Geng Zhongming looked at the tall Liaoyang City, then at the corpses under the city, and shook his head.
"I didn't expect him to be so tenacious. That's all, withdraw your troops."
"Commander, there are not many Tatars in the city. Let us rest and attack again. We will surely win."
"It's not necessary." Although Geng Zhongming felt a little regretful, he was still very decisive. After he returned to Haizhou with more than 3,000 troops, he took the family papers and mobilized Haizhou troops on the grounds that he was ordered to return to Shandong to participate in the war.
, and recruited strong men to join the army, and recruited all the strong men. After gathering more than 10,000 men, he suddenly raised a flag to rebel.
After announcing that he was returning to the Ming Dynasty, he sent troops to control Haizhou City, killing all the Manchu officials and Mongolian soldiers in the city. He also divided his troops to attack the Manchu villages in the territory, and attacked them with lightning speed, killing many Manchu queens.
, and sent his troops northward, intending to attack Liaoyang.
However, the Manchus had strong defenses against this important town in Liaodong. The detailed internal response sent by Geng Zhongming failed to capture the city. He launched a strong attack and lost two to three thousand men but failed to capture it.
Although many Manchu, Mongolian and Han soldiers defending the city also died, Geng Zhongming did not want to continue fighting.
The original intention was to make a sneak attack. Since the sneak attack failed, there was no need to fight forcefully.
"withdraw!"
Before leaving, Geng Zhongming sent generals Xu Degong, Sun Decheng and others to raid the vicinity of Liaoyang, and then went south along the Liao River, looting and retreating. The Manchu and Han villages along the way were suddenly hit by military disasters.
Geng's army directly attacked those Manchu villages. After breaking through, the Manchu men were killed, the young women were kidnapped, and the cattle, horses, money and food were looted. Finally, they burned the villages and filled up the wells.
As for the Han people who settled in villages, they were persuaded to move with the army.
Naturally, those who are willing to move with the army will be treated politely. Those who are unwilling to move are not so polite. Those who are weak will be directly attacked and forced to move.
Those who are stronger will negotiate, recruit some strong men, and take away some money and food, leaving only a slight leeway.
Geng Zhongming raised the flag and raised troops in Haizhou this time, and mobilized many people. He also specially sent people to contact Kong Youde, and there were still two old tribes of Xi and Xi. After the death of these two kings, the population of their old tribes was still there.
It was temporarily led by his son, but people were still panicked, and Geng Zhongming deliberately spread many rumors, such as the court wanted to pursue Kong Youde's crime, and sent the Kong family to Ninggu Pagoda and Pi Jiaren as slaves, etc.
Under his deliberate instigation and intimidation, many of Kong Shang's old troops followed suit and planned to move to Dongjiang together.
The three kings were originally from Dongjiang, and many of their old subordinates were from Dongjiang. In recent years, life under the Liaodong Tatars was not bad. In fact, life was pretty good, and it could even be said to be better than when they were in Dongjiang.
But the problem is that the situation is so complicated now. Three kings and two rebelled against each other. Geng Zhongming jumped out and rebelled and went to win over other military leaders. These officers got the decree of Emperor Shaotian from Geng Zhongming to recruit an army and grant rewards.
For Lieutenant Generals, all of them can retain their existing titles, and some can add one more level, which is quite tempting.
Stay, the future is uncertain, you have no backing, and you may even be prosecuted for defeat, so returning to the Ming Dynasty may be a good choice.
For a time, war broke out all over Liaodong.
After entering the Pass, the Tatars moved their capital to Beijing, and the entire focus was transferred to the Central Plains. After the war last year, the troops outside the Pass were constantly transferred internally, leaving the Liaodong guards increasingly empty. Who would have thought that there would be a fire in the backyard at this time?
Geng Zhongming's shot this time can be said to be a solid stab, which directly stabbed the Qing Dynasty in the gall.
Geng Laoer was originally a Liao citizen. He first served as a general in the Ming Dynasty and then surrendered to the Jin Dynasty. Then he defected to the Dongjiang River and then to the Tatars. Now that he has returned to the Ming Dynasty, he can be regarded as capricious and even very skilled.
