Chapter 16 Chapter 16 The Battle of Salhu
The snow was so heavy that it was as if a silver bowl had been overturned from the sky, and the remaining snow in the bowl poured out with a loud noise, and fell to the world; after three or four consecutive days and nights, it was as if a silver bowl had been knocked upside down between heaven and earth, and everything All are set against the crystal light.
Liaodong in the heavy snow is more beautiful, more magnificent, and more majestic——
Nurhachi went out in the snow, got on his horse with a few guards, and ran all the way out of Hetuala City, galloping around in the field outside the city.
The scenery on the field is extremely beautiful, the endless silver and white, like a fairyland; however, he seems to have no intention of appreciating the beauty of the snow scene; although a pair of eyes carefully observe the surroundings from time to time, the light emitted is as sharp as a falcon He hunted prey without any joy; he seemed to be carefully re-examining the geographical environment he was already familiar with, which made the usual daily activities of galloping horses more unusual. significance.
It had been several days in a row, he rode his horse out of the city in the snow, and the galloping time was twice as long as usual, and when he returned to the city, he was thinking alone without saying a word.
As for his abnormal behavior, no one asked any questions—everyone regarded this abnormality as normal, and the war was about to start, which was also one of the pre-war preparations.
Huang Taiji, who paid special attention to his actions in private, whispered to Daishan quietly: "Father Khan went out to check the terrain again, okay, let's go too?"
Dai Shan reciprocated and shook his head: "Not good—Father Khan didn't want us to follow, and went rashly, which made Father Khan angry instead!"
But these two sons who are closest to their father did not expect that his horse galloping also has the effect of relieving stress-the war he is going to face is actually a crucial decisive battle, and the outcome is not trivial. The fate of the entire Jurchen family determines the rise and fall of the new country he founded; he is sure of victory, but he has repeatedly reminded himself that he must not take it lightly and make no mistakes. Before the end of the war, he will be under pressure The stuck boulder will not disappear.
In fact, his pre-war preparations have been thorough without any omissions—since Keqinghe City last year, he captured Hoi An Fort north of Fushun City in September, Minister Nahada led the crowd back, and then prepared to conquer Yehe. He used troops as soon as the new year was over, and collected more than 20 large and small villages; in February, he sent 50,000 men to serve outside the city of Hetuala according to the original plan At the same time, he paid more attention to the movement of the Ming army, and ordered the ears and eyes sent out to report the news three times a day, so as to accurately grasp the overall situation of the Ming army, and at the same time strengthen his own strength. In the city of Hetuala, more food was stored, and the soldiers and civilians in various villages were withdrawn to concentrate their forces.
Checking the terrain multiple times is to choose the place to fight and set up an ambush——
The established strategy has not changed: "Depending on how many ways you come, I will only go all the way!"
He has been thinking about it for a long time to deal with Ming Fang's four-way division of troops and encirclement——
Then, the time drew near.
In early February, he received accurate news: "Yang Gao ordered the Fourth Army to set off on February 21..."
A few days later, new news came again: "The Ming army lost its way due to the heavy snow, and the journey was delayed—Jun Song, Liu Ting and others all asked to slow down, but Yang Gao urged the battle again and again. He personally sat in Liaoyang and hung Fang's sword. In the military gate, those who do not obey the military order and delay in the first step must be killed; therefore, the time for leaving the army should not be delayed for too long!"
The next day came the report: "Yang Gao ordered that the army must set out on the 25th and attack on March 1st; otherwise, the general will be beheaded; Juniper has received the order and is about to set off!"
When he saw these reports, Nurhachi laughed: "Yang Gao didn't know soldiers—the Ming army didn't know the terrain, and if it snowed heavily again, it would be the wrong time and location, so how can we keep urging the battle and forcing the troops to move out? "
He explained to the generals and his sons: "Moreover, since his Four Route Army started from different places and traveled through different routes, and the time it took was not the same, he took it for granted that he ordered the Four Route Army Going out one day—thinking you can arrive the same day, attack the same day—foolishness!”
