Jingming

Chapter 506 Jining Attack and Defense

As if a hungry wolf was punched hard in the waist, the intercepting Tatar cavalry managed to avoid a small hole for a short time.

The good idea of ​​the Tatar cavalry was to wipe out these 500 cavalry and capture Mao Bowen. Otherwise, they would have cut through the middle instead of standing in front and drawing their bows sideways. The most primitive lancers in the Ming army would not have achieved such results.

This round of gunfire knocked down nearly a hundred cavalry, some dead and others injured.

Most of them were hit because the front rider fell off his horse and the horse was confused and couldn't avoid it.

The sound of gunshots was heard on horseback, which touched upon the knowledge blind spot of the Tatar cavalry.

It seems that the second round may sound soon. It is inconvenient to load ammunition above the horse's back, and it also touches the knowledge blind spot of most ordinary Tatar soldiers.

Although the general who led the team had this intention and yelled and gave orders, Mao Bowen and the others only needed a short time to get through.

Vertically and horizontally, the Tatar cavalry's interception failed to work. The impact of the gun cavalry made their intercepting team instinctively reveal a small hole. The cavalry behind them had no choice but to avoid the nearly a hundred cavalry in front who fell off their horses and were in chaos. Without drawing a single arc, it was truly designed to penetrate the middle of the Ming army.

The reaction was quick, and Mao Bowen was heavily guarded by the Ming army.

"Stab the spears on the outside and use the bow in the middle! Your armor is much better than theirs!"

There is no unnecessary nonsense, the marching speed of the Ming army has not changed.

Horse hooves stepped on the fallen Tatar cavalry's bodies. Everyone in the remaining 400-odd Ming army was stimulated by adrenaline hormones that they did not know existed, and fought for their own survival.

There was only more than three miles away from the military formation coming out of the south gate of Jining City. When Mao Bowen narrowly passed through the line drilled by the Tatar cavalry, more than a hundred cavalry behind him were cut off.

The Beilu, who had been running in front of the cavalry that was bombarded by muskets, now made a circle and were ready to rush in front to intercept them again.

"Go to the right and wait for time!"

Mao Bowen hoped that the Ming army coming out of the city to meet them would bring artillery.

The Ming Dynasty's artillery has been improved for more than ten years. Now even the portable small artillery has an effective range of about 500 range from the old days to about 500 range today.

As long as they reach a suitable distance, the Ming army leaving the city can slightly stop the group of northern prisoners from the front left through shelling.

As for the hundreds of Ming cavalry troops who had been cut off behind him... Mao Bowen's heart was as hard as iron: For the war situation, arriving safely in Jining City was more important than anything else!

This is war!

If Anda is prepared to use all his strength to capture Jining City first, then he can defend the city longer; if Anda is attracted by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty who has already set out to garrison the Victory Fort, then the dignified General Military Staff of the Ming Dynasty will be with him. With Jining City behind him, he had to leave enough strength to suppress the Ming army that might come out of the city to surround him.

With Yinshan there, the front and back sleeves are like pockets. Crossing the Yinshan Mountains to enter the front and back sets, there are huge risks on the way, the war is unfavorable and it is difficult to exit.

Entering the Jining area from the gap at the eastern end of Yinshan Mountain and then advancing towards Datong is indeed more consistent with the deployment and advancement of such a large-scale army.

Then Jining is very important.

The horses' hooves were rushing, and both the enemy and ourselves were shouting on horseback. In the end, what made Mao Bowen a little relieved was that the sound of cannons was indeed heard from the military formation of the defenders leaving the city.

"We must not let him run away! Don't hide, don't be afraid of death! The Immortal God will bless you!"

What made Mao Bowen's heart sink was that this team might have the last chance to intercept their Tatar cavalry, as if they would stop him and capture him at any cost.

Who asked him to reveal his identity?

Even if most of the three thousand cavalry were killed or wounded, what kind of credit would it be to kill the Ming Dynasty's general military staff or even capture him alive?

At this moment, Mao Bowen felt some regret for shouting out in advance.

Although it was to attract the attention of the defenders in the city as soon as possible, since we knew that the Ming army had telescopes but the Tatars did not, why not stop them from being so excited first?

Sure enough, it was because he was in a dangerous situation and knew that he must not lose the morale of the Ming Dynasty first, so he thought poorly.

Thinking of Tang Shunzhi, who was younger than him but took control of all three sides when he was governor of Gansu, Mao Bowen felt even more that he was still inferior.

But no matter what, now he is the military general staff officer!

"I am not greedy for life and afraid of death!" He shouted loudly, "Brothers, the Ming Dynasty cannot dismiss the general military staff just after the war begins! When we enter the city and sacrifice our brothers' families, I will take good care of them and treat them as one of my own! "

In fact, there is no need for him to encourage us. The situation is like this. Everyone knows that only by staying together and working hard can we survive.

