In the early morning of March 23, a certain prince did not close his eyes, let alone sleep, because his troops would be able to join the defenders as early as the evening.
To be precise, as long as you reach the "Third Ring Road" built around Jinzhou City under the orders of Emperor Taiji, you will have opened up the connection with Zu Dashou.
Huang Taiji either chose to do it last night or during the day today.
In short, we must find ways to cut off the possibility of contact between the reinforcements and the defenders.
Otherwise, a group of pigtails have been busy for three years in order to besiege the city.
In the end, it failed. How big of a psychological gap was there?
If he had not acted rashly on the way here, he would have made some trouble on the way back to the army.
Just watching helplessly as Master Ming Dynasty delivered food to the city with ease, Huang Taiji and his men were all in vain.
In order to cope with the possible attack by Braid, a certain prince also ordered the positions of the left and right groups to be swapped.
The Japanese troops with stronger combat effectiveness were arranged on the left to withstand possible attacks from the pigtails.
After setting up camp on the spot, Abe personally inspected the temporary defense line again.
At least one-fifth of the Japanese troops were in fighting positions, while the rest were sleeping nearby.
The shifts are changed every two hours so that one person is on duty throughout the night and the remaining people can get the necessary rest.
The tanks prepared for the Japanese army had been built a long time ago. They didn't even need a built-in animal-powered engine. They were just animals pulling and people pushing.
The Japanese artillerymen were also familiar with the use of the Folang machine, as they had already used this weapon in the previous landing battles before the battle.
A certain prince also suggested to General Tokugawa that the troops could be replaced, but experienced gunners had better not be replaced easily, so as not to affect the projection speed and accuracy of their own artillery strikes.
In the Ashigaru army, gunners have the best food, second only to samurai, and supplies are given priority, so night blindness is unlikely to occur.
A certain prince had lingering fears about running circles around the mountain, a practice that could harm his hair. Accompanied by Abe Shigeji, he saw the Japanese army's positions, and he was basically relieved.
The outermost tank of the Japanese army was about two thousand meters away from Mount Siding. This distance made it difficult for the Hongyi cannon to reach it.
If Huang Taiji wants to prevent his side from continuing to advance towards Jinzhou City, he must dispatch a large number of troops, especially cavalry.
To defend against the cavalry's forced charge, in addition to tanks and vehicles, it was necessary to dig simple trenches and countless horse traps.
Since the land in Jinzhou has thawed, this is relatively easy.
There is no need to dig the trench too deep. One or two feet is enough. It is mainly used with spears to contain the rush of the braided cavalry.
When the arrangement was almost complete, a certain prince who was too restless could not say hello to Huang Taiji and asked the other party to take the initiative to attack, so he returned to his car and squinted for a while before talking.
If there is still no movement even after squinting until dawn, it means that you are really lucky, or Huang Taiji suddenly died.
Then there must be a grand celebration here. Props such as gongs and drums, firecrackers, colorful flags, and fireworks are all ready-made...
At about three o'clock in the morning, there was a rumbling sound like a flash flood outside.
A certain prince sat up from the car without even taking off his armor while sleeping.
"Report~! Your Highness, a large group of Donglu cavalry can be vaguely seen outside. Due to the obstruction of sight, it is difficult to judge their number!"
"Shoot three red flares immediately!"
"yes!"
This is the signal of encountering an enemy attack. If the people below read it correctly, it must be the braided army.
Finally, they were expected to come, otherwise I would have been in constant fear and wouldn't even be able to sleep well.
"No~um~"
The factory guards used hand-cranked sirens to warn the entire battalion, while the lieutenants of each department blew their whistles and immediately gathered their teams to prepare to defend against the enemy.
The reaction time of the troops sleeping next to the tank is very short, and they can be in position in half a minute at most.
The troops on the inside, such as the East Palace Guards, have five minutes to complete their formation.
If we set up camp on the plains and send out the sentries, if the moonlight is sufficient, we can at least provide our own side with an early warning of about ten miles.
Experienced veterans can roughly calculate the corresponding distance by listening carefully to the sound of the enemy's cavalry.
The most important thing is that a certain prince has already launched the airship into the sky, monitoring the surrounding situation at high altitude at night.
Airships, sentries, and flares, combined with tanks, trenches, and horse traps, left few opportunities for braids to take advantage of.
Although Huang Taiji sent troops to attack at night, it was not very concealed. Judging from the sound, the number of invading enemies was definitely quite large.
After the armored bulldozers set up camp, they took advantage of the nearby terrain and began to build higher-lying artillery positions for many artillery battalions.
After the artillery battalion with the imperial artillery is in position, there is no problem in firing in an arc, and it is very easy to provide fire support.
After hundreds of flares were launched into the sky one after another, illuminating a large area, the artillery battalion saw a large group of enemy cavalry entering its own range and immediately opened fire to fight.
