Li Dingguo successfully destroyed all the artillery of the Mongolian army.
However, the problem is that although Li Dingguo destroyed more than a dozen artillery pieces of the Mongolian army, it gave Shuolei time to mobilize troops. During this precious time, the Mongolian army regrouped and began to surround Li Dingguo.
More than four thousand Mongolian cavalry moved to the gate of Pingding Prefecture. It was obvious that the escape route of Li Dingguo and others had been blocked.
"General Li, what should we do now?"
"When I left the city, I didn't think about returning alive. Kill one to get enough money, kill two to earn one, what else can I do? Fight to the death!"
Li Dingguo shot down three Mongolian cavalry with three arrows in a row. Looking at the boundless Mongolian cavalry, a trace of worry flashed in his heart.
Too much!
There are too many of them!
If they were to fight like this, even if the eight hundred of them were not killed, they would be exhausted to death! In fact, since leaving the city, Li Dingguo's cavalry has suffered more than a hundred casualties.
Li Dingguo is not afraid of death, but he feels that it is not worth it. As he joined Ning Haijun, Li Dingguo gained a new understanding of Ning Haijun as a collective. The people with the best treatment in Ning Haijun were not the cavalry, but the navy soldiers of Ning Haijun. After all, in this era, when the navy goes to sea, there are still many accidents. Yes, from the time Ning Haijun formed the army until now, the most serious casualties among Ning Haijun's naval soldiers were not due to enemy attacks, but accidents.
Encountering a storm or illness at sea, even a minor injury, can be life-threatening if there is no time for treatment. However, the most difficult thing to replenish is the cavalry. Although Ning Haijun has less than 40,000 cavalry so far, of which more than 5,000 are reconnaissance cavalry.
It's not that Cheng Shijie doesn't have enough horses, but it's not easy to train a Ning Haijun cavalry. Of course, the easiest way for Cheng Shijie to actually want cavalry is to accept the Mongols or Jiannu. They are all natural knights. With a little training, You can become an excellent cavalry.
However, Cheng Shijie was unwilling to expand the Jiannu cavalry. The Jiannu cavalry under Hu Erqi's command was less than three thousand, and the Mongolian cavalry under Qi Yan's command was less than one thousand. Even if the original Mongolian and Jiannu cavalry were added together, Less than six thousand men and horses. This is Cheng Shijie strictly controlling the number of foreign cavalry.
Li Dingguo asked: "How many grenades do we have?"
"I have three more!"
"I have four more!"
"I only have two!"
"I do not have anymore!"
After a rough estimate, Li Dingguo's wounded soldiers counted less than 700 men and horses, and barely had more than 1,500 grenades, barely two grenades on average.
Li Dingguo gritted his teeth and raised his fist: "Concentrate your use of grenades and attack the Mongolian royal flag!"
The bugler following Li Dingguo blew the swan whistle. The cavalry of the Annan Corps of the Ning Navy were just stunned for a moment before they understood Li Dingguo's order from the whistle. This order was: "Deadly assault!"
"Grenade, prepare, throw!"
Following Li Dingguo's order, they were still thirty or fifty steps away from the Mongols, and grenades began to be thrown towards the Mongolian army.
It is slightly different from infantry throwing grenades. When cavalry throws grenades, they like to use ropes to assist. The grenades are tied with two ropes, one long and one short. One of the ropes is slightly shorter and the other is slightly longer. After the rotation is assisted, , the grenade will fly out, and at the same time, the long rope pulls the fuse, and the grenade begins to ignite the fuse structure.
"Boom boom boom..."
A series of airtight explosions suddenly sounded, overwhelming the screams of thousands of troops and horses. The Mongolian cavalry looked over in shock. They saw flames blazing among the Mongolian cavalry, shrapnel flying across the sky, and many horses were directly overturned by the explosion shock wave. , those that were not overturned were also hit by shrapnel and steel balls flying at explosive speeds, and suppressed screams came from the airtight helmet. Facing the fragments and steel balls flying at explosive speeds, no matter how thick the armor was, it was useless. The Mongolian cavalry who lined up in a dense formation to charge were cut down in clusters by shrapnel like wheat, leaving them dead and wounded!
