The gap in intelligence was also the main reason why Jianlu was completely passive.
First of all, they underestimated the strength of the Dongjiang Army's navy. Although they took precautions, they never expected that the navy already had the ability to carry two infantrymen to join the battle.
Secondly, they underestimated the Dongjiang Army in Liaodong and did not include the more than 10,000 North Korean troops. They also overestimated the advantages of geographical location, such as Lianshanguan and Motianling.
Another point was also Jianlu's misjudgment. That was the Dongjiang Army's integration speed of the Liao Town troops. They did not expect it to be so fast, and the increase in combat power was also unexpected.
Of course, the biggest mistake was the serious underestimation of the population of Dongjiang Town, as well as the output of farming and manufacturing.
This led to the fact that when the Dongjiang Army launched a general offensive, Jianlu was caught off guard and responded hastily, with all preparations lacking.
Hauge listened to Ta Zhan's analysis and was still comforting himself, "The Dongjiang Navy has to carry troops and transport supplies. Where can there be so many ships? According to my estimate, 10,000 fine cavalry are enough to watch and keep it.
You cannot log in easily."
This is indeed the conclusion that Jianlu came to when formulating the battle plan. The Dongjiang Navy must be on guard, but the mobile corps can completely guard against it as long as half of the troops are deployed.
At the same time, Hauge and other slave chiefs were relatively optimistic that the Dongjiang Army's massive launch, although powerful, would not last long due to the consumption and transportation of food and supplies.
"No matter what, if you persist for a month, you should be able to do it." Hauge encouraged himself again, showing strong confidence.
For a month, Jianlu had to work hard. Preserving the autumn harvest was one aspect, and verifying their analytical conclusions was another aspect.
Unexpected victory comes before defeat. Although Jianlu knew that the situation was unfavorable, he would not think that defeat was certain. Whether the Dongjiang Army would stop attacking or even retreat to stop fighting due to the lack of food and grass supplies cannot be ruled out.
How could Jianlu be willing to withdraw from Liaoshen without fighting two decisive battles? If they retreat hastily now, what if the Dongjiang Army is bluffing?
I would rather die in battle than be scared to death. If you don't fight, you will definitely fail. This is probably the mentality of many slave chiefs.
Dorgon took the gains and losses of Liaoyang as a symbol of his northward migration, and Hauge also had his own bottom line, which was that changes in the surrounding situation did not necessarily mean that he would foolishly stick to it for a month in accordance with Dorgon's order.
The Dongjiang Army had just arrived at the city and had not launched an attack yet. There were mobile corps outside the city to support them, so Hauge naturally did not feel much of a threat.
Now, the number of garrison troops in Liaoyang City has reached 35,600, and more than half of the reinforcements transferred from Fushun, Tieling and other places have been transferred to this city.
This may also be where Hauge's confidence lies. He relies on strong defense, but he also fantasizes about repelling the enemy, thereby greatly increasing his prestige, and then competing with Dorgon.
Although Gong Adai and others returned from the defeat of Anshan Post and informed Hauge and others about the destruction of the city, Hauge and others did not know the principle of tunnel blasting, so they could only take it for granted and take preventive measures.
In the opinion of Hauge and others, it was the Dongjiang Army that dug through the roots of the city wall and loaded a large number of bombs, which destroyed Anshan Fort with one blast.
But Liaoyang is much stronger than Anshan Fort. Not only is the city wall thicker and higher, but there are also two cities in the north and south, which are equivalent to two cities.
If the southern city is lost, the northern city is also there. This is a double insurance, which has a great stabilizing effect on the psychology of the prisoners defending the city.
"I believe that the protection of the southern city wall needs to be strengthened." Gong Adai cautiously suggested, "We should leave some troops to attack the gap, but we should not get too close to the city wall."
As a defeated general, Gong Adai has always been taciturn and seems a little inferior. Although even Hauge did not expect him to lead reinforcements to defeat the enemy at Anshan Fort.
Hauge nodded, accepted the suggestion happily, and appointed Gong Adai to take charge.
In fact, Hauge and other slave chiefs have no particularly clear way to prevent tunnel explosions. There are two feasible strategies, one outside the city and the other inside the city.
Needless to say, outside the city, as long as the Dongjiang Army occupies the ground position, the Dongjiang Army cannot get close to the city wall, and it should be able to prevent the Dongjiang Army from digging walls and tunnels.
The defense inside the city was more troublesome. Jianlu could not tell where the Dongjiang Army would blast the city wall, so they could only build positions within the city wall and prepare troops to block the gap after the city was breached.
"Compared to the enemy's rolling ground dragon tactics, the Hongyi cannon seems to be more difficult to guard against." Ta Zhan's concerns were slightly different from Gong Adai's. The key was that he had never seen the power of tunnel blasting.
