It wasn't until the sound of the clock sounded that the noisy military equipment hall gradually became quiet.
Zhang Ruoqi, the commander-in-chief of the army, Qiu Minyang, the governor of Liaodong, and Ma Shaoyu, who joined the army, as well as other civil officials such as military personnel, supervising the road, grain inspectors, supervising and discipline officials, all followed the governor of Jiliao Hong Chengchou and turned out from behind the screen.
It can be seen that Hong Chengchou was in good spirits at the moment, with a very elegant face full of smiles. He greeted the generals cordially, and after taking his seat, he ordered his attendants to take out nearly a hundred Wu fans and distribute them to the generals in the hall. .
All the generals in the hall were holding Wu fans. They did not swing them slowly and gently like the civil servants, but shook them wildly and carelessly. This kind of atmosphere made Qiu Minyang, Zhang Ruoqi and others feel helpless.
Governor Hong Chengchou also ordered his attendants to bring out plates of iced fruits. A plate was placed on the small table next to each general's seat, as well as on the small table next to the civil servants' seat on the left.
This iced melon and fruit is a good thing right now!
The sun in August is as poisonous as fire, and even at night it is still unbearably hot. When you are so thirsty, if you can eat iced fruits, it will be a fairy-like enjoyment.
At the moment, the sounds of "clattering" of melons being eaten by the generals could be heard all the time. A few rough guys like Bai Guangen, Tang Tong, Li Fuming, etc. even ate all the skin.
Even for a figure in the capital like Chen Jiugao, he was eating in a mess at this time and had no dignity at all. The generals behind each of them could only look at the generals eating melons and fruits with envy, but they I can't eat anything.
…………
After all the officials and generals finished eating the iced melons and fruits, Hong Chengchou's expression became serious and he began to discuss the military affairs of Liaodong.
"... Outside Jinzhou City, the layout of the slave bandits is very clear. Although it is not yet certain how many troops there are, the slave bandits are digging trenches and erecting walls near the dangerous mountains, intending to use this to consume our army's fighting strength. Therefore, we Don’t let it lead this bull by the nose.”
The Ming Dynasty King's Division had roughly investigated the Qing army's camps around Rufeng Mountain and its trench fortifications.
Although the Qing army's sentry cavalry was out in all directions, constantly intercepting the night patrol sent out by the Ming army's battalions for reconnaissance, they did not know that among the Xuanbei army's night patrol elite sentry cavalry, telescopes were already standard equipment for each night patrol unit. Although it is not possible to have one person, it is enough for reconnaissance.
Although the telescopes at this time were not as magnified as those of later generations in terms of how many times they could be used to observe distant objects, the large targets several miles away could still be seen vaguely. They were indeed much further and clearer than those observed with the naked eye. Many of them are indeed weapons for reconnaissance.
Even under the tight defense of the Qing army's sentry cavalry, the Ming army's sentry cavalry did not dare to approach too closely, but the rough situation of their various camps and defenses could be basically seen clearly by the Xuanbei army without closing in at night.
This is an important military matter, so Zhang Cheng will not hide it, but will generously share it with all the generals.
What's more, today afternoon, when the generals climbed to the peak of Rufeng in Shanxi, they also took a brief look at the layout of the Qing army inside Jinzhou City and outside the city. For example, Governor Hong Chengchou, Commander-in-Chief Zhang Ruoqi, Governor Qiu Minyang and others, as well as all the general soldiers, also Each of them brought a telescope, so he could see clearly from the mirror.
According to sentry inspections and observations, the layout of the Qing army's earthen wall trenches was mainly concentrated on the east side of Rufeng Mountain, as well as in Huangtu Ridge, Shimen Mountain, Songshan Ridge, and Maojiagou. Most of them were laid out layer by layer according to the trend of each mountain range. layout.
The trenches are different from the trenches dug by Zhang Cheng on Changling Mountain. There are no trap spikes in the trenches of the Qing army. Their trenches have sharp bottoms, making it difficult to climb back up by oneself after falling in. , but not life-threatening.
Moreover, the earthen and stone wall they built was not a low wall like Zhang Cheng's, but was similar to a village wall, like a small city wall, about one foot high.
Wherever the mountains are gentle, the wall is slightly higher, like a city wall. Although people can climb the wall to fight, it is not as thick as the city wall, but there are multiple village gates according to the terrain.
The village walls in dangerous places are slightly shorter, reaching only about a person's chest. They are mostly used for patrolling by the defenders. This kind of village wall is considered the main wall. In front of the main wall, a deep trench is dug, making the village wall In fact the height is higher.
In front of these wall trenches, two small trenches were excavated. These two small trenches were slightly shallower. A low wall was set up behind the trench, or horses were arranged, and some wooden stakes were driven along the edge of the ditch.
There are ropes tied to these wooden piles, and bells are hung on the ropes. There are also big dogs and hounds tied next to the bells, in order to prevent people from stealing camps and filling trenches at night.
Both Rufeng Mountain and Huangtu Ridge are composed of many large and small mountains, but there are not many tall and precipitous mountains. Instead, the hills and slopes are densely covered. Along each mountain ridge, there are many trenches dug by the Qing army.
The Qing army was fortified at all levels. Even if they captured one mountain ridge, they would still have to face another mountain ridge. If they were to attack Jinzhou City with force, they would not know how hard they would fight, let alone how many casualties they would suffer.
This was only in the area of Rufeng Mountain and Huangtu Ridge. In fact, the Qing army had been besieging Jinzhou for more than a year, and they had also deployed lines of defense in other places, such as Songshan Ridge, Maojiagou and other places.
These places were not only the sleeping quarters of the King's Division of the Ming Army in Songshan, but also strategic military locations for breaking through the siege of Jinzhou, not to mention the other sides of the Nerv River and Xiaoling River. How were the Qing troops arranged?
In the official hall of Governor Ji Liao, all the officials and generals first shared the intelligence they had obtained, and they all felt that the Tatars' deployment room was tightly defended, and it was really difficult to break through their defensive line.
However, the generals also knew that no matter how difficult it was, no matter how many casualties they paid, the siege of Jinzhou must be solved.
Such a large army of kings is gathered here, and grain and grass are piled up from Ningyuan all the way to Tashan and Xingshan. If the siege of Jinzhou cannot be solved again, not to mention the unwillingness of the generals, it is the officials in the imperial court who can only talk nonsense. , even Emperor Chongzhen would not spare them.
Now, the focus of controversy among the officials and generals is whether to capture Rufeng Mountain first or Huangtu Ridge first?
Wu Sangui, the commander-in-chief of Ningyuan, was a representative of the group that supported the capture of Rufeng Mountain first. He believed that Jinzhou was now in crisis, so the first priority was to capture Rufeng Mountain first and open the key to breaking through the siege of Jinzhou.
General Bai Guangen of Jizhen, General Ma Ke of Shanhaiguan, General Tang Tong of Miyun, General Liu Zhaoji of Liaodong, Liaodong General Zu Dale, Songshan Deputy General Xia Chengde, Touring Camp Staff General Liu Zhengjie and other Liaodong officers and generals gave strong support.
Zhang Cheng indeed preferred to capture the Qing army's outer camps such as Huangtu Ridge, Songshan Ridge, and Maojiagou first. He believed that the Qing army's camps in Rufeng Mountain were heavily laid out and most difficult to attack.
Therefore, we must not fall into the trap of the Tartars and cause the Wang division's army to attack Rufeng Mountain to cause a large number of casualties and lose the vigor of the army accumulated in the previous few small victories. This will not be conducive to the situation. Enter the siege of Jinzhou!
