Ninety-first night attack

Under the cover of the light infantry, the sanitation team and the militia who cleaned the battlefield opened the gate and walked out, and they first picked up their own dead in front of the earthen embankment. Many of the Fubo Army dead who had fallen from the earthen embankment had their heads cut off and the identification tags around their necks had been lost, and their names and troops could only be checked from the stitched cloth tickets on their clothes. The bodies of the fallen officers and soldiers were then cleaned up, including those that had fallen in the trenches, and they were dragged out one by one with hooks. The weather is already hot, and once so many corpses are thrown on the ground, it will soon cause a plague.

When the Ming army saw the thieves opening the gate of the wall, they thought they were going to launch a counterattack, and they boarded the wall to prepare for the fight. However, I saw that the thieves' infantry had advanced three hundred paces after leaving the fortress and then stopped in formation. Behind came a number of men in white robes, all of them surrounded by white cloth hoods, and holding long poles in their hands. The corpses were hooked and pulled together, and then transported by cart to a deep ditch for burial - the engineering team planted a column of gunpowder and soon blasted a deep trench to bury the corpses.

From time to time, the wounded officers and soldiers who were discarded could be found in the pile of corpses, and as long as they could still move, they were loaded into trolleys and transported back to the stockade for treatment.

To the regret of He Ming and the elders, the officers and soldiers did not leave behind the corpses of officers of the rank of a thousand generals and above, let alone the wounded. Not even a few of their personal surname flags were picked up.

He Ming did not ask for the collection of the swords, guns, and weapons left by the Ming army scattered on the ground, but the military flags discarded on the ground were collected without leaving a single one - this is a mark of war exploits.

The officers and men watched the enemy's actions curiously, and not only did they not cut off their heads, but they also brought back all the wounded. At that time, the army was in danger of dying if it was injured in battle, not to mention serious injuries that were unable to walk. When the army cleans up the battlefield after victory, whether it is friend or foe, as long as it is seriously wounded, it is generally mended on the spot.

For the sake of safety, the Fubo Army's operation to collect the corpses and clean up the battlefield only advanced to a distance of more than 200 meters from the earthen embankment. This distance is also where the most corpses are left.

Just as the health team was busy cleaning up the battlefield, electric light shone in the originally thick clouds, and bursts of dull thunder rolled. A rainstorm is coming.

Heavy rains are often followed by major wars, especially in June and July, when there is abundant water vapor and dense clouds, and a large amount of dust and smoke provides sufficient condensation nuclei.

"The corpse is going to be swollen now," Wren said with a frown, as he returned with the hastily curly health team, "and when the sun comes out tomorrow, I will be scared when I think about the smell of the battlefield." ”

"Let's make do with it for now, and then deal with it later." He Ming seemed to smell the stench of corpses along the road when he advanced to Langshan. "Disinfectant should also be sprinkled in the camp."

Wren took off his burqa, which smelled of disinfectant and blood, and threw his tarpaulin boots into the blazing boiler that was boiling water to supply the troops.

"The 6th Infantry Battalion is on guard, pay attention to the rain, and the other troops immediately open meals and rest." He Ming ordered loudly, "Tell the logistics department to make sure that every tent and shack is dry." ”

"Understood." Xie Shu saluted, turned around and trotted away. The sound of roll calls sounded in the square in the camp, and soon the 3rd and 5th Infantry Battalions reported the shortfall of each battalion, and the dead and wounded officers and non-commissioned officers were to be replenished at once, and the meritorious soldiers were promoted. The vacancy of soldiers is filled by the militia. In this way, tomorrow all the troops will be able to go to the battlefield with full men.

With a violent rolling thunder, the sparse bean raindrops fell on the ground, the smell of earth and blood, a cold wind blew, everyone had a cold war, a heavy rain poured down, accompanied by the roaring thunder, for a time the golden snake danced wildly between the heaven and the earth, the white rain curtain shrouded the heaven and the earth, and the sound of the rain made each other's voices inaudible.

He Ming's orderlies had already brought rain gear, and the rain draped him in a moment. He Ming didn't rush back to the headquarters and asked, "Are the wounded covered?" ”

"Canopies and large tents have been erected for the wounded."

The thunder gradually went away, but the rain became heavier and heavier, and it was impossible to see people and things clearly after leaving the distance of ten or so paces, He Ming still patrolled everywhere, and only after seeing that all the places had been arranged were arranged before he walked down and returned to the headquarters, he took care of sending an officer to visit the two lurking infantry battalions under the escort of the special reconnaissance team.

