Li Yan received information on the battle situation slightly later than Dorgon and was very incomplete. He only knew that the Qing army was very active in the siege but did not capture Qingzhou City. The specific details of the siege were not known and it was not known whether Chang Yu's troops participated in the battle. .
But his two speculations were also confirmed. The first Qing army rushed to attack the city, but it was a test move. The real battle would come later. The second Qing army would not allow reinforcements to cross the river and approach Qingzhou City, and the same force really could not defeat it!
"The spies said that there was a lot of movement in Qingzhou City. It stands to reason that if the Tatars attacked with tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, Qingzhou City would not be able to defend it with its defense strength. However, the Qing army withdrew. Could it be that the little governor made a surprise attack from behind? Let the Qing army withdraw?" Zhou Yuji held his chin in thought.
Huang Degong nodded: "It should be, otherwise Qingzhou City will never be able to defend it."
Li Yan also agreed, but he didn't fully agree: "Have you ever thought that the failure of the Qing army to attack the city was probably due to lack of preparation or testing?"
No matter which army goes to attack the city, it is impossible to rush forward with all its strength and knock it down and beat it, unless the disparity in strength between the two sides is particularly large, such as the kind of small county town the Qing army encountered along the way.
However, if you use all your strength to attack a prefectural city like Qingzhou or a city with unknown conditions, you will most likely be counterattacked. There are countless examples of this, so there is an unspoken rule in the siege industry, that is, you must test it out before officially starting the attack. Deep and shallow, and even tested it several times to confirm the reality before officially starting the fight.
After the Qing army entered the customs, they encountered such naughty eunuchs and suffered several losses. They did not dare to be careless, so Li Yan guessed that this was just a test move. In addition, the Qing army had just arrived in the field in two days and could not be so fast. Be prepared!
"Whether it's a test or a lack of preparation, it doesn't matter. What matters is how to deal with the next Tatar attack. It will be done with all our strength. Qingzhou's city defense capabilities will never be able to stop it, even with the little governor's amazing troops. No, in the end we still need the soldiers and horses here to go for reinforcements, but the Tatars obviously won't let us pass." After Zhou Yuji finished speaking, he tilted his head and looked at Li Yan.
Li Yan smiled slightly: "When the Tatars came all the way from the capital, we surrounded them first and then chased them. Now it's changed. He's blocking the way in front and we have to break through." He looked at Huang De and said, "General Huang, Huang Zongbing" Chuangzi, I’ll leave this mission to you, I’m somewhat sure of it!”
Huang Degong laughed loudly: "The Tatars will stop me from calling him daddy this time." Everyone laughed.
This is definitely not Huang Degong's bragging, but is supported by real data. The Qing army had 30,000 elite cavalry when they entered the pass, but they lost nearly 3,000 to 4,000 along the way and actually only had more than 20,000 troops left.
On the other hand, the little eunuch had almost wiped out all the soldiers and horses in the capital. The infantry and cavalry totaled less than 100,000 and chased them to Tianjin. When the infantry rested, nearly 40,000 cavalry chased them all the way.
In other words, if Linzi now has more than 30,000 cavalry, and the Qing army has more than 20,000 people, there is almost no chance of winning in a head-on battle.
but!
If the Qing army wants to capture Qingzhou City in one fell swoop, it must deploy a large force. Even if there are countless cannon fodder on hand, the regular army cannot be less than 10,000 people.
In other words, the Qing army only had more than 10,000 troops to intercept Li Yan's crossing of the river. If some troops were left to protect the baggage, the maximum number of troops he could invest in the interception was only 10,000!
Three against one! Even if the Ming army's fighting power fails, they will not be defeated. What's more, these soldiers and horses are the most powerful in the Ming Dynasty except Wu Sangui's Ningyuan cavalry outside the pass.
It’s no wonder that Huang Degong is so confident, because in addition to their military advantage, they also have a trump card: a unit that is not good at fighting but can always perform extraordinary feats at critical moments, the Shenji Battalion!
When will we send troops?
"Keep a close eye on the Tatar supply camp. If he moves, we will move," Li Yan said calmly.
"What if the Tatar baggage camp just doesn't move?" Zhou Yuji asked again. He and Li Yan had already seen that Dorgon was trying to hang them up with the baggage camp.
