Chapter 1435 Can’t get out

Erhe had never been so aggrieved in his life. Although he was not of a distinguished family background or noble blood, he had made considerable contributions when Hou Jin attacked Jinzhou under the control of Ming Dynasty.

There were dozens of Ming army heads chopped off with his own hands on the battlefield. His ability to be promoted from a Bagala warrior to the position of Jia La Ezhen was largely due to his previous experience on the battlefield.

Brave performance.

When fighting against the Ming army in the past, although Erhe would feel that the enemy was a bit difficult to deal with, he knew that the Ming army would never be able to withstand Hou Jin's iron cavalry offensive in a field situation. As long as they fought in a wild environment, the Hou Jin army he led would

The army rarely suffered defeats. But the current enemy seemed to have broken this law. The cavalry was helpless in front of its defense line, and it was not as easy as it was against the Ming army in the past. This time he led three thousand troops to challenge the Haihan army and defeated them.

The idea was to use the cavalry to rush into the formation and break through the defense, but he never thought that it would be fine if he didn't rush down the high ground. He didn't even touch the edge of the Haihan camp on the plain. This would have a huge psychological impact on him.

.

Until he returned to Jinzhou Fortress, Erhe still didn't understand what happened with the series of explosions when he attacked the Haihan camp. He only knew that the cavalry under his command were disrupted almost instantly.

, and this method of fighting is something new that he has never heard of in the past, and it will be difficult to accept this reality for a while.

But Erhe knew that his mistakes would hardly escape the punishment of his superiors. He led his troops out for only two days and already lost half of them on the battlefield. However, Haihan pushed the control area from the mountainous area to the north for more than ten years.

Here, there is no way to explain such a record to the superiors supervising the war. Especially the two currently supervising the war in Jinzhou, not only have high status, but also have extremely rich battlefield experience. It is almost impossible to get through in front of them.

Impossible. Although Erhe racked his brains to shirk responsibility, it was still extremely difficult to hide the real situation from these two big shots.

Azig, who was tall and powerful, stared at Erhe who was kneeling in front of him, and said with a sullen face: "Three thousand soldiers and horses, you only fought against the Haihan people twice and lost half of them. You actually have the courage to say

This is because it’s raining and the road is slippery, and the cavalry charge is ineffective! Erhe, are you so confused?”

Yangguli next to him also looked dissatisfied and said: "Erhe, you are just stupid. Do you think everyone is as stupid as you?"

Erhe did not dare to raise his head to look at the two men. He kowtowed to the ground and said: "Master Beile, Your Majesty the Duke, the Haihan people are extremely cunning. They have been avoiding fighting. They have set up many traps outside the camp, and the charging horses cannot dodge them."

, they were all killed in pieces and fell to the ground. I dare not deceive the two adults. This matter will be known when I ask in the army, and what I said is absolutely true."

Azig said: "On that hilltop by the sea, when you sent troops, the enemy only occupied the area for half a day. Tell me, in such a short period of time, what kind of traps can they set to stop your three thousand soldiers and horses!

"

Obviously, Azig did not believe Erhe's so-called "lost in a trap" statement, and was very keen to find the loopholes in his previous narrative.

Erhe, who was lying on the ground, was trembling secretly. He had realized that it was difficult to fool him with his tactic of shirking responsibility, but he just didn't know what Azig and Yanguli planned to do with him. Neither of them had a good temper.

Well, it wouldn't be unusual to push him out and kill him on the grounds of defeat.

"Your Majesty, Duke, do you think Erhe is not doing a good job in supervising the battle, how should we punish him?" Azig turned his head and asked Yanguli.

Yang Guli responded in a deep voice: "I, the Great Jin Erlang, are proud to die on the battlefield. Although Erhe was defeated, he has made many military exploits for the Great Jin Kingdom in the past. He should also be given a chance to atone for his sins."

At this time, Azig had conferred the title of Beile, whose status was one level higher than that of Yangu Li, and according to the original history, he would confer the title of Prince Wuying this year. However, he asked Yang Gu in front of Erhe.

Li’s opinion, this actually means that Yangguli will convict Erhe. And Yanguli also knows that Azig is very dissatisfied with Erhe’s performance, but in the face of a powerful enemy, he can directly kill him.

Killing this man might affect the morale of the army, so he thought of a compromise and kicked the ball back to Azig.

