It is a foregone conclusion that Jianlu will attack Jinzhou. By destroying all the Dongjiang Army's land bases and forcing them to the islands, the threat will basically be eliminated.
But Jinzhou is already the foundation for the maintenance and development of Dongjiang Town. The lack of food and salary for the imperial court has proved the value of Jinzhou, which Dongjiang Town must defend with all its strength no matter what.
As for the resources on Pi Island, it is difficult to guarantee the stationing of troops of the two associations. According to Mao Wenlong's intention, it is basically certain that the latter alliance will be stationed in Jinzhou.
Therefore, if the rear association wants to be treated the same as the left and right associations, it must show its value so that Chen Jisheng, Guo Dajing, Li Weiluan and others cannot underestimate it.
Both Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng thought this defensive counterattack was a good opportunity. Treating them as a reserve team would obviously not satisfy them.
The Nanguan Defense Line is a segmented defense, with a width of more than ten miles, plus the extension of the coast. According to the strength of the left and right alliances, the area is divided into battalion units, making a total of five districts.
Because of the stronghold of Beisha Mountain City, Guo Dajing's troops only had two battalions left, and could only defend two districts.
The battle plan was based on two auxiliary forces to defend Jinzhou, with the navy to assist and the reserve force to be the cavalry battalion.
This is why Guo Dajing worked hard to upgrade the weapons and equipment of the left and right associations, and used strict training to improve combat effectiveness.
One of Guo Dajing's characteristics is that he bases himself on himself, or formulates combat plans based on reliable military power, without waiting or relying on it.
Placing hope on reinforcements, worrying about how many reinforcements will come, or even hoping that the Liaoxi Ming Army can take diversionary actions are not Guo Dajing's first considerations.
Of course, he also knew that Mao Wenlong would send reinforcements to protect the only land base in Dongjiang Town.
But for the time being, regardless of the uncertainty of how many troops there will be, the battle plan drawn up is the safest.
Therefore, when the rear alliance came to Jinzhou for reinforcements, Guo Dajing did not have to rush to arrange a fighting area for them. It would be more troublesome to directly use them as reserve troops.
"It is no problem for our department to fight for a defense zone." Kong Youde said: "Even if half of the troops are used as reserves, it is acceptable."
Everyone has one camp to defend one area. If you use one alliance, it will not look good on your face. However, Kong Youde also recognized the gap in weapons and equipment and combat power.
Therefore, a battalion of the two associations has about 4,000 men. He believes that the headquarters strength of 5,000 troops should be regarded as a relatively comparable combat strength.
Yes, Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng have discovered during this period that the left and right associations not only have more troops and better equipment, but also surpass their troops in terms of mental outlook and combat skills.
Li Jiucheng pointed at the simulated defenders on the position, and said with great dissatisfaction: "This movement and speed are much worse than those of Youxie."
Kong Youde nodded vigorously and said: "If you are mentally weak, you will not be able to do anything well. This is still the Right Association. I heard that the Left Association is even more powerful."
"That's not surprising." Li Jiucheng said matter-of-factly: "Those are the men who fought with General Guo for several battles and were personally trained and led by him."
In terms of actual combat experience, Guo Dajing's Zuo Xie is indeed better than other troops. Since the war to aid Korea, the Zuo Xie has probably fought the most.
Especially in the Xiaoheishan Blockade, the entire Zuo Xie Army participated in the battle, building momentum and gaining experience. Now, among the middle and lower-level officers, they all have experienced many battles with Guo Dajing.
The performance of military morale lies in the mental state of the officers and soldiers. Among Jinzhou's troops, the Left Association is first, and Li Weiluan's Right Association is second. It is not difficult to see.
"You must fight one or two battles before you can have the morale of the Left and Right Alliance." Li Jiucheng also saw the shortcomings of his troops. They lacked actual combat experience and must be tempered by the bloody battlefield.
Kong Youde nodded in agreement and said: "Strengthening training is also essential. Didn't General Guo go to Dalian? I heard that the day agreed with Xiyi to deliver weapons is coming soon."
"If we can achieve the same amount of musket equipment as the left and right associations, our rear association will need two defense zones." Li Jiucheng looked at Kong Youde and said, "Pretend to be brave and don't be underestimated."
Kong Youde nodded vigorously, not too worried about battle losses. Moreover, such a favorable battle as relying on strong defense is a good opportunity to train the troops and gain practical experience.
At this moment, Li Weiluan was seen riding up with two soldiers, jumped off the horse under the fort, and quickly climbed up the steps.
"General Li." Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng hurriedly greeted him and saluted him.
