There are similarities in history, but they will not repeat themselves completely. Although the Eastern Expedition took a similar route to Jin King Li Dingguo's second attack on Guangdong, the combat strategies were very different.
First of all, the speed of the attack was not very fast. It only accelerated a little after the naval victory; secondly, it tried not to divide the troops and ignored Wuzhou and Zhaoqing in the north for the time being, and always maintained a sharp force advantage; the last point may be
The basis for the above-mentioned combat strategy can be explained in some aspects, that is, most of the supplies of ammunition and supplies are transported by sea, and the risk of being cut off from food routes due to the lengthening of the front is greatly reduced.
In fact, giving full play to the advantages of the navy and shipping made the Eastern Expedition twice the result with half the effort, and the war situation also underwent shocking and drastic changes.
On September 28, Ruan Shipeng, the magistrate of Haifeng County in the Qing Dynasty, was furious and sent troops to attack Su Li who was blocking the border relocation. Su Li led his troops to resist and defeated Ruan Shipeng's Qing troops. He took advantage of the situation to invade the county town, killed Ruan Shipeng, and rebelled against the Qing Dynasty.
On September 30, on the same day that the Qing Dynasty Leizhou Commander-in-Chief Li Changrong surrendered to the city, the newly promoted Jinghai Marquis Deng Yao led his navy to break into the Xijiang River and captured Jiangmen (today's Jiangmen City), controlling the seaport of Guangzhou in one fell swoop.
On the second day of October, the newly promoted Linghaibo Chen Shangchuan led more than fifty ships and broke into the Pearl River Estuary. At this time, the Shajiao, Dajiao, Humen and other forts were only in prototype form. Even if they had artillery, they were few in number and their performance was poor. The fleet
Go up the river, destroy the weak resistance along the river, approach Guangzhou, and bombard the city.
On the third day of October, Panyu fishermen Zhou Yu, Li Rong and others were unable to fish at sea because of the sea ban. They "stopped all their boats, separated them into harbor branches, and moved their slaves to the city."
, then he took advantage of the Ming army's offensive and led the fishermen to revolt. He led the crowd to attack the county seat and killed the county magistrate.
On the fourth day of October, after recapturing Leizhou, the Ming army resumed their offensive, advanced towards Gaozhou, and began to attack the city.
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"That's not what I'm worried about." Prince Shang Kexi of Qingping Nan boarded the city of Guangzhou, patted the city wall damaged by cannonballs, and looked at the shadow of sails in the distance. His face was full of worry.
What do you mean? It means that the city wall of Guangzhou is strong and easy to defend but difficult to attack. The arrival of the Ming army ships is only a deterrent and harassment, and cannot pose a real threat to the city of Guangzhou. Of course, this is only what we have seen so far. The Ming army
The navy arrived in Guangzhou. It also had a warning meaning. If Guangzhou was empty, the Ming army would transport troops by ship and attack Guangzhou directly. This possibility was something the Ming army wanted to tell Shang Keke.
"Father, are you worried about Gaozhou?" Shang Zhixiao hesitated for a moment, then said uncertainly: "Since Guangzhou is not worried, our army will act as the main force to support the west and fight the Ming army decisively. As long as the Ming army on land is defeated, the enemy's navy will also
Nothing more than harassment.”
Shang Ke happily shook his head slightly and said: "Su Li rebelled, the local bandits made trouble, Jiangmen and Panyu are very close to Guangzhou, and there is also the Ming Navy to help, Guangzhou has no worries for the time being, and it cannot be empty. Otherwise, it may happen to King Dingnan again."
Defeat and death are the consequences!”
Shang Zhixiao opened his mouth and swallowed his words. During the Battle of Zhaoqing, Shang Kexi was reluctant to lead the main force to help. He was afraid that the rebel Chaozhou Hao Shangjiu would lead his troops to attack Guangzhou in the west. Then, he would attack Guangzhou in the west.
