Such a line of defense, to be precise, cannot be called a line of defense. On the contrary, it created an opportunity for Jianlu to encircle the point and provide reinforcements, making it easy for him to fall into passivity.
According to Governor Yuan's idea, the Guan Ning Jin stronghold must be extended forward. The next step may be Guang Ning, approaching directly under Jian Lu's nose.
But this is simply impossible. Anyone with a brain can see that the longer it extends, the more difficult it is to supply and the greater the financial pressure on the court.
What's more, will Jianlu allow you to build the city and move forward, directly reaching the central control area of Liaoshen?
But Governor Yuan had a way to convince the emperor, because in addition to building the city, he also explained to the emperor that he was forming and training a cavalry called Guanning Iron Cavalry.
With the city as the backing and the cavalry as the sharp sword, with both offense and defense, he can always compete with the Jianlu and complete his "Five Years of Ping Liao".
Therefore, Chongzhen still had great confidence in Governor Yuan, thinking that no matter how difficult it was, it would only take five years. After annihilating Pingliao, everything would naturally be fine.
He wanted money for money, food for food, and horses for horses. Chongzhen's support was all-out. For this reason, he did not hesitate to default on the food and wages of other military towns, increase taxes, and save money and materials for disaster relief.
Therefore, the Guan Ning cavalry, which was established with money and food provided by the Ming Dynasty court, had no success against the rebels, but played a great role in conquering the world by conquering the captives. The Guan Ning cavalry appeared.
………………
The iron cavalry was clanging and galloping back and forth. In the chill of early winter, they showed a chilling air and the momentum of galloping forward fearlessly.
Mao Wenlong was already wearing armor and stood on the city of Jinzhou Acropolis, watching the two thousand cavalry training below the city.
Guo Dajing stood next to Mao Wenlong and did not explain much. He only answered questions.
After the cavalry battle in Xiaoheishan, adjustments and changes were made to the cavalry battalion’s formation distance, personnel gaps, impact speed, etc.
Actual combat is the only criterion for testing. Officers and soldiers such as Liu Xingzuo and Liu Qishi brainstormed and concluded in the post-war summary that the impact of the cavalry wall did not require too much speed.
After the speed dropped, the order of the queue and the adjustment of the distance between riders became easier to control, but the power was not reduced.
"Essentially, it's one for one, but in fact it can lead to a better exchange." Mao Wenlong pondered and said: "Dajing, is this the truth?"
"The commander's eyes are as bright as a torch, and his words are to the point." Guo Dajing bowed and said: "The key is that the enemy is not mentally prepared to die together, so it is inevitable to hesitate during the confrontation. And it only takes a moment to decide life or death."
Mao Wenlong agreed, even though it was a battlefield, everyone wanted to kill the enemy so that he could survive. And the so-called not afraid of death is not the same as a desperate style of fighting without hiding from the sword.
Instinct reactions are inevitable and difficult to control, just like a war horse will be afraid of a flashing and sharp spear, or a person will blink his eyes under sudden stimulation.
"If there are 20,000 cavalry, no, as long as 10,000, the infantry of our Dongjiang Army will not be afraid of the threat of Jianlu in the wild." Mao Wenlong was somewhat excited and said loudly: "In this way, even if we attack Huanglong directly, we will have great success. hope."
With vehicles and artillery as the priority, the infantry can indeed resist cavalry attacks and harassment to a certain extent by forming positions in the front. But this is very passive, and it is even more dangerous in open areas.
Even if Jianlu's cavalry hangs from a distance, it will greatly slow down the infantry's progress.
Therefore, it is very important to have cavalry that can compete with Jianlu, protect infantry, and drive away enemy cavalry.
Instead of launching a large-scale cavalry charge with Jianlu, the infantry and cavalry should cooperate with each other and complement each other's strengths to offset the advantages of Jianlu's cavalry.
Guo Dajing understood what Mao Wenlong meant. After all, going straight to the prisoner's lair was part of the battle plan. He was doing it with both hands and was well prepared, so naturally he felt more confident.
"The general also doesn't want the cavalry battalion to have a head-on confrontation with the Jianlu cavalry." Guo Dajing said with a smile: "It's really not easy to train flying cavalry. We use lance cavalry to cooperate, and we also want to minimize casualties."
Guo Dajing did not advocate fighting with cavalry as a last resort. Using the power of muskets to confuse the Jianlu cavalry, or chasing down retreating enemies, was the strategy he wanted.
The successful transformation of flintlock muskets has given the Lancers a greater role. With preloaded ammunition, one shot can be fired on horseback, which is equivalent to a round of mounted fire.
Mao Wenlong laughed, shook his head repeatedly, and said with emotion: "Jianlu has been riding horses, fishing and hunting since he was a child, and you have trained cavalry that can compete with them within a year or two, and you still say that training is not easy?"
