Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

Chapter 609: If Jinzhou survives, Wu Guisheng will live

Wu Sangui did not agree rashly, but asked Liu Zhaoji to stand up, while he frowned and pondered in the conference room, as if he was making final considerations.

He knew very well that once the city was opened, there would be a bloody battle, and he was not at an advantage in terms of military strength.

Originally, he was thinking that by waiting for Lu Xiangsheng's reinforcements to arrive, they could lift the siege of Jinzhou by combining internal and external forces.

Half a month passed, and after waiting for a long time, he received a letter from Xuanfu yesterday, saying that the reinforcements sent to Jinzhou City were ambushed by Huang Taiji.

Wu Sangui understood at that time that Huang Taiji was obviously planning to surround the enemy and attack the reinforcements. Given the wisdom of General Lu, he would definitely not send any more reinforcements.

There is no way, this is how war is, which means that there may not be any reinforcements in the short term.

Although street fighting can rely on the terrain of the city to plan defenses in advance and can also defend from the heights of the city walls, the safety of the people in the city is unavoidable.

Moreover, once the city is captured, morale will drop sharply.

The most crucial thing is that in the past year or so, the imperial court has repeatedly sent officials from the Ministry of Rites to the military camp to carry out patriotic propaganda, among which the most crucial ones include defending the country and serving the country and the people.

All these measures are carried out under the instructions of the current Grand Marshal of the Army. Combined with a series of measures taken by the Grand Marshal in recent years, it is not difficult to see that the Grand Marshal attaches great importance to the people.

No, unless it is absolutely necessary, we must never sacrifice the civilians in exchange for a chance to fight. Wu Sangui stopped his hesitant steps and seemed to have made up his mind.

Wu Sangui looked around at the generals around him and said:

"All officers, listen to my orders. Liu Zhaoji will lead 8,000 troops through the west gate, and Cao Kun will lead 10,000 through the east gate. Our goal is to destroy the enemy's artillery positions. If we succeed, we must not linger in the battle and must return to the city immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhaoji and Cao Kun both bowed their heads and accepted the order.

As long as Dorgon's heavy artillery is destroyed and the Eight Banners soldiers can attack the city physically, Jinzhou's current supply of materials can last for a long time, and reinforcements may arrive at any time.

There was nothing wrong with the military order, but Liu Zhaoji was a little puzzled and asked, "Why didn't your Excellency arrange for me to launch the attack from the north gate?"

After all, the north gate is closest to the enemy camp, so of course, the attacks it receives are the most fierce.

But as long as we can curb the enemy's artillery as soon as possible and keep the walls of Jinzhou safe, any sacrifice will be worth it.

Liu Zhaoji did not think that Wu Sangui would make such a low-level mistake. In his impression, although Wu Sangui was younger than him, he was very good at tactics.

"At the north gate, I will personally lead the troops to meet the enemy." Wu Sangui said very calmly.

"What? You are the commander-in-chief of Guan Ningjin, how can you take such a risk so easily?"

"Your Excellency, absolutely not!"

Liu Zhaoji and Cao Kun were horrified and quickly tried to dissuade them.

"Jinzhou City is the most important link in the Guanningjin defense line. If it were before, the officers and soldiers were short of food and clothing, we would have some complaints.

But now, the court has not treated us harshly, and we have plenty of food, fodder, weapons and armor, and even thousands of more war horses. How can we not do our best?

If Jinzhou is lost, the imperial court will not forgive me, my uncle will not forgive me, and I, Wu Sangui, will not forgive myself.

My colleagues, there is no need to persuade me any further. As long as Jinzhou survives, I, Wu Sangui, will live."

After saying that, Wu Sangui ran towards his own military camp.

Liu Zhaoji and Cao Kun looked at each other, and both saw determination in their eyes.

Since the day the Grand Marshal took over military and political power, the Ming Dynasty has never lost an inch of land.

This problem must not start with them.