Hauge pondered for a moment and said: "If we can't intercept the enemy's artillery out of range, we can only bomb and replenish it to make it difficult for the enemy to break the city, or delay the break of the city."
Facing the powerful firepower of the Dongjiang Army, Jianlu had no choice but to rely on trenches and city walls to resist. The trench fortifications outside the city were considered to be the protection of the city wall, which was double insurance.
Even so, the strong and tall Liaoyang town was still something that Jianlu relied on with greater confidence.
As for the cavalry and shooting field battles that they were once proud of, they could not show satisfactory results in the face of the sharp and fierce muskets and artillery of the Dongjiang Army.
With close combat and strong fortifications to rely on, Jianlu believed that he could still fight the Dongjiang Army. At least, the trenches and city walls could offset part of the Dongjiang Army's artillery damage.
The sun sets below the horizon, and night will soon fall.
Hauge and other slave chiefs looked at the enemy camp in the distance. The lights gathered together to form a sea. The camp built by tens of thousands of people covered an extremely large area, like a small or medium-sized town.
"In the past few years, as if by a miracle, the Dongjiang Army has grown to such an extent that it has been able to take the initiative to attack Daikin and gain an advantage."
Haug narrowed his eyes, and it was still a bit unbelievable to think about it now. In fact, he didn't even know when the fundamental reversal of power between the two sides occurred.
It seemed that he was unconscious, and there seemed to be signs, but he didn't pay enough attention.
It wasn't until - well, it should be the Zunhua War that the strength of the Dongjiang Army was truly recognized. But it was already too late. Daijin, which had fallen into famine and suffered heavy losses to its military, was already in an irreversible decline.
"This battle is not only the life and death of Dai Jin, but also for my father. I will do my best." Not many people understand Hauge's thoughts.
Zunhua was defeated miserably, and Jianlu lost tens of thousands of elites. Huang Taiji was captured alive and cut to pieces in the capital. This was not only a blow to Houjin, but also had an even greater impact on Hauge.
It was Dorgon's failure to use a detour to enter the pass, as well as the deaths of Daishan, Manggurtai and other slave chiefs, all attributed to Huang Taiji, which aroused the resentment of the descendants of Daishan, Manggurtai and others.
As a result, Dorgon gained the support of the two red flags of Daishan's son Barama and Mandahai, as well as the Zhenglan flag of Manggurtai's son Maidali, and gained an advantage in the battle for the throne.
Hauge guarded Liaoyang not only to avenge his father's shame and win the gratitude and support of the Manchus, but also to stay away from Dorgon to avoid being harmed by the conspiracy.
Although Dorgon did not explicitly issue an order to move north to seek peace, his actions were not concealed and most of the Manchus knew about it. Although it was just a clever excuse to move some of the Lianghuang Banner tribesmen.
In Hauge's view, as long as he can repel the enemy and save Liaoyang and stir up public opinion, his prowess and Dorgon's cowardice will greatly increase his prestige among the Manchus.
】
The key still lies in the issue of whether to abandon Liaoshen. Mandahai, Maidali and others agreed with Hauge and were dissatisfied with Dorgon's northward movement.
………………
Benxi is both dangerous and accessible: it borders Shenyang and Fushun to the north, Liaoyang and Anshan to the west, and is connected to Zhenjiang in the south... This makes Benxi a strategic hub in Liaodong throughout history.
In Liaodong, the Ming army spent decades building the Liaodong Border Wall that stretched for more than a thousand kilometers, about 70 kilometers of which passed through Benxi.
In the forty-sixth year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, Nurhaci issued the "Seven Great Hatreds" and started the first war with the Ming Dynasty, and the Battle of Fuqing broke out. "Fu" refers to Fushun; "Qing" refers to Qinghe City located in Benxi.
At this time, the corps consisting of the special operations battalion and the Korean army had captured the Sixth Fort of Gushan, marched westward along the Taizi River, and started a fierce battle with the Jianlu at Weining Camp in Benxi.
The Jianlu stationed here are mainly Xianghongqi led by Mandahai.
As for Weining Camp, it is about ten miles east of Benxi, bordering the Taizi River to the south, surrounded by mountains to the east and west, and the main road leading to Shenyang to the north. The situation is dangerous and it is an important town in Liaodong.
To put it bluntly, the Weining Battalion cannot defend itself, and Benxi, which has no protection, is basically in the hands of the Dongjiang Army. The outcome of this battle will determine the fate of Benxi.
Historical records record: "In the Ming Dynasty, a city was built in Weiningying, with four miles around the city and two city gates in the east and west."
According to the "Records of the Ming Dynasty", Weining Camp had become the largest iron smelting plant in Liaodong during the reign of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, with an annual output of "more than 10,000 kilograms" of iron.
Although the current Hou Jin Dynasty still has the Eight Banners military system, after several years of war, the number of soldiers has been seriously depleted, and the men and horses of each banner are no longer what they used to be.
