At the end of December, under the auspices of the people of Zhending Prefecture, Lu Xiangsheng led the soldiers of Xuanda and Shandong to march south. More than 10,000 soldiers passed through Luancheng, Zhaozhou, Ningjin, and Longping. All the Qing soldiers they encountered avoided their sharp edges. There were Qing troops attacking and plundering the city along the way. They also took the initiative to retreat and get out of the way a few days before they got the military information. Lu Xiangsheng, Liu Yan and other troops traveled all the way south, but there was no fighting along the way. The Qing troops seemed to be fleeing.
Just two days after Lu Xiangsheng ordered the army to go south, the eunuch Gao Qiqian also led Guan Ning's army south. However, they went south from Zanhuang, Gaoyi, Lincheng and other places in the southwest, and they also encountered no resistance. . All the cities occupied by the Qing soldiers were actually abandoned. Guan Ning's army successfully recovered many cities. He was very proud of himself and reported victory to the capital one after another.
Seeing this, Liu Yan felt uneasy in his heart. Those Qing soldiers would not be so timid and unable to fight. Dorgon, the slave chief, was probably gathering his troops.
On the fourth day, Xuanda and Shandong soldiers entered Julu. Liu Yan was filled with emotion. Julu... finally arrived here!
Near noon that day, more than 10,000 soldiers of the Ming Army passed through Julu County. The city of Julu County had long been burned down by the Qing soldiers. There was no one in the city and the city walls were in great ruin. All the wells in the city were blocked, making it impossible to rest and camp.
The army marched a few miles further south and stopped in the wilderness to light a fire and make food. While taking a short rest, Liu Yan received several batches of intelligence from the sentries who had stayed away all night. After reading the information in his hand, Liu Yan looked solemn. He hurried to Lu Xiangsheng's side and said, "Supervisor, have you felt that there are more and more slaves and thieves snooping around my army in recent days? We can't go further south. ”
Lu Xiangsheng frowned when he heard this, so he summoned everyone to the Chinese army's tent. Beside Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, Zhang Yan, Liu Yan and others gathered in a pile. Liu Yan held a simple giant in his hand. Deer surrounding terrain map.
"According to what I heard from the sentinels of the New Army in Xiahe Village, there are people in Nangong and Xinhe in the north of Julu, Guangzong and Wei County in the east, Pingxiang and Quzhou in the south, and even Longping and Baixiang in the west. A large group of slave thieves. Their intention is obvious, they are coming to target our army."
"The area around Julu is flat and there is no danger to defend. Now the enemy situation is raging. Governor Yang Junmen, Hu Junmen, and General Zhang, we need to make plans early."
Lu Xiangsheng's heart tightened, but he quickly calmed down and sneered: "In November, the governor led 50,000 elites to fight the main force of slave thieves but failed, but now they are here. It turns out that these Japanese slave thieves are here. It’s a trick to run away, but let’s fight them in this land of giant deer.”
Yang Guozhu has been in the military for a long time. In these days, Xuan's army has won consecutive battles. Although there are Qing soldiers on all sides, he does not look nervous. He just muttered: "The bandits are marching as fast as the wind and rain. I expected this... Within two days, they will surround us, and we must choose a good terrain to wait for work, so as not to be caught off guard when the enemy comes."
Hu Dawei said: "A few miles to the west is the Haoshui River. The river is wide and has enough water for the entire army. We can camp and set up strongholds by the river and erect a strong city. There is plenty of food and grass in the army and sufficient firearms. Our army will fight with its back to the river. , after all the energy of the captives has been exhausted, reinforcements from the High Supervisory Army will arrive. With such a flanking attack, our army has a great chance of winning."
Lu Xiangsheng and others nodded slowly, and the powerful words of the tiger also reached Liu Yan's heart. As expected of a veteran army who has experienced battles for a long time, he could figure out the safest method at a glance. It can be seen that not all generals of the Ming army Even if they are nothing but wine and rice bags, there are still many generals who can fight.
