On May 17, the offensive and defensive battles of Damien Fort and Xin Dien Fort started almost at the same time.
Mao Wenlong's Dongjiang Town used the large long-barreled siege guns produced by the Gyeonggi Military-Industrial Complex to launch a fierce attack on Damien Fort.
With the help of more than 9,000 soldiers, the new siege artillery destroyed the fully reinforced Damianbao wall in less than two hours.
The soldiers of Dongjiang Town swarmed in, and the two sides fought fiercely in Damien Fort. After a day and night of hard fighting, Dongjiang Town wiped out more than 2,000 enemies, including more than 800 elite Jurchen Eight Banners, and completely captured Damien Fort.
At the same time, the offensive and defensive battle of Xin Dien Fort was initiated by the He Renlong tribe of Denglai Town. The defense system of Xin Dien Fort was more complete than that of Damian Fort. However, compared with Dongjiang Town, which was just established, Denglai Town was obviously Stronger, more complete weapons and tactical equipment.
He Renlong adopted the strategy of attacking in the east and attacking in the west. He first used siege guns to blast the west wall of the fort, and assumed a posture of attacking the city by force, forcing the Jianzhou Army to focus its main energy on defense in the west. Then he used surprise troops to break through the east wall. Entering the city, they started a fierce battle under the inner wall of the east city with the reinforcements of Jianzhou soldiers who had just woken up from a dream.
He Renlong used a heavy fire cannon battalion to block the charge of the Jianzhou armored soldiers. The continuous shooting caused flesh and blood to fly everywhere within three hundred steps, and corpses were everywhere. No one could pass through this area.
In this battle, the new heavy eagle-billed gun made great achievements, killing more than 400 elite Jianzhou armored soldiers, blocking the opponent's three rounds of charges, and making great contributions to the capture of Xin Dien Fort.
Both battles were successful, and Dongjiang Town and Denglai Town joined forces at Kuandian Fort.
Perhaps because the main elites were consumed in the first two battles, the Jianzhou Army did not linger in Kuandian Fort and evacuated Kuandian Fort directly.
On May 29th, Kuandian Fort was recovered, and the entire battle to recover the Kuandian Six Forts came to an end. At this time, the Jianzhou Army going south had just arrived in Hetuala.
Nurhachi originally thought that Kuandian Sixth Fort had been repaired and reinforced in the early stage, and there were nearly 12,000 troops stationed there. No matter what, it would be able to hold on until mid-June. The arrival of his own 10,000 reinforcements was enough to save the situation.
Unexpectedly, they only lasted three days before Damian Fort and Xin Dien Fort fell. The Kuandian Fort defenders even lost the courage to hold on and retreated directly.
Nurhachi could hardly believe his ears when he received the news.
He knew that the Zhou Army was currently undergoing an intensive transformation and re-equipment. Whether it was the original Liaodong Town or Dongjiang Town, almost all the infantry, which was mainly sword, shield and spear soldiers, had been transformed into firearms troops, and only a few remained. Elite sword and shield soldiers and spear soldiers used to charge into battle in close combat.
Although the cavalry retains more, what makes them more troublesome is that the Zhou cavalry is also beginning to be equipped with new sabers made of high-quality forged steel.
This kind of horse-killing sword is different from the heavy Mo Dao and Huan Dao. It is much lighter in weight, but its sharpness, hardness and toughness are far better than ordinary swords. It is especially suitable for chopping during charge, even if you are wearing heavy armor. It can't withstand the slashing of the opponent's horse-cutting sword at all. What's even more disappointing is that this kind of blade can still maintain a relatively complete edge after multiple cuts. This is the most troublesome thing.
But no matter how Zhou Dynasty reformed the military system, Nurhaci did not believe that the opponent's combat effectiveness would be completely improved in one or two years. In the past, the Liaodong Army basically could only take a defensive position against the elite Jianzhou Army, especially in field battles. The one-sided advantage lies with one's side, but now the situation seems to have undergone a fundamental change.
He had felt this change since the last round of fighting, but it was far less direct and intense than this time.
Such a complete defeat also made Nurhachi aware of the approaching crisis.
Once the Six Forts of Kuandian were lost, the entire border wall was covered with wilderness, and there was no defensive fortress. If it had been in the past, it would have been our own side that was on the offensive, and the Zhou army was on the defensive. However, the situation was reversed, and the Zhou army was now on the offensive. If they are aggressive and their own side wants to defend, they can only retreat to Hetuala, otherwise they will have to fight in the wilderness.
For the first time, Nurhaci felt that he had lost confidence in field battles. The opponent's frontier troops in the two towns exceeded 100,000 troops, while his own army only had 20,000 troops. Faced with an absolutely superior force, Nurhaci did not believe that he could gain an advantage in field battles, and even had a very high chance of gaining an advantage. There is a possibility of being surrounded and annihilated.
There are still some Jianzhou troops inside the border wall, but their numbers are limited, and they are all stationed in important forts such as Gushan Fort and Jianchang Fort. If they are to go out to fight in the city, firstly, the number will be insufficient, and it will be a drop in the bucket. Secondly, the gain may not be worth the loss.
Once these forts are attacked, given the current situation, it will be difficult to take them back. However, the loss of these forts will have a profound impact on the entire battle situation in the central and northern parts, directly impacting Shenyang, which was finally annexed - The territory and population of Tielingwei-Crow Falcon Pass.