"If he doesn't move, let's force him to move." Li Yan smiled. If the Qing army attacked the city, it would need at least more than 10,000 troops. To intercept the Ming army and cross the river for reinforcements, it would require more than 10,000 troops. Then how many supply camps are left? When the Ming army attacked, he would be so frightened that he would rush to the base camp under Qingzhou City to find his father.
But Li Yan believed that Dorgon would never be that stupid. He had gained the baggage camp along the way, so how could he put it in danger? Therefore, when he prepared to attack the city with all his strength or found out that the Ming army was coming, he would definitely break up the camp and march outside Qingzhou City. It's safe where you are.
"Has General Li ever thought about why he was led by the Tatars when he took the initiative to attack?" Ji Jike, who had always been a man of few words and had a low military position, suddenly interjected.
Li Yan was startled when he heard this and frowned.
Ji Jike means that there is no need to wait for the Tatars to move the Ming army before moving. This is too passive. If Li Yan could have used the excuse that the soldiers and horses were tired a few days ago, the army has rested for three days now, although it may not have returned to its peak. Period, but he can definitely be dragged out to fight a tough battle.
Zhou Yuji and Huang Degong looked at each other and felt that it was not a bad idea to take the initiative. The Qing army would definitely send troops to intercept if they directly advanced with the army. This would reduce the pressure on Qingzhou City and buy them time to catch their breath and allow the young eunuch to rest.
"What do you think?" Li Yan looked around at everyone: "We will break camp and advance tomorrow?"
"It's feasible." Huang Degong nodded first: "We are always staying here. Look at the eldest son of Wang Heng's family who looks sad every day. I heard that Prince Heng is very timid. Don't think we won't go there." If you’re scared...it won’t be good for you!”
Everyone laughed endlessly, and Zhou Yuji also nodded: "It is much better for the first troops to seize the initiative than to be led by the nose, and they can handle it with ease!"
So everyone decided to break camp early tomorrow morning and advance towards Qingzhou City. When Zhu Cian heard this, he cried with joy and went to Li Yan's room to express his thanks.
The mountain breeze was very cool. If there were no mosquito bites, it would be a perfect summer night. Halfway up the mountain west of Qingzhou City, Chen Suole and his soldiers built a straw shed for Chang Yu. The little eunuch and they did not go back to the mountain to rest. , but set up a lookout post here to keep an eye on Qingzhou City.
As the night grew darker, there were still lingering fires outside Qingzhou City, and there were vaguely visible figures running around under the city, who must be the Qing army's scouting horses, but lights could be seen everywhere in the city.
Although Chang Yu couldn't see the damage in the city from a distance, he also knew that Qingzhou City would not sleep tonight!
Jia Waixiong went down to the city for the first time after Chang Yu left. He calmed the troops at the base of the city wall. Countless wounded people were transported down from the city in a steady stream. Most of them were injured by arrows or trebuchets, and some were injured by sharp arrows. Those who were severely bleeding and bleeding were on the verge of death. Doctors in the city were mobilized to rescue the injured, and the palace even took all the medicines in stock.
The injured groaned or screamed, and many of the family members of the casualties knelt down and wailed. Most of these villagers from the upper city were young adults and the backbone of the family. Their death was equivalent to the destruction of a family.
But luckily in his misfortune, he was not white. The palace had promised him a large pension, which was a very conscientious move in troubled times.
People die, but life has to be lived after all, right? With money, at least the family can survive and there is still some hope.
Jia Waixiong's face was livid, and he rode around in a circle from the north city, west city, south city, and east city. Under each city gate, there were many people screaming and wailing from a distance. A rough estimate of thousands of people, plus the hundreds who died in the battle, this scene can be described as The losses were heavy, but he knew clearly that the Qing army only used half of its strength.
If the Qing army was fully prepared to launch an all-out attack, the battlefield would be many times more tragic than before. Even if all the people in the city were wiped out, they might not be able to defend it!
The factory supervisor should be coming soon, but why only two to three thousand people are sent to the Beiyang River? Is it because Li Yan's army hasn't arrived yet... Jia Wai Xiong's heart feels like a mountain weighing down on him and he can't breathe.
