Our own side was seriously lacking in war horses. After acquiring Yang Youxian, Wang Guoning, and Chang Guoan, the total number of horsemen was only four thousand, of which Li Zicheng only had more than a thousand.
A more serious problem is the lack of fire guns. Not to mention Hongyi cannons or hair guns, there are only a few Fo Lang machines and great god guns.
There are nearly 20,000 people in the army, and they are equipped with only twenty-two fire guns, all of which are small and medium-sized fire guns with little power, such as Ye Gong Shen Gun, Baizi Gun, Tiger Crouching Cannon, etc.
If he could capture Ruzhou City and use the firearms at the top of the city for his own use, he could give it a go, but for now there was no doubt that he would have to use the only gadgets at hand to resist the attack of the army.
These firearms have a short range and weak lethality. Facing the forwards of the official army, especially those who are armored soldiers, they do not have much advantage. Moreover, they will be at a disadvantage when shooting against the official gunfire.
With such inferior firearms and few horsemen, Li Zicheng had little chance of winning in a decisive battle with the army on the plains. Only then did Li Zicheng decide to abandon the siege and instead set up an ambush at Huoshan.
It would be great to defeat Sun Chuanting in one battle, and a large amount of loot could be captured by severely inflicting heavy losses on the Dog Officer Army. At present, our own strength is not too strong, and annihilating the invading Dog Officer Army is an unrealistic idea.
Li Zicheng has a clear understanding and judgment of the comparison of forces between the enemy and ourselves, so that he can take advantage of the situation, avoid the real and attack the weak, and formulate more appropriate tactical strategies based on his own strength.
If they fail to defeat them, they can flee directly from the mountains to avoid being killed by the dog army's cavalry on the plains. After leaving the battlefield, they can gather the scattered troops.
The soldier must not only avenge his humiliation, but also learn from previous experiences and lessons. At least he must not let the Sun Gou thief defeat him again.
"Zong Min, you lead a thousand cavalry and are responsible for luring the dog army to the bait. Remember, you can only defeat, not fight, let alone win. The decisive place is in the mountains!"
In order to ensure nothing goes wrong, Li Zicheng had to take out a bait first, lest the dog officers and soldiers really arrived at Ruzhou City and entered the city directly, then it would be in vain for them to set up an ambush in the mountains.
Li Zicheng only planned to pay 100 of these 1,000 horsemen, and the remaining 900 would naturally be shared equally by the three new leaders. They could not just sit back and enjoy the gains before they achieved anything.
"King Chuang, don't worry, the general will get his orders!"
Although he was luring the dog officers and soldiers to the bait, rather than fighting to the death with the enemy, Liu Zongmin was not unhappy, because as long as the time was right, his troops could fight back.
"Jianxiu and Zongdi each commanded two thousand soldiers, and together with Youxian's troops formed the left wing. Fang Liang and Tichun each commanded two thousand soldiers, and together with Guoning's troops formed the right wing. Shousu and Sizhong each commanded one thousand The soldiers are responsible for coordinating the left and right wings, Shuangxi leads a thousand soldiers to protect his family, and the others are waiting for the Chinese army to ambush Sun Gouzi's troops in Huoshan!"
Li Zicheng thought that this arrangement was more appropriate. If the dog army could not be intercepted in this way, then the only way to go was to retreat quickly.
The mission of Tan Shousu and Xin Sizhong is actually to monitor Yang Youxian and Wang Guoning at close range. Once they discover that they have double-minded intentions, they must suppress them in time.
Although Li Zicheng had known these three people before, and the two sides had attacked the government troops together, so the possibility of turning against each other was not very high, but this time it was considered a coordinated operation, so there was no need to take extra precautions.
The left wing of the army has more than 5,000 troops, the right wing has a similar strength, and the center has only more than 3,000 troops. It seems relatively weak, but the main focus of the battle is to outflank the two wings and attack from the left and right.
