Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 939 The Battle of the Yangtze River ([-])

"What's the plan of the Tartars?" Liu Haiyang asked casually while sitting behind his desk.

Their large army has been nesting by the river for half a month, and as the green battalion troops of the Qing army arrived one after another, their room for movement is getting smaller and smaller.At the beginning, all the ministries were in good spirits and dared to make gestures with the Qing army, especially Zhang Huangyan, whose spirit had risen sharply recently, fought a battle with the Qing army in the nearby wilderness, but the result was a disastrous defeat for his 3000 men.

If Liu Haiyang hadn't sent 5000 men from Chen Zhilong's Division of the Fourth Division of the New Army to turn defeat into victory, Zhang Huang said it would be considered lucky that half of the 3000 men remained in the end.And this battle also made Liu Haiyang see more clearly the quality of these "allies", and at the same time made him give up some unrealistic ideas, and concentrate on squatting near the camp and fighting against the city.

Of course, the poor performance of Zhang Huangyan's department is a common problem of the Ming army. Insufficient training, insufficient supplies, and lack of a professional officer team are the main reasons.When his 3000 people came to Dinghai, they were basically a group of young men, and their combat effectiveness was extremely poor. After a little more than three months of training, they looked a little bit better, but they were still a hundred and eighty thousand worse than the green camp of the Qing army. thousands of miles.The gap can be said to be all-round, but the biggest problem is the lack of professional officers, that is, when they started, there were few military talents at all, and the inheritance is very poor, and it is impossible to change it without long-term combat and training. .

For this point, Liu Haiyang and others can also see clearly.A look at history shows that the disastrous defeat of a key battle at the end of a dynasty is enough to result in the loss of a large number of experienced military personnel, which is often invaluable.After the Battle of Fuping in the Southern Song Dynasty, Qu Duan and other veteran generals passed away. For a period of time, no one was able to successfully organize a battle with an army of more than [-] troops; All of them were literati who had no military knowledge. With their enthusiasm, they raised troops to fight against the Qing Dynasty, and the outcome can be imagined.

And if you compare the records of the other ministries' small-scale confrontations with the Qing army during this period, you will surely see it more clearly.The two generals Yuan Bao and Cai Huaze under the command of Dashun Liu Guochang had a very high chance of winning when they fought against the green camp of the Qing army, especially the 2500 people led by Cai Huaze personally repelled more than [-] green camps in a battle near Yangshe Town. Killing one member of the enemy general and injuring one guerrilla is really amazing.The reason why the Ministry is so good at fighting is that the military inheritance of the troops is relatively good. For example, many officers of the Ministry can even be traced back to the era of Luo Rucai’s peasant army, and their experience is definitely rich enough; The degree of firearms is relatively high, and they are very familiar with such tactics, so it is not uncommon to defeat the green battalion with similar strength to their own in field battles, it is just a normal level of performance.

The same is true for Hao Shangjiu, the Marquis of Xintai in the Southern Ming Dynasty. This department is Li Chengdong's department, which can be traced back to the Gaojie Peasant Army.Gao Jie's unit, which has been fighting for many years and has absorbed many frontier officers and soldiers, also has a certain combat effectiveness. Although Li Chengdong has only received part of the inheritance from this unit, his own ability to govern the army is not weak, and he can integrate well in the later stage. It was too scumbag, so he was sent from Jiangbei to Guangdong all the time.Many of Hao Shangjiu's troops are the children of the generals in Li Chengdong's army - these generals are obviously the peasant army or the frontier army of the Ming Dynasty who joined the army in Gao Jie's era - under the influence of what they have heard and seen since childhood, their level is still higher than that of Lu The half-baked army of Wang and Zheng's is stronger.Therefore, the department's performance in the peripheral tug-of-war with the Qing army a while ago was also remarkable. At least during the confrontation with the green battalion, it won and lost each other, and it would not lose a lot.

But then again, no matter how strong these two units are, they add up to less than 7000 people, and counting the 4th and 5th Battalions of the Black Eight Banners Heavy Infantry (1530 people) and the Supplementary Company (less than 230 people), artillery (over 200 people), and the guards, staff officers and miscellaneous personnel of Liu Haiyang Command, the total number of people capable of fighting is only more than [-] people.

Oh, by the way, Chen Zhilong's newly-built Fourth Division of the Army has 5000 people. Although the division once lost more than half of it in Shandong, and expanded its army by more than 40% in Zhejiang, its combat effectiveness has declined rapidly, but at least its old foundation is still there, and its armaments are relatively relatively small. Excellent, the self-confidence of the officers and non-commissioned officers is also very high, and the accompanying camp school is also constantly training junior officers, all of which effectively ensure that the combat effectiveness of the Ministry is maintained above the level.

Therefore, after all the calculations, there should be about 4000 people who can fight in the army on the east coast. These people can face the green camp of the Qing army with less than [-]. If you are not bad luck, you can win the battle. Even against the [-] Qing Army Green Battalion, it is not impossible to fight, and the odds of winning are not low-of course, this is when the Qing Army's thousands of cavalry do not participate in the battle.

