Zheng Juxiang thought that he could rely on the superiority of his troops to wipe out the red barbarian soldiers because of his superior numbers. He never expected that the opponent's fighting power was so fierce. Not only was he unable to annihilate this enemy force, but he was also severely wounded by the opponent.
The cavalrymen of the unit participated in the battle and provided 105 horses. After the war, 22 horsemen came back. The rest were either killed on the spot, or they fled after being wounded and found a way to escape, and then lost touch with the main team.
The Hongyi cavalrymen lost 80% of their men in the first battle. You can imagine the shock to Zheng Juxiang. As the leader of the team, he was also injured. His arm was pierced by the enemy's iron sword. Fortunately, it was only a flesh wound, no injuries. If the bone is touched, there will be no serious problem if it is bandaged and bandaged.
But what made Zheng Juxiang unhappy was that they had lost so many men and horses. When he was retreating, he looked back and saw that there were still more than ten horses left in the Hongyi cavalry, which really shocked Zheng Juxiang.
This means that the other party has only lost 30 men and horses, and its 80 horses have been exchanged for less than 10 Hongyi horses. This exchange ratio is really too disparate. If it is done as a business, it will be a big loss.
After this battle, Zheng Juxiang finally understood the reason why Hongyi was able to rampage eastward. If the opponent had several more riders, each of them so fierce, they would really be invincible on the island.
Presumably, the all-powerful Donglu cavalry was nothing more than that. Perhaps it was not as powerful as the Hongyi cavalry. At least the Hongyi's attack with bird muskets was very sharp, completely making their own defense impossible.
Due to the small number of remaining troops, Zheng Juxiang could not even counterattack. Fortunately, Hongyi also had very few troops and was unable to pursue them. He could only lead the defeated cavalry north to join the Chinese army led by Zheng Mingying.
Zheng Juxiang wanted to win immediately, but the result was exactly the opposite. The return of the remnants of the army could no longer conceal the situation of the battle, so he had to bite the bullet and relay the encounter to Zheng Mingying.
"No problem! Take me to meet him in person!"
After Zheng Mingying heard the report on the battle situation, he did not reprimand his brothers. After the battle several years ago, Zheng knew that Hongyi was good at naval warfare.
However, its ferocity in land combat has only been heard by everyone. Only by trying it with real swords and guns can we fully understand its actual combat power. This is the chance.
Zheng Mingying believed that Hongyi could win the battle by relying on his superiority in war horses and his lack of familiarity with his tactics. If he had a thorough understanding of Hongyi's tactics, Hongyi's advantage would be gone.
Moreover, our own side has an absolute advantage in military strength. No matter how high the Hongyi's combat power is, with only a few hundred men, it is still difficult for them to resist the attack of the army.
Zheng Mingying also decided not to allow the mortar battalion sent by Hu Dawei to participate in the battle for the time being. He wanted the generals of the imperial court to see that Zheng Jun could still defeat the Hongyi even without their broken iron barrel.
If five thousand soldiers cannot defeat five hundred red barbarians, doesn't it mean that our troops are weak and inferior to those rogue bandits who are causing harm to the Central Plains?
"Pass my general's order, and the entire army will quickly move south to find and annihilate the main force of the Red Yi!"
After excluding the 500 men assigned to Guo Huaiyi, Zheng Mingying still has 2,500 men in his hands. He still has more than five times the strength advantage over Hongyi. As long as he fights steadily, Hongyi will not be able to turn the tide. Chance.
The previous setbacks were all caused by Zheng Juxiang's underestimation of the enemy. In terms of battle, Zheng Mingying felt that his side had a great chance of winning. As long as Hongyi chose to fight with him, it would be self-destruction.
"...Mr. Major, in the battle just now, our troops killed forty-two Ming soldiers and wounded about fifty or sixty others. The remaining dozens of enemy cavalry were defeated. Three of our troops were killed and injured. Eleven people.”
As a commander who had won the battle, Lieutenant Ridmacher felt that he was fully qualified to exaggerate the results of the victory, and the horses and other trophies brought back could already prove the authenticity of what he said.
Lieutenant Maher was a little contemptuous of Zheng Yiguan's pirates who went ashore to fight in such a grand manner, but he still fought the enemy very seriously and did not dare to be careless at all. The facts were similar to what he had imagined. These pirates on horseback did not understand tactics at all.
If his troops were not too small, he could even launch a counterattack against the pirate cavalry after repelling them. It would be very possible to annihilate nearly a hundred pirate cavalry at one time.
However, if we can achieve a complete victory with such a huge gap in strength, and our losses are still within a tolerable range, then it is considered a great success, and Lieutenant Maher is also satisfied with this result.
"Very good. In the face of an enemy with several times your strength, you fought very bravely and suffered only minor losses. I am sincerely proud of you. I will personally report to Colonel Jansen and report to Bolger on your behalf." Please take credit, sir!"
