It was not until the third year of Longqing that it was upgraded to a town. In the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it was still called Xiacun.
This is because the new canal for water transportation was completed, the number of ships in Xiacun Port increased sharply, and local industry and commerce became increasingly prosperous.
Hundreds of years later, Xia Town will develop into Weishan County.
Weishan Lake in the late Ming Dynasty had not yet been completely formed. However, during the Wanli period, the Yellow River burst, forming a wetland in this low-lying area. It would turn into a lake after a few more breaches.
An arrow-shaped boat quickly sailed to the port and shouted: "Eight hundred miles urgent!"
Two other small boats in the port immediately came to meet him.
"Send it to where?"
"Go to Yishui County and give it to General Zhang Tieniu!"
The two newly departed boats, each receiving four military intelligence documents, sailed toward the southeast like arrows leaving the string.
Whichever ship reaches the next stop first will deliver the military information first, and will continue to sail to the final point.
In ancient Chinese wars, rivers were very important.
Throughout the dynasties, in large-scale southern or northern expeditions, the main force almost always moved along rivers. Because ships could be used to transport food, it not only accelerated the march, but also greatly reduced the number of civilians and the consumption of military food.
The Datong Army, which started in Jiangxi, has already made trouble for inland river ships.
A specially built boat was modified from a small fishing boat. Because the hull is lengthened and narrowed, the boat is shaped like an arrow, so it is also called an "arrow boat".
When the current is going upstream, the two paddlers work together, and at other times they can take turns to rest.
If you go at full speed regardless of your physical strength, you can reach a speed of more than 40 miles per hour in still water.
Of course, this will make people fall down from exhaustion. Generally speaking, the speed of flat water is between 25 and 30 miles per hour, and the paddler can paddle very calmly.
Fei Ruhe's military order started from Nanyang Town, followed the Grand Canal to Xiacun (later Weishan Lake), took another section of the canal through Taizhuang (Taierzhuang), and turned into the Yishui River all the way to Yishui County.
The whole river course is about 700 miles, and we changed people and boats ten times along the way. It only took three days to get from Nanyang Town to Yishui. This is because the speed slows down at night and the countercurrent speed is also very slow, otherwise it can be reached in one or two days.
Zhang Tieniu was not in Yishui County at this time, but in Mulinguan further north.
The military information was transferred from ship to horse and quickly delivered to Zhang Tieniu.
"But is there something urgent over there in Yanzhou?" missionary officer Yan Guoshi asked.
Zhang Tieniu said: "Lao Fei's side has also froze. Let us lead the troops to attack from a flank. Only the peasants and soldiers are left to defend the city. If we can't leave here, there is no need to go there. Anyway, the Tatars don't have as much rations as we do. We can't hold them back.
The longer it goes on, the more panicked the Tatars will be, and they will make mistakes when they panic."
Deputy division commander Chen Fugui said: "Let's go, we can't fight here in Qingzhou Prefecture."
"I plan to go there too, I'm too lazy to waste time with the Tatars." Zhang Tieniu said depressedly.
The war situation in Qingzhou Prefecture also came to a standstill. Huang Fei successfully occupied Anqiu County, Changle County, and Guangling Town, while Zhang Tieniu occupied Zhucheng County and Muling Pass, and sent peasant soldiers to capture Rizhao and Andongwei.
Just when a war was about to break out between the two sides, Azige, the leader of the small flag with a white flag, suddenly defended Qingzhou Prefecture (Yidu), Linqu and Shouguang with heavy troops.
The Manchu Qing only defended the city, waiting for Zhang Tieniu and Huang Fei to attack.
Zhang Tieniu and Huang Fei are not fools. Their military strength is not superior. How can they attack a city garrisoned by tens of thousands of people?
So Zhang Tieniu retreated to Muling Pass, and Huang Fei also retreated to his own strong city.
This situation is very common during wars.
If neither side has an overwhelming advantage, as long as one side cannot hold out, the other side will have no choice but to retreat, or even defend the city and confront each other for several years. For example, Jinzhou and Ningyuan in Liaodong have held on for more than ten years, and each time the Tatars surrounded them until they were short of food.
