Chapter 618 Hong Chengchou was scared of being beaten
At the same time, in the lobby of Jinghai County Government Office.
Hong Chengchou was looking at the list in front of him in a daze.
200 red cannons were lost, more than 6,000 self-made firecrackers were lost, more than 4,200 Eight Banners Han soldiers were killed, more than 2,100 green camp soldiers were killed, and more than 20,000 kilograms of gunpowder were lost...
There was a long list of numbers behind it, and Hong Chengchou no longer wanted to read any further.
This loss was truly shocking and terrifying to Hong Chengchou.
Before last night, Hong Chengchou actually still looked down on Yan Yingyuan.
If I can describe it in one sentence, there is no hero in the world who made Shuzi famous.
Hong Chengchou is more willing to believe that Yan Yingyuan is just lucky and did not meet a real famous general.
In Hong Chengchou's opinion, Duoduo and Daishan were not famous generals at all. They were just two reckless men. With the same soldiers, Hong Chengchou claimed that he could defeat Duoduo and his like, let alone Daishan.
As for Dorgon, Hong Chengchou only recognized his political skills.
In terms of military attainments, to be honest, Hong Chengchou didn't think much of Dorgon.
In terms of military affairs, there was only one person that Hong Chengchou really admired, and that person was Huang Taiji.
Therefore, before the fight, Hong Chengchou was still very confident. He felt that defeating Yan Yingyuan and cutting off the Ming army's food routes would be a piece of cake and not difficult at all.
After all, the Qing army had hundreds of thousands of troops, while the Ming army only had 10,000 men.
There is a huge disparity in firepower between the two sides, and there is no comparison at all.
However, after the fight last night, Hong Chengchou realized that he was no match for him.
He worked hard and carefully planned the trick to lure the tiger away from the mountain, and his tricks were seen through by others at a glance, but it didn't work at all. However, he fell into the trap of the hard-to-get and serial schemes designed by others.
Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh.
At this time, Hong Chengchou could finally understand Zhou Yu's mood in the popular romance of the Three Kingdoms.
If Hong is born, why should Yan be born? If losing to Huang Taiji is not enough, he must lose to Yan Yingyuan again?
Hong Chengchou sat there and sighed, while the expression on Hou Fangyu's face was also uncertain.
Hou Fangyu actually wanted to ridicule Hong Chengchou. Weren't you very good at first? You also said that Yan Yingyuan's hard-to-get trick was too big, but how come he was defeated in Xilihu Tu in the end?
But seeing Hong Chengchou sighing heavily at this moment, Hou Fangyu couldn't bear it.
More importantly, Hou Fangyu was worried that Hong Chengchou would lose confidence, but Hong Chengchou could not lose confidence.
The master also pointed at Hong Chengchou to cut off the Ming army's food routes. He and the entire Hou family in Guide pointed out that the Qing Dynasty could win this country-destroying war. He also wanted Chongzhen to kneel at his feet and beg for mercy!
All of this must be achieved by winning this war to destroy the country.
Therefore, Hong Chengchou could not lose confidence and must cheer up and continue to compete with the Ming army.
At that moment, Hou Fangyu advised: "Hong Butang, victory or defeat is a common matter for military strategists. Last night's defeat was just a small defeat, so it's not worth mentioning. Let's learn lessons and win again next time."
"Not worth mentioning?" Hong Chengchou smiled bitterly.
"There are a total of 500 red cannons, and 200 of them were lost at one time. Is this considered insignificant?"
Speaking of these 200 red cannons, Hong Chengchou was really heartbroken and frightened.
I don’t know how angry Dorgon would be if the news of the defeat reached Beijing. And whether he would be blamed?
Hou Fangyu almost choked to death when he heard this. I just want to give you a few words of comfort. It's okay for you surnamed Hong to be ungrateful, but you actually turned against me? Do you still have the nerve to bully me?
The defeat last night was not caused by me.
Fortunately, Hong Chengchou quickly realized his gaffe.
"Hou Shenjun, our headquarters has become a bit chaotic, please forgive me." Zai
"It's okay." Hou Fangyu said without any expression on his face, "Hong Butang, I have a humble opinion. Maybe we can cut off the Ming army's food route."
Hong Chengchou immediately humbly asked for advice: "I also ask Hou Shenjun to give you some advice."
"Don't take the advice seriously." Hou Fangyu snorted, "That's what I think. Yan Yingyuan is really a hard nut to crack, so let's just not chew him. Pick the soft persimmons first."
"It is also a wise move to avoid the reality and attack the fictitious."
Hong Chengchou was not stingy with compliments and flattered Hou Fangyu, because he was afraid that Hou Fangyu would force him to continue to attack Chen Guantun and then Yan Yingyuan because of his status as a soldier.
Hong Chengchou really had no confidence in attacking Chenguantun again.
He felt that if he fought again, he would most likely lose.
There were many civil servants who knew the military in the late Ming Dynasty. Hong Chengchou's military attainments were not the best, but this guy had one advantage that no one could match, that is, he was very self-aware.
Hong Chengchou has a clear understanding of his abilities.
In the Battle of Songjin that year, Hong Chengchou knew he could not defeat the Qing army as soon as he had the slightest contact with it, because the Ming army was at a disadvantage in most aspects. The soldiers were not as elite as the Jiannu, the generals were not as brave as the Jiannu, and the firearms were not as sharp as the Jiannu. Most importantly,
What is more important is that the slaves are united as one, unlike the Ming Dynasty where the monarchs and ministers were separated and party disputes arose.