Then, he explained in more depth: "Now, Juniper has received the order-he leads the West Route Army, the distance is the shortest, and the first to set off, must be the first to arrive; we just happened to defeat him first, and then deal with them one by one. The other three roads arriving one after another!"
As for Juniper, who was going to fight first, he had already spared no expense in sending people to inquire about the detailed situation:
Juniper is the younger brother of the famous general Du Tong. He is a native of Kunshan. , Jizhou General Soldier, etc.; eleven years ago, he replaced Li Chengliang as the Liaodong General Soldier; he did not have much contact with the Jurchen, but he repeatedly suffered losses under the hands of Mongolia and Wuliangha Sanwei, so he was dismissed; he was reinstated a few years ago , Ren Shanhaiguan General Soldier.
He is indeed a brave general, but his personality has gone to extremes, which is different from ordinary people. When he was in office, he was respected because he was victorious in all battles. Bian Hu called him "Grand Master Du", and he was happy to accept it; However, the morale was greatly boosted, but it was also dubbed "Crazy Du"——
"There has been news that Juniper, Marin, and Liu Ting are not on good terms, and have already quarreled face-to-face—this time, he is ahead of the other three, and he does not have no intention of grabbing credit!"
In this way, he "knows himself and the enemy" even more - so he issued an order: "Prepare with all your strength to meet Juniper!"
At the same time, he ordered people to spread out the map to assist him in his instructions: "The juniper comes from the west, starting from Shenyang, passing through Fushun Pass to Hetuala, this route must cross the Hun River and cross the Sarhu Mountain— —Our army is most suitable for intercepting at Sarhu Mountain, Jilin Cliff and Jiefan City!"
The 50,000 slaves he sent had already built Jiefan City, and the slaves still stayed in Jiefan, and they were guarded by 400 elite cavalry—these are combat forces; and Saerhu Mountain and Jilin Cliff are both natural dangers, Familiar with the geographical environment, he easily completed the deployment: "Daishan and Huang Taiji led the right-wing Second Banner Army to the Jilin Cliff to ambush. Hearing the sound of drums every day, and seeing the fire at night, they fought together and attacked Juniper..."
"Send another 500 soldiers to defend the south route, and report to them immediately if there is any trace of the enemy..."
He himself led the soldiers of the Six Banners to Sarhu, leaving a small number of troops to stay at Hetuala, also preparing for the mobile battle——
The snow fell harder.
On February 29, Du Song led more than 20,000 Ming troops from the Four Routes to Fushun Pass. On this day, the North Route Army led by Ma Lin just set off from Tieling; Although they also set off from Kuandian on February 25th, the journey was slowed down because they joined the North Korean army in Liangmadian; the South Route Army led by Li Rubai hadn't even set off yet—Jipong was indeed the first Advance Hetuala's team.
Jun Jun was very proud of having won the "lead". He laughed loudly and said to the left and right: "This is the first achievement that fell from the sky! Who told the three-way team to have short legs and slow feet?"
As he spoke, he ordered people to bring wine to celebrate, and he drank down a large altar in one breath, then looked up to the sky with a loud laugh and shouted: "Let's speed up the horse and attack in one fell swoop, take Nurhachi's head, and get the white Wanliang Silver, add wine and food to the whole army!"
As a result, his heart became more and more aggressive, and he simply ordered the torch to be lit, and he rushed to the north bank of the Hun River in one breath.
When he arrived, it was not yet dawn, and all the soldiers and horses were exhausted, but he was the only one whose spirit was particularly vigorous under the stimulation of alcohol, so he didn't allow the soldiers to set up camp to rest.
"Cross the river immediately..."
Hunhe Yuanwang in the heavy snow looked like a piece of suet jade without any blemishes, pure and perfect white; his spirit was lifted a little bit more excited, and he shouted loudly.
Zhao Menglin, the commander-in-chief under his command, brought all the generals to dissuade him. Not only did he not listen, he simply took off his armor, exposing his muscles and scars, brandished a sword, jumped on his horse, and rode across the river naked.
