The sky is a little gloomy, just like the old slave's current mood.
Whenever I see the towering city in the distance, my heart feels a sharp pain.
They tried to attack Guangning, attacked Youtunwei, and stormed Guangning City. The Later Jin army had more than 3,400 casualties and more than 7,000 wounded, totaling more than 10,000.
This is just the current statistics, because with the medical level at the time, at least one or two thousand of the more than 7,000 wounded would have died.
This was the biggest loss Lao Nu had suffered since he started his rebellion, and it couldn't help but make him heartbroken.
Although from the perspective of the entire war, the Ming army suffered tens of thousands of casualties in the disastrous defeat at Shaling, and the losses in defending the city would not be small, the victory or defeat of a war is not calculated in this way.
In the old slave's view, failure to plunder gold, silver, treasures, food and supplies means failure to achieve the purpose of the war.
Although he was extremely unwilling, the old slave also understood that he had to withdraw his troops.
First, the army's food supplies were almost exhausted. Since they were planning to transport as much food home as possible using large and small vehicles, they naturally couldn't bring much food.
Secondly, urgent reports came in from the rear that Jinzhou had been lost. After a feint at Fuzhou, the Ming army suddenly sailed north and landed on Lianyun Island, intending to besiege Gaizhou.
The Gaizhou garrison had already withdrawn a portion of its troops and was converging on Fuzhou to relieve the siege of Jinzhou. With fewer than a thousand soldiers in the city, it was unlikely to hold out for even a day under the siege of tens of thousands of Ming troops.
If Gaizhou was lost, Fuzhou would be isolated again. The Ming army would march south to besiege it, and Fuzhou would face the same fate as Jinzhou.
Two of the four guards in southern Liaoning have been lost, and the third will soon be lost. How can I, an old slave, continue to stay in Guangning City with peace of mind?
The last point is that after the failure of the fierce attack on Guangning City, the Later Jin army, including Lao Nu, developed a fear of attacking cities.
Over the past few days, the Later Jin army has been resting and retraining while forging new weapons, seemingly preparing to attack the city. However, the dejection and anxiety that permeates the Later Jin army is obvious to anyone with a discerning eye.
According to the analysis and discussion between the old slave and his subordinates, there should still be at least 10,000 to 20,000 defenders in the city. Adding the able-bodied civilians, it is very likely that there will be 30,000 to 50,000 defenders.
Moreover, after the offensive and defensive battles, the morale of the defenders in the city should have been greatly boosted and their combat experience greatly increased. They should not be as panic-stricken as when they first retreated into the city and faced a powerful enemy.
According to this analysis, if the Later Jin army wants to capture the city, it will have to suffer at least tens of thousands of casualties before it can break the city.
After reaching this conclusion, the several great beile and generals almost lost their resolve to attack the city. Although the old slave did not say it, he had completely lost his will to fight.
Because such a number of casualties is absolutely unbearable for the Later Jin army, and they do not have the capital to do so.
Amin's troops were recalled from Youtunwei and rushed to Gaizhou overnight, which meant that Lao Nu had to withdraw his troops in disgrace.
"Father Khan, all the wounded have been loaded onto the vehicles and are ready to set off. Our army is also ready to march." The great prince Daishan walked into the tent and reported respectfully.
The old slave waved his hands and continued to sit there in a daze.
Daishan had no choice but to bow and retreat.
Not long after, Huang Taiji walked in, did not say a word, and sat quietly below.
After a long pause, the old slave shook his head and said in a deep voice, "I can't understand it. I can't understand it! Why are the Ming troops moving so quickly? It's as if they knew our movements in advance and made arrangements in advance."
Huang Taiji pondered for a moment and said, "I have the same doubt. According to the plans and estimates before the war, the Ming army's actions were at least ten days faster than expected."
The old slave frowned and said, "The most important thing is the speed of the Ming court's response. It will take at least three or four days to reach a conclusion after going through the Ministry of War, drafting the memorial, and then discussing it in court."
The Jian Nu people knew very well about the efficiency of the Ming court and the factional struggles in the court.
Don't think that the Jiannu were really a group of savages. They planned very carefully and meticulously, and were very good at using spies. They could get news from the capital very quickly.
Therefore, the result of the Battle of Guangning left this old servant puzzled, and Huang Taiji also found it unexpected.
If we calculate in reverse, Tianjin, Dengzhen, and the remaining Dongjiang troops of Mao Daozhu must have started to act at least after the disastrous defeat at Shaling, which led to the current situation.
Given the speed of information transmission at the time, this was impossible, unless they had made advance arrangements and had an astonishingly accurate prediction of the battle situation.
Analyzing from Guangning's reaction speed, it is also shocking.
It was as if they knew in advance that Xiping Fort would fall and the reinforcements would be defeated, so they were able to so decisively abandon the fort, relocate the people, and concentrate their forces to retreat to Guangning City and Youtunwei City.
A god? Being able to tell fortunes to this degree, I guess we can call him that, right?
But since the predictions were so accurate, couldn't the siege of Xipingbao and the disastrous defeat in the Shaling field battle have been prevented and resolved in advance?
There are also a large number of artillery pieces that suddenly appeared in Guangning City and Youtunwei City, and the sudden increase in the combat effectiveness of the defenders. These are all very strange and puzzling.
I can’t figure it out! I can’t figure it out!
The old slave shook his head vigorously again, feeling his head swelling, but still had no idea.
"Father Khan," Huang Taiji stood up and bowed. "Victory and defeat are common in war. There's no need to worry about it. I believe the Ming must have undergone changes we're unaware of. After careful investigation, we can find a countermeasure and defeat them in another battle."
The old slave looked up at his eighth son, and after a long pause he nodded vigorously. He stood up suddenly and said in a loud voice, "Thinking back to the time when the Ming army attacked with hundreds of thousands of men, I was not afraid. How can today's small setbacks discourage me?"
Starting from thirteen pieces of armor, we marched to Fushun, Anshan, Sarhu, Liaoyang, Shenyang...
Lao Nu has indeed never been defeated. Even though Guangning City was not captured, the casualty ratio between the two sides in the entire Guangning Battle was still in favor of the Later Jin.
Of course, if the strategic goal is not achieved, there will definitely be resentment. But given the situation, what's the point of dwelling on it?
Learn from experience and lessons, fight again with strength; regroup and make a comeback.
There are still many days ahead. Will the Ming people always have such good luck? The old slave gathered his thoughts, put on his armor and sword, and walked out of the tent proudly.
Even if you lose the battle, you should not be discouraged. Who are you trying to show your humiliating and miserable look to?
The trumpets wailed, the drums and gongs roared, and the Later Jin army packed up their tents and retreated in groups. They were quite orderly, without any trace of embarrassment in their defeat.
…………
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