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Although it is only used to observe the battlefield, every time it takes off, it will bring a morale blow to the enemy.Some Dashun and Manchu soldiers felt that the thing was a god, and the Datong Emperor must have been blessed by the gods.

More than 20 minutes later, the first hot air balloon landed, and the observer came to report: "Captain, the Tartars have returned to the south again, and seem to want to confront our army across the river."

"Running around, they don't feel tired." Fei Ruhe laughed.

The Manchu Qing army returned to the original camping point. In order to prevent themselves from being made dumplings, they had to send thousands of cavalry to scout south and west for more than ten miles.

Hauge was also helpless, if he didn't come back, let alone a war, he wouldn't even be able to see the Datong Army.

Only when you come back, you may be able to attack Li Zicheng on both sides.

Besieging the city and fighting for aid has been regarded as a complete failure for this kind of sake.

The Datong reinforcements came, but they were not in a hurry at all. They camped seven or eight miles away from Tianjin, and there was no intention of rescue at all.Because there is no need to rescue, Tianjin is not in danger at all, this city is too difficult to fight.

From the day when the Datong navy took control of Sanjiaodian, Li Zicheng and Hauge had fallen into a passive situation, and all the favorable terrain was occupied by the Datong army.They didn't even dare to take the initiative to attack, and intercepted Fei Ruhe's reinforcements halfway, that was their only chance to win.

On both sides of the canal, shelling continued every day, and sentinels ran back and forth every day.

Both sides are guarding against the enemy crossing the river, and they are always planning to send a small group of troops across the river to attack.

Another half month.

Man Dahai said to Haoge: "Let's withdraw the troops. If Tianjin can't be defeated, then Fei Ruhe belongs to the tortoise. The more the camp is built, the stronger it will be, and the more ditches and earth walls will be dug. If this continues, even if we can cross the river safely, Attacking a camp is the same as attacking a fortress. If it continues to drag on, the rainy season in western Liaoning will come, and it will be more difficult to transport the army rations, and it will definitely be defeated due to lack of food."

"It costs so much money and food, so this time it's just a waste of time?" Hauge was very unwilling.

Man Dahai asked back: "Otherwise, what else can you do? Can you defeat Tianjin City, or destroy the Nanmanzi on the other side of the river?"

Hauge said, "Should we attack Jinghai County first without dividing our troops?"

Man Dahai asked: "How much do you divide to fight? If you divide too little, you won't be able to fight. If you divide too much, there are few soldiers here, so Fei Ruhe will definitely attack."

Hauge said: "Set up many empty battalions, divide the troops quietly and leave, at least you can deceive the opponent for several days."

Man Dahai said: "The Nanmanzi has a flying ball. Standing in the sky and looking through a binoculars, can you see that you are all empty camps? Even if you can't tell, can you guarantee to capture Jinghai County in a few days?"

Fei Ruhe's use of troops is quite like Xu Da's.

At that time, Wang Baobao had [-] soldiers and was in Taiyuan. Xu Da captured two strongholds and was busy building camps all the time, without any appearance of a decisive battle.

It has always been a waste of time and food, and Wang Baobao couldn't sit still.

Wang Baobao then pretended to go to Dadu to lure Xu Da to send troops to rescue him, intending to fight Xu Da on the way.As a result, Xu Da did not go to rescue Dadu at all, but went to attack Taiyuan where Wang Baobao had just left.

Wang Baobao's siege and aid became Xu Da's siege and aid.

Wang Baobao hurried back with his troops, wanting to fight Xu Da decisively.Xu Da didn't move again, and devoted himself to strengthening the camp.

Wang Baobao was so arrogant and impatient, he wanted to fight but could not get it, so he let down his vigilance, thinking that Xu Da would still stay in the camp forever.

Xu Da moved and sent troops to attack at night. Wang Baobao's tens of thousands of troops were wiped out overnight.

As for the timing, Fei Ruhe is still hard to say, but his patience is definitely comparable to Xu Da's.Do you want to fight?Hey, if I don't move, I won't move, I'm sick of you!

Fei Ruhe didn't move, but the Datong army in Henan moved, and the direction of the troops was as strong as a broken bamboo!

Chapter 541 [Tongguan]

If there is an army that directly kills Shanxi, it can be made into a horizontal version of the game.

Shanxi is surrounded by mountains in all directions.Moreover, there are mountains within mountains, which divide the whole province into countless small pieces. Even if one or two pieces are captured, don't rush to be happy, and you must be prepared to continue to break through.

