The situation was changing, mainly because Mangui and others were not forced to fight by Chongzhen, and the more than 30,000-strong army did not suffer heavy casualties.
Since there was such a large number of Ming troops secretly building captives, Guo Dajing withdrew 2,000 troops from Shimen and transferred more than 1,000 remaining troops from Cheng Baolin, Jizhou Road, to Qian'an for garrison.
In this case, there are Liang Tingdong and Mangui's army behind them, and the main force of Dongjiang Army in Zunhua in front. Qian'an also blocks Jianlu's eastward route to the Hongshan Pass of the Great Wall, forming a situation of surrounding Jianlu on three sides.
And this was what Daishan, Mang Gurtai and others were most worried about before joining the invaders. When they went deep alone, the enemy attacked them all, and there was nothing they could do to return.
However, the Ming army in the interior was too weak, and the Guan Ning army was timid, so the Jianlu were allowed to run rampant, as if they were in an uninhabited country.
Even so, Guo Dajing also knew that it was quite difficult to completely annihilate the Jianlu. Unless they did not escape, they had to fight to the death with the Dongjiang Army here.
Can Huang Taiji escape? Guo Dajing thinks the possibility is not very high.
But Daishan, Mang Gurtai, and the Dorgon brothers should not be that strong. Not to mention those Mongolian tribes who followed Jianlu to plunder and make money.
"Why didn't our army take a step back and only defended Da'ankou, Malanyu, Xifengkou, and Hongshankou, making it difficult for Jianlu's horse to return?" Cao Huachun found Guo Dajing again, took out a map, pointed at it, and raised questions.
Guo Dajing secretly rolled his eyes. The homework in the picture made sense, but he was definitely a rookie who could make such an arrangement.
"Eunuch Cao, our army does not have enough troops!" Guo Dajing had to explain patiently: "We are weak when we divide our troops. The captives can only attack one place. It is difficult for our troops to support each other and fight together."
Cao Huachun showed a look of disappointment on his face and said: "The Jianlu captives still have a way to escape and it is difficult to annihilate them all."
"A few Jianlu fleeing in embarrassment does not affect the overall situation." Guo Dajing smiled and said: "If you pursue perfection too much, it will easily reveal flaws."
In later wars, large-scale encirclement operations were also carried out around major highways. Even if strategic locations were blocked, some people would escape through mountains and forests and take remote roads.
Moreover, if Qingqi fled, what would the Jianlu eat on the way back to Shenyang? The food stored by the Haraqin tribe was simply not enough to feed the Jianlu.
There are mountains, rivers, woods and grasslands. It is winter, and Jianlu's trek is very difficult even if he escapes from the border wall.
Therefore, Guo Dajing placed his main force on the two strategic points of Zunhua and Santunying that echoed each other. If Jianlu wanted to escape, he would not have to lose more than half of his troops without even thinking about it.
Beheading more than 10,000 people, this was definitely a record-breaking victory after the rise of the army. No matter how mean and ungrateful Chongzhen was, he still wanted to give the Dongjiang Army a justifiable reward.
Otherwise, the soldiers will be heartbroken. Who will work so hard to protect the king in the future, and who will fight to the death against foreign enemies?
As long as Jianlu took the route of Zunhua and Santun Camp, Guo Dajing would be sure of a great victory. More than 20,000 musketeers and more than 10,000 rockets were his confidence.
"Eunuch Cao." Guo Dajing poured a cup of tea for Cao Huachun and said earnestly: "Everything should not be done too hastily. It is the same as destroying the captives in Ping Liao. The establishment of captives has become a climate and cannot be destroyed overnight, let alone one or two wars.
Totally defeated.”
Cao Huachun took a sip of tea, smiled to himself, and said: "What General Guo said is absolutely true. The Za family knows this, but thinking of Long Live's exhaustive efforts, they can't help but feel impatient."
Guo Dajing nodded to express his understanding and said slowly: "Since Long live takes Ping Liao as his first priority, he can understand the situation, make choices and focus. In this way, the destruction of the captives is not far away."
"General Guo, it's okay to say it." Cao Huachun saw the hesitation on Guo Dajing's face and said quickly: "The Zajia is an honest man. He says what he should say and what he shouldn't say, but he will never say it."
Guo Dajing smiled and said: "In that case, Guo can speak freely."
Taking the pen and paper, Guo Dajing simply drew a map of Liaodong and marked all the important places. For example, Liaoyang, Shenyang, Ningyuan, Jinzhou, etc.
"The Guanning Army occupies Ningyuan and Jinzhou, and further east across the Daling River is the flat Guangning area. The Dongjiang Army occupies Jinzhou in southern Liaoning and Zhenjiang in eastern Liaoning..."
"As a barrier for the capital, Shanhaiguan and Ningyuan are enough. Going out of the narrow Liaoxi Corridor and occupying Jinzhou or Dalinghe City will only increase the burden on the court, but it is of no practical use..."
