After returning to Mulingguan from Qingzhou Prefecture, Shang Yi immediately began to arrange military operations to conquer and restore Jinan Prefecture.
After repelling the Qing army that attacked Mulingguan, Shang Yi had more than 8,000 troops. After regaining Linqu County, nearly 2,000 people joined the army. Now the total strength of the Muling Army is close to 10,000.
.However, only 3,500 of them were veterans with combat experience. Among the new recruits, only 1,000 participated in the battle to recapture Linqu County, and they had not yet gone to war, but just went to fight for soy sauce.
Now, in Muling Pass, with the self-made firecrackers, there are nearly 500 firecrackers of various kinds and 15 cannons of various kinds, and 330 old-style flintlock muskets have been received from Qingzhou.
Five, fifty-seven new-style flintlock muskets, and eight artillery pieces. At the same time, Meng Honggong, the prefect of Qingzhou, provided the Muling Army with 200 blunderbuss and two medium-sized Fran cannons. However, after inspection, these 200
Of the bird cannons, only 118 were usable, 38 were scrapped, and 44 fire cannons needed repair.
But Muling's army now also has 1,013 firecrackers of various types and twenty-five artillery pieces. Fortunately, Shang Yi has been training spare musketeers and gunners, so although the number of firecrackers suddenly increased by nearly one
times, but there are still enough musketeers and gunners. And after a few days of intensive training, the musketeers who switched to flintlock muskets have basically adapted to this new type of musket.
As for the fifteen revolvers, Zhou Shaohuan, Tong Dayong, Cheng Jin, Cheng Gang, Yang Wucheng, Luo Yuanbin, Zhao Yingjie, Huang Zhen, Zhou Qi, Wu Hansheng and other ten people who participated in the expedition to regain Linqu County were each assigned one.
.The other three were given to Shen Yang, Liu Zhiyong and Zhao Congfu respectively. The other two were temporarily retained by Shang Yi. As for Zhou Wei, ever since he exposed his daughter's identity in front of Shang Yi that day, he has been avoiding it intentionally or unintentionally.
Looking at Shang Yi, he did not comment on Shang Yi's explanation that day. However, it was good, and Shang Yi also felt that it saved a lot of worry.
Finally, Shang Yi and everyone decided after careful discussion that this time to regain Jinan Mansion, the Muling Army would dispatch 5,000 troops, half of which were veterans and recruits, and 900 musketeers, each carrying forty rounds of musket ammunition.
; Four medium-sized Fran cannons, four small Fran cannons, and tiger crouching cannons, one hundred gunners, four hundred cavalry, eighty reconnaissance teams, a team of five hundred sword and shield soldiers, and five hundred longbowmen.
, the others were all pikemen. Young generals such as Zhou Shaohuan went to war. Among the remaining nearly 5,000 soldiers, 3,000 were led by Tang Zhen to stay at Muling Pass, including 1,000 veterans, and continued to guard Muling Pass in Guancheng.
The new troops were trained here, and Jiang Yiqu led 2,000 men to garrison Linqu County.
In addition, there are currently more than 4,000 pieces of iron armor, more than 2,000 pieces of chain armor, more than 4,000 pieces of cotton armor, and more than 3,000 pieces of leather armor in Muling Pass. One set of armor is completely enough for each person. However, Shang Yi decided to go on an expedition
The men and horses must be equipped with emphasis. Each person has at least one piece of iron armor or chain armor. The pikemen, sword and shield soldiers and cavalry can all be assigned a piece of cotton armor. Even the war horses are covered with a layer of cotton armor.
In terms of armor strength, Yi Jing is not inferior to the Qing army.
Jinan Prefecture is more than 400 miles away from Linqu County, so this time the troops need to carry a lot of baggage. The grain and grass alone are 2,000 dan, plus other supplies, it can load 200 vehicles. Fortunately, there are experts
Mulingguan can fully recover the seizures from the Qing Army.
Now just in terms of military strength, Shang Yi's strength is not inferior to that of the generals and deputy generals. In terms of supplies, assembly, and the army under the general general's command, it may not be as good as the Muling army. As long as he goes through a few more battles By fighting hard, the Muling Army can stand out in this era.
Shen Yang and others also went to war with Shang Yi, and in advance sent Zhao Congfu with ten Jinyi guards to Jinan Mansion to inquire about the situation of the Qing army.
After the army set off, it first went to Linqu County, where it joined the two thousand troops transferred from Qingzhou Prefecture, and then turned westward toward Jinan Prefecture.
After returning from the defeat at Mulingguan, Turge and Bolo led the defeated troops, along with some grain and supplies, as well as people and livestock that they grabbed along the way, back to Yanzhou Mansion in despair.
At this time, Abatai's life in Yanzhou was very comfortable. He lived in Prince Lu's Mansion, enjoying the delicacies from the mountains and seas cooked by the chefs in Prince Lu's Mansion every day, drinking the fine wine given by the emperor, and having Cai'e, the maid from Prince Lu's Mansion, in the evening. It was a bit of fun to go to bed.
Abatai has been fighting for more than thirty years. He has participated in all four previous raids, but he always fought as a lieutenant. Even if he enjoyed it, he still received second-rate treatment. Until now. , can be considered as the real start to enjoy the life of the upper class of the Ming Dynasty. Although the Qing Dynasty took away a lot of Eastern and Western populations from the Ming Dynasty, and their living habits were similar to those of the Han people, Abatai had to admit that the Han people really The wealthy life is indeed comfortable.