As long as both sides fight vigorously and cut the invading officers and soldiers into sections that cannot support each other, the dog officers and soldiers will be unable to open a breakthrough in the middle.
To take a step back, if the dog army can't be held back, then the troops in the middle can retreat first, without waiting for the two wings to turn defeat into victory.
Huoshan is located southeast of Ruzhou City and on the south bank of Ru River, while Ruzhou City is on the north bank. This is the main reason why Liu Zongmin led his troops to seduce the dog officers and soldiers.
First of all, it is necessary to let the officers and soldiers understand that the rebel army is vulnerable and has a small number of troops. If they pursue them, they can achieve a complete victory.
Secondly, it is necessary to lure the enemy deep into the mountain and not leave men and horses at the bottom of the mountain, otherwise the officers and soldiers will throw a rat weapon.
Li Zicheng believed that based on his own strength, it was relatively safe to kill three to five thousand dog officers and soldiers.
No matter how many people come, it will be difficult to tell.
Those who can keep up with the speed of the cavalry led by Liu Zongmin must be the official cavalry, so that they can break away from the cover of the infantry and come to die alone.
Before the enemy's situation became clear, Li Zicheng believed that Sun Gouzhi could send at most two or three thousand horsemen in one direction, but no more than five thousand. Any more would mean that the news had been leaked.
Five thousand cavalry!
Tsk tsk!
That's a really delicious piece of fat!
Once your troops obtain their armor, weapons and horses, they will be even more powerful.
If Li Zicheng was also very content, he wouldn't need five thousand. Three thousand would be enough for him to eat.
Since Bai Guangen's troops had served as the vanguard of the entire army many times, Sun Chuanting gave the vanguard to four people: He Renlong, Zuo Guangxian, Li Guoqi, and Zheng Jiadong to rescue Ruzhou City this time.
They are all his old subordinates and the main generals of the Qin army. This arrangement can be regarded as a reward for their bravery in the previous battles.
The reason for arranging four people is that the number of soldiers under each department is far less than that of Bai Guangen. When the four groups are put together, it is just right, but it is only three thousand.
Bai Guangen's tens of thousands of troops served as the left wing, and the right wing consisted of Li Shourong, Sun Xianzu, Xue Minzhong, Zu Dabi, as well as Wang Guangen, Hui Dengxiang and Xue Chengcai.
The journey from Xiangcheng to Ruzhou City was not too far, but Sun Chuanting still did not order a rush march in order to save the physical strength of his soldiers and horses.
Apart from a few skinny Liu Min along the way, I had never seen a large-scale bandit army, and even bandit soldiers were extremely rare.
Jiaxian County, northwest of Xiangcheng, was not attacked by the rebels, and no ambush was found in the surrounding areas. This surprised Sun Chuanting.
According to the previous offensive strategy of the rebel army, it should be easy first and then difficult. This is the case in both Nanyang Mansion and Runing Mansion.
This band of bandits left Jiaxian County, which was easier to conquer, and instead attacked Ruzhou City, which was high in the city and deep in the pond. It seemed that their behavior was very abnormal!
Sun Chuanting couldn't figure out why, so he could only speculate after arriving at Ruzhou City.
Now they finally got the title of forward. He Renlong, Zuo Guangxian, Li Guoqi, and Zheng Jiadong realized that they had something to gain, and their enthusiasm for offense increased sharply.
When he was a forward, Bai Guangen made a lot of money. He made a lot of money just by making an emergency landing on Xue Chengcai, which made everyone envious.
To relieve the siege of Ruzhou City, it doesn't take much. As long as four people can divide 40,000 taels of silver, it will be enough. No matter who the enemy general is, just kill him with one knife.
Therefore, each person led seven or eight hundred horsemen to run very fast. No matter what, he first reached the outskirts of Ruzhou City. If he could fight, he would fight. If he couldn't fight, he would join in the fun first, and his own infantry would be far away. Thrown behind him.