Pointing at the cavalry under the city, Mao Wenlong said proudly: "I heard that Governor Yuan formed the Guanning Cavalry, but even if there are tens of thousands of them, they are still no match for the thousands of cavalry in Dongjiang Town."
It’s hard to say whether the Guan Ning cavalry existed in history. It was purely to fool Chongzhen. But one thing is that the officers and soldiers of Liao Town who the Ming court spent a lot of money to build did become the executioners who helped the tigers and massacred their compatriots.
Guo Dajing sneered disdainfully and said: "Not to mention the cavalry battalion, even the infantry battalion can defeat Guan Ning's cavalry."
Mao Wenlong glanced at Guo Dajing and seemed to think that the phrase "looking for teeth all over the floor" was weird and funny, and he laughed out loud.
Guo Dajing laughed twice. He was also helpless. Some terms that were not in line with this era appeared unknowingly.
It should be that I feel that I have integrated into this era, and I am no longer as careful as I was a year or two ago, for fear of being noticed by others and making me suspicious.
After a long while, Mao Wenlong calmed down and said slowly: "It's good that Liu Xingzuo handed over his intelligence network. I also have some spies, so I'll just group them together and call it the Military Intelligence Department!"
Guo Dajing's face lit up and he said: "Commander, Dongjiang Town should indeed have a strong espionage network, not only for Jianlu, but also -"
Mao Wenlong glanced sideways at Guo Dajing and added: "There are also those who are responsible for the imperial court, the capital, Tianjin, and Shandong, right?"
Guo Dajing laughed twice and said, "This little trick made Marshal Mao laugh."
Mao Wenlong's face became solemn and he said: "In the past, Dongjiang Town also had some eyes and ears in the capital, even in the palace. But the money was limited and it could not develop. After the new emperor ascended the throne, he purged the internal officials, and the news in the palace was
there is none left."
The so-called eyes and ears in the palace are naturally the eunuchs won through bribery. There may only be one or two eunuchs, and they are not important people.
It is normal to inquire about information in the capital. When you are in a remote overseas country, you naturally want to know some of the court's movements, what excuses your officials use to criticize you, and what rumors are spread that are harmful to you.
But the development situation is definitely not good. Otherwise, the court would not be full of enemies, and the criticism would never stop. If it were not for the trust of Emperor Tianqi, Mao Wenlong would have died countless times.
Look, just over a year after Chongzhen succeeded to the throne, Dongjiang Town had already had its food and salary cut off twice. Mao Wenlong also felt greater pressure and full of malice from the court.
An intelligence department was established in Jinzhou and put in charge by Guo Dajing. Mao Wenlong also wanted to see his abilities. Apparently, Guo Dajing's arrangement was reported to him. Although it was not very detailed, he was very satisfied.
"Although it is no longer important to inquire about the court's news. However, for the 'King Qin' operation, it is very necessary to deploy more manpower in the Gyeonggi area, store food and materials, and investigate the situation in various towns."
Mao Wenlong reached out and patted Guo Dajing's arm, and said: "As for Jianlu, if you want to spread any rumors, you should hurry up and arrange them."
Don’t spread rumors, don’t believe rumors!
Guo Dajing suddenly wanted to laugh, but he held it back and nodded in agreement.
Rumors were not only prepared for Jianlu, but also for the imperial court, Chongzhen and Yuan Chonghuan. This is a very useful weapon, and Guo Dajing has a unique advantage.
Moreover, it is not accurate to say that it is a rumor. It is precisely because Guo Dajing made it up based on the trajectory of historical development and his personal actions. There are falsehoods in the truth, and it is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, which makes it even more lethal.
The drill outside the city has ended, and the cavalry battalion began to gather and reorganize. Officers such as Liu Xingzuo and Fan Dalin entered the city first and came to the top of the city to salute Mao Wenlong.
"Very good, very good." Mao Wenlong glanced around and praised repeatedly, "A strong iron general is invincible. You have worked hard, and I am very pleased."
Liu Xingzuo and others bowed to express their gratitude, but they had already decided this in their hearts. There was even a bit of arrogance on their faces, showing that the praise was deserved.
They look like bears, with shy chests and pouty lips, as if they are worth 2,580,000 yuan.
Guo Dajing cursed secretly, but he was also proud in his heart.
This is the iron cavalry he built. It will gallop across Liaodong and defeat Jianlu, who is said to be invincible in cavalry and shooting. This is not all, it will also be the responsibility and mission of this iron cavalry to dominate the world.
Wanqi, let’s achieve this small goal first!
Guo Dajing estimated that he still needed to purchase four to five thousand horses. According to the current average price of fifteen or sixty taels of silver per horse, it would cost seven to eight thousand taels of silver.
