Anti-Qing: Starting from the Reincarnation of the Ming Dynasty

Three are missing and one is missing!

This is the most typical tactic of surrounding three and missing one.

Feng Sheng'e wanted to eat all the tens of thousands of Ming troops in Yangzhou City.

After the military order was issued, the Qing army began to advance forward and dispersed its troops in three directions of Yangzhou.

Zhu Jing'an held a telescope and observed the battlefield.

He opened his mouth and ordered.

"Let the lookouts on our army's observation balloons keep their eyes wide open and keep an eye on every move of the Qing army."

"If the Qing army's movements change, please report back at any time!"

After the Ming army faced the Qing army in this battle, perhaps the biggest advantage was that due to the observation balloon, the battlefield was one-way transparent to the Ming army.

Now that he understands this, Zhu Jing'an will naturally make good use of it.

Soon, as the lookout on the observation balloon continued to report news, Zhu Jing'an also had a good idea of ​​the current trends of the Qing army.

First of all, Fengsheng'e adopted the tactic of surrounding three and missing one for the siege of Yangzhou.

He placed the green battalion soldiers of the Qing army and the cannon fodder adapted from Korean prisoners of war in the three gates of Yangzhou.

Among them, Korean soldiers are responsible for the west gate, and Green Camp soldiers are responsible for the east gate and north gate.

As for the Eight Banners New Army, Sauron Soldiers, Outer Mongolian Cavalry and other elites, he had them in his hands, ready to be mobilized at any time to reinforce the battlefield.

Especially the Sauron soldiers and the Mongolian soldiers of the outer vassals, almost all of them are cavalry.

With their superb mobility, Feng Sheng'e is ready to use them as a weapon to make the final decision on the battlefield.

Seeing this, Zhu Jing'an responded accordingly.

Order the troops to mobilize and prepare to face the enemy!

……

Nanjing!

Zhu Jing'an's autographed letter was quickly delivered to Zhu Jianzhuo's desk.

Zhu Jianzhuo looked through his son's autographed letter, with an uncertain expression on his face.

Zhu Jing'an knows the art of speaking well.

In the letter, he did not deny Zhu Jianzhuo's idea of ​​sending troops to reinforce Jiangbei, but instead praised it.

It is believed that if the imperial court can increase its troops in Jiangbei, it can add an extra layer of insurance to the battle in Jiangbei.

But after praising him, Zhu Jing'an gave the opinion that it was okay to increase troops, but now was not the best time for the imperial court to increase troops in Jiangbei.

It will take time for the three reorganized divisions of the Ming Army in the Hubei direction to return for reinforcements.

It will also take time for the troops from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Anhui provinces to gather in Nanjing.

Zhu Jing'an was lagging the Qing army in Jiangbei, and it would take time to rely on Yangzhou's city defense to polish the morale and morale of the Qing army.

The best time for the imperial court to increase its troops in Jiangbei should be after the main force from Hubei returns to support and the forces from various provinces gather.

At that time, it was the best time for Nanjing's garrison to cross the river and join forces with the Ming army returning to support from Hubei and the Ming army in Yangzhou to encircle and annihilate the Qing army going south.

If Zhu Jiazhuo sends troops to reinforce Jiangbei now, he will alert the Qing army.

It will affect the subsequent battle situation!

At that time, the situation in Jiangbei will be really dangerous.

In addition, at the end of his letter, Zhu Jing'an also deliberately reminded Zhu Jiazhuo to be careful of the Qing government's manipulations in the south of the Yangtze River. Taking advantage of the stalemate in the battle in the north of the Yangtze River, he colluded with the gentry to cause trouble and destroy the rear of the Ming army.

To be honest, although most of the gentry in Jiangnan surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Jing'an actually didn't have much trust in them.

Because Zhu Jing'an knew the nature of the gentry's wallflower.

The power of the Ming Dynasty was growing day by day, and as they were victorious on the battlefield, these gentry were of course loyal to the Ming Dynasty.

However, if there is a stalemate on the front line and the Ming army is temporarily at a disadvantage, the Qing court will make further instigations.

No one knows whether these gentry will do anything in a moment of confusion.

There is nothing wrong with being prepared for these people in advance.

After Zhu Jianzhuo read his son's autographed letter, his face became uncertain for a while, and he was obviously thinking about something.

Although he was concerned about his son's safety, for now, his son was actually right.

There are 780,000 Ming troops in Yangzhou City. Although only one-third of them are elite, they are by no means what the Qing army can capture in a short time.

The current situation in Yangzhou is actually far less dangerous than he imagined!

On the contrary, there are great hidden dangers on the Jiangnan side.

