The artillery from both sides of the Ming and Qing Dynasties roared incessantly. It was like a big hailstorm on both sides of the Nuerhe River. Artillery shells of different sizes fell, and a large water column rose into the sky, followed by splashes of water. Splattered.
Amidst the loud bangs, ships were constantly being hit and instantly fell apart. Wails and screams could be heard from time to time. Even several small warships of the Longwu Navy had been hit by the Qing army's artillery.
Fortunately, the Qing Dynasty did not have the technology of explosive bullets at this time. Those bullets were either iron bullets or stone bullets, and they were all solid. Although they could easily penetrate or break some small boats, the bombardment of Longwu Navy's battle On the boat, nothing serious happened.
But even so, the Qing army's fierce artillery bombardment also frightened the people who built the pontoon bridge, and they ran away in a panic.
But Wu Sangui was determined to attack the north bank at this moment, so how could he allow them to ruin his plan? He had already sent his servants to supervise the battle team, and he killed several people on the spot before re-stabilizing the situation.
In fact, deserters are inevitable on the battlefield. The key lies in how to deal with deserters!
On the battlefield, swords and guns are blind, and death and injury are inevitable, but everyone's mental capacity is different. This has nothing to do with past training.
Once the battle is too fierce, it will make people feel fear. Moreover, if the battle is prolonged and the fight is too intense, it will also make some soldiers feel war-weary.
At this time, someone will want to escape from the battlefield, and if they are not stopped in time, it will cause the entire battalion to flee, and even the entire army will collapse.
There are too many such examples, such as the Songjin Battle in history. It was because Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, fled first, which caused the entire division to be defeated. Hundreds of thousands of Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers were defeated by the Manchu and Qing Tatars. The chase resulted in numerous casualties.
Of course, if the commander of a battalion takes the lead in escaping, it has nothing to do with desertion. This is equivalent to running away, and running away is also equivalent to the crime of treason. In history, Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, was convicted of this crime and died. List.
Therefore, every time there is a war, it is essential to form a supervising team to prevent individual individuals from fleeing and triggering the tragedy of the entire division being defeated.
Ningyuan Army's left camp guerrilla Hu Xinshui had already led his troops to cross the Nvnu River by boat and occupied a beachhead position one mile wide on the north bank to cover the Ming army behind them as they continued to build bridges and planks.
They withstood the shelling of the Qing army and the arrows fired by the Tatars, holding up their shields to block the front. The soldiers behind them lifted up pieces of heavy wooden planks and quickly inserted them into the mud on the shore.
In a short while, what looked like a bridge was built. It turned out that they were going to build a pontoon bridge on both sides, go hand in hand, and merge into one place in the middle.
With this method, perhaps apart from the officers and soldiers of the Xuanfu Army, only Wu Sangui's Ningyuan Army could do this.
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Seven or eight pontoon bridges have been built on the Nuer River. Although none of them have been completed yet, the army is still unable to cross the river through the pontoon bridges. However, it is not easy to do so under the constant artillery fire of the Qing army.
However, the progress on the north bank is different. The soldiers and horses in Bai Guangen and Mako towns have not fully recovered after the previous defeat.
Especially Bai Guangen's troops were lacking in elites. Under the obstruction of the Qing army, progress was slow. It was rare to be able to ensure the presence of Jizhen soldiers and horses on the north bank.
On the other hand, Ma Ke's Shanhai Navy was defeated by Dorgon on the north side of Rufeng Mountain last time. However, thanks to Ma Ke's quick response, most of the main force of the army was preserved.
Now, he was back and forth with the Qing army on the north bank of the Ner River, and the killings were evenly matched. Although he could not force the Qing army to retreat, at least he was able to establish a foothold on the north bank for the time being.
However, there were four pontoons in charge of the soldiers and horses in these two towns, and the progress of their construction was equally slow. Even if the Qing army's artillery fire was fierce, compared with the progress of Wu Sangui's troops, it was simply indescribable.
As ships and platoons of various sizes continued to arrive on the north shore, small artillery pieces were also moved off the ships, which greatly increased the strength of the left battalion of the Ningyuan Army. They continued to advance forward with the help of the power of the artillery.
But the Han army opposite them, Xianghongqi, Tianyou Army, and Tianyou Army, are not cowards, especially Tianyou Army and Tianyou Army. They were able to fight on par with the Tatars before, but now they seem to be more capable than before.
It seems that only the North Korean army is worse. Perhaps it is because they still yearn for the Ming Dynasty and have not tried their best, or perhaps because they are like this in the first place.
Just when it seemed that Hu Xinshui could no longer hold on, most of the right battalion, led by Xia Longshan, crossed the Nuer River and climbed to the land on the north bank, arriving in time for reinforcements. They joined forces and defeated the momentum of the Qing and Han armies. Pressed back again.
