When Liu Yan led the guard battalion and artillery battalion to the West Road battlefield, commander Xu Ming had already led the cavalry battalion soldiers to withdraw. The main force of the bandits led by Zhang Xianzhong was held back. At this time, they had stopped retreating and reorganized their formation to prepare for the battle.
At this time, the left camp, the right camp, and the front camp formed a formation in the front, the rear camp was on the left, and the middle camp was on the right. The cavalry battalion withdrew to the rear of the army to rest for a while.
After a short discussion, Chen Xun, Wang Bo, Wang Yue, Zhang Yi, Shen Tuo, and Xu Ming prepared to fight Zhang Xianzhong's main force here.
After Liu Yan arrived with his troops, he used the Guards Battalion as the central army and ordered Qian Qian to lead the artillery battalion to seize a high ground under the Agate Mountain on the left and build an artillery position to overlook the entire battlefield.
"Order the rear battalion on the left wing to advance 300 steps forward to the left and set up defenses as a barrier for the artillery camp. Order the remaining battalions to advance 200 steps forward to compress the activity area of the bandit army."
Bugles sounded, and each battalion organized its troops. After receiving the military order from the messenger, each battalion began to mobilize quickly.
At this time in the west, Zhang Xianzhong looked solemnly at the mobilization of the new army units. In the fierce battle just now, the cavalry of the Ming army was extremely fierce and caused a lot of casualties to the units. Zhang Nengqi, who was known for his bravery, was commanding the troops. , and was even almost defeated by three or four thousand Ming Army cavalry!
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Xianzhong discovered that large groups of Ming army infantry were also arriving one after another. These Ming army infantry were different from the Ming army he had seen before. Not only were everyone wearing armor and sharp firearms, but the battle formations of these Ming army were extremely strong. It was like a moving city wall, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.
Zhang Xianzhong originally took advantage of the Ming army's cavalry to retreat and sent two thousand warriors to attack, hoping to delay the Ming army and successfully lead his troops to withdraw.
However, Zhang Xianzhong saw an unforgettable scene: all the Ming army troops shot at each other with firecrackers. The dense firecrackers seemed to never stop. The two thousand soldiers who rushed forward were slaughtered in the blink of an eye, leaving only There were corpses all over the ground, but the Ming army on the opposite side had almost no casualties!
In such a situation, even a ruthless man like Zhang Xianzhong could not help but tremble in his heart. When did the Ming Dynasty train such elite soldiers?
At this time, Zhang Dingguo, Zhang Nengqi, and Zhang Kewang gathered around Zhang Xianzhong. They all frowned, thinking about strategies to defeat the enemy.
Zhang Dingguo said: "Commander, look, a large banner has risen from the Ming army's formation!"
Zhang Xianzhong looked hard for a while and said: "General of the Jimo Camp of Shandong Dusi, Liu?"
Zhang Dingguo pondered for a moment and said suddenly: "I know this person is Liu Yan, a fierce general under Lu Xiangsheng. It is said that in Julu and Jinan, with the new army he trained, he severely damaged the Qing army several times and beheaded more than 10,000 Qing soldiers. level, and was promoted to the rank of general due to merit!"
"What!"
Zhang Xianzhong's expression changed drastically, and he beheaded more than 10,000 Qing soldiers. What did such a military exploit mean? Zhang Xianzhong and others knew very well that the Ming army in front of them was a strong force that could suppress the Qing army and fight fiercely. This battle was dangerous. !
"We can't withdraw anymore, otherwise Liu Yan will chase us away!"
Zhang Dingguo said: "Commander, why don't you concentrate the shields and armors of the entire army and hand them over to the Euphorbias in the army? Use your elite to attack the Ming army. As long as the Ming army's large horizontal formation is broken, you can use the old battalion's brave cavalry to break into the Ming army." In the military formation, this battle can be won!"
The Euphorbia warriors were the elites Zhang Xianzhong had accumulated over many years of traveling across the world. Among the tens of thousands of soldiers, there were only 1,500 of them. But these 1,500 people are all tall, powerful and brave people. They are equipped with big halberds more than three meters long.
Zhang Xianzhong also knew that this was a critical moment that determined the life and death of the entire army, so he agreed to Zhang Dingguo's suggestion.
So Zhang Xianzhong said to Zhang Dingguo: "I will hand over 1,500 Euphorbia warriors to your command, and we will break through the Ming army's formation at any cost."
"Got the order!"
Zhang Xianzhong then ordered Zhang Kewang to lead 3,000 old battalion cavalry to follow up, and Zhang Nengqi to lead 20,000 infantry to prepare for a charge. With these three waves of offensive, Zhang Xianzhong was confident that he could defeat any enemy.
