I

Summer Town.

It was only upgraded to a town in the third year of Longqing, and it was still called Xiacun in the mid-Ming Dynasty.

This is because the new canal for water transportation was completed, the number of ships in Xiacun Port increased dramatically, and local industry and commerce became increasingly prosperous.

Hundreds of years later, Xia Town will develop into Weishan County.

Weishan Lake in the late Ming Dynasty had not yet been completely formed. However, during the Wanli period, the Yellow River burst, forming a wetland in this low-lying area. If it breaks through a few more times, it will turn into a lake.

An arrow-shaped boat quickly sailed to the port and shouted: "Eight hundred miles urgent!"

Two other small boats in the port immediately came to respond.

"Send it to where?"

"Go to Yishui County and give it to General Zhang Tieniu!"

The two newly departed boats, each receiving four military intelligence documents, sailed toward the southeast like arrows leaving the string.

Whichever ship reaches the next stop first will deliver the military information first, and will continue to sail to the final point.

In ancient Chinese wars, rivers were very important.

Throughout the dynasties, in large-scale southern or northern expeditions, the main force almost always advanced along the river. Because ships can be used to transport food, it can not only speed up the march, but also greatly reduce the number of civilians and the consumption of military food.

The Datong Army, which started in Jiangxi, has already made trouble for inland river ships.

A specially built boat was adapted from a small fishing boat. Because the hull is lengthened and narrowed, the shape of the ship is like an arrow, so it is also called an "arrow ship".

When the current is upstream, the two paddle together, and the rest of the time they can take turns to rest.

If you go at full speed regardless of physical strength, you can reach a speed of more than 35 miles per hour in still water.

Of course, this will tire you out. Generally conveying ordinary military information, the speed in still water is about 20 to 25 miles per hour, and the paddler can paddle very calmly.

Fei Ruhe's military order started from Nanyang Town, followed the Grand Canal to Xiazhen, took another section of the canal through Taizhuang (Taierzhuang), and turned into the Yishui River until Yishui County.

The whole river course is about 700 miles, and people and boats were changed ten times along the way. It only took three days to get from Nanyang Town to Yishui. This is also because the speed slows down at night and the countercurrent speed is also very slow, otherwise it can be reached in a day or two.

Zhang Tieniu was not in Yishui County at this time, but in Mulinguan further north.

The military information was transferred from ship to horse, and the horse was quickly delivered to Zhang Tieniu.

"But is there something urgent over there in Yanzhou?" missionary officer Yan Guoshi asked.

Zhang Tieniu said: "Lao Fei's side also froze. Let us lead the troops to attack from a flank. Only the peasants and soldiers are left here to defend the city. If we can't leave here, there is no need to go there. Anyway, the Tatars don't have as much rations as we do. It's too late. The longer it goes on, the more panicked the Tatars will be, and they will make mistakes when they panic.”

Deputy division commander Chen Fugui said: "Let's go, we can't fight here in Qingzhou Prefecture."

"I plan to go there too, I'm too lazy to waste time with the Tatars." Zhang Tieniu said depressedly.

The war situation in Qingzhou Prefecture also came to a standstill. Huang Fei successfully occupied Anqiu County, Changle County, and Guangling Town, while Zhang Tieniu occupied Zhucheng County and Muling Pass, and sent peasant soldiers to capture Rizhao and Andongwei.

Just when a war was about to break out between the two sides, Azige, the leader of the small flag with a white flag, suddenly defended Qingzhou Prefecture (Yidu), Linqu and Shouguang with heavy troops.

The Manchu Qing only defended the city, waiting for Zhang Tieniu and Huang Fei to attack.

Zhang Tieniu and Huang Fei were not fools. Their troops were not superior. How could they attack a city garrisoned by tens of thousands of people?

So Zhang Tieniu retreated to Muling Pass, and Huang Fei also retreated to his own strong city.

This situation is common during wars.

If neither side has an overwhelming advantage, as long as one side cannot hold on, the other side will have no choice but to retreat, or even defend the city and confront each other for several years. For example, Jinzhou and Ningyuan in Liaodong have been holding on for more than ten years. Every time the Tatars surrounded them and they were short of food, they withdrew their troops back to their hometowns in despair.