The huge dark gray beasts on the opposite side seemed to be constantly twisting and changing shape under the fierce gunfire.
"We, the warriors of the Qing Dynasty, are victorious in every battle! This time we will never retreat! For the sake of the emperor! Charge!"
With Emperor Taiji personally supervising the battle from the rear and Dorgon commanding from the front line, it was no longer possible to hide the strength of the two white flags.
The direct general Gushan'e Zhenying Erdai was sent to lead the charge. Ma Futa, who was at the same level as him, was already loyal to the Qing Dynasty.
The Gushan'er of Ying'erdai is really just a title, and the two white flags have been controlled by the Dorgon brothers from beginning to end.
As a capable servant of Prince Rui, Ying Erdai naturally understands the importance of winning or losing in battle. Since he has a heavy responsibility, he must lead by example.
This time, the Zhengbai Banner alone dispatched a full three Jiala Tiechaodu, as did the Xiangbai Banner, Lianghong Banner, Zhenglan Banner, and Zhenglu Banner. The other Menggu Eleven Banners each dispatched three Jiala. The army and the troops of King Sanshun both had a Jia La.
A total of 99,000 people, nearly 100,000 troops rushed towards the Man Ming camp, all of them were under the heavy armor of Tie Chaodu.
The whole army was full of arrogance and sharpness. When they charged at high speed, they looked even more murderous and fierce.
With the protection of heavy armor, the Qing cavalry no longer had to fear the arrows and bullets fired by the Ming soldiers.
The only thing that can threaten one's own side is the cannon. This weapon is still invincible.
But as long as the charging speed is fast enough and the cannon's range is exceeded in a short time, the danger will suddenly decrease.
"Kill the barbarian!"
Seeing that the bright artillery fire was not as terrifying as imagined, the troops rushing into the formation became more and more confident.
Using the defensive power of heavy armor and the powerful impact of horses, they can definitely rush into the barbarian camp and kill them wantonly.
Huang Taiji did not let the infantry also charge, but only sent out cavalry Chongzhen.
First, considering that the battlefield vision is blurred, infantry can easily be trampled by war horses.
Secondly, it was to see how strong the demon boy's troops were in defense. One hundred thousand heavy cavalry could defeat four to five million Ming troops.
Based on the combat strength of both sides, our side is no longer at a disadvantage. If we only charge in one direction, we may still have a certain advantage.
Originally Huang Taiji wanted his men to charge at the Ming army on the north side, but he thought that the devil boy might have expected it in advance, so he gave up the idea.
Due to the heavy weight of the armor, the burden on the horses was greatly increased.
The Qing cavalry was advancing at a low speed three miles away in order to save horse power.
It wasn't until they were estimated to be close to the target that everyone began to gradually accelerate.
When encountering crossfire from mortars and Franco aircraft, its charging speed was close to its peak.
Countless black figures whipped their horses and whips, brandished their spears, and rushed towards the Japanese army.
In order to allow the king's cavalry to possess weapons, Huang Taiji also ordered them to be equipped with spears that were more than ten feet long.
The tip of the spear is covered with iron, which makes it easier to assassinate. As long as the wise soldier is loading ammunition after firing the musket, it is the best target for the cavalry.
"Boom boom boom boom..."
Just when the forward of the Qing cavalry was about to rush towards the target, a series of explosions like the earth shattering suddenly occurred.
Fireballs rose into the sky one after another. Looking down from the airship, a ferocious and long fire snake was suddenly formed.
The main purpose of a certain prince asking his men, including the Japanese army and the French and German forces, to dig trenches around the tanks was to bury oil barrels.
When the enemy cavalry rushes forward, blow this thing up and use the fireballs and iron beads produced by the explosion to kill the enemy cavalry. It can also delay the enemy's advancement.
Even if they are not hit by the explosion, the Qing cavalry who are touched by oil and fire will instinctively panic and want to put out the flames on their bodies as soon as possible to avoid being burned.
The horses that were killed and injured turned into huge roadblocks, and together with the nearby horse traps, they directly tripped up the companions who followed, and there were endless situations where people were turned upside down.
"Drop the bomb! Quick~!"
The samurai who successfully fired the arrow saw the opportunity and immediately asked the ashigaru with better arm strength to throw the lit grenade.
A certain prince provided one million hand grenades to the Japanese army, with an average of five per person, regardless of high or low.
The forward troops of the Qing army encountered a terrible situation where there were more flying grenades than the number of people rushing into the formation.
Although the Ashigaru are illiterate, lazy, and have many shortcomings, they only have one thing: obeying orders.
If the samurai didn't yell stop, they would keep throwing them until all the grenades they carried were gone.
