stubborn thief

Chapter 385 Encounter
In the early morning of the sixth day of June, Guoshi Khan received a request for help from Hexi.

At that time, the main force of Oirat was camping on the south bank of the Mangla River. The national teacher Khan stayed up almost all night. He first asked Tanma about the information of the Marshal's army, and then sent someone to inform the garrison of Yangqu City, ordering him to do everything possible to detect and besiege Durbe. The number of Han troops in the special department.

Then plan the marching route, camping location, retreat route, camping water source and other matters of the coalition forces all night.

When the sky is about to dawn, more than [-] troops from Heshuote, Turhut, and Huite will be dispatched. In addition to the Junggar tribe responsible for intercepting the Han army in the direction of returning to Germany and Lindan Khan in the Bajiao City, the Oirat coalition forces will come out in full force. Go to the Yellow River Ferry in three ways.

The camel's broad feet stepped across the Gobi, stirring up smoke and dust, and Oirat's war drummer straddled the hump, playing an impassioned melody for the soldiers rushing to the battlefield.

However, the marching direction of the Oirat coalition forces was not the ferry of Yangqu City, but the three ferry crossings along the east of the Yellow River, from Yangqu City to Longyang Gorge.

In order to rescue Da Lai Taiji, Guoshi Khan made two-handed preparations, and his actions depended on accurate information from the front line.

If there are only four or five thousand troops besieging Dalaitaiji, they will come out in full force and besiege the Han army from Yangqu City; , Straight into Xincheng.

He doesn't know how to encircle Wei and save Zhao, but the art of war only records what has happened, and he knows the truth that attacking must be saved as if he has experienced hundreds of battles.

Guoshi Khan did not want the battle to take place near the Yangqu Ferry. Compared to it, fighting at sea is a better choice, because Haibei County is connected to Subei, and even if the battle is unfavorable, they can retreat to Subei and plunder Ganbian Back to Tianshan.

On the evening of the sixth day of June, the Yangqu garrison, who risked their lives to inquire about information, rushed to the east of the river and reported to Guoshi Khan: "The Han army at the foot of the mountain is attacking the stronghold. There are muskets and horses blocking them from approaching. They can only hide in the mountains. More than a thousand enemy soldiers are stationed in the camp, and the gunfire is extremely dense."

Very dense gunfire?

Guoshi Khan narrowed his eyes and asked Tan Ma, "Are they firing guns or shooting arrows on the mountain?"

"It's really hard to see...it seems to be shooting guns."

Guoshi Khan didn't have any more questions to ask, so he waved his hand and ordered people to take Tan Ma down to have a good meal, and ordered all the ministries to prepare to cross the river tomorrow morning.

The gunfire was extremely dense, which was not good news for him.

The pastureland of the Duerbert Tribe in Dalaitaiji is the closest to the Russians, and it also had the most conflicts with the Russians over the tribal tribute in the forest, and it also had a lot of muskets.

But having a musket doesn't mean using it well.

The Junggar tribe is stronger and richer, and Batuer Huntaiji is willing to use the captives in the war, and even hired a group of Muslims to teach the tribe how to use muskets. Therefore, the Junggar tribe is the best among the four Oirat tribes in using muskets.

At this time, Dalaitaiji was located on a high ground, and it was more beneficial to use bows and arrows. Therefore, Guoshi Khan judged that they guarded the high ground and would shoot arrows first and then shoot guns.

In fact, except for the Junggar Department which has a professional musket team, the soldiers of the other three departments carry muskets to make up for the lack of arrow reserves.

The combination of gunpowder and lead pellets is much lighter than an arrow, and its lethality is stronger. You can only carry a cavalry bow without a step bow, and you can carry more ammunition.

The two sides entered the stage of mutual shooting. Guoshi Khan believed that Dalai Taiji was in danger, and Duerbert's troops might not be able to support him to attack Xincheng directly, so he decided to move the whole army to the opposite bank and annihilate the besieging Han army under the mountain first.

