Of course, Li Fuchen couldn't admit that he was stunned by the severe situation on the battlefield. He turned around and said plausibly: "What are you talking about? You and I are observing the enemy's situation! Only by looking carefully can we know where to attack? How many troops are needed?"
"Do you see clearly? Do you know where to attack?" Li Zhongshan asked, "How many troops are needed?"
"I've seen it clearly. Give me the cavalry mark on the right wing, plus our own bodyguard cavalry. There are more than four thousand cavalry in total, which is enough to penetrate the enemy's formation!" Li Fuchen patted his chest and said, "It's just a mere four thousand cavalry." The cavalry assault cannot last long, and the infantry must follow up in time!"
"Okay!" Li Zhongshan nodded heavily, and then said to Yao Qisheng next to him, "Xizhi, hurry up and send the right-wing cavalry over! Then give the order to the Ninth Town and the Tenth Town, and have them prepare for a full-scale charge. !”
"yes!"
Yao Qisheng, who was sitting on a small bench with a small table with pens, inks, paper and inkstones in front of him, responded, immediately picked up a brush and wrote on a stack of particularly hard-brushed military order books, using the most concise and accurate words, Four orders were written down.
One of them is for Li Fuchen, and the other three are for the commander-in-chief of the ninth town, the commander-in-chief of the tenth town, and the right-wing cavalry general.
After writing the order, he asked for the general's military governor's seal from Huang Baijia, Li Zhongshan's chief clerk. After using the seal, he immediately called three messengers and asked them to pass on the order as quickly as possible. There was only one order left, and he personally handed it to Li Danan Wang Li Fuchen - there was no father or son in the army, so the procedures that should be followed still had to be followed.
After receiving the orders in a grand manner, Li Fuchen began to arrange the cavalry to charge into the formation.
Today, the Republic of China and the Ming Dynasty have a little bit of cavalry, but they are not completely absent - Wu Zhou can buy flintlocks and rifled guns from the Ming Dynasty, and of course the Ming Dynasty can also buy good horses from the northwest from Wu Zhou.
Moreover, most of Li Fuchen and his group of biological sons, godsons, and good brothers were proficient in horse fighting. Even Yu Deshui, the royal master of Lu Bu's family, was an armed master who could use a spear on a horse.
Therefore, under the training of the Li family's father and son brothers, the Republic of China and the Ming Army are still somewhat capable of riding!
However, it is also an objective fact that the Ming Dynasty has few horse riders, and there is no grassland where horses can be stocked in large numbers in the actual control area of the Ming Dynasty, so the horse administration ideas of the Li family and his son are high-quality.
On the one hand, they built a military horse farm in Fengyang Prefecture and raised stallions from Macau together with tall mares from the northwest and northeast (brought by Yang Qilong), striving to cultivate Ming Dynasty's own fine war horses.
On the other hand, they bought ready-made war horses and draft horses from everywhere at high prices, and to some extent they scraped together some cavalry.
Since we only have a few cavalry, we have to treat them as treasures and go the high-quality route!
The most elite among them are of course the Guards Cavalry of Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen.
They all have dazzling equipment, with their horses equipped with equipment and their men equipped with plate armor. Their three guns per capita are one more than the famous double-gun soldiers!
When going into battle, each person has a long spear in his hand, a pistol in his waist, a flintlock slung over his shoulder, a saber or long sword for cutting people, an iron whip and hammer for breaking armor, and a weapon for shooting people and horses. Bows and arrows are also equipped.
With this equipment, it was really hard for them to ride the horse on their hips. It was like charging with a cavalryman and a small arsenal!
Two Guards Cavalry Marks and a Light Cavalry Mark equipped with bamboo spears (originally deployed on the right wing) quickly gathered directly in front of Caijiapo.
A total of three banners, a total of 4,500 cavalry, formed three large horizontal teams, and each large horizontal team was composed of ten small horizontal teams with three rows. These ten small three-row teams can charge together, or they can disperse and charge separately.
In other words, these 4,500 cavalry are divided into nine rows, and each row is a wide front of 500 cavalry!
The first three rows are all lightly armored lancers, while the six rows behind are all armored cavalry. However, because the troops led by Li Zhongshan and Li Fuchen had been marching during this period, in order to reduce the load, these armored cavalry did not carry equipment. Therefore, the horses under their crotches are all naked and "unarmored".