This is their duty to enlist as soldiers and protect their home and country.

As Mao Bowen's bodyguards, they would never abandon him in front of the Jining defenders and use him as bait to survive.

Suddenly, the south of Jining City showed some tragic atmosphere.

There were only nearly three hundred cavalry left to guard Mao Bowen, and there were red-eyed Tatar cavalry in front and behind him.

In this battle, of Mao Bowen's five hundred guards, only a hundred cavalry broke through to the rear of the military formation that came out of the city to meet.

The Tatar cavalry did not give up and immediately organized a charge. After all, the Ming army left the city, which was easier to fight than attacking the city.

Mao Bowen did not enter the city first, but took command in the military formation.

The Ming army of more than 2,000 people who came out of the city to meet them faced the Tatar cavalry, which also had only more than 2,000 people. What should they be afraid of?

Fighting and retreating, by the time the Tatar cavalry left hundreds more dead and wounded and a new force of 5,000 cavalry was about to attack, the Ming army had already retreated to the fire cover of the giant cannon on the city wall.

With the sudden change, the Ming army paid the price of more than 300 casualties of the General Staff Guards and more than 200 casualties of the defenders. In exchange for the nearly 1,500 casualties of the Tatar intercepting cavalry, Mao Bowen finally successfully entered the city.

"The Ming Dynasty will definitely win!" Mao Bowen burst into tears as soon as he entered the city. "As fast as the Tatars came, so did I! Something happened suddenly. Three thousand blocked five hundred, and nearly half of them were killed or injured!"

At this time, Anda received accurate news and knew what he had just missed.

"...The Han emperor has arrived at Victory Fort?"

I looked to the south in the distance. Is it only a hundred miles away?

If more than 100,000 elite soldiers cover up the attack, can they succeed?

But their military general staff actually dared to drive deeply into Jining, which was almost an isolated city.

Although it is not an isolated city, the hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers from the Khan Court who arrived here are enough to besiege it heavily.

"Don't worry about him." An Da looked at Jining City indifferently, "When the peasants and servants arrive, we will start piling up earth to attack the city!"

In fact, he has no escape route. If he doesn't seize the opportunity in this situation, will he return without success?

From now on, he is an upright opponent.

It is his strength to have so many elite soldiers, civilians, and servants.

The Ming Dynasty was surrounded by enemies on all sides, and the Eastern Expedition could not return without success. It was also his strength.

It is indeed cruel to pile up earth and attack the city, but Jining City is flat here and he has enough people.

As long as Jining is captured and the military general staff officer is captured, Zhuo Zi's military morale will be in chaos even if he is in the mountains.

Without Jining, would the Han emperor still dare to stay in Victory Fort safely?

……

Before Zhu Houcong arrived at Victory Fort, the sentinels had already sent news from the north.

The Beilu had already arrived at Jining, and even Mao Bowen was blocked on his way into the city.

Zhu Houcong also had some regrets in his heart. Regarding Anda's strategy this time, they have indeed repeatedly misjudged it.

I thought this was just a harassment, but I didn't expect that they were attacking with all their strength.

I thought that they would not be willing to give up the difficulty to attack the city that they were not good at, but I did not expect that even with the large number of people, he would have to pile up real results first.

From a strategic point of view, if we can "conquer lost ground", Anda's authority and the morale of his subordinates will indeed be different.

On the contrary, if Jining is actually lost, the morale of the Ming Dynasty's northern defenders will be shaken.

The psychological shadow caused by Beilu is not so easy to completely eradicate.

It is a fact that the field exchange ratio was achieved in the breakout battle when Mao Bowen arrived at Jining, and it is also a fact that the Tatars claimed that hundreds of thousands of troops were already preparing to siege Jining. "Your Majesty, it's time for a head-on confrontation."

A little behind Zhu Houcong, Guo Xunce rode over and expressed his views.

Zhu Houcong said nothing.

Regardless of the cost, can I capture Jining before the defenders from other directions in the Ming Dynasty can respond or provide support?

Zhu Houcong knew that his next decision must be correct.

They planned to hold Anda back in the north and wait until Ma Fang succeeded in stealing the house, so that he could no longer retreat.

He underestimated the pressure that the Ming Dynasty under his rule put on Anda. In Anda's view, it was already the last chance of life and death.

If you are forced into a desperate situation, why don't you dare to try again?

So I used all my strength and fought head-on.

This is irrational, because Zhu Houcong always has the impact of another life experience in his mind: In fact, there are more choices.

Forbearance, strategy, waiting...

So the joys and sorrows of people cannot be communicated with each other? In Anda's opinion, is it already a desperate situation?

So even if we fight head-on, what can we gain? Can you win?

Zhu Houcong put down these thoughts and entered an absolutely cold mode.

