"Come here, immediately send a fast horse to Canglong Mountain upstream of Ningyuan River to inquire about the garrison and see if there are any unusual movements of the Ming army." Hauge looked at the map in front of him with a serious expression.
He had a premonition that the Ming army was going to fight a decisive battle!
certainly.
I've had this premonition before, but it's even stronger today.
"Yes!" The scout galloped away.
What follows is an agonizing wait.
The sound of cannons in the distance was like thunder, and Hauge's heart was as nervous as a drum.
"Report!" The voice from outside the tent attracted everyone's attention.
Amid the sound of footsteps, a soldier appeared in front of everyone in a panic.
He ran to Hauge and knelt on one knee: "Prince Su, the Ming army has assembled in the upper reaches of Ningyuan River and is attacking Canglong Mountain."
"Whose troops are they? How many are there?" Hauge asked while staring at the map in front of him.
"It was Wu Sangui and his Guanning Army. The exact number of troops is unknown, but according to my estimation, it is at least over 30,000."
"30,000?" Haoge's eyebrows almost stood upside down: "Are you sure there are 30,000 soldiers?"
"Almost!" The scout replied, "The banks of the upper reaches of the Ningyuan River and the foot of Canglong Mountain are all filled with Ming troops."
Bang!
Hauge slammed the table and stood up, saying impulsively: "It seems that the Ming army wants to fight a decisive battle! Let's go and meet them for a while."
Bo Luo suddenly stopped him and said, "Wait a minute, Your Majesty."
"What's wrong?" Hauge turned around and looked inquiringly.
"I think His Majesty doesn't need to go upstream to provide support!"
"Why?" Hauge asked puzzledly.
Bo Luo said seriously: "Your Majesty, you have given Man Dahai 30,000 soldiers and horses. These soldiers and horses are already a lot. In addition, they occupy the high ground of Canglong Mountain, which is enough to deal with Wu Sangui and the Guanning Army. Your Majesty is the backbone of the army. Try not to move unless it is absolutely necessary. The most urgent task is to closely observe the Ming army in the middle and lower reaches to prevent them from crossing the river."
Haoge thought for a moment and asked, "You mean Wu Sangui was also feinting his attack?"
"I just have a suspicion, Your Majesty, please think twice!"
Hauge put away his previous impulse and looked at the map again.
Now he was a little confused by the actions of the Ming army, and he said to himself: "The Ming army sent troops to cross the river at the same time in the upper, middle and lower reaches. Which route is real and which one is fake?"
Bolo thought for a moment and said, "In theory, the upper reaches are real, and the middle and lower reaches are virtual. But the Ming army has too many troops, and the possibility of launching an attack in the middle and lower reaches cannot be ruled out, so the specific reality and virtuality will have to wait for the development of the war situation."
At this time, the sound of artillery outside gradually subsided, and shouts of killing could be heard faintly in the distance.
Hauge knew that the Ming army had crossed the river and landed, and the Eight Banners troops were attacking them halfway across the river as planned.
As expected, the scout rushed into the tent and said, "Report! Duolo Beile Lekedehun is fighting with the Ming army in the middle of the river. The Ming army was attacked halfway across the river and is in a state of decline."
"Good!" Hauge slapped the table happily, "Lukedehun is indeed a pillar of the country."
Before he finished speaking, a scout and a messenger ran into the military tent at the same time.
"Report!" the two people shouted in unison.
After they finished speaking, they realized that the other party also had an emergency to report, so they both shut up and signaled the other party to speak first.
The scene fell into an awkward silence.
"Your Highness Prince Su..." Seeing that the other did not speak, the two men reported to Hauge again at the same time.
Hauge was already a little annoyed, and when he saw the two men talking on and on for a long time without providing any useful information, he suddenly became angry.
He pointed at the scout and said, "You speak first, and when you are done, go out and receive twenty military sticks."
"Yes, Your Majesty," the scout said, clasping his hands together and lowering his head, "I have discovered a large number of Ming army ships in the lower reaches of the Ningyuan River."
"What?" Hauge stood up suddenly, "Say it again!"
"I have discovered a large number of Ming army ships in the lower reaches of the Ningyuan River, sailing upstream from the estuary. From the appearance of these ships, they do not appear to be warships, but floating boats used to build pontoon bridges." The scout replied.
"Floating ship...Estuary..." Hauge looked at the map hurriedly.
The other generals present also came forward, staring intently at the map on the table.
Bolo of the Zhenglan Banner was the first to speak up: "The Ming army has already crossed the river and launched an attack, so why are they bringing floating boats over here?"
"Yes, floating bridges have been built upstream, midstream and downstream."
Hauge said: "It seems that the Ming army is really going to fight a decisive battle, and it will be downstream."
"Why not the middle and upper reaches?" Tong Tulai was a little puzzled.
"Nonsense," Bolo laughed loudly. "The Ming army laid a floating bridge when crossing the river. If you want to let the ships pass, you need to demolish the floating bridge. The Ming army downstream is crossing the river. If you demolish it now, won't it cut off their retreat?"
"Oh, that's right!" Tong Tulai patted his head.
At this time, gunfire was heard again outside.
After a burst of artillery fire, the scout came back to report: "The Ming army that crossed the river in the middle reaches has been defeated. Our army was bombarded by the Ming army on the way back and suffered some losses."
Before making the switch, Hauge would ask about the specific losses.
I didn't ask today.
Because he needs to focus on the overall situation of the war, rather than the casualties of a particular battle.
"What about downstream and upstream? How is the situation?" Hauge asked.
"I don't know."
"Investigate again and report back."
"Yes," the scout turned and left.
Based on this information, Hauge guessed that the main attack direction of the Ming army should be downstream.
But this is just his guess.
After all, the upstream is the best direction to attack the city, and the Ming army is very likely to use various false tactics to trick him into transferring troops from upstream.
"Don't worry, we just need to wait and see what happens!" Haoge stood up and stretched out his hands, making a downward motion. "The Eight Banners soldiers are brave and good at fighting. Even if they encounter the main force of the Ming army, they will not be defeated in a short time! As long as we can find out the deployment of the Ming army, we can know the main attack direction of the Ming army. It won't be too late to send troops to support them then."
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