"The enemy actually used so many artillery pieces?!" At the top of the city, Hauge's eyes widened and he looked shocked.
Perhaps this was not the battle in which he had seen the most artillery. During the Zunhua Battle, dense rockets were fired, which made him mistakenly think they were the artillery of the Dongjiang Army.
But the enemy had just occupied some positions outside the city and put up such a posture, which really surprised and surprised him.
This is a momentum to attack Liaoyang City. Although it is unlikely, Hauge must be very energetic and not dare to be careless.
Compared with the height of the trebuchet, the mortar was short and squat, like a small water tank. But when more than a hundred doors were opened at once, the soldiers in the city still felt heavy pressure.
】
"Master Beile, you'd better take shelter for the time being." Gong Adai suggested worriedly from the side: "Liaoyang's safety depends on you, and the enemy is only shelling and cannot attack the city for the time being."
Ta Zhan also hurriedly said: "Leave this place to the command of my slaves, Lord Beile can rest assured."
Haug nodded, and under the protection of the guards, he got off the city wall and rested in a room under the city wall.
Jianlu also understood the characteristics of mortars clearly. The parabolic trajectory was blocked by the city wall, and the safest place was to be close to the city wall.
Hauge sat in the chair and waved away the others, his face no longer calm and composed, his brows furrowed, looking worried.
Although Jianlu had made a lot of preparations for the enemy's artillery bombardment of the city, they were still passive in the end. The key to whether they could hold the city was, first, time, and second, the containment of the mobile corps.
If there is a response and cooperation outside the city, the enemy cannot attack the city with all its strength, and the defenders inside the city have a way to retreat. This is why it is difficult to defend a city alone.
When he saw the mobile corps heading north and leaving Liaoyang City, Hauge felt empty. He didn't know whether the friendly forces could come back or whether Liaoyang would become a defensive city.
Although the Dongjiang Army's actions were anticipated and prepared, Jianlu was prepared.
For example, the general offensive launched by the Dongjiang Army, the navy's sudden advance, and the defense of the city, but the results are often not satisfactory.
The Dongjiang Army launched its attack more than a month in advance, which caught Jianlu off guard. They did not expect that Guo Dajing would dare to deceive the court and trick them into falling for it.
Although the fall of Anshan Fort was expected, the short time was something Jianlu did not expect.
The trench fortifications under Liaoyang City did not have the expected effect. Instead, they fell into a confrontation with the Dongjiang Army. Under the fierce attack, many men and horses were lost.
Everything was predicted, but none of it developed as planned, so the results were naturally very different.
Is sticking to Liaoyang just asking for death? Hauge had deep doubts about his decision.
"The Dongjiang Army is too powerful." Hauge leaned back in his chair tiredly. This was unexpected again. He underestimated or misjudged the Dongjiang Army's development and increase in combat power.
If Haug knew that he was fighting the most powerful army in the world and could fight to this extent, he would be proud.
If Guo Dajing had not taken the annihilation of the Jianlu forces as his main goal, the attack on Anshan Fort and Liaoyang would have been more violent and shocked the Jianlu.
Even so, the bombardment of Liaoyang City was not all artillery. When the more fierce artillery fire covered Liaoyang City, the Dongjiang Army should have surrounded Liaoyang City on all sides and surrounded Liaoyang City like an iron barrel.
The roar interrupted Hauge's thoughts. The loud noises came one after another, his feet were shaking, and the table eucalyptus was trembling. Hauge sighed and slumped back in his chair.
Lying down and getting hammered?! Haug felt that the war was beyond his imagination and depended entirely on the results of other battles. He simply didn't want to think about it, just stayed in the city and resigned to his fate!
If we stick to it now, there is still hope to defend Liaoyang; if we retreat from the city if defeated, not only will all the food and supplies stored in the city be lost, but we will also suffer a lot of casualties on the way back.
What's more, it's only been a few days? The enemy hasn't even touched the city wall yet, so why did he beat himself to the point of despair and loss of confidence?
Just because the position outside the city was lost, or the battle was not as good as expected, did he let himself collapse?
Amidst the rumbling sound of the cannon, Haug slowly figured it out again. The explosion was like a drumstick, hitting his heart and waking up his mind.
The offensive and defensive battle in Liaoyang has just begun. It is still unclear who will win and who will lose.
Even without the response of the mobile corps, the tall and solid city walls and the tens of thousands of people inside the city cannot be easily broken by the Dongjiang Army.
Haug was comforting himself and regaining his confidence. Hearing the sound of gunfire outside, he suddenly stood up and pushed the door open.
………………
Azig looked a little gloomy as he listened to Lan Tai's report. From time to time he raised his head and looked into the distance, where he saw the steadily advancing infantry of the Dongjiang Army.
