Where there is life, there is hope. Although Jin people may not say this, they also have this understanding. In the current situation, not only were they unable to win from defeat, but even retreating to Anshan City and holding on had become a luxury. Huang Taiji vomited blood and fell down again. The generals below had to make the decision that was most beneficial to their own side, which was to change the attack on the Ming army's formation into a breakout, and rely on the maneuverability and flexibility of the cavalry while the Ming army's siege had not yet taken shape. Fight your way out.
This is also the most common move used by the nomadic people and the Han people in the war for thousands of years. If they can fight, they fight. If they can't fight, they rely on their horsepower to fight and move. Even if they can't drag you to death, they can easily save themselves. Therefore, this action did not require the command of many people at all. Every Jin cavalry understood it and dispersed at the same time, breaking out in all directions. []
This is another strategy of the Jin people. They have already seen where the strength of the Ming army lies, which is their orderly attacks and astonishingly powerful artillery. Once the Jin army dispersed, the Ming army's advantage was greatly weakened. If the Ming army disperses and pursues them, they may not be able to compete with the Jin cavalry, which has better individual combat capabilities. And if they join forces to pursue them, they will not be as flexible as the Jin army. As for the artillery, its greatest use is to attack large groups of people. The damage of the artillery now is too small.
Seeing that Jin Jun made the most correct decision in an instant, Tang Feng couldn't help but cheer for them in his heart. However, this did not make them merciful. As orders were issued, the soldiers pressed forward step by step. However, they did not rush to catch up with the fleeing enemies. They just chopped down the Jin army who fell behind. kill. There was nothing that could be done about it. Even the Jin cavalry who were so skilled in horseback skills kept falling down due to the snow. Naturally, the Ming army did not dare to do this. As a result, many Jin soldiers fell from their horses and became the dead souls of the Ming army.
But at this time, the Jin army could no longer care so much. They just wanted to escape quickly. As for those who fell from the horse, they could only blame them for their bad luck. After a charge, the Jin army was able to break out after suffering nearly 5,000 casualties, and then the army headed straight for Liaoyang.
As for the Ming army, they did not catch up with them, but after dealing with all the remaining Jin troops, they drove the army into Anshan City. Although this city was originally quite large and there were some ordinary people living there, with the arrival of the Ming army and the Jin people's fear that the Han people among them would cooperate with each other, they evacuated all the people to other places. Now that the Jin army has left, the city has become completely empty, giving the Ming army enough space to rest and recuperate.
There were still a lot of Jin Army supplies in the city, such as arrows and food, but now they were all captured by the Ming Army. Because the Ming army took Anshan without much attack on the city, the weapons used to defend the city were almost untouched, which was an advantage for the Ming army. Not only were the depleted weapons replenished, but the food was also improved. You must know that the Jin people ate a lot of meat, and most of the meat they left behind was beef, sheep and other meat, which was just enough for the soldiers to feast on. In addition, some of the original city-defending equipment were transformed by craftsmen into equipment that could attack the city.
The Ming army was not in a hurry to take advantage of the victory now, because Tang Feng's goal this time was not to defeat the enemy, but to destroy the entire Jin Kingdom. In this way, every step must be taken steadily, without any possibility of failure. After resting for two days, watching the weather getting better, Tang Feng once again waved his army eastward, aiming directly at Liaoyang, the original capital of the Jin Kingdom.
When the Ming army arrived at Liaoyang City and wanted to fight the Jin people, they were surprised to find that there was no one to defend it. The Jin army actually abandoned this original capital, which really surprised Tang Feng and others. However, everything that was still usable in the city was taken away or destroyed by the Jin people. It was obvious that they had thought about it before leaving.
"It seems that Jiannu has also shown the courage to risk everything this time and is going to fight us in the Shenyang area for the final decisive battle." Tang Feng put forward his own views in the subsequent meeting: "This battle is important to us. It will definitely not be easy. Although we have the help of firearms, after several battles, the consumption is also huge. If we want to have the previous effect, we have to wait for the logistics. But as we continue to deepen, the logistics supply lines have been It¡¯s a long stretch, and this is the territory of the Jin people. Our logistics will be cut off by them at any time, so everyone must be alert."
"Don't worry, Lord, today's situation is hard-won, and we will never let it be lost because of some minor problems." Someone immediately expressed their stance. Others also agreed. After winning several battles, the morale of the soldiers was extremely high, and the tacit understanding and cooperation between them can be reflected here.
Tang Feng nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "Although we have won several victories before, it does not mean that we will definitely win. I hope that you will not become arrogant because of this. The principle of arrogant soldiers must be defeated." No need for me to say more??? "
¡°Yes, we must remember the Duke¡¯s teachings!¡± Everyone responded in unison.
Tang Feng then made arrangements for his next move. Now that so many cities of the Jin Kingdom have been taken down, it is impossible not to leave troops to guard them. Fortunately, the Ming army was extremely powerful. Although some people had to be deployed to guard various cities, the overall strength was not weakened much. In addition to guarding the acquired territory, the garrison in these cities also has the purpose of protecting the smooth flow of logistics routes. Most of the time, the battle is about logistics support, and the safety on this road is very important.
