Chapter 520: The Decisive Battle - Soldiers Arriving at Anshan Fort
From Shaanxi to Shanxi, then to Henan, Hubei, and Sichuan, Chongzhen would not have thought that the rogue bandits would spread from one province to three provinces, and then to five provinces, and spread out of control.
The more urgent the pursuit became, the wider the scope of the rebel army's movement became. The coordination and cooperation of the Ming army in each province became more and more at a loss. This was simply unavoidable under the communication conditions at the time.
In addition, the Ming army's combat strength varied among provinces, so the peasant rebel armies were often able to break out of the enemy's forces and flee wherever there was emptiness, causing even greater harm.
Because of this, Guo Dajing would not rush to intervene in the domestic suppression of bandits and quell the rebellion. He would not fight an uncertain battle, even if it was an insurgent army whose combat power was far inferior to that of Jianlu.
Autumn has driven away the scorching heat of summer, and there is still more than a month left before the crops are harvested. All departments of the Dongjiang Army have made full preparations, and the decisive battle begins at a time that is beyond Jianlu's expectation.
The two cavalry regiments of Zuo Xie, Xin Bian Xie, Fei Hu and Fei Bao, with more than 40,000 infantry and cavalry artillery, pressed overwhelmingly towards Anshan Post, attacking the last barrier to the north of Liaoyang.
At Niuzhuangyi, naval ships were lined up along the river, stretching for more than ten miles. Mao Chenglu's front comrades and Li Weiluan's right comrades were ready to go. They only waited for the order to go straight into the hinterland of Liaoshen.
In Liaodong, more than 40,000 people, including Kong Youde's rear associates, Feng Xijian's special operations battalion, the Korean rebels and the Feibiao Cavalry Regiment, were divided into two groups and pushed towards their respective goals.
The launch of the general offensive was beyond Jianlu's expectation, and even the eunuch Fang Zhenghua was kept in the dark.
It was not until Guo Dajing politely sent a letter that he woke up from a dream, sent someone to report to the court urgently, and rushed from Lushun to Haizhou at starry night.
If you want to deceive the enemy, you must first deceive your own people. Guo Dajing knew that Jianlu wanted to obtain information from the Ming court, so he was quite timely and accurate.
Therefore, everyone from the emperor to the ministers to the common people thought that Ping Liao would start after the autumn harvest, but it started so suddenly.
Even the people in the Guangfu District of Liaodong were shocked by the news. But immediately, under the mobilization order from the government, the people began to rush to support the people.
The front line has already stored a large amount of grain and ammunition, but in more than a month, that is, before the autumn harvest, the people have to make another surprise transport, and the amount is quite astonishing.
The government has also made proper arrangements for the coordination work during the autumn harvest.
Without the participation of the army, it is equivalent to the loss of nearly 100,000 strong laborers, and the pressure can be imagined. Unless men, women, old and young join the battle, the grain in the fields cannot be completely harvested and put into warehouses.
But these complicated tasks could no longer stop the Dongjiang Army from pinging Liao. Tens of thousands of troops arrived at Anshan Station in just one day.
Anshan Post was built in the 20th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty. It was renovated in the 6th year of Wanli and rebuilt into a brick city. It was first used as a relay station. There were many carriages and horses in the post, and merchants were very prosperous.
Anshan Yibao is adjacent to the Yangliu River (called Anshan River in ancient times) to the east and is located in the middle of the two mountains in the east and west Anshan, one mile away from the two mountains in the east and west.
To the northeast of Yibao is the Qianshan Mountains originating from the remnants of the Changbai Mountains, and to the southwest is the beginning of the vast Liaohe Plain.
Anshan Yibao borders Liaoyang and leads to Haicheng. It is 60 miles away from the ancient city of Liaoyang in the northeast and Linhai City in the southeast. The location is moderate, straddling the east and west of Anshan's throat. It was the gateway to southern Liaoning and western Liaoning in the Ming Dynasty, guarding southern Liaoning.
An important point on the ancient road.