Taihang Baxing, the Datong Army in Henan, can only attack from Zhiguanxing, Taihangxing and Baixing.

Among them, Taihang Xing is the most dangerous. Li Zicheng only needs to garrison 1000 people to withstand the attack of tens of thousands of Datong troops.

Since Shanxi is so difficult to fight, why not go to Shaanxi?

Liu Zhu's Eighth Division and Jiang Liang's Fifth Division set off from Luoyang, passed the Weihan Ancient Road, and headed straight for Guanzhong.

Xiashi Pass, Yanling Pass, and Hangu Pass are all in the hands of the Datong Army.

But there is still Tongguan blocking the front, and the general stationed at Tongguan is Tian Jianxiu.Li Zicheng only named two generals Quan, one was Tian Jianxiu and the other was Liu Zongmin.

The status of the two of them, if you insist on a metaphor, is similar to that of Fei Ruhe and Zhang Tieniu.

Counting tens of thousands of civilian husbands, they came to Tongguan along the Yellow River.

"hiss!"

Looking at the city wall of Tongguan, Jiang Liang gasped, "How do you fight?"

Liu Zhu said with a smile: "Surely you can't hit hard."

Liu Zhu has been stationed here for a long time, and he has personally explored the terrain and knows what Tongguan looks like.It was Jiang Liang's first time here, and he was completely intimidated by this majestic pass.

Due to the continuous erosion of rainwater and the continuous accumulation of sediment, the location of Tongguan is also constantly changing, which can be divided into Hantongguan, Suitongguan and Tangtongguan.

But Zhu Yuanzhang is still rich and powerful, Mingtong Pass framed all the main roads, and directly built a city here!

Therefore, it is not called Mingtongguan now, but it is generally called Tongguan Mingcheng.

The city is 16 meters high and has a circumference of 11.2 kilometers. It encloses several mountains in the city. The two sections of the city wall built against the mountains are even more terrifyingly high than 30 meters.

Datong soldiers and civilian husbands, looking at Guancheng from a distance, all stood there dumbfounded.

"Let's set up camp first," Liu Zhu said.

Tian Jianxiu stood on the Guanlou, looked at the Datong army retreating to set up camp, and only said one sentence: "Every battalion must not relax!"

After finishing speaking, Tian Jianxiu crossed the Yellow River in person and went to inspect Fenglingdu on the other side of the river.

Fenglingdu is the place where Yang Guo and Guo Xiang met for the first time. Guo Xiang's apprentice was later called Master Fengling.

Although the flow of the Yellow River is fast, it ends at Fenglingdu River, and the flow of the river is relatively slow.Generally speaking, Fenglingdu is where the army crosses the river, but Tian Jianxiu is still afraid that the Datong army will desperately cross the river downstream.

Tian Jianxiu has never read "Three Kingdoms", but he also knows that the banks of the Yellow River must be guarded.

After the Datong army set up camp, it was getting dark.

Liu Zhu and Jiang Liang inspected the barracks respectively, and then called a meeting with the generals in the army.

Wang Hui, who returned from his meritorious service in Luzon, was directly promoted to the deputy commander of the Fifth Division due to the expansion of the army.He raised a question: "Why did the Ministry of War let us attack Tongguan Xiongcheng? Don't say that we didn't bring heavy artillery, even if we brought heavy artillery, I'm afraid it won't collapse in two or three months."

Jiang Liang smiled and said: "It's not easy, there are two friendly armies, and they are sending troops from Taihangxing and Baixing. They are also guarded by one man, and no one can open it."

Liu Zhu, who has changed his name to Liu Dingjue, seems to have really become a man of culture.He smiled and asked: "Everyone knows that Ma Chao and Cao Cao once had a great battle here. At that time, Ma Chao was stationed in Tongguan, just like seeing a beautiful woman in that field, and Cao Cao led his troops to the west, just like us."

Although Cao Bianjiao can write and count, and has read "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", he has never read "Three Kingdoms".He sucked his teeth and said, "That's not auspicious. Cao Cao was killed by Ma Chao and cut off his beard and discarded his robe."

Liu Zhu shook his head and said, "That's "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", it was edited. It's different in "Three Kingdoms". From the beginning to the end, Ma Chao was played by Cao Cao, and finally defeated by Cao Cao!"

