Chapter 484: There is no way to win but there are ways to win
The aftermath of the torrent spread outside the Marshal's Mansion, not only in Taozhou, but also in Gansu.
On April 16, the seventh year of Chongzhen, in the siege camp outside Gaotai City, the main force led by Liu Chengzong personally besieged Gaotai City for the twentieth day.
In these twenty days, Yang Jiamo's army went out of the city six times. Sometimes large groups formed behind the city to try to challenge, and sometimes small groups went out to take the opportunity to destroy the siege equipment being built.
But without any exception, the six counterattacks all failed in the attack of six thousand-jin cannons and sixty lion cannons.
Even on the fourteenth day of the siege, the Ming army's fifth attack withstood the artillery bombardment, but the leading general was injured by the counterattack of the infantry under the cover of artillery fire, and was carried back to the city in embarrassment.
After that, the defenders who attacked for the sixth time became frightened. As soon as the cannons were fired, the cowardly officers and soldiers fled into the city, completely losing the ability to leave the city to counterattack.
This greatly boosted the morale of the Marshal's army. People believed that the time had come to storm the city, and all the battalions and generals rushed to request a battle. However, Liu Chengzong avoided talking about the storm, and instead ordered each battalion to be patient and prepare patiently.
He held discussions every few days in the siege camp, allowing the commanders of each battalion to talk freely about siege and defense and field tactics, and showed that he was not in a hurry at all.
Until the evening of the 20th day of the siege, even Cao Yao, who had been beside Liu Chengzong, could not sit still. He ate gruel in the military tent.
Liu Chengzong then asked: "Commander, are you really not worried about He Huang at all?"
Liu Chengzong, who was sitting cross-legged on the tiger skin, raised his head and glanced at him. He continued to slurp a few mouthfuls of rice porridge, licked up the porridge bowl with mutton fat pancakes, and then he hummed comfortably, exhaled, and said with a smile:
"Brother, are you anxious?"
The widely circulated news of the Ming Army's trilateral governor Hong Chengchou captured Zhuanglangwei and marched towards Hehuang was no longer a secret among the marshal's army. Most of the soldiers did not believe this news, but generals at the rank of general were generally skeptical. Cao Yao still wears the rank of deputy general when he was guarding Kangning Mansion. He is the highest-ranking general among the generals in the Marshal's Army. Although he does not personally lead the army, he is very aware of the ability of the troops left behind in the Marshal's Mansion.
The news that Zhuanglang Acropolis was captured by the Ming army did not need to be doubted at all for him. It was just a matter of time. The ability of the Mongolian-Fan coalition to withstand the attack of the Ming army's heavy group was fake news that needed to be doubted.
Therefore, Cao Yao sighed very naturally: "I am anxious for you, you should be more anxious than me."
"That's right. I should be more anxious than anyone else in the army." Liu Chengzong said: "You only have one aunt in Hehuang, but I have ten aunts in Hehuang. I'm not anxious. Why are you anxious?
!"
As soon as these words came out, Cao Yao understood. It was obvious that Liu Chengzong had the same attitude towards the news that Zhuanglang Guard City had been captured. He believed that it was a certainty.
Seeing that Liu Shizi showed his hand and asked him to sit down as if nothing was wrong, and even took the leather bag, poured a bowl of milk tea and pushed it to him, Cao Yao had no choice but to sit cross-legged on the tiger skin mat, leaned forward and asked: "What do you think?
What?"
Liu Chengzong grinned silently and said: "There are too many problems that cannot be solved in my heart. If I worry about everything, I will be anxious to death as soon as we walk out of Yuhe Fort in the second year of Chongzhen."
After saying that, his face returned to normal: "I've thought about it, but there's nothing I can do."
"This place is more than a thousand miles to the east. There are still seven big cities and hundreds of fortresses. They are all on the main roads. It can be rushed through, but it will take more than a month. Our army will run out of food on May 24th. We will slaughter the donkeys.
