Chapter 150 The mountains and forests are available, as are the rivers
According to Guo Dajing's estimation, Jianlu's outpost, or early warning interception line, should be two levels, or at most three levels.
In other words, at a breakthrough point, as long as two or three outposts are captured, you can successfully sneak into the Jianlu controlled area.
There should be ten prisoners in each outpost. If the army attacks, of course they will not be able to withstand it. But the role of the outpost is to intercept the Dongjiang Army's spies and provide early warning signals. It does not require a head-on battle.
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Therefore, the key to the success of this sneak operation is to covertly remove the Jianlu outposts and make the defenders in the Jianlu controlled area completely defenseless.
About an hour after Guo Dajing and the Bushou team left, Liu Xingzhi led the team to arrive here. After a brief handover with the people left behind, they continued to move forward.
Several headless corpses were stripped of their armor and miserably thrown into a pit. After Zhao Guang and two Jinyi guards looked at them, Liu Xingzhi had them buried.
This is not to scare Zhao Guang and others, dead bodies can't scare anyone. They are supervisors, and it is normal to test the results of the battle.
"General Guo is brave." Zhao Guang pretended to be calm and nodded, "He eliminated the Jianlu without a sound and cleared the way for the army to advance."
Liu Xingzhi smiled and said: "When it comes to pretending to lurk and attack and kill, no one is General Guo's opponent. This is something everyone knows in the army."
Jiang Baohe asked in surprise: "Does it mean that every time we fight, General Guo rushes to the front like he does now?"
Liu Xingzhi said: "This may not be the case during combat, but for reconnaissance and infiltration, General Guo will often lead his troops in person to ensure just in case."
Then, he added: "For example, during the last attack on Anshan Station, General Guo was always in front, allowing the troops to sneak in smoothly and operate successfully."
Zhao Guang's eyes flashed and he said: "No wonder it is said that General Guo and Jianlu have a deep hatred. He will feel itchy and upset if he doesn't kill Jianlu every few days."
Liu Xingzhi knew that this was Guo Dajing's intention to scare Zhao Guang and others, so he grinned and said: "How can we not avenge a blood feud?"
After a pause, Liu Xingzhi added with more jealousy: "Master Guo actually hates traitors even more, especially the traitors who accomplice the Jianlu. I wonder if Eunuch Zhao and the two adults have heard of sea punishment, which was invented by General Guo to deal with traitors."
Zhao Guang lowered his eyes and his face changed color.
Jiang Baohe and Shen Zonggui looked at each other, showing a bit of fear.
This was also the sea torture that Guo Dajing made up to scare them. It was to lift people from the ship into the sea and let the sea fish eat them from the feet, legs, and body until only the bones were left.
Liu Xingzhi was not that bold, but he also didn't like the eunuchs and imperial guards sent by the imperial court. Anyone who had a boss who didn't understand shit would not be happy either.
Seeing the expressions of the three people, Liu Xingzhi felt happy in his heart, knowing that General Guo's fabricated sea torture had really frightened them.
"Sea punishment was specially thought up by General Guo to deal with traitors. A person is half-suspended in the sea, while fish and crabs eat his flesh, which is still soaked in salt water. The pain is worse than being cut into pieces by a thousand cuts. In the end, it is reduced to a skeleton.
The only thing left is the head, which is still screaming!"
Liu Xingzhi described it vividly and simply tried to scare the three of them, so that they would not have to blindly give instructions.
Zhao Guang coughed dryly, turned around and left.
Shen Zonggui and Jiang Baohe swallowed their saliva in unison, laughed twice, the fear in their eyes became even stronger, and they laughed and moved farther away from Liu Xingzhi.
It turns out that telling stories is also very interesting. It scared these three guys.
Liu Xingzhi laughed evilly and ordered the troops to take a short rest.
After resting, Yao Xin spread a piece of oilcloth on the grass and sat down. He took out the cake from his bag and ate it with relish.
She has experience in traveling with the army. Although she was detained last time, she was not tied up with ropes. To this day, she still remembers the most delicious cake she ever tasted.
She made this cake herself. For those who can make their own dry food, the army distributes grain, meat, and salt. But the portion must be sufficient, and you cannot eat other people's food on the road.
Yao Xin left some dried meat for her grandfather and added some grains to the cake. The portion was quite sufficient. She didn't find it unpleasant to eat, and she wasn't worried about not having enough energy.
People are experienced, and they have meat to eat when fighting. Whether it is mutton or horse meat, they are all delicious.
Yao Xin ate deliciously and took out her water bag to take a sip. She glanced at Ah Qiao next to her, who was also chewing on cakes and dried meat, chewing them deliciously.
