After listening to Dorgon's words, everyone felt a little frightened. After all, the Qing soldiers' banners had a small population and could not withstand the consumption.
Abata thought for a while and then said: "There are many wooden shields in our army. Although those wooden shields are thick and heavy, with the combined efforts of several warriors, they can still be lifted over the low walls and pushed into each trench... "
But when it comes to this, Abatai also understands that even so, several trenches will eventually be filled in, and it will cost countless blood of the soldiers in the banner. After all, there are many gaps in the earthen walls of the Ming army. Behind the earthen walls, there are still many gaps, and there will be firepower. When the warriors of each banner filled the trenches, they did not know how many casualties they would suffer.
General Yangwu Yue Tuo pondered for a long time, looked at the sketch of the Xuan army's defense, and said: "In addition to the five passages and low wall trenches, the Ming army's remaining gaps in front of the artillery only have a few trenches. It’s easier.”
Dorgon carefully looked at the defense plan for a while and then said: "The passage in front of these artillery pieces is only a few steps wide. It can only accommodate two tanks or wooden shields. There are artillery in front and fire cannons coming from both sides. I'm afraid. There will also be many casualties among the warriors.”
No matter how they discussed it, the result was the same. The Qing army would suffer huge casualties, and everyone fell silent.
After half a ring, the leader of the Eight Banners Manchuria White Banner, Duduo, shouted: "Why do we have to fight head-on with the Ming army? We can also dig trenches, leave some troops to guard them, and the rest continue to go out and plunder. Or most of our troops can surround them They were trapped and starved to death for several months!”
Dorgon frowned and shouted to his younger brother: "Stupid! If there are less troops left, how can we besiege the Ming army? You have also experienced the combat power of Lu Xiangsheng and other Ming generals. Do you think you can leave only ten or twenty thousand people?" Surround them? They want a decisive battle or a breakout, so what? The army has been besieged for several months... Where will the tens of thousands of troops come from? Our army has penetrated deep into the territory of the Ming Dynasty. If we don't fight quickly, after a few months, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty has already They have dispatched reinforcements from all over the country, but our army has lost all its energy in front of Xuanda and Shandong camps. Do you want all our Eight Banners warriors to stay in the pass?"
Then Dorgon glanced at everyone with a stern look and said loudly: "With Lu Xiangsheng's troops, our Eight Banners army will not be able to plunder smoothly. Not to mention their future harm, it is whether the proceeds of this plunder can be transported out of the capital. We don’t know. Therefore, Lu Xiangsheng’s troops must be eliminated! However, it is difficult for our 60,000-strong army to supply, and changes will occur later, so we have to complete the task in one battle and capture the Ming army’s camp in front of us within half a month. Our army has a large number of troops. As long as the trenches are Fill it up, break into the earthen wall, and eliminate Lu Xiangsheng and others, it is only a matter of time!"
Duduo was dejected by what Dorgon said, and secretly regretted what he had just said. However, Duduo thought to himself at this time: "Is it really Lu Xiangsheng who is the most critical among the Ming army? Rather than Liu Yan, who is suspected of designing this Ming army's defense line and severely damaging our army in the Battle of Dingzhou?"
I don’t know why, but Duduo was already interested in the name Liu Yan at this time. In the previous battle of Dingzhou, Duduo knew from various sources that the person he was facing was Liu Yan’s subordinate, so he secretly warned himself. , the next time you encounter Liu Yan's troops in battle, you must be careful and never waste the battle.
Buyendai, the leader of the Eight Mongolian Red Banners, suddenly said: "In fact, to fill the trenches of the Ming Army, we do not necessarily require warriors from each banner to go into battle. In the various camps of our army, there are many captured Ming people who can be escorted He went into battle to fill the trenches!"
Dorgon took a deep look at him, shook his head and said: "Let a mob face the Ming army's artillery fire. If there are only a few people, it will be easy to deal with it, but if there are thousands or tens of thousands of people, those Ming soldiers will be able to deal with it easily." The people will definitely collapse. If they escape and come back, not only blocking the attack route of our soldiers, but also very likely to break up our own formation. If the Ming army takes the opportunity to counterattack and pursue with all its strength, our army may..."