So Lu Xiangsheng ordered the entire army to march to the northwest. Although the soldiers in each battalion faintly heard that Tatar troops were surrounding them from all sides, the soldiers in each battalion had been fighting with vigor in these days, and their self-confidence was unprecedentedly high. Although everyone was shocked but not afraid, they just headed northwest in an orderly manner.
Soon, more than 10,000 soldiers of the Ming Army arrived at the Haoshui River. Sure enough, the river was wide and the river was rough from a distance. Although there are thick layers of ice along both sides of the river. However, in the center of the river, there was only rolling ice, making it impassable for people, horses, and vehicles.
A sandy official road leads to the other side of the river. From the official road flying across the other side of the river, there is a majestic stone bridge, which is the bridge that the locals call Haoshui Bridge. Looking up, both sides of the bank are boundless loess wilderness. There is nothing except some trees or dilapidated villages as far as the eye can see.
"We will camp here."
Lu Xiangsheng's eyes were deep. Under his order, the soldiers of Xuanda and Shandong battalions took out their tents from their respective baggage vehicles and set up camp in an endless stream. Soon, a continuous camp slowly appeared in front of everyone.
In Lu Xiangsheng's Chinese army tent, Liu Yan and Xuan Zhongzhong will gather together to discuss military affairs. At this time, everyone has been getting along for a long time. Although Liu Yan has a low official position, he has power in front of him and has military exploits in hand. Everyone also Don't regard Liu Yan as a subordinate, just call General Liu one by one.
At this time, everyone in the big tent expressed their opinions on how to defend the camp.
Because Liu Yan played the leading role in the Battle of Dingzhou and was responsible for transporting grain, he had a high prestige among the generals of Xuanzhong at this time. Although he was only a small Qianhu defense officer, everyone, including Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Guozhu and others, attached great importance to Liu Yan's opinions.
"Supervisor, you military officers and generals, I think that we can set up barriers, wooden fences, earthen walls, etc. around our camp, but there is no need to dig trenches around the camp to trap us in it. "
Liu Yan believes that when a large army fights, it cannot just defend without attacking. Only by being able to defend and attack can the enemy's morale and spirit be greatly affected.
"The general believes that we don't need to build earthen walls in front of our artillery. We only need to dig a trench more than ten feet deep in front of the artillery, so that the attacking troops of the slaves can be directly shrouded in our artillery fire. An earthen wall can be built dozens of steps on both sides of each artillery piece, about half a person's height, and a dense firecrackers can be arranged to kill the slaves in front, and also to cover the gunners in battle."
Liu Yan also had a clever way to deal with the defense line of these firecrackers. Instead of digging a deep trench in front of the camp to surround himself, he would place sixty steps in front, just within the effective range of his firecrackers, and kill the enemy's bows and arrows. Despite their strength, they dug several deep trenches.
The excavated soil was used to build a small wall in front of the trench. The wall was not high, about half or less than half a person tall. When the Qing cavalry or infantry encounter these trench low walls, they can hinder their progress and prevent them from hiding and taking cover.
Of course, between each section of the trench, there will be a gap of more than ten or twenty steps left to facilitate the charge of the Qing soldiers, which will also directly cause the crowding of their charge troops. We can also use our limited troops to attack the enemy. Cause maximum fire damage.
In the empty section of the earthen wall between them, the Muzha chariots were not equipped with anything. They only had a Franco machine gun and a tiger squatting cannon on each side, and were covered by dense firecrackers on both sides. The wartime strategy is: the French artillery fires first, followed by the Crouching Tiger artillery. If this wave of enemy troops has not collapsed, then use the fire blunderbuss.
There are only two cannons in between, which is easy to move and convenient for the sergeants in the battalion to attack, allowing them to continuously carry out counterattacks from the gaps between the trenches.
"When the slave soldiers are discouraged by each wave of offensive, I will use the cavalry or infantry to attack from these gaps to dampen the slave's arrogance."
"In this way, we can both defend and attack. My ministers and generals, our army has sufficient food and grass, plenty of medicine, and high morale. Taking advantage of the firearms in our army, we stole the blood of tens of thousands of soldiers by the Haoshui River. All flow!"
