The Dongjiang Army also had training on foot marching. Although it did not reach the limit of soldiers, ancient people were generally able to walk, and Guo Dajing could confirm it.
Not to mention ancient people, even in modern times where there is a lack of transportation, it is normal for strong people to walk dozens of miles to sell goods in the market.
Moreover, when it comes to endurance, in the long run, humans are stronger than war horses. Within a day or two, war horses are definitely faster than humans, but as time goes by, humans' legs will show an advantage.
In ancient times, it was relatively normal for large armies to march thirty to forty miles a day. If the bulky armor was abandoned, the marching speed could be increased.
Moreover, in the face of the Jianlu who were fleeing in panic, the enemy who had no intention of fighting should not resist too hard. Without armor protection, the casualties caused to the Dongjiang Army would not be very large.
Li Weiluan and the other three looked at Guo Dajing with some surprise. This was an unplanned arrangement, and it was not too surprising to have the infantry in hot pursuit.
Liu Xingzhi reacted first and said with a smile: "As for the emergency march, all the troops have been trained. If you march lightly, you can do it for hundreds of miles day and night."
Li Weiluan also put away his surprised expression and said: "Although it has not been that long, the physical strength of our soldiers should not be a problem."
Nutrition determines physical strength. Not only have the Dongjiang Army soldiers been able to eat enough in recent years, but the standard of non-staple food has been steadily improving. This ensures that the plan proposed by Guo Dajing is not based on imagination, nor is it an attempt to embarrass the army.
Feng Xijian nodded repeatedly. The quality of the soldiers in the special operations battalion was generally higher than that of other troops. Moreover, they were basically infantry. Marching and fighting basically relied on footwork, so they were more confident.
Guo Dajing laughed and said: "I believe that you all lead good soldiers, and you will fight hard to be the first when chasing Jianlu. When the time comes, I will issue reward regulations to boost the morale of the soldiers."
There must be brave men under heavy rewards. Guo Dajing has always adhered to this purpose and never relied on painting cakes to deceive others. It is the same whether it is for soldiers or civilians.
While several people were talking, the slave chiefs in Hupiyi were also observing the Dongjiang Army approaching the city on top of the city.
Although Hupiyi is the southern gate of Shenyang, Azig is not in the city, and even the defenders in the city are not elite soldiers.
Now Azig is leading 30,000 troops and is stationed in the middle of the connection between Shenyang, Benxi and Hupiyi. He is always ready to launch a thunderous attack and violently attack the Dongjiang Army that is advancing on a certain route.
The more than 10,000 garrison troops stationed in Hupiyi were basically cobbled together troops and were not very powerful.
There are only more than 5,000 defenders left in Shenyang, which is completely a virtual city. And these more than 40,000 troops are already all the troops of Jianlu. As for Tieling, Fushun and other places, the defenders only have a few hundred, not even a thousand.
arrive.
The slave chiefs stationed at Hupi Post were Lan Tai and Oreb. They stood at the top of the city and looked at the Dongjiang Army outside the city, with solemn expressions on their faces as they discussed in low voices.
"Liaoyang has not yet been conquered, but the enemy dares to send troops to attack north. It is really unexpected." Oreb frowned and said in a deep voice: "Don't the enemies know that this is a taboo for military strategists?"
Lan Tai estimated the enemy's strength and said slowly: "There are at most thirty to forty thousand enemies, not all of them. Obviously, Liaoyang City still contains a large number of enemies."
Oreb also had to admit that the persistence of Liaoyang City still played the intended role. It was just that he underestimated the strength and combat power of the Dongjiang Army. He did not expect that while besieging the city, there would still be enough power to continue to launch attacks.
"If Azigbele is invited to lead the entire army, can we defeat the enemy in front of us?" Oreb asked this, but he smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said, "It shouldn't be easy."
Lan Tai also smiled bitterly and said: "Even if we can defeat the enemy, our army will suffer heavy casualties and will no longer be able to compete with the enemy."
Even if Azige's entire army arrives, together with the defenders, there will only be 40,000 troops. In a head-on battle with 30,000 Dongjiang troops, there is a chance of winning. But more likely, they will kill a thousand enemies and suffer eight losses.
Hundred.
The Dongjiang Army outside the city had a rigorous formation. Even though they were facing a small city, they did not underestimate the enemy at all. Looking at the artillery being set up, Lan Tai couldn't help but feel a tremor in his heart.
There is another reason why Azig's troops cannot move lightly, and that is that the navy of the Dongjiang Army has not yet mobilized.
If he leads his troops to fight at Hupiyi and the enemy's navy suddenly appears in the Hun River south of Shenyang, the consequences will be disastrous.
