Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 252 The Second Year of Jianwen

"Crackling——"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

On the first day of the first lunar month, as the Spring Festival belonging to China, even in the smoke of war, it does not prevent the people from celebrating the New Year.

The second year of Jianwen arrived as scheduled. During this Spring Festival, everything from the inner courtyard of the palace in the south to the market alleys in the north was full of joy and excitement.

Even in Bohai and Liaodong, where food was only enough for less than four months, Zhu Gaoxu specially asked Wang Yuan and others to make fireworks, and asked the Shenji Battalion to fire cannons to celebrate the New Year.

But compared to the liveliness of the people in Liaodong, Zhu Gaoxu looked sad.

"here we go again……"

"Which letter is this this month?"

In Guangning City, Zhu Gaoxu, who lives in the Commander's Office, looked at the letter handed over by officials from hundreds of households in Xichang and asked helplessly.

"The sixth letter, it seems that His Highness King Yan is feeling the pressure, so he keeps asking you for troops."

Baihuguan understood it self-righteously, but Zhu Gaoxu's mouth twitched. How could he not understand Zhu Di?

Historically, there were only tens of thousands of people when Zhu Di faced off against Li Jinglong?

The most mobile horse infantry is 20,000, and the cavalry is only 5,000 or 6,000. The remaining 30,000 to 40,000 infantry are still on guard for fear of being attacked by troops from Daning and Liaodong.

Look at the current situation, 10,000 cavalry, 50,000 horse infantry, 100,000 infantry...

This lineup is comparable to that of Zhu Di who has already reached the decisive battle of Lingbi, and Li Jinglong should have an army of 500,000, but now only has 300,000.

160,000 versus 300,000. Others would be frightened, but Zhu Di probably didn't take Li Jinglong seriously at all.

If he hadn't asked him to delay for a while, maybe he would have gone south to fight Li Jinglong at Baigou River just like he did with Geng Bingwen.

"If you still ask me for soldiers at this time, does this cheap dad want to share my military power?"

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the letter in his hand uncertainly. Little did he know that Zhu Di was just greedy and wanted to get all the good things into his hands.

"I will never eat the pie you painted in this life..."

Zhu Gaoxu was daydreaming in his mind, and then handed the letter in his hand back: "Have someone tell my father that my side has already started preparations, and we will start on February 15th, and let him be more careful."

"Yes..." Baihuguan agreed, and then asked: "Do you want to tell His Highness King Yan about the news of crossing the sea to attack Dengzhou?"

"No, there are many people with many eyes. After you tell him, he can understand it himself, and let someone call Sun Cheng."

"Yes!" After Zhu Gaoxu ordered, he waved his hand to signal him to leave. Not long after, he saw Sun Cheng walking into the central hall.

"Your Highness." Sun Cheng, who was wearing the uniform of a second-grade civil servant, walked into the central hall. He was now the Chief Envoy of Liaodong Chief Envoy Si Yamen.

Although Zhu Yunwen had promoted the chief envoy to the second rank, Zhu Gaoxu still used the system of Zhu Yuanzhang's period and did not recognize his promotion of civil servants at all.

"The news from Hu Lun in the south has arrived, half a month faster than we expected."

Zhu Gaoxu was talking about the movements of the Confederate Navy. Sun Cheng had just learned of the news, but he already knew that he was going to attack when the Confederate Navy sent the Pingwo Navy to harass Liaonan, so he immediately knew that Zhu Gaoxu was looking for him. intention.

"The Jinzhou Shipyard has currently built three 3,000-material warships and sixteen 2,000-material warships. There is still a shortage of seven 3,000-material warships, fourteen 2,000-material warships, and thirty A horse boat.”

"If we want to send troops on February 15th, we can only finish ten warships with three thousand materials and thirty warships with two thousand materials. It is estimated that it will be difficult to build thirty horse ships."

The construction speed of warships is very fast, because Daning immigrants were also moved to Jinzhou, Lushun and other places. Most of them are now engaged in shipbuilding industry in shipyards.

It's just that although the construction speed of warships is fast, the transportation capacity of warships is not high. Real troop transport still has to rely on horse boats, and the wood of horse boats cannot be used until at least the beginning of February, and there is no time to build and launch them on February 15th.

If there were no horse ships, even if the Bohai Navy won the naval battle, it would not have the strength to send more than 40,000 troops to Dengzhou.

"If the merchant ships in Jinzhou need to be requisitioned, how many ships can be requisitioned and how many troops can be transported? I will send someone to check."

"In addition, tell Shipbuilder Wang and Shipbuilder Liu to immediately speed up the production of horse boats. As long as they can be launched into the water, it is enough to ensure that they will not sink within two or three years."

