Hauge left with the front leg of his army, and smoke rose from Pinglu Fort's rear leg.
The castle was too small, and it was already very crowded to accommodate the firecrackers and baggage. Lu Xiangsheng's cavalry could not be packed here, and they all camped in the ravine further south.
In half a day, Lu Xiangsheng led more than a dozen cavalrymen to join 7,000 brave cavalrymen several miles away from the Manchu army.
The Manchu sentries were aware of this and were so frightened that they quickly went back to report the news.
"The enemy has nearly 10,000 cavalry?" Haug was shocked.
It was difficult to count the overwhelming number of cavalry, and the Manchu spies could only make a rough estimate.
Doni didn't care about the factional fighting, and said with a stern face: "There are nearly ten thousand cavalry alone, and the enemy's infantry may be even more. We should cross the river immediately and join forces with the regent. Don't harvest any more wheat for the time being."
These guys came along the Daqing River and harvested wheat on the south bank of the Daqing River.
Hauge looked at the large wheat field and gritted his teeth and said: "Set fires everywhere and burn all the wheat! The Eight Banners warriors formed a defensive formation and fought together. The civilian husbands took the baggage across the river first!"
This was not an escape, but a tactical retreat, and the Eight Banners soldiers did not run away first.
About hundreds of soldiers ran to the surrounding wheat fields with cannons to ignite the ripe wheat.
Knowing that the Manchu and Qing armies were approaching, the farmers had gone into the mountains to hide a few days earlier. Hauge could not rob people and livestock, and now it was dangerous to even cut wheat, so he simply destroyed the wheat fields in front of him.
This situation made Hauge very depressed.
Because in the past, when facing the Liaodong border army of the Ming Dynasty, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties always came and left when they wanted. The Ming Dynasty border army could only be on guard at all times, detecting that the Manchu and Qing Dynasties were coming to grab grain, and organized the people in advance to collect the grain, and they could not finish the harvest.
Those that can be destroyed will be destroyed, and those that cannot be destroyed in time will be taken away by the Qing Dynasty.
But it was the Datong Army that dared to send troops to prevent the Manchus from harvesting wheat!
Lu Xiangsheng came with 7,000 knights. He first went to kill Bao Yi, who was with the army who set fire to the wheat field, and roared: "Don't let go of those who have forgotten their ancestors after countless classics!"
These soldiers were far apart. When they heard the sound of horse hooves, they threw away their torches and ran wildly towards the direction of the Manchu and Qing formations.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
The Manchu and Qing artillery launched a salvo to prevent the Datong cavalry from advancing.
Lu Xiangsheng only had cavalry in his hands and did not dare to attack the enemy's formation, or even get too close. He could only watch helplessly as several wheat fields close to the Qing army were burned.
Throughout the battle, the Manchu Qing Dynasty belonged to the attacking side and the Datong Army belonged to the defensive side.
The defender will be even more passive!
Not only were the troops at a disadvantage, but they also had to defend three cities and the farmland around the three cities. Gaizhou City and Hepinglu Fort were only the most convenient route for the Manchu and Qing troops to send troops. The Manchu and Qing Dynasties could also go in other directions to drill into the ravine, everywhere.
Everyone must set up defenses and send out sentries.
Only by figuring out the direction of the main force of the Qing Dynasty can the Datong Army slowly assemble.
When Hauge attacked Pinglu Fort, the Datong Army further south was already gathering towards Gaizhou, but it would take two or three days to do so.
Hauge stood on horseback in the Chinese army's formation on the shore, looking at Lu Xiangsheng from a distance. Neither side made any move.
It was not until Manchu artillery was gradually shipped to the other side that Lu Xiangsheng ordered the cavalry to put out the fire and prevent the fire from spreading to other wheat fields.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
Manchu and Qing artillery was set up on the other side and began shelling again to cover other Eight Banners soldiers crossing the river.
Lu Xiangsheng just looked at it, knowing that he had achieved his goal. This battle had only two purposes. First, to defend the city; second, to prevent the Manchus from taking away too much food.
Just drive Haug's army across the river and prevent them from harvesting grain.
As for how many casualties it can cause to the enemy, it actually doesn't matter. Just wait for time. This is only the first year, when the Datong Army is at its weakest in Liaodong. If it takes two or three years, the situation can be completely reversed.
Liaodong is too far away and transportation of military supplies is not easy.
