At the construction site of the Hongluoshan defense line, at noon, all the civilian workers began to take a break in three shifts. The resting civilian workers gathered in the open space behind and were queuing up to receive lunch.
Pieces of flatbread bigger than a sea bowl were handed over, and a big ladle of hot broth was poured in, filling the big bowl immediately. Although the broth only contains some minced meat and is made of cured meat, for these people, it is already a delicacy. Even during the Chinese New Year, they cannot drink such broth at home.
Attracted by this delicious food, some people in the crowd began to jump in line uneasily, and even directly snatched the civilians who had received lunch in front of them. When the soldiers of the New Army of Qinglai Town who were maintaining order around them saw it, they rushed up to those who did not obey the rules. When he was caught, he was beaten violently in front of all the civilian husbands, making them cry for mercy.
The surrounding civilians all applauded when they saw it, and their hearts were completely at ease. This was the first time I had seen such reasonable officers and soldiers.
Chen Xun had just sent Liu Yan away. At this time, the construction work was on track. Naturally, Liu Yan would not keep an eye on it here. Liu Yan would only come back to inspect when the main project was completed.
At this time, Chen Xun saw that the soldiers maintaining order began to shout, asking the civilian husbands who had almost finished eating in the previous shift to take over the work. Those civilian husbands and soldiers had a full stomach, and after being shouted at a few times, they all stood up and were full of enthusiasm. Get to work.
The serving civilians shouted slogans loudly, waved their hoes and pickaxes, and kept digging trenches and soil with force. There were also people carrying dustpans and baskets, responsible for carrying earth, and people building walls. They used plywood to throw earth into the boards, and used pestles to ram them hard. The sound of bags kept making the scene lively.
Due to the large number of civilians on Hongluo Mountain, the seemingly huge project was basically completed in only two days. The remaining thing was the specific deployment of the front camp soldiers.
Chen Xun immediately paid the wages of all the civilian laborers, and then ordered the soldiers to send all the civilian laborers down the mountain and hand them over to the staff of the Governor's Mansion for arrangements.
The good days ended so quickly, which made all the people feel very depressed. Almost everyone was thinking that it would be great if the project here could only last a year and a half, but this could only be a beautiful wish.
On the same day, Chen Xun took three commanders, Wei Han, Guo Mingxu, and Shen Donglai, to inspect various places and began to deploy troops within the defense line. There were more than 12,000 soldiers in the front camp, as well as a large number of Xiaofolang machine guns, Baizi guns, Firearms such as the Tiger Cannon were also deployed one by one.
At dusk that day, Liu Yan received the news and rushed to the Hongluo Mountain defense line. After a patrol accompanied by Chen Xun, he felt very satisfied. After a lot of manpower construction, coupled with the terrain advantage of Hongluo Mountain, this is destined to be a much more terrifying place than the Julu Defense Line and the defense line under Jinan City. If the Qing army dares to attack the mountain, this place will become the Qing Dynasty's most terrifying place. The place of defeat for the army!
Early the next morning, after receiving the news, Governor Hong Chengchou of Jiliao also led a large number of officers and generals to the Hongluo Mountain defense line for inspection. Everyone who visited this place was surprised. Is this still Hongluo Mountain?
In just two or three days, Hongluo Mountain completely changed its appearance. All the trees and weeds on the entire mountain were cleared away, making the sightline up and down the mountain extremely wide.
As everyone walked up from the foot of the mountain, the mountain road seemed to become smoother and easier to walk, but everyone didn't understand what was going on at first. Doesn't this make it easier for the enemy to attack?
Hong Chengchou didn't understand either, so he asked, and Liu Yan explained that this was to allow the Tatars to concentrate their forces as much as possible on this mountainous area so that the artillery on the mountain could concentrate their kills better.
Everyone's hearts were filled with chills. This Liu Yan was too ruthless to think of such an idea?
Then everyone approached the mountainside, and the slope became difficult to walk on. There were deep trench traps everywhere, and there were sharp wooden thorns under the trenches, which made people feel chilly. If they fell, they would definitely become meat skewers.
Moreover, these trench traps are quite cleverly concealed. There is a gentle low wall or mound of earth in front of them, making it difficult to see from behind. However, the consequences of jumping over...
