The Yu River is located about four miles south of Ma Fang Village and flows from west to east. At this time, the river surface is not wide, it has not yet frozen, and the water flow is not fast. However, the river is extremely muddy and the water is cold, so it is still inconvenient for people and horses to walk directly. Pass.
There is a pontoon bridge above the Yu River on the rural road in Mafang Village opposite the Yu River. The bridge deck is not wide and can only accommodate a large vehicle. It is believed that the local gentry built it out of kindness to facilitate travel.
At this time, there were about a hundred cavalrymen marching slowly along the north bank of the Yu River from west to east. They were separated by a horse's head distance from each other and trotted eastward unhurriedly, their horses' hooves stepping on the slightly muddy ground. However, there was no loud noise on the soft river bank. Even if more than a hundred horses were marching at the same time, there was no sound.
…
Four miles north of Mafang Village, a not-so-wide road runs through a willow forest. Although the willow trees are not very tall, they are quite thick. The willow leaves on the branches are already withered and yellow, and they are sparse in late autumn. The cold wind was blowing down, and a layer of dry fallen leaves had accumulated in the forest.
In the willow forest on the east side of the road, about a dozen horses leisurely lowered their heads and gnawed dead grass on the ground deep in the forest. Eight or nine extremely strong men sat on the ground, wearing various armors on their bodies. Some even It was a double-layered armor that looked particularly bloated. They were either leaning against a small tree or sitting on large packages, with large sticks, hammers, long knives and other heavy weapons scattered around them.
"This Ming dog has more than thirty riders, shall we repay the favor?" A strong man with a dark face said to another person in Tatar.
"Huh, Xiongbao, there are only more than thirty smart dogs, so I'm afraid of nothing." A strong man with a stubble on his face said and stood up. I saw that he was also very tall. As he stood up, He also glared angrily at the "bear bag" just now.
The Qing cavalry was so frightened that he trembled and stood up unconsciously.
"Everyone, get up and start tinkering. When the Haming dogs are about to pass here, we will ambush them." After saying that, he twisted his waist again, leaned over and picked up a big ax on the ground, and leaned against the small tree next to him to start again. After setting it up, he said in a deep voice again: "No matter how many dogs there are, they have a purpose. If they rush, they will be in chaos, and if they are in chaos, they will run away. The one who chases him is the one!"
"Haha...hahaha..."
This person is one of the two strong men who went out to scout out in Mafang Village. They are responsible for the scout in the north of the village. They are hiding in the woods from the poisonous sun at noon. They only sent two soldiers to ride nearby to check. The two From a distance, people saw more than thirty Ming army cavalry approaching. Without daring to approach, they quickly spurred their horses back to report the strength of the leader.
I saw the strong man from the Qing army continuing to say: "Wait, let's go in front, hit them directly on the waist, then cut off their tails, and finally work together to kill the cavalry in front of Ming Dog..."
"Ten to thirty, we are safe. Let's go and clean up." The Qing army leader finally shouted loudly.
"Yes..." The rest of the Qing army stood up and agreed loudly.
"You guys go over there and move the horses further away, so that Ming Gouzi doesn't notice the movement." The strong man continued to order.
I saw four Qing soldiers agreeing, then trotted over, leading the horses deeper into the woods. One of them did not wear a helmet, and his head was bare. Only a small amount of hair was left in the middle of the back of his head, braided into A small braid that sways when walking, like a mouse's tail.
The remaining Qing troops stood up one after another, arranged their armor, and moved closer to the road. They stopped about fifty or sixty steps away, placed their weapons in hand, and had their bows and arrows ready at hand. The body was pressed down again.
Two Qing army vests walked toward the road holding handfuls of dead branches and leaves, getting closer and closer...
The four Qing soldiers gathered their horses deeper into the woods, each holding three or four horses. Then they seemed to whisper something to the horses, and more than ten horses knelt down on the grass deep in the woods at the same time... …
This Tartar originally relied on hunting for a living, and later fought with the Ming and Mongolian tribes for many years. The battles on the battlefield were not only brutal, but also more cunning. At this moment, he was like a hunter waiting for his prey to take the bait, waiting for Zhang Guangda's tribe to enter an ambush. .
