Chapter 1429 Head-to-head confrontation
Of course, Morgan would not think that Hou Jin would retreat after sending so many troops after just one look. He knew that with the temperament of these barbarian soldiers, they would definitely try to gather troops to fight hard with his side, but he did not know that the opponent's army was going to When will we get here. What we have to do now is to seize the time to better arrange the trap that attracts firepower that we are responsible for. After delaying it, the Jin Army can give the other two armies room to move around.
"Send a telegram to inform the Central and Eastern Route Army that our unit has entered a combat position and ask them to keep a close eye on our right wing to prevent the enemy from slipping past!" Morgan stared at the prisoners of war digging trenches outside the village. Orders were given to the adjutant.
Although Morgan had great confidence in defeating the Jin Army, he was also worried that his opponent would circle back to the south of the highland and surround the place from three directions. By then, the Eastern Route Army's troops will have to defend against attacks from several directions, which may be a bit tight. And if the central army can move slightly closer to this side and not leave too much free space for the rear Jin army, then Morgan can concentrate the troops under his command to the north of the highland to maintain the maximum firepower output intensity without having to Then consider the risk that your retreat may be outflanked by the enemy.
As soon as the adjutant left, scoldings suddenly came from the construction site outside the village, and he saw a figure running for his life in the snow. Judging from his clothes, he should be the Houjin soldier who was captured here before. In order to make it easier for these prisoners of war to work, they were not shackled. Naturally, there was no way to prevent those who were lucky enough to try to escape from the construction site.
Of course, it was almost impossible to escape from here on foot. Immediately, guards chased him out, and others had already gone to the stables to fetch horses. Obviously, they did not intend to let the prisoner of war go.
"Give me the gun." Morgan stretched out his hand, and an entourage immediately handed over his special rifle. Wherever others go, the gun follows, ready to join the fight at any time. The man ran not far away, and he thought he should be sure to kill the target with one shot.
Morgan took over, loaded the gun, raised his gun and aimed at the prisoners of war who were still running on the snow in the distance. After adjusting his breathing slightly, he pulled the trigger. After a crisp gunshot, the man fell down, threw himself in the snow and struggled a few times but still couldn't get up. Seeing that the pursuer had arrived quickly, Morgan handed the rifle back to his entourage and said calmly: "Capture it and warn other prisoners of war."
As for the warning method, he did not say that these people under his command are not novices, so they naturally know how to deal with this situation.
Not long after, the escaped prisoner of war was dragged back by the cavalry with his legs tied with ropes. It turned out that he was shot in the waist. No wonder he couldn't get up after he fell. The blood trailed a long red mark on the snowy field. Even if Haihan let him go, he would not be able to escape back to Houjin's control area with such injuries. Several soldiers spread his hands and feet and tied him to a horse. Those prisoners of war who were still digging trenches could see their bloody companion as long as they raised their heads. No one warned the prisoners of war anymore. This captured prisoner of war was tied here and was more useful than any words.
Morgan didn't care about the lives of these prisoners of war, as long as he could squeeze out their labor in a short time, that would be his goal. When the Jin army attacks, regardless of whether they have completed the task at hand, Morgan will no longer waste manpower guarding them.
When Qian Tiandun received the telegram, the Central Army under his command was still more than ten miles away from the highlands occupied by Morgan. However, he was not in a hurry because the fortress where the Hou Jin Army stationed troops was further away from Morgan than he was. He had Confidence sealed the hole on the right wing for Morgan before his opponent did.
Of course, the center army's position cannot be too close to the high ground, otherwise the opponent will definitely choose the plains where it is easier to launch attacks as the main attack direction. By then, the high ground strongholds that Morgan has worked so hard to deploy will be wasted. Therefore, Qian Tiandun's plan was to send a force close to the high ground, but to keep a certain distance from the high ground, and to let the Hou Jin Army discover his existence. If the Hou Jin Army wanted to forcefully break into the outflanking high ground, it might face the risk of being cut off by the Haihan Middle Route Army.
Jia La'erzhen Erhe, who was guarding the Jinzhou Isthmus, learned a few days ago that Haihan had built a camp on the southern seaside, presumably to transport combatants and supplies to the local area by sea. On the one hand, he sent more reconnaissance cavalry to the local area. On the other hand, he also submitted the emergency situation to his superiors in writing and requested that more reinforcements be mobilized as soon as possible to ensure that the Haihan people's march could be stopped.
