Zuo Mengeng finally moved.
Just as the imperial reinforcements and the Dongjiang rebels were heading towards Shahe, the new army also began its own strategic deployment.
Mao Yuanyi and Liu Yiyuan were responsible for commanding the second division and secretly returned to Dongchang Mansion in batches.
There are a total of 13,000 people in the division, lurking in the Gaotang area north of Dongchang Mansion.
Mao Yuanyi sent a large number of scouts to the Shahe line to obtain first-hand information on the battle situation.
The communication technology of this era determined that Zuo Mengeng could not direct the actions of the Second Division from thousands of miles away. Therefore, when the second division will move, Mao Yuanyi and Liu Yiyuan need to decide according to the established plan and the outcome of the Battle of Shahe.
Zuo Menggeng and Zuo Yongze commanded the First Division and also left the Yimeng Mountain area.
The First Division followed the coastline east into Jiaozhou Bay, and then swept across Jimo, Haiyang, Rushan, Wendeng, Rongcheng, Weihaiwei, Qishansuo, Ninghaizhou, Fushan and other places from Jiaozhou Bay.
The guards in these places had been defeated by Li Jiucheng in Dengzhou before and were busy trying to survive, leaving no room for resistance against the First Division's front.
Now all the eyes of the world are focused on Shahe, and no one realizes that the New Army has completely controlled Jiaodong.
A large number of administrative officials came to Jiaodong and began administrative reforms to bring these areas under the jurisdiction of the New Army.
The First Division was hiding in Fushan, waiting for the results on the other side of Shahe.
The confrontation on both sides of the Shah River did not last long.
The rebels can afford to wait, but the reinforcements cannot.
Even without Chongzhen's urging, Zhu Dadian, Gao Qiqian, Jin Guoqi and others had to launch an attack.
This time, in order to counter the rebellion, all the main forces of Guan Ning's army were dispatched to Shandong, leaving Liaodong extremely empty.
Everyone is worried that Hou Jin will seize this opportunity to launch a large-scale attack, and Liaodong will fall, which will cause even greater harm.
The only way is to fight quickly, eliminate the Dongjiang rebels as soon as possible, and let Guan Ning's army return to Liaodong.
On August 17, after many days of testing, both sides figured out their opponents' arrangements.
The rebels did not deploy all their troops along the Shahe River. On the contrary, they gave up the area near the river bank.
Just because the Shahe River is shallow and the river surface is not wide, there are many places to choose from if the officers and soldiers want to cross the river.
Concentrate all the troops on the river bank. If the officers and soldiers come around, it will be easy to be attacked from both sides.
Kong Youde was a veteran general, and he deployed the first line of defense outside Lixu, far away from the river bank.
At the same time, the left wing was led by Geng Zhongming, and the right wing was handed over to Mao Chenglu, leaving more than 17,000 back-up personnel behind.
"Generals, who will be the vanguard?"
Zhu Dadian was determined to attack and began to order generals.
The rebels' arrangement was obviously to attack half way across, so the forward was in danger.
Everyone under the tent was silent, obviously worried.
Only Wu Sangui jumped out.
"Lord Zhongcheng, please give the last general three thousand troops and horses. The last general will surely defend the beach."
Wu Xiang was so anxious that he couldn't help shouting: "Stop messing around."
Wu Sangui just didn't listen, and even said: "Zhongcheng, the reputation of my Wu family depends on this."
Zhu Dadian understood.
Wu Sangui came to Shandong with the idea of atonement for Wu Xiang.
In order to absolve Wu Xiang of the crime of escaping at the Daling River, he could only fight first and make more contributions.
Wu Sangui's approach made Zhu Dadian admire this young man very much.
"Okay, I will give you three thousand fine cavalry. As long as you stand firm on the other side of the river and cover the army crossing the river, I will personally ask for credit for you afterwards."
Wu Sangui quietly glanced at Gao Qiqian, who nodded lightly. Wu Sangui hurriedly kowtowed to thank him and went to prepare himself.
Someone came forward, and the other generals were relieved of their responsibility as the vanguard, and it became lively for a while.
Seeing that the military's morale was available, Zhu Dadian took advantage of the situation and made arrangements.
On the second day, at the fifth watch, the officers and soldiers blew the trumpets to assemble. After burying the pots and making rice, they all left the military camp and marched all the way to the river.
On the other side, Kong Youde had long noticed the changes in the officers and soldiers and ordered Chen Yongfu on the front line to be on strict alert.
At Chen time, the officers and soldiers who had completed their preparations launched.
Riding on the horse, Wu Sangui didn't feel any nervousness. His calm demeanor also made his subordinates calm down.
When he heard the horn sound coming from the direction of the Chinese army, he immediately gave the order.
"Wear armor."
