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After defeating a group of Jianzhou Jurchen marauding soldiers and selecting prisoners of war to send a message to Xuan Ye, Zhao Junchen quickly gathered the entire army again and continued marching toward the northeast.
After traveling for more than two hours, Zhao Junchen and his reinforcements finally saw the walls of Qinghe Fort from a distance before it got dark.
Qinghe Fort is an important pass in Liaodong. It is located to the north of Benxi. A few dozen miles to the east it will enter the sphere of influence of the Jianzhou Jurchens, and it shoulders an extremely important border defense task.
Similar to Huamachi Camp and Jinzhou Camp, Qinghe Fort is square in shape. The walls are two feet high and one foot wide. They are all made of blue bricks. The circumference is about four to five miles. It is surrounded by Yunmeng Mountain in the back and Yunmeng Mountain in the front. Linqing River can be said to be easy to defend but difficult to attack. It also has four gates in the east, west, south and north. There are also point general towers and pioneer towers around it. It has the most powerful defense capability in this era.
At the same time, there were not many civilians in Qinghe Fort. The personnel were mainly composed of border troops from Liaodong Town. The garrison consisted of about 3,000 people and was managed by a garrison officer.
In short, the economic value of Qinghe Fort is almost zero, but its location and role are crucial. Therefore, Jianzhou Jurchen also sent two thousand troops to the vicinity of Qinghe Fort to monitor and contain the garrison of Qinghe Fort. If If there are any flaws in Qinghe Fort's defense arrangements, it will also wait for opportunities to launch an offensive.
After discovering the existence of this Jianzhou Jurchen army, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but look serious. He thought that if he and his reinforcements wanted to smoothly enter Qinghe Fort for rest and recuperation, it would not be an easy task. First, they needed to get this Jianzhou Jurchen army. The Jurchen army drove away, otherwise they would be easily attacked by the opponent when the entire army entered Qinghe Fort.
Considering that the quality of the soldiers under his command is uneven, once he is suddenly attacked, it will easily lead to a collapse. Maybe the Jianzhou Jurchen army will take advantage of the chaos to invade Qinghe Fort, then Zhao Junchen will become a war criminal. .
In the end, in order to successfully drive away the Jianzhou Jurchen army, Zhao Junchen first stopped his troops and prepared for battle again, and then called Gao Dejie to him again.
On a high slope, Zhao Junchen raised his riding whip and pointed at the Jianzhou Jurchen army that was approaching in the distance, and said slowly: "Gao Qianhu, if we want to successfully enter Qinghe Fort, we must first drive away Qinghe. The Jianzhou Army near the fort! The opponent has two thousand troops and a complete organization. It is completely different from the group of guerrillas who robbed the villagers we encountered not long ago. If we use normal methods to fight them, it will definitely be time-consuming. It took a long time and the damage was great!”
After explaining the current situation clearly, Zhao Junchen did not mind his status as a cabinet minister and boasted: "So, I hope that Gao Qianhu can provide some help, and also let me witness Gao Qianhu and Houpao by the way. The methods of the rear army! I believe that artillery is the god of war, and Gao Qianhu is a leader in this way. As long as Gao Qianhu is willing to help, he will be able to easily repel the Jianzhou army."
Gao Dejie did not forget about Zhao Junchen's praise. Instead, he took the opportunity to put forward a condition, saying: "It is my duty to drive out the Tatars from Jianzhou! But I also have something to ask for!"
Because he had something to ask for, Zhao Junchen was very talkative and seemed to have no opinion. He nodded repeatedly and said: "Gao Qianhu, please tell me! As long as I have the ability to satisfy you, I will definitely agree."
Gao Dejie's eyes flashed, and he said slowly: "Zhao Gechen just said that artillery is the god of war, and I deeply believe it! In Beizhong's view, with the continuous improvement of Hongyi cannons, their power and range are getting bigger and bigger. The distance is getting farther and farther, and the rate of fire is getting faster and faster. When the two armies fight in the future, the artillery force will inevitably replace the cavalry and infantry as the leader of the battlefield, and all war arrangements will be arranged around the artillery force...
I even believed that with sufficient resources, the most ideal way to fight a war is to concentrate artillery firepower to defeat the enemy's main force in one fell swoop, and then have the cavalry come on the scene to pursue the defeated troops, while the infantry comes out to clean up the battlefield. Instead of the artillery just serving as a Supporting role, responsible for supporting cavalry and infantry in combat! "
Hearing what Gao Dejie said, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but be shocked.
Gao Dejie's discussion is very close to the way of fighting modern wars.
Zhao Junchen had long known that Gao Dejie had the potential to be a world-famous general, but he never expected that Gao Dejie had such foresight.