If Lantai brought 10,000 troops, Azig would still have to launch another attack and then decide on the next action.
Kelantai only brought more than 5,000 cavalry. The company lost 3,000 troops and was transferred to guard the pontoon bridge. Azig also had a similar number of troops.
With more than 10,000 horses, Azig hesitated and found it difficult to make a decision when he attacked the enemy again.
Even if he could contain the advance of the enemy's infantry, or even severely injure the enemy, it would never lead to the enemy's defeat. Azig still had this self-awareness.
Next, how to deal with the chasing Dongjiang Army cavalry? The mobile corps, which has been exhausted for a long time and has lost many troops, is probably no match for the enemy cavalry.
"Hauge will probably not send troops out of the city to cooperate with our army." Azig glanced in the direction of Liaoyang City and guessed: "The enemy will not give him a chance. He must be trying to contain him with all his strength."
Lan Tai gave a bitter smile and said: "The enemy cavalry has a large number of people and strong firepower. The slaves are defeated and Hongke cannot hold on for long. Please ask Lord Baylor to make a decision early."
Now is no longer the time to combine forces to attack the enemy's landing force. The enemy's cavalry brigade will arrive soon. If you hesitate, you will be attacked from both front and rear.
Or, the enemy's cavalry will attack the pontoon bridge, cut off the retreat route of the mobile corps, and besiege it together with the Liaoyang defenders.
Azig sighed secretly, and finally made a decision after weighing the situation, leading the entire army to break away from contact with the enemy and accelerate towards the pontoon bridge.
By guarding this only retreat, Dorgon can implement Dorgon's purpose of preserving the strength of the mobile corps as much as possible. It can fight, retreat, and be flexible.
But in fact, retreating to the pontoon bridge already meant the defeat of the mobile corps and the abandonment of Liaoyang south of the Taizi River.
With the strength of Dongjiang Army's landing force and flying cavalry regiment already more than doubled that of Jianlu, the firepower was even more difficult for Jianlu to withstand. How could they protect the pontoon bridge and maintain the connection between Liaoning and Shenyang?
"Send an order to Yasiha, ordering him to lead his troops across the river and take up positions on the north bank." Azig's next order finally revealed his true intention to retreat.
Now it is no longer a matter of guarding the pontoon bridge, but of considering that the pontoon bridge cannot be used by the enemy so that the enemy can easily cross the river and advance towards Shenyang.
Azig finally figured out that the Dongjiang Army had a very big goal in launching this time. It fought at all costs. Is it just Liaoyang?
After mobilizing troops from all directions, Shenyang was already quite empty, with less than 10,000 men and horses, and only the troops he led were still of great use in terms of combat strength.
Another key point is that the Dongjiang Army Navy was able to divert the Hunhe River and carry troops northward again, approaching Shenyang, which gave Azig even more headaches.
"I hope that the tens of thousands of troops led by Hauge can hold on to Liaoyang until winter. Even after the autumn harvest, they can still demonstrate the value of holding on to Liaoyang."
Azig felt sad in his heart and turned his head to look in the direction of Liaoyang City, hoping that the war situation would develop as planned and that there would be no worse changes.
Even though he was at odds with Hauge, they were both Manchus. Azig felt ashamed of his abandonment of friendly forces, but he had no choice but to do so.
If you are completely defeated and flee to the bitter cold land in the north, you will need a relatively strong armed force to recuperate and recuperate surrounded by wolves.
Even though many Mongolian tribes relied on Houjin, Azig was certain that they were no longer reliable, and a counter-attack would be a common occurrence in the future.
Therefore, exhausting all the troops in the Liaoshen area will not be a disastrous defeat, but a disaster of annihilation. In order to please the Dongjiang Army and change the family, the Mongolian tribes will not hesitate to betray them.
Even tribes like Yehe, Wula, and Hala cannot guarantee that they will share weal and woe with the Jianzhou Jurchens. Dongjiang Town has already spread rumors that it specializes in attacking Jianzhou Jurchens, and other tribes can redeem themselves through meritorious service.
"When disaster strikes, they all fly away and occupy the entire Liaodong. Is it true that Dajin has reached the point of defeat?" Azig's face became more and more gloomy, and pessimism took over his body and mind.
………………
Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the city of Liaoyang was filled with fireworks, which looked very gorgeous.
The bombardment of hundreds of cannonballs ignited many houses and buildings. Although the Jianlu had protected important places such as warehouses, the fire in the city was still not small.
In order to attack the city, the artillery of the Liaonan Corps was equipped with nearly half of the deflagration bombs, which were used to set fire to buildings, buildings, enemy warehouses and other places.
