Chapter 292 Arrival

The Donglu wars against the Ming Dynasty have always been known for their speed. The first four times when they entered the pass, they should cooperate with each other internally and externally to understand the context of the Ming Dynasty. Each time they advanced with fine cavalry, the Ming Dynasty was unable to defend itself.

But the way of war will change as the situation changes.

Jiannu fought against the Ming Dynasty, mainly to weaken the Ming court and seize resources. Pay attention to speed and avoid procrastination.

Especially the war between the early slaves and the Ming Dynasty was the most vivid. After the founding of Huangtaiji, Jiannu gradually became more powerful, and only then did they face the Ming Dynasty.

But even so, they always retreat when things are good, and withdraw their troops if they are slightly damaged.

The land of Liaodong is left to its own devices, and all traffic is rampant.

But this time it was different. Dorgon could not sit back and watch the growth of the new dynasty in China, because he knew that once the new dynasty of the Han people grew up, the surrounding barbarians would deteriorate. The Manchus were the most powerful ethnic group around China and would bear the brunt.

He did not dare to compete with a rising Han dynasty in terms of heritage, that would be an act seeking death.

So there was Dorgon's battle for national destiny.

Fighting with all the strength of the country is no longer as simple as the advance of elite cavalry. The composition of the 200,000-strong army is complex, and there are still 300,000 soldiers dragging their feet. In order to maintain the stability of the main army, it is inevitable to slow down the marching speed.

Otherwise, it would only take two days at most to advance from Liaoyang, Shengjing, to Jinzhou, or even to Ningyuan.

When Dorgon's army arrived at the border of Jinzhou, they were already aware of the watching eyes around them. That was the night-time reconnaissance cavalry released by Shanhaiguan.

The whereabouts of these scouts are not very secretive, and they are even suspected of showing off their power in front of his 200,000 regular soldiers and 300,000 soldiers.

How can the arrogant Tatars endure this?

So starting from Jinzhou, Dorgon and Ying Yi entered the stage of confrontation. The reconnaissance cavalry and fine cavalry from both sides fought against each other around Dorgon's main army, spreading from Jinzhou to Ningyuan to Qiantunwei.

In the process, there were countless small-scale battles involving dozens of people, and the consequences made Dorgon feel heavy in his heart.

After Dorgon led the main force to arrive at Qiantunwei, Hauge's offensive against Qiantunwei temporarily came to an end. Hundreds of thousands of troops have set up camp between Qiantunwei and Shanhaiguan. The scattered tents stretch for dozens of miles and can't be seen at a glance!

The smell of war is so strong, and the breath of iron and blood rises into the sky with great force, which is breathtaking.

This is the largest war in the history of Donglu. The total number of troops involved in this place alone reaches half a million!

Even the battle of Songjin between the Ming court and Donglu in the previous dynasty was slightly inferior in scale.

If we add in the Horqin and Tumote Tatar tribes who supported the war in the north, the scale of this war would be comparable to that of few in the entire history of China.

The main tent of the Manchu slaves was established in Sanshan Yingbao, which was once the garrison town of the Ming Dynasty. However, after Ying Yi destroyed the Ming Dynasty, except for Qiantunwei, a larger military town, all other small forts outside Shanhaiguan were abandoned.

Sanshan Yingbao is located dozens of miles west of Qiantunwei, between three mountains, and the terrain is quite steep.

Dorgon brought the main force here and quickly built a battle line with the Sanshan Camp as the center.

"There are six more forts between Sanshanyingbao and Shanhaiguan."

In the big tent, there are many generals. Dorgon stood at the top, with a huge map hanging in front of him. The situation on the Guanning front line was clearly visible on the map. Hong Chengchou stood beside Dorgon and was explaining the situation to the generals.

"The two closest forts to Shanhaiguan are Tiechangbao and Balipu." Hong Chengchou pointed to the two forts and said: "These two forts are too close to Shanhaiguan, less than five miles away, so they can be put down temporarily."

Then he said: "Look at these four fortresses again."

In the gap between Balipu and Tiechangbao to the east and Sanshanying to the west, there are four forts from north to south. They are: Beiyinzhan Fort, Yongan Fort, Gaolingyi and Guangning Zhongqiansuo.

"According to the vanguard report, there are no troops stationed in these four forts." Hong Chengchou said: "The specific tactical deployment is decided by the regent, Prince Rui, and his master."

After the Battle of Songjin, Hong Chengchou was captured. Later, he surrendered to Tartar and returned to Baoyi Niulu with a yellow flag. At that time, Huang Taiji was very careful about him and never appointed him to an official position. After Huang Taiji died and Fulin succeeded to the throne, Dorgon launched the war on national destiny and knew that it was of great importance. Hong Chengchou had a good military strategy and knew the details of the Han people best, so he appointed him as counselor.

Dorgon waved his hand and asked Hong Chengchou to go down, and then said: "The four fortresses including Beiyin Barrier must be occupied as the front line of the battle line. My king intends to send troops from the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty, supplemented by the various Korean ministries, to build a defense line here."

Generals of the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty, such as Kong Youde, Ning Wanwo, Geng Zhongming, Shang Kexi, Wang Fuchen, Zhang Cunren and Korean generals all came out to kneel.

Dorgon then assigned the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty and North Korea to 40,000 troops, each stationed in four strongholds.

Whether it is the elite soldiers of the Manchu Eight Banners or the Mongolian Eight Banners Tatars, they are both good at attacking. The defense is slightly weaker. It was a huge waste for Dorgon to use the elite cavalry of the Eight Banners of Manchu and Mongolia to garrison the fortress and take charge of defense.

War is nothing more than exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses, and putting the right people in the right place. This is what a commander should do.

To be honest, Dorgon is not good at commanding complex battles involving hundreds of thousands of troops. Not only Dorgon was not good at it, but all the generals of the Qing Dynasty were not good at it.

The generals of the Eight Banners have always fought in a rush. Where are the complicated tactics? No.

Even in the Battle of Songjin, Huang Taiji often relied on the strength of the Han army to surrender troops and generals. Same this time. Along the way, Dorgon discussed with Hong Chengchou, Ning Wanwo, Fan Wencheng and others before formulating specific tactics. Otherwise, he might not be able to do it by himself.

Of course, putting the troops of the Han Eight Banners and Korean tribes in the front also had the intention of preventing disasters for the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners. This is also self-evident.

In a war, the advance and retreat must be well-founded, the offense and defense must be perfect, and even the retreat must be prepared in advance.

The first thing to seize these four forts is to test Shanhaiguan's reaction, which smells like fishing bait. If Shanhaiguan's response is in line with Dorgon's intention, the main force will definitely continue to move to Shanhaiguan, and these four forts will become the main army's rear line of defense. In other words, if the battle is defeated, these four forts will be the retreat and block the pursuing troops. obstacles.

However, if these four forts are to become a retreat in case of possible failure, the former garrison guards have to consider it.

Therefore, after arranging the military deployment of the four forts, Dorgon turned to the former garrison guards.

He looked gloomy and said to Hauge: "Prince Su took the lead as the vanguard general, but he wasted a month and failed to clear the obstacles. Instead, he lost troops and generals. What crime should he deserve?!"

It has indeed been almost a month since Hauge settled in Jinzhou. He failed to take down the former garrison and pulled out this nail, but suffered a big loss. It was reasonable for Dorgon to launch an attack.