King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 718 Zhu Jinghong: I make the following deployment adjustments
On Dingwu Mountain, Zhu Jinghong sat on a chair, observing the battle situation seven or eight miles away.

The so-called Dingwu Mountain is a mountain in the southwest of Wucheng. It doesn’t matter what its original name was. Zhu Jinghong changed it to “Dingwu Mountain”.

Although it was night, we could still roughly observe the direction of the battle based on the firelight.

Although they were waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out and had made preparations in advance, this was a night battle after all. The battle was extremely difficult to command and could lead to collapse if they were not careful.

So for Zhu Jinghong, he had no absolute certainty of victory until the war was over.

If you are not sure of winning, then you must maximize your chances of winning.

Therefore, after the war broke out, the cavalry guards stationed on the south side also moved north according to the predetermined plan. Some moved west to prepare for the next blocking, and some moved east to prepare for a roundabout encirclement.

The reason why more cavalry were not dispatched at the beginning was to confuse the enemy scouts to the greatest extent, but after the real outbreak, there were no such concerns, and naturally all the troops could be deployed for support.

Soon an hour passed, the shouting and killing sounds north of Wucheng gradually weakened, and the battle reports were gradually summarized to Zhu Jinghong's headquarters.

All the sorting tasks were handed over to the staff officers. Zhu Jinghong sat alone on the cliff, staring straight at the situation in the distance.

Around midnight, a staff officer came lightly behind Zhu Jinghong, holding a piece of paper.

"Your Highness, most of the 10,000 Junggar cavalry have been killed. Now our army is continuing to pursue and wipe them out!"

Zhu Jinghong didn't even turn his head and asked directly: "The Luosha Kingdom's Breastplate Cavalry Brigade still failed to find the main force?"

"Not discovered yet!" The staff officer who answered was very cautious.

"Do you think...will they run away?" Zhu Jinghong was not sure.

Liu Cheng replied: "There are three guards defending the west of our army. The Junggar cavalry ambushed our army. If they want to escape, they must break through these three guards..."

"However, the three guards in the west held their positions to the death. Apart from fighting with the Dzungars, no trace of the Rakshasas was found!"

Liu Cheng is 23 years old this year. He is the grandson of Liu Fang, the left governor of the Right Military Governor's Office. He is currently the deputy captain of the Right Guard of the Yulin Army, a sixth-rank official.

Although Liu Cheng was good enough to be chosen to be with Zhu Jinghong, it was also because of his relationship with Liu Fang.

In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, which was a society based on personal relationships, this was not a big deal at all.

Zhu Jinghong arranged for Sun Shaozu to go to the Wucheng Bingmasi, which was also a favor from these governors. Everything was self-explanatory.

"Could it be heading north?"

Liu Cheng replied: "There are also many soldiers defending the north, and there has been no fierce counterattack!"

The pocket designed by Zhu Jinghong was very tight, with heavy troops on the east, west and north sides, and no matter which direction to break out from, they would be blocked.

The Dzungars were badly beaten and bloodied, and even if the Russians were to fight ten to one, they would still have to engage in a fierce battle with the Ming army.

The current situation is that after a small-scale battle with the various blocking armies, the Russians seemed to have disappeared in the second half of the war.

"Where on earth did they go!" Zhu Jinghong muttered in a low voice.

At this time, Liu Cheng replied: "Your Highness, you once said that after eliminating all the impossible, the remaining one, no matter how outrageous, is very likely to be the truth!"

Zhu Jinghong turned around and asked, "You mean... they really found a gap and escaped from our encirclement?"

"I think that if the enemy army is not heading east, west, north, or south, then perhaps it is heading south!"

"The main force of my central army is heading south. If they rush over here, they are just looking for death!" Zhu Jinghong asked.

"Your Highness, there is still a Wu City that has not been captured before my main force. They may have escaped into the city!"

Zhu Jinghong was deeply surprised to hear this statement. Although he felt it was unlikely, he could not deny the possibility.

"Continue the search and send a message to the pursuing forces, telling them to be careful and cautious... so as not to be ambushed by the enemy's elite cavalry!"

The Rakshasi cuirassiers are considered the most elite cavalry in the country and have achieved extraordinary results in the wars of the previous two years.

Therefore, the Ming army from top to bottom would not underestimate them, so after Zhu Jinghong's order was conveyed, his subordinates became more cautious.

Soon the night passed, and the Rakshasa cavalry was still not found, but the Dzungar cavalry was almost wiped out.

The Ming army suffered minimal losses. This was a very successful annihilation battle, enough to inflict heavy damage on the Russians.

At ten o'clock in the morning, after repeated screening and analysis, it was proved that the Russian Cuirassier Brigade had indeed escaped into Wucheng.

It turned out that last night, after breaking through the first line of defense, the commander of the cavalry brigade sensed the threats coming from all sides, and he made a prompt decision and directly ordered a charge towards Wucheng.

