bullyxtreme Chapter 507 Ping Liao (1)
Chapter 507 Ping Liao (1)
Hu Zhan laughed and said, "No matter how bad they are, they are still soldiers. These rebels and the Korean Eight Banners soldiers who just surrendered, add up to nearly 60,000 people. With the elite soldiers from the three towns of our dynasty, with more flags, there are 200,000 people, which will scare Jirgalang half to death."
After he finished speaking, Hu Zhan came closer and whispered to Gao Jinku, "I heard that the court has already transferred the Prince of Nan'an to use the Zheng family's navy to transport the infantry to land in Lushun. The Qing court's defeat is already very obvious. Whether it is Huang Cheng and the Mongolian coalition forces or General Zhao's side, the Qing army can't stop them. Moreover, the three routes over there are closer to Shenyang than us. If we don't hurry up, I'm afraid we won't even be able to drink soup!"
Gao Jinku was startled and asked, "I haven't received any news that the court is going to land in Lushun. How did you know?"
Hu Zhan smiled smugly and said, "After all, I have been with His Majesty for so long, so I still have some connections. However, the military order from the court should reach us soon."
The more Gao Jinku thought about it, the more he felt that what Hu Zhan said made sense, so he immediately summoned Generals Liang Min and Yang Sanwu to discuss a quick march. As a result, the two men unanimously said that this should have been done earlier. It would be difficult to explain to the court if Bolo escaped. If they continued to drag their feet, they were afraid that the court would blame them in the future.
So Gao Jinku urgently ordered the entire army to prepare more flags, and used the Korean vassal army as the vanguard, claiming to have gathered 200,000 troops to attack Shenyang.
Although there were 60,000 Korean soldiers, except for the slightly stronger weapons of the Eight Banners of Korea, the weapons of the rebel army were very diverse. There were all kinds of weapons, including the standard equipment of the Qian army, the weapons of the Qing army, the weapons of the Joseon Dynasty, and even homemade wooden spears.
The equipment was not good, but there were so many people after all, and the Korean King Yi Hao was in the army. He still had some appeal to the people from all over Korea, so after Pyongyang moved north, all places surrendered.
Gao Jinku's troops, who were still in North Korea, advanced rapidly after Bolo escaped. They did not encounter any obstruction or resistance along the way. The Koreans along the way all welcomed the royal army with food and drink.
However, Zheng Chenggong in Gaizhou encountered trouble at this time.
After capturing Gaizhou, Zheng Chenggong continued to march north and easily conquered Haizhou City. He then continued his march without stopping, trying to capture Liaoyang, the last barrier blocking his way to Shenyang.
The one stationed in Liaoyang was still Gao Jinku's former opponent Zhu Shiyin. The last time Zhu Shiyin faced Gao Jinku, he had to abandon the city and flee because he had very few troops and was outnumbered. But this time, Zhu Shiyin received reinforcements, and he decided to defend Liaoyang to the death, giving the court an opportunity to defeat Qian's army under the city.
Jirgalang knew that if he wanted Meng Jun to give up the idea of completely destroying the Qing Dynasty, he had to hurt him. Only by letting Meng Jun see that if he wanted to destroy the Qing Dynasty, he had to lose a mouthful of teeth. Only in this way would the Jianzhou Jurchens have a way to survive.
The emperor could abdicate and could abandon the name of the Qing Dynasty, but Hetuala and the surrounding areas must be in the hands of the Jianzhou Jurchens. Only then would the Qing Dynasty have hope of starting over.
Therefore, after much thought and weighing the pros and cons, Jirgalang felt that only the Qian army that landed in Lushun was something the Qing Dynasty could currently handle.
Huang Cheng and the Twelve Allied Forces are all cavalry, coming and going like the wind. It is almost impossible to annihilate them. Zhao Yongping's troops are too large and have strong military strength. Even if all the troops of the Qing Dynasty were mobilized, they might not be able to defeat them. Gao Jinku is too far away and is out of reach.
