The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 232 Pre-Battle Reconnaissance (Thanks to the guild leader '立根在破岩中' for the alliance leader)

Jiang Han stood on Jinping Mountain on the west bank of the Jialing River, holding a telescope in his hand, carefully observing the defense system of Baoning Prefecture.

Zhang Ling is indeed a veteran general who has fought for many years; his ability to defend the city is truly impressive.

The three-dimensional defense system integrates land and water operations, with each layer interconnected.

Jiang Han felt a chill run down his spine after seeing it.

But at this point, he was ready to act.

Although the objective of this operation was to besiege the enemy stronghold and annihilate Hou Liangzhu's troops who came from Mianzhou.

But Jiang Han couldn't possibly just amass troops outside the city without firing a single shot.

The Ming army wasn't stupid.

If you see Jiang Han's tens of thousands of troops and they only surround the city without attacking, anyone would know that there must be a trap. Nine times out of ten, they are planning to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements.

At that time, Zhang Ling only needs to send someone down the river by fast boat to easily notify other reinforcements and remind them to be careful.

Therefore, Baoning Prefecture should still be attacked!

However, we can't fight head-on; we have to find a clever way to fight.

Let's see how we can put the greatest pressure on the city's defenders with the least amount of cost.

The goal was to make the defending troops feel that the city was in imminent danger, thus prompting them to continuously request reinforcements from Ming troops in other prefectures and counties.

Inside the central command tent, Jiang Han summoned all the generals, intending to hear their opinions.

"I'd like to hear everyone's opinions on how to attack Baoning Prefecture and how to minimize casualties."

But Dong Erzhu clearly hadn't figured out the key point yet, and asked in a muffled voice:

"General, aren't we supposed to besiege the enemy's stronghold and then attack their reinforcements?"

"Why bother attacking the city? Why not just wait for reinforcements to come to us?"

Jiang Han glanced at him with a look of disappointment:
"If I say you're stupid, you really aren't smart!"

“If we don’t fire a single shot, any normal person will know that there’s a trap.”

"What if the defending troops send ships to notify other reinforcements to remain stationary? Wouldn't we be wasting our troops and supplies by amassing them under the city walls?"

Dong Erzhu suddenly realized what was going on, scratched his head, and sat back down.

Jiang Han ignored him and instead looked at the other generals in the tent, wanting to hear their opinions.

Shao Yong was quite cautious, and only suggested:
"General, the garrison strength of the government troops in various places has not yet been ascertained, and the deployment of fortifications is also unclear."

"In my opinion, we should conduct some reconnaissance first, and then make a decision after we have gathered the information."

Jiang Han nodded after hearing this; it was always a good idea to gather intelligence on the battlefield first.

So he began assigning tasks to his generals:
"Let's split up and proceed separately."

“Baoning Prefecture is surrounded by water on three sides, making the navy particularly important.”

"Shao Yong, immediately send out all the scouts to spread out along the coast and make sure they find out the number of government warships."

"Hongming, you lead the cavalry upstream along the Jialing River and the Fujiang River to find a boat."

"Bring them over, whether they're fishing boats or cargo ships, as long as they can float!"

As he spoke, Jiang Han added, "Remember to pay up, don't tarnish our army's image."

"Ma Xu, after you go back, lead the commanders and officers of the rank of battalion commander in the army to conduct a thorough search of the militia camps to see if there are any who are proficient in swimming."

“I have a great use for these people, so remember to single them out.”

“I’ll take Cao Er north. There’s no water here. I’ll try to see if we can break through the city by land.”

With the plan settled, all the generals began to take action.

Some were looking for boats, others were looking for people; the whole team was busy with their own tasks.

Jiang Han led the central army and hurriedly headed towards Panlong Mountain, north of the prefectural city.

Panlong Mountain is a series of mountain ranges adjacent to the north side of the prefectural city. It is not an isolated peak, but a continuous range of hills and ridges.

The situation here is not optimistic.

