Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 765 Making a feint to the east and attacking in the west
Li You was surprised that Jinzhouwei was captured in one fell swoop without any fighting.

However, the easy capture of Jinzhouwei was a good thing for this landing operation. Once Jinzhouwei was captured, the entire saddlebag was basically in their hands, and the Ming army suffered no losses in the two battles. They also directly captured Jinzhou Zuowei and Jinzhouwei, captured more than a dozen Eight Banners soldiers and local Liao people, which was a good start.

After learning that Jinzhouwei was in his hands, Zheng Hongkui was overjoyed and hurried from Jinzhou Zuowei to join Li You. Next, they had to discuss the subsequent goals. According to the original plan, they would land along the coast and attack the opponent's weak points, but the current start was too easy. Zheng Hongkui and Li You decided to adjust their tactics and set their target on Fu County, north of Xinjin, intending to attack Fu County directly by surprise.

The troops were divided into two groups. Zheng Hongkui led the navy to sail northeast from Jinzhou Zuowei and directly attack the area south of Fuxian and north of Xinjin from the sea. Li You led the army directly north to take Xinjin first and then go north to Fuxian. It would be best if Fuxian could be taken in one fell swoop. If Fuxian was heavily guarded and could not be taken in a short time, it didn't matter. Li You would return to the bay north of Xinjin and board the ship. Then the warship would continue north and bypass the southeast corner of the peninsula directly to Yangguanbao and Beixinkou. As long as one place was taken, the passage between Fuxian and Fuzhouwei could be cut off. At that time, there would be no problem whether to go south to attack Fuxian or go north to capture Fuzhouwei.

After the two discussed, they immediately made a decision, and the troops quickly gathered to prepare for the expedition. Before the expedition, Zheng Hongkui and Li You burned Jinzhou Zuowei and Jinzhouwei to the ground, destroyed the farmland in both places, drove away the local Liao people, and even the captives were not spared. According to Zheng Hongkui's suggestion, they cut off the thumbs of both hands and drove away all the Liao people.

Although such an approach was cruel, it was unacceptable to the local Liao people. However, facing the Ming army armed to the teeth, the Liao people had no other options. War was a matter of life and death. Ordinary people were nothing more than the dust of war. No one cared about their life or death. Victory or defeat was the most important thing.

After heading north, Li You raided Xinjin on the third day. Xinjin, which was completely unprepared, fell into the hands of the Ming army as easily as Jinzhou Zuowei. Zheng Hongkui's fleet was stationed near the bay, and Li You continued to lead his troops north to take Fu County.

Because Wuerte concealed the news, the enemies in both Xinjin and Fu County had no idea that the Ming army had landed in Dalan, let alone the fall of Jinzhouwei. Without any warning, the local Eight Banners soldiers were caught off guard by the Ming army. When Li You's troops quickly arrived in Fu County, Fu County still knew nothing. A Niulu stationed in the Bordered Blue Banner of Fu County and the local Han army initially thought that Li You's troops were their own people coming from the south, but when Li You saw that Fu County was not prepared and directly ordered an attack, they suddenly realized that it was the enemy who came.

The Fu County defenders hurriedly organized resistance and tried to close the city gates for defense, but it was too late. Li You's new army had rich combat experience and extremely strong combat effectiveness. They rushed to the city without waiting for the enemy to close the city gates. They first bombarded the defenders at the city gates with artillery and firearms, killing and wounding them, and the rest fled in embarrassment.

Li You took the city gate directly, pursued the victory, and led his troops directly into Fu County.

Fu County is just a small county town, only the size of a town compared to the inland areas of the Ming Dynasty. The city walls are neither high nor thick, and even the city gates are just ordinary.

After entering the county, the garrisoned Eight Banners continued to resist under the leadership of their Niulu Zhangjing, intending to drive out the attacking Ming army. But the problem was that they were not facing ordinary Ming troops, but the most elite new army led by Li You.

The New Army's tactics were most suitable for this kind of street fighting, and the New Army was equipped with a large number of firearms. Although the Eight Banners soldiers were fierce and good at riding and shooting, they were completely useless against such a new army. After more than an hour, the fighting in Fu County gradually stopped, and the Niulu of the Bordered Blue Banner was completely annihilated. Niulu Zhang Jing died in battle, and only a few of his subordinates were captured due to injuries.

Not to mention the Han army in the city, the Eight Banners had never defeated the New Army, let alone these Han army banners whose combat effectiveness was not as good as the Eight Banners. After taking Fu County, Li You looted the city and almost emptied the food and supplies in the city. After doing this, he dispersed the Liao people in the city and burned Fu County with a fire. Even the farmland outside the city was not spared and was also destroyed.

Then, Li You did not go north. He turned around and headed south again, boarding the ship directly in the bay north of Xinjin. Then Zheng Hongkui commanded the fleet to detour north and head straight for Beixinkou.

Just when they were about to arrive at Beixinkou, the Eight Banners soldiers in Fuzhou Wei also received the news that Fu County had been captured. Jiala Ezhen of Fuzhou Wei was the leader of several Niulu in the surrounding areas. He was shocked when he heard the news, and immediately ordered the troops of his two Niulu and nearly a thousand Han troops to rush south to Fu County, preparing to intercept the Ming army that had "fled south" and annihilate the other side to vent his anger.

However, the other side never expected that Li You, who was apparently "fleeing south", had actually taken a warship to the north. Just when the enemy's reinforcements were about to arrive in Fu County, Zheng Hongkui and Li You's troops had already landed at Beixinkou. After landing, they did not even take a rest, and while the enemy had no time to react, they directly captured Yangguanbao in the north, and then continued to move north to attack Fuzhouwei.