The grain transport team coming from the south encountered a storm some time ago, and one of the ships was sunk as a result, and several other ships were damaged in many places.
Even if the Eight Banners Army can be severely damaged this time, the Datong Army will not be able to continue to expand northward. At most, it can take the opportunity to occupy two more coastal cities.
The naval ensign heavy infantry and gunners once again became the last troops to cross the river.
Lu Xiangsheng did not choose to charge because there were enemy artillery on the other side and Han artillerymen on the shore. Even if he could kill these enemies who finally crossed the river, his own cavalry would definitely pay casualties. This kind of exchange of lives is not cost-effective.
.
After Hauge crossed the river and left, Xiao Zongxian's gunmen followed, dragging some artillery and baggage.
"It looks like there's going to be a big battle in Gaizhou City." Xiao Zongxian said.
Lu Xiangsheng said: "If we can't capture Gaizhou City, the enemy won't dare to cross the river easily. If we can't cross the river, we won't be able to plunder. Then our army will be considered victorious. It just depends on how far Dorgon wants to fight!"
Xiao Zongxian smiled and said: "I definitely want to capture Gaizhou. Gaizhou, Fuzhou, and Jinzhou are in Liaodong, which is like a thorn in the back for the Tatars. If we delay for one more year, our army will be stronger and our food and grass will be more abundant.
The Tatars also understand this."
Zhao Han's military plan to regain Liaodong was exactly the same as that of Zhu Yuanzhang in the early Ming Dynasty, and he was also setting up camp step by step on the Liaodong Peninsula.
However, it was more difficult for Zhu Yuanzhang at that time. Navigation technology was not as advanced as it is now, and transporting food and troops from the sea was extremely dangerous. After arriving in the Liaodong Peninsula, there were no cities for defense. At first, city walls could only be made of wooden boards.
Facing the counterattack of the Mongolian and Yuan armies, the soldiers of the early Ming Dynasty were extremely brave. After the wooden wall was damaged by the enemy, it was completely blocked by human lives. Even the families of the soldiers joined the battle.
Zhu Yuanzhang sent soldiers to Liaodong by sea ship. In the first few years, he only did three things: garrisoning fields, building cities, and defending.
After the garrison has achieved results, the military rations are sufficient, and the soldiers are capable, we will immediately send troops northward!
…
"Boom boom boom boom!"
Inside and outside Gaizhou City, the sound of artillery was loud.
This situation has been going on for several days. The two sides did nothing else and kept firing at each other with artillery, as if it was a replica of the Battle of Daling River.
Dorgon imitated Huang Taiji and dug a circular trench in Gaizhou City.
Dig a trench, use the excavated earth and rocks to build a high wall in front. Then use parallel trenches, continue to dig a circular trench, continue to use earth and rocks to build high walls, and at the same time, place artillery at the gap in the high wall to bombard Gaizhou
city wall.
Such siege tactics are somewhat similar to the "Voban siege method", which is used to attack bastions.
In the Battle of Daling River, the Manchu and Qing Dynasties used 168 artillery pieces.
At this time, Dorgon attacked Gaizhou City and dispatched 183 artillery pieces. Even Shenyang's city defense artillery was dismantled and shipped over!
There are various types of artillery. The smallest caliber is the 4.5-pounder, which is like scratching an itch when hitting the city wall. The largest is the 12-pounder, which is an imitation of the "Wanli General Cannon".
Dorgon prepared a total of fifteen thousand shells of various types.
Still can't compare with Huang Taiji. When Huang Taiji attacked Dalinghe, he prepared 17,000 artillery shells. He only pulled out the piers and abutments around Dalinghe City and fired two to three thousand artillery shells.
"Boom boom boom boom!"
The bombardment of Gaizhou City has not stopped yet, and the Datong Navy is bombarding the Manchu and Qing Dynasties on the river bank to the west of the city.
This seemed to be a reenactment of another war. Historically, the Manchus and Qing Dynasties spent five days deploying 80 coastal artillery positions to bombard the Ming warships in Gaizhou.
There is no fancy work, just shelling, shelling, shelling again...
The shelling inside and outside the city has been going on for half a month, and only a small crack has been made in the city wall. Although the Gaizhou city wall is not as good as Jining, it is similar to the Shangqiu city wall. It would not be able to collapse in ten days and a half if left open to bombardment by Manchu and Qing artillery.