The Mobei Mongolians rarely came into contact with firearms before. Since they went south, they have fought against the Ming army many times, and they have gradually learned about the Ming army's firearms. However, in Shuolei's view, among the Ming army, the only one in front of them is the Ning Haijun. Firearms are very difficult to deal with.
Although there are many firearms equipped by other Ming armies, especially the Thunder Thunder equipped by the border troops on the Great Wall Defense Line, the Mobei Mongolian army has had a taste of it. This thing is a wooden or clay pot filled with a large number of iron nails and pot fragments. After it is lit and thrown out, it will blow up a large piece.
The problem is that this thing weighs at least ten kilograms and can only be used to defend the city. At least they have not encountered this kind of thing in the field. However, Ning Haijun's grenades can not only defend the city, but also can be used in field battles.
"Boom boom boom..."
Although the grenades equipped by Ning Haijun were far lighter than the Thunder Thunder, not even one-tenth the weight of the Thunder Thunder, the explosive power was quite the same.
Now the Mongolian army finally tasted the pain. The grenades seemed to fall like hailstones, and there were bright fires and flying shrapnel everywhere. Half of them, including men and horses, were blown up, and many of them were blown to pieces. Severed arms and legs were flying around, making those who were not affected by the bombing feel cold all over.
Faced with grenade attacks from all directions, the Mongolian cavalry had no choice but to be passively bombed. I believe these Mongolian soldiers must be very aggrieved. They began to practice martial arts hard at the age of five or six, and worked hard to gain strength at the age of seventeen or eighteen. After joining the army and fighting in the army, he endured so many hardships and fought so many vicious battles to develop such superhuman martial arts skills. He didn't expect that just a piece of iron would knock them off their feet.
One after another, the Mongolian cavalry was cleared by Li Dingguo's cavalry with grenades, and was blown to pieces. Even Shuolei wanted to flee: "Ming dogs only use firearms to bully people..."
However, Yatai saw the crux of the problem. He grabbed the reins of Shuolei's war horse and said, "King Khan, you see, Ming Gou's sky-shattering thunder is definitely running out!"
Looking in the direction of Yatai's finger, I saw Ning Haijun's cavalry in front throwing grenades. After throwing the grenades, they retreated and another wave of cavalry came over to throw grenades.
"Their Thunderbolts only have this much. They have three more rounds at most, and they won't have any grenades!"
Shuolei saw that there were six to seven thousand loyal soldiers protecting him in front of him, and he felt reassured. At this rate, they should be able to stop Li Dingguo if they killed or injured another one or two thousand people.
Li Dingguo watched the originally loose Mongolian army formation become stronger and stronger. He knew that his plan would fail again.
Finally, Li Dingguo's men ran out of grenades.
The Mongolian cavalry's bows and arrows began to take effect. The Mongolian army, which had an absolute advantage in numbers, fired a rain of arrows like a violent storm at Li Dingguo's cavalry.
Although the Ning navy cavalry were covered with strong iron armor, the bows and arrows in the hands of the Mobei Mongolian cavalry soldiers had no armor-breaking ability. However, they were only reconnaissance cavalry, not heavy cavalry. The horses did not have any protection. Fortunately, the Mongolian cavalry was aimed at them. The target was cavalry, not war horses, otherwise Li Dingguo's troops wouldn't be able to hold on for long under this rain of arrows.
However, the problem is that there are still two to three hundred cavalrymen who were hit by arrows and fell from their horses. On such a chaotic battlefield, as long as their horses fall, there is almost no possibility of surviving. Even if they are not injured, the horses will trample them to death.
"Charge forward and fight them hand-to-hand!"
Li Dingguo could only attack the enemy's strengths with his own shortcomings. It can be said that the most advantage of Ning Haijun's cavalry is the long-range shooting range. But the problem is that when they left the city, they left their bullets and rifles in Pingding Prefecture City, and All the grenades were brought out.
This method can only be adopted now. Even when facing an enemy with dozens of times the advantage, Li Dingguo is still like a tiger rushing into a sheep, killing the Mongolian army and retreating steadily.
Shuolei looked at this scene and sighed deeply: "This Ming army is really strong!"
"King Khan, this is Cheng Shijie's personal army. It should be his most elite unit. As long as his army is destroyed, Cheng Shijie will have no cards left to fight!"
