Huang Taiji could think about the importance of the camp tent, and Yuan Chonghuan naturally thought about it, Liaodong at this time was really cold at night, and if there was no camp tent to block the biting cold wind, few people could bear it.

Originally, Huang Taiji didn't think about the problem that the big camp would not be able to hold it, at this time, in the wild, the Houjin Iron Cavalry is an invincible existence, plus 150,000 co-conscripts, even if the Liaodong Army comes, he will not take it seriously.

This is not that he underestimated the enemy, in the field, the Liaodong Army really can't do the Houjin Iron Cavalry, since the invasion of Liaodong, the Houjin Iron Cavalry has been fighting with the Liaodong Army for more than 20 years, and the Liaodong Army has never sneaked up on the camp of the Houjin Iron Cavalry, just because they know that they can't do it, they dare not come.

This is not his carelessness, he also knows that some artillery can reach four or five miles, the problem is that it is more than 1,000 catties of artillery, and the Liaodong Army rushed from the Santaizi River to the Liaohe River, all under their close surveillance, and there was no artillery in the baggage they carried, which was also proved from the battle of filling the trench in the first two days, if the Ming army had artillery, they would open fire when the Meng Yuan infantry went up to fill the trench, and they would always return fire with bows and arrows.

The only thing he didn't expect was that Zhang Bin would send someone to send artillery over, and it would come so quickly and so much.

He wanted to know that Zhang Bin would send so many artillery pieces over, and he would not camp at such a close distance.

It's a pity that it's too late to say anything at this time, and it's even too late for him to send Meng Yuan's cavalry back to pack up the camp.

Dolgon and his brothers had just gathered their own soldiers and came to the place where the Mengyuan Iron Cavalry was gathered, and before the Mengyuan Iron Cavalry was gathered, the northern one was lit up with a sky-high fire, and that location was exactly where they camped.

Huang Taiji's face changed greatly when he saw this, he looked at the fire in the distance blankly, and then ordered the guards beside him: "Quick, bring a team of people over to have a look." ”

He was just lucky, such a big fire, no need to think about it, it must have been a big camp they set on fire.

Sure enough, in less than a quarter of an hour, the guards he sent out ran back and said in a panic: "Great Khan, it's not good, our tents are all on fire. ”

When Huang Taiji heard this, he asked coldly: "What about the camps of the Eight Banners of Meng and the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty?" ”

The guard lost his voice and said, "It's also on fire, it's all on fire, and all the tents are on fire." ”

When Huang Taiji heard this, the corners of his eyes twitched, and then he gave a categorical order: "Order, Meng Eight Banners, Han Eight Banners and Houjin Eight Banners, immediately retreat and rush back to Haizhou overnight." ”

This can be said to be the most battle since the rise of the Later Jin, and even before the official war with the Ming army was lost, thousands of elite Eight Banners were lost, and the emperor was almost eager to spurt blood, he glanced at the fire in the north fiercely, and then turned his horse's head and ran south with the Houjin coalition army.

Sooner or later, he will have to find Yuan Chonghuan to settle this account, but now he must immediately lead the army back to Haizhou, Yuan Chonghuan's fire almost burned all the baggage of the Houjin Coalition Army, not only that there are no tents at night and there is no camping, but also pots and pans or something, all of them are lost, they can't even cook, when these people retreat, they know to grab some of it, the problem is that they can't eat raw!

Huang Taiji was so angry that he was about to vomit blood at this time, but Yuan Chonghuan was happy, and when he saw the burning Houjin Coalition Army camp, he couldn't help laughing and said: "Hahahaha, this time Huang Taiji has to retreat to Haizhou, otherwise his 200,000 troops will be starved if they don't freeze and waste." Immediately sent an order to Zu Dashou and sent scouts to follow Jiannu to see where they crossed the river. ”

A personal guard behind him responded to the order, and Qi Yuanbi asked with some curiosity: "Lord Yuan, what do you mean, we will catch up and attack halfway?" ”

Yuan Chonghuan shook his head and said: "No, no, no, they will definitely make arrangements when they cross the river, if they can't defeat the remaining men and horses in one fell swoop, and their team that crossed the river will turn back and strike back, we will definitely be defeated." I want to build a fortress where they cross the river, anyway, we have to build at least five fortresses along the Liao River, it is better to build one and repair there, and set up twenty cannons, as long as they dare to cross the river from there again, we will definitely be able to bomb them and they will not be able to find the north. ”

When Qi Yuanbi heard this, he suddenly said: "It makes sense, as long as the artillery is set up, they don't want to cross the river from there." ”

That night, the scouts reported that the place where Jiannu crossed the river was in a bay about fifty miles from Fort Xining, and that they were preparing to cross the river overnight.

The next morning, after he got that Jiannu had all crossed the river and retreated to Haizhou, he asked Qi Yuanbi to lead the soldiers of the Qi family army to load sixty artillery pieces on wheels, go down the river, and send them to the place where Jiannu crossed the river, and find a way to carry them ashore.

