The sky is covered with lead clouds, and villages are burning in Yingzhou, Datong Town.
A huge wooden frame was piled up next to the well, and the stripped corpses were wrapped in mats and neatly placed into the wooden frame, and burned and cremated on the spot.
There is a Cihang Temple on the Nanshan Mountain. Flags symbolizing the Eight Banners are placed all over the temple gate. The weather has turned cold. Huang Taiji is wearing a large fur robe from the Harashen tribe, overlooking the burning village at the foot of the mountain. His broad face is full of helplessness. There was a lingering depression between his brows and eyes - what was burned at the foot of the mountain were not the corpses of the villagers, but the soldiers who died in the battle with two yellow flags and two white flags.
When the soldiers and horses set off from Shenyang, he did not expect that the battle would be so useless, or that the war would be completely different from what he had imagined.
In fact, the invasion of the border wall outside the Self-Xuanfu was very successful militarily for the Hou Jin Army.
The Eight Banners is a powerful force forged in countless battles between white mountains and black waters. There is no doubt about its combat effectiveness. More importantly, the strong mentality brought to the army by repeated battles and the surrender of Mongolia. Any opponent carrying any equipment has any force. Appearing in front of them, they dared to draw their swords and chop.
The war situation was indeed going smoothly. Since the summer floods, Huang Taiji led his troops to declare war. He once again reiterated Hou Jin's status as the suzerain of the Harashen tribe outside the border. In July, he destroyed the wall and entered, winning the battle. The fort entered Datong, and Azig and Dorgon entered Xuanfu from Longmen.
Later, Huang Taiji, Abatai, Haoge, Kong Youde, and Geng Zhongming also led their troops from Xuanfu to Shuozhou. The three groups finally met in Yingzhou and besieged Yingzhou City.
In less than two months, it went very smoothly.
But this is the problem that makes Huang Taiji uncomfortable and even feels useless. When he sent troops from Shenyang this time, he only had two strategic purposes.
He didn't come to Xuanfu to conquer the city, but because there was a flood in his hometown of Shenyang. We were fleeing with arms in order to eat up Monan Mongolia and bring blood back to Manchuria.
As for the second, it is to restore the blood while establishing the dominance of the Jin Kingdom in Monan, turning all the past allies into vassals.
In Huang Taiji's idea when he sent troops, he wanted to fight a big battle in the west this time, and wipe out all the disobedient tribal nobles in Monan Mongolia in one go. Obviously, the Red Yi cannon was not needed to deal with the Mongols on the Monan grassland. .
Therefore, there were fifty new Hongyi cannons cast in Shenyang, and Huang Taiji only brought two strong ones, and not many cannonballs. Anyway, these two men were just to frighten the frightened Mongolian nobles, and there was a high probability that they would not need to fire cannons.
In the entire army, only two Han armies, Geng Lao'er and Shang Laosi's Tianyou and Tianyou, carried some light artillery specifically designed to fight the Mongolian soldiers.
But this world can always bring surprises to people. The Mongolian tribes on the Monan grassland are not only watching the wind, they are simply following the scenery.
No, sorry, there is no winning food, only Jing Cong.
Huang Taiji almost cried. He traveled all the way to Monan, only to find that the Mongolians in Monan were poorer and more miserable than Houjin, who suffered a flood.
There is a drought in the Horqin Grassland, and all the cattle, sheep, and horses have died; the rivers in the Xilin Gol Grassland have dried up, and the Ulanqab Grassland has been completely saline-alkali due to the sun, and even Xiaohaizi can boil salt; that is, Fengzhou in the Tumut Department The beach is guarding the Yellow River, and the soil moisture condition is okay.
But there has just been a locust plague over there. After all, the Great Wall was not built for locusts, so it cannot stop them.
Huang Taiji, Geng Laoer, and Shang Laosi led 30,000 to 40,000 Manchu tramps all the way from Shenyang to Zhangbei. They aggressively sought out the Mongolian tribes who disobeyed them, like dancing to the left and right, and convincing the heart with face. Those who are dissatisfied will have to make a big show and kill them!
