Luo Xiujin pondered for a moment and said, "I think we can try to sow discord and transfer Xiong Tingbi away from Liaodong. Secondly, we can intensify the attack on Mao Wenlong's troops to alleviate their worries."
Huang Taiji smiled slightly and said, "This plan is exactly what I want. However, if it is to succeed, it may take some time. Moreover, Xiong Tingbi seems to be quite trusted by the young emperor, so the success or failure of the plan to sow discord is uncertain."
"Three people make a tiger," Luo Xiujin said, "Besides, Xiong Tingbi has a hot temper and refuses to be subservient to others. Public opinion in the court doesn't approve of him."
"The court..." Huang Taiji narrowed his eyes. He didn't dare to jump to conclusions because he didn't understand the situation well.
At this moment, the personal guard came in to report that the messenger sent by the Second Prince Amin had brought an urgent message.
Huang Taiji frowned, feeling ominous, and ordered his guards to bring the messenger in.
"The siege of Port Arthur was thwarted, and Zaisanggu was killed..." Huang Taiji was quite shocked after hearing the messenger's account. He asked anxiously, "How many troops are there in the enemy camp at Port Arthur?"
The messenger knelt on one knee and replied, "According to the Second Prince's estimate, there are about five to six thousand people."
Huang Taiji felt that this was consistent with his own guess. Fort Lushun was not big and could only garrison such a number of troops.
But the Second Beile Amin led an army of more than 10,000. How could he fail to capture the city and even have to send people to ask for help?
"How many troops did the second prince lose?" Huang Taiji asked in a deep voice.
"My Lord, our army has attacked three times and suffered over 3,000 casualties." The messenger lowered his head in frustration. "Second Prince wanted to transfer the troops guarding the South Gate to attack the city. Heshuo Prince, believing that it was necessary to protect the retreat, dissuaded him and sent me to ask Eighth Prince to send troops to garrison the South Gate."
Huang Taiji nodded and said, "We must ensure that our retreat is safe. This proposal by Heshuo Beile is indeed sound."
After a pause, he continued, "Get up and tell me in detail what happened in the battle."
……………………
Outside Lushun Fort.
Second Beile Amin looked at the Ming army's position in the distance with hatred, swinging his whip in the air again and again. Only in this way could he vent his anger.
In the distance, the Ming army's positions had erected many tall poles, with human heads hanging from them. This provocation and demonstration made Amin extremely angry, and the generals around him were also furious.
The military operation, which was highly anticipated due to the combination of real and fake forces and counter-attacks, suffered a disastrous defeat.
It was not just because the Ming army had been prepared and their firearms were fierce; even their original weakness in hand-to-hand combat had been greatly improved. This was the fact that shocked Amin and others.
Shield carts were difficult to use in front of wide trenches, heavy armor could not withstand the sharp Rumi guns, and even the close combat that the Ming army was proud of could no longer easily defeat the Ming army. What other means were there to defeat the enemy?
"Brother, let's go back to camp!" Jirgalang saw that his elder brother was about to go berserk again and hurried forward to persuade him. "When the reinforcements arrive, we will defeat the enemy in one fell swoop and cut them into pieces."
Amin exhaled two heavy breaths from his nostrils like a cow, looked at him unwillingly again, suddenly pulled his horse, and galloped towards the camp without a word.
Jirgalang sighed helplessly, followed his brother's horse closely, and galloped forward.
We tried all three methods, but not only did we fail to defeat the enemy, we suffered heavy casualties and couldn't even get close to Fort Port Arthur. It was really frustrating and helpless.
"Lord Beile——"
The call of the personal guards made Jirgalang rein in his horse and turn back. Without the personal guards saying anything, he had already seen two straight columns of wolf smoke rising from Lushun Fort.
Yesterday there was one pillar, today there are two? Jirgalang frowned. Although he didn't know what the Ming army meant by this signal, he had a bad feeling.
The safest course of action would be to temporarily retreat to the South Gate, wait for reinforcements to arrive, and then attack the city.
But this suggestion had been rejected by Amin yesterday. The reason was that he was worried that the Ming army would take the opportunity to escape and he would not be able to avenge his brother Zaisanggu.
Jirgalang pondered for a long time, then, looking up at the two columns of signal smoke, he finally made up his mind and mounted his horse to chase his brother. The troops had suffered heavy casualties, so it was safer to retreat first.
But before Jirgalang could catch up with his brother and persuade him, there was a sudden roar of musketry and a loud explosion from the northwest.
The voice was far away and sounded a little vague, but Jirgalang suddenly stopped his horse and frowned tightly.
To the northwest, there is the main road leading to Nanguan and Jinzhou. If it is cut off, wouldn’t it be equivalent to isolating our own army?
"Go and find out what's going on." Jirgalang turned around and ordered a few followers. After watching them ride away, he continued to chase his brother.
Behind him, the rumbling sound of war drums shook the earth and sky, and the Ming army from Port Arthur, which had been prepared long ago, came out in groups.
On the road a few miles away, a group of Jiannu soldiers who were transporting wounded soldiers to the South Gate were beaten to a pulp by fierce musket fire, and some died or fled.
He Zan commanded his 1,500 musketeers and the 500 spearmen borrowed by Zhang Pan to line up and wait.
The 1,500 musketeers led by Zhang Bang, together with 500 sword and shield soldiers, were deployed on the hillsides on both wings, forming a concave V-shaped formation with the friendly forces.
The abandoned carts of the Jiannu, the wounded Jiannu soldiers who were all killed, the scattered branches, and the big trees that were cut down and blocked the road formed a roadblock that stretched for dozens of meters.
The flags were waving, and He Zan couldn't help but smile on his young face as he watched the friendly forces respond quickly.
There was no extravagant hope of completely annihilating the Jiannu, and blocking the other small roads was beyond the capability of the existing forces. However, it would not be too difficult to attack the enemy from both sides with the friendly forces at Port Arthur and inflict heavy casualties.
The sound of horse hooves roared, and they were coming here at a rapid speed in the distance.
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