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The news of the Sizhou battle spread quickly back to Jinling. Qin Mu set up a combat command center in the side hall of the palace, and the scene inside was tense and busy.
Based on the information that came in continuously, Jiang Yihan, Xu Wenchang and others, deputy ministers of the Ministry of War, marked the situation of both sides on the sand table.
After Duoduo's 80,000-man army marched south to Fengyang, they suddenly turned eastward to attack Sizhou and Xuyi. For the Qing army, this was a very good first move.
Naval warfare was the Qing army's weakness. If Duoduo's move was successful, he would first be able to use the two gates of Sizhou and Xuyi to block the Huaihe River waterway, thus avoiding the hidden danger of the retreat being cut off by the Qin army.
Once Sizhou and Xuyi are captured, they can advance eastward from the south bank of Hongze Lake to attack Huai'an, and then head south to Gaoyou and Yangzhou.
The lifeline between the Qin army's rear and Huai'an was the Grand Canal, and the transportation of war materials and troops was mainly completed by the Grand Canal;
Once Duoduo captured Gaoyou, the Grand Canal would be cut off, and Huai'an, a large city with heavy military garrisons, would become an isolated island, most likely to fall without a fight.
Duoduo's move to attack Sizhou can be said to have avoided the Qing army's weakness in naval warfare to the greatest extent, and also seized the strategic advantage of conquering Huaiyang to the greatest extent. It can be said to be playing to one's strengths and avoiding one's weaknesses, avoiding the real and attacking the fake.
Duoduo is indeed a man who has experienced many battles. His vision alone cannot be underestimated.
Of course, the prerequisite is that Duoduo can take Sizhou.
As far as Qin Mu knew, in the original history, Sizhou sank to the bottom of Hongze Lake during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, becoming an eastern Pompeii. But before that, Sizhou had always been an important hub city in the Huaiyang area.
It controls the Huai River in the south and the Bian River in the north. It is the throat of the Central Plains and the key point between the north and the south. Its political, economic, cultural and military status is very important. During the Tang and Song dynasties, the royal grain was transferred here. Groups of ships anchored here and then went directly to Kaifeng and Luoyang along the Bian River.
In the Ming Dynasty, Sizhou was not only the location of the Ming ancestral tombs, but also a must-pass place on the north-south waterway leading to the Zhongdu Fengyang Prefecture.
Yu Dayou stood beside the sand table and said with some worry: "King Qin, the city of Sizhou is only 25 feet high and only 2 miles wide from north to south. Duoduo has concentrated 70,000 troops and hundreds of large and small artillery to attack the city. The situation in Sizhou is not optimistic.
What is more worrying is Xuyi. The wall is short and the city is small. Moreover, there are only 4,000 defenders. Under the fierce attack of Aobai's 10,000 troops, it is even more precarious. Once Xuyi is lost, Aobai can go straight to Tianchang and force his troops to Gaoyou and Yangzhou.
I suggest that 20,000 troops be withdrawn from Huai'an, and another 10,000 troops be withdrawn from Ningyuan in Yangzhou to attack Aobai together. If the 10,000 Qing troops on the south bank of the Huai River can be annihilated, Duoduo's offensive will be broken."
Qin Mu stared at the sand table, shook his head and said, "The war has just begun, so there is no need to be too nervous, lest we lose our composure. According to intelligence, the 10,000 troops of Aobai on the south bank are all cavalry, and they only carry two red cannons;
From this we can see that his attack on Xuyi was just a matter of convenience. Once our army targeted him and attempted to encircle him from all sides, he would definitely rely on the strong mobility of his cavalry to defeat us from all directions.
Therefore, it is enough to let Huai'an reinforce Xuyi by water, and the troops in Yangzhou on the southern line should not be moved. If Aobai uses these 10,000 elite cavalry to attack the city, we will accompany him to the end. Even if Xuyi is lost in the end, as long as we can consume a large number of his 10,000 cavalry under the city of Xuyi, we will win. "
Qin Mu had been fighting wars for many years and his strategic vision was much better than before. He immediately saw Duoduo's intention of placing Aobai's 10,000 cavalry on the south bank of the Huai River. This army was definitely not intended to attack Xuyi, but to fight reinforcements.
Once the Qin army was fooled and mobilized, the power of these 10,000 elite cavalry could be brought into play, and they could attack in all directions and defeat the enemy on all fronts.
Now, Qin Mu responded to all changes with the same strategy, and only sent reinforcements to Xuyi from Huai'an via Hongze Lake. Then, the 10,000-strong army of Aobai would have no chance to take advantage of the situation, and the so-called raid would be out of the question.
If his 10,000 cavalrymen dared to advance 300 miles and reach the Yangzhou area, then would be the time to encircle and annihilate him. Qin Mu believed that no matter how powerful Aobai was, he would not take such a risky move.
