Chapter 270 Tartars are the best at this kind of thing
On October 16th of the 17th year of Chongzhen, it was also the fourth day after Zuo Liangyu was assassinated by Zhu Shuren's rebel general. In Nanyang County, the seat of Nanyang Prefecture, Zhu Shuren himself had arrived in person after a long journey and began to inspect the defense.
During this period of time, Zhu Shuren had thoroughly understood the latest trends of Duduo and Azig and the severe situation facing the Nanming army. He also knew how much trouble he had encountered, which was even more severe than during the same period in history.
Therefore, when he was patrolling the city, his eyes were very solemn, and it could be seen that he was still struggling and hesitating in his mind.
Nanyang is located in a basin and lacks a water network to defend. After the mountain pass on the edge of the basin was taken away by Azig, even if he wanted to order his troops to defend various places, he would still face the risk of being surrounded by Qing troops. This is really not the case.
A good deal.
Most of the accompanying generals and staff have not dared to make random suggestions to the Governor-General in the past two days, but they have already had an idea in their minds. It is estimated that the Governor-General will eventually choose to abandon Nanyang Mansion again and evacuate the soft materials across the Han Dynasty.
Water, confronting the Qing army across the Han River.
Zhu Shuren silently inspected the city wall twice. It could be seen that he inspected it very seriously. He even carefully checked the texture of the bricks and the new and old color of the rammed earth in every place.
When he came across areas where the bricks had fallen off, he took out an iron awl that he had brought with him today and inserted it into the wall soil with his own hands to verify the tightness.
This posture makes people wonder: Could it be that the governor really intends to defend Nanyang County? The imperial court has urged him several times to send troops back to rescue Nanjing!
Now that Yangzhou has been lost, the city of Nanjing relies on the Yangtze River to block Duduo. Although the Yangtze River's natural moat can block Duduo for a long time, it keeps holding on for fear of something unexpected happening!
Gu Yanwu, one of the staff, did not understand military strategy, but was just anxious, so he used the words of justice to persuade Zhu Shuren to make up his mind as soon as possible:
"Sir, your name of loyalty is known to everyone in the world, not to mention that it is your father-in-law... Who is more important or less important is known to everyone in the world. You have taught the Ministry of History not to care about the gains and losses of a city or a place. How can you know when things are coming?
, but the authorities are confused?”
Zhu Shuren sighed incomprehensibly, but did not explain much. He only said that Gu Yanwu did not know how to fight, and he could not understand the complexity of this matter.
Gu Yanwu was so familiar with him that it was useless to talk to him, and people who were more distant from him became even more silent.
Fortunately, during today's defense inspection of the city, there was also a border official who had come from afar to follow Zhu Shuren. It was none other than Zhang Huangyan of Sichuan Bingdao.
Zhang Huangyan had been in Sichuan. He was chasing and intercepting Li Zicheng a while ago. When Zhu Shuren sent people from the west to intercept Li Zicheng, Zhang Huangyan brought Fang Guoan and some people from the Kuidong Thirteenth Family.
In the end, Zhang Huangyan was lucky. The troops he led, because they were the best at mountain warfare, happened to intercept Li Zicheng at Wollongong in Longzhong.
Although Li Zicheng finally committed suicide and was not captured alive, and only got a pile of blackened bones, he was able to capture Song Xiance alive. With this credit, Zhang Huangyan will probably be able to gain enough qualifications to be promoted to another level this time.
.
After Li Zicheng died, because the defense in Sichuan was not urgent, but Huguang became more and more anxious because of Azige's southward movement, Zhang Huangyan's troops could not leave, and they came out of Sichuan to help the battle on the spot.
Since he was closer to me, he was not afraid of saying the wrong thing, so he stepped over his servants and started admonishing: "What Brother Tinglin said is not unreasonable. My dear brother, why don't you listen to it and you will understand."
Zhu Shuren waved his hand and asked the others to step back dozens of steps. Only Zhang Huangyan and Gu Yanwu were left. Only then did he organize his thoughts, pointed at the city defense, and said:
"Only by seeking peace through war can we win peace. If we seek peace purely by showing weakness, we will be pressed by the enemy step by step. When the time comes, we will have fewer troops to draw away——
Why is it said that to defend the Yangtze River, one must defend the Huaihe River since ancient times? It is because the Yangtze River is long and can be crossed everywhere. The defending side cannot set up defenses thousands of miles away. There are always empty places. If a loophole is caught and an enemy army crosses the south of the Yangtze River, there will be a big chaos.
