Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 427 Muddy Waters ([-])

Gaomi County is much poorer than Jiaozhou.Because this county was also ravaged by bandits a few months ago, and even just a month ago, Han Jiben's army of bandits attacked this county.The city walls of the entire county are dilapidated, and the buildings in the city are also dilapidated. It looks like a survivor after a catastrophe.This time, it was bombarded by cannons and blasted by gunpowder from the people on the east coast, and the city wall collapsed in a large area, losing its basic function of city defense.

The troops from the east bank worked for a long time before entering the barracks in the city, and then the staff officers swarmed out to carry out the requirements in the infantry drill code step by step.

"There is no surplus food in the city, probably less than five hundred shi, and there are not many weapons and ammunition, and even a few hundred taels of silver. According to the interrogation of the Qing military officer, their garrison Li Shiyuan originally wanted to take them to Qingzhou for food today. But obviously his plan was interrupted by us."

"According to the interrogation information, the Qing Dynasty sent the main force to Jinan. They ordered Li Shiyuan to lead the army to join them outside Qingzhou City. It seems that they are going to deal with Zhao Yingyuan's troops occupying Qingzhou."

"During the day, seven country gentry and wealthy merchants sent their servants to the city to help in the battle. We have already arrested them all. Please show me how to deal with them."

"During the daytime battle, the stand-up team killed 42 people and injured 61 people. The artillerymen killed 1 person and injured 1 person. The army infantry and the Eight Banners New Army had no casualties. According to preliminary statistics, more than 66 people of the Qing Army were killed and more than 17 people were captured. , and the rest fled. [-] mules, [-] carts, arrows, knives and guns were seized."

"Commander Yang of the cavalry brigade came back with the cavalry chasing the enemy. According to the statistics of the intern staff accompanying the team, they killed more than [-] Qing troops in total, and most of the remaining prisoners fled before it was too late. The commander of the Qing army brought dozens of cavalry They escaped first, and it is believed that they went to Qingzhou or Jinan. Commander Yang said that the horses were worn out and the horse feed was not enough, so he asked to use the black beans in the official warehouse to feed the horses."

The professional staff and intern staff gathered all kinds of situations at a low cost, and Mo Ming sat in the fairly neat lobby of the county government office, handling these affairs with ease.Mao Desheng, Li Renjun and others were summing up after the battle with the soldiers in the barracks. Second Lieutenant Junior, the leading officer of the volunteer team, was also comforting the wounded and counting the battle damage. Bernini, the deputy of the artillery company, was organizing personnel to rush to repair the two damaged during the day. The cavalry captain Yang Mingyang and his men were taking care of the horses, while the loyal security captain Kurhan was setting up scouts outside the city. In short, everyone was busy, and a highly specialized army should be like this.

Mo Ming didn't deal with these matters until after ten o'clock in the evening, and then took the staff and adjutants to inspect the Eight Banners New Army troops serving as the city defense force.After all this work was over, he still had no way to rest. At this time, there was still a meeting waiting for him in the lobby of the county government office.

"I suggest not to go forward any further. The main force of the Qing army arrived in Jinan yesterday. It seems that their strength may not be sufficient at present, so they are gathering troops, but I don't think it will take too long. Two or three at most In a few days, they will gather the army, raise food and grass, and then go east to Qingzhou." Mao Desheng spoke eloquently at the beginning of the meeting, expressing his views clearly, which made Li Renjun frowned immediately.

"I disagree with Company Commander Mao." The young Li Renjun said, "What is the purpose of our dispatch of troops this time? It is to support Zhao Yingyuan, to attract the attention of the Qing court, and to attract more Qing troops to Shandong. The pressure on the Shun army engaged in the battle is reduced. Therefore, our movement is that the bigger the better, and now we have conquered two county towns and defeated nearly [-] Qing troops in just three days. I think this is very good. Now we should continue west Come on, whether it's Anqiu in the northwest or Zhucheng in the southwest, we must at least conquer one, and then we will decide what to do next depending on the situation."

"No, that's too risky." Mo Ming directly rejected Li Renjun's radical proposal, and then said: "We don't know how many people the Qing army has come now, and the composition of its troops, weapons and equipment, etc. are even dark. At this time, I think it is too risky to venture westward. Moreover, the supplies, food, grass, and prisoners we seized in Jiaozhou and Gaomi have to be transported to the naval ships at the mouth of the Dagu River, which will take several days. Time. I've decided that everyone will rest and recuperate in Gaomi County for the next two days. At most, they will send people to nearby villages to collect grain. There are many rivers and lakes near Gaomi, and there are many fertile fields. It’s not a big problem when I come back. I don’t think they dare not give to those landlords. The scouts of the security team are all sent out to closely investigate the surrounding situation. Special personnel must be sent to monitor all roads that can pass vehicles and armies. I didn’t know it under my nose. In addition, I sent people to get in touch with Monk Zhai Wu, Zhao Yingyuan and others to try to find out more information. Qingzhou is only two or three days away from Gaomi on horseback, so news is delivered quickly. "

After Mo Ming made the final decision, the others closed their mouths and said nothing more.Therefore, starting from November 11th, a total of 6 officers and soldiers from the East Coast began to station in Gaomi County, Laizhou Prefecture. While sending troops to carry out armed tax collection and recruit refugees from the settlement, they transferred materials to the rear of Jiaozhou Bay. .

