Chapter 167 Counterattack
Courage is hard to describe, but no matter what, the reason why the Confederate army in front of them attacked crazily was because they didn't want to endure the pressure of death. Before attacking and killing Beidu's team, he only chose the former.
Then when they know that if they move forward, they will inevitably die. Even when the threat of death is greater than that of the supervising team. What choices will be made.
They broke through the first level of the Union army, and there were more behind them. You can't even see the end.
In one go, it's almost done.
In addition, the flanks were threatened, and a lot of people had to be deployed to fight the attacks on the flanks. What's more important is the corner between Ma Xiao and the Northern Army's main formation. The Southern Army here is attacked from two sides and is under greater pressure.
There is already a risk of collapse.
Of course, this is nothing.
After all, hundreds of thousands of people were fighting, let alone a small battlefield that collapsed. The entire army was wiped out. As long as it doesn't involve the entire battlefield, it's not a big deal.
In Wu Li's view, it was an opportunity.
It is impossible to completely destroy the Confederate army. After all, the Confederate army has a numerical advantage.
But it is possible to let the Confederate army calm down for a while.
Wu Li keenly seized this opportunity.
Wait until the whole army is ready.
Wu Li immediately ordered several frontline guard posts to withdraw. Only this time after they withdrew, what was in front of the Confederate Army was not a horizontal formation. Instead, all the cannons were lined up, whether they were infantry cannons or squatting tiger cannons. All that can be done is here.
Immediately, the order was given and fierce fire was given.
For a moment, the opponent was stunned.
That's not all.
Wu Li even gathered one or two hundred riders. In fact, these are not cavalry, but the officers around Wu Li.
After all, there are many horses in the north, and many officers have war horses as mounts, which are not among the cavalry ranks. Let more than a hundred cavalry rush out, and then let almost all the fresh troops on the several-mile-long front participate in the counterattack.
Facts have proved that the soldiers who carried out Wu Li's order to bayonet were not very good. Most people don't want to kill with a bayonet. They all rushed up to a very close distance, then opened fire and threw away the muskets. Then he pulled out the big knife on his back and rushed out.
After all, firecrackers and bayonets are added, and everyone also likes long knives and big guns.
The blunderbuss and bayonet look like a short spear. But everyone who has used it knows that this guy is too heavy and the center of gravity is too biased. The long spear is too short, and the broadsword is too long. It’s uncomfortable to exert force horizontally and vertically. Although, during this period of time, He Xi and Ye Chen also studied some tactics and techniques of bayonet stabbing.
But it’s not perfect overall. It is not too easy for the soldiers below to learn it.
If it were said that these soldiers of the Ming Dynasty all learned how to fight and stab at a young age, they probably wouldn't say anything. But many of these Ming soldiers were trained with swords, spears, bows and horses when they were young. When they entered the army, they also practiced cold weapons.
None of them like hand-to-hand combat with muskets and bayonets.
A firegun weighs at least ten kilograms. After all, in order to prevent the barrel from exploding, He Xi has very high safety requirements, which results in the weight of the firegun being very heavy. But how much does a single sword weigh? Not including the scabbard, it weighs just over two kilograms.
This weight difference alone is enough for soldiers to know how to choose. The man with the blunderbuss and bayonet. Putting aside the technology, the combat endurance alone is far inferior to that of a single sword. On the battlefield, there is only one outcome for lack of strength.
That is death.
No wonder the soldiers made such a choice.
But no matter what the choice of the Northern Army soldiers was. Wu Li launched his offensive at the right time.
The Confederate army at the front quickly collapsed after struggling for a while. Then they dispersed the supervising team behind them and even dispersed the reserve team.
Wu Li naturally seized the moment and chased him.
------
The battle situation in front of him made Sheng Yong breathless.
He firmly grasped the telescope in his hand. A series of orders were immediately issued. Order the rear army to keep a distance from the front army. Anyone who attacks the rear formation will be killed without mercy.
We must hold our ground.
As long as it doesn't cause a chain reaction and lead to a devastating defeat, this little problem is nothing to him. After all, he has a lot of money.