Mules can only last until the end of June."
Liu Chengzong said these words quickly and coherently. It was obvious that he had repeated this step in his mind countless times. Then he took a breath and said: "If you go across the city, your back will be cut off, and it will be difficult to conquer Suzhou's food and grass;
There happens to be no food in the Langhe River in Zhizhuang. Even if there are defensive troops in Hehuang, if the Ganzhou Ming army is not eliminated, we will be blocked in the middle."
"I believe that the troops of the commander-in-chief are accustomed to expeditions. Even if the food route is cut off and attacked, they can probably find a way out. However, there is a lack of artillery, ammunition, food and medicine. Even based on the most optimistic estimates, the veteran generals and elite soldiers will still suffer heavy losses.
Inevitably, will the war end when we return to Hehuang?"
Liu Chengzong shook his head: "The imperial court will not put out the fire just because of a victory. Without the army, we can't save Hehuang. We can only retreat to Kangning. By then, Kangning will be difficult to live in. The victorious army will always look forward to the wind, and the defeated army will be defeated."
You will have no choice but to rebel when you hear the news."
Cao Yao was anxious at first, but after hearing Liu Chengzong's words, even though he painted a doomsday scene of the handsome manor, his inner anxiety gradually faded away.
He believed in the person in front of him. All he needed to make sure was that this person had really considered this matter seriously.
Because just like all critical moments encountered in the past, as long as Liu Shizi considers one thing seriously, he will eventually be able to lead them out of a way of survival, a way of survival that is better than others.
Now that he was confident, he no longer needed to ask Liu Shishi what his plan was. He raised his hand and drank the milk tea before getting up and leaving, saying: "I understand, the commander-in-chief has already made a plan in his mind."
"If we don't leave in a hurry, we can't talk about any definite plan." Liu Chengzong stretched out his hand to stop us and said: "We just follow the steps and are not affected by partial divisions. We are the main force. Even if Hehuang is captured, we will win and win everything."<
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"The 60,000 kilograms of rice and grain in Suzhou were collected at the end of April, which will last for three months. Huang Shengxiao's new 1,000-pound war gun will be cast in seven days and transported to Gaotai in two days. Therefore, the storm on Gaotai will be launched in ten days.
"Afterwards, Ganzhou was captured before July, and the land was divided equally so that the autumn grain could be enough for winter. Liangzhou was captured in early winter, and the troops were sent out of Gulangxia to complete the encirclement."
After saying that, Liu Chengzong pointed in the direction of Gaotai City in his tent: "The Gansu General Soldier and a deputy general soldier are surrounding this city. Artillery has been sent. Yang Jiamo will be destroyed and the important town of Ganliang will be captured soon."
Cao Yao nodded slowly with a particularly complicated expression, not because Liu Chengzong's plan was so surprising, but because it was originally their plan, a plan that every general in the army knew.
What makes him look complicated is that it is easy to plan something based on one's own conditions, and anyone in the world can do it; but it is difficult to execute a plan, and the conditions for completing the execution of the plan are even more difficult. It is necessary to have firm belief and execute it amidst the hustle and bustle of noisy information.
Planning is even more difficult.
But Liu Chengzong is not complacent about his firm belief. On the contrary, he does not think that he is a man of steel with a firm will.
Even if his heart is as solid as stone, and his parents, mother-in-law and aunt are all in Hehuang, if there is a way to lead an organized army and fly back to Hehuang, he will give up the territory he has conquered in Gansu and fly back to Hehuang without hesitation, even if the cost is to return the war to its starting point.
.
He only passively entered the sage's time after careful consideration and careful planning, and confirmed that running back with his troops would not bring the war back to its starting point, but would suffer greater losses than He Huang's defeat.
Then recover again.