Therefore, the hub estuaries connecting Jianghuai and Jianghan must be blocked to ensure that ships from the north cannot sail into the Yangtze River through Hangou, Hanshui and other rivers. In this way, only a few points need to be defended, instead of being fortified everywhere thousands of miles away.
Today we "defend the river and we must defend the Han" is the same principle. Even if we give up the entire Nanyang Prefecture and surrender the Han River, can we ensure long-term safety and prevent Azig from crossing the Han River? If things change over time, he will be caught.
What about the gap?
Li Zicheng's successful forcible crossing before was due to my deliberate design to release the water. But even if the water was not released, if the two armies were in a stalemate for a month, two months, or even longer, Li Zicheng himself would have been able to find an opening. As for the bandit troops and horses, previously
After several battles and defeats, their morale was depleted. They felt that they had fallen into a trap, and then they were bitten by Li Dingguo and defeated by Cao Bianjiao in one blow.
And if it is the Eight Banners cavalry, even after they cross the river, we will immediately re-establish the defense of the Han River and prevent the backup from sneaking through. With the terrifying ability of the Eight Banners cavalry to fight, they can completely rely on their own tens of thousands of troops without reinforcements or supplies.
Horses roamed all the prefectures of Jianghan and Han Dynasty.
If I don't have enough troops left in Jianghan by then, let alone keeping Azig, it would be good if I don't get completely ruined by him.
The Tatar soldiers and horses, in those days, even regarded the Great Wall as nothing. They could enter and rob the pass at will, and no one could stop them.
I can deal with it, but after I leave, the partial troops I leave behind may not be able to do so, and even General Cao Bianjiao may not be able to stop this on his own."
Zhang Huangyan also knows soldiers. After being reminded by Zhu Shuren, he also realized that the Xiangyang Hanshui defense line was indeed not easy to hold——
In the Southern Song Dynasty, Lu Wende defended Xiangyang City for seven years under the fierce attack of the Mongolian army. However, during those seven years, Xiangyang City was actually completely surrounded by land.
For a long time, the Southern Song Dynasty army could only rely on its naval superiority to transport military supplies to the two cities of Xiangfan from the Han River. In other words, the entire Jianghan Plain between the Han River and the Yangtze River in the Song Dynasty had been invaded by the Tatars.
The land that can be actually controlled is mainly the land south of the Yangtze River such as Wuchang and Ezhou.
Therefore, if you really plan to defend Xiangyang, you must be mentally prepared for the other lands on both sides of the Han River to be completely invaded. In the end, the Southern Dynasties can only rely on the Han River waterway to communicate with the defenders in the city, and the vast plains outside the city will be lost.
Zhu Shuren has been operating in Huguang for many years. Whether it is Jingzhou Prefecture or Xiangyang Prefecture, a large area of successful and prosperous land cannot be lost.
In this way, the choice is readily apparent - if he wants to completely defend the Han River, he must leave an isolated city north of the Han River. This isolated city must be along the banks of the Baihe River, the main tributary on the north side of the Han River, so that he can block the Tatars.
The ships collected by Zi in the hinterland of Nanyang Prefecture entered the Han River from the Baihe River. In this way, as long as they guard this point, they can prevent the enemy from crossing the river.
Just like guarding Xiangyang, it is not to prevent enemy ships from entering the Han River from the upper reaches. It is only used to "block the enemy's path along the Han River through Xiangyang and then merge into the Yangtze River" to ensure that there are not a large number of enemy ships in the main stream of the Yangtze River.
Since ancient times, the key points in the battle between the north and the south have all been based on this principle of military art. Defending Hefei is not to prevent the two sides of the Feishui River from falling, but to prevent enemy ships from entering the Yangtze River from the Huai River through the Feishui River. The same principle applies to defending Huaiyin and Shouchun.
In this case, if the enemy from the north wants to cross the river, they will have to temporarily collect ships after arriving on the north bank of the Yangtze River. However, the defending side will obviously take away all the civilian ships in advance to ensure that no ship can be found on the north bank. In this way, the Northern Army will
Ships must be built on the north bank of the river, and you must have facilities and shipyards to build ships. If you delay it for days and months, it will not be completed at all, and the fighter plane will be lost.
