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The first land transport battle was a victory, but what was obtained was a Dangshan City burned down by fire.
Dangshan was just a small and dilapidated county, and most of the people had fled, so burning it would not have caused much impact. However, given this precedent, there was no guarantee that the Qing army would not set fire to other counties when they retreated in the future.
In the wilderness south of the city, 90,000 troops set up camp. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, countless tents stretched for 20 miles. There were large numbers of visible and hidden sentries scattered around the periphery. Between the camps, horses galloped and people spoke in a noisy voice.
Smoke rose from the camp as the firemen increased the fire in a hurry to prepare dinner.
Meng Ke, still in his armor, stood in front of the central army tent, staring at the large flag with the Chinese character "Qin" on it. The flag did not move.
There was not a breath of wind in the air, and the sun was about to set, but there was no hint of coolness as it should have been. The weather was so hot and humid that it was making people feel uncomfortable.
At the camp gate, Yan Yingyuan rode in with a few of his personal soldiers, dismounted in front of the tent and bowed to Meng Ke: "General, I see from the weather that it will rain heavily tonight."
"Well, let's go into the tent and talk." Meng Ke turned around and went into the tent first.
Yan Yingyuan had a sturdy body, prominent eyebrows, thin and long curved eyes, a red face and a beard. He was quite similar to the martial saint Guan Yu described in books. He looked intimidating without being angry.
He followed her into the tent and continued, "General, on the way here, I took a careful look and found that the ants were all moving to higher places, there were more mosquitoes than usual, and dragonflies were flying low in groups. In addition, the weather was hot and windless. These phenomena are enough to indicate that heavy rain will come. General, this is quite disadvantageous to our army."
It was very unfavorable. The Qing army was hiding in Shangqiu City, and the heavy rain had little impact on them. But if the rain continued, the Qin army would have difficulty even marching.
Meng Ke clearly remembered that a few years ago, Sun Chuanting went out of Guanzhong to attack Li Zicheng. At the beginning, he won many victories and forced Li Zicheng to flee. However, when Sun Chuanting was chasing the enemy, it rained for seven consecutive days, which led to the lack of logistics and morale, and he was finally defeated in Jiaxian.
"There are always unexpected events," Meng Ke sighed, and then shouted to the messenger outside the tent, "Come here, tell all camps to cover their food and military supplies, especially to prevent gunpowder from getting wet. Also, gather everyone to the central army tent for discussion."
After a cup of tea, Su Jin, Hui Dengxiang, Jin Shenghuan, Hu Shouliang, Guo Yunlong, Qin Zuoming, Qin Zuoming, Niu Wanchuan and others all rushed to the central army tent.
Everyone was a tough guy. Meng Ke said directly: "In the next few days, it is very likely to rain heavily. We must be prepared. As a general, we must make good use of the weather and turn disadvantages into advantages, so as to defeat the enemy and win. If it really rains heavily for several days, how do you think we can turn disadvantages into advantages?"
The generals were silent for a while. Qin Zuoming was the first to clasp his fists and say, "General, if it rains for several days in a row, my 100,000 infantry and cavalry will be unable to move. The Qing army knows this and will definitely relax their vigilance. However, heavy rain has little impact on sailing. I think if we can mobilize a batch of ships for transporting troops, tens of thousands of our troops can go north through the Yellow River. The divine army descended from the sky and suddenly besieged Shangqiu City."
Meng Ke shook his head and said, "If it's a few thousand people, it's fine, but to transport tens of thousands of troops. Firstly, it's difficult for us to mobilize so many ships quickly, and secondly, such a large movement cannot be concealed from the enemy."
Qin Zuoming continued, "Grand Commander, the grain transport ship escorted by the navy will arrive in Xuzhou tomorrow. Let them unload the grain in Xuzhou first. Then the ship will be ready. Besides, even if we cannot hide it from the enemy, we have no defense. With the navy escorting us, the enemy can do nothing to us. In the end, they can only watch us approach Shangqiu."
Qin Zuoming's strategy was indeed feasible. This time the main army was marching northward along the Yellow River, and food and fodder were mainly transported by water. After the grain ships were unloaded, they could indeed be used as troop transport ships. However, even if all the grain ships in Xuzhou were mobilized, they could only transport 20,000 to 30,000 troops at a time.
Even if 30,000 troops could reach Shangqiu safely, could they trap Duoduo? If they were not careful, they would be taken advantage of by the enemy.
Su Jin said: "General, if it really rains heavily and the roads are muddy, this is the only strategy that can quickly advance to Shangqiu City. If 30,000 infantry can reach Shangqiu City by water, then tens of thousands of cavalry can advance quickly with light equipment to cooperate with them. It is not a bad idea."