The shipbuilding industry was very developed during the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties. Thanks to the unique mortise and tenon structure and construction technology, even a large ship with 3,000 materials could be built within three months. However, due to the short construction period, such ships often had only a short service life. It can last for five or six years.

But for Zhu Gaoxu, it is enough for the horse boat that has been baking wood for more than two months to last for two years.

"I accept your order." Sun Cheng agreed, and Zhu Gaoxu also spoke: "Has all the food in Jinzhou been made into military rations?"

"Everything has been made. One hundred thousand stones of military rations have been made into 20,000 bushels of military rations, enough to feed an army of 40,000 people for a month. In addition, 20,000 stones of bean paste have been prepared, enough to feed 60,000 horses for a month."

"Although everything is ready, I feel..."

Sun Cheng had prepared everything, but he felt that it was a bit risky for Zhu Gaoxu to do this. After all, he only brought a month's worth of food to Dengzhou. If Li Jinglong returned to the army, he would easily run out of food.

"Don't worry, I have prepared everything. All you have to do is wait for the food to be released from the treasury."

Zhu Gaoxu interrupted him, and then said: "We only have three months. If we cannot win the two states of Denglai, we will all starve to death."

"Yes..." Sun Cheng said no more, just nodded and left.

He walked out of the commander's office, smelled the smell of sulfur and saltpeter in the air and sighed.

"I don't know how long this war will last..."

At the same time as Sun Cheng sighed, tens of thousands of troops were coming and going in Zhuozhou City. Some were making military rations, some were making dried vegetables, and some were polishing weapons. In short, everything was in order, as if they were about to head north.

"The navy in Denglai has decided to set off on February 15th. Among them, the Pingbo Navy will send troops to attack the four states of Hai, Gai, Fu, and Jin to contain the Bohai pirates. But we need to set off on February 15th. Go north."

There was a sound from a mansion where the plaque of "General Conquering the Captives" was hung. Li Jinglong was standing in the central hall, dressed in military uniform, holding a dogma in his hand and pointing to the mountain and river route on the sand table.

Around the central hall, more than a dozen generals gathered around the location pointed by Li Jinglong. Some of them were wearing simple Mingzha armor, the standard of the Ming army, while others were decorated with some Mongolian style. The general's appearance It is also closer to the Mongols and Semu people.

This multi-ethnic team of generals was the counter-insurgency corps formed by the 300,000 elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty.

At the moment, all of them are watching Li Jinglong point out the mountains and rivers, and no one has any doubts, because most of them have trained with Li Jinglong, which is why Li Jinglong can serve as the commander-in-chief this time.

He is capable and has high prestige. He is the fourth general to wear the seal of the general who conquered the captives after Xu Da, Feng Sheng and Lan Yu during the Hongwu period.

"Now the cities are connected by water networks. If Yan Ni wants to go south, he can only go to Xiong County and Baigou River. Therefore, I moved the army to Zhuozhou further ahead of Baigou River and relied on the Huliang River to garrison. "

"Less than a hundred miles north of Zhuozhou is Lugou Bridge. After passing Lugou Bridge, Peiping is just around the corner."

"However, once the Lugou Bridge is captured, our army must not advance rashly. Instead, we should rely on the Lugou Bridge to build forts and rely on the Lugou River (Yongding River) to restrict the rebel army."

"The south of Beiping City is a piece of silt, and our cavalry and infantry cannot form formations here. Therefore, the specific situation needs to be sent to Tangqi to investigate after taking the Lugou Bridge, and the Yan army must also be at the Lugou Bridge. Set up forts to hinder our army.”

Li Jinglong told about everything he might encounter in taking Lugou Bridge, and at the same time he did not forget to add: "The rebel army has many cavalry, horse infantry, so it is necessary for Ganliang, Baotao, Hezhou and other guard cavalry to go north first to explore the enemy's situation, and at the same time restrict The speed of the thieves' army makes it difficult for them to carry out the surprise attack they did in the last battle."

"General, take your orders!" After hearing Li Jinglong's words, the two Ganliang generals and the tall Ping'an bowed in response.

Among them, Li Jinglong set his sights on a fifty-year-old veteran who was no less than six feet tall: "Marquis Yuexun, I will leave these 20,000 cavalry to you."

"The last general takes orders." Yu Tongyuan, who was strong and strong, spoke in a loud voice and bowed his hands.

Faced with his restraint, Ping An and others did not show any uncomfortable expressions. Obviously they all knew that this veteran who had fought in the army for half his life was powerful.

"In that case, let's all retreat and form our own armies. Don't let up."

