In the third year of Chongzhen, on the ninth day of the sixth lunar month, it was the fourth watch.
The sky was dark and the moon was gone.
The sergeants of the Sixth Guards of the Lion Battalion lit up torches and gathered in a deserted village on a narrow official road in Huanglong Mountain.
Liu Chengzong stood on the roof, looking at the big flags on the winding mountain road, and commanding the positions of the sentry troops during the march.
He only had one chance to chase He Huchen through this official road in the mountains.
According to Li Laozhen's information, the official road in Huanglong Mountain is narrower than that in Ziwu Ridge. The roads near Yanzhou and Yichuan at the east and west ends of this road are wider. The farther to the middle, the less visited are the roads, and the roads become narrower and narrower.
At its narrowest point, including the dead leaves and dead trees piled up on the slopes on both sides of the road, it was only four steps wide, which was only about ten steps under normal circumstances.
I haven’t cultivated official ethics for a long time.
But it is also wide in places. Except for the thirty to forty miles between the two mountains, which are inaccessible, there are abandoned villages more than ten miles apart in other places. On the edges of the villages are the fields cultivated by the people in the past.
The widest part, including the fields, has more than a hundred steps. In some places, there are mountain paths, and you can climb up the mountain ridges running north and south.
Li Laojiao still had vivid memories of those mountain ridges. Whenever the Ningxia soldiers from Tangshan waved their flags, it wouldn't take long before Tatar soldiers came over on horseback.
Wei Qian'er wrapped a cloth around Tang Qi's hooves, extinguished the fire, and sent a team of three cavalrymen to explore the front official road in the dark.
The vanguard of the Lion Battalion was the rear outpost that was best at attacking difficulties. The outpost commander Wang Wenxiu pulled the troops from the deserted village to the official road, and formed an eight-way column with two teams and four lines in parallel.
Li Laojiao and his men sat on the hillside next to the official road, watching the Lion Battalion dispatch troops, his eyes full of envy.
Compared with them, the men and horses of the Lion Camp were too well equipped.
At Wang Wenxiu's post alone, two teams of people lined up side by side and formed a large group on the official road. They said it was an eight-way column, but in fact there were twenty-six people in every four lines.
There are eight people in the first row, with one team member on each side and a heavy soldier on each side, and six people on the inside are groups of soldiers belonging to the two teams.
The soldiers were all equipped with bows, arrows, waist knives or golden melons and bones, and some carried short seven-foot spears.
The two auxiliary soldiers carried spears, three-eyed blunderbuss, javelins and other weapons that were five feet long and six feet long.
Anything less than one foot in length is considered a short weapon.
In the second to fourth rows, on the outermost side are two mules led by baggage soldiers, carrying shields and armor on their backs.
The following teams are basically the same, the only difference is that some of the auxiliary soldiers use firearms.
After the two groups of soldiers passed by, four mules carrying small cannons came together.
Wang Wenxiu was at the front of the squadron behind these four guns, leading the squadron forward with great vigor.
He left his horses and mules behind.
His sentry was not good at riding. From the sentry commander to the captain, it was built on the basis of the Guyuan Infantry Hundreds. Not to mention that on such a narrow mountain road, war horses scurrying in the team would only create gaps in the formation.
After Wang Wenxiu's rear sentry, there is Gao Xian's right sentry, then Cao Yao's cannon sentry, Liu Chengzong's servant team, Cheng Yun's heavy sentry, and Feng Yu's left sentry.
Zhong Hu's middle sentry and Li Lao Jackal stayed behind to guard the camp. There were many people and mules.
Liu Chengzong's order to them was to stay here. If the advance failed, they would use the camp to block Du Wenhuan here.
If everything goes smoothly ahead, we will dismantle the camp and continue westward.
In fact, it doesn't matter whether the camp is demolished or not. Liu Chengzong's main intention is to make Zhong Hu remember to collect the caltrops, which are the treasures Liu Chengzong got from Ai Mu.
Not long after walking out, Liu Chengzong thought that it would be dawn soon, but the sky was still dark, and he even began to wonder if he had gotten up early.