But before Erhe could take action, the rain returned here together with new news. The reconnaissance team he sent out discovered that there was more than just one place where Haihan was tampering. Haihan troops also appeared on the middle road and the coast of the Bohai Sea in the west. No matter how slow Erhe was, he could still detect that Haihan's actions this time were not some mysterious feint, but a real attempt to attack the Jinzhou Isthmus.
Before winter came, the senior officials of the Later Jin Dynasty, led by Huang Taiji, had always believed that Haihan would not really invade Liaodong. Even though they knew that Haihan had formed an alliance with the Pidao Ming Army, they still believed that Haihan would not end up personally. Provide more military assistance to Pidao and let Shen's uncle and nephew serve as pawns in the Yellow Sea area. Because no matter how you think about it, it is useless for Haihan to go to Liaodong and start a war with Hou Jin. After all, Haihan and Ming have not even established formal diplomatic relations. It is obviously not in Haihan's line to fight to the death for Ming. interests.
However, for a regime like the Hou Jin Dynasty with a reckless origin, the people in power obviously could not understand the considerations of a country like Haihan who pursued sea control in developing overseas colonies, and they could not imagine that Haihan's strategic purpose of seizing the Jinzhou area was to control the Yellow and Bohai Seas. The key waterways in the region are not just as simple as whether to help Ming Dynasty resist Hou Jin. To put it bluntly, even if this place was still in the hands of the Ming Dynasty, Haihan would still find ways to carve out a piece of land here and claim it as his own.
Therefore, Haihan wanted to attack Jinzhou at the southern tip of the Liaodong Peninsula. In fact, it was more out of strategic considerations for his own development. In the process, he knocked on Houjin and loosened the noose around Daming's neck. Hou Jin could not understand Haihan's strategy, and naturally he was not fully prepared for the wave of offensive before winter. Haihan's army directly captured Lushun and gained the first foothold in Liaodong.
Haihan controlled the timing and rhythm very accurately. After capturing Lushun, he did not leave much time for Hou Jin to organize a counterattack, so he launched another wave of feint attacks in Dalian Bay, making Hou Jin's troops who had already moved south to the vicinity of Lushun hesitate. In the end, they had to take the initiative to retreat and gave up their plan to recapture Lushun before winter.
Hou Jin held this breath in his heart, and naturally wanted to wait until spring to settle the accounts with Hai Han. But Haihan obviously did not settle down. Instead, he took the lead in launching the first wave of offensive in the new year.
Erhe had to send people to notify Fuzhou and Gaizhou in the north to speed up the transfer of troops to Jinzhou. Despite the cooperation from all parties, Haihan's offensive was still a step forward and took the lead in seizing a highland stronghold of Houjin on the coast of the Bohai Sea. According to the news Erhe has received so far, the Haihan Army is at least divided into three groups to launch an offensive this time, which can be described as fierce. He believed that he could not wait for the opponent's three groups of troops to join up and advance to the fortress defense line of the Jinzhou Isthmus before they began to respond. Instead, he should take advantage of the opponent's failure to meet up and try his best to repel or even eliminate one of the groups. Only in this way would there be a chance. Defeat Haihan's offensive. Although Erhe did not have a comprehensive understanding of Haihan's troop formation, his ideas coincided with Haihan's military at this time, and he also chose the West Route Army, which was taken away by Haihan. The high ground serves as a breakthrough point.
Erhe believes that the highland occupied by Haihan is closest to the Jinzhou Isthmus defense line and naturally poses the greatest threat. Hou Jin was more familiar with the terrain conditions of this place, so it was not impossible to take it back with the advantage of his military strength. Before winter, Haihan landed from Dalian Bay to attack the Jinzhou Isthmus. At that time, he also occupied an abandoned village and fought against the Later Jin Army. However, he was eventually driven back to the sea by the Later Jin Army - at least that's what Erhe himself thought. .
Since he was able to drive the Haihan people out the first time, Erhe believed that he could do it the second time. If this highland can be recaptured from Haihan, the Haihan army that launches an attack from the plain to the east will definitely be wary. If you take action quickly before the opponent's troops have gathered together, you will have a greater chance of recapturing this high ground.
