Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 228 Victory seems like defeat
  "If you join the army and increase military pay, you can equalize land for the people!"

Behind the wooden cart on the river bank, the Bohai navy soldiers shouted this series of slogans in poor Mandarin. I am afraid that even they themselves did not know what it meant.

This is the current situation of the Shenji Battalion. The fourth battalion has [-] soldiers and horses. They have not received systematic Mandarin training at all, just because of lack of time.

Therefore, when issuing military orders to them, the people sent by Zhu Gaoxu needed bilingual Tangqi who were proficient in Beishan Jurchen and Mandarin.

Fortunately, Meng Zhang personally led the team this time, so he used Jurchen dialect to teach everyone to imitate Mandarin and shout this slogan.

Their team grew stronger as time went by, and more and more artillery was transferred from the east coast.

All of this is in Wu Gao's eyes, and all he is waiting for is an opportunity.

Seeing that the ferry made five trips back and forth, transporting thousands of Bohai navy and hundreds of artillery pieces to the south bank, Geng Feng was anxious in his heart, but Wu Gao was as stable as Mount Tai.

"Master Marquis, can you tell me what you think now?"

Geng Feng represented the mouth of the generals and asked the questions that they all cared about.

Faced with the inquiry, Wu Gao then said: "The rebel artillery can fire one round at a time. Even if they fire in turns, they can at most kill or injure more than a thousand of our soldiers. But we can do it after the artillery on the east coast is sharply reduced." Take advantage of the situation to capture the camp on the shore, seize the artillery in the hands of the rebels, and destroy them all."

Wu Gao's method was stupid and even required the lives of thousands of Ming soldiers to execute it, but for the current Ming army, it was undoubtedly the most practical.

The artillery of the Bohai Navy was transported from the east coast back to the north coast and then to the south coast. There were hundreds of artillery pieces waiting for transfer along the way.

In addition to the more than a hundred artillery pieces on the south bank, the number of artillery pieces on the east bank is very few.

As for the hundreds of transferred artillery pieces, due to direction problems, it was impossible for them to fire towards the south bank, because that would hit the Bohai Navy position on the south bank first.

What Wu Gao and others wanted was the opportunity to shorten the distance between the artillery and the Ming army.

"Send the order to take down the antler wood defense line."

On the east bank, Zhu Gaoxu saw dozens of bowl-mouth muskets being transported to the Antler Wood defense line from a high position. He didn't know what Wu Gao had planned, but Zhu Gaoxu had his own way of dealing with it.

Under his order, a new batch of Shenji Battalion soldiers landed on the south bank and brought Zhu Gaoxu's military orders.

When Meng Zhang heard this, he immediately asked them to put the wooden cart up, revealing more than [-] artillery pieces in the array.

"Infantry and artillery coordination!"

Meng Zhang commanded the army in Mandarin. It seems that the soldiers of Shenji Camp have long remembered these military terms.

The wooden cart filled with sediment began to move with the Bohai Navy's positions.

They covered in front of the artillery vehicles, and also partially covered the two wings of the Bohai Navy.

Soon, the artillery cart loaded with shotguns began to advance and was pushed hard.

Due to the mud and sand underfoot, it was difficult to push the heavy artillery cart, and it often required more than a dozen people to pull and push it forward.

"Wankou Gun went into battle. After the battle, the Tieling Guards, Shenyang Guards, and Liaoyang Guards sent out their troops. When the rebel artillery fire on the east coast ended, the cavalry charged!"

Wu Gao drew his long sword and gave the order, and Geng Feng took the lead: "If we don't break the enemy's formation, we will definitely not fight back!"

"If you don't break the enemy's formation! You will definitely not fight back!!"

The commanders agreed and then went to command the troops of their headquarters.

The Ming army, which had been beaten for three days, finally began to plan a counterattack under Wu Gao's military order.

"Your Highness, Wu Gao is moving!"

