After this battle, Lin Feng changed the gunpowder into pellet gunpowder, which greatly increased its power. He also let Li Zhi lead the attack on the Qing army. This time, Li Zhi brought 8,000 stones of grain with the army. This food was enough to feed ten thousand people for five months, enough for the soldiers to hold on in the camp without worrying about food.
In fact, the Qing army usually chose to enter the fortress in winter and leave the fortress in March. They would not fight a protracted war after the first month.
The Qing army planted spring wheat in the northeast, which was sown in March and harvested in July. Although most of the armored Tartars had Aha to farm and did not need to go to the fields themselves, the management would be more chaotic without the master, and they could not guarantee the proper spring sowing. Moreover, there were tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers among the Tartars. Most of these people needed to farm their own food to feed themselves. For these people, they would starve if they missed the farming season.
Therefore, every July, after the Tartars had finished harvesting the wheat and grinding it into the granary, they would raise their swords and pillage inside the pass, then rush back to the northeast before the spring sowing of the following year.
Moreover, the Tartars had plundered so many people to Liaodong this time, so the pressure on food this year was even greater. They had to rush back to farm the land for these new slaves.
However, he was afraid that the Tartars would go crazy and surround Li Zhi for a long time without attacking or retreating. Therefore, Li Zhi still brought enough pickled cabbage and dried meat. If they were really surrounded by the Qing army for a few months, they couldn't be too deficient in vitamins and protein, or they would get sick.
Of course, he had to bring enough tools such as shovels, saws, hammers, and carrying poles to build the camp. The Fan manor often reclaimed new lands to build city walls and do civil engineering, so they did not lack these tools.
Shen Yuji's medical team of more than 30 people also set off with Li Zhi. Shen Yuji's medical team had made a great contribution in the battle to enter the guard's office. In the past, the wounded who had been hit by the Tartar's poisonous arrows often had to be amputated. However, with the surgical team, these injured people were treated properly. Often, a small operation would solve the problem. A large number of heavily injured people had become lightly injured. It could be said that countless people had been saved.
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On the twenty-seventh day of the first month, Li Zhi led his troops north to Qingshan Pass.
Qingshan Pass was located 50 miles north of Funing County. It was rebuilt on the basis of the Great Wall of Northern Qi in the 14th year of Hongwu and then rebuilt in the 40th year of Wanli. The Great Wall at Qingshan Pass was built in the mountains. The terrain was dangerous and there were many watchtowers. There is a garrison in the south of the pass. Of course, these watchtowers and the Garrison Department had already fallen into the hands of the Qing army.
Li Zhi led his troops and advanced quickly. It took them ten days to reach the entrance of Green Mountain.
After walking at a fast pace for ten days, the soldiers felt very tired, especially the logistics soldiers who were recruited at the last minute. Fortunately, they could rest for two days after arriving at Green Mountain Pass. Li Zhi set up camp ten miles south of Qingshan Pass. After sending troops to scout the nearby area for two days, he decided to build a stronghold in a canyon that the locals called Ma Li Gou.
This canyon was the only way to enter Qingshan Pass from the south. It was more than ten miles long from north to south and three miles wide from east to west. There were impassable mountains on both sides. There was a small river flowing in the middle of the valley. The river was not deep, so they could walk across it. If a camp was built in the middle of the canyon, the east and west of the entire canyon would be within the range of the artillery.
Under the threat of artillery, the 300,000-strong Qing army could not pass through smoothly.
When the two thousand Qing soldiers at Qingshan Pass saw Li Zhi setting up camp outside, they sent out dozens of scouts to scout. At first, these scouts were arrogant because they were skilled in archery and riding, but as soon as they got close to the Tiger Troop Division, they were scattered by a barrage of gunfire from the Bandit-Wandering Troop soldiers, and they fled back in panic. From then on, the two thousand Qing soldiers at the pass did not dare to come out to spy.
After finding a good location, Li Zhi began to build the fortifications of the camp.
The first was to dig trenches to stop the enemy.
The trench designed by Li Zhi was three meters wide and two meters deep. Such a large trench was dug in four circles outside the camp, from 200 meters to 80 meters away from the edge of the camp. Every 40 meters, a trench was dug. Eighty meters was the shooting range of the Qing army's bows and arrows. If they did not cross these four ditches, the archers of the Tartars would not be able to shoot at Li Zhi's riflemen.
On the inside of the trench was a low wall fifty centimeters high, ensuring that the Tartar soldiers and warhorses could not jump over the trench. As they dug trenches, the soldiers built earth forts for the cannons.?
Li Zhi's cannon was mounted on the cannon carriage, and the muzzle was three feet above the ground. The soldiers used rammed earth to form a wall below this height to protect the cannons. With the protection of the clay cannon, if the Qing army's cannons and Li Zhi's cannons fired at each other, the chances of the six-pounder cannon in the clay cannon being hit were reduced by half.
The artillery batteries were built in the middle of the riflemen's firing positions and scattered in the gaps of the infantry formation.
Then, they would build defensive walls for the riflers.
The rifle was placed on the shoulder, and the soldiers 'shoulder height was generally more than four feet. Therefore, Li Zhi built four four-foot-high earthen walls in front of the shooting positions on all sides of the camp. The earth wall was one foot thick. Shooting from behind the mud wall could reduce the probability of soldiers being shot by the Qing army's arrows.
On top of the mud wall, a canopy was built for the riflers. The canopy was five feet four inches high and six feet wide. It had a pointed roof covered with grass. This canopy could shelter the riflers from the rain.
The flintlock spear could still be used in a drizzle, but when the rain became heavier, the chance of hitting it would plummet, and it might even be impossible to fight. When it rained in the wild, they could retreat if they encountered enemies. The rain would stop after one or two hours. However, they couldn't retreat in the camp. They could only repair the facilities to shelter them from the rain.
With this canopy, they could still fight in the storm.
Of course, the archers of the Qing army could not fight on rainy days. The Qing army usually did not start a war on rainy days.
The canopy was not high, and the roof was just above the soldiers 'heads. It could also block the arrows thrown by the soldiers. If they were to fight with the Qing army's bows and arrows behind such protective facilities, the casualty rate would be reduced by several times.
Next was the construction of wooden spikes. The wooden spikes were made of wood that had been cut off and sharpened. When used, the tail is buried in the ground. The wooden spikes were half a foot high, and the wooden heads on them were pointed. They were scattered on the ground. The wooden spikes were placed eighty meters in front of the canopy. The Qing army could not pass through the place where the wooden spikes were placed. They could only bypass the wooden spikes to rush to the front of the Tiger Legion.
It would take a lot of time to pull out the wooden thorns. It was basically impossible. If the Qing army wanted to charge into the formation, they could only take a few winding passages without wooden spikes, which greatly slowed down the Qing army's approach to the front of the Tiger Legion.
Finally, Li Zhi brought a large number of caltrops this time. Li Zhi laid several layers of caltrops behind the wooden spikes and in front of the canopy. The Qing army would have to pay a heavy price if they wanted to pass through the territory occupied by these caltrops.
Half a month had passed since he had finished setting up all of this.
On February 13th, 70,000 Qing soldiers escorted over 300,000 people, livestock, and all kinds of goods and materials to Qingshan Pass.
When the Qing army scouts arrived at Qingshan Pass, they were shocked by the camp built by Li Zhi. Those trenches, those earth walls, and the canopy were like the spikes of a hedgehog, preventing the Qing army from approaching. Meanwhile, the riflemen behind the fortifications were holding their rifles on the mud wall, eyeing the Qing army outside.
The key was that if this hedgehog-like stronghold was not removed, the Qing army would not be able to enter the Green Mountain Pass. The canyon was only three miles wide. If Li Zhi's cannon was placed in the middle, the Qing army would be bombarded by the cannon and would not be able to pass through.
A team of scouts tried to rush over from the edge of the canyon, but they were shot by ten cannons at the same time. Half of them were killed, and they retreated in a sorry state.
There seemed to be more than a hundred cannons in the camp.
Perhaps the 70,000 Qing soldiers would charge through the border without caring about casualties, sacrificing a few thousand people to pass through. However, the price was too high. The Baylors couldn't let the Qing warriors sacrifice themselves in vain! Moreover, if they rushed over like that, what would happen to the human and livestock supplies escorted by the Qing army? Especially those Han Nichans, they would probably all fall into chaos once the artillery bombarded them. When they scattered, the Qing army would have to kill countless people to catch them.
Seeing the stronghold built by Li Zhi, the Qing army stopped in front of the Ma Li ditch and did not advance.
In the middle of the Qing army, a group of Qing generals were riding on horses and looking at Li Zhi's camp with different expressions.
Haug whipped the whip in the air and cursed loudly,""This Li Zhi! Do you want the lives of our 70,000 people? We've already given up on Jinan and rushed to the entrance of Green Mountain just to get out of seclusion! He actually came to Green Mountain Pass to build a stronghold to deal with us!”
"This camp is stuck in the middle of the canyon. The Nichan and livestock we robbed can't rush through…" Abatai bit his thumb and said.