The two white flags and the two yellow flags are considered to have the largest number of troops, with each flag only having seven or eight thousand soldiers; Amin's blue flag exists in name only and was almost annexed by Dorgon; the two red flags of Barama and Mandahai, and Manggurtai
The Zhenglan Banner of his son Maidali each had four to five thousand troops.
Although Hou Jin mobilized and increased the strength of the Lianghong Banner and Zhenglan Banner by one to two thousand, the quality of the soldiers was not high and their combat effectiveness did not increase much.
Naturally, this also included Dorgon's strategy, which deliberately limited or weakened the strength of other flags, making the strength of the two white flags even more dominant.
As for the young slave chiefs such as Barama, Mandahai, and Maidali, although they opposed retreating before fighting and moved north to avoid the war, they still had some backup.
To put it bluntly, it is to leave seeds for one's tribe, and one cannot go all out to do so, which will lead to too heavy losses.
For example, Barama led the red flag to garrison in Sarhu and Jiefan Village to ensure the safety of the escape routes northward in the Liaoshen area.
Although Dorgon agreed to this, he also saw that the two red flags also left him a way out after defeat. Even if they were defeated miserably, they would not be completely destroyed.
There was also Mang Gurtai's son Maidali, who was stationed in Kaiyuan to ensure the safety of the other northward migration route.
They screamed fiercely, but in reality they were unsure. Both reluctant to give up Liaoshen and worried about being exterminated, the preparations made the Jianlu even more exhausted when faced with the large-scale attack by the Dongjiang Army.
Mandahai stood at the top of the city, looking at the enemy's camp, while the attacking enemies also put on a posture, full of murderous intent, which was terrifying.
"The enemy wants to encircle Lianshanguan and then advance towards Liaoyang to form a siege." The slave chief Chuohar guessed and said: "Should we report the news to the friendly forces at Lianshanguan?"
Mandahai nodded slightly and said: "The enemy's actions were unexpected. Our army can only delay and buy time for the friendly forces to adjust."
Benxi is located south of Lianshanguan and was supposed to be the backup for Lianshanguan. However, Jianlu underestimated the strength of Liaodong Dongjiang Army and did not expect that it would be attacked at multiple points.
The special operations battalion gave full play to its own advantages and sent out several teams early to lurk close to the Sixth Fort of Gushan. Then they launched almost at the same time, catching Jianlu by surprise.
The means of attack were also simple and crude, including intensive bombardment by rockets, close-range shooting by musketeers, and cover blasters who used boxes of gunpowder or gunpowder carts to blow open the fort gate.
The attack was sudden and violent, and after the two disastrous defeats in Jianzhou and Liaodong, the Jianlu troops were insufficient in strength. There were not many troops stationed in the Six Forts of Gushan, which only served as an early warning.
Moreover, Jianlu was unprepared for the two-pronged attack by Dongjiang Army in Liaodong. The sequence of Dongjiang Army's launch also caused great misunderstandings and misjudgments.
First, the main force of the Dongjiang Army in southern Liaoning attacked Anshan Fort, with its troops directed towards the important town of Liaoyang; then the Dongjiang Army in eastern Liaoning arrived at Lianshanguan and began to attack.
This information caused Jianlu to make a response. That is, when the chess pieces had been dropped and it was difficult to adjust again, another Dongjiang army suddenly came out.
As Mandahai said, the intelligence has already been sent to Shenyang, but it may be too late to respond promptly and mobilize troops from other places.
Obviously, Mandahai did not have much confidence in resisting this enemy's attack. He could only give advance warning and delay for some time to give the friendly forces in Lianshanguan a buffer to respond.
Chohar secretly sighed. The enemy's strength was several times greater than his own, and his fierce firepower made it difficult to resist.
Once the battle here is defeated, there will be no danger for Benxi to defend, and it will only be a matter of time before it is lost. Not only the friendly forces at Shangguan will have to face choices, but our own troops will also have to think of a way out.
Whether to move closer to Liaoyang or retreat to Shenyang, Chuohar secretly glanced at Mandahai and speculated on his thoughts.
This choice can show Mandahai's true thoughts, whether to live and die with Liaoyang, or wait in Shenyang to escape and survive.
The friendly forces at Lianshanguan were in a worse situation. After Benxi fell, they could only retreat towards Liaoyang.
Although they are temporarily out of danger, the Dongjiang Army's violent attack on Liaoyang is certain, and their fall is only a matter of time.
At the most critical moment, the inner truth is more exposed. Most of the ordinary and generous words, fearless and fearless, are false. Until the end, the essence of selfishness and greed for life cannot be seen.
Man Dahai did not make a decision. His eyes tightened. The enemy's artillery had flashed bright lights and emitted white smoke, and began to bombard the city.