Chapter Three Hundred and Thirty-Three The Final Version of King Qin’s Plan
A major battle in the mainland should have no worries about supplies and friendly troops everywhere to help. However, the Dongjiang Army, which attacked across the sea, was fighting alone.
But it is regrettable, even sad, precisely because this is a fact. Who can help? Who can help? Looking at the Ming army in the Gyeonggi region, there is really no one.
To be precise, it's not that they don't exist, but that they can't be counted on. With their scumbag fighting power, Guo Dajing doesn't dare to use them, and he can't afford to use them.
Even if it was the Guan Ning cavalry led by Yuan Chonghuan, Guo Dajing had the same attitude and kept a respectful distance.
You want to use it, or you can use it, or you even really dare to use it. You can never rest assured that it can be used, but it will disrupt the original deployment and plan.
If you arrange these friendly troops to guard the left wing and they are defeated, the consequences will be disastrous. It will not help much, but it will cause great harm. It is like fighting with a fragile weapon, and you have to be careful not to collide with the opponent's weapon.
Therefore, it is most reassuring to not count on or use it. Make plans and direct operations based on your own military strength and combat power. No matter how big or small the outcome of the battle is, you will be most certain.
"When Jianlu enters the pass, Zunhua is the retreat, and Jizhou is the front blocker, which must be captured." Mao Wenlong stretched out his hand and nodded, shaking his head slightly, "I don't think the defenders of Jizhou can resist it.
Jianlu."
Guo Dajing pondered for a moment and said: "If this is the case, our army will not divide our forces to attack. If the Jianlu prisoners withdraw from the pass, let them take a detour and escape through Gubeikou!"
Mao Wenlong deeply agreed. In his judgment, the expeditionary force and the Jianlu were almost evenly matched. Dividing the troops was a taboo for military strategists. They wanted everything but couldn't get it everywhere.
Of course he didn't know that Jianlu did not attack Jizhou after entering the pass, but sneaked past Governor Yuan's eyes in a strange way.
But even so, Jianlu suffered a setback in Zunhua. If they wanted to go from Jizhou and Miyun to Gubeikou, the defenders could not stop them.
"After our army landed, they did not raise the flag of the Dongjiang Army. Instead, they pretended to be the Ming army from Shanhaiguan. After attacking Zunhua, they built fortifications and waited for work to attack the captives." Guo Dajing looked at Mao Wenlong, with a clear intention of consulting.
Mao Wenlong understood what Guo Dajing meant, which was to make Jianlu feel underestimating the enemy, and retreat along the original route with the thought that he could easily recapture Zunhua.
The Dongjiang Army's strong defense has caused Jianlu to suffer a lot. In order to prevent it from turning to another route, it is the best way to be sufficiently vigilant and prepared, and to hide its banner and strength.
"This is a very good idea." Mao Wenlong smiled and said, "Also, letting the flying cavalry battalion pretend to be Jianlu can also play a surprising role in winning."
A surprise attack on Zunhua in disguise should be the task of the flying cavalry and lancers at the beginning of the landing. Capture Zunhua as quickly as possible to provide sufficient time for various preparations such as building fortifications.
Even flying cavalry can disguise themselves as Jianluo and attack scattered and small groups of enemies.
In fact, these are all small tricks, and the main battle plan is not complicated. Expedition across the sea, plagiarizing Zunhua after landing, waiting for work to fight against the Jianlu, forcing them to take a long way to escape.
The more complex the combat plan, the greater the appetite, and the easier it is for mistakes to occur in actual combat.
Similar to machinery, the more precise it is, the easier it is to be damaged. Even a problem with a small part can cause the entire machine to stop.
Therefore, the "Qinwang" plan has been revised, simplified and finally finalized. Although there may be minor adjustments during implementation based on the actual situation, the overall principles and framework remain unchanged.
"Everything is ready, all we need is the east wind!" Mao Wenlong sat down easily, stretched out his hand to signal to Guo Dajing, picked up the teacup, and drank slowly.
Guo Dajing sat in the chair and felt relaxed. He said with a smile: "The commander's wisdom is better than that of Zhuge Liang. He can win a victory thousands of miles away even if he is strategizing."
Mao Wenlong said angrily: "If I hadn't grown so handsome, I would have kicked you twice even if I dared to be naughty to you."
Guo Dajing chuckled and said: "How old is the commander-in-chief? In the end, it seems that he is even stronger than in previous years!"
Mao Wenlong also smiled, waved his hand and said: "I can't say that I am strong and strong, but I have a lot of flesh on my body."
After a pause, he put away his smile and said solemnly: "According to the latest information, Jianlu has begun to mobilize troops, and each cow has recruited twenty armored soldiers..."
During the Nurhaci era, each cow had three hundred armors, with an average armor of more than one hundred. In the hands of Huang Taiji, the number of cattle was slightly reduced, and the quota was sixty armors per cow.