Zhaoqing repeated the mistakes of Kong Youde's Battle of Guilin. On the contrary, even if he guarded Guangzhou, he would still be worried about the dangers encountered when the main force went to help. Just like the Xinhui Battle. It lasted for half a year, and was in danger several times, but he still did not dare to
Lead the main reinforcements instead of waiting for the Manchurian soldiers to arrive before acting together.
The death of Kong Youde in Guilin was like a curse. It troubled the only two remaining kings of Sanshun and made them full of fear of Jin King Li Dingguo. But now that Li Dingguo is about to come, Shang Kexi has made this hesitation problem again, and Shang Zhi is unwilling to give up.
, but it’s hard to say anything to my father.
"I have ordered Xu Erxian, the commander-in-chief of Zhaoqing, to lead his troops to Gaozhou for reinforcements." Shang Ke looked into the distance with joy and did not notice anything strange about his son. Instead, he said quietly: "Xu Erxian defended the city well. He defeated the old thief (Li Dingguo) back then.
) to attack the city. I hope he can perform another feat this time and keep the enemy trapped under the fortified city for a long time. When the enemy is tired, I will lead the army to attack again and defeat the enemy."
"My father is well-planned and well-organized." Shang Zhixiao said respectfully: "Su Li is a traitor, and we cannot let him be arrogant. He is not as good as a child——"
"Defeat the enemy's main force and disperse them." Shang Kexi pondered again and said: "Jiangmen is very important, so we can send an army to recover it first. Well, you'd better stay with your father!"
The eldest son, Shang Zhixin, is still in Beijing and is a hostage like Wu Yingxiong. Because Shang Zhixin has a bad temper and is brave but reckless, he is not liked by Shang Kexi. The second eldest son, Shang Zhixiao, is steady, filial and loyal, and has been around for a long time, so he is favored by Shang Kexi.
.The war was fierce and dangerous, so Shang Kexi certainly refused to let his son take risks easily.
"What about the thieves in Panyu?" Shang Zhixiao asked unwillingly: "It's so close to Guangzhou, do we have to let it go?"
"Those rebels and bandits can be dealt with by just sending a general and a thousand men and horses." Shang Ke showed disdain with disdain. In his mind, there was a world of difference between the regular army and the rebellious people.
Didn't take it seriously at all.
Shang Zhixiao also felt that it was not a big deal for the people to rebel. He just wanted to go out and perform meritorious service, practice his skills, and increase his weight in the eyes of his father.
"Su Li will also send troops to conquer." Shang Kexi clenched his fists. Traitors have always been the most hated, especially at this time, what Su Li did was to stab him in the back, but Su Li had
The soldiers have ships, but they are not comparable to those of the rebellious people. "The generals in the army are Gao Liangfu, and the guards are Gao Liangzhen. They are from Chaoshan. If they can conquer and fight well, they can be the main generals."
"Father, if you know people well, Su Li will be crowned soon, and the threat from the east of Guangzhou will be eliminated." Shang Zhixiao complimented him, but when he looked up, he saw a small officer rushing towards him.
"What's the matter?" Shang Kexi also saw it and asked in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, urgent report, Gaozhou has been captured by the enemy -" the young officer knelt down on one knee and handed over the military report in his hand.
Shang Kexi's face changed greatly, he grabbed the military newspaper, tore off the seal, and read it carefully. After a long while, Shang Kehe exclaimed with joy, and cursed: "We have been defending against the city for only three days. We must have fallen into the enemy's trick."
, went out of the city to fight and was defeated."
"Father, send reinforcements immediately to resist the enemy's eastward advance." Shang Zhixiao knew the consequences of Gaozhou's fall. If the Ming army continued to advance, they would be able to reach Xinhui, the southwest gateway of Guangzhou, thus directly threatening the provincial capital Guangzhou.
Shang Kexi thought for a while, and finally sighed and said: "Fortunately, I have sent troops to Xinhui, and then sent someone to inform the commander-in-chief Xu Erxian to divert reinforcements, so it is no big deal. Hey, the puppet Wang Dingguo was defeated miserably in Xinhui, and now it is no big deal.