On October 12, the 14th year of Chongzhen's reign in the Ming Dynasty, the sky was clear and cloudless. A thin layer of ice appeared on the north and south sides of Xiaoling River connecting the river banks, and it was also covered with a layer of sediment blown by the cold wind.
Snow.
Both sides of the Xiaoling River are a silvery white color. Although some low shrubs have shown their original hard-working appearance, there are still some residual snow hanging on them. Unless you look closely, they still look white.
Floating bridges are built on the Xiaoling River one after another, like white rainbows spanning both sides of the Xiaoling River. As far as you can see, there are seven or eight of them. Even the north wind cannot stop the traffic on them.
There are rows of wooden palisades on the north and south sides of each pontoon bridge, and inside the wooden pallets there are many military tents. If you look carefully, you can see soldiers wearing Zanxin red mandarin duck war jackets patrolling back and forth.
There were a total of eight pontoon bridges on the Xiaoling River at this time, and each pontoon bridge had a Xuanfu Army officer stationed on the north and south sides.
There are also three camps on the north bank, namely Zhang Guodong's Chicheng Battalion and the soldiers on the left and right sides of the tank in the center, He Zhenxiong's right-wing battalion in the east, and Li Jiyu's Dengfeng Battalion in the west, guarding the eight pontoon bridges leading to Jinzhou.
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Zhang Cheng, the chief military officer of Xuanfu Town and General Zhenshuo, set up his Chinese army camp on a hill less than one mile south of the Xiaoling River. From the highest point here, you can view all eight pontoon bridges on the river.
Close your eyes.
The Xuanfu military standard battalion, cavalry battalion, Huwei battalion and other cavalry were all stationed on the south bank of the river along with Zhang Cheng's Chinese army. As a mobile force, they could cross the pontoon bridge at any time and cross the river north to support the infantry battalion operations of Zhang Guodong and others.
After all, the cavalry is different from the infantry who can just feed themselves. In addition to eating and resting themselves, they also have to take good care of everyone's horses, especially the night and heavy cavalry in each camp.
There is more than one war horse.
You must know that war horses are large animals that are more precious than humans. Not only do they not go hungry for just one meal, their diet is even more complicated, and the amount of fodder they eat every day is extremely astonishing.
The Biao Camp, the Cavalry Camp and the Tiger Guard Camp combined have six to seven thousand horses and mules. How much fodder and beans must be eaten every day?
If such a huge amount of materials were to be transported to the north bank of the river through the pontoon bridge, it would not only consume a lot of manpower, but also in such freezing weather, the snow on the pontoon bridge had not completely melted away and was still very slippery. If the car accidentally tipped over,
Things like river accidents happen from time to time.
Therefore, Zhang Chengcai only left three battalions of infantry to garrison on the north bank of the Xiaoling River, while he led his cavalry to garrison on the south bank of the river to reduce the pressure on the transportation of grain and grass supplies.
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According to the plan decided by the previous military meeting, Wu Sangui's Ningyuan Army stayed around Tucheng in the south of Jinzhou City to assist Zu Dashou in resisting the possible return of the Qing army.
Zhang Cheng's Xuanfu army, with more than 10,000 elite troops, was ordered to station on the north and south banks of the Xiaoling River to guard the safety of the pontoon bridges on the river, so as to ensure that the Songshan Jinjin Aid Channel was safe.
The Ming army in other towns retreated to station around Songshan. For example, Wang Tingchen's former garrison troops gathered around Ji Town and the defeated soldiers in Shanhai Town moved to the original Shanhai Town Ma Ke Camp on Rufeng Mountain.
Wang Pu still led the troops and horses of Datong Town to retreat to Huangtuling and garrisoned there. Cao Bianjiao's Dongxie troops and horses were garrisoned in Shimen Mountain. The remaining Ming troops followed Governor Hong Chengchou and retreated to the vicinity of Songshan Fort.
Chen Jiugao, the former commander of Shenji Camp, had to lead most of his soldiers to retreat to Songshan Fort along with Governor Hong Chengchou, and he also stationed his Chinese army in the fort.
However, the heavy Hongyi cannons of the Shenji Battalion were difficult to move and remained in the Xuanfu Army's garrison on the north bank of the Xiaoling River. Deputy General Fu Yingchong was also left by the commander-in-chief Chen Jiugao to preside over the Shenji Battalion here.
military affairs.
More than ten days have passed since the last battle between the Nerv River and the north bank of the Xiaoling River. Bai Guangen, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, was finally confirmed to have died at the hands of slave thieves on the north bank of the Nerv River.
However, although he was also said to have "died against his opponent", and Yang Guozhu, the former chief soldier of the Xuanfu, usually died in front of the battle, the honor and disgrace they experienced after death were very different.
Yang Guozhu was trapped in a tight siege and vowed not to surrender. He died in a fierce battle with his slaves. He was sacrificing his life for the country!