After several days of investigation, Jiang Han discovered that the southern slope of Panlong Mountain facing the city and the northern slope that can be climbed were both very steep.

Especially in the southern area near the city, the mountains are even more precipitous, and some sections are natural cliffs and steep slopes that are impossible to pass through.

Moreover, the terrain here is quite undulating, and the mountains do not rise gently, but are composed of multiple hills, ridges and valleys, making the terrain extremely fragmented.

In this terrain, it would be extremely difficult to attack a city.

There is almost no large, open, flat area between the foot of the mountain and the city wall.

Jiang Han's tens of thousands of troops were simply unable to assemble here, let alone deploy large-scale siege equipment.

Ladders, battering rams, and even heavy artillery were difficult to transport to the city through this fragmented hilly area.

What Jiang Han feared most was that the city's garrison had not sent anyone to cut down the trees, shrubs, and other vegetation on the mountain in advance.

Logically speaking, in any siege, the defending side would cut down all the trees around the city walls beforehand.

Firstly, it was to prevent the attacking side from building siege weapons on the spot; secondly, it was also to prevent the trees from obstructing the view and affecting the firing range and lethality of the cannons on the city wall.

But Zhang Ling didn't do that.

They're all seasoned veterans; how could they possibly make such a basic mistake?

Jiang Han stood on the ridge, looking at the surrounding trees and suddenly realized.

It is early winter now, and the weather is dry.

Zhang Ling is probably planning to launch a fire attack while I am gathering my troops in the mountains!
"Let's go! We can't take the north!"

After scouting the situation to the north, Jiang Han did not hesitate at all and led his troops to turn around and leave.

Upon hearing the news that the enemy soldiers had withdrawn, Zhang Ling on the city wall was somewhat disappointed.

He had originally set up heavy fortifications and ambushes along the mountain forests near the North Gate, intending to ambush the bandits and dampen their morale.

Unexpectedly, the bandits were so cautious that they didn't even launch a probing attack and simply abandoned the north gate.

It seems that the next key area for attack and defense will be the area surrounded by rivers on three sides.

Zhang Ling dared not be careless and immediately transferred several thousand soldiers from the north gate to reinforce the fortifications on the shallows along the river, preparing to deal with the enemy's next attack.

Jiang Han had already returned to the west and was listening to the news gathered from all directions.

"General, we have now discovered that the enemy navy has a total of fifteen warships, which are mostly small Cangshan boats and sand boats."

"In addition, the cavalry searched upstream along the Jialing River and the Fujiang River for thirty miles and found only a dozen or so small fishing boats, each of which could only carry three to five people at most." "According to local fishermen, the government had begun to organize large-scale boat salvage operations a long time ago."

"It is clear that Zhang Ling had made plans in advance, intending to rely on the navy to defend the river."

“Hong Ming sent people to bring the fishing boat back first, while he led his men to continue searching for boats upstream. It is estimated that it will take another ten days or so before we get any new information.”

After listening, Jiang Han fell into deep thought.

He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, pondering how to break the deadlock.

Seeing this, Shao Yong tried to suggest:
"General, why don't we just send some men to swim across?"

"Ma Xu searched the entire army and found about three hundred local fishermen who were skilled in swimming."

"The government sank all of these people's fishing boats, and seeing that their livelihood was about to be cut off, they were so angry that they joined the uprising and rebelled, and joined our army."

"According to the scouts' reports, the government forces have about six warships, which are anchored in the deep section of the river in front of the city as the main force."

"My idea is, could we send these fishermen who are good at swimming to swim across under the cover of night?"

"Have them carry explosive packs on tarpaulins, and once they reach the shore, find an opportunity to blow up the government troops' warships."

"Once the government troops have fewer warships, we can build a pontoon bridge under cover of night and force our way across the river."

Jiang Han, however, did not quite agree with Shao Yong's plan.

Three hundred people is far too few, not to mention whether they can successfully avoid the patrol boats on the river.

