enough to deal with the Liao army, which is mainly cavalry. After all, the mobility of the cavalry is so strong that it can be interspersed in one night. Baili, if there was only a security line, Zhou Tianshou would not be sure to keep the Liao army out of Shuntian Prefecture.
"This is indeed very troublesome," Wan Lei also frowned. Although he was confident in the combat power of the Peiping Army, the number of troops was too small. He was afraid that the Liao Army would make an underhanded move and bypass the Peking Army's defense line to Baoding Prefecture. If Jianfu went to cause trouble, the Peking Army would be in danger of fighting on two fronts.
"We must find a way to stop the Liao army from Baoding Mansion," Zhao Quanjie also said,
Baoding Prefecture is different from Shuntian Prefecture. Almost all the people in Shuntian Prefecture have moved back to Beiping City. Moreover, the walls of Beiping City are high and thick, making it difficult to defend and difficult to attack. The people in the city share the same hatred and the Liao army cannot break through. However, Baoding Prefecture does not have many garrison troops. The top of the city is not high enough, and most of the people are greedy for life and afraid of death. The Liao army does not need many to rush in. It only takes a few thousand people to make the area full of chaos.
"I also know that we cannot let the Liao army cross Shuntian Prefecture, but it is too difficult. Even if the Liao army fails to attack by surprise, they can still use some troops to contain our army. When our army cannot be separated, they can also forcefully break through the defense line. Zhou Tianshou said with concern,
"Well, Brother Zhou is rightly worried. The Liao army has obviously more troops than us. If there really is a fight, we really won't be able to cover everything." Wan Lei touched his chin, and after thinking deeply, he said: "It seems that this It’s time for a trick,”
"A special move, what special move?" Zhou Tianshou and Zhao Quanjie both asked anxiously.
"Using mines, trip nails, and barbed wire, we have to pull out several lines of defense in this area in the shortest possible time that the Liao army would even dream of. Doesn't the Liao army want to attack? Let them attack. They will attack." We attack theirs," Wan Lei gritted his teeth and said,
"Brother Xian, what do you mean?" Zhou Tianshou was a little confused about the meaning of Wan Lei's last few words.
"What I mean is to randomly lay landmines in Shuntian Prefecture, scatter horse trip nails, and pull up barbed wire fences on necessary places. These tasks must be completed within two days. After that, our Peking Army will take action. As long as Liaoning The army moved south in a large scale, so we suddenly moved north to take Shanhaiguan away, cut off their retreat, and forced them to fight decisively on the spot."
"Brother Xian, this method is not bad, but I am afraid that mines, horse nails and other things will not be able to stop the Liao army. What if the Liao army becomes ruthless and ignores Liaodong, but instead storms and captures the two Hejian prefectures in Baoding, and then fights with Zhending's If the Ming army joins forces and marches north, we won't be able to do anything even if we occupy Shanhaiguan," Zhou Tianshou said,
Zhou Tianshou's worry is not unreasonable. The Peiping Army also seized some landmines from the Ming Army, and they can be turned into trigger mines by simply modifying them. The tripping nail is just a special steel nail. The Peiping army has a lot of equipment and a lot of iron wire, but this may not be enough to stop the 200,000 Liao army.
"Otherwise, the troops can be divided into two groups. One group will be stationed at Baoding Prefecture, and the other group will look for opportunities to attack Shanhaiguan and cut off the Liao army's retreat," Zhao Quanjie suggested. "The Liao army has come a long way and will not bring much food and supplies. We only need to Delay them and prevent them from grabbing food. I believe they will be hungry in less than a month and will have to return to Shanhaiguan to attack Shanhaiguan."
"I'm afraid this won't work. The wheat in our Shuntian Prefecture is almost ripe," Zhou Tianshou was still worried.
"How about burning all the wheat," Zhao Quanjie gritted his teeth and said,
"Since the attack on Shanhaiguan is too risky, let's be more conservative and station the army in Shuntian Prefecture. Of course, mines and horse-nailed barbed wire will be deployed to prevent the Liao army from going deep." To be on the safe side, Wan Lei decided to switch to medium plan,
"Brother Xian, this method is feasible, let's do it this way," Zhou Tianshou also agreed,
"A raid on Shanhaiguan is not unfeasible. Shanhaiguan is offshore. If the army cannot do it, we can use the navy. But we have to bring the navy back. I'm afraid there won't be enough time," Wan Lei said again. The Peiping army and navy are now divided into several parts, most of which are on the southern coast of Shandong. , Xiaobei went to Japan and North Korea, and several warships at the military port also left the port with supplies, and there was no maneuverability anymore.
"Sir, we don't have enough troops, why not join forces with the Tatars," Zhao Quanjie suggested,
"Join forces with the Tatars," Wan Lei frowned. He had never thought of joining forces with the Tatars, but last time he did not agree to sell the artillery to the other party. The Tatar leader Guilichi was very dissatisfied with this. If he wanted After pulling the Tatar into the chariot, you have to send the artillery. This is a matter of teaching people. If you give him the artillery, and he turns the cannon head and attacks Beiping City, it will be tragic.
"It's not impossible to join forces with the Tatars, but the Mongols are all evil wolves. They only care about profit but not loyalty. If you don't give them some benefits, they won't be tempted," Zhou Tianshou also frowned,
"It is not feasible to join forces with the Tatars. We have to fight this battle ourselves, so we must be prepared for a long and hard battle," Wan Lei objected,
While Wan Zhou and Zhao were discussing, the generals below had already completed their discussions. Several groups had also drawn up some strategic plans and sent them for reference. Wan Lei looked through them carefully, and suddenly a combat strategy aroused his interest. his attention,
"Who drew up the 07th combat plan?" Wan Lei asked excitedly,
"He is a subordinate." A tall and thick man stood up. He had a copper badge on his chest with two stars on it. He was a division commander, which can be regarded as a mid-level or upper-level general.
"Commander Li, please explain your combat strategy to everyone." Wan Lei also recognized the division commander. His surname was Li and his name was National Security Guard. Of course, this was not his real name. He used to be a farmer. He was illiterate and naturally only had names like Zhang San and Li Si. His nickname was that he also joined the Peking Army and gave himself a decent name only after he learned how to read.
"My combat strategy is like this," Li Guobao said without any stage fright. He walked to the large map in front of the venue and began to demonstrate and explain: "The main force of our army is divided into three parts, stationed at these three points. There are 15,000 people in the department, acting as horns for each other, and the remaining 5,000 people are divided into teams of ten people, divided into 500 small teams, scattered throughout Yongping Prefecture."
"The small team is like a sparrow, sneaking around to disrupt the enemy's army, so that the enemy does not dare to penetrate deeply. If the enemy's army advances in a large scale, the main force of our army will attack and fight decisively with it, while the small team will return to the territory of Futianfu. If the enemy's army breaks through Our army's main defense line is like flies chasing them and entangling them. If you hit them with a shot, they will run away with an arrow. If you don't engage them in a head-on battle, they will just keep pestering them so that they can't go deep," Li Guobao said. , that honest face actually showed a trace of a sinister smile,
"Haha, is Master Li's tactic called the fly tactic? Not to mention, the flies in the toilet are so annoying and can annoy people to death." The generals below also laughed,
"This is called sparrow tactics. This is how sparrows steal wheat grains," Li Guobao blushed and said seriously,
"Haha, whether it is a fly tactic or a sparrow tactic, if it can entangle the enemy to death, it is a good tactic," Wan Lei laughed. It seems that the talents are among the people, and they have figured out such advanced things as sparrow warfare. ,