This was not enough. The cooperation from Wucheng was also very good. After confirming their identities, they took great risks and directly opened the three gates on the back wall in order to achieve the fastest passing speed.

Because the Ming army focused on tightening the encirclement, they did not realize that the cavalry would enter the city, which gave these people the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

"Once they enter the city, as long as they don't escape, we will trap them here and kill them sooner or later!"

Although there was a lot of food stored in Wucheng, most of the soldiers were infantry, so there was not much fodder left.

It won’t be long before this elite cavalry entering the city will face the dilemma of having no horses available.

But this also means that this cavalry may break out of the city in the near future, so we must be vigilant.

"Pass my order, all trebuchets must keep throwing, smash their horses to death!"

The soldiers in Wucheng could hide behind the city walls or in the tunnels, but there was no place for the thousands of war horses entering the city to hide.

It’s no wonder that Zhu Jinghong’s move was very useful. Less than twenty minutes after the order was conveyed, the city was in chaos.

Following his orders, the Ming army strengthened the siege of Wucheng and took strict precautions against the enemy forces in the city from breaking out.

That afternoon, news of the defeat at the front reached Hutu City, and Constantine was so angry that he overturned the table on the spot.

Among the troops he brought out from the country, the most elite was this cuirassier brigade, and he was heartbroken when they lost Wucheng.

The most terrible thing is that, due to its excellent combat record, this cavalry brigade has recruited many sons of nobles in the past six months, who want to gild themselves and lay the foundation for future development.

Most of these noble children are from great noble families in the country. If anything were to happen to them, the consequences would be extremely serious.

Normally, such an army should not be sent out. Constantine was paralyzed by the recent victories and thought that last night's mission was also a smooth journey.

After analyzing the military reports that were sent back one after another, Constantine was certain that he had been plotted against last night, and this one battle alone offset his previous victory.

So at this moment, he had to re-examine Zhu Jinghong, the opponent with such a glorious and flawless record.

"Your Highness, what should we do next?" asked the deputy commander at the side.

This man's name was Nicholas. Although the beard on his face covered the scar, he still looked very fierce.

"What do you think we should do?" Constantine asked.

Nicholas replied: "The Cuirassiers Brigade must be rescued. If they are all annihilated, you will not only offend many people, but also greatly disappoint His Majesty!"

"How to rescue them? Send all the troops forward and fight a decisive battle with the Ming army?" Constantine asked. Obviously he didn't think this was a good idea.

Again, he was not yet prepared for a strategic decisive battle, and even thought about retreating further to lure the Ming army westward to extend its supply line.

Nicholas replied: "We can push forward and transfer the main force of the Ming army to defend the west. Then they can find an opportunity to break through!"

Simply put, they were also conducting a strategic period, mobilizing the main force of the Ming army westward to create opportunities for the besieged troops to break out.

At present, the main forces of both sides are about 100 miles apart. For an army of 200,000, this distance is the shortest safe distance. Therefore, if they mobilize all along the line, it will indeed bring pressure to the Ming army and force them to respond.

However, directly mobilizing an army of 200,000 is a very complicated matter, and it would take one or two days just to prepare.

This is a very important decision, so Constantine needs to give it more consideration.

But he knew that he had little time to consider, and if he delayed for a few days, the cavalry brigade might be gone.

Soon another day passed, and Constantine decided to convene a military meeting to discuss the issue of sending troops.

The meeting lasted for more than an hour, and finally Constantine convinced everyone to agree to his plan to deter the Ming army.

The military order was passed down, and after intensive preparations, the Eight-Nation Alliance began to mobilize the next day.

On this battlefield, both sides deployed a large number of scouts to monitor the movements of the other side's troops.

When the Eight-Nation Alliance began to mobilize, the news reached Zhu Jinghong in just one hour.

All Zhu Jinghong could do was to send out more scouts to monitor and respond based on the information received.

Another half hour later, the enemy army had advanced 15 miles as a whole. It looked like they were really going to attack. Zhu Jinghong became heavy-hearted.

Like Constantine, although he was eager for a decisive battle as soon as possible, he felt that he was not fully prepared when it really came to it.

Both sides have an army of 200,000 each, and a defeat would be a disaster for the country.

Should we shrink the defense and prepare to withdraw the main force to the south of Wucheng, use the mountains on both sides to protect the flanks, and resist the enemy's attack... Zhu Jinghong thought so.

This is a very sound strategy, and he is absolutely sure he can hold on to it.

But in this way, the siege of Wucheng was lifted. Not only could the cavalry inside be withdrawn, but supplies could even be obtained within Wucheng.

Liu Cheng reminded him, "Your Highness, the main force of our army should line up to the east to block the incoming enemy!"

They have already made plans on how to allocate troops and how to set up formations, and they are just waiting for Zhu Jinghong to review them.

After receiving the report and reading it, Zhu Jinghong did not express his opinion on the spot. Instead, he turned and looked at Wucheng several miles away.

Although there were some mobilizations on the Ming army side, Zhu Jinghong had not yet made a decision, so there was little trend of mobilization of the main forces.