The two girls looked at each other and smiled in unison. They had company and shared the same hobbies, and they felt more and more close to each other.
Not far away, Hide Fujino put away his small mirror. He never forgot to check his appearance even when he was marching or fighting. This is the nature of women.
She saw the behavior of the two men and could not help but shake her head slightly.
If they could do nothing but eat, Fujino Hide would naturally not take them with him. The key is that they can both eat and work, and are among the best in the medical team.
Taking out a piece of candy from her pocket, Fujino Hide put it in her mouth and chewed it. The sweetness still had the aroma of crushed peanuts and hazelnuts. This was considered dry food she had brought.
Guo Dajing asked Wu Jiucheng to purchase supplies from Shandong, including some cane sugar from the south.
Fujino Hide didn't know that Guo Dajing was doing research, so she thought it was for food, so she asked for some. She boiled it into syrup and mixed it with some crushed peanuts and hazelnuts to make her favorite candy.
This guy is still a good eater. Fujino Hide tasted the sweetness in his mouth and remembered that this method of making candy was taught by Guo Dajing.
Make all the cane sugar you buy into something like this. Not only can you eat it yourself, but you can also sell it for money, right?
Fujino Hide was just thinking about it, but he also guessed that Guo Dajing was doing something mysterious with sugar. Could it be that this sugar could be made into a weapon to kill enemies?
Add poison to the sugar and give it to Jianlu? If Jianlu was so stupid, he could just feed him the poison. Wouldn't it be better to save the sugar?
Fujinoying thinks wildly, and she has indeed reached the age where she should think wildly. What she thinks about most is Brother Guo, well, she thinks about her father as much as Brother Guo.
It's just that Brother Guo is getting busier and busier, and he has a family, so he rarely spends time alone together.
Fujino Hide sighed silently and chewed the candy in his mouth.
…………….
The removal of Jianlu outposts was not the only purpose of this operation.
The Ye Bu Shu team needs to gain actual combat experience, and the troops who have been training for several months also need to be tempered in actual combat.
As the relay point connecting Haizhou and Fengcheng, Xiuyan will become Guo Dajing's key target. Once Jianlu loses his foothold in Xiuyan, there will be a gap in the entire defense line, and he may have to retreat further inland.
From the map, the defense line of Haizhou, Xiuyan, Fengcheng, and Zhenjiang is not straight. If Haizhou is replaced by Gaizhou, it will be more normal.
In other words, the west side of Xiuyan is relatively empty, and the reinforcements that can be expected are mostly from Fengcheng. At the same time, the dense mountains and forests and crisscrossing rivers around Xiuyan also pose a great obstacle to Jianlu's mobility.
Guo Dajing led the Yebushou team to march nearly thirty miles overnight, uprooting three Jianlu outposts, crossing the Gaoling Mountains, and finally succeeded in breaking through and approaching Xiuyan City.
Although it was approaching, it was still dozens of miles away. Guo Dajing did not attack blindly. He led his troops to rest for a day in the Kaoling Mountains and conducted reconnaissance and spying on the surrounding enemy situation.
After interrogating the prisoners and obtaining relatively accurate information, Guo Dajing decided to launch a surprise attack on the Jianlu stronghold south of Xiuyan City after discussing with the officers.
Later, it served as an outpost to the south of Xiuyan City. There were about a hundred Jianlu garrisoned here. In terms of strength comparison, Guo Dajing's side had a clear advantage.
Even so, a forceful attack was still not Guo Dajing's first choice. Liu Xingzhi and other officers also believed that victory should be won by outsmarting the enemy.
"To the north of Houbao is the West Fort, and then Xiuyan City." Liu Xingzhi pointed at the map and said: "I think it is similar to the attack on Anshan Post Castle, and maybe we can adopt the same approach.
The strongholds set up by the Jianlu were similar to the piers, forts and strongholds of the Ming army in Liaodong. They were small in front and large in the back, with Xiuyan City as the center and extending outwards.
According to the intelligence, the rear fort and the west fort, as strongholds extending from Xiuyan City, do not have many troops stationed there. However, there are two thousand captives in Xiuyan City, which should not be underestimated.
Guo Dajing smiled and said nothing, and did not interrupt, listening to the officers express their opinions.
The formulation and implementation of any combat plan must take into account the actual situation, that is, the terrain and terrain of the selected battlefield. Putting this aside, it is just talk on paper.
Attack the rear fort, ambush the enemies coming to help from the west fort, and retreat into the mountains and forests before the enemies in Xiuyan attack. This is exactly the same tactic as the attack on Anshan Posthouse, and the possibility of success is very high.
Differently, there will be steep mountains and roads, and the enemy will be killed by exploding rocks, but this time the troops are also strong, and even if they ambush in the wild, there is basically no reason to fail.
