Tao Gong stood on the deck of the battleship and looked at Tianjin Wei in the distance, and said lightly: "Keep bombing, the infantry will land and build fortifications." ”

Behind the four warships were hundreds of boats, large and small, that Tao Gong had scavenged from Korea, all of which were of all kinds, and even small sampans tied to a string. Tao Gong brought a total of 30,000 new Korean troops, but because of the problem of transportation capacity, only 10,000 troops came this time, and the Qing army in Lushun also sent 2,000 people to Tianjin under the leadership of a Jiala Ezhen.

The cannons on the four battleships rang out in turn, and the Ming troops of Tianjin Wei all hid in the city and did not move. Du Sance received a letter sent by Xu Lang, as long as he could hold the Tianjin Guard, he didn't have to go out of the city to fight with the Tartars, and the Yulin Army could be responsible for all the battles.

After several days of busy work, the camp of the Korean New Army was set up, and Tao Gong left behind 2 warships, and the rest of the warships and ships returned to Arthur to continue transporting the army. Now all the new Korean troops are assembled in Arthur, which will save half the distance.

Lin Zhaolong and Xu Lang received a report from the scouts in Majiakou: "Sir, there are a total of 10,000 Tatars, including 2,000 Manchu Qing Tatars, who are now in Tianjin, and there is no intention of marching into Beijing. ”

"Got it." Lin Zhaolong replied and looked at the map again, "Xu Lang, is there any news from Beijing?" ”

"It was sent by Zhang Hai a few days ago, and Dolgon broke through the pass from Daeankou with 60,000 eight banners and 10,000 new Korean troops."

Lin Zhaolong silently calculated: "There are more than 20,000 Mongolians in Datong, 70,000 in Beijing, 30,000 in Ningyuan, and only 10,000 in Tianjin. That's not right, we speculated that Tao Min could mobilize a total of 1780,000 troops this time, where did the rest go? ”

"Almost, Tianjin can't only have 10,000, Taogong will continue to increase troops, it is estimated that it should be 30,000 or 40,000, and the total number should be 150,000 or 60,000."

Lin Zhaolong took his eyes off the map: "Our ambush plan is fine, I'm worried that Tianjin Wei may not be able to hold it." ”

Xu Lang walked to the map: "There are more than 30 cannons in Ningyuan City, and there is no problem in holding Ningyuan; Although Dolgon carried heavy artillery, Beijing's troops were already more than 100,000, as well as the Shenji Battalion and the Quick Gun Team, and there was no big problem; Datong and Xuanfu may be sacked, but the Mongols will never be able to defeat them, and now only our Tianjin is the most difficult to fight. ”

"Why do you say that?" Lin Zhaolong asked.

"You also heard the scout's report just now, and Tao Gong is not in a hurry to advance towards Beijing." Xu Lang explained, "There may be two reasons for this, one is that Dolgon has not yet hit the city of Beijing, and the second is that Tao Gong may have to take Beijing step by step this time." Tao Min wasn't by his side, so he would be extremely careful. ”

"If that's the case, there's going to be trouble." Lin Zhaolong became worried again, "There are still ten miles from here to Majiakou, if we let Tao Gong gather all the troops and push them flat, even if we block them, our artillery will not have time to pull over." It is difficult to annihilate tens of thousands of Koreans with infantry and cavalry regiments alone. ”

"That's what I'm talking about when I say it's hard." Xu Lang said, "If Tao Gong can't be trapped in Majiakou, then he will most likely break through to Beijing or withdraw to Tianjin." In either case, it is not good for us, we must find a way to let Tao Gong send the vanguard, and we can only surround the point to send reinforcements. ”

"And." Xu Lang looked up at Lin Zhaolong, "I also told you about the idea of a surprise attack on Lushun, I have already asked someone to contact the Ming army on Phi Island, and when the combined fleet ends the war in the south, we will unite with the Ming army on Phi Island to recover Lushun." But there is a prerequisite for this, that is, the tens of thousands of troops of Tao Gong cannot be let go. If Tao Gong runs back to Lushun, then we may have to give up this plan. ”

"I know what you're talking about." Lin Zhaolong smiled, "But there has to be a way, we don't seem to have any way to make Tao Gong listen to us now." ”

"You make me think about it." Xu Lang walked around the tent a few times, "Zhaolong, what do you think Tao Gong is most worried about now?" ”

"What worries him the most?" Lin Zhaolong thought for a while, "It should be his logistical supply, after all, he came from the sea." ”

"That's not what I'm talking about." Xu Lang waved his hand, "Tao Gong is most worried about his brother's safety right now. ”

"Worried about Tao Min's safety, what do you mean?"

"Zhaolong, you think." Xu Lang sat down and said, "This time Huang Taiji and these two brothers are separated, it is obvious that they are guarding against the new Korean army, and it is impossible for Tao Min not to know Huang Taiji's intentions." Dolgon had 60,000 banners, and Tao Min only brought 10,000 Korean troops, and Tao Gong must have been in a hurry to join his brother in the city of Beijing. ”

"But Taogong has no intention of advancing to Beijing now."

"That's Tao Min's idea, he will definitely rely on the scout with his brother to deliver the news." Xu Lang got up from his chair, "I have an idea for convening an officer meeting immediately, but I can't guarantee whether it can be done or not, I want to listen to everyone's opinions." ”

The regiment-level officer meeting was held again, and Xu Lang introduced the situation in various places: "Now Li Zicheng and Nanyang don't have to worry about it for now, I want Zhang Hai to make some moves in Beijing." ”

"Chief of Staff, what do you want Zhang Hai to make a move?" Zhou Lei asked.

"Since Tao Gong is most worried about Tao Min's safety now, let's create some contradictions between Dolgon and Tao Min, so that Tao Gong may send people directly to Beijing."

Xu Lang's words confused everyone: "Chief of Staff, how can we let Dolgon and Tao Min have contradictions, you don't want to make any rumors." ”

"Hahahaha." Xu Lang smiled, "Half-truths and half-truths are still okay. Tao Gong's purpose this time is not Chongzhen but our Yulin Bay, so he will definitely talk to Chongzhen about the conditions, I still have my original opinion, Tao Min is very likely to want Huang Taiji and Chongzhen to make peace. According to Chongzhen's character, Tao Min can't push him too quickly. But Dolgon is different, he is only 25 years old this year, and he can't think about the problem so long-term, and he can't listen to Tao Min all. ”

"Chief of Staff Xu, you don't have to analyze in such detail." Lin Zhaolong was a little anxious, "You just say what you want to do." ”

"It's very simple, send a letter to Zhang Hai and ask him to send some people to harass Dolgon, only fight Dolgon's troops, and not move Taomin's troops. Let Zhang Hai use cavalry, fight and run, don't entangle with Dolgon, hook up Dolgon's anger, let Dolgon storm Beijing, and disrupt Tao Min's plan. ”

"Chief of the General Staff." Gao Chen asked, "Dolgon's Manchurian Tartars have 60,000 people, and there are also a lot of cavalry, how many cavalry does Commander Zhang have to use?" ”

Xu Lang didn't answer, and asked Lin Zhaolong, "Zhaolong, how many rifled guns do you have here?" ”

"Two thousand."

"Send 300 to Zhang Hai and ask him to form a special combat team to carry out harassment tasks. At the same time, people were sent to block all roads from Beijing to Tianjin, and they strictly investigated and blocked the communication between Tao Min and Tao Gong. ”

After Xu Lang finished speaking, he looked around for a week: "I don't know whether this plan can be carried out or not, who has different opinions can be said now, and everyone will find a way together." ”