Of course, Cao Yue couldn't fully understand Dolgon's strategic intentions, but after receiving the battle reports from all directions, he immediately knew that Dolgon was going to attack on a large scale, preparing to decide the rhythm of victory in a battle.

Jiannu did not concentrate on attacking in one direction, but just wanted to disrupt the defensive rhythm of the Ming army.

Because Jiannu's movements were detected in advance and sufficient precautions were taken for this, the raids in several directions of Jiannu did not achieve results, and the defense line of the Ming army did not collapse. Cao Yue still concluded that Dolgon's main attack direction was on the Linqing and Dezhou lines, and the attacks in other directions were only sneak attacks, and the troops were not very large, so he did not send reserves to reinforce, but only ordered the guards divisions to defend according to the established plan, support each other, and guard their own defensive grounds, so as not to give Jiannu a chance to intersperse and divide.

The intelligence sent back by the special guard battalion and other scouts also showed that the main army of Jiannu was still led by Dolgon, coming in the direction of Dezhou, Linqing, and Liaocheng.

Cao Yue concluded that the main direction of Jiannu's attack must be the direction in which the main forces of the Ming army were assembled, and Dolgon's purpose was to eliminate the living force of the Ming army. Cao Yue also postponed the attack on Cangzhou and shrunk his forces in order to fight a decisive battle with Jiannu.

At the same time, he also secretly ordered the sailors to speed up the pace of marching and unexpectedly launched an attack on the Tianjin Wei. And after capturing Tianjin, he took advantage of the situation to attack Beijing. Regardless of whether Beijing could be captured or not, the naval warships had to arrive under the city of Beijing, causing great psychological pressure on Dorgon.

In the summer, there were many storms on the sea, which greatly limited the speed of the sailors' warships, and they arrived at Tianjin Wei at least ten days later than Cao Yue had expected. This is also a helpless thing, the so-called plan is in the people, the success is in the sky, today's sailors warships, the ability to resist wind and waves is not strong, it is impossible to brave the waves of the sky. That would likely result in heavy losses.

However, it is not a bad thing that the time is late, at least the current Dolgon, I didn't expect that the Ming army still had a force ready to attack Tianjin Wei. The defensive strength of Tianjin Wei was not strengthened, and even when Dolgon was preparing for a decisive battle with the Ming army, the defenders of Tianjin Wei were reduced, and they went south to support the attack of the main army.

The secret combat capability of the special guard battalion is constantly improving, and they continue to transmit information back in the process of causing trouble to Jiannu. The movements of the main army of Jiannu, as well as the movement of dividing troops to assault those men and horses, are basically under the control of the elite detachments of the special security battalion. This provided great convenience for Cao Yue and his generals to deal with.

In mid-August, near the main position of the Ming army in the northwest of Texas, a brigade of cavalry of Jiannu finally appeared.

Because he was often attacked by the elite detachments of the Ming army, Dolgon also knew that he could not hide the movements of the army he led from Cao Yue, so he did not plan to cover it up, and rushed in the direction of Texas with great fanfare.

Texas was the northernmost city occupied by the Ming army, and Dolgon wanted to retake Shandong. Texas is a place that must be captured. If Dezhou is recovered, the crisis in Cangzhou can also be lifted, and it can also be attacked from Dezhou to Jinanfu, and the passage into Shandong will be opened.

The Great War on both sides. It was one morning in August when the fragrance of cinnamon rose.

Cao Yue still personally commanded more than 120,000 men from six Guards Divisions in the frontal battle of the Dezhou Defensive Battle, including two divisions each from the 1st to the 3rd Guards Army. Each army has about one division as a reserve, out of which 120,000 people. There were about 40,000 musketeers, and the rest artillerymen, cavalry, pikemen and infantry.

Cao Yue's plan was to equip all guard divisions of the Ming Guards with firearms, and the cavalry to serve only as auxiliary troops. Spearmen and other classes that are not suitable for Thermal Age warfare have been removed. The musketeers were far more lethal on the battlefield than other arms, and musketeers and artillery would become the main forces that would decide the war. It's just that the manufacture and renewal of weapons are far from meeting the actual needs, and everything can only be done slowly.

At the head of the city of Dezhou, Cao Yue took some of his subordinates, as well as Liu Liangzuo, Gao Jie, Li Chengdong and many other generals of the four former towns in Jiangbei, standing on the high place of the city gate tower and commanding the battle.

In the binoculars, you can already see the neatly looked Jiannu, advancing in the direction of the field fortifications of the Ming army.

Eventually, they stopped about four or five miles in front of the Ming army. This is the effective range of the new artillery equipped with the Ming army, and Jiannu did not dare to get too close before the charge, for fear of being killed or injured by the powerful artillery of the Ming army.

During the Ming Dynasty, the air quality was very good, and there were no mountains outside the city of Texas, and under the sun, you could see it from a distance of ten miles. Cao Yue, who was holding a telescope to check the enemy's situation, took a closer look and was surprised to find that it was not Jiannu's servant army that was preparing to attack, but the most elite Jurchen Eight Banners.

"Jiannu has always let the servant army and the Mongols play the vanguard, but this time Dolgon went against the norm and let the most elite Eight Banners Iron Cavalry take the lead in the charge, what do you say this is for?" Cao Yue asked Gao Jie beside him with a smile.

"Dolgon wants to use the strong combat power of the Jurchen elite cavalry to break through the defense line of our Ming army and disrupt the position of our army," Gao Jie immediately replied, and said with a proud look: "In the last battle of Liaocheng, Jiannu was defeated and demoralized, and Dolgon urgently needed a victory to boost morale, otherwise they would not be able to fight this battle." ”

The other generals immediately agreed, saying that Dolgon was fighting this time, and he did not hesitate to spend money in order to break through the defense line of the Ming army.

"Since Dolgon is going to fight hard, then let's have a good time with him," Cao Yue said, a sinister smile on his face, "Chuan Bendu ordered the artillery to prepare to shoot." As soon as Jiannu began to charge, all the artillery fired the shells in the most intensive manner. If a Kennu who had slipped through the net rushed to the front of the line, the musketeers also intercepted them with the most intense fire. Pontus didn't think about how much ammunition we had, they didn't need to remember it, all the sergeants beat me hard, let Jiannu see what it means to be bloody, miserable. ”

In the loud applause of the generals around him, a sergeant immediately conveyed Cao Yue's order.

With Cao Yue's order, the artillerymen and musketeers who had already been ready suddenly became excited. Next, they can immediately go on a killing spree and greet Jiannu with guns, why aren't they excited?

Soon, Jiannu's attack began, and two teams of Jurchen cavalry of about 5,000 people killed from the left and right flanks of the Jiannu array at the same time. The Battle of Texas officially began. (To be continued.) )