At this time, Brave King Duduo also climbed to the top of a low mountain called Shijing Mountain behind his camp and began to inspect the terrain. Bolo, Ao Bai, Yu Bilong and He Luohui all followed him.
Although the Jieshi Mountain area is under the jurisdiction of Yongping Prefecture, the defense has always been managed by the Shanhaiguan Angbang Zhangjing Yamen. Therefore, Ao Bai, Ye Bilong and He Luo, who have worked in Shanhaiguan Angbang Zhangjing, are all very familiar with the terrain here. The choice of camping west of the Yang River was proposed by the three of them.
"Your Majesty, we now have a tight hold on the Yangtze River, and we have the mountains and seas at our back. Prince Jingjin is guarding the Liaonan side, and Tan Tai is on the Heilongjiang side. We should be safe, so we don't have to rush to fight."
It was Ao Bai who was making suggestions. The number one warrior in Manchuria did not dare to show off in front of the brave King Duduo. He stood with his hands down and his shoulders down, looking respectful.
Duduo said: "Send someone to declare a challenge! Let's fight to the death tomorrow... The battlefield will be on the west bank of Yanghe River!"
"What? No way..."
"Array with your back against the enemy? That's not appropriate!"
"My lord, the risk is too great..."
"Yes, our troops and horses are not as good as the other's, so it is not suitable for us to fight in a grand formation."
Bolo, Aobai, Ebilong and Heluohui all put forward different opinions. In the opinion of the four of them, although Azige's rear is unstable and there are many hills inside, it has the best of Manchuria at hand and its military strength is still much greater. Above the Duo.
If Duduo could seize the favorable geographical location of Yanghe River and confront Azig while trying to win over Azig's flag lord and the eighth prince, he would be sure of victory.
It is really reckless to rush to a decisive battle, especially to leave the camp and form a formation on the west bank of the Yanghe River.
Duduo raised his hand and stopped the four people's persuasion.
"Ajige can't beat me!" Duduo whispered, "Although his Manchu elites are powerful, do they dare to fight tooth and nail? Now we are on a narrow road, and the brave will win!"
Bolo, Obai, Ye Bilong and He Luohui all looked a little ugly after hearing their master's words.
The Brave King pointed out a fatal weakness of the Manchurian elites: they were too few and too precious!
Not counting Mongolia, the Han army, Sauron and Barhu, the essence of old Manchuria is about 300 Niulu. It is not easy for one Niulu to pull out 180 real Manchu warriors. The total number is over 50,000 and a few thousand. There is no way to engage in a war of attrition!
And on a battlefield dominated by foreign guns and cannons, the casualties on both sides were quite heavy! After a battle involving hundreds of thousands of people was won, twenty or thirty thousand casualties were nothing at all!
What use could tens of thousands of Manchu elites be of use?
Duduo said: "When fighting against the Sun Ming Dynasty, Chengzong must rely on the power of his rangers to block the enemy's eyes and ears. He must also be careful to deal with the enemy. Only after finding a good opportunity can he dare to fight. What Chengzong fears is not failure. But a tragic victory!
Now I have 11,000 muskets (6,000 musketeers and 5,000 forward battalion cavalry all have muskets) and 30 3-pound cannons, as well as fake Manchuria that can afford tens of thousands of casualties... Therefore, I am a brave man and will win. ! "
Being able to afford death is also an advantage!
Although there are only more than 2 million people outside the customs controlled by Duduo, these people are all enrolled in the banner and can be regarded as nationalities that can serve as soldiers.
In addition, the land outside the pass is vast and fertile, so the land granted is very wide, and most of the land granted is abandoned fertile land. Because the original foundation is still there, the cost of reclamation is relatively low and the returns are relatively good.
Therefore, these Han farmers registered in the banner have some financial strength and can bear a certain amount of military service.
Duduo paused and then said: "Let the envoy tell Azig that if he loses, I will allow him to guard Chengzong's mausoleum in Jianling and spend the rest of his life!"
...
"What a Duduo, so crazy!"
Azig had just moved his central army to Caojiazhuang, eleven or twelve miles away from Yanghe, when Duduo's envoy arrived. The envoy was Li Kaiyin, Duke of Jinlin County of North Korea, who was Dorgon's father-in-law.
He came to the Qing Dynasty to attend the funeral of his son-in-law, but he was caught in a fight when he arrived at Shanhaiguan. He was immediately detained by the Duoduo Army, and he was just running an errand.