With the help of their servants, the three thousand Guan Ning cavalry put on their armor and stepped onto their war horses.
In front of them, countless civilians were already being driven towards the river. After running, he threw the sandbags and stones he was carrying into the river.
The army's artillery began to roar, and the sound of the red cannons shook hundreds of miles. Artillery shells weighing dozens of kilograms flew over high altitudes and hit the rebel camp.
Under such bombardment, the fences and mounds of earth were all shattered and turned into a mess. The people who were hit by the broken objects all screamed and were bloody and bloody.
Many people had their limbs mutilated by the bombing and died on the spot.
However, in general, the artillery of the army has loud thunder and light rain.
The rebel soldiers were experienced and had already found cover and hid well when the government troops opened fire.
The trenches crisscrossing the ground were a weapon to avoid shells.
However, taking advantage of the artillery bombardment, the civilians finally filled up a section of the river.
Wu Sangui didn't hesitate anymore, pointed the sword, and rushed out first.
More than three thousand horses followed him and set foot on the other side.
Only then did the rebel artillery begin to fire.
Chain bullets and shotguns were like swarms of locusts, covering the sky and covering the ground, killing many cavalrymen on the spot.
Fortunately, the cavalry moved quickly and spread out, so they were not covered on the beach.
Taking advantage of Wu Sangui's troops being scattered, Chen Youyou led the rebel cavalry up, intending to drive Wu Sangui down the river in one go.
At this time, Wu Sangui was still full of energy and was not the soldier he would become later. When he saw Chen sometimes coming to kill him, he did not panic at all.
He didn't care about the cavalry that had not yet joined up, and led his own soldiers to meet them.
The horses' hooves are rolling, and the earth is like a drum.
The two cavalrymen were getting closer and closer.
Although there were only more than two hundred people around him, Wu Sangui was fearless in the face of the rebel cavalry.
Since the Tianqi period, Liaodong Jiangmen and Dongjiang Town have been at odds with each other. In the eyes of Liaodong generals, Dongjiang Town is just a group of beggars.
Wu Sangui has been exposed to it since he was a child, so how could he be afraid of the ants under his feet?
This is how people are, once they have no fear in their hearts, they can do anything.
Watching the enemy getting closer and closer, Wu Sangui spotted Chen Youyou's figure with sharp eyes. He immediately unfurled his bow and nocked an arrow, remaining as steady as a rock even on the galloping horseback.
At the moment when the enemy's cavalry crossed each other, he immediately gave up. The iron arrows were like lightning, heading straight towards Chen You.
Chen Shi was shouting when he suddenly felt a murderous aura. Before he could think about it, he immediately shrank into a ball.
The moment he lowered his head, the arrow hit his helmet and fell far away.
Chen was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat and never dared to show his body again, letting his own soldiers stand in front of him.
Although there are cavalry on both sides, Guan Ning's army has been fighting on land with the Jurchen Eight Banners. Although they won less and lost more, they still fought a tough battle.
The rebel cavalry was nestled on the island and had no place to race. Over time, their ability to fight on horseback had long declined.
The two sides hedged, and when they separated again, Wu Sangui's side only lost a dozen people. Hundreds of rebel cavalry fell down, and even Chen Youyou didn't know when he was stabbed in the arm.
Wu Sangui wiped the blood from his face and shouted wantonly: "It's so happy, so damn happy. Sons, follow me and kill all these rebellious people."
Guan Ning's cavalry charged again. At the same time, the scattered cavalry also formed small teams and besieged the rebel cavalry from all directions.
For a moment, it seemed as if the rebels were trapped in a tight siege.
Zhu Dadian saw it clearly and was overjoyed.
"Wu Changbo is a true tiger general! Order all the troops to cross the river quickly and defeat the rebellion now."
Following his order, the officers and soldiers began to forcibly cross the Shahe River.
And the one who rushed to the front was Wu Xiang, the running champion.
There was nothing he could do. It was his own son who was fighting fiercely on the other side of the river.
In order to save his son, Wu Xiang can be brave.
Seeing that the army was launching an all-out attack, Chen sometimes did not dare to fight. After staggering away from Wu Sangui, he led his soldiers and horses to the back of the rebel line.
Not satisfied yet, Wu Sangui pursued him, but was driven back by a hail of arrows from the rebel infantry.
At this point, Wu Sangui also calmed down and no longer showed his bloody courage. Instead, he separated his cavalry and cruised on both wings to cover the army's crossing of the river.
Jin Guoqi was very prudent. When the army was crossing the river, he ordered the artillery to move forward to the river and continued to use artillery fire to suppress the rebels and prevent them from attacking halfway across the river.
Kong Youde tried it once, but suffered heavy casualties, so he simply retreated and relied on the camps and fortifications to plan a head-on confrontation with the government troops.