On the way, he was still saying that it was a pity that the cannons cast in Shanxi did not come back. This terrain was very advantageous for firing cannons.
As soon as I finished speaking, it started to rain.
Liu Chengzong was dumbfounded. He rode on the back of the red flag and looked up blankly to wipe the rainwater.
The rain wasn't heavy, but it made Liu Chengzong frown.
Rain is troublesome, both when it rains and after it rains.
Especially in the current terrain, if it rains lightly, the roads will be muddy and soldiers will get sick; if it rains heavily, water will accumulate on the official roads, and it may also cause soil and stones on the mountains that are 30 to 40 feet high on both sides. Rush down.
The rain brought quite a bit of chaos to the team, but the other sentries were fine. They just had to let the mules carry the three-eyed blunderbuss and bird blunderbuss, so they no longer had to carry them.
Cao Yao's artillery post exploded directly.
The 500-man artillery post is almost a full complement of firearms troops, including hundreds of artillerymen and more than 200 gunners.
The Lion Battalion, which Liu Chengzong had just dispatched, was forced to suspend its march. After a short discussion, each post handed over the three-eyed guns and bird guns to the baggage post, cut off the tents, took off their clothes, wrapped their bows and arrows, and each carried ten small cannons forward.
The artillery sentry marched with forty small cannons and one red barbarian cannon, leaving seven Fran machine and general cannons weighing more than 100 kilograms and using artillery carriages for Zhong Hu to take over.
Liu Chengzong's order to Zhong Hu was that if the frontline battle goes smoothly and the rear posts need to advance, the gun holes of the seven guns will be blocked and the gun carriages will be pushed to the ravine and abandoned.
As for the Hongyi cannon, which weighed a thousand kilograms, Liu Chengzong was afraid that Zhong Hu would not be willing to throw it away, so he was temporarily carried by the cannon sentry. If it affected the march, he personally ordered it to be thrown away with his own eyes.
Soon, the marching speed of the team was visibly slowed down. Rainwater accumulated on the official road. Liu Chengzong's horses never traveled on good roads, and the dirt road became sticky.
The torches were also extinguished. The soldiers in front and behind were fine with short spears, but those with bare hands and those carrying spears began to fall and fall as they walked.
Liu Chengzong took out the wolf skin lining removed from the cotton armor and wrapped it three times around the two arrow pots.
There will be some rain in the north for a while but there will be no tide. As long as the bow is not exposed to rain for a long time, the impact on the bow will be that it is easily damaged.
Even if it doesn't rain, even if it doesn't rain, no one cares whether the bow will break or not. Moreover, even if it doesn't rain, no one will care if the bow breaks. A bad bow will also be bad.
However, rainy days have a great impact on arrows. The arrow feathers cannot touch water at all. The width of the feathers when exposed to water will be reduced to 30 to 40% of the original value, making the arrow inaccurate.
After walking for three miles, the sky became a little brighter, overcast, and the rain became heavier.
A hundred steps away, the water mist was hazy. Wei Qian'er's Tangqiu returned from the rain. He was soaked along the side of the road so hard that he couldn't even open his eyes. He cupped his fists and said: "General, the officers and soldiers are marching in the rain. We are still ten miles away from here." Three miles away, Tangqi has already engaged him in battle, and he cannot win with four soldiers."
After saying that, Tang Qi shook his head and said bitterly: "Captain Wei ordered us to withdraw eight miles away."
Liu Chengzong nodded to indicate that he understood, and asked Tang Qi to come to the front to support him.
It's not surprising that Tangqi couldn't win.
Wei Qian'er's Tang soldiers were all good spies, but not the best warriors.
The spies do not need to be highly skilled warriors, although they sometimes have to fight to suppress the opposing Tong soldiers.
But most of the time, as long as we can detect the enemy's location and cover up our troops' movements, the mission will be accomplished.
Such a line of mountain terrain cannot conceal the movement, as long as the enemy can be detected and given an early warning.
The servants rode on the muddy road to the front and rear of the troops, conveying the news that the enemy was still eight miles away, and that the troops were preparing to wear armor.
