A steady stream of armies gathered from their respective base camps towards the same place.
Phoenix City has now become overcrowded, and all kinds of materials are piled up like hills. This is almost the biggest operation since Jiang Wan's power in Dongjiang Zhen was formed. Even in the previous battle of Liaoyang, Jiang Wan only used
The West Route Army Corps and the Main Army Corps, and this time, not only did the four legions each have their own military forces mobilized here, but the Civil Affairs Office of the Liaodong Dusi was also fully operational.
Food, ordnance, clothing, medicine, various transportation teams, young people in the auxiliary army, all resources were mobilized, just like what a madman said in later generations - everything is to serve the war
.
Scouts from the Military Intelligence Department and the army also exerted their greatest effectiveness. The latest movements and intelligence of the Tartars were delivered to Jiang Wan in a timely manner. Therefore, Jiang Wan spent almost no effort to determine that the Tartars were also coming in a steady stream.
Even though the Tartars would not put all their troops in Gushan Fort, Jiang Wan had to be cautious just by judging the size of the enemy army.
Even if he cannot maintain the advantage of military strength on this local battlefield, he cannot let the gap between the two sides appear too large. For Hou Jin, the outcome of this battle may not shake Hou Jin's fundamental national foundation at all.
, However, if Jiang Wan's Liaodong Dusi loses this battle and all the main elites of the four legions are lost here, it will be a matter of life and death for Dongjiang Town and Liaodong Dusi.
A lion fights a rabbit with all his strength, not to mention that the opponent is a group of ferocious wild wolves.
The only good news from the Military Intelligence Department was that Sun Chuanting finally reacted to the actions of the Liaodong Dusi. Liaoyang sent a troop headed by Wu Xiang and began to use Liaoyang as a base to move towards
Shengjing is approaching.
Just as Shengjing dreamed of taking Liaoyang, Liaoyang was a big nail in the Ming Dynasty that stood at the door of Shengjing. There was no solid city like Liaoyang between Liaoyang and Shengjing. As long as the Liaoyang army fought steadily, even every day
By advancing ten miles, the Ming army's sphere of influence also expanded ten miles toward Shengjing.
In other words, the activity space of Houjin's soldiers and horses was compressed by ten miles.
What the Military Intelligence Department reported was only the movements of the Liaoyang Ming Army. As for what Sun Chuanting was thinking, they had no idea.
Is Sun Chuanting trying to support the Liaodong Dusi and share the pressure on the Liaodong Dusi, just like for many years, the soldiers and horses of Dongjiang Town harassed the Tartars' rear when the Tartars were dispatched to attack the Ming Dynasty? Or was he planning to do so?
While the Tartar soldiers and horses focused most of their attention on Liaodong Dusi, he took this opportunity to bite the Tartars hard and completely stabilize the situation in Liaoyang.
No one knows this, and Jiang Wan has no way of knowing it, but this is still good news.
At this time, Jiang Wan felt a little regretful. When Sun Chuanting asked him for military rations, he didn't try hard to squeeze out some for him. With the current material reserves in Liaoyang, the troops and horses sent by Sun Chuanting could fight for how long and how many times.
How far, it really depends on their food and supplies.
"Sir, news from the front line!"
Jiang Wan set up his base camp in Phoenix City, but Li Zicheng's base camp did not withdraw due to the arrival of reinforcements. Instead, due to the arrival of reinforcements, it completely became the front line of the confrontation between the two armies. Unknowingly, Liaodong Dusi
The stakes have been increased a lot with Houjin. The front line is no longer just a confrontation between Li Zicheng's Eastern Route Army and Abatai's elite, nor is it just about the life and death of these two troops. Now the armies of both sides are gathered together.
No matter which side loses, neither Lonely Mountain Fort nor Phoenix City, which is their stronghold behind them, can survive the victor's pursuit.
Between Li Zicheng's camp and Phoenix City, there are already Ming army camps and soldiers and horses everywhere. Ajige's small group of cavalry that was originally active in this area has long been forced out of this area.
No matter how daring Ge Ge was, if he was discovered by the Ming army in this area, he could only fall into the vast sea of people's war.
The Ming army was not only infantry, but their cavalry battalions also appeared on this battlefield, and their tactics inherited from the Liaodong cavalry did not fall behind at all in the face of enemy cavalry of similar numbers.
