On the night of September 24th, the 14th year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, the sky darkened early, and the Ming and Qing armies on both sides of the Nerv River and Xiaoling River also stopped and returned to their camps.
In ancient times, marching operations were limited by the inconvenience of command. Many military orders were planned in advance and would not be changed easily. Because it was difficult to mobilize large armies, each battalion deployed its defenses independently in accordance with the requirements of military orders.
Once military orders are suddenly changed, the soldiers of each battalion will often be at a loss as to what to do and waste their energy in vain, especially when a battle is approaching. Even if the army is strong at the time, it is difficult to change the formation before the battle.
Perhaps it is the "Yue Family Army", "Qi Family Army", etc. This kind of powerful military force that can leave its name in thousands of years of history can change its formation in the face of battle without causing chaos.
There are many records in history. How many powerful armies in the world were destroyed by "changes in the morning and evening"?
Night battles were not very popular in ancient times. Since ancient times, they have fought during the day. At night, everyone would return to their own formation, guard the camp, and then go out to fight after dawn.
This is because ancient times were restricted by various conditions and lacked controllable light sources that could illuminate distant places. It was difficult to fight at night with a lamp as described in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Even fighting at night with a torch was difficult to achieve.
For example, in a starry night, you will inevitably be unable to see anything. This means that even if you hold a torch, you still can't see anything clearly from a little further away.
And even on a night with a bright moon in the sky, when the visibility is still slightly better, it is still impossible to see anything clearly from a distance. How can we fight under such conditions?
Under various restrictions, ancient armies were almost completely unequipped to fight at night.
Even a modern army with night vision equipment, wireless communication technology, and well-trained troops cannot support large-scale night battles involving tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, let alone the conditions that were not met in ancient times. .
Just like the officers and soldiers of various towns in the Ming Dynasty, many people fell behind or ran away even during the march during the day, let alone fighting the enemy at night!
In ancient times, once many generals left their own camps, they could hardly control their troops effectively. During the melee with the enemy, it often happened that their own people cut each other down, not to mention trampling and falling on each other. Gully Casualties.
This is still a situation of fighting in the camp during the day, let alone fighting in the city at night!
A more feasible method is to assemble only a small number of elite soldiers, break into the enemy camp under the leadership of the general, and carry out night harassment, surprise attacks and other tasks. If organized well, most of them can cause huge chaos to the enemy.
In real history, there are indeed many such examples, but in fact there are more examples of failure, but history only records successful examples.
Let me make another digression here. The ancient army not only lacked the ability to fight at night, but also might cause unreasonable riots when stationed at night.
For this reason, there was a special term in ancient times called "yingxiao"!
Because in the highly closed and densely populated environment of the army, military discipline is very strict. Faced with ruthless superiors and brutal enemy troops, military camps, especially in wartime military camps, from generals to soldiers The nerves are highly tense.
And this kind of extraordinary tension and depression is very likely to detonate instantly because of a soldier screaming in his sleep, or a weapon falling to the ground accidentally.
This caused a series of catastrophic chain reactions for an army.
As the commander-in-chief of an army, the general will also completely lose control of the army. Nervous and fearful of the night, the soldiers will easily run around, trample on each other, and even kill each other, causing a lot of losses, and even worse, the entire army. The camp collapsed.
Therefore, in the ancient army, even during day marches, loud noises, random running, and even whispers were strictly prohibited. Serious cases may even be executed, not to mention those that are more difficult to control. Dark night!
How difficult is it to organize a night battle? Here is a comparison of the largest night battle in the history of world wars.
During the Russo-Japanese War in 1904, the Second Division led by Japanese Army Lieutenant General Nishi Kanjiro once launched a division-level night battle.
They mobilized 12,000 men to quietly reach Gongchangling in Liaoyang at night, and used surprise attacks and hand-to-hand bloody battles to defeat 17,000 Russian troops armed with a lot of heavy equipment.
In order to successfully fight this night battle, Nishi Kanjiro prepared for ten days before the battle. He even personally visited the troops at all levels to inspect the mobilization, and talked one by one from the division staff to the officers above the squad leader level.
They also organized everyone to take turns to conduct field surveys at the forward positions, determine their respective attack routes one by one, and carefully study the attack plan. Some group captains and squadron leaders even went to the entrance of the Russian army's fortifications to conduct reconnaissance.
