The fleet sailed down the canal, covering more than eighty miles in one night.
Before daybreak, 10,000 people had to disembark and go ashore and find a woods to hide.
The fleet turned around and returned to Tongzhou.
There is no way, there are so many ships, it is impossible to hide them during the day.
As long as it was left in the canal, it would definitely be discovered by Tatar sentinels, so the only option was to walk.
After resting for a day, the team continued to move forward in the evening under the leadership of passers-by who were familiar with the situation in this area.
Although the Tatars had many sentinels, they were tortured by the Ming army's night guard during the day and had to find a place to rest at night.
In this way, 10,000 people, carrying armor and dry food on their backs, hid day and night, and five days later arrived at a forest more than 60 miles south of Tianjin Wei.
Looking northeast from the forest, you will see the sea seven or eight miles away.
But after waiting for four days, there was not even a ghost on the sea, and everyone couldn't help but become worried.
"Wu Hou, it's already the fourth day, and there is still no sign of the Dengzhou Navy. We need to make plans early." Huang Degong said in a deep voice.
"Then according to Brother Huang, what should we do?"
Wu Sangui wasn't too worried.
If the Tongzhou Navy doesn't come, it's better to go back home. The imperial concubine has no reason to blame him anymore!
"Let's do this, first send some brothers disguised as strongmen to collect some food and grass from nearby villages and towns, and then collect some ships. Finally, if the Tongzhou Navy does not come, we will have to go there by ourselves!" Huang Degong expressed his thoughts.
come out.
"I agree with raising food and fodder, but we can search for ships. Don't mention that we can't find so many ships to carry us all. Even if we can carry them all, with our group of landlubbers, does Brother Huang think we can find Shanhaiguan when we go to sea?"
Wu Sangui said with a final sneer. As a cavalry general, he has a natural fear of the sea.
If they were asked to go out to sea by themselves in a boat, they would not go even if they were killed.
"If you can't find it, you have to look for it. At worst, you can always find Shanhaiguan by paddling along the coastline!"
Huang Degong's tone was firm and his eyes were burning.
Wu Sangui frowned and glanced at the soldiers and horses in the forest.
Finally, he waved his hand: "Go and collect food first, and we'll talk about it later!"
Huang Degong didn't say anything more, turned around and went down to give instructions.
If Wu Sangui didn't go by then, he would have no choice but to kill him, but he didn't want to do it unless it was a last resort, because he knew that without Wu Sangui, if he went by himself, the chance of success would be very small.
Three more days later, just when Huang Degong had lost his patience and was about to kill Wu Sangui, a fleet finally appeared on the sea in the distance.
The sentry responsible for observing on the shore immediately lit a pile of smoke, and then sent people back to the woods to report.
Not long after, a small boat came quickly towards the smoke.
After docking, four navy officers and soldiers got off the boat, checked with the sentry, and were taken into the woods.
After both parties confirmed their identities and checked their official seals, Wu Sangui and Huang Degong came to the seaside with an army of 10,000.
At this time, the navy also put down more small boats, plus the small boats collected in the past few days, going back and forth, it only took more than two hours to board all the warships on the distant sea.
This time the Dengzhou navy was almost in full force, with more than thirty large and small warships, but still every ship was seriously overloaded.
"Liu Yong, who holds the humble post of Dengzhou Navy Commander, pays homage to Marquis Zhongyong, the great general who defeats thieves!"
"I've met Uncle Jingnan and Mr. Huang."
"General Liu Shen, when did you receive the order, and why did you arrive today?"
Wu Sangui stared at him and shouted sternly that a mere general dared to mess up the military situation and should be killed.
The journey from Tongzhou to Dengzhou took no more than five days. This guy received the order and should have arrived in two days, but now he was six days late.
"Marquis Wu, please forgive me, but the naval warships are in disrepair and need to be overhauled, so we are delayed."
Liu Yong quickly replied.
My heart says that if I don’t repair the boat, so many people are crowded into a broken boat. If you dare to sit on it, I won’t dare to drive it.
"Well, Marquis Wu, he is here after all."
"Liu Shen, please set off soon. If it succeeds this time, it will be due to you and the navy officers and men."
Huang Degong stood up and said.
Wu Sangui didn't care anymore and just snorted coldly.
Obviously he didn't feel safe at sea and lacked confidence. If he didn't kill him on land, he would have to be beaten. As for winning over this guy, he no longer had the heart to win over him.
"yes!"
Immediately, the ships began to hoist their sails and turned around to head north.
Although the Dengzhou Navy has declined, with only about thirty broken ships left, they are professionals after all, and they are extremely familiar with this area.
No, it was just the afternoon of the next day that the fleet arrived at the waters near Shanhaiguan, but did not dare to get too close.
"Marquis Wu, Shanhaiguan is very familiar with it. How should our army act?"
Huang Degong looked at Wu Sangui and asked. Now his eyes were dark and he didn't know how to start.