While Li Fuchen was busy organizing the 4,500 cavalry under his command, the sixteen battalions of the Ninth Town and the Tenth Town were located behind both sides of the troubled Luo Dawei's Eleventh Town. Already under the guidance of bursts of drums and the red military flags of these two towns, Wu Zhou's army marched forward in a mighty manner.
At the same time, the remnants of the Eleventh Town, commanded by Luo Dawei, were on the verge of being wiped out.
Although Wu Zhou's cavalry failed to break through the remaining four small hollow phalanxes, they had already rushed behind these four small hollow phalanxes, cutting off these four small phalanxes from the Ming army's brigade behind.
Wu Zhoujun's four-guard infantry of Right Jinwu Upper Guard, Right Jinwu Middle Guard, Zuo Yingyang Upper Guard, and Zuo Yingyang Lower Guard surrounded the four small square formations and continued to output with flintlocks and matchlocks. There was a hail of bullets, and several cannons were even brought in to fire shotgun shells, which caused the Ming army's small square formation to be littered with corpses, making it dangerous.
Seeing that these four small hollow phalanxes were about to collapse, and Luo Dawei in one of them was about to die for his country as a loyal martyr, the situation on the battlefield changed again!
Suddenly there was a loud sound of drums and drums from the Ming army's formation, and the attack of the Ming army's cavalry, commanded by Huo Lu Bu and Li Fuchen himself, began!
The formation charge launched by the 4,500 Ming Army cavalry was quite shocking. The sound of more than 10,000 horse hooves hitting the ground resounded throughout the battlefield, making the ground tremble. At the forefront were 1,500 lancers, each holding a bamboo spear measuring 1 to 5 to 6 feet tall.
Now the bamboo spears of the front row cavalrymen have been laid flat, and the iron spear points inserted on the bamboo poles glow with a breathtaking cold light in the morning sun.
The Wu family's cavalry were also proficient in similar spear-cavalry assault tactics, but they had just charged into the hollow square formation of the Ming army and chased a wave of fleeing Ming army spearmen. They were killing vigorously and had not had time to close the team. , as a result, the Ming army's cavalry suddenly came up.
These Wu and Zhou army's lancers are all knowledgeable. One look at the formation of the Ming army's lancers, and they knew they couldn't resist it. They themselves could grit their teeth and persist, but the horses under their crotches couldn't! A horse is an animal, but a very delicate animal. How can a horse be used as a human being?
Now the "horsepower" of these war horses is insufficient and they can't move anymore. They have to go back to drink salt water, eat some essence, and rest for a while before they can do it again.
Therefore, facing the roaring Ming army's spear cavalry, these Wu Zhou cavalry could only run away. As soon as they ran away, they trapped the four infantrymen of Wu and Zhou military guards who were besieging four small square formations of the Ming army.
They were shouting to kill and firing guns at the same time. Just as they were getting ready to kill, the Zhou army's lancers who had been covering them retreated in disorder, and when they retreated, they also disrupted their formation a little. Before they could recover, the lancers of the Ming Army followed them!
Because the incident happened suddenly, they had no time to form a hollow phalanx - there were hollow phalanxes in the east and west. Wu Zhou knew how to do it, but they had no training in quickly forming a hollow phalanx. So now being charged by 1,500 Ming Army Lancers, the four guards and more than 10,000 Wu Zhou infantry could no longer hold their own, and they had no energy left to attack the four small phalanxes that had suffered heavy losses, and began to run away in disorder. On the road, the formation was in chaos for a while, and the casualties began to become heavy.
However, the fifteen hundred Ming Army Lancers also completed their mission, exhausted their impact, and began to divide into two large columns and retreat from the left and right to the rear.
But the Ming army's cavalry attack is not over yet!
Following the fifteen hundred cavalry, a large Ming army cavalry group composed of two cavalry also roared up. The three thousand cavalry were like a silver and black tide. They were not rushing very fast, but there was an unstoppable force. The momentum spread across the green field, and twelve thousand horse hooves beat on the ground like raindrops. The thunderous sound of the hooves was like crushing the enemy's heart!