By the time the news reached Constantine, they had already traveled thirty miles.

At this moment, Constantine was in a dilemma. The further he went, the closer the distance would be, and the possibility of a full-scale war between the two sides would be greater.

The purpose of their full-scale attack this time was to mobilize the Ming army to withdraw the siege. Now the Ming army has not moved much, and Constantine's goal has not been achieved at all.

More importantly, he had already informed the generals of his idea during yesterday's meeting, and if he failed, it would weaken his prestige.

Prestige may sound illusive, but it is very important when commanding operations, as it affects the extent to which orders are executed.

"The main army... move forward another ten miles, and all cavalry units move forward twenty miles, and be ready to stop the enemy!"

In other words, after the infantry advanced ten miles and the cavalry advanced twenty miles, the Eight-Nation Alliance could no longer advance.

Even if they returned empty-handed, Constantine would order a retreat. He was extremely cautious about the decisive battle.

As for Zhu Jinghong, he had the same idea as Constantine. He also dispatched cavalry with strong mobility and placed them five miles west of Wucheng, ready to block the enemy's surprise attack.

It was afternoon and Zhu Jinghong was still struggling, but something big happened on the front line.

The 10,000 cavalrymen of the Dzungar Khanate advancing eastward directly attacked the guards of the Anbei Xingdusi, and the two sides fought on the Gobi Desert.

It was originally a confrontation, but the situation changed after they disturbed it. Constantine thought that the Ming army had set an ambush, and Zhu Jinghong thought that Constantine was going to launch a full-scale attack.

But in fact, the Dzungars' attack was a completely premeditated act.

The reason why they disobeyed Constantine's military orders was that they wanted to coerce other countries to immediately launch an attack on the Ming army.

Simply put, Constantine's repeated procrastination and his indifference to the loss of cities and territories greatly damaged the interests of the Dzungar people.

In addition, they had lost another 10,000 cavalrymen in the previous few days, and another 20,000 troops were trapped in Wucheng. More than half of the Junggar army was "consumed". It was understandable that they suddenly rushed in to stir up trouble.

The Anxi Xingdusi had three cavalrymen, and it was easy for them to gain the upper hand against the 10,000 cavalrymen of the Dzungars.

The Dzungars were cunning and did not choose a head-on battle. Instead, they circled around the Ming army in the Gobi Desert. However, as more Ming cavalry arrived, they were in danger of being surrounded.

When the news reached Constantine, although he was angry, he still sent more Kazakh cavalry to help the Dzungars break out of the siege.

Inadvertently, the scale of the war expanded.

In order to eliminate the entangled Junggar cavalry, Zhu Jinghong also ordered to continue to increase the cavalry.

After an afternoon of hard fighting, the 10,000 Dzungar cavalry fled south into the mountains, while the Ming cavalry stayed at the foot of the mountain.

The Tianshan Mountains are high and rugged, making it impossible for war horses to pass through. These cavalrymen hiding in the mountains either got trapped to death or broke through.

As for the Kazakh cavalry, although they came to support, they were more concerned about their own safety, so they were able to escape unscathed.

After this battle, it was getting dark and the land became quiet again.

According to Constantine's plan, he had to retreat back to Hutu City that day, but he didn't dare to retreat now that it was dark.

Even if they wanted to leave, they had to wait until the next morning. Otherwise, they would be traveling in the dark at night, and the attack of the Ming army would easily cause chaos, and then the whole line might collapse.

At this moment, Constantine was very upset and felt that he was too careless.

But now that things have come to this, he has no chance to regret, so he thinks that he should play it safe and withdraw the main force safely tomorrow.

As for the trapped Junggar cavalry and those still in Wucheng, they could only find a way to rescue them later.

Constantine was planning to retreat, but Zhu Jinghong, who was pacing on the cliff, had gradually changed his mind.

The victory this afternoon gave the Ming army a better chance of winning. And it seems the enemy army is not so united...

What's more, we have already started using integrated charges, and each part is as easy to use as waving an arm...

"There is a great chance of winning!" Zhu Jinghong whispered.

He paced here, and the staff officers who had already finished their work were waiting quietly twenty meters away.

Standing on the cliff and looking at the vast Gobi Desert ahead, Zhu Jinghong recalled his previous strategies and became more and more excited.

"I have been looking forward to the decisive battle, and now that the decisive battle has come...how can I retreat!" Zhu Jinghong's voice was not loud, but his tone was very firm.

"At this critical moment, we must be resolute and resolute!"

After saying this to himself, Zhu Jinghong no longer worried about gains and losses.

He suddenly turned around, looked at the staff officers in the distance, and said, "Liu Cheng, come here!"

Liu Cheng quickly walked past the crowd and trotted to Zhu Jinghong.

"Please give your instructions, Thirteenth Master!" Liu Cheng bowed.

With an increasingly resolute look on his face, Zhu Jinghong said solemnly, "Please remember, I will make the following adjustments to my subordinates!"

(End of this chapter)