Earthen fort.
"Boom~"
The red cannon roared, and the smoke from burning black powder obscured the battlefield.
At this time, the Junggar army had less than 100 artillery pieces available, and most of them had to be temporarily silenced due to overheating of the barrels.
And this also gave the Qing army an opportunity.
Yang Yuchun seized the opportunity and asked the artillery team in the rear, which had been waiting for a long time, to launch a counterattack against Junggar.
The artillerymen pushed the push cannon to the front of the formation. Following the artillery commander's order, the Qing army's push cannon began to roar.
The artillery battle began.
It was noon, and both sides were injured.
Jiaqing was in the Chinese army camp, listening to the battle reports from the front line, feeling both happy and uneasy.
Fortunately, the Qing army withstood the pressure and could launch a planned counterattack after the artillery battle between the two sides was over.
What is disturbing is that the Junggar army has a high firearms equipment rate, which is far beyond Jiaqing's knowledge.
Because according to the intelligence coming back from the front line, Junggar’s musket equipment rate is nearly 100%!
The firearms of the New Army were purchased from Tsarist Russia.
Did the Junggars also buy their firearms from Tsarist Russia?
While Jiaqing was thinking hard, the logistics officer brought bad news.
The army is running out of food and fodder.
"What? Didn't I bring 15 days of food?
This is only day 9! "
"Your Majesty, when the Ministry of Revenue prepared food and fodder, they did prepare 15 days' worth.
But just now Wei Chen heard from the soldiers that there was a problem with the food. Wei Chen was shocked and went to check.
Then, I saw that those bottom sacks were not filled with rice, but with stones, Your Majesty! "
"How much food is left?"
"Unable to count at the moment."
Hearing this, Jiaqing stood up suddenly.
The entire tent was silent.
Yang Yuchun immediately arranged for his cronies to go to the logistics office to first control the personnel, and then conduct strict inspections around the big account to prevent information from leaking.
"Your Majesty, the matter has come to an end. Our army must first withdraw to Juyongguan and then make long-term plans!"
"Yes, withdraw to Juyongguan!"
Jiaqing was anxious.
He knew very well what it meant to run out of military rations.
There have been too many corresponding events in history.
A lesson for the past and a guide for the future.
However, retreat on the battlefield, especially during combat, is a science.
An army of tens of thousands cannot be organized by a general to retreat with just a shout.
At this time, the Qing Dynasty Army was distributed within 4 miles of Tumubao, with numerous large and small military formations.
From such a long distance, what kind of voice could reach the soldiers' ears.
And the enemy is not a fool. Once the Qing army retreats and the connection between the formations is destroyed, the enemy is likely to seize the opportunity and directly attack them into a rout.
Therefore, after Yang Yuchun planned the retreat sequence, route and time of each military formation, he notified each military formation through more than 200 messengers.
At 1 o'clock in the afternoon, when the artillery on both sides was completely silent, the retreat of the Qing Dynasty Army began.
According to the plan, the new army in the direction of Juyongguan began to gather towards the middle road, and under the command of the general, marched eastward in a wide fan.
At the same time, the Chinese reserve troops maneuvered to both sides and organized a defensive formation on both wings.
The front army confronting the main force of Lutros was responsible for breaking up the rear and waiting for the rear army to penetrate the Junggar defense line before retreating.
The Junggar cavalry in the direction of Juyongguan quickly discovered the movements of the Qing army.
General Junggar instantly understood that the Qing army was about to retreat.
While arranging horsemen to send messages to Lutros, he also mobilized nearby free cavalry to slow down the pace of the Qing army on the periphery.
The horses galloped and the earth shook.
The Dzungar cavalry, holding short muskets and riding on war horses, rushed toward the Qing army's formation.
They did not stupidly charge straight into the military formation, but began to disperse to both sides after reaching a distance of 300 meters.
The Junggar cavalry was divided into two teams, moving forward slowly, cutting diagonally towards the Qing army from both sides.
This was relatively standard dragoon tactics, circling sideways and firing musketry volleys at the enemy's flanks.
300 meters.
200 meters.
100 metres.
When the distance entered 80 meters, both sides entered the effective range of the muskets.
"Bang bang bang~"
Muskets from both sides opened fire, the battlefield was filled with smoke, and white fog rose in the sky above.
The soldier who was shot quickly fell down, and his comrades behind him moved forward to take over.
As time went on, the thick smoke made it impossible for both sides to see the other's queue.
The Qing Dynasty Army learned from Tsarist Russia, and the Junggar cavalry also learned from Tsarist Russia.
They were all taught by the same master, but they couldn't break the moves.
The two sides fired at each other from a distance of 80 meters, and lined up to shoot in a very tacit understanding.
This kind of battle situation played into the hands of General Junggar.
For him, stopping the Qing army from advancing was the top priority.
The Qing army organized a retreat and its formation was stretched, presumably because there was a lack of military strength on the other side.
As long as Lutros receives the intelligence, he will definitely send heavy troops to the two wings, giving priority to the Qing troops who are temporarily staying behind.
As long as part of it is eaten, the scale of victory will tilt towards Junggar.
The Qing army was blocked.
After Yang Yuchun learned of the situation, he assigned 100 soldiers to Jiaqing and ordered Xiao Lizi and Wei Dabao to wait for 30 minutes.
If the direction of Juyongguan has not been opened after 30 minutes, the entire army will be ordered to disperse and break out.
These soldiers will take advantage of the chaos on the battlefield and try their best to rescue Jiaqing.
After arranging everything, Yang Yuchun got on his horse and rushed to the front line with a handful of 50 soldiers.
By the time Yang Yuchun arrived at the front line, the entire battlefield was shrouded in smoke.
There is no wind today.
It was good weather, at least for the Qing troops who broke through.
Yang Yuchun immediately arranged for nearby messengers to send orders to the Qing troops who were killed by playing volleyball on the front line.
Yang Yuchun's method is very simple. Learn from the lobster soldiers of the British Empire and the Ming Dynasty Knights.
All musketeers are required to keep moving forward in formation and fire again after reaching a distance of 20 meters.
At this moment, Yang Yuchun had to thank these tough men from Solon and the Tsarist Russian officers for training these soldiers so well.
If it is a green camp, let alone 20 meters, even 200 meters may not be able to stabilize the formation.
These men from Baishan and Heishui carried flintlock guns with resolute faces, and under the leadership of the team officers, they braved the enemy's continuous bullets to advance.
The smoke gave the Qing army a protective color, and the continuous shooting of the Junggar cavalry looked powerful, but in fact it had limited damage to the Qing army.
Because the line of sight was blocked, the Junggar musketeers were unable to accurately aim at the Qing army's line, and a large number of lead bullets were shot on the ground or over the heads of the Qing soldiers.
The only sound left on the battlefield seemed to be the musketry of the Junggar cavalry.
General Junggar looked puzzled, and then all the dead souls appeared.
Because he saw a dozen Qing generals wearing general armor coming out of the thick smoke with swords raised.
Behind them were Qing soldiers wearing white cotton armor and silver breastplates, marching in neat steps.
These Qing troops were like evil spirits coming from the underworld, passing through the heavy smoke and coming to the front of the Junggar cavalry.
"Gun under the shoulder!"
"Raise the gun!"
Yang Yuchun raised his long sword high and slashed down fiercely, shouting:
"shooting!"