Now our only advantage may be the mobility advantage of armored cavalry, but this advantage cannot be reflected on the northern front line stationed in Shenyang, because both sides are still in a silent period, but the southern front can play a role, but it requires the deployment of a large number of armored cavalry. Once the elite troops go south, it will be difficult to make up for the loss in a short period of time.
It's just that there is no choice at this time. We can't let the Zhou army go all the way north, even Hetuala.
Starting in June, as a large number of Jianzhou armored soldiers moved south, the armies of Dongjiang Town and Denglai Town launched a long tug-of-war with the Jianzhou Army inside and outside the border wall from Crow Falcon Pass to Gushan Fort.
The Jianzhou Army took advantage of its mobility advantages and familiarity with the geographical environment, adopted a combination of dogfighting and guerrilla warfare, and used vast fields to fight, sometimes raiding and harassing, and sometimes engaging in small-scale battles. The combat effectiveness of the Jianzhou Army also began to show.
The Denglai Army and the Dongjiang Army took advantage of their strength, fought as a team, defended and waited for attack, and advanced steadily. The fighting between the two sides lasted from June to November, spanning the entire summer and autumn. It can be said that both sides were beaten. Dragged to exhaustion.
As the Jianzhou Army mobilized a large number of elites to go south, the pressure on the Liaodong Army on the front line in Liaoyang suddenly decreased. Liu Dongyang began to lead Shanxi Town to take the initiative, launching attacks on the front lines of Wujingying and Hupiyi, and launched a fierce battle with Mang Gurtai and other troops. It also reversed the situation on the line from Liaoyang to Shenyang.
Many Han people who were originally controlled or kidnapped by the Jianzhou Army began to cross the actual control line and run westward back to the Dazhou controlled area. This also made Nurhaci very anxious, but he was helpless. The current Jianzhou Army was no longer enough to control them. Such a large piece of territory, especially when the fierce fighting on the southern front is in full swing and the Zhou army on the northern front is frequently attacking.
The fighting between the two sides continued until November, when heavy snow covered the entire Liaodong, and then gradually calmed down.
In this year, more than 80,000 rebels were transported from Beizhi and landed in Niuzhuang and Jiuliancheng, and nearly 50,000 were stationed in the Tianjin Wei area, waiting for transshipment.
Construction of the road from Niuzhuang to Liaoyang will start in March and will be divided into multiple sections. According to Feng Ziying's prediction, the road will be basically completed by September next year, and ordinary carriages and large vehicles can run smoothly on it.
At the same time, the Anshan Yi Coal and Iron Complex has also entered the formal construction stage. More than 4,000 of the tens of thousands of rioters entered the complex and began to build access roads and mines. At the same time, the first blast furnace was built as early as September. The second and third blast furnaces were also completed in October.
A cement plant has also begun construction and is expected to be completed and put into operation by the end of the year. It has also attracted more than a thousand people.
At the same time, three logging depots and a wood processing plant were gradually built, employing a labor force of more than 2,000 people. As road construction progressed, many businessmen from Shanxi and Shaanxi came one after another and began to build houses and shops along the line. Anshanyi already vaguely looks like a big town.
"Uncle, a letter from Beijing." Baoxiang quietly walked behind him and handed the letter over.
Feng Ziying withdrew her gaze and let out a breath of white mist, which floated in front of her and slowly dissipated.
I took the letter and read it roughly.
It was Wang Wenyan who came. Almost every other month, Wang Wenyan would send a letter introducing the situation in Beijing, and sometimes the interval would be shorter.
The situation in the court did not change much. The main reason was that Miao Changqi had misbehaved when he was the Minister of Rites and was constantly criticized. Even Tang Binyin was very dissatisfied with him, thinking that he had ruined the image of Jiangnan scholars. Gu Bingqian hated him even more, but Since they were all Jiangnan scholars, they did not specify the cause of the attack.
Master Qi probably wants to replace Miao Changqi, but he is probably still in the deliberation stage.
None of this matters.
Wang Wenyan focused on the expected arrival of the second batch of border troops entering the Liaoning Campaign after the year, which are the troops from Datong Town and Ganning Town.
According to the original agreement, there will be a rotation every year. In the first year, it will be Shanxi Town and Denglai Town. Because it is the beginning, Feng Ziying needs more capable and capable old troops, so he chose Denglai and Shanxi. Now it will be Wantong Four. In the next year, the border troops from Datong and Ganning towns will also enter Liao.
The combat effectiveness of these two units is definitely not as good as that of Denglai and Shanxi, but even if they come to Liaodong to fight, Feng Ziying does not expect to completely defeat the Jurchens in Jianzhou in one or two years. Judging from the battle on the southern front, Jianzhou The elite Jurchens are still very good at fighting. Even Cao Wenzhao said that their fighting power should not be underestimated. They always have to fight to the end to see the outcome.
Denglai Town lost more than 10,000 to nearly 20,000 people this year from the more than 70,000 people who entered the Liao Dynasty. Dongjiang Town lost nearly 10,000 people, but Jianzhou Jurchen losses are expected to be no more than 20,000, and they have also received There were a lot of additions, but the combat effectiveness of the newly added troops dropped significantly.
This is the result Feng Ziying wants.
So what if you constantly provoke wars and create wounds for the opponent so that the blood loss can be continuously replenished? Can the new army's combat effectiveness be as strong as the old soldiers?
Next year, I will also have a large number of veteran frontier troops coming in to compete. This is my confidence.
(End of chapter)