Meng Ke said firmly: "No, your ideas are based on the premise that the enemy does not move. In the past two years, our army has won great victories one after another. It seems that you have underestimated the enemy. I warn you again that Duoduo and Ning Wan are not easy to deal with. You must not think that the enemy is stupider than us, otherwise it will ruin the Northern Expedition.
In my opinion, Duoduo has been waiting for our army to split up. Once our army splits up, he will definitely not sit and wait for us to besiege him. He has been patient for so long, and this is related to the survival of the Qing Dynasty. He will definitely seize every opportunity and strike to the death. "
Meng Ke's words could be said to have hit the nail on the head for everyone. Indeed, starting from the Battle of Hanyang, the successive victories against the Qing army had made everyone underestimate the enemy.
Everyone stood up as if they had been scolded, clasped their fists and said, "The Grand Commander is right."
"It is still unknown whether the rain will fall or how long it will last, so I will not risk dividing my troops before a foolproof plan is in place. You should think of another plan."
Niu Wanchuan said: "Grand Commander, we are mainly infantry, while Duoduo is mainly cavalry. It is not a good idea for us to keep an eye on Duoduo and be passive everywhere. I think it is better to lead the army to take Shandong.
Now the Qing army is extremely weak in Shandong. Even Dongfang Sheng has made great achievements and captured Xintai and Laiwu. Grand Commander, if we let the cavalry act alone and give full play to their mobility, they can suddenly rush into Shandong and capture a big city like Jinan Prefecture. You can also take Duoduo with you. "
Qin Mu did not interfere too much in how the battle was fought. It was all up to the commander-in-chief Meng Ke to decide based on the actual situation at the front. Since the expedition, Meng Ke had kept tens of thousands of cavalrymen tied up and did not let them act alone. Niu Wanchuan was probably a little dissatisfied with Meng Ke's overly cautious approach.
In the previous major battles, Qin Mu was in charge of them personally. He used his troops in a way that was "odd", which meant taking risks. Cavalry and infantry were always used separately. This made the cavalry appear very free and flexible.
Now Meng Ke's style is completely different from Qin Mu's. He focuses on "righteousness" in employing troops, which makes people feel a little old-fashioned. It is inevitable that Niu Wanchuan and others feel a little uncomfortable.
Meng Ke understood their feelings very well. In order to better rally the troops, he explained: “General Niu, in this Northern Expedition, each army has a different purpose. Whether it is the Central Army or the Western Army, or Huo Sheng and Li Guo, their main goal is to capture cities and plunder land.
We are just the opposite. Our main task is to seek a decisive battle with the main force of the Qing army and destroy the enemy's living forces, not to capture as many cities as possible. Our strategic goal has been achieved. The task of conquering cities and plundering land will be completed by other armies. Do you understand
The Jinan Prefecture you mentioned is also a strategic town and can threaten Yanjing to the north, but its location is slightly off to a corner, which is not conducive to the cooperation between our main army and Huo Sheng and Li Guo, and it is easy to be defeated by the enemy.
Kaifeng is located in the heart of the Central Plains, and the Qing army would never give it up. Otherwise, with our 100,000 troops stationed in the heart, we could separate Yanjing from Lekedehun in Heluo, and the enemy would have nowhere to defend the entire south of the Yellow River.
Now the main force of our army is targeting Kaifeng, which will not only help us cooperate with Huo Sheng and Li Guo, but will also force Duoduo to fight a decisive battle with us."
After listening to Meng Ke's explanation, Niu Wanchuan and others were convinced. Just as Meng Ke analyzed, Jinan was indeed slightly off the beaten track compared to Kaifeng. If Kaifeng could be taken, the strategic ties between Huaibei, Heluo and even Shandong and Yanjing would be cut off.
It can be said that a stab to the enemy's heart will immediately paralyze all of his limbs.
For the 100,000 Qin troops, the possibility of holding Kaifeng after taking it was almost 100%, because they had the support of the people and the local summer grain was ready to be harvested.
With 100,000 infantry and cavalry, even if they fought a field battle with the entire strength of the Qing army, they would have a great chance of winning, and defending the city of Kaifeng would naturally not be a problem.
As they were discussing, a gust of north wind suddenly blew up, making the big tent crackle. Soon, the tent door became completely dark, as if the night had arrived early. Raindrops as big as beans poured down... ... ... ..
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ps: Please give me a monthly ticket, please give me a monthly ticket!
.(To be continued..)
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