Even if they do manage to reach the other side, they must remain vigilant and never be discovered by the patrol teams along the coast.

If Jiang Han wasn't mistaken, those sections of the river with gentle currents all had arrow towers built on their banks.

Whether these untrained fishermen can evade the detection of arrow towers and patrolmen is a question.

Not to mention destroying the warships on the shore under heavy defense.

Furthermore, Jiang Han valued these fishermen who were skilled in swimming.

Most of these border troops from the Northwest were landlubbers.

In the future, if we need to fight in the water-rich areas of central Sichuan, we'll have to rely on the skills of these fishermen; the navy will probably be indispensable.

We certainly can't let them lose their lives for a single night raid.

We need to come up with a more reliable method.

Over the next few days, Jiang Han personally led the more than three hundred fishermen, working day and night along the riverbank to investigate the deployment of the government naval forces.

The leading fisherman, Lin Chaosheng, was quite puzzled by Jiang Han's hands-on approach to everything.
"General, if you ask us, why waste our time?"

"As long as you give the order, we brothers will take the gunpowder and swim to the other side!"

"Don't let my short stature fool you, I've been fishing in the river with my dad since I was a kid, and I'm an excellent swimmer!"

Everyone else calls me Little Zhang Shun!

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han couldn't help but laugh:

"Hey, I didn't realize you were such a talent."

"He even read Water Margin and knew the nickname 'White Streak in the Waves'."

Lin Chaosheng blushed slightly after being praised by Jiang Han, scratched his head, and chuckled sheepishly:
"I can't read many characters; I mostly learned from storytellers in the city."

“In the past, during breaks from fishing, we liked to go to teahouses whenever we had nothing to do.”

"You can listen for an entire afternoon for just a few coins, which is a good way to pass the time."

"Until recently, the government forcibly requisitioned our ships and sank them, cutting off our livelihood. In a fit of anger, we joined the commander's forces."

Jiang Han sighed and patted him on the shoulder:

"It's alright. Just work hard with me, and you'll reap the rewards in the future."

"Let's forget about the swimming part."

"Going during the day would make us too easy to be discovered; and at night, the patrols by the government naval forces would be too frequent."

"Don't rush, let me think of a safe way to help you reduce the resistance as much as possible."

“We are all born of parents, and I will not send you to your deaths for no reason unless absolutely necessary.”

Upon hearing this, the eyes of the hundreds of fishermen present reddened.

Although these people are not "boat people", in real life, they are not much different from those boat people who are considered to be of low social status.

Lin Chaosheng and his group of fishermen mostly live on their boats and have no fixed abode.

They were not only exploited by the government, but were also often given derogatory terms such as "lowly status" and "uncivilized people," and suffered a lot of oppression.

Take this ship requisition as an example; the government never even mentioned compensation.

They directly dispatched yamen runners to scuttle and sink all the fishing boats that the men considered their homes, leaving their wives, children, and elderly parents to sleep on the streets and go hungry.

Originally, these fishermen joined the uprising simply for a bite to eat.

To everyone's surprise, the leader of the rebel army did not look down on them at all, but instead acted in a very approachable manner.

His words were full of respect for them.

Even a small act of kindness from someone in a higher position is a great honor for those below.

Lin Chaosheng and his fishermen felt a long-lost kindness, which is why they were so moved.

Jiang Han didn't notice the changes in the fishermen's expressions. He continued walking ahead, carefully considering how to break through the government troops' defenses.

Suddenly a sound came from behind him, catching him off guard.

"The General is kind-hearted!"

May the General live a long and healthy life!

"We are willing to die for the Commander!"

Jiang Han turned around at the sound and was stunned when he saw the fishermen kneeling down.

what's the situation?
He had only said a few words, why was everyone kneeling down?

He quickly stepped forward and helped Lin Chaosheng and the others up one by one:

"What is this for?"

"Get up, everyone. Give me some time; I'll think of a way."

　Who understands? I wrote from midnight to 6:40 in the morning, I'm really about to break down.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)