"Jinzhou, Daling River City, and the Guangning area are just baits set by the Jianqiu if they are abandoned without taking them. The battle of Ningjin shows that the Guanning army has neither the strength to fight in the field nor the will to fight. When the Jianlu came to attack, they could only defend their own cities and remain motionless..."
"Especially Jinzhou is far away from Ningyuan, with Songshan, Tashan, and Xingshan in the middle. It is very easy to be cut off by the Jianlu and become an isolated stronghold. When troops are sent to aid Jin, they will have to fight with the Jianlu in the field; if they don't help, they will not be able to do anything. Then sit back and watch Jinzhou be besieged..."
"What's more important is that Guan Ningjin's grain and grass supplies are all supplied from the mainland. Transporting grain thousands of miles will cause huge losses. Ningyuan can still go by sea, but Jinzhou is even worse."
"The Guan Ning army is more than capable of defending the city, but not aggressive enough. Hundreds of thousands of men and horses are piled up on the narrow fortress line, wasting food and supplies, but posing no threat to the captives. In my opinion, it is better to retreat to Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan, and the extra men and horses can fill the gap. Yamato Jizhen, in case there is another invasion..."
Guo Dajing had long wanted to complain about the Guanningjin Defense Line. It was called a defense line, but it could not hold a stable base and farm for self-sufficiency. It could only huddle in a series of fortresses, unable to advance and difficult to defend.
If we need a strategic buffer outside Shanhaiguan, Ningyuan is enough. What's more, the narrowness of the Liaoxi Corridor is not suitable for Jianlu to attack Guancheng in depth.
Issues involving the Ming Dynasty's foreign strategy and the many civilian and military generals who tried to make money from the Guanningjin Defense Line were originally difficult to change.
But after experiencing all the things that happened after Jianlu entered the customs, Chongzhen will definitely have psychological changes. In Guo Dajing's view, this is a good opportunity to correct his mistakes.
The true colors of Yuan Chonghuan and Guan Ningjun have been exposed. It is not an exaggeration to call Guan Ningjun, who abandoned the emperor, the capital and the people, a warlord.
Historically, Chongzhen also recognized this problem.
But at that time, Dongjiang Town had been defeated by Yuan Chonghuan, and only Guan Ning's army was left outside the pass. It could still use the city's cannons to fend off the Japanese invaders, and it had to be used even if it pinched the nose.
Things are very different now. Dongjiang Town has repeatedly defeated Jianlu and has surpassed Guan Ning's army in terms of combat strength. This is a fact that can be seen.
If it was Mao Wenlong who was unruly and unruly in the past, now there is an additional Guan Ningjun, even more so than in Dongjiang Town.
Therefore, Chongzhen could completely change his tactics and implement a contraction strategy in western Liaoning, guarding only Ningyuan and Shanhaiguan, and using the excess troops to supplement the defense of Jizhen.
The biggest advantage of doing this is that it can save a lot of money, including allocating more money and food to Dongjiang Town, which is less than the current cost.
Moreover, Chongzhen probably had no illusions about Guan Ning's army pacifying the Liao Dynasty and annihilating the captives. Dongjiang Town seems to be able to shoulder this important task, and it doesn't require much. It only costs 1.8 million silver a year.
Cao Huachun listened very carefully. To be precise, he should be very fascinated. As a eunuch, he obviously lacked understanding of this kind of strategic knowledge.
But Cao Huachun knew the emperor's temper and temperament and could figure out Chongzhen's thoughts. Yuan Chonghuan's downfall was certain after he was sentenced to prison, and the Ping Liao strategy he proposed and implemented is expected to change drastically.
For example, Yuan Chonghuan advocated "move forward step by step, make changes and make progress. In war, one city will support another city; follow the rules one step at a time. Survive step by step; be firm everywhere. Guarding the pass and regaining the land cannot be divided into two separate efforts."
But in fact, according to Guo Dajing's analysis of the battle of Ningjin, it is completely nonsense.
Jinzhou was besieged. Did Yuan Chonghuan rescue him? Of course he didn't. The so-called one city to aid one city, but in real fighting, it became that each city defended its own city.
The most critical thing is that the imperial government's finances are no longer able to support the current Ping Liao policy. Since Yuan Chonghuan took office, Liao's salary has increased to 2.8 million, a full 1.2 million more than before.
Yuan Chonghuan's achievement was to recover the dilapidated and abandoned Jinzhou, and requested a large amount of money and food from the court to repair the city.
It can be expected that if Yuan Chonghuan is still in office and continues to "recover lost territory", such as Dalinghe, Youtun, Guangning and many other cities, wouldn't it be an astronomical amount of money and food that the court will spend?
The more lost territory he regained, the more money and food Yuan Chonghuan needed. This loss did not allow him to continue working. Otherwise, the emperor would go crazy with money worries, and the Ming Dynasty's finances would be dragged down to collapse and bankruptcy.
Therefore, when Cao Huachun heard that he could save money, he became even more serious. Being able to take care of the emperor's worries would definitely be a great pleasure for Longyan, and he would also be more trusted.