Li Jinglong did not have a detailed plan on how to capture Lugou Bridge because he did not yet fully grasp the information about Lugou Bridge.

Before the army arrived, any intelligence on Lugou Bridge might become invalid over time. He needed first-hand information to make a correct judgment.

Even if the judgment failed, he did not think that he would be defeated, because the 300,000 troops arriving from the north had been trained and tempered by him. If Zhu Di dared to surprise him like the Battle of Zhending, he would be very happy.

Time passed little by little, and the smell of gunpowder smoke over the Hebei Plain became stronger and stronger.

Bohai, Peiping, Shandong... various levels of troop dispatching occurred in various places.

Yao Guangxiao's monk, Hu Lun's Xichang, Zhu Yunwen's royal guards...

They are both active around the world. The difference is that Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di devote themselves wholeheartedly to intelligence, while Zhu Yunwen has a prejudice against Jin Yiwei.

This kind of prejudice made people in Jinyiwei unstable, and Hu Lun also took the opportunity to get close to many old friends.

With the help of money and goods such as ginseng, velvet antlers and coral from the Bohai Sea, Hu Lun successfully arrived where he wanted to go.

"Duk...duk...duk..."

In a mansion in Huai'an City, the study was eerily quiet. Only the sound of thumb tapping from time to time could indicate that there was still life in the room.

"Yang Shanren, it's been a quarter of an hour, haven't you thought about it yet..."

Hu Lun, who was sitting in his seat, turned his head to look at the person next to him, and his slow tone revealed that person's identity.

Yang Bin, the Huai'an businessman whom Zhu Gaoxu had won over, had risen to prominence by virtue of his identity as a businessman of the Bohai Palace, but in recent years he had been constantly clearing his identity.

He may be doing it for the sake of his family, but Zhu Gaoxu doesn't like what he does.

At the moment, Hu Lun has brought him a way out, but whether he can seize it depends on himself.

Yang Bin looked down at the drawing in his hand, beads of sweat forming on his forehead:

"This requires so many things that I can't put them together..."

"Yang Shanren, you can rest assured. This time I brought you 20,000 yuan, which is enough to buy enough food." Hu Lun interrupted him and continued:

"The help I ask you to help this time is not much. If you help, His Highness can forget about your previous actions, but if you don't help..."

Hu Lun shook his head: "Is it possible that Yang Shanren thought that what you did was so perfect that the court couldn't find it at all?"

What he was talking about was that Yang Bin helped Bohai transport a large amount of grain. Although that matter had been exposed during the Hongwu period, Zhu Yuanzhang did not pursue it at that time.

But now, a new generation is replacing the old ones. Once Bohai completely fails, the result for Yang Bin can be imagined.

Yang Bin also understood this after being reminded by Hu Lun, so he gritted his teeth and said: "I can do it, but on the way..."

"Things on the road have been taken care of, you don't have to worry." Hu Lun predicted Yang Bin's thoughts, and these words made Yang Bin completely accept this mission. Not long after, Hu Lun walked out of the Yang Mansion and sent the encrypted information to Bohai.

It didn't take long for Zhu Gaoxu to get his information.

The addition of Yang Bin increased Zhu Gaoxu's certainty of going south to 80%, and the last 20% were Denglai and the Yangtze River Navy staying in Dengzhou Bay.

"Let's go, we'll reach Jinzhou in thirty miles."

Zhu Gaoxu looked to the south. Behind him were nearly 20,000 Bohai navy soldiers who had been assembled.

Many of them were transferred south before winter last year, while a new group of soldiers were recruited from Bohai.

They gathered in Gaizhou and headed south, while the Third Battalion of Shenji and 5,000 navy troops had already been assembled in Jinzhou.

Under the leadership of Zhu Gaoxu, the two Bohai elites went south. It took less than two hours for this group of horse infantry and cavalry to arrive at the thirty-mile journey.

The current Jinzhou City is at least twice as big as when it was taken over by Bohai last year. The snow outside the city has also begun to melt. A camp has been built in the north of the city that can be moved in at any time. Twenty thousand troops entered it under Zhu Gaoxu's dispatch and waited. Sea crossing instructions.

Unlike them, after Zhu Gaoxu arranged everything, he called Yang Zhan and Cui Jun, and he went to the Ordnance Bureau in Jinzhou.

Blacksmiths from all over Liaodong were recruited to Jinzhou, and a complex workshop covering an area of ​​700 acres was built not far from the military camp in the north of the city.

The production of forged iron, muskets, cannons, gunpowder, cannonballs, etc. are all completed here. There are more than 2,600 craftsmen of various types and tens of thousands of civilian workers working as helpers.

