Chapter 86 A win-win battle
A white smoke screen shot out from the edge of the phalanx. The Ming cavalry that rushed forward were immediately turned upside down under the rain of bullets, like a wave of waves smashing on the rocks. The remaining cavalry did not dare to rush forward any more, and they all Separate to both sides of the phalanx, trying to outflank and kill the infantry from the side and rear. [Full text reading] The soldiers on both sides of the phalanx seized this opportunity to fire continuously at the cavalry passing by in front of the formation. The cavalry in full armor suffered heavy casualties under the repeated firing of minion rifles. In just a few minutes, dozens of corpses of men and horses had been dropped around the phalanx.
He Zhanran rode his horse back to a few dozen feet, gathered his men and horses, and prepared to charge again. At this time Yang Zeng shouted: "The ruler is 100 meters, fire"
The assembled cavalry was once again covered in a dense rain of bullets before they could charge, and dozens of cavalry fell in an instant. The others were completely stunned - no one expected that the enemy's firearms could hit so far and so hard, and the armor had no effect. One smashed the president's goggles into pieces, and the other smashed the president's helmet with half of his head flying out.
The Ming cavalry retreated slightly, then divided into two groups to outflank them from both wings. This time they were very fast. They probably knew that Kun Thief's muskets had a long range, so everyone galloped on horseback, hoping to use their speed to offset the enemy's attack. aim.
The volley of guns rang out again and more than twenty cavalrymen fell off their horses. At this time, He Zhanran suddenly turned his horse around and led all the cavalry straight into the square formation - originally he thought that the Kun thieves were using the "three-stage strike" in the cannon warfare method. Now that the three rows of guns have been fired, the enemy must have a longer one. It was time to reload, and he planned to use this gap to knock away the phalanx. One of his trusted little bosses rushed to the front with a few soldiers, preparing to directly hit the bayonet array and cut a bloody path regardless of life and death.
But the thief's blunderbuss fired neatly again. The charge was like a wild wave against a rock. The wave of cavalry was smashed into pieces. The defeated cavalry retreated until they were 200 meters away before the Mini stopped firing. He Zhanran had lost almost half of his men, and the remaining men had no intention of fighting anymore and fled the battlefield on horseback. He Zhanran cursed and beheaded an escaping cavalryman while he was trying to regroup a few hundred meters away. The sound of gunfire resounded in the air.
Cannonballs with red light flew past the light infantry square one after another, and suddenly exploded in the air, throwing a hail of 88 shotshells towards the ground. The cavalry who were gathering were hit by the fierce hail of bullets. Covered, pieces fell down one by one, and the screams, screams and moans of the men and horses were mixed together.
A projectile almost missed He Zhanran and hit the ground. The soil kicked up was thrown all over his face, and the spicy smell of gunpowder smoke made him unable to open his eyes. He knew that Kun Thief's firearms were powerful, but he didn't expect them to be so powerful. The cannonballs were actually able to explode in the air and then throw out a hail of bullets. He no longer dared to fight anymore. He only had forty or fifty cavalry left at hand. Not only was he at an absolute disadvantage, but there was also the Kun Zeituzhai Army Drum more than two miles away. Knock quickly, a team of troops has already been dispatched. He Zhanran turned his horse's head and shouted for the soldiers to escape.
"Stop shooting." Zhang Bolin put down the telescope. There were only a few cavalry left in the distance and were running towards the county town. He couldn't help but feel relieved, "I didn't expect the phalanx to be really useful."
When the cavalry attacked the retreating infantry, he thought about asking the gunners to fire shrapnel to intercept the cavalry. However, the enemy's cavalry ran so fast and soon reached the front of the infantry square. At this time, it was easy to accidentally injure one's own side by firing cannons.
Yang Zeng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the enemy retreating. At this time, he was already covered in sweat. When the cavalry attacked for the first time, he even thought that his life would be in danger.
"Stay steady and maintain the formation" he kept shouting while holding the command knife, holding down the position. He remembered that when he was studying, he heard the instructor say that when the enemy cavalry attacks the square formation, there may be a second or third wave of cavalry waiting. As long as your formation is slightly disordered, they will immediately rush over to destroy the formation. Array. The momentum of the cavalry's full charge made him extremely frightened. If it hadn't been for the long-term and continuous training that the soldiers had developed a conditioned reflex-like numbness, the soldiers would have been in disarray long ago.