The usual behavior of "Crazy Du" came out again, and Zhao Menglin and others' obstruction were ineffective at all, so they had to follow up; in this way, they rushed to the foot of Saerhu Mountain in one breath, and all the people and horses were almost paralyzed due to excessive physical strength. fell to the ground.
But Juniper was still full of energy and didn't feel tired. On the spot, he ordered half of the troops to stay at the foot of Saerhu Mountain to form a camp, and half of the troops followed him to continue to attack Jiefan City at Jilin Cliff.
Although he has the ridicule of "brave but not resourceful", he is not completely confused, so he knows that Jiefan City is Hetuala's guard city, which has natural dangers and must be captured first——
So, regardless of the tiredness of his troops, he marched forward through the snow; and after he left, the half of the soldiers who stayed at the foot of Sarhu Mountain all breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately set up camp, started a fire to make food, and prepared to make up for it. To make up for the energy lost during the day and night.
And Nurhachi, who had been waiting in Saerhu Mountain for a long time, certainly would not miss this great opportunity - all the whereabouts of Juniper could not escape his eyeliner, every movement and stillness, everything was under his control -
The sound of the whining horn resounded through the sky, piercing the darkness before dawn; the army was fully prepared, and the army waiting for work was ready to move out.
Nurhachi personally put on his armor and mounted his horse, and personally commanded the army; as early as the day before, he led the crowd up the mountain to ambush in the mountains and forests. He had seen the entire environment of Sarhu Mountain thoroughly, and looked down from a high position this night. The Ming army lit torches all the way forward like a fire dragon, which is of course even more obvious at a glance; the Ming army set up camp, surrounded by chariots, dug tree fences, and lined up firearms as a ring protection, and every movement was under his watchful eyes. Carry on; looking at it, he smiled slightly, and said to the left and right: "Let's rush over while the Ming army is busy setting up camp!"
The Ming army at the foot of the mountain has only over 10,000 soldiers, while the Six Banners soldiers under him total 40,000—he estimated that half a day would be enough—
The order was issued immediately.He raised the two small yellow flags in his hand and waved forward: "The two yellow flags are dispatched, the main attack is in the center, and they will go straight to the Ming camp!"
The commanders of the Zhenghuang and Xianghuang banners shouted loudly: "King Khan has ordered that the two yellow banners be dispatched!"
In an instant, dozens of yellow and yellow banners in the whole army were raised high together, fluttering in the wind, and cavalrymen in yellow, yellow and red-trimmed armor flew on their horses in unison, and when the horn blew, the total number The 16,000 cavalrymen of the two yellow flags shouted in unison: "By the order of King Khan, the two yellow flags are dispatched!"
Sixteen thousand people shouted loudly in unison, the sound was so loud that the mountains and forests were shaken, and the sky and the earth changed color; and the sound that followed was hundreds of times louder than this shouting—sixteen thousand cavalry were dispatched and charged together. Going down the mountain, the iron-covered horseshoes stepped across the mountain road, galloping with the momentum of thunder, and the deafening sound even further enhanced the magnificent military appearance——
Then, Nurhachi continued to issue commands: "The left wing of the Zhenghong flag is outflanking! The right wing of the Zhenglan flag is outflanking! The red flag is in charge of supporting, and the blue flag is in charge of the support, and the blue flag is going to ambush halfway to the direction of Jilin Cliff, intercepting and killing the remaining fleeing troops of the Ming army!"
After finishing speaking, he rode his horse down the mountain and personally supervised the battle.
The war unfolded rapidly:
The vanguard of the two yellow flags, five hundred cavalry, rushed into the Ming camp like a gust of wind, followed by three thousand archers, who shot crossbows and arrows full-time, and shot at the Ming camp; then, the powerful troops of the four banners attacked from three directions, forming a faint encirclement trend.
The Ming army encountered an unexpected attack and had to fight hastily. However, the three basic conditions of weather, location, and people were all at a disadvantage. In the situation of darkness and self-light, the disadvantages are added to the disadvantages. If you want to fire a weapon, you suffer from the terrain and the poor light and shade, and you can't hit it at all;——10,000 horses and horses have all become fish on the sword.