Major Simvit, who felt that he was pushed to the edge of the cliff by Zheng Yiguan's pirate army, was immediately delighted when he heard that his cavalry troops had defeated Zheng's forward. This was good news that could boost the morale of the troops.
Judging from the first land battle, the combat effectiveness of the Zheng army, at least the cavalry unit, should not be very high. With a strength advantage of five or six times, not only did they not win, but they were also defeated by Lieutenant Maher's troops. Got to fail miserably.
This shows that either the commander of the unit is a loser, or the cavalry troops on the island do not know how to fight, perhaps because they have not participated in any decent battles at all.
Based on this inference, maybe it is possible for our troops to defeat the enemy in front of them, but they still have to fight the Zheng army under the premise of a huge military disadvantage. They must be very careful. If they are not careful, the whole army will be annihilated.
The victory won by Lieutenant Maher's troops could not fundamentally change the balance of strength between the two sides. Major Simvit, who was not dazzled by the victory, knew this very well. He was not a reckless idiot who easily underestimated the enemy.
Before, he just wanted to preserve his strength so that he could take the opportunity to cross the narrow gorge and return to Da Yuan Island. However, it seems difficult to achieve during the day, so we can only wait until nightfall to look for opportunities.
Based on the battle results reported by Lieutenant Maher and the intelligence obtained by the scouts, Major Witte believed that only by severely inflicting heavy losses on the enemy could they get a chance to breathe, otherwise they would be eaten up by this enemy force sooner or later.
"Let's leave the shore first and throw away part of the food on the way. With so much food, we can't march quickly at all. All the fruits are distributed to the soldiers to avoid scurvy caused by nutritional deficiencies caused by long-term battles!"
After a brief thought, Major Witte turned his decision into an order. To get rid of the enemy's pursuit, he must move forward lightly, and he must also ensure the physical strength of the soldiers and reduce the possibility of illness as much as possible.
It is enough to take only a small part of the food. Some of it will be used as bait to ambush the enemy, and the other part that cannot be taken away will simply be burned. The fruit can be distributed to everyone and eaten while walking.
The peel will definitely leave traces, but with more than two hundred people marching, it is impossible to leave no trace. If the opponent has a hunting dog, then he is absolutely sure to pursue him.
All supplies other than marching and combat were burdensome. In order to survive, Major Witte could only order his officers and soldiers to throw away everything they could.
Due to its small number, the entire force moved very quickly and was ready within ten minutes and began to move inland.
Some of the carriages originally used to transport grain were now loaded with wounded soldiers who were unable to move, so that they could follow the troops to other places. Equipment that was difficult for individuals to carry could also be placed on the carriages. Soldiers who could ride horses could ride on the captured Zheng Zheng. Military war horses.
Major Witte wants his soldiers to reduce their load and maximize their marching speed, at least to surpass the enemy's. Only in this way can they gain the advantage in mobility, which is the only advantage they can currently hold.
Through previous observations, Major Witte and several of his company commanders concluded that Zheng Jun had not sent many horses ashore, and it was impossible to support the combat needs of a large cavalry unit of at least five to six hundred people.
The cavalry unit that Lieutenant Maher defeated was most likely the main force of the opponent's cavalry. Zheng Jun only had a cavalry unit of about two hundred people at most.
After learning the news of the failure of the first battle, the generals of the Zheng army who landed on the island would not easily put their remaining precious cavalry into battle.
Therefore, Major Witte subjectively believed that as long as the marching speed of his own infantry could exceed that of the Zheng Army's infantry, it would be enough. If the Zheng Army's cavalry breaks away from the cover of the infantry and rushes up alone, his troops are not afraid of fighting with it.
For the pirate cavalry who did not have much actual combat experience, Lieutenant Maher alone could defeat hundreds of the opponent's cavalry with more than 20 cavalry. If they cooperated with the infantry, they might be able to annihilate most of the Zheng army's cavalry in one fell swoop.
"Damn pirates!"
"Damn Zheng Yiguan!"
"Damn Formosa!"
The scenery here is picturesque and a good place for vacation. The only thing that the Dutch officers and soldiers are not used to is the local climate. Even though they have been here for a long time, they have not fully adapted. They will sweat all over if they don’t do anything. Marching and fighting are naturally even more difficult. .
Now that there is Zheng Yiguan and his pirate army, everyone will naturally not be happy physically and mentally. They can only celebrate after defeating the invading enemy. Now they must move as soon as possible to avoid being surrounded by pirates.
Major Witte's plan was to use his unit's speed advantage to enter the interior first, preferably to bypass the enemy's flank.
If you have the chance, either carry out a sneak attack to cause chaos. Either pass through its weak defenses and return to Taiyuan Island.