Although the Han people are not good at fighting, they do have a way of enjoying themselves. Let's take the Lu Prince's Mansion as an example. It is more gorgeous and splendid than the palace where Huang Taiji lived. In comparison, his own Baylor Mansion is like a chicken coop. Moreover, the cooking techniques of the Han people are different. It is the same chicken, duck and fish. The taste of the food made by the Han people is delicious. Not to mention the wine, it is fragrant and mellow. And how do the beauties of the Han people grow? Their skin is so white. The waist is so thin, and it feels so soft, as if you could squeeze out water with just a pinch. This is how people live.
Abatai even thought that the Ming army was now vulnerable. After returning, he would definitely persuade Huang Taiji to mobilize all his troops to attack the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible, seize the Central Plains, and capture Beijing. The world would belong to the Qing Dynasty. By then, he would be safe. Spend your old age and enjoy the life of the Han people to the fullest.
But just when Abatai was expressing his feelings, he got the news that Turge and Bolo returned home defeated at Muling Pass.
Abatai couldn't help being surprised. He didn't expect that Turge and Bolo were holding the battle, and there were 26,000 troops, but they couldn't do anything to a small Muling Pass. And they dismantled nearly 6,000 troops. They also included more than 800 Eight Banners soldiers. All in all, the Qing army lost more than 8,000 people in front of Muling Pass. Even when they attacked Shouyuan City, which was guarded by Yuan Chonghuan, they did not lose so many troops? So? Abatai, regardless of his own pleasure, hurriedly summoned Turge and Bolo to inquire in detail about the battle.
After listening to what the two said, Abate was silent for a long time. He was also a man who had experienced hundreds of battles. After listening to Turg's story, he knew that the failure of this battle was not due to the fault of the two men's command. , it’s not that the troops they brought didn’t fight hard, but because the defense at Muling Pass was indeed too tight, and they didn’t rely on sophisticated firearms and strong fighting spirit. In addition, the commander-in-chief Shang Yi’s tactics of using troops were unconventional and unexpected. .Of course, there are also reasons why Muling Pass is difficult to attack due to its dangerous terrain.
Abatai pondered for a long time and then said: "Turg, according to you, if we want to capture Muling Pass, how many troops will we need?"
Turge thought for a moment and then said: "Based on the current defensive capabilities of Muling Pass, I need at least 30,000 to 40,000 troops to do it. And to capture Muling Pass, our Qing troops will lose at least 10,000 men."
The above is nothing more than..." But he stopped talking.
Abata twirled his beard and said, "Nothing but what? Just say what you have to say."
Turge said: "Our attack on Muling Pass this time is based on the troops mobilized when Luntai attacked Muling Pass last time. But according to Luntai, the defense of Muling Pass this time is much stronger than last time.
so……"
Abata said: "So you think that if we attack Mulinguan again, its defensive capabilities may be increased."
Turge also nodded and said: "If there were Hongyi cannons, we wouldn't have to go through so much trouble. It's a pity."
Although the Qing army was also equipped with many cannons, such firearms were only available in the Han army, and the Manchu Eight Banners were not equipped with artillery. And because the Qing army was still superstitious about the art of riding and shooting, the artillery was only used as an auxiliary force for the Manchu Eight Banners soldiers.
The Hongyi Cannon is huge and too heavy. Therefore, when entering the pass, you will usually only bring some small and medium-sized artillery, but not a huge cannon like the Hongyi Cannon.
When talking about this, Abatai couldn't help but wonder. Since this Ming army has such strong defensive capabilities, why was it not placed at the border, or in a big city like Jinan or Yanzhou, but was thrown into a small Muling
But now is not the time to discuss this issue. Abatai pondered for a while and then said: "It has been almost half a year since we invaded the Ming Dynasty, and what we have grabbed has increased our population.
Moreover, the soldiers are all homesick, so I think we should withdraw our troops immediately and return to Daqing."
Bolo couldn't help but said: "Amma, don't Mulinguan just care about it?"
Abatai said: "The weather is getting hotter, and we are going deep into the Ming Realm alone. I'm afraid an accident may happen after a long time, so we should go back early. Muling Pass will wait until the next time we bring the Hongyi artillery and attack it again."
It turns out that the armored soldiers, auxiliary soldiers, followers and coats of each banner of the Eight Banners are, in principle, the private power of each banner owner. Even the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Huang Taiji, could not deprive them of them without reason, and Abatai was not the owner of any banner.
Therefore, although Abatai is the main general in this attack and can lead the full eight banners of the four banners of white, bordered white, pure blue and bordered blue, he is not the owner of these four banners. If the four banners are allowed to
The banner men and horses suffered too many casualties. When I went back to see the banner owners of each banner, it was not easy to explain.
The flag owner of the Zhengbai Banner is Dorgon, the flag owner of the Bordered White Flag is Duoduo, the flag owner of the Zhenglan Banner is Hauge, and the flag owner of the Bordered Blue Flag is Jierhalang. Everyone is a prince-level figure.
They are two levels higher than Abatai and Rao Yubeile. Although Abatai is older than them all, he offended a few of them, and his life in the future may not be easy.
Now in the entire battle to attack Ming Dynasty, the Qing army lost about 10,000 troops, while the Manchu Eight Banners soldiers lost less than 1,000 troops. Generally speaking, it is still within the acceptable range. If they are forced to attack Muling Pass
, will only destroy the troops and cause heavy casualties. Abatai cannot bear this responsibility, so he has to endure this breath, give up the attack on Muling Pass, and return to the outside.
Turg was also very aware of this delicate situation, so he did not oppose it, but supported Abatai. Although Bolo was still a little unwilling to do so, he had the only ability to oppose Abatai and Turg's decision.