Now that he has surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, Ma Tengyun has no choice.
If he doesn't fight, Niu Wancheng will kill him.
Even if Niu Wancheng didn't take action, Huguang Governor Zhang Changgeng and Huguang Admiral Dong Xueli would not spare him.
Those Ming troops who came back from the Western Front would not let go of this traitorous general like him!
Unless he gets out of the way.
But this is obviously impossible!
"Pass my military order and you are not allowed to retreat. If anyone dares to retreat without permission, Mr. Ma, I will kick his head like a ball!"
Under Ma Tengyun's strict orders, and with all his family members in the hands of the Qing, his generals had no choice but to lead their troops to separate places, no matter how unwilling they were.
On the Ming army's side, "Commander-in-Chief" Ma Sizhong led more than 400 old Shun soldiers holding playing cards in their hands and advancing rapidly along the mountain road in a dense square formation.
The shield is not made of iron, but made of poplar and paulownia wood. It is very light, easy to carry, and can withstand arrows and blunderbuss. Therefore, since the late Ming Dynasty, armies of all parties have often equipped their troops with this shield.
The disadvantage is that it cannot be exposed to the sun or rain, otherwise it will become brittle and rotten over time.
In addition, it cannot withstand the pressure of heavy weapons and is easily broken by a broadsword.
If it encounters a hammer or the like, it will break each one.
However, this kind of bargain is now the main equipment of the Kuidong Ming Army, and it is only available to elite troops, and ordinary troops have very little equipment.
If they want to break through the Ma Department in one fell swoop, the Ming army must engage them in close combat, fight with their bodies, suppress the opponent's courage, and then defeat the enemy in one fell swoop.
This is what Wang Wu said when we meet on a narrow road, the brave wins!
This resulted in the Ming army that took the initiative to attack and was bound to be hit by long-range firepower from the rebels.
Since Ma Tengyun had just surrendered, the Qing army did not dare to equip him with many muskets and bows. Therefore, the weapons used by the Ma soldiers were still the same as before. The number of muskets and bows was not large. Therefore, the Ming army was not attacked when advancing. How many long-range strikes.
However, everyone in the Ming army knew at this time that the real hard battle had not yet come.
The rebels occupying the commanding heights on both sides could not be easily defeated by the bravely advancing Ming army due to their favorable geographical location.
As the Ming army continued to break in, it was not until they advanced two to three hundred meters in front of the Mabu Central Army that the rebels' few firecrackers began to fire, and hundreds of archers continued to shoot towards the Ming army's array.
With the sound of "bang bang", the blunderbuss hit the cards held by the old soldiers in the front row. Apart from shaking the wrists of the old soldiers in front, it did not cause much damage to them.
With the sound of "dong dong", the arrows thrown by the rebels hit the sky above the old Shun army like hailstones. In the blink of an eye, the cards lying above to prevent arrows became like hedgehogs with long thorns. .
"Well!"
After all, the old pawn below plays the cards, and it is difficult to achieve a perfect fit when the team advances. Therefore, some arrows at awkward angles continue to hit the old pawn below from the gaps.
The Ming army began to suffer casualties, and people kept falling down after being hit by arrows, causing some confusion in the advancing team.
Ma Sizhong, Xu Deyi and others who led the team kept shouting for adjustments. At the same time, the veteran archers of the Shun Army at the rear of the team also opened their big bows and shot at the rebels in front.
The arrows from both sides pierced back and forth in the snow-covered valley, and the sound of gunshots was heard from time to time.
Wang Wu led his troops and Zhang Tianfang's troops were slightly behind Mabu, and they looked like Mabu's follow-up troops, rather than soldiers and horses undertaking combat tasks alone.
This move was intended to make the rebels mistakenly believe that the Ming army was concentrating its main force to attack their central army, instead of trying to capture the commanding heights on both sides first.