Nurha stared at the battlefield intently, from the dark to the bright, very clearly; the army he trained by himself did not fail him, with high morale and excellent combat skills, and each of them could beat ten with one; the two yellow flags in charge of the main attack performed very well Excellent, five hundred forward iron cavalry, after rushing into the Ming camp, not only broke through the chariots and wooden fences of the Ming camp as if they were in no one's land, but also directly scattered the Ming army's formation; The arrows were fired in unison, as dense as torrential rain, and the men and horses of the Ming Dynasty fell to the ground one after another. Then, the powerful troops of the four banners formed a siege, and the encirclement became smaller and smaller.
Amidst the thunderous killing sounds, he secretly nodded in approval: "Very good..."
But as soon as the thought was finished, red lights flashed in front of his eyes; it turned out that the sergeants in the Ming camp had been slaughtered to the depleted number, and they could no longer protect the tents, and many seats were thrown torches and burned blazingly up.
He understood that this battle was coming to an end; so he ordered his left and right: "In a moment, call for gold and withdraw!"
The surviving troops in the Ming army were already running away, and he did not order to chase them: "Let Xianglan Banner intercept and kill them!"
The victorious army must regroup, eat, rest, and then continue to complete the task-the battle is only halfway through, and the annihilated Ming army is only half of the West Road. Juniper took the other half of the troops to Jilin Cliff , that is the object to be annihilated in the second half.
The spies had a very accurate grasp of Juniper's itinerary, and they took turns to report to him every half an hour; when he got the whole army to regroup and prepare to set off, the last news he received was: " The fleeing troops of the Ming army were intercepted by our army, and only a few dozen people were killed to join Juniper's army; however, Juniper still refused to stay, set up camp, and continued to run towards Jilin Cliff!"
The news was unquestionable, and it was almost exactly in line with his predictions, and his countermeasures had already been planned—it was another battle with a sure chance of winning!
Juniper's goal is obvious: cross Jilin Cliff and attack Jiefan City.
Of course, Juniper did not expect that he had already sent Dai Shan and Huang Taiji to lead two white flags and 16,000 cavalry on the Jilin cliff to "wait" for this once-in-a-thousand-year opportunity.
He smiled: "Our army hastened our pace and hurried on the road. Before dark, we can reach Jilin Cliff, where the Eight Banners army will meet up and kill juniper!"
After the big victory, the morale is even stronger, so the two-way Mercedes-Benz -
The progress of the Juniper army was slow, which was related to the fatigue of the soldiers and the unfamiliar routes. Then, the remnants of the soldiers who were defeated at the foot of the Salhu Mountain chased up and told the news of the annihilation of the army, which greatly affected the morale of the army. People were already retreating, waiting for an opportunity to escape; Juniper had to adjust his usual "aggressive" approach and slowed down, so he didn't reach the Jilin cliff until dusk.
But he did not allow the soldiers to camp at the foot of the mountain: "Sarhu's lesson is just in front of us—the foot of the mountain is vulnerable to attack, it is better to go up the mountain and camp overnight on the mountain!"
His confidence has long been shaken, and he wanted to use the mountains as a cover: "The slave chiefs will definitely lead the crowd to chase after him, why not go up the mountain and fight again tomorrow!"
Based on these considerations, he only asked the sergeants to take a short break before leading the team up the mountain; the sky soon darkened, and once he entered the forest, it was so dark that his hands could not be stretched out, and the mountain road in the heavy snow was rugged and slippery Difficult to walk, prone to accidents; therefore, he ordered: "Every five people light a torch to light the way!"
After the order was issued, not long after, the whole army lit torches, and half of the mountainside of Jilin Cliff shone brightly like a sky full of stars falling together.
But this was an important signal to Daishan and Huang Taiji who were ambushing on the mountain with the two white flag troops.
"coming……"
Huang Taiji, who was still young at heart, immediately became excited, clapping his hands and cheering: "Father Khan said, if you hear the drums every day and see the fire at night, you can go to battle!"