Du Du had been defeated by Li Zhi at the Fan manor. Knowing Li Zhi's combat strength, he was extremely flustered. He said loudly,"Great General, we have orders. Let's abandon the Nichan and the livestock we looted and charge forward. The longer we delay, the worse the situation will be!”
"We lost 20,000 warriors in the past few months," Dorgon shook his head."We relied on these Nichans to replenish our manpower. If we abandon the humans and animals this time, the warriors of our Qing Dynasty will no longer have the courage to enter the fortress to plunder!”
"In that case, the Qing Dynasty's attack on the Ming Country will be over…"
Hearing Dorgon's words, the generals calmed down. No matter how strong Li Zhi's stronghold was, it could not change the fate of the Qing Dynasty for a single stronghold. If they didn't dare to enter the fortress to plunder in the future, then the Great Qing Empire would weaken.
"General, we'll take down this camp!" Haug shouted. After all, he only has 10,000 people while we have 70,000!”
Haug seemed to suddenly remember the cannons in the army and said loudly,""Use the cannons to blast him. We have more than 50 Red Clothed Cannons.”
"Li Zhi has more than 100 cannons. I'm afraid our cannons can't beat him…" Abatai gritted his teeth and said.
"How do you know if you don't try?" said Haug.”Looking at the trenches in front of him, Haug said,""We have a way to cut down those trenches. We will cut down huge trees to make wooden bridges and cross the trenches.”
Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard Haug's words.
"As long as we cross the four trenches with the wooden bridge, our warriors will be able to shoot at the Ming army from the front! When the time comes, we'll shoot arrows while charging forward. Our warriors will be able to fight the Ming army hand-to-hand! We have 70,000 people!"
From a mile away, the Qing generals couldn't see the wooden spikes and caltrops in front of Li Zhi's formation. They thought that they would be able to fight Li Zhi's soldiers hand-to-hand after charging through those trenches.
Hearing Haug's words, the generals of the Qing army were tempted. They all sat on their horses and pondered the feasibility of Haug's tactics.
Abatai suddenly said," We can force Nikan to dig and fill the trenches. If the Ming army doesn't shoot, we'll fill the trenches all the way!" If the Ming army had shot, it would have been Nickan who had died.”
Du Du had been defeated by Li Zhi in the Fan manor, so he was really scared. After hearing the words of the Baylors, his face was still flustered. He opened his mouth and said fearfully,"General, that Ming army Li Zhi is very cunning. I think his methods are not limited to these trenches."Du Du, you're afraid of Li Zhi. He's good at fighting in the field, but he might not be good at defending the city. Heavenly Sound
"We can give up Green Mountain Pass and attack the other passes!" Du Du said in a panic. Leave through the other passes!"
Hearing Du Du's words, the Baylors were somewhat contemptuous, feeling that Du Du had really been defeated by Li Zhi.
It was easier said than done to attack other passes at the last minute. The Great Ming Dynasty had been managing the Great Wall for hundreds of years, and the various passes of the Great Wall were all high walls and deep trenches, ready for battle. Every time the Qing army entered the pass, they had to cooperate with each other and investigate carefully at each pass of the Great Wall. Only when they knew which pass was undefended could they attack.
Even so, they might not be able to take it down. They had to cooperate carefully and wait for the right time and place to break through. For example, this time when they entered the pass, the spies had received information that the commander of the Ming army, Wu Guojun, had gone to congratulate Deng Xizhao on his birthday. When he was drunk, he suddenly attacked and succeeded.
Sometimes, the border walls near the capital were tightly guarded and impregnable. In order to enter the pass, the Qing army had to detour thousands of miles to Xuanfu, Datong, and even Shanxi before they could break through an empty fortress. One could see how difficult it was to break through.
As long as the defense was tight, Dorgon wouldn't be able to break through. The Qing army's offensive ability was not strong. As long as the Ming army was not too weak, the Qing army was generally helpless against the strong city. There were only 1,000 weak soldiers in Jinan. This time, Dorgon's tens of thousands of soldiers surrounded Jinan for two months but failed to take it.
At this time, Duo Ergun was in the Ming Dynasty. The Manchu spies all over the Ming Dynasty were reporting to Huang Taiji. Duo Ergun could not get any information at the moment, so he did not know the actual situation of the Ming army at the Great Wall. He could not break out. Attacking the tightly guarded pass was giving the lives of the Qing warriors to the Ming army for nothing.
If they were to give up on the Green Mountain Pass to attack the other passes with high walls and deep trenches because of Li Zhi's four trenches, it would undoubtedly be abandoning the easy for the difficult.
Abbatai ignored Dudu's words and said to Haug,""We can try using giant logs as a wooden bridge to cross the trenches. As long as we charge through these four trenches, our 70,000 people will be able to defeat Li Zhi's 10,000 people!”