Li Weiluan returned the greeting with a smile and said, "Good news. Commander Mao has arrived in Dalian and will come to Nanguan for inspection soon."
"The commander-in-chief is here." Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng looked at each other, both slightly surprised.
Li Weiluan took out a note and said: "This is coming from the newly built signal tower. Because it is in the experimental stage, I sent another message to confirm."
The two communication lines from Nanguan to Lushun and Dalian use signal towers for transmission, which is a communication system that was built not long ago.
The test is to send messages twice a day at a fixed time, and then send them back to Dalian or Lushun after receiving them. One is to test the transmission speed, and the other is to make the staff more proficient.
Anyway, there is no urgent military information that needs to be conveyed now. Even if we use the previous method, nothing will be delayed.
In the eyes of others, this may be a bit unnecessary. But for Guo Dajing, it is laying the foundation for the future. You must know that the farther the signal tower transmission distance, the better the effect, and the more obvious the speed advantage.
Jinzhou is just the foundation, followed by Fuzhou, Gaizhou, and the entire Liaodong. A mature and fast communication system may play a very critical role.
In fact, the message sent by Guo Dajing is part of the experiment. It doesn't matter whether it is received or not.
"Shuai Mao will personally direct the battle with Jianlu, right?" Li Jiuzheng reacted quickly and made his own guess.
"It's possible." Kong Youde nodded in agreement and said, "It will only take more than two months. Now that Mao Shuai is here, he probably won't go back and forth to Phi Island again."
Li Weiluan said with a smile: "No matter what, this is good news. Let's step up training and drills and strive to satisfy Mao Shuai."
"That's for sure." Kong Youde grinned widely and said with a smile: "When the general comes to Jinzhou, let's reassure him. This Jinzhou can definitely be defended."
………………
Jinzhou can definitely be defended.
Anyone who understands the secrets of the Nanguan Defense Line, knows the various traps for the attacker, and the various weapons that the attacker will face will have such confidence.
Although Mao Wenlong didn't know much about it, he had participated in the defense of Lushun Fort. The layout of the Nanguan defense line was similar to the fortification positions outside Lushun Fort.
"...the distance between the enemy and the position is marked with special marks. If you need to use artillery, use artillery. If you need to use heavy muskets, use heavy muskets. If you should use light muskets..."
"The impact effects of various weapons have been repeatedly tested to ensure the best performance. For example, heavy muskets are guaranteed to be fired at a distance that can destroy heavy armor; light muskets must be fired within forty or fifty steps..."
Mao Wenlong listened to Guo Dajing's explanation and sketched a rough scene in his mind, which was indeed based on the fortifications outside Lushun Fort. Gu Ting
Direct fire, indirect fire; explosion, burning; thousands of muskets, hundreds of various artillery... This is a three-dimensional strike, and the intensity of the firepower will be more fierce and fierce than that of Lushun Fort.
"So you are so powerful." Mao Wenlong nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "No wonder you are so confident."
Guo Dajing smiled and said: "Know yourself and the enemy, and you will be invincible in a hundred battles. Our army is no longer what it used to be, but we still use the same old tactics to build captives. How can we be invincible?"
Mao Wenlong smiled slightly and said earnestly: "Know yourself and the enemy, and you can turn adversity into advantage, and defeat more with less."
Guo Dajing blinked his eyes. Even if he was not very proficient in ancient Chinese, he could still make a rough guess. He knew the situation of both the enemy and ourselves well, and made full use of it to turn disadvantages into advantages.
Glancing at Guo Dajing, Mao Wenlong tightened his cloak and said slowly: "The same is true for King Qin's battle. The Jianlu want to rob the population and supplies. If we can stop it, the enemy will be unable to strengthen itself. The lack of supplies is the weakness of the Jianlu
, If you can hold it firmly, you will hit it without hitting it."
"General, I understand." Guo Dajing understood a lot about the changes in Mao Wenlong's mentality, and why he turned to support his "King of Qin" action.
Of course, Mao Wenlong may have other thoughts. For example, to show goodwill to the emperor, improve the tense relationship between the two parties, and obtain a relatively relaxed environment for Dongjiang Town.
Sure enough, Mao Wenlong's next words gave Guo Dajing new speculation.
"If Qinhuangdao is suitable for landing, it will be better than Tianjin and more conducive to our military operations." Mao Wenlong said thoughtfully: "We should send a ship and send people to take a look as soon as possible."
Qinhuangdao has not yet opened a port, so it definitely does not have port facilities. In addition, the distance from Zunhua to Tianjin is about the same, so Guo Dajing does not want to bother to operate it.