When he rebelled against the Jin Dynasty and defected to Dongjiang a long time ago, he took his subordinates to move many Liao people to Dongjiang. On several subsequent occasions, he also took many of his subordinates to move the people under threat.
But no matter which time, the conditions were not as good as this time.
There are no pursuers behind, nor worries about being intercepted. There is plenty of time, and the troops are exceptionally abundant.
In particular, the Ming army already had naval forces at the beach to support them, and several Ming troops even came ashore.
This feeling of letting go of looting is so good, I haven't had it for many years.
In order to ensure his strength after establishing a town in Dongjiang, Geng Laoer recruited young men everywhere and tried his best to relocate the people, regardless of whether the people were really willing. On the other hand, taking advantage of the empty defense of the Tatars, he also massacred the Manchus in Liaodong.
.
June.
Geng Zhongming successfully joined forces with Shen Tingyang near the mouth of the Liaohe River.
Shen Tingyang made a surprise attack on Juehua Island in western Liaoning, annihilated the Tatar garrison on the island, and then threatened Ningyuan. The Tatars in western Liaoning were frightened overnight and desperately mobilized troops and horses to reinforce Ningyuan. However, Shen Tingyang did not
To attack this important fortress town, they were bluffing and pretending to attack Ningyuan, but in reality they sent troops and horses to land on other coastal areas in western Liaoning by boat, and divided them into several small groups to attack and plunder.
By the time the Tatars were fighting fires everywhere, and even mobilized troops from Shanhaiguan and the Mongolian ministries in the north, Shen Tingyang had already piled up a lot of loot on Juehua Island. After the Tatar auxiliary prince Heshuo Chengze arrived in Ningyuan and took charge,
Shen Tingyang also began to evacuate.
After leaving a small force on Juehua Island, Shen Tingyang went to Liaodong again.
The navy carried the land combat troops to Lianyun Island on the coast of Gaizhou. This island covers an area of about 6,000 acres. It is also called Lianyin Island because of the perennial clouds over the island. It is surrounded by the sea on one side and a river on three sides.
Mountains control the rivers and seas, and the land controls the borders and dangerous passes. It has always been dangerous.
It is said that Li Shimin stationed troops here during his eastern campaign against Goguryeo.
For the Ming army with its navy, this was naturally the first choice.
There were a small number of Tatar officers and soldiers stationed on the island, as well as official villages, villages, etc. Shen Tingyang made a large-scale landing. Although the Tatars resisted, the navy of the Ming army was not a fishing boat or a merchant ship, but a specialized gunboat.
, a top-notch double-decker gunboat with more than thirty artillery pieces, including more than a dozen red cannons.
Several large and small gunboats approached and fired a broadside salvo. The defense line established by the Tatars on the shore collapsed. The troop carriers sent the infantry to the shore. There was no need for a beach landing. They could just do it under the cover of artillery fire.
Easily go ashore and establish a position, just push forward.
Although the Tatar soldiers are fierce, how many soldiers are there on this island?
A steady stream of Ming troops came down from the navy ships, and the musketrymen came up with volleys of guns, which even the Tatars in double armor could not withstand.
With such a dangerous island on the mainland, we can advance, attack, retreat or defend.
The Dragon King Temple, Fire Temple, Bixia Palace, Sea Temple, etc. on the island cannot protect the Tatars, just like they were unable to protect the Liaodong Han people on the island under the nose of Gaizhou Wei.
On the Lianyun Island Guanduntai, the main peak of the island that was originally set up by the Ming Dynasty, the flag of the Ming Dynasty was raised again.
In the hot summer, the grasshoppers on the island seem to be afraid of the might of the Ming army. They dare not scream loudly and only dare to chirp quietly. The island is busy. The Ming army is building docks, water fortresses, adding castles and fortresses, and building warehouses.
, I was even able to take some time off from my busy schedule to take care of the original fields on the island so that they would not be abandoned. I also replanted some of the previously uncultivated wasteland with fruits and vegetables.
"Sir, Geng Zhongming has led his troops to Gaizhou City to surround Gaizhou City. He and his own soldiers took a boat to the island to pay their respects!"
"Let's go and greet Admiral Geng!"
