When the morning light of June 25, the 18th year of Chongzhen's reign in the Ming Dynasty, shone on the battlefields on both sides of the Qingliu River, the night's battle seemed to have come to an end.
On the top of Daqianling Mountain on the west bank of Qingliu River, the banner of Hao Yaoqi, commander of the Ming Army's forward division, had appeared!
More than 2,000 people (including Niulu from three Zhenglan Banners, more than 1,000 Han troops and Baoyi) led by Zhenai Xinjieluo Bahana in Gushan'e, Zhenglan Banner, Manchuria, after a hard night of persistence , now the whole army has been wiped out, with only less than 280 flag soldiers left, protecting Bahana and rushing to break out to the north before dawn and escape. Although he suffered a disastrous defeat and fled, Bahana was still there. The performance in this battle was actually quite outstanding!
With only more than 2,000 troops, he took advantage of the favorable terrain and night to set up five suspicious formations, delaying the Ming Army's model army of more than 22,000 people for a whole night.
Of course, the reason why he was able to achieve such a record was also related to the caution of Hao Yaoqi, Shi Ruian, and Li Yan - this was the first battle of the Model Army! This army, which completely adopts Western-style tactics and equipment, has many doubts even among the New Army to overcome difficulties. Therefore, Hao Yaoqi and Shi Ruien did not dare to take too many risks.
As cautious as them were Wang Qi and Qin Mingtao. The two of them were responsible for the front of the Ming army's formation on the east bank of Qingliu River. They held 20 model battalions and 24 3-pound cannons, and Feng Sizhong also put 24 3-pound cannons in their hands. The pounder gun flew up while playing.
If the two of them were of Wu Sangui's level, they would have launched a counterattack. With 20 battalions of model troops and 24 3-pound cannons, they would have beaten the bluffing Hauge to the ground.
But these two were just guards, and they really started leading troops to fight after following Zhu Cixiang's breakout from Beijing. Inexperienced, limited in ability, and of course less courageous... Faced with the Qing army's wave after wave of offensives, they adopted a strategy of staying on the defensive.
Although a large number of Eight Banners Han troops and Baoyi were killed at a very small cost, it also gave Hauge the opportunity to adjust his layout calmly.
Similar problems also appeared in Wang Zhou, Tian Qingyi, Wu Sanfu and Zhu Cixiang.
They all have the problem of insufficient command ability! Even Wu Sanfu, who had the most experience in combat, had never commanded an army of more than 20,000 people on the battlefield, let alone commanded an army to fight against a similar number of Tatars.
Therefore, the new army, which has introduced Western and French foreign generals, "997" and the last elimination method, has a very high level of military training, which can be said to be no less than that of the armies of Western powers at the same time. However, the battle command level of the Model New Army was very low. It would not be an exaggeration to describe it as dull and clumsy.
This kind of dullness and clumsiness certainly cannot escape the eyes of Hauge who is watching the battle from above. And Hauge, who was extremely experienced in battle, immediately came up with a countermeasure of giving up the front, involving the two wings, and detouring behind. He took the initiative to abandon the defeated Han army and Baoyi, and at the same time ordered Mulima to make a big fanfare. After attracting the attention of the Ming army, he moved eastward. He also ordered Alzin to fight and move, and move north. Finally, together with Ao Bai, who had just woken up, he led 3,000 elite soldiers of the Eight Banners, quietly crossed the Qingliu River, and detoured behind Zhu Cixang's army.
When it started to get brighter, the originally very tight Ming army array had unknowingly become very loose.
Fourteen of the twenty model battalions originally deployed on the front had already rushed across the Qingliu Stream and onto Daqian Ridge, crushing the Han troops and Baoji abandoned by Hauge, and overcoming the Daqiang Mountains with them. Hao Yaoqi's troops at Gun Ridge joined forces.
On the right wing, Wang Zhou and Tian Qingyi were supported by two model battalions led by Wu Sanfu. They quickly gained the upper hand and forced Alzin's troops to retreat steadily. The battle groups on both sides continued to move north, and in less than an hour, they moved four to five miles north.
