"It's a pity that most of our Tiger Banner's cavalry are on the grassland. Otherwise, if the cavalry were to press forward, this army would definitely be defeated." Wang Lin said with a look of regret.
Liu Heng nodded slightly.
The biggest flaw of the Tiger Flag's vehicle formation and phalanx formation is that it moves too slowly. It's okay to have cavalry to cooperate with it. Without cavalry to cooperate, it's rare to be able to pursue the enemy at will.
"Master, why don't you bring back Lao Wu and the cuirassiers from Xinping Fort? My subordinates feel that Yang Guozhu only suffered one defeat and the losses were not big, so I'm afraid he won't retreat." Wang Lin looked at Liu Heng.
In addition to the armored cavalry battalion on the grassland, the Tiger Character Banner also has a newly established cuirassier team on the grassland outside Xinpingbao.
Liu Heng raised his head and looked at the direction of the retreating troops in the distance, and said in a calm tone: "It doesn't matter if Yang Guozhu doesn't retreat, let's help him retreat."
Wang Lin looked puzzled when he heard this.
Liu Heng did not explain to him, but said to Zhao Wu: "Send sentries to keep an eye on the officers and soldiers to see where they are camping."
"Yes." Zhao Wu agreed and ran to deliver the order.
The large group of cavalry from the Tiger Character Banner are not around, but there are still some cavalry at Lingqiu who can serve as sentry cavalry.
"What does the boss mean that we have to fight another battle with the army?" Wang Lin asked in a low voice.
Liu Heng said solemnly: "Yang Guozhu was ordered to come to Datong to suppress the rebellion. As long as our tiger-character flag exists for one day, he will not retreat unless these Xuanfu soldiers and horses are lost in the hands of our tiger-character flag. What we have to do now Just eat Yang Guozhu’s troops.”
As he finished speaking, he waved his fist.
"My subordinates and the Fifth Soldier Battalion are willing to be the vanguard of the army." Wang Lin asked for a fight.
"Yes." Liu Heng nodded in agreement.
The soldiers of the Second Soldier Battalion on the battlefield saw the officers withdrawing their troops and began to clean the battlefield.
The army retreated and left behind many weapons, most of which were spears used by the army's infantry. The most valuable of them were the general cannons.
These general cannons are on the verge of being eliminated within the Tiger-Character Banner. Only the Third Soldier Battalion on the grassland still retains some of them, but that is only because the number of iron cannons deployed on the grassland is not enough.
After the officers and soldiers retreated, Jia Liu did not stay in his camp, but came to Liu Heng to report on the capture of the battle with the officers and soldiers.
After the report, he continued: "My boss, my subordinates feel that although Yang Guozhu suffered a defeat, his strength has not been greatly reduced, and he will definitely not retreat. I am willing to lead the second battalion of soldiers to pursue the escaping officers and soldiers."
"There's no rush." Liu Heng waved his hand and said immediately, "Give me the order. Let's bury the pot and make rice first. When we have enough food and strength, we can deal with the army led by Yang Guozhu."
"Yes." Jia Liu responded.
Wang Lin on the side said at this time: "The next battle with the army will be dominated by our fifth soldier camp. We also hope that Jia Yingzheng can cooperate more."
Jia Liu glanced at him and said: "There are more than 10,000 soldiers and horses in the official army. You can't feed a large camp of soldiers."
"I know, but the lead battle will be given to our Fifth Soldier Battalion, and the chief has already agreed." Wang Lin said.
Jia Liu thought for a moment and said, "Well, let your fifth combat soldier battalion take the lead, and our second combat soldier battalion will coordinate with you."
They said it was a cooperative fight, but both of them knew that with the strength of the official army, their two battalions of soldiers would be the main force against the official army.
The two military camps have their own cooking teams, and the food has been prepared long ago. As soon as they receive the order, they will immediately deliver the hot food to each combat team.
After all the soldiers had finished eating, the sentinels also brought back the news that the officers and soldiers were camping more than ten miles away.
The army rested for another half an hour before the two military camps set off under Liu Heng's order and headed towards the official camp.
The sentry cavalry went ahead of the army to explore the way ahead.
Less than three miles away from the official army camp, the two soldier camps of the Tiger Character Banner stopped.
There is a village ahead, and the Xuanfu soldiers and horses brought by Yang Guozhu are stationed around the village.
The sentry cavalry of the official army and the sentry cavalry of the Tiger Flag were the first to fight.
The tiger-character flag sentry riders wear breastplates, and the vital parts of their bodies are protected. However, the sentry riders on the official and military side are almost all made of cotton armor, and the cotton armor on many of them is in tatters.
As soon as the two sides fought, the tiger-character flag sentry riders had the advantage. Many officers and soldiers were hit by muskets and fell off their horses. Only a few of the sentry riders escaped.
The sentinels of the Tiger Flag chased for a while, but did not pursue them too far. They turned back when they were almost close to the army camp.
The sound of firecrackers broke the calm.
The officers and soldiers who escaped back found the commander of the camp and reported the news of the Tiger Flag's attack.
Not long after, Yang Guozhu led an army to appear in the open space outside the village.
At this time, the soldiers and horses of the Tiger Character Banner were less than two miles away from the village where the government troops were camped.
Liu Heng held up a monocular and said: "Give the artillery team an order to bombard the army's battle formation. Don't save your artillery, just hit hard."
In this battle, he would completely defeat the imperial army in front of him.
Each gun of the Tiger Flag was accompanied by a gun carriage, and the marching speed was not slow. Soon more than 20 guns entered the firing position.
As the commander-in-chief of this artillery team, Jose ordered: "All gunners are ready to fire at the officers and soldiers one mile away!"
As the word "fire" fell, the command flag on the side waved.
Boom! Boom... boom!
Four-pound cannons and six-pound cannons were fired one after another, and the cannons hit the ranks of the officers and soldiers a mile away as if they were free of charge.
The general artillery that Yang Guozhu brought from Xuanfu was abandoned on the previous battlefield. Now he didn't have a single cannon. Facing the bombardment of the Tiger Flag, he had no choice but to resist these artillery pieces falling from the sky.
An army of more than 10,000 people is like a living target. With such a large target, the gunners of the Tiger Flag hardly aim at it. As long as they find the correct direction, it is difficult to miss.
Cannonballs fell into the ranks of the officers and soldiers one after another, and there was a tragic scene of blood and flesh flying everywhere. Furrows of flesh and blood were plowed out by the cannons like plowing fields.
The speed of the gunner's firing was not as fast as the firing speed of the muskets. Even if more than twenty cannons were fired non-stop, the damage caused by the army of more than 10,000 troops would be limited after all.
However, many people could not bear the tragic impact caused by the damage caused by the artillery shells and the visual impact on the surrounding officers and soldiers, and began to scatter to avoid the shelling.
"Sir, we can't continue like this, otherwise we will be defeated before the soldiers and horses of the Tiger Flag come to attack." The deputy general found Yang Guozhu and said eagerly.
There was no artillery, and the two sides were one mile apart, so the officers and soldiers could only be beaten passively.
Yang Guozhu said with a gloomy face: "Send the order and ask all the generals to bring their own soldiers and servants to attack the rebel bandits one mile away. We will see the banner of the Tiger Flag just one mile away. The bandit leader Liu Eternity must be there.”
"Yes, I will go and recruit the generals in the army to fight." The deputy general agreed, turned around and left with his soldiers.