"The dog officers and soldiers are here!"
"The wind is so tight!"
When Liu Zongmin saw no fewer than three thousand officers and soldiers coming from the southeast, only three to four hundred steps away from his own troops, he immediately shouted and ordered his men to flee immediately.
If the distance is too far, it will be difficult for the officers and soldiers to take the bait.
If the distance is too close, it is easy to be hit hard by the officers and soldiers.
The distance is not far or close, the eyes can see it, but the bow and arrow can't reach it, it's just right.
Three thousand horsemen should be enough for King Chuang to have a big meal. Any more and he would be choked.
Liu Zongmin led a group of people and ran as fast as they could, turning their heads and looking back.
"The bandit army is right in front of us! Get ready!"
When He Renlong saw that the rebel army was small and his own side had an absolute advantage, he immediately became interested. If he could annihilate them, it would be considered a first achievement.
"This place is still some distance from Ruzhou City. It would be too many reconnaissance cavalry, but it would be too few if it were to block our troops."
Zheng Jiadong felt that something was strange, but he could not tell what was wrong, so he did not order his troops to pursue him immediately.
"...Hmm~! Brother Zheng's words make sense! Could it be that the bandit army is trying to lure the tiger away from the mountain?"
Li Guoqi, who was traveling together, felt that Zheng Jiadong's analysis was in line with his own ideas. Sun Shaobao ordered him to go outside Ruzhou City to investigate the truth, but now he encountered a bandit army here.
If they follow the rebels across Ru River, the forward cavalry will not be able to reach Ruzhou City as soon as possible, and the situation ahead will not be reported to Sun Shaobao in time.
The bandit army planned this to have a back-up plan, so he should be more careful and not be like a reckless man like He Renlong who opens his mouth when seeing meat.
Neither Li Guoqi nor Zheng Jiadong ordered to pursue the bandits, but they did not continue to rush north to aid Ruzhou City. They only sent a large number of reconnaissance cavalry in two directions, while their own troops rested in place and waited for good news.
"Master! Zheng and Li did not follow up!"
"It doesn't matter if they don't come, as long as the main department and the left department fight side by side, it's enough!"
Upon seeing this, General Ya hurriedly reminded He Renlong that if Li Guoqi and Zheng Jiadong were unwilling to pursue this bandit army, it would be equivalent to losing half of their troops.
He Renlong was eager to make meritorious deeds and didn't mind this. As long as Zuo Guangxian's help came, the two units would be very confident in defeating the bandit army in front of them.
At present, our soldiers are well-equipped, have high morale, and have considerable combat power. It is a good time to kill the enemy. It would not sound good to Sun Shaobao if he let the enemy in front of him escape like this.
"Master, the bandits are riding up the mountain!"
"oh???"
When they saw the officers and soldiers turning their horses, they fled and went into the mountains. Are these enemy troops bandits or bandits?
He Renlong was also puzzled by this, but the enemy was not far away in front of him, and he really didn't want to stop here.
"Catch up!"
After only a moment of hesitation, He Renlong ordered his troops to continue the pursuit, at least to the top of the mountain, before making a conclusion.
If the terrain in the mountains is not too steep, we will continue the pursuit, otherwise we will all return and continue to Ruzhou City.
"General! The dog officers and soldiers are here!"
A horse soldier gasped and reported the military situation to Tian Jianxiu. Although the number of dog officers and soldiers who came was small, Liu Zongmin's trip was not in vain.
"Okay! The cannon sounds as the trumpet!"
King Chuang had ordered that the front line be led by the mature and prudent Tian Jianxiu. When he asked to attack, his soldiers must act accordingly, otherwise they would be subject to military law.
Liu Zongmin's men did not stop after running to the top of the mountain. Luring the officers and soldiers was only half the success. They had to get them up the mountain. Otherwise, how could they be surrounded and annihilated at the foot of the mountain?