On the left wing, before the division commander of the new army in overcoming the difficulties sent four cavalry battalions and a model infantry battalion led by Wang Yan back to position, Mulima stopped the attack and began to move eastward - without Haug's order. , Mulima will also move, because he has long been prepared to prevent himself from being dumped, and he has scattered many scout sentries on his left wing and behind. So as soon as Wang Beard's cavalry approached, Mulima stopped attacking and started to move.
The two new regiments (not the model regiment) opposite Mulima immediately attacked, trying to entangle Mulima, but they were dragged eastward for several miles by Mulima.
As a result, the originally very tight Ming army's battle line not only became very loose, but also three distant battle groups appeared - a large number of people on Daqianling were cleaning the battlefield and clearing out the traitor soldiers who had slipped through the net; The two regiments and two battalions commanded by Wu Sanfu, Wang Zhou, and Tian Qingyi defeated Alzin's Tatars steadily; while the mixed infantry and cavalry troops led by Wang Yan and the two regiments on the left were working hard to pursue Muri. There are more than a dozen Niulu under Ma's command.
As for Zhu Cixiang's Chinese army, under the protection of the guard camp, they slowly moved towards the east bank of Qingliu River. Prince Zhu planned to move his Chinese army to Daqiang Ridge after the battle on Daqiang Ridge was completely over. Gun Ridge.
The six model camps (6 out of 20 model camps) originally placed on the front line of Qingliu River moved north under the command of Tang Laosi, the commander of the Chinese military division, preparing to pursue the fleeing Qing army.
In addition, an infantry battalion that originally belonged to the reserve force (rear formation) was dismantled and used. The pikemen, under the command of battalion commander Chen Zhong, formed a sparse formation of three columns of pikes to block the east of Zhu Cixiang's Chinese army. Among the remaining 240 fire gun soldiers, forty turtle-dove foot gun soldiers and spearmen were together, and the rest dispersed into a dozen teams and spread out along the sparse woods behind the Ming army. Serve as a vigilant.
Yin Yun, who was born in the Tianjin Guards and served as a firecracker under Cao Youyi for several years, was one of the firecrackers who were sent out to watch. The heavy turtledove-footed firecrackers gave him full confidence. Although this firegun is a product of the government-run Nanjing Gunmaking Bureau, its quality is very reliable. At the time of delivery, the master craftsman who built the fire gun personally demonstrated in front of Yin Yun that inspecting the gun was not only a technical job, but also a conscientious job. Technology and conscience are indispensable, and Yin Yun's skills are good. He is an experienced fire gun soldier. He has played seven or eight different kinds of fire gun, so of course he knows the good and bad.
And his conscience... was discovered during the gun test! Because according to regulations, the veteran responsible for inspecting the gun will take one of the batch of fire guns he has accepted for his own use. As for which one to choose, it was not decided by him, but randomly selected by the battalion commander of the model camp.
Therefore, Yin Yun can not only ensure that the fire gun in his hand will not explode, but also ensure that under normal conditions, the fire gun can accurately hit a humanoid target a hundred steps away!
If a Tatar scout cavalry really appears among the sparse trees ahead, he guarantees that he can send him back to the west with a shot!
"Tatar cavalry!"
A gunman who was acting with Yin Yun suddenly shouted - According to the order of Battalion Commander Chen, turtledove-footed gunmen like Yin Yun have now been strengthened into the birdgun squad, and one birdgun squad has been strengthened by two The turtle doves shot their feet and fired their guns, and then dispersed and hid at the edge of the woods.
Yin Yun, who was sitting against the big tree and still playing with the gun with his head lowered, jumped up quickly, leaned on the tree trunk and looked into the forest. At a glance, he saw several knights in blue strategizing leisurely. The horse is coming.
The jackets of the new army to overcome difficulties are all red, and there are no blue ones. So needless to say, these cavalry must be soldiers of the Tatar Blue Banner.
"Fire up, load..."
The team leader's gun squad leader pinched his throat and shouted.
Yin Yun took a deep breath, then took out the flint and started to light the match rope. The steps for loading the turtle-dove musket are very cumbersome. Starting from lighting the match rope, it takes more than thirty steps to complete. Even a veteran like Yin Yun has to work for a while.
And when he completed the entire process of loading the ammunition and put the gun on the stand, the cavalry that appeared in front of him was no longer just a few, but too many to count!