Li Zhongshan, who was on Caijia Slope, also felt the power of his own cavalry charge at this moment. It had to be said that the cavalry charge organized by Lu Bu still had two brushes!
This time, he should first scare away the enemy's cavalry, then use the impact kinetic energy of the first row of cavalry to disperse the Wu Zhou infantry who were besieging the Ming army's small hollow square, and then use the second and third cavalry to form horizontal formations. Go and drive those Wu and Zhou infantry to rush towards the second line of the Wu and Zhou army. What a good timing!
With this style of play, this living Lu Bu might really be able to penetrate Wu Zhoujun's formation!
Thinking of this, Li Zhongshan once again ordered Yao Qisheng: "Let the 12th Town go up to the top and form an offensive column!"
"Got the order!"
When Yao Qisheng agreed loudly, the two armored cavalry commanded by Li Fuchen had already driven 10,000 to 20,000 Wu and Zhou defeated troops, rushed into the Wu and Zhou army's battle line, and began to surge towards their second line.
Seeing his defeated army and the Ming army's cavalry getting closer and closer to his second line, Wu Yingqi couldn't take his eyes off, and the hand holding the telescope was covered with sweat.
At this moment, his son Wu Shicong suddenly asked for a fight: "Father, our left wing is about to be penetrated. Please let me take ten battalions of cavalry to form behind the left wing formation. Wait for the Ming army's cavalry to break through." Launch a counterattack immediately!”
"Okay! Shi Cong, you go right away, you must be quick!" Wu Yingqi also felt that these Ming army cavalry were difficult to deal with, and was afraid that the defense line would really be penetrated by them. Now the Ming army has pressed forward across the board!
Is this going to be a desperate effort?
If a large number of infantry troops penetrated Wu Zhoujun's battle line along the gap created by the cavalry, it might be a total collapse!
So he immediately transferred ten battalions and a full 10,000 cavalry to Wu Shicong, and asked him to quickly line up behind the left wing of Wu Zhou's army and prepare for a counterattack.
Just when Wu Shicong was busy mobilizing his troops, Li Fuchen was galloping among the cavalry, with the wind blowing past his ears. This was how he felt when he followed his godfathers on their expeditions! Although the godfathers were not very good at fighting, Li Fuchen himself was as fierce as a flying tiger and invincible on the battlefield.
But this time, he was not helping his godfather to charge into the battle, but helping his own son to charge into the battle. If this wave is won, then the prophecy of "eighteen sons to rule the world" will be fulfilled by this boy Li Zhongshan!
Thinking of this, Li Fuchen suddenly became more energetic.
Suddenly there was a burst of thunderous gunfire from the front, and Li Fuchen knew that it must be Wu Zhoujun's second line of infantry firing. Their goal should not be the cavalry of their front team, but to disperse Wu Zhou's defeated troops who were about to attack their own formation. But for me, this is an opportunity for a breakthrough!
He guessed correctly. The volley just now was indeed fired by a guard square of the Wu Zhou Army's second line to disperse the defeated troops of our side that came like a tide. The battlefield was full of people running wildly. They also shouted "No, Lu Bu is here", which really hurt morale.
Their random guns forced the fleeing Wu and Zhou soldiers to avoid some of the phalanx, but before they could reload their ammunition, 1,500 cavalry led by Wang An, the leader of Li Zhongshan's personal soldiers, had almost rushed to them. .
Since most of Wu Zhoujun's musketeers were still using matchlocks and were not equipped with bayonets, they could not withstand the impact of the lancers, so they had to quickly turn around and retreat, leaving the front line to the lancers behind them.
If only the Bamboo Lancers were charging towards them at this moment, the charge might have ended here.
However, these personal cavalrymen of Li Zhongshan are all multi-functional cavalry.
They can charge into battle, or use pistols, flintlock rifles, or even bows and arrows to kill enemies. Even if they were asked to dismount and engage in hand-to-hand combat, their performance would not be too bad. This is probably the so-called Hexagonal Knight, right?
Therefore, when these cavalrymen saw the Wu Zhou army on the opposite side leveling their spears, they did not choose to charge hard. Instead, they threw away the bamboo spears in their hands, then drew out their cavalry pistols. At the same time, they pulled the reins of the horses, drove the horses to turn, and then defended along this position. The front of the phalanx ran and fired at the same time.
