The first day of May, evening.
The rain was still falling, but it was lighter than two hours ago, and the wind was also lighter. The Qing troops under Shang Kexi's command, who were eager to return home, ended their short rest half an hour ago, pushing shield carts converted from baggage vehicles, and set up formation at the foot of Ma Tou Mountain.
Shang Kexi did not set up a long snake formation seven or eight miles long like Zhu Heji, but arranged the fifteen or six thousand people underneath into three dense square formations lined up in the open space. on the flat ground.
Shang Kexi, who was wearing a yellow dragon-patterned cloth mask, delivered a pre-battle speech with the theme of "Going Home" and immediately gave the order to beat the drum and march without saying a word.
The offensive strategy had been discussed with the generals below during the break just now. He himself, Shang Zhixiao and Shang Zhijie, led the central, left and right armies respectively.
When the marching drums sounded, Shang Zhixiao and Shang Zhijie rushed to the left and right wings of the Ming army and launched a fierce attack! The Chinese army, which Shang Kexi personally controlled, stood still, waiting for the opportunity to launch the final blow.
As for where to hit this final blow, it depends on the situation.
"Dong dong dong dong..."
"Kill the thief! Go home! Kill the thief! Go home..."
The sound of war drums and the slogan "Kill the thieves! Go home!" alternately sounded on the battlefield between Ma Tou Mountain and Long Tou Mountain. The drums sounded louder and louder, and the roars became louder and louder.
The two formations of Qing troops led by Shang Zhixiao and Shang Zhijie were large in number. They were both large formations of four to five thousand people. They were all infantry and pushed shield carts, but they were not slow in marching on the battlefield. And they can also complete formation changes while walking. From a dense large formation, it expanded into three small formations: front, middle and back. Each small formation is divided into two large formations, front and rear. The front team is composed of dead soldiers, pushing the shield cart into the formation. The rear team is the sharp soldiers who supervise the battle. If the front team is defeated, the sharp soldiers of the rear team will push up and become new dead soldiers. The last group of sharp soldiers led by Xin and Shang Zhixiao were stopped, and they were reorganized into groups of dead soldiers and sharp soldiers and went into the battlefield...
Zhu Heji, who was riding a Yangma to supervise the battle on a high slope next to the intersection of Longtoushan, saw that Shang Kexi's left and right formations were moving so quickly, and could complete the deployment while walking, and kept shouting "Kill the thieves! Come back!" Home!" The slogan made his heart skip a beat.
An old traitor is an old traitor!
Such a tired army can be used like this by him, every one of them is like a chicken blood... It's no wonder that heroes such as Li Dingguo, Zheng Chenggong, Wang Xing, and Su Li failed to take Shang Kexi from his side back then. Guangdong is blasted away!
But this time it’s different! Zhu Hexin said: "This is the great saint who is coming back. The saint... must be invincible!"
Just as he thought of this, the officers and soldiers of the two towns on the left and right flanks of the Ming army also roared!
"Destroy the Shang family, enter Guangzhou, restore the Ming Dynasty..."
The roar sounded loud and clear. It seemed that the morale was very high and they were not frightened by the surging Qing army.
Zhu Heji took a breath, took out his telescope and began to observe the condition of both wings. The left wing of the Qing army seemed to be rushing faster than their right wing. At this time, the infantry of about 4,000 to 5,000 people had divided into six large horizontal formations, like six waves, rushing towards Su Zhanshan's command one by one. The right wing of the Ming army's defense line.
...
Su Zhanshan was standing next to his mortar position at this time - he was probably also a "student-type" general. He learned everything quickly and knew a little bit about everything. He could sail a boat in the water and ride a horse ashore. Zhu Heji also returned He was taught how to use a small mortar to "shoot the hammer", which made him "all-powerful with the water-borne horse artillery".
However, what he is best at is "playing black magic" and shooting guns... He can learn the art of boiling sugar and medicine and mixing "cocktails" at once, and he can also measure distance accurately. He even learned how to make hollow charges. Armor Breaking Hammer".
So now he personally controls twelve mortars used to fire smoke bombs and incendiary bombs!
These twelve mortars were placed in a row under the hillside, all covered by awnings. Super-caliber smoke bombs had been inserted into the muzzles of each mortar.