"Yes, got it……"

Flags were flying back and forth on the Ming army's position on the south bank. The scene of Tangqi galloping was clearly seen by Zhu Gaoxu, who was standing on a high place on the east bank. Xu Sheng opened his mouth to remind, but Zhu Gaoxu was smiling. He didn't care on the surface, but he was very concerned in his heart.

Although he had a complete plan for his preparation, he wanted to see how Wu Gao prepared to defend and counterattack.

Under their gaze, Zhu Gaoxu saw three to four thousand infantry on the east and west wings of the Ming army's defense line. The soldiers of the second line of defense also filed out and rushed towards the first line of defense.

A large number of cavalry walked out of the stone bridge of the city moat, with unknown intentions.

"Bombard the infantry on the east flank and test fire one round."

Zhu Gaoxu didn't know what Wu Gao was thinking, but he knew that this was an offensive situation and he had to stop the southern soldiers.

"Boom boom-"

There was a dull sound of artillery, and the remaining one hundred field guns began to attack the right wing of Wugao's headquarters.

Hearing the sound of cannons, Wu Gao immediately waved his sword: "March with drum beat!!"

"Dong...dong...dong...dong!!"

The dull beat of drums sounded on the battlefield as the infantry on the right wing, which had been shelled, regrouped after a brief panic.

Five thousand infantrymen on each side of the left and right wings, totaling [-] people, ran out of the antler wood defense line at the same time and attacked Meng Zhang's left and right wings.

"Boom boom-"

At this time, Meng Zhang's headquarters received three more batches of Shenji Battalion soldiers, and relied on artillery and tanks to penetrate the middle section of the Antler Defense Line.

The Ming army stationed here was repulsed, and the soldiers of the Shenji Battalion built planks on the trench for tanks and artillery vehicles to enter the open space behind the antler wood defense line.

"The whole army is stationed to prepare for the enemy!"

Under Meng Zhang's order, more than [-] Shenji Battalion soldiers were stationed upon seeing this. After expanding their position, they stopped taking a step forward. The entire army remained motionless.

"put!"

"Boom bang bang-"

Suddenly, the Ming army in the trenches on their left and right began to use bowl-mouth blunderbuss to bombard them.

The stone bullet fired by the bowl-mouth gun hit the chariot hard, and the chariot was submerged in the sand for an instant. Only the sand flowed out from the broken hole, and no soldiers behind were injured.

"kill!!"

The sound of Wankou gunfire started the first wave of the Ming army's counterattack. Two thousand soldiers stationed and reinforced by Lujiaomu began to counterattack. The Bohai Navy relied on chariots and used large matchlock guns to start the counterattack.

"Crack crackle crackle..."

The sound of roasting beans came. It was not as dull and loud as the sound of artillery, but it took more lives than artillery.

The large matchlock gun penetrated the armor worn by the Ming army, and countless people fell.

Only a few dozen steps away, the Ming army fell down row by row like rice being harvested in the autumn harvest.

At this time, tens of thousands of spearmen were approaching from both sides. Meng Zhang ordered in an orderly manner: "Turn the muzzle left and right and load the shotgun!"

The muzzles of more than [-] artillery pieces turned around the pikemen who were rushing from the left and right. They held their spears tightly and formed a tight formation, like a running porcupine.

Meng Zhang saw this scene and couldn't help but sigh that the Confederate army was well-trained.

However, this invincible tactic against the Mongols and Jurchens has now begun to fall behind...

"put!"

"Boom boom-"

A moment passed, and when the Ming army's pikemen were about to break the formation, the sound of artillery sounded from Meng Zhang's headquarters position, and hundreds of kilograms of shotguns were fired, hitting the Ming army's pike formation like a rainstorm of pear blossoms.

Only fifty steps away, this close distance became a natural chasm between the two armies.

Many people lost consciousness in an instant and fell down without pain. The spear formation was instantly broken up.