The soldiers fought hand to hand and the fighting was extremely fierce. It was obvious that Ning Haijun's cavalry was at a disadvantage from the beginning. Although Ning Haijun's cavalry scouts were very good, they were indeed inferior to humans in terms of fighting skills on horseback. There is a big gap between the Mongolian athletes who grew up.
Just when Li Dingguo felt a little powerless, Nabulen rushed forward on horseback.
Nabulen was the most powerful warrior in Shuolei's tent. He wielded a mace and attacked Li Dingguo.
Li Dingguo neutralized these three fatal attacks one by one with three clanging blows. As the two horses passed each other, Nabulen suddenly swept past with his stick. Li Dingguo was unable to dodge and was hit, right in the back!
This blow caused Li Dingguo's back armor to deform slightly, and the force went straight to his chest. He felt as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer. His limbs and bones were all scattered, and his five internal organs were in severe pain. , rushing up against the blood, he opened his mouth suddenly, and a blood arrow spurted out from his throat. He couldn't hold the spear firmly and fell to the ground!
Li Dingguo was seriously injured.
The Ning navy cavalry who were fighting a bloody battle with the Mongols were shocked and shouted in unison: "Protect the general!"
In an instant, more than ten people abandoned their opponents and rushed towards Nabulen regardless of their own safety.
Nabulen was even more brave, knocking down at least one with every blow. In the blink of an eye, all the dozen or so Ning Haijun cavalry were killed by his mace.
In terms of their ability to fight on horseback, the ordinary Ning Navy reconnaissance cavalry was far inferior to Li Dingguo. Li Dingguo was no match for Nabren, and they certainly were not. But using this little time, hundreds of Ning Haijun cavalry had gathered to protect Li Dingguo in the middle.
Li Dingguo endured the pain and looked up to see that there were less than 300 men around him.
At this time, Cheng Shijie came to the city wall of Pingdingzhou City.
"Commander, retreat quickly!"
Cheng Shijie's eyes were also bloodshot. He punched the city wall and roared: "There is no deserter in Ning Haijun who runs away from the battle. Naturally, I will not be the first deserter. Even if I die, I and my brothers will die." Let’s get together, open the city gate, and follow my commander to fight out!”
Xie Shangkui stopped Cheng Shijie: "Commander, you can't go, this is a trap! An obvious trap!"
On the battlefield below the city, there were less than 300 Ning Navy cavalrymen left under Li Dingguo's command. If Shuolei was willing, he could wipe out the Ning Navy cavalry, which had become the last of its powerful crossbows, with just one strong attack.
But the problem is that he did not do this. Instead, he surrounded Li Dingguo and others with heavy troops. The first attack was only a few dozen people, and they did not fire arrows. While attacking, he sent people to persuade them to surrender.
Now the Mongolian army is sending out only one of the best cavalry masters in a thousand. Not to mention using more to defeat fewer, even in a one-on-one situation, Ning Haijun's cavalry is no match.
Each time, dozens of Ning navy cavalry were killed by Mongolian warriors. It was like cutting flesh with a blunt knife, which made Cheng Shijie as painful as a knife.
"Damn it!"
Cheng Shijie said angrily: "So what if it's a trap? It's better for me to die under the swords, guns and arrows of the Tatars than to watch my brothers being humiliated and killed! Open the city gate!"
Xie Shangkui wanted to persuade him again: "Shuai Cheng, you are a famous general in the Ming Dynasty. You know better than those in humble positions why you should not raise troops when you are angry. But why..."
Cheng Shijie interrupted: "I would rather let the tiger return to the mountain than harm the tiger's power. Thank you Shangkui!"
"The general is here!"
"I will give you five hundred infantry and three hundred cavalry to cover the people in Pingding Prefecture as they evacuate to Yangquan. I will stay and cover them!"
Xie Shangkui gritted his teeth and said: "Retreat no matter what, we will die together!"
Xie Shangkui was furious: "Do you think we haven't killed enough people? Get out of here, Commander!"
Xie Shangkui repeatedly insisted that he take some of the infantry to stay and cover, but Cheng Shijie remained unmoved and finally even pulled out his sword. Xie Shangkui had no choice but to take 800 infantry and cavalry troops to cover the people of Pingding Prefecture and retreat towards Yangquan. He turned back three times with tears streaming down his face, because he knew that once he left, he would never see his comrades and Cheng Shijie again.
