On the morning of November 15th, snowflakes fell one after another, dancing and falling between the sky and the earth with the north wind, turning the mountains, rivers and plains around Seoul into a white picture. The two sides of Changling River, about twenty miles northwest of Seoul, have now become a sea of Qing army camps.
The dragon flag of the Qing Emperor was erected high over Xingzhou Mountain City on the west bank of the Han River and the north bank of the Changling River.
From Changnyeongcheon to the east to Donuimun, the west gate of Seoul, there is a wilderness. The length of this open area is about twenty miles from east to west, and the width from north to south is about fifteen miles. To the north (northeast) of this open area is Bukhan Mountain, and to the south (southwest) is the Han River.
This area is actually filled with rice fields and dotted with many Korean villages. But it is winter now, and there are no crops growing in the rice fields. After a layer of ice and snow is attached to the muddy ground, it is quickly frozen to a solid state.
The villages where Koreans lived had been cleared before the Qing army came. The residents were either moved to the Asan area for temporary resettlement, or they hid in Seoul, and those villages were also overrun. The thatched tops of the houses were burned, leaving only the bare charred black earth walls. .
To be honest, Seoul's city defense is pretty bad. Not to mention the low city wall, the gate tower is not very high either. Moreover, there are no trenches outside the city, especially in the west of the city, which is a large piece of flat land without any cover. The enemy can rush straight to the Dunyi Gate.
But even if Seoul was strong enough, Zhu Heji would not dare to defend the city when the temperature dropped sharply and the Han River would soon freeze. Because once Kangxi's army is allowed to pass through the ice of the Han River, his lairs in Asan, Lishan, and Dangjin will have to be taken care of by Kang Mazi!
Therefore, after Zhu Heji arrived in Seoul, he began to build a defense line outside Donui Gate in Seoul. He had two shallow trenches dug in the wilderness three or four hundred paces away from Donuimun Gate, and a parapet was built behind the second shallow trench. Seven or eight mounds of forts were also built behind the parapet.
The two ends of these two shallow trenches and a parapet were built at the foot of Zuduli Peak of Bukhan Mountain and on the west bank of the Han River, blocking the way of the Qing army.
When Emperor Kangxi's army arrived in the Changlingchuan area, some Ming troops had already moved out from Seoul and stationed themselves in shallow trenches and fortresses behind earthen walls. Hammer-throwing cannons were also deployed in the fortresses.
Some Qing cavalry who tried to get close to the shallow trench were bombarded by hammer-throwing cannons, and then retreated to the vicinity of Changlingchuan to cover their troops' descent into the stronghold.
Kangxi had quietly left Xingzhou Mountain City at this time, put on the blue mandarin jacket of an ordinary cavalry, took his ministers and governors with him, crossed the Changling River, and rode slowly outside his camp in the south of Changling River. , observe the terrain of the battlefield.
The Mayan Saint of the Qing Dynasty has obviously aged in recent years. Although he is only in his twenties, the skin on his face has become dark and rough due to the constant exposure to wind and sun, and he has also grown a goatee. The beard, at first glance, looks a bit like "Uncle Kang".
But his will remained firm, his eyes flickering as he looked at the open terrain in front of him. The flat land to the west of Seoul is indeed a good place for a decisive battle...it is flat enough, but not too wide, and there is terrain that can be covered on both sides. Both sides have support behind them. The Qing army has Changlingchuan and Xingzhou Mountain City, while the Ming army has Seoul.
Kangxi reined in his horse and looked at Beihan Mountain in the distance with burning eyes.
Deng Guangming and Xiao Chenglong have also come to the frontier together. They have spent many days in Seoul and are familiar with the terrain here. Especially Deng Guangming, he is a veteran general who has been in battle for a long time. Of course he knows where the most important things are.
At this time, he took the initiative to ride his horse and lean up, then raised his whip and pointed at Beihan Mountain and said: "Your Majesty, this mountain is called Beihan Mountain. It is not high. There are many mountain roads in it, which can go east and south. Go through it. But to the south of Beiyue Mountain is Beiyue Mountain... The northern section of the city wall of Seoul is built on Beiyue Mountain, which is very strong. And if you go east past Beiyue Mountain, you can go around to the east of Seoul, or even south.