"The enemy's strength is still quite large." Oreb narrowed his eyes and said, "If it is 20,000, or less, and our entire army is dispatched, we should have a chance to severely damage the enemy."
By now, even the slave chiefs have to admit that to compete with the powerful Dongjiang Army, or even to severely damage or annihilate it, they must have at least twice the strength advantage.
After a pause, Oreb continued: "I wonder if Mr. Baylor will send reinforcements after receiving the intelligence? If the enemy attacks with all his strength, our army may not be able to resist it for a long time."
Although it was unlikely that the whole army would come, Oreb still hoped to send reinforcements. With the garrison of more than 10,000 people, facing three times the enemy's attack, he still felt a lot of pressure.
Lan Tai smiled bitterly again, but said nothing. In his opinion, since he could not severely damage or annihilate the enemy, and he did not want to compete with the Dongjiang Army, the possibility of sending reinforcements was not high.
The enemy has arrived at 30,000, and Azig has sent 10,000 to 20,000 reinforcements. What is the point of fighting with the enemy? Do we still expect that the enemy cannot capture Liaoyang and can only retreat secretly?
Shaking his head, Lan Tai felt that the arrangement of the top management was really contradictory, or wavering.
We neither want to give up easily nor invest too much; we do not want to lose too many troops, but we have to set up defenses at Hupiyi and Fengji Fort.
"The enemy is deploying artillery." Oreb's voice became even deeper and he said, "These cowards will only set off firearms from a distance."
Lan Tai rolled his eyes secretly. Such curses were meaningless. As long as he could win, no matter it was the enemy or his own army, they would do whatever it took.
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! Fortunately, we are still on the city wall. If it is an open area and there is no cover, the power of the enemy's artillery will be more powerful. He has personal experience.
"Let's go down to the city!" Lan Tai said helplessly: "If you want to use artillery to blast open the city wall, you won't be able to succeed in a short time. Our army will step up repairs and we can withstand it for a few days."
To deal with the Dongjiang Army's artillery bombardment, Jianlu did have a way, which was to send only a small number of troops to the city, and the rest of the troops were on standby below the city.
Regarding the Dongjiang Army's siege methods, Jianlu also mastered certain rules. They found that the Dongjiang Army basically did not use methods such as ladders to climb the city, and should try to reduce casualties as much as possible.
Therefore, as long as the city wall is not breached, there is no need to send too many defenders to stand guard on the city and be bombarded by artillery in vain.
Oreb did not go down to the city immediately. His eyes remained outside the city, staring at the high-flying flag with the word "Guo" in it.
Lan Tai glanced up, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said: "Guo Dajing personally leads the troops, so he should be the main force. The enemy's attack will be quite fierce."
"This man is despicable and cunning, and his hands are stained with the blood of my golden soldiers." Oreb gritted his teeth and said bitterly: "It's a pity that I can't kill this thief with my own hands."
Even if he kills Guo Dajing, how long he can live is a question. Lan Tai curled his lips, although he also hated Guo Dajing, he was more afraid.
As long as Guo Dajing leads the battle, there has been no record of failure so far. The battle of Zunhua made Jianlu even more frightened. The situation of Houjin took a turn for the worse and it was difficult to recover.
Lan Tai believed that if Guo Dajing dared to personally lead troops to attack Hupiyi, there should be follow-up troops coming. The actual commander of the Dongjiang Army could not easily take risks and only lead these 30,000 to 40,000 troops.
The key lies in how long Liaoyang can be defended and how many men and horses the Dongjiang Army needs to be firmly surrounded. If the forces are equal, the Dongjiang Army should be able to mobilize 20,000 to 30,000 troops.
How can it be done without fighting to the death? The plan is always passive because of worries about gains and losses! Lan Tai sighed secretly, turned around and walked down the city wall.
At this time, the artillery outside the city had been deployed, and the black muzzles were pointed directly at this small town.
"Start bombarding the city!" Guo Dajing received the report and gave the order casually.
What does it mean to get the upper hand, and what does it mean to be intimidating? The roar of hundreds of artillery pieces will make any enemy tremble with fear.
Boom, boom! The Hongyi cannon opened fire first, targeting the south gate and conducting a test firing.
The bricks and stones on the city wall were spattered with dust, and the bombardment effect of the two solid artillery shells did not satisfy the artillery officer, and the same was true for Guo Dajing.
After adjusting the elevation angle again, the Hongyi cannon fired again. The roar was deafening, and more smoke, dust and bricks rose up from the city wall.
After several shots, the city gate tower was smashed, causing masonry and wood chips to fly everywhere. Covered in smoke and dust, it finally collapsed, creating an even bigger cloud of dust and smoke.