"May I ask General Guo, what kind of support does Dongjiang Town need from the court?" Cao Huachun asked cautiously.
Guo Dajing smiled and said: "Guo believes that in order to pacify the Liao Dynasty and eliminate the captives, Dongjiang Town needs one hundred thousand elite soldiers. Based on the current quota of food and salary, I hope the court can pay them in full."
Cao Huachun thought for a moment and said: "One hundred thousand elite soldiers, this shouldn't be something that can be expanded in the short term, right?"
Guo Dajing nodded and said: "What Eunuch Cao said is absolutely true. The current strength of Dongjiang Town is close to 50,000. If the population is sufficient, we are prepared to expand it to 100,000 within two or three years."
"Population?" Cao Huachun looked at Guo Dajing, waiting for him to continue to raise conditions.
Guo Dajing said: "I hope the imperial court can allow Dongjiang Town to recruit people from North Zhili and Shandong to cultivate in southern Liaoning. It would be better if the imperial court can immigrate in large numbers."
Cao Huachun said: "What conditions do Dongjiang Town use to recruit people? Does this require money and food from the court?"
"There is no need for the court to spend money. Dongjiang Town used the recovered land to allow the people to come to Liaonan voluntarily." Guo Dajing paused and added: "I heard that the disasters in the northwest are severe, and the court can also send the victims to Liaonan."
"This is a good idea." Cao Huachun patted his thigh and his eyes lit up.
After the rise of the army, the imperial court spent a lot of money to resettle the Liao people who fled into the Pass. Even so, the effect was not satisfactory.
The key is that there is too little land in the hands of the government, so it can only start from reclaiming wasteland and farming it. The development of Tanggu area was also carried out on a large scale at that time.
Besides, the great disaster in the northwest caused civil unrest and threatened to start a prairie fire. If there was land to resettle the refugees, wouldn't it mean that there would be fewer rebels?
Cao Huachun was excited and discussed it in detail with Guo Dajing before he stood up and left. He went back and quickly wrote it down to prepare to submit it to the emperor for review.
I hope that through this drastic change and the heroic battle of the Dongjiang Army, Chongzhen can wake up and embark on the right path. In other words, he can do better than in history.
In fact, the most difficult thing to change is human psychology. Those like emperors and civil servants cannot understand the hard struggle of the people at the bottom to survive.
But Guo Dajing hopes that the turmoil in China will be lighter and the suffering of the people will be less. At least, there will be a place where they can live and work happily, which is the Liaodong base that he is working hard to build.
No matter how much benefit it could bring to Dongjiang Town, or what changes the emperor could make, Guo Dajing had no idea of conserving his strength.
Jianlu is the sworn enemy of the Dongjiang Army, and there can only be one voice and one master in Liaodong. From this point of view, no matter where the battle is, as long as the opponent can be eliminated or weakened, they will not give up.
Huang Taiji should have the same idea as me, otherwise, I would really be afraid of someone in vain.
Guo Dajing opened the window and let the cold air blow on his face. He looked at the tall city wall covered with silver armor in the distance and narrowed his eyes.
……………………
Fuzhou Acropolis.
Mao Wenlong, wearing a fur cloak, patrolled along the city wall under the protection of soldiers.
The city was in ruins, and Mao Wenlong had no plans to repair it. At most, it would be a simple repair, and no major construction would be carried out.
Firstly, due to lack of funds, the Dongjiang Army could not afford to carry out too many projects; secondly, the Dongjiang Army's defensive tactics no longer relied too much on fortified cities.
"A large-scale advance will have to wait until next spring, after the sea ice melts." Mao Wenlong stopped, reached out to brush off the snow on the city wall, and said slowly: "To occupy Gaizhou and enter the Sancha River, we also need naval assistance.
.”
Mao Chenglu smiled and said: "Since it is a false story, just send a small team to plant a flag on the Gaizhou Acropolis, that's all."
Mao Wenlong shook his head slightly and said: "Sooner or later, we will capture Gaizhou, as well as Liaoyang and Shenyang. They will also be our army's goals, although they are still relatively far away now."
After a pause, he added: "If we are to deal with the imperial court, all I need is a memorial, and there is no need to dispatch even a small team."
Mao Chenglu shrugged his shoulders and said: "Looking at the time, it's time for Dajing to send a reply."
Mao Wenlong said: "We are far away from the sea, and it all depends on his command at the moment. It doesn't matter whether he delivers the message or not. I believe that after such a long period of full preparation, victory will be no problem."
Mao Chenglu said: "I wonder how the imperial court will reward our troops across the sea for their merits? But as long as Governor Ji Liao is weighing on us, the development of our army will be restricted."
Mao Wenlong snorted and said: "It seems to me that Governor Ji Liao will be in trouble this time, and there will probably be no chance of suppressing Dongjiang Town again."
Mao Chenglu didn't understand what he meant and looked at Mao Wenlong in confusion. Mao Wenlong made a conclusion but didn't explain it and walked forward with a sneer.