However, Bai Guangen abandoned the army due to the unfavorable battle, and led a few servants and elite cavalry to escape alone. On the way to escape, he was overtaken and killed by slave thieves. How can he compare with Yang Guozhu, who was surrounded by slave thieves and died fighting for his country?
What's more, he originally had more than 13,000 soldiers and horses from Ji Town to aid Jinzhou, and there were more than 10,000 soldiers who crossed the river to the north. Now after a huge defeat, there are only less than 1,000 cavalry left, and less than 2,000 more.
The infantry escaped with their lives.
The remaining more than 7,000 men from Ji Town all died at the hands of slaves and thieves because of him. Even if they did not die on the battlefield, most of them became prisoners of slaves and thieves, and they had no choice but to become slaves under their banners.
In fact, even if Bai Guangen could escape with his life, he would not be able to escape the outcome of being beheaded upon trial. However, in the context of aiding Jinwei's victory, if he was willing to spend some money, he would have a chance to save his head.
Ma Ke, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan, also suffered a huge defeat, but he put all the blame on Bai Guangen.
Moreover, Ma Ke's performance in this battle across the river and heading north was remarkable, although judging from the strength of Shanhai Town's troops and horses alone, it did not seem to be as strong as Bai Guangen's Ji Town troops and horses.
But Ma Ke benefited from his initial caution, and even more from his judgment of the battle situation after the defeat of Bai Guangen's troops. Yao Gong, the deputy envoy of the Shandong Yongping Military Supervision and Inspection Division who went to the battle with him, experienced it personally.
all of these.
Yao Gong has therefore become Ma Ke's most powerful witness.
Furthermore, Ma Ke did not abandon his army like Bai Guangen and led hundreds of fine cavalry to escape alone. He predicted the danger in advance and led the army to retreat in a step-by-step manner.
Therefore, when Ma Ke led his troops to withdraw to Wang Tingchen's station, he still had five or six thousand men and horses under his command. He even led these troops to cooperate closely with Wang Tingchen and fought fiercely with the slaves until the end, and he was killed because of this.
Seriously injured.
After this battle, Ma Ke's Shanhai Town also lost most of its troops, from more than 13,000 people at the beginning of aiding the Liao Dynasty to more than 5,000 people now.
However, Marco is not sad about this now. In his opinion, he is lucky to be alive!
His situation is almost the same as that of Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief of Miyun. It is not easy to keep a clear head when being attacked from both sides. It is precisely because of this that Tang Tong has nearly 10,000 Miyun Town elite soldiers who have participated in the battle.
More than 7,000 troops were able to retreat to Songshan.
Therefore, Tang Tong at least had equal merits and demerits, and the responsibility for his defeat was just like Ma Ke's, and all the blame was placed on Bai Guangen, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen.
Therefore, whether Bai Guangen lives or dies, he will no longer be able to preserve his reputation.
Not to mention Ma Ke and Tang Tong, even the Biao camp of Liaodong Governor Qiu Minyang lost most of his troops. If Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, had not reacted quickly and sent his Biao camp in time to resist the slave thieves.
The Manchurian Zhenghong Banner Tatars led by Shuotuo can rush all the way eastward, cut off the retreat of Wang Tingchen, Wu Sangui and other Ming troops, and may even break through Hong Chengchou's Chinese army camp in one go.
Not to mention that time, more than ten days have passed now, and Hong Chengchou still has lingering fears every time he thinks about this matter. It was such a critical moment that people still shudder when thinking about it.
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As for the whereabouts of the Qing army, conclusive news was finally obtained the day before yesterday. Dorgon retreated to Liushuibao, fifteen miles northeast of Jinzhou, Daishan's troops retreated to Dasheng Fort in the northwest, and Jierharang's troops retreated to Dasheng Fort in the northwest. Then he retreated to Baimiao Fort and stationed himself.
After all, in these three castles, the Qing army had hoarded a large amount of grain and fodder, and large troops could be stationed in the forts. Although the barracks were limited and not everyone could be stationed in the forts, even if they camped outside the forts, it would be better than the Ming army. It would be better to have a confrontation at the foot of Jinzhou City.
In fact, when Zhang Cheng's Xuanfu army launched a surprise attack on Jinnan Tucheng, Dorgon already had a premonition of today's ending.
However, he did not want to bear the responsibility of retreating without authorization, so that night he still spared no effort to organize various banners, build shields, vehicles and other equipment, and prepare to launch a counterattack the next day.
But all this is actually just what Dorgon did. His inner thoughts still wanted to pull Daishan together to make the decision to retreat.
But Daishan, that old fox, couldn't fall into his trap. During the military discussion, he was as steady as a mountain and said nothing. Poor Prince Dorgon had to perform a one-man show by himself.
