Outside Xingshan Fort, inside the Chinese military tent of the Xuanbei Army led by Zhang Cheng, deputy commander-in-chief of Xuanzang and commander-in-chief of reinforcements and suppression.
Zhang Cheng glanced at the generals before continuing: "The imperial court is pressing hard now, and the governor hastily led the king's army to advance into Songjin. Although the troops are very powerful, outside Jinzhou City, the Tatar thieves are digging deep trenches." After several turns, the siege is extremely strong, how can we give up easily.
Once our division enters a confrontation with the Tartar thieves, the slave chief Huang Taiji will definitely rush to recruit the young and strong men of his country and use the strength of the whole country to resist the army of our king's division. "
When he said this, he turned to look at Chen Zheng and said: "In order to fight against the Tatars, Governor Hong gathered the main force of the army on the Songjin front line. The Xingshan rear defense was slightly empty. We can still be alert. Thinking that Mrs. Hong is an old thief on the battlefield, how could she not see it?
I risked my life and fought hard with Governor Hong, so that one of your troops could be stationed in Changling Mountain, and Zuo Guang had to be stationed in Wudaoling first. However, those who come from the Tartars must be elites, and Changling Mountain is really the key point. Although the defense line is solid, it is also extremely dangerous.
If the Tatars come to attack, we must treat them with care, and we must not be careless and ruin all our previous achievements!"
Chen Zheng stood up straight, clasped his fists and said loudly: "Please don't worry, Commander. Chen Zheng is here, and Changling Mountain is here. It will never make the Commander worry." Zhang Cheng waved him to sit down, and said to him solemnly: " Chen Zheng, your troops are stationed in Changling Mountain. If the Tatars come to attack, you only need to hold on for more than five days with all your strength, and I will lead the army to rescue you.
But if the entire division's food supply routes are kept within the enemy's hands, then your department will be the first to achieve great success!"
He raised his hand and patted Chen Zheng's shoulder, and said: "Since the Tatars are not coming, as long as the siege of Jinzhou is lifted this time, I will definitely make sure that your troops will be the first to report the merits. When you go back, you must boost the morale of the army, and do not make the soldiers Worry about that.”
After Chen Zheng loudly agreed, Zhang Cheng added: "Also, do you know why I asked you to build so many granaries?
When the army goes into battle, no one can guarantee that we will win. I asked your troops to stay in Changling Mountain, firstly to prevent the Tatar thieves from stealing my retreat; secondly, to leave an escape route for my army.
If the battle on the frontline changes, your army will become our army's only retreat. This is why you build more granaries. When Qiu Fuchen fills them up for you in a few days, it will be able to feed our army of more than 10,000 people for several months.
This is the retreat of the entire army, and the burden on your shoulders is very heavy!"
After listening to Zhang Cheng's words, Chen Zheng was obviously a little excited. At first, he was unwilling to stay in Changling Mountain, and then he prayed for the Tatars to attack soon. But now after listening to Zhang Cheng's words, he realized that his responsibility was so important, and he couldn't help but feel worried about it. Feeling terrified.
Everyone also knows that the war is coming, and the soldiers are fierce and dangerous. No one knows how the battle will end. Although everyone has already forgotten about life and death since they have joined the army, that is not what everyone wants after all.
Therefore, the banquet was quite lively, and everyone drank and encouraged each other until late at night, when they returned home drunk!
On the second day, before dawn, Zuo Guangxian, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Association's branch training, had already led his troops to move to Wudaoling.
Meng Dao, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Association Guard, Zheng Yilin, the deputy general of Xingshan Road, Qian Youlu, the commander of the forward right battalion, and Dou Chenglie, the meritorious commander of the cooperative general patrol, also followed Zuo Guangxian to Wudaoling.
Zhang Cheng also responded to Zuo Guangxian's invitation and personally led Chen Zheng, the commander of Dushi Camp under his command, as well as the three Qian generals and military scribes from Dushi Camp to Wudaoling to help Zuo Guangxian design trenches and low wall defenses.
In Wudaoling, Zuo Guangxian intended to imitate Zhang Cheng's move in Changling Mountain, and also followed the direction of the mountain to dig trenches and build walls as a peripheral defense line. For this reason, he specially invited Zhang Cheng and others to come and help them survey the terrain. The terrain, drawing and designing the direction of the trench, the height of the low wall, etc.