He did not dare to change the formation and ordered the troops to retreat slowly towards the camp in square formation.
"Steady, steady." He waved his command knife, and the other two company commanders also tried their best to maintain the retreat order. At this time, he heard the flute playing of the brisk Grenadier March from behind. A group of tall grenadiers came from the rear in an orderly manner, forming a neat double row beside them to cover their retreat into the camp.
Withdrawing all the way to the gate of the camp, the artillerymen and infantrymen on the fence burst into warm cheers - except for some officers and military personnel who had participated in the Bopu defense battle and the bandit suppression battle, this new type of army had never In this way, he set up his formation and fought the enemy in an upright manner. Now they saw the result of their repeated training on the training field every day: 300 infantry against 300 cavalry. The cavalry did not take even the slightest advantage, but instead left dead people and horses everywhere. Native soldiers and officers were even more confident in their own troops and weapons.
When Yang Zeng returned to the camp, he was immediately called to He Ming. He trembled and saluted the highest officer:
"I brought the entire company back with no casualties."
"Good job." He Ming punched him so hard that the little man almost fell to the ground. "Give him first-class merit."
When Tong Yizhen rushed to the battlefield with his servants and infantry, he saw the defeated He Zhanran's troops. They retreated in a chaotic manner. Most of them lost their helmets and weapons, and many of them ran with terrible wounds. He fell off his horse.
Tong Yizhen was shocked. It was not surprising that the outpost was defeated, but these were three hundred elite cavalry. It was more than enough to defeat infantry three or four times their size. Now they were defeated, and the defeat was so miserable.
He Zhanran was brought to him in a state of embarrassment: "The humble general is incompetent——"
"How many cavalry does the enemy have?" He didn't care to listen to his apology. "Where are they now?"
"The Kun thieves don't have cavalry, but, just..." He Zhanran reluctantly swallowed a mouthful of saliva that became bitter due to the rush and smoke, "The firearms are very powerful."
He stated one by one that he was shot accurately and continuously when he was 200 steps away from the phalanx, and was bombarded by artillery shells that could explode in the air:
"The Kun thieves not only have sharp firearms, but also the orderliness of their ranks is definitely not comparable to that of ordinary pirates."
"Stay back first." Tong Yizhen didn't really believe what he said. When officers lost a battle, they always exaggerated the enemy's strength and skill in fighting. However, He Zhanran's defeat was so miserable that it didn't seem like a lie.
The forward suffered a setback, and he decided not to lead his troops directly into the battlefield, lest he be attacked head-on by the enemy with high morale. He already knew from the defeated soldiers that the Kun bandits had abandoned their camp at the south gate and the siege surrounding Chengmai, and the entire army retreated to a large camp in the northwest near the coast.
He immediately ordered some of his servants and soldiers with horses, led by a young general named Song Ming under his command, to quickly occupy the empty stronghold abandoned by the Kun thieves outside the south gate and set up his banner. Then he called another soldier:
"Go and report to the commander-in-chief that I have captured the south gate of the Kunthief's stronghold and broken through the siege of Chengmai."
Then he urged the infantry to go as quickly as possible. He led his troops to the south gate of Chengmai and informed the defenders on the city to open the door. The defenders on the city had witnessed the disastrous defeat of the army's cavalry and were already in despair. Suddenly they saw smoke and dust billowing from the direction of the post road. A large number of officers and soldiers were pouring in. Knowing that the officers and soldiers had finally come to the rescue, they were lying on the city tower commanding the people. The resisting magistrates, county magistrates, and others all had tears in their eyes, and they all kowtowed to the north toward the capital, shouting long live the mountain.
The soldiers and civilians in the county immediately opened the south gate, and Tong Yizhen led his troops into the city immediately. He quickly took over the defense of the four cities, and then his subordinates hurriedly occupied houses everywhere. For a time, the county was in a state of chaos, and soldiers and officers were busy occupying houses everywhere and asking for supplies.
