When he first saw the scene at the head of the city, Pang Yue was also quite shocked, and then angry. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info but after thinking about it for a while, and then looking at the reactions of the soldiers around him, he couldn't help but secretly let out a cold snort: Shang Kexi's move is not self-defeating?

Throughout the ages, killing a prisoner or displaying a captured head in front of the enemy has always been an effective way to demoralize the enemy and boost one's own morale. Just imagine, when a certain side has not yet launched an attack, it sees a large number of its own soldiers hanging in front of it, what kind of shock and blow should this be to the morale of its army? Fear, rabbit death, fox sorrow and other complex psychology are intertwined, how can it not have an impact on its next battle?

It's just that this also needs to be grasped to a certain degree. If you kill fewer people, or when your own strength is not as good as the opponent's, then this will not only not have a deterrent effect, but will arouse the opponent's anger and determination to fight bravely.

Shang Kexi has been on the battlefield for a long time, so he naturally knows this principle, so he simply showed all the heads of the Ming army to the public. It stands to reason that this number is not small, it is hundreds of levels, and if it is aimed at the ordinary Ming army, the effect of deterring and demoralizing them is enough to achieve.

However, Shang Kexi may not realize that the soldiers of Huguang Town were mainly formed on the basis of the relationship between neighbors, relatives and friends, and in their daily training and life, through the implementation of policies and regulations and the development of various activities, the ideas of "fighting bravely and prohibiting private fighting" and "being in the army and being brothers are all brothers" have gradually entered the hearts of the people, and the unity in the army is naturally not comparable with other Ming armies. Therefore, the hundreds of heads that Shang Kexi hung out may be able to arouse some fighting spirit among his own soldiers. But for Huguang Town, in addition to the role of anger, as for deterrence, blows, etc., there will be no at all.

At this moment. Regardless of the loyal camp for the time being, no matter the officers and soldiers in the battalion formation in Huguang Town, their faces were full of anger and even tears, if it were not for the strict military discipline, I am afraid that they would have already scolded and roared.

After pondering for a moment, Pang Yue called Wei Yuan and gave such and such an order.

Not much. A burst of shouts in unison also came from the Ming army's array, like a tide, from the city to the city: "Your Excellency, the pseudo-Zhishun King Shang Kexi!" Today, our army has only arrived, and there is no time to pay an in-depth visit. Your Excellency did this to boost the morale of our army, and what a good intention! Pang is grateful here! And the so-called come and not be rude, in order to express his gratitude, Pang also has a few words here. Chat to encourage your army! Your Excellency, please listen up. If our army can take Jingzhou in this battle, your army will surrender from Your Excellency, and all the generals will be killed! All the soldiers are killed! Therefore, this battle is related to the lives of your Excellency and the more than 10,000 soldiers under your command, and I hope that your army will muster up their courage, and do not have the slightest intention of relaxation, let alone the slightest surrender! We must work together from top to bottom, and the officers and soldiers will work together to fight to the death with our army! To repay the kindness of the slave chieftain! I hope you will encourage yourself! ”

After the sound of the city fell. The head of the city was silent for a long time.

Pang Yue asked his subordinates to shout in unison, which sounded polite. It was both thanks and encouragement, and there was no anger in Shang Kexi's words just now, but the deterrent meaning contained in it was undoubtedly more harsh.

Shang Kexi couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, he had imagined all kinds of filthy words that Pang Yue might scold, and imagined all kinds of amazing things Pang Yue might do because he was angry, but he didn't expect Pang Yue to be so calm and reply to him like this.

When the Qing army at the head of the city heard the shouts from the city, most of them looked at each other and had a vague sense of shuddering. They may not remember all that paragraph, but "all the generals are cut off, and the soldiers are all beheaded" is clear. Especially the Qing officer Zuo in the city, his face changed, and his knuckles turned white with the hand holding the weapon.

Speaking of which, this is a bit of a mistake. The shouting of the Qing army in the city was originally intended to deter, but the effect on the Ming army under the city was to encourage and motivate. The shouts of the Ming army under the city were on the surface to encourage and motivate, but the role played by the Qing army at the head of the city was a real deterrent.

Before the Qing army at the head of the city could fully react, the Ming army under the city began to retreat slowly, as if they were looking for a place to set up camp.

"Collect all the heads!" Shang Kexi commanded left and right with a gloomy face.

......

Due to the unstable foothold of Chu Zhi, Pang Yue was not in a hurry to immediately launch an offensive against Jingzhou, but chose an open place six or seven miles east of the city, and ordered to set up camp, and everything would be said after settling down.

The construction of the camp was one of the necessary subjects of the Huashan battalion, and after a long period of training, it had already become a good job, and with the assistance of the other battalions, the process was very fast, and it was completely completed in only one afternoon.

Once the camp was completed, Pang Yue also issued orders one by one according to the usual practice. All the land divisions were stationed in the camp, and groups of scouts dispersed far away, forming multiple cordons, always paying attention to the movements of the Qing army in the city. The Yangwei camp and the fleet of ships transporting grain and grass were also docked, and most of the grain and grass were moved into the camp. The warships docked were still heavily guarded, with the powerless transport ships in the middle, and a number of sentinel ships were sent to cruise the nearby river to prevent a possible attack by the Qing army's Jingzhou naval division.