Sugar bombs cannot be used now, but smoke bombs are not afraid of tides and can still be used... They will be relied on to disrupt the formation of the Qing army later.
Behind the "breastwork" made of fences, bamboo mats, branches and soil, ten spearmen and swordsmen were ready, waiting for the mortars to fire!
"Kill the thief! Go home! Kill the thief! Go home..."
The shouts of the Qing soldiers became louder and louder, and their steps became faster and faster. They were about to rush to Su Zhanshan's formation.
Moreover, because of continuous marching in the rain, their gunpowder and bowstrings were already wet, so they did not shoot or discharge their guns. They just covered their heads and rushed forward shouting slogans. Because the charge was so fast, their formation was a little scattered.
"Fire...the mortar!"
When Su Zhanshan saw that it was almost done, he shouted. Upon hearing this, a young soldier guarding him raised the red flag in his hand high, and then waved it down with all his strength.
Seeing the red flag waved, the gunners of each gun first lit the smoke bombs, and then lit the match ropes of the mortars. After a burst of "boom boom boom", the twelve smoky smoke bombs were collapsed by the gunpowder. Out of the gun barrel, dragging smoke, through the rain curtain, flying towards the Qing army's array... This scene looked very frightening. Before the smoke bombs fell, the charging Qing soldiers were a little confused. Some people Slowing down, some people subconsciously squatted down to avoid the bullets!
But before they could react, twelve smoke bombs had already fallen, rushing behind the front line of dead Qing soldiers. The smoke separated them from the sharp soldiers behind them.
And these dead soldiers are really eager to return home. They are not afraid of death, and they are even charging with their heads covered!
"Fire... general cannon!"
Su Zhanshan saw the smoke rising in front and immediately issued the second order.
The so-called general cannon is actually a 6-pound iron cannon carried off the Great Eastern. It is operated by the Portuguese artillery commanded by Aoi's "United Captain" (joint mercenary captain) - Zhu Heji has sent out "artillery apprentices". "Learn along, but I haven't learned it yet, so I can only use "foreign brothers".
The arrangement method of these 6-pound iron cannons was learned from the artillerymen of Zeng Qizhao. They were not displayed generously for people to see in the Ming Dynasty, but were covered with wooden sheds, fences, bamboo mats and the like. Wait for the enemy to get close and then suddenly hit you hard!
This is a 6-pounder gun produced in England! It also comes with original shotshells and in-house gunpowder, which are just as powerful.
Because the road ahead was muddy, even the 6-pound iron cannon was not very convenient to move, so it was impossible to move in time according to changes in the enemy's situation. Therefore, more than thirty 6-pound cannons can only be placed on an average front of seven or eight miles long. On average, only four or five cannons can be spread out per mile.
However, the shot bombardment from five 6-pound cannons was still very deadly!
The Qing army did not expect that the Ming army could still use artillery in such a windy and rainy weather, so their formation was denser and their charge was fiercer. This was terrible!
After the five shotshells were pushed out of the gun barrel by the gunpowder, they immediately turned into hundreds of lead bullet beads, and swept past the Qing army's formation with the strong wind... Even if there was a shield car to block it, it was of no avail. , the wooden shield could not withstand the shot of the 6-pound gun and was beaten into a sieve.
And the projectiles that penetrated the shield were still deadly! Wherever these projectiles were swept, the Qing soldiers were knocked down row by row!
"Beat the drums and advance the troops!"
Su Zhanshan heard the sound of artillery and gave the order to beat the drum without even observing the effect of the artillery fire.
The spearmen of the five leaders, who had been ready and lined up in five lines, heard the drums and shouted and stood up - they were originally squatting behind the shelter. Now as they stood up, the fences and bamboo mats in front of them were also pushed down, leaving only a low earth wall that could be easily climbed over.
"Destroy the Shang family, enter Guangzhou, restore the Ming Dynasty... Go ahead!"
The leaders and deputy leaders who led the team drew their swords, pointed them straight ahead, and shouted loudly!
"Forward! Forward! Forward..."
The pikemen shouted "forward" rhythmically, and then stepped forward in unison...
The soldiers of the two armies met on a narrow road in the rain!