The city gates of Pingding Prefecture opened wide, and a black wind hurricane roared out! This time there were more people rushing out than Li Dingguo's troops, nearly two thousand horses. Everyone was wearing black clothes, black armor, and black flags, and everyone was wearing a ferocious ghost mask. Looking from a distance, it seemed as if the door to hell had opened, and a large group of evil ghosts from hell rushed out.
You don't need to look at the flag and armor, just by looking at the momentum, you can tell that it was Ning Haijun who came out!
In front of the two thousand cavalry formations, six large flags fluttered in the wind.
On one side, he wrote: "Prime Minister's Nine-Border Military Affairs Plan!"
On one side, he wrote: "The Governor of Liaodong's military affairs!"
On one side was a letter: "Taibao Cheng, Prince of the Ming Dynasty!"
On one side he wrote: "Cheng, the Left Commander of the Fifth Army Commander's Mansion!"
On one side, he wrote: "Ning Navy Commander-in-Chief Cheng!"
On one side he wrote: "Conquer General Cheng!"
Seeing that there were only more than 2,000 riders around Cheng Shijie, Shuolei showed a satisfied smile: "Finally out!"
Shuolei's big hand swung downwards.
Five or six thousand Mongolian cavalrymen, Ning Haijun, rushed forward, their horns and bows firing continuously, and their sharp arrows like rain. They were indeed well-trained. Five to six thousand people flew together on two wings in the shape of horns. They immediately enveloped Ning Haijun. They were surrounded by roaring horse archers and howling like wild beasts. I thought I was surrounded by wolves.
This is the unique skill that the Mongols have become famous for, and it is also the capital of the nomadic people's confrontation with the Central Plains dynasty. Now it has been fully utilized.
However, the Ning navy officers under Cheng Shijie did not move the rifles they carried on their backs. Instead, almost all of them held revolvers and quietly watched the Mongolian army rushing over.
Forty or fifty steps away, just when the Mongolian cavalry was preparing to draw their bows and shoot arrows.
"Bang bang bang..."
The revolver was raised and fired, and dazzling fire burst out from the front line of the galloping naval cavalry. The gunfire was as dense as exploding beans, and the rain of bullets was dense. The Mongolian cavalry and horses continued to explode with large balls of blood, screaming, Neighing in sorrow, people turned their backs on their horses.
To be fair, if you want to hit a Mongolian cavalry forty or fifty meters away with a pistol, it is quite difficult. But the problem is that there are too many Mongolian cavalry, so many that you don’t need to deliberately aim, even if you fire in a general direction, the bullets Neither will be in vain.
But they couldn't withstand the fierce firepower of their guns. After all the bullets in the six cylinders of a revolver were fired, a large number of Mongolian cavalry had been killed and wounded!
Seeing this scene, Shuolei looked surprised: "Are their handguns so powerful?"
Through this round of unreasonable fighting, Cheng Shijie successfully joined Li Dingguo's cavalry.
The surviving Ning Haijun cavalry looked at Cheng Shijie and were very excited: "Commander!"
There was a choking sound.
Cheng Shijie looked at the soldiers and said, "It was Cheng who acted heroically and brought you into a desperate situation. I'm sorry!"
The navy officers of Zhongning were stunned for a moment and then laughed: "I am willing to follow the commander and kill him to his heart's content!"
Cheng Shijie patted Li Dingguo: "How is it?"
"Can't die!"
Cheng Shijie said to the soldiers: "In short, I am sorry, but if I could do it again, I would still do this."
Ning Haijun said in unison: "And we will still rush out with you and kill you!"
Cheng Shijie suddenly remembered a poem that was particularly suitable for the occasion: "How do you feel today when you are beheaded? Starting a business is difficult and involves many battles. I am going to Quantai to recruit old troops, and I will kill Yama with a hundred thousand banners."
The Mongolian army began to rearrange its formation, and Ning's navy officers were also preparing. They took off their rifles one after another and rode on horses. It was not easy to aim, but on the ground, their accuracy was much better.
…
Less than ten miles after Xie Shangkui left Pingding Prefecture, suddenly, a small convoy appeared on the official road ahead. The convoy had a small number of people. The big flag in front read: "Zhengxing Escort Agency!"