For a time, the whole city was filled with the sounds of yelling, begging, screaming and wailing. Some families were driven out of their homes by the soldiers. Some people simply took the opportunity to rob the people in the city, and some broke into the houses to rape women. For a while, the county town was in chaos, with the cries of the people and the scoldings and shouts of the officers and soldiers mixed together. group.
Chengmai County Magistrate Liu Jingxuan, with pale lips, was trembling with his secretary and yamen servants at the gate of the county yamen to support the officers and soldiers who kept coming to him for demands. He received several slaps, his lip was already cut, and several clerks and miscellaneous officials huddled behind him.
The Jin gentry were all frightened. When they originally spent money to defend the county town, they were looking forward to the government and army to save them day and night. Unexpectedly, this savior turned out to be similar to a bandit. The county magistrate even ate a lot of their heads when they saw it. The soldiers slapped each other in the face, and everyone was even more worried about their own wealth and life.
"General, I'm going to serve Liu Jingxuan, the main hall of Chengmai County -" he was interrupted by Tong Yizhen as soon as he started:
"Okay, okay, Mr. Zhentai will be arriving in a moment. Clean out your yamen and welcome Mr. Zhentai."
"Yes, yes, this is where the official duties are." Liu Jingxuan knew that the imperial court had sent a large army to suppress the Kun thieves. He always thought that it was just a matter of supplying food and fodder. Unexpectedly, the Kun thieves actually wanted to fight the official army in the city. He couldn't help but secretly complain. ——He has been a county magistrate for several terms, and he knows that the most difficult task for a local magistrate is to support the passing dignitaries and the army, both of which are similar to bandits. There were cases where magistrates died of illness or even committed suicide due to being forced to death. Now that the officers and soldiers were actually stationed in the city, their faces turned gray for a moment, and the officials and gentry behind them also looked very uneasy.
"It's just, just, please ask the general to maintain the military discipline of your brothers." He said tremblingly.
General Tong looked at the chaotic scene in the city. Not far away, there were several corpses with their legs cut off. Judging from their clothes, these people were not thieves.
"Military discipline will naturally be maintained, but the supply of food and grass must also be done with due diligence."
"Yes, yes, your official -" Before he could finish his words, suddenly several disheveled women rushed toward him crying, shouting that they were wronged.
"What kind of world is this?" the woman cried and howled. "A man lost his life defending the city when the people were strong, and was beheaded before he was buried..."
Tong Yizhen knew that his subordinates were downgrading their ranks as a result of their military exploits. This kind of thing is common in the military. He just coughed and asked the soldiers to drive the woman away.
At this time, a government servant hurried over: "Master, Master" he ran so red that he even dropped his hat, "Deputies..." He saw that there were many soldiers and several generals around the county magistrate, so he quickly changed his words. : "Beicheng, Beicheng, there's a fire"
Liu Jingxuan was shocked and saw that there were already several fires in the city. He hurriedly said, "Quick, quick, beat the gong and call the water society to come out with the dragon." He looked back at the government officials who were stunned, waved his sleeves and stamped his feet, "You guys should go too."
"These bastards are making such a big fuss." General Tong Shen saw the soldiers acting so recklessly. He was deeply afraid of being sued and impeached by the officials. There were also women's cries. The enemy was in front of them and they were making such a fuss. If you go too far, something will happen. Immediately, he ordered a general to patrol the city with dozens of soldiers under his orders, and killed several robbers and murderers on the street to maintain order.
Half an hour later, part of Li Guang's standard-making battalion also arrived at Chengmai County, but his attempt to enter the city was stopped by the Tongbu - the Chaozhou soldiers under General Tong seemed to think that the city was their prize. , don’t allow others to get involved. The two sides met hand to hand, and the swords were at war. If the generals of both sides had not come out quickly to stop them, the Chaozhou soldiers and the Zhaoqing soldiers almost broke into a conflict at the gate of the city.
He Ming stood on the tower, using high-powered binoculars to look at the Ming troops that were coming. There were so many of them that they filled the entire open space around Chengmai County like mercury leaking out of the ground.
Countless teams, countless flags, the clanging of armor, the footsteps of soldiers, and the sound of hunting flags blown by the wind are like a huge tide coming here.