The banner owners of each banner looked at Buyendai, as if they doubted his intentions. Faced with everyone's gaze, Buyendai just said yes.
Abatai pondered for a while and said: "Perhaps we can take part of the Ming people as a test, and use thousands of Ming troops to respond. With fewer people, my army can be controlled easily."
Dorgon nodded approvingly, and then said sternly: "In the afternoon, my army launched an attack, pretending to attack the front, containing Ming general Liu Yan's troops, attacking both wings fiercely, and using a steady stream of offensives to kill their spirit. Shipped from Tongzhou. The Hongyi artillery will arrive soon, and it is expected that the Mingren position will be captured within a few days!"
"All the warriors of our Eight Banners must move forward bravely. Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed without mercy!"
After the army officers and soldiers had lunch that day, all the iron masks that Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Guozhu, Hu Dawei, Xuanfu Counselor Zhang Yan and others had sent to assist the new army in Xiahe Village had been delivered, a total of more than 400 pairs.
Liu Yan happened to assign the gun soldiers of Wang Bo's Department and Zhang Yi's Department who took over the defense line. At this time, the soldiers of Chen Xun and Wang Yue were withdrawn and took a short rest.
These bird gun soldiers were in high spirits, looking left and right with their iron masks, and then everyone put them on. Suddenly, a group of evil spirits from the Palace of Hell appeared in front of Liu Yan. They glared at each other, and only their dull hip-hop sounds came from behind the masks.
Just a moment later, all the gun soldiers generally felt that it was difficult to see things after wearing the mask, and their movements and reactions became much slower. However, no one took it off. After all, they were faced with the tricky arrows shot by the Qing army's archers. , this iron mask can save your life.
In the battle in the morning, the Tatar soldiers shot people in the face, and many of the brothers were hit by arrows. The tragic sight made them secretly frightened.
Now, with the iron masks, the iron helmets on everyone's heads, the iron armor on their bodies, and finally wearing warm red cotton coats, everything is safe.
Liu Yan's army, including the heavy troops, all have sophisticated armor, which is considered luxurious among the Ming army.
At this time, most of the Qing army, which had been silent for a long time two miles away, finally made movement. Amidst a burst of horns, their chariot flags were pushed in densely. Surrounded on three sides, it was as dark as an ocean with no end in sight.
Lu Xiangsheng's Central Military Headquarters issued an order, ordering the entire army to be on guard. Liu Yan's Central Military Headquarters also issued an order. Wang Bo's men, who were immediately warming themselves up behind the earthen wall, quickly formed their troops and began preparations for defense before the war. Zhang Yi also loudly ordered his subordinates to stand ready and wait for orders.
The new army in Xiahezhai has strict training and quick response, and the results of daily training are reflected at this time. Soon, the two generals led by Wang Bo and Zhang Yi were ready and stood ready behind the defense line.
Both Wang Bo and Zhang Yi had two commanders, each commanding two flags and four teams of cannon soldiers, led by the captains of each team. The pikemen and sword and shield soldiers in each general's post formed a defensive formation behind the cannon soldiers. The two commanders Wang Bo and Zhang Yi had more than a thousand gun soldiers, spear soldiers and sword and shield soldiers, and densely packed armored warriors lined up behind the earthen wall. All the troops were dressed in bright red cotton-padded clothes, with fine iron armor underneath, an exciting fiery red color.
Behind these soldiers, Liu Yan led his own bodyguards, various generals who stayed at night, and pacified Xun Jingyun and others, as well as flag bearer and golden drum warriors, totaling nearly 200 people, to direct the battle in the Chinese army. Liu Yan issued a series of orders, and there would be a lot of noise and movement in the formation.
In addition, three outposts, Miao Shao, Xu Ming, and Shen Tuo, were on standby around the Chinese army, ready to rush into the defense line to join the battle. Two outposts, Chen Xun and Wang Yue, had experienced half a day of fierce fighting and were resting and on standby at the back.
