: Surrounding the Way

Twenty miles north of Shagouji, Xia Village.

Dorgon's Jiannu army and the Tartar cavalry of Tushetu's troops were stationed here.

Dorgon was heading the headquarters, and Dorgon was summoning Prince Jiannu, including Ajige, Sahalian and other princes, banner owners, and Beile to discuss matters. Suddenly, a horse was explored to report that the Ming army had advanced to the south bank of Shagou River.

"I understand, please step down."

Dorgon waved his hand, leaned out his horse and left the road.

Dorgon turned his eyes to Prince Jiannu, including Sahalian, and other princes of Jiannu, and the banner master, Beile, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, the barbarians of the Southern Ming Dynasty have already entered the south bank of Shagou River. Their march is very fast. I thought it would take at least two days to go from Hanzhuang to Shagouji, but I didn't expect that they would arrive just one day."

Ajige said: "It would be useless to get to Shagouji. The two stone arch bridges on the Shagou River have been destroyed, and Shagouji Town has been burned by us. In addition, there is no forest within a radius of twenty miles of Shagouji. What do the Nanming barbarians use to build a floating bridge? Without the floating bridge, how can their supplies and artillery trucks cross the river?"

"No." Dorgon waved his hand and said, "The Ming army will definitely think of a way to cross the river. Even if there is no floating bridge, they will still have a way to cross the river. Although I don't know what kind of solution they will come up with in the end, I can foresee that they will definitely have a way to cross the river."

Sahalian clenched his fist hard and said with a grim voice: "Then stop them!"

"Yes, this time we must block the Ming army on the south bank of Shagou River!" Dorgon smiled slightly and said, "We can let the Ming army's infantry cross the river. If Wang Pu wants to take the infantry to Jining, we will never make things difficult for him, but his baggage team and artillery team must stay on the south bank!"

Dorgon said this and said nothing. Everyone on earth knew that Wang Pu could not leave his baggage artillery team and only took light troops to rescue Jining. If Wang Puzhen wanted to do that, his head would burn out.

Ajige opened his robe, exposed his strong chest muscles, and shouted: "Old Fourteen, just tell me, what kind of way should I play this battle?"

Dorgon slowly stood up, glanced at the audience with a bright eyes, and said in a deep voice: "There is a strategy in the art of military in Han people called half-crossing. When the Ming army crossed the river, the musket team must cross the river first, then the baggage team and artillery team, and finally the musket team responsible for the broken rear. We just crossed the Shagou River, and their baggage team and artillery team had not had time to cross the river!"

"Half-crossing?" Abatai, the master of the inlaid red flag, said, "Good way."

Dorgon said again: "At this time, the Ming army had the weakest defense. The musket team that had already crossed the river was weak and lacked the protection of baggage vehicles and spearmen. The subsequent baggage team and artillery vehicles had not had time to cross the river, especially the powerful artillery team, because they could not be deployed in time because they were crowded together, they could not exert any power at all. In addition, half of the musket soldiers remained on the south bank. The Eight Banners Iron Cavalry had to face only half of the troops of the Ming army's musket team, and they were also musket teams that lacked protection."

In Dorgon's view, the reason why the Ming army's musket team was terrifying was not only because of its huge lethality, but also because the Ming army had a set of rigorous protection measures against the musket team.

Even in field battles, the Ming army's musket team was protected by spear formations of spear soldiers on the periphery, and there were also chariot formations formed by baggage vehicles after the spear formation. If the Eight Banners Iron Cavalry wanted to break through the spear formation and chariot formation, it would ultimately cause damage to the Ming army's musket team, the cost was too high. This is also the main reason why the Eight Banners Iron Cavalry had not yet fought head-on with the Ming army's musket team until today.

Once the Ming army musket team lost the protection of the spear formation and the baggage chariot formation, Dorgon believed that the invincible military front of the Eight Banners Iron Cavalry was enough to crush the Ming army musket team.

"Okay." Ajige also shouted, "As long as there is no spear formation or chariot formation, the Ming army's musket team will be vulnerable at all."

Dorgon said again: "In order to ensure that this battle is won, at that time, the four thousand cavalry of the two flags of the inlaid red launch a raid from the front. The three thousand cavalry of the two flags of the inlaid blue and the three thousand cavalry of the inlaid blue and the two flags of the inlaid blue and circled from the left and right wings. The four cavalry launched a fierce attack on the Ming army musket team on the north bank, which lacked protection, with the force of Mount Tai. I want to see, what will the Ming army musket team use to resist the Eight Banner Iron Cavalry of the Qing Dynasty after losing the protection of the spear formation and the baggage cart array?"

