When Yang Guozhu led 20,000 elite troops from Xuanfu Town to the battlefield, Liu Zhaoji, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong Town, and his troops were already at a disadvantage and were suppressed and beaten by tens of thousands of Qing troops. The situation was very critical.
When the front army was almost completely lost, Liu Zhaoji personally led his guards and retainers to break up the rear, and ordered the infantry and chariot camps to retreat quickly, out of the range of the Qing army's Hongyi artillery. Then he reorganized his formation and used chariot camps to block it. The Qing army attacked and waited for reinforcements.
At this time, the Qing army's Xianghong Banner and Xiangbai Banner were the main forces, Xianglan Banner, Zhenglan Banner, and large groups of Mongolian cavalry took turns to attack. The boundless Qing army sea almost submerged the Liaodong Army's car camp.
When Yang Guozhu saw this, he also frowned. Unexpectedly, Liu Zhaoji sent someone to report the victory, but he was surrounded by tens of thousands of Qing troops. It must be said that the slave thieves' ability to encircle and mobilize reinforcements is really ever-changing.
At this time, Yang Guozhu ordered to assemble more than 8,000 cavalry in the army and ordered the remaining more than 10,000 infantry to form a formation and move closer to Liu Zhao's base. They also formed a vehicle camp not far from the Liaodong Army Vehicle Camp, forming horns with each other.
Just as the Xuanfu Town infantry advanced, a part of the Qing army also sent thousands of cavalry to rush forward, trying to drive the horses again to attack the Xuanfu Town car camp. It's just that the equipment of Yang Guozhu's chariot camp is better. All the chariots are equipped with long guns, like giant hedgehogs. Moreover, the chariots in Xuanfu Town were larger and heavier. The war horses driven by the Qing army kept hitting the chariots, but they only destroyed some vehicles and did not successfully rush into the chariot camp.
"put!"
At the same time, the Xuanfu Town infantry began to fire several rounds of volleys, and the Liaodong Army's gunners also fired wildly. The two armies formed a pincer attack, causing heavy casualties to the Qing cavalry that besieged the Ming Army's carriage camp, and then a flood of Withdrew.
Yang Guozhu led more than 8,000 cavalry officers to patrol around the camp at high speed, constantly attacking small groups of Qing troops on the battlefield, disrupting the Qing army's formation, and actually made a lot of gains.
The two sides fought fiercely for half an hour. Under the supervision of Yang Guozhu and Liu Zhaoji, the Ming army refused to retreat. In addition, the main force of the Ming army was dozens of miles away and was approaching quickly. So the Qing army began to gradually retreat. It didn't take long. Then he broke away from the contact and retreated towards Songshan.
Yang Guozhu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this, and took his bodyguard to contact Liu Zhaoji.
Xuanfu Town and Liaodong Town began to count their troops, and the figures obtained made Liu Zhaoji a little discouraged. In this series of fierce battles, Liaodong Town's soldiers and horses lost more than 3,000 people, and also lost a large number of tanks. Gunpowder also consumes a lot of money.
The casualties in Xuanfu Town were much less, only a few hundred people, and the loss of equipment was not much.
After Liu Zhaoji lamented for a while, he also secretly regretted that if he had not led the army in pursuit, the subsequent casualties could have been avoided. It was all because of his eagerness to achieve success that he had forgotten the principle of not pursuing the enemy when he was poor.
Then Yang Guozhu and Liu Zhaoji totaled up. Liu Zhaoji's troops beheaded more than 670 people in total, and Yang Guozhu also beheaded 292 people. Together, they beheaded more than 970 people. It can be called a great victory. .
"General Yang, what do you think of this good news?"
Yang Guozhu naturally understood what Liu Zhaoji meant. In this battle, Liu Zhaoji was eager to pursue and ambushed him in a hurry. If Hong Chengchou were to pursue the case, the merits and demerits might be equal to each other, and the battle would be in vain.
At this time, Yang Guozhu looked at the veteran general with a look of expectation on his face, and he couldn't help but feel soft in his heart. He said: "This battle is a great victory. General Liu led his troops to fight to the death. The town led his troops to succeed in the pincer attack. Supervisor I will be very happy to hear the news!”
Liu Zhaoji was overjoyed when he heard this, thanked Yang Guozhu repeatedly, and was willing to give part of the captured items to Xuanfu Town, but Yang Guozhu declined.
On that day, Liu Zhaoji, the chief military officer of Liaodong Town, and Yang Guozhu, the chief military officer of Xuanfu Town, flew to report the victory and beheaded more than 900 slave thieves!
Governor Hong Chengchou of Jiliao, Supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, Supervisor Ma Shaoyu and others were overjoyed, and all the general officers were also delighted. This was a more important victory than the victory of Ningyuan, with more than 900 heads beheaded!
