Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 476 The Situation of the Left Cavalry

The season has come to mid-May. Unknown wild flowers are blooming on a vast grassland more than [-] miles north of Guangning, and fresh green grass is everywhere on the rolling hills. Under the blue sky and white clouds, the warm south wind is gentle. The ground blows the endless grassland, which immediately makes people feel refreshed.

This place is called Wenghou, which was originally under the jurisdiction of Horqin Mongolia, but now it belongs to the territory of the so-called Qing Dynasty.

At this moment, if you look down from the air, you will see that on this vast prairie, tens of thousands of tents of various shapes and sizes are scattered everywhere, and tens of thousands of war horses are gnawing leisurely. The tender grass on the ground is drawn by the owner to the small river to enjoy the washing of the river while drinking water, while the knights lie or lie on the grass, or chat and laugh in a circle, and even gallop back and forth from time to time. The war horses passed various military reports back and forth.

On the top of a slightly higher hill, there is a tent that can accommodate more than ten people. Outside the only tent door, there are four sturdy guards with swords on both sides. This tent is Lu Xiangsheng's daily work and rest place. .

Lu Xiangsheng commanded more than [-] cavalry selected from Xuanda Town, Gansu Town, Yansui Town, Shaanxi Town, Ningxia Town, Yongwei Camp, and the attached Tumote Department. , starting from Xuanda, marched eastward along the route of the Eight Banners to conquer the Mongolian tribes. After more than two months of trekking, they finally arrived here in late April.

"Has the South Road sentry returned?"

On a simple desk in the tent, Lu Xiangsheng, who was looking down at the map, raised his head and asked.

More than two months of wind and snow, and the charge and fight along the way, made the already thin Lu Xiangsheng even more vicissitudes of life. However, those slender eyes are brighter and more energetic.

"Report to Commander-in-Chief, there is still no news from the sentry on the south road, and the sentry on the east road is already on the way back. According to the response from the cavalry team, it is only twenty miles away from our camp, and we will arrive in less than an hour!"

Yang Maogong, who has been promoted to the rank of general after accumulating meritorious service, bowed his hands and said back. He rejected Lu Xiangsheng's arrangement to let him lead the army alone, and now he still follows Lu Xiangsheng as a middle officer. After many years of fighting, the relationship between him and Lu Xiangsheng They are as close as brothers and sisters, and they don't want to leave at all.

Wu Dading also had the same idea as Yang Maogong. Wu Dading, who already had the title of General Manager, still held the position of Lu Xiangsheng's personal army and was determined not to lead the army. Lu Xiangsheng had no choice but to let them go.

"Superintendent, although the sentinels on the south road are a little closer, they need to go to the Jiannu camp to investigate. If Jiannu is fighting with the Songjin army, then the defense of the rear road may be worse, otherwise the sentinels will be in danger." You need to control the timing yourself, Jianu is not a rabble like a thief."

Ma Ke, the general soldier of Ningxia, continued Yang Maogong's words.

"Hmm. According to common sense, once the eastern captive army goes south, if it fails to achieve its goal, it will be impossible to return north in a short period of time. However, our Daming army has already gathered elites, and there are even more surprise soldiers in hiding. In addition, there are Hong Hengjiu, Sun Baigu, etc. Everyone in charge of the strategy personally, if one’s expectations are not bad, at this moment, the Eastern Captive Army must have suffered a lot, but how to deal with it in the future, our department and the front line of Songjin are suffering from no communication, how to cooperate with the battle depends on You can make your own decisions based on circumstances!"

After arriving in Wenghou in late April, while dispatching several groups of cavalry to sweep the surrounding area, Lu Xiangsheng sent sentries to the east and south respectively according to the signs on the map. The purpose is to cross Guangning and continue south, to detect the movement of the main force of the Qing army in the Songjin area from behind.

Lu Xiangsheng's tactic based on the map is very simple, that is, at the right time, the whole army sneaks into the area from Guangning to Xingpingbao to set up an ambush, and cooperates with the frontal army to ambush the Qing army retreating north.