While Zhao Junchen was shocked, Gao Dejie looked helpless and said: "The humble post once suggested to Governor Wu that the number of cavalry and infantry should be reduced, and resources should be further allocated to the artillery rear army. The scale has been doubled, and this change is enough to at least double the combat power of Guan Ning's cavalry!
But it is a pity that Governor Wu did not agree with Beizhi's opinion. He still valued the armored cavalry army the most. Beizhi's suggestion also offended the cavalry attachés of Guanning Iron Cavalry and received a lot of ostracism! If not, with his humble position and qualifications, he would no longer be just a member of a thousand households. "
Having said this, Gao Dejie turned to look at Zhao Junchen, his expression full of expectation, and solemnly said: "So, I hope that you, Zhao Gechen, can agree to my position. After you lead the army to Qinghe Fort, you will take over the defense of Qinghe Fort." By handing Beizhi the full responsibility and letting Beizhi arrange the city defense of Qinghe Fort with the artillery force as the core, I can also take the opportunity to verify my ideas that I have had for many years."
Zhao Junchen took a serious look at Gao Dejie and nodded: "Yes, I also hope to witness with my own eyes that an outstanding general like Gao Qianhu can fully display his talents!"
Zhao Junchen knew very well that Gao Dejie wanted to take over the defense of Qinghe Fort. It was mainly a countermeasure against himself to prevent the artillery rear army from gradually coming under his control. It also made it easier for him to communicate with Wu Yingxiong when he was stationed in Qinghe Fort. get in touch.
However, wanting to take the opportunity to verify the new combat model he conceived was obviously Gao Dejie's true idea.
Zhao Junchen directly agreed to Gao Dejie's request without any hesitation.
In Zhao Junchen's view, Gao Dejie's request seemed a bit excessive, but in fact it was conducive to his gradual control of the artillery rear army.
Because of the layout of Emperor Deqing, the inherent shortcomings of the Wu family in Shanhaiguan are extremely obvious. The Wu family can inherit the two positions of Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief and Jiliao Governor, which undoubtedly allowed the Wu family to quickly become the top generals of the Ming Dynasty, but As long as the Wu family cannot successfully annex Liaodong Town, this situation will also limit the upper limit of the Wu family's strength, and may even become the main cause of the Wu family's future decline.
The reason is very simple, because the previous commander-in-chief of Shanhaiguan were all served by the children of the Wu family, which means that the soldiers under the command of the Wu family can only be promoted to the position of general at most. In addition, the power of the Wu family is limited to the vicinity of Shanhaiguan. Therefore, even if the Wu family were lucky enough to meet a talented general like Gao Dejie, they would not be able to provide them with a platform to display their talents!
Under such circumstances, those ambitious and talented military attachés naturally felt that they were being suppressed and could not maintain their loyalty to the Wu family for a long time!
Take Gao Dejie as an example. Regardless of how loyal he is to the Wu family in Shanhaiguan and how often he is called "my Governor Wu", once he is allowed to taste the full power of commanding the three armies and displaying his talents in Qinghe Fort, Will he still be willing to stay in the artillery rear of Guan Ning's cavalry and continue to be a marginalized Qianhu?
Even if Gao Dejie is willing to do this, what about his deputy Han Daren?
They will definitely be unwilling to give up, and they will definitely seek changes, eager to find a new platform that allows them to display their fists to their heart's content!
As for this new platform, the Wu family in Shanhaiguan cannot provide it, but Zhao Junchen has a way to provide it!
Plant a sycamore tree and a phoenix will live there.
Thinking of this, an inexplicable smile appeared at the corner of Zhao Junchen's mouth, and he nodded and added: "Once they are stationed in Qinghe Fort, except for the 500 Liaodong cavalry under Li Baihu and others, the rest of the army will be handed over to Gao Gao. Qianhu Jurisdiction! I am also very interested in the new combat method envisioned by Gao Qianhu!"
Seeing that Zhao Junchen not only easily agreed to his request, but also did not reject his own idea, Gao Dejie was a little unbelievable for a moment and asked: "Is this true?"
Zhao Junchen nodded and said: "I always keep my word!"
After hearing the words, Gao Dejie was greatly excited. He nodded immediately and said loudly: "In that case, I will let Zhao Gechen see with his own eyes the power of the artillery rear army under the command of the inferior position! I guarantee that within an hour , before it gets dark, all the Jianzhou Tatars near Qinghe Fort will be driven ten miles away! Zhao Gechen, you only need to cover the humble artillery array, and then choose the opportunity to send cavalry to chase and harass the Jianzhou Tatars!"
After saying that, Gao Dejie didn't even bother to salute, and happily left Zhao Junchen's side, rushing back to the artillery rear to prepare for battle.