But some of them have more Niulu, and some Niulu have less. In general, three men wear one armor. Even if other Niulu have more armor, they are not allowed to make up for the deficiency.
Now, there are nearly 300 Niulu in the Eight Banners, which means that they can mobilize about 6,000 more armored soldiers.
In addition to the unarmored Yu Ding accompanying him as laborers, migrant workers, servants, and troops who may be drawn from the Eight Banners' standing army, the total force should be around 20,000.
Based on this calculation, even if the Mongolian tribes mobilized troops, around 30,000 troops would already be the limit.
"After several years of fighting, Jianlu is already stretched thin in terms of manpower. It can barely gather 60,000 troops, which is already the limit."
Guo Dajing believed this and believed that this was the real strength of Huang Taiji's invasion of the capital. He took one-third of the troops to take a detour and entered the pass, while two-thirds of the troops stayed at their home base.
Perhaps, there will be some minor adjustments during the final launch, but the number of troops that Huang Taiji can take away can only be less, but it is impossible to increase it.
In other words, the troops he led were basically equal in number to Jianlu. This made him more confident and more likely to win.
At that time, there were no Eight Banners of Mongolia and Eight Banners of the Han Army. Even if the Manchus could not distinguish between soldiers and civilians, in fact, they did not have much potential for development.
In fact, from historical records, we can also roughly see that the number of troops entering the pass was not very large.
For example, in a choke point like Zunhua, Huang Taiji only left "five hundred armored soldiers and three hundred unarmored soldiers", leaving a total of 800 people to defend the city.
Another example is the Battle of Guangqumen. "Mang Gurtai and others... only sent 2,000 troops to protect the army and Mongolian soldiers. They saw Yuan Chonghuan, the governor of Ningyuan, and 20,000 soldiers from Jinzhou's general, Zu Dashou, stationed outside the gate of Shawo."
The strength of Jianlu's troops was stretched thin, which is not obvious in historical records. It is completely nonsense to claim that one hundred thousand troops were sent out in full force.
Judging from the current intelligence, it is not much different from the analysis and judgment of Mao Wenlong and Guo Dajing. In other words, the originally scheduled cross-sea Qinwang troops do not need major adjustments.
And the consequences of the repeated failures in building the captives in the past few years are now emerging. There is already a lack of manpower, and it is difficult to replace the losses of soldiers in a timely manner.
Even if it can be supplemented, the scope must be broadened, that is, men between the ages of sixteen and sixty must be mobilized, and the combat strength will also show a downward trend.
Guo Dajing knew very well that the Manchu Qing Dynasty was able to seize China not because of the Manchu Eight Banners, but because of the tens of thousands of Han soldiers who surrendered.
If Huang Taiji is allowed to build the Eight Banners of Mongolia and the Eight Banners of Han Dynasty, the process of annihilating Pingliao will be delayed again. As long as the "Qinwang" operation is a complete victory, Huang Taiji will not have this opportunity.
"As long as they successfully prevent the Jianlu from plundering people, money and materials, they won't be able to sustain it for a few more years." Guo Dajing exhaled a long breath, "If we want to level the Liao Dynasty in five years, we can only look at our Dongjiang Town."
Mao Wenlong stroked his beard and nodded, and said slowly: "Commander, I have seen the dawn of victory."
The balance of victory and defeat has quietly tilted. Over the past few years, Dongjiang Town's population has continued to grow, its military strength has continued to expand, its resources have become increasingly stable, and its weapons and equipment have also reached a higher level.
On the other hand, Jianlu, although they nominally conquered Korea, defeated Hu Duntu, and broke the siege and blockade, they swallowed up all these achievements with the rise of Dongjiang Town.
If this great famine cannot be overcome, the Jianlu Empire will inevitably decline sharply, and will be at a disadvantage in the confrontation with Dongjiang Town.
The dawn of victory has indeed appeared, and the next "Qinwang" action will spread this light to a wider world and let more people see it.
The two looked at each other and smiled. It was the relief that their ambitions were expected to be completed, and the joy that the fire of hope shone in their hearts.
………………
Liaoyang.
Huang Taiji, protected by his guards and accompanied by several high-level officials, was walking on the city wall, inspecting the city's defense.
The plan to enter the customs via a detour has been formulated, and the preparations will be completed in September. Huang Taiji did not publicly propose it at the government affairs meeting, but deployed troops and generals in the name of conquering Hu Duntu.
But the stability of Dongjiang Town in southern Liaoning and the increase in combat power made Huang Taiji most afraid, and he made careful precautions and arrangements for this.
"The city wall has been repaired, and there are three trenches surrounding the city." Karta stretched out his hand for the artillery on the city and said, "All the artillery has been placed, but the quantity of gunpowder is not very sufficient."
Huang Taiji nodded and said: "King Khan knows this and will send someone to solve it."
Nitrous sulfur is a military material and is not produced in Liaodong, but after Jianlu obtained the Hongyi cannon, it was not in short supply.