What's even more poisonous is that these trench traps are all set in a series. If you jump over one trap, there will be another one, sometimes seven or eight in a row. If you don't fall to death, you will die from exhaustion. 33
These trench traps are also irregular and zigzag between various slopes, making the slopes extremely difficult to navigate. If we use shield cars to cover the attack, we will not be able to advance smoothly in any direction. If we don't dig out countless low walls in front and fill in countless trenches, we can't even think about pushing to the front. And if the Qing army really did this, I don’t know how many people would die!
Looking at the cleverly disguised but deeply terrifying trench and the sharp wooden thorns below, except for Yang Guozhu, who was as arrogant as Bai Guangen, the commander-in-chief of Ji Town, they subconsciously stayed away from Liu Yan. This guy was too sinister. , who are the people under his command? It's not human to come up with such stupid ideas.
Wu Sangui looked at Liu Yan with profound meaning, asking himself that this kind of defense line could not be designed even if he wanted to.
Then everyone saw many passable passages. There were about ten passages, each about twenty paces wide, running from the bottom of the mountain to the mountainside without any obstacles. It was convenient for the enemy to attack, and it also made them crowded into a ball, becoming a target for the rear. Excellent target for hands.
When the New Army soldiers in Qinglai Town launch a counterattack, they can also rush out from these passages, which is very useful.
At this time, everyone was deeply shocked, but these arrangements were only the first line of defense. When everyone arrived in front of the first low wall, they saw that the front suddenly became much steeper. It could be seen that this section of the hillside had obviously been transformed, and it was all cut into a slope shape along the mountain from north to east and from south to west.
On the slope, a low wall stood, only reaching about the chest of each person, but it was very thick. The soldiers behind the wall could rely on the wall to shoot at the targets in front of them.
There is a slope with a low wall, which is actually about two feet high. There is a large deep trench in front of the low wall, and there are two small trenches surrounding it. The large trench was one foot deep and one foot wide, and the small trench was half a foot deep and half a foot wide. Sharp wooden thorns were placed under the trenches. The front ends of the wooden thorns were roasted with fire and became extremely hard.
The three trenches are two steps apart. On the flat ground between them, there are layers of Jumaluzhai like wolf-toothed rocks. The sharp barbs on them are designed to bite people if they want to.
The day before yesterday, Liu Yan said that every three trenches with low walls formed a line of defense. Every time the Qing army attacked a low wall, they had to face fierce attacks from the upper and lower firepower. At that time, Hong Chengchou and others still couldn't figure out how to attack.
At this time, Hong Chengchou, Wu Sangui and others looked at the defense line in front of them and finally understood what Liu Yan meant.
I saw another slope not far behind the low wall, and there was a wall on the slope. Then there were slopes and low walls. Three low walls, one higher than the other, follow the mountain slope, towering in front of everyone.
Looking at the three sloping low walls, everyone figured out what the upper and lower three-dimensional fire strikes were.
At this time, the former soldiers of the New Army in Qinglai Town had stationed themselves in Hongluo Mountain. Seeing that they had been divided into three defense lines, Hong Chengchou and others could already imagine that when the soldiers of the New Army fired at the same time from the three low walls, What a miserable situation the attacking Qing army would be in.
At this time, everyone was talking a lot and highly praised Liu Yan's defense line. Cao Bianjiao, the general of the ASEAN Association, and Wang Tingchen, the former general of the garrison, were even more excited. After some calculations, they asked Liu Yan for advice. Liu Yan immediately agreed to send people to Wudaoling to guide the construction of the two men. At the defense line, Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen were overjoyed and thanked Liu Yan repeatedly.
Hong Chengchou also praised Liu Yan endlessly, and even praised Liu Yan as the number one defender in the army. Liu Yan led him with a smile, and everyone else was jealous.
Then everyone entered the back through the passage, walked a few steps to the right, entered the second low wall, and walked a dozen steps to the left. After entering the third low wall, it was a relatively gentle slope with about a few dozen steps. Ten paces wide.
There are already many camps here, and many sacks filled with soil are piled around the camps to form a wall half a person high to block possible artillery attacks by the Qing army. This is where soldiers from the front camp camp and rest, so fortifications are also indispensable.
Looking at those sacks, Hong Chengchou said: "These are the things that General Liu mentioned that can prevent slave thieves from being bombarded?"