The efficiency and output here are much higher than those of the Ordnance Bureau factory in Blackwater City.

The specific output and efficiency were presented to Zhu Gaoxu in the form of data in the explanation of Wang Yuan who rushed over.

"There are currently more than 16,000 clay molds for artillery. No less than 5,000 artillery pieces of various types and no less than 40,000 muskets can be forged here every year. As long as there are enough raw materials for gunpowder, it can produce a million kilograms."

"Look, this is the siege cannon that has just been forged and cooled down."

Wang Yuan walked up to a cannon that was only about five feet tall. It was mounted on a cannon truck and didn't look too big. At least it was small compared to the various cannons in Zhu Gaoxu's memory from his previous life.

"Including the artillery carriage, its weight is two thousand kilograms. Using two kilograms of standard propellant, a ten kilogram artillery shell can be fired accurately to a distance of two miles at a firing angle of five degrees. When the firing angle is ten degrees, then It can reach an astonishing three miles.”

"We have actually tested that if it is used to siege a city, even a three-foot-thick city wall made of Sanhetu with green bricks on the outside will not be able to withstand the twenty-digit pour of one hundred siege cannons."

Wang Yuan introduced the various data of siege cannons, especially the three-foot-thick blue brick city wall as the target. It can be said that it is very suitable for the siege cannon data that Zhu Gaoxu needs.

"Where are the naval guns?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked about the power of naval guns, and Wang Yuan also introduced it after hearing this.

"Compared with siege guns, the weight of naval guns is based on the standard weight of three thousand kilograms and above. It can shoot stone bullets ranging from twenty kilograms to thirty kilograms, and its range ranges from the smallest and accurate three hundred steps to the largest four. Miles don’t wait.”

"With their power, they are enough to directly penetrate the sides of our current three thousand warships."

Wang Yuan proudly introduced the artillery he forged. After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu reached out his hand to figure out the siege cannon with great satisfaction.

"What is the number of artillery stocks now, and where are the muskets?"

"One hundred siege guns, one thousand two hundred naval guns, fourteen thousand matchlocks, and another eleven thousand for training by Governor Zhu and Meng Tongzhi."

From September to now, with the joint efforts of more than 2,000 craftsmen and tens of thousands of civilians led by Wang Yuan, they have cast enough artillery for the navy and horse infantry, as well as enough matchlock guns.

"Your Highness!"

As soon as Zhu Gaoxu finished explaining everything to Wang Yuan, Yang Zhan, Cui Jun, Meng Zhang, Xu Sheng and others trotted all the way to the production line and saluted Zhu Gaoxu.

"Okay, how is the situation in the Shenji Camp and the Navy?"

Zhu Gaoxu had no time to waste. He asked everyone about business. Meng Zhang turned his attention to Yang Zhan, who took the lead in saying:

"The navy of five thousand has become proficient in using matchlocks and naval guns. Forty warships have been launched and tested, and it is confirmed that there are no problems. Twelve horse ships made of three thousand materials have also been launched. Transporting three thousand people at a time will not be a problem. , and can even be used as a temporary warship."

"In addition, there are various types of merchant ships used to transport troops, which can transport at least 2,000 people. In addition, there are 18 horse ships with about 2,000 materials, which can also be used as temporary warships. A total of 70 temporary ships can be formed. and common warships.”

"The most difficult thing to transport is not the soldiers, but the horses." Zhu Gaoxu explained what he was worried about, but Yang Zhan also responded:

"Your Highness, please rest assured. With the current transportation capacity, we can transport 60,000 troops and horses to Dengzhou in half a month at most."

"Including the 40,000 soldiers transported, the landing should be completed within a month."

"Okay!" Zhu Gaoxu looked sideways at Meng Zhang, who also bowed and said: "The left and right Zhaozhou guards led by Ta Shi, Dole and Qi have been trained. Now the number of soldiers in the army who can master matchlock guns has reached 1 Fifty thousand, but five thousand of them have to be responsible for the bombardment of field artillery and siege artillery, and cannot be directly thrown into the front line."

"Enough." Zhu Gaoxu nodded. For him, ten thousand matchlock soldiers were enough, not to mention that these ten thousand matchlock soldiers were horse infantry.

"It's February 11th now. If the intelligence is correct, the Confederate Army will launch an attack in four days."

Zhu Gaoxu spoke calmly and turned his attention to Yang Zhan:

"Success, I am not proficient in water warfare, so I can only lead the army to Port Arthur to cheer you up."

"Your Highness, please rest assured!" Yang Zhan bowed in response: "If when we went north before, I was only 20% sure that you could defeat the Southern Navy, now it is 100%!"

