The Ming army's artillery fire was unexpectedly fierce!
Although the number of their artillery was only 60% of that of the Zhou army, they adopted a strategy of concentrated use and unified sighting. One hundred of the one hundred and thirty-two 6-pound bronze cannons were concentrated on the right wing of one's own front. Aiming at the left wing of the Zhou army, it was a concentrated fire output!
Hundreds of cannons roared in unison, and swarms of six-pound solid bullets fired violently at the target chosen by Li Zhongshan - the joint between the Youjinwu top guard and Youjinwu center guard!
At this moment, the front lines of the two armies were only one mile apart, which was the most comfortable distance for direct-aiming artillery. The opponent's muskets and bows pose no threat at this distance, but the direct-aiming cannons still have good accuracy, especially when hundreds of six-pound cannons are firing concentrated fire.
Round after round of round cannonballs were filled into the barrel of the cannon, and then spit out. In just the blink of an eye, they had already landed in groups on the opponent's position. The two Zhou troops on the opposite side never expected that they would hit so many shells! What is the fate of this? There weren't many Ming artillery pieces on the opposite side, so why did they concentrate on firing at them? This six-pound bullet is so heavy that it's like an iron knot. Let alone hitting it just right, it can't stand even if it bumps into it! What's more, after these wicked and smoking cannonballs hit the ground, there is a high probability that they will bounce up and turn into a ricochet that no one will recognize, jump as high as a person, and then fly around in the crowd, no matter who they meet, they don't care. Ask and hit him directly! A well-placed cannonball can send away a dozen people, that's cruel!
On the other hand, on the Zhou army's side, although there were many cannons, they were evenly distributed along the entire front and there was no way to use them intensively. Although it can also cause some damage to the Ming army on the opposite side, it can still bear it because all parties share the losses.
Of course, this kind of concentrated fire shooting actually doesn't have much technical content. The reason why Zhou Jun didn't do it is not because he didn't know this trick. It was because the rifled guns of the Ming army posed too great a threat to the artillery positions. If they concentrated the artillery together, the Ming army would also gather several battalions of riflemen to form a square formation, and then go up against the firepower from the opposite side, and snipe the artillerymen within 200 steps.
Wu Zhoujun himself also had similar tactics. If today's opponent was not the Ming army with too many rifled guns and full of "cork bullets", they themselves would also adopt such tactics. In the Battle of the Western Regions that ended not long ago, Wu Shicong gathered more than 200 rifled guns obtained through various channels and distributed them to horse-riding sharpshooters. They were used as super mobile artillery to defeat all parties in the Western Regions. .
Now it's your turn to face the Ming army's superior rifle firepower!
Therefore, Wu Yingqi and Wu Shicong had to disperse the use of artillery. In order to prevent the gunners from being sniped by the sharpshooters who sneaked up on them, they had to build a fort with sandbags to cover the gunners.
But in this way, the mobility of the cannon is limited. The cannon can be moved, but the fort will have to be repaired for a while.
If there is no artillery base, the gunner has to hold his head up to fire, which is too dangerous. Even with the cover of the artillery fort, the Zhou army's gunners would still be sniped by the Ming army's snipers from time to time with rifled guns, so it would still interfere with their work.
In addition, the Ming army's rifled gun firepower also has the advantage that it can use precise firepower to attack enemy cavalry that is attacking one's own position head-on. Therefore, when your own infantry line encounters enemy artillery bombardment, you can kneel down to avoid the artillery fire. By squatting, you are not afraid of ricochet. Unless you are directly hit by the enemy's artillery shells, you will be immune to the artillery bombardment.
The artillery battle between the two sides lasted for about a quarter of an hour. The two guards of the Zhou army were a little overwhelmed by the intensive artillery fire of the Ming army. They suffered heavy casualties and began to fall into chaos.
In order to avoid the collapse of the troops and to reduce the casualties of their own men, the Zhou generals who commanded the two guards issued the order "all squat" - this is probably a side effect of the Wu and Zhou style military system. The connection between the generals is too close, everyone is our own person! Therefore, a general cannot ignore the casualties of his subordinates.
On the battlefield where there are queues to be shot and queues to be shot, once the soldiers squat down, it is not easy to get them up again.
Of course, the same is true for the Ming Army. Shells and bullets are flying everywhere, how about squatting? Who is willing to stand up and die?
Wu Yingqi also saw that the two guards on his left wing had crouched down to avoid the bullets. He knew that this meant that once the enemy launched an attack, they would be defeated! And that's probably the main direction of the Ming army's attack!
Because Wu Zhou's army was facing the east, their left wing was close to the Laodao River, which was not conducive to the cavalry making a large detour. The Ming army, which lacked cavalry, should be the best option to attack Wu and Zhou's left wing.
But Wu Yingqi was already prepared!
Thinking of this, he gave a few instructions to the soldiers around him who were acting as messengers, and then dozens of soldiers wearing bright yellow armor ran towards the two guards who were being bombarded by artillery fire and the several guards behind them. .