The Tiepao Ashigaru has been aiming and firing. Since the enemy soldiers are coming, there is almost no need to aim. Shooting one shot into the crowd will yield something. Whether it can kill them directly is another matter.
Although the Japanese army was already trying its best to block the enemy's advance, because the Qing army's defense had been greatly improved, all those who rushed into the formation this time were Tie Chaodu and could not contain the opponent's offensive.
Only a few were killed by the artillery, and most of the heavy cavalry were able to rush to the front of the battle.
"pull!"
The Qing army also came up with a way to deal with the Ming army's tanks, which was to use flying claws to grab the hub of the wheel, and then use multiple horses to pull it outwards.
As long as there are enough war horses, a tank can be forcibly pulled out of position.
For this move, all Tie Chaodu have practiced this move no less than dozens of times.
If a tank does this, it will definitely not affect the overall situation.
But after the first tank was pulled out by the Qing cavalry, the second, third, and fourth tanks were dragged out of position by the opponent one after another.
The opponent used this move, which caught the daimyo, generals, and samurai supervising the battle by surprise.
Once the tank's obstruction is lost, one's own infantry will have to fight the opponent's cavalry.
Moreover, commanders at all levels realized that the other party's arrival this time was not a good one, and they were equipped with armor comparable to their own heavy armor.
Even if the iron cannon hits the torso, it cannot directly kill the enemy soldier. It requires multiple kills to kill it.
"Seven lives to serve the country! Death will be an honor!"
"kill!"
The Japanese were not good at artillery combat, but they were very good at hand-to-hand combat, and they were not afraid of death.
Under the orders of the samurai, a large number of spear ashigaru immediately swarmed in and blocked the gap.
As soon as a dozen Qing cavalry entered the formation, they encountered the opponent's defense like a hedgehog.
The spear ashigaru would not blindly attack the armored Qing cavalry, but would avoid the real situation and attack the weak point, first breaking the four legs of the war horse.
The only drawback of Tie Chaodu is the horse's legs. In order to prevent the horse's legs from stepping on the armor, the lower edge of the vest is still about a foot away from the ground.
It was this one-foot gap that gave the Japanese army an opportunity to take advantage of their spears, and five or six war horses were knocked down one after another.
"Boom~!"
What's more, they took out a bucket of kerosene without adding iron beads, threw it to the opposite side, and then asked the samurai to shoot it with arrows.
Seeing the violent explosion nearby, Qing Army Tie Chaodu's mount was immediately frightened and lost control, throwing the owner on its back.
Due to the heavy armor protection, unless they can stand firmly, it is difficult for a cavalry falling from mid-air to avoid being harmed when it lands.
"Damn it!"
The Qing cavalry who were blocked by their own mounts began to curse, but soon they had to deal with more than a dozen spears attacking them.
The Japanese army knew the true story of the Ming prince, and they specially targeted the enemy's fate.
Since the Qing army was not equipped with a face-covering helmet, as long as the facial features were still exposed, they could directly poke the face!
"ah……"
There were not a few unlucky guys who were stabbed in the face and killed, and there were also guys who were shot with a cannon at close range and had a bloody hole in their head.
The most terrifying enemy on the battlefield is not the person who is fully protected, but the person who is poor and not afraid of death!
Unfortunately, the Japanese army and the Ashigaru took both!
Regarding local operations, the Ashigaru may still have enemies they fear.
But going out to make money, especially fighting against the Qing army several times without losing, gave the Japanese army a great psychological advantage.
The Qing army's Tie Chaodu who attacked the formation was like a tiger entering a pack of wolves. The opponent instantly pounced on them, overwhelming them with a black mass.
After killing one, ten of them rushed forward, one layer after another, each wave higher than the next.
There are spears in front and iron cannons in the back. The warriors direct the battle while firing cold arrows.
With the continuous efforts of the Qing army Tie Chaodu, regardless of casualties, hundreds of tanks belonging to the Japanese army were dragged out.
However, even after losing the defense of these tanks, the Japanese army still did not allow the defense line to collapse easily due to their dual advantages in strength and firepower.
However, more and more Qing heavy cavalry rushed into the formation, and the number was no less than a thousand.
As time goes by, there will be more and more, until the retreat destroys the Japanese defense line.
"Brothers, follow me! I specialize in slapping dog Tatars in the face!"
"Got the order!"
Just when the Japanese army was in danger, Yi Bang rushed to the battlefield with a thousand special forces with the permission of a certain prince.
Each special forces soldier is equipped with two revolvers, one long and one short, which together make twelve rounds.
He rushed to the gap and, without saying a word, fired repeatedly at the dog's face.
The special forces are all masters at feeding bullets. They rarely miss within ten steps.
The Qing army did not have the conditions to equip repeating light weapons. The arrogant Tie Chaodu killed nearly a thousand people in ten minutes!
