At this time, the Beijing army had already begun to set up camp.
With Qingzuka Mountain as the center, we set up camp along the Dahei River. These soldiers can now do it with their eyes closed when it comes to setting up camp. Along the way, they have become familiar with what they have done for a long time.
First dig trenches on all four sides, then put the excavated soil into sacks, and then build a city wall with a bottom of three meters wide, a top of two meters wide, and a height of four meters. A barbed wire fence was arranged outside the trench. Except for the two remaining on the transportation line,
In addition to the 21st and 22nd regiments, two artillery regiments and twenty infantry regiments are all in the camp.
The civilian husbands were arranged in the middle of the camp. They and the baggage were protected. Under the command of the soldiers, the civilian husbands set up tents, dug drainage ditches, and dug toilets. The engineers dug water wells in the camp.
Although it faces the Dahei River, Yang Fan wants to prevent the Mongols from throwing dead horses into the river upstream and polluting the water source. The Mongols have often engaged in such biological and chemical warfare in history. The groundwater is still safe.
Arrow towers made of scaffolding were erected behind the sandbag wall. The outside was covered with large steel plates. Crossbowmen defended on the arrow towers. Every thirty meters on the sandbag wall, there were ten-meter-high sandbags piled up.
The platform is equipped with Franco machine guns, general guns, red cannons, Luzon bronze cannons and other firearms.
Archers and three-eyed gunmen are also deployed on the sandbag walls. Four regiments are responsible for guarding the outer walls.
The height of Qingzhong is a full 33 meters. Yang Fan set up his headquarters here. At this time, the top has been flattened into a platform by engineers, and the Chinese army's tent has been set up on it. The hillsides on all sides are covered with large and small
tent. The headquarters of the Western Expeditionary Army was located here.
Yang Fan, Zhang Shize and the combat staff all live here. As chief officers, Yang Fan and Zhang Shize have their own folding camp beds. Others live in bunk beds. These beds are cut into angle steel and transported in a caravan. These beds are simple to put on and off.
The bed is very easy to disassemble and assemble.
In the middle of the big tent was a sand table that the staff had just made. At this time, small flags were being used to mark the situation between the enemy and ourselves.
"According to the scout report, seven Tumut troops in Qinghai, with a total of 30,000 cavalry, came out to assist the Tumut headquarters. They have already arrived at Helan Mountain and are expected to arrive in ten days."
"Alxa Wanhu, eight thousand troops have been dispatched this time. They have crossed Daqing Mountain and will reach the battlefield tonight."
"The Seven Guards of Guanxi have a combined force of 20,000, and are now approaching Daqingshan."
The Mongolians in the Seven Guards of Kansai are actually the Jixi Prefecture of the Ming Dynasty. These people are the Mongolian tribes from the four major khanates who came to join Kublai Khan. Some of them fled because of failure in internal fighting, and some fled because of various conflicts. Suddenly
Bilie placed them in the triangle area in eastern Xinjiang west of Jiayuguan, starting from Hami in the north and ending at Lop Nur in the south.
After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, they surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Yuanzhang decided to incorporate them. The Ming Dynasty successively established the Seven Guards of Guanxi in the Sali Uighur Land.
They are Anding, Aduan, Quxian, Handong, Shazhou, Chijin Mongolia, and Hami Qiwei. They are still allowed to manage themselves, but they are only nominally vassal to the Ming Dynasty, similar to the chieftains in the south.
Listening to the situation report, Yang Fan frowned, the situation was not optimistic.
The Tumuts currently have 30,000 elite soldiers. The herdsmen also have 20,000 armed troops. It is currently known that nearly 60,000 reinforcements are rushing to the battlefield. This is already more than 100,000 people.
Moreover, there is no news about the four major tribes of Mongolian people in the desert. The intentions of Tushetu Khan in Khalkha Mongolia are unknown. The Ordos tribe in the south may also go north. This is why Yang Fan took the supply line through Zhangjiakou instead of going through Shanxi through Datong.
Reasons for naturalization.
It is too close to the Ordos Department. Yang Fan is not optimistic about the border troops. If the border troops in Ningxia Town, Yulin Town, and Datong Town that have been mobilized years ago are not strong enough, it is difficult to rule out the possibility that the Ordos Department will divide its troops and go north to attack Yang Fan from his juniors.
.
Looking at the sand table, Yang Fan's face was as dark as water. He had to make a decision at this time.
If you take conservative measures, then stick to the stronghold and fight the war, learn from Zeng Shao. You are at odds with the Mongols here. They all came just after winter. This grassland cannot support so many people. Yang Fan's
Since there are many defensive methods, taking a defensive stance to consume them is a good strategy.
Another way is to take advantage of the fact that the enemy army has not gathered yet, strike first, defeat the Tumuts first, and seize Guihua City.
Now, only the Alxa people have arrived. Other reinforcements have not arrived yet. If you want to start a war, you must make a decision as soon as possible.
"How do you think we should fight?" Yang Fan asked Zhang Shize.
"There are only two choices, either to hold on. Or to take advantage of the fact that their troops have not gathered yet, and shoot them with a fucking shot. It is better to cut off one of the ten fingers than to hurt them. We defeated the Tumuts and put them to death."
The Alxa people ate it.”
Yang Fan nodded, it was time to make up his mind. If it were his own cavalry army and infantry army, Yang Fan would launch an attack without hesitation and annihilate them directly. But now these two troops are still on the way.
The cavalry army was sent by Yang Fan to attack Tuxie Tuhan's tribe, and the infantry army is still on the march.
Yang Fan's original plan was to attract the Oara people to naturalize. He would build a stronghold and fight in vain, wearing down the enemy in defense. Then, the cavalry army would raid the Oara people's hometown. The infantry army would lurk outside the battlefield, waiting for the Oirat Alliance to be captured.
When news of the cavalry army's occupation came, they took advantage of the enemy's morale to be in chaos and attacked from both inside and outside to annihilate the enemy.
However, in combat, troops are unpredictable and water is unpredictable. They must be adjusted at any time according to changes in the situation. Now there is an opportunity. The enemy only has about 50,000 troops, and the real standing troops are only 30,000.
Okay, try a surprise attack. If you can capture Guihua City, go to the north of the river and hold it. If you can't capture it, just retreat. Anyway, a solid camp has been established here.
Yang Fan finally made up his mind.
"After dark, engineers set up five pontoon bridges on the Dahei River. They must be completed before dawn."
The width of the Dahei River is between 20 and 50 meters. Now in the dry season, it is only more than 20 meters wide, and its depth is less than half a meter to one meter. It is almost possible to cross the river, but a large number of siege weapons must have bridges
, otherwise the mud at the bottom of the river will not bear the weight and it will be impossible to pass.
"The entire army will have a extra meal tonight and have an early rest. We will prepare food at five o'clock tomorrow and attack the north bank of the river. The goal is to defeat the Tumut troops within two days and capture Guihua City."
As the order was conveyed, the entire camp took action. A tense atmosphere filled the air. Everyone knew that the long-awaited war was finally about to begin.
In fact, these soldiers in the Beijing camp have never been on the battlefield. Although they have been trained to be mechanical and numb, they are still very nervous at this time.
The war is about to begin tomorrow, and I don't know if I can win.
It was late at night. The Mongols on the other side were still on guard. However, there was no one on the river because the arrow tower's crossbows had killed everyone who tried to approach the river.
Engineers began to build a pontoon bridge in the cold river water.