At this time, the rumbling sound of artillery on the opposite side suddenly stopped and was replaced by a wave of cheers. Wu Yingqi was at a high place and had a wide view. He immediately raised his telescope and stared at the cheering Ming army opposite.
Amidst the roaring cheers, Li Zhongshan ran along the front of his right wing. He was extremely pleased to see the army that he had worked hard for nearly ten years to pull up little by little. This army, the country behind it, and the Wu Zhou Army and Wu Zhou State that are currently facing this army are all powerful forces that can look down upon the world! So today's battle, no matter who wins or loses, is a victory for the Chinese people and the beginning of a new era for China!
However, compared to Wu Zhou, who still held the banner of imperialism and had huge "regressive power" internally, the Ming Dynasty, which had completely put the imperial power into debt and established a powerful republican regime, was obviously more progressive.
Therefore, the republican Ming Dynasty should defeat the imperial Wu Zhou Dynasty and become the banner leading China's progress!
Li Zhongshan's general's flag stopped in front of the formation. He turned to face the already chaotic positions of the Zhou army's You Jinwu upper guard and You Jinwu middle guard more than a mile away. There was only dissipating gunpowder smoke left in front of him!
Behind him were the eight infantry battalions of the 11th Town of the Ming Dynasty led by Luo Dawei, a total of eight thousand elites. Under Li Zhongshan's personal encouragement, they all stood up and were ready to attack!
Although they are not a model town of all flintlocks, they are definitely a strong force.
The Wu and Zhou troops on the opposite side had realized that the Ming army was about to launch an attack, so they began to conduct shelling desperately in an attempt to slow down the Ming army's actions. A cannonball whizzed past Li Zhongshan a few feet away, but the general was not afraid at all.
The skirmishers in Town 11 have begun to advance!
Only some of them were equipped with rifled guns, and most had only carefully selected muskets of the best quality. But with Mini bullets, even a musket can still hit a target a hundred paces away.
Seeing these promenades holding flintlock guns and charging into the smoke with firm steps, Li Zhongshan just raised his right hand and gave them a military salute. Then he spanked the horse again, passed through the gap between the two battalion square formations, and ran straight to the commander-in-chief of the 11th Town to recognize the flag. When Luo Dawei saw Li Zhongshan arriving, he gave a military salute on his horse.
Li Zhongshan stopped his horse and shouted to Luo Dawei: "Commander Luo, we must break through the enemy's front formation! At the same time, beware of their cavalry's counterattack. If their cavalry comes up, we must form a hollow square formation in time to hold on!" "
Luo Dawei said respectfully: "Yes, general, my subordinates will not only break Wu Zhou's front line, but also penetrate their left flank!"
Li Zhongshan smiled encouragingly, and then said to Luo Dawei: "Commander Luo, don't rush in. Wu Zhoujun's front is not very wide, the depth should be very large, and there should be a lot of reserves. You have only one task. , is to break into the enemy's first front line, then gain a firm foothold and attract Wu Zhou's army's reserves to counterattack."
Luo Dawei immediately agreed. Li Zhongshan's deployment was actually very simple, which was to draw all the Wu Zhou Army's reserves to their left wing, and then the roundabout army commanded by Li Zhongzheng would attack the Wu Zhou Army's right wing and defeat them!
As for the left wing that penetrated Wu Zhoujun from the 11th Town, they are not that useless!
Li Zhongshan nodded heavily, "Let's get started!"
Luo Dawei roared: "Town 11. Forward! Forward!"
Following his roar, a burst of rapid drumbeats sounded. Under Li Zhongshan's watch, the eight battalions of the 11th Town of the Ming Army formed eight battalion-level columns, and one after another, they left their original front. , move forward.
After Li Zhongshan watched them leave, he flew back to the Caijiapo Highlands on the second line of his own front. A simple former enemy headquarters had been deployed there. On the highlands stood Yao Qisheng, the general staff of the First Army, and some other staff members. , there are also various flags, military drums, and gongs placed, and there are hundreds of cavalry on standby below the high slope, waiting for General Li's orders.
Under the early morning sunshine, the first round of close combat between the two armies was about to begin!
There were bursts of white smoke between the two armies, and there was a continuous crackling sound of shooting. Wu Jun's six-pound bronze cannon was firing cannonballs crazily!
On one side, the minion bullets fired by flintlock guns and rifled guns were accurate and fierce, and on the other side, the shotguns fired by bronze cannons were astonishingly lethal. The soldiers on both sides kept falling down, but they still refused to retreat. Even the two Zhou army guards who had squatted down to avoid the shells were now encouraged by their generals and stood up again with the flint in their hands. The rifles and matchlocks fired at the Ming army.
And behind these two guards, about a hundred steps away, four battalions of Wu and Zhou Army's Lancers were ready!
After several rounds of shooting, the first to be defeated was the artillery at the front of Wu Zhou Army! These artillerymen continued to be sniped and suffered heavy casualties. Soon because the gunners were almost dead and unable to continue firing, they had to retreat to preserve their strength.