Three quarters of an hour later, the stone slabs at the east and west gates of Jinzhou City had been cleared, and they could be opened to welcome the enemy with just a command.

At the North Gate, which was the first to be hit, the soldiers who were clearing the stone slabs could already see the enemy troops outside the city.

Wu Sangui put on armor and mounted his horse. Behind him was the Guanning Army's former ace - the Guanning Iron Cavalry, and behind them were thousands of infantry.

Needless to say, there was a lot of grudge between the Liao soldiers and the Eight Banners. Wu Sangui didn't even need to mobilize them, as there was no fear on every soldier's face.

But Wu Sangui knew very well that the Qing Dynasty urgently needed a victory to boost morale, and Dorgon would never give up easily.

Once the city gate is opened, there will be a bloody battle. Although our morale is still good, our troops are not as strong as Dorgon's after all. If there is no reinforcement, it is still unknown who will win or lose.

Even if we are optimistic and can really destroy Dorgon's artillery, our side's casualties will definitely not be low.

At this time, a general came over and interrupted Wu Sangui's thoughts:

"General, the north gate has been cleared. Please give the order!"

Kindness is not the best way to command an army. Wu Sangui took a last look at the brothers who had followed him for many years. When he was about to give the order to go out of the city to meet the enemy, he suddenly heard the shouts of his generals from the city wall:

"Sir, there is movement behind the enemy lines!

They... they seem... to be retreating?"

The general was full of doubts and was not sure. Wu Sangui frowned when he heard this, dismounted and climbed onto the city wall.

He took out a monocular telescope and observed the enemy camp himself, but saw that there was chaos behind the enemy camp, and no artillery fire had been heard from the artillery position for two quarters of an hour.

Looking through the telescope, it seemed that the enemy's artillery was also beginning to retreat, and many mules were struggling to drag the heavy red cannons.

This really puzzled Wu Sangui. After all, the north gate had been bombarded badly, and Dorgon would never give up such a good situation.

Due to Dorgon's blockade, several scouts sent out from Jinzhou City were killed by the enemy, and Wu Sangui did not have a very good understanding of the situation outside Jinzhou City.

But this is when the talent of an excellent commander can be revealed.

Observing the enemy's situation through a telescope, Wu Sangui discovered that the enemy was not deliberately luring them. He even saw panic on the faces of the artillerymen who were closer.

This shows that Dorgon must have received some important news that forced him to retreat.

Could it be that General Lu defeated Huang Taiji?

Otherwise, Dorgon would not have given up his advantage and retreated.

But no matter what, Wu Sangui did not intend to give up this excellent opportunity.

"You continue to defend the city. Pass on my military order. Order Liu Zhaoji and Cao Kun to leave the city immediately and prevent the enemy artillery battalion from retreating!"

After saying that, Wu Sangui went down the city again. No matter what happened, he decided to keep Dorgon's red cannon at all costs. This kind of artillery was a huge threat to the border troops.

Half a quarter of an hour later, the east, west and north gates of Jinzhou City were wide open, and Wu Sangui, Liu Zhaoji and Cao Kun led their troops to attack Dorgon's artillery battalion from the front and the left and right sides.

Almost all the soldiers who went out of the city to meet the enemy were veterans from Liaodong, who were named the Yuan Army by Zhang Shikang. They had no psychological burden in killing the Tartars.

For some reason, the Tartars seemed to have no intention of fighting. After a brief contact, they retreated in panic, not even caring about the thirty red cannons.

Wu Sangui originally thought that he would encounter a fierce attack from Dorgon, but through the telescope he could see that the retreat from the rear of the enemy camp was becoming even faster.

Just when I was wondering, a cavalry unit appeared in the distance, with the leading flag fluttering in the wind.

It was a bright yellow flag.

From a distance, the leading general was heard shouting:

"I am Ma Chengyun, Lieutenant General of the 3rd Cavalry Battalion of the Imperial Guards. I am here to reinforce you on the orders of the Grand Marshal!"

……