Not to mention Duduo who stood up and loudly agreed again, even Yue Tuo and Jierhalang also spoke out in support of Dorgon's remarks. Although the two of them were dissatisfied with Dorgon's domineering attitude, as members of the Eight Banners Manchuria, seeing their ally Eight Banners Mongolia showing hesitation, they could only stand by Dorgon's side at this moment. At this critical moment, Manchuria There can be no disagreements between the Mongolian alliance.
There were so many casualties in the army, and everyone was already on the verge of getting off the tiger. If the Ming army camp was not broken, if Lu Xiangsheng's troops were not annihilated to provide guarantee for smooth plundering in the future, then the casualties suffered by each banner these days would be in vain. More importantly, everyone has already seen the hope of victory at this time, and they will never give up easily.
Yue Tuo said: "It has been three days since Gao Qiqian, the supervisor of the Ming Dynasty, led his troops to Jize, which is only a few dozen miles away from Julu. Will they attack us from behind while our army is rushing to attack Xuanda and Shandong camps?" Launch an attack?"
Dorgon said disdainfully: "Do they have the guts? What the sentry has heard is that the Guan Ning army is standing high and deep in the stronghold in Jize. I am afraid that our army will launch an attack on them." Bar?"
All the Qing generals present laughed. Even so, Dorgon still discussed with Yue Tuo and others about setting up an ambush, just in case.
The next morning.
Today, there seemed to be no movement in the Qing camp for a long time. It was not until early noon that there was finally movement in the Qing camp. Amidst a burst of trumpets, Qing soldiers from all banners came out densely again and began to gather the whole team. After half an hour of busy work, from It was surrounded by darkness from three sides.
Unlike usual, their densely packed chariots stopped moving when they advanced to two miles. Liu Yan and others were surprised to see them pushing out four artillery pieces from behind the formation. Although they could not see clearly from a distance, they could still see the hugeness of those artillery pieces.
Liu Yan was also shocked and confused at this time. Qian Qian came up to Liu Yan with an earthy face and reported to Liu Yan that according to his estimate, of the four artillery pieces of the Qing army, two were Hongyi 12-pounders and two were Hongyi 24-pounders. , the range is two miles away, and the Hu Zun artillery in our own army and the Folang machine artillery supported by the Dubiao Battalion cannot hit them at all.
Qian Qian looked pale and murmured: "Where did the Tatars get these artillery pieces?"
Then he shouted: "I know, it must have been shipped from Tongzhou and Wanping, and there must be artillerymen from the Beijing camp over there."
He hated himself because the Hongyi cannons built under the supervision of the imperial court in the late Ming Dynasty were of excellent quality, but without skilled gunners, they would explode if not operated properly, just like the Qing army's artillery a few days ago. The only people in the Ming Dynasty who had experience in operating red barbarian artillery were the Jiubian Army, the Beijing camp artillerymen, and the Kong Youde tribe who surrendered to the Manchu Qing Dynasty. If there are really Beijing camp gunners who have surrendered to the enemy, several Hongyi cannons will bombard them...
At this time, Chen Xun, Wang Yue, Zhang Yi, Wang Bo, Miao Shao, Xu Ming, Shen Tuo and others all gathered around Liu Yan. Liu Yan saw a group of people surrounded by artillery on the Qingbing side, and they were busy Making preparations, it seems that the launch is not far away.
Liu Yan was thinking very quickly at this time, and after a moment he suddenly shouted: "Instruct the heavy troops of each general to immediately fill the soil with cloth bags and sacks and place them within the defense line. If there are wooden baskets, fill them with soil and arrange them in the same way. .”
Liu Yan suddenly remembered the methods used by later generations to defend against solid smoothbore bombs. The artillery at this time was most afraid of ricochet and the like. As for the earthen wall trenches, they could just bomb them. That low earth wall, if they can blast it.
Under Liu Yan's order, all the heavy troops in the camp were put into operation urgently. Liu Yan also sent someone to notify Lu Xiangsheng, Yang Guozhu and others, asking them to send people to assist.
At the same time, Liu Yan also ordered all the soldiers in his camp to hide behind the two earth walls. Liu Yan and his officers from the Central Military Department were hiding behind the second earth wall, and all the officers from Zhang Yi and Wang Bo were hiding behind the first earth wall.
Under Liu Yan's persuasion, Lu Xiangsheng also got off Yuan Rong's chariot and hid with him behind the second upper wall. After receiving the news from Liu Yan, the auxiliary soldiers in each battalion also worked hard to dig soil and fill bags. There were baskets and the like in the army, and they were all found and filled with earth.
As if the ground was shaking, a cannonball roared from the Qing army and hit the open space on the first line of defense of the Xiahezhai New Army. A large iron ball weighing more than 20 kilograms hit the hard ground with force. It bounced up and rushed straight away, creating a big gap in the second section of the earth wall.
The titanium ball, without losing its remaining power, rolled back and broke the calves of several Xiahe Village New Army spearmen and gun soldiers who had gathered behind the first earth wall.