The reason is very simple. There were traitors in the Ming Dynasty who had connections with foreign countries and smuggled various materials to the rebels. They played an important role in the demise of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, there are no such conditions yet. We have to wait until Huang Taiji conquers Hu Duntu for the second time, completely eliminates Lin Dan Khan, and basically controls the grasslands outside the pass.
Therefore, it is very difficult for Jianlu to have sufficient gunpowder now. Huang Taiji said this, but it was just perfunctory to stabilize the morale of the army.
In order to take a detour to enter the pass, Huang Taiji left two-thirds of his troops behind. Still uneasy, he once again reduced his defense line.
In southern Liaoning, Jianlu abandoned Haizhou and used Anshan Posthouse as an outpost to defend Liaoyang;
Liaodong, Xiuyan, and Fengcheng must also abandon their defenses and retreat to Tongyuan Fort and Lianshanguan, as well as Caohe Fort and Gushan Fort.
It can be seen from the map that Jianlu reorganized the inward defense line and surrounded the most important Liaoshen and Hetuala inside.
The first is to concentrate troops, hold on to fewer strongholds, make up for the lack of troops, and ensure the security of the core control area; the second is to lure the enemy deeper and then wait for opportunities to counterattack.
Anyway, Houjin only has such a large population. No matter how large the area it occupies, it cannot be fully utilized. Instead, it will easily expose its flaws and allow the enemy to take advantage of it.
Retreating in order to advance is actually a very calm and wise strategy. If the Dongjiang Army covets land and divides its forces to occupy it, it will be suspected of falling into a trap and may fall into a dilemma similar to that of Jianlu.
Originally, there were not many troops, and it was difficult to hold on to it firmly even after occupying so much land. If it could not be held firmly, it was possible to immigrate and cultivate the land, or to make wedding clothes for the captives.
This is similar to Guo Dajing's idea of abandoning Jinzhou, Dalinghe and other cities.
Huang Taiji's re-deployment revealed the weakness of the Dongjiang Army, which was that there were few cavalry and mostly infantry, with limited mobility.
Once the Dongjiang Army divided its forces and went too deep into the land, losing the advantage of the navy, it would not be surprising to suffer a disastrous defeat under the circuitous and vertical and horizontal attacks of the Jianlu cavalry.
Jierhalang accompanied Huang Taiji, but he was not in a relaxed mood. He had been appointed as the full command of Liaoshen, and even Amin had to obey his orders.
But the current situation in the ruling area makes him feel that he has a heavy responsibility on his shoulders, which is extremely heavy.
A large number of Shaotou Liao people fled desperately, and there were a lot of thefts and robberies. If the problem of food supplies cannot be solved by the end of the year, even the food and drink of the Manchu people will be a problem, and that will be a real collapse.
"If the enemy comes to attack, it will not be easy to transport food from Jinzhou to Liaoyang for hundreds of miles." Huang Taiji's words interrupted Jierhalang's thoughts.
Pointing to the trench fortifications outside the city, Huang Taiji was still discussing, "With the offensive and defensive power changing hands, what else can the Dongjiang Army have to rely on?"
Jierhalang secretly rolled his eyes and remembered the Battle of Zhenjiang a few months ago. The Dongjiang Army captured Zhenjiang in only two days and ambushed the reinforcements from Fengcheng.
This year alone, in the Battle of Nanguan and the Battle of Zhenjiang Fort, tens of thousands of soldiers were killed and injured by Jianlu. This was definitely a crippling loss and damage.
Although the Manchus claim that regardless of whether they are soldiers or civilians, they can mount horses, ride and shoot. But after mobilization, the restrictions have to be relaxed. And the older people are naturally not as strong as the young people.
"King Khan." Karta said with full confidence: "Without waiting for the enemy to reach the city, my slaves and thousands of cavalry can defeat them on the road and kill them without leaving a single piece of armor behind."
Huang Taiji snorted, but was extremely dissatisfied with Karta's strong fighting spirit, and said coldly: "Luring the enemy deep, relying on the city to stand firm, the enemy's strategy has been decided, but you talk lightly about fighting, do you know your crime?"
Karta hurriedly bowed to plead guilty, "I know that I am guilty, please punish King Khan."
Huang Taiji waved his hands with a sullen face, unwilling to answer this trusted subordinate, but he was hesitating in his heart whether he should let this guy stay in Liaoyang.
Taking a detour into the pass, plundering and returning, was now Huang Taiji's most urgent goal. This was not only the only way to survive the great famine, but also a powerful means to stabilize the Khan's position.
As for the Dongjiang Army, when he personally led his troops on the expedition, he did not seek victory. As long as they could protect their base and not be breached, he was satisfied.
The Battle of Zhenjiang and the Dongjiang Army's attack on the stronghold caused a great psychological shadow on Huang Taiji. When the military was at a disadvantage, not seeking merit but seeking no faults was what he hoped for.