709 Bloody Battle Yanmen Pass

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Compared with Dolgon's little gain in Shandong, the Western Route Army of Azig Azig in Yanbei, Shanxi, can only be described as wanton.

In just one week, Azig led the Tartars to basically turn over the entire Yanbei, and Jia Changming, the chief soldier of Shanxi, did not dare to send troops, but refused to defend Yanmen Pass.

Similarly, General Zhenshuo and the chief military officer of Datong, Jiang Huang, did not care about sending troops at the same time, in order to keep Datong, Jiang Hao had to shrink the order from the northern border pass and guard Datong Town.

The cowardice of the Ming army further fueled the arrogance of the Tartars, and the entire Lingqiu, Guangling, Hunyuan, Yingxian and other prefectures and counties in the north of Yanbei, a total of nine cities, were all captured by the Tartars.

In Yanbei alone, the Tartars captured more than 60,000 people, plundered money, grain, and countless livestock.

Compared with Dolgon's side, the Azig side was more convenient, and the people they caught and the money, grain, and livestock they plundered were transported out of the customs.

However, Azig didn't do this, he was not as cautious as Dolgon, because his side was all ordinary Ming troops, and Azig didn't believe that Li Zixiao's White Dragon Army would appear in them.

After taking Yingzhou, Azig faced a dilemma.

The Tartars he sent out reported that the Ming army was heavily guarding Yanmen Pass, and at the same time, Yanmen Pass was dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack.

For the importance of Yanmen Pass, Azig was already very clear before he entered Shanxi.

For Azig, whether he can take the Yanmen Pass or not will determine whether his next battle in Shanxi can be smooth and whether the plundering operation can expand the results.

How could it be possible to satisfy Azig's appetite in a mere place in the north of the wild goose, so on October 2, Azig sent his troops to Yanmen Pass.

As for Datong behind them, Azig didn't forget it, regardless of whether Azig didn't take Jiang Huang's department in Datong Town in his eyes.

At the same time, Datong Town does not have oil and water in Taiyuan Mansion, but it is more difficult to fight, and it is an important town in Daming Border Pass.

Therefore, for the sake of safety, Azig sent 2,000 Tatar cavalry, 3,000 Mongol soldiers, and 6,000 remnants of the Han army's Zhenglan Banner, a total of 10,000 people, led by Du Du, to attack.

As for whether Du Du can defeat Jiang Hao and capture Datong, Azig doesn't care.

Du Du only needs to be in Datong to contain Jiang Jiu's subordinates and let him not threaten the back of the Azig army.

In fact, for Azig, if you want to enter Taiyuan Mansion, there is not only the road of Yanmen Pass, but also Ningwu Pass to the west.

However, the situation on the Ningwuguan side is more complicated than the Yanmen Pass side.

If Azig wants to capture Ningwu Pass, he needs to first defeat Shuozhou in front, and always beware of the sneak attack of the Ming army on the Yanmen Pass in the east.

Even the Ming army on the side of Yanmen Pass can cut off their retreat, anyway, the location of Ningwu Pass is decided, and it is not a good choice for the Tartars to use him as a breakthrough.

In the end, Azig decided to storm Yanmen Pass, which was like a gate that locked the northwest side of the mountain, and behind the gate was Taiyuan Mansion, the richest in Shanxi.

If the Tartars want to break into the rich Taiyuan Mansion and plunder, they have to gnaw this hard bone and lay down the Yanmen Pass, which cannot be bypassed.

Fortunately, when Azig came, he had already had this determination, so he deliberately asked his subordinates to carry enough artillery and gunpowder under the two blue flags and red flags of the Han army.

On October 3, the Azig soldiers came to the Yanmen Pass, and at this time, the principal in the Yanmen Pass had also changed.

The main force of the Ming army led by Lu Xiangsheng arrived at Yanmen Pass on October 1, and Lu Xiangsheng also took over the power of Yanmen Pass from Jia Changming, and ruled over Jia Changming, Wu Sangui and Qi Wei, a total of 150,000 people.

A small Yanmen Pass, of course, it is impossible to garrison so many men and horses, and there are only more than 20,000 defenders here at this time.

Whether it was Jia Changming or Lu Xiangsheng, they placed the main force in Daizhou, south of Yanmen Pass, which is only twenty miles away from Yanmen Pass, and can be reached in half a day.

After Lu Xiang was promoted to Daizhou, he immediately asked Jia Changming to transfer back the 20,000 horses he had stationed in Yanmen Pass and replace them with his elites.

At the same time, Lu Xiangsheng transferred Jia Changming to Ningwu Pass and Shuozhou in the west, and asked him to guard Ningwu Pass, and handed over Yanmen Pass to them.

Lu Xiangsheng knew that this time they wanted to resist the Tartars' offensive in Shanxi, and the way was very simple, there was only one, that is, to hold Yanmen Pass and Ningwu Pass.