At the same time, the town governor Xun Jingyun also began to lead the pickets at various posts on patrols for defense. If the commander-in-chief is not prepared enough and the soldiers are timid, the governor Xun Jingyun has the power to severely punish them on the spot, and the relevant responsible officers will also be severely punished.
At this time, the generals at all levels in the army began to issue orders in accordance with the infantry drill, asking each team of gun soldiers to check the filling status of the gunpowder in their guns. The gunpowder of all bird guns and tiger cannons must be loaded now. The captains and flag generals of each team also carefully checked the conditions of the soldiers in their teams.
The various war regulations of the Xiahezhai New Army have long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the daily training is strict. This level of control makes Liu Yan command the army with ease. In his army, it can be said that he does not need any famous generals, he only needs to fight steadily according to regulations. It can be said that the Xiahezhai New Army at this time has the shadow of a modern army. In terms of organization level and combat will, it has surpassed most armies of this era.
Outside the defense line of the Ming army's main camp, just like in the morning, when the Qing army had marched another half mile, on the high platform inside the defense line of the new army in Xiahezhai, the five Hongyi six-pound cannons of the Superintendent Biao camp fired again, and there were bursts of shells. Whistling by.
Drawing on the experience of the new army artillery in Xiahezhai, the artillery team officer ordered several of his artillery to fire a salvo each time. Each time five large iron balls and dozens of small iron bullets roared out at the same time, the results of the shelling were more significant than in the morning. The direct fight left the Qing army in a state of chaos and caused heavy casualties.
The Qing soldiers were protected by shield cars and had the experience of avoiding the Ming army's artillery fire in the morning, but the iron balls flying in all directions and the bloody stumps still caused waves of commotion among them.
When they entered within a mile, there were loud thunders from three sides of the Xuanda camp, and smoke billowed everywhere. The big rockets, such as Yiwofeng and Baihuqi, which could shoot up to ten miles, roared away again, forming an overwhelming rain of arrows.
The arrows are no better than those shot by human power, and most of the soldiers in the front rows are only threatened. The rockets fly high and deep, and no one in the front or back ranks can avoid them. Rockets are also known for flying randomly. You don't know whether they are going straight or turning, or coming from the sky. The direction is unpredictable and everyone is in danger. Moreover, the sound of rocket launches is like the sound of huge thunder. Horses with poor psychological quality often jump in surprise and are unwilling to move forward.
However, with the experience of the fierce battle in the morning, each of the attacking Qing soldiers tried to find some protective objects on their bodies and hands. Therefore, these waves of rocket fire, in addition to disturbing many Qing army horses, caused no significant casualties as in the morning.
Not long after a hundred tigers rushed to wait for the big rockets to fire, more violent sounds came from the Xuanda camp. They were the bombardment and firing of three-faced Buddha wolf machine artillery, as well as flying guns, flying knives, flying swords and other rockets. Many horses of the Qing army There was even more violent commotion.
Facing the dense rain of artillery fire from Xuan's army, the Qing army finally pushed closer to about two hundred steps in front of the three-sided formation, and then stopped motionless. Moreover, their tanks were widely separated, obviously to avoid artillery fire at the gaps behind the earth wall.
Seeing that they stayed there for a long time, Xuanda soldiers were all confused. Liu Yan stood on the high platform of the new army headquarters in Xiahe Village and speculated on the intentions of the Qing soldiers: "Could it be..."
The answer was soon revealed. There was a noise and crying from the Qing army, and then a large group of Ming people were whipped and driven forward. Among them were men and women, old and young, all in ragged clothes, carrying earth loads, mud bags and other objects, and staggering in their steps. When they walked a little slower, the Qing soldiers behind them whipped them wildly and knocked them to the ground. Seeing them getting closer and closer, the gun soldiers under Wang Bo and Zhang Yi were dumbfounded. Qian Qian also stared at the people blankly, not knowing what to do. The defense lines on both sides of Xuanda also slowly calmed down, apparently encountering the same situation.
Some people died, but not completely...
