There were originally two pontoon bridges on the Nerv River, which were the main transportation routes from Songshan to Jinzhou City. One of them was the post road between Shuangzi Mountain and Rufeng Mountain. There was a pontoon bridge leading to Jinzhou South at the Nerv River. .
The second is the Daughter River section, which is a few miles northwest from Shuangzi Mountain. The river has a bend here. The river here is narrow and the banks are very solid. In order to facilitate the passage of large armies, a rather deep road has been laid here. For the huge floating bridge.
Today, half of the pontoon bridge connecting the post road has been demolished by the Qing army near the south bank. Only half of the pontoon bridge on the north bank is still standing alone on the Nvnu River.
As for the pontoon bridge at the bend of the Nerv River, although it has not yet been demolished due to the need of the Qing army to pass troops back and forth, the banks of the Nerv River are also covered with Tatar-coated aha, who are always ready to demolish the pontoon bridge.
Du Du was stationed at Shuangzi Mountain at the moment. In addition to monitoring the movements of the Ming army, he also wanted to protect the pontoon bridge. After all, the Qing army was spread across both sides of the Nuer River, and the only way to move quickly was through the pontoon bridge.
There are only two floating bridges like this left. One is this floating bridge, and the other is a floating bridge on the west side of Baimiao Fort more than ten miles away.
At this time, Du Du concluded that the reason why the Ming Army Tang Tong Department came here must also be for this floating bridge.
What he expected was not a big mistake. The Tang Tong troops of the Ming Army really came here for this pontoon bridge. However, they did not have to capture this pontoon bridge.
The military order commanded by Tang Tong was to restrain the Qing troops here so that they could not go deep into the rear to attack Bai Guangen and Ma Ke. Of course, if they could seize this pontoon bridge and attack across the river, it would be a great achievement.
At this moment, although Tang Tong knew that most of the Qing army had retreated, he did not know where they were retreating to, nor did he know that there was only one Jia La Tatar left on the Twin Mountains.
Otherwise, he would not have marched forward with the whole army so steadily, and would have sent out his elite cavalry to quickly attack the pontoon.
This battle is a test for all the generals in Jiliao Town. Whether each of them is attentive and their achievements in this battle will determine their future status in the heart of Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao.
Of course, the key is still the competition between Tang Tong, Bai Guangen, and Ma Ke. Wu Sangui is naturally the leader in Liao Town, and there is also an unshakable Zu Dashou. How can the rest compete with them?
For example, Liu Zhaoji, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong Province, was marginalized in this battle. Although he also fought against the slave bandits at Gaoqiao, he was unable to prevent the slave bandits from attacking the important grain storage area of Beacon Mountain. If it weren't for Zhang Cheng The timely return of aid almost led to catastrophe.
After this battle, Liu Zhaoji was lucky to be able to keep his position as the Commander-in-Chief of the Liaodong Army. However, after all, he was transferred to the Liao Dynasty as the Commander-in-Chief of the Liaodong Army at the request of Hong Chengchou, so he would not be taken down and prosecuted. It would just be a different position.
In the eyes of the Liaodong generals, the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Liaodong Army has become Wu Sangui’s bag!
But Jizhen is different. Cao Bianjiao and Wang Tingchen are both veteran confidants of Hong Chengchou, and neither of them is very utilitarian, nor is they very territorial.
After all, as a powerful force in the Qin army, Hong Chengchou also relied on them a lot. At critical moments, he still had to come out to support himself, so he was well protected in terms of military pay and food.
But Tang Tong, Bai Guangen and Ma Ke are different. They all have a strong sense of military leadership, especially Ma Ke and Bai Guangen. He had been fighting with Hong Chengchou by his side.
At that time, they led their troops to follow Hong Chengchou's command and campaigned against bandits in Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan provinces. They had no fixed residence and fought against the bandits day and night. Their life was very difficult.
But as soon as they arrived in Liaodong, they were stationed in their own flood areas. Finally they could settle down, and they began to pick up their families and come to live there. Influenced by the local customs, officers at all levels took the lead in accumulating land.
As a result, their military leaders became more aggressive and their territorial consciousness began to rise. Although on the surface, they often met in private to teach each other the secrets of expanding their power, and they even covered each other and committed evil.
But deep down, there is also a competitive relationship between the three of them. Everyone is thinking about how to outdo others and make themselves the boss of Ji Town.
Just like Tang Tong, he is the commander-in-chief of Miyun and is supposed to be under the command of Bai Guangen, the commander-in-chief of Jizhen. Therefore, no matter how close he is to Bai Guangen and Ma Ke, he always wants to replace this outsider in his heart. Come and be the commander-in-chief of this Ji Town.
At this moment, he had such thoughts in mind, and then led his army to rush over.