At the same time that Wu Zhou's artillery was defeated, the middle of the battle lines of both sides was shrouded in white smoke, and no one could see their opponents clearly.
A piercing suona sound suddenly sounded in front of the Ming army's formation, and then all the troops in the 11th Town shouted: "Lance Assault Formation!"
This is a charge formation with the spear in front and the musket behind - since the spear has not been completely eliminated, let's use it when attacking! This three-foot-long spear is more suitable for stabbing people than a flintlock gun, right?
Except for the three model towns with pure flintlocks, the infantry teams under the other Ming army towns were a combination of two rows of long rifles and two rows of flintlocks. In the gun battle just now, the fusiliers formed a dense formation or a skirmish line in front, while the pikemen formed a sparse formation and held back. Now the musketeers slipped through the gap in the sparse formation, and the pikemen reorganized behind them. The pikemen didn't hesitate at all, they roared and launched an attack against the bullets fired randomly from the front.
At this time, the Wu Zhou army on the opposite side of the two guards had not completely changed their formation. They still had the musketeers in front and the pikemen in the back. The reason for this is not that they don't want to, but that they can't. They had been under the enemy's attention since the beginning of the shelling from both sides, and then they were hit by the Ming army's intensive rifle fire. Now they can barely hold on, and there are still many musketeers and pikemen who were squatting just now, still lying there pretending to be dead. There have even been cases of musketeers who suffered mental breakdowns and fled the battle lines.
If we change the formation now, I'm afraid that the musketeers in the front and the pikemen in the back will escape together!
Therefore, General Wu Zhou, who commanded these two guards, could only ask his men to stay still. Only in this way can the collapse be slower!
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
When the shouts of killing from both sides suddenly reached their peak, fierce collisions and spears and sharp blades pierced each other began on the front line defended by the Zhou army's You Jinwu top guard and You Jinwu center guard.
The pikemen and some musketeers from both sides got mixed up, and a fierce close combat started quickly!
However, the infantry of Wu Zhou Army, which had suffered several rounds of heavy blows, did not hold out for long, and was defeated by the impact of the Ming Army's spearmen who had the upper hand in morale and quantity.
But the retreat of these two guards does not mean the collapse of Wu Zhoujun's right wing, because there is Wu Zhoujun's second line behind them, and there is Wu Zhoujun's reserve behind the second line.
Moreover, four battalions, a total of four thousand Wu Army Lancers are ready!
"Woo."
With the sound of a bugle, thousands of Wu and Zhou Lancers formed team-level square formations one after another in teams, and launched an attack on the Ming army, which had just experienced a hard battle and was not yet stable.
At the same time, the formation of the "Flower Team" on the Ming Army's side showed disadvantages. The complexity of forming a hollow square formation consisting of half pikemen and half musketeers was much higher than that of purely using musketeers - This spearman has no firepower projection ability! So they had to team up with the musketeers, with the pikemen on the outside and the musketeers behind them.
If pikemen were used to form one or both sides of the hollow phalanx, wouldn't they become easy targets for enemy muskets and bows?
But the problem is that the pikemen who have just completed a charge have been separated from the musketeers behind them. Now they are suddenly attacked by the cavalry, and there is no time to retreat and form a team!
Although the musketeers at the back can also form a separate team without the participation of the pikemen. But whether to wait for the pikemen to come back has become a multiple-choice question before the battalion commanders!
If pikemen are not used, the pikemen may be massacred by the enemy's cavalry.
If they want to take back the pikemen, they will not be able to form a square formation immediately, and they may all be defeated!
And how to choose? It’s not in the textbook!
Therefore, four of the eight battalion commanders under Luo Dawei did not want to give up the pikemen-these troops were trained and developed by the Huaixi Regiment, and the pikemen were also their brothers!
As a result, the four square formations that were not even opened were defeated by the Wu and Zhou army cavalry.
The remaining four hollow phalanxes that were opened in time were too small because only half of the people participated. Although they could withstand the impact of the cavalry, they were unable to form a battle line and allowed four thousand Wu and Zhou cavalry to rush around them. !
Now, these four small square formations have the possibility of being surrounded!
Seeing that the cavalry in front succeeded in counterattack, Wu Yingqi was so happy that he danced for joy, and immediately gave a loud order: "Let Zuo Ying raise his upper guard, and Zuo Ying raise his lower guard to go up! The left and right Qianniu Guard cavalry teams also go up to block the Ming army's attack. Reinforcements!”
Immediately after receiving the order, the two infantry formations located on the second line of the Wu and Zhou Army began to advance forward, and were about to engulf four small Ming army formations. The two cavalry battalions also received the order and began to advance towards the open space in front of the two armies' positions!
Standing on Caijia Slope, I saw that one of my towns was about to be annihilated by Wu Zhou's army! There were thousands of cavalry rushing towards him, so Li Zhongshan looked back at his father, who was sometimes very reliable, with a livid face, and found that he was there with his mouth open in a daze.
So Li Zhongshan shouted: "Father, are you going to watch Wu Sangui's cavalry swallow us all?"
(End of chapter)