The generals who had been on the battlefield for a long time knew this very well, so when Tang Feng appointed some people to lead the troops to defend the city and could no longer attack Shenyang with the army, although these people were not without regrets, they also felt that No objection was raised on this basis. With the series of big moves in Beijing and the continuous victories after coming to the Kingdom of Jin, Tang Feng's status in the hearts of the soldiers has reached a new height, and no one dares to disobey his orders.
After arranging the dispatch of the troops, Tang Feng's face became serious: "Everyone, the victory or defeat depends on this battle. If Shenyang can be captured, the threat of the slaves to our Central Plains for decades will be completely eliminated. I will ask the imperial court for your merits, and it will not be difficult to make you a marquis and a general. And once this city is captured, everyone can take the property of the Jin people for themselves. But I will also say something ugly up front. This war, If the failure is due to someone's fault, then I will have no choice but to kill him to thank the three armies!"
Seeing Tang Feng¡¯s serious face, the generals couldn¡¯t help but feel a sudden shock in their hearts. They knew that Tang Feng was a man of his word. Whether it was to his enemies or to his own people, he would never compromise on the lives of those he said he would take. This invisibly made the soldiers who were a little careless before feel nervous and did not dare to take it lightly because of their previous victory.
While the Ming army was preparing everything and heading towards Shenyang, the capital of Jin, Shengjing, everyone in the Jin Kingdom was also making active preparations. This time the enemy's attack was so fierce that the Jin people had to use all their strength to resist. After several battles, the Jin army lost many men and horses, so in order to have enough troops to defend Shengjing this time, they recruited many ordinary herdsmen and farmers to supplement their numbers. All Jin people from fifty to thirteen or fourteen years old were forcibly conscripted into the army. As a result, the size of the Jin army has reached more than 100,000, which is at least comparable to the Ming army in terms of strength. It's just that it's hard for anyone to predict how much combat power these people can exert in a real fight.
But at least on the surface, the current Shengjing faction is prosperous, and more than 100,000 people are stationed outside the city, which invisibly gives people a sense of confidence and security. At the same time, after learning the lessons of repeated setbacks in previous battles with the Ming army, the Jin army also took out the artillery that they had always ignored to defend the city.
Although there were only about a dozen artillery pieces, seeing them appear at the top of the city still gave the soldiers a lot of confidence. These cannons were sent back by Dorgon after the Jin people captured Jinzhou a few years ago. Now that Dorgon has been dead for many years, these artillery pieces have come in handy.
"It's a pity that they don't know that the power of the Ming army's artillery has been greatly improved, and it can no longer be compared with the past. The artillery pieces in their hands now are no match for the new artillery models based on the Franco machine breech-loading guns.
Everything was ready, and the Ming army cooperated to kill them. Fifty miles away from Shenyang, the Jin Kingdom's 10,000 cavalry first engaged the Ming Army's vanguard. This vanguard is composed of the Guan Ning cavalry led by Wu Sangui, and its combat power is not inferior to that of the Jin army. After a day of fighting, the Ming army still had a certain upper hand.
Although honestly speaking, the Ming army was still a little inferior to the Jin army, but the fighting spirit between the two had just changed. And with the three-eyed blunderbuss in the hands of some people as a guarantee, the Jin army was quickly repelled. . However, Wu Sangui did not dare to move forward easily. From this battle, he could already feel that the morale of the Jin Army was not very low. To fight with it. After learning the lesson of Gansu's failure, Wu Sangui became more prudent and no longer dared to risk the lives of his soldiers.
Soon after, Tang Feng arrived with the Chinese army. After listening to Wu Sangui's report, Tang Feng ordered to set up camp first. After the army got a full rest, they would attack Shenyang City in one go tomorrow. However, he did not relax in the defense work around the camp, fearing that the Jin would attack. But the night passed calmly, and early the next morning, more than 100,000 Ming troops marched directly towards Shenyang City. Jin Jun, who had received the news early at this time, was also ready.
The battle entered a fierce stage from the beginning. The officers and soldiers of the Ming army had long accepted the Shangguan's wishes and knew that they could earn a lot of money by taking down Shenyang. Naturally, everyone was brave, not to mention fighting against a man.For the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, being able to kill the capital of the Jin Kingdom that had been bullying them was what made them most proud. If the city can be taken down in one battle, these people will definitely leave their names in the history of history, so everyone is working hard to attack the city.
The idea of ??the Jin people is obviously much simpler. If Shenyang is lost, it will mean the complete destruction of the Jin Kingdom. These hundreds of thousands of people will fall into the hands of their old enemy. Naturally, everyone is unwilling to admit defeat like this. So whether they were attacking or defending, both sides used their full strength. For a moment, arrows and stones were flying, swords and guns were raised randomly, and the shouts of killing could be clearly heard even ten miles away.