At this time, Zhang Xianzhong had more than 60,000 troops and more than 40,000 people left. Most of the more than 20,000 family members in the army were also separated. In this wave of attacks, Zhang Xianzhong overwhelmed more than 20,000 people, which shows his great determination.
Less than half an hour later, the new army led by Liu Yan and the bandit army led by Zhang Xianzhong were all reorganized. The two armies were more than a mile apart, and the war was about to break out.
Zhang Dingguo wore a suit of iron armor, and behind him were 1,500 euphorbia soldiers. With an order, the army began to form a formation and move forward, as if the Wei warriors in the Warring States period were reborn. The euphorbia phalanx was facing the left side of the new army. The joint part of the battalion and the right battalion pressed past.
Liu Yan observed the movements of the bandit army and saw the armored euphorbia phalanx attacking. He was overjoyed and said: "Everyone in the world knows that Zhang Xianzhong's elite soldiers at the bottom of the box are euphorbia soldiers. As soon as they come up this time, Zhang Xianzhong will When you put your special skills to use, you really think highly of us!"
Miao Shao and Xun Jingyun stood nearby. Xun Jingyun said: "Sir, as long as these more than a thousand Euphorbia warriors are annihilated, half of Zhang Xianzhong's life will be taken away!"
Liu Yan nodded and said: "Order the artillery battalion to open fire, give me a blast first!"
At this time, the artillery battalion's Hu Zun artillery commander had been deployed in front of the Daheng formation. In the artillery position on the hillside, the Fo Lang machine gun commander and rocket launcher commander were stationed.
Qian Qian saw the Chinese army's flag waving and shouted: "General Folang's machine gun is ready. One and a half miles away, the bandits are moving their square formation, let go!"
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Seventy-two Franco cannons began to fire a salvo, and almost all the shells accurately landed on the Euphorbia's phalanx. Such intensive firepower immediately caused huge casualties to this elite group.
The armor equipped by Euphorbia soldiers may be able to block arrows and lead bullets, but it cannot block cannonballs in any case. As the cannonballs fell one after another, stumps and broken arms were flying everywhere. The originally neat phalanx fell apart in an instant. The 1,500 elite Euphorbia soldiers suffered hundreds of casualties in a short period of time. Then came a collapse.
Under the protection of several personal guards, Zhang Dingguo also retreated, but he was still confused as to how many soldiers and horses Liu Yan had brought. He was equipped with so many artillery. Could it be that he had brought all the artillery from the surrounding cities? Already?
Although Zhang Dingguo is good at fighting, he has never seen a battle like this. The two armies faced each other, and they first used a hundred and eighty artillery pieces to bombard them. Even the gods couldn't withstand it, so how could they fight?
Qian Qian, however, was still unfinished. He saw that the remnants of the retreating Euphorbia soldiers had merged with the thousands of bandit cavalry that followed. The two groups of people and horses clashed with each other and became a mess. He immediately ordered the rocket launcher to open fire.
"All put on big rockets such as Hundreds of Tigers Running, Dragons Leaping to the Sea, etc., and let me blast them!"
The "Hundred Tigers Running Together" equipped by the new army is a large rocket with a hundred arrows, while the "Jiaolong Chuhai" is a single large rocket, but it is filled with kerosene. After hitting the target and exploding, it will destroy everything within a dozen steps around it. ignite.
Moreover, the gunpowder used in these two large rockets is also granular gunpowder. The powder is sufficient and can fly two to three miles. Now most of the bandit army is within the range of the rocket.
"put!"
Qian Qian's voice echoed in the artillery camp, and what followed was a spectacular scene. Seventy-two rocket launchers launched large rockets into the sky at the same time. Parabolas were formed one by one under the gaze of soldiers from both armies, and then these large rockets He plunged headlong into the army of rogue thieves.
I saw that the huddled Euphorbia soldiers and three thousand cavalry were hit hard. Even if these elite thieves were wearing armor, they could not withstand the damage of rocket-assisted arrows. The bandit soldiers who encountered the dragon going out to sea were even more unlucky. They were instantly surrounded by flames, screaming and rolling, but to no avail, and eventually turned into charred corpses.
"Get back quickly!"
Zhang Dingguo's scalp was numb at this time. The phalanx of the Ming army on the opposite side had not yet been dispatched. Before those sharp cannons were fired, two of his own elite troops had been severely damaged by artillery fire. There was no reason to continue this battle. If you go down, your entire army will be wiped out!