Azig pondered for a moment and then said: "Erhe, you led your troops into battle without permission before and were defeated again and again. According to military law, it would not be unfair to kill you. But for the sake of the Duke's willingness to intercede for you, I will continue

Give you a chance. Since the Haihan Army is coming towards the Jinzhou Fortress, they will launch an attack in the near future. I will order you to guard the Jinzhou Fortress with Etenyi. You either win on the battlefield or die.

On the battlefield. If you die in battle, I will keep your people safe. But if you step back even half a step, I will personally cut off your head and send it back to Shengjing, so that all officials, big and small, can see how incompetent you are.

Looks!”

Erhe fell on the ground and kowtowed, but kept thanking the two for sparing his life. He actually knew that although he was not severely punished, Azig's request was not simple. If

The Haihan Army was really going to attack the Jinzhou Fortress, and it was still unclear whether his life could be saved. But fortunately, Azig did not ask him to lead his troops out for a field battle with the Haihan Army. If he huddled in the fortress and defended

, Erhe actually had some confidence in dealing with Haihan again.

After Erhe left, only Azig and Yanguli were left. They were relatives, and they no longer used official positions in private situations. Yanguli said: "Although what Erhe said is not entirely true,

place, but he said that the Haihan people can lay mines in the land, which is true. I have a nephew who works under Erhe. I asked him before, and the cavalry charge arranged by Erhe was indeed true.

I was trapped by my opponent’s trap.”

Azig responded calmly: "Even if what Erhe said is true, someone must take responsibility for such a disastrous defeat. It is true that Erhe sent troops without authorization. This crime is no matter what."

He can't lose. If he can defeat Haihan, it's easy to say that he can outweigh his merits, but since he lost so miserably, don't blame me for settling the score."

"So you must let Erhe die?" Yangu Li understood somewhat, but still criticized Azig's actions.

Azig said: "The military order is like a mountain. If nothing happens to Erhe, then whoever wants to go to war can make their own decision in the future? Because we need people in wartime, we didn't order to chop off his head. You don't have to do it anymore."

Convinced. If he can survive the subsequent battle, then I will forgive his mistakes as promised."

"I'm afraid that he has lost two battles in a row against the Haihan people and has no confidence to fight against the Haihan people again." Yangguli was quite worried about this and took the initiative to ask for orders: "The defense line of Jinzhou Fortress should be left to me to command.

Well, let Erhe and Etenyi guard it, I still feel a little uneasy."

Azig glanced at Yangu Li and said, "Do you also think the Haihan people will continue to fight north?"

Yangguli said: "Although I don't know the plans of the Haihan people, I don't think they will stop here. As long as the Jinzhou Fortress is there, the place they occupy in the south will not be peaceful. If they want to stay here for a long time,

To gain a foothold, we must seize the Jinzhou Fortress and establish a blockade. This will prevent our cavalry from attacking southward."

The Jinzhou Fortress under the control of Hou Jin is located at the narrowest part of the Jinzhou Isthmus. It was originally a military garrison fortress belonging to the Ming Dynasty. When Hou Jin attacked Jinzhou under the control of the Ming Dynasty from north to south, the Ming army was at the Jinzhou Isthmus.

A defense line was built based on the fortress, which was mainly made of adobe city wall fortifications. After the Hou Jin Dynasty captured Jinzhou, they did not dismantle the fortress defense line. Instead, they carried out certain reinforcements and renovations on the original basis, turning it into a

It has become the most important line of defense in the southern part of the Liaodong Peninsula.

As Azig said, losing the area south of the Jinzhou Isthmus is not a huge loss for Houjin. There is not much population there and there is not much farmland under cultivation. Houjin here

There is no rush to seize back the territory immediately. But if Haihan intends to seize the key territory of the Jinzhou Isthmus, then Jin Ke will no longer sit back and let Haihan do whatever he wants.

Azig and Yangguli mobilized nearly 10,000 troops from the area north of Jinzhou. In addition to the deployment of Erhe and Etenyi, two Jia La Erzhen who were originally stationed here, the number of troops was at least about 13,400.

.However, Erhe was impulsive and took the initiative to go out to fight with the Haihan army. As a result, he lost nearly half of his troops in two days, which more or less affected the deployment of Azig and Yanguli.

