Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 428 Muddy Waters ([-])

With 8000 people when they set off, is it possible to recruit the Ming army along the way?The intelligence staff thinks it's possible, but not too much.

The Ming army troops on Gein's marching route were raided by Bahana and Shi Tingzhu as early as June and July, and most of them have gone to Shanxi now.Moreover, they marched at an extremely fast speed, and obviously did not stop much at the place. Therefore, there should be very few Ming troops recruited along the way in Hebei, or even none.And there are only 300 soldiers in Jinan City, and the defense of the city is not enough, so it is impossible to provide them with effective support.As for the [-] soldiers originally assigned by Li Shiyuan, they no longer exist. After being bombarded by cannons from the East Bank and killed by cavalry, Li Shiyuan's Qingzhou Army who fled back to Jinan one after another only had [-] soldiers. It's only enough to help Fang Dayou defend the city, nothing else can be expected.

But all of the above is still just speculation.Although the staff think that the possibility is very high, the guess is only a guess after all. What if the Qing court transferred some of the Ming army and Shun army from Kinki and Henan?Mo Ming didn't dare to make a decision lightly. The 4000 people in his hand could not be easily compromised.Taking ten thousand steps back, even if there is no failure, the battle losses are too high, which is not worthwhile for the people on the east bank who are short of major generals. It is even more difficult for them to replenish soldiers than the Manchus.Therefore, it is better to be cautious in everything.

"Where did Ke Yongsheng's Jiaozhou town army go?" Mo Ming suddenly asked, "We opened up his lair, why did he not respond like a dead man?"

"According to Monk Zhai Wu, Ke Yongsheng brought more than 4000 people to the Zhaoyuan and Huangxian areas of Dengzhou a while ago. Yang Wei, the deputy commander-in-chief of the state, refused to surrender, and then Chen Jin and Ke Yongsheng did not know where they went. Maybe they are still active in the counties and counties along the northern coast of Dengzhou and Laizhou, but they may also be on the way to Qingzhou. On the way. Sir, do you need to expand the scope of investigation?" asked the intelligence staff officer.

"It doesn't need to be so troublesome, the scope can be kept within the current counties around Gaomi." Mo Ming waved his hand and said, "The key investigation area is still around Qingzhou City. Once the Qing Army brigade arrives, it must be reported immediately."

On November 11, the last batch of captives and supplies arrived at the naval ships along the Dagu River with the military team.Subsequently, four ships were loaded with more than 15 captives of the Qing army, 900 refugees who volunteered to follow the people on the east bank to reclaim wasteland, hundreds of wounded people on the east bank, nearly 7000 tons of grain, 4500 heads of livestock, and some materials such as silver and silk. The ship raised anchor and sailed, left Jiaozhou Bay, and then went eastward along the northwest wind.The two escort gunboats were still ordered to stay where they were, and they were the last way back in case the East Coast Army encountered trouble.After the materials were transported, the officers and soldiers of the three squadrons originally stationed near Jiaozhou also brought some military officers to Gaomi.So far, the troops gathered by the people on the east coast have reached 250 (not counting the navy), of which nearly 450 are soldiers, with 250 carts, 400 donkeys and mules, more than 900 draft horses, and more than [-] draft horses. More than [-] Mongolian war horses, [-] artillery pieces of various types, and sufficient food, the morale of the soldiers is still high, and the mobility is also very strong. Victory with fewer casualties.

And just when Mo Ming began to consider whether to pull the troops westward to the Anqiu area in Qingzhou, the intelligence of Qingzhou City came again, and the army led by He Tuo and Li Shutai had arrived outside Qingzhou City.Faced with more and more Qing cavalry, the scouts of the security team could no longer effectively block the local battlefield, so they began to retreat one after another.But they also brought the latest news from the Qing army: there are many cavalry!At least 4000 people!The cavalry is well equipped, trained at a high level, and their morale and self-confidence are even higher. They seem to be an ever-victorious army.However, the anti-Qing armed forces who had always held a tough attitude towards the Qing army's recruitment before saw the power of the "braided army" and immediately fell silent.According to the last news from Monk Zhai Wu, recently, the trend of thinking towards the Qing army has begun to rise again in Qingzhou City, and Zhang Wenheng has become active again under this situation.

Nima!The inertia of this history is really strong!Could it be that Zhao Yingyuan really couldn't pass the level of appeasement?But he can't blame him. The troops he can really fight are the 400 cavalry he brought at first and the more than [-] Shunjun that he gradually gathered. Very limited.And the so-called anti-Qing armed forces who came to join him in an alliance are even more of a mob. Many of them have no combat experience at all. Although the current number has reached [-] to [-] people, once they fight, it will probably be terrible. .Therefore, it is no wonder that Zhao Yingyuan would repeatedly accept the Qing army's appeasement. It is really that the Qing army came too fast, and his own strength is too weak, so there is nothing he can do.

After gaining insight into this point, Mo Ming discussed with his officers for a while. The 104th company commander Mao Desheng insisted that at this time, precious military power should not be mixed into the tens of thousands of battles between the two sides. It should be slowly withdrawn to Jiaozhou, and then boarded and evacuated.He believes that every soldier on the east coast is precious, and it will be difficult to replenish if lost here, so they should withdraw to the strong Yantai Fort to defend.However, Lieutenant Li Renjun, the young and aggressive company commander of the 105th Company, believed that they should at least go westward to the Anqiu area, and support Zhao Yingyuan and others, at least so that they would not surrender quickly, and Mo Ming was inclined to his opinion.As for Yang Mingyang, a cavalry officer, he had no particular idea of ​​what to do next, and he said he "obeyed orders."

In such a situation, Mo Ming immediately made up his mind to go west to Anqiu!Although Mao Desheng expressed strong objections, he finally accepted the order, and led the troops to escort the luggage and the cavalry were the first to go on the road.Anqiu County is only more than 40 kilometers away from Gaomi, where the people from the east bank are temporarily stationed, which is a two-day journey. After arriving in Anqiu County, it is only [-] kilometers away from Qingzhou City, which can be described as close at hand.

On November 11, with the violent northwest, the sky was covered with heavy snow.This makes the people on the east coast who have trekked all the way feel very grateful-fortunately, the snow did not fall while they were still on the road.Anqiu County was controlled by the Qing court at this time, and the county magistrate was appeased by Wang Aoyong in July, but this is a small county, and the Qing court did not send troops to garrison it.

After seeing that the weather was getting worse, the people on the east bank stopped writing. Following Mo Ming's order, the artillery brothers once again pulled out the long-barreled cannon, which was regarded as a treasure, and shot it at the east gate of Anqiu County. After the old iron-clad wooden city gate was blasted, the vanguard soldiers easily broke through the sparsely scattered less than a hundred Ding Yong and yamen servants in the city, and successfully captured the city at a slight cost of killing 3 people and injuring 9 people. Small county.

After occupying Anqiu, a small county in the deep inland, the large army began to rest, but the nearly two hundred scouts of the scout team could not rest. The heavy snow all over the sky went out to collect intelligence.The more than 2000 soldiers in the military team did not rest. They were organized to use the crude materials in the city to repair the city defense hastily, and blocked the east gate that was bombarded by the East Coasters with stones and sandbags.

The news that the people from the east bank entered Anqiu County made the Qing army extremely afraid, and at the same time, the anti-Qing armed forces in Qingzhou City who received the news once again raised a little confidence, and the issue of appeasement to the Qing army was once again put aside.Hetuo, who is waiting for the gathering of troops from all walks of life, is worried about the "yellow pirates" who once caused huge casualties to his elite scouts. However, he only has more than 2000 Eight Banners officers and soldiers at hand, and they are as easily damaged as the soldiers of the East Coast Army. no.Therefore, after discussing with Li Shuitai, it was decided that Li Shuitai would take his more than 4000 Han army banner soldiers and follow-up auxiliary soldiers, plus more than 2000 soldiers from the Zhang Ruxing Department of the Shun Army who surrendered, and march eastward to Anqiu. Eliminate the threats from his own flanks——he didn't want to try the quality of these east coast pirates if he had the chance to attack Qingzhou City forcibly. better.And he led more than [-] elite main forces here to monitor the [-] to [-] "rebels" in Qingzhou City. By the way, he waited for the arrival of more than [-] people from Ke Yongsheng, the commander-in-chief of Jiaozhou Town, and was ready to support Li Shutai's department at any time.

Li Shuitai had no objection to this arrangement, so he took more than 8000 people from his own headquarters (including followers and auxiliary soldiers), and more than [-] people from Zhang Ruxing's department with a large amount of luggage and set off to Anqiu County.He was very cautious along the way for two reasons: one was the severe wind and snow and the bad weather; the other was that he had no idea how many men, how many horses they had, and how well equipped they were. It was the first time he met.And the east coast pirate scouts wearing "cotton coats" who appeared in the field from time to time made him gasp. The powerful teams have suffered a lot under their hands, but He Tuo kept this matter secret, so he has never had an intuitive impression.

Now he is "impressed" deeply, because after leaving for more than a day, the scouts he sent out often can't come back, and more than ten of them have disappeared so far, which makes him feel distressed.It is quite difficult to replenish these elite scouts. They need to master extremely comprehensive knowledge and super survival ability in the wild. Of course, their combat skills must be excellent. It took him many years to train these scouts.Now that he has lost so much here at once, how can he not feel distressed.

After seeing such a serious loss of scouts, Li Soltai, who was old in battle, ordered the troops to slow down the march again.Sometimes when encountering dangerous and suspicious road sections, he even asked the troops to form a battle formation, and then searched carefully before moving on. In mid-to-late November, it was freezing cold in Shandong, coupled with heavy wind and snow, the soldiers complained about this and their morale was extremely low.

(End of this chapter)