When Prince Dorgon of the Qing Dynasty and Shuorui conspired with the kings, Baylor, and generals to lure the king into the urn, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao in the Ming Dynasty, had led most of the Chinese army to Songshan.
The three generals Bai Guangen, Tang Tong, and Wang Tingchen who came to rescue Songshan Fort first, as well as the Songshan deputy general Xia Chengde, the traveling camp staff general Liu Zhengjie, the staff general Fan Chenggong, and the garrison Shang Yudi were all in Songshan. Welcome outside the fort.
Songshan Fort is located in a low-lying area surrounded by mountains. Originally, the Loess Ridge ten miles to the east and the Songshan Ridge a few miles to the southeast were perfect areas for the army to camp.
However, these places have now been captured by the Qing army and troops were stationed to prevent the Ming army from rescuing Zu Dashou in Jinzhou.
They formed a stronghold in a dangerous position, occupying an advantageous location and supporting each other. After Bai Guangen and others drove back the Qing army that attacked Songshan, they also tried to attack.
However, in the end, the troops were insufficient to stop the captives and cavalry from supporting each other. Instead, they lost many of their own soldiers and horses, so they stayed put and camped outside Songshan Fort, waiting for the arrival of the army before making further plans.
At this time, the Ming Dynasty aided King Jin's division with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses, and finally the entire division gathered at the foot of Songshan City.
According to the strategic layout decided by Governor Hong Chengchou when he was in Xingshan, and based on the actual distribution of the Qing army detected, the infantry of the generals of the Ming and Jin Dynasty reinforcements set up seven strong fortresses between Rufeng Mountain and Songshan City.
The elite cavalry of each battalion were stationed on the east, west and north sides of Songshan Fort, forming a compact layout surrounding Songshan City. Hundreds of thousands of troops to aid the Jin Dynasty gathered around Songshan City, leaving the Qing army without a chance. Can be multiplied.
The army hastily set up camp, dispatched reconnaissance cavalry in all directions, and set up warning posts in the distance. After all, the Tatars have been among the pines and brocades for a long time, and we must be prepared to prevent them from sneak attacks when our army first arrives.
At this time, the sky was already in the afternoon. Although the officials and generals of the Ming Dynasty had marched long distances, they did not care about rest. They braved the scorching sun and followed the governor Hong Chengchou to the Rufu River under the protection of their own soldiers and servants. To the west of Fengshan Mountain, at a high point on the mountain that the Tatars did not occupy, I could spy on the Tatars' arrangements.
Zhang Cheng stood on a large rock on the left side of Hong Chengchou, holding a telescope and looking into the distance. Every part of Rufeng Mountain in the mirror was clearly visible. Although it was not as clear as the telescopes of later generations, it was much better than the naked eye. .
In fact, the telescope made by Yunzhou Craftsman Camp is not only better in craftsmanship and quality than the copper telescope in his hand, but also has better clarity.
But Zhang Cheng was the most sentimental about the telescope in his hand and was unwilling to replace it with a new one. The old man Shi Tiegen, the director of the craftsman camp, thought Zhang Cheng liked copper, so he specially got some fine brass and carefully crafted it for him. He made a telescope, but was shelved by Zhang Cheng.
After a long time, Zhang Cheng couldn't help but secretly admire in his heart. The Tartar thieves originally made a living by fishing and hunting. Since the time of the old slaves, they have been fighting in the east and west for many years, and then they gradually got together. Their marching and fighting methods are many. It comes from hunting.
When not fighting, they still hunted to train the army. In winter, they set up fences and in summer, they dug trenches. Therefore, they can be said to have great experience in digging trenches.
In this battle of Songjin, the Tartar thieves showed their trench-digging talents to the fullest!
According to historical records, when the Qing army detoured from the Nuer River to attack Xingshan, they dug three trenches from the Nuer River to the seaside in one day. One of the trenches was dozens of miles long, cutting off life and death. Understand the connection between Songshan and Xingshan of the Ming Dynasty.
And why did the Qing army dig so fast?
That's because the trenches dug by the Qing army were very clever. The cross-section of the trench was like an inverted triangle, with the tip facing down and the bottom facing up, so it was dug very quickly.
Moreover, the trenches of the Qing army were about one foot wide at the top, but only one foot wide at the bottom. The characteristics of this trench were also obvious, that is, the horses above could not jump over it, but if a person fell in, there would be no A good starting point is difficult to climb up, and the effect is really no worse than a rectangular trench.
Although information about the Xuanbei Army's night-time arrests had already been received, Zhang Cheng was still amazed when he saw with his own eyes the trenches dug by the Qing army today.
He thought to himself: In the future, it seems that we can imitate this kind of trench when dealing with rogue bandits or even Tatar thieves. Wouldn't it save more time and effort?
What's even more powerful about the Qing army's trenches is that there are wooden stakes erected on the sides of the trenches, ropes tied to the stakes, bells tied to the ropes, and a vicious dog next to the bells.
With such an arrangement, even if someone wanted to sneak through the trench at night, it would be almost impossible. Even if they could avoid the rope and not touch the bell, how could they avoid those alert and intelligent dogs.
The defense lines were so tightly arranged. No wonder Zu Dashou was trapped in Jinzhou. He organized several breakouts and charged into formations, but was unable to break out of the trenches dug by the Qing army.
Even the trench layout of World War I was only a little better than this!
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Each department of the Ming army first used chariots to block key points, and then cut down trees and set up fences to form camps. Deep trenches were also dug around the camps, and various anti-theft barriers such as horses, deer antlers, and iron caltrops were deployed. instrument.
Since it was the first time they arrived in Songshan, each battalion had only determined the specific location of their respective camps, and the camps were beginning to take shape. The officers and soldiers of each army were busy. Some dug trenches outside the camp, some went to the mountains to cut down trees, and some Fetching water to boil and prepare for cooking.
Between Songshan City and Rufeng Mountain, there were dense clouds of war. Flags were everywhere inside and outside the city, south and north of the mountains, on the top and bottom of the ridges, and there was a strong battlefield atmosphere.
That day, except for some sentries from both sides who came out to spy and had occasional contact with each other chasing each other north and south, everything was generally uneventful. They were all making intense preparations for the fierce battle they were about to face.
In the sultry summer wind, the blazing sun also slowly set behind the western mountain peaks. In the military camps of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, fires flashed everywhere. One after another, they carried buckets or drove carts to fetch water from nearby water sources.
There are no obvious big rivers flowing around Songshan Castle, but fortunately it is in a low-lying area surrounded by mountains. There are still many streams gathering together, and the groundwater resources there are also rich. As long as you are willing to dig some deep wells, you can still Water source is available.
However, the food and grass seems to be easy to solve at present, and can be transported continuously from Xingshan and Tashan. However, hundreds of thousands of troops are stationed here, and the daily water demand is also huge.
If we only rely on mountain streams with unstable flows and some wells with varying water outputs, we can do it in the short term. But in the long run, it is not an option. We must seize the area close to the river to station, which is the best.
