The Red Mansions Across the Four Seas

Chapter 576 Unexpected Battle

After Jia Min returned from Koryo, Shi Liu set off from Tongyang Fort that night, marched 150 miles overnight, and began to attack Xishuitai at four o'clock the next morning.

Here at Xishuitai, there used to be 600 garrisons of Han Tiankui. Later, because Jia Min, Zhao Dahai and Nan Wendula cavalry approached Shengjing, Xishuitai was reinforced with [-] troops.

The arrival of reinforcements didn't seem to have any effect. After an hour and a half of attack, Shi Liu successfully took down Xishuitai.

Although Xishuitai is not very important in terms of strategic location, it is an important source of raw materials, producing high-quality coal and high-grade iron ore.

Therefore, there are many iron smelting workshops here.The pig iron here naturally became Shi Liu's main trophy.

In addition, there is also a kind of coal called white coal produced here, which has a very high calorific value and is the fuel Dai Zhi named.

Xishuitai is about 150 miles away from Shengjing, and it also has certain advantages in terms of transportation.

Except for Xishuitai, the places near Shengjing do not produce coal.

Coal and iron are currently the two main raw materials most needed by arsenals.

Therefore, winning Xishuitai is of great strategic significance to the Beihai Volunteers.

Three days later, Jia Min led a large force to Guanxiangtun, about five miles away from Shengjing, where Dai Zhi's arsenal was located.

After leaving the third brigade here, the soldiers and horses of Chang'an and Liu Fang and others were combined into one place, with a total of nearly 1 people.Stationed in Chenjiaji, five miles away from Guanxiangtun.

Thirty thousand Tatar cavalry were stationed in Lijiaji, eight miles away from Guanxiangtun.

Zhao Dahai, Te Mier and others have a total of more than 1000 troops in Nanwendula, and they are stationed at Tiger Terrace in the north of Shengjing.

At the same time, Wei Ruolan and Jia Lian's fourth brigade had moved forward from Shoushan and approached Shengjing.Stationed in Damitun, eight miles away from Shengjing.

So far, Jia Min's soldiers and horses have formed a siege of Shengjing from the east, south and north directions.Only the west side is left, which is the channel through which Shengjing can connect with Songshan Fort and Ningyuan, and then lead to Shanhaiguan.

Jia Min followed the third brigade and stayed in Guanxiangtun.

Because this is in the middle of several of our own troops, it is more convenient in command.

In this era, wireless communication and wired communication are out of the question. There are generally three ways to command the army to convey information.

One is to communicate orally through the messenger, which is relatively inefficient due to distance and speed.Sometimes the situation changes before the order is delivered.

The second is to use semaphore, that is, to use command flags.This way, the speed is fast enough, but limited by the distance.

The third is to use drum sounds, that is, drum language.But it is also limited by distance, and is often interfered by enemies.

Limited by communication, the army that a commander can command is actually very limited.

Most of the time, being able to effectively command and control [-] troops is the upper limit.

When Han Xin told Liu Bang that he could command an army of [-] troops, Liu Bang immediately regarded him as a god-man for this reason.

As for large corps operations, of course there are.However, in that case, it would have to be agreed in advance.

If due to some accidental event, the soldiers and horses along the way cannot act according to the original plan, it is actually difficult to make timely adjustments.

Another reason why Jia Min stayed in Guanxiangtun was because the arsenal and the materials he brought back from Korea were all here.This is the basis for his attack on Shengjing, and even the imperial capital in the future.

Three days after arriving at Guanxiangtun, commanders from all walks of life gathered in Guanxiangtun, where they analyzed the current situation and formulated a battle plan, preparing to attack Shengjing ten days later.

The offensive task was composed of North and South Wendura cavalry, Zhao Dahai, Princess Chang'an, and part of Chen Yeqing's third brigade.

Jia Lian's fourth brigade.Then move to the west of Shengjing and act in the Taishan area.

Taishan is the only way from Ningyuan and Songshanbao to Shengjing.Their task is to monitor the enemies in the west here, and when necessary, they will stop and reinforce the enemies in Shengjing here.

After the meeting was over, the generals from all over the place returned to their troops on the same day.

On the third day, Wei Ruolan and Jia Ping returned from reconnaissance in Shengjing City.

"Why did you come back so soon? Isn't it planned to come back tomorrow?"

Jia Min felt that something new must have happened.

"Song Kuan has arrived in Shengjing."

"Oh, Song Kuan is here. This is a strong opponent. This guy is still very capable. Whether it is political or military talent, he is one of the best in the San Francisco Group."

"He just arrived yesterday, and the purpose is unknown."

"If it was just Han Tiankui, we wouldn't be too afraid. Now that Song Kuan is added, it will be a bit tricky. Song Kuan's use of troops is far superior to Han Tiankui's."

Jia Min stood up and walked to the window.

It was already winter at this time, the windows had been pasted up, and nothing could be seen outside.

After pondering for a while, Jia Min turned around.

"Jia Ping, you should immediately send someone to inform the troops that the original plan has been cancelled, and the operation will be temporarily suspended. The troops will strengthen their vigilance and stand by for orders. Only the mission of Jia Qiang's Fourth Brigade and One Regiment in Taishan will remain unchanged."

"Officer Min, do you really want to cancel the original plan?"

"Yes, Song Kuan is not Han Tiankui, so he is not so easy to deal with. The guard of the army, tell me, Song Kuan is here, what will he do?"