Azig originally thought of sending multiple cavalry units southward at the same time, relying on their strong land mobility to cut and surround the Haihan troops, and even try to cut off the land supply line to the south. However, Erhe's recklessness made this battle plan impossible.

The risk has suddenly increased. No one can guarantee whether the Haihan people will use the magic of hiding thunder in the earth to deal with the Houjin Cavalry elsewhere. Therefore, Azig can only retreat and do the next best thing, letting the troops

Retracted to the fortress defense line, trying to hold on here and rely on the advantage of city defense to deal with the attack of the Haihan Army.

This kind of battlefield situation was a long-lost passive situation for Hou Jin. In recent battles with the Ming Dynasty, Hou Jin rarely adopted this kind of defensive posture. In Azig's view, this was simply a humiliation to Hou Jin.

Therefore, he hoped to give the Haihan Army a heavy counterattack in front of the defense line he controlled.

Azig did not object to Yanguli's initiative to ask for military service. After this battle, he indeed lost confidence in Erhe's military capabilities. Although Ertenyi did not make any mistakes, his combat experience and military literacy were not as good as those of Erhe.

Yangu Li is not at the same level. Having Yangu Li personally on the defensive line will naturally make Azig feel at ease.

But there is another factor that is extremely unfavorable to Houjin, that is, they know very little information about the invading enemy forces. Erhe came back from two battles and did not even have a rough grasp of the opponent's troop strength. Even this

The most basic information was in a blind spot. The generals of the Later Jin Dynasty had to arrange their troops and formulate tactics, so naturally they were a little blind.

Azig and Yanguli have no particularly effective solution to this problem. They can only send more reconnaissance cavalry out, hoping to detect the general strength and march direction of the Haihan Army as it marches. In this way,

These reconnaissance cavalry will inevitably have to face those Haihan cavalry with strong individual firepower. If they encounter them in the wild, the Houjin reconnaissance cavalry can only try to avoid the opponent. Otherwise, after entering the combat distance, the Houjin cavalry will be inferior in weapons.

It might very well cost them their lives.

So after the two battles in early March, Jinzhou entered a short truce period, and both sides actually maintained restraint with a tacit understanding. Later Jin returned its troops to the fortress defense line, and at the same time deployed troops in the rear.

Thousands of troops were deployed to the defense line. Haihan, on the other hand, worked steadily, advancing slowly while turning the previous camp into a material transfer station, while maintaining two supply lines, land and water, to ensure the supply of materials for the frontline troops.

Nothing goes wrong.

The continuous rain for several days has finally come to an end, and the temperature has begun to rise. The snow on the plains has basically melted, which also means that the main battle of the spring offensive is about to begin.

Prior to this, the cavalry units of both sides had been fighting for days, and the small-scale armed conflicts could reach double digits a day. Although the Haihan cavalry had more wins than losses, it was inevitable that casualties would begin to occur, which made Harugong feel distressed.

It only added a little more hatred to Hou Jin. Fortunately, since the operation began, the number of horses Haihan captured from Hou Jin has far exceeded the number of horses owned by Haihan's cavalry battalion. This means that after the war

Perhaps Harugong's cavalry battalion will be greatly enriched.

However, such sporadic confrontations could not organize the gradual advance of Haihan's army, and Jin did not dare to easily send out large groups of cavalry for charge attacks. Therefore, after several days of conflict, Haihan's camp still advanced to

It is less than three miles away from the fortress defense line.

At this distance, you don't even need a telescope to see the adobe city wall that runs through the isthmus from east to west on the distant horizon. Although the strength of this thing is definitely not comparable to that of a real city wall, for infantry,

The role of this kind of fortification is quite large, and this line of defense cannot be conquered without paying a certain amount of casualties.

However, the Haihan Army is a special case, because this army is equipped with too many cross-era weapons, especially heavy long-range weapons such as artillery, which are centuries ahead of its opponents. So even though it is known that the opponent will definitely use it according to the

Defending the city, the Haihan Army did not feel too nervous - no matter how strong the city defense line was, as long as you set up a cannon and blast it hard, you would always get a few gaps.

Of course, strategically, we despise our opponents, but tactically we still have to pay attention to them. The generals led by Haihan have been fighting in the south and north for several years at this time, so they will naturally not make low-level mistakes. Therefore, before the war begins, they also

From the position, we observed the line of defense where the Hou Jin Army was stationed.
Chapter completed!