Chapter 95 Hunhe [ collections plus more subscriptions]

With the various horses looted by the Jinzhou Army in the past three months, they could form a cavalry unit of three to four thousand people, and even boost the morale of the soldiers by distributing land. But without a stable logistical supply, the unit would not last long.

The horse-riding servants under the command of generals and deputy generals were officially called "Nei Ding" in government documents. They were generally given three salaries, i.e. a monthly salary of 2 taels and 1 qian to 2 taels, 5 qian and 8 fen of silver, plus 5 dou of rice.

In addition to the military pay, the government also has to pay for most of the monthly expenses for raising horses. For example, the silver for fodder, horse salt, and black beans are all allocated separately. Only by having the Ji-Liao Jinglüe Mansion and the Ministry of Revenue pay this money can this cavalry unit be maintained.

"I understand the rationale for the reform. We originally agreed to disband several battalions in the Ningyuan front garrison and transform them into regiments for training. The saved money will be added to the vanguard town to form three to five cavalry battalions."

As long as Bi Zisu doesn't make any mistakes, it's easy to communicate with him.

Under the dim light of the oil lamp, the general of Jinzhou raised two fingers and said, "I will be in charge of two fully-staffed cavalry battalions. You have to deal with the extra military pay and horse-raising expenses as soon as possible. I will find a way to get the horses. My two battalions will be paid normally by the end of June at the latest."

After moving his body slightly so that the clerk who was writing furiously behind him could also be illuminated by the light, Bi Zisu agreed readily:
"Of course. General Li is the bravest warrior in Liao Town. This cavalry camp is still under your command. In my opinion, Guangning Yizhou should also be given a large number of garrison generals. Follow the example of Li Chengliang and gather the servants of the generals from all over the place to counterbalance the Tartar cavalry with iron cavalry."

Nowadays, quite a number of civil servants in the court miss the period of Li Chengliang. At that time, Liaozhen was not only able to stabilize the situation in Liaodong, but also able to send troops to fight in all directions time and time again.

It just so happened that the new general Li Hao had the same surname and fighting style as Li Chengliang and his son, so the proposal to restore Li Chengliang's style became a trend in the court.

"It's rare that you can see clearly. This is exactly what I want to do. When the fighting in the Sancha River area eases a little, I will ask for the promotion of the brave soldiers in various places."

The Eight Banners soldiers stationed on the east bank of the Sancha River are all elite troops of the Later Jin Dynasty. They cannot be defeated without a few battles.

Only after defeating the Tartar soldiers in the field could they gain a foothold in the Liaoyang area. By that time, it would have been August or September, which was a good time to disperse the cavalry and attack the Later Jin people who were harvesting crops in the fields.

Bi Zisu's face straightened. "The war is tense, and General Li should rest and recuperate. How can we call all the generals to discuss matters at the second watch? Why don't we withdraw first and listen to your orders tomorrow to discuss matters."

He had great admiration for the general of Qianfeng Town and had long wanted to improve the relationship between the two. However, he did not understand the human nature very well and could only advise him to rest early.

"I still have important things to do. General Zhao is extremely worried about the food supply route extending from Ningyuan. Earlier in Yizhou, hundreds of Tartars appeared in Oba's army. Now they should have assembled. I will lead some people to rescue day and night and kill Oba first."

Li Hao found an excuse and relayed Zhao Lujiao's instructions to Bi Zisu, ordering him to send people to urge Man Gui to lead a small number of elite troops to the north. There was no need for the Ningyuan troops to press to the Shuangtaizi River line. They only needed to approach the northeast of Jinzhou and guard the Heishan area.

Heishan is located in the northeast of the line connecting Guangning City and Panshan, and its south is the weakest point in the Ming army’s food route.

Bi Zisu was shocked. "Without these two generals here, who will be in charge of the riverside barracks? There are over ten thousand Tartars on the east bank. Once they cross the river, how will these barracks protect themselves? It would be better for General Li to stay here."

He was quite uncomfortable with the Jinzhou general's daring fighting style.

In other words, without General Li, who was the bravest warrior in Liaozhen, he felt unsafe staying in the military camp.

It's like going into battle without armor.

Li Hao smiled slightly and looked at Zu Dashou and others who followed him back.

"You are Sangui's uncle. Our two families should have been closer a long time ago. I was fighting the Tartars all the time, and I didn't have much contact with my family."

Zu Dashou, with gray hair, showed a amiable expression. "Marshal Li has worked hard for the country and the people. How dare we distract him? This is my fault. I should go to visit Marshal Li."

It was a little difficult for him to grasp his relationship with the Jinzhou general. After all, it was difficult to calculate their generations. If he was really counted according to the folk rumors that Li Chengliang was the eldest brother, then Zu Dashou should indeed call Li Hao his uncle.

"It will take some time for the Tartars to build ships. I estimate that it will take at least twenty days for the Tartars to transport several thousand cavalry. By then, we can set up artillery to bombard them when they are halfway across the river. During this period, the three camps will be under the jurisdiction of Zuzhen. Of course, we also have to deal with small groups of Tartar cavalry, Cao Wenzhao, Huang Long, Zu Kuan..."

Li Hao selected several brave generals and ordered them to select more than 100 best soldiers from the recruited soldiers in Guancheng and the Mongolian soldiers, and to patrol the west bank of Sancha River. If they encountered a small group of Tartars crossing the river, they would surround and kill them immediately.