On the Qingzhou Prefecture side, it's not that Azig doesn't want to fight a tough battle, but there's a fire in the rear.

The surrendered troops and generals under his command were too fierce in Shandong. Thousands of potters and glassworkers in Yanshen Town rose up because they had no food to eat, and actually conquered Zichuan County in one fell swoop.

Then they moved straight to Changshan County. People along the way joined in, and some gentry even recruited village warriors. The number of volunteers quickly exceeded 30,000.

If the fighting continues, Azig's food channel will be cut off.

The Qingzhou Prefecture troops of the Qing Dynasty could only temporarily defend the city with heavy troops and send cavalry and thousands of elites back to fight the rebels first.

After Zhang Tieniu sent a message to Huang Fei, he led the regular army southward and took a boat from Yishui County to Yizhou. Then they turned northwest and took the Junhe River to the direction of Qufu. On the way, Fei County was occupied by the Datong Army, but only three thousand peasant soldiers were sent to defend the city.

Only ten miles away from Yizhou, an arrow ship came to report: "General Zhang, a large army of Tatars is coming. They will advance by land and water. There may be as many as 20,000 to 30,000 people!"

Zhang Tieniu was startled, then laughed: "If I don't bring troops back, I'm afraid the Tatars will attack Yizhou in two days."

The army advanced another two miles and suddenly encountered the Tatar cavalry.

These Manchu and Qing cavalry were both scouts and pioneers, grabbing some food along the way.

When the Manchu and Qing scouts saw Zhang Tieniu's army, they quickly ran back to report. Zhang Tieniu also sent people back to Yizhou to mobilize his cavalry troops. These cavalrymen went south by boat and are currently restoring their horses' energy in Yizhou.

"Is there Datong Army ahead?" Duduo was as surprised as Zhang Tieniu.

Geng Zhongming said: "The enemy troops are similar to ours, and they should have withdrawn from Qingzhou Prefecture."

"Then fight, so you don't have to go to Qingzhou Mansion again!"

Duduo said: "However, let's fight back. If the Datong Army can occupy the south, it must be more powerful than the Ming Army. They must be careful in fighting. If you retreat further, retreat to the west of Feixian County, don't be defeated by Feixian County's troops. Enemy troops are attacking the rear."

Duduo suddenly became very cautious, and his original plan was to attack Yizhou quickly. Taking advantage of the lack of troops in Yizhou and the few defenders, they forcibly captured Zhang Tieniu to block Zhang Tieniu's retreat, and then moved north to attack Zhang Tieniu from both sides.

Now encountered in the wild, Duduo refused to advance but retreated, saving his own food path and preparing to slowly grind with Zhang Tieniu.

Both sides advanced and retreated, and camped by the river in the northwest of Feixian County.

On the Manchu side, Duduo, Geng Zhongming, Li Shutai, Yild, Li Guoying, Jin Shenghuan, and Hao Xiaozhong had a total of 25,000 troops, and the people had no plans.

On the side of the Datong Army, Zhang Tieniu, Chen Fugui, Yan Guoshi, Ma Wannian, Chen Ding, Han Shixiao, and Song Yu had a total strength of 18,000, and the people had nothing to lose.

Chen Ding, Han Shixiao, and Song Yun were all Zuo Liangyu generals who surrendered to the Datong Army.

Regardless of various surrenders, the strength of the Eight Banners Army and the Datong Army is close to 1:1.

Geng Zhongming and Li Shutai commanded Han banners that had been trained for many years, and their combat effectiveness was extremely strong.

Li Shutai's father, Li Yongfang, was the first Ming Dynasty general to surrender to the Tatars. Li Shutai was only 12 years old and stayed with Nurhachi, and his name was changed by Nurhachi himself.

Both sides formed formations near the river and sent out cavalry to patrol, harass, and inquire.

Duduo even moved the cart from the ship, assembled it, and pushed the cart forward slowly.