Zhang Kewang was also very anxious. After finding Zhang Dingguo, he said loudly: "You take the remaining Euphorbia soldiers back and protect your adoptive father and leave quickly. I will take the old battalion cavalry to seize the cannon!"
Zhang Dingguo grabbed the reins of the war horse, pointed forward and said: "Open your eyes and look. The Ming Army artillery camp is on the hillside. There is an elite battalion stationed in front. You can't rush through! Save your strength and withdraw!"
Zhang Kewang roared angrily and immediately ordered a retreat.
At the same time, although Zhang Xianzhong and Zhang Nengqi could not see the exact situation on the front line, they heard such fierce shelling and looked at the retreating battle flags. They felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, and their hands and feet were cold: defeated. Got it! 33
Zhang Xianzhong said to Zhang Nengqi: "Immediately lead 20,000 infantry to support and help your eldest brother and second brother come back!"
"yes!"
Zhang Nengqi attacked like a fire and led 20,000 infantry to attack. At this time, Zhang Xianzhong only had more than 10,000 old and weak soldiers left.
At this time, Liu Yan was looking at the battlefield ahead, and suddenly received an urgent report from Ye Bushou: "Report! The main force of the bandits is attacking, and at least 20,000 infantry are moving towards the battlefield!"
Liu Yan smiled and said to Miao Shao and Xun Jingyun: "Zhang Xianzhong can't sit still. Now he doesn't have many troops left in the army. I will use the black tiger to take out his heart!"
Then Liu Yan said loudly: "Order the left and right battalions to press forward at the same time and entangle the rogue soldiers and horses on the battlefield!"
"Order the artillery battalion to suspend shelling and be on standby."
"Order the front camp and the middle camp to bypass the battlefield and pounce on the bandit center as quickly as possible!"
"Order the cavalry battalion to attack, bypass the battlefield, and cut off the retreat route to the west of the bandits!"
At this time, the battle flags of the Chinese army were in chaos, bugles were sounding one after another, and teams of messengers were rushing to various places on flying horses.
Not long after, the new army battalions began to attack, and the situation on the battlefield changed instantly.
Commander Chen Xun led the soldiers of the front battalion to run wildly, even leaving the attached Tiger Cannon behind.
"Speed up! Go straight into the bandit army, run!"
More than three thousand soldiers have been fighting for a long time and are very tired now. However, the soldiers are still gritting their teeth and running on the battlefield. When passing the battlefield, they can see that the soldiers of the left and right camps have been deployed. They were fighting fiercely with Zhang Dingguo and Zhang Kewang's men, and a large number of bandits were rushing behind them.
But the soldiers in the front camp turned a deaf ear and continued to run away.
At the same time, the commander Shen Tuo also led the soldiers of the middle camp to fly all the way. After less than half an hour, they finally bypassed the battlefield and came to the north of the bandits' middle army.
Shen Tuo panted and looked at Zhang Xianzhong's banner, and said with a smile: "Okay! We have sealed the north, and the cavalry battalion is also rushing to the west. There is a front camp in the south, and Zhang Xianzhong can hardly fly!"
Mr. Qian Guo Rong said excitedly: "Sir, let's attack. This is a great achievement. We have to grab it!"
"Kill, kill me!"
The soldiers of the middle camp formed a formation and moved forward, but they heard loud gunfire from the south. The front battalion led by Chen Xun opened fire first.
When the soldiers of the middle battalion advanced to about a hundred steps, they heard bursts of fighting from the west, and the cavalry battalion also began to attack.
Shen Tuo said bad luck, and then ordered to open fire. More than a thousand gunmen in the middle camp began to fire volleys, killing and injuring a large number of the bandits and horses who were already panicking.
This was destined to be a one-sided massacre. The more than 10,000 soldiers and horses around Zhang Xianzhong were all a mob. Faced with the flanking attack of two infantry battalions and a cavalry battalion of the New Army, they had no power to fight back. They were almost defeated at the first touch!
At this time, Zhang Xianzhong was also knocked down by the defeated troops, and he shuttled awkwardly among the crowd. There were fewer and fewer personal guards around him, and in the end there were only two people left.
"how so!"
Zhang Xianzhong couldn't believe that the scene in front of him was real. How could the Ming Dynasty still have such a strong army?
Suddenly, Zhang Xianzhong felt his eyes light up, and the dense crowd suddenly collapsed, revealing a large open space.
"That is……"
Zhang Xianzhong looked dozens of steps ahead, where a large army was waiting in formation. Then a column of white smoke rose up with a loud noise. Zhang Xianzhong felt a pain in his chest and fell to the ground.
Some people died, but not completely...