Also, have you seen that mountain peak about 100 feet tall? That is Mount Ashito, the commanding heights on the battlefield in this area, and it is now controlled by the rebels. "
Kangxi asked: "Is the mountain steep? Can we attack from the top?"
Deng Guangming and Yu Chenglong said together: "It's a little steep, but it can be attacked."
Kangxi nodded silently, Zudouli Peak is so crucial! Not only can it cover the troops to attack the opponent's flanks and rear, but it can also spy on the overall situation from a high position!
Now it is under the control of the Ming army, which means that the deployment of the Qing army is all under the eyes of the opponent, and the left wing is always controlled by the Ming army... which is a bit disadvantageous!
"Your Majesty..." Deng Guangming said in a low voice, "The rebels have taken advantage of the Zuduli Peak, but the advantage of the Han River is with the Qing Dynasty. I estimate that there will be ten more chances in the Han River." I’ll be able to race horses in a day!”
Once the Han River froze into an "ice river", Kangxi's army would cross the river on the ice, so that they could surround Seoul.
Tu Hai came up and said: "Your Majesty, now Wang Fuchen has occupied most of Beihan Mountain, and he can go around to the east of Seoul at any time. If there is another group of elite soldiers crossing the river, the south of Seoul will be surrounded. Ni. The thief is about to become a turtle in a urn!"
What he meant by "encirclement" was not to encircle it completely, but to use cavalry to control the passages in and out of Seoul and cut off Seoul's communication with the outside world.
Kangxi nodded: "The traitors will not sit still and wait to be killed... I guess they will go out of the city to ask for a fight! To fight or not to fight?"
Kangxi had a lot of cavalry, so he felt that he had the initiative to fight or not.
Not fighting does not mean returning to Kaesong. Instead, we retreat to the north of Changling River and wait for a few days until the Han River freezes tightly before attacking.
The Baturus around Kangxi all frowned, thinking in their minds... If they fight, someone will definitely die! It was their men who died!
Without fighting...will Seoul be defended to the end by the Ming army? Will Namhansanseong, Suwonseong, Asanseong, etc. in the south of Seoul be difficult to fight?
Compared with those small cities, the big city of Seoul is actually relatively easy to break, and there is more oil and water.
While weighing and weighing, there was suddenly a shouting sound from Seoul, which seemed to be shouting in Korean. At first, it was probably thousands of people shouting, and then it got louder and louder for some reason. In the end, it seemed that Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people shouted.
Kangxi couldn't understand Korean, so he looked back at Yu Chenglong, who said: "Your Majesty, they are shouting 'Long live the king! Long live King Ming...'"
"Your Majesty? King Ming?" Kangxi frowned, "Is it Zhu Heji? Did he really come to Seoul? Then who landed in Lushun?"
It turned out that Emperor Kangxi had received reliable information about Dengzhou brought by Cao Yin - after Cao Yin left Dengzhou, he went to Huang County, where a secret Yamen was set up in Niangan, and the Yamen immediately reported the news. The news reached Huangdao, where the Qing navy was stationed, and they immediately sent a speedboat to send the news to Haizhou, North Korea.
...
When Kangxi was worried about the real Zhu Heji, the real Zhu Heji had become the "bearded idol" in Seoul. Wherever he went on horseback, it was like a pot was exploding, and mountains were everywhere. Long live... Those North Koreans were so excited that they almost couldn't stand it. Tears filled their eyes and they shouted at the top of their lungs.
Among them, the most exciting ones were of course those Ming soldiers from North Korea who were born "in the middle, commoners, and untouchables."
They really never tire of hearing words like "regardless of origin, only about military merit"!
And Zhu Heji obviously really wanted to implement it... The Ming army didn't talk the same thing in the first place! Zhu Heji's grandfather came from a begging family, so the beggar couldn't be Yangban, right? There is no begging class among the two classes!
So those Korean heroes who came from bad backgrounds now feel that they have met relatives... Zhu Heji is their relatives!
Everyone can't wait to go out of the city to kill Qing Yao.
So the content of their shouts changed from "Long live" to "Kill the demon! Make merit!"!
The entire Seoul gradually turned from excitement to frenzy!
Looking at these incited Korean soldiers, Zhu Heji knew that the time had come to send troops to fight!
