Seventy merchant ships continued to travel back and forth to Longkou, Lushun, and Dalian Bay, constantly transporting personnel and materials to Liaodong.

Since the capture of the Liaodong Peninsula, the problem of transportation has been completely solved.

From Longkou to Lushun, it is only more than 100 kilometers, and the clippers can run up to four times a day, and the merchant ships can also run twice a day, and it is a little farther to Dalian Bay.

Under such transportation efficiency, a large number of materials were transported from Shandong to Liaodong, and administrative personnel, technicians, exploration personnel, workers, steel bars, cement, ploughing cattle, farm tools, seeds, etc., were all unloaded in Lushun and Dalian Bay.

After arriving on the Liaodong Peninsula, the Shandong workers, together with the local Han Min, under the command of professional urban defense engineers, first repaired the two checkpoints of Jinzhou and Nanguan.

These two checkpoints are related to the safety of landing personnel and materials, as long as these two checkpoints are repaired, even hundreds of thousands of Manchu soldiers will not want to rush through.

Especially in Nanguan, the city defense engineers are going to expand the north and south sides of this checkpoint, and then set up 30 huge cannons in the pass, plus 40 cannons on the city wall, to form absolute death fire on the north bank of the narrow Nanguan.

Under such firepower, as long as there were enough shells, it would be almost impossible for the Manchu army to touch the city walls.

Of course, Nanguan is only the second line of defense, and Jinzhou in the north is the first line of defense, and Jinzhou is in accordance with the ordinary defensive strength.

With these two checkpoints, there is no need to worry about being slipped in by the cavalry of the Qing army to threaten logistics and supplies.

At the same time, the workers of Shandong began to build a road in Liaodong, an improvised road leading from Lushun and Dalian to Zhenjiang, while the Hermes-Epitek of Liaodong quickly moved into the tuntian fields after the arrival of the administrators.

Only more than 50,000 Han people did not join Tuntian, but arranged for them to build roads together, and when cement factories, shipyards and other factories were built, these workers would be transferred to those factories.

The total number of Han people in Liaodong is only 70,000, and if all of them are tuntian, the current land on the Liaodong Peninsula is enough, but it will inevitably destroy some forests in the wetlands of the Liaodong Peninsula.

Forests are nothing, the forests in the plains must be cut down, but the forests in the mountains cannot be used for cultivation after they are cut down, and they must be replanted. Those wetlands are also places where Zhao Yan is not allowed to farm, and wetlands are an important link in the ecosystem.

There are exactly 50,000 households joining Tuntian, with 300 mu per household, which is exactly the same as the estimated number of acres.

There is really no land, and then move forward.

The 1st Battalion, on 23 February, under the cover of the cavalry battalion, advanced towards Yaozhou. The Qing army in Yaozhou saw the first battalion attacking, and before the first battalion could attack, more than 3,000 people had fled directly out of the city and headed towards Haizhou.

Most of the soldiers and horses stationed in Yaozhou were Han soldiers, and those Manchurian Eight Banner soldiers were the red flag that was defeated in Zhenjiang, and the banner owner Dai Shan was killed in battle, seeing that Jinzhou, Lushun, and Gaizhou were defeated one after another, and their morale had been low to the freezing point, and they were already frightened by the Shandong army, and they had no courage to resist at all.

Zhao Yong captured Yaozhou without any effort, and on the second day, he and Lin Yi advanced to Haizhou.

At the same time, the Qing army, which had fled to Haizhou, was urgently asking for support from Shenyang, and Duoduo had just stabilized the situation in Shenyang, and this time the enthronement ceremony was being held.

Duoduo, who received the urgent report, couldn't help but be furious when he saw the loss of Yaozhou, Fan Wencheng said on the side: "Your Majesty, this Liaoyang and Anshan are the important places for iron production in my Great Qing Dynasty. And once the Ming army advances to Liaoyang, then it is equivalent to a direct threat to Shenyang, how can I allow others to snore on the side of my Qing couch? ”

"You're right, but the Ming army is menacing, how can you resist it?" Duoduo's face turned red, and a feeling of extreme thorniness rose to his heart.

The defeat of Zhenjiang made Duoduo lose the courage he had in the past, and even he didn't know how to resist the advance of the Ming army at this moment.

"Your Majesty, although there are nearly 30,000 Shandong troops attacking Haizhou, the real Shandong army is only 15,000, and the rest are Han soldiers of our Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, and the cavalry is scarce. You can send 30,000 elite cavalry to harass the Ming army at night, give full play to the advantages of cavalry, and wait for the opportunity to give the Ming army a thunderous blow, so that Haizhou can be protected. Fan Wencheng thought about it for a while and suggested to Duoduo.

At this time, Fan Wencheng's heart was also full of worries, with the current situation, the Qing Dynasty was already a big loss of vitality, while Shandong, which looked across the sea, was aggressive and sharp, and the whole situation was already precarious.

If the Ming army wins, where should he go? Will Da Ming let him go? Maybe, but Fan Wencheng is reluctant to try, he has completely betrayed himself to the Manchus, and has been a lackey for the Manchus for so many years, and he is not willing to fall short.

He wanted to help the Qing Dynasty plot to seize the world, so that he, a lackey who was ridiculed by others, would become a hero of the founding of the country and a model for the people of the world.

In Fan Wencheng's view, the Ming Dynasty is already rotten, and the officials of the world are all bought by money, so it is inevitable that it will be vulnerable under such erosion, and although the national strength of the Qing Dynasty is not as good as that of the Ming Dynasty, it is better than the elite, and the world will inevitably be replaced by the Qing Dynasty.

Fan Wencheng's inference is very correct, the Manchu Qing Dynasty has been victorious against the Ming Dynasty from the Battle of Salhu to nine years ago.

However, the rise of Zhao Yan in Shandong can be described as an unforeseen situation, with a defeat in the nine years of Guannei, and ten years of Huang Taiji's personal conquest of Korea, and he is still besieged in the DPRK.

At present, the Shandong army has controlled Niumaozhai, and the Shandong army in the north of the Yalu River is under the control of the Shandong army, and there are sharp firearms to guard it.

Now Huang Taiji is no longer important, because Duoduo has usurped the throne, what matters is the 70,000 army in Huang Taiji's hands, this 70,000 army is the essence of the Qing Dynasty!

After the loss of these forces, the real Manchurian Eight Banners soldiers in the entire Liaodong are less than 30,000, such a weak military force, almost being beaten back to its original shape, fortunately there are nearly 40,000 Mongolian soldiers, and 20,000 Han soldiers, as long as there is enough time, the strength can be restored to a certain extent, there are still many Shengnuzhen in the north that can be captured, and there are many Han soldiers who can be pulled into the army.

At the same time, Fan Wencheng believed that there were not enough cavalry in the Shandong army, and as long as the Qing Dynasty gave full play to its advantages, it would still be able to win!

For the sake of his future, Fan Wencheng has reached the point of desperation and madness, and Fan Wencheng, who has a money rat tail, no longer even sees himself as a Han.

…… On the same day, Duoduo hurriedly ordered Shuotuo to be the Prince of Su, leading the Zhenghong Banner, and three Mongolian banners, and Zilharang led the Blue Banner, and went south to wait for an opportunity to attack the Shandong army.

And the Great Belle Amin, Duoduo also named him the Prince of Li on the same day, and asked him to form the Yellow Banner, but Duoduo naturally did not want to see the military power of the two brothers Amin and Zilharang too great, so although he asked him to form the Yellow Banner, he delayed giving it to people.

On the one hand, Duoduo sent people to block the Shandong army, and on the other hand, he began to recruit troops frantically. Duoduo did not have the insight of Huang Taiji, but he was not very good at governing the country.

However, with the assistance of Fan Wencheng, there is also Fan Wencheng to help the village in management, which saved Duoduo a lot of trouble, but when Fan Wencheng suggested that the degree of conscription be appropriately reduced and some energy should be set aside for resuming production, Duoduo reprimanded Fan Wencheng rudely.

Duoduo will never forget the hellish scene, countless cannonballs flying overhead, horses jumping wildly under his crotch, screams and shells exploding all around, that terrifying feeling, as if death could come at any moment.

Whenever Duoduo thinks of that battle, he is extremely insecure, and usually runs to the harem and pulls Huang Taiji's concubine out [***] to vent the fear in his heart.

At the same time, Duoduo needed more soldiers to enhance his sense of security.

Zilharang, who received the 'holy decree', was very dissatisfied with Duoduo's arrangement, and Shuo was only a junior, and he actually overrode him.

However, Zilharang also knew that this was not the time for infighting, so after receiving the holy decree, he snorted coldly, and turned around to count the soldiers and horses.

And at this moment, the Red Banner of Domination, as well as the three Mongolian Eight Banners, are high-spirited and indispensable.

"The reason why Zhenjiang will be defeated is all because Dai Shan and Hao Ge are stupid enough to attack the Shandong army with a favorable location, if it were me, I would not fight with them, and when they came out, I would lead the troops to kill them." Shuotuo said very arrogantly in front of Zierharang: "My son of the Qing Dynasty has been practicing riding and archery since he was a child, how can Minggou be an opponent?" ”

"Huh! What Prince Su said was good. Zilharangpi responded with a smile, and Shuotuo was a little more proud when he heard this.

The 30,000 cavalry, the next day, marched down the Hun River with the roaring hooves of horses, and arrived at the confluence of the Hun River and the Taizi River in less than half a day, and then crossed the river, appeared to the west of Liaoyang, and then went south non-stop.

The first battalion did not advance quickly, because the artillery battalion and the baggage battalion were not fast, and for the sake of safety, the first battalion did not rush forward.

At the same time, Yaozhou has not completely solved the problem.

Entering the line of Yaozhou and Liaoyang, the number of Han people and Manchus has increased, and in Yaozhou, for example, there are hundreds of farms, all of which are enslaved Han people.

At the same time, there are at least fifty or sixty thousand Manchurians, but these Manchus have to be dealt with. Therefore, Zhao Yong sent most of the cannon fodder troops to carry out a thorough purge in Yaozhou.

After these cannon fodder units were intensively trained, and the soldiers of the first battalion were placed at the same time, and the inspection team was established, the problem of discipline was not very serious.

Because in less than five or six days, Zhao Yong cut down hundreds of soldiers who violated military law, and those Han soldiers who were recruited were already extremely afraid of military law at this moment.

Whether it is to hide property or harass the Han people, they will be immediately beheaded for public display, except for the military discipline of one person who kills the Manchu captives, and only kills one person privately, he will be beaten with a military stick for thirty.

But the thirty military sticks can't stand a few times.

There were at least more than 2 million Manchus in Liaodong, and more than 2 million people were directly cut down and sent to lifelong labor reform to make up for their sins.

At the same time, if most of the more than 2 million people are captured, then the infrastructure construction of Shandong and Liaodong should not worry about manpower.

7,000 cannon fodder troops, inside and outside Yaozhou, all farms launched a purge of the Manchus, and Han Chinese were constantly rescued.

Many Han people howled and cried when they saw the arrival of the army, and many members of the Liaodong Special Operations Brigade led the army and began to liquidate everywhere and arrest those Manchus one by one.

These cannon fodder units were under constraints, but they were very easy to use, so that the first battalion did not have to divide the forces for the aftermath, and it saved time.

On 25 February, after a day and a half of marching, the first battalion finally came to the city of Haizhou. The strength of Haizhou's defense has reached as many as 8,000 people.

However, this could not stop the advance of the first battalion, and on the afternoon of the first battalion's arrival, it was only a hasty meal, and Zhao Yong launched an attack on Haizhou with the cooperation of the artillery battalion.

It took less than half an hour for the artillery battalion to blow a gaping hole in the city wall of Haizhou, and at the same time bomb the surrounding area into a no-man's land within a few hundred meters.

With Zhao Yong's order, the heavily armed 8,000 cannon fodder troops, under the supervision of the inspection team, rushed into Haizhou City like wolves.

This itself is a small city, and the 8,000 defenders in it are comparable to the 8,000 cannon fodder troops commanded by the first battalion.

These 8,000 cannon fodder troops all use captured Qing army armor, plus there are a lot of horses in Liaodong, everyone has a horse to walk on the march, and they don't walk very fast, and the physical wear and tear is not great at all.

On the other hand, the defenders in the city, many of them are unarmored Han soldiers and Mongolian soldiers, and the equipment is already very different, plus the 8,000 cannon fodder troops of the first battalion have an inspection team to supervise the battle, and the combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

As soon as the street fighting in Haizhou City began, it was the result of a one-sided reversal, a large number of Han soldiers in the city defected, and the Mongol soldiers did not have the will to resist to the death, coupled with the siege and pursuit of the cavalry battalion, before dark, the street fighting in the city had basically ended, leaving only scattered remnants of the Qing army waiting to be resolved.

The first battalion blocked three gates outside the city and did not move at all, but the cavalry battalion responsible for concealment in the north of the north gate cut down thousands of Qing soldiers and captured more than 500 people.

On the second day after the first battalion conquered Haizhou, the 30,000-strong army led by Shuotuo and Zierharang had reached a hundred miles north of Haizhou.

That night, a man rode a fast horse from the north and quickly entered the camp outside Haizhou City, this man not only rode one, but also led two. The man on the horse had a small pigtail behind his head, but a red scarf was tied to his forehead, and all the checkpoints he encountered along the way passed unimpeded.

"Report to your lordship, Duoduo has held an enthronement ceremony on February 23, and at the same time sent Shuotuo and Zilharang to lead 30,000 cavalry south." The man entered Zhao Yong's tough battle and quickly said.

"When did Shuotuo and Zilharang leave?" Zhao Yong asked.

"When the lowly departed, it was the evening of the twenty-third day of February."

Zhao Yong hurriedly called the staff officers, and the staff officers of the first battalion immediately spread out the map, and after a moment of calculation, they said to Zhao Yong: "Battalion commander, Jiannu's 30,000 army will arrive tomorrow." ”

"Send half of the scouts out, investigate within a radius of thirty miles, and strengthen vigilance tonight." Zhao Yong ordered that the first battalion, cavalry battalion, and artillery battalion were not used to being stationed in the city, and all of them did not enter the city.

Being stationed inside the city is a very bad habit, which can easily make soldiers lose their guard and be more vulnerable to attacks than outside the city.

Then Zhao Yong brought Lin Yi and the deputy commander of the artillery battalion over to discuss the next move.

When Lin Yi learned the information, he excitedly rubbed his hands and said, "It's finally our turn to show the face of the cavalry battalion." ”

Zhao Yong hurriedly said: "I said Lao Lin, you can't come nonsense, now the Qing army's 30,000 cavalry is coming, it's not a joke, if something happens to your cavalry battalion, then my first battalion and artillery battalion will not be able to advance." ”

"Who's going to be, am I that kind of fool? The regulations are written as they are written. Lin Yi said loudly, and then whispered: "But last time Jiannu was beaten too badly by Li Ran's kid in Zhenjiang, it is estimated that it is not so easy to take the bait!" I've got to figure out a way. ”

"It's best to fight a fight, so that Jiannu knows how powerful we are in the field. According to the notice of the Liaodong General Staff, in three days, the First Cavalry Battalion of the Liaodong Army and the cavalry artillery battalion of our Shandong Army will go north to join us, and then we can let go of our hands and feet to do a big job. Zhao Yong said.

"Yes! The war in Liaodong is very important, and we can't be too aggressive at this time, if we make any mistakes, the battlefield on the Western Front will not be easy to clean up. Lin Yi also nodded, "Yaozhou's seven thousand third-line troops haven't caught up yet, so it's better for us to stay in Haizhou and respond to all changes, and then slowly advance after the third-line troops catch up." ”

"Hmmm! As long as there are no mistakes in the reconnaissance and no corners are cut when setting up camp, we have enough time to react in the advance. ”

"So be it! Wait for the third-line troops to catch up. ”

Soon their opinions were agreed, and the infantry, cavalry, and artillery battalions could not do without each other.

Without the cover of the cavalry battalion, the infantry battalion could only move an inch, and without the artillery battalion, it would take a lot of casualties and time to attack the city. If the cavalry battalion did not have the artillery of the infantry battalion and the artillery battalion, no matter how well trained and equipped, it would be easily overwhelmed by the Qing army with numerical superiority, and the artillery battalion would need the protection of the infantry battalion and the cavalry battalion.

That night, the artillery battalion and the cavalry battalion scattered half of the scouts out of the range of thirty miles, and the next morning, the other half of the scouts were sent to take over the task of the original group of scouts and began to cruise within the range of thirty miles.

The line from Gaizhou to Liaoyang is a plain area, and under the intensive scout reconnaissance, it is almost impossible for the Qing army to raid it.

As for the night attack, in the ancient cold weapon war, the night attack must be with the help of a certain amount of starlight, and the scouts of the Shandong army can also see it at night with starlight.

If the Qing army lit torches to attack at night, it could be found from afar.

As long as there was enough time to react, the Shandong army would be able to set up a formation to meet the enemy, with the infantry relying on cavalry, the cavalry relying on artillery, and the baggage battalion carrying enough grain and grass to support about five days, with almost no flaws.

(To be continued)