More pikemen were not killed immediately, but fell down and wailed while holding their seriously injured places, and were trampled to death by the pikemen charging from behind.

"Clap clap clap..."

The sound of frying beans sounded again. This time more Ming soldiers fell, but this also meant that they were closer.

Finally, at an unknown price of casualties, the Ming army arrived at the Bohai Navy Car Camp.

The chariots were pushed away, and the Ming army began to press forward step by step with long guns, trying to compress the Bohai Navy's space.

"However, at this moment, the three hundred Bohai spearmen who had just landed on the river formed a formation, attacked from the flanks, and stabbed at the waist of the Ming army's spear formation."

At the critical moment, Zhu Gaoxu ordered the artillery boarding to stop, allowing the Shenji Camp musketeers and pikemen to take the lead in crossing the river.

The battle was fierce, tens of thousands of people fought in chaos, and the two spear formations began to squeeze.

The difference is that the Ming Army's spear array contains copper blunderbuss and bows and arrows, while the Bohai Navy's spear array contains musketeers holding matchlocks.

"Are Governor Geng and Commander Wang ready?!"

"Still leaving the city, it will take at least a quarter of an hour..."

Seeing the intense battle ahead, Wu Gao stopped being cautious and instead questioned the commander beside him.

However, the cavalry did not leave the city very quickly, and the cavalry teams of Geng Feng and Wang Xian were not ready yet.

Seeing this, Wu Gao could only suppress his temper and stare at the battlefield.

He originally thought that with the first wave of spear formations, he could overwhelm the Bohai Navy, but he underestimated the defensive power of the combination of car camps and artillery, and even more underestimated the power of matchlock guns.

The Ming army has been unable to capture the Bohai Navy, but the boats are constantly transporting soldiers to the south bank.

Soon, a quarter of an hour finally passed, but the Bohai Navy still defended its position, making it difficult for the spearmen to break through.

Three spears tens of thousands of meters high were engaged in a chaotic battle, which made people's scalp numb.

Whether it was the Bohai Navy or the Ming Army, their every move was aimed at the face, which had the weakest defense in the body. Too many people fell on both sides.

The carriage camp limited the number of people the Ming army could enter, making it impossible for them to break the formation.

"All artillery, all shelling!"

On the artillery position on the east bank, Zhu Gaoxu gave the order in a deep voice. Xu Sheng couldn't believe it and quickly knelt down: "Your Highness! Meng Zhang and his brothers are all there!"

"There is still a glimmer of hope in the shelling. If we don't shell, we will die!" Zhu Gaoxu gave the military order with a stern face.

Before Xu Sheng came to his senses, he saw Zhu Gaoxu personally speaking to the artillery officer Qianhu in Beishan Jurchen language.

Soon, the artillery prepared by the Bohai Navy began to light the matches.

"Boom boom-"

The dull sound of artillery sounded again, but this time it was not Meng Zhang, but the shelling from the east coast.

Hundreds of artillery shells fell into the dense formation, and not only the Ming army but also the Bohai navy were killed, but more of them were the Ming army.

"So cruel!"

Standing next to Wu Gao, a commander couldn't help but speak, but Wu Gao calmly retorted: "This is war, not a child's play. People with good intentions will not survive."

As he said this, he looked at the cavalry who kept walking out of the city.

The Bohai Navy fought more and more, and gradually they recaptured all positions in Cheying and squeezed the Ming army out of Cheying.

"Pikemen retreat!"

When Wu Gao saw that the spearmen could not break the formation, he knew that the best opportunity had passed.

If the fight continues, the casualties will only increase.

"Dang...dang...dang...dang..."

The golden sound sounded, and the Ming Army's pikemen began to retreat. The Bohai Navy did not pursue them, but only cleaned the gun barrels and loaded the muskets.

An hour later, Geng Feng and others led the cavalry out of the city completely, and the pikemen also withdrew from the battlefield.

