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Chapter 617 Tashan Castle

"Haven't you always wanted to know what Governor Li was doing with the front guard? Now I can say that they are probably here, and they are probably fighting the female main force at this time.

According to time calculation, if the female main force retreats eastward overnight, it will take five hours to cover the 60 miles, which is not too slow, and it will arrive at Tashan Fort. The front rear guard led by Governor Li may have arrived yesterday. Judging from the intensity of the artillery fire, it did not look like a full-scale blockade. It must have encountered the Jurchen rear guard.

It shouldn't be too late for us to catch up now. If we are lucky, we can attack them from both sides. It's really dangerous. If the Jurchens woke up a day earlier, we might have failed!"

Speaking of his proud work, Hong Tao is not only happy but also regretful. The means of communication are too backward, and the cooperation between the navy and the army is too unfamiliar, far from being able to give orders. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to implement a large-scale outflanking tactic that is seamless, and half relies on wisdom and half on luck.

"Your Majesty wants to block the Nuzhen force west of Tashan Fort and annihilate it! But Governor Li only has two front and rear guards with more than 10,000 people!"

Even though Ding Shun was born in the Kaihu Division, and his thinking mode is much more flexible than that of a traditional military officer, at first glance, his mouth was half open in a state of shock. The total amount of the army that left the border was less than 30,000, and it was divided into two parts: east and west, but it was necessary to annihilate at least 60,000 of the female main force. This was too daring to think or do.

If Li Ruzhang's front and rear guards could not block it and were chased and chopped down by cavalry on the seaside road, which was basically a plain, the losses would be huge. The two guards on the left and the engineering guards could not catch up even if they wanted to rescue them, so they could only watch the enemy return eastward.

"I am not taking risks, but acting according to my ability. Caution is an excellent quality for soldiers, but if you want to go further, you must know yourself and your enemy, and fully understand the capabilities of the army in your hands. It is beyond easy to be damaged and underestimated. Otherwise it is a waste.

Near Tashan Fort, the seaside road makes a small turn to the north. Because the seaside here is very low-lying, the seawater can cover three miles away during high tides. If there is a spring tide on the 15th day of the lunar month, the seawater will spread up to five miles away. Yesterday was the fifteenth day, a full six miles from Tashan Fort to the seaside, and a full five miles to the beacon tower at the foot of the mountain.

Eleven thousand men, 8000 rifles, 2000 short guns, and more than 220 field guns guard a ten-mile defense line, with four military forts to rely on. What he faced was only swords, axes, bows and arrows. If he couldn't hold on before the ammunition was exhausted, he, the army governor, could become a hundred households.

You two each lead a thousand households, mount your horses and serve as my vanguard. If you encounter a small group of enemies, ignore them. If you encounter a strong enemy, dig trenches on the spot and hold on. If the enemy withdraws, just follow them. If the enemy doesn't move, don't move. Just stay where you are and wait for the army to arrive.

Once you have determined the number of enemies, just bite them. I can't eat hot tofu in a hurry, so I'm not busy closing the net now. It's not too late to let the enemy bump around in the net to wear off the momentum, and then slowly clear it. "

Hong Tao is quite confident about Ding Shun's worries. Quantity is just a parameter and does not fully represent combat effectiveness. If it is an encounter, 10,000 army troops versus 60,000 Jurchen Eight Banner elites is indeed a bit too much. But as long as the army can be given three hours to prepare, ten thousand versus sixty thousand will become a handful.

The reason is simple, the tactics are different. In addition to muskets and artillery, the Army relied on fortifications, the simplest of which were trenches and foxholes. As long as two to three layers of trenches and artillery positions are constructed, and the impact point is measured, no matter whether it is infantry or cavalry, the denser the charge, the faster they will die.

Now Daishan encountered this problem. Following the order of his father Nurhachi, he instantly changed from the siege command to the retreat command. Taking the white flag as a reserve team, he escorted the baggage and set off for Jinzhou first. In order to build momentum and cover, their fathers Nurhaci and Hu Erhan stayed outside Ningyuan City and struggled with the Ming army for a short while before quietly retreating eastward, abandoning a large area of ​​the camp.

Seeing that the sky was getting bright, we crossed the small river in front of us and reached Tashan Fort. We could walk another 50 miles back to Jinzhou City. Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers rang out. Before the tea time, the white-flag ox responsible for exploring the road ahead came out. Lu'erzhen ran back, covered in blood.

They encountered an ambush on the west bank of the creek, and almost all of the twenty cavalry were wiped out. The enemy's fire cannons hit far and accurately, and the Jurchen rangers were shot off their horses one after another without even having a chance to fight back.

"It's too much to bully others. White Flag Army, wear armor and pick up shields, hack them to death!"

As soon as he heard about the firecracker, Daishan became very angry. The originally good Western Expedition was almost ruined by firecrackers and artillery. Now that we have withdrawn, why are we still chasing and fighting? We must not tolerate it.

"Second uncle, you hold the battle from behind, while my nephew leads three Niu Lu to charge forward!" The flag owner with the white flag, Baylor, is Chu Ying's son Du Du. Although his father is dead, as the eldest grandson of the big man, he also Got a flag.

This time following his grandfather in the Western Expedition to the Ming Dynasty, Du Du secretly determined that he must make great achievements, otherwise the owner of the banner with a white flag would sooner or later be taken away by his uncles. In addition, I also want to avenge my father. It is best to enter the capital and capture the Ming Dynasty emperor.

It was a pity that Nurhachi asked him to serve as a defender to protect the baggage. He thought he would not win the battle, but unexpectedly an unexpected incident occurred. First, the fifth uncle Mang Gurtai died unexpectedly, and then the Great Khan ordered the entire army to retreat to Jinzhou to rest and recuperate. Now that there is a suspected Ming army in front, what are you waiting for? If you don't charge, it may be too late.

"If you are in such a hurry to die, then I will help you! Send a signal and order the artillery not to fire. Prepare short guns in the first trench and move the enemy closer before attacking!"

Li Ruzhang stood on the wall of the dilapidated Tashan Fort, holding up a telescope to clearly see every move of the Jurchen army two miles away. When he saw that there were less than a thousand people, he was about to attack from the front of the military fort, and he immediately had a plan. Not only did he want to repel this attack, but he also wanted to keep as many of these hundreds of people as possible. It was best not to go back at all.

Du Du really couldn't go back, he didn't even see the appearance of the enemy, let alone whether the opponent was the Ming army, so he was hit in the abdomen by a lead bullet in confusion, and fell off his horse with a scream. . As luck would have it, there happened to be a stone on the ground used to mark the impact point for artillery. As soon as his head hit it, he went to find Chu Ying on the spot.

"The scale is 1000 steps, and the avant-garde's artillery fires three rapid rounds!" Just when six to seven hundred Jurchen cavalry were mowed down by thousands of rifles like wheat, Li Ruzhang issued a new order.

"Dong dong dong dong..." After a few breaths, the artillery belonging to the Army's avant-garde, which received the signal flag order, opened fire. More than a hundred two-and-a-half-inch-caliber shells rushed out of the muzzle and flew 1500 meters. Most of them were successful. After the explosion, a small part became a dud, but it was still lethal after landing, so whoever it encountered would be unlucky.

(End of this chapter)