At this time, Cao Yao fully agreed with Liu Chengzong's plan in terms of strategy and became interested, so he narrowed the topic to tactics and asked: "I still have something unclear. The general of the self-defense army was injured by our army. Although the six-door heavy
There are a few muskets on the city battlements, but the marshal's army has high morale and can be used. The high platform is a small city, so it is barely enough. Why not capture it as soon as possible?"
Liu Chengzong had a map of Gansu hanging behind him. He turned around and took a look and said: "During the 20 days of siege, I have observed that the Marshal's army lacks experience in siege."
In fact, it’s not a shortage, because everyone is just a noob in this matter.
None of the enemies of the Ming army occupied the city, but the generals read many military books and were just talking on paper. The Han army, which was born out of the Ming army, was similar. It only captured a few cities and could be said to be following the script.
As for the branch troops of the Marshal's Mansion, the Fan soldiers have rich experience in attacking and building cities, but their offensive and defensive skills are still stuck at the level of five hundred years ago; for the Mongolian soldiers in Mobei and Monan, sieges are myths and legends to them.
The four Oirat divisions under the Marshal's Mansion need to be listed separately in this matter. There is still no city in the entire Oirat. What they have heard about attacking and defending the city before they knew Liu Chengzong.
The small wooden fort built in front of the house of the South Russian running back Rutter is considered a fortress that cannot be conquered.
In the entire northwest, Liu Chengzong is the person with the most experience in large-scale field operations. But when it comes to sieges, the people with the most experience should be Li Zicheng and Yao Zhangru who are making trouble in northern Sichuan. The peasant armies from all walks of life are not counted as fortresses now, but only as prefectures.
Almost one hundred prefecture and county towns have been captured.
Of course, if we only count the number of cities captured, and if we do not count cheating, Wang Jiayin, who has repeatedly gained experience in the cities of Nafu Valley and Hequ, should be the boss.
However, Liu Chengzong was very confident in himself: "The next few battles in Gansu will focus on siege. We will develop unique siege methods and capture the entire territory of Gansu. The end of Long will be just around the corner."
Cao Yao rarely grinned and said an idiom: "We must look forward to Shu!"
"It's possible."
Liu Chengzong smiled happily, but then he shook his head and said: "You don't have to look forward to it. After all, attacking Gansu can hone your ability to attack cities, but it cannot train your ability to open mountains. Sichuan is a good place, but it is difficult for soldiers to enter with food and grass."
It involves too much energy and is slightly less important than Guanzhong."
As he spoke, Liu Shishi used his hand to chop the tiger skin along the lines: "Take Guyuan and cut off Long!"
He then raised his hand to the east and struck three times from north to south: "Enter Guanzhong, naturalize, Yulin, Tongguan, and take over Shaanxi!"
Cao Yao burst into laughter, and was stunned for a moment before he came to his senses: "The commander-in-chief's Shaanxi is a bit big, including Wusuzang and Monan areas in the Tianshan Mountains. It doesn't matter if we add Sichuan, since they are all to the west of Shaanxi Province in Henan anyway."
Liu Chengzong was also happy. Including Shaanxi in Sichuan, are you west of the Shaanxi meridian connecting the North and South Pole?
Laughing, Liu Chengzong still did not change his strategic vision. He did not answer the question about Sichuan, but said seriously: "There are too many cities in the middle, and there are countless huge cities and great passes, so it is best to strengthen our siege capabilities now."
time."
"Now that we've talked about it, I need my brother's help with this matter."
As soon as Cao Yao heard this, he knew that Liu Chengzong was going to issue an order. The look on his face immediately changed. He stood up and clasped his fists and said, "Commander, give the order."
"It is still too slow to temporarily recruit civilian workers to make wooden curtains, ladders, and rolling carts. In the future, I would like to add a post of Chief Equipment Officer under the battalion commander, with twelve civil engineering, metalwork, and blacksmiths. During the war, civilian craftsmen can be recruited.