Liu Yan couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that the Ming army is not incapable of fighting, nor can it defeat the Qing army. As long as the generals of each department are dedicated to killing the enemy and the soldiers of each department fight to the death, the Qing army will not even be able to stand firm in Liaodong, let alone sweep the world. ! In the final analysis, it’s still a human problem.”
Seeing that he had won the first battle, Hong Chengchou sent a large number of Ye Bushou forward to explore, and then received a reward. The Qing army in front had quickly retreated, and the road ahead was now clear.
So Hong Chengchou's main army camped and rested for the night. In the early morning of the next day, Hong Chengchou, Zhang Ruoqi, Ma Shaoyu, Liaodong Governor Qiu Minyang, as well as many soldiers, as well as Liu Yan, Wu Sangui and other general officers of the towns, all led their respective servants and escort cavalry. One step ahead, they arrived at Liu Zhaoji's camp ahead. After hearing the news, Yang Guozhu also came from the camp not far away.
The crowd gathered around Hong Chengchou to inspect the captured heads of slaves and thieves, as well as a large number of captured soldiers, armor, and horses.
After careful inspection, Supervisor Ma Shaoyu led his men and recorded the first merit for Liu Zhaoji on the spot, and Yang Guozhu for the second merit. Then he jointly wrote a victory report with the Governor of Jiliao, Hong Chengchou, and Supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, and sent a brigade to report the victory to the capital all night long without collecting Pegasus.
When the news of the first battle reached the capital, it immediately caused excitement in the capital. Emperor Chongzhen even cried with joy, and his confidence in the battle of Jinzhou also greatly increased.
Later, Emperor Chongzhen issued an edict to promote Liu Zhaoji to the post of Governor-General of the Department. After the war, the Ministry of War also discussed rewards. Yang Guozhu deserved meritorious service, and the same imperial edict gave him various awards.
In the Chinese army camp here, Hong Chengchou convened the generals of various ministries to discuss matters. In front of everyone, he repeatedly praised Liu Zhaoji and promised that the army's baggage meeting would give priority to the Liaodong Army. The casualties of the soldiers would also be recorded. All are given pensions.
Looking at the friendly Hong Chengchou, Liu Zhaoji's eyes turned red with excitement, and he felt even more at ease. His Liaodong commander was finally secure.
At this time, armies from various towns arrived in the Xingshan area one after another. Hong Chengchou recalled the victory in the first battle, and then brought up the matter of supporting Songshan.
According to the reports sent by various ministries all night long, the Qing army ministries were still attacking Songshan Fort at this time. The defenders in the city were miserable and Songshan would be captured by the Qing army at any time.
It was only twenty miles from Xingshan to Songshan. When Hong Chengchou asked who was willing to lead his troops to Songshan Fort as the vanguard, Liu Zhaoji, the chief military officer of Liaodong Town, volunteered and was still willing to lead the army to rescue.
However, Hong Chengchou considered that Liaodong Town had just experienced a war and had lost more than 3,000 people, so it was no longer suitable to be a vanguard, so he sent Shanxi Town Chief Li Fuming and Ningyuan Chief Wu Sangui to lead their own troops to rescue.
Seeing this, Liu Yan secretly laughed in his heart: "Hong Chengchou immediately sent two general soldiers to Songshan to win another victory. In addition, Hong Chengchou should also want to let Wu Sangui win a victory and praise him by the way."
Wu Sangui and Li Fuming immediately accepted the order, and they immediately gathered their servants and cavalry to take the lead. Wu Sangui led his troops with 7,000 troops, and Li Fuming led his troops with 1,500 troops. The two infantrymen then formed formations to follow.
In the afternoon of that day, Wu Sangui joined Li Fuming and led 8,500 elite cavalry to the foot of Songshan City.
At this time, there were more than 10,000 Qing troops besieging Songshan Castle. They never expected that the Ming army's cavalry would come so quickly. In a hasty response, they were rushed to pieces by the Ming army's cavalry and quickly retreated. After a confrontation with Wu Sangui and Li Fuming's troops outside Songshan Fort, they retreated to the Rufeng Mountain area.
This time, Wu Sangui and Li Fuming's troops had another small victory, beheading level 98. After Hong Chengchou led his troops to Songshan Castle, he praised the two men. The supervisor Zhang Ruoqi also recorded a meritorious service for the two men.
Later, Hong Chengchou led his troops to enter Songshanbao City, and ordered the chief military officers of each town to send more troops to investigate the surrounding situation at night.
Two days later, various ministries continued to send back news all night long. Hong Chengchou led a group of staff to collect and screen all the intelligence one by one, and then summoned the chief military officers of each town to report the military situation.
At this time, the Qing army was camped in the Huangtu Ridge area northeast of Songshan Castle. Judging from the number of tents in the Qing army's camp, it should be that the main force of the Qing army was located.