Block the Tartars north of the Great Wall, as long as the Tartars can't break through this line of defense, the Tartars won't be able to enter Taiyuan Mansion.

At the same time, Lu Xiangsheng is still very confident in this battle, the majesty of Yanmen Pass is not to be said, there is a trend of 'one man is not open'.

Since the Song Dynasty, there have been no major battles on the Yanmen Pass, and no army has broken through the Yanmen Pass.

Lu Xiangsheng thought that with the elite in his hands, coupled with the easy defense and difficult attack of Yanmen Pass, it was enough to block the Tartars north of the Great Wall.

At the same time, Azig has never seen Yanmen Pass, he has seen Shanhaiguan, when Azig first saw Shanhaiguan, he was shocked by the majesty of Shanhaiguan.

He once looked at Shanhaiguan and marveled, thinking that it was a work of genius, not a manpower that could be defeated.

Therefore, the Tartars have never stormed the Shanhaiguan Pass, because they think that it is useless work, and the Tartars also aim to enter the Shanhaiguan.

The Tartars thought that as long as they entered the Shanhaiguan, the Ming would have no passes, and the city could stop them.

However, on October 3, when Azig led a large army to the outside of Yanmen Pass, and when he saw the majesty of Yanmen Pass with his own eyes, he was shocked again.

"The majesty of this pass is not inferior to Shanhaiguan!"

Azig rode on his horse, stood in the distance and looked at Yanmen Pass, and exclaimed.

Azig was amazed, but also wavered in his heart as to whether he could overcome Yanmen Pass.

"Uncle Wang, now it's ready to fly, I have to send it!

Although Yanmen Pass is easy to attack and difficult to defend, our Qing warriors are also brave and good at fighting, and the Eight Banners of the Han Army are equipped with so many bows and arrows, firearms and artillery.

At this time, it is the time to use them, and no matter how dangerous the city passes, it is useless to let those cowardly dogs guard them. ”

Just as Azig hesitated, Haug stepped forward and persuaded Azig to do.

Azig is not very intelligent and has a rough personality, and you have always looked down on the Ming army, like many Tartars.

At this time, Hauge's words were undoubtedly very close to Azig's thoughts, and he immediately made Azig nod in agreement and said, "Okay, then listen to you."

Orders were given to the Han army to be inlaid with blue flags and red flags, and they were prepared to attack the city. ”

After Azig's order was issued, the men and horses of the Han army with blue and red flags quickly became busy.

In addition to bringing out the ordnance they carried, they also began to cut down trees in the field to build more siege equipment, such as ladders, cloud vehicles, crash vehicles, and so on.

A day later, Azig couldn't wait any longer, although the siege ordnance needed by the Han army with blue flags and red flags had not yet been fully built.

Azig still urged the two Han armies to immediately launch an offensive against Yanmen Pass.

The siege of the Han army with blue flags and red flags was extremely fierce from the beginning.

Boom Boom!

At this time, outside the main pass of Yanmen Pass, more than 50 artillery pieces lined up, bombarding the main pass of Yanmen Pass and the Great Wall on the surrounding mountains to cover the attack of the two Han army foot soldiers.

Outside the Yanmen Pass, the black pressed a piece of the Han army's foot soldiers with blue flags and red flags, those holding shields, carrying ladders, holding bows and arrows, and firearms, lined up in a scattered formation, slowly approaching Yanmen Pass.

In the large open space outside the main pass of Yanmen Pass, there are still seven or eight tall cloud carts at this time, which are slowly pushing towards Yanmen Pass.

These cloud cars are 100 feet high, which is basically level with the tall Yanmen Gate Tower.

On each cloud car, there are more than 30 archers or firecrackers, who are responsible for shooting at the Ming army on the Yanmen Pass Tower and the city wall, suppressing the long-range firepower of the Ming army.

Boom Boom!

After the two Han infantry soldiers were still close to the wall of Yanmen Pass, the Tartar artillery began to bombard, and it never stopped.

"Damn, where did these dog Tartars get so many artillery.

Jinghong, you quickly send someone to Daizhou and report the situation to Lord Lu, just say that the Tartars are attacking the city, the offensive is fierce, the firepower is strong, and we need support. ”

The one guarding Yanmen Pass was another confidant general under Lu Xiangsheng, Guan Ling.

At this time, in the face of such a huge siege by the Tartars, the main general Guan Ling was also a little hairy in his heart, just in case, he immediately sent to Daizhou to inform Lu Xiangsheng and ask for help.

At this time, the Ming army guarding Yanmen Pass had almost 20,000 people, all of whom were elites brought by Lu Xiangsheng, much stronger than those rotten guards.

Even if the Ming soldiers on the wall of Yanmen Pass at this time looked at the enemy outside the city who was attacking under black pressure, their eyes were a little panicked, but they were not too afraid, let alone escaped.