Because of the success of the war, the emperor specially appointed Shen Tingyang, the Minister of Household Affairs, as the governor and governor of Liaodong, admiral of military affairs and in charge of food and wages. Geng Zhongming, as the admiral of Liaodong, was naturally under his control.
Obviously, the imperial court originally recruited Geng Zhongming to surrender, but it was not sure that he would follow the imperial court sincerely. Even if it sent the navy, it would just be to harass him. But now the progress is unexpectedly good, so the imperial court will naturally strengthen its efforts here.
Strength to contain and mobilize more Qing troops.
When Shen Tingyang became governor of Liaodong, he was given the title of co-organizer, so he could be called a governor. The emperor also sent some additional troops to Shen Tingyang, and even stirred up the chaos in the coastal areas of Hebei.
Zhang Guozhu, Gao Jinzhong, Li Chengdong, Zhang Tianlu and other generals were transferred over.
These guys, like Tu Guobao, also showed their prowess on the coast of Hebei and were very capable of causing destruction. Not only did they raid many places one after another, they also recruited strong men everywhere, and soon they each claimed to have tens of thousands of troops.
Zhu Yihai asked the navy to assist them in their withdrawal, temporarily resettling some of them in the Bohai Islands and other places, and then transferred them to Liaodong to continue their destruction.
The Daqing River connects the outer island to the sea, and the Ni River separates the island from the mainland of Gaizhou.
Shen Tingyang greeted him at the pier.
"The last general Geng Zhongming pays homage to Governor Shen!"
"Thank you for your hard work, General Geng. The weather is so hot."
"It's not hard, it's not hard."
Geng Zhongming was still very respectful when facing Shen Tingyang. Although he may not have taken this supervisor who came from a Chongming maritime merchant family in his heart, he had done enough on the surface.
In fact, Geng Zhongming and Shen Tingyang cannot be said to be strangers.
During the Tianqi period, the town of Dongjiang was opened. The Shen Tingyang family of Chongming was engaged in maritime transportation and had access to the Dongjiang River. Later, in the early years of Chongzhen, there were frequent visits to Denglai and the Dongjiang River. Shen Tingyang also used to transport money and aid to the Liao Dynasty for the imperial court. Later,
When Geng Kong and others rebelled, Shen also shipped supplies to the army.
Although the two parties have never dealt with each other directly before, they both know each other.
Now we meet on Lianyun Island in Gaizhou, which is a lucky chance.
"There are not many Tatars in Gaizhou, and my subordinates are sure to capture them."
Regarding the strategic deployment of Liaodong, Zhu Yihai, who came to the state, was actually constantly adjusting to adapt to the latest situation. At the beginning of the Northern Expedition, Zhu Yihai planned to ignore Liaodong and seize Dengzhou with all his strength.
The war progressed too smoothly, and Deng Lai was captured quickly, allowing Zhu Yihai to seek more. After the battle at Mulingguan, Zhu Yihai was under less pressure on Deng Lai, and the partial divisions such as Tu Guobao, Shen Tingyang, and Geng Zhongming also
If you achieve unexpected results, you will naturally have to increase your efforts.
Now Zhu Yihai is preparing to seize Denglai in the south, Lushun in the north, and Phi Island in the east, forming a joint maritime strategy.
After the first step is to land safely, the next step is to take Lushunkou.
Lushun's strategic location is very important. It connects with Denglai Haiphong to the south, defends the gateway to Beijing and Tianjin in the west, connects with foreign aid to North Korea in the east, and can also contain Liaodong Houjin in the north.
For Zhu Yihai, taking control of Denglai has torn apart the Central Plains defense line and threatened Beijing and Tianjin. And if he can capture Lushun again, the Tatars' Liaodong backyard will no longer be peaceful.
It can even threaten Beijing and Tianjin from both sides and blockade the Bohai Bay.
On the other hand, it can also support Geng Zhongming's retreat.
Lushun must be fought for, but now it is natural to go to the mouth of Liaohe River to meet Geng Zhongming and capture Gaizhou at the same time.
Haizhou is inland and can only be captured but not defended. However, Gaizhou must be attacked first and may even be defended for a period of time. After all, it is close to the sea and has the support of Lianyun Island.