Having said this, Liu Yan slapped his palm heavily on the case. At this time, everyone looked at Liu Yan and felt that Liu Yan's whole body seemed to be exuding a strong murderous aura, which made people shudder.
This loud noise startled Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei and others. They woke up from Liu Yan's idea. Everyone secretly exhaled, and there was an indescribable feeling in their hearts. Taste: "So cruel! So spicy! Anyone who meets an opponent like Liu Yan will feel deeply chilled. Fortunately, he is a Ming general!"
Lu Xiangsheng glanced at Liu Yan with relief. Liu Yan's plan was perfect and he maximized his own strengths. Everyone is convinced that with the assistance of Liu Yan's gunmen, the defense of the camp can be said to be foolproof.
But then Liu Yan said again: "Of course, being isolated and helpless is a taboo in the army. Fortunately, the Gao Jianjun has led tens of thousands of troops south. We can ask for help from him. After the enemy's spirit is weakened, the Gao Jianjun's The tens of thousands of Guan Ning's troops can give the enemy a thunderous blow, and perhaps the slave bandits who invaded this time can be defeated with a single blow."
Historically, there were 30,000 Qing soldiers surrounding Lu Xiangsheng in Julu. He didn't know how many would come this time. Liu Yan was also worried about being outnumbered. Judging from the current surrounding situation, he could only count on Gao Qiqian to lead his troops.
Historically, Gao Qiqian refused to save him and watched Lu Xiangsheng's entire army be annihilated. However, this time is very different from the trajectory of history. With more than 10,000 Xuanda and Shandong soldiers holding on, there is no need for Gao Qiqian and others to fight a tough battle. They only need to launch a fatal blow when the Qing troops are exhausted. Maybe we can wipe out all the Qing soldiers who entered the pass this time.
With such a huge achievement and such a huge temptation, he should come, right?
"Unless the high dive is an idiot!"
Liu Yan said in his heart.
Lu Xiangsheng also frowned and pondered. Information came that Gao Qiqian had led his army to Ren County, not far from Julu and Jize. Thinking of his past experience with Gao Qiqian, Lu Xiangsheng was not sure whether Gao Qiqian would come.
However, as the national war is approaching and there is a great opportunity to defeat the slave thieves, Gao Jianjun should abandon the narrow gap between the two and lead Guan Ning's reinforcements. Thinking of this, Lu Xiangsheng wrote a personal letter, sent a few guards, and rode fast horses, and asked Yang Tinglin, the commander of the army, to go to Ren County in person and ask Gao Qiqian for help face to face.
It can be said that there is no problem with Liu Yan's plan. The counselors and painters in Lu Xiangsheng's account have already drawn the defense line pattern agreed upon by the generals.
Liu Yan still led his troops to guard the front of the camp, Yang Guozhu, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu Town, guarded the left wing, and Hu Dawei, the commander-in-chief of Shanxi Town, guarded the right wing. There were not many Hu Zun guns under Liu Yan, so they all stayed on the front.
Lu Xiangsheng led the Central Army, with nearly a thousand men under his command, plus two thousand men from Xuanfu Town General Zhang Yan, who served as reinforcement reserves for each battalion and also guarded Haoshui Bridge. However, everyone believed that the Qing soldiers should be able to play the old trick of surrounding three buildings, and the Haoshui Bridge area was not a cause for concern.
After the discussion, everyone left Lu Xiangsheng's Chinese army tent. At this time, Liu Yan's camp came in a hurry. Liu Yan took the information, looked at it, and handed it to Lu Xiangsheng. After reading it, Lu Xiangsheng hummed: "Julu." From the north, most of the Nuzheng White Banner is approaching. From the east, most of the Nuzheng Red Banner is approaching. To the south, most of the Nuxianglan Banner is approaching. There are also the rest of the Nu Banner and the Eight Banners Mongolian Banners. It seems that they are determined to win and will defeat us. Catch them all in one fell swoop from Xuanda and Shandong sergeants."
Then Lu Xiangsheng shouted loudly: "This is the order from the commander-in-chief: officers and soldiers in each battalion, step up the construction of camp defences!"
Some people died, but not completely...