But he has a concern.
That is, by the time we hit here today, our morale was already very low. The war may come to an end today.
However, the reinforcements from the Northern Army are more than thirty miles away and will arrive on the battlefield tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
As a result, there is not much time left for him.
So before dark, should we launch another attack?
And even if you launch an attack, can you achieve something?
When Sheng Yong was still hesitating.
Suddenly a piece of news came, which surprised Sheng Yong.
That means Jin Zhen died in battle.
Sheng Yong could only sigh and said, "Retract your troops."
Killing a marquis in battle has a great impact on the morale of the army.
At this point, it would be useless to continue fighting.
Sheng Yong understood one thing more and more: it would not work without reform. He had more troops than his opponent, but they were of no use during the battle. War is not only useless, but bloated. Historically, King Yan's victory over the Southern Army was actually due to the infantry's poor response to the cavalry, which gave King Yan a great opportunity.
On the contrary, when facing the southern cavalry, King Yan was defeated repeatedly. After many lives and deaths.
This is certainly a problem for the southern generals and the operational command of the Grand Army. But it also illustrates some more essential things.
-----
Hearing the order for the Confederate troops to withdraw their troops.
Wu Li also breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ordered the withdrawal of troops.
If the Southern Army did not withdraw its troops, Wu Li might continue to attack. But the Confederate army began to withdraw its troops. Wu Li was worried instead.
Without him, in this kind of melee, there is no formation. What Wu Li is most afraid of is the opponent's cavalry attacking. What happens at that time is not up to Wu Li.
Before, Wu Li dared to counterattack because the Southern Army's cavalry strength had been exhausted. If he wanted to withdraw, it would take at least an hour to make adjustments. This gave Wu Li time to adjust.
However, Wu Li only received a piece of news at this time. That means Ma Xiao died in battle.
Wu Li was shocked.
Ma Xiao's death has actually been hidden for a long time.
When faced with attacks from both front and back, Ma Xiao stood in the first row of the queue in order to boost morale. Command the platoon to shoot. The accuracy of the musket was very poor. But on the battlefield, stray bullets are flying around, and unexpected situations are likely to occur.
Just like now.
Ma Xiao was hit by a stray bullet.
Although there was no death on the spot. But after being shot, he bled profusely within ten minutes. Failure to rescue is fatal.
His temporary order was to keep it secret, let the chief of staff command the entire army on his behalf, and persist to the end.
As a result, Ma Xiao's death was hidden for more than an hour. If the war continues, it will continue to be hidden.
Wu Li sighed and said, "Prepare a good coffin."
He didn't say anything else.
For those who go to the battlefield, life and death are ordinary things. He's used to it too.
If Ma Xiao's death is very ordinary. Then Jin Zhen's death seems extremely tragic.
Under his command, he led his cavalry and attacked Ma Xiao's formation three times, regardless of casualties. The cavalry fell to the ground in an organized manner, and the Northern Army also suffered tremendous pressure. He was rushed into the military formation several times and was forced out with bayonets.
One battalion's phalanx was broken through, and Qianhu died in the battle. Without a commander, the soldiers spontaneously formed a formation. There were probably more than a hundred people joining the battle. The small one is just three or five people back to back, with bayonets pointing outwards.
In this situation.
Only then did I buy enough time for the rest.
And Jin Zhen died on the way to charge, visible to everyone. He was hit in the chest by a firecracker and died.
Nothing had time to stay.
With King Jin's death, the Confederate cavalry offensive ended.
After all, Jin Zhen's identity is different. Jin Zhen's ability to command the cavalry is certainly due to Fu Youde's support, but there are also many former members of the Jin family in the army. Jin Zhenyi's death means that many things are different. Jin Zhen's deputy general cannot represent Jin Zhen at all.
Jin Zhen's deputy general also had to consider other aspects of the situation after Jin Zhen's death, such as the impact on the Jin family.
In addition, the casualties of the cavalry themselves were too great. In this case, it is simply impossible to continue the attack. This is not the difference between what can be kept secret and what cannot be kept secret.
The death of Jin Zhen represents the end of a great war.