These trivial matters allowed his subordinates to carry out surveying and mapping on the spot according to the previously established plan. Zhang Cheng specifically asked the three accompanying Qian Generals to plan carefully, and then headed up the mountain accompanied by General Zuo Guangxian.
Chen Zheng also followed Zhang Cheng. He talked with several generals and guerrillas under Zuo Guangxian's command. After all, they must jointly guard the food road behind the Xingshan army. In the next period of time, they must work together to achieve their goals. Much to say.
In some places at the foot of the mountain, a large number of civilians and soldiers have been recruited to clear away the surrounding trees and weeds. They are obviously not working as hard as they were in Changling Mountain, perhaps because they lack the two cents of silver.
As streaks of white ash were scattered on the ground, a large number of civilians and soldiers began to come and go in the open areas on the hillside, breaking ground and starting construction in various places in Wudaoling, digging trenches one after another in the bright sun.
Near noon, Zhang Cheng, Liaodong Assistant General Meng Dao, Xingshan Road Deputy General Zheng Yilin and others returned to Xingshan Fort.
Qian Youlu, the forward right battalion commander, Dou Chenglie, the general patrol meritorious commander, and others were stationed at Daxing and Dongqing Forts. They said goodbye to Zhang Cheng, Meng Dao and other generals at the foot of Wudaoling, and went to Daxing and Dongqing. Head towards Dongqingbao.
At this point, all the defensive forces in Xingshan are in place. Due to Zhang Cheng's efforts, there are nearly 20,000 more officers and soldiers defending the rear than in history. I wonder if there will be any changes?
Hong Chengchou originally planned to leave Liu Zhaoji, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Association, to garrison various forts in Xingshan, but he has been replaced by Zuo Guangxian, the commander-in-chief of the Chinese Association for Defense. In addition, Meng Dao, the commander-in-chief of the Liaodong Association, also stationed his troops and horses in Xingshan forts, and additional officers were added. Chen Zheng's garrison under Zhang Cheng in Lingshan totaled 17,800 troops.
However, Qian Youlu, Dou Chenglie, Zheng Yilin, Tong Hanbang, Wang Jiaqi and others were originally scheduled to have more than 20,000 troops stationed in Xingshan, Daxing, and Dongqing forts.
In this way, almost 40,000 troops were stationed in Changling Mountain, Wudaoling, Xingshan, Daxing, and Dongqing. According to the estimation of Hong Chengchou and others, since they could not resist the Tatar attack for a long time, they could persist until the officers and soldiers from the Songshan front line returned. Assistance, as long as there is no serious problem.
The Ming army was carrying out large-scale construction projects in Changling Mountain, Wudaoling and other places. The Tatar thieves seemed to be aware of it. They were repelled by Liu Zhaoji and Yang Guozhu in Xingshan last time, so they had a premonition that the main force of the Ming army was going to invade Songjin. Suspicion on the front line.
Therefore, in the past few days, reconnaissance cavalry continued to come to the Xingshan area to investigate and harass the Ming army. The two sides launched a series of reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance encounters. Although each had its own injuries, it had nothing to do with the overall situation.
According to the report of the Ming army's sentry cavalry, the Tatars seemed to have made some moves on the north bank of the Nvdaoling River, more than ten miles away from Wudaoling. However, due to the fierceness of the Tatar cavalry, it was not possible to conduct a detailed investigation for a while.
On the fourth day of August in the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, the key points of the grain road at the back of Xingshan Mountain were decided.
Governor of Jiliao Hong Chengchou, Commander-in-Chief Zhang Ruoqi, Ma Shaoyu who joined the army, as well as all military and military officers, including Shenjiying's former battalion commander Chen Jiugao, Xuanzhen commander Yang Guozhu, Datong commander Wang Pu, Ningyuan commander Wu Sangui, Reinforcement and Suppression Commander-in-Chief Zhang Cheng, ASEAN Commander-in-Chief Cao Bianjiao, Shanhaiguan Commander-in-Chief Ma Ke, Liaodong Commander-in-Chief Liu Zhaoji, Shanxi Commander-in-Chief Li Fuming and other town commanders and generals, including infantry, cavalry and artillery troops, formed a large army to support the Jin Dynasty. The mighty force is approaching the front line of Songshan.
The Ming army was so powerful that there were more than 150,000 troops, including Bai Guangen, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, Tang Tong, the commander-in-chief of Miyun, and the courtiers of the former garrison pgr-Qing, who were already on the front line of Songshan. The army was vast, from beginning to end, seemingly reaching to the horizon.
