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And they were all elite field troops!
Wanyan Zongfu muttered, "If too many Guangning troops are transferred here, Jinzhou may not be able to be defended."
Wanyan Xiyin said, "Guangning Prefecture is far from the sea, so there's no need to leave any troops there."
"Seventy percent of them will be transferred to Hesuguan, and thirty percent to Jinzhou. These two cities are the ones that must be defended."
"Can Posulu withdraw his troops?" Wanyan Zongfu asked.
Wanyan Xiyin said, "You can't move there."
"I heard that the Ming army has also deployed 70,000 to 80,000 troops on the south bank of the Yalu River."
“Once the Basu Road falls, the Ming army stationed in Goryeo will be able to advance northwards without delay.”
Wanyan Zongfu became increasingly anxious as he thought about it, and he regretted agreeing to Wanyan Zonghan's plan.
In their original plan, the defense of the Liaodong battlefield was definitely not a problem, since the soldiers of various ethnic groups were still capable of fighting.
But now the situation is very awkward, because soldiers from various ethnic groups may rebel!
Wanyan Zongfu not only had to guard against the Ming army, but also had to worry about guarding against his own people.
He didn't dare send troops out of the city to play tactical games, for fear that the troops he sent out might suddenly rebel during the fighting.
Now all we can do is defend the city and wait for Wanyan Zonghan's main force to return and reinforce us.
“Woooooooo~~~”
"Ta-da!"
"The Southern bandits are here!"
The Ming army's vanguard cavalry arrived.
There were 3,000 light cavalry and 4,000 elite cavalry, totaling 7,000 cavalry.
The commander-in-chief was Yang Yun, a Qiang general, and the deputy commanders were Li Shifu and Yang Zaixing.
This is a newly formed cavalry unit in recent years. The warhorses come from the Hehuang Valley, the Yellow-headed Uyghurs, and a small number were obtained from the Western Xia in exchange for tea.
Due to their long-term trade with the Ming Dynasty, the Yellow-headed Uyghurs have expanded rapidly in recent years, occupying the area from the southern foothills of the Qilian Mountains to the area around Qinghai Lake (excluding the Hehuang Valley).
If this trend continues, the Yellow-headed Uyghurs are very likely to occupy both Haixi and Hainan.
Then they controlled the entire Qinghai province, except for the Hehuang Valley!
...
There is a sandy river blocking the way ahead, and two small hills on the north bank of the sandy river. The stockades on the hills can be seen with binoculars.
Yang Yun, Li Shifu, and Yang Zaixing each led their cavalry to patrol and guard the south bank of the Shahe River.
They were waiting for the infantry to follow.
Once the enemy cavalry on the south bank of the Shahe River are driven away, the mission of clearing the way will be accomplished.
A large force of Jurchen cavalry, along with cavalry from various ethnic groups in Liaodong, was confronting the Ming cavalry across the Shahe River.
The next day, noon.
Generals Deng Chun, Zhang Xian, Gu San, and Zhong Yanchong led infantry and laborers slowly in.
Mules pulled four-wheeled chariots loaded with various supplies.
Each chariot was accompanied by soldiers and laborers.
Wanyan Zongfu led his personal guards to the scene and saw the Ming army gathering in increasing numbers on the south bank.
The Shahe River is indefensible; it's only a few dozen meters wide.
Laborers, under the protection of soldiers, have already gone to the eastern mountains to cut down trees and transport the timber back to build a temporary pontoon bridge.
The Jin cavalrymen dismounted one after another and stood on the north bank to fire across the river.
The Ming cavalry retreated, while the shield bearers protected the flintlock musketeers as they advanced.
The giant shield was planted firmly on the shore, and the flintlock musketeer hid behind the shield to load bullets.
Once the ammunition was loaded, he stood with his right side exposed and fired freely towards the opposite bank of the river.
After a brief exchange of fire, the Jin cavalrymen retreated, leaving behind more than a dozen corpses on the riverbank.
"The Ming army's muskets indeed no longer use matchlocks."
Wanyan Zongfu put down the binoculars, his mood becoming even more desperate.
Wanyan Chala said, "When the Ming army crosses the river, their chariot formation will not be in place yet. We will launch a desperate attack while they are halfway across!"
This Wanyan Chala was not Emperor Xizong's younger brother, but rather the younger brother of Wanyan Chamu. They simply shared the same name.
After Wanyan Chamu passed away, her troops were inherited by Wanyan Chala.
"That's the only way,"
Wanyan Zongfu said,
"Send more scouts to patrol upstream to prevent enemy troops from sneaking through the mountains."
Did the Ming army need to cross the border illegally?
However, while Ming army craftsmen were building the pontoon bridge components, more troops continued to arrive from the south.
Artillery vehicle!
Two mules pulled a four-wheeled artillery cart, with laborers pushing it from behind.
The vehicle was equipped with huge cannons, all of which were large, heavy, and crude cast iron field guns.
These field guns may look imposing, but they are actually cheap.
One can be made in a little over a month, and the iron mold for casting cannons can be reused repeatedly.
The pass rate is relatively low, and it is difficult to polish after casting. If there is any problem, it must be melted down and recast, otherwise there is a risk of the barrel exploding.
To prevent the cavity from bursting, it was thickened and reinforced, and secured with wrought iron hoops on the outside.
It weighed nearly twice as much as a wrought iron cannon of the same caliber, but its power was less than that of a wrought iron cannon of the same caliber, which seriously slowed down the overall speed during long marches.