Several days passed like this, and since November 11, news came back one after another.The latest news came back from the scouts of the security team. These elite Sakhalin hunters reported that they had encountered the same elite Qing army scouts on the outskirts of Qingzhou City.However, the scouts on the east coast are well-equipped, and everyone is equipped with several short guns. At the same time, these Sakhalin hunters who often have to fight brown bears are more brutal and bloodthirsty than those Manqing hunters who grew up in the white mountains and black waters. , more resistant to war, so in general, those Manchu hunters often need to spend two or three lives to leave a Sakhalin hunter.

There were only a few elite scouts in the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and such a loss was unbearable for them.Therefore, after paying the price of more than ten lives, they chose to retreat and wait for the army to come before making any calculations. The wilderness outside Qingzhou City temporarily became a carnival place for the scouts on the east bank.

People from Dong'an did get in touch with Zhao Yingyuan.Zhao Yingyuan knew the news of the arrival of the Manchu Qing army as early as the ninth day of October (November 11), and then set up a flag outside Qingzhou City, recruited soldiers, and assembled anti-Qing armed forces gathered from all over the country.At the same time, he also carried out the supported King Heng as his banner against the Qing Dynasty.It's just that the King Heng he supported seemed very dissatisfied with his current situation. The Zhu Ming clan, who had submitted a form to Wang Aoyong to surrender as early as July, was terrified of being supported. , eyes swollen like peaches", without the slightest air of being the master.

Monk Zhai Wu also confided some information about the situation there with the people from the east bank.According to him, there are now 3 or [-] anti-Qing armed forces gathered in Qingzhou.Of course, most of them are civilians who were coerced, and only a few thousand people can really be beaten.But with so many people gathered, their momentum is really quite big, not to mention they also killed a governor of the Qing Dynasty and supported a vassal of the Ming Dynasty.Under such circumstances, if Hetuo and Li Sutai, who were sent by the Manchu Qing to suppress the rebellion, did not quickly wipe them out and minimize the negative impact, the situation in Shandong would probably undergo new changes.

Zhao Yingyuan was amazed at the fact that the people from the east coast had conquered two counties and defeated three thousand Qing troops, especially one of them was the headquarters of Ke Yongsheng, the general town of Jiaozhou established by the Qing court, which made them chased and killed by Ke Yongsheng a while ago. How can miserable people believe it.However, he and the leaders of the anti-Qing armed forces who came to the alliance also believed that the people on the east coast had indeed won some victories, especially after the news that Qing Qingzhou garrison Li Shiyuan was defeated and fled to Jinan, all this was confirmed. , which instead strengthened their confidence in fighting the Qing army.

In history, Li Shiyuan took two to 3000 people to Qingzhou to reinforce Hetuo and Li Sutai, but in this time and space, there is nothing wrong with him.He led more than 200 people into Jinan City in despair, and now he is a phoenix without hair, and has no use value.In history, when the anti-Qing army headed by Zhao Yingyuan faced the [-] Qing army brought by Hetuo and Li Shuitai, their confidence in resisting was seriously insufficient. He negotiated peace, accepted his consolation, and at the same time secretly contacted the Qing army. Finally, at the meeting place of the negotiation, he cooperated with the Qing army Li Yingwai and killed Zhao Yingyuan, Yang Wangxiu and other anti-Qing armed leaders, and then recruited his troops. The situation in Shandong was like this It was settled down by Man Qing.

However, in this time and space, because the people from the east coast went down to two counties of the Qing army, defeated thousands of people, and also captured Ke Yongsheng's lair, so when Zhang Wenheng persuaded Zhao Yingyuan to accept the Qing army's appeasement, Zhao seemed very hesitant.After such a ruckus from the people from the east bank, the group of big bosses and second bosses under him who came to the alliance also felt that Manqing was nothing more than that, so they all shouted and said to fight first, which made them secretly fight with Qing Zhang Wenheng, who had frequent military contacts, was anxious.

As for the strength of the Qing army, the intelligence staff has already spelled out a rough outline based on scattered information.According to the officers and soldiers of the security team who fought with the scouts of the Qing army, the number of the Eight Banners should not be very large, roughly between 2000-4000, otherwise there would not be just such a few scouts.However, the name and official position of the commander of the Qing army were found out. It is said that Hetuo, the leader of the army, is just a Meile Zhangjing, so the number of soldiers and horses under his command should not exceed 8000. , 8000 followers; Li Shuaitai may have more Han army banner soldiers, so add 8000 more, and add some servants and followers, the total number should be around 8000.Therefore, the number of Manchu and Han Eight Banners under the command of Hetuo and Li Sutai should be about [-], of which about [-] are soldiers.

(End of this chapter)