He had been waiting on the mountain for two days, and it really made him feel "bored". Now, he can show his skills.
He hastily shared a small white flag with Daishan, commanded the two white flags, and said to Daishan with a smile: "Look, how stupid Juniper is, light a torch and tell us where he is! According to the historical events in the book of war, during the Warring States Period, Pang Juan fought with Sun Bin, and at night, Pang Juan lit a torch to read a line of writing, and Sun Bin only had to order someone to shoot an arrow into the light of the fire, and Pang Juan was instantly turned into a hedgehog!"
As he spoke, he shook his head and added, "That line reads 'Pang Juan died here'!"
Dai Shan replied to him: "Jun Song is a person who does not read, so he may not know this allusion!"
However, before he finished speaking, Huang Taiji got on his horse, not only stopped gossiping with him, but also started running immediately. After running for several steps in one breath, he raised the command flag in his hand and shouted loudly: " Archers with white flags ready..."
He seemed to have been inspired by Pang Juan's death, and immediately took action; but in Daishan's eyes, his act of commanding the commander triggered another thought: "No wonder others say that he has the father most." The Wind of Khan, as expected..."
And just as he was thinking about it, there was a loud "wow" in his ears, which made him realize that the archers with white flags had already dispatched—he was already behind.
So, he also got on his horse and rushed to Huang Taiji's side, but Huang Taiji said to him first: "The arrow is released, you go left and right, let's go down separately!"
He nodded in agreement, so Huang Taiji held up the command flag again, and pointed forward: "The inlaid white flag is dispatched! The archers go first, and the iron cavalry rushes to kill from the right..."
If the command is determined, he is the first to ride his horse and start, running at the forefront. After approaching the Ming army, he waved the flag and instructed: "Archers—shoot!"
Dai Shan didn't dare to fall behind any longer, and directed the archers of the Zhengbai Banner to release arrows, and the targets were all concentrated at the place where the flames flickered——
Juniper's army is struggling to climb the mountain. They can't see the danger hidden in the dark forest, and they don't think deeply about the possible situation. Some people guessed that it was the sound of wind or snow and the sound of tree waves; but, after all, there is no luck in the world, and after a while, ruthless feather arrows flew.
Juniper, who had experienced many battles, was terrified when the first scream from the piercing of the arrow sounded: "There is an ambush..."
And it's too late!
The screams and screams of the arrows being shot by the men and horses formed a dense net almost like the feather arrows, so dense that there was no gap, but in a short while, the entire army had been killed and wounded, and the order was in chaos.
Zhao Menglin and Wang Xuan rushed over at the same time and begged Juniper: "You can't go up the mountain anymore, Commander, please give an order to retreat!"
In the rain of arrows, one really has to bow his head—although Juniper gritted his teeth with hatred and his eyes were red, he could only reluctantly agree: "Back down first, to avoid this wave of enemy arrows!"
Unexpectedly, just after he finished speaking, several sentries rushed to him, gasping for breath, and said, "The slave chief led his troops to kill..."
The news made the situation even worse——Junipong listened carefully, and sure enough, there were already killing sounds coming from the foot of the mountain, rising and falling in the roar of the wind and snow, which was particularly terrifying, and he also clearly announced as if urging his life: "I can't retreat... "
He couldn't help but raised his head to the sky and let out a stern shout: "Simply fight..."
His eyes were as red as blood, and hot air exhaled from his mouth with his voice, forming a puff of white smoke. He tore off his clothes again, revealing his scars like coiled snakes and his pulsating muscles. Big Dao, screaming and bravely stepped forward; his whole body was full of blood, his will and spirit were stimulated into an abnormal state, so he unleashed all the potential in his life, even when most of the soldiers around him were killed in battle, unexpectedly Not afraid of feather arrows hitting his body, a knife and a spear slashing his body, his whole body turned into a mass of bloody red light, and he still held his knife forward—until the tip of the spear with silver flowers shining in Huang Taiji's hand pierced him accurately. throat.
Notes:
Notes: