Chapter 394 The Battle of Huai'an
Huai'an Prefecture has been a battleground for Jiangsu and Zhejiang military strategists for thousands of years. A Hongze Lake has blocked the land route from Huai'an to Shandong. Therefore, like Gaoyou, this place has developed waterways and prosperous shipping ships.
In Shanyang County, the capital of Huai'an, heavy troops gathered around the capital. The Qing government assembled 50,000 Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners and 150,000 Han Banners in Huai'an, for a total of 200,000 troops.
Prince Li was granted the title of General Pingnan on behalf of Shan. He was in charge of the military forces of the southern provinces and personally in charge of Huai'an.
"The imperial court has ordered Lao Qi to lead troops from Shanxi to the south to Xuzhou to take control. The day before yesterday, it was reported that the Ming army divided its forces and headed north from Sizhou towards Taoyuan. I believe that this Ming army wants to cross the Yellow River north to intercept our army's logistics troops;"
Dai Shan pointed at the map: "There are not many troops in Shuyang. Except for Lao Qi who is stationed in Xuzhou, Tan Tai who came from the south is on the march. I am determined to let Tan Tai's reinforcements go to deal with this divided Ming army. In addition to In addition, we still have to try to stop this Ming army on the north bank of Taoyuan, and it is best to annihilate it at the front line of the Yellow River."
"Why didn't the consort come?"
Yue Tuo asked, and Dai Shan clasped his hands behind his back and sighed: "Yesterday, the prince-in-law just received the news that Gaoyou was captured and Li Yangeng died. He was not in a good mood." Dai Shan said angrily: "You too, knowing that Gaoyou cannot be defended. , but you insist on letting Li Yangeng guard it, what do you think?"
"Amma," Yue Tuo retorted: "The Li family is deeply favored by the emperor, so what's wrong with serving me, the Qing Dynasty?"
Daishan turned his back and said: "The prince-in-law was the first to join us. He worked hard in the Liaodong war and has a good reputation in Manchuria. He is actually one of our own. If he complains about this matter, it will also be against us in the Qing Dynasty." A pity.”
"Amma, the Han people often say that people who are not of my race must have different hearts. You can tell by looking at that thief Liu Aita."
Dai Shan shook his head: "You don't understand. Liu Aita was a late convert and was bought by Chen Cao early. Unlike the consort, when the father was reincarnated, he had a unique vision and knew people well. Otherwise, he would not have taken care of Lao Qi's daughter. Marry him, and I will warn you here that when the war breaks out in Huai'an, you are not allowed to command the consort, remember?"
Yue Tuo looked unhappy: "Yes."
"Call the commander of the firearms camp."
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Fifteen miles southwest of Huai'an City, companies and camps were rising one after another. Tang Kainian was formulating a new battle plan at this moment.
Man Gui said with some dissatisfaction: "Whether that kid Li Yan can do it, he is a rifleman."
Li Yan was the detachment of troops heading north from Sizhou to Taoyuan. After arriving in Sizhou, he proposed a battle plan to go deep behind enemy lines. After thinking about it, Tang Kainian decided to transfer one of the only two fully-equipped rifle divisions in the Longwu Army to Li Yan. Yan temporarily commanded.
The mature Tang Kainian glanced at Man Gui, then shook his head with a smile: "Li Yan was able to lead Tang Fan's troops to invade Nanjing. He was considered a powerful figure. If it weren't for our army in the city, maybe Nanjing would have been defeated earlier. They were captured by Yang He, and it’s not his turn now. This man can be considered a talent, and let’s look at his operations. If his plan is wrong, the 22nd Division’s retreat to Jiannu will not be able to stop them.”
"Jiannu's troops around Huai'an appear to be scattered, but in fact they are guarding various passes. If our army uses the rifle division as the vanguard to advance, we may be able to open a gap."
"Huai'an has tall walls and many waterways. If Huai'an is successfully surrounded, the only way to attack the city is with artillery. Otherwise, according to Jiannu's defensive equipment, our army's casualties will suddenly increase."
"Can we wait for His Majesty's Chinese army to arrive and join forces with the Dingwu Army's artillery division to attack?"
Just as the staff officer finished speaking, Man Gui smiled and punched him: "Are you a close relative of the commander of the Dingwu Army, you bastard?"
"Hahaha..."
Everyone laughed, and Man Gui continued: "Although that guy Ning Guoxing is powerful, our Longwu Army is not bad either. They have what they have, and we are not much different."
Tang Kainian finished laughing and said: "If artillery cannot break the city, we can only use death squads to carry explosives to blow open the city wall. This can reduce casualties."
Man Gui answered and looked at the staff sternly and said: "Wang Xiaojie has a Li Xuanjun under his command. I don't think we are all cowards in the Longwu Army. Li Xuanjun, a regiment commander, has a military title. According to the decree, Maybe this kid can become a prince, tell me, are you jealous or not?"
Tie Ding was jealous, and who could not be jealous? Li Xuanjun was too young, and he already had the rank of military commander. He would be promoted and become a national knight after listening to his advice.
"Yes, what the military officer said makes sense. There are no cowards in our Longwu Army. Kill these sons of bitches."
"right..."
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The 22nd Division of the Longwu Army was a reorganized rifle division equipped together with the 21st Division after supporting Nanjing. Although the division commander Chen Jiming was not as ruthless as Xiao Yongguang, he was not a good person either.
Before leaving, he had only one task. He was to obey the order of Li Yan, who held the title of right minister of the Ministry of War and was actually the joint staff officer of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. As Tang Kainian said, he also knew privately that once Li Yan brought the 22nd Division into irreversible When he reached the point, he no longer obeyed Li Yan's orders.
"Commander Li, what should we do now?"