These two idiots, Prince Hauge of Su and Prince Azig of Wuying County, thought that Dorgon was sincerely planning a counterattack. Not only did they speak out loudly in the military meeting, they also gave Dorgon great support and support.
This kind of support was even reflected in actual actions. After the military meeting, Haug and Azig urgently urged their officers and soldiers to go out and cut down trees and build shield vehicles overnight.
Even the next day, Dorgon did not organize a battle due to the lack of shield vehicles and other attack equipment. Hauge and Azig did not have the slightest doubt, and just forced their subordinates to step up the production of equipment.
But what they don’t know is that just after the military meeting last night, how many people were whispering to each other in private, how could the Ming army, which already had many firearms, capture the Tucheng in the south of Jinzhou, connect the inside and outside, and have high morale? Beat?
Although it was only the princes of the Mongolian tribes outside the vassal vassal and the Taijis who discussed the matter the loudest, there was not a trace of opposition among the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia.
Perhaps only the Four Banners of the Han Army and the Heavenly Blessing Army had no complaints. They had the lowest status in the Qing Dynasty, not to mention the princes, Baylor, and generals of the Eight Banners of Manchu and Mongolia. Even the Taijis of the outer vassal Mongolia Not with them.
Even though Emperor Huang Taiji of the Qing Dynasty had great trust in them and respected them very much, the ministers and generals of the Qing Dynasty still looked down upon them.
This may be due to the fact that the Han people had the lowest status within the Qing Dynasty. After all, the Han people existed as slaves of the Manchus for decades.
Even after Huang Taiji succeeded to the throne, he worked hard to improve the status of the Han people and greatly improved the lives of most Han slaves. But how can the deep-rooted concepts be reversed so easily?
Even if officials such as Fan Wencheng, Ning Wanwo, Zhang Cunren, and Zu Zerun were in high positions, such as Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming, Shang Kexi, etc. were even named princes.
But in the eyes of the Manchu and Mongolian noble princes, Baylor, and generals, they were still like slaves of the Qing Dynasty, and they could be bullied and humiliated by them.
After all, traitors such as Fan Wencheng, Ning Wanwei, etc. who surrendered first and later paid for their money, had all worked as slave wrappers for Baylor, the leader of various banners. This was a status symbol that they could not escape for a lifetime, or even several lifetimes.
Although each person was later reused due to his talents, the identity of the flag coater was not removed. Whenever and wherever he saw the flag owner, Baile, he would kneel down to greet him and say hello.
Even though Huang Taiji worked hard to improve their status, and even later incorporated them into the banners of the Han army, and became bannermen of the Han army, they were still constantly bullied by the Manchu and Mongolian ministers and generals.
And to deal with this kind of thing, most of them are to put ten big boards on each side, raise them high, and then put them down gently.
Even if Huang Taiji wanted to improve the status of the Han people and use the Han people to make up for the natural numerical disadvantage of the Manchus, he would not allow the status of the Han people to reach the same level as the Manchus.
Because this would greatly shake the foundation of the Manchus' status as rulers. After all, even the Mongols, allies and brothers of the Qing Dynasty, have not yet achieved equal status to the Manchus. How can the Han people do so?
It is precisely because of these reasons that no one from the banners of the Han army, as well as the Tianzhu Army and Tianyou Army made suggestions during the military meeting. After the military meeting, they, like Hauge and Azig, used their actual actions to
Support Dorgon's decision.
But there were also some rational people who found Dorgon purely out of consideration for the interests of the Qing Dynasty and gave him reasons why they should not rush to counterattack and retake Jinnan Tucheng for the time being.
Dorgon was silent to all their proposals, neither supporting nor opposing them, because he saw all of this very clearly in his heart.
He didn't need these people to reason with him. What he actually needed was the support of Prince Daishan of Qing Dynasty. But after several temptations, this damn old fox refused to accept the offer.
In this regard, Dorgon was also very helpless, but he had no choice but to do anything to Daishan.
However, things took a turn for the better on the second day. Although Prince Li Daishan did not propose a retreat, he did not fully support the immediate counterattack on Jinnan Tucheng.
His reason is very simple. Since the reinforcements from the Ming Dynasty arrived, our army has been fighting continuously and its morale is exhausted. Although the warriors of all banners have brought their own cotton-padded clothes when they go to war, they are not afraid of the severe cold.
But now that the main force of the Ming army has gathered under Jinzhou City, it seems unwise to launch a counterattack so rashly. Moreover, many warriors have suddenly gathered on the front line of Jinzhou, and the supply of food and grass has become increasingly tight. It is time to consider it.
There's not enough food and grass!
Daishan only raised such an unfavorable factor, but it was enough to be a reason not to counterattack Tucheng for the time being. Dorgon naturally went down the slope and only urged all banners and soldiers to step up logging, build more shield vehicles, etc.
Attacking equipment.
And no more mention of the counter-attack on Tucheng.