"Go and tell Duduo," Azig said, "I have 100,000 heavenly soldiers, all of whom are Manchu elites. They cannot be defeated! However, I think of brotherhood and will not ask for his name. When I catch him, I will let him retire in his house in Beijing!"
After sending Li Kaiyin away, Azig began to plan for tomorrow's decisive battle.
He has been stationed in Jieshi Mountain for a while and has already surveyed the surrounding terrain. He is also very familiar with the battlefield west of Yanghe River chosen by Duduo.
"On the west side of Yanghe River, there are hills in the north and south. The 10 miles in the middle are relatively flat and can be used to place soldiers. However, there are a few villages in between, which are very important. The first is Caojiazhuang, where the king's central army is located, the second is Shihe Village, and the third It’s Xiaojiazhuang.”
Azig paused: "Fu Lehe!"
"My son is here!" The one who responded was a young man in his twenties or fives. He was as strong and strong as Azige, with a sinewy face and a fierce look in his eyes.
He is the second son and heir of Azig, and has been granted the title of Duke of Zhenguo. Now that Azig is the commander-in-chief of the army, of course he cannot command elite soldiers with white flags to go to the front line, so he is asked to act as his agent.
"You will lead your troops to rob Shihe Village tonight!" Azig said, "Bring 10 Niulu and two 3-pound cannons!"
"My son takes the order!" Fu Lehe patted his chest, "With my son guarding Shihe Village, even if the fifteenth uncle's elite soldiers go into battle, nothing will happen!"
"Okay!" Azig nodded with a smile, and then said loudly, "Ild!"
"The slave is here!" Gushan Erzhen Yild, who was holding the yellow flag, shouted in response.
"You take 10 Niulu from Zhenghuang Banner and 2 small Hongyi cannons to seize Xiaojiazhuang!" Azig said, "Nothing is lost!"
"Cha!" Of course Ild didn't want to be in the front, but now Emperor Shunzhi, the master of Zhenghuang Banner, was young and still controlled by Azig, so he had no choice but to be manipulated by Azig.
"Wakda and Naudai," Azig continued, "Black Peak Mountain and Chengshan Mountain will be left to the warriors with red and blue flags!"
"twitter!"
"twitter!"
Azige said again: "King Dingnan, King Jingnan!"
"I'm here!"
"The slave is here!"
Geng Zhongming was called a minister, and Kong Tingxun was called a slave.
Kong Tingxun is the weakest among the three kings of the Zhenglu Banner, and his godbrother Kong Sixi is still the artillery manager in the Duduo Army. His sister Kong Sizhen is Bumubutai's adopted daughter and is raised in the palace. He seems to have an affair with the little emperor Shunzhi... Of course Kong Tingxun, who has three boats, must be more submissive!
"You each take your green flag soldiers to set up formations between Chengshan and Shihe Village, and between Shihe Village and Xiaojiazhuang, to prepare for the death of tomorrow's decisive battle!"
Dead soldiers!
It seems that there is a lot of bad luck...
Geng Zhongming and Kong Tingxun couldn't even cry. Isn't it because they were afraid of the Tatars that they surrendered to the Qing Dynasty? Now he actually has to fight against the brave King Duduo as a dead soldier!
If I had known this earlier, why would I be considered a traitor?
Azige added: "Tomorrow's sharp soldiers will be Xianghuang, Xianghong, Zhenghuang and my king's Xiangbai Banner troops... I will sit in Caojiazhuang to supervise the battle and coordinate the entire army!"
At the same time, Duduo also completed the arrangement for tomorrow's decisive battle. His arrangement was much simpler, that is, the forward battalion cavalry was placed on both wings, the infantry was placed in the middle, and the artillery was placed at the front.
In addition, the infantry all formed square formations, not Spanish square formations, Morris square formations, or Gustavus square formations, but the principle was similar, that is, the spears were used as the city walls, the swords were used as the trenches, and the muskets and bows and arrows relied on the trenches to shoot. . Two of the 20 battalions stayed in Dazhai, and the remaining 18 battalions were divided into two lines, front and rear, and lined up with their backs to the water west of Yanghe River. Therefore, the final number of troops sent was less than 50,000, but because the battlefield was narrow, it was enough.
After the arrangement was completed, Duduo announced the reward loudly: "Tomorrow, we will have a good meal, and then fight to the death. The brave will win, and the timid will perish... Anyone who has made meritorious service will be rewarded with land, clothing, and worldly positions! Bao Yi will be rewarded." You can still raise the flag! If we can capture Beijing, the entire army will be free to capture it for three days!"