"Brother Huang doesn't know. As its name suggests, Shanhaiguan Pass is surrounded by mountains and seas. There are seven castles, large and small. The castle walls are connected and interlocking. No matter whether you attack from the east or the west, you can attack only one at most.
It’s impossible to capture the main city from the castle, and if you can’t capture the main city in one fell swoop, everything will be lost!”
As Wu Sangui spoke, he simply drew a customs and defense map of Shanhaiguan Pass with a pen.
"hiss!"
Huang Degong looked at the Guanfang map and suddenly took a breath.
Not only do the east and west gates of the main city have an urn, there is also an independent small castle and a dozen sentry forts a few miles away from the urn in the east.
This meant that if the army landed from the east for a sneak attack, they would have to bypass the small city. Not only was the risk extremely high, but if you were not careful, you would be attacked from both sides and blocked at the foot of the city.
However, if a small independent castle is attacked first, if there is too much movement, the defenders of the main city will be on guard, and the sneak attack may eventually turn into a strong attack.
There is also a wing city to the north of the main city, and two to the south. One of them extends to the seaside, and the city walls are built into the sea.
The three small castles and the main city are connected by the city wall, plus the two urn cities on the east and west. They are really interconnected and there is nowhere to start.
There is nowhere to start a sneak attack, let alone a strong attack.
"Wu Hou, such a majestic pass is worthy of being the first pass in the world. How did Jian Nu conquer it in the first place?"
"This... must be because there is not enough food and grass in the city, and there must be a traitor!"
Wu Sangui was a little embarrassed and could only say perfunctorily.
In fact, he couldn't figure out how the Tatars broke through Shanhaiguan. What on earth was the third brother doing?
"Wu Hou, what can we do? This level cannot be broken through a sneak attack or a large number of soldiers and horses!"
Huang Degong was almost desperate.
This Shanhaiguan is really amazing.
"Brother Huang, don't worry. I'm sure if I dare to come. I'm not exaggerating. Except for me, Wu Sangui, no one else in the world can attack Shanhaiguan."
Wu Sangui waved his hands first, and then said with a proud look on his face.
He has been studying the Shanhaiguan city defense for more than ten years. It only requires 30,000 soldiers and horses to be stationed. With sufficient food and grass, even if there are millions of enemy troops, it will be impossible to break through whether they attack from the east or the west.
As for the sneak attack, it is also impossible to succeed whether it is from the east or the west. Only a sneak attack from both sides can defeat it in one fell swoop.
"Huang is convinced of this, and I also ask Wu Hou to arrange his troops quickly, otherwise something may happen if it is too late!"
Seeing his confidence, Huang Degong immediately became energetic again.
Wu Sangui didn't show off, and first sighed.
"It was originally impossible to successfully attack Shanhaiguan by surprise, but the empress and your majesty actually thought of taking the sea route. This allowed the attackers to land from east and west at the same time, giving them a chance."
"Brother Huang, please see, if you want to take over the main city in one fell swoop, it is absolutely impossible to start with the east and west gates. At most, you can only sneak attack the Wengcheng gate, and the main city gate is absolutely too late.
The main city can only be entered directly from the south gate and the north gate, and the mountain in the north is steep and it is impossible for the army to go around it, so we can only start from the south gate!"
"Well, there are just two small castles to the east of the south gate, and the Tatars must have a cavalry camp outside the main city in the west. Even if the army sneaks from the coast to near the south gate and opens the south gate, I am afraid that the army will not be fully formed yet.
If you enter the city, you will be attacked from three sides outside the city."
"Yes, Brother Huang is indeed a famous general of our time. He can see the key at a glance. Therefore, the number of soldiers and horses that attack the south city gate should not be too many. If there are too many, they will be noticed before they even touch the wall."
Wu Sangui nodded appreciatively, which is why he wanted things to attack at the same time.
Because a sneak attack on the east gate from the east can only capture the Wengcheng, and a sneak attack on the south gate from the west can certainly penetrate the main city in one fell swoop, but because there are too many people, it is easy to be detected and surrounded, and if there are few people, attacking in will also lead to death.
.
Wu Sangui then revealed his sneak attack plan.
That is, Huang Degong led two thousand soldiers and docked from the west of Shanhaiguan to attack the south gate.
He led the remaining 8,000 men to land east of Shanhaiguan, and then directly attacked the Wengcheng in the east. As for the remaining small castle, he could ignore it for the time being.
Huang Degong's side took action first. After entering the main city, he followed the city wall and went straight to the inner gate of Wengcheng in the east. When there was movement there, he immediately took action here.
When the two armies attack from inside and outside, they can break through the two east gates to prevent the army from being blocked in the urn city and being caught in the urn.
After all, there is an independent castle a few miles away from Wengcheng to the east, and support will definitely arrive at that time. If they are unable to break through the east gate of the second town and enter the main city, they will not even have a chance to retreat.
After hearing the plan, Huang Degong was filled with admiration.
It is also clear that even so, the danger involved is very great. No matter which of the three city gates is delayed even a little bit and is not captured in time, both groups of people will be destroyed and there will be no place to run.