After borrowing money and having money, Chongzhen thought that the situation would not get worse. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be worse. At the end of November, the capital received an urgent report. The Qing troops who had been in Tongzhou for many days
, suddenly there was a big move, they turned back to the north, broke through the defense area of Miyun commander Tang Tong, and rushed to the north of the capital.
On the second day, in the northern suburbs of the capital, reconnaissance cavalry had already appeared. Standing on the gate towers of Deshengmen and Andingmen, one could see Qing soldiers in twos and threes.
As a last resort, Zhu Youjian had to organize another imperial meeting to discuss how to deal with it.
"Let Jian Heng, who is already outside Nancheng, come to the meeting. He has also led troops to fight against the Japanese soldiers several times in the past few days. He should know the enemy's situation better than we do."
Chen Xinjia originally wanted to defend the main force of the Qing army in Tongzhou, but while he was on guard, something happened in Miyun. A group of Qing troops went around to the north and rushed to the outskirts of Beijing. Chen Xinjia was forced to take part of the Qin Wang soldiers with him.
Rushed to the outskirts of southern city urgently.
As a commander leading troops abroad, even if he is very close to the capital, he cannot enter the capital without a summons.
After receiving the order, Chen Xinjia was hoisted into the city by a hanging basket at the city gate, then rode horseback in the city to the imperial city and entered the palace.
"Here, let me serve tea to my soldiers first, let Jian Heng relax a little, and then we can discuss the military situation."
Chen Xinjia took the tea handed over by the eunuch, took a sip, and suddenly felt much clearer. With a flexible mind, what he was thinking about at this time was not how to deal with the enemy, but the emperor's attitude.
He originally thought that if the Qing soldiers rushed into the capital, the emperor would be furious and eager to find a scapegoat to vent his anger. However, he did not expect that the emperor in the hall looked normal and did not kill himself when something happened like before.
Looking so angry.
"My soldier, you have fought against the Japanese soldiers these days. How do you feel about the Japanese soldiers' combat effectiveness this time?"
"Back to Your Majesty, I led my troops to fight fiercely with the captive soldiers for more than ten times. Although they could not win completely, they did not lose the power of the Ming army. However, the captive soldiers who entered the pass this time were extremely ferocious and difficult to control in a short time. The most troublesome thing is that they
Most of the cavalry moved quickly, and if they were allowed to escape into the capital without checking for a moment, they would be punished by death."
After listening to Chen Xinjia's nonsense for a long time without hearing anything important, Zhu Youjian was very angry, so he said in a bad tone: "Jian Heng, we are here to discuss the military situation and decide the strategy, not to gossip. You say
What use are these to the party? Let’s talk directly about the battles in these days. Have you figured out the general strength of the captive troops entering the pass this time? For example, how many of the Eight Banners of the Eastern Banners are there? How many traitor vassals are there? How many vassals of the Northern Banners are there?
How many are there? Are there any heavy artillery among the captives?"
"Here, I have a general understanding. The Eight Banners of the Eastern Banners have no less than 50,000 elites. The number of affiliated traitors and Northern Banners is also roughly the same. They do not have heavy artillery in their army."
"Fifty thousand Eight Banners soldiers? I'm afraid not that many. If there were that many, they wouldn't have been in Tongzhou for so long. Forget it, asking you these questions is in vain. You can't tell me why. Let's
Let’s just talk about how to deal with the enemy situation in the northern suburbs! The Japanese troops in Tongzhou still have troops left, which shows that they are not ready to attack the capital with all their strength. It is very likely that the enemy in the north wants to attack the capital through partial divisions this time.
Mobilize the deployment of our army to find opportunities to rush into other cities. In this way, we can't be led by their noses all the time, and we must be fully prepared. What do you think we should do now?"
After being reprimanded by the emperor, Chen Xinjia suddenly understood that it would be a bit difficult to get through by playing tricks this time, and he would have to get some work done. In fact, he and Zhu Youjian had the same judgment of the enemy's situation.
. Judging from the confrontation in Tongzhou these days, the Qing army has no intention of a decisive battle. Their idea should be similar to the previous few times they entered the pass, mobilizing the main force of the imperial army near the capital, and then taking advantage of the empty defense gaps in other cities.
, rushed into the mainland and looted wantonly.
This strategic direction is easy to judge, but the difficulty is that you know exactly what their plans are, but you still have to fight according to their rhythm. You know clearly that the Qing army may not attack the capital with all their strength, but you still have to transfer the main force to the capital.
For example, regarding the enemy situation in the northern suburbs this time, Chen Xinjia knew that there were not many enemy troops coming, only ten or twenty thousand at most, but he still had to lead his troops to the capital.
"Your Majesty, I feel that the most urgent task now is to repel the Lu army in the north first, so I would like to lead the main force of King Qin's army to meet the enemy outside Desheng Gate."
"Jian Heng, you lead the King Qin soldiers who rushed to the outskirts of Beijing this time to form an array in the northeast of Chaoyang Gate. Duke Cheng, you lead the main force of the Beijing battalion to guard the north city wall and make sure there is no problem with the wall. Wait for the soldiers
After arriving outside the city, we will make the next step of arrangements."
What did the emperor think? Why did King Qin's army line up in the northeast of Chaoyang Gate? Zhou Yanru and other important ministers who didn't know how to fight were full of puzzlement. But after hearing this, Chen Xinjia's eyes lit up. In the northeast corner
Setting up camp is a great idea! This way, if the Qing army wants to attack the city, King Qin's army will have the opportunity to attack from the side. Whether they attack the North City or the East City, it will be very difficult for them.
"I will go back and lead my troops now, and rush to the northeast of Chaoyang Gate to set up camp and form an array."
"Wait a minute, we haven't finished discussing the military situation yet. Let me tell you my judgment on the current enemy situation. At present, the overall situation is that the enemy is strong and we are weak, the enemy is fast and we are slow, the enemy is small and we are numerous. If we gather all our main forces in one place,
, Donglu can't do anything to stop us. But we can't do this. If we defend the capital, the local prefectures and counties will be empty. Strengthen the defense of the local prefectures and counties, and the safety of the capital will be unpredictable. In this way, we will remain passive throughout the war.
We must find a way to change this passive situation. No matter how the defensive battle in the northern suburbs goes, we have to make some arrangements for the subsequent battle. After thinking hard, I came up with a strategy. This strategy is to focus on defense and use lines.
Cut the plane and attack on maneuver."
The emperor has a new strategic plan? The ministers who participated in the meeting suddenly became energetic and listened carefully to what the so-called key defense, line section, and mobile attack were all about.
Seeing that everyone was in high spirits, Chongzhen continued to speak: "The so-called key defense means that in addition to the capital, we must also identify some key cities on the Beizhi and Shandong front lines as the cities to strictly defend and try to protect them. In terms of lines, the capital and Tongzhou
, the three cities of Tianjin were used as fulcrums, and King Qin’s army was arranged in a line among them, forming a transverse line. A mobile attack was to select several elite troops and horses to surround the transverse line composed of key cities and King Qin’s barracks, looking for fighter opportunities, and take the initiative to attack.
, attack the enemy's scattered and weak troops, accumulate small victories into big victories, and gradually attack the enemy. In this way, no matter where the captive army flees, they have to worry about being intercepted on their way back. Do you think this strategy is feasible?
"
This strategy is actually Zhu Youji's idea of a retreat. The so-called cutting off the Qing army's return route is just a thought. The real purpose is to ensure that there are no problems with the sea passage from the capital to Tianjin. This passage is too important.
Well, if the war drags on for too long, the canal's grain channel will no longer be usable, and a solution must be found by sea.