Chapter two hundred and eighty second temptation attack
Huang Taiji just wanted to confirm again. He had already considered this situation before launching the attack.
"It should be the Dongjiang Army's battle plan to concentrate their forces and fight our army to the death at the Nanguan Defense Line." Fan Wencheng continued: "In terms of numbers, they are equal to our army, or even more than our army. This is their confidence.
.”
Huang Taiji smiled with disdain.
If the victory or defeat of a war is measured by the number of troops, the Ming army has won countless times, and how can it still be in the current situation in Liaodong?
"I thought that the enemy would block attacks layer by layer, delaying time, consuming our army's food and fodder, and making our army's offensive unsustainable!" Huang Taiji said with some levity: "Now it seems that he is also a timid young man who can only cower.
Defense.”
Fan Wencheng smiled and echoed: "Except for the despicable harassment, Dongjiang Town and Liao Town are not the same. How dare you compete with my invincible cavalry of Daijin?"
Huang Taiji laughed, deeply convinced. He had strong confidence in the invincibility of the Houjin Iron Cavalry.
"This time we conquered Jinzhou and severely damaged the Dongjiang Army. We, Dajin, have also been relieved of our worries." Fan Wencheng continued: "When preparations are complete, we can detour into the pass to conquer the Ming Dynasty, or we can launch the entire army."
Huang Taiji pondered for a moment and said: "If the entire army is mobilized, I am afraid that the food and grass supplies will not be able to support the long-distance march. The domestic armaments of the Ming Dynasty are depleted, and 300,000 to 50,000 gold cavalry are enough."
Fan Wencheng hesitated for a moment and did not say anything disappointing.
In his opinion, taking a detour to enter the customs could indeed catch the Ming Dynasty off guard. But in the end, they were going deep alone, with enemies everywhere, and faced many uncertain difficulties and even dangers.
If Jinzhou is captured and the population and supplies are captured so that Houjin can continue to support it, Fan Wencheng does not agree with the dangerous march of troops.
But Huang Taiji obviously felt that the reputation and prestige were not enough, and even a personal expedition to Jinzhou could not satisfy him, so he never forgot about taking a detour to enter the pass.
Of course, the population and wealth of the Gyeonggi region of the Ming Dynasty cannot be compared with the poor Jinzhou. If the robbery is successful, it will be enough for Hou Jin to live a prosperous life for several years.
In the past few years, Huang Taiji will concentrate on the internal reform of the Hou Jin Dynasty, complete the feudalization, and try his best to ascend the throne and proclaim himself the emperor.
Fan Wencheng guessed Huang Taiji's plan. Although he agreed with it, he didn't think it would go so smoothly.
Several horsemen galloped towards the front, dismounted and knelt down, reporting the military situation encountered by the forward.
Mang Gurtai's troops have already occupied the Jinzhou Acropolis, and there is no Dongjiang Army to defend it. It can be said that they took it over without any blood.
However, after reconnaissance, the sentinels reported that the Dongjiang Army was stationed in Beishashan City, more than ten miles east of Jinzhou Acropolis, but did not control and block the road to Nanguan.
"The first line of defense?" Huang Taiji was not sure. He pondered for a moment and then ordered the knight who came to report: "Tell Sanbeile to launch a tentative attack on Bisha City. If there is strong resistance, withdraw the troops and attack in Jinzhou."
The army is waiting in the city."
Although he wanted to weaken the strength of Zhenglan Banner and find opportunities to eradicate dissidents, Huang Taiji would not let Hou Jin's troops make unnecessary sacrifices. They would always be involved in meaningful military operations.
For example, attacking Jinzhou will definitely be a bloody battle with inevitable losses, so let Zhenglan Banner bear more casualties.
To put it bluntly, Huang Taiji would not let the Manchus die in vain, even if they were dissidents.
Watching the rider gallop away, Huang Taiji turned around and asked, "Xiandou, what do you think?"
Fan Wencheng thought for a while and said: "Besha Mountain City is known as guarding the first pass in southern Liaoning. It is built on the mountain. The terrain is dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is not surprising that the enemy has occupied this city and resisted our army."
As soon as the topic changed, he continued: "But the enemy has not blocked the road, so it is worth being vigilant. From Beizhi's point of view, the enemy hopes that our army will bypass it and not attack. It is between Nanguan and Beisha City. If there is a chance, we can
Attack from the front and back."
Huang Taiji nodded slightly and said: "What Xian Dou said is reasonable. Comparing Jinzhou Acropolis with Besha Mountain City, the enemy must think that the mountain city is easier to defend. If we guard the main road, we are afraid that our army will attack with all our strength."
As he spoke, he chuckled and said, "A flank attack from both front and back? It's a good idea. But do they dare to go out to fight in the mountain city?"
"If you dare to go out of the city, you can kill them with just a thousand riders." Fan Wencheng laughed and joked, earning Huang Taiji's laughter.