So Erhe did not wait for reinforcements from the north, ordered three thousand soldiers and horses at the Jinzhou Fortress, and rushed straight to the stronghold occupied by the Western Route Army.
However, Erhe was not a reckless person. When he set out, he had already thought that since the enemy had taken the upper hand, he would definitely make arrangements for his possible counterattack at the highland stronghold. He was also cautious during the march. They sent a large number of cavalry to scout the enemy's movements on the periphery, in case they were ambushed halfway before they reached the place.
The large force did not encounter them, but the Haihan Rangers did see some sporadically along the way. Erhe felt a lot more relieved after receiving the report, because it showed that the main force of the Haihan Army still did not go north for some reasons, so the rendezvous should not have been completed, and his side still had a chance to regain the lost stronghold.
About six hours after Morgan led his troops to seize the coastal highlands, the counterattack of the Houjin Army appeared within the sight of the highland lookout posts earlier than expected. A sharp, short whistle sounded over the high ground, signaling an enemy attack. Without Morgan's instructions, each company that had divided the defense area in advance entered its combat position.
But just as Morgan had predicted, although the purpose of the Hou Jin Army's coming here was to recapture the high ground, they did not launch a direct offensive. Instead, they sent a cavalry group to circle eastward. It seemed that they planned to bypass the high ground and first Let’s cut off the retreat to the south.
Morgan sensed the enemy's intention, a sneer appeared on his lips, and then turned to the east, raising his telescope to see what was going on in the distance.
After receiving Morgan's telegram, the Central Army under the command of Qian Tiandun sent a company to ambush in a pine forest about one mile east of the high ground. At this distance, it is of course difficult to stop the rapidly advancing cavalry from passing through this area with the soldiers' rifles alone, but Haihan is only using a tactic to deceive soldiers, and does not really want to start a sniper battle here immediately. So when the cavalry was about to round the high ground, Qian Tiandun's troops suddenly appeared from the pine forest and started shooting at the Houjin cavalry.
The teams on both sides were hundreds of feet away from each other. Even if the Haihan rifle had excellent performance, it would be difficult to aim accurately at this distance, and the hits would have to be random. But after the gunfire sounded, the advance of the Houjin Cavalry quickly stopped. They immediately realized that if they continued to march south, the Haihan Army that suddenly appeared from the east might cut off their retreat.
Before the officer leading the cavalry team could make a decision, the call to retreat sounded from the rear. Erhe noticed Haihan's intentions and decisively recalled the cavalry. He could tell that Haihan was most likely bluffing, deliberately deploying a small force there to interfere with his judgment. But he didn't dare to bet on whether the Haihan troops who were standing by the pine forest and firing cold shots were trying to create an empty city or a more dangerous bait. If their cavalry crosses this line, what will be waiting for them in the south?
Erhe did not think about it further and decisively recalled the cavalry. He thought to himself, no matter how many mysteries you create, I will just ignore it. It doesn’t matter which way you come, I will only go one way. As long as this road is broken, no matter how many traps are laid in other places, they will never be able to trick me.
Erhe made up his mind and ordered his troops to attack the highlands.
"Listen to the order and move closer before attacking." Morgan saw the movements of Hou Jin's army through the telescope and could basically guess the opponent's plan. Now that the Jin army has decided to attack the high ground from the front, Morgan will naturally seize this opportunity and give the opponent some pain.
The Jin army's offensive was still with the cavalry in front and the infantry behind. The Haihan position at the foot of the mountain was about a mile away, so the cavalry began to gradually accelerate and launch a charge. After about five hundred cavalry, the golden cavalry spread out in a straight line on the field and charged towards the Haihan position in three waves: front, middle and back.
Haihan had fought several times with the Houjin Cavalry before, and he knew that his opponent was quite accomplished in the use of cavalry tactics. This kind of charge seemed menacing, but it was also a combination of virtual and real. If there was no movement on Haihan's position, Then they might charge in at once. If they open fire here, the opponent's cavalry will often turn around. The first wave of cavalry is responsible for attracting firepower, and then the next two waves of cavalry charge and kill targets that are too late to reload ammunition. This tactic has been tried and tested against the Ming Dynasty's Musket Battalion, but now their opponent is the Haihan Army, and it is not so easy to deal with.
(End of chapter)