Not much, not much, just selling two dressing mirrors is enough.
Buy, buy, buy! Flowers, flowers, flowers!
Guo Dajing's feeling about money now only exists in terms of numbers. He doesn't feel it's too much, nor does he feel it's too little. He doesn't have the shocking feeling of having dozens of boxes of shining silver property in front of him.
I'm getting more and more numb!
When I escaped from the Jianlu area, I had a few dozen taels of silver, which I thought was a lot of wealth. After the war to aid Korea, I got 18,000 taels of silver, and I had to spend it carefully.
When the mirror business started, the income from the money was like running water. Then, there was no big feeling anymore, only money was spent like water, and it was spent like water.
Guo Dajing had lost count of how much money he had spent, and he had never calculated it in detail. Food supplies, weapons and ammunition, horses, cattle, sheep, etc. were all bought in exchange for money.
In fact, the money spent was only a few hundred thousand taels. Although it was equivalent to two or three years of salary for Dongjiang Town, it was nothing compared with the imperial court's investment in western Liaoning.
Mao Wenlong patted Guo Dajing's arm hard again and praised him a few times.
Guo Dajing's generosity can be seen everywhere, and Mao Wenlong is increasingly moved and grateful.
The solidity of the Nanguan defense line is even more shocking because of the hundreds of mortars that are still being manufactured and shipped. Together with the newly shipped Hongyi cannons, the number of more than 40 mortars is more than that of Jinzhou and Ningyuan combined.
More.
The cavalry battalion stationed in Jinzhou Acropolis, with thousands of flying cavalry and lance cavalry, has formed a combat effectiveness, which increases people's confidence in fighting against the Jianlu.
And these are all piled up with money. With this money, Guo Dajing is enough to become a rich man. No matter where he goes, he will be well-dressed, well-fed, and well-fed.
But Guo Dajing was still in Jinzhou and Dongjiang Town, living a middle-to-upper-class life. Without delicacies, even a meal of mutton would be considered a feast.
Mao Wenlong can regard these as Guo Dajing's hatred for the Jianlu, the monstrous hatred of family destruction and death, and the obsession of revenge, which is exactly what a man does.
On the other hand, Mao Wenlong also saw that Guo Dajing's ambition was not small, and he really regarded the pacification of Liao and the extermination of the captives as his life goal, and he practiced it with all his strength.
No matter what, Mao Wenlong admires Guo Dajing. Because if Dongjiang Town wants to be passed down, he, Mao Wenlong, has to find a successor.
In terms of blood relationship, Mao Wenlong's nephew Mao Chenglu is the closest to him, but in terms of performance and ability, he has been far behind the rising star Guo Dajing.
But his only son Mao Chengdou, who was far away in his hometown in Zhejiang, took the path of Congwen. At the same time, Mao Wenlong did not want him to follow his own path.
Chen Jisheng is naturally a few years younger than Mao Wenlong, but his character is relatively weak, and his prestige is difficult to overwhelm the strong men of Dongjiang Town.
Guo Dajing is not good either. What he lacks mainly is prestige and qualifications. But Mao Wenlong is optimistic about him and can focus on training him, help him get on the horse and give him a ride.
Of course, these are Mao Wenlong's assumptions. Who knows what changes will happen? You must know that Dongjiang Town belongs to the imperial court and cannot be given or accepted privately.
Everyone accompanied Mao Wenlong and inspected the Jinzhou Acropolis. The city wall was not heavily repaired, and the houses in the city where the cavalry camp lived were only briefly repaired.
"Will Jianlu expend effort to demolish the city?" Mao Wenlong asked casually: "If he retreats in defeat, he will inevitably become angry and angry."
Liu Xingzuo looked at Guo Dajing. Although he knew, it was better for Guo Dajing to explain.
Guo Dajing smiled and said: "The general thinks that it doesn't matter whether the buildings are built or not demolished. If not demolished, our army will save more effort in reoccupying it; if it is demolished, it will only be to build houses, but the city walls will not need to be repaired.
Already."
Mao Wenlong pondered for a moment and asked: "A town without walls? Is that what you mean?"
Guo Dajing said: "It is a town with fortifications, but it does not need to use tall walls."
Occupying the Jinzhou Acropolis, coupled with the power of the horns of Bisha City, is equivalent to pushing the defense line forward for dozens of miles.
What's more, the line of defense that truly blocks Jianlu's attempt to attack Jinzhou will be located at Xiaoheishan and Hongzui Fort, which will become the rear area, or a buffer area.
Dongjiang Town did not have the human and financial resources to build a city like Governor Yuan did. However, Guo Dajing was relatively confident in the field fortifications he designed.
Mao Wenlong nodded and did not ask further. He already had plans to settle in Jinzhou, and Jinzhou Acropolis was a good choice.