"Your Highness, please wait for the general's success. The general will definitely live up to His Highness's trust!"

"Okay!" Zhu Gaoxu nodded: "You leave the port in four days, and I will lead the army to Lushun to wait for your good news."

Having said that, Zhu Gaoxu led everyone to the Yamen, where he rarely relaxed the prohibition on alcohol.

But at the dinner table, everyone was very restrained, supervising each other and not allowing each other to get drunk.

Although the atmosphere was lost, everyone's restraint made Zhu Gaoxu even more confident.

To be honest, he didn't fight many tough battles on his way south. Wu Gao kept retreating without fighting. He didn't like Wu Sheng, Wu Shouan and others, so he only called his men to deal with them.

The only one he needed to deal with alone was Haragu who went south to plunder.

Although he killed Xiyang Ha and avenged the bloody battle at Jixiguan, fighting against him did not give Zhu Gaoxu a feeling of passion.

The passion of the surprise attack on Xiyangha, the bloody battle at Jixiguan, and the Bibian Modong had been separated for so long that he felt that his body seemed to be rusty.

But now, as the plan he had been planning for a long time was finally about to be implemented, he rarely ignited the passion of fighting with fewer soldiers than before.

"Come! Have another bowl!"

Raising the wine glass filled with rice wine, Zhu Gaoxu asked everyone to drink a few more bowls.

However, the excitement could not last until Haishi. Cui Jun and others prioritized official duties and left one after another.

They needed to go home to recharge their batteries, but Zhu Gaoxu, who was too excited, walked out of the yamen and walked to the port of Jinzhou.

Here, he saw many tall warships. They were not as majestic as the steel giants of later generations, but they were the only ones he could rely on.

"I knew you wouldn't go to rest..."

Yang Zhan's voice sounded behind him, and Zhu Gaoxu looked sideways. Under the moonlight, he walked up to Zhu Gaoxu holding a lantern.

"There were some things I couldn't tell you during the banquet, but I can now."

Yang Zhan's eyes were a little worried, which made Zhu Gaoxu think of what he wanted to say.

"You mean your father?"

Zhu Gaoxu spoke tentatively and received a nod from Yang Zhan:

"I would like to ask Your Highness, will my father surrender after the war?"

"..." Zhu Gaoxu was silent. Logically speaking, he should let Yang Qiu surrender, then take over the Pingwo Navy and go all the way south.

But Zhu Gaoxu didn't want to do this, because doing so would make Zhu Yunwen worried.

What he wanted was to have Yang Qiu lead the Pingwa Navy to break out after Denglai and the Yangtze River Navy were defeated, and then go all the way south to help Zhu Yunwen guard the Yangtze River Estuary.

With him around, Zhu Yunwen would not leave the capital easily, because Zhu Yunwen knew that there was a navy guarding the Yangtze River estuary.

If Yang Qiu suddenly surrenders by then, he will be able to catch Zhu Yunwen off guard.

Otherwise, once Zhu Yunwen abandons the capital and flees to Sichuan, Huguang and other places, the war will not end as early as he wishes, and it may have to last longer.

The burden of people's livelihood and economy in the north is on his shoulders, so he can only win this battle, not lose.

It's just that if Yang Qiu's father breaks through and goes to the south, he will most likely be accused by Zhu Yunwen. Although this possibility is not high, it is still a possibility.

Yang Zhan had actually guessed what Zhu Gaoxu was thinking, but he delayed asking until now.

As a son of man, he naturally did not want his father to go to the dangerous south, and he went south under the pretext of being defeated.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu's silence, he knew the answer and slowly bowed.

"Yang Zhan..." Zhu Gaoxu looked at him and slowly said:

"This is how the war is. Although I don't want my uncle to go, but in order to win, I have to do this."

"Actually, I'm not worried..." Yang Zhan stood up and responded, but then added:

"I just pretended to die and went north. Brother Fu said that you have changed. I hope the general will advise you not to take too many risks. That's why the general came to ask."

"But from the general's point of view, you never fight a battle that you are not sure of, so my father will be fine."

Yang Zhan still trusted Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu also made his own promise: "You ask your uncle to plead guilty to the court after breaking through, and lead the navy to temporarily stay in Ganyu. If there is an order from the court, he will go south and guard the Yangtze River estuary. During this period, do not leave the navy. "

"In two months, we will work together to capture Jinling City!"

　"Bohai Chronicles": "In the spring of the second year, Jinglong and Xuan mobilized their troops to go north, and ordered Bin and Lun to set up grain stacks in various towns in Huanghuai."

　　

　

(End of this chapter)