Cao Yao's artillery post was still in a mess, and it was already more than a hundred steps away from the two sentry troops in front. Liu Chengzong asked someone to rush him and said, "If it doesn't work, just throw away the red barbarian cannon."
Not long after, the servant came back and said: "General, Commander Cao asked you to go over and take a look."
When Liu Chengzong rode forward, he saw that many of the artillery whistles were shirtless.
In fact, there were many barefoot people at each post. The road was originally filled with water, but after hundreds of soldiers at the front stepped on it, it became a dirt road. Sometimes the soldiers couldn't pull their feet out once they stepped on it.
After pulling it out hard, the shoe remained on the ground.
The soldiers behind were still walking, so they had no choice but to go barefoot. Some of the auxiliary soldiers who came from poor families had already taken off their shoes and hung them on their waists or put them on the backs of mules.
The soldiers at the artillery post were struggling to push the Hongyi artillery cart. The soldiers in front were pulling with the mules, and the soldiers behind were pushing.
The four wheels of this artillery cart are small and wide, and the chassis of the gun carriage is low. It is almost towed on the dirt road by human power.
Liu Chengzong said: "I know you feel distressed, but if you walk ten miles like this, even if you exhaust your troops to death, you will still have to delay the battle ahead."
Cao Yao waved his hand and said: "No, look, I have dressed it. The artillery post has forty-one cannons, all of which are equipped with guns. Soldiers' uniforms are draped over the gun holes, and two pieces of clothing are stuffed into the muzzles to protect them from the rain."
As he spoke, he tore open his sleeveless cotton uniform, raised his face and gestured to Liu Chengzong, pointed at the muzzle of the Hongyi Cannon and said, "I, the mid laner, stuffed it inside to protect the gunpowder from the rain."
"This is our first Red Barbarian Cannon, Lion."
Cao Yao wiped the rain off his face, raised a finger, and said in a pleading tone: "Let it hit you again."
Speaking of this, Liu Chengzong couldn't bear to refuse, nodded and said: "I'll ask Chengyun to send you a few more mules."
After saying that, he stood aside and waited for the Chinese army to come forward.
This thousand-pound bronze cannon cannot be saved.
The outcome of the fight with He Huchen is yet to be determined. After this fight, many people in the Lion Camp will get sick from the rain and will have no energy left to go back and fight Du Wenhuan.
It was still raining in the morning.
My clothes were soaked, and even in summer it was so cold that I could not help but shiver.
Tangqi in front reported one after another. The distance between the two armies changed from eight miles to six miles, six miles to four miles, four miles to two miles, and finally only one mile remained.
Wang Wenxiu, who was at the forefront, had already put on armor.
Liu Chengzong ordered the team to slow down and climbed up the mountain ridge with difficulty with sticks.
Through the heavy rain, the outlines of He Huchen's troops arrayed on the narrow mountain road could already be seen. Wei Qian'er's Tangqi said that they were retreating.
It seems that he is looking for a wider place.
But Liu Chengzong was interested in the ridges on both sides of the road ahead. The soldiers should be able to climb over them with light armor, so he ordered the servants around him: "Let the army continue to press forward and not let them retreat. Call the two sentry commanders Gao Feng to come see me."
The troops paused briefly to allow Cao Yao's artillery sentry to keep up with the larger troops. Then the troops continued to move forward, approaching the enemy's front line at a faster speed than before.
Gao Xian and Feng Rui came over quickly, and Liu Chengzong said, "Have you seen the two mountain ridges in the north and south? They should be able to climb over them."
The second general nodded and said, "Shall we turn over and attack the enemy's flank?"
Liu Chengzong shook his head: "No, the cost of turning over is too high. You have to watch out. If the officers and soldiers turn over, their soldiers will be lightly armed and tired. Stop them and defeat them."
The two responded with clasped fists, and each returned to the sentry and advanced. They selected a small team to wear armor and protect the flanks. Gao Xian also sent a team of people to climb up the mountain with wooden sticks.
Then Feng Ru also wanted to try and sent a team, but the hillside on his side was too steep and several people slipped down, so he had to give up.
In this moment, the two armies were within a stone's throw of each other.
I don't know whether it was because it was raining that he couldn't see clearly, or because He Huchen thought he was still facing Li Laojiao, so he actually sent a cavalry team to run along the official road first.
And it's the Mongolian Yidin cavalry.
The auxiliary soldiers of Wang Wenxiu's department, who were holding spears of three feet and five feet, were marching hard all the way, just for this moment. They changed their formations in a moment and formed a formation with the auxiliary soldiers who were holding swords and shields at the front.
Immediately, he raised his spear and walked towards the formation of the horses.
The cavalry started firing arrows every forty or fifty steps, but they were all wearing armor. It was difficult to hit the face from this distance and had almost no effect.
It seemed that they only saw the situation of Wang Wenxiu's troops when they got closer. They fired arrows at twenty or thirty steps and then returned to the formation. However, they were knocked down by the soldiers' rifle fire.
Then the infantry continued to advance, and several swordsmen and shieldmen left the team, stepping forward to kill the horsemen whose horses were shot over and fell to the ground or injured by arrows.
This was the case in the first conflict, which greatly boosted the morale of the auxiliary troops in the rear sentry.
Wang Wenxiu's troops continued to press forward, and stopped when they were a hundred steps away from the enemy. There seemed to be chaos behind the team.
Liu Chengzong covered his telescope and saw shields being sent forward from the heads of the soldiers at the back post.
He hurriedly took a peek at the enemy's formation, and it turned out that it was true. The officers and soldiers placed four small cannons in front of the formation and built a simple small cannon shed with wooden sticks, long cards, and cotton-padded clothes.
There was a bang, the gunpowder smoke was dispersed by the rain, and the cannonballs were flying. They should be four gushing cannons. Liu Chengzong saw a large bullet flash past in the dispersion.
Eighteen-liang large artillery shells and twenty one-liang small artillery shells spurted out, sweeping in front of Wang Wenxiu's formation like a whirlwind.
Two direct-fire shells pierced the shields and penetrated the soldiers behind them. Some of the shells flew high and bounced back against the shields.
More shells hit the hillsides on both sides and the open space in front of the formation, creating mud pits.
"You've done something wrong, you're the only one with a weak point?"
Wang Wenxiu saw several soldiers fell down, and the small artillery shed a hundred steps away was still fighting. He cursed anxiously: "Where are the artillerymen? Use your cannons to attack him! Everyone, please maintain your formation!"
The artillery that Wang Wenxiu mentioned was not an artillery post. The Lion Camp only had more cannons on the artillery posts. The other posts also had ten small cannons per post.
It's just that they are a combination of Yongzhu and Tiger Crouching, so the Tiger Crouching Cannon cannot be used at this time.
Not long after, Wang Wenxiu followed suit and built a simple artillery shed using long cards. The artilleryman took the mules to the side and unloaded the wooden frame containing the bead cannon and the wooden box containing the explosive shells, and assembled them under the gun shed.
There was another cannon shot in front of the army formation, and the artillery shells once again knocked down several people in front of the formation.
There was some commotion in front this time, and all the auxiliary soldiers knew that the sentry commander was trying to fight with the officers and soldiers.
Their firepower is no weaker than that of the official army, but these people have been standing at the front, killing and wounding several people with each shot, killing and wounding several people with each shot, and sooner or later they will all die. Who can bear this?
At this moment, Wang Wenxiu gave the order: "The first two rows retreated from the front line to the back of the post. Every time they received a shot, the first two rows retreated to the back of the post."
Behind him, mules carrying pearl cannons came forward to wait, and the baggage team carried the wounded soldiers down one by one from the muddy road beside the road.
Wang Wenxiu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, wiped the raindrops from his helmet's eyebrows, and stood among the soldiers at the rear, with a look of cruelty on his bearded face.
"If they want to use cannons, we will use cannons. If they want to fight, we will fight with them until they are convinced. We will fight until the officers and soldiers make you stronger."
With a bang, Wang Wenxiu's cannon also fired.