The screams rang out, and Liu Yan gritted his teeth and ordered the medical officers from various departments to carry them down for rescue. After waiting for a short while, I heard bursts of artillery fire from the Qing army, and then I heard dozens of iron balls coming one after another. It turned out that the Qing army's Hongyi cannon used a bullet support group, and each big ball was fired one by one. With a dozen small bombs.
These artillery shells roared in, constantly hitting the front and rear earth wall defenses of the Xiahe Village New Army, as well as the low wall trenches. Dense iron balls jumped and rolled on the ground. From time to time, soldiers of the Xiahe Village New Army were hit by artillery shells. The Qing army's projectiles also penetrated into the tents, beating the tents inside to a mess. Some tents were even set on fire. Several tanks on the core defense line were also smashed to pieces, and some doctors inside were killed and injured.
The auxiliary soldiers of each battalion who were busy filling soil and bagging were constantly knocked down by the rolling shells. They screamed and ran away everywhere, and then they were hit by the shells fired at them.
Wang Bo hid tightly behind the earthen wall. Seeing the constant artillery fire from the Qing army, he cursed: "Are these fresh goods finished? His grandma's!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a large iron ball weighing more than 20 kilograms hit the earth wall next to him. The hard earth wall was immediately collapsed in a large area. Wang Bo ran away with earth all over his body, only to see A guard next to him had half his body destroyed by a cannonball.
With a loud "boom", a Hongyi six-pound cannon set up in a passage was hit by a projectile from a Hongyi twelve-pounder cannon. The artillery was immediately paralyzed on the spot, and the iron ball clamped the gun frame. Wheels flying around.
Dozens of large and small iron balls from the Qing army came over three times in a row before temporarily stopping. It was obvious that the artillery was overheated and needed to stop for a while to cool down.
Liu Yan and Lu Xiangsheng stood up. The scene in front of them was like a hell on earth. The ground of the two defense lines was covered with bloody limbs, and the screams of the soldiers could be heard. Those injured sergeants who were hit by the iron ball all suffered severe injuries such as death and fractures.
The Qing army has long-range and powerful artillery, and it seems that this battle is becoming more and more difficult to fight. Liu Yan estimated that just these few rounds of artillery fire by the Qing army had caused one to two hundred casualties of their own soldiers, and the remaining number of auxiliary troops in each battalion was unknown.
In particular, this kind of shelling had a huge impact on morale. Fortunately, the soldiers of the new army in Xiahezhai were trained strictly. Although the soldiers suffered a lot of trauma, they did not collapse in the face of this round of shelling.
Liu Yan pondered for a while and said: "Master Governor, the slaves have Hongyi cannons. Although our army was caught off guard, we only need to install mud bags and earth baskets everywhere to block their projectiles from rolling, and we can still avoid casualties among the soldiers. Increase."
Lu Xiangsheng nodded slowly, and the two of them looked at the field quietly. The densely packed auxiliary soldiers in each battalion no longer cared about rescuing the wounded. Under the orders of the generals, they raced against time to fill the mud bags and baskets with soil. Distributed throughout the defense line. For those who couldn't find bags or baskets, they tore down tents and used them to bundle soil.
It was a life-and-death moment. Everyone moved very quickly. Soon, the flat ground between the two earth walls on the side of the Xiahe Village New Army's line was covered with large and small mud bags and baskets. Not only that, the army Behind the second earth wall, there are also large and small mud bags. The artillery pieces on the passage were also pushed behind the earthen wall.
Although Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei were not hit by artillery fire, they were prepared for any danger. They also prepared a large number of mud bags and baskets.
Not long after, the early morning artillery roared again, and everyone immediately got down quickly, especially the heavy troops and the auxiliary soldiers of each battalion, who lay down tightly behind the mud bags and baskets. Iron balls, big and small, came one after another, and the front and rear earth walls were constantly knocked down by them. Those large and small iron balls shot into the open space in front of and behind the earth wall, causing pieces of cloth and soil to fly. The crowd's screams continued.
After a while, the Qing army's artillery fire stopped. Fortunately, with the buffer of those mud bags and earthen baskets, the projectiles could not jump. Although the Qing army's artillery was powerful, as long as they were not hit on the spot by the artillery, the number of casualties in the army was higher than before. It was greatly reduced, and the mood of the soldiers in various ministries quickly stabilized.
Upon seeing this, Liu Yan breathed out and felt relieved. Lu Xiangsheng was still frightened but also felt relieved. Fortunately, with these mud bags and earth baskets, the power of the enemy's sharp artillery fire was greatly reduced.
Many medical doctors came out to rescue the wounded. Watching them carry the bloody wounded into the camp one by one, Chen An and others behind Lu Xiangsheng showed expressions of horror.
The field was quiet, except for the shrill cries of the wounded as they were being carried in. In the cold winter weather, these people who were hit by artillery projectiles, I'm afraid... many of the sergeants clenched their teeth and couldn't fight back after being beaten. It was really aggrieved.