………………
On the steep slopes, snow covers the rugged rocks, curved black pines, and dense thatch, making it quite difficult to climb.
Although there is a climbing path built with stone steps, it is narrow and can only accommodate two or three people walking at a time. It is unthinkable to attack the mountain based on such a path.
Looking up at the highest point of the south peak of Dahei Mountain, it meanders down the ridge, then zigzags upwards, appearing on the ridge connecting the south peak and the main peak, and finally gradually disappears into the cliff below the main peak.
Mang Gurtai narrowed his eyes, feeling powerless in his heart.
It is possible to attack the mountain city, but it is extremely difficult. Especially in the current season, the snow is thick and the slopes are steep, making it extremely difficult to climb.
However, it was necessary to break through the line of defense halfway up the mountain and force the enemy to retreat to the mountain city.
The foot of the mountain was still more than a mile away from the main road. Mang Gurtai believed that the enemy was in the mountain city and could not pose a threat to the main road. He could just let the enemy be trapped in the mountain city without attacking.
"The enemies on the mountainside must be defeated." Dege also observed for a long time and came to the same conclusion as his brother.
Pointing with his hand, Degerei continued: "As long as we set up a camp of troops on the hillside or at the foot of the mountain, so that the enemy cannot go down the mountain and block the road, that's it."
Mang Gurtai nodded vigorously and said: "Since we are ordered to conduct a tentative attack, we will fight. If it doesn't go well, we will set up camp at the foot of the mountain."
Dege laughed and said, "Send a thousand Mongolians up there and try it!"
Since it is a tentative attack, there is no need to use our own troops. Why not use the ready-made cannon fodder troops?
Mang Gurtai immediately sent an order and sent a thousand Mongolian soldiers to attack the enemy's position on the south slope.
The fortifications halfway up the mountain looked newly built, with parapets made of wood and ice and snow. There was no trench in front of the parapets, just a piece of sharp wooden piles solidified by ice and snow, pointing diagonally forward.
A thousand Mongolian soldiers dismounted and climbed up the mountainside, stepping on the snow and thatch. Their equipment was not as good as that of the Jianlu soldiers. Although they all had armor and arm shields, they were not heavily armored or shielded.
There is another flaw in attacking the defenders on the mountain, that is, you cannot use the cart. The slope is steep and the snow is thick, so you can't push it up at all.
Of course, Mang Gurtai did not expect how strong the defenders' defense would be. He had done many mountain attacks before, and he personally led his troops to break through Du Song's camp during the Battle of Salhu.
A thousand Mongolian soldiers armed with shields and scimitars, followed by archers, opened an attack line of more than 100 meters, and climbed up the mountainside with shouts.
The clothes of the Mongolian soldiers were variegated, like squirming insects, which looked particularly ugly in the white snow.
The fortifications on the mountainside seem simple, but they have wooden roofs that provide excellent protection from thrown arrows. There are depressions on the parapets, which are the firing ports for guns. Looking at their density, you know that hundreds of musketeers can attack them at the same time.
shooting.
There are two such defense lines, tens of meters apart on the mountainside, forming a semi-circle around the south stone wall of the mountain city, facing the road at the foot of the mountain.
After repeated surveys and drills, generals such as Guo Dajing and Liu Xingzhi finally formulated the specific tactics of Besha Mountain City, and the number of garrison troops in the city reached nearly 10,000.
In addition to the 5,000 people assigned by Guo Dajing, in order to gain practical experience, the former Confederate and the latter Confederate each also assigned 2,000 people to enter Beisha Mountain City.
Relying on the favorable terrain, Liu Xingzhi was quite confident. Even if the entire Jianlu army concentrated here and launched a fierce attack on Besha Mountain City, he was sure to hold it.
However, the battle plan was to lure the enemy to the Nanguan defense line. The defenders of Besha Mountain City would attack with all their strength only when the enemy retreated.
The steepness and difficulty of attacking the mountain city daunted the Jianlu. In order to attract the enemy to attack and inflict more casualties on the enemy, two temporary defense lines were built on the mountainside to pose as a threat to the main road.
During the defensive operations of these two lines of defense, the defenders hid their strength, using only muskets and trebuchets, and more than a hundred mortars without firing a single shot.
As Liu Xingzhi's deputy, Zhang Pan personally directed the battle at the mountainside defense line.
If there was such equipment during the war to aid Korea, and if the troops had the current combat strength, they might be able to block the Jianlu in Korea and make it difficult for them to return.
Zhang Pan held up his telescope and observed the enemies who were constantly approaching the defense line. He sighed secretly in his heart, but he did not forget to give orders.
Dozens of trebuchets made loud noises, and a cloud of black stone bullets flew through the position and hit the Mongolian soldiers who were climbing up the mountain to approach.