Who would dare to think that when these nobles saw him, they would be like a drowning man seeing a straw, clinging to him and not letting go! One by one, they shouted and expressed their loyalty: Who of us are not fucking Manchurians anymore - I'm so sweaty, I'm hungry!
Now, Huang Taiji nominally has 120,000 homeless homeless people in his hands.
What to do?
Due to the situation, Huang Taiji was forced to change his strategic purpose before setting off. Of the 120,000 homeless people around him, there were only less than 40,000 reliable manpower, and they were all screaming with hunger. He had to plunder the Ming Dynasty. to strengthen the dominance of the Jin Kingdom in Monan and ensure that the Manchu-Han coalition could return to Shenyang safely under the watch of the hungry Mongols.
To a certain extent, Han soldiers are more reliable than Manchu soldiers, because at this moment, only Lianghuang and Xianglansanqi are Huang Taiji's direct descendants. The Han soldiers are different. Each of these Han soldiers has a wife, and they are all Huang Taiji. Sent.
However, his army seemed to be invincible. It should have gone smoothly on the battlefield, but in fact it was just the opposite. It was difficult to move forward.
Of the castles behind them, none of them could descend smoothly. Many castles could not be conquered because their walls were rotten and in disrepair. There was no food in the city and no soldiers on the walls.
Yild of Zhenghuang Banner was a fierce man, Yangguli's clan nephew. He followed Huang Taiji several times and made many meritorious deeds. In the fourth year of Chongzhen's reign, the Daling River was besieged. When the defenders left the city, Yild led the charge. They kept pushing the troops out of the city back to the trench; one of Zu Dashou's generals galloped towards Huang Taiji's camp, but Ild rushed over and beheaded him.
This time in the Xuan Mansion, Ild was the vanguard as usual. He and Xingne brought one armored man per cow, which was less than 300 soldiers. They then gathered more than 600 flag slaves, destroyed the border wall, and advanced all the way. Very ferocious.
As a result, the Xuanfu Ming army was also very fierce. When he saw the beacon fire, Kong Dengke, the general of the Zhongquan Battalion who was leading his troops to drill near Longmen Station, led his troops and rushed forward, hoping to buy time for tens of thousands of people in the countryside to escape into Longmen Station.
Another name for Zhongquan Camp is Biaoying. This name comes from "Zuo Zhuan·Xuan Gong Twelve Years", which refers to the fact that Chu State sent troops and divided them into five armies, namely Youyuan, Zuo Zhuipei, Qianmao and Zhongquan. ,stamina.
The heavy baggage troops mowing the grass are the left army, the chariots are the right army, the front army holds Maojing to open the way, the middle army weighs strategies, and the rear army rears with its elite troops.
Kondenko's Zhongquan Battalion was established to forge a blade to defend against enemy troops entering the wall. Their battalion was composed of Xuanfu vanguard soldiers who would move upon hearing the beacon and attack when Ild's soldiers rushed forward.
He was in the middle position, and Ild was only in the forefront. Kondenko knew this. Beacon fire and cannons were used. If the enemy army exceeded ten thousand, five beacons and five cannons would be fired.
But what Kondenko didn't know was that behind Yild was the main force of the Two White Banners led by Azig, Dorgon, and Duduo. Twenty thousand troops arrived on the battlefield one after another to join the attack on the Xuanfu Zhongquan camp.
The outcome of this battle was not satisfactory to both parties involved. Azig, who had the advantage in strength, did not win. Kondenko fought a battle in the wild, but when he saw that he was outnumbered, he retreated into Longmen Station. The army had not yet captured the city.
Although Kondenko did not lose, he suffered huge losses in a bloody battle. His standard battalion had a total of 3,000 people. In the first battle, two commanders and more than 800 soldiers were killed, more than 400 were seriously injured, and 400 mules and horses were lost. Remain.
Nearly half of the Zhongquan Battalion, the most powerful fighting force in the Xuanfu, was lost in exchange for the fact that Hou Jin Qianyu was killed in battle. The most critical thing was his head. Because he was unable to control the battlefield, Hou Jin's flag slaves cremated all the corpses on the spot. .
After a battle, they only got three heads from their servants in the outpost battle before the battle started.