It's just that the order had just been issued, and before it was sent to the various ministries under his command, there was news from the front that Yangquxi City, which had resisted the Han army for a whole day and night, had fallen, and the Han army was capturing the pontoon bridge.

Not to mention that Guo Shihan didn't expect it, and Liu Chengzong, who received the news almost at the same time, didn't expect it either.

The person in charge of the west city of Yangqu is Zhang Zhen, the chief bee tail needle, who was born as a local bandit in northern Shaanxi. He has followed almost all the leaders who can be named in northern Shaanxi.

The order given to him by the Shogunate of the Chinese Army was a feint attack.

In view of his rich experience in losing battles and his excellent surrender record, Liu Shizi didn't expect much from him.

Last night, the bee department attacked for a night, and [-] guns shot out [-] catties of gunpowder. It was almost a sound. During the day, [-] people under Ma Ke's men surrounded them, let the bee department rest for a day, and only replaced them at dusk.

Unexpectedly, just half an hour after going up, Liu Shizi received a good news that the bee-tail needle had captured the west city. He even suspected that he had heard it wrong.

The capture of Yangquxi City is easy or difficult. After all, there is no decent fortification, just three low walls, but it is a desperate job if you really want to be strong without the help of artillery.

Liu Chengzong didn't feel that he had any kindness to bee tail needle that was worth his life, and he didn't think bee tail needle was a desperate person who accepted the feint mission.

Han Shipan, who was standing sideways by his side, said, "That Zhao Changchang, the commander-in-chief, remember?"

"Zhao Kechang... go and call Ma Xiang first."

Liu Chengzong recited the name in his heart, nodded slowly: "What is he doing?"

Zhao Changchang's old subordinate, who used to be the management team of Liushujian in Yansui Town, was shot by artillery during the battle at the South Bridge of Pou Village, his hands were broken, and he picked up the severed hands and ordered his subordinates to move forward.

It's a pity that the soldiers under him don't have such strong will as him, and they would rather jump into the river than carry out the order.

Liu Chengzong was very impressed with this person, he was a very tough and ruthless character, after hastily bandaged on the battlefield, stubbornly struggled with wound infection and smallpox, struggled back and forth on the line of life and death for more than a month, and survived.

However, one hand is missing, and it is currently the Commander in Chief of the Beetail Needle.

"Since he received the order, he made a plan with Zhang Zhen. Last night, Zhang Zhen led people to harass him, and he nailed the chariot behind two chariots and came out."

Liu Chengzong was delighted when he heard the car, and he said doubtfully: "Our Mongolian Lele car has very thin boards, and the lead will go through when you hit it."

"Leaving the interlayer, filling a layer of sand and pouring water, it should be quite effective to block the lead." Han Shipan raised his eyebrows as he said: "This evening, when the defense is changed, the two of them each led [-] to die. Fighting against the wall, more than [-] people followed suit, the defenders collapsed, and captured the west city of the ferry within a moment."

However, after Han Shipan reported the situation, Yang Qi looked a bit complicated: "But if this happens, the plan will change."

This is also an experience that Yang Qi has never had before. Beetail Needle and Zhao Kehua used to be his subordinates. When they served in the Guyuan Army, they had never overfulfilled their tasks like this.

"Hey! Then change."

Liu Chengzong laughed casually, waved his hands and said: "They did a good job, isn't this just a feint, now Oirat must think that the main force is on the west bank of Yangqu, if there is any problem, it is also I don't know the soldiers. "

Originally, his plan for Yangqu West City was to confront each other, but if he didn't take it down, the enemy would think that his troops were limited and insufficient; when his army came to help, he would let Zhang Zhen and Ma Ke feign defeat and retreat, leading the enemy into the encirclement .

He really thought so in his heart. The heavy artillery of each battalion was forty miles away, and he didn't move the bee-tail needles there, and he didn't make any preparations in his heart for the bee-tail needles to capture Yangqu City.

So the change of plan is his own fault.

