The basis of the Shandong Army was the former Xuzhou Forbidden Army, and the Xuzhou Forbidden Army was not from military families, but was composed of local miners and farmers in Xuzhou Prefecture. The people of Xuzhou were strong, so the combat effectiveness of the army was also very strong, and it was the first in the Ming Dynasty at that time.
Strong army.
But things are different now. The powerful Xuzhou Army has been defeated by Hong Chengchou. The cavalry as a mobile force has also been completely wiped out. Only chariots and infantry are left. Their movements are far less rapid than the Qing army, so they are defeated repeatedly.
It is also reasonable.
It is said in military books that if you want to win a battle, you must have the right time, place, and people. In fact, the Shandong Army has all three of these, but it cannot exert its advantage. The generals are puzzled, but they can explain it with Liu Ziguang's military theory.
They suddenly realized that among the factors for winning a war, mobility, firepower and intelligence were more important than the right time, place and people. The Qing army's cavalry accounted for the majority, and their mobility completely overwhelmed the Ming army. Although their firepower was slightly weaker, they only had some matchlock guns.
and bronze cannons, but were offset by the advantage of mobility. In terms of intelligence, Hong Chengchou did a good job. He had a special scouting team under his command. They all wore Han clothes and spoke Shandong dialect. They rode fast horses and carried carrier pigeons. The Ming army was slightly
The Qing army would know that dividing and encircling the city, and besieging the city for reinforcements were Hong Chengchou's special skills.
Based on the analysis of previous failed battles, Liu Ziguang was surprised to find that Hong Chengchou was indeed a genius in using troops. He was well versed in the Japanese guerrilla warfare strategy: when the enemy advances, we retreat, when the enemy is stationed, we harass, when the enemy is tired, we attack, and when the enemy retreats, we
Chasing, when the Ming army attacked in groups, he took advantage of his strong mobility to bring down the Ming army, and waited for opportunities to take a bite from time to time. When the Ming army attacked in multiple directions, he concentrated on local superior forces to fight a battle of annihilation. Tactical application
Very appropriate, and under his strict restraint, the Qing army did everything possible to do no harm to the people. On the contrary, the Ming army often went to the countryside to rob pigs, dogs, cattle and sheep, etc., which made the people complain. How could the Ming army be ventilated?
Report.
The current situation is that Dongchang Prefecture, Qingzhou Prefecture, and Denglai Prefecture in Shandong Province have all been captured by the Qing army, while Qingdao Naval Base, Jinan Prefecture, and Yanzhou Prefecture are still under the control of the Ming army, and supplies from Nanjing have not been interrupted.
, there are a lot of military rations, weapons and ammunition stored in Jinan City, and the soldiers can use them, but their morale is slightly low. However, the arrival of Liu Ziguang has given them a shot in the arm. After all, the Ming Dynasty's most powerful general has the reputation of being victorious in every battle.
It's not covered.
Liu Ziguang decided to attack Qingzhou Prefecture first to reduce the pressure on Qingdao. He left Niu Yong to guard Jinan and led the rest of the generals and 50,000 troops to march out of Jinan towards Qingzhou.
As soon as the army moved, the Qing army discovered it and quickly reported it to Zhou Peigong. Since Hong Chengchou personally led the troops to Zhending, Hebei Province to rescue the army, the war in Shandong was left to Princess Zhou Pei. This prince was full of strategies and used troops as well as Hong Chengchou.
When Tan Ma reported, he sent an army to lure the enemy. At the same time, he ambushed two groups of troops in the rear, preparing to form a pocket formation to make dumplings out of the Ming army's vanguard.
However, the army that lured the enemy walked forward for dozens of miles without encountering the Ming army's outpost. Going further, they found that the Ming army had already set up camp. The Qing general was confused, how far had they gone? The capital of Zhangqiu County
We set up camp before we arrived. Isn't this too slow? Moreover, the camp was set up very carefully. It was backed by mountains and water, with walls and trenches. When General Qing thought that I was here to lure the enemy, he said anything.
The Ming army was lured out, so he led the army to attack the stronghold. This attack was not important, and the troops were almost wiped out. The Ming army's artillery and firecrackers were all ready, waiting for the Qing army to come.
The Qing general lost many men and horses and did not dare to continue the attack. He returned to report to Zhou Peigong. Zhou Peigong was very puzzled and led the troops to fight in person. It turned out that the Ming army had only advanced forty miles and formed a strong fort.
camp.
Zhou Peigong tried to attack again, but still with no results. He tried every possible means to fight against the Ming army and was unable to defend. Zhou Peigong was also dumbfounded. Why did the Ming army suddenly become a coward? Since the stronghold was so solid, let's wait until they break camp.
Let's do it again. He stationed his troops ten miles away from the Ming army and kept checking the horses every day. He said in his heart that I don't believe you can stay here and not leave!
Of course the Ming army wanted to move, but even during the march, the Qing army could not get any advantage. When the Qing cavalry pounced on them, they only saw heavily defended armored carts quickly forming a circular formation.
The 50,000-strong army formed countless unpalatable hedgehogs. Cannons and firecrackers were directed outwards. The Qing army's bows and arrows were of no effect at all. Instead, they were killed by the firecrackers, so they retreated and waited for the opportunity. The Ming army was also patient and simply
We set up camp there, dug trenches and built earthen walls, but I couldn't stay there!