Wu Gao did not let them continue fighting, but asked them to retreat from both wings, to the north gate and south gate respectively, and enter the city to rest.

From the number of fallen flags, he knew that the two guards were on the verge of collapse and should not join the battle anymore.

This is also true. After they retreated, only countless corpses and many wailing wounded soldiers were left around the Bohai Navy camp. If no one helps them, they will soon die on the battlefield.

At this time, they were restrained by the Bohai Navy and thrown onto the troop transport ship.

They were transported to Jiangbei, and Wu Gao's face turned cold when he saw this scene.

He is not afraid of Zhu Gaoxu, he only knows how to fight bravely and fiercely, but he is only afraid that Zhu Gaoxu can stay awake during the fierce fight.

Many soldiers and horses who have withdrawn have seen this scene. What will they think?
  Looking at the best, after many wounded soldiers fall down in the future, they may be at the mercy of the Bohai Navy when it comes to treatment.

Thinking at the worst, many soldiers might just pretend to be injured. Anyway, the Bohai Navy will not kill prisoners, and there will be no need to fight if they are captured.

Wu Gao was not imagining it, but this kind of thing often happened in the wars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang had ordered not to treat the prisoners harshly, but to treat them.

Because of this, after Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng were defeated, a large number of generals and soldiers surrendered to Zhu Yuanzhang, and Chang Yuchun was often reprimanded by Zhu Yuanzhang for killing prisoners.

"Murder and heart..."

Looking at the fluttering Suzaku flag with red background and black edges three hundred steps away, Wu Gao's knuckles holding the handle of the knife turned white.

Zhu Gaoxu, this person looks too much like Emperor Taizu Gao...

"Mom! If you kill my brothers, I have to save you."

On the north bank, looking at the batches of wounded soldiers being transported, Wang Yi, who was responsible for receiving the wounded soldiers, cursed.

Looking around, there were hundreds of injured soldiers being transported, and they all lowered their heads after being scolded by Wang Yi.

In the final analysis, being a soldier and providing food is just a job. Moreover, this is a civil war, not a war against the barbarians. There is no need to fight to the death.

Having said that, as soldiers of the Liaodong Dusi, they all knew that the Prince of Bohai County was a wise man.

They used to transport food to the Bohai Sea, and the Bohai County King also killed sheep and fished to entertain them. Now they are their enemies, and the Bohai County King is willing to save them. Such treatment makes them embarrassed to raise their heads, not to mention they know that the Bohai County King The rebellion was also forced by the current emperor, which made it even more difficult for them to hold their heads high.

After all, Wang Yi was a Han Chinese. Although he cursed a lot, his heart was still very complicated. He waved his hand and asked the soldiers to carry them down to the military doctor for treatment.

While they were treating the wounded soldiers, Wu Gao also ordered the entire army to leave the city and prepare to meet the enemy with a cold face.

Perhaps he knew that he could not defeat Zhu Gaoxu today and could not defend Tieling City, so he changed the military order and asked the spearmen who retreated directly to the south of the city.

His intentions were obvious and could be felt by everyone.

Tieling cannot be defended, and they are about to retreat.

However, before retreating, they must launch an attack to consume the Bohai Navy's strength.

An hour passed slowly. When the [-] Ming army infantry left the city, the number of Ming troops in the east of the city had reached [-].

Compared with them, the Bohai Navy, which transported troops for an hour before and after, only had more than [-] people.

Six thousand Shenji battalions and more than six thousand spearmen were stationed in formation, waiting for the troops from the rear to come ashore.

Even though they had organized such a huge army, they still did not launch an attack.

"Wu Gao wants to defend? But why?"

Looking at Wu Gao, who had left the city but did not take the initiative to attack, Zhu Gaoxu on the east bank felt doubtful.

He didn't believe that Wu Gao wanted to build a stronghold and fight a stupid war, because that was a method he would only use if he had the upper hand.

