At the same time that Dorgon attacked Huangsongyu, Duduo also led tens of thousands of Qing troops to march south. Tens of thousands of Qing troops stopped on the bank of the Xun River east of Mafang.
This time the Qing army marched in three directions, with Dorgon leading the attack in the north and Duoduo leading the attack in the south. It was obvious that Huang Taiji was taking the opportunity to consume the strength of the 200 banners.
So before setting off, Dorgon sent his confidants to send Dodo four words: preserve your strength.
At this time, Duduo rode his horse and looked at the frozen Xun River in front of him, frowning slightly. A total of 12,000 soldiers and horses were dispatched southward with the white flag of Manchuria, of which 4,000 were under Azige's command. Duo had only 8,000 troops in his hands.
The soldiers and horses that accompanied Duduo to attack Mafang included the 8,000 cavalry led by Mongolian Xiangbai Banner Gushan'er Zhensuna, the Han army Xiangbai Banner Gushan'er Zhensuna led the 15,000 traitor army, and the Tumut army The 7,000 Mongolian cavalry of foreign vassals led by Zhen'er Mbuchuhu'er of Gushan'e in the right banner and Zhenshanba of Gushan'e of Tumote's left banner had a combined force of 45,000.
In terms of military strength, Duduo's cards are stronger than Dorgon's, and the terrain on the horse farm is much smoother, making it easier for the Manchu and Mongolian cavalry to charge.
"Prince Rui wants to preserve his strength. The current battle situation is related to the fate of the Qing Dynasty. Can he really preserve the strength of the Two White Flags and defeat Liu Yan's army?"
Duduo took a deep breath. Such an idea was obviously impossible. Only by the warriors of all banners working hard could it be possible to defeat Liu Yan's hundreds of thousands of new troops.
Therefore, Duduo was very confused at this time. The troops and horses stood still in the cold wind for a long time without issuing any further orders.
So not long after, the Mongolian white flag Gushan Ezhensu
The Na and Han troops with white flags in Gushan'e Zhenwu Shoujin, Tumed Right Banner Gushan'e Zhen'ombuchuhu'er, and Tumed Left Banner Gushan'e Zhenshanba rode their horses and came to ask for Duduo. make.
Duduo looked at everyone, and then said: "First send people to check the hardness of the ice in the Xun River. If the river is really frozen solid, the army will cross the river on the ice and go straight to the horse farm!"
"嗻!"
Then a large number of Qing army scouts rushed towards the front, and Duduo began to mobilize troops and horses, with the Han army's white flag-draped soldiers and horses as the vanguard, especially the fifty artillery accompanying the army, which was pushed directly to the front of the army.
Behind the Han army's flag soldiers and horses were the Mongolian Xiangbai Banner cavalry, the left wing was the Tumed Left Banner cavalry, the right wing was the Tumut Right Banner cavalry, and Duduo led the Manchurian Xiangbai Banner to hold down the formation behind the Chinese army.
Mafang is just a small village with a small population and no walls around it. At this time, the people in the village heard that hundreds of thousands of Qing troops were approaching the border, and they had fled in panic a few days ago, leaving only an empty village.
Duduo stood on the edge of the Xun River, with gray-white dead grass under his feet, white river ice in front of his eyes, and the howling cold wind in his ears. Such a bleak scene of everything was just like his own mood, heavy and desolate.
"Each banner has plundered tens of thousands of Ming people, but they refused to give me even a thousand people. They just let me, the warrior with the white flag, fight directly against Liu Yan's new army. This is too obvious!"
Although Huang Taiji had previously targeted Dorgon and Duoduo everywhere, he was generally quite reserved. At least it was tenable in theory and would not give people an excuse.
However, since the end of the Battle of Jinzhou, Huang Taiji has been uncharacteristically uncharacteristic.
For any reason, five Niulu people were taken away from Duduo and distributed to Azig, who was friends with Haug. Then he repeatedly found opportunities to suppress Dorgon and Duduo brothers.
Now that the war is about to begin, if some Ming people are not even given cannon fodder, but they directly push the two white flags to lead the fight, this is equivalent to breaking up!
"Could it be that?"
Duduo suddenly thought of a possibility, that is, is Huang Taiji's condition incurable?
Thinking of this, Duduo suddenly became excited. As long as he made military exploits in this battle of Ming Dynasty, and then pushed Dorgon hard, the two brothers might be able to fight against Huang Taiji.
At this moment, the scouts in front rushed back on horseback and reported to Duduo that the surface of the Xun River had completely frozen, allowing the army to pass through.
"good!"
Duduo felt at ease, but still maintained a trace of caution. He ordered his troops to walk across the ice at a walking pace to try to keep the distance between them as far as possible.
Soon, 45,000 Qing troops stepped onto the ice of the Xun River. The army stretched for several miles, as if there was a layer of ashes on the ice, which was very conspicuous in the winter scenery.
Suddenly, a group of Ming troops appeared on the west bank of the Xun River and stayed at night. Then a large army could be seen coming from the west, pressing towards the ice surface of the Xun River at a very fast speed.
At this time, Wang Yue, the staff general of the rear battalion of the New Army, angrily urged the soldiers to speed up their pace and strive to occupy the favorable terrain on the bank before the Qing army arrived at the west bank.
"You're really becoming an asshole the more you live, you didn't send someone to check whether the Xun River is frozen in advance, and let the dog Tatar take advantage!"
Wang Yue and the commander of the third battalion of the garrison, Han Qin, led their troops to arrive.
After Damafang, they began to build a large-scale construction project to build a temporary Chinese army in Mafang Village. At the same time, they built a defense line of about six miles on the bank of the Xun River just east of Mafang Village, extending for three miles in the north-south direction, with the intention of stopping the Qing Dynasty. possible military attack.
In Wang Yue's opinion, only this section of the river was relatively gentle, suitable for a large army to cross. The water in other places was very fast. In addition, it was the coldest month of winter, so it was impossible for the Qing army to cross the river from elsewhere.
After everything was deployed, Wang Yue and Han Qin waited with peace of mind. They never expected that in just a day or two, the weather took a turn for the worse, and the Xun River actually froze!
After learning the news, Wang Yue hurriedly ordered Han Qin, who had already stationed at the river bank defense line, to immediately brace himself to prevent the Qing army from taking the opportunity to attack.
Immediately afterwards, news was received that tens of thousands of Qing troops had crossed the river on foot directly on the ice.
So Wang Yue sent someone to urgently notify Han Qin to lead his troops to come for support. At the same time, he led the rear camp of the new army to form a formation and prepare to intercept the Qing troops crossing the river.
"damn it!"
When Wang Yue led his troops to the west bank of the Xun River, Wu Shojin had already led the Han army's 15,000 soldiers and horses with white flags to the west bank, and was deploying artillery positions on the river bank. Another 5,000 gunners had also formed their formations. The location was alerted about a mile from the river bank. Wu Shoujin, on the other hand, led 10,000 hand-to-hand soldiers on standby. The Han army with white flags had firmly occupied the river bank. Wang Yue's plan to attack halfway across the river was completely in vain.
"The entire army moves forward, press forward!"
It's just that the Manchu and Mongolian troops are still crossing the river. Only some of the cavalry have reached the west bank and are forming a team on the bank. Most of the troops are still on the ice.
superior.
At will, Wang Yue directly ordered the army to press forward. Soon, more than 10,000 soldiers from the rear camp of the new army formed a formation and moved forward, stopping three miles away from the Han army's white flag formation.
In the distance, Wu Shoujin was nervously deploying strategies. Wang Yue held up his telescope and could even see the gunners of the Qing artillery team loading artillery. There were fifty artillery pieces, which made Wang Yue take a breath.
"These Tartars are really rich, they have so many artillery!"
At this time, three guerrilla generals, Kang Hui, Bai Hanyue, and Liu Jing, also rushed to the Chinese army and asked how to fight this battle.
Wang Yue thought for a moment and then said: "Now we and the enemy have to fight for time. There are not so many tricks. Just go up and kill the two Tatars with the Han flag before all the Qing troops cross the river!"
"good!"
"The general is mighty!"
Although Wang Yue today still flatters Liu Yan and is full of compliments, on weekdays, it is difficult to see the villainous face of the past, and what is more common is the heroic spirit of the new army officers.