Doing this several times made Zhou Peigong jump with anger. What kind of tactic is this? It's just like a turtle! It rolls forward like an iron barrel. If you come to hit me, I will guard against you. If you don't hit me, I won't take the initiative.
If they attack you, the Qing army's mobility advantage will not be fully utilized, and their ability to attack fortresses is exactly their weakness, so they have no countermeasures against this tactic.
The Ming army slowly advanced to Qingzhou City without attacking the city. They found a good place to set up camp, and then began to dig trenches. The trenches were deep and wide enough to block the cavalry attack. Zhou Peigong saw that they
The posture was to surround Qingzhou and quickly sent troops to fight. The Ming army still did not fight and only defended. Their firepower was intensive. The cannons made of high-quality steel had a farther range than the Qing army's bronze cannons, so the Qing army was unable to carry out firepower.
suppress.
Zhou Peigong died down for a few days, and then launched a night attack on a dark and windy night. However, he was defeated again. Unwilling to accept it, he chose to attack in the early morning, lunch, dinner and other times. However, each attack was met with powerful attacks.
After several sniping attacks, Zhou Peigong finally understood that at any time, at least 30% of the Ming army's troops were standing on the camp ready to defend against the enemy.
Liu Ziguang stood in the watchtower of the camp and looked into the distance. The trenches outside Qingzhou City were already very large. The soldiers were still digging. It would not be long before Qingzhou was surrounded. One trench after another, clearing the city.
The army was unable to charge forward even if they wanted to. In addition to their personal weapons, each of his 50,000 men was also equipped with a shovel or a hoe, specializing in the job of digging trenches.
Most of the soldiers were miners or farmers from around Xuzhou. Digging was their old profession. Although it was tiring to keep digging trenches, it was better than fighting with the Qing soldiers, so everyone was still working enthusiastically.
These days, the Ming army had basically no casualties, but it killed thousands of Qing troops and surrounded Qingzhou. This victory greatly boosted everyone's morale.
The main camp of the Ming army was very different from the previous marching camps. In the past, the marching camps were very simple. They just cut down trees to make fences, surrounded them with carriages behind them, and then dug some drainage ditches to prevent rain. Now they are all set up.
The long-term camps were all earthworks. The walls were eight feet high and one foot thick, made of grass and clay blocks. The trenches were one foot deep, and the soil dug out of the trenches had to be moved two feet away to prevent the enemy from digging it out.
The soil can easily fill up the trench. Outside the trench is a flower fence. The flower fence should be five feet and buried two feet in the soil. The flower fence has two or three layers. The fence is built to prevent the enemy's cavalry from attacking. There is another layer outside.
The layers are also trenches for infantry defense. They are layer upon layer, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack.
The Ming army's firepower is stronger. The range and power of the fire cannons are stronger than those of the Qing army. Coupled with such fortifications, the shortcomings have turned into advantages. Aren't you bullying me about whether I am mobile or not? I will simply be a turtle.
, Slow down, but if you don’t get a chance to bite, you might even get bitten by me.
The camp was strong and had to be defended by soldiers. Liu Ziguang stipulated that at the beginning of the fifth watch, 30% of the troops would be sent to stand on the wall to defend. When it was completely light and everyone had finished their war meal, they would replace these people. During the day, there must be 50% of the troops.
The army was on defense, and in the evening it was changed to 30%. When night fell, it was changed to 10% to keep vigil. However, there were two men and horses who were not allowed to take off their clothes when sleeping, and were ready to support at any time. With such a defensive method, it is no wonder that Zhou Peigong no matter what
There is no advantage in attacking at all times.
The Qing army is brave and good at fighting, but when it comes to this kind of rogue tactics, there is really no way. They can only watch the trenches being dug longer and longer, surrounding Qingzhou. If Qingzhou is surrounded, you can rest, but they don't
, continued digging, and also dug deep trenches in the direction of Denglai. One trench was not enough, at least three trenches were dug. Zhou Peigong knew that this was digging trenches to block reinforcements. It seemed that the Ming army wanted to use this method to trap themselves.
Zhou Peigong was wondering when Xu Zengshou became so smart, but a letter from a flying pigeon surprised him. It turned out that the person he was facing was not Xu Zengshou, but Liu Ziguang!
It doesn't matter if it's Liu Ziguang. It's expected that the Ming Dynasty will transfer him to take charge of Shandong's military affairs. But this guy is not that style. According to Zhou Peigong's understanding of Liu Ziguang, this guy should have a rough and adventurous style of play.
The troops advance rapidly, hundreds of miles overnight, the firepower covers them, and the airships land in the air. This is Liu Ziguang's style. When did he change to such a stupid style of play?
However, the generals of the Ming army praised this so-called "stupid" tactics. They admired Liu Ziguang from the bottom of their hearts. He changed the situation of the battle with a casual show of his hand, changed from passive to active, and used defensive tactics to attack. Although the labor of the soldiers was
The intensity is high, and it takes a long time to fight a battle, but they are not afraid of delay. The ones who are afraid of delay should be the Qing army. They have even lost Beijing. Zhending Mansion is in danger, and the retreat may be cut off by the Jing Dynasty at any time. Where?
If there is capital, it will continue to be consumed.