"Exactly."
Then Liu Yan briefly explained it, and everyone took it to heart, secretly saying that they should prepare some backup after returning.
Everyone continued to march, and behind the slope was another ditch and low wall, the same as the previous defense line. After doing this for three consecutive times, when they were approaching the top of the mountain, everyone saw a fort being built. The fort was built on the protrusion of the mountain rock, with a wide view. From here, you can overlook the entire mountain. It is expected that firing from here can effectively target the foot of the mountain, or It was the enemy suppressing bombardment at Pingchuan.
Then everyone reached the top of the mountain. The top of Hongluo Mountain is quite wide and long, with some undulations. It is composed of several small ridges, so it is called Hongluo Mountain. Here, around Huolu Pier, many soldiers from the front camp of the New Army in Qinglai Town are busy building a walled city.
The walls, gates, and residences of this walled city are basically built with large solid rocks. The wall is also uneven. Towers are being built at regular intervals. It is expected that there will be multiple crossfires. blow.
However, this project is huge and cannot be completed in a short period of time. Fortunately, the front defense line is completed, and the walled city behind can take its time.
Many granaries will be built in the main stronghold. Hongluo Mountain was originally the place where the Ming army stored grain. Hong Chengchou was very happy to see this, and immediately ordered the supervisor Zhang Ruoqi to transport several more batches of grain and grass. The defense line here is strong and can be used as much as possible. Stock up on as much food as possible and be safe.
Zhang Ruoqi also nodded in agreement, and then gave instructions to everyone around him.
Everyone finally arrived at the northeastern part of the mountain, where there were also multiple trenches with low walls, winding along the river to the northwest of the mountain. On the northwest side, several stone walls were built according to the terrain.
After everyone saw the Hongluoshan defense line, whether it was Hong Chengchou, Zhang Ruoqi, Wu Sangui, Yang Guozhu and other general officers, everyone agreed that this place was impregnable. With the Hongluoshan defense line there, the army's retreat is sure to be safe.
The next day, Hong Chengchou led the main army back to camp and prepared to set out. Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen also led their troops to Wudaoling. At the same time, Liu Zhaoji, the chief military officer of Liaodong Town, Dou Chenglie, the meritorious general of the Coordinating General Patrol, and Zheng Yilin, the deputy general of Xingshan Road, led more than 20,000 Liaodong defenders and divided their troops to garrison in Xingshan. Fort, Daxing Fort, Dongqing Fort and the surrounding areas, together with the soldiers of the New Army's front battalion in Qinglai Town, Hongluo Mountain, guarded the way back for the incoming reinforcements.
Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen also recruited a large number of civilian soldiers to dig trenches and build walls in Wudaoling, following the example of Hongluoshan in accordance with the terrain.
At this time, Qing army scouts also began to appear in the Wudaoling and Hongluoshan areas to explore. However, the New Army's front camp and the two towns were very effective at night and drove the Qing army scouts away one after another. The two sides fought hard.
At the same time, Hong Chengchou, who was in the camp, also received urgent reports from various ministries. He learned that the main force of the slave thieves was on the north bank of the Nvdaoling River, which was more than ten miles away from Wudaoling. It seemed that they were also carrying out construction projects.
On the same day, Governor Hong Chengchou of Jiliao, Supervisor Zhang Ruoqi, and Supervisor Ma Shaoyu were accompanied by Liu Yan, the chief soldier of Qinglai Town, Yang Guozhu, the chief soldier of Xuanfu Town, Wang Pu, the chief soldier of Datong Town, Zuo Guangxian, the chief soldier of the assistance and suppression, and Ma Ke, the commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan Town, Bai Guangen, the commander-in-chief of Ji Town, and Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief of Miyun Town, all set off. The infantry, cavalry and artillery units of various ministries joined forces and pushed towards the Songshan area, passing through Songshan to Jinzhou City to rush for reinforcements.
When the various departments of the Ming army opened their camps and marched north in an orderly manner, the Ming army was in great shape. Even Shanxi commander Li Fuming and Ningyuan commander Wu Sangui, who were in Songshan at this time, had a total of 21 troops. Thousands of people, like a red wave, seem to reach the horizon.
Some people died, but not completely...