But Yang Qi's words were different to Yang Qi's ears. The chief military officer from the Governor's Standard Battalion was still in the stage of understanding the Marshal's Mansion, which made him feel that the Marshal's Mansion had more than enough command and insufficient control.

It's funny to say that when Yang Qi was the commander-in-chief in the past, he never had the opportunity to observe the strategy of the entire battlefield like this. This is basically the job of the governor and has nothing to do with the commander-in-chief. The official is sad.

As the coach, Liu Chengzong's willingness to take the initiative to take the blame made him very comfortable, but he had his own ideas about the military's mission, but he didn't talk about it here, but just took a small notebook and wrote down the problems.

He believes that in the military, generals should not be encouraged or condoned to act excessively. After all, war is an organized joint action, which can be fought by an army alone. He has suffered enough from the court that he cannot win the war.

Every army should act according to the order. It can't do more, and it can't do less. Only by executing the order just right, can a grand strategy be formed.

Everyone needs to be in their place, not their own way.

"Marshal, the boss is here."

Tang Qi led Ma Xiang, the chief magistrate, with a few holes cut by weapons on his cloth-faced red armor, exposing the unpolished armor with a little bit of rust. handsome."

"There is no such thing in the army." Seeing Ma Xiang, Liu Chengzong waved his hand to get him up, and asked directly: "Tang Qi, how many can move?"

Ma Xiang just got up, heard the words and almost bowed down to the marching salute, and then he stopped and said: "Return to the commander-in-chief, I will take charge of the two divisions, and I have marked the twelve roads of Tangqi. There is only one road around Qingshan, and there is another road to guide Marshal Yang. There are ten routes available."

"Spray heavily along the north and south of the Yellow River. Wherever you can cross the river, you will find that the enemy is watching...don't fight them."

After Liu Chengzong finished speaking, he supported He Huchen's little horse with a backrest and armrests, leaned back slightly and pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and drew a circle in front of him: "Lead them here."

"Yes!"

Ma Xiang took the order to salute and go out of the tent, Yang Qi asked: "The commander-in-chief still intends to fight here?"

"Oirat is bound to cross the river. Now that he has captured the west city, his [-] troops can't just squeeze this pontoon bridge. They must cross the river from the north. Unless he doesn't save this army, the battlefield will not change. We just need to be on guard against others. Just surrounded."

Yang Qi asked: "What if he jumped into the sea?"

"Then let him escape."

Liu Chengzong laughed, he wished that Guoshi Khan would lead his army into the sea.

The Marshal's Mansion in Qinghai has a regular navy. Anyone who enters the area around the lake will not be able to surpass him in maneuverability.

He raised a finger and waved it at Yang Qi, saying: "If you can fight, fight, if you can't fight, defend, if you can't defend, leave, even if you lose Qinghai, it's nothing... annihilating the enemy, the victory is still ours. "

Yang Qi also suddenly realized that there were people and supplies in the imperial court cities, so naturally no one could say anything about the abandoned land, but the Marshal's Mansion had almost nothing on the sea, and the common people were all Mongolians, so they put two felt tents on the Lele cart The county just swam away.

There are only two county government offices left, what can they not abandon.

However, although the battlefield has not changed, Liu Chengzong's deployment has changed.

There are only a thousand Tangqi in his hand. It is too childish to cover the battlefield against the thousands of Duerbert troops, but it is obviously not enough to deal with the main force of Oirat, which is expected to reach 4 or even [-] troops. .

Then the Chinese army is at risk of being surrounded if they stay here. Once the enemy finds that the commander is here during the siege, I am afraid they will launch a fierce attack regardless of the cost.

Therefore, under the cover of night, Feng Ru of Caiguan Left Camp led his troops to change defenses, and Huben Camp retreated [-] li to the northwest overnight to Caiguan Right Camp and the supplies, ready to provide support to the battlefield.

At the same time, Tang Bing, who went to look for Yang Yao, also returned, bringing back news about Yang Yao.