In fact, Liu Haiyang’s most taboo is the five or six thousand Mongolian Eight Banners cavalry team led by Zhao Butai. These people have rich experience and strong combat effectiveness. Entering from the weak point of the battlefield is extremely threatening.Therefore, after the troops scattered nearby to collect food, grass and people continued to send back news of the arrival of the brigade of the Qing army, Liu Haiyang decisively ordered all the troops to withdraw to the camp by the river, where they could advance or retreat, and the supply line was not cut off. Dangerous, the danger of the army being knocked down has approached to zero, it can be regarded as a safe place.

"Commander Liu, according to the latest intelligence summary, a large number of Qing troops are gathering here, conservatively estimated to be more than [-]. According to the previous intelligence analysis, most of the mobile forces of the five prefectures in the Jiangnan area are already here, and the strategic goals have already been established. It's half done." Lieutenant Junior, who was wearing a crumpled dark blue military uniform, analyzed and said, "The reason why the Qing army hasn't launched a large-scale attack yet is that I guess it's not enough troops to suppress the number of our troops. The total strength of as many as [-]——Although the rotten troops of Zhang Mingzhen and Hong Xishan can’t fight in the field, they are still so-so in defending the city. The camps, although these camps are temporary, after the continuous reinforcement of our army for more than half a month, they cannot be easily overcome by the Qing army. Moreover, if they want to attack, they will inevitably face the enemy we erected on a high place. Twenty small cannons, this is another big obstacle..."

Junior didn't finish what he said, but Liu Haiyang already understood what he meant, probably because the Qing army was not strong enough to attack; The head-on battle of the Wanlu Camp has a lot of variables. If you count the [-] Manchu Eight Banners cavalry that wanders outside the battlefield but has been eyeing it, the risk of field battles is too great, and it may be defeated.It is not easy for the East Bank to accumulate some strength in the Far East, so it cannot be thrown lightly, not to mention why they want to fight such a large-scale battle that the enemy wants to see. Isn't this using their own strengths to attack the enemy's strengths?

"Your words remind me of Li Shimin, a famous general in the history of our country. This man has the essence of using his own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses. If you are not sure of the battle, you can crush you with absolute strength, this is the demeanor of a famous general in ancient times." Liu Haiyang said.

Although his level is mediocre, it is also a great advantage to be admonished.Junior pointed out that we should use our mobility advantage to mobilize the Qing army, and then look for fighters to fight more and attack the weak, and Liu Haiyang also deeply agreed.It can't be said that the battle has become what it is now, it can't be said to be a bad thing, at least they didn't suffer a big loss, didn't they, and successfully mobilized tens of thousands of Qing troops. Part of the campaign goal has been completed, and it is time to find an opportunity to withdraw.

However, it is not an easy task to lead a gang of mobs to complete the retreat in front of the enemy.Fortunately, they have camps as barriers, and they retreat by water, and the Qing army can't pursue them. Therefore, although it is a bit troublesome in general, it is not a big problem. Difficult in the midst of chaos.

Once the idea is settled, then the next thing will be smooth.The Qing army is still gathering here. Looking at their flags and uniforms, there are even some miscellaneous brands such as Yanding, Taxing, and Tuanlian from Songjiang Prefecture. This undoubtedly shows a signal that the Qing army cannot tolerate portraits on the east coast. Psoriasis also depends on Changshu and Jiangyin, and maybe a general attack will be launched next.

Therefore, starting from June 6th, all ministries accelerated the speed of evacuation. Zhang Mingzhen, Zhang Huangyan, Hong Xishan and others with poor combat strength withdrew first, followed by Hao Shangjiu, who was of average combat strength, and the main force of the East Bank Army and Dashun During this period, Liu Guochang's troops still held fast to the camp, and the artillery position on a small hillside fired artillery at the Qing army's camp every day, making the Qing army keep retreating and camping, so as not to suffer damage to morale every day.

Beginning on June 6, the Qing army seemed to have discovered something, and began to mobilize troops to launch a tentative attack on the camp on the east bank. .

On June 6, Liu Guochang, Marquis of Dashun Huai, and others at the back of the palace burned down most of the camps, and then boarded the boat.After Liu Haiyang picked them up on the boat, he immediately ordered the whole army to go upstream, following the southeast wind blowing in summer, towards Zhenjiang Mansion.And at this time, he still had time to laugh at the Qing army: "The Qing army was too passive to deal with the loss. They should gather a large army here quietly, and then eat them with lightning speed. Our army, this is the right way."

Liu Haiyang who said this seems to have forgotten that the Qing army did not come here with great fanfare this time. If there were not many gentry in the south of the Yangtze River, Zhang Mingzhen, Zhang Huangyan, and even Lu Ruoteng, the rotten Confucian representative of the Zheng family, got the Qing army in time. Their whereabouts, this time they might also be bitten off a piece of meat.

But no matter what, a large number of Qing troops have indeed been mobilized to Suzhou Mansion, and Zhenjiang Mansion should be empty. At this time, the Qing army should have a headache if they go to the door. On June 6, following the fierce bombardment of several gunboats acting as pioneers, the huge "Allied Fleet" arrived on the river outside Zhenjiang Prefecture, and the planned Zhenjiang Battle will officially kick off.

(End of this chapter)