Lying in front of the 22nd Division is the Canal and the Yellow River. After the two rivers converged in Xuzhou, they were no longer as fast as in Henan, Shaanxi, Shanxi and other places, and the river surface was very calm.
This was originally the territory of Taoyuan County under the control of the Caobang. After the Qing army entered the customs, the Caobang had ceased to exist in name only, and no fishing boats could be found along the way.
Li Yan is from Shandong and knows water. He looked at the river and said calmly: "Immediately cut down the wood, organize the soldiers who know water, and cross Taoyuan tonight. There must be Qing troops stationed in Cui Town opposite. Kill them first, and then Organize an army to cross the river."
Chen Jiming nodded: "Okay, let's do it like this, someone will come..."
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Tan Tai led an army of 40,000 troops stationed in Shuyang, including 5,000 Manchu Eight Banners, 5,000 Mongolian Eight Banners, and 30,000 Han troops from Zhenghuang Banner, all of whom were cavalry and could come and go freely. This was the reason why he was able to quickly enter Huai'an Prefecture from Shandong.
After the defeat of Korea, Tan Tai and Amin were generally punished by Huang Taiji, and were demoted from Gushan Ezhen to deputy generals. However, because of their brother Yang Guli, Tan Tai, as the general of the southern aid, was no longer He was awarded Gushan Ezhen, Gushan Ezhen Ashan and He Luohui as his lieutenants.
"Tan Tai, the spies reported that there are traces of Ming troops in Taoyuan County."
He Luohui walked into the hall and interrupted Tan Tai who was talking to Ah Shan: "I'm worried that the Ming army will cross the canal from Taoyuan and go north."
Tan Tai laughed: "You are too careful. Ming Gou is now surrounding Huai'an, and Prince Li is personally in charge of Huai'an. How dare Ming Gou do anything random?"
Ah Shan frowned and said: "Tan Tai, it is said that Emperor Ming Chen Cao went to the expedition personally this time, so we should not underestimate it."
Ashan is affiliated with Daishan and does not have the same say as Tan Tai in Manchuria. After hearing this, Tan Tai immediately thought of the fact that he was beaten by Chen Cao in North Korea and fled: "In this case, it is better to send someone to Cui Town first. How about checking it out?”
He Luohui nodded: "There is a thousand headquarters stationed in Cui Town, and there are three defensive towns around it. What I mean is to send three thousand cavalry to check the situation around Taoyuan, and first find out the movements of the Ming army. Just think, There is no news even from King Li, and the Ming army suddenly appears in Taoyuan, is there something wrong?"
Tan Tairu woke up from his dream: "Yes, Your Majesty did not ask me to wait for the southern aid to Huai'an just to go through the motions. What's more, Prince Rao Yu is still sitting in Xuzhou. Come, let... No, Ah Shan, you go there yourself."
Ah Shan stood up: "Okay..."
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Man Gui had just returned to the main camp from the Wujiadun battlefield. As soon as he entered the big tent, he saw Chen Cao sitting on the commander's seat and Tang Kainian standing at the bottom: "Your Majesty, Man Gui, see you..."
Chen Cao looked up at Man Gui and said with a smile: "Man Gui, how is the battle going?"
Mangui clasped his fists: "The Tatars in Huai'an have made sufficient preparations. Previously, we discussed clearing out the Tatar garrison around Huai'an. The battle this morning was extremely fierce. Kunlun slaves even appeared in the Wujia Dun, and The Tatars' firearms counterattack was also extremely fierce, and our army did not achieve much results in the early morning battle."
Chen Cao nodded: "Tang Kainian has already explained the tactics to me before. It is quite satisfactory and agrees with the tactics. However, the feedback from the Jin Yiwei can confirm that the Portuguese gave considerable assistance to the Qing army."
The Kunlun slaves were foreign reinforcements, and even the Qing army's garrison team had foreign troops, which proved how much good things the foreign missions in Shanghai sent out from the Songhu area.
"Su Zhongnian fought very well, but in order to avoid increasing casualties, I ordered the attack to be suspended."
Chen Cao nodded again: "I remember that Su Zhongnian was a member of the 1st Division of the Dingwu Army, right? Okay, don't blame him, you gain wisdom after every experience. Moreover, the Qing army is not a fool, Huang Taiji still knows how to learn. "
Tang Kainian handed over his hand: "Your Majesty, I think we can first abandon the Tatar strongholds outside Huai'an, focus on attacking Huai'an, and then surround the points for reinforcements."
"You are not stupid," Chen Cao said with a smile: "Dai Shan has been on the battlefield for a long time, and he also knows the tactics of encircling a point and calling for reinforcements. Besides, wasn't it because Nurhaci learned Li Chengliang's tactics in the past defeats of the Liaodong Army? We will surround the point and call for reinforcements. They will also secretly attack Chen Cang. We have sophisticated firearms, so don’t worry about it. Only by attacking once will we know their strength."
"Your Majesty, what if our purely firearms force uses a ladder to attack?"
Chen Cao laughed: "Since firearms have become rampant in the world, cold weapons will be gradually eliminated, but at this stage there is no way to completely give up, but you don't have to worry, Brother Yang Lianmaha is coming with me with 50,000 people. , the infantry and cavalry army is not far behind. After preparations tomorrow, they will launch a tentative attack on Huai'an. First, weigh the actual and false numbers of Dai Shan. If that doesn't work, wait for the arrival of the Dingwu army and use Ning Guoxing's artillery troops and The artillery units of the Shenwu Army combined, even if they use cannons, they can blow a hole in Huai'an City."
Tang Kainian glanced at Man Gui and winked lightly. Man Gui immediately handed over his hand and said, "You don't have to wait for the Dingwu army to come. Tomorrow, please launch an attack on Huai'an and try to capture Huai'an city within three days."