Xie Shangkui stepped forward and said: "Stop, don't go forward, the Tatars are attacking..."
Li Guanying stepped forward and said: "It is because the Tatars are here that we are here. We are here to help Cheng Shuai!"
Seeing this scene, Xie Shangkui actually wanted to go back.
However, just as Xie Shangkui was directing the people to get out of the way, he noticed that the snow particles on the ground were beating slightly, and Xie Shangkui realized that a large group of cavalry had arrived.
Looking along the official road, I saw a stunning red color appearing on the snow-covered official road in the distance. Yes, Ning Haijun was wearing a black military uniform, black armor, black battle flag, and black cloak.
However, the Tianxiong Army was an army established with the personal support of Emperor Chongzhen. The entire army wore mandarin duck war jackets. The military uniforms were no different from those of the ordinary Ming army. However, the equipment of the Tianxiong Army was newer. Unlike other Ming armies, although they were red However, since there is no replacement of the military uniform, the original red color can no longer be seen, but more like a clear gray.
As time went by, this army was galloping in. The general at the head was actually wearing silver armor, a flawless white horse, and a bright silver gun in his hand.
Two general flags were flapping in the wind. On one side was written "Premier Lu, the Military Affairs Officer of the Five Provinces of Nanzhili, Henan, Shandong, Sichuan and Huguang", and on the other side was written "Lu Shi, the Right Deputy Chief of the Capital".
Seeing the belated reinforcements, Xie Shangkui couldn't help but choke up. He shouted at the Tianxiong Army: "I want to see Mr. Lu!"
Lu Xiangsheng watched Xie Shangkui's chest rise and fall: "You are..."
"The last general, Xie Shangkui, is the son of Xie Zhiliang, the commander-in-chief of Taiyuan Prefecture. Master Lu, please send troops quickly to ask for reinforcements from Commander Cheng!"
"Cheng Shuai? Where is he now?"
Xie Shangkui said urgently: "Shuai Cheng is in a very dangerous situation. Ning Haijun's main reinforcements have not yet arrived, and the only one he can rely on is Mr. Lu. Please help him..."
Lu Xiangsheng needed to know the truth. He learned from the imperial newspaper that Xie Zhiliang abandoned the city and fled, but the problem was that Xie Zhiliang was now in front of him and his life was in danger.
The doctor who accompanied the Tianxiong Army came forward to check Xie Zhiliang's injuries, and said for a long time: "Master Lu, Mr. Xie lost too much blood and suffered from wind and cold, so he suffered internal injuries. I'm afraid that even if he can be cured, he will not be able to ride in the future. Fierce horses can't fight a tough battle, it's a pity for such a good man..."
Lu Xiangsheng asked: "What's going on in Taiyuan City?"
When Xie Shangkui asked to see Xie Zhiliang, He Sui suddenly launched an attack and wounded Xie Zhiliang with a musket. When Cheng Shijie arrived.
But the problem is that Cheng Shijie only brought three thousand cavalry... After several days of bloody battles, the Ning Navy ran out of ammunition and food, and there was no artillery to suppress the Mongolian army's artillery.
From Xie Shangkui's account, although he did not say who instigated He Sui's rebellion or who was the master behind He Sui, but with Lu Xiangsheng's political wisdom, he could easily figure out who was fanning the flames behind it.
In fact, Lu Xiangsheng was also very angry, very angry. After all, Li Zicheng had been beaten by Lu Xiangsheng until he could no longer take care of himself. In just one month, not even half a month, Lu Xiangsheng could completely annihilate Li Zicheng with absolute certainty.
But the problem is that at this most critical moment, he heard the bad news from the north. First, Jingan Fort fell, and the army of Tuxie Tuhan broke through the Great Wall defense line and threatened the capital. Fortunately, Cheng Shijie blocked the breach, but problems arose one after another in Hexi and Taiyuan.
The situation on the Hexi side is unknown for the time being, but the Taiyuan Prefecture was actually captured in this way. This made Lu Xiangsheng no longer able to suppress the anger in his heart, and roared: "Those civil servants deserve to die! Look what good things you have done!!!" "
In fact, for the first time, Lu Xiangsheng felt that these civil servants were so hateful.
"You go down and rest first!"
Lu Xiangsheng said: "The whole army speeds up and aims to pacify Dingzhou!" (End of this chapter)
