Three thousand versus twenty thousand? Well, that leaves only fifteen or sixteen thousand, or maybe even less.
Kong Youde narrowed his eyes, knowing that this would be a fierce and bloody battle.
Without artillery, bombs, or even grenades, and relying only on muskets and bayonets, could the 3,000 Ming troops stop an enemy that was five or six times their number?
The sound of horse hooves was rapid, and the Ming army responsible for blocking the enemy and buying time retreated.
"Prepare for battle." Kong Youde gave the order, but his expression was strangely relaxed. He sat down on the tree stump next to him, took out a cigarette, and smoked it with relish.
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Zhenjiang Fort.
Huang Taiji stood on a high place, looking at the castle in the distance, frowning, showing that he was in a bad mood.
Surrounded by trenches, the current defense system of Zhenjiang Fort was difficult for Huang Taiji to handle, and he basically lost the courage to attack.
Obviously, this was a wise move. After the probing attack on the Luda defense line, Huang Taiji knew that it was impossible to break through the defense of Zhenjiang Fort with his Zhengbai Banner.
If Huang Taiji had led his troops to attack when the Ming army had just occupied Zhenjiang Fort and had not yet established a firm foothold, the situation might have been very different.
But Huang Taiji did not regret it, because he knew that even if he could temporarily prevent the Ming army from gaining a foothold in Zhenjiang Fort, there would be no gain, and it would be impossible to garrison Zhenjiang Fort for a long time.
This is interesting. When you lead your troops here, the Ming army leaves by boat; when you return, the Ming army comes again.
Huang Taiji could not afford to play this game of you come and I go, I go and you come, so it was only a matter of time before Zhenjiang Fort was occupied by the Ming army.
Originally, Huang Taiji didn't want to bring troops here.
Firstly, he felt that the Ming army had enough time to build fortifications, and further attack would only result in casualties; secondly, he wanted to wait for the Ming army to advance deeper, and then lead his elite cavalry to launch a quick attack and severely hit the Ming army!
But the news that kept spreading made Huang Taiji a little restless. He believed that if he did not take action, it would probably have an adverse impact on him.
Nara Zhongming, the newly appointed commander of Jianzhou Guard, was in Zhenjiang Fort and called on the Jurchens of the former Yehe tribe to come and join him in order to avenge the destruction of the Yehe tribe.
What made Huang Taiji even more difficult to accept was that Nara Zhongming directly called on him to give the position of commander of Jianzhou Guard to him because he also had the blood of the Yehe tribe in his veins.
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