Han Shi's cavalry charged forward with indomitable will, but when they returned to Shanhai Pass, they were not all excited. When the urge to slash people dissipated, many of the officers and soldiers became silent. Dizziness, weakness in the legs, nausea, nervousness, vomiting, all kinds of symptoms.
Some veterans were laughing at the cowardice of the new recruits seeing blood for the first time, and some platoon leaders were scolding their cowardly rookies. Like Han Shi, there were also those who went down to the grass-roots level to pat their brothers on the shoulders and chat casually, making people feel relaxed.
'Flat Hair' landed from the sky and stood on Zhou Qingfeng's shoulder. He said, "Mangurtai has arrived. He's just outside the city. When I came back, I saw some of the new recruits of the cavalry brigade crying. "
Zhou Qingfeng stood on the wall and faced the incoming cavalry. He asked, "Why are they crying?"
"Probably because they saw their companions being beheaded, or saw the enemy's face being peeled off. Some of the medics saw the wounded with their intestines flowing out, and they were so scared that they panicked. " 'Flat Hair' jumped back and forth. "But not many of your cavalry died. Less than a hundred of them. Many of the Perfected Women on the other side have died. They're everywhere. "
"It's better for the new recruits to cry than their parents, wives, and children." Zhou Qingfeng looked back at the outside of the pass. The desolate world gradually sank into darkness. There were only dead branches, hoof prints, and corpses left on the battlefield. It was quiet.
The gates were closed, and the troops counted the casualties.
Han Shi's more than 2,000 men had undoubtedly won a great victory, but they had also suffered losses. Cavalry collisions were gambling with their lives. It was naturally good to kill the enemy, but there were also counterattacks from the enemy that hit the vital parts, and there were even those who lost their front hooves and fell.
Arabian horses ran fast and easily fell with the slightest hindrance. If they fell and broke their arms or legs, it didn't matter because they could still be saved. But if they broke their necks, they would die. As for those who were injured by the enemy's counterattack, there would be no small wounds once they were hit by a sharp saber. If they couldn't stop the bleeding, they would die in a minute or two.
"Grand Marshal, we've killed at least five hundred enemies this time, and suffered more than seventy casualties. Among them, more than forty with light injuries can still be saved. "Han Shi comforted his subordinates and brought the statistics to Zhou Qingfeng.
An exchange ratio of about ten to one was already very satisfactory. At least, the Revolutionary Army still had a battlefield first aid system, and those who were lucky could still survive. Zhou Qingfeng would treat those who were brave enough to fight. At the very least, he could reduce the losses.
Accompanied by Han Shi, Zhou Qingfeng walked around the medical camp and asked, "What do you think of the opponents? Is it easy? "
"It's easy, but it's also not easy," Han Shi commented honestly. "I said it's easy because we have too much of an advantage. The Heavenly Warhorses brought over by the Grand Marshal were simply too powerful. The Jurchen cavalry could not catch up to them, could not escape, and could not defeat them. It would be strange if they did not lose. The reason why they said it wasn't easy was because those barbarians had the spirit to fight with their lives on the line. Their right flank had fewer people, and they were even ambushed by us, but they still fought to the death without retreating. "
There was a huge difference in fighting power between the real Tatars and the fake Tatars.
Han Shi even muttered, "Today, we charged like a hurricane, and we couldn't be stronger. But if the Jurchen were to fight with their lives on the line, I'm afraid it won't be easy to fight later on, and many people will die. "
Ever since Zhou Qingfeng formed the army, his subordinates had not fought any fierce battles, and almost all of them were new recruits. Whether it was fighting the Ming Army, fighting North Korea, or fighting the Portuguese, he had never met an opponent who would fight to the death. Regarding Han Shi's worries, he only said lightly, "If the Kennu were easy to fight, why would I need you guys? Their equipment is a little bad, but they still have the spirit to fight. "
The corruption of the barbarians happened after they entered the pass, and they were still very fierce now. They were definitely not good people. Han Shi came from the Ming Army, and his military quality had improved. He was also very satisfied with the current battlefield exchange rate of the National Defense Army, but he was not willing to fight head-on when his body was expensive. He felt very uncomfortable when he thought about how the opponent was not afraid of death and wanted to kill many of his own people.
"The Kennu are here to fight with their lives on the line. I have a feeling that Nurhachi is going to bet all his chips on the gambling table. "Zhou Qingfeng sighed faintly and ended the conversation.
At night, Xu Bing, who had been working hard for the whole day, found Zhou Qingfeng, who was in a daze, at the Shanhai Pass Military Headquarters. She smiled and congratulated him. "I heard that not only did Gao Daniu defeat the Blessed Army, but Han Shi's cavalry brigade also got off to a good start?"
Zhou Qingfeng sat in the house and stared at the map. He did not answer the question and said, "I can't believe Mangul 'tai didn't run away. Flat Feather said that he's still outside the city and has already moved into the big camp left behind by the God's Blessing Army."