Only Zheng Chenggong's army had just the right number of people, no more and no less than 20,000, and one of their towns was composed entirely of firearms soldiers. As for Zheng's infantry, Jirgalang believed that its combat effectiveness was not good, and most importantly, Baiyintu was not far from him!
Huang Cheng's army was composed entirely of cavalry. Jirgalang would not dare to let Mandahai and Suksaha withdraw their troops easily. If they were not careful, Huang Cheng could rush straight to Shengjing. Most of Zhao Yongping's troops were infantry. As long as some troops were left on the Ningjin defense line to delay Zhao Yongping, the Qing Dynasty could take advantage of the disadvantage to create a time difference and destroy all the Qian troops.
Although this would mean the complete loss of the Ningjin Defense Line, the lesser of two evils should be chosen. This was already a chance for the Qing Dynasty to gain a slight advantage in its last battle.
Jirgalang could not help but sigh to the sky and said, "Master Fan, you are really a talented person!"
The second year of Zhaowu, September, 12th day.
Zheng Chenggong and Yu Youtian approached the city of Liaoyang and launched a fierce attack for two consecutive days with roaring artillery and rain of arrows. However, the walls of Liaoyang were strong and Zhu Shiyin received reinforcements, which increased his confidence. He repelled the attacks time and time again, which made Zheng Chenggong extremely angry.
At this time, Yu Youtian persuaded Zheng Chenggong again, saying: "Liaoyang is fortified, and there are still heavy Qing troops in the Ningjin area. We are already alone in the deep. It is better to postpone the siege and retreat to Haizhou first to wait for the friendly forces to join us."
Zheng Chenggong was extremely angry at this time. His navy was rampant on the sea and no one could defeat it, but the infantry was so weak. So after the failure of the siege on the third day, Zheng Chenggong killed more than 400 soldiers who retreated and issued a strict order that anyone who retreated without hearing the order would be executed.
Seeing that Zheng Chenggong would not stop fighting until Liaoyang was conquered, Yu Youtian felt a little uneasy. Yu Youtian was known as a lucky general in the Qian army. He had experienced so many big and tough battles, but only this time did Yu Youtian feel panic and uneasy.
But Zheng Chenggong was the commander, and he decided how to fight. Yu Youtian could not change his mind. After another failed persuasion, Yu Youtian returned to the camp and could not help but complain: "You are stubborn and willful. Whether I followed General Lin or General Zhao, I have never felt so frustrated today!"
Ma Sanxi asked doubtfully: "General, isn't the situation very good? Why do you always ask General Zheng to withdraw his troops? If it were me, I wouldn't withdraw either."
Yu Youtian cursed, "You know nothing. We are alone in deep territory now. If we wait any longer, the other three armies will arrive. You must take risks. Oh my god! I am so pissed off!"
The more Yu Youtian thought about it, the more uneasy he became, so he ordered the scouts in the army to investigate the Qing army in the Ningjin area. Yu Youtian was now afraid that the Qing army would take advantage of the army's siege to attack from behind. If they were attacked by cavalry, only one-fifth of the Zheng family's soldiers and his own firearms soldiers could escape, which would be a blessing from their ancestors.
Just as Zheng Chenggong's army was preparing to attack the city with all their might, an unexpected event occurred: Baiyintu led 20,000 cavalrymen and tried to sneak up on Zheng Chenggong and attack the Qian army from behind.
Fortunately, the news was passed back by the scouts of the Qian army at the risk of their lives. Zheng Chenggong was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Yu Youtian was right. But Zheng Chenggong did not dare to hesitate. It might be too late to withdraw to the camp now. So Zheng Chenggong urgently ordered the army to form a tight formation on the spot, to fully cover Yu Youtian's firearms town, trying to repel the Qing army with firearms.
Now the army was under attack from both sides. Zheng Chenggong had some understanding of the strength of his own infantry. He could not capture Liaoyang in front and there was a cavalry raid in the rear. He was attacked from both sides and the situation was extremely critical.