Why can't we defeat Longmensuo? Just because Huang Taiji didn't even think about attacking the castle on the Xuanda defense line when he went out, he didn't bring a cannon. The only weapons that could be used as siege equipment were the iron hook pole for ripping out the wooden fence and the two light cannons accompanying the Han army, Tianyou Tianyou. , how to attack the city?
Of course, it is not impossible to use cold weapons to attack the city, but the casualties will be greater, and it will take some time to build siege equipment. But if there is time, won't the Ming army encircle it? Even if there is a large number of people and there is no fear of encirclement by the Ming army, there is still a very critical problem, that is, Huang Taiji is in a hurry.
The Hou Jin Army has very strong organizational skills, not to mention that after entering the border from Baishan Heishui, all they saw were acres and acres of fertile farmland. When they saw this thing, it was like a horse race encircling the land. They just wanted to make a fortune, and they just wanted to rob it. , which further enhances combat effectiveness.
The most important thing is that the Manchu people are afraid of death. They will fight tooth and nail to avoid death. If you die on the battlefield after fighting this battle, you will die today. If you don't fight this battle, the entire clan will not survive this winter.
The same goes for Huang Taiji. He attacked the city for food and livestock. When the war broke out, the people nearby hid in the city. Only by attacking the city could he obtain food.
But as time progressed, the people throughout Xuanda knew that Hou Jin had invaded, and they all hid in the big city with their property. What else could he rob? So we were in a dilemma. If we wanted to grab the food nearby, we had to attack the city. If we attacked the city, the people in the distance would take food and hide in the city.
However, the Xuanda border army had a very strong will to defend.
Kong Dengke was only at Longmen. In fact, Huang Taiji divided his troops into four groups, but he was frustrated everywhere.
The two yellow flags merged with the Han army and sent 30,000 troops to attack Shenjingbao. After two days, they had to withdraw from the siege after failing to capture it. The casualties suffered by the Manchurian army and the Han army became meaningless. It was more difficult to defeat a sand castle or earthen fort than to defeat Shenyang or Liaoyang. They could only burn down four houses and burn more than 400 corpses to withdraw from the siege.
Along the way, the commander De Gelei led three banners to attack the Red Castle, but failed to capture it. He also burned houses and killed and captured people. An eighty-year-old lady was kidnapped and jumped off a cliff. This made the soldiers and civilians very angry, and there were murders of thieves everywhere. The ambition made the Hou Jin army in enemy territory unable to sleep well even when they were camping.
There was also the attack on Fort Chemarien. One of the people in the fort was so brave that he actually wanted to attack at night, and he actually found 170 people who were willing to give him ghost soldiers.
You said that this month's military pay is four cents of silver and you still owe half a year, why are you trying so hard?
This group of people ran to the Ten Thousand Army Camp outside the city at night and made a big fuss. Although they only brought back seven heads, they frightened the Hou Jin army camped outside the city and trampled on each other. They withdrew and ran away overnight.
As for Wanquan Zuowei, the city was rotten and short, and there was no food in it. But in such a poor place, Zu Dabi, the second madman of the ancestor family, jumped out of the city with two hundred and fifty riders, like a dump truck. , without a word, he killed Turush, the third-ranking baron, the commander of the Xianghuang Banner Forward Battalion.
The most interesting thing is not here, but the Great Wall in the north of Shanxi. Like Shaanxi, it has two, commonly known as the second side wall. Inside the two side walls are Xuanfu and Datong.
What is the situation at this meeting?
Huang Taiji's army was surrounded by the Great Wall. All the cities and castles in the circle were not conquered. The four armies were blocked everywhere. However, this situation was nothing to complain about for the Hou Jin Army. In fact, it could be maintained The current situation just shows that the post-Jin army is well-trained, has high combat effectiveness, and has very strong morale.
They have performed beyond their level. Although the fourth army did not control any city in Xuanda and failed to break any fortress, the third army was still able to maintain its organizational structure and gathered in Yingzhou, south of Datong. There was also a lone army of Daishan. One unit stationed troops outside Shuozhou City, southwest of Datong, to guard against reinforcements from the Ming army in the direction of Shanxi.
What is this called?