After the Guanning Iron Cavalry set off, he summoned He Kegang, Zu Dale, Cao Gongcheng and other generals to explain in detail, and then rushed to the place where the Houjin coalition army crossed the river with 30,000 foot soldiers and a load of grain and grass.

There were no accidents along the way, and within two hours, he led his army to the bend of the river that the scout had said.

At this time, the Guanning Iron Cavalry was building the zero-hour fort, Zu Dashou had already found a suitable place to build the city, and Qi Yuanbi had also sent the artillery.

Yuan Chonghuan looked at the mess left behind by the hasty evacuation of the Jin army on both sides of the Liao River, and couldn't help but be proud, and said impassionedly to Zu Dashou, Qi Yuanbi and other generals: "Guarding the main road of the Liao River here is as important as the Da Ling River Fort of the Guanning Jin Defense Line, and this place will be called the Da Liao River Fort in the future." ”

Da Liao River Fort, the meaning is profound, Yuan Chonghuan this is to build a solid line of defense like the Guanning Jin defense line, so that Houjin is discouraged, the generals heard this, have applauded loudly, for a time the morale of the Liaodong army is high, and began to build the fortress on the spot.

This place can also be regarded as a bridgehead to recover Liaodong, because beyond this place is the endless Liaodong Plain, if you can hold here, the Liaodong army can attack, retreat can defend, the initiative is under control, and then Jin is uncomfortable, this excellent place to cross the river is occupied, they want to cross the river from the lower reaches of the Liaohe River It becomes extremely difficult, and they must be ready to guard against the Liaodong army crossing the river from this place and going deep into the interior of the Liaodong Plain.

Yuan Chonghuan naturally attached great importance to such a strategic place, and he decided to build a large fortress that could accommodate 100,000 people here, and set up fifty artillery pieces in the fortress, twenty on this side of the river, and ten on each of the other three sides, so that this place would become an impregnable fortress.

On this day, the Liaodong Army burst out with unprecedented enthusiasm, and by the afternoon, not only had the temporary batteries been erected, all 60 artillery pieces had been put in place, and even the foundation of the southern wall of the Great Liaohe Fort had been dug out by them.

In the evening, they ushered in an even bigger surprise, Qi Yuangong, the commander of the Qi family's army, personally led a hundred wheels to send 50,000 stones of grain, and for a while, the entire Liaodong army camp was jubilant.

Qi Yuangong was actually entrusted by Zhang Bin to discuss with Yuan Chonghuan how to help him win this battle, although now it seems that the situation of the Liaodong Army is very good, in fact, the Houjin Coalition Army is only temporarily retreating, and Huang Taiji will definitely not watch them build fortresses along the Liao River.

In the battle of Xining Fort, the Houjin coalition army seemed to suffer heavy losses, but in fact, a total of only a few thousand people were killed, Huang Taiji still had 200,000 troops in his hands, and the 100,000 horses of the Liaodong Army were still not enough in front of him.

After Yuan Chonghuan led the crowd to warmly entertain Qi Yuangong for dinner, he waved back and discussed with Qi Yuangong.

Qi Yuangong saw that all the generals withdrew from the tent one by one, so he arched his hand and said: "Lord Yuan, our Governor sent the last general to lead the army this time, mainly because I am afraid that Lord Yuan will go deep alone and be besieged by Jiannu and suffer a big defeat. ”

When Yuan Chonghuan heard this, he was moved and said: "Lord Zhang is so kind to Yuan, Yuan really can't repay it." ”

Qi Yuangong replied according to Zhang Bin's explanation: "Lord Zhang said, these are nothing, as long as Lord Yuan can hold Liaodong and keep the Liaodong Army, it will be the best reward." ”

Yuan Chonghuan nodded solemnly and said, "Yuan remembered." ”

Seeing his appearance, Qi Yuangong said embarrassedly: "Lord Yuan, look, do you need any help now?" The last general was ordered by the governor to assist Lord Yuan, and if he was idle like this, he had to punish the last general when he went back. ”

When Yuan Chonghuan heard this, he thought about it seriously, and then he was puzzled: "If you want to say that the key to this battle is mainly the speed of building the fortress, the faster the fortress is built, the greater our chances of winning, but even if you add more than 10,000 of you, the speed of the fortress construction is not much faster." In addition, it is to prevent Jiannu from coming to obstruct, although Huang Taiji suffered a loss this time, in fact, the loss is not big, I think, he should soon lead the army back to prevent us from building the fortress, but I don't know where he will go, and I don't know how he will stop us from building the fortress. ”

Qi Yuangong nodded, thought for a while, and then analyzed: "The construction of the fortress is nothing more than stone and wood is the most time-consuming, 100,000 people have to open the mountain to quarry, and cut down trees, and the construction of the fortress will not be fast, otherwise, the last general will immediately send someone to inform the governor to buy some stones, wood and even bricks from Fuguang, so that you can build the fortress much faster." ”