Anshan Posthouse is screened by east and west Anshan. The terrain is dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is built with green bricks on the outside and filled with loess on the inside. There are wells dug in the city to prevent water shortages. There is a moat around it to prevent sneak attacks. The small area is impregnable.
After Li Hachi conquered Shenyang and Liaoyang successively, he moved the capital to Liaoyang, and Anshan Station became an important military stronghold for the Later Jin Dynasty to defend the capital.
Later, Shenyang was renamed as the capital, but the military importance of Anshan Station remained unchanged.
Mao Wenlong once took advantage of Nurhachi's expedition to Khalkha, Mongolia, and led his troops to attack Anshan Post, forcing Nurhachi to return to Shenyang at night, and sent Zhu Beile to Anshan for rescue.
Guo Dajing also led his troops to attack Anshan Post during the Battle of Ningjin, causing Huang Taiji to withdraw his troops in a hurry and relieve the danger of Ningjin.
Visiting Anshan Yi now is like revisiting an old place, but the nature is completely different.
More than 40,000 Dongjiang troops, well-equipped and with high morale, no longer carried out sneak attacks and harassment, but launched an upright attack to conquer Anshan Station and open the door to Liaoyang.
Although Anshan Station is said to be strong, it also has its biggest drawback, that is, the castle is too small and cannot be garrisoned with too many people.
Although Jianlu valued it as the gateway to Liaoyang, they could only garrison five thousand troops, and not all of them were inside the fort.
Reining his horse a few miles away from Anshan Fort, Guo Dajing led the generals to hold up telescopes and carefully observe its defense system.
Obviously, the fall of Hetuala and the destruction of Azig's camp outside Fengcheng made Jianlu aware of the powerful long-range firepower of the Dongjiang Army.
"There are dozens of trenches to protect the castle from our army's long-range firepower at the beginning of the siege." Liu Xingzhi, the commander of the Left Association, curled his lips and said with some disdain: "This is to fight and entangle with our army outside the city.
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He Kegang, the leader of the New Editorial Association, nodded his head and said: "According to the intelligence, not only Anshan Fort, but also the city defenses of Liaoyang and Shenyang are arranged in this way."
As the first general in Liao Town to integrate into Dongjiang Town, He Kegang was favored by Guo Dajing not only because of his historical reputation, but also because of his actual performance.
Although Zu Dashou had the highest official position, it was precisely because of this that he could not lead an army and could only become Mao Wenlong and Guo Dajing's deputy.
As for the rest of the Zu family, there were no outstanding figures. Guo Dajing could only give them two deputy co-presidents, which could be regarded as special care for Liao Town.
Zu Dashou had nothing to say about such an arrangement. Looking at the generals in Dongjiang Town, none of them were rich in experience, had great military exploits, and had fought several bloody battles with Jianlu.
In comparison, although the official ranks are almost the same, don't forget, this is Dongjiang Town, without military exploits and reputation, who among the officers and soldiers below will truly obey?
In the military, one is judged based on merit and experience. Regardless of seniority or background, this kind of atmosphere is what a prosperous group should have.
You can't break the rules for the sake of favors. This is determined by Guo Dajing's vision and structure.
Dongjiang Town will maintain long-term stability and strength, which will be the foundation for his conquest of the world, and must not follow the old path of "death is inevitable".
At this time, Zu Dashou took the initiative to ask Ying to go to Liaodong to command the military operations in Liaodong.
In fact, this is just to find something to do casually. The specific operations of the army have been deployed, and there is no need for him to make any major adjustments.
At least he was the commander-in-chief, and the Dongjiang Army general's superficial request for instructions and report could bring him some psychological comfort.
Zu Zerun, as the deputy president of the new Editors Association, although he did not intervene in the discussion, he showed an eagerness to try.
After all, this is his chance to perform. It is basically a certain arrangement to use the new editors' association for the first battle. As for the combat power of the new editors' association, he has to admit that it is very strong, and there is no big difference from other associations.
Guo Dajing finally put down his telescope, showed an indifferent sneer, turned to He Kegang and said: "General He, the new Editorial Association's first attack, you go and command it!"
"General, I obey the order." He Kegang immediately bowed and saluted, and galloped away with several officers.