"Cao Bianjiao, you take thirty cavalrymen and enough pack horses and cross the river tomorrow morning. Bring about two to three thousand kilograms of horse salt and five hundred kilograms of table salt to deliver to the brothers in Haizhou City. From now on, deliver horse salt once every ten to fifteen days. Don't delay."

The reason why war horses are so delicate is that they need to eat twenty to thirty kilograms of food and nearly eight cents of horse salt every day during wartime. The forage must be hay, straw and other thin-stalked grasses. War horses will not eat the straw that cows can eat.

Eight cents is about thirty grams. The four or five thousand horses in Haizhou City consume more than two hundred kilograms of horse salt every day, which is more than the salt consumed by all the people in Haizhou City every day.

All the generals responded in unison.

His last order was to have Lu Yingjiao's troops lead the army back west and return to the west bank of Shuangtaizi River to protect the grain route. They would set off early tomorrow morning, and the Jinzhou general would also lead some elite troops westward.

……

At midnight on May 13, the moonlight was bright, shining on the Hun River, which was rushing southward like a silver ribbon.

The water of Hunhe River has never been constrained by the river channel. It washes the river channels on both sides day and night, forming a sharp contrast with the cold and tranquil moonlight, as if it would not be the water of Hunhe River without tossing and turning.

Even a rough man like Li Hao understood that the scene before him was a rare beauty.

"Back then, the Tusi soldiers of Shizhu and Youyang fought a fierce battle with the Tartars for an entire afternoon by the Hun River. He Shixian, who died in battle outside Shenyang, also fell by the Hun River."

The Jinzhou general sighed and said, the man is gone, but the river is still flowing in this world.

The Hunhe River leads directly to Shenyang. This morning, he returned west with Wu Sangui, Ma Ze and other cronies and Lu Yingjiao's troops, which was just a feint.

At night, he took five trusted men with him, put on the yellow armor of the Tartars, sneaked out while the soldiers in the camp were asleep, and marched towards the northeast with enough rations and supplies.

Of course, he had told Lu Yingjiao the false news that he had ordered him to march westward overnight.

After finding the Hunhe River, we just walked along the river without having to find a special way. We could reach Shenyang City by walking all the way.

The reason for doing this is very simple. Many Liao soldiers in the Liaoxi Army had defected many times between the Later Jin and the Ming Dynasty, so they released a smoke bomb to confuse the traitors.

Liaoyang and the North Camp of the Eight Banners on the east coast are tightly guarded. They had previously captured Haizhou City by means of a night attack. Now the night defenses of these two places must be tight, and they may even have specially formed a death squad to deal with Li Hao.

Previously, Yangguli had gathered together dead soldiers who were good at using fishing nets and hooks. By now, the Eight Banners must have developed more ways to deal with Li Hao. In the past two days, oil-soaked rockets have appeared. In the future, they may use arrows to drag over a fishing net and then ignite it with rockets.

Li Hao didn't have many effective countermeasures against this kind of fire attack. He could only endure the sharp drop in health and rush forward to chop people to recover health.

If the Eight Banners soldiers had set up traps, artillery, and large crossbows on the designated battlefield, then he would have to take a detour.

But this kind of trap is easy to break. Just lead a small number of elite cavalry to move quickly and attack them from behind.

The Later Jin Dynasty had very little manpower and could only dig deep pits and cause trouble on a few battlefields.

The largest rear base of the Tartars was the city of Shenyang.

Li Hao deeply regretted not having made a full effort in the territory of the Two Yellow Banners during the last Northern Expedition. Now that all the elite troops of the Eight Banners are gathered on the east bank of the Sancha River, it is time for a thorough infiltration and circumvention.

"Back then, generals such as Qin Bangping and Ran Jianlong led their troops to charge when the Tartar shield chariots had not yet assembled, and used their spear formations to break up the Tartar cavalry formations," Wu Sangui echoed.

The group of white-pole soldiers were only equipped with hooked spears, powerful crossbows and other weapons, and the armor on their bodies was just ordinary cloth armor. They relied on their courage and braved the rain of arrows to charge to the front of the Tatar formation, killing Nurhaci's nephew Yabahai, as well as several Jiala and Niulu Ezhen.

Young Xiao Wu recalled the details of those years, felt longing, and looked forward to the battles in the next few days.

If they storm into Shenyang City, that would really be a thorn in my side.

Whether it hurts or not is another matter, the Tatar soldiers stationed on the east bank of Sancha River will definitely fight to the death to return to support.

There will be a lot of fun to watch then.

"The day after tomorrow afternoon or evening, we will be able to reach the city of Shenyang. Ma Ze, are you afraid?"

Among the six people, only Ma Ze, the immortal on the rope, had not been in the army for a long time.

"Don't worry, I have experience this time. Bringing two small barrels is much more convenient than a single large barrel."

After experiencing the battle, Ma Ze no longer took the Tartars seriously. He watched the battle from beginning to end on the top of the city wall three days ago. The Tartars, who were once regarded as tigers by the Liaodong army and civilians, were like weeds under General Li's hands. They collapsed to the ground with one blow from the mace.

"Okay! Once we take over Shenyang, I'll give you the title of garrison commander of Liaoyang City, and let you return home in glory."

Li Shuai first took out a carrot and used it to hang on Ma Ze, the donkey.

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(End of this chapter)