"What after defeating the Ming army's musket team on the north bank?" Ajige said, "Do you take advantage of the opportunity to kill the Shagou River, and then defeat the Ming army on the south bank, and then capture Wang Pu alive and cut him into pieces?"

"No." Dorgon shook his head and said with a serious expression, "Don't underestimate Wang Pu. The Ming army on the North Bank lacks protection, so we have given an opportunity to take advantage of it, but the Ming army on the South Bank must be on high alert. Wang Pu will never give us any opportunity to take advantage of it. Therefore, after defeating the Ming army on the North Bank, the entire army must stop pursuing immediately, otherwise it is likely to turn victory into defeat."

"But..." Ajige frowned, "If we can't chase and kill the river, even if the Ming army musket team on the north bank cannot stop our Eight Banners Cavalry of the Qing Dynasty, they can still swim across the Shagou River and flee to the south bank. The Shagou River is only three or four meters wide and is only as deep as the chest, and it will not be able to drown people at all."

Abatai, Sahalian and others looked at Ajige with contempt. They all knew that Dorgon was going to raid the Ming army's musket team that lacked protection on the north bank of Shagou River just to establish his authority, just to regain confidence in the Qing army and Mongolian cavalry to face the Ming army, and at the same time, it also weakened the Ming army's infinitely strengthened self-confidence.

An unavoidable fact is that since Wang Pu led his army to attack Liaodong, this guy has never been defeated against the Qing army and the Mongolian cavalry. This is a very terrible fact. Because of this fact, the soldiers of the Ming army had an almost blind confidence in Wang Pu, believing that as long as Wang Pu is present, the Ming army would be invincible.

On the other hand, the Qing army and Mongolian cavalry also determined that they could not defeat Wang Pu because of this terrible fact. What Dorgon had to do now is to overturn this fact. Dorgon did not need a complete victory, he only needed a weak victory, and to change the mentality of the soldiers of the two armies. For Dorgon, this was enough.

Almost everyone knows Dorgon's intentions, but Ajige, a rash man, still foolishly insists on chasing the south bank of Shagou River. Wouldn't that force the Qing army to fight the Ming army to fight the decisive battle? With the current morale and morale of the Qing army, what good results can the Ming army fight with the high confidence and be ready for battle?

If Wang Pu was so easy to deal with, how could Dorgon allow him to live to this day?

Dorgon's brow frowned and said in a deep voice: "Twelfth brother, the strength of the Ming army is far stronger than you think. Wang Pu is not a good person. Don't forget the crushing defeat of Datong! At that time, Wang Pu defeated our tens of thousands of Qing army with less than 5,000 musket teams, killing more than 40,000 enemies! Therefore, it is unrealistic to swallow the Ming army in one bite by just a war!"

After saying that, Dorgon waved his hand to signal Abatai, Sahalian and others to withdraw from the gate.

After only Dorgon and Ajige were left in the headquarters, Dorgon said earnestly: "Twelfth brother, do you still remember the teachings of Father Khan? Father Khan once said that the Ming Dynasty was like a big tree. It is unrealistic to cut it down with an axe. We have to take it slowly, find a way to cut off its leaves first, and then cut off its main trunk. This time the same is true for fighting the Ming army. We have to find ways to weaken the strength of the Ming army bit by bit. When the strength of the Ming army weakens to a certain extent, then concentrate our troops to eliminate it in one go!"

Ajig stopped talking, but his face was not very good-looking.

Every time Dorgon praised Dodo in front of others, although Ajige felt uncomfortable, he really wanted to be valued by Dorgon like Dodo. Unfortunately, the suggestions put forward by Dodo are always appreciated by Dorgon, while the suggestions put forward by Ajige are always scolded by Dorgon.

However, no matter how resentful the resentment was, Ajige still supported Dorgon. He knew that if Dorgon hadn't been the emperor of the Qing Dynasty, he might have been the emperor of the Qing Dynasty. If Haoge really had to be the emperor, the three of them were probably dead for a long time. How could they still have the prominent status today?

Dorgon sighed faintly and said softly: "Brother Twelve, I know you are unhappy. Brother Fifteen is younger than you, but I obey him and trust him, but I have repeatedly scolded you twelfth brother. But have you ever thought about it? Although Brother Fifteen is young, his ability is far above you and me. If the Qing Dynasty wants to enter the Central Plains and settle down in the Han family, it will still depend on Brother Fifteen in the future!"

Ajig's head drooped and he whispered, "Old Fourteen, stop talking, they are all brothers, I know."

"Just know." Dorgon sighed, "It's all his brothers. Yours are mine, and mine is yours. What's there to fight for?"