, he withdrew his troops back to his hometown in despair.
On the Qingzhou Prefecture side, it's not that Azig doesn't want to fight a tough battle, but there's a fire in the rear.
The surrendered troops and generals under his command were too fierce in Shandong. Thousands of potters and glass workers in Yanshen Town rose up because they had no food to eat, and actually conquered Zichuan County in one fell swoop.
Then it moved straight to Changshan County. People along the way joined in, and some gentry even recruited village warriors. The number of volunteers quickly exceeded 30,000.
If the fighting continues, the food route to Azigh will be cut off.
The Qingzhou Prefecture troops of the Qing Dynasty could only temporarily defend the city with heavy troops and send cavalry and thousands of elites back to fight the rebels first.
After Zhang Tieniu sent someone to deliver a message to Huang Fei, he led the regular army south, taking a boat from Yishui County to Yizhou. Then he turned northwest and took the Junhe River to Qufu. On the way, there was Fei County, which had been occupied by the Datong Army.
But only three thousand peasant soldiers were sent to defend the city.
Only ten miles away from Yizhou, an arrow ship came to report: "General Zhang, a large army of Tatars is coming. They will advance by land and water. There may be as many as 20,000 to 30,000 people!"
Zhang Tieniu was startled, then laughed: "If I don't bring troops back, I'm afraid the Tatars will attack Yizhou in two days."
The army advanced another two miles and suddenly encountered the Tatar cavalry.
These Manchu and Qing cavalry were not only sentinels and scouts, but also pioneers, grabbing some food along the way.
When the Manchu and Qing scouts saw Zhang Tieniu's army, they quickly ran back to report. Zhang Tieniu also sent people back to Yizhou to bring in his cavalry troops. These cavalrymen went south by boat and are currently restoring the strength of their horses in Yizhou.
"Is there Datong Army ahead?" Duduo was as surprised as Zhang Tieniu.
Geng Zhongming said: "The enemy troops are almost the same as us. They should have withdrawn from Qingzhou Prefecture."
"Then just fight, so you don't have to go to Qingzhou Mansion again!"
Duduo said: "However, let's fight back. If the Datong army can occupy the south, it must be more powerful than the Ming army. They must be careful when fighting. If we retreat further, retreat to the west of Feixian County. Don't be defeated by Feixian County's troops.
The enemy troops are attacking the rear."
Duduo suddenly became very cautious, and his original plan was to attack Yizhou quickly. Taking advantage of the lack of troops in Yizhou and the few defenders, he took it by force and blocked Zhang Tieniu's retreat, and then went north to attack Zhang Tieniu from both sides.
Now encountered in the wild, Duduo refused to object and kept his own food route, preparing to slowly grind it out with Zhang Tieniu.
Both sides advanced and retreated, and camped by the river in the northwest of Fei County.
On the Manchu side, Duduo, Geng Zhongming, Li Shutai, Yild, Li Guoying, Jin Shenghuan, and Hao Xiaozhong had a total strength of 25,000, and the people were helpless.
On the side of the Datong Army, Zhang Tieniu, Chen Fugui, Yan Guoshi, Ma Wannian, Chen Ding, Han Shixiao, and Song Yu had a total strength of 18,000 people, and the people were at a loss.
Chen Ding, Han Shixiao, and Song Yun were all Zuo Liangyu generals who surrendered to the Datong Army.
Regardless of the various surrenders, the strength of the Eight Banners Army and the Datong Army is close to 1:1.
Geng Zhongming and Li Shutai's subordinates were all Han bannermen who had been trained for many years, and their combat effectiveness was extremely strong.
Li Shutai's father, Li Yongfang, was the first Ming Dynasty general to surrender to the Tatars. Li Shutai was only 12 years old and stayed with Nurhachi, and his name was changed by Nurhachi himself.
Both sides examined the formations and sent out cavalry to patrol, harass, and inquire.
Duduo even moved the cart from the ship, assembled it, and pushed the cart forward slowly.