When Yuan Chonghuan heard this, he was dumbfounded and said: "This, Fuguang is thousands of miles away from here, you buy stones, wood and bricks, I'm afraid it's too late, right?" ”

Qi Yuangong smiled and said, "Lord Yuan, you have forgotten, General Zu set off from Liaodong for less than five days, and we will send you artillery." ”

Yuan Chonghuan really didn't pay attention to this problem, because Zhang Bin just ordered someone to drive a wheel to stop at the small fish port near Zhongzuowei in Quang Ninh to wait, and told him that if there was an urgent need for help, he could send someone to take a clipper to Fuying, and he really didn't think about how fast the fast boat was.

After Zu Zepu came back, he arranged artillery bombardment of the Houjin Coalition Army's camp, arranged for foot soldiers to set fire to the camp, arranged for people to follow the Houjin Coalition Army, and planned to build the Daliaohe Fort.

Now that Qi Yuangong said this, he suddenly reacted, if he could make a round trip in five days, then transporting stones, wood and bricks from Fuguang would really save him a lot of trouble, he couldn't help but ask: "General Qi, how many stones, wood and bricks can you pull at one time?" ”

Qi Yuangong probably estimated it in his mind, and then affirmed: "It's still no problem to pull enough stones, wood, and bricks to build a fortress at a time. ”

"Ahh When Yuan Chonghuan heard this, he couldn't help but be surprised, how many clippers did Zhang Bin have in his hand, and the materials for building a fortress were not a little bit, they could pull them over at one time, is it possible?

He couldn't help but wonder, "Really? ”

Qi Yuangong nodded affirmatively: "Really." ”

Not only did they have wheels, but also the Zhenyuan cruiser, one Zhenyuan cruiser could carry enough food to cover dozens of wheels, and the stone, wood, and bricks needed to build a fortress at a time were only his conservative estimates.

Seeing that he was so sure, Yuan Chonghuan couldn't help but be ashamed and said: "Then Yuan has the cheekiness to ask Lord Zhang to help with this, if this fortress can't be built in one day, I won't be able to do it in my heart, and if I can repair it as soon as possible, I naturally can't ask for it." ”

Qi Yuangong nodded and said: "That's okay, I'll let the clipper go back and inform Lord Zhang later, please prepare in advance for Lord Zhang, and tomorrow I will order someone to lead the fleet back to pull the materials, by the way, if Jiannu comes to stop it, how is Lord Yuan going to deal with it?" ”

Yuan Chonghuan muttered: "Originally, if there was no musket and artillery supported by Lord Zhang, I would have had to defend the city to the death, but after having the musket and artillery supported by Lord Zhang, it will be different, and I may be able to build a slave." It's just that the control of this musket is easy to say, after all, it is enough to shoot directly, but I am not sure about the control of this artillery, I have only seen the tiger squat cannon, and I have not used it, and no one in the Liaodong army has used the tiger squat cannon, especially after bringing the gun carriage, we will not use it, and when the time comes, I am afraid that the desired effect will not be achieved. ”

Qi Yuangong immediately patted his chest and said: "What's so difficult about this, I will send a thousand skilled artillerymen to the adults to ensure that they will fight wherever they want." ”

When Yuan Chonghuan heard this, he hesitated: "This is not good, if it reaches the ears of those who have a heart, Lord Zhang will be in big trouble." ”

His worries are not unreasonable, now those eunuch remnants in the court are very shameless, they will not care about the gains and losses of Liaodong at all, nor will they care about the safety of the Ming Dynasty, as long as there is a chance, they will run in front of the emperor to tell right and wrong, and the officials in the court who are not on the right path with them.

After all, the emperor is still young, and many times he can't judge who is right and who is wrong, like last time, he was almost arrested and cut by a thousand knives, and now that he thinks about it, he still has palpitations, he doesn't want to involve Zhang Bin being harmed by those eunuch remnants.

When Qi Yuangong heard this, he said calmly: "Lord Yuan, don't worry, as long as you don't go all out to participate in the war, sending one or two thousand people will not attract the attention of those who are interested, and when the time comes, you can give us a thousand sets of military uniforms of the Liaodong Army, as long as you don't talk nonsense everywhere, there shouldn't be any problems." ”

Yuan Chonghuan struggled for a while, and finally gritted his teeth and nodded: "Then thank you General Qi, if something goes wrong at that time, Yuan will bear it, anyway, if there was no Lord Zhang to save me, I would have been cut by a thousand knives three years ago." If this incident is stabbed to the emperor by the remnants of the eunuch party, it will be a death at most, Yuan will return this life to Lord Zhang, and he has earned it for three years in vain, and he does not have to be cut by a thousand knives, so after calculation, Yuan still made a lot of money. ”