"Hey, you still read "Three Kingdoms"?" Jiang Liang suddenly joked. He also changed his name to Jiang Daoxing, but in terms of cultural level, he was no better than Zhang Tieniu.

Liu Zhu laughed and said, "Where can I read "Three Kingdoms"? Peng Xuanjiao told me. Peng Xuanjiao, come and tell everyone."

Due to the short time he joined the army, Peng Shining was only a brigade-level missionary officer, but he was born as a former Ming scholar, and he liked to read all kinds of miscellaneous books.

Peng Shining took out a pen and paper, drew a simple map near Tongguan, pointed to the map and said:

"When I learned that our army was going to attack Tongguan, I remembered the Battle of Tongguan during the Three Kingdoms period, and went back to Nanjing to check a lot of historical materials..."

"Tongguan in the Han Dynasty was built on a higher place, and the lowlands along the river have not yet been washed out. Tongguan at that time was also as large as it is now. In addition to Tongguan, the earth beams to the south are also fighting zones."

"Cao Cao couldn't break through Tongguan, so he crossed the Yellow River directly at the place where we camped..."

"Wait," the missionary officer Lin Ruzhao interrupted, "Cao Cao's army can pass such a fast-moving river?"

Peng Shining nodded and said, "Yes. Besides, when Cao Cao was crossing the river, Ma Chao led his cavalry out of the customs and shot arrows at Cao Cao along the river bank. Cao Cao's boatmen were all shot to death. It was Xu Chu who raised the saddle with his left hand to block the arrows and his right hand to paddle the boat. Cao Cao Only after surviving on the boat, was washed by the river for four or five miles, and then crossed the Yellow River in a dangerous way. In addition, Ma Chao's coalition forces were not in the same mind, and they all went to grab the livestock left by Cao Cao, otherwise Cao Cao probably would have died. More bad luck than good luck."

"Xu Chu is really a strong general," Cao Bianjiao clapped his hands, "Then let's cross the river here, maybe Cao Cao!"

Peng Shining said: "Our army can first organize civilians to build a sand wall on the bank to keep Tian Jianxiu's defenders from coming. In this way, we can swagger across the river without being as dangerous as Cao Cao."

Cao Bianjiao said: "Mr. Peng, please continue to talk, how did Cao Cao play tricks on Ma Chao?"

Peng Shining pointed to the simple map: "After Cao Cao's entire army crossed the river, he led his troops across Fenglingdu and crossed the river at Pubanjin in the northwest. Knowing that Xu Huang's advance is so fast, he has successfully crossed the river from Pubanjin."

"Wonderful," Jiang Liang actually learned to speak like a literati, "Xu Huang is also a general. I knew him from listening to stories when I was young."

"The Romance of the Three Kingdoms", everyone knows that this topic is very lively.

Peng Shining continued: "When the vanguard led by Xu Huang was responding to Cao Cao's main force to cross the river, Ma Chao suggested launching a general attack immediately to drive Xu Huang back into the Yellow River. However, Han Sui said that if we fight now, we can only eliminate Xu Huang, not Eliminate Cao Cao's main force. You should wait for Cao Cao's army to cross the river a little bit, and then take the opportunity to kill Cao Cao's army, so as to inflict heavy damage on Cao's army."

Cao Bianjiao complained: "This Han Sui is a fool. If he can fight more and less, he must start fighting immediately. Still waiting for the main force of Cao's army to cross the river? What if Xu Huang defends desperately and the main force of Cao's army really comes?"

Peng Shining smiled and said, "So Cao Jun is really here."

Cao Bianjiao said with emotion: "Ma Chao is also unlucky. He met Han Sui, an idiot. Just like when I was in Ming Dynasty, there were many idiots around me. Especially the civil servants and eunuchs, they talk about the war on paper, but they are all fucking nonsense when fighting. Mr. Peng , you continue to talk!"

Peng Shining said: "Cao's army succeeded in crossing the river, so Ma Chao had no choice but to retreat. But if he wanted to go around the back of Tongguan, he had to cross the Wei River again. A part of Cao's army sneaked in at night, bought walls with sand, and supported Cao Cao's main force to cross the river. Ma Chao sent troops to attack and kill them. The wall was always impossible to build. Fortunately, when the weather turned cold, Cao Jun poured water on the sandy soil, and after the water froze, the earthen wall was erected."

Everyone sighed, Cao Cao's luck is really good.