There were still two Niulu and a part of Han army left in Fuzhouwei, and the defense of Fuzhouwei was relatively complete. After all, this was the base of Jiala Ezhen, which was much stronger than other places. When the Ming army suddenly appeared in Fuzhouwei, the garrisoned Eight Banners soldiers were shocked. They couldn't figure out where the Ming army came from. Their main force had obviously moved south, but this Ming army also came from the south. Could it be that their main force had been defeated?
Thinking of this, the defenders of Fuzhou Wei were suddenly terrified and rushed to fight. After trying to go out of the city for a field battle, they were repelled by Li You's cavalry and the new army and suffered heavy losses. The defenders of Fuzhou Wei never dared to come out again. They relied on the solid city walls to hold their ground. At the same time, they sent messengers to Gaizhou for help, informing them that a large number of Ming troops were invading Fuzhou Wei, and if they did not rescue, Fuzhou Wei would probably fall.

Faced with such a situation, Li You did not send troops to attack fiercely. In fact, it was not difficult to capture Fuzhou Wei with the firepower and combat effectiveness of his troops, but if he did so, there would inevitably be considerable casualties. After all, the Eight Banners soldiers were not paper tigers and were not so easy to beat.

In addition, Li You's purpose of crossing the sea was not to capture the city and start a decisive battle with the enemy. Moreover, it was impossible for him to do this with such a small force, so Li You only launched an oppressive attack on Fuzhouwei, but did not launch a strong attack, mainly to preserve strength and reduce casualties.

While besieging Fuzhou Wei, Li You did not forget to send cavalry to plunder the surrounding areas of Fuzhou Wei and destroy the farmland and facilities around Fuzhou Wei.

After besieging Fuzhou for four days, they felt that the time was almost up. If they continued to stay here, the enemy reinforcements might arrive. At this time, Li You decisively withdrew his troops and returned to Beixinkou overnight. The next day, the entire army boarded the warships with the captured spoils. The warships set sail from Beixinkou and went out to sea, and were never seen again.

When Jiala Ezhen, who was going to Fuxian to reinforce, heard that the Ming army had run to his rear and was attacking Fuzhouwei, he was furious and hurriedly led his troops to turn around and rush back. The same was true in Gaizhou. When they learned that a large number of Ming troops were attacking Fuzhouwei, the Eight Banners soldiers in Gaizhou immediately mobilized their forces to reinforce the south, and at the same time passed the news to Shenyang and Huang Taiji in Liaoxi.

The speed of the Eight Banners was not slow, but when they hurried to Fuzhouwei, they did not catch a single hair of the Ming army. The Ming army that had been besieging Fuzhouwei had disappeared long ago. Although the entire Fuzhouwei was still in their hands, the surrounding farmland and facilities were severely damaged. The local Liao people were all driven away, and the thumbs of ordinary Manchus, including the captured Eight Banners soldiers, were chopped off, making them disabled. Seeing this scene, everyone was furious, and clamoring that the Ming army was too shameless. If they had the courage, they should not be cowards, but come out and fight face to face!

But just when they were "verbally" attacking these shameless Ming troops, suddenly another shocking news came. Ming troops suddenly appeared in Gaizhou. This group of Ming troops came out of nowhere and ran directly to the north of Gaizhou, which is the area between Gaizhou and Yingkou.

While the local Eight Banners soldiers were not able to react, this Ming army suddenly launched an attack, causing heavy losses to the Eight Banners. Afterwards, they did not want to fight anymore and simply set several fires to burn all the farmland and facilities near Gaizhou, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

When the news came, everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a while. The reinforcements from Gaizhou could not sit still after learning about the losses in Gaizhou, and hurried back to take a look. But then another thing surprised everyone. When the reinforcements from Gaizhou hurried back to Gaizhou, they were ambushed by the Ming army at Xiongyueyi. The Ming army in the north of Gaizhou had arrived at Xiongyueyi without anyone noticing, and had been waiting for the Eight Banners troops to return. When the Eight Banners of Gaizhou hurried back halfway, they were unprepared and rushed into the positions arranged by the Ming army. After a fierce battle, this army with 488 banners and nearly a thousand Han troops was almost wiped out half a day later. One Niulu Zhangjing died on the spot, and another escaped by luck. The result of this battle shocked the entire Liaodong.

If we look at the previous battles of Fuxian, Beixinkou and Fuzhou, the Ming army always used more troops against fewer and mobilized the Eight Banners to attack weak links. The Eight Banners would not accept the defeat even if they lost.

But this battle was different. This was a field battle, with nearly 1,500 soldiers. Even though most of them were Han soldiers, one-third were elite soldiers of the Eight Banners, and there were even a dozen white-armored soldiers among them. With such strength, let alone 2,000 Ming troops, even if they were doubled, it would not be a big deal in the eyes of the Eight Banners soldiers.

But this battle was such a complete defeat. According to those who managed to escape, the fighting power of this Ming army was extremely strong. Not only were their firearms sharp, but they were also extremely ferocious. The enemy's formation and tactics completely restrained their own side. The two sides were no match at all when they fought. The Eight Banners soldiers failed to break through the enemy's line several times and were even suppressed and attacked by the enemy, and finally they were directly defeated.

When the news reached Shenyang and western Liaoning, both Daishan, who was stationed in Shenyang, and Huang Taiji, who was commanding the siege of Jinzhou on the front line, were shocked. They did not expect that a fire would break out in their backyard at this time.

(End of this chapter)