The sound of the horses' hooves was like thunder, a rumble. Hundreds of Baya's soldiers were only surrounded by Prince Yu Duduo, the general of the Qing Dynasty and Dingguo, who walked in the front.
Behind them were countless white, yellow, red, and green flags, followed by endless cavalry and infantry. The main force of the Qing army in Shandong has now left the camp outside Qufu City.
Behind Duduo, in addition to the elite soldiers and generals of Zhengbai Banner, Zhenghuang Banner, Zhenghong Banner and Xianghong Banner, there were also green battalion soldiers led by Wu Weihua, Xu Dingguo and Liu Liangzuo. The main forces of the Qing Dynasty in Shandong, except for a small part stationed in Yanzhou, Dezhou, Linqing Prefecture, etc., are all under Duduo's command. There are more than 35,000 infantry and cavalry, and after searching around, the military supplies can last for more than a month - for this little thing, Duduo robbed Yutai, Peixian and Fengxian!
Every Qing army officer had a serious look on his face at this time. Apart from the sound of horse hooves and the footsteps of infantry, there were almost no other sounds. The entire army seemed solemn and depressed. This time's battle to invade Shandong was much more difficult than the Qing army's sweep of Shandong in the fourth and fifth entrance battles... The "leeks" not only ran fast, but also Turn Qufu into a golden city! What is even more hateful is that the spirit of Kong Shengren is also in trouble with the Qing Dynasty. He has blessed the southern soldiers in Qufu to be "invulnerable", causing the Qing Dynasty soldiers to suffer a lot of losses!
There are already many people in the Qing army who hate the Kong family in Qufu with all their teeth. Can such a ungrateful sage Kong still want it? He must be dug out from under the ground to relieve his hatred!
However, they have no time to attack Qufu for the time being, because their retreat has been "cut off" by a regiment training army from Jinan!
Prince Yu said when he led his army to leave the Qufu camp that the upcoming battle was already a last-ditch battle. If defeated, the Qing Dynasty would still have something to do in Shandong. If it fails, then not only will the Qing be unable to take Shandong, but their 35,000 Qing soldiers will also not end well - the Qing soldiers ravaged Shandong twice and killed two to three million Shandong people. There is a bloody feud with Shandong... What will happen if it falls into the hands of Shandong people? Don’t let anyone scratch your skin and get cramps when the time comes!
Being frightened by Duduo, tens of thousands of Eight Banners and traitors became nervous. It was clear that a group of bandits who committed murder and arson were now showing signs of mourning.
Duduo's expression has been deadly these days, making the Bagala soldiers guarding him feel unprecedented pressure.
This invincible prince will not just die in Shandong, right?
At the front of the team, there were constant reports from Tangma riding on horseback, informing Duduo of the situation ahead and the position and number of the Ming army.
"Your Majesty, more than 5,000 people from Gushan'er Zhengang Atai's army have set up camp in Huakou Town on the north bank of the Daqing River to await your arrival!"
"Your Majesty, the Nanman's Central Army has retreated into Pingyin County and is digging trenches and building forts to strengthen the city defenses!"
After hearing the report, Duduo just smiled: "Are the southern army's central army soldiers from Prince Lu's palace? Isn't this too courageous?"
A man next to him, Jia La E Zhen, who was holding a white flag, said rashly: "Your Majesty, let's just attack their center and eat the soldiers and horses of Prince Lu's Mansion in the Southern Dynasty first!"
Duduo glanced at him lightly and said with a smile: "Can you eat it in one bite? If you can't eat it, Gao Hongtu comes from the north, Shi Kefa comes from the south, and Zuo Maodi comes from the east. A three-pronged attack, wouldn't it make us more passive? We have already lost our momentum in Qufu, and our military resources are not very large. We can no longer act rashly. If we continue to lose, the battle in Shandong will be unwinnable."
Duduo looked relaxed and confident, but everyone underneath was a little downcast. The army's military resources were only enough for one month, so it was advantageous to fight quickly. However, the Ming army marched step by step, playing fortress and advancing, making it clear that it would last a long time.