The 4th Battalion, which was responsible for lurking, was in the wild, and He Ming saw that the rain was so heavy, he was afraid that they would not be able to camp in the wilderness, and they would even be in danger of encountering flash floods.

"Tell them not only to be safe, but also to be hidden," He Ming told the messenger, "to prevent the enemy from sneaking up at night." ”

However, both battalion commanders reported that the camp is safe and the soldiers are resting without flooding.

Chengmai's city tower was gloomy at this time. Today's all-day battle has shown that the thieves are not only elite in firearms, but also extremely powerful. Although the exact number has not yet been released, it is certain that the total number of casualties is more than 2,000. This is already very serious for an army of more than 20,000 people. The morale of the entire battalion was low. Many people are afraid that they will be driven to fight the thieves tomorrow, and they already have the idea of fleeing. It was only when it was raining heavily and it was pitch black outside that there was no large-scale escape.

He Rubin ordered reliable troops to control the roads and key passes, and on the other hand, he convened a meeting of the generals to comfort the generals, asking everyone not to be discouraged and wait for tomorrow's decisive battle. Zhao Ruyi also said something to ask the generals to be loyal to the country. He was temporarily promoted to several generals, and asked them to lead the men and horses who had lost their main generals. The troops with the most serious losses were transferred to the flanks and garrisoned in the rear of the army, and replaced with new men and horses to the front line.

He then ordered more than a dozen rangers to behead the rout soldiers who did not return to the camp and tried to escape to Qiongshan after the rout, and ordered the whole battalion. Then the murderous power sent his cronies and generals to the most unreliable soldiers and villagers to comfort them, and asked them to "work together with their lives" with both soft and hard measures. After all this was done, he returned to the big tent. Zhao Ruyi was sitting in the tent and twisting his beard. He Rubin knew that he seemed calm, but in fact he was very scared.

"General Yinzhi, there are a few chances of winning tomorrow's battle." Zhao Ruyi asked.

"It's only six or seven points," He Rubin said, "Our army has suffered a setback today, and the morale of the army is quite shaken. The morale of the thieves is high......"

He didn't say the rest of the words, and everyone here knew the subtext: tomorrow's battle may be more defeats than victories.

Zhao Ruyi coughed and said, "The thieves have sharp firearms and high morale, and our army must not fight with them in the wilderness." According to the students' opinion, it is better to dig deep ditches and build high walls to consume the sharp energy of thieves. ”

He Rubin did not say anything, this method of warfare is useful in dealing with ordinary enemies, and even when dealing with the great enemy of the imperial court, there are many firearms, many infantry, digging trenches and erecting villages to defend with firearms, as long as the officers and soldiers are united, the soldiers can always defend with their lives. It's a haode tactic.

But the thief was unlike any enemy the Ming army had ever fought against. Even the red-haired man, who most closely resembles a thief, is different. The enemy has artillery that shoots farther and more accurately than them, and digging trenches and holding on will only be slowly shelled by the enemy from a distance, and the morale of the whole army will collapse before the enemy attacks.

"Lord Zhao, the thief's cannon is far above me, digging trenches and holding on, the enemy artillery can reach me, and my artillery is not as good as the enemy. People are knives, I am fish and meat."

When Zhao Ruyi heard it, it did make sense: "It's just that I will attack again tomorrow, I'm afraid it will ......" His words did not continue, but just sighed.

A staff member said: "Don't worry, no matter how far his cannon is, he will have to be a walled artillery, and the enemy has few soldiers, but according to the sharpness of firearms, he may not dare to go out of the walled artillery." ”

At this time, Chang Qingyun interjected and said: "The adult thief has a small setback to my soldiers today, and he will inevitably be lazy and arrogant, and he will be negligent and negligent in taking precautions." Tonight is raining heavily, and the enemy's firearms will not be able to be used, so please send a brave general to raise hundreds of dead soldiers with heavy money, and follow the example of the snow night attack on Caizhou, and you will definitely be able to break the thief."

He said it in no uncertain terms. He Rubin said secretly: "Scholar's opinion" Such a heavy rain, not to mention the difficulty of sending hundreds of people to go out in the dark, and even the direction may not be accurate.

But Chang Qingyun's "heavy rain is like a note, and the firearm must not move him with this sentence." In his opinion, today he is still defeated by the powerful firearms of the thief.

It's best to see rain tomorrow. He Rubin thought secretly.

Zhao Ruyi was very interested in this proposal, and the surrounding staff and generals also thought that there was a chance—they felt that as long as the thieves could not use firearms, they would not be a big deal. Even if you can't break the thief and make the enemy suffer a big loss, it is still possible to move back to the first game.