After thinking for a while, Zhu Jianzhuo spoke.

"Send the order and let the garrison troops in Nanjing City be ready to reinforce Jiangbei at any time!"

"There is also Cheng Yuan, the commander of the Zhao Jin Yi Guards, who has come to see you. I have something to tell him."

"Then we will send orders to the garrisons in Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui, etc., and ask them to speed up their assembly..."

Obviously, although Zhu Jianzhuo is still worried about the war in Jiangbei, he has also listened to Zhu Jing'an's advice.

Therefore, the garrison troops in Nanjing are only asked to prepare to reinforce Jiangbei, so that if the war in Jiangbei is unfavorable, reinforcements can be made at any time.

Instead of immediately reinforcing Jiangbei.

Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty breathed a sigh of relief and responded in unison.

Sure enough, the only person in this world who can persuade His Majesty is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!

A letter from His Highness the Crown Prince is more effective than their lies.

And this is the art of speaking!

……

Yangzhou!

The fighting continues.

After the Qing army arrived outside Yangzhou City, they began a full-scale offensive.

Artillery pieces were transported to the front line, artillery positions began to be arranged, and preparations were made to deliver firepower to Yangzhou City.

The foreign artillerymen in the Qing army were quickly calculating the bombardment of Zhuyuan and preparing to launch the bombardment.

Loading, aiming, and other actions are done in one go.

Feng Sheng'e rode to the artillery position for inspection. John, a British artillery officer hired by the Qing army at a high price, accompanied him for inspection.

Standing on the artillery position, Feng Sheng looked at Yangzhou City in the distance and asked.

"Mr. John, I see that our artillery array is nearly three miles away from the Ming army's fortifications outside Yangzhou City."

"At such a long distance, can our army's artillery guarantee the strike effect?"

As far as Feng Sheng'e knew, the effective range of the powerful and invincible general cannons equipped by the Qing army in the past was only a few hundred meters at most, which was far from reaching this distance.

Even now, the artillery used by the Qing army is no longer the powerful and invincible general cannon of the past, but an imitation of the foreign front-loaded smoothbore naval gun. The range and power have been greatly improved.

But Feng Sheng'e doesn't think the gap between the two is really that big!

Faced with Fengsheng's doubts, John didn't take it seriously.

He said patting his chest.

"Your Majesty the Imperial Envoy should have confidence in our army's artillery. At this distance, our army's artillery can completely cover the rebels' forward positions."

Fengsheng didn't know the effective range of the artillery, but John knew it well.

Because he is a cannon player by nature, and commanding artillery operations is his special skill.

Fengsheng asked with a frown.

"Can't you move on?"

The artillery these days are front-loading smoothbore cannons that fire solid shells.

It relies on the kinetic energy carried by the shells to kill the enemy. If the distance is too far, half of the kinetic energy of the cannonball will be consumed, and its lethality will naturally be lost.

In other words, the closer the distance, the more powerful the artillery.

Hearing this, John shook his head and said.

"I don't recommend this!"

"Our current position is already very dangerous. If we go any further, we will be completely exposed to the rebels' shelling range."

Since it was a defensive operation, the Ming army's artillery was not placed on the front line, but was placed on the fort behind the forward position.

It is precisely because of this that John thought he had judged the effective range of the Ming army's artillery based on experience, and then placed the Qing army's artillery outside the range of the Ming army's artillery.

It ensured that the Qing army's artillery array could attack the Ming army's forward positions, but the artillery groups behind the Ming army's forward positions could not attack the Qing army's artillery.

If you look at it from the old perspective of the front-loading smoothbore cannon era, this is certainly no problem.

But the problem is that the Ming army's current artillery has been rifled, and the range and accuracy have been greatly improved.

And John doesn't know this!

Therefore, what John is doing now is no different from ogling a blind man.

……

"Your Highness, the calculation of the Qing army's artillery positions has been completed. Please give the order."

Old Pete came to Zhu Jing'an and asked for instructions.

After staying in Ming Dynasty for several years, it is inevitable that he still speaks with an accent.

But compared with the previous time, it is much better.

At least the tongue is not tied when talking.

The reason why the Ming army's artillery group did not fire just now was actually intentional.

Because, while the Qing army's artillery group was moving forward to set up positions, the eyes of the Ming army hanging in the sky were actually non-stop observing the position of the Qing army's artillery array, and then calculating the shooting points.

Now that the shooting calculations have been completed, the bombardment should naturally begin!

Zhu Jing'an nodded slightly and said.

"In that case, give the order and prepare to start the bombardment!"