Tang Tong used a small number of cavalry to explore the road ahead, and some cavalry to protect the two wings. Then he personally led the army in the center. If the Qing army was large, he would form a car formation to protect himself.
But if the Qing army was weak, he would have to attack with the whole army and fight hard. If he could go down the Twin Mountains in one go and successfully capture the pontoon bridge behind it, wouldn't it be a great achievement.
Tang Tong saw the reality very clearly. He did not want to compete with Wu Sangui for credit. All he was thinking about at the moment was Bai Guangen.
Tang Tong couldn't stand these outsiders from the bottom of his heart. He already regarded himself as a local householder. Although he had similar interests with Bai Guangen and Ma Ke, and they worked in collusion with each other, he always wanted to replace them.
Now, Bai Guangen's entire army was defeated at the foot of Shimen Mountain last time. The strength of Jizhen's army has not yet recovered, and the same is true for Ma Ke, and the two of them have a grudge against each other because of this.
Tang Tong felt that his opportunity had come. In the previous battle of Dongshimen, although the attacks were evenly matched, Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, had a heart-to-heart talk with him in private and claimed that he was just showing off to outsiders.
Regarding his performance, Hong Chengchou said that he was well aware of it, but as long as he made further achievements in future wars, he would definitely report it to the court for commendation.
This undoubtedly aroused Tang Tong's inner desire. He thought that even if he could not replace Bai Guangen as the commander-in-chief of Jizhen, after this war, his weight in the mind of Governor Hong Chengchou would undoubtedly be greater than that of Bai Guangen and he would become the boss of Jizhen. .
He rode his horse and looked at the Qing army in front of him, raised the corners of his mouth and said, "Are these just the Tatars?"
Tang Tong's reinforcements brought four battalions of soldiers and horses from Miyun Town, with a total of 12,000 soldiers. Among them, his main camp only had more than 3,500 soldiers and horses, and there were nearly 2,000 cavalry in it. The rest were all infantry. .
But what he reported was the main camp's 5,000 troops. The shortfall was naturally made up of civilians captured temporarily before departure, and the same was true for the other three battalions. Therefore, among his 12,000 troops, there were only real soldiers. Eight or nine thousand people.
In this way, excluding the casualties in the previous battles, and the more than a thousand soldiers left in the camp, the number of soldiers going into this battle is about 7,000, and the remaining 4,000 to 5,000 are civilians and soldiers accompanying the expedition. Just a handyman.
But even so, when he saw that the Qing army on the opposite side only had more than a thousand troops and horses, he couldn't help but feel disapproving in his heart. After all, when he attacked Dongshimen, he encountered more Tatars than today.
General Tang Youren, a guerrilla, reminded at the side: "Commander, will there be an ambush by the Tatars?"
In Tang Youren's opinion, he also felt that there should not be only these more than a thousand Tatars stationed in such a crucial place as Twin Mountains.
After hearing this, Tang Tong couldn't help but look around nervously, and asked, "Have you ever explored the surrounding area?"
Tang San, the leader of the servant team, then rode his horse forward and replied: "Commander, we have all explored, and the outpost has already passed the Twin Mountains. There has been no return yet. It seems that there is no Tatar ambush."
"Um."
Tang Tong nodded when he heard the words, and suddenly felt at peace in his heart. He couldn't help but feel proud. He sneered and said: "There are only a thousand Tatars who want to stop my army from moving forward. You are really overestimating your capabilities."
He raised his eyebrows and said again: "Tang San, call for Hu Yuntong, Cheng Haishan, and Liu Chengwu."
"Yes." Tang San agreed, then turned around and arranged for his servants to go and summon the generals.
It turned out that in Miyun Town, in addition to the main barracks, the right-wing battalion guerrilla Hu Yuntong, the left-wing battalion staff general Cheng Haishan, and the guerrilla front battalion Liu Chengwu also came with them.
Among them, the left-wing battalion of General Cheng Haishan had the most troops, followed by the right-wing battalion Hu Yuntong's troops, and Liu Chengwu's guerrilla battalion was the smallest, with only more than 1,500 troops.
Not long after, a burst of rapid hoofbeats came from behind and stopped a dozen steps away. Three generals rode in front of Tang Tong. After a brief salute, Cheng Haishan took the lead and asked, "Commander Tang called me." Wait, but what are your orders?"
Tang Tong raised his horse whip, pointed at the Qing cavalry formation opposite and said to them: "There are only a thousand captives on the opposite side, and I want to encourage them to capture the Twin Mountains and march to attack the pontoon bridge. What do you think? ?”
Cheng Haishan looked at the Qing cavalry formation opposite. It was true that the number was small, but even if there were more than a thousand captive cavalry, he did not dare to face it alone. He immediately clasped his fists and said: "The Tatars are so rampant that they actually want to defeat more than a thousand captive cavalry. Block the advance of my army. Please tell me, Commander-in-Chief, that the general will never lag behind others and will fight bravely to kill the slaves and add glory to our Miyun Town."