He doesn't want to stay in Formosa Island for a long time, but if the situation does not allow it, he will have to stay here. Everything depends on the situation of the next battle.
If we can win three games in a row, the situation may change greatly and become beneficial to our own team. Otherwise, he would have to run exhausted with his men and be chased by a large group of pirates and become as miserable as a wild dog.
Zheng Jun landed in the morning, so today's battle will take a long time, because it is midsummer and the sun sets for a long time.
Faced with a large number of enemy troops and such weather and time, Major Witte could only make preparations in all aspects, and he had to adapt to various situations in order to survive the danger.
No one knows what will happen tomorrow. The two hundred or so of them, especially the ordinary soldiers, can only try their best to live through today, and wait until the sun rises tomorrow to talk about tomorrow's events.
"Report~! We have found traces of enemy troops on the left front of our army. It is estimated that there are no less than a hundred people!"
"Okay! Send my order to the general, and the whole army will move forward quickly to pursue the Hongyi and annihilate them!"
Zheng Guangying, who was responsible for the security of the left wing of the army, immediately became happy when he received the report. Although his third uncle Zheng Mingying was the commander of the army that landed on the island, he had to follow the authority and the fighter plane was fleeting, so there was no need to report it at this time.
"Guangying, it's better to repay your uncle first!"
Guo Huaiyi, who was traveling with him, didn't want the child to make a mistake, so he wouldn't be able to explain it to Zheng Mingying. If something happened, he would be embarrassed to see his father Zheng Zhipeng again.
"Why is Uncle Guo so cautious? Is it because he is afraid of the Hongyi? Although I have never fought against the Hongyi, I know that he is good at using firearms. Now you and I have 1,500 troops, but the Hongyi soldiers are insufficient. Four to five hundred, in such a good situation, how can we let the tiger go back to the mountain?"
Zheng Guangying's understanding of Hongyi was only superficial, and he was not as knowledgeable as Zheng Mingying and Guo Huaiyi. Like most generals of the Zheng family, it was inevitable to underestimate the enemy. However, relying on the strength of our troops, we are not afraid of losing the battle at all.
From Zheng Guangying's point of view, why not exchange three soldiers for one of Hongyi's soldiers?
If he still can't win, he will go back to his hometown and study hard from now on!
"...Okay, but you have to be more careful. I will lead my troops to explore the road ahead, and you will lead a large group of people to follow up. If we are ambushed, you and I can rely on each other to prevent Hongyi from succeeding!"
Guo Huai said he was unwilling to let Zheng Guangying advance alone, but he also wanted to make a contribution, so he agreed with his nephew.
"What Uncle Guo said, are you afraid that I will take the first credit?"
They had also heard gunfire from the distance before, but it soon subsided and there was no more movement. Zheng Guangying felt that it was a fight between his own forward and Hongyi, who was responsible for breaking up the rear.
However, when Hongyi ran in front of him, he was probably driven over by other troops, so that he could just pick up the ready-made ones. However, Guo Huaiyi insisted on blocking the road in front, which made Zheng Guangying very unhappy.
Zheng Guangying is still very relieved about Guo Huaiyi's character, but as a general of the Zheng family, it is impossible to say that he is not selfish, so if he wants to get the first credit, at least one person must be half of it, and he is determined not to give it away easily.
"The Hongyi are fierce, Guangying must be on guard. If our troops are attacked, your troops will come to the rescue!"
Guo Huaiyi had been lurking on the island for a while. He had learned some inside information from the information given by the Crown Prince held by Zhen Haibo, and he knew how powerful Hong Yi was.
Although they are not the regular Dutch army, they are more powerful than the regular army in combat, because many of them are mercenaries who have experienced the war in Europe. They kill people without blinking an eye, and their fighting ability is not inferior to the Tatars outside the customs.
He had watched this nephew grow up, and he was Zheng Zhipeng's eldest son, so nothing could happen to him. Judging from his tone, he didn't take Hongyi seriously at all. Since ancient times, arrogant soldiers will be defeated, most likely to do bad things, so Guo Huaiyi is so worried.
"Haha, Uncle Guo's words are serious. Now that Hongyi is facing my army, he is afraid that it is too late to run away. So he still has the intention to fight with our army? Okay, my nephew appreciates Uncle Guo's kindness. You and I are in the same team. It’s okay to advance and retreat at the same time, right?”
Zheng Guangying didn't want Guo Huai to attack, and he was also worried that his inexperience would lead to heavy losses or even failure, so he took a step back and made a plan like this.
"That's fine! Hongyi is cunning and fierce, Guangying must be more careful!"
When Guo Huai saw this, he did not want to continue arguing, so as to avoid the discord between his uncle and nephew, which would lead to low morale and be detrimental to future battles, so he agreed to Zheng Guangying's suggestion.