, the number of civilians was expanded to a hundred, and they were used as equipment guides during the siege. This can increase the capabilities of the generals during the siege."
"In addition, under the brigade commander, there is an additional member of the Artifact Thousand General, and a hundred goldsmiths. During the war, the number of civilians can be recruited to a thousand people. The requirement is to be familiar with casting artillery, and be able to cast heavy artillery in the siege camp, which is more powerful than a thousand-jin war gun.
A heavier weapon."
When Liu Chengzong said that there were hundreds of weapons and equipment, Cao Yao had no reaction, but when he heard about the casting of siege cannons that were heavier than the thousand-pound cannon, he blurted out: "Then we can't follow the army."
The cannons of the Marshal's Mansion have always had two specifications: the lion cannon pulled by two mules and the thousand-pound cannon pulled by four horses. They are made of three materials: iron, copper, and iron-coated copper, which derives two types of power with the same range.
However, there are six types of cannons with slight differences in weight, durability, and cost.
The guiding ideology of cannon casting is to move with the army, and the thousand-pound cannon is almost the heaviest artillery under this idea.
Liu Chengzong nodded: "If you don't follow the army, the Hongyi-shaped Qianjin war gun has enough advantages in field battles, but when attacking the city, the defenders on the city wall are taller than our artillery array, and the range and power of the Qianjin general cannon are even greater."
The lighter general gun has no significant advantage."
The siege artillery he wanted was not the kind of siege artillery that fired large-caliber stone projectiles close to the city wall. For city walls in the Ming Dynasty that were generally made of blue bricks with rammed earth inside, he wanted to rely on artillery that fired solid projectiles to collapse the city wall.
There is no doubt that it is whimsical.
The focus of artillery attacks is still the city gates, battlements, defensive weapons and simple reinforcement facilities at the top of the city.
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However, the increased weight makes it difficult for this kind of artillery to maneuver with the army. This is a problem that Liu Chengzong was already aware of when he came up with the idea of casting heavy artillery on the battlefield.
After all, a thousand-pound war gun already needs four horses to pull it during the march. A gun crew needs six horses including two horses. The death of two horses during the march is considered an acceptable loss.
As for cannons weighing two to three thousand kilograms, including the total weight of the cannon carriages that carry them, the total weight of the cannon carriages that carry them is almost doubled. The cost of transporting such large items has skyrocketed. Liu Shizi is reluctant to use dozens of horses to slowly serve a cannon.<
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Liu Chengzong said: "In the past, we lacked materials. This problem did not arise when we captured Gansu. Even if we scattered the iron materials with the army, we could not cast them again in the siege camp. Iron cannons that weighed two thousand or even three thousand or four thousand were only different in materials.
It’s not convenient to march anyway.”
"My brother needs to recruit and collect these craftsmen."
In Cao Yao's stunned state, Liu Chengzong described that after the capture of Gansu, an era of unprecedented wealth in copper and iron for the Marshal's Mansion was about to come.
"It's best to make cannons out of copper. After using up the big attack cannons made from iron cannons, you can only throw them into the city to use as defensive cannons. It's too difficult to recast them. There are no such conditions on the battlefield. Copper cannons can also be melted into copper ingots and packed and carried with the army.
Let’s go together, but if we don’t have enough copper, we can also use iron.”
"For temporary casting and temporary use in the siege camp, even the cannon molds can be cast with iron shells instead of clay molds. It doesn't matter if the quality of the casts is slightly inferior."
Finally, Liu Chengzong waved his hand and said: "This is not a field artillery with the army. There is no need to worry about whether it is made of iron and copper and can be fired a thousand times, or whether it is made of copper and can be fired 800 times, or whether it is cast iron and can be fired 600 times. It can be cast on the battlefield."
As long as each of the fifty three-thousand-pound generals of the Eastern Expedition can be hit a hundred times without exploding, no one can stand on the wall of any fortified city in front of them!"