Since you are absolutely unwilling to give in, then let’s end this completely.

"All the Beibei tribes have only two to three million people. Since almost all the capable soldiers have appeared in Jining, there is no need to be so nervous in other places." Zhu Houcong said calmly, "I believe Jining can hold on for at least a while. , Head-to-head confrontation is just one aspect, send orders to Zhuozi, Guihua, Xinghe, Kaiping, divide your forces and encircle!"

An Da unexpectedly also learned from the Japanese to "bet on the fate of the country", but Zhu Houcong believed that the Ming Dynasty would not lose, even if the defenders of Jining City had to be sacrificed!

Even if the troops encircling him from the north are weak, they still have Ma Fang.

It will take a long time for the decree to reach Kaiping and then find Ma Fang through the sentry cavalry.

During this period of time, it may be enough for Anda to capture Jining City.

But in the final analysis, as long as he, the great emperor of tomorrow, is not prepared to retreat, the Ming army in the north still needs to fight.

It’s not like we can’t win!

"Instruct the special operations battalion to block the line from Yinshan to Kaiping!" Zhu Houcong issued a second order, "It is their greatest contribution to cut off news from the north and the south!"

Then came the third decree: "Thirty thousand reinforcements from the Beijing camp came out of the border wall and entered the west bank of Jininghai. In a field battle, the Ming Dynasty will not lose!"

Guo Xun clasped his fists: "I accept your order!"

Zhu Houcong looked at him: "You want to lead the army yourself?"

Guo Xun laughed: "I have no way to repay your kindness. At this time, who else can I give up?"

"...Okay, remember, I will not retreat!" Zhu Houcong's face was firm, "I still say what I said, I hope you will triumph with me!"

"Yes!" Guo Xun met the emperor's eyes and nodded heavily, "Yes!"

No matter what he went through, he, the Marquis of Wu Ding, eventually became Duke Yi of the Ming Dynasty.

He also enjoyed the honor for so many years.

This time, Yu Dayou is not here, he may be much worse.

But the generals under his command and the Ming Dynasty’s capital camp are not what they used to be.

Guo Xun saluted and clapped his horse forward.

The emperor also left the Jingying Camp of 10,000 and 50,000 soldiers, and the generals of Jinglu and the Five Forts. In front of him were his 30,000 Jingying Camp, and the defense lines of Liangcheng, Tucheng, and Maoerzhuang.

South of Jining, he was the barrier in front of the emperor.

An Da also knew that when so many of his men showed up in Jining, the Ming Dynasty would naturally divide their forces and encircle them.

It's still the trick of setting up a net to surround him, but now it's like this, it just depends on who is stronger.

These many generals are real behemoths.

No network is used.

When it comes time to retreat, the network is also fragile.

But is it still necessary to retreat?

He must achieve great results so that others can understand: Ming Dynasty is not invincible.

Heaping earth to siege a city is a very labor-intensive and cruel method of siege.

Outside the city wall, piling up earth slopes that can lead to the city wall can indeed break through the city defense more effectively.

The premise is that the terrain is flat, the city walls are not high, and there is no wide moat.

This is the situation in Jining City now.

The Ming army's artillery fire is indeed very intimidating, but once the number of people is large enough, Tushan has also built a basic scale, and the threat of artillery fire is also limited.

I estimate the time.

Facing such a large force of the Khan Court, the reinforcements coming from the south would never dare to march hastily. It would take at least two or three days for tens of thousands of troops to advance to the south of Jining City.

The same goes for the east and west sides, but it would take longer to block his retreat from the north.

This period of time is the prime time for siege.

If you have enough troops under your command, you can arrange rotating teams to keep the defenders busy.

Even if it consumes 10,000 to 20,000 elite soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians, so what?

"The battle of life and death! Send orders to the armies on three sides, non-stop!"

There are also three towers around, and the south side is opened.

But the cavalry on the north bank of the Jining Sea are still there. As long as the defenders in the city really abandon the city and flee south, they will also be pursued and killed.

In Jining City, Mao Bowen and the guard looked at the two earth slopes gradually forming in the east and north, but remained unmoved.

Mao Bowen had completely calmed down.

"Having been on the run for more than ten years, he doesn't understand the Ming army today."

Mao Bowen said calmly, "Just deal with the attack in the north, east and west of the city, and wait until they pile up the earth mountain closer. If you set up a ladder from the earth mountain to ride into the city, it will be better to take aim."

The siege of a city is always carried out by ten troops, which lasts for a long time.

But now, I am rushing for time. Although the Beilu were more than ten times stronger, the Ming army was not equal in combat power to its opponents.

When Mao Bowen arrived here, he had only one mission.

Keep it up.

The longer you delay, the better.

　I wish you all a Happy New Year

　　

　

(End of this chapter)