The right-wing army was the farthest one, so when Du Tong led his troops to enter Liangcheng, the central-wing army had already rested for several days in Fengrun County.
The left wing army arrived at Luanzhou City at about the same time. They were the closest, so there was no need to set out so early. Sending troops later would help maintain morale and combat effectiveness.
After the three armies communicated through fast horses, they confirmed that they had arrived at the designated location ahead of time, and had formed a three-way encirclement of Tangshan City!
However, the experienced and prudent commander-in-chief Wang Huaxi still issued an order to attack as scheduled so that all the armies could be fully prepared for the battle.
For example, they conducted intensive reconnaissance to find the weak links in the defenders' defense line, cut down trees and dismantled door panels to create temporary bridge decks so that they could quickly build bridges across trenches during the attack, etc. The three of them were veterans who had experienced many battles and knew the truth that "a lion will use all its strength to fight a rabbit."
They will not neglect their preparations because of the enemy's chaotic performance, nor will they allow their subordinates to relax in the slightest.
Of course, we can't prepare for too long. It's already ninety-nine plus one-nine. If we delay any longer, it will be a joke if the main force of the rebels lands at the first opportunity.
On February 16, three armies set out at the same time, attacking Tangshan City from three directions!
At this time, the officers and soldiers of the government army had entered a combat state, swept away their previous slackness, and began to become alert and strong.
That afternoon, Zhang Chen's central army arrived at the front line and set up camp ten miles away from the rebel defense line.
He started out as an army member and achieved his current position by leading by example. He is always more proactive than the other two children from aristocratic families.
Like Du Tong, Zhang Chen also appointed his son Zhang Chengyin as a guerrilla in the scout camp. Firstly, it was convenient for training and easy to make meritorious deeds. Secondly, scouts were the eyes of the commander-in-chief, so of course the most trustworthy person had to be in charge.
Zhang Chengyin had been patrolling in this area for many days, but as Du Wenhuan had seen, the rebels had been hiding behind the trenches and had no intention of actively inviting an attack.
But General Xiao Zhang did make some discoveries during his investigation today.
After listening to his son's report, Zhang Chengyin went straight to the newly built watchtower in the camp and took a look through the telescope.
Outside the rebels' trenches, there were several more rows of chevaux de frise. But the difference was that there were some spiral coils between the chevaux de frise, densely connected.
Under the setting sun, the coils exuded a chill that made Zhang Chengyin shiver inexplicably. "When was this installed?"
"The chevaux de frise already existed." Zhang Chengyin gestured as he spoke, "Before dawn in the morning, we found that they had built a bridge over the trench, and then many civilians came out with carts. They lifted what looked like iron coils from the carts, and one of them was very long. They stretched it out and wrapped it around the chevaux de frise in a mess, without any pattern, just as fast as they could. It might be because we were nearby..."
"There were five rows of barricades in total, and we finished all of them just after noon. It became like this..."
Zhang Chen also observed that when a gust of wind blew just now, the iron coils were actually shaking a little, obviously they were not very heavy.
"Why are they doing all this fancy stuff?" Zhang Chen was puzzled. What use is this thing? It looks frail and thin, less than a person's height. And there is about three feet of space between each row of chevaux de frise.
If you go up and grab the spear and pull it, what will be left? How can you stop the enemy?
However, out of caution, he made a batch of long-handled hooks overnight so that they would be more handy tomorrow.
Moreover, those iron wire coils also trapped the rebels firmly in the trenches, so there was no need to worry about the camp being attacked at night.
As expected, the night was peaceful, and the entire army started cooking at three o'clock the next morning.
Before the war begins, it is natural to ensure that the soldiers are well fed.
Thanks to the all-round military strategist Qi Jiguang, the Ming army's rations were greatly improved. There was the famous Guangbing... a hollow round cake strung together with a rope, with one person carrying a string as dry food on the march.
There is also dry rice made from rice, which can be eaten by just soaking in water, and it is easy to store and transport.
What should the northern soldiers do if they are not used to eating rice? No problem, Marshal Qi came up with fried noodles based on the same principle after arriving in the north...
This time the emperor spent a huge amount of money, of course, it was mainly because Zhang Juzheng left him a large fortune, and the grain stored in Taicang was enough to last for seven or eight years!
Furthermore, the battle was fought in the Gyeonggi Plain, so the soldiers were always able to have enough to eat, which was incredible to them.
Today's breakfast was made of dry food, bacon, pickles and the like, boiled into a soup, each person had a large bowl, and if it was not enough, they could add another half bowl. The soldiers were so full of energy and spirit that it was like the New Year's Day!
At five o'clock in the morning, the camp gate slowly opened, and the officers and soldiers, who had had a full meal, came out in groups under the leadership of their respective captains and lieutenants and lined up in front of the camp.
By the time the 10,000 soldiers of the front army had finally assembled, it was already daybreak. With a cannon shot, the government troops began to divide into several teams and approached the rebels in a mighty force.
At this time, the rebels on the opposite side just started to eat breakfast.
Compared with the government troops who were eating as if it were New Year's Day, the rebels' food was very ordinary.
It's nothing more than hot white buns stuffed with pork and scallions, boiled eggs, fried pancakes, and other dishes sent from the rear.