Looking at Gao Dejie's quickly retreating back, the inexplicable smile on Zhao Junchen's face became more obvious.
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Next, Gao Dejie really worked hard.
Just a quarter of an hour later, the artillery rear army had already set up a formation, and all types of artillery were in position.
Under God's deliberate arrangement, all the artillery bodies were still covered by gray cloth covers, making it impossible for outsiders to estimate the specific size of this artillery force, and even mistakenly regarded the artillery rear army as an ordinary baggage force. .
At the same time, the Jianzhou Jurchen army outside Qinghe Fort also quickly approached Zhao Junchen's reinforcements. After several trials and investigations, it was quickly discovered that Zhao Junchen's army was not very elite and was filled with a large number of old and weak soldiers. The border troops and ordinary civilians are holding back the situation.
The leading general of the other side was also a decisive person. After discovering this situation, he immediately focused his troops on the weak positions of Zhao Junchen's army and launched an offensive.
Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for Zhao Junchen to deal with such an offensive from the Jianzhou Jurchen army.
But Gao Dejie had anticipated this and adjusted the muzzle position in advance. When he saw the Jurchen army in Jianzhou launching an offensive, he immediately ordered the artillerymen to remove the cloth cover covering the cannon body. After only a hundred breaths of time, as the ear-splitting roar continued to sound, various types of artillery fired a salvo, aiming at the front position in the middle of the Jianzhou Jurchen army's charge formation, and instantly dumped nearly a hundred artillery shells!
In just one salvo, the Jianzhou Jurchen army suffered at least two to three hundred casualties, and they were immediately defeated!
But before the Jianzhou Jurchen army could sort out the situation and organize an offensive again, just over a hundred rests later, the second round of salvos came again.
The Jianzhou Jurchen army has dispersed its forces at this time, weakening its own impact and greatly reducing casualties, but the terror is still spreading rapidly!
Under the command of Gao Dejie, the artillery rear army fired extremely fast and the firepower was very concentrated. Therefore, the leading Jurchen generals in Jianzhou could not accurately estimate the specific size of the artillery rear army. They thought that Zhao Junchen's troops Have at least two hundred artillery pieces!
And such a large-scale artillery force made the other party further misjudge the actual strength of Zhao Junchen's command, thinking that Zhao Junchen must have more troops, and the mixed army in front of him is just bait, otherwise it would never be possible to deploy this army. A huge number of artillery pieces.
Therefore, when Zhao Junchen found the right opportunity and sent Li Yan and all the cavalry to pursue, the Jianzhou Jurchens decisively retreated and fled away quickly, leaving only debris on the ground.
After seeing the Jianzhou Jurchens withdrawing their troops and fleeing, Zhao Junchen, who was watching the battle, raised his head and glanced at the sky, nodded and said: "It was said to be an hour, but in fact it only took less than three quarters... It was faster than expected! Although It’s also because the Jianzhou Jurchens were caught off guard, but Gao Dejie really didn’t brag!”
Although he was praising him out loud, Zhao Junchen's expression was somewhat disapproving.
After witnessing the missile plowing tactics of later modern armies, Zhao Junchen could not help but be a little disappointed with the power displayed by the artillery rear army. He even had some doubts about whether the Ming artillery of this era could fulfill the tactical status envisioned by Gao Dejie.
"...'Artillery is the god of war'. This sentence is what Napoleon said. It is still decades away from now. The improvement of artillery in the Ming Dynasty is not as radical as that of Western countries. Maybe...after I introduce it from Western countries Will the situation be better after getting newer artillery and artillery shells?"
And just when Zhao Junchen was thoughtful, Gao Dejie rushed to Zhao Junchen again excitedly, proudly waiting for Zhao Junchen's praise, and also wanted to urge Zhao Junchen to fulfill his promise.
Zhao Junchen did not disappoint Gao Dejie, and immediately praised Gao Dejie's ability. Zhao Junchen was only disappointed with the power of artillery in this era, but Gao Dejie's commanding ability was indeed remarkable, so Zhao Junchen Junchen's compliments were all sincere.
Afterwards, Zhao Junchen quickly followed his promise. After cleaning up the battlefield a little, he led his troops into Qinghe Fort before night fell.
Because Zhao Junchen had a higher status and had more troops under his command, he quickly took over all the power of Qinghe Fort, and then overcame all objections and handed over all the defense powers of Qinghe Fort to Gao Dejie.
After that, Zhao Junchen stayed in Qinghe Fort, patiently waiting for his "old friend" to appear!
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The news that Zhao Junchen led his troops to Qinghe Fort soon spread to the frontline battlefields in Fushun.
Xuanye, the Jurchen Khan of Jianzhou, Wu Yingxiong, the governor of Jiliao, and the generals in Liaodong Town all had different reactions after receiving the news.
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