After hearing this, Old Pete nodded to express his understanding, then turned around and left, only for the Ming army's artillery group to launch a bombardment.

……

After listening to John's explanation, Feng Sheng'e nodded.

"I see!"

John nodded confidently that that was it.

However, at this moment, there was a rumbling sound of artillery fire.

A cannonball flew in!

It landed next to an artillery piece of the Qing army with a thud, then rolled and spun all the way forward.

Wherever the cannonball passed, it was invincible.

Although this artillery shell did not hit the artillery on the Qing army's artillery array, it hit the artillery shells piled aside.

With a bang, the pile of solid cannonballs piled into a hill were smashed and shot in all directions.

Several Qing army gunners were hit by cannonballs, fell silent instantly, and died tragically on the spot.

At the same time, Feng Sheng'e looked at John, his eyes seemed to be asking.

Didn't you mean that the thief's cannon can't hit?

What the hell is going on!

John himself was also stunned on the spot, and his whole person was confused.

According to his past war experience, the Ming army's artillery range should not be able to hit them.

What exactly is going on? !

The range of a front-loading smoothbore cannon shouldn't be so far!

Boom! Boom!

Clouds of gunpowder smoke rose up from the Ming army's position one after another, and black artillery shells pierced the air, continuing to project firepower towards the Qing army's artillery array.

The Ming army's heavy artillery fired continuously, launching fire attacks on the Qing army's artillery array.

Boom! Boom!

The roar of heavy artillery resounded through the sky.

Cannonballs were fired one after another with frightening accuracy.

The Ming army's rifled cannons not only had a longer range, but their shooting accuracy was also much higher than that of smoothbore cannons.

It was almost a precise attack on the Qing army's artillery array!

Several artillery shells landed on the Qing artillery array one after another, and a solid iron ball weighing 20 kilograms hit a Qing artillery.

In an instant, the artillery barrel was lifted off and severely deformed when it landed on the ground.

Seeing this scene, Feng Sheng'e was furious. He grabbed John's collar and yelled an order.

"Fight back! Fight back!"

"Fight back for me, so that the Ming thieves can see the power of my Qing artillery!"

John's face was sprayed with saliva by Fengsheng, and his face looked extremely ugly.

But in the face of Fengsheng's roar, he did not dare to resist the order. He could only order the artillery of the Qing army to fight back.

"Yes, dear Imperial Envoy, please give me some time. I will let our army's artillery launch a counterattack as soon as possible!"

Although the Qing army's artillery can currently only hit the Ming army's forward positions, it cannot pose a threat to the Ming army's forts.

However, it is better than being beaten unilaterally anyway!

Under John's command, the Qing artillery also began to return fire.

Outside Yangzhou City, the roar of heavy artillery echoed far away.

Cannonballs flew wildly in the air, filling the air with smoke and dust.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, hundreds of heavy artillery were assembled in Yangzhou City for fierce bombardment!

The Qing army's artillery arrays were eliminated one by one, and the Ming army's forward positions were also bombarded to pieces by the Qing army's heavy artillery.

On the surface, it seems that neither party has taken advantage!

But in fact, the Qing army suffered a big loss.

Because there is no one in the Ming army's forward position now, and the people have already been evacuated to the trench behind the position.

Although the Qing army's shelling now destroyed some ground buildings on the Ming army's forward positions, it was only ground buildings.

There were no casualties at all!

What's more, the trenches, semi-buried parapets, and trap tunnels on the ground are the essence of the Ming army's forward positions.

The buildings on the ground are actually not that important. If they are destroyed, they will be destroyed.

And what about the Qing army?

Their artillery positions had been pulled out twenty or thirty times, the artillery was destroyed, and the gunners suffered heavy casualties.

And these are real losses!

Seeing that his side could not take advantage in the artillery battle, John approached Feng Shengquan again and spoke.

"Sir, I don't know what's going on, but the range and accuracy of the rebel artillery are ridiculously high."

"Now our artillery is suppressed by the rebels' artillery. If we continue to persist, it will only increase casualties. Please order our artillery positions to retreat."

When Feng Sheng'e heard this, his expression was obviously unwilling.

How should I put it, at the beginning of this battle, the Qing army's cavalry was ambushed and was attacked head-on by the Ming army.

Although the casualties were not many, only a thousand people, it greatly damaged the morale of the army!

After being frustrated in the first battle, who can't help but murmur about this?

If the Qing Dynasty's artillery positions were to retreat now, the Qing Dynasty would have lost two games in a row in the Battle of Yangzhou.

However, after thinking for a moment, Feng Sheng'e still spoke.

"Send the order and let our artillery array retreat..." (End of this chapter)