There are no bombs or explosive bombs, just rocks, each weighing five or six kilograms, and they are too lazy to be polished. They are still the same as they were before.
Even so, if a rock with great momentum hits the head, the bones and tendons on the body will be broken, or the brain will burst.
Each trebuchet can throw a dozen stones, and hundreds of stones fall like raindrops, immediately hitting the Mongolian soldiers climbing up the mountain to attack, causing them to fall over and scream.
"Raise your shield, raise your shield!" the officer shouted loudly, performing the most commonly used action of blocking arrows.
Stones are much more powerful than arrows. The main reason is that the impact is so great that even if there is a shield blocking it, the impact will cause arm pain, and some may even be hit by the shield hitting their heads and faces.
A sharp whistle sounded, followed by an ear-splitting roar. The musketeers, who were ready to go, received the order and fired a volley.
White smoke rose and countless lead bullets shot out, causing great damage to the Mongolian soldiers.
The time was so stuck that the Mongolian soldiers couldn't look up and down. They were hit with rocks on their heads and shot with muskets in front of them. They screamed and wailed, and a large piece of them fell down.
Changing the gun without changing the person, plus the flintlock gun and the paper-cased fixed-loading ammunition increase the rate of fire. After the first salvo, the gunshots kept ringing like exploding beans.
The configuration ratio of light and heavy muskets is five to one, and the attack on the Mongolian soldiers is extremely fierce. Especially the effect of heavy muskets, blood and flesh are flying everywhere, and the armor is regarded as nothing, which is even more shocking.
Densely packed stones once again flew across the sky, hitting people with screams and causing huge clouds of snow dust to explode in the snow.
The flashes of muskets fired one after another, and white smoke rose in clouds, thinned by the cold wind, and then blown away.
The frozen spikes dozens of meters outside the parapet were not dense and could not completely hinder the approach of the Mongolian soldiers, but their delaying effect was enough.
A Mongolian soldier was hit in the chest by a heavy musket and fell down with a splash of blood and flesh like a sack of earth.
Another Mongolian soldier was hit in the leg by a musket. He fell to the ground and rolled, screaming in pain. The blood soon stained a large area of the snow.
Flesh and blood splashed in the air, splashing on Mulu's face. The blood still carried the warmth of his companions, and the fishy smell rushed into his nose.
Mulu fell to the ground and saw his companion who fell to the ground. His head was beaten into a rotten watermelon, and his appearance was completely unrecognizable. White and red liquid was flowing in the snow.
Protecting his body with a shield, Mulu reluctantly climbed to his knees and saw several corpses lying not far away.
A corpse was facing him with its eyes wide open, and the companion he knew had half of his shoulders blown off, his flesh and blood were mangled, and his head was tilted strangely.
The sound of gunfire continued like New Year's firecrackers, and people were shot from time to time. The miserable scene and the screams of pain from the injured were heart-breaking.
A lead bullet shot out and hit Mulu's shield. The impact was so powerful that Mulu, who was half-kneeling, was completely defenseless. The shield was suddenly pushed back and hit his face.
The world was spinning under the severe pain, and Mulu, who was hit with a broken nose and teeth, rolled backwards, and finally fell on his back in the snow, losing consciousness as if he was dead.
The arrows were shot out in dense numbers. The Mongolian archers used their greatest strength to shoot arrows on their strings towards the opposite fortifications.
It seemed to have no effect at all. The black muzzle appeared again in the shooting recess of the parapet, as well as the enemy wearing a helmet and an iron face.
A bright light flashed, white smoke rose, and lead bullets shot out. The enemy ducked from the recess, ducked to the high wall next to it, and began to reload ammunition.
Another iron mask appeared, and only the cold eyes, the musket set up, the muzzle extended, and then the sound of gunfire was heard.
The black rain of stones flew through the air again, hitting the Mongolian soldiers hard and hitting the snowy ground.
In the array of pickets, corpses lay scattered everywhere, and some bodies fell on the pickets, and the blood that flowed out was thick and solidified, making it even more miserable.
Mang Gurtai and others had already climbed to the foot of the mountain, looking up at the battle with increasingly serious expressions on their faces.
"It's difficult to clear the obstacles, so we can only take beatings, which will be a waste of casualties." Degerei said solemnly: "The enemy's muskets are very sharp. Saharian is right. The two red flags were not unjustly defeated at Lushun Fort."
Mang Gurtai narrowed his eyes and said slowly: "The firearms are sharp and the terrain is advantageous. If we storm the mountain city, we will play into the enemy's trick."
Dege agreed and said: "Set up camp at the foot of the mountain and guard the enemy's way down the mountain. Once Jinzhou is conquered, this enemy will be allowed to fend for itself."
Capturing a mountain city and just controlling a stronghold will cost a lot of losses, but it doesn't have much practical significance.
The enemies guarding the mountain city should also hope so, and consume the lives of the Jianzhou warriors here. This is Dege's judgment.