The Ming army was getting closer and closer to the rebel defense line. A hundred steps later, the rebels on the slopes on both sides began to move. They rolled the trees that had been cut down in advance down the slope, and then lifted up rocks and threw them downwards.
The casualties of the Laoshun army advancing below began to increase, and the formation became more messy.
At this juncture, Ma Sizhong shouted loudly: "Charge!"
Upon hearing the order, the old pawn in front holding the playing card suddenly raised the playing card in his hand at the same time, and roared with a short knife to chop down the rebels who were only a few dozen steps forward.
Ma Tengyun, who was watching the battle, saw this and immediately ordered his soldiers to blow the horn.
"kill!"
An officer in the rebel formation shouted and led people to meet the Ming army.
The two sides suddenly came into contact with the enemy, and the rebels had no time to build fences, set up traps, etc. to delay the Ming army's attack. If the Ming army was allowed to attack at this time, it would easily cause chaos in the rebel defense line.
Therefore, attacking is the best defense method.
As a senior general of the Dashun Army at that time, Ma Teng had been fighting in Yunnan and the North for nearly thirty years. Although he lost his integrity and confidence in the situation and surrendered to the Qing Dynasty due to despair of the situation, he is still ruthless and sophisticated in his military use.
"kill!"
Soldiers from both sides collided almost instantly. At the moment of hand-to-hand contact, swords and spears were immediately pierced, blood spilled out, limbs flew everywhere, and countless fresh lives passed away in an instant.
It's a pity that the two sides, who were fighting for their lives, were brothers in the same camp not long ago!
Today, they are fighting cruelly for different choices.
"For Ming Dynasty, for Liu Shuai!"
Ma Sizhong roared with a knife, and led his soldiers to kill the rebels in front of him who were holding playing cards.
The general takes the lead, why should the old soldiers fall behind?
The old shun soldiers who were determined to die were obviously several times smaller than the rebels. However, the courage and unyielding fighting spirit that broke out at this time made the rebels who had just shaved their heads and put braids continue to retreat.
Upon seeing this, Ma Tengyun immediately ordered reinforcements and sent his own soldiers to supervise the battle behind the formation.
The reinforcements of the rebels made the Laoshun troops fight hard. The two sides were fighting in the valley. There were enemies among us, and there were enemies among us. The rebels on the slopes on both sides did not dare to shoot easily.
However, the number of the Ming army was too small, and they were gradually suppressed by the rebels.
Wang Wu moved.
Wearing iron armor, he raised his sword and said, "The one with the armor will die first!"
"The one with the armor dies first!"
Seventeen armored soldiers responded in unison, followed the general and rushed toward the high slope several hundred meters ahead.
Upon seeing this, the other soldiers in cotton armor also rushed forward one after another, fearing to be one step behind.
"Even those without armor will not live alone!"
Zhang Pengyu, the captain who went out to the battle, saw the sword king Wu Shen who had killed his general in the lead. His blood surged with admiration and he led his hundreds of soldiers into the battlefield.
"Follow me!"
Zhao Jinzhong, who had always been taciturn, only said three words. After that, he did not rush up the slope like Zhang Pengyu. Instead, he deliberately kept slow and hung behind the charging team.
He was not afraid of death, but he wanted to choose the most suitable place to shoot the rebels on the slope.
He is a sharp archer, not a warrior trapped in battle.
The rebel soldiers occupying the commanding heights on the left side of the valley road discovered that a Ming army was climbing up from below them. Someone immediately shouted: "We are coming up from this way!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he was slapped hard by the officer beside him: "We are the enemy!"
"Oh, it's the enemy."
The soldier covered his mouth and looked aggrievedly at the Ming army coming up below, feeling a sense of sourness in his heart for no reason.
He wanted to cry, but he couldn't.
After a painful struggle, he picked up the gun in his hand and shot at an armored officer who was rushing below.
There was a "bang" sound!
While his arms trembled, the braid on the back of his head also trembled.