"The Dog Officer Army is awesome! Brothers, retreat quickly!"
Hearing Liu Zongmin's shouts, Tian Jianxiu and his soldiers couldn't help but want to laugh out loud.
This performance is really on point. People who don’t know better would think that Liu Zongmin has always been like this.
More than 10,000 soldiers were lying in ambush on the back slope of the top of the mountain, waiting for the order to ambush.
After Liu Zongmin's men ran past, the sound of horse hooves suddenly sounded, indicating that the prey was coming.
This unit of officers and soldiers was simple and clear, and they pursued Liu Zongmin's troops along the route of their defeat intact.
The reserved gaps were marked in advance so that they could be easily identified and Liu Zongmin would not lead his troops astray.
The gap was thirty feet wide, enough for the army and cavalry to enter the ambush circle that had been laid out in advance.
The firecrackers used to seal the gap were covered with vegetation and could not be seen from the outside.
By the time the dog officers and soldiers rushed to the top of the mountain, even if they saw tens of thousands of soldiers, it was too late to turn their horses around.
"It's so old! He ran so fast!"
He Renlong worked hard enough, but still failed to catch up with the bandit army in front of him.
No wonder he has managed to survive until now. It seems that running away is really a specialty of the thieves.
More than a thousand people went up the mountain one after another, and the more than a hundred horsemen at the front had already chased into the mountain without any explanation.
"Let's wait and see!"
He Renlong calmly took out the telescope tied around his waist, intending to take a look at the terrain here.
"Boom boom boom boom..."
At this moment, everyone suddenly heard the sound of cannons. The officers and soldiers were all pawns, so naturally they would not carry guns. Hearing the sound of cannons could only mean that there were bandits nearby.
"kill!"
Then there were shouts of killing, and tens of thousands of bandits rushed towards the location of the officers and soldiers from both sides.
The other party had no flag. He Renlong and Zuo Guangxian were immediately frightened and had no time to identify their identity.
"Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
Seeing that the rebel army was too powerful and far beyond our own ability to bear, He Renlong immediately ordered a retreat.
However, it is really difficult for thousands of cavalry to turn around on the mountain, and they have to be bombarded continuously.
In addition, the opponent's arrows were fired frequently. Before retreating from the mountain, the two troops had lost nearly 300 people.
Liu Zongmin returned at this time and brought more cavalry, numbering no less than 5,000.
This frightened He Renlong and Zuo Guangxian. From this, it seemed that they had encountered the main force of the bandit army.
There was no need to think about the outcome of the battle. It was good to be able to save his life this time, so he led his troops to flee in despair.
The number of officers and soldiers was very small, so the new recruits in Li's army were no longer afraid and fought bravely under the leadership of the veterans.
Facing the tsunami-like attack from the opposite side, the army and cavalry barely came into contact with the opponent's infantry, and a large-scale rout occurred.
Most of the losses were caused by bullets or arrows. Coupled with the counterattack of 5,000 horsemen, the officers and soldiers were in a panic and had no choice but to go down the mountain quickly, even if they rolled down.
It's just that two legs can't run as much as four legs. In addition, the width of the gap is not small, and it is more laborious to close. As many as six to seven hundred officers and soldiers escaped, and the size of the encirclement was only about half of their total strength.
"Hurry down the mountain!"
Liu Zongmin didn't care about the few people in front of him at all. His target was the dog officers and soldiers who ran down the mountain.
To fight a battle, you have to kill at least a thousand officers and soldiers to be cost-effective. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a loss if you mobilize an army and mobilize a large number of people?
How He Renlong and Zuo Guangxian were chasing Liu Zongmin just now, the situation now is exactly the opposite.
He Renlong was very angry about this. He finally became the vanguard, but was ambushed by the bandits.
How could he, Bai Guangen, not encounter such misfortune? ? ?
This battle did not achieve even an inch of success, but more than half of the cavalry were lost first. It is really hateful!