This is called the autumn of the seventh year of Chongzhen. The most powerful bandit leader on the land of China has changed hands. Aixinjueluo Huang Taiji is the most powerful bandit leader at this time.
Xuanda has always been an important town in the north of the Ming Dynasty. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is impregnable, but in the Chongzhen Dynasty, this was no longer the case.
As the threat from Mongolia, the old enemy in the north, gradually weakened, the imperial court shifted its defensive focus to Liaodong. Under the pressure of military defeats, it continuously mobilized troops from nine sides to send blood to Liaodong. The Xuanda defense line was actually very empty.
Moreover, the Ming army did not dare to go out of the city to fight in the field. In June, when Huang Taiji was still on the Horqin Grassland, Emperor Chongzhen issued an order to the border forts and cities: if they were breached by Hou Jin, the guards would set up a heavy ceremony and execute them.
This order made the Ming army defenders behave passively when facing the enemy, but each one of them was extremely diligent in defending the city, so that the two sides were so embarrassed.
Huang Taiji wants to attack the city. It is nonsense to say that he does not want to attack the city. Who does not know that the greatest wealth is in the city, but the problem cannot be conquered. Then he has to change his strategy and settle for the second best. First, rely on Hou Jin's soldiers to be able to conquer the battle. The Ming army was weak in large-scale battles. It eliminated the Ming army's heavy military groups through field battles and then captured the city.
Huang Taiji was made extremely uncomfortable by this situation. The longer the time went by, the more difficult it became for him to return home. Moreover, he could not give orders to go home at this time. More than a thousand people were tied up, and the cattle and sheep could not be snatched. It's not enough, but it's not enough for him to go home.
Not to mention the tens of thousands of newly attached Mongolians from the Foreign University. He has already received news that the Three Khans of Mobei are also leading troops to watch in Ordos and other places. In addition, there are heavy Ming troops stationed in Xuanda. These guys are all waiting for him to withdraw his troops. go home.
As long as he orders the withdrawal of troops, his army will not be able to perform as well as it is now on the way back, and it will be beaten on all sides by then.
At this moment, he was stationing troops in Yingzhou in order to attract two heavy Ming army groups in Datong and Yanghe to fight with him in the field, but Zhang Zongheng, the governor of Xuanda, ignored him at all.
So Huang Taiji made two preparations. The first was to write a letter to Zhang Zongheng in Datong City to negotiate a peace, to buy himself time.
The other side sent cavalry soldiers to rush out of the customs to convey the news to Shenyang that the war was unfavorable and the soldiers and horses had suffered heavy losses. They ordered the Jin Kingdom to move all the people from Gaizhou, Haizhou, Jinzhou, Fuzhou and other places to Shenyang. The cavalry was left on patrol to guard against a sneak attack on Pi Island, and each cow was steamed and cooked to prepare fried noodles to support the army's return.
At the same moment, Zhang Zongheng in Datong City had the same idea as Huang Taiji and was also prepared with both hands.
While he was writing to the emperor, he stated that the battle was not easy to fight. The forts and battalions within the second border wall were able to defend the city, but they paid for their lives. The battle was very hard, and the field troops could not gather in one place. It means using a few to defeat a large number, so it needs to be delayed for a while, waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Huang Taiji wants to negotiate a peace, so it is recommended to use this to delay him.
The emperor's reply was quick and calm: "Don't panic, reinforcements are on the way."
To be honest, when Zhang Zongheng saw this list of reinforcements, his heart was a little broken and he had mixed feelings.
The front of the list is pretty normal. Shanxi Commander-in-Chief Zhang Quanchang is rushing over with Pingyang Counselor Fu Renxi.
In addition to the Shanxi army, the imperial court also planned to ask Fu Zonglong, the governor of Jiliao, to prepare a reinforcement army of 30,000 people, including 10,000 troops from Jizhen and Miyun, 10,000 Guan troops, and 10,000 Ning troops. The situation seemed to be good.
But what was outrageous was that the reinforcements came not only from the east, but also from the west. There were many names on the list that were both familiar and unfamiliar to Zhang Zongheng.
For example - Liu Chengzong.
Good morning!
(End of chapter)