At the moment, the advantage is all on his own side, and Wu Gao is going to die by doing this.

"Cross the river!"

Zhu Gaoxu ordered with a cold face and rode a yellow gelding horse to cross the river.

This time when he went south, he did not take Chi Huan with him. Perhaps he thought of the fate of Tang Taizong's eight horses. He did not want the horse given to him by Lao Zhu to witness the civil war.

Time passed little by little, and after more than half an hour passed, the time gradually came to Si hour (9-11 o'clock).

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu had led his army across the river, and the number of the Bohai Navy reached [-].

The [-] Shenji Battalion crossed the river with [-] infantry, leaving their horses behind, preventing them from taking advantage of their advantage.

Seeing that the time was right, Zhu Gaoxu also wore double armor, mounted a yellow gelding and commanded: "March with drum beat!"

"Boom...boom...boom..."

The drums beat, and the [-] Bo navy began to advance.

All the traps, horse traps, antler trees, caltrops and other things they encountered along the way were cleared away, which allowed them to quickly approach the Ming army camp behind the horse gun.

Twenty thousand Ming army infantry formed the center, and four thousand cavalry formed the left and right wings.

The Bohai Navy's advantage was wiped out because of the Chai River, and its proud horse infantry and cavalry could not be used.

With a distance of more than [-] steps, Zhu Gaoxu was pressing forward step by step under the command of Zhu Gaoxu. Wu Gao said nothing, just quietly observing the march of Zhu Gaoxu's troops.

"Both the left and right armies are not well formed..."

Wu Gao judged the Bohai Navy's experience in combat of this scale, and finally concluded that the Bohai Navy did not have combat experience of more than [-] people, and the ministries were slow to convey orders, and the march was slow and chaotic.

"Order Governor Geng and Wang Xian to prepare to circle around and attack the enemy's rear, and [-] troops will form a formation and send out troops!"

"Yes!"

"Dong dong dong..."

Following Wu Gao's order, the Ming army's camp of more than [-] people also began to move.

More than forty bowl-mouth blunderbuss and Hongwu iron cannons were pushed to the front. This scene was also seen by Zhu Gaoxu, who also ordered the artillery counterattack to begin.

Both sides were stationed at a distance of no more than [-] steps.

Two hundred field guns took the lead in the bombardment. The dull sound of artillery fire sounded. Two hundred stone bullets fell into the Ming army's formation, killing and wounding countless people.

Unexpectedly, Wu Gao did not let the Ming army's artillery fire, apparently deceiving Zhu Gaoxu into taking the lead in the artillery attack.

"The cavalry attacks, preparing to disrupt the Bohai Navy's formation."

Wu Gao narrowed his eyes and ordered with a cold face, and at the same time ordered the whole army to march fifty steps forward.

The distance between the two began to get closer, and the cavalry of Geng Feng and Wang Xian also began to charge.

"kill!!"

The sound of horse hooves and shouts of killing resounded throughout the battlefield. Four thousand cavalry surrounded the Bohai Navy from the left and right, but they had nowhere to say anything because of the pikemen on the periphery of the Bohai Navy.

At this time, the Ming army's artillery began to fire.

"Boom bang bang-"

It was not as good as the heavy sound of the Ming army's artillery, and more than eighty stone bullets hit the formation head-on.

"How does this old guy know where the connection between our left and right central armies is?!"

Meng Zhang was shocked by Wu Gao's judgment, but Zhu Gaoxu's face turned cold.

What he was most worried about happened. Due to the lack of experience in large-scale combat and the lack of time to adjust, they had never commanded tens of thousands of people in combat. Therefore, once they encountered a war of this level, the military formation would be very difficult. It is easy for experts to spot the clues.

Wu Gao obviously saw the situation of the Bohai Navy, and the next second what Zhu Gaoxu was worried about happened.

The gaps between the left and right armies that were opened by artillery began to be attacked by the Ming army's cavalry.