After a burst of gunfire that sounded like firecrackers, the originally neat formation of spears became very messy. You can see the corpses of the dead in battle or the wounded rolling on the ground everywhere - the absolute number of dead and wounded is actually not too many, but it has greatly shaken the morale and formation of Wu Zhou's army.
After the shooting, the Ming army's cavalry also chose to retreat, leaving the completed passage to the 1,500 cavalry led by Li Fuchen!
And this is exactly the opportunity Li Fuchen has been waiting for!
All I saw was that he pointed forward the Zhangliu spear in his hand, opened his throat and shouted: "Eighteen sons rule the world..."
With his loud shout, the armored cavalry following him also leveled their spears and began the final sprint.
Looking from a high place, we could only see that the formation of these 1,500 armored cavalry gradually began to loosen up, and the impact speed became faster and faster.
The guard phalanx of Wu Zhou's infantry standing in front of them was already in panic. The first line of spearmen facing these bravely attacking Ming army cavalry had become a mess, and some of them began to flee.
A general of Wu Zhou Army also led some soldiers to try hard to maintain order. But everything is of no use!
In the blink of an eye, more than a thousand cavalrymen who had attacked them without hesitation had already stabbed them in with bamboo spears that were thin, long and easy to break. Completely penetrate this chaotic and fragile phalanx!
For a time, the battlefield was full of Wu and Zhou soldiers fleeing in panic, and shouts of "defeated, defeated" kept coming and going. It seems that today's battle has come to a conclusion.
But at this moment, the 10,000 Wu and Zhou cavalry commanded by Wu Shicong also sounded the clarion call to attack!
Although there was no suitable impact channel for them at this time, Wu Shicong still decisively invested the cavalry in his hand.
He didn't even wait for Li Fuchen to launch an attack on his third line. The two infantry guards who had already led the cavalry across the third line and had not yet completed their deployment pounced on Li Fuchen's troops who had just completed a beautiful attack.
Although Li Fuchen's cavalry was much stronger than his, he had 10,000 cavalry after all! So this decision is not only timely, but also the right one.
Li Fuchen, who had just broken through a Wu army formation and had not had time to pursue him, saw Wu Zhou's cavalry rushing toward him like a tide. He was so frightened that he quickly asked the soldiers around him to blow the horn to withdraw.
Immediately afterwards, he took the lead and ran first as a sign of respect. He turned around and retreated with more than a thousand cavalry under his command.
Behind him, three to four hundred steps away, the eight battalions of the 12th Town of the Ming Army had opened the hollow square formation in time.
Just as Li Fuchen completed this very beautiful cavalry charge and evacuated the battlefield in time, the situation on the battlefield suddenly changed dramatically again!
The battle between the infantry of the Zhou and Ming armies has begun across the entire front. The entire front is filled with gunpowder smoke. Deadly projectiles are coming and going on the battlefield, harvesting lives wantonly!
The flintlock firepower of the Ming army was obviously much more fierce than that of the Wu Zhou army. Although they were dozens of steps away, with the power of Mini bullets and rifled guns, they quickly killed and wounded their opponents with heavy casualties.
However, at such a distance, the shotgun blasts from Wu Zhoujun's bronze cannons also caused considerable losses to the Ming army!
The number of corpses in front of both sides' battle lines soon piled up.
Just when the battle was about to get tense. On the right wing of Wu Zhou's army, the Ming army's infantry and cavalry from two towns had completed their detour!
An army of more than 20,000 people appeared in a corner of the battlefield in a mighty manner, advancing rapidly in a wide marching column.
"This... actually has such a back-up plan!" When Wu Yingqi saw this scene, he knew something was wrong.
But all he could do at this moment was to mobilize the remaining reserves—thousands of cavalry—to quickly stop the attack.
Then, he made emergency adjustments to his right wing, and transferred three to four infantry troops from his third line to fill them in as soon as possible to block this Ming army brigade that did not know when it would complete its roundabout.
Standing high up, he looked at the Ming army getting closer and closer to his right wing. Wu Yingqi couldn't help but murmured to himself: "Wu Lao San, Wu Lao San, when will you arrive?"
Similar questions also appeared in Li Zhongshan's mind - Li Laishun, when can you arrive smoothly?
(End of chapter)