I also drink some delicious preserved egg and lean meat porridge, and a piece of candy after the meal, that's all. I eat like this all the time, nothing new at all!
On the front-line blockhouse, Zheng Yiluan, with a meat bun in his mouth, a cup of hot coffee in one hand and a telescope in the other, was watching the Ming army slowly approaching from ten miles away with admiration.
In the telescope, flags and banners were like a forest, smoke and dust were rolling, and the sword-wielding soldiers were in the front, holding shields and carrying machetes on their waists.
The spearman with a red tasseled spear pointing diagonally towards the sky was in the center.
Next came the archers, carrying bows, quivers and short swords.
Behind the three teams of pioneers came the firearms battalion carrying three-barreled guns and bird guns, and the somewhat bulky chariot battalion.
The chariot camp was established by Qi Jiguang after he went north to fight against the Mongolian cavalry. Each camp was equipped with 128 heavy and light chariots. There were long shafts at both ends of the chariots, and both ends could be used to drive horses, so that they could move forward or backward.
Each heavy vehicle was equipped with two Portuguese cannons and manned by 20 soldiers. Each light vehicle was equipped with a cannon and manned by 10 soldiers. The soldiers each performed their duties, including the vehicle commander, the gunner, the bird-gunner, the rattan shield-bearer, the boring and palladium-bearer, etc. They formed an insurmountable line of defense, which caused the Tartar cavalry to crash into and bleed.
Although the rebels did not seem to have cavalry, Zhang Chen still sent a chariot battalion to lead the charge just in case.
Behind the carriage camp, there were twenty red-coated cannons, Zhang Chen's most precious treasures. Each cannon sat on an equally heavy wooden carriage, which was pulled by two oxen, and there were ten gunners behind who pushed the carriage with all their might.
This wooden axle and wheeled artillery cart was fine on a flat road, but it was almost fatal on a battlefield with unhardened ground. After pushing it for two miles, the gunners felt like they had wasted their breakfast...
~~
Looking at the troops that were not very orderly but kept their formation, Zheng Yiluan sincerely admired: "General Zhang is indeed a famous general. He is really good at leading troops!"
"It's also because of Master Qi's good foundation." Cai Liang, the military affairs commissioner and artillery commander, wiped his glasses and said, "This should be Zhang Chen's ace unit."
"Definitely." Zheng Yiluan followed his father to visit military camps across the country when he was a teenager, and he knew the fighting power and thoughts of the government troops very well. He took a sip of the strong coffee and said, "It seems that Marshal Zhang intends to fight to the death, and he is very confident."
"If we were to act this timidly, anyone would be more confident, right?" Cai Liang said with a wry smile, "You love to act too much."
"After the war begins, there will be a contrast and it will be shocking enough." Zheng Yiluan narrowed his eyes and said, "We have waited for so many years for our chance to perform on stage. If we don't perform well, how can we live up to the commander-in-chief's kindness?"
"Okay, you take your time here. I'll go shoot down those twenty red cannons first." Cai Liang rolled his eyes, but he was the same, he was almost bursting with frustration over the years. Finally, he could shoot down the cannons to his heart's content!
"Well. You don't have to worry about me. Go back to your artillery position." Zheng Yiluan waved his hand and took a deep breath of the cold morning air. After a while, he could only smell the thick smell of gunpowder.
When Cai Liang went down to the blockhouse, the guard immediately brought a horse over. He urged the horse to go back to his position.
One hundred meters behind the long trench, every three to five meters, there is a round cement platform more than half a person's height. It is the gun emplacement for placing artillery.
The result of panic production in a steel capital was that within the entire defense system of the mining area, there were 2,000 artillery batteries set up on the outer lines alone, and all of them were heavy artillery such as the Yongle Cannon and the Hongwu Cannon.
Of course, it would be good if one-fifth of these artillery pieces could fire at the same time, because there simply weren't that many gunners!
The only way was to use the militia to form a transport team, not to transport ammunition, but to transport gunners. Wherever the enemy launched an attack, the gunners would be transported there to fire the cannons...
Cai Liang has never fought such a wealthy battle in his life.
Well, no one has ever fought...
What bothered him most was the lack of gunners. He initially only had one artillery squadron, with 200 internal security gunners. Plus, there were about 100 people in the security brigade who had experience in firing guns, so what could these 300 people do?
Fortunately, scientific artillery techniques are replicable. Cai Liang immediately selected 2,000 men from the Workers' Guard and began special artillery training.
Of course, in such a short time, it would be great if they could memorize how to fire a cannon and become proficient at it. It is absolutely impossible to train a master cannon who can fire wherever he points.
Fortunately, this is a defensive battle, so you can cheat. Spend a little more time in advance and prepare the shooting table. In this way, you can directly look up the table to get the shooting parameters for the area you want to hit. The shooting is definitely not that accurate, but the volume works wonders. The more cannons you fire, the more hit rate you can still guarantee.
Cai Liang went up to the watchtower, watching the advancing position of the red cannons of the government army, and kept reporting a series of parameters. The artillery staff beside him quickly calculated the function, and after filling in the table, a messenger ran down with it and informed the firing parameters of each cannon.
When the red cannon came into range, he nodded, and the staff officer on the tower waved a red flag, notifying all gun positions to prepare to fire.
As soon as the whistle sounded, hundreds of heavy artillery roared at the same time, shaking the earth!