After dinner, a military meeting was held again in the Chinese military tent, and the main generals of Huguang Town and the Loyal Battalion were all present.

The current situation was not favorable for the Ming army. In Jingzhou City, Shang Kexi and Daniel Zhang led more than 10,000 people to defend the fortified city. In the north of the city, Kaqam also led more than 10,000 soldiers and horses to choose a favorable terrain to set up camp, echoing with the defenders in the city, and at the same time holding the land main road for the Ming army to the north. On the Yangtze River in the southwest of the city, the Jingzhou Navy Division was waiting for the battle, and completely intercepted the westward journey of the Huguang Town Water Army's Yangwei Battalion.

These three places echo each other, like a fortress. In this way, although the Qing army is at a disadvantage in terms of strength, it is not so easy for the Ming army to break the situation.

Faced with this situation, Pang Yue can roughly have two choices. First, attacking Jingzhou City with all his might, Jingzhou is equivalent to opening up the situation and breaking out of the predicament. Second, send a group of soldiers and horses to contain the enemy near the left of Jingzhou, and at the same time move the main force in the direction of Xiangyang, turn the passive into the active, and seize the initiative on the battlefield. In this way, it may be possible to seek to annihilate the enemy in the movement, which can also be a way to break the situation.

But both options have a number of problems.

If you take the former, it seems that it is not difficult, but in fact it is not an easy task. Jingzhou has always been a strategic place, the city is high and thick, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and there are 10,000 Qing troops in the city. If you attack strongly, it may not be effective in a short time. Moreover, there were more than 10,000 Qing troops in the north of the city who thought that the city echoed. When the Ming army attacked Jingzhou, how could it avoid being attacked and harassed from the other side? In the event of an attack, they must divide their forces to intercept them. One point of troops, the siege force will be weakened, and the difficulty of the siege will be increased by a few points.

If the latter is taken, there are two more scenarios, going north or west.

To the north, that is, to contain the defenders of Jingzhou with a piece of soldiers and horses, and then to attack the Qing military camp in the north of the city with the main force, and then go north to Xiangyang after winning the village. Going north, not to mention whether the Qing army camp can be broken through, even if it can be successfully taken, how can the more than 10,000 Qing troops under the command of Tikhamu stay in place and wait for Huguang Town and the loyal battalion to be completely annihilated? At that time, they will retreat to the north, and it will be another big stumbling block in front of them.

Moreover, the northward route was by land, so the Yangwei battalion and the baggage fleet could not move with the main force. It is true that the Ming army can also unload the grain and grass and hand it over to the Taishan battalion to carry north. But how can land transportation be compared with shipping in terms of convenience and number of carrying? The future situation of the war is still uncertain, and if it lasts too long, the whole army will be in danger of running out of food, and the logistical supply will be cut off by the Qing army's Jingzhou naval division, and the result will be very bad.

If you go west, you have to cross the river at least twice. But the nearby waters are all under the supervision of the Qing army's Jingzhou naval division, how could they allow the Ming army to cross the river safely? Although there is also a battalion of the navy in Huguang Town, this battalion is still short in formation and is at a disadvantage in terms of strength, so it may be acceptable for defense and for attacking the Jingzhou Naval Division. Without the advantage of water, marching west naturally became an empty talk, and it was more difficult to achieve than going north.

Although the generals felt that the current situation was more difficult than before, they still expressed their opinions and spoke freely.

After a long time of military discussions, Pang Yue listened to everyone's opinions, combined with a series of plans submitted by the General Staff Department before, and after discussing with Gao Yigong, he decided on tomorrow's battle plan. It was decided to ignore the Qing army encamped in the north of Jingzhou for the time being, and attack Jingzhou City first. In tomorrow's battle, the siege does not have to be fierce, and it is not necessary to take the city. The main purpose is to first test the combat strength of the defenders in the city, as well as the coordination and coordination between the three Qing armies. Thus laying the foundation for the subsequent war.

The generals have no objection to this.

Once the plan has been decided, the appointment of generals and the assignment of specific tasks begin. Gao Yigong is also generous, which means that it is up to Pang Yue to decide.

At the end of the military discussion, Pang Yue made the following assignments for tomorrow's combat tasks: the Taishan battalion in Huguang Town stayed in the camp and guarded the grain and grass; The Yangwei battalion only defended but did not attack, escorted the convoy of convoys, and prevented the Qing army from attacking from the water to outflank their own rear routes; The rest of the battalions of Huguang Town and the loyal battalion of 2,000 men were responsible for the siege; The main force of the loyal battalion was responsible for monitoring the Qing army in the northern part of the Titica, and if it launched an attack, it must be intercepted; The Huguang Town Scout Team and the main force of the Loyal Battalion Scouts spread outward, serving as a perimeter guard and keeping an eye on the surrounding movements.

One by one, the generals took the orders and promised.

......

In the early morning of the next day, the Ming army got up on the fifth watch and dressed up after breakfast. By the time the sky was clear, the battalions were ready. 30,000 soldiers stood in the cold wind, their expressions solemn and murderous.

With Pang Yue's order, the three armies moved together, each in order, and went in the direction of Jingzhou City. In the cold wind, the red flag hunting, and the red tassel on the top of the soldier's helmet reflect each other, converging into a red ocean. (To be continued.) )