.
Even better.
"explain!"
"Today, the scouts of the West Route Army discovered two Tatar troops with different banners more than ten miles away from the main camp, both with more than 2,000 people. The Eight Banners of the Tatars have so far been under the Gushan Fort.
Six flags appeared!"
"All the Zhenghuang flags have appeared, but it seems unreasonable that other flags should not appear!"
Jiang Wan nodded and said, "Is anyone from the West Route Army here?"
"Yes, the West Route Army guerrillas Li Guo. More than half of the unit was lost in the last battle. I was also wounded in many places and was sent back to Phoenix City for treatment by General Li!"
"Li Guo!" Jiang Wan smiled slightly and nodded: "Is your life in danger?"
"Well, that's probably not the case!" You Yong smiled: "I heard that the commander-in-chief wants to inquire about news from the front line. At the moment, he is alive and kicking outside, waiting for the commander-in-chief to summon him!"
"Tell him to come in!" Jiang Wan said: "Also, Mei Xiaofei is almost here. Let him come to see me as soon as he arrives!"
"clear!"
A moment later, Li Guo strode in and greeted the people in front of the hall meticulously: "I've seen the Marshal, I've seen General Yao, I've seen General Zhao!"
"It doesn't matter whether he's injured or not!" Jiang Wan looked at his arm hanging on his chest: "The best doctor in Zhenjiang Fort is in Phoenix City at the moment. After staying for a while, go directly to see the doctor. Don't delay!"
"Thank you, Marshal!" Li Guo said loudly: "This little injury doesn't matter at all. I heard that the Marshal came here in person, so..."
He suddenly showed a playful smile: "The general suffered a big loss at the hands of the Tartars this time, and his brothers also suffered a lot. I asked our commander, but no one from our commander gave me any help.
Handsome, how about you add 500 people to me?"
"What are you thinking about?" Jiang Wan laughed: "If you want to replenish soldiers, let your commander report to the military and political yamen how many people should be replenished and when. Of course, someone will review and decide. Why, we won a small victory.
, you dare to come to me and ask for a reward in person!"
"The general will not dare!" Li Guo's face turned serious.
"Tell General Yao and General Zhao about the situation of your battle that day!" Jiang Wan said to him: "General Li Zicheng has already reported this battle in detail, but there are some things that will be clearer if the parties involved tell them!
"
He looked at Li Guo: "These are the West Route Army. They are all the bloody experience and lessons gained by your brothers. General Yao and General Zhao, one is the commander of the West Route Army and the other is the commander of the main army.
, if they can learn from these experiences and lessons, then the soldiers under their command will shed a lot less blood and die a lot less!"
"The general knows the seriousness of the matter!" Li Guo nodded and turned to Yao Chunyong and Zhao Huchen who were beside Jiang Wan: "The two generals want to know where to start, so I'd better start from the beginning!"
"You can start from the beginning. If there is anything unclear, we will interrupt you!" Yao Chunyong glanced at Zhao Huchen beside him and said slowly: "Tell me everything you have experienced. It is best not to leave out the details.
Pass……"
Jiang Wan breathed out and sat down again. He heard the voices of Li Guo, Yao Chunyong and Zhao Huchen talking to his ears. He stared at the huge map in front of him and examined it carefully.
Things happened so fast. Even if he reacted quickly, the entire Liaodong Dusi army was still in a certain amount of chaos. All kinds of omissions inevitably occurred. If he had been in the past, before going to the battlefield in person, he would have definitely done it.
Carefully observing the terrain of the battlefield is very important to the command of an army.
But now, he could only rely on the soldiers on the front line and the huge map on the table to judge the enemy's situation and changes on the battlefield.
It would be great if there was a sand table!
He sighed slightly. After all, what he saw on the map had to be translated in his mind to form a three-dimensional picture. Moreover, even though the map in front of him could reflect the general situation around Phoenix City, it was not accurate in terms of accuracy.
In fact, it was far worse than the kind of map he was familiar with.
The terrain between Fenghuang City and Gushan Fort is mostly dominated by hills, dotted with forests and lakes. This terrain is actually affected by the Kuandian Swamp. For those who are mainly foot soldiers, the cavalry is only very small.
For the auxiliary Dongjiang Town soldiers and horses, this terrain is actually advantageous.