When receiving Liu Chengzong's order, Yang Yao's right brigade was fighting against the remnants of the Heka Grassland. He did not dare to neglect the order. He had ordered Wei Qian'er's troops to evacuate the battlefield and come here. It is expected to arrive at Hekatan tomorrow afternoon.

Yang Yao and General Gao Yingdeng had to judge the situation and arrive at Hekatan at the evening of the day after tomorrow at the latest.

A battle was getting closer and closer, and the atmosphere in Liu Chengzong's army became calm and depressing instead.

The more this kind of time, the more confused the sergeants are when they are idle, so Liu Shizi ordered the sergeants to modify the chariot, and even he himself packed a chariot after dinner.

It was too much work for a car to cover dozens of people, and Liu Chengzong didn't have so much wood in his position at this time, so he had to use local materials to arm the car with sandbags.

In the past few years, he has obtained thousands of Lele vehicles from the Mongolians. This kind of two-wheeled vehicle made by herdsmen is simple in structure and very light.

But it is a civilian vehicle after all, not a chariot, and has almost no defense against bows, arrows, and lead.

Sandbags are the easiest way. Beetail Needle has tried the defense effect of wet sand on lead, and on this battlefield, almost except for the Gobi Desert, there are sand dunes, and there are a lot of food bags for soldiers after eating, which is very economical.

They piled up sandbags slowly with Lele carts, and Liu Chengzong even shot at the sandbags with his musket. The heavy guns hit the sandbags and could penetrate nearly two feet. Wear half a foot.

If there is another layer of armor on the wooden board, the lead will hardly be able to penetrate the wooden board, and even if it is pierced, it will not be able to travel far in the sand.

Moreover, wet sand has a better effect than dry sand, so they used the entire sheepskin and cowhide sleeping mats of the soldiers to make a lot of water bladders and filled them with water in the river.

As for their carrying guns, Liu Chengzong did not try them. As far as he knows, the smallest caliber guns used by the Oirat coalition forces are similar to carrying guns, but much shorter.

It's just that Liu Chengzong never expected that it wasn't him or Feng Ru at the foot of Qingshan who started the war first.

At noon the next day, Tang Ma eagerly returned to the Chinese army, and brought back the report of Tang Qi's commander Ma Xiang panicked.

Just last night, five cavalry teams with hundreds of riders each laid a pontoon bridge to cross the river at night, making a large-scale detour from 120 miles to the north.

It was already this morning when Tangqi found them, and then they occupied a width of ten miles in a five-way column, and drove westward at full speed. Wei Qian'er, who came to help, met with all of them.

When the entire Tangqi defense line was mobilized, the Oirat coalition forces laid pontoon bridges along the entire line, crossed the river in several ways along the Yellow River, and pushed all the way to Xiping.

Before the panicked Tang Qi finished speaking, Liu Chengzong, who was standing outside the tent, raised his hand calmly and stopped the report on the military.

The horns of the Chinese army camp had already been sounded, and the roaring orders of the generals resounded everywhere, and the sergeants hurriedly formed groups.

The panic-stricken Yang Qi hurried out of the military tent with the belt on which the knife was hung, covering his helmet and fastening it. Before he straightened up, his eyes were already straightened when he looked towards the east.

In the distant thundering horseshoe camel, the strong wind rolled up a vision of a vast expanse of whiteness in the east, and thick smoke, dust and sand swept in to the west, and the blocked light was like a black cloud, casting a shadow on the earth.

In front of that shadow, Marshal Fu Tangqi was like a flat boat in a violent storm, exchanging fire and retreating in the faint light of flickering and dimming.

Liu Chengzong sighed and buckled the helmet for himself. He knew that this was a mistake.

Guoshi Khan's heart is really wild, he has already retreated forty miles, and he has not yet left the encirclement encircled by Oirat, and he is still surrounded.

"Order all the ministries to form a large formation and prepare to defend against the enemy."

　good evening!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)