It was precisely such complicated preparations that ensured the successful implementation of this night attack. This was also the only successful night battle of division or above in the history of world wars.
In addition, there was a very special example of night fighting at the end of World War II, which was the Battle of the Oder River during the offensive on the outskirts of Berlin.
In the early morning of April 16, 1945, the sky was still pitch black, and most people were asleep.
At this moment, fierce artillery fire poured from the Soviet position to the German position. After several rounds of artillery fire coverage and bombardment, the Soviet army secretly deployed 143 strong and high-power searchlights on the front line. Suddenly, All defensive lines aimed at the German army were opened.
The bright light with a total power of hundreds of millions of watts instantly illuminated the German positions brighter than daylight. The previous full outpouring of millions of artillery shells had already bombarded the German positions with holes in their defenses.
Now, because the Germans were directly exposed to the fierce bright light, they could not even open their eyes, let alone fight back. It was even difficult to defend, and they could not see whether there were Soviet soldiers rushing up from the opposite side.
This was also an example of an unexpected night attack. Although it mainly relied on high-power searchlights to achieve miraculous effects, the results were brilliant.
Of the two aforementioned battle examples, one was won by well-trained troops and careful preparation before the battle; the other was won by surprise, but in any case, they were all achieved by modern armies with ideas.
In the ancient army, the charisma and courage of the general were basically relied on to lead the soldiers in battle. What ideas and beliefs did ordinary soldiers have?
They either joined the army to survive, or they came to work for money and food. What's more, they were hired, or they were captured to fill the vacancies in the army. They had not undergone a day's training, how could they do it? Call it an army?
Therefore, night battles in this era basically involve one or two fierce generals who are not afraid of death, and they bring dozens or hundreds, or at most hundreds of warriors who are not afraid of death, to raid the enemy's formation at night, hoping to achieve miraculous results.
And tonight is destined to be a sleepless night for Prince Daishan of Qing Dynasty!
…………
On September 25th, just after the ugly hour, it was already the dead of night. The camps of both the Ming and Qing Dynasties were very quiet. Apart from the interplay of lights and torches, there were only the occasional sounds of clappers and the shouts of the night watch sergeants.
Where lights and torches cannot shine, it is pitch black, and it may not be possible to see someone standing on the opposite side. However, the night is too quiet, and if someone walks by, the "rustling" sound of their footsteps on the hay is very harsh.
At the Xuan-Da coalition camp on the north bank of the Xiaoling River, amid the lights, one could vaguely see groups of soldiers in neat uniforms. They held their horses by the hand, followed one after another, stepped lightly on the dry and hard ground, and slowly left the camp.
Apart from being shouted at and asked for commands at the camp gate, and making some noise when showing their tokens, the whole team of one or two hundred people could only hear the footsteps of people and horses stepping on the ground while they were marching, and there was no other sound.
There are many teams like this. Under the leadership of their respective commanders, they all lead their horses on the small roads, slowly moving forward in the darkness, like ghosts in the dark night.
If you get closer, you may still see that in front of each group of warriors, there are some black shadows hiding among the surrounding weeds. They don't seem to be wearing iron armor, and they move forward quickly and continuously explore.
The sound they made by pulling at the weeds was cleverly blended with the "rustling" of the wind blowing the weeds. It was obvious that they were not just ordinary people, perhaps only the elite warriors of the Ming army who could do this at night.
Not far from the Xuanda Military Camp, I encountered cross-examination from secret whistles. They either responded with the calls of birds, or responded with whistles similar to bird calls. This situation occurred after I left the Xuanda Camp a little further. , it will never happen again.
There were about ten such teams, quietly leaving the camp from the Xuan Dajun camp. After leaving the camp, they either headed west or east. Only the north of the Xuan Dajun camp was eerily quiet.
This time, the Xuanfu army can be said to be all elite. The Ye Bushou and elite cavalry in each battalion were all mobilized. The infantry of the Xuanfu battalions and the Datong army soldiers and horses were strictly ordered not to leave the camp and must sleep peacefully. .
At this time, the busiest people were the governors of the various camps of the Xuanfu Army. They led the left-hand soldiers of the Chinese army who were under their command to suppress Zhang Cheng, patrolling the camps of the Xuanfu Army, supervising the soldiers to rest and sleep, and Inspect the duty status of each battalion.