They approached the rear and shot at the Bohai Navy at a distance of five or six steps, causing considerable casualties.

"Don't give him a chance, the whole army goes to our formation!"

Zhu Gaoxu ordered the entire army to charge, but they were soon close at a distance of more than a hundred steps.

However, facing the charge of the Bohai Navy, the sound of gold rang out in the Ming army formation.

"Dang...dang...dang...dang..."

Amidst the sound of gold, four thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry retreated southward in the preset direction.

Zhu Gaoxu intended to chase, but when he saw the formation of the army gradually dispersing as they pursued, he immediately blew the wooden whistle.

"Take Tieling first, don't chase them!"

"Why, Your Highness?"

"Yes, Your Highness, we can surround and kill them if we catch up!"

Zhu Gaoxu gave the order, and many generals asked in confusion, but Zhu Gaoxu asked with a dark face: "Where is your military formation?"

"Uh..." When the generals heard this, they realized that they were already fighting on their own after only a few dozen steps.

"Garrison and capture Tieling City first!"

Zhu Gaoxu gave the order with a dark face, while Wu Gao and Geng Gu, who had been watching the Bohai Navy's movements, also sighed.

"Pity……"

Both of them realized that the Bohai Navy was not good at group operations. Once they could take advantage of this, they could divide and surround the Bohai Navy on the way to pursue them.

"Master Marquis, do you still want to retreat?"

A commander asked, and Wu Gao nodded: "After crossing the river, we are no longer opponents. Don't fight with them and retreat directly to Shenyang."

"Yes!" The commander who heard this stopped asking, and Zhu Gaoxu also watched them leave after a quarter of an hour.

"Enter the city!" With a dark face, Zhu Gaoxu successfully entered Tieling City where he expected to enter.

However, Tieling City had already become an empty city due to Wu Gao's methods.

The entire army found nothing except some food in some cellars.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu finally understood why Zhu Di scolded Wu Gao for being cowardly.

Not only Zhu Di, but also he wanted to scold.

The two sides formed an array, and he had the majority of the troops, but he actually only made a tentative attack, and then retreated when he saw that he didn't take the bait.

If he fights against such people every day, Zhu Gaoxu feels that one day he will be so angry that he becomes ill.

"Your Highness, this Wu Gao is really cowardly. He has so many soldiers and horses, but he doesn't even fight with us!"

Wang Yi cursed Wu Gao, but Zhu Gaoxu was a little relieved after hearing his curse.

"If you fight with him, you won't get any big results, but you will feel aggrieved."

"The grievance is small, but the main reason is that there is no big result."

Wang Yi and Meng Zhang were communicating, while Zhu Gaoxu sat on the horse, stroking his fingers carefully, as if thinking.

Just as he took a breath, he thought of Zhu Di's method of getting rid of Wu Gao in history, and couldn't help but squint his eyes.

"It's good to be cautious, but it's a pity that my eldest brother doesn't need such a person. What my eldest brother needs is a big victory."

After Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, he turned to look at Wang Yi: "After treating the wounded soldiers in Liaodong, select a few lightly injured ones and send them to western Liaoning."

"Why are you going to Liaoxi?"

Wang Yi was confused, but Zhu Gaoxu chuckled: "Of course we have to deal with Wu Gao..."

　"Bohai Chronicles": "Fighted with Gao Lien for three days, but Gao Ying refused to fight, so he abandoned Tieling and went up to Tieling."

　　"Records of Emperor Shizong of the Ming Dynasty": "We went up to Tieling and fought with the officers and soldiers for three days. The generals fought bravely. Gao was timid in fighting and wanted to abandon the city, but the generals refused to listen to the advice and retreated.

　　Shangwen heard that Gao withdrew, chased and defeated them, and commanded Wu Wen's formation to be wiped out, as well as the rest of his troops. This was the first disastrous defeat for the officers and soldiers in northern Liaoning. "

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)