The 20,000 elite Ming troops guarding Yanmen Pass were all 20,000 of the 60,000 Ming troops brought by Lu Xiangsheng himself, without Wu Sangui and Qi Wei's men.

On the one hand, Wu Sangui's 20,000 Guanning iron cavalry were all cavalry, which was not suitable for defending the city, and was intended to be used by Lu Xiangsheng for rapid support.

On Qi Wei's side, the five thousand White Dragon Army and the five thousand city defense troops brought by him were all foot soldiers, no cavalry, and two-thirds were musketeers, and one-third were ordinary foot soldiers.

For the musketeers of the White Dragon Army, Lu Xiangsheng has seen it with his own eyes, and Lu Xiangsheng regards it as his trump card in defending the city, and he didn't plan to let them go into battle at the beginning.

"Cannon fire!"

Boom Boom!

With Guan Ling's roar, several old broken cannons closed the Yanmen Gate with a loud noise, firing out one after another heartless iron bullets, killing a small number of soldiers in the Tartar siege of the city.

Since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Yanmen Pass has been rebuilt and reinforced, and there is basically no expansion in the back, after all, there are not many opportunities for the northern barbarians to hit Yanmen Pass.

No longer like the Qin and Han dynasties, the Tang and Song dynasties, Yanmen Pass is the place where the Central Plains court and the northern nomads have repeatedly fought wars.

Over the years, although Yanmen Pass has not been repaired much, the city wall is still majestic, still very practical, easy to defend and difficult to attack, after all, the city walls are built of stone.

It is precisely because of the decrease in the number of wars that occurred here in Yanmen Pass that the artillery placed by the Ming Dynasty in Yanmen Pass is still an old antique of Wanli age, and many of them are rusty and cannot be beaten.

Guan Ling sent someone to try it, and in the end, there were only seven doors that could still be started.

The seven guns here refer to the long-range breaker cannon, or the general's cannon, not the melee artillery like the Tiger Squat Cannon or the Furlong Cannon.

Qi Wei came over to support Lu Xiangsheng this time, and he didn't bring too many artillery, but instead brought a lot of iron-clad mines, tiger squat cannons and furlong machines, two melee artillery.

After all, Li Zixiao also needs artillery here, and even if he gives Lu Xiangsheng some new artillery of the White Dragon Army.

I'm afraid that the artillerymen of the Ming army won't be able to play it.

On the contrary, let Qi Wei bring more iron-shelled mines, this kind of easy-to-understand and easy-to-use bombs are more suitable for the Ming army.

As for the two melee artillery, the Tiger Squat Cannon and the Furlong Machine, they have always been equipped by the Ming Army, and after they get them, they can be used without running-in.

"Okay, boom, kill these Tartars."

With the bombardment of seven artillery pieces on the wall of Yanmen Pass, although it did not give many casualties to the two Han soldiers and horses attacking outside the city.

But it greatly encouraged many Ming soldiers on the wall of Yanmen Pass, and they roared angrily, cursing the Tartars at the same time, but also venting their inner tension and depression.

"They all set up the tiger squat cannons, and when the Tartars are killed, they will often be bombarded."

After Guan Ling sent someone to report to Lu Xiangsheng and ask for help, he walked on the long city wall of Yanmen Pass, shouting loudly to the Ming soldiers on the city wall.

"Report to General Guan, the enemy has entered a hundred steps range." A soldier ran up to Guan Ling and shouted loudly.

"Order all archers, musketeers, to shoot at once." Guan Ling roared.

The range of 100 steps is the suitable distance for the archers and firecrackers of the Ming army, after all, the firecrackers equipped by these Ming troops are still the new firecrackers provided by Li Zixiao, or the ordinary firearms.

Without exception, these muskets are still arquebuses, and their range is much smaller than the flintlock pistol in Li Zixiao's hand.

As for the archers on the walls of the Ming army, they were condescending, with the advantage of height, plus they carried out projectiles, they could basically barely kill and injure the enemy at a distance of a hundred paces.

"Shoot, fire!"

Not long after Guan Ling's order was issued, the archers and musketeers of the Ming army on the main tower of Yanmen Pass, as well as the city walls several hundred meters long on the east and west wings and built on the mountains on both wings, launched attacks on the enemy outside under the command of their respective commanders.

Immediately, the sounds of 'whooshing' and 'bang-bang' resounded in the sky above the Yanmen Gate.

"Kill!"

With the soldiers of the Han army outside the pass with blue flags and red flags, after rushing to the city wall of Yanmen Pass, they roared angrily, put the cloud ladder on the city wall, and climbed up.

"Fire!"

Bang bang bang!

As the generals of the Ming army on each section of the city wall roared, every few meters, a tiger squat cannon or a furlong machine also opened fire.

In addition to one large projectile, there were more small projectiles from the two types of artillery, which sprayed on the Han soldiers on the city wall, causing them to scream.