"Chief of Staff Feng and Chief Trainer Chen are about to pacify the entire south, and approach Zhili in the north, and then threaten the imperial capital. He Jialin, Zhou Tong, and Ma Qingshan threatened the imperial capital from the northwest, and they have already reached Zhili.

"San Francisco has a large number of soldiers and horses, all on the line from the imperial capital to Shengjing. I think Song Kuan wants to remove the threat here as soon as possible, and deploy troops to deal with threats from the northwest and south."

"That should be the case. It's just that if they want to take the initiative to attack, they will fight us on the plains around Shengjing. This is not an advantage for them."

"Yes, whether it is the firearms of the Volunteer Army or the Vendura cavalry, the plains have an advantage. If they want to take the initiative to attack, they will definitely pay a huge price."

"I think the problem should be the superiority of firearms."

Jia Min seems to have captured an inspiration.

"Officer Min, are you saying that Song Kuan came after our firearms?"

"I think it should be. We mainly rely on firearms to attack the city. Once there are no firearms, it will be difficult to be effective only by relying on Wendura cavalry."

"I understand. Song Kuan probably thought that we didn't have much ammunition and wanted to destroy the ammunition factory. We were not allowed to produce ammunition. Not only would it be difficult for us to attack the city without ammunition, but he could also use his superior force to fight against us." A war of attrition. In the end, our troops will most likely be exhausted by him."

"Song Kuan is a very discerning person. He must have foreseen that we don't have much ammunition. As long as our ammunition factory is destroyed, we will have to fight a cold weapon war with him. Our firearm advantage is gone. Gao Da Zhuang, go and call Brigadier Chen, Dai Zhi, and Liu Cheng."

After a while, Chen Yeqing, Dai Zhi, and Liu Cheng came.

"Mr. Dai, how long will it take for the ammunition factory to start production?"

"Seven days at the earliest."

"Seven days, so long? Can you hurry up?"

"Officer Min, this is the fastest time. It's winter now, and the iron furnace has just been built, and it's not dry yet, so we can only light a small fire and dry it slowly. If it's a big fire, the furnace body will crack. "

"Okay, go down, seven days later, it must be put into production."

Dai Zhi and Liu Cheng left, Jia Min told Chen Yeqing about his judgment with Wei Ruolan.

"It seems that we have to resist Song Kuan for seven days, Brigadier Chen, is there any problem?"

"That depends on how many people come from Song Kuan. He actually came to the arsenal. I think there must be a lot of people coming. I'm afraid there are not enough people like me."

"Yeah, he will definitely put all his eggs in one basket. That's okay. Since he is thinking about the arsenal, we will use the arsenal as a bait to attract his troops and save us from attacking the city. Pass the order and ask the North and South Wendura cavalry to do it." Get ready to support Guan Xiangtun at any time."

"His Majesty Chang'an's soldiers and horses are used as a reserve team. The blocking mission of Jia Qiang's Department of the Fourth Brigade remains unchanged. The remaining Jia Yun and Jia Zhi's Departments pretended to attack Shengjing City and restrained Han Tiankui so that he did not dare to come out. During the feint attack At the same time, we are ready to reinforce Jia Qiang at any time to block the incoming enemies from the direction of the pass."

Everyone went down to prepare, and Jia Min called Wei Ruoshui again.

"Take your people and sneak into Shengjing City the night after tomorrow. Two tasks, one is to assassinate Han Tiankui's officers as much as possible, disrupting his command system. The second is to set fire to his food and weapons, weakening his supplies. Create panic in the city. People who call the propaganda team will follow suit. They will withdraw at dawn."

"Okay, Chief Min, there's another job to do this time."

On the second day, there was no movement in Shengjing City, and on the third day, there was still no movement.

In the evening, Wei Ruoshui was about to set off with the special operations team and the propaganda team, but Jia Min temporarily stopped him.

"Wait until the enemies in the city come out before you go in."

Before Song Kuan came, he waited for news from Jia Lian's Fourth Brigade at night.

It turned out that the Tianshun Army from Ningyuan and Songshan Fort had been dispatched yesterday to reinforce Shengjing.More than 2 enemies have come, and they are currently fighting fiercely with Jia Qiang in Taishan.

Jia Qiang urgently asked for help, and Jia Lian had led the second and third regiments to rush for reinforcements.

The original plan to feintly attack Shengjing City could no longer be carried out.

The situation changed and Jia Min's plan was disrupted.

"This Song Kuan is really clever. There is no movement here, but there is a strike first, clever."

"That should be his supporting action, his main target, and it should still be here."

Both Wei Ruolan and Chen Yeqing held the same point of view.

"However, he can't wait for long, and he should be about to act. After a few more days, our ammunition comes out, and he will be too late. Song Kuan is a smart man, and he should understand this."

Several people were discussing, and before they knew it, it began to snow outside.

After dinner, Jia Min, Wei Ruolan, and Chen Yeqing came together again.After discussing for a while, Jia Ping came in.

"Report to Chief Min that there is movement in the city."

"Oh? Be specific."

"After the east gate and south gate were closed, they opened again, and some soldiers and horses left the city."

"What is Song Kuan and Han Tiankui's plan? Do they want to fight us in a night battle or a snow battle?"

Even Jia Min was a little surprised.

(End of this chapter)