Looking at the expressions of the Eight Banners generals around him, Duduo smiled and said: "The southern army in the middle route cannot be commanded by King Lu. The vassal kings of the Southern Dynasties have not led troops for more than two hundred years... At most, the one who came this time was a general. Soldiers. And they are not very courageous. They ran to Pingyin before we even got close. If we scare them again, they might run to Mount Tai.
Therefore, Gao Hongtu's troops on the north road are the big fish. As long as he is trapped, there is no need to worry about the other southern armies in Shandong not coming to relieve the siege. When the time comes for reinforcements from the besieging troops, just defeat them one by one! Didn’t we attack Qufu just to besiege the city and raise reinforcements? I just didn't expect Qufu to be so difficult to encircle. Isn’t the Gao Hongtu Department on the North Road working hard at every step?
I don't expect him to run away with the Southern Army in Liaocheng... He must still be planning to use a fortress to force me out of Shandong! "
Duduo's words were a reassurance for the generals under his command. He Luohui said loudly: "Your Majesty, my subordinates please lead the battle. The warriors with the yellow flags will hit him first!"
"No need." Duduo shook his head, "I want to show off my power in a big way. Maybe Gao Hongtu will fight and run away... We often encounter such things!"
To be honest, Duduo has never seen the Ming army who is not afraid of the Eight Banners in the wild! If we can scare Gao Hongtu away, the battle in Shandong will be easy!
...
The news that the Qing army was approaching did not scare Gao Hongtu away! Although both generals Li Chengdong and Ma Degong were frightened to death, after receiving the news, they put forward two suggestions: withdrawing their troops and stationing in Liaocheng.
However, Gao Hongtu was not so nervous and just ordered the troops to step up the construction of fortifications.
He has on hand 22,000 regiment training troops and a total of 6,000 troops from Li Chengdong and Ma Degong. There are more than 10,000 Liu Zhiqian's people in nearby Liaocheng. There are more than 38,000 people in the three armies in total! Moreover, the military resources are sufficient, morale is high, and there are cities and chariots and forts to rely on. What is there to be afraid of?
So starting from yesterday evening, Gao Hongtu's army built forts on the south bank of Tuhe River. First, they circled the vehicle array, then dug a trench outside the vehicle array, and finally piled sandbags inside the vehicle array to reinforce the defense. Even the side near the Tuhe River was built with sandbags as a parapet. The more than 20,000 "migrant workers" were indeed hard-working, and the work was not completed until late at night.
It was early in the morning, and it was still quiet here on the bank of Tuhe River. No one seemed to know that a war was coming.
I didn't know that a war was coming because I didn't receive any reports last night, saying that I found that the Qing army was heading to the west bank of the canal through a pontoon bridge... They were obviously leaving Shandong!
The Ming army generals who were originally worried finally breathed a sigh of relief, but they did not dare to take it lightly, so they still added as many sentries as needed. All the warriors slept in their clothes, and their weapons were placed where they were easily accessible. The gongrong cannons placed in the car formation are also filled with lead gunpowder and can be fired at any time to kill the enemy!
Zhang Mingzhen, deputy general of the Shandong regiment and a former Nanjing Xunchen, was on duty tonight. He didn't sleep all night and just patrolled around.
Although he was recommended by Qian Qianyi to work for Gao Hongtu, he was of "bad origin" after all. He was a distinguished official in Nanjing, and he also had a record of invading military camps. If you don’t work hard, there will really be no turning around!
So on Gao Hongtu's side, he worked very hard and didn't dare to neglect anything, especially tonight.
However, Li Chengdong and Ma Degong were not as hardworking as he was. They refused to send more troops even if they refused to collect them all night long. Even if they were sent out, they would only wander around the camp and not go far at all - Zhang Mingzhen even suspected that the Qing army crossed the Hexi River. The news about going there is simply fake news to deceive people...
At this time, the distant sky finally began to light up, and the difficult night was over! As long as we survive the rest of the day, the camp by the Tuhe River will be secure. I can't say it's invincible, but it won't be a big deal.
But at this moment, Zhang Mingzhen suddenly felt that the ground began to shake! Could it be that I am too tired? blur? He quickly grabbed a lantern from a soldier beside him and illuminated the ground under his feet. However, he saw that the gravel and sand under his feet were really trembling slightly...