Looking at the weeds outside the camp, everything was pitch black. Zhang Cheng couldn't tell how far his elite soldiers had gone. He couldn't help but look up into the distance. There seemed to be a ray of light in the dark night. .
However, that ray of light was so far away from him that when he looked far and wide, he could only see a little light and shadow. But Zhang Cheng was willing to believe in his heart that that erratic light and shadow was the sign that guided him to victory. , which is also the goal he strives for.
Let everyone live under the light!
Let everyone live a stable and peaceful life!
Let the Zhang family become the glory of history!
Let the Chinese nation become the leader of the world!
Although in this way, many people will surely lose a lot of things, including wealth and freedom, and even great lives.
However, as the course of history develops, many people, or even entire ethnic groups, will inevitably be selectively eliminated. However, this is also their own choice, and it is almost their own fault.
History has always been written by the victors, while the losers can only become a warning record for future generations, without any right to choose or decide at all!
"Commander Father, it's getting dark. It's better to go back to camp and rest first. If any military information comes back, I will report to you immediately!"
Zhang Cheng, who was deep in thought, was awakened by the words of his adopted son Zhang Chengfang. He looked at the dark night in the distance for a moment, then turned around and headed straight for his Chinese army commander's tent.
Zhang Cheng forged ahead without looking back, but whispered in his mouth: "Chengfang, if news comes back, I will wake up my adoptive father and report it immediately without any delay."
"Here."
Faced with Zhang Cheng's instructions, Zhang Chengfang naturally did not dare to neglect. He hurriedly responded and added: "Please rest assured, commander-in-chief, Cheng Fang is very knowledgeable and will never dare to delay the military plane."
Zhang Cheng nodded with some satisfaction and said nothing more. He moved forward and disappeared into the darkness surrounded by Zhang Chengfang and his guards.
…………
After all, Prince Li Daishan is already sixty years old. Even if he has no illness or disaster for the time being, and his body and bones are still strong, he cannot withstand the fatigue of running around for days.
Since the slave chief Huang Taiji left Baimiaobao, although Daishan was not the supreme commander of the Qing army in Jinzhou, as a heavyweight in the Qing Dynasty, he, Jierhalang and Ying'erdai were working day and night.
Now, Ying'erdai has gone to Yizhou to take charge of the army, planning food and fodder for the army. It is really hard work for Dorgon to rely on him and Jierhalang to share the front line.
However, for the sake of the future of the family and the status of Prince Li and his family in the Qing Dynasty, even in their sixties, they had to do their best to help Dorgon and plan the future of the Jinzhan together.
During the military meeting, he already felt a little tired, but he had to persevere, especially when faced with Prince Haoge of Su and Prince Azige of Wuying County. These two violent-tempered Manchu banner princes made him even more traumatized.
Daishan spent a lot of gentle words and words of comfort to stabilize the two of them. In order not to cause trouble to themselves in the war tomorrow, they even left the Manchurian Zhenglan Banner and the Xiangbai Banner as the central army.
The Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner of Bayintu and the Mongolian Bordered Yellow Banner of Tulai were used as the left wing, and the Mongolian Zhenghong Banner and Adai Mongol Zhenghuang Banner of Engetu were used as the right wing.
In addition, a section of Kong Youde's Tianyou Army and the Wuzhen Chaoha artillery battalion were also requisitioned by Daishan. However, the red cannons in his artillery battalion were difficult to move and would not be transported to the army until tomorrow.
Everything depends on tomorrow. Daishan is very confident about this. Not only does his own warriors have an advantage in numbers, but there will also be the artillery battalion of the King of Obedience to help tomorrow. What should he fear?
"snort."
After Daishan sent away the other princes, Baylor, and the Gushan'erzhen of each banner, he sat on the big chair in the middle army with a very contented look and blurted out: "Tomorrow's battle, if I can be lucky enough to kill the Xuanfu Ming General Zhang Cheng, that’s fine.”
He came to the window of the King of the Central Army's tent, looked out the dark window, and murmured: "In this way, we can not only avenge the Duduo boy, gather some military morale of the two white flags, but also boost our Qing Dynasty." The spirit can also damage the morale of the Confederate army, so it’s not like killing three birds with one stone!"