Moreover, the Qing army's flag soldiers and horses also dug deep trenches in an attempt to use the trenches to cut off the Ming army's access to important places such as Xiaoling River.
In the northwest of Xingshan, in the Maojiagou Mountains near the Nuerhe River, Qing troops were also stationed, and on Rufeng Mountain there were even densely packed companies and camps. On the main road from Songshan to Jinzhou, there were Qing army scouts everywhere, and they were almost going to Jinzhou. The main roads are completely covered, and now the Ye Bushou of the Ming army can rarely break into the Jinzhou area.
Liu Yan was also worried after hearing the news. It seemed that the Qing army had generally completed its deployment. Now it was up to Hong Chengchou how he was going to take over.
That afternoon, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, took Liu Yan and other chief military officers of each town, as well as supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, supervisor Ma Shaoyu and others to inspect the inside and outside of Xingshan Fort despite the scorching sun.
After everyone investigated, Liu Yan specifically pointed out that Hongluo Mountain was an important stronghold on the back road and should be taken seriously.
Hongluo Mountain is located to the west of Xingshan Fort and Daxing Fort, about ten miles away from Xingshan Fort. To the west is a series of mountains, winding all the way to the south bank of the Nuer River.
The altitude of Hongluo Mountain is not high and the mountain is gentle, but at the foot of the mountain is a flat river, and there is a road from Xingshan to Songshan. There are not many trees on the mountain, mostly grass and soil. There is an abandoned fire road pier on the top, which was originally a lookout place for the pier army. A trail leads directly from the road at the foot of the mountain to the pier.
Everyone was sweating profusely when they climbed up Hongluo Mountain. Although Hong Chengchou was also sweating profusely, he still maintained an elegant and polite manner. He stood next to the abandoned fire road pier, looked at it, and sighed: "This place is indeed important. If Once we form an army, we can respond from the north to the south, prevent the bandits from outflanking us, and surround us with trenches."
Zhang Ruoqi also nodded and said: "Hongluo Mountain is bounded by Songshan Fort in the north and Xingshan Fort in the south. It controls the Songxing Highway. The location is indeed critical. To build a stronghold here, it must be strong."
At this time, Liu Yan was also on the top of the mountain, accompanied by a group of guerrilla generals from the New Army of Qinglai Town, including Yang Guozhu, the chief soldier of Xuanfu Town, Wang Pu, the chief soldier of Datong Town, Bai Guangen, the chief soldier of Jizhen, Liu Zhaoji, the chief soldier of Liaodong, and the aid and suppression troops. Commander-in-Chief Zuo Guangxian, Commander-in-Chief Ma Ke of Shanhaiguan, Commander-in-Chief Cao Bianjiao of ASEAN, former Commander-in-Chief Wang Tingchen, and Commander-in-Chief Miyun Tang Tong also led their generals at guerrilla and above levels to accompany them.
Liu Yan also heard what Zhang Ruoqi said, so he said: "What Zhang Jianjun said is true. This town has previously proposed that a battalion of soldiers should be assigned to guard the rear. This Hongluo Mountain will be garrisoned by soldiers from the front battalion of our army. If the thieves If the slave army attacks, they will definitely be left with nothing to eat!"
The northwest side of Hongluo Mountain is steep and crisscrossed with ravines, making it difficult for the army of slave thieves to climb up. The soldiers of the New Army's front battalion only need to defend the northeast and southeast sides, and the defensive pressure will not be very great.
Therefore, Liu Yan's idea was to prevent the original Battle of Julu and the Battle of Jinan. He would dig trenches and build walls on Hongluo Mountain, and then deploy artillery and muskets to form a staggered and solid defense line to withstand the attacking Qing troops. The horse fights a positional defensive battle.
At this time, Hong Chengchou smiled and asked, wanting to see how Liu Yan planned to garrison here.
Liu Yan pointed to the terrain here and said to everyone: "Master Governor, please take a look. There are mountain roads in the southeast and northeast of this mountain that go directly to the top of the mountain. Our army can follow the roads and set up low walls layer by layer at strategic points. , trenches for defense."
In Liu Yan's imagination, Hongluo Mountain is about four miles long from northeast to southeast, and there must be at least multiple low walls from the mountainside to the top. The wall does not need to be high, it only needs to reach the chest of the soldier. The gunman can aim and shoot at the enemy. Of course, the low wall can be built thicker, which can at least block the bombardment of the cannon.
The trench can be dug deeper, at least one foot deep and one foot wide, so that the low wall can actually reach four meters, which is comparable to an ordinary castle wall.
Each low wall is not far apart, and along the mountain, the next low wall is actually much higher than the previous low wall.
The shooters behind the wall can easily aim at the enemy without hitting the heads of their own soldiers. By responding up and down like this, they can form a three-dimensional fire network, making the attacking Qing army pay a heavy price!
Some people died, but not completely...
