"But, Your Majesty, the three battalions in the east, north and west of the city also lit beacon fire warnings at the same time, and they all said there was an enemy attack."
Zhao Shu had a solemn look on his face.
The emperor also stopped at this time.
"How many people can you see clearly?"
"The night is dark, the moonlight is unclear, and the horses' hooves keep coming, so you can't distinguish many people!"
Zhao Shu said quickly.
The Beijing camp is divided into five wings, front, rear, left, center and center. Each of the four wings has about 15,000 people.
The center wing is basically under the direct command of the emperor and has about 10,000 people. Its main responsibility is to protect the emperor.
Therefore, this part can be regarded as guards and is generally not included in the number of people in the Beijing camp.
At this time, the fourth battalion was attacked, and only the middle wing, the guard wing, could send troops to save it.
"What do you think?"
The emperor came to the former enemy marshal's house and asked.
"It is currently impossible to tell which one is the main force, or whether they are all the main force, so my opinion is that the center wing will guard Yangzhou City, and then wait for an opportunity to send His Majesty to the canal."
Zhao Shu could only bite the bullet and said.
"There can't be that many people in the Manchu Qing Dynasty."
Zhu Yixi rubbed her temples and said directly.
"If the four major battalions want to make a surprise attack, they need at least the same number of people, 60,000 slaves, or 40,000 to 50,000 people to go south?"
"Moreover, it is feasible to hide it from Shan Yang with 10,000 or 20,000 people, but if it is 40,000 to 50,000, which is close to half of the troops, Li Jingwu will still be able to see it even if he is blind."
The emperor's words instantly swept away the panic.
"What do you mean, Your Majesty, Jiannu only raided one of the battalions, and the other three battalions were just to spread suspicion?"
Lu Daqi frowned and said.
"That's right!" The emperor asked to open the Yangzhou defense map: "Yangzhou city is only twenty miles long and wide. It can be done at the same time, but there must be a sequence."
"Then are they trying to lure the snake out of its hole?" Feng Xianzong asked.
"It's also possible to swallow one wing directly."
At this time, Zhao Shu also reacted: "As long as we are unable to rescue them for a while, one of the wings under attack will most likely be defeated."
"As a result, there will be loopholes in Yangzhou City's defense."
"Most of the Qing army is cavalry. Once they cut off our water transportation and Yangzhou City has no food input, the army will collapse without a fight."
"Of the four Qing armies, which one is the real one?"
The emperor looked thoughtful.
If it were during the day, everything would be clearly visible under a monocular.
But it was at night, the fire was bright and the beacon fire was the same, how could you see clearly?
"Maybe Chengdong!"
Lu Daqi said: "The north of the city is the canal. If the Qing army goes south here, it will be discovered. The east of the city is the east of the canal, which is the best route for Jiannu to go south."
"It may also be to confuse us."
Feng Xianzong shook his head and said: "The west and north of the city are impossible, so it can only be one of the two places, south of the city and east of the city."
At this time, the emperor suddenly showed a smile:
"If Jiannu wants to reach the east of the city, he must pass through the south or north of the city. Only by fighting in these two places can he have the best chance of fishing in troubled waters and getting to the west of the city."
"There is a canal in the north of the city. It is impossible for Jiannu to go south through the canal. Therefore, Jiannu attacked the south of the city——"
At this time, Zhang Shenyan showed doubts: "Your Majesty, why can't it be the east of the city?"
At this time, Zhao Shu reacted and said quickly:
"The four major camps are as different as each other in terms of smoke, so they must be the shortest."
"And if we attack the east of the city, we have to walk two steps to get to the west. We don't have enough time, so we can't bluff!"
Only then did Zhang Shenyan sigh.
Valley injury
The emperor shook his head. This test turned out to be a brain teaser.
"Seven thousand people from the center wing marched urgently to the south of the city to rescue the trapped troops."
"As for the remaining three thousand people, we will guard Yangzhou City and mobilize some civilians to defend the city."
Zhu Yixi sighed, looking a little tired: "In this way, it is enough to deal with the cavalry siege."
He did not expect that the Qing Dynasty would come so quickly.
At the same time, I did not expect that these cavalrymen could actually create a suspicious formation and learn how to use the formation.
Even though he was so sure, he was not completely sure.
If Li Jingwu was really blind or was concealed by the Manchus, the Beijing camp would surely suffer heavy losses.
As a result, Yangzhou City will inevitably be unable to defend itself.
By that time, the entire Huaihai defense line was in pieces.
The Northern Expedition will have to be postponed for several years.
In fact, due to the lack of war horses, the Northern Expedition will be more difficult.
"I beg your Majesty to move—"
Suddenly, Zhang Shenyan knelt down, his face solemn.
Zhao Shu, Feng Xianzong, Lu Daqi, Zhu Mou and others also knelt down and continued to echo.
In response, Zhu Yixi frowned and said: "The war has not yet concluded. As the emperor and the commander of the army, how can I escape without fighting?"
History kept telling him that the Donkey Cart Emperor was frightened away, and all the imperial troops who fought in the South and North were accounted for.
Zhao Gou also fled first in every battle, thus losing his royal authority, leading to a military coup, and losing his only son.
And once he escapes, it can be expected that the Beijing camp will collapse, the Huaihai defense line will collapse, the monarch's power will no longer exist, and the place will expand.
Can the local feudal lords endure it?
To capture the thief first, capture the king. This is a famous saying, but it is also a panacea.
Jiannu understands its essence very well!
"I will never run away!"
The emperor gritted his teeth and showed an angry expression: "Unless the Beijing camp is defeated, I will never leave Yangzhou City."
On the other hand, he will not escape until the capital camp collapses, so you go and make preparations first.
Everyone present, who was not the leader, understood the emperor's implication immediately.
To this, everyone expressed their obedience.
They really didn't have the guts to make preparations for forced removal or to resist the order.
The seven thousand troops went directly out of the south gate and headed towards the south camp of the city without any hesitation.
No one among the seven thousand people dared to ask why the other three battalions were surrounded and rescued the southern camp alone. They just obeyed.
What the Beijing camp requires is obedience, and the Zhongyi, also known as the guard wing, insists on it throughout.
The military judge watched eagerly.
As long as the general dares to deviate even a little bit, he will definitely let people capture him.
By the time the reinforcements arrived in the south of the city, the huge military camp was already broken into pieces, and a large number of cavalry were charging back and forth as if they were mowing grass.
Only near the Chinese army, there were thousands of people, firmly forming a position and standing with spears, like a hedgehog.
The Jiannu cavalry kept probing and shooting arrows, weakening them little by little, as if they were hunting.
When the reinforcements arrived, the Qing army gathered in an instant and kept looking at the approaching reinforcements, like an evil tiger.
Zhang Changsheng looked at his colleagues with desperate expressions and the discarded muskets on the ground, and he understood immediately.
At the moment of the attack on the camp, many people forgot to bring gunpowder, or there was insufficient gunpowder, turning the muskets into fire sticks.
"preparation--"
The musketeers, carrying sufficient ammunition and preparations, exposed black holes and faced the incoming Jiannu cavalry.