If the terrain were a flat plain, the Tartars would laugh out loud in their dreams. And the moment Jiang Wan arrived in Phoenix City, he would have withdrawn all the Eastern Route Army back to Phoenix City without hesitation and defended the city.
.
However, such terrain certainly does not create an absolute advantage. The current location of the East Route Army camp is a dividing point of this terrain, and it is also the only flat place where both sides can roughly deploy their troops.
If nothing unexpected happens, the decisive battle between the two sides should take place at the current confrontation location. Calculated based on the distance, the current Tartar camp is right between the Gushan Fort and the East Route Army camp. The scope of the confrontation between the two sides is only
About ten miles.
It's like two people fighting. At this moment, both sides are almost touching each other, but neither side will retreat. Moreover, even though their faces are touching, both of them are still thinking about directing their hands and feet to kill.
other side.
The space between the camps of both sides has now become a stage for the scouts of both sides to show off their skills. Both sides are working hard to spy on the other side's true and false status, and are thinking of ways to penetrate the other side. The scouts are fighting on this stage,
They are like gladiators performing in an arena, and their audience is the thousands of soldiers and their generals in the camps of both sides.
The voices next to them gradually became quieter, and it sounded like Li Guo had finished his narration, and Yao Chunyong and Zhao Huchen seemed to have answers to many of their questions. When they finished the conversation, Li Guo stood up and excused himself to Jiang Wan.
"Recuperate well!" Jiang Wan said: "I will ask the Military and Political Office to replenish a group of soldiers of the East Route Army as soon as possible. As for how much you can get, you have to go to your commander to ask for it!"
"Thank you, Marshal, thank you, Marshal!" Li Guo left happily.
Jiang Wan looked back at Yao Chunyong: "How much can you supplement them?"
"Two thousand recruits, no more!" Yao Chunyong nodded: "Over at Pi Island, I will mobilize another group of recruits, but I don't know if I can catch up with this trip!"
"Okay!" Jiang Wan said: "Come and take a look, this battle is not easy to fight. The East Route Army is at the front now, and they are under the greatest pressure. We need to supplement not only people, food, grass, ordnance.
We all need to improve our morale. Only if they can withstand it can we arrange our troops without making any mistakes!"
Yao Chunyong nodded and moved closer to Jiang Wan with Zhao Huchen.
"Look, Zhao Huchen, I have placed the three battalions of your main army here. The West Route Army's combat strength is weaker. I have placed one battalion on your left and one on your right. The rest are now all
They are all placed in Phoenix City!"
"It's too crowded!" Zhao Huchen said with a frown: "In just a dozen miles, we have almost already exceeded 20,000. Moreover, it is not a large camp, so it is difficult to gather our combat power together.
!”
"I think it's a good thing for us to be crowded together on the current battlefield!" Yao Chunyong shook his head and disagreed with Zhao Huchen's view: "Our cannons and muskets are all weapons that the Tatars are afraid of. If they are scattered,
If you don't use it, it will be easy for the Tartars to defeat each other. Now that everyone is crowded together and can coordinate with each other, there will be no opportunity for the Tartars to take advantage of!"
"General Yao, our defense is no longer about defense!" Zhao Huchen, as a leader among young generals, is much more radical than Yao Chunyong: "It is about the Tartars thinking about how to defend. Up to now, the Tartars are still
Deploying troops and accumulating strength means that they are weaker than we thought and more afraid of us. We should take the initiative to occupy a larger battlefield so that our troops and horses have more room to move!"
"No matter how big it is, it can be as big as this. It's just such a big area, and the Tartars will never let us put the cannon at the entrance of their camp. If we move, they will definitely fight with us. When the time comes, no matter what
Whether we are ready or not, we have to fight this battle!"
The two of them each held their own opinions, and found that neither could convince the other, so they both turned their attention to Jiang Wan.
"What you said all makes sense, but not entirely!" Jiang Wan said slowly: "The situation on the battlefield is ever-changing. How to fight requires detailed analysis of specific issues. However, once the overall strategy is decided, we still cannot
It will change easily!"
"Commander, what is your strategy?" Zhao Huchen nodded and asked.
"It's hard to say now!" Jiang Wan smiled: "According to the news from Tieshan, Mei Xiaofei should arrive today. When I see him and what he brought, I think our battle will be better."