"How's it raining outside?"

"It's getting a little smaller." The little school who went out to visit replied.

He Rubin got up and stood on the edge of the verandah on the city tower and looked, the lanterns on the earthen embankment of the thieves' camp a few miles away were lit clearly, obviously heavily guarded, and it was impossible to count on stealing the camp and robbing the village. However, the enemy's firearms cannot be used, and your own fight with white soldiers may not be without a chance of a small victory.

Now the rain has lightened. He Rubin thought, if he sent someone to rob the village immediately, if he could succeed, the whole army of thieves would take the opportunity to defeat the whole battle situation, and if he couldn't break the village, a small victory could also boost morale.

So he immediately sent for the other generals to discuss the robbery of the camp. Everyone thinks: After today's defeat in the attack on the village, the thieves absolutely did not expect that the Ming army would rob the camp, not to mention that it is now raining heavily, although it is inconvenient to move on a rainy night, but this is a common danger between the enemy and us, the thieves can only fight chaotically if they cannot use firearms, and the officers and soldiers' white-edged stabbing skills can be shown, and it is not known that the thieves may be defeated.

At that moment, it was decided that 500 of He Rubin's town pacesetters would brave the rain to climb the vanguard, and the Huizhou staff general Yan Zun led 1,000 people to respond. If the attack is smooth, it will be called by Qihua, and He Rubin will lead the main force to attack later.

Yan Zunyu let everyone have a full meal, and then quietly moved to the front village. In order to facilitate their movement in the mud on rainy days, the 500 men who first boarded the board took off their armor and did not carry spears, but only swords and small shields. In addition, prepare many lightweight ladders. All the soldiers' shoes were wrapped with straw ropes in a few places to prevent them from being slippery and unable to focus on the climb. After the assembly of the various departments, they immediately set off in the rain, the town standard was garrisoned, the guerrilla Ye Zhengfang led the elite soldiers in the front, and Yan Zunhe led a few guerrillas to lead a thousand people to prepare to respond. He ordered everyone not to raise fires, not to make noise, and to run quietly and quickly towards the enemy camp in the rainy night.

He Rubin quietly prepared another 2,000 people, preparing that once the night attack was successful, he would immediately lead the main force to attack and break the village in one fell swoop.

Ye Zhengfang led the men and horses to walk quietly for several miles, only the sound of rain could be heard in his ears, and although there were lights on the earthen embankment, it was dark all around. He secretly rejoiced that the enemy's lights were bright, which meant that the enemy was in the light and our army was in the dark, and he also pointed out the direction for the attacking team, otherwise it would be almost impossible to find the right direction in the dark and blinding rain.

Seeing that the whole army had quietly touched the earthen embankment, and the follow-up men and horses had also touched it, Ye Zhengfang couldn't help but be overjoyed. During the day, thousands of men and horses had to break through this distance, leaving countless corpses, and now they actually touched the earthen embankment without any damage, and saw that the thief was really slacking off and listened quietly for a while, and there was still no movement on the earthen embankment, only the hissing of torches burning in the rain.

"Set up a ladder," he commanded in a whisper. More than a dozen ladders slowly rose up and leaned up to the earthen embankment.

All of a sudden, the snow became bright. In an instant, the officers and soldiers thought that it was dawn in an instant, and at the moment when they were stunned, a loud voice reached their ears:

"Put"

The platoon of guns swept away the officers and soldiers preparing to rob the village between the skew forts in an instant, and the strong beam of light made the officers and soldiers under the earthen embankment dizzy, and the strong stage swept the dense rain with the light of the searchlight, making everything around it white. The officers and men who were blinded by the beating could even identify the direction of their escape for a while, and they were killed one after another under the platoon gun.

"Go" Ye Zhengfang was shocked, knowing that the thief had already taken precautions, and did not dare to stay any longer, a gong sounded, and the officers and soldiers rushed to flee. The white beam on the earthen embankment followed the defeated soldiers closely, and for a time the officers and soldiers were in chaos, trampling on each other in front of the trench, and there were many dead and wounded.

The thieves' guns roared in the heavy rain, but the bows and arrows of the officers and men were difficult to use in the rain, and the 1,000 men and horses led by Yan Zunyu could neither attack nor take cover, and saw the white pillars of light swaying wildly, and crossed the trench and shone into his men and horses. The others immediately dispersed, and Yan Zunhe himself was surrounded by his own soldiers and fled.

Ye Zhengfang fled in the chaos, under the escort of his own soldiers and generals. It was with great difficulty that he escaped the trench, when the guns on the earthen embankment stopped, and only a loