Zhending is the core base camp of the Shun Army in North Zhili. Li Laiheng had just returned to Zhending from Taiyuan for a few days. Before he could wait for the Chu Chuang reinforcements from the south, there were frequent calls from the Dashun Army strongholds on the front line in central Hebei.
received an urgent report of an attack by the Qing army.
The founding lord of the Dashun Dynasty only wore a thin green shirt, but he was busy processing military documents filled with desks. In the early summer, his back was already dripping with sweat and his single shirt was soaked.
"Your Majesty, the Department of Military Affairs has confirmed the movements of the Qing troops. The enemy is crossing the Hutuo River northward in large numbers. The main force is divided into three groups and will attack the three cities of Shenzhou, Weapon, and Jinzhou at the same time."
Gu Junen rushed to the commander's mansion with a large number of staff members from the Military Department. The staff members were all the same as Gu Junen. They all wore armor and weapons. For a time, there was a huge crowd and the sound of clanging armor filled the commander's mansion.
Li Laiheng raised his head and first glanced at Fang Yiren, who was handling military affairs documents. Secretary Fang always paid attention to poetry, wine, and celebrity style. He never left his hand with the platinum fracture fan that Li Laiheng had given him back then. But at this time, he was busy checking the military information.
, my hair was all stuck to my forehead with sweat, and I didn’t even think about the folding fan fastened to my waist.
Gu Junen brought several maps, spread them out directly on the floor of the hall, pointed at the Jizhong line and said:
"Whether it is military information detected by the night guard, or word of mouth from the refugees who have returned to Zhending, they all say that the Qing army's war horses are so numerous that the sound shakes the mountains, from Baoding to Qingdu to the Hutuo River, and stretches for hundreds of miles.
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The troops and horses of the Qing army that crossed the north stream of the Hutuo River have already occupied the Shenze, Anping, and Raoyang lines that the Dashun army had previously abandoned. The troops are now divided into three groups. One army crosses Nirvana Pass to attack Jinzhou, and the other two groups
The army is in a state of deep siege and force.
Li Shiwei and Li Guoyi, who were the first to notice the movement of the Qing army crossing the river, quickly mobilized the Shenzhou Shun Army to return to the city and wait for reinforcements. According to the calculations of the Army Joining Department, the Shenzhou defenders had a large number of Hongyi artillery pieces, and there were Shun Army fortifications on both sides.
To threaten the Qing siege troops, Huang Taiji must not attack anytime soon."
After listening to the report from Gu Junen and the Military Affairs Department, Li Laiheng nodded and asked Gu Junen to sit down first, and asked the busy staff of the Military Affairs Department to calm down and calm down.
He saw Xu Du standing in the staff queue and ordered: "Xu Sheng, calm him down. Huang Taiji's southward march was within our expectations. The Qing army's empty country attack this time did not exceed the military strength."
The Dashun Army’s previous expectations. Since all situations are still within expectations, why should we be alarmed?”
The staff officers who were standing in the open space of the hall, looking at Li Laiheng's soaked clothes and Fang Yiren's hair stuck with sweat, naturally felt that Li Laiheng's words were not very convincing.
The Manchurian army has not yet crossed the river in full force, but judging from the information passed down along the road, the bargaining chip thrown by Huang Taiji must be around 200,000 troops.
This force size was exactly what the Department of Military Affairs had predicted many times before, and it was not beyond the expectations of Xu Du and others.
But when the 200,000 Qing troops actually appeared on the horizon of the northern wilderness, the sound of crows bringing death filled people's ears and ears and reverberated throughout the world!
Shenzhou, Wuqiang, and Jinzhou, these three cities located to the east of Zhending, are already under the pressure of Mount Tai of the Eight Banners soldiers and will be shaken.
Of course, Li Laiheng also understood the urgency of the current situation, but he was not only responsible for the defenders of Dongsan City, but also for the soldiers and people of Zhending.
Fang Yiren then said: "The Dashun Army's more than 100,000 elite soldiers were divided into two groups by the Taihang Mountains. The Palace Lord and Liu Shuai stationed 70,000 troops in Beizhili, and Your Majesty stationed 100,000 troops in Jin. Taihang is dangerous, and Shanxi is the representative one.
Lishan River, but the Qing army has already controlled Datong, Yanmen Pass, Ningwuguan and other scenic spots, so it can only leave a small number of troops to monitor northern Shanxi, while the rest of the main force moves south from Yanyun and reaches the Yellow River.
Whether it is Zhending, Shenzhou, Wuqiang, or Jinzhou, the three eastern cities are all undefensible wilderness, which is conducive to Manchurian raiders roaming freely.
And His Majesty's 100,000 elite troops must pass through Jingxing if they want to aid Zhao from Jin. Jingxing is the most important passage among the eight passes of Taihang. If the Manchus block the entrance of Jingxing first, then the 100,000 Dashun troops from Jinzhong will
Being blocked in the Taihang Mountains, transportation between Jin and Zhao was cut off. The 70,000 troops and horses in Northern Zhili were even less likely to withstand Huang Taiji's offensive.
Zhending is adjacent to Jingxing. The palace lord is in charge of Zhending and cannot be easily dispatched. Once Zhending is lost, it will be extremely difficult to defend Jingxing with only Zhang Pikui's troops."
Jingxing and Guguan are both located in one place. Now that Daomaguan has been controlled by the Qing army, Jingxing has undoubtedly become the most critical point in the transportation artery between Shanxi and Beizhili.
The Dashun Army's troops in North Zhili, after Li Laiheng continuously mobilized the troops he originally left in Shandong, together with Liu Fangliang's, had reached 70,000.
Among them, Li Laiheng and Liu Fangliang concentrated 40,000 mobile troops in Zhending. In addition to defending Zhending, the most important stronghold on the Dashun Army's northern Zhili defense line, they also shouldered the important task of rushing to rescue other cities when the situation was critical.
In Dongsancheng to the east of Zhending, Liu Fangliang is currently in Jinzhou, Shenzhou is defended by Li Shiwei with 10,000 troops, and Wu Qiang is defended by Ma Shiyao with 7,000 troops.
Further east from Dongsancheng, in the area bordering Shandong and Beizhili, Ma Bao led thousands of troops to garrison in Nanpi as support.
Zhang Pili led 7,000 troops to defend the Jin-Zhao Kongdao, which was related to the two provinces of Shanxi and Northern Zhili.
Gu Junen also understood the importance of Jingxing, so he urged Li Laiheng:
"The importance of Jingxing has become a decisive factor in the safety of the world. The terrain of Jingxing is narrow and it is difficult for a large army to deploy. Although the Qing army is strong, if they directly cross Zhending and attack Jingxing by force, the huge army will inevitably gather on the narrow mountain road.
Among them, when the time comes for Shijun and Liu Shuai to lead the Zhending troops and attack the Qing army's retreat, no matter how strong the Eight Banners soldiers are and how strong the Qing army's troops and horses are, the only result will be annihilation of the entire army.
Since the end of Wanli, the Qing and Ming armies have won every battle, and there are countless famous commanders and generals. Huang Taiji is particularly experienced in using troops, and he will never leave such a flaw. Therefore, if the Qing army wants to attack Jingxing, it must
Attack Zhending first. Now the Qing army did not attack Zhending directly. Instead, they crossed the north stream of the Hutuo River and attacked Shenzhou first. The purpose is obvious, which is to encircle Shenzhou and lure out Zhending's army.
Shenzhou is a small city, but Zhending is a big city. If the Qing army storms Zhending, it will definitely not be able to break the city in a short time. However, Shanxi's 100,000 soldiers, after receiving the urgent military information of the Qing army going south, can break out in a few days.
Jingxingkou.
Needless to say, Huang Taiji only has a few days to deal with us! It is impossible to storm Zhending in such a short time. Only by luring out the defenders and annihilating the enemy in the field can we have a chance of winning."
Gu Junen's analysis and Fang Yiren's speculation were in the same target. When countless critical information poured into the residence of Marshal Zhendingsui like a river flowing eastward into the vast ocean, Li Laiheng's two masterminds both insisted on their own opinions.
The real defenders must not be moved lightly!
Li Laiheng understood the meaning of their words. He stood up and walked around the hall of the Marshal's Mansion. The hesitation in his heart was extremely obvious. Gu Junen couldn't stand it anymore. He clenched his fist with his right hand and knocked it on the table repeatedly. The staff of the Military Affairs Department
They all bowed to the ground with swords in their hands and persuaded:
"Your Majesty! Gains and losses are really related to Jingxing, and the survival of Jingxing is related to the world!"
"Is Liu Shuai here?"
Li Laiheng looked at the staff kneeling all over the hall. He closed his eyes first, then took a breath, put away all the anxiety and pressure, and asked lightly: