After enjoying the benefits of digging trenches to siege a city, Li Zicheng admired this method of warfare very much.

In his opinion, even if this method of warfare was not invented by Marshal Jiang first, it was the one he used best. When he was under Yan'an City, Marshal Jiang's trench warfare method had already been used in actual combat.

At that time, Marshal Jiang was not very proficient in using this method of warfare, and was even a little immature.

When they arrived at Zhenjiang Fort, Marshal Jiang used this method of warfare to contain the Tartar cavalry, and with the help of the Marshal's army's light and powerful artillery, they conquered Zhenjiang Fort in one fell swoop.

By this time, Marshal Jiang was very familiar with how to use this strategy.

Of course, later news came that the Tartars almost copied Marshal Jiang's tactics under Dalinghe City. As a result, the defenders in Dalinghe City could not be beaten and defeated, and they could not escape.

The reinforcements were also killed by the Tartars one after another, and finally they had to surrender in Kaicheng.

When Li Zicheng was thinking about this strategy, he compared the Tartars' fighting style with that of Marshal Jiang, and even put himself in the shoes of the two sides, imagining that it was not the Tartars who were besieging the city, but the soldiers of Dongjiang Town.

Horses, and those in the city were not the Ming garrison, but the elite Tartars.

Will the outcome of the war still be the same?

After careful consideration, the result was that the result was probably the same, except that Dalinghe was besieged for nearly three months, and they ran out of ammunition and food. If Dongjiang Town was besieged by soldiers and horses, it would not take such a long time at all.

I'm afraid that under the cover of the trench, the cannons of the artillery team had already been concentrated to blast open the city gate of Daling River.

Although the Tartars are unparalleled in cavalry and shooting, when it comes to the brutal and unreasonable use of firearms, he doesn't think there is any military leader in the world who pays more attention to these firearms than Marshal Jiang, and there is no general who can spare no effort to use firearms.

Arm your own troops.

Of course, except for the Shenji Battalion in the capital, he had never seen the army that was said to be mainly based on firearms. It was the men and horses of the three battalions. However, when the Tartar troops came to the city of Beijing, the soldiers and horses of the Shenji Battalion were

It seems that they don't have any earth-shattering achievements. I guess they are not as good as Dongjiang Town.

However, there is another possibility, and it is a very high possibility, that is, if the soldiers and horses of Dongjiang Town are besieged, and the opponent also uses this kind of tactics, then is it possible that the result will change?

Regarding this possibility, he asked Jiang Wan seriously. He remembered that when he raised this question in front of Marshal Jiang, Marshal Jiang didn't seem surprised at all.

He not only answered Li Zicheng's doubts, but also summoned all the generals above the guerrilla level in Dongjiang Town and taught them a lesson.

"Li Zicheng asked me today, if our Dongjiang Town soldiers and horses are besieged in the Daling River, how should we defeat them?"

At that time, all the generals in Dongjiang Town were gathered together. When they heard this, they all became confused. This issue was also a matter of concern to them, but everyone had their own ideas. Whether these ideas could be realized and effective was unclear.

No one knows.

Since Jiang Wan is good at using this tactic, he naturally knows how to break it.

"If the soldiers and horses of Dongjiang Town are surrounded, there will be two situations at this time!"

Jiang Wan spoke softly: "First, there are reinforcements, and the reinforcements can relieve the siege. Second, it means being isolated and helpless!"

"As for the first situation, we need to break it down a bit, whether the reinforcements are our soldiers and horses from Dongjiang Town, or soldiers and horses from other towns. If they are our own soldiers and horses from Dongjiang Town, then the combat power of the reinforcements will be,

The people in the city should know clearly that at this time, whether to cooperate inside and outside to jointly defeat the enemies besieging the city, or to evacuate with the support of reinforcements, requires the general who is leading the army to judge the situation!"

Seeing that everyone's faces didn't seem particularly understanding, Jiang Wan smiled: "Actually, the situation of being surrounded in the Battle of Daling River would never happen in our Dongjiang Town unless we had soldiers and horses, at least there is a high probability that it wouldn't happen.

What happened, I, Jiang Wan, will never order my soldiers and horses to defend a certain city, especially when the enemy's strength is far greater than ours. The result of such a stubborn defense of the city is that the city cannot be defended.

There are no more people!”

"The area outside the Pass is so large, and there are so many cities and forts in eastern Liaoning and western Liaoning. It is not the gain or loss of one city or one place that can determine the outcome of the war between us and the Tartars. Sometimes, if the land is lost and people are lost, both people and land are lost;

When people lose their land, they will save their land! If you understand this sentence, then the war will be easier to fight!"

"If you save land and lose people, you will lose both people and land; if you save people and lose land, you will save both people and land?" The generals chewed on Jiang Wan's words, and the more they thought about it, the more reasonable they felt. However, they also vaguely felt that Jiang Wan's words were as different as

Nowadays, there seems to be huge differences in the Liaodongfang strategy of the imperial court. If according to what Jiang Wan said, the Guan Jinning defense line is also like this, then wouldn't the Tartars be able to march straight in and directly knock on the pass?

Someone raised his doubts, and Jiang Wan immediately laughed.

"I know you will have such doubts. This is normal. Soldiers are unpredictable, and water is unpredictable. That is what I said. A general must know how to assess the situation and make the most beneficial judgment based on the situation. First of all, the court's strategy is

The defense line must be the basis and the enemy must be kept outside the defense line!”

"However, what we just talked about was our troops in Dongjiang Town. From the beginning, our Dongjiang Town has no place in the imperial court's defense strategy. No matter whether we defend the city or abandon the city, it will not have any impact on the overall situation of the imperial court.

Influence, under this premise, if the land is saved and people are saved, both people and land are lost; only if people are saved and land is lost, both people and land are saved has real meaning. Without this premise, this sentence is a fallacy!"

Everyone suddenly realized, and when they thought about it carefully, it was really the case.

And Jiang Wan immediately gave an example that left them no doubt: "Just like this Zhenjiang Fort, our Dongjiang Town conquered this place, and we seem to have established a foothold here, and even spent so much time.

With a lot of money, food and manpower, we have built several auxiliary forts to protect this place, but I ask you, if the Tatars use all their strength to attack our Zhenjiang fort, can we hold it?"

Under this question, almost everyone shook their heads without hesitation. Are you kidding me? If Dongjiang Town can resist all the Tartar soldiers and horses with its own strength, then the imperial court will spend so much money on food and food to feed such people.

What are the many soldiers and horses for? Just use all the money and food to feed Dongjiang Town.

"Look, you also know that you can't hold on, so what will we do?"

"Of course we will take away all the people and things that can be taken away, and then leave a mess for the Tartars. Let's all go back to Pi Island. If there is any chance, the Tartars will cross the sea and chase after us!"

Someone said loudly, and everyone laughed knowingly. Such a choice is almost unnecessary to consider. Why don't you leave and stay in Zhenjiang Fort to wait for death?

"That's enough, let's continue talking about defending the city!" Jiang Wan said with a smile: "I'm sure there are reinforcements to rescue me. Then, with the configuration of our troops in Dongjiang Town, each battalion is now equipped with a firecrackers team and a

Generally speaking, the artillery team, plus the strongholds on the top of the city, have cannons. With this kind of firepower added up, if the Tartars do not want to use human lives to fill it, then these firearms should outline a safe environment for the defensive city.

district!"

He gestured: "This safe zone is probably within the range of cannons and muskets. If the Tartars dig trenches to besiege the city, their cavalry advantage will be lost. Our soldiers and horses can be in this safe zone."

Inside and outside the trench, fight them openly and openly. Our soldiers and horses in Dongjiang Town, equipped with cannons, muskets and iron armor, can't they still defeat a group of dismounted cavalry?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

There is no doubt about this. From last year to now, fixed iron armor and cannons have been sent from Tieshan every month to equip the battalions in Dongjiang Town. And every once in a while, the imperial supply ship will bring workers.

Those fire blunderbuss made by the Ministry Supervisor.

The strength of Dongjiang Town is increasing every moment. Not to mention the Nanhai Battalion and the Guards Battalion, which are directly affiliated to Marshal Jiang, but also other battalions. Now ordinary soldiers can wear cotton armor lined with iron sheets. This

How dare you think of this in the old Dongjiang Town?

Thirty three-pound guns are standard equipment for each battalion's artillery team. The Nanhai Battalion and the Guards Battalion even far exceed this standard. As for the fire gun team, let alone it, even if they don't even have fire guns.

The Zhongyong Battalion and Fenyong Battalion are equipped with their own fire gun teams.

Now among the troops in Dongjiang Town, the most popular branch is artillery. Ordinary soldiers in the artillery team can get officers' pay. The second most popular branch is the gunnery team. Their pay is a little less than that of the artillery team, but it is limited.

In the military, the goal is to join the artillery corps and the musketry corps.

And that's not even counting, the size of the artillery team and the firecrackers team continues to expand. According to Marshal Jiang, in the future, the number of people in the artillery team and the firecrackers team may account for more than half of each battalion, and the remaining

Half of the people below also serve the artillery and musketry teams.

With such a scale and such combat power, the dismounted Tartar cavalry will be dealt with as many as they come. The cannons of the artillery team and the muskets of the musketry team are absolutely not polite at all.

Having said this, the generals finally understood how to deal with this siege strategy.

That is, if the Tartars dig ditches to besiege the city, fight them directly under the city. If they don't dig ditches, then wait for them to ride horses and collide with the city. Of course, if possible, try not to be surrounded and avoid fighting at a distance.

Fight against the Tartars who are beyond their own strength.

The gains and losses of one city and one place were far less important to Marshal Jiang than the safety of Dongjiang Town's soldiers and horses.

Since it was a small class on military guidance, Jiang Wan might as well explain his military thoughts to his subordinates more thoroughly.

"The Tartars have a saying: Jurchens are invincible if there are no more than ten thousand, but tens of thousands are invincible!" He looked at his subordinates: "The Tartars want to use such words to show off their bravery and brag about their unparalleled riding and archery. In fact, they are really invincible."

If you understand this, you will also know that as long as you are willing to continue the war with the Ming Dynasty, they will definitely lose!"

Everyone's eyes widened.

"How many people are there in the Tartars? How many elite soldiers are there in the Eight Banners? They are invincible?" Jiang Wan sneered: "How many people and how many soldiers and horses do we have in the Ming Dynasty? Even if the strength of our soldiers and horses in the Ming Dynasty is uneven, the number of our soldiers and horses is still far behind.

It’s far beyond what the Tartars’ few soldiers and horses can compare with!”

"We, the soldiers and horses of the Ming Dynasty, will kill a few Tartars in today's battle, and a dozen Tartars in tomorrow's battle. Even if our losses are greater than theirs, we will exchange two for one, or three for one."

One is also profitable for our Ming Dynasty!"

Jiang Wan's words were a bit cruel, but the people present didn't feel anything at all. In a war with the Tartars, they would definitely not be able to defeat them with the same force. This is not a strange thing, but it is strange that one can be replaced by another!

"Over time, hundreds and thousands of Tatars can be wiped out in a year. This is called accumulating small victories into big victories. How many Tatar families can withstand such consumption? Our Ming Dynasty has lost tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and even lost its vitality.

None of them can be hurt, but if we kill tens of thousands of Tartars in a year, they will be destroyed!"

Everyone laughed again, but this time, there was a hint of understanding on everyone's faces - it turned out that Marshal Jiang thought so!

"So, don't think about solving the problem in one battle, rather than thinking about a great victory that will defeat the Tartars!" Jiang Wan concluded: "Continuously wiping out the effective forces of the Tartars is what we should do most. I hope

You must also keep this in mind when you fight against the Tartars in the future. If we use our strengths to deal with the enemy's weaknesses, time will prove that we will be the ones who win in the end!"

Thirty miles away from Malanyu, a fork in the road divided the road into two. Li Zicheng and Wu Sangui were riding on horses, ending their memories of Marshal Jiang's lecture.

"It's time to break up!"

Li Zicheng looked at Wu Sangui with a smile: "In this battle, everyone is watching your Nanhai camp. Now we are going to Malanyu. I, Li Zicheng, wish Commander Wu success, defeat the enemy, and demonstrate the prestige of Dongjiang Town!"

"The commander-in-chief's tactics have been handed over to us without reservation. It's just that when the enemy advances and we retreat, if we still lose the battle, do I still have the face to meet the commander-in-chief?"

Li Zicheng laughed heartily: "As the enemy advances, we retreat, what the commander said is so good!"

"I'm pointing at you, Lao Li, over at Panjiakou!" Wu Sangui cupped his hands: "Don't let a troop of soldiers appear from behind and cut off my retreat while I was teasing Li Yongfang!"
To be continued...