In the battle between the Manchu and Ming Dynasties, whenever they encountered tough battles, charging into formations and sieges relied on chariots and heavy infantry.

Due to several battles without waiting for the chariots, the Manchu troops suffered heavy losses. Nurhaci even ordered: "If you encounter the enemy without a chariot, do not go to war."

The carriage is nearly two people tall and made of hardwood, iron, and cowhide. Not to mention that it cannot be penetrated by firecrackers, it can even withstand the bombardment of small field artillery. This thing can also be used for siege and advancement. It is not afraid of fire or stones.

The regular Eight Banners Army has one hundred men equipped with four carriages, and is operated by thirty men.

Among the thirty people, some were responsible for pushing the cart and some were responsible for shooting arrows. There are also fire rifle soldiers, standing on the steps of the carriage, shooting at the enemy from the shooting holes.

You can understand that this is a very primitive tank.

The "tanks" pushed forward, followed closely by heavy infantry, crossbowmen, musketeers, and cavalry.

"Boom boom boom!"

While the two sides were marching, the Datong Army began to test artillery without warning.

Geng Zhongming was startled: "Fighting so far? The enemy's artillery is quite powerful."

The firearms troops of the Manchu Qing Dynasty were mostly used by Han banners. People like Geng Zhongming and Kong Youde had elite firearms battalions.

Geng Zhongming quickly said to the messenger: "Tell the ten kings immediately that the enemy's artillery will definitely destroy our shield car!"

When Duduo heard the news, he immediately ordered the entire army to stop.

Then, he asked the surrendered general Hao Zhongzhong to advance with a small group of troops and use his body to measure the firepower and range of the Datong Army.

The Eight Banners Army, which is in its rising stage, has a very flexible combat method and can switch tactics according to different enemies.

Sometimes, if the enemy's artillery is too fierce, they even dig tunnels.

And he is very patient. In a positional battle, he will repeatedly test the attack. After you have a clear understanding of the enemy's situation, you can then adopt countermeasures to fight.

Historically, it was probably not possible until the Kangxi Dynasty.

After the San Francisco Rebellion, all kinds of tactics were abandoned. A very rigid nine-into-ten chain formation was formed, relying entirely on the intensive firepower of the cannons, supplemented by the size of the army to crush the enemy. Why study tactics when you can win this way?

Hao Zhongzhong, the surrendered general, was afraid to lead his troops forward.

Zhang Tieniu held a telescope for observation and said: "A group of miscellaneous soldiers, there is no need to fire cannons."

Hao Xiaozhong advanced dozens of steps, becoming more and more frightened as he went, and finally received an order to stop his march.

The two sides were at a stalemate.

The cavalry has already engaged. There are about 3,000 Manchu and Qing cavalry and about 2,500 Datong cavalry.

General Yild led the cavalry into battle, and the formation was so loose that Zhang Tieniu didn't even bother to fire. Ild also wanted to play the old trick of constantly cruising around to lure the Datong cavalry out and annihilate them in a melee.

Datong Cavalry General is Qin Liangyu's grandson Ma Wannian. Facing the enemy's cavalry temptation, he directly ordered the entire army to dismount: "Light the match rope and load the ammunition!"

"Bang bang bang!"

Due to the long distance and the loose formation of the Manchu and Qing cavalry, only two enemy cavalry were shot down with a single volley of guns.

Moreover, the horses were all shot, and they went crazy with pain and threw the cavalry off. At such a distance, even if it hits the cavalry, the bullet will not be able to penetrate the cotton armor.

Duduo also got a pair of telescopes and exclaimed in surprise: "This is the fire cavalry that the spies mentioned? Our Qing cavalry tactics are useless against this kind of cavalry. In future cavalry battles, I am afraid that they cannot wear armor and must be light and fast." Horse kill and fight in close combat.”

At this moment, a large number of civilians, armed with hoes and shovels, came to dig trenches around the Datong Army's position.

Upon seeing this, Duduo immediately ordered: "Attack quickly and don't let the enemy dig the ditch. Then our army's carriages will not be able to pass! The artillery battalion advances and bombards the civilians on the opposite side!"