The cold wind was still howling, bringing a biting chill, and the weather was getting colder. Many soldiers had their heads and faces wrapped tightly, and they were still shivering from the cold. In this cold weather, it’s probably dozens of degrees below zero, right? In the dry and cold air, there was a strong smell of blood and a faint smell of gunpowder smoke from time to time.
In the silence, Lu Xiangsheng, who had been staring ahead for a long time, suddenly said: "Liu Yan, it seems that your department is going to retreat to the second line of defense."
Liu Yan immediately understood this problem. The first line of defense of the new army in Xiahezhai, the two earth walls were filled with mud bags, and the ground was full of obstacles. In addition to the fire rifle soldiers, the soldiers of the new army in Xiahezhai were proud of their columns. Fighting in formation has lost its effectiveness...
Liu Yan said: "What the governor said is absolutely true. Let go of the first line of defense and let the slaves come in. The ground is full of mud bag obstacles. Their momentum is slow. Our army can continue to rely on the second line of defense... "
At this time, Liu Yan was infuriated by the Qing army's Hongyi artillery. He sneered and said, "The slaves have artillery, and we have blunderbuss. Let's see how much blood they shed after they rush in."
Lu Xiangsheng looked at Liu Yan and said: "It's okay for the slave thieves to rush in from the front, but we must prevent them from rushing into the two wings to attack.
Liu Yan said: "Don't worry, Governor, the two trench walls are only more than a hundred steps apart. The army of slaves and thieves rushing in will not be able to rush into the two wings under the attack of my artillery and muskets."
At this time, the horn sounded. In addition to the enemies on the front, the Qing troops on both wings were already pouring in from two miles away. Lu Xiangsheng urgently summoned Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei to come to discuss military affairs and inform them of the tactics of the frontal defense line, lest they think that the front line was facing them. The collapse of the defense line affected the morale and morale of their army.
In addition to asking Miao Shao to lead his troops to prepare more mud bags and earthen baskets, Liu Yan also ordered Wang Bo and Zhang Yi to come to discuss arrangements, and asked Wang Bo's gun soldiers to defend the first earth wall, while Zhang Yi and the remaining gun soldiers defended the second wall. Two earthen walls. All the pikemen under their command also withdrew behind the second earth wall.
If the Qing army attacks from the front, Wang Bo's cannon soldiers will pretend to resist for a while, then all retreat to the second earth wall, and then concentrate all the fire cannon soldiers in the camp to inflict maximum damage to the enemy, and then the spearmen and sword and shield soldiers will start chasing them. .
Not long after, fierce artillery fire came from the two wings. It was obvious that Yang Guozhu and Hu Daqi had fought against the Qing army.
At the front line of defense of the new army in Xiahezhai, after the Qing army conducted another round of artillery bombardment, their horns finally sounded, and a flood of Qing troops pushed their chariots and rushed towards them with shouts. Behind the chariot, there was another dense crowd of Qing army servants, carrying many wooden shields and other objects in small carts and rushing in.
Seeing the Qing Army brigade rushing towards him, Liu Yan felt relieved and ordered Miao Shao to lead people to pack away the mud bags and baskets behind the second earth wall and restore the flat ground. Those mud bags and earth baskets were gathered together and used during the next artillery attack by the Qing army.
According to Liu Yan's instructions, in the first earth wall defense line, except for Wang Bo's bird gun soldiers, the rest of the bird gun soldiers were all concentrated behind the second earth wall.
Each hundred company in Liu Yan's army, including the heavy troops, has more than 260 fire muskets, so the seven hundred commanders have a total of more than 900 bird muskets.
Even excluding the number of casualties among the musketry soldiers, the entire army still has more than 1,600 muskets that can be used. They will gather them together later to give the Qing soldiers who rush in a look. In addition to the cannon soldiers, seven hundred spearmen and sword and shield soldiers also lined up neatly behind the cannon soldiers.
Liu Yan's central army was located in the back. Not far behind him was Lu Xiangsheng's central military headquarters. Lu Xiangsheng boarded the Yuanrong chariot again and commanded the Xuanda army to fight. The flag bearer on the observation pole car not far away from him was also standing on Diao Dou, constantly conveying the movements of the Qing army's formation.
In addition, there are only four Hongyi six-pound cannons left in the Dubiao camp, and the five Huzun cannons of the Xiahezhai New Army have been pushed back.
Compared with the first earth wall, the second earth wall has four large passages, and there are also many small gaps one or two steps wide.
These passage gaps were staggered from the first earth wall. After the artillery was pushed back, they were placed in each passage gap at the low wall.
All the artillery pieces were filled with shotgun shells, and the artillerymen were holding their fire. They planned to wait for the Tatar soldiers to come in and launch a volley to give them a hard blow to see if they still dared to bombard them randomly with the red barbarian cannon.
Some people died, but not completely...