But Mao Wenlong obviously didn't want to cause trouble. After all, there were troops stationed in Tianjin. If the Dongjiang Army was prevented from landing, they could only forcefully expel it or even use weapons.
This can easily lead to misunderstandings. Are you coming to Qinwang, or are you occupying Tianjin with evil intentions?
There were so many court officials who were critical of Mao Wenlong that they were not willing to let this opportunity go. But it would be less troublesome to land from Qinhuangdao, but the port facilities could not keep up, so the landing time would be longer.
Guo Dajing thought for a while and said: "What Marshal Mao said is true. I will send people to Qinhuangdao to have a look, and the Marshal will send navy ships to investigate."
"You can't use navy ships, you have to use civilian ships or merchant ships." Mao Wenlong said very cautiously: "Navy ships often pass by from Tianjin to Juehua Island, so don't create any problems."
Guo Dajing nodded in agreement, feeling that Mao Wenlong was too cautious, and it was still the inherent concept of people at that time - loyalty to the emperor and patriotism.
Guo Dajing not only refused to be loyal to the emperor, but also slandered him all day long, calling him stupid, cold-blooded, harsh, and irresponsible.
As for the imperial court, a group of sanctimonious hypocrites, greedy and vicious, would make it impossible for him to obey orders.
Therefore, if you criticize, criticize, so what if there is a breakup?
Although Guo Dajing knew that the time was not right now, he would not worry too much in order to achieve the goal of destroying Pingliao.
For example, Tianjin and Qinhuangdao have the same journey, so they will naturally choose to land wherever it is convenient. The small garrison in Tianjin will never be able to stop the Dongjiang Army's large group of troops.
In Qinhuangdao, there is no dock, at least no dock suitable for large ships. Relying on small boats for transportation is troublesome, dangerous, and a waste of time.
And if we want to build a dock in advance, will the local government allow it? We need to open up the joints and build a dock, which is complicated and will cost more money.
Of course, since Mao Wenlong proposed it, Guo Dajing still had to implement it and send people to inspect the specific situation of surveying Qinhuangdao.
If it is a natural port and can be docked without spending too much money and effort, Guo Dajing would not object to landing here.
If the conditions are not good, then we can land from Tianjin, and who cares about the court?
If you want to inflict a crime, there is no need to hesitate. What do you mean by using the banner of King Qin, but instead of going to the capital, you go to seize the retreat route of Jianlu?
This is a problem that is difficult to defend. You must know that in the feudal era, the emperor was the greatest and King Qin was the first.
Who cares if you don't proceed from the most advantageous strategies and tactics, or what your results are. If you don't protect the emperor, you are disrespectful and it is a serious crime.
Thinking of this, Guo Dajing somewhat understood the reason why Mao Wenlong wanted to land at Qinhuangdao. Only landing from there, heading straight to Zunhua, and cutting off the retreat route of the Jianlu were more appropriate.
If you land from Tianjin, abandon the capital and attack Zunhua, it will almost prove that "King Qin" is fake and has an ulterior motive.
Alas! Mao Wenlong is also in a dilemma, he has to give up the easy thing.
"It's embarrassing for you, I'm afraid it will cost you a lot more money." Mao Wenlong did not look at Guo Dajing, but squinted his eyes slightly and looked into the distance, as if he was blown by the increasingly cold wind.
Guo Dajing smiled and said: "In the eyes of the general, problems or difficulties that can be solved with money are nothing."
Hahaha……
Mao Wenlong seemed to be amused, or maybe he was delighted. He shook the reins while laughing loudly and galloped forward.
Guo Dajing shrugged his shoulders and urged his horse to catch up. This old man knew the road, so he was still running ahead?
Sure enough, after a while, Guo Dajing reminded loudly from behind: "Shuai Mao, you are going the wrong way!"
Mao Wenlong did not look back on his horse, but raised his hand and said, "Go and have a look in the village."
Is there anything interesting to see in the village? You are inspecting it, not observing the people's sentiments?
Guo Dajing had no choice but to urge his horse to follow. He glanced at the sign on the roadside and saw that it was "Guanglu Village".
Turning onto the road into the village from the main road, Mao Wenlong slowed down his horse and looked around casually.
The fields beside the road were bare, and from time to time you could see piles of straw. In the distance, you could see a few cows and sheep munching in the fields, moving slowly.
As we got closer and closer to the village, we could faintly hear the sound of shouting, and the shouting was quite orderly.
"The common people have seen you, sir." An old man carrying a basket ducked to the side of the road and bowed down.
Mao Wenlong stopped his horse and said warmly: "No need to be polite. May I ask, what is this shouting sound doing?"
The old man raised his head and replied respectfully: "Sir, it's our village's militia training in the threshing floor."