…
On the official road about five miles west of Mafang.
Zhang Cheng led the escort troops in front, and the outpost cavalry behind him, and ran straight to Ma Fang Village. However, he encountered a group of Tartars in vest at a slightly raised place on the official road five miles away from Ma Fang.
Official roads, only official roads can be lined with trees like this. Especially in the Ming Dynasty, people attached great importance to the planting of street trees. A contemporary note once said: "The official road in the Ming Dynasty was more than ten feet wide, with willows on both sides and mixed with Sophora japonica. The official road is more than 600 miles, with towering ancient willows on both sides, and green shade. It can be achieved by riding horses, but there is no scorching sun for several miles. "
The tree-lined avenue lies across the plains of northern Hebei, like a giant dragon that has been spreading across the land.
Although the beginning of winter is approaching and the leaves on the trees are bare and about to fall off, there are still many dead leaves left on the branches of the trees, falling in the wind, still blocking most of the sunlight like giant dragons of shade.
Zhang Cheng reacted quickly and immediately ordered the cavalry at the two sentries behind to stop advancing and stand by fifty steps away.
There were ten Tatars on the opposite side, gesticulating something on their horses, and then they slowly surrounded Zhang Cheng from five hundred steps away. They were each about one step away from each other.
Zhang Cheng reined in his horse, and Chen Zhong and the twenty guarding knights also stopped in unison. After running just now, the horses were snoring non-stop.
Zhang Cheng shouted loudly: "Everyone pay attention, calm down, and obey my military orders. Today, we must make the Tatars look good, and don't bully me again. There is no one in the Ming Dynasty!"
"Yes!" the guards replied in unison.
These guards are all carefully selected, and are not comparable to ordinary sergeants. Not only are they skilled in horse and footwork, but they have also been tempered in battle formations. What's more, there are five hundred elite cavalry hidden behind them. They will be this group of Qing army sentinel cavalry. What an unexpected joy!
"Guards, use volleys of guns to block the enemy, put the Tatars within sixty steps, and then fire a volley." Zhang Cheng ordered in a deep voice.
"Guards, get the guns." Captain Chen Zhong shouted loudly and was the first to stand up and dismount.
With the sound of armor plates clashing, the twenty guards of the escort team took out Lumi guns one after another. Because they went out to scout, the gun bags containing the fire guns had long been removed.
Chen Zhong rode his horse and stood beside Zhang Cheng, taking out the Rumi gun in his hand. The other twenty guards lined up on the left and right of the two of them, forming a row.
"Listen up, everyone. Horses are bigger than people. We've all taken aim at the Tatar horses on the opposite side." Zhang Cheng continued to give orders loudly.
Their horses had all passed through the battle formation. At this moment, they were clamped by the legs of the Ming army cavalry, and they were still stable and motionless.
Zhang Chengchong ordered a guard beside him: "Send the order, the outpost cavalry is on the left, the rear sentry cavalry is on the right, the left sentry cavalry is in the center and is on standby. When the cannon is fired, attack immediately."
"Order Chen Zheng's outpost from the north and Hu Dake's rear outpost from the south to leave the official road and enter the wheat fields. They will intercept them from the left and right and attack immediately in order to wipe them all out and not let a single Tartar escape." Zhang Cheng continued to order.
"I have the order." The guard received the military order, immediately turned around on his horse, and trotted back to deliver it.
After a while, the two groups of cavalry following Zhang Cheng from three posts on the front, back and left, nearly two hundred fine cavalry, immediately spread out to the left and right in a fan shape.
Zhang Cheng stared at the Tatar cavalry slowly approaching from the opposite side. Although there were only ten cavalry, they still felt very oppressive. He took a deep breath and ordered: "Chen Zhong, the escort is under your command. Don't look at anyone. Take aim at the Tatar horses on the opposite side, enter sixty paces and then fire a volley. Anyone who fires a gun without authorization will be dealt with according to military law!"
"Yes." Guard captain Chen Zhong replied.