" Yes, General." Haug nodded and said," We can give it a try. If 70,000 people give up the Green Mountain Pass because of the four trenches, how can our warriors dare to meet Li Zhi in the future?" Then how can our warriors enter the pass to plunder?”
What Haug said was right. In the era of cold weapons, morale was the most important thing in a battle. If the 70,000 strong army fled because of a few trenches, the Qing army would have no choice but to flee the moment they met Li Zhi.
Dorgon thought for a long time before turning to look behind him.
Behind Dorgon, 70,000 Qing soldiers were lined up in the middle, like a raging sea of armor. 70,000 people stood in the valley, covering every corner of the valley. It seemed endless. The tassels on the helmets of the tens of thousands of warriors swayed in the wind, looking like flowers blooming in a valley in spring, dazzling people. The flags on the backs of the warriors formed clouds. The 70,000 people were mighty, making people feel that they were invincible.
How could such an army stop because of a small stronghold like Li Zhi?
"Just do as Haug says, build a wooden bridge!"”
All the generals shouted loudly and led their men down to set up camp. They started a fire to make food and prepared to cut down trees on the nearby mountains to make a wooden bridge.
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Li Zhi personally climbed onto the lookout cart and used the binoculars to observe the enemy in front of him.
There were too many Qing soldiers, 70,000 of them, and their imposing manner was daunting. Together with the 200,000 or so Ming civilians that they had captured, the Qing army had spread out to the outside of the valley more than ten miles away. Looking from the Wangpole Carriage, the Qing army seemed to occupy the entire land like a vast expanse of ants.
The entire world seemed to be filled with the Qing army.
Li Zhi took a deep breath and used his binoculars to carefully observe the details of the mighty Qing army.
Li Zhi looked over carefully and felt that the Qing army had a good command and their arrangements were reasonable. The warriors of each flag set up camp in the valley in batches, choosing the higher ground and the place where it was easy to get water. The arrangements were orderly. Beside the Qing army, there were auxiliary soldiers pushing carts in front of the wagons. They stood solemnly. There was no hustle and bustle like when the Ming army distributed food. Clearly, the Qing army had strict military discipline. The 200,000 Ming people were divided into 20 large groups and arranged in the middle of the Qing army. Although they were holding more than 200,000 Ming people and hundreds of thousands of livestock, the Qing army did not panic at all.
The Qing army's cavalry and sentries were densely packed within two miles of the camp, stopping and interrogating anyone who tried to enter the camp. Although Li Zhi had few soldiers, the Qing army still dug two trenches outside the camp to repel the enemy. As a nation of war, the Jianzhou Jurchen had no loopholes in their battles.
The current Qing army was an elite force compared to the rest of the world. If Li Zhi didn't have weapons that far surpassed this era, he wouldn't have dared to confront such an enemy head-on.
Even though there were all kinds of fortifications in front of the stronghold and the defense was tight, Li Zhi was still a little nervous when he saw the mighty momentum of the Qing army.
Li Zhi looked at the various tight arrangements in front of his stronghold and felt slightly relieved.
This time, the Qing army had Dorgon as the general, and there were five flags of Manchuria, namely white, white, red, red, and blue. The Eight Banners Mongol Banners all came out and joined the battle. After a few months of fighting, the Ming army had basically figured out the configuration of the Qing army. Among these 70,000 people, there were about 25,000 soldiers from the Eight Banners Manchurian army, 20,000 soldiers from the Eight Banners Mongol and Outer Mongol armies, and 20,000 auxiliary soldiers.
Such a mighty army was enough to defeat hundreds of thousands of Ming soldiers. The so-called 'lashing out to cut off the flow' was nothing more than this, but Li Zhi had to rely on a stronghold to stop them.
Li Zhi carefully checked his formation again, repeatedly thinking about where there were loopholes.
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On the morning of February 16th, Li Zhi was observing the Qing army with binoculars when he saw the middle gate of the Qing army camp open. The Qing soldiers walked out of the camp with a huge wooden bridge. The wooden bridges were raised one by one and placed in front of the formation. There were 20 to 30 Qing soldiers standing under each bridge.
Li Zhi used his binoculars to observe. The wooden bridges were all three meters wide and six meters long. Each wooden bridge was made of three giant logs that were more than six meters long. Then, they were covered with dense small logs as the bridge surface, which were fixed with ropes. Not only that, but there was also a wooden shield in front of the wooden bridge. It was similar to a wooden shield hanging in front of the wooden bridge, probably to prevent Li Zhi's rifle from shooting.
Li Zhi looked at the wooden bridges carefully. The Qing army had built 1,000 wooden bridges in three days.
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