Xu Bing did not understand and asked in confusion, "What's so strange about it? Mangurtai shouldn't have run away. "
"Shanhai Pass is more than 300 kilometers from Jinzhou. Mangurtai's 30,000 light cavalry will have to rely on Jinzhou for food and drink when he comes here. With such a long transport line, our navy can cut it off at any time. Does he really think I'll go easy on him? " Zhou Qingfeng pointed at the middle of the Liaoxi Corridor on the map. "I just need to deploy a unit at the Liuzhou River to cut off Mangurtai's retreat."
30,000 people would collapse in less than two days without food and water. Mangurtai was also a man who had been through many battles, so he should not be so stupid.
"Perhaps Mangul 'ertai is hoping that Jinzhou can provide him with support," Xu Bing said.
Zhou Qingfeng shook his head. "That's impossible. This supply line is too long. Even if Jinzhou wants to support him, the transport capacity is a huge burden. It can't support Mangurtai. Unless … unless Nurhachi can control Liaodong Bay, then he can deal with it calmly. "He said this and turned to look at Xu Bing.
Xu Bing's expression changed drastically. She asked in disbelief, "Nurhachi doesn't have a warship. How is he going to control Liaodong Bay?"
"He even created the Brainwashing Sect. What else is impossible?" Zhou Qingfeng had been frowning since this afternoon. Mangurtai's decisiveness in moving south surprised him. After the Blessed Army was defeated and the vanguard was attacked by Han Shi's Cavalry Brigade, he did not retreat immediately. It went against common sense.
"After cleaning up the battlefield today, I found more than a dozen heavy cannons that Kennu assigned to the Blessed Army. They are typical European heavy cannons with thick walls. These cannons are well made. Daming's Ordnance Bureau doesn't have this technology. Kennu must have recruited Western gunsmiths to make them.
The Blessed Army's artillerymen also have a large amount of gunpowder. The composition is very scientific. The training of the gunners and artillerymen is also quite good. They are not the motley crew of the past. I conducted a preliminary interrogation of the captives. It turns out that a Dutch instructor is training them and providing them with a large number of guns and cannons. "
Zhou Qingfeng's words surprised Xu Bing. "How is that possible? We have blocked all the sea routes to Liaodong. Foreign merchant ships can't get close to Liaodong. "
"No, there is one possibility." Zhou Qingfeng pointed at the map again. "Liaodong can be approached from the Sea of Japan to the east of Korea. Changbai Mountain can be approached from the Tumen River. Although Liaodong has high mountains and dense forests, making it difficult to travel, there are many rivers there. I used the rivers to escape from Herkulen. Nurhachi can use the rivers to communicate with the outside world from the east.
As for the Dutch, they are very powerful in Japan. There is a school called Orchid Studies in Japan. It was originally learned from the Dutch. The Dutch are likely to set off from Nagasaki and enter the Sea of Japan through the Strait of Tsushima. They can provide technical and equipment assistance to Nurhachi. Under normal circumstances, these two forces have nothing to do with each other. But I bet that the Jiangnan officials are definitely working as intermediaries. "
This situation was really beyond Xu Bing's imagination. She was not like Zhou Qingfeng who liked to look at maps when he had nothing to do. She did not expect Kennu to have such a way to communicate with the outside world. And when she connected it to the fact that Mangurtai dared to attack Liaoxi Corridor, there might be a deeper hidden threat behind it.
"You are worried that the Dutch will come to help Nurhachi control Liaodong Bay?"
"We have occupied Goa for several months now. We have also carried out long-distance transportation to Goa several times. We have relied on convenient logistics to greatly reduce the cost and time of east-west trade. It seems to be beneficial for everyone. But there are definitely people with vested interests who are not happy to see this. Especially the European forces in East Asia, they will definitely not be happy.
Also, the Westerners nowadays are especially fond of preaching. A large number of missionaries with an extremely fanatical attitude want to spread the 'Gospel of God' to the world. That group of lunatics is unreasonable. They often do things that are out of line as if they are risking their lives. I can't stop them. "
"Then what you mean is …?"
"I am guessing, could it be a fleet from the West that gives Mangurtai confidence? For example, the Portuguese have a grudge against me. They will definitely be happy to send ships from Macau to cause me some trouble. Similarly, as long as Nurhachi says he will give a large sum of money to break Shanhai Pass, the Dutch will not mind interfering. I can even imagine that there is a group of people behind this plotting how to give me a fatal blow. "
The situation Zhou Qingfeng envisioned made Xu Bing very uneasy. She asked with a serious face, "Then what should we do now?" Zhou Qingfeng spread out his hands and said, "Calm down, war is always unpredictable.
I did not say that there is definitely a Western fleet coming towards us. But it is always right to think about the worst and be more prepared. We will continue to prepare according to our plan. The militia mobilized in Tianjin should arrive in three days …. "
Xu Bing interrupted, "The ships in Tianjin are not that fast. Some of our steam tugs are still unloading artillery. Although some of them are returning to Tianjin, their speed is very slow. At present, there are only some sailing ships in Tianjin. It is now a northerly day. They will not arrive in Shanhai Pass in three days. The fastest batch will only arrive five days later. "
"It doesn't matter. I will make a battle plan according to five days. Five days later, we will cut off Mangurtai's return and eat his 30,000 men. " Zhou Qingfeng shrugged slightly again, stared at the map and said with a frown, "It will be the middle of February soon. The northerly wind has weakened, and occasionally there is a southerly wind."
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