In mid-June, the Model Army, which had gathered near Niuzhuang Fort, began to advance north along the Da Liao River, and the cavalry on both sides frequently engaged in skirmishes. The Manchus found that the outcome of the battle between the scouts and cavalry was very unfavorable to them.

Generally speaking, according to the experience of the Manchus, in the battle with the cavalry of the model army, if it is a battle between large groups of cavalry, the exchange ratio is always very disadvantageous to the Manchus, and if it is a battle of small cavalry, especially a battle of light cavalry, the exchange ratio is much better (although it is also not advantageous). In fact, with fewer than ten men, the scouts of the Model Army tended to avoid fighting a comparable number of Manchu scouts. But this time the situation was very different, even in the encounter of such a small detachment, the cavalry of the model army suddenly became much more war-seeking, and when the number was equal, or even less, they tended to take the initiative to attack the Manchu reconnaissance cavalry. Moreover, the exchange ratio of battles has also become more favorable to the model army.

Huang Taiji knew that this was mainly a consequence of the famine. This famine caused the Qing army to suffer from malnutrition, both in people and on horses. However, in any case, he must hold the Great Liao River Fort.

On June 28, the main force of the Model Army advanced by land and water, approaching the Daliaohe Fort. The army camped on a high ground about three kilometers away from the Qing army, and Zheng Sen led a team of cavalry to climb a nearby mound about twenty or thirty zhang high to see the Qing army's defenses from afar.

Since the land thawed, the Qing army has been constantly strengthening the two fortresses of the river. They pulled three iron chains along the river, sealing off the entire river. This move is not a new creation, when the Three Kingdoms, Wu general Wu Yan used iron ropes to cross the Yangtze River, in order to defend the Jin army warships eastward. As a result, the Jin army burned the iron cable with fire, went down the river, and destroyed the state of Wu. But these three iron cables of the Qing army were all within the range of the fortress artillery, and it was not easy to send people to burn it with fire.

Behind the three iron cables, there was a pontoon bridge that connected the forts on both sides, and the Qing army could use this pontoon bridge to move between the two banks. The forts on both sides of the strait have also enlarged considerably compared to last winter. Similar to Niuzhuang Fort, they were also built in the form of a fortress, and the Qing army dug a three-tiered trench outside it and piled up a three-tiered earthen wall.

"Shizi, you look at the fortress of Jianxi, but the more you build it, the more it looks like that." Yu Xindao, who came out with Zheng Sen, said, "Do you see that there are really a lot of cannons on their earthen walls?" ”

Zheng Sen moved the telescope and looked carefully. However, I saw that the Qing army left a small gap in the earthen wall at intervals, which was the location of the installation cannon, and there was also a cannon in each position. There are roughly two kinds of these cannons, one is smaller, which seems to be somewhat similar to the six-pounder cannon used by the Model Army, and some are larger, more like Hongyi cannons in shape. Zheng Sen counted slightly, and in this section alone, there were more than thirty cannons. One of these cannons was pitch black, and it appeared to be made of iron.

"They have a lot of artillery." Zheng Sen frowned and said, "This fortress adds up, I'm afraid there will be hundreds of cannons, right?" Where did Jianshen get the materials, so many cannons? ”

"Shizi, I don't think it's right either." Yu Xindao, "Shizi, look at the number ratio of these two cannons, and the position of their cannons, they are not right!" ”

Zheng Sen raised the telescope and looked at it carefully for a while, then put down the telescope and nodded: "Yes, they put all the small cannons behind, there is no such small cannon in the position of the first earthen wall, and there is basically no such small cannon behind the second earthen wall, and the small cannons are concentrated behind the third earthen wall...... In addition, they have much more cannons than small ones, which is unreasonable. ”

In general, the artillery was arranged in a lighter front and heavier in the rear, because larger and heavier guns had a longer range and a lower rate of fire. Small cannons have a faster rate of fire and a higher reaction rate. It is easier to put the small cannon in front of it, and it is easier to play the cannon in the back, which is more convenient to support the small cannon in front.

"Those cannons of theirs, they shouldn't be wooden, right?" One of the cavalrymen suddenly said, "I've seen the natives make cannons out of wood over there in Luzon." ”

"Wood for cannons? How? Does it work? "It's the first time Yu Xin has heard of such a thing.

"Yes, those natives sawed the trunk of a big tree in half, then dug up the middle one, put the two halves together, and then wrapped it in many layers with rattan to make a wooden cannon. However, this thing looks very thick from a distance, in fact, there are very few things that can be loaded, and if their cannons are really wood, then the gunpowder and cannons that can be loaded are about the same as a small Furlong machine. The power is not too much, but it is much slower than the Furlong machine, and much slower than the iron cannon, I heard that if you hit two or three cannons, it will be useless, and if you fight again, you will explode. ”

"It's really possible!" Yu Xin looked over there again, "Otherwise, where did Jianxuan get so much iron?" ”

Zheng Sen also nodded and said, "It should be like this, this explanation makes sense." Jianxuan really thinks about it. ”

In addition to these artillery, the Manchus also built shelves behind the earthen walls and covered them with a layer of something, which looked thick, presumably used to defend against the shrapnel of the model army.

"There is no barbed wire, and the defense of Jianxuan is still somewhat shapely." Zheng Sen said again.

At this time, the Qing army seemed to have discovered them, and a cavalry came out of the camp and came towards this side.

Zheng Sen saw that the cavalry of the Qing army was approaching this way, so he said, "Let's go." ”

……

On the first day, the model army was busy setting up camp and arranging defenses, and did not launch an attack on the Great Liaohe Fort. However, the cavalry of the Qing army launched several attacks on the model army, but they basically failed to achieve any results.

The clock was fast approaching evening. The first half of the night was also peaceful, but in the second half of the night, from outside the barracks there were occasional muskets and shots. This is the ambush army of the model army and the harassers of the Qing army exchanging fire. Immediately afterwards, a rocket fell into the barracks of the Model Army. These rockets are not arrows with fire, but rather something that is quite similar to the arson rockets of the Model Army. When they hit the ground, they explode and cause fires. The rockets that fell into the barracks caused several fires, but because of their limited number and the quick reaction of the personnel in charge of night duty in the Model Army, although they lit up a few fires, they did not cause much damage. ()

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