Chapter 102 Tongguan defense line is as solid as a rock
However, Yang Kun, the commander-in-chief of Pingxi Fan, strongly objected: "The power and status that the prince has today are all due to the reputation of never retreating. If he retreated in front of Liuthiefuan today, people in the world will think that the prince is nothing more than this. Today's power and power are still there."
Can I enjoy it?”
The Manchu officials sent by Duduo hoped that Wu Sangui would retreat and return to Chang'an. The purpose was simply that Duduo intended to form an alliance with Wu Sangui and develop his own power in the northwest in order to compete with Dorgon for power in the future.
Therefore, even if Duduo was treated rudely by Wu Sangui, he still did not want Wu Sangui's troops to suffer too much loss.
However, what Pingxi Fan generals like Yang Kun said may not be accurate.
Doesn’t Wu Sangui himself know that he has the power he has today because of his reputation for never retreating? It’s not because of his speculative skills!
Wu Sangui looked haggard. Ever since he guarded Shaanxi alone for Dorgon, thieves were popping up from all directions. In order to pacify Guanzhong, he had been suppressing them almost day and night.
So far, there have been more than a hundred battles, large and small, and it took a lot of effort to put down most of the anti-Qing armed forces.
But in the blink of an eye, Wu Sangui, who was famous all over the world for his famous general Guan Ning, hit a wall in front of Tongguan.
At first, Wu Sangui looked down upon Luo Dain and Zhao Yingyuan, Cao Cao's old troops and Luo Rucai's old troops. He believed that the combat effectiveness of the so-called old troops of Cao Cao's camp was not only lower than that of thieves, but also weaker than that of ordinary Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers. It was impossible for them to be
Guan Ning's elite opponent.
But later, Li Weiqun, Ma Jinzhong, Gao Ruli and other Shun army generals led troops to attack and rob the camp at night, creating huge chaos in the Wu army camp with only a small number of troops.
This has made Wu Sangui gradually realize that the so-called "remnants of Chuang Ni" are not just "remnants". Moreover, among these "remnants", not only Chu Chuang under Li Laiheng's command has higher combat effectiveness, but also any Dashun army.
, are relatively difficult opponents.
When Gao Yi led the rest of the rear army and rushed to Tongguan to deploy, Wu Jun's attack operation quickly turned into a disaster.
In fact, the defenders of Tongguan only had about 20,000 troops at this time. The troops under Gao Yigong were mainly Cao Ying's old troops and Li Guo's old troops. In addition to defending Tongguan, he also divided his troops to assist in the defense of Luoyang, Yunyang, Xing'an, and Tongguan.
The total strength of Guancheng is about 20,000, less than 30,000.
However, Tongguan was a formidable city, and the Dashun Army had sufficient supplies of supplies. Gao Yigong was also a general in the Dashun Army who was familiar with defensive operations. When he had been stationed in Huguang for a long time, he was completely familiar with Chu Chuang's new military technology, and he
During the wars in Yuezhou, Jiujiang and other places, he became proficient in city defense tactics.
The weather in the northwest was extremely cold, and the Wu army braved heavy snow to forcefully attack the city. Their morale was low, but they were met with a fierce counterattack by the Shun army.
Gao Yigong brought many artillery officers from Hubei who were trained at Suiying School and Wuchang Lecture Hall. These artillery officers fully mastered the use of the new Hongyi artillery made in Suizhou. With the assistance of effective shooting Zhu Yuan, the defenders
Wu Sangui was surprised by the accuracy of military artillery.
Even though the heavy snow affected the line of sight and shooting range, Shunjun's new Hongyi artillery still seemed to have eyes, tearing apart the Wu army's line with precision like a plow.
Between the Huayin Wu Army camp and the Tongguan Shun Army defense line, large tracts of snow have been destroyed by shelling and turned into ruins. The ground is full of stumps and broken arms left by the Wu Army's defeated soldiers, and the thick snow is soaked with blood.
, the internal organs and intestines were everywhere, and the smell of blood was no longer pungent enough, because the unpleasant smell of corpses had already severely damaged the morale of the Wu army.
Looking at this scene, Wu Sangui's eyes turned black and his nosebleed started to flow again.
Yang Kun, the commander-in-chief, could not hide his grief and cried sadly:
"Your Majesty has taken the lead in attacking the city several times, and has suffered dozens of battle wounds. If it is really difficult to sustain, our army will have no choice but to retreat. However, the Western thieves are still eying Hanzhong, and the retreat may not be safe at this time."
The soldiers of King Pingxi were all the essence of the Ming Dynasty's Guan Ning Army and Sun Chuanting's reconstruction of the Qin Army. They were also the foundation of Wu Sangui's success. However, there were not many fierce offensive and defensive battles in front of the Tongguan front. How could these elite soldiers
Are you so downcast and demoralized?
