Shen Zhixiang really didn't have much confidence in leading such a few miscellaneous troops with varying combat capabilities to defend Cangzhou City. But the military orders were overwhelming and the task had been handed over to him, so there was no chance of retreating. Shen Zhixiang had no choice but to reluctantly start assigning tasks to the commanders of several teams.
The North Korean cavalry was the most mobile, so Shen Zhixiang asked it to go outside the city, especially to the west of the city. The movements of the Ming army on the other side of Hejian City are directly related to the subsequent safety of Cangzhou City.
If the Ming army in Hejian Prefecture really sends troops to counterattack Cangzhou, the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal in the west of the city can somewhat delay the opponent's offensive. For this reason, Shen Zhixiang also specially allocated several ships to the North Korean cavalry, allowing them to flexibly choose where to cross the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal.
Considering that the Korean cavalry were completely unfamiliar with the local environment, Shen Zhixiang did not dare to let them run too far, so he limited their range of activities to a maximum of thirty miles away from Cangzhou City, and they were not allowed to actively engage in combat with the enemy. The priority was to detect the enemy's situation. Task.
The Fushan militia, the most powerful among the several teams, was entrusted by Shen Zhixiang with the important task of serving as the main force in defending the city.
Previously, the east and south directions of Cangzhou City were conquered by the Haihan Army, and the city defenses were seriously damaged. At this time, civilian workers were working overtime to repair them.
However, the Ming army could only launch a counterattack from the west, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal in the west of the city was very close to the city, which restricted the attackers from deploying military formations. If the Ming army wanted to attack the city, the most convenient option was to attack the south of the city.
The Fushan Militia were assigned to deploy defenses in the south of the city. If the Ming army came over, their defense area would probably become the main battlefield.
Sun Quanming's troops were not bad on paper, but Shen Zhixiang had some scruples and did not dare to let him take charge alone, so he kept this team as a reserve and decided where to add it depending on the movements of the Ming army.
The Pingdu Militia Company, with the lowest combat power, temporarily acted as a logistics force, responsible for organizing civilians to repair city defenses, transport supplies, and maintain public security and order in the city.
Shen Zhixiang did not expect that the main force's withdrawal from Cangzhou could be hidden from the Ming army. Although Sun Bing's troops had previously defeated the Cangzhou defenders, there were more than one Ming army deployed near Cangzhou, and some of them were elite.
In fact, just a few miles outside the city, there were still sporadic reconnaissance cavalry activities of the Ming army. The large-scale mobilization of the Haihan Army should not be hidden from their eyes.
But the news spread to Hejian Mansion, a hundred miles away, and a counterattack was organized there. After this, Shen Zhixiang thought that there could be a buffer time of five or six days.
Although this time is far from enough to repair the damage to the city wall, it will at least give the defenders sufficient time to deploy defensive positions.
Shen Zhixiang witnessed it with his own eyes in the Jinzhou Isthmus. The Haihan Army relied on complete fortifications to successfully withstand the Manchu and Qing armies that were several times stronger. Although the current garrison strength in Cangzhou is small, as long as the positions are properly deployed, Shen Zhixiang believes that they can withstand at least five to ten times the enemy's force.
But the Ming army's movements seemed to be faster than he expected. Just two days after Sun Bing led the Fifth Lu Division to leave, the Korean cavalry detected thousands of Ming troops quietly gathering near a town more than 20 miles west of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal.
Judging from the location where they gathered, their target was obviously not the Fifth Lu Division that had moved north into Shuntian Prefecture, but Cangzhou City, which was in a state of empty city defense.
In order to avoid changes in the city, Shen Zhixiang temporarily blocked the news, and only a few officers were informed of the incident at the first time.
The Korean cavalry was recalled to Cangzhou City, leaving only more than thirty cavalrymen operating outside the city.
Shen Zhixiang immediately telegraphed the news to Chen Yixin, requesting to send more troops to support Cangzhou. Chen Yixin's reply was to require Cangzhou City to be defended for at least three days after the war broke out. Militiamen from Rongcheng, Wendeng, Rushan, Haiyang and other places had been organized in the rear, but it would take time to arrive in Hebei to join the war.
"Everyone has just seen the telegram from the headquarters. Reinforcements are already on the way. The commander-in-chief wants us to hold Cangzhou and wait for the reinforcements. No matter how many Ming troops attack, no one should mention abandoning the city and withdrawing the troops. Those who are afraid of war. , all will be dealt with by military law!”
Shen Zhixiang was not absolutely sure that he would be able to hold on until reinforcements arrived, but in front of his subordinates, he must not show any wavering.
These teams were originally put together temporarily. If they were not strictly ordered, when the Ming army attacked the city, they would see the disparity in strength, which would shake the morale of the army.
Several officers acted very firmly and agreed without hesitation. But whether they will also feel uneasy or uneasy will probably have to wait until the war begins.
The Ming army chose to cross the river southwest of Cangzhou City at dawn, but the boats they obtained in a hurry were obviously not enough, so they also included many improvised rafts.
Their movements did not escape the surveillance of the Haihan Army. Shen Zhixiang personally led the team and dragged the two field artillery brought by the Fushan Militia outside the city, and fired more than a dozen cannons at the Ming army crossing the river from a distance.
However, Shen Zhixiang also knew that such shelling could not prevent the Ming army from crossing the river. He only wanted to create chaos and delay the Ming army's actions, so he immediately withdrew into the city after the attack.
The Ming army was indeed in chaos for a while. Although the casualties caused by the shelling were not many, in order to prevent the Haihan army from setting up an ambush on the river bank and attacking halfway across the river, they had to make temporary adjustments and move the planned river crossing point to the south. Two or three miles.
After they crossed the river, they found that the Haihan Army had not deployed a large force outside the city. The previous shelling seemed to be just a trick, and another scolding was inevitable.
Just as Shen Zhixiang expected, the Ming army chose the south of the city, where the city's defenses were most seriously damaged, as the main attack direction, and assembled military formations five miles outside the city.
Shen Zhixiang leaned out half of his body from the crenellation of the city wall and used a telescope to observe the Ming army in the distance. The reason why he was so careful was because he was worried that the Ming army would send elite shooters to hide in the ruins outside the city to perform sniper missions.
Although the Ming Army did not have the unique snipers of the Haihan Army, it was not difficult to imitate this tactic. The biggest difference was the accuracy of shooting.
Shen Zhixiang did not want to become a living target of the Ming army before the war began, so he was extra careful when observing the enemy's situation.
Judging from the scale of the Ming army's formation outside the city, Shen Zhixiang judged that the opponent should have four to five thousand troops. If it is only to this extent, then Shen Zhixiang can breathe a sigh of relief, because he is afraid that these are just the troops standing at the front, and the Ming army will come to join the battle later.
The Ming army carefully sent out several teams of cavalry to check outside the city to confirm that the defenders had not laid mines. It is said that this terrible weapon had killed thousands of Qing troops on the battlefield in Liaodong.
It's not that Shen Zhixiang didn't want to use this trick, it was just that among the combat equipment sent to Cangzhou, there were only a few hundred landmines. If they were buried outside the city, the area that could be covered was too small, so he deployed them all at the key point of entering the city. Node - the South City Gate has collapsed into ruins.