But Guo Dajing didn't think so, at least he didn't completely agree with Liu Xingzhi and others' style of play.
In addition to some talk on paper, the fear of the enemy in Xiuyan made Liu Xingzhi and other officers unable to use their hands freely. They were like thieves, stealing a handful and running away, and they were satisfied with taking advantage.
Everyone had reached the end of their discussion, and all of them turned their attention to Guo Dajing, waiting for him to make a decision.
In the opinion of Liu Xingzhi and others, the plan was good enough. If nothing unexpected happened, there was a high possibility that the more than two hundred prisoners in the rear fort and the west fort would be wiped out. And Xiuyan's enemies would not be alarmed.
Guo Dajing laughed and said: "The plan is very good. It not only eliminated the enemies in the two strongholds, but also prevented them from being quickly chased by a large group of enemies."
After a pause, he changed the subject and said, "But in my opinion, the terrain of the mountains and forests has been effectively used, but what about the rivers?"
As he spoke, he patted the map lightly and said, "It's just south of Xiuyan City. Although it's not very wide, it's impossible to cross it. I remember that when I was collecting intelligence information, there were several people from the local area.
The soldier said there was a bridge over the river."
Liu Xingzhi scratched his head and had some impression, but he didn't take it seriously and didn't remember it very clearly.
"There are indeed rivers, and there are indeed bridges." Sentinel Wang Qian said: "There should be local soldiers in the army, just call them and ask."
Guo Dajing waved his hand and said: "Times have changed, how can you ensure that the bridge is still there, and how do you know how deep the river is? Without on-site reconnaissance, it cannot be used as a basis for making plans."
"Our army carries a lot of landmines, which can not only kill the enemy, but also blow up bridges." Guo Dajing said slowly: "Whether it is to block the enemies of Xiuyan, or to lure the enemies of Xiuyan out, and use the destroyed bridges to divide them into two groups.
Duan, wipe out one of them?"
"The favorable terrain is not only mountains and forests, cliffs, narrow valleys, but also crisscrossing rivers. Jianlu has excellent riding skills, but he is a landlubber. Not many can swim, right?"
"With the fear of Xiuyan's enemies, although the plan I made is detailed, I feel a little timid."
Guo Dajing finally said with a smile: "Let's attack the rear fortress first and try to annihilate all the enemies without leaking any news. We have a plan for the next action. We will make a final decision based on the results of the reconnaissance."
Separated from the rear and west forts, although it was possible to sneak through the reconnaissance, it was more difficult due to the long distance. What I was afraid of was that if I missed it, the enemy would discover it in advance.
First capture the rear fort, and then sneak through the west fort to cut off the enemy's retreat. Even if you cannot use rivers or bridges to attack Xiuyan's enemies, winning two battles is still unsatisfactory.
If rivers or bridges can be used, consider the enemies of Seobao and Xiuam together and carry out continuous operations.
In this operation, Guo Dajing dispatched more than 1,200 people, carrying a lot of weapons and ammunition.
Although they are still at a disadvantage compared to Xiuyan's enemies, taking advantage of the terrain, a battle is not impossible.
Besides, Xiuyan's enemies are unlikely to come out in full force.
On the one hand, Jianlu was blindly confident in his own combat power. Thousands of cavalry were enough to go on a rampage, and thousands of Dongjiang troops were no match.
On the other hand, it was an omission of intelligence or a misjudgment. Jianlu believed that those who could sneak in silently were unlikely to be large groups of enemies.
The most important thing is that the form of war and the way of fighting have changed a lot. Even if Jianlu is aware of it, he will not pay too much attention to it, let alone have corresponding tactics.
The plan was decided, and Liu Xingzhi took the initiative to lead a light force forward, sneak past the rear fort first, cut off the retreat of the enemy in the rear fort, and prepare to ambush the enemy in the west fort.
Obviously, he was touched by Guo Dajing's opinions. He also became enthusiastic about whether river bridges could be used to attack Xiuyan's enemies.
As night fell, Guo Dajing led his troops into action. After more than an hour of marching, they sneaked into the rear fort.
In the night, Guo Dajing carefully observed and looked out. The rear fort was not well guarded, which reminded him of the attack on Anshan Post Castle, which was a replica of it.
That's not entirely true. The Houbao does not have as tall a wall as Anshan Posthouse or as complete defense facilities. It would be more accurate to say it is a stockade or a camp.
Although it was built on an earthen mountain and guarded the road at the foot of the mountain, for Guo Dajing, a sneak attack was easier than Anshan Posthouse.
After simply assigning the task, Guo Dajing took the lead and led the night team to lurk towards the camp under the cover of darkness.