Wu Sangui clenched his fist angrily: "If it were a wild battle, with the power of the Guan Ning cavalry and the Mongolian Yiding cavalry, how could the gangsters be my opponent? This Gao Yigong, I have never heard of his achievements. Today, with the
I have defeated the Western Domain with elite soldiers who fought in hundreds of battles, but if we retreat in front of someone who is not a strong enemy here, I am afraid that the reputation of the feudal army will be lost."
The Manchu officials sent by Duduo instead whispered: "From Chang'an to Huayin, Weinan is in ruins. We retreat to Chang'an. If the bandits take the initiative to attack, it will just become the bandits who have to maintain a long march."
Supply line. When the time comes, we will attack and harass with the elite cavalry guerrillas of the Western Domain, and we will definitely be defeated."
In fact, Chang'an is now half in ruins, and Wu Sangui's center of rule in Shaanxi has long been moved to Fuping County near Chang'an. However, in colloquial terms, everyone still confuses Chang'an and Fuping.
Although these Manchurian officials only wanted to get Wu Sangui to retreat and win him over to cooperate with Duduo to deal with Dorgon. Their conspiracy intentions were very obvious. The Manchu people's level of power was so low that Wu Sangui was assassinated at the Huailai Banquet.
Sun Chuanting's conspirators were amused.
But he also feels that there is really no point in continuing to fight in Tongguan now.
Things have become very clear. Even if Pingxi Fan's soldiers receive full support from Duduo, they will not have enough strength to break through Tongguan - not to mention that Duduo is also a person who avoids fighting and is not willing to contribute at all.
Wu Sangui wanted to quit. The only thing he was worried about now was Dorgon. Dorgon had previously ordered him to attack Tongguan and contain the rebels' flanks. Now that the decisive battle at Jiahe is not over yet, if he withdraws his troops without permission, Dorgon will
After winning, how should Wu Sangui deal with the situation?
After careful consideration he finally said:
"The Battle of Jiahe is still being fought fiercely. Recent reports from the north indicate that our troops have the upper hand and the bandits are retreating steadily. This is the time for our army to advance bravely and pursue the victory. If we retreat rashly, we will surely
It astonished the Prince Regent."
But Wu Sangui had no intention of continuing to attack Tongguan. He felt that Gao Yigong was heavily fortified, and the Dashun army in the Tongguan area was in deep ditches and high bases. Wu Jun had no chance to take advantage of it. He decided to retreat to the Huayin camp, also in Huayin.
On the Yin front line, fortifications were built to confront the Shun army.
What Wu Sangui had in mind was:
As long as Pingxi Fan's army did not withdraw from the Tongguan front line, then he would still play a role in containing part of the Dashun army, and Dorgon would not be able to blame him in the future.
What Wu Sangui is waiting for now is the result of the Battle of Jiahe. If Dorgon wins the final victory in the decisive battle, the morale of the Tongguan defenders will be greatly affected, and they may even withdraw their troops voluntarily. At that time, if he "takes advantage of the victory to pursue", it will not be better than
How much easier is it now to crack the hard nut of a higher level of effort?
However, Wu Sangui still felt helpless against the enemy's strict defense:
"I never knew that there was such a person as Gao Yigong in the world! How powerful is he in defending the city? The thieves should not be underestimated. If you mention any of these people you have never heard of before, their combat skills are far superior.
Far better than the many famous frontier generals of the Ming Dynasty in the past."
Naturally, Wu Sangui didn't know that in later history, it was Li Guo and Gao Yigong who were responsible for guarding northern Shaanxi, causing Wu Sangui to suffer a lot when he followed Azige to attack northern Shaanxi.
In the Battle of Northern Shaanxi, the Dashun Army led by Li Guo and Gao Yigong, under the extremely unfavorable strategic situation, fought with the enemy for a long time with a small number and defeated many, and also killed many Eight Banners generals. This is even more surprising.
Surprisingly, when Li Zicheng was defeated and left Shaanxi, Li Guo, who was isolated in a corner of northern Shaanxi by the heavy Qing army, and Gao Yigong's subordinates, actually broke out of the siege and retreated, fighting all the way from northern Shaanxi to Hunan.
The area united with the main force of Dashun Army.
There were almost no casualties along the way!
Because of his gentle personality, Gao Yigong has always been regarded as a figure similar to Tian Jianxiu. Rather than making decisive decisions on the battlefield, Gao Yigong seems to be more suitable for guarding the rear.
But judging from historical experience and the recent situation of Gao Yigong's defense of Yueyang and Tongguan, he is undoubtedly a very good general. Especially in unfavorable situations, he is very clever in the use and control of limited forces.