Guo Dajing pursed his lips slightly and showed a faint smile. This was the result he wanted, shocking and shocking enough.
The Hongyi cannon lowered its elevation and began to bombard the city gate. Obviously, the city gate had been completely blocked, and Jianlu had never thought of leaving the city to fight.
Artillery shells hit the heavy wooden door from time to time. The wooden door was damaged amidst the flying wood chips, and the masonry blocked behind the door was also seen.
Boom, boom, boom... dozens of mortars suddenly erupted after the Hongyi cannon fell silent. The shells carrying green smoke and sparks passed over the city wall and fell into the city.
After a while, there was an explosion and black smoke rose from the city.
Only this time the volley was fired, the Hongyi artillery stopped bombarding, and the mortars continued to bombard the city one after another.
Guo Dajing already knew that Jianlu would have plans, so he naturally did not want to waste any more ammunition. Since tunnel blasting could be carried out, artillery bombardment took a back seat and became a matter of confusion and cover-up.
"The enemy's bombardment——" Inside the city, Oreb frowned and asked Lantai in confusion: "It seems to have weakened?"
Lan Tai also heard it, but he didn't care much. He said: "It may be that the effect is not good, or the enemy does not intend to attack the city urgently, but only uses the momentum to intimidate."
Oreb was noncommittal, but he felt a little more relaxed. No matter what, it was an uncomfortable thing to suffer in the loud noise and smoke.
For Hupiyi, if you can stay one more day, you are doing your duty. If you can stay one more day, it is your contribution to Daikin.
………………
"More than 30,000 troops, hundreds of artillery pieces..." Azig had already received the report from the Hupiyi defenders and quickly forwarded it to Shenyang, but he had not yet thought clearly about how to respond.
Seeing Azig pacing back and forth in the tent with a frown on his face, Sobodo finally couldn't help it and said: "Master Beile, let's send out the entire army and fight the enemy in a decisive battle! Whether it's victory or defeat, come on.
happy."
Such hesitation is really depressing. We must gather more than 40,000 troops and counterattack 30,000 enemies. If we can win, we can turn the situation around. If we fail, we should deal with it as soon as possible and don't even want Shenyang.
Azig turned his head and glared at Sobodo, and said: "Dai Jin only has so many troops. They are all exhausted, and only the remaining ones are running away in embarrassment."
He never wanted to have a good time, but he had to consider the long term. Dajin could be defeated, but it could not be destroyed.
Forty thousand against thirty thousand, there is no chance of victory. This is not the enemy's entire force. You are not allowed to leave some reserve troops, and you are not allowed to leave some seeds for a future comeback?
But just waiting like this makes Azig feel uncomfortable. The key is that the enemy's navy has not yet launched, and 30,000 is not all, there should be some surprise troops spying on the opportunity.
Yasiha had been thinking for a long time. Seeing Sobodo being scolded, Yasiha had to say: "Master Beile, I think that 10,000 reinforcements should be sent to Hupiyi. 20,000 defenders should be able to withstand the attack of 30,000 enemies."
Keeping 20,000 mobile troops in hand should be able to guard against enemies from other directions, such as naval forces or cavalry raids.
Azige was silent. This compromise seemed sound, but it made it difficult to implement the plan to attack the enemies along the way.
20,000 troops are still missing. Outside Liaoyang City, it has been proved that it cannot prevent the enemy's naval force from landing operations.
If you have to defend and defend everywhere, you will fall into passivity again, and in the end you will not be able to protect anything.
It sounds simple to say "The enemy can come in any way, I will only go one way", but looking at the Dongjiang Army's offensive posture, it is "I will only come in one way". It depends on how you deal with it.
The key is that as a sign of failed retreat, the success or failure of Liaoyang City is still uncertain. Even if it will be lost in the end, Azig does not think it will fall in a short time.
This is probably the key reason why Dorgon and other slave chiefs could not make up their minds in the end. If Liaoyang could hold on for a long time, but they retreated in a hurry, wouldn't it mean that the Dongjiang Army would win without a fight?
"Is the enemy bluffing?" Azige seemed to be talking to himself, but his eyes were looking at Sobodo and Yasiha.
If this is really the case, it would be such a shame to scare them so much that they retreat in panic.
"If it's a bluff, there shouldn't be more than 30,000 troops, right?" Yasiha disagreed and said, "According to the strength of the Dongjiang Army, in addition to siege, more troops should be mobilized."
Azig also thought the same, and frowned and said, "Is it possible that the enemy is deliberately luring our army to a decisive battle, and then launching the navy or cavalry to attack Shenyang?"
If this is the case, the mobile men and horses led by Azig will not be able to move lightly. Before the enemy's cards are all played, he has already tried his best, and there is no room for maneuver.