Tang Tong sneered in his heart: "Old fox, you keep talking, but you just don't want to be the first one!"
Although he was dissatisfied, he couldn't show it on his face. Tang Tong smiled "hehe" and said to the generals: "This is the first battle of our army's westward march. You must work hard and don't fall into the hands of the prince." It’s military law.”
Tang's meaning in the call was very clear. If anyone didn't work hard in this battle, he would have to go to the eunuch Wang Cheng'en. Wang Chengen had previously said that if anyone didn't work hard in front of the battle, he would be sorry for the emperor's great kindness. Operate for the emperor!
After hearing Tang Tong's words, several people trembled all over. Although these generals were all men who licked blood with their swords, there was no one who was not afraid of Wang Cheng'en. After all, he was a close minister beside the emperor and held the power of life and death.
Seeing that he had calmed down the situation, Tang Tong said to everyone: "Today's battle, my commander's main camp will take the lead..."
When they heard this, Cheng Haishan and others were very surprised. Why did the sun come out from the west? Today, the commander-in-chief changed his temper, why didn't they charge and fight with their lives?
I heard Tang Tong continue: "Tang Youren led the infantry of the main camp in the front, and used the chariots and artillery to face the slaves and traitors head-on; Tang San led the cavalry of the main camp in the back, always ready to chase the slaves and rebels and defeat them."
He glanced at Cheng Haishan and the other three people with cold eyes, and then said: "The cavalry from the left wing battalion came out, diagonally out from the left wing of our army, and attacked the slave's right wing; the right battalion came out from the right, attacked the slave's left wing; the ranger battalion came out from the two armies to engage in battle. Then, bypass the battlefield from the south and go to the back mountain to wait for an opportunity to attack Twin Mountains."
Tang Tong finally said: "In this battle, I, the brave man, will report it to the governor and reward him based on his merits. But if that person is playing tricks on me and hiding his selfishness to preserve his strength, don't blame me. If you don't show mercy, report it to the prince."
All the generals responded in unison, but Cheng Haishan couldn't help but roll his eyes and thought to himself: "What a great Marshal Tang. His words are so loud that he still wants us to sacrifice our lives for him."
But even if he sees through all this, what can he do?
Who told Tang Tong to be the commander-in-chief of Miyun? What's more, there is nothing wrong with this tactical command in general. The priority is to engage the enemy head-on safely, mainly to focus on the enemy.
The main strategy is to break through on the flanks. Once the enemy array appears to be scattered and defeated, it is understandable to use powerful cavalry to press forward and defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.
If you want to hate, you can only hate yourself for being incompetent, not just the commander-in-chief of Miyun!
…………
Du Du rode his horse in front of the Qing army formation, looking at the Ming army in front of him with the same eyes, although in his heart he still looked down on Tang Tong's soldiers and horses.
But at this moment, I had to be surprised. The Ming army on the opposite side had a neat array. At least on the surface, there was no loopholes and no signs of panic. This did not exist at all in the past.
"We haven't seen each other for more than ten days. How come the dogs are so calm and orderly?"
Du Du was full of suspicion and could not understand the changes in the Ming army for a while.
In fact, the Qing army was at its peak when the slave chief Huang Taiji personally came to the front line to direct the entire army's war effort. At that time, the captive cavalry were like chickens with blood, and all of them were squealing little tigers.
However, with the stalemate in the war, especially the successive defeats of the Qing army, they not only failed to get an advantage from what they called Ming Gou, but also lost their troops and generals. Even their own princes were beheaded by the Ming army in front of the battle.
After this incident spread, it dealt a huge blow to the morale of the Qing army. Moreover, despite the continuous fighting, their own front did not advance but retreated, which greatly depleted the Qing army's vigor.
Especially when the kings and generals learned that Emperor Huang Taiji had ignored the fighting on the front line in Jinzhou and rushed back to Shengjing despite being sick for a woman, they all had some thoughts in their hearts, but they didn't say it.
Under this situation, the Ming army, which in the eyes of the Qing army used to be extremely cowardly and as timid as a mouse, seems to have been reborn, and it has become a bit more powerful invisibly.
Although he felt that the Ming army under Tang Tong seemed different than before, the contempt for the Ming army still occupied Du Du's heart. He raised the corners of his mouth, smiled contemptuously, and said: "No matter how many Ming dogs there are, how can they be the opponent of my warriors?" .”
Jia La Zhang Jing Kun Qiang reminded from the side: "Du Du Gu Mountain, don't you send the Aha to charge first to consume Ming Gou's physical strength?"
Du Du said in a deep voice with confidence: "No need. The Ming Dog has always been as afraid of me as a tiger. I can defeat it with just one charge, so why bother!"
(End of chapter)