Jianlu was prepared for this, but there were so many houses in the city that it was impossible to cover everything. The autumn was dry and dry, so it was not surprising that the fire spread and expanded.
Fortunately, Jianlu demolished some houses and buildings in advance to form isolation lines, so that the fire could not spread throughout the city and only burn in a few areas.
"That's it for today!" Guo Dajing had already received the report from the Flying Cavalry Group. He had defeated Hongke and Lan Tai, and eliminated thousands of Jianlu Jingqi. He was in a good mood and issued the order, but he was still stationed at a high place, observing.
Fireworks in Liaoyang City.
The wise move that Azig's mobile corps can make now is to retreat to the pontoon bridge, or even retreat directly to the north bank of the Taizi River, leaving the Liaoyang friendly forces behind.
If the battle is forced, the infantry and cavalry force twice that of Jianlu will deal an annihilating blow to Jianlu. Although his own army will also have to pay considerable casualties, this is the result Guo Dajing hopes for.
The enemies of Liaoyang were tightly restrained and were unable to leave the city to assist in the battle. This was another reason for Guo Dajing's confidence.
"Shuai Guo, it seems that Jianlu attaches great importance to Liaoyang!" Even Fang Zhenghua saw something and asked Guo Dajing for his opinion, "If we don't send troops to help, it's just a defensive posture."
Guo Dajing nodded and said: "This is not surprising. Liaoyang is Shenyang's last line of defense, or the last city blocking our army. The most important thing for them is to ensure that we do not lose."
"So, there will be no more wars in Shenyang. If Liaoyang is conquered, then the great cause of Ping Liao is basically won?" Fang Zhenghua was a little surprised. He didn't believe that Shenyang, as the capital, would be easier to recover than Liaoyang.
Guo Dajing smiled and said: "Shenyang may also have Jianlu guards, but the number of troops will not be too many, they are just abandoned soldiers. The main function should be to contain our army and not pursue it too hastily."
The migration of hundreds of thousands of people, as well as the transportation of various property and materials, as well as cattle, sheep and other livestock, cannot be completed in a short time.
Therefore, Jianlu still had to do everything possible to gain time. First, they had to try their best to get the autumn harvest grain and transport it away. Secondly, there were other complicated tasks of large-scale migration.
"I believe that the Jianlu captives will start to migrate soon. For example, the old, weak, women and children will leave first." Guo Dajing said slowly: "There are other tasks, such as resistance on the road to Shenyang, etc."
We must still fight, but it is not a decisive battle involving the main force, but a defensive resistance to delay time.
Fang Zhenghua blinked his eyes and asked in disbelief: "It's really surprising that Jianlu would escape without fighting."
Although Jianlu suffered a disastrous defeat in Zunhua, and later experienced two battle-level defeats in Liaodong and Jianzhou, the old impressions of the emperor and the court elders still did not change much.
In their minds, Jianlu was fierce, cruel, and stubborn. Of course they didn't know that there were times when Jianlu was cowardly, fearful of death, and ran north in panic.
Guo Dajing secretly rolled his eyes and explained patiently: "Now it is no better than in the past, and the Jianlu can no longer afford to lose. They have to think about the future, whether to keep the green hills without fear of running out of firewood, or fight to the death and destroy the country and the entire clan."
This is the key to the problem. The decisive battle launched by Guo Dajing is no longer at the battle level, but a decisive battle at the strategic level.
The Jianlu were unable to retreat. If Liaoyang fell, Shenyang would not be able to be defended. It was not a difficult choice whether to continue to fight for the city with Dongjiang's army or to flee north to seek peace.
They retreated to Jianzhou and wanted to reenact the Battle of Saarhu. Not to mention that the strength of Jianlu did not allow it. The output of the abandoned Jianzhou could not support the population that had withdrawn from Liaodong.
To put it bluntly, the Jianlu could not even keep Jianzhou, and they might have to move north to the original homeland of the Haixi Jurchens, or even to the territory of the savage Jurchens, before they could barely settle down.
The original habitat of the Haixi Jurchens is in the central part of present-day Jilin Province, extending from the Songhua River in the north to Panshi County in the south, to Dehui and Shuangyang County in the west, and to the upper reaches of the Tumen River in the east.
The residence of the Savage Jurchens is to the west of Jingbo Lake, to the upper reaches of the Wusuli River in the east, to the Suifen River Basin in the south, and in the coastal area directly facing Kuye Island.
If Dorgon really had the courage to go to the home of the Savage Jurchens, the Dongjiang Army would really have to make steady progress and spend dozens or even ten years if they wanted to plow the courtyard and clear the holes.