In the battles between the Manchu and Ming Dynasties, whenever they encountered tough battles, charging into formations, and attacking cities all relied on chariots and heavy infantry.
Due to several battles without waiting for the chariots, the Manchu troops suffered heavy losses. Nurhaci even ordered: "If you encounter the enemy without a chariot, do not go to war."
The carriage is nearly two people tall and is made of hardwood, iron and cowhide. Not to mention that it cannot be penetrated by firecrackers, it can even withstand the bombardment of small field artillery. This thing can also be used for siege and advancement, and is not afraid of fire or fire.
Stoned.
The regular Eight Banners Army has one hundred men equipped with four carriages, and is operated by thirty men.
Among these thirty people, some were responsible for pushing the cart, while others were responsible for firing arrows. There were also musketeers who stood on the steps of the cart and fired at the enemy from the shooting holes.
You can understand that this is a very primitive tank.
The "tanks" advanced, followed closely by heavy infantry, crossbowmen, musketeers, and cavalry.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
While the two sides were marching, the Datong Army began to test artillery without warning.
Geng Zhongming was startled: "Fighting so far? The enemy's artillery is quite powerful."
The firearms troops of the Manchu Qing Dynasty were mostly used by Han Banners. People like Geng Zhongming and Kong Youde had elite firearms battalions.
Geng Zhongming quickly said to the messenger: "Tell the ten kings immediately that the enemy's artillery will definitely destroy our shield car!"
When Duduo heard the news, he immediately ordered the entire army to stop.
Then, he asked the surrendered general Hao Zhongzhong to advance with a small group of troops and use his body to measure the firepower and range of the Datong Army.
The Eight Banners Army, which is in its rising stage, has a very flexible combat method and can change tactics according to different enemies.
Sometimes, if the enemy's artillery is too fierce, they even dig tunnels.
He is also very patient. In a positional battle, he will repeatedly test and attack. After understanding the enemy's situation, he will adopt countermeasures to fight.
Historically, it was probably not possible until the Kangxi Dynasty.
After the San Francisco Rebellion, all kinds of tactics were abandoned. A very dull nine-into-ten chain formation was established, which relied entirely on the intensive firepower of cannons and the size of the army to crush the enemy. Because you can win this way, why bother?
Want to study tactics?
The surrendered general Hao Zhongzhong was timid and led his troops to advance.
Zhang Tieniu held a telescope for observation and said: "A group of miscellaneous soldiers, there is no need to fire cannons."
Hao Xiaozhong advanced dozens of steps, becoming increasingly frightened as he went, and finally received an order to stop his march.
The two sides were at a stalemate.
The cavalry has already engaged. There are about 3,000 Manchu and Qing cavalry and about 2,500 Datong cavalry.
General Yild led the cavalry into battle, and the formation was so loose that Zhang Tieniu didn't even bother to fire. Yild still wanted to play the old trick, constantly cruising around to lure the Datong cavalry out and annihilate them in a melee.
Datong Cavalry General is Qin Liangyu's grandson Ma Wannian. Facing the enemy's cavalry temptation, he directly ordered the entire army to dismount: "Light the match rope and load the ammunition!"
"Bang bang bang!"
Due to the long distance and the loose formation of the Manchu and Qing cavalry, a single volley of guns only shot down two enemy cavalry.
Moreover, the horses were all shot, and they went crazy in pain and threw the cavalry down. At such a distance, even if the cavalry was hit, the bullets would not be able to penetrate the cotton armor.
Duduo also got a pair of telescopes and exclaimed in surprise: "This is the fire cavalry that the spies mentioned? Our Qing iron cavalry tactics are useless against this kind of cavalry. In future cavalry battles, I am afraid that they cannot wear armor and must be light and fast."
Horse kill and fight in close combat."
At this moment, a large number of civilians armed with hoes and shovels came to dig trenches around the Datong Army's position.
Seeing this, Duoduo immediately ordered: "Attack quickly and don't let the enemy dig the ditch. Then our army's carriages will not be able to pass! The artillery battalion advances and bombards the civilians on the opposite side!"