Shagou Collection.

Zheng Chenggong had already led his men to dig the river embankment at the east end of the town. The unpleasant river water in Shagou River quickly poured down the gap, flooding a large area of ​​low-lying land and then pouring into the canal. The water level of the river below the gap in Shagou River quickly dropped, from the original chest to the knee-shallow depth.

It was already dark, but the officers and soldiers of the baggage battalion were busy on the riverbed.

Although Shagou River is not wide, it is necessary to fill the riverbed in one day, compact the roadbed, and then lay a layer of bluestone slabs. This is not an easy project. If you don’t work overnight, Zheng Chenggong’s Third Battalion of the Massachusetts will not be able to complete this huge project in one day.

Looking at the busy riverbed construction site, Wang Pu suddenly felt that letting the baggage troops take into account the responsibilities of the engineering troops was not a good idea. It seemed that the addition of the engineering battalion had to be put on the agenda.

Because with the increase in the equipment rate of Ming munitions, especially the increase in the number of cannons, the army's requirements for roads and bridges will inevitably be greatly improved. If there are no engineers who open the road in the mountains and build bridges in the water, the Ming army equipped with a large number of artillery will be unable to move forward, which will undoubtedly be extremely unfavorable for future operations.

Amid the light footsteps, Liu Qingyan and Liu Rushi came to Wang Pu together.

Wang Pu didn't need to look back to know who was coming, and asked calmly: "Where is Dorgon's main force in Jiannu?"

Liu Qingyan said: "Twenty miles north of Shagouji, Xia Village."

Wang Pu said again: "In addition to Dorgon's Jiannu main force, are there any Tatar cavalry nearby?"

Liu Qingyan said: "According to investigation, there are about 10,000 Taurus cavalry stationed in Xia Village with the main force of Jiannu. In addition, there are about 2,000 Taurus cavalry stationed behind us. In addition, there are several thousand Jiannu and 30,000 to 40,000 Taurus cavalry gathering in Hanzhuang. It seems that they want to seize our retreat."

A cold smile suddenly appeared on the corner of Wang Pu's lips. Dorgon was thinking about catching his retreat, but why didn't he think about catching Dorgon's retreat? As for who finally copied whom, it depends on their own magical powers, but Wang Pu was confident to seize Dorgon's retreat first.

Wang Pu was not sure about anything else, but he still trusted the combat effectiveness of the Central Army.

Outside the sea of ​​Dengzhou, near Hailu Island.

Shi Lang's Zhenhai Navy was carrying Tang Sheng's Mixed Battalion along the coastline towards Tanggukou. The flagship ship was headed by Tang Sheng and Shi Lang stood side by side. Although this was not the first time Tang Sheng rode a navy ship, he still felt dizzy. Fortunately, most of the officers and soldiers of the Mixed Battalion who pursued him were from Jiangnan, and most of the Jiangnan people were familiar with water and would not be seasick.

Tang Sheng held the bow of the ship and asked in a muffled voice: "Shi Lang, I have been floating on the sea for so many days. Where has he been?"

Shi Lang held up the monocular telescope and checked it, then picked up the navigation chart and proofread it, and finally said: "From the chart, we should have arrived near Hailu Island outside Dengzhou."

Tang Sheng said again: "How far is it from Tianjin? How many days will it take to go?"

Shi Lang replied: "It's almost three or four hundred nautical miles, and it will take at least five days to go."

"His grandma." Tang Sheng glared at the high bulging wind sail on the mast and asked in a muffled voice, "Can't you hurry up?"

Shi Lang smiled bitterly and said, "General, as far as I know, the fastest ships of the Ming Dynasty are already the fastest ships. The sea marching is no better than the land marching. I can't be impatient. Let's wait patiently, let alone it travel against the wind, and the speed is definitely slightly slower than the downwind."

"His grandma." Tang Sheng swallowed his saliva with a gulp and said hatefully, "When I arrive in Tianjin, I will have to cut off more than a dozen Jiannu's heads to relieve my hatred."

Shi Lang smiled and said, "General, don't worry, Jiannu in Tianjin is lined up for you to behead you, haha."

Tang Sheng's eyes suddenly turned to the western sky and said, "I don't know how the Marquis is doing in Jining. Have you started working with Jiannu?"

Shi Lang said: "General is too worried. Who is the Marquis? Since the Marquis led more than a thousand servants to attack Shengjing, the Marquis has never been defeated. I heard that Jiannu and the Tartar soldiers trembled their legs when they heard the Marquis' name. Although our army was at a disadvantage in the battle of Jining, it was a delusion to win."
Chapter completed!