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "What I am worried about is the enemy's spies. Looking at the history of the Qing Dynasty, whether it was the Battle of Sarhu, the Battle of Liaoyang, the Battle of Songshan, or the invasion of the Shanhai Pass, spies were almost always the leaders, or at least played a key role in them. They are very skilled at this, and there is no reason for Duoduo not to use it this time."
In fact, in Qin Mu's history of making a fortune, the Battle of Yuanzhou, the Battle of Changsha, the capture of Xiangyang, the capture of Nanjing, etc., all relied on the outstanding performance of the Fifth Column. This is similar to the Qing Dynasty, which basically relied on the Fifth Column to get started.
Therefore, Qin Mu was particularly sensitive to the word "spy".
Sima An glanced at him and said, "Even though the war has already begun, there are still a large number of refugees from the north fleeing south, and the Qing army seems to have never made any effort to stop them. With so many refugees fleeing south, it is very easy for the Qing army to infiltrate some of them."
He Liang frowned and said thoughtfully, "However, the total number of refugees who have fled southward has reached 400,000 to 500,000. It is like looking for a needle in a haystack to identify the Qing army spies among them. This is simply impossible."
Gu Jun'en said: "The refugees in front have been organized into groups according to their households to build water conservancy projects. In order to prevent spies from inside, we can adopt the law of collective responsibility, so that the refugees can supervise each other to prevent someone from fanning the flames and inciting rebellion.
As for those who have recently fled south, they will not be allowed to enter the city. All states and counties are ordered to conduct strict inspections, especially important ports, which must be strictly guarded. Our military's logistics supply depends entirely on water routes. If the ships are destroyed, the consequences will be unpredictable. "
Qin Mu nodded and said, "Move Su Jin's 5,000 cavalry to Jiangbei. Once there is an alarm, reinforce them with cavalry and put it out quickly."
For now, this is the only way. The Jianghuai area is so vast that it is impossible to stop all refugees from fleeing south. We can only take key protection measures and strengthen our mobile rescue capabilities to cope with it.
Gu Jun'en continued, "King Qin, Duoduo has concentrated his troops in Sizhou on the eastern front. Our army cannot just defend without attacking. I suggest that we let Governor Meng and Governor Li on the western front attack together and attack Shouzhou along the Fei River to the north. In this way, Duoduo will have a hard time staying at peace while defending in the east and attacking in the west."
Meng Ke originally led an army of 20,000 to capture Luzhou, and later received another 10,000 reinforcements, bringing the total number of troops in Luzhou to 30,000.
As for Huoshan, Li Guo brought his 20,000 troops from Xiangyang to garrison.
Currently stationed in Shouzhou is the Qing general Meile Ezhen Ashan, who has a force of about 12,000.
However, in Fengyang, a hundred miles to the east, another Mele Ezhen Ahanikan had more than 20,000 troops.
If Meng Ke went north to attack Shouzhou, Ahanikan of Fengyang would definitely go to reinforce him.
In terms of military strength, Meng Ke and his men did not have a great advantage. Moreover, the distance from Luzhou to Shouzhou was more than 200 miles, and this logistics line was flat, making it difficult to guarantee against a surprise attack by the Qing army.
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, "We have to slow down the western front for a while. Li Guo's 20,000 troops have just arrived from Xiangyang and must be extremely tired. It is not appropriate for them to go north now. Let's wait a while..."
Qin Mu pondered and decided that it would be better not to lose his composure at this moment.
The reason why Shouzhou became a battleground for military strategists was that it was located in the upper reaches of the Huai River, guarding the main road going south on the side of Bagua Mountain in the north and controlling the Huainan Plain area in the south.
The Qin army would have to cross a plain area of two or three hundred miles to attack it, which would be very costly.
Even if Meng Ke and Li Guo were fully deployed, with 50,000 troops against 30,000, one attacking and one defending, it would not be an advantage. If they were defeated, it would be difficult to withdraw when the division was old and the soldiers were tired.
Let’s just waste some time. If Duoduo wants to attack, let him attack. A siege is a war of attrition. Let’s see who can’t afford it first.
Of course, simply defending is not a solution, so where is the best point of attack
Qin Mu's eyes wandered around the sand table, and finally fell on the Yellow River. The Yellow River turned southeast from Yifeng on the east side of Kaifeng, and flowed through Guide (Shangqiu), Xuzhou, and Suqian into Hongze Lake.
Xuzhou is known as the thoroughfare of five provinces, the key to the north and the gateway to the south, and a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. It is also an important steel production base in the Central Plains.
Qin Mu stared at Xuzhou on the sand table for a long time. There are not many Qing troops in Xuzhou at present. Can he draw out some elite troops, concentrate a large number of artillery, and use the advantages of the navy to quickly capture Suqian and Xuzhou
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.(To be continued..)
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