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At the corner of the Xiaoling River from west to south, Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong Town, was sweating profusely. His hand on the waist knife trembled unconsciously, and he asked feebly: "Governor... what did the governor say?"
Zhang Zhongping, the commander of Governor Jiliao's Biaoying camp, stood under the commander's platform and clasped his fists and said: "Returning to the commander-in-chief, the governor has an order. He ordered commander-in-chief Wang to immediately cross the river and attack the Qing army on the north bank to break the siege of Jinzhou. "
He finally added: "Thousands of the general's subordinates will stay here and be dispatched by General Wang to cross the river and kill the slaves together!"
Wang Pu had heard clearly just now, he just couldn't believe it. Now that Zhang Zhongping confirmed it again, he immediately became panicked. But after all, he was the commander-in-chief of a town, and he still had to put on a disguise in front of his subordinates, so his expression changed. Not big.
However, he was already cursing in his heart: "Hmph, he said he came to help in the battle, but I think he came to supervise the battle."
After he composed himself, he said to Zhang Zhongping: "Since the governor has an order, I, the general soldier, should work hard to kill the slaves in order to repay the emperor's great kindness."
Wang Pu then said: "In this case, please condescend Zhang Qianhu to kill the slaves side by side with my Datong army and horses."
Zhang Zhongping repeatedly said that he did not dare, and made it clear that he was willing to be the vanguard of the army and would only act according to Wang Pu's orders.
Although he said it politely, how could Wang Pu let the brothers from Supervisory Biao Camp take the lead?
Wang Pu asked Zhang Zhongping to wait for a moment, and arranged for his own general Wang Yu to stay here to speak with Zhang Zhongping on his behalf. You must know that Wang Zheng was a senior general, so Wang Pu left him here to accompany Zhang Zhongping, but he gave Hong Chengchou enough face.
Returning to the Zhongjun tent, Wang Pu was so anxious that he couldn't even take a sip of water, so he hurriedly ordered his soldiers: "Quick, go and invite General Zhang and General Yu to come and discuss military matters."
The soldier was stunned when he heard this, but he had been waiting beside Wang Pu for a long time, so he couldn't help but remind him: "Commander, don't you invite the generals from other battalions to discuss it together?"
Wang Pu said in an angry voice, "I'll go if I tell you to. Where did all this nonsense come from?"
The soldier did not dare to say any more words, he responded softly, and then ran away.
It turned out that Wang Pu knew that Zhang Cheng often visited the governor's palace and was very familiar with the officials and generals there. He was afraid that Zhang Zhongping would know Zhang Guangda and Yu Jin, so he just asked them to hide quietly.
Now that he learned that Governor Hong Chengchou wanted to order his troops to fight, he hurriedly found Zhang Guangda and Yu Jin to discuss specific strategies.
Although Wang Pu lacks some skills in military training and fighting, he also has self-awareness and the ability to recognize people. He knows what the officers and soldiers under his command are like, and there are no outstanding talents in other battalions.
If they were fighting a smooth battle and followed their eldest brother in the charge to gain military merit, they would certainly do their part, but once they were asked to stand in front and charge into the battle, it would be difficult for them to succeed, and they might even collapse at the first touch.
It was precisely because of his understanding of his generals that he only consulted Zhang Guangda and Yu Jin to discuss military affairs, instead of first discussing with his own generals.
After a while, Zhang Guangda and Yu Jin came to the military tent. After listening to Wang Pu briefly describe the military orders of Governor Hong Chengchou, Zhang Guangda didn't seem to take it too seriously. He said lightly: "General Wang, but only Datong soldiers." Once the pontoon bridge is set up and the general leads his troops across the river, we will surely be able to defend the north bank from falling into the hands of slaves and thieves."
Wang Pu nodded when he heard this, but in fact, what he was worried about was not what happened after crossing the river and building the pontoon bridge, but the issue of crossing the river in advance. He couldn't help but look at Yu Jin, waiting for his opinion.
"Commander Wang, the general's carriage camp has been prepared before. In addition to installing small cannons on each small boat and wooden sampan, he also spent money to intercept several Longwu Navy ships through my general. warship.
There should be no problem in escorting the Datong soldiers under General Wang across the river, and the artillery of our car camp has been set up on the river bank, which is enough to bombard the Tatists on the other side and suppress their muskets and artillery when the Datong soldiers and horses cross the river. "
After hearing Yu Jin's words, Wang Pu calmed down slightly, but he was still uneasy in his heart. He said intermittently: "Yes, yes... I am also prepared, and I have built many boats and rafts, enough... ...enough to build a floating bridge.