The only chance for the Ming Dynasty was to consume the slaves alive.
So after reaching Ningyuan, Hong Chengchou decisively stopped walking forward.
Unfortunately, his political enemies and Chongzhen not only forced him to send troops to Jinzhou, but also sent a military doctor and a military chief to Ningyuan with the emperor's instructions to supervise the battle.
Hong Chengchou had no choice but to send troops.
In the end, one of them was defeated and captured.
Through last night's battle, Hong Chengchou discovered that the Qing army really could not defeat the Ming army.
Hong Chengchou couldn't tell specifically how the Qing army was inferior to the Ming army, but his intuition told him that the combat effectiveness of the Ming army was indeed far superior to that of the Qing army.
If it was a defensive war, the Qing army could barely fight the Ming army.
But the chance of winning in a field battle is slim, and if the Qing army were to attack the fortified city defended by the Ming army, even if the Qing army had absolute advantages in strength and firearms, it would have no chance of winning, like last night.
Hong Chengchou's intuition was very accurate. The combat effectiveness of the Ming army had indeed far exceeded that of the Qing army, and it crushed the Qing army from multiple dimensions.
In terms of firearms, the firearms of the Ming Army have the advantage of standardization, technical performance and logistical support, which are a full generation advanced than the firearms of the Qing Army. To give a simple example, the ammunition of the Ming Army is universal, so logistical support is very easy.
Just transport the boxes of ammunition up and distribute them one by one. Zai
However, the ammunition of the Qing army was not universal. The ammunition of each cannon and even each flintlock gun had to be prepared separately. This greatly reduced the error tolerance rate of logistics, and it was easy for situations to arise during combat.
If you are not careful, if you make a mistake, it is easy to cause the bullet to jam in the chamber.
At the institutional level, the Ming army has a large number of grassroots officers who have received modern military school education and have a deep and advanced understanding of firearms warfare. However, the Qing army is still a typical cold weapon army, and most of the grassroots officers are illiterate.
Only the simplest commands can be executed, and slightly more complex commands will be blinded.
Not to mention tactics, the Ming army has entered the true firearms era, but the Qing army is at best a semi-firearms army, that is, the weapons have been replaced with firearms, but the military transformation has not been completed in terms of tactics and thinking. For firearms
Its application still has a long way to go.
Let’s take the simplest example, the use of landmines.
The Ming army's use of landmines has evolved to the level of serial mines, which is almost the level of mine warfare during the Anti-Japanese War. It has become a routine operation to lay landmines in outer trenches when camping in the field.
However, the Qing army's use of landmines was sparse and old-fashioned.
It was precisely because of this that Chongzhen dared to attack Beijing directly by land.
Because I have such confidence, taking the land route is not risky.
That's why I say that this guy Hong Chengchou is really self-aware.
He has keenly realized that the Qing army really cannot defeat the Ming army.
Moreover, he also discovered that Yan Yingyuan's military attainments were far superior to his.
It's a bit embarrassing to say it, but Yan Yingyuan was really scared of Hong Chengchou. Although he had far more troops than Yan Yingyuan, Yan Yingyuan also had the advantage of defending the city, so he really couldn't defeat him.
Therefore, Hong Chengchou was particularly afraid that Hou Fangyu would force him to fight.
Now Hou Fangyu has taken the initiative to not attack Chenguantun.
Hong Chengchou was naturally overjoyed and flattered him wildly.
At that moment, Hong Chengchou asked again: "Does Hou Shenjun mean to attack the Ming army's weakness?"
"To be more precise, it is to attack the weakness of the Ming army's food road." Hou Fangyu continued, "The weakness of the Ming army's food road is the land road from Chenguantun to Dagukou!"
Upon hearing this, Hong Chengchou's brows immediately furrowed again.
"Hou Shenjun, you mean to capture the 11 Ming army fortresses in the middle?"
"No, no, Hong Butang, you misunderstood." Hou Fangyu said again, "It is not easy to capture the 11 fortresses in the middle, because you have to use red cannons, and even if you capture these 11 fortresses, it is useless, because
The Ming army will definitely mobilize heavy troops to launch a counterattack. Will our Qing soldiers rescue them then?"
"If we don't save it, the fortress will inevitably be taken away by the Ming army again."
"If rescued, both sides will increase their troops one by one, and eventually it will become a field battle."
After a pause, he added: "But field battles are what our Qing soldiers try our best to avoid."
"Not seizing the camp?" Hong Chengchou asked again, "What do you mean, Hou Shenjun?"
"The cavalry can attack and harass." Hou Fangyu pointed to the sand table in front of him and said, "We can send out all the 40,000 Mongolian cavalry from the Eight Banners and divide them into teams of thousands or even hundreds to sweep back and forth between Dagukou and Chenguantun. This will prevent the civilians of Nanming from attacking.
When grain, fodder and military supplies are transferred between various camps, won’t the Ming army’s food routes be cut off?”
"I'm afraid this will not be easy." Hong Chengchou frowned and said, "The Eight Mongolian Banners sent a thousand-man team to attack the Ming Army's grain transport team. The Ming Army only needed to send an infantry battalion of more than a thousand people to escort them to defeat it."
"Then increase the number of troops and form a team of five thousand cavalry!" Hou Fangyu said flatly.
"If the Ming army also increases the number of escort troops, what can be done?" Hong Chengchou said, spreading his hands.
Hong Chengchou's worries were justified. The Eight Banner Mongols could certainly send cavalry to harass them.
But the Ming army could also send infantry for protection, wouldn't the situation turn into a field battle again?