Even Liu Yan once lamented to Miao Shao, Chen Xun and others: "People will really change due to the environment. Even a villain can grow into a hero."
"Woo~woo!"
Soon, more than 10,000 soldiers from the rear camp of the New Army began to approach. Fortunately, when Wang Yue hurriedly sent out troops, he also brought the earth-moving vehicles from the camp. The precaution in his heart really saved himself at this time. .
"Soldiers of all ministries should be cautious, use earthen vehicles as cover, and rush forward quickly!"
Wang Yue issued an order loudly, as long as the gunmen of each department came within a hundred steps, those two Tatars would be lambs to be slaughtered. At present, the Qing army's large number of cavalry is not finished yet.
Assembled, the only thing that poses a threat to our side is the fifty artillery pieces.
boom!
Just as Wang Yue was thinking about it, Wu Shoujin ordered the artillery fire. Fifty artillery pieces spewed out a lot of smoke and fire, and dozens of artillery shells roared at the New Army soldiers.
In the blink of an eye, most of the artillery shells were blocked by the earth-moving vehicles in front of the New Army formation, and about a dozen artillery shells hit the ground, bounced off the frozen and hard ground, and then rushed into the soil. In the military formation behind the car.
"ah!"
Suddenly, screams rang out, and more than a dozen shells caused casualties to at least dozens of New Army soldiers.
In the military formation, Boss Bai strode forward with an angry face, repeating loudly the orders given by his superiors: "Move forward quickly! The gunman checks the reloading and prepares to shoot!"
In front of Lao Bai, flag commander Shen Wen was also furious. Just now, Shen Wen saw with his own eyes a cannonball flying past the front left, cutting off the left arm of a comrade, and then smashing the head of a comrade behind him. .
The soldier with a broken arm knelt on the ground and screamed in agony. Shen Wen wanted to step forward to help, but he couldn't move forward. His body still mechanically followed the army's formation and drove forward in an orderly manner.
Shen Wen couldn't help but glance back, and saw that two baggage soldiers had already carried away the soldier with the broken arm. Compared with the fact that he would receive treatment from the medical officer at the rear, he felt relieved.
When Lao Bai saw Shen Wen who was looking back, he couldn't help but shouted angrily: "Looking left and right during the war, you want to die! Look ahead, if you dare to look back again, I will cut off your ears immediately!"
Shen Wen was so frightened that he immediately shrank his neck and hurriedly looked ahead, only to see the Tatars with the white flags of the Han army not far away.
It's less than a mile.
"go ahead!"
"Bird gunner! Fire a volley sixty steps away from the enemy!"
"After the whole battalion fires a salvo, fix your bayonets and start charging!"
Orders were issued quickly, and the soldiers of the New Army's rear camp pressed forward step by step despite the bombardment of the Qing army's artillery.
At this time, Wu Shoujin stared at the New Army soldiers who were getting closer and closer. Like the Han army flag soldiers around him, they all felt unbelievable: Aren't Liu Yan's soldiers afraid of death? It was bombarded by fifty artillery pieces all the way, with no sign of disintegration!
"It's those dirt trucks! The dirt trucks stopped most of the artillery shells. How could I forget this!"
Wu Shoujin stared at the dirt carts in front of the New Army's formation. He was so annoyed that he wanted to slap himself a few times. Then he pointed at the Han flag soldiers around him and shouted loudly: "Go dig the soil quickly, the Ming army's musketeers are about to fight back!"
The surrounding Han flag soldiers immediately dispersed and rushed to dig soil and pack bags.
But it was too late. At this time, the rear battalion of the New Army had advanced about 70 steps in front of the Qing artillery array. The gunners on the artillery array had retreated in panic, and the fifty artillery pieces also stopped bombarding.
Immediately afterwards, more than 10,000 soldiers from the rear camp of the New Army formed five rows of large horizontal formations, with powerful firepower of more than 2,000 people in each row, and began to fire volleys in turn.
The heaven and earth shook for a moment, and Duduo, who was riding his horse across the river, was also frightened by the roar and looked forward with his eyes wide open.