It's just...just...this..."
Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Zhang Guangda said directly: "Commander Wang, when we come here, the commander-in-chief has said that the Datong army and horses will do all the work of crossing the river and building the bridge. We are just here to help. At the critical moment, help General Wang, and you must not agree to everything, otherwise it will lose the limelight of the brothers in Datong Town."
In fact, Zhang Guangda had already seen Wang Pu's intention, but when he and Yu Jin were leaving, Zhang Cheng gave special instructions, asking him and Yu Jin not to compete for the lead in everything, and to always remember that they were helping the war and not to take over everything.
It's not that Zhang Cheng is afraid of his subordinates being injured and refuses to do his best. He just doesn't want Datong Town to become a useless army and needs his subordinates to contribute in everything.
If that was the case, what use would he have to such an ally!
Therefore, Yu Jin's car camp was only responsible for providing artillery support when the Datong army crossed the river and built the pontoon bridge. Zhang Guangda's cavalry camp would not cross the river to the north bank to fight the slave thieves until the pontoon bridge was built.
After all, they are cavalry, and it is not impossible to abandon their horses and fight on foot, but in order to help Datong Town obtain a beachhead, they use their own shortcomings to fight against the strengths of the slaves and thieves. Isn't it worth the gain?
At this time, Wang Pu saw that Zhang Guangda had already made the matter clear and there was no room for maneuver. Instead, he felt at ease. He sighed heavily before saying, "That's okay. I will gather the troops to cross the river and build the bridge. But there are some who are brave enough to take the lead." I will never be stingy with rewards, but if anyone dares to be too timid to move forward, I will never spare him."
Seeing Wang Pu's statement, Zhang Guangda and Yu Jin hurriedly clasped their fists and said in unison: "Commander Wang is like this, the generals and others dare not die!"
Wang Pu nodded with satisfaction when he saw this. He walked a few more steps, came to Zhang Guangda, and said softly: "General Zhang, please send a message to General Zhenshuo. We, Datong soldiers and horses, will cross the river immediately to meet the slave thieves.
If it is convenient, please ask Zhang Zhenshuai to send a strong army to help! "
Yu Jin didn't show much, but Zhang Guangda looked unhappy after hearing this. He clasped his fists and said: "General Wang, if the Datong Army can build the pontoon bridge on time, the safety of the pontoon bridge will be guaranteed in the end.
However, the general will also obey what General Wang just said and report the military situation to my commander-in-chief. "
Although they somewhat despise Wang Pu in their hearts, he must be the commander-in-chief of the town, and his rank is there. What's more, Wang Pu is now on good terms with Zhang Cheng, so naturally they cannot treat him lightly.
Wang Pu, however, didn't care at all about Zhang Guangda's attitude. What he was thinking about was that the more reinforcements the Xuanfu had, the better. He would never have too many.
After all, it was so comfortable for his Datong Town army and horses to follow the Xuanfu army and collect military exploits these few times. Although there were some casualties, as long as the final outcome was a big victory for his side, Wang Pu could still bear this. casualties.
What he fears most is that his Datong army suffered huge casualties, but in the end it was defeated. Isn't it worth the loss?
Wang Pu, who comes from a businessman family, is the best at calculating. He has never done business at a loss. What's more, if he loses a big loss, he may even lose his life if he escapes slowly. How can he be willing to do it?
As military orders were passed from level to level, the generals from all the battalions in Datong Town came to Wang Pu's Chinese army tent, and naturally another impassioned speech was inevitable.
Although the generals in Datong Town are also reluctant, they all know that this is the critical moment of the war. If they don't work hard, they may be punished by military law.
They are not fools. They all know very well whether Zhang Zhongping and the soldiers of Governor-General Biaoying are staying here to assist in the war or to supervise the war.
After a brief exchange, the military responsibilities of each battalion were finally determined. Wang Pu led the generals of Datong Town out of the military tent and swore an oath in front of the commander's flag. In this battle, everyone will be brave and timid, and everyone will be killed. In front of the battle!
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Looking at both sides of the Nuer River at this time, there was smoke everywhere, shouts of killing, and wailing and screaming.
Especially on the north bank of the Nerv River, with the addition of warriors from the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, the pressure on the Ming army increased sharply. The situation that was originally barely evenly matched suddenly turned into a disadvantage.
The Jizhen Army and the Shanhai Navy were defeated by the Tatar Cavalry, and eventually had to retreat to the narrow strip of land on the north bank of the Nerv River to use the power of their own artillery to withstand the attack of the Tatar rebel cavalry.
In this way, we can only protect the two fully built floating bridges, but we are no longer able to fight back!