From the analysis of the entire strategy formulated by Zhu Youjian, the military officials and their important ministers, no matter how Jiannu responded, they would eventually have to return north due to various factors. It was only a matter of time.

The reason why Lu Xiangsheng put the ambush site in this section is mainly because the terrain between Guangning and Xingping Fort is flat and open, and there are no winding rivers, which is most suitable for large-scale cavalry raids.

To the southwest of Guangning are the Daling River and Xiaoling River, and to the east of Xipingbao is the wider Liaohe River. Although these rivers are now in the dry season, the water flow is much smaller than in the rainy season, but the formation of The swamps and mud puddles are the biggest obstacle for the cavalry to charge.

The reason why the cavalry led by Lu Xiangsheng took more than a month to arrive at Wenghou was mainly to hide his whereabouts as much as possible and avoid alarming the Mongolian tribes east of the destination. Otherwise, the strategic purpose of his left-wing surprise army would be fully exposed.

After leading the army out of the Xuanda side wall and into the grassland, Lu Xiangsheng sent Cao Bianjiao and Luo Shifang, two fierce generals, each leading [-] cavalry, to march eastward in a fan-shaped posture. All Mongolian tribes, big and small, were wiped out, and the two were strictly ordered not to kill indiscriminately, except for the old and weak, women and children, and not to let one escape.

The left-wing Luo Shifang was the general who carried out the commander-in-chief to the letter. Apart from suppressing and besieging the Tartars who dared to resist, the rest of the old, weak, women and children, as well as cattle, sheep, horses and other assets were all escorted back and handed over to the person in charge. The Universal Trading Company that provides logistical support for the army.

Cao Bianjiao on the right wing did not let anyone escape, but in the end, only the Mongolian cavalry of his Tumed tribe drove back a large group of livestock. As for the other population and supplies, he did not see them at all.

Although Lu Xiangsheng was slightly displeased, he was not a pedantic person. He knew that the battlefield was so cruel and cold-blooded, and Cao Bianjiao was not a domineering person who did not obey orders. It was just that he had developed a cold personality because of fighting in the frontier all the year round. Personality and an overly bloodthirsty temperament.

Under Zhu Youjian's arrangement, the Xuanda Branch of Sihai Commercial Bank participated in the operation of the army going out of the fortress.

The firm organized more than a thousand vehicles of various sizes, loaded with various military supplies such as food, fodder, ordnance, and followed Lu Xiangsheng's Chinese army all the way eastward slowly until the whole army settled down in Queen Weng. The convoy unloaded the remaining materials consumed along the way, and then drove tens of thousands of horses and cattle and other large livestock back to Xuanda under the escort of [-] cavalry.

These captured large livestock will be selected and transported to the inland, or sold or handed over to the local government for distribution to farmers. Those underage livestock will be raised by the Tumote Department, and will grow up in a few years Then it was acquired by the Four Seas Commercial Bank.

As for the most captured flocks, they were reserved for the army as food, because after weng empress was determined to be the stronghold, it was not known when they could sneak to the ambush point. During this period, a lot of food would be consumed. In addition to grains, tea and salt, high Meat with high protein and energy is also indispensable.

After inquiring about the topography and landforms returned by the sentry in the east, the ambush point was finally determined. Now he only needs to wait for the sentry on the south route to send back the main movement of the Qing army, and then Lu Xiangsheng can decide when to lead his troops to ambush.

The Qing army gathered tens of thousands of people in the Songjin area, and the northward retreat could not be completed in a day or two. As long as 10+ coats were prepared to evacuate first, this could prove that the Qing army was ready to return to Shengjing.

The 10,000+ coats need to pack up all kinds of materials and equipment, clean them up, and not leave obstacles that hinder the march for the follow-up army. This also takes a lot of time, plus the time spent on walking, this period is enough for Lu Xiang to be promoted. Arrive at the ambush point early.

　Thanks shajia for the reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)