"boom!"
Another Manchu artillery piece was scrapped.
Although there is an earth wall as a cover, the accuracy of artillery fire on the city is much higher than that of siege artillery on the ground.
The combat missions of both sides were different. The Manchu and Qing artillery wanted to destroy the city wall, while the Datong artillery wanted to destroy the Manchu and Qing artillery.
Hauge came to the outside of Gaizhou City to join forces with Dorgon. When they met, he said: "There is a large Nanman army behind us, with nearly ten thousand cavalry alone!"
Dorgon smiled and said: "I'm just afraid that if they don't come, they will just besiege the city and call for reinforcements."
Besieging a city for reinforcements was a tried and tested trick of the Manchus.
Because the city wall of the Ming Dynasty's border troops was too high and too thick, they couldn't knock it down for two or three months. So they kept surrounding and shelling, and then annihilated the rescue troops and killed several reinforcements. After the city ran out of ammunition and food, they surrendered.
At this moment, Dorgon's tens of thousands of troops had crossed the Daqing River and moved to the south of Gaizhou City. They also dug trenches and earthen walls, waiting for reinforcements from the Datong Army to arrive.
Twenty miles south of the city.
Li Zheng came by sea ship, but was blocked by the Manchu and Qing's temporary coastal defense batteries, so he simply retreated and landed on the coast.
After understanding the situation in Gaizhou City, he did not take the initiative and camped more than ten miles away from Dorgon. At the same time, he let ships continue to transport food and civilians from Fuzhou, and dug trenches and built earthworks inside and outside the camp.
wall.
Lu Xiangsheng's cavalry also covered Xiao Zongxian's infantry and ran to the seaside to join Li Zheng.
The scene completely froze.
Dorgon and Hauge's nearly 70,000 troops, as well as hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, surrounded Gaizhou City.
In Gaizhou City, there were only one division of Hu Dinggui and farmers who had evacuated into the city from the surrounding areas.
Twenty miles south of Gaizhou City, there are reinforcements from Li Zheng, Xiao Zongxian, and Lu Xiangsheng. There are more than 20,000 regular soldiers (some are left in Pinglu Fort), as well as a large number of peasant soldiers and civilians.
A few miles west of Gaizhou City, the navy of the Datong Army was fighting against the Manchu and Qing forts.
The battle lasted for half a month, and it was all about shelling, digging trenches and building earthen walls.
No one is willing to take the initiative to attack because they can't rush in. For various fortifications, whoever rushes will die, and the attacker will always suffer more.
"What should I do if the enemy's reinforcements don't come?" Haug was a little depressed.
Dorgon said: "Just wait for time, and the enemy will definitely reveal his flaws."
That's how fighting is, it's up to you to see who can't stand it first.
The Ming Dynasty and the Manchu Qing fought like this many times. The two sides were completely frozen. The Ming Dynasty could not defeat the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, and the Manchu Qing Dynasty could not attack the city.
Under normal circumstances, the Qing Dynasty troops ran out of food and chose to withdraw.
But many times it was abnormal. For example, the reinforcements underestimated the enemy and rushed in, or the court urged the reinforcements to fight quickly, or there were Liaodong defenders who surrendered to the enemy and traitors, some of whom were Mongolians. Several cities were lost due to the Mongols collaborating with the enemy and surrendering.
Li Zheng has a calm personality, which is the same in fighting and dealing with others.
Although he decided to camp and wait for the enemy to reveal his flaws, he still asked in a sincere tone: "General Lu, General Xiao, how do you think we should fight?"
Xiao Zong showed his seniority and said: "General Lu must have a clever plan."
Lu Xiangsheng said with a smile: "The best strategy is to wait for the Tatars to run out of military rations."
Li Zheng also had the same idea, and immediately made the decision: "I will immediately notify the navy and tell them not to fight against the Tatars. Go to North Korea quickly and urge North Korea to get more food."
"That's the reason." Lu Xiangsheng likes the atmosphere of the Datong Army. Although there is also the phenomenon of township parties, overall there is not so much intrigue.
There will be no pressure from the imperial court to send troops!
When the Datong Army and the Eight Banners Army fought, North Korea was the first to have a headache, because the navy went to Ganghwa Island for a stroll again and would not leave until they were given several thousand dan of food.
The Datong Army does not bully others, trades fairly, and pays high prices when buying grain.