It has only two advantages: low cost and fast production!
This kind of thing is suitable for mass production and can be used as city defense cannons and coastal defense cannons. During the late Qing Dynasty, it was used extensively as a coastal defense cannon.
"All artillery?"
Wanyan Zongfu stood on the hillside, observing the Ming army from a high vantage point.
The massive, imposing cannon barrels and the sheer number of artillery pieces sent chills down Wanyan Zongfu's spine.
More laborers were put into the construction, working with the artillery to build artillery positions.
Wanyan Zongfu originally intended to prevent the Ming army from building a pontoon bridge, and then attack them while they were crossing the river.
However, the muskets and cannons on the south bank made Wanyan Zongfu hesitate.
He said to Wanyan Chala, "You shall personally lead a thousand elite cavalrymen to cross the river upstream and hide in the mountains to wait for the opportune moment."
"Let's try a night raid on the enemy camp tonight. If the raid is successful, we'll coordinate a large-scale river crossing to attack the camp."
After saying this, Wanyan Zongfu ordered: "The entire army shall retreat three li to guard against enemy artillery fire!"
The Jin soldiers retreated three miles and were right next to those two small hills, where they could rely on the fortified villages for defense.
They didn't bring much baggage; all their provisions were in Hesuguan City, so they could quickly retreat back to the city should they suffer a defeat in battle.
Just as the Jin army was setting up camp, Wanyan Chala led a thousand elite cavalrymen around the mountain and secretly infiltrated the mountainous area further upstream to cross the river.
This is preparation for a night raid!
Soon, Wanyan Zongfu lost hope in the night raid.
Because the Ming army continued to reinforce its troops, with at least 10,000 infantrymen setting up camp at the mouth of the valley, going against the flow of the Sha River.
After blocking the valley exit, Wanyan Chala's thousand cavalrymen were unable to get out.
Rows of heavy cast iron cannons were set up and lined up along the south bank of the Shahe River.
Wanyan Zongfu sent his personal guards to count the cannons with binoculars. The guards returned and reported, "There are a total of 250 large cannons. In addition to those large cannons, I also saw many small cannons (tiger crouching cannons)."
"Two hundred and fifty doors..."
Wanyan Zongfu felt an urge to surrender immediately. He summoned his personal guards as messengers and said, "Go and urge Nianhan to lead the main force back to rescue us at full speed!"
"Just tell him that this place won't last much longer."
"If he doesn't come back within a month and a half, then he shouldn't bother coming to collect my body."
Chapter 3415 We are the ones who have surrendered
That night, Wanyan Chala led his elite cavalry in a night raid, but was routed by the Ming army that had blocked the valley entrance.
Inside the Jin camp.
While inspecting the camp, Gao Jingshan called his nephews Gao Song and Gao Bai into his tent.
"The Jin army is doomed to defeat."
Gao Jingshan analyzed,
"The Ming army consists of elite troops, has countless firearms, and outnumbers us."
"Our elite troops suffered too many losses in previous years, and this year even underage children are being conscripted into the army."
"The powerful clans of Liaodong are all harboring ulterior motives; how can we possibly win a war like this?"
"But Zhan Han put his elite forces to fight in the Yanshan area, while we were left here to risk our lives to defend the city."
Gao Song said with a distressed expression, "But our Gao family of Chengzhou has had all our family members sent to Liaoyang as hostages."
Gao Jingshan remained silent.
Wanyan Zongfu and Wanyan Xiyin led their troops to Hesuguan and immediately summoned the generals of various cities to a meeting.
No one thought much of it and just went without thinking.
Because they were still observing and had not yet made up their minds to betray the Jin and join the Ming.
As a result, they were detained as soon as they arrived, and had no choice but to hand over their family members.
Wanyan Zongfu's sudden move, while chilling to the hearts of the generals of various tribes, also disrupted the plans of the powerful clans.
I'm caught in a dilemma, unsure of what to do.
Gao Jingshan said, "If things are beyond our control, we have no choice but to take the risk."
Gao Song and Gao Bai looked troubled; they really didn't want to abandon their loved ones.
The three of them went back to their tents to sleep, and were fully armored, keeping their weapons at hand all night to guard against any unforeseen events.
The soldiers under their command also slept wearing armor.
At dawn, a sudden commotion arose.
The exclamation startled Gao Jingshan awake. He grabbed his spear and rushed out to investigate, only to see a large area of fire already burning in the distance.
"That bastard's gone mad!"
It's obvious that someone disregarded the lives of their family members and started trouble on the very first night of the standoff between the two armies.
"Uncle, the armies are in chaos, what should we do?" Gao Song rushed over with his personal guards.
Gao Jingshan shouted, "Lead the clan soldiers and retreat to Hesuguan City!"
"Aren't you going to surrender to the Ming?" Gao Bai asked.
Gao Jingshan said, "If we surrender to the Ming now, all our families in Liaoyang will die!"
The three uncles and nephews, along with their personal guards, assembled with horns. Their location was relatively far from the fire, allowing them to manage to gather most of their soldiers and escape in an organized manner.
The generals of all tribes were actually very cautious, and all of them required their soldiers to sleep in their armor.
But there were too many newly recruited militiamen, mostly teenagers who had never actually been on the battlefield.
In their panic, they were overcome with fear and fled in disobedience, taking many experienced militiamen with them.
Gradually, it escalated into a complete rout, with even the core elite troops fleeing.