At this time, the weakness of the Later Jin Dynasty was revealed. They were short of troops, and even if they were fully mobilized, they would never exceed 100,000. The maximum mobile force that could be deployed was around 60,000.
It is precisely because of this that Zhu Youxiao, based on his God's perspective, came up with the plan to pacify Liaodong in five years. It can't be said to be arrogant and boastful, as it was indeed possible to achieve it at the time.
As long as the war situation is stabilized and no rash advances are made, as long as too many Mongolian tribes are not allowed to surrender to the Later Jin, and as long as the Later Jin is not given the opportunity to plunder, the Jiannu can be forced to eat tree bark and grass roots if the war continues.
Of course, this requires financial support, relative internal stability, and the prevention of major chaos.
In Zhu Youxiao's words, "I'm going to retreat for a while to practice, level up quickly, and prepare for a big move. I won't play big with you." But I still have to nudge you from time to time, and I won't let you go in silence.
Liaozhen, Dengzhen and Dongjiangzhen also implemented the emperor's wishes, treating these attacks as actual combat training to torment the Jiannu.
But not all attacks were a case of retreating as the enemy came. Zhang Pan's battle plan for Jinzhou was approved by Mao Wenlong and Denglai Governor Yuan Keli, and also had the support of Zhu Youxiao.
Therefore, although the Dongjiang Army seemed to be attacking in many places and making great commotion in other places, the real highlight was in Lushun. It depended on whether the Later Jin would be fooled or not.
At this time, the field fortifications outside Port Arthur were nearly completed, with trenches, breastworks, and deer forts densely packed; the food and supplies in the city were almost fully stockpiled, and the repair of the city walls was also proceeding intensively.
These tasks were not completed by Zuo Xie alone. More than 10,000 people from Guanglu Island came by boat to participate in the civil engineering work.
And it was not Zuo Xie's 6,000 troops (including 2,000 musketeers) who directly participated in the battle of Port Arthur.
Now, rushing to fight alongside them were 1,500 musketeers from Liaozhen, led by Lieutenant General He Kegang;
There were also 1,500 musketeers in Jinzhen, led by the newly promoted guerrilla commander He Zan; and 1,500 musketeers in Dengzhen, led by the newly promoted lieutenant general Zhang Bang.
He Zan is not very famous in history. His father, He Huchen, succeeded Shen Yourong and is currently the general of Denglai.
Historically, He Huchen was killed in a battle against the Mongolian Huduntu tribe in Ningxia.
He Zan was promoted to deputy general of the Beijing camp. When Li Zicheng attacked Beijing, the six major camps of the Beijing army did not dare to fight. He Zan led his troops alone to meet the attack, but was shot and killed.
Lieutenant General Zhang Bang was promoted and given an important position because of his bravery in suppressing Xu Hongru's rebellion.
Compared to the young guerrilla He Zan and the lesser-known Zhang Bang, He Kegang was a much more famous general. He was one of the four most powerful generals of Liaodong in history. He refused to surrender while defending Jinzhou and was killed by Zu Dashou.
It can be said that now that several loyal and brave generals have gathered in Lushun, even Zhu Youxiao feels confident about such an arrangement.
In addition to strong soldiers and brave generals, Dengzhen, Jinzhen and Liaozhen also provided a large amount of food, fodder and ammunition for the Battle of Lushun, including more than 200 grenade vehicles and more than 3,000 artillery shells.
"Dig half a foot deeper here!" Zhang Zhuzi limped, but walked quickly. He inserted the long ruler in his hand into the trench and supervised the excavation of the fortifications.
"Hmm!" A deliberately dull voice responded, and the Liao people wearing hats in the trench dug out the soil with great effort, piled it on the edge of the trench, and patted it hard.
Zhang Zhuzi wore a red jacket, but what distinguished him from the regular soldiers was a yellow strip of cloth sewn on the sleeve. This was the symbol of the Dongjiang Town's unique reserve army, established at the emperor's request.
Hearing the response, Zhang Zhuzi turned around to continue his inspection and supervision. But after a few steps, he stopped again and turned his head in confusion.
The digger thought Zhang Zhuzi had left, so he breathed a sigh of relief, placed his shovel at the edge of the ditch, took off his shoes, knocked them around, and poured out the dirt.
"How dare you." A shout came from above, and a shadow fell over, scaring Yingzi.
Zhang Zhuzi was furious. How could a woman sneak into his own labor team? If the officers knew about this, they would think he had accepted bribes and inserted someone here to fill the gap.
Yingzi quickly lifted her hat a little, revealing her face which was deliberately painted black. She looked up and made gestures to Zhang Zhuzi to keep quiet.
Zhang Zhuzi recognized her by her distinctive downy hair, slightly round face, and large almond-shaped eyes. He frowned and jumped into the trench.
At this time, several Liao people in front and behind also came over, smiling and whispering to Zhang Zhuzi to plead for mercy. Obviously, they knew about it long ago, but kept it a secret for Yingzi.
"Yingzi's father is sick, and she came out to earn a few liters of rice to make porridge."
"This girl is not lazy, we all see it. If she is not good enough, we will help her."
Yingzi lowered her head slightly and whispered, "Brother Zhang, I really didn't slack off. Come back and take a look. I'm sure this part I dug will be up to standard."
Zhang Zhuzi looked at the girl's face which was gray and white with sweat, and shook his head helplessly. He knew that although the people on the island were not starving to death, they were still living a hard life.
It was just physical labor, digging ditches, but with free food, five liters of rice a day (about six pounds), and everyone was vying for the job. First come, first served, and once you had enough, you could leave.
The reason this girl was able to sneak in was because others felt sorry for her and covered for her.
Zhang Zhuzi figured it out and couldn't bear to blame him. He silently climbed up the edge of the ditch, turned back and said, "Don't tire yourself out. I'll come back and help you dig after I finish checking." With that, he limped away.
Yingzi smiled and thanked the villagers repeatedly. After everyone left their work, the girl rubbed her hands and started working again with the shovel.
………………
Lushun originally had two cities, the northern and southern, but the northern city was destroyed by the Later Jin. Only the southern city remains, built in the tenth year of the Yongle reign. Made of rammed earth and bricks, it has a circumference of one li, three hundred paces and two city gates: the southern one, called Tongjin, and the northern one, called Renhe.
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