Although the battle was fierce from the beginning, neither the offensive nor defensive sides used firearms. The Jin people planned to use this as the final killing move, but they would not use it easily at the last moment. However, the Ming army could only use the most powerful offensive weapons at the most critical moment due to the lack of gunpowder.
However, the battle still caused heavy casualties on both sides. Many Ming army soldiers were hit by arrows and fell to the ground before they rushed to the city. The soldiers who rushed to the city, put up ladders and pushed various siege equipment were also constantly shot. The arrows shot continuously from above, as well as the rocks and trees falling down, were injured, and many wooden instruments were even burned by the Jin people's fire attack.
The white snow, red blood and fire are constantly changing on the blue-grey city wall, interweaving a particularly poignant scene. Tang Feng watched the soldiers in the central army step forward one after another and fall down one after another, with a hint of sadness on his brows. He knew very well that this was a battle fought entirely with will and bravery. There was no way to take shortcuts. The only thing he could do was to keep attacking and attacking again to see how long the Jin army could hold out.
Although the damage to the Ming army was also very serious, Tang Feng did not give up because of this. This is war. As long as it is not completely one-sided, only the people on which side are fighting have more perseverance. He believed that with the current morale of the Ming army, it would last longer than the Jin army. As for the casualties, he could only use Ci Bu Zhang Bing's words to convince himself that he had to pay a price if he wanted to win.
Precisely because both sides knew the importance of this battle, although the battle was tragic, there was never a winner. Ten days have passed, but Shenyang City still stands there, but the snow under the city has been completely melted by blood, and there are countless mottled marks on the city walls, which were left by the fierce attack of the Ming army. Apart from this, only numbers can explain the brutality of this battle. Thirty thousand Ming soldiers died under the city. This was the largest casualty since they entered the Kingdom of Jin. The Jin army did not fare well either. They were also killed by nearly 10,000 arrows that were constantly shot into the city. Most of those people were strong men who were caught in a hurry and didn't know how to protect themselves in a melee.
The number of casualties was rising steadily, but Huang Taiji did not even frown, because he knew that this was a battle that could not be lost, and there was no way out. However, when he heard someone reporting that the city was about to run out of arrows, wood and stone, his face became solemn.
In order to stop the Ming army's continuous attacks, the Jin army on the city frantically poured arrows, wood and rocks down, causing the Ming army to suffer considerable casualties. However, even the Jin Kingdom, a country with riding and archery as its main combat skill, could not bear such a huge loss. After all, Shenyang was only one city, so how could it provide sufficient logistics for a long time? Thinking of this, Huang Taiji's face became even more ugly, and he categorically ordered: "Demolish all the residences in the city to resist foreign enemies!"
Although this order has been implemented, the effect is not obvious. Because of the habits of the Jin people, they are not used to living in Han people's houses even in the city. Only a small number of Han people with high status can own houses, while the Jin people mostly live in tents. As a result, only so much can be demolished. How can we fill the needs of the city?
And doing so aroused the resentment of many Han people in the city. They already had a hatred in their hearts because of the oppression they had suffered all along. This time they actually destroyed their homes in order to deal with their own compatriots. Now it's freezing cold. Isn't this driving people to death? As a result, many bloody Han people in the city began to meet each other, preparing to cause trouble in the city to attack the Jin people.
But at this time, the Jin people could no longer care about these Han people who were nothing in their eyes. They still lacked Shimuxia, so Huang Taiji had to order the demolition of his palace. This newly built Golden Palace was mostly made of rocks and giant trees, which was a good choice for the city defenders. It's just that the sadness in the hearts of everyone in the Jin Kingdom when they saw this scene is unknown.
"Bang!" Several huge rocks hit the city, forcing the army back a certain distance. This scene fell in Tang Feng's eyes, making him frown. The rocks and wood that the Jin man smashed before were already very small, and it felt like the weapon was exhausted, but why did it become like this after a day or two?
? ?Go and send someone to see what kind of stone they smashed down. " Tang Feng immediately ordered.
Soon, Tang Feng knew the material of the huge stone and guessed its origin: "It seems that the Jiannu have reached the end of their rope. Even their palace has been demolished." When he said this , Tang Feng was also a little lucky that he had obtained a lot of weapons in Anshan before, otherwise there would be a shortage of weapons on his side now.
"My lord, in this case, should we step up our attack and defeat them completely?"
"No, not busy! Now we have the advantage, and the enemy is almost unable to support it anymore. Instead, we should conserve our strength. Let's do this. Shoot the surrender letter in, let them surrender, and we will retreat." Tang Feng pondered for a while and then said .
"What? Your Majesty, we have come this far, we must not fail." The generals hurriedly advised.
Tang Feng said with a smile on his face: "You don't understand this. I did this to make it easier to capture this city. I can't let them continue to threaten my Ming Dynasty's border. This time I will End with their complete destruction!" These words stunned everyone, but no one dared to object to the Duke's intention