Chapter 066 Battle of Gaizhou II
Daqi was not stupid. Sarhu had suffered some losses from the Ming army before and knew how to preserve the strength of the Jurchens. The situation was now beyond control and he had no other choice but to escape.
Chen Cao ran in front with a few dozen cavalrymen. The right guard soldiers behind him had been training for long-distance running all year round. They were all used to running now. A journey of more than ten miles was not a big deal for them. When they caught up behind him, , Da Qi was leading his people to flee towards the north.
"Line up and fire."
Upon seeing this, Qianhu from each team immediately arranged their men to form a line to attack. Chen Cao looked at the fleeing Tatars and had no other choice but to sigh. He was not stupid. Pursuing would only lead to death. Moreover, even if They were escaping, but the Tatars were also running and shooting at the same time, injuring many of the right guard soldiers.
"Bang bang bang..."
It was very chaotic at the moment. When Da Qi ran out of the encirclement, there were only fifty or sixty people left around him, and he himself was shot in the thigh, bleeding.
"Sir, please retreat quickly."
Hearing the shouts of his men, Da Qi ignored his wounds and rode away with his whip raised.
"It's a pity that Da Qi ran away," Chen Cao sighed: "Come here, tell us to go down and collect all the horses, and use them temporarily to carry supplies."
Li Waner came on horseback with several commanders. Seeing Chen Cao, she stepped forward with great concern and asked, "Thief, are you injured?"
Calling himself this in front of many commanders, Chen Cao felt that he had lost all face, but he could not lose his identity as an uncle: "You were not injured, how could you come here?"
Pang Zhihuan stepped forward and held up his hands: "Xiangjun is worried about my uncle's safety. We are leaderless, so I recommend Xiangjun as the commander-in-chief to lead us to rescue uncle."
Chen Cao looked at Pang Zhihuan, saw that Lin Guodong and others were there, and nodded: "You are a good person."
Being praised by Chen Cao, Pang Zhihuan quickly held up his hands and said: "Don't dare, this is the duty of a general."
"Yaozhong, we'd better get the team to the Acropolis quickly, we don't have enough time." Song Che came on horseback and shouted urgently.
When Chen Cao heard this, he turned around and shouted: "Send the order, except for the navy, all the guards should immediately assemble their teams and transport all the grain and grass supplies to the acropolis."
...
Fifty miles north of Gaizhouwei, Yaozhouyi
At this moment, Yaozhou Post was bustling with people. The 40,000 horses of his consort Li Yongfang and the 30,000 horses led by Liu Aita, who had already been waiting at Yaozhou Post, gathered together. E Yi, who had just arrived, was angry. Ha Sihu's cronies The slave has been executed, and Daqi's trusted slave is being questioned.
"So, Ming Gou's firearms are very powerful?" Li Yongfang's Jurchen said very well.
The slave kowtows: "Back to my lord, their muskets reload very quickly and are not the muskets our army captured in the past."
Li Yongfang and Ai Yi, who was sitting in the first place, both looked at each other. Ai Yi stared coldly at the slave: "Drag him down and kill him."
"I am already sixty," Er Yidu sighed: "Daqi, because of my dignity, is arrogant and rude to all the princes, Prince Beile. What happened to me today also puts an end to my worries."
Li Yongfang was very convinced, because after Da Qi came back, he passed out because he was hit by a lead bullet and bled too much. The accompanying shaman and witch doctor shook his head and could not cure him. Now he is saying the same thing, and he is not worried about losing a son. : "My lord, what are we going to do next?"
He also raised his head, his eyes a little cloudy, looked at the leaders in the tent, and then stared at Liu Aita and said: "General Liu is the commander-in-chief of the four towns. He should be very familiar with the Gaizhou Guard. I wonder if General Liu has any Any good advice?”
Hearing this, Liu Aita said: "After receiving the order, except for the eight hundred soldiers left in Jinzhou Guards, I have withdrawn all the troops and horses from Fuzhou, Gaizhou and other places, and all the Liao people in various places have been removed." Move away, now they are eager to go to Guangning, I thought it would be enough to trap them."
Liu Aita's suggestion was very pertinent, and he couldn't find any reason to refute it. However, Er Yidu's original plan for this trip was to completely annihilate the Ming army. If it was just a siege, it would also dishonor his reputation as a Manchurian Baturu: "Sir, what do you think?"
Li Yongfang frowned, and then said: "Although their muskets are reloaded very quickly, it is impossible not to reload them. Our Jurchen warriors have less than ten thousand people except for fighting after Sarhu. We can use elite cavalry to raid right in front of us. Then Liu and I The two generals are leading the infantry forward. As long as their position is disrupted, no matter how many people there are, they will not be able to escape death, not to mention that they only have less than 30,000 people in total."
Both of them felt that Li Yongfang's words were very reasonable. The Ming Dynasty had few soldiers. As long as they used elite cavalry to attack and break their position, and then used infantry as the main force and cavalry hanging on the side, they would be able to completely wipe out Chen Cao's reinforcements: " It makes sense, my consort’s suggestion is feasible, why don’t we just do this, Han Dai.”
"Ama..." Han Dai, the fourth son of Eyidu, stood up and responded.
"When your second brother comes back this time, he still has 800 cavalrymen left with the Yellow Banner, plus 300 elite troops from the Zhenghuang Banner. In addition, he will mobilize 1,900 cavalrymen from each army to give you 3,000 cavalry to break the formation first. "
Han Dai nodded: "I will definitely not insult my name as a Jurchen warrior."
After saying this, E Yidu said again: "General Liu, you lead your troops to support the two wings, and I and E Yidu will lead the army to attack from the front."
"Take orders..."
"Okay, send the order and the whole army sets off."
...
"Report..." The scouts came on horseback and shouted toward the city tower: "The Tatar army is setting off. The cavalry is less than twenty miles away from the Gaizhou Guards. Tens of thousands of infantry are following behind, three miles away. Ten miles.”
Chen Cao turned to look at the commanders of the guards behind him and said: "The two Tatar armies are only ten miles apart, so they will be dominated by cavalry. Our supplies and food are not enough to defend the city. If there is a fight between trapped animals, we will be the ones who suffer;
So Ben Bo decided to go out of the city to have a field battle with the Tatars. "
Everyone was in awe, they didn't know what Chen Cao's plan was.
"Uncle, there are many Tatar cavalry, and we don't have enough cavalry." Weng Linzhi suffered the loss of the night attack. It was the first time he had transformed from a Cao gang to a soldier and encountered such a big war. He was actually scared inside.
Seeing that it was Weng Linzhi, Chen Cao patiently answered: "The main force of the Tatar cavalry is in Guangning, and those who come to encircle and suppress us are infantry. Most of them are composed of defeated troops defeated in Saarhu, because they are afraid of our Ming Dynasty's military law." We have to obey them as a last resort and fight infantry against each other, starting with psychological warfare. As for the Tatar cavalry, now that we have guns and cannons, what are we afraid of them doing?"
Three miles due north of the Gaizhou Acropolis, the soldiers of Nanjing Right Guard were digging trenches with hoes and shovels. The first firearms trench warfare in human history would begin here.
Song Che was supervising, and the guards had already pulled the team to the designated place to form a formation. The carriages were placed on the left and right wings. Except for the personnel in the trench, the rest of the Nanjing right guard were behind the trench.
"Uncle," Wang Xiaojie stepped forward and came to Chen Cao's side: "In the end, the general is willing to take the remnants of Songjiang Guards as the vanguard."
Chen Cao is very optimistic about Wang Xiaojie. Although his boss Tian Xiaonian is a coward, with a loyal person like Wang Xiaojie, it is not a problem at all: "In this case, I promise you, Wang Xiaojie will lead this team as the forward team and arrange On the left side of the Nanjing right guard trench array, when the infantry battle begins, you will be the first to go up."
"Uncle Xie..." Wang Xiaojie clasped his fists and left.
Chen Cao then arranged to place the artillery array of ten Hongyi artillery pieces behind the right guard firearms unit, and placed the remaining fifty bombs and one hundred solid shells in the ammunition position.
Chen Cao also has a trump card, two mortars. Although the shells only have ten rounds, they are the heaviest weapons carried by a single soldier.
"Uncle," Zhao Xin stood next to Chen Cao, watching Wang Xiaojie leave, and said, "Doesn't he want to attach himself to uncle?"
"No," Chen Cao also stared at Wang Xiaojie's leaving figure: "Their Songjiang Guards have nothing to do with me, not to mention that their former commander was personally sent to the capital for questioning. Oh, by the way, when it comes to Songjiang Guards , didn’t the predecessor Lu Hua say that he would join the army in Liaodong?”
Xin Zhao nodded: "Yes, I heard it's in Liaodong, it seems to be in Guangning."
"What a coincidence?" Chen Cao rolled his eyes: "I found him when I went to Guangning. I have something to ask him."
"Uncle," the messenger rushed over on horseback: "The Tatar forward is still five miles away from us."
Chen Cao shouted: "Send the order, the whole army is ready, each team quickly enters the designated position without delay."
"yes..."
There were many people in the Ming Dynasty who lived and died with cannons. Sun Chuanting was a typical example. Chen Cao was optimistic about this person, but now he didn't like the eunuchs, so Chen Cao had no intention of winning over him.
The Red Yi Cannon is the most advanced artillery in the world. It was improved by the Portuguese based on the artillery of the Ming Dynasty. Its range can reach up to five miles. Those "one shot fired, ten miles of erosion" refers to the Red Yi Cannon. , of course, this statement is a bit exaggerated, but coupled with the developed weapon, it is more than enough to attack the opponent within a four-mile range.
"The Tatar cavalry is still two miles away..."
Chen Cao looked away with his naked eyes and saw a dark spot appearing in the distance: "The telescope must be the first thing to be developed after returning."
"Set off the cannon, uncle?" Xin Zhao asked.
"Don't worry," Chen Cao shook his head: "Those Tatar thieves are very good at firing now, and the attack force against the cavalry is not very strong. When their infantry come up, give me a hard beating;
I sent the order and asked the soldiers in the trench to prepare. When the Tatars are two hundred steps away, they will attack me. I will try to cripple them in the first round. "
"yes..."
Han Dai, who was responsible for leading the three thousand cavalry, raised his hand to signal to stop. He was not only the vanguard, but also had the task of detecting the enemy's details, so he ordered: "Wugui, take you Niu Lu up and go around their formation to investigate." , let’s see what Ming Gou’s background is.”
"twitter..."
"What?" Er Yidu frowned: "The Ming army came out of the city and set up a formation?"
Li Yongfang felt that the messenger had made a mistake: "Have you looked carefully?"
"Hui Zongbing, Sir Ehu, it is absolutely true that tens of thousands of Ming troops formed a formation outside the city three miles away from the Gaizhou Acropolis, and dug a long horse pit."
"Hahaha..." Li Yongfang laughed when he heard this: "Ming Gou is really self-righteous, so Chen Cao really looks down on us Jurchen warriors?"
E Yidu was one of Nurhachi's five ministers, and he was very thoughtful: "There must be a problem."
Liu Aita had already been in contact with Wanqing and knew that the person riding a horse not far from Eyidu was the Ming Dynasty's Jin Yiwei spy. But now he had his heart set on the Ming Dynasty, so he said: "General, I think that Chen Cao is in charge." They know that being trapped in Weigu City in Gaizhou is not a good thing. They have come all the way from the sea, are short of food and grass, and are in a hurry to go to Guangning, so they will not stay in the city, and fighting in the field is their only option."
Liu Aita was the adopted son of Nurhachi, a person whom Nurhachi was very optimistic about, and he believed what he said: "Well, what you said makes sense. In that case, we can also surround but not attack until they run out of food and grass." , attack again, get the best of both worlds.”
Liu Aita was shocked when she saw this, and quickly advised her: "Absolutely not, Commander-in-Chief, we don't have much food and grass. Now the Great Khan has mobilized heavy troops in Guangning, and all the food has gone to Guangning. The summer grain has not been harvested, which is not enough to delay .”
Both of them nodded, thinking that Liu Aita's words made sense. He was in the Guangning army and knew a lot about grain and grass. The Jurchens were not engaged in farming and production, and they all relied on captured Han slaves, but it was only a drop in the bucket. The white mountains and black waters were so big. , there are too many forests and too few cultivated fields, so that their food and grass sometimes have to go to the Mongols to thresh the grass and valleys: "There is no other way. Since they dare to fight in the field, my Jurchen warriors are not cowards. Pass on the order, the army Move on quickly and try to arrive before noon."
...
"Report, Mr. Erzhen," the messenger came to Han Dai: "The general's army is behind you. I order you to prepare to attack."
Wu Gui's cavalry was shooting arrows outside Chen Cao's formation. They were counterattacked by bows and arrows, and then quickly retreated. They also saw the overall layout of the Ming army.
"Master," Wu Gui rushed over on horseback and saluted Han Dai: "The Ming army dug a horse trap in the front. There were many people in the pit. I don't know what they wanted. They were on the left and right wings. The chariot was used as cover, and the slave went around to the rear wing, but saw that there was also a horse pit on the rear wing. The layout in the middle was the same as that on the front, and there seemed to be a cannon array in the formation."
"The same?" Han Dai frowned. He only knew how to charge bravely, but he still didn't know what to do when faced with this problem. He immediately said: "Quickly tell me the arrangement of the Ming army, Ama, and ask him to make a decision."
"It's the same before and after, leaving gaps on the left and right wings?" E Yidu looked at the Ming army's formation in the distance and frowned: "Our tactic is to make a surprise attack in the center, and then outflank the left and right wings. We will be forced all the way, and we will be level on all three ways. Their behavior makes me think they did it on purpose."
Liu Aita rolled his eyes and said: "Commander, their formation is too big and their defense line is too long. Moreover, Ming people are cunning and deliberately expose the vacancies on both wings, so there must be an ambush on their two wings."
"Well, I think so too," Er Yidu nodded in agreement: "However, even if there is an ambush, you have to test it. If things are not harmonious, just attack directly from the middle. Mingren likes to use artillery, as long as the cavalry can quickly dodge Cannonballs are nothing to be afraid of..."
So he ordered Liu Aita to divide his troops to cover their left and right wings, while he and Li Yongfang prepared to attack directly from the front.