Peng Shining said: "Ma Chao and Han Sui's coalition forces have a lot of cavalry, and Cao Cao's terrain is not easy to fight. The next step is to confront each other by the river. This delay has caused Ma Chao and Han Sui's food to run out. The coalition forces can only ask for surrender. Cao Cao's surface Agreed, and let Han Sui go to the front of the battle to talk about the old days. We talked about the past for a long time. After Han Sui returned to the camp, Ma Chao asked what happened, and Han Sui answered truthfully. Ma Chao didn’t believe it and began to be suspicious. Next, we Don’t tell me, you all understand.”

Cao Bianjiao said: "It must be that Ma Chao and Han Sui were suspicious of each other, fell into Cao Cao's tricks, and were defeated by Cao Cao!"

"Of course!" Peng Shining laughed.

The next day.

The Datong army imitated Cao Cao's old wisdom and prepared to cross the river and circle the back.

In order to prevent Tian Jianxiu from going out to attack and kill, he began to build fortifications by the river.

There is no need to water it into ice, because Liu Zhu had already planned it, so he brought a lot of cement.Cement can be mixed with thinner ones, and it doesn’t matter if it’s bean curd dregs, as long as it can form an earthen wall anyway.

When Tian Jianxiu learned of the situation, he immediately said: "The puppet army wants to cross the river, go to the other side of the Yellow River immediately!"

There are not many regular soldiers in Tian Jianxiu, only about 6000.Just in case, he selected the young and strong again, and trained a full [-] army, which has been trained for more than three months.

When the Datong Army was building the earthen wall, Tian Jianxiu personally led five thousand soldiers and horses, and ran to the other side of the Yellow River to wait to stop them.

But the Yellow River is so long, how can he have enough people?

If you defend this place, you will miss that place, and the Datong Army can freely choose where to cross the river.Even if the river is wider, even if the current is faster, more soldiers will be drowned by the Yellow River.

Tian Jianxiu was a little panicked, and ordered the defenders of Tongguan and Fenglingdu to send another 8000 people to guard the river.

Moreover, while the Datong Army was building fortifications, he also dug trenches frantically on the other side of the river.

"Boom boom boom!"

The artillery of the Datong Army roared and fired at the Dashun Army on the opposite bank.

The Yellow River channel here is 600 meters at its widest point and only 400 meters at its narrowest point, which is just within the range of the artillery.

Of course, he couldn't beat a few people to death, it was purely to scare and intimidate to strengthen his prestige.

Just as the Datong army was looking for an opportunity to cross the river, internal problems began to appear on Tian Jianxiu's side.

Many people said that He Zhen was an officer of the Ming Dynasty, and then joined Li Zicheng.However, according to the investigation of Manchu officials, it is said that this guy is Li Zicheng's old team, pretending to be a Ming military officer to deceive Manchu trust.

Historically, He Zhen quickly surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and even took the initiative to lead troops to attack Li Guo.

But in this time and space, he had indeed descended to the Qing Dynasty, and because the Dashun Army had a different retreat route, he had not attacked any of Li Zicheng's troops.

When the Manchu Qing withdrew from Shanshan, Li Zicheng made a comeback, and He Zhen returned to Li Zicheng again.

Although he was disliked as a second-five boy, he was an old man after all, and since he surrendered again, he couldn't just kill him directly.Li Zicheng has been looking for opportunities to settle accounts, but He Zhen is obedient, and he is ordered to do everything Li Zicheng says.

"I'm afraid Tongguan won't be able to defend this time." He Zhen said.

Dang Meng'an said: "It is true that once the puppet army crosses the river, there will be a lot of recruits on our side, and it will definitely be unstoppable."

He Zhen said: "We have all surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, and have always been guarded by His Majesty. Even if His Majesty can win the battle, we will not have a bright future. How about..."

"It's better to submit to the court of Datong!" Luo Dai said.

Chapter 542 [Hero]

"Commander, General Zhang, the enemy is ready to cross the river!"

"All the ministries stand firm, and the cavalry will follow me to stop the enemy! At Tongguan, issue an order to let Liu Xiyao go out and attack!"

Tian Jianxiu personally led the cavalry on the north bank of the Yellow River, running east along the river bank.

The weather was fine and sunny. . .

The Datong army on the south bank is swaggering across the river.

Although Cao Cao won the battle of Tongguan, it was actually a tragic victory, with a loss of more than 1 troops.Moreover, the casualties basically occurred during the three river crossings.