"So, Brother Xian plans to push the defense line forward and let Nanyang County play the role of Xiangyang in the late Song Dynasty, so that the Tatars can go from 'ships can only enter the Han River but not the Yangtze River' to 'they can only enter the Baihe River'
And cannot enter the Han River'.
As for the other vast areas of Nanyang Prefecture that are not dangerous and cannot be defended, they still have to leave it to the Tatars. They only defend this most dangerous county and only ensure the strategic goal of blocking the Baihe River. The defenders here have to let the enemy attack
siege?"
Zhu Shuren nodded: "Yes, that's what I think, but the Manchu Tatars are more difficult to deal with than the Mongolian Tatars back then. When the Mongolian Tatars didn't respond with artillery, Lu Wende could still hold on for so many years. With that,
After returning the artillery, the Song army was quickly outnumbered.
Today's Manchu and Qing Tatars have red barbarian cannons. According to the military information I have found, although the Azigh road is far less valued by Dorgon than the Duduo road, and the red barbarian cannons they are equipped with are not as good as those of Duoduo.
There are many roads in Doduo, but there are still at least thirty or forty doors.
You must not underestimate the Tatars. The Tatars attach great importance to cannon casting. The number of Hongyi cannons in the country is probably more than 200! This is the number before they entered the customs. Now they have to add the number left by the late emperor.
Those inventories seized in Beijing!
And I need at least a civil servant who is not afraid of death, and some generals to defend Nanyang County for a winter, and maybe longer. Only in this way can I have enough time to deal with Duduo all the way.
The water volume of Baihe River is shallow and narrow, and it is located to the north. It may freeze during the twelfth lunar month. At that time, all foreign aid will be completely cut off in the city. There will be no waterway available, and even the news may not be sent out. Unless someone is extremely determined, it is difficult to make a decision.
The power is so strong."
Having said this, Zhang Huangyan could also see that his cousin was worried, fearing that others would be shaken if they were trapped in the isolated city this winter.
Then what else can he say? He can only take the initiative to ask for help: "In that case, our brothers, what else can we say? Let me sit in Nanyang City and be surrounded by Azige for the whole winter."
Zhu Shuren also knew Zhang Huangyan's loyalty. In history, Zhang Huangyan could echo Zheng Chenggong's resistance to the Qing Dynasty, and fought along the coast of Zhoushan Islands for nearly twenty years without surrendering. What's more, today's Ming emperor has replaced his cousin's father-in-law, and Zhang Huangyan is even more so.
The motivation is to be loyal to the Ming Dynasty to the end.
But Zhu Shuren still wanted to remind him: "Things are not that simple. You certainly have the courage to fight to the end and never surrender.
But if the news is cut off, for example, in the first month of the year, Azig sends people to persuade you to surrender, telling you that the city of Nanjing has been breached, and it will be useless for you to defend it. You have been loyal to the Ming Dynasty to the last moment, and you can still escape.
Do you want to keep your military morale unwavering?
For another example, if Azige sends someone to tell you, because he has cut off the connection between Nanyang County and the rear, he has successfully spread false news, making the court mistakenly think that you have surrendered, and also dealt with your family members, and you have to
How to prevent military morale from being unstable?
The Tatars have been doing this kind of thing of intercepting and killing scouts and messengers and spreading false news for more than ten years, starting from the time of Yuan Chonghuan. They are very professional."
When Zhang Huangyan heard this, he couldn't help but laugh and patted his chest: "In this case, it is more and more time for me to be trapped in Nanyang County. Brother Xian, are you embarrassed to order us and deliberately lure me to say it myself?"
Among all the civil and military officials in Huguang, besides me, who else can have such mutual trust with my dear brother and your majesty? My relatives are my dear brother’s relatives. How could I believe that my dear brother and your majesty would mistakenly think that I have surrendered to the enemy and punish my family?
What? Will my dear brother deal with your own mother’s natal family?
How can I possibly believe that Duduo can attack Nanjing City? As long as you bring back the main force of Huguang, Brother Xian, Duduo will be defeated. Brother Yu has this confidence."
Zhu Shuren sighed: "Okay, we have determination and mutual trust, but to defend Nanyang County, we need to pay attention to some skills."