As the sun sets in the west, the sun shines on the rolling army coming from the east. The armor and spear points are shining, and the sound of military drums, horns and whistles is heard everywhere, accompanied by the vast twilight. An unspeakable sense of pressure oppressed his heart.
If He Ming had been on the battlefield, fought against Vietnamese devils, and smelled the smell of gunpowder. So many veteran officers in the field army have never fought in a war, even if they were born in the army. Everyone knew from a rational point of view that it was impossible for a medieval army like the Ming Army to defeat a modern army, but they saw this army coming in a steady stream. Everyone's face was solemn. Some people even felt dizzy and simply put down their binoculars and stopped looking.
A general climbed atop a huge stone as countless helmeted heads surged forward around him. He seemed to be standing on a rock in the midst of a stormy sea. The general looked forward and pointed the flag forward fiercely.
More than 20,000 people arrived at the county seat and occupied the open spaces and hills surrounding the county seat. The infantry was setting up barracks and placing artillery mounts. The entire army lined up three camps and dug long trenches outside. Confronted with the Fubo Army.
He Rubin arrived at Chengmai County before dark. He did not settle in the county, but set up his camp outside the west gate of the county. Together with Zhao Ruyi, he looked at the captured levels in advance.
Not only were the ranks rare, far less than the more than 300 people killed by Tong Shenjiang, but most of the heads of these so-called "Kun thieves" had been chopped off. Some of the heads still had blood stains on them, and some were already blackened. At first glance, they looked like heads that had been cut off a day or two after death.
He Rubin has been in the military for a long time, and he can tell the trick at a glance. As for Zhao Ruyi, he is also a very smart and capable person. But the war was imminent and the lives of the soldiers were needed, so both of them remained silent. After the inspection, the Military and Political Department was ordered to record the merits of the personnel who contributed.
After the inspection, they took their staff and generals to the North City of Chengmai. Looking at the Kun bandits camp encamped by the sea.
Tang Yunwen wrote about the Dutch telescope he bought from Macau. He Rubin opened the lens and looked at the Kun thief camp:
The Kun Thief's camp about four miles away was surrounded by an earthen embankment as high as one person. The shape of the camp was not round or square, but had several large sharp corners protruding from it. He didn't understand the purpose of the protruding sharp corners surrounding the entire camp, but he knew that the Dutch built forts in this way.
There are many round wicker baskets installed on the earth embankment, and bundles of bamboo are connected together to form fortresses. There are also many tall towers built on racks, the tallest of which is higher than the county seat. There was a shadow moving above. There are trenches dug outside the entire fortress and the defense is very tight.
There are lights on the sea in the distance, and there seem to be many ships moored. Tang Yunwen told him that these were the naval gunboats of the Kun thieves.
Looking at the size of the camp, the Kun Thieves must have at least 10,000 troops. He Rubin did not expect that the enemies would come out in full force to fight him to the death at the foot of Chengmai County. Moreover, Kun Thief's combat effectiveness seems not to be underestimated. General Tong Shen's troops were able to drive the Kunthi infantry out of the camp after a hard fight, and the cavalry also lost more than 200 people.
He saw a village-like place on the coastline about four or five miles east of the Kun Thief Camp: "Where is this?"
"Reporting to Lord Zhentai," the county magistrate Liu Jingxuan who was called to accompany him said quickly, "This is Xiaoyingchang. There used to be a village. It was completely destroyed by the earthquake during the Wanli period. Now there is no one inhabited."
"General Sha, send a thousand men to garrison Xiaoyingchang. Stop the bandits from escaping along the coast and invading Qiongshan Mountain," he ordered.
Sha Jianbi, the guerrilla commander of Guangzhou Guards' Fubiao Battalion, responded quickly and immediately went to the city to make arrangements.
After observing carefully for a while, He Rubin couldn't see the weakness of Kun Thief's Camp. We know that tomorrow's battle at the enemy's camp will be a very difficult nut to crack, and casualties will be inevitable.
But as long as the main force of the Kun thieves is defeated here, Lingao will fall in one fell swoop. This part of the force is probably the 6th division owned by Kun Ze. The opponent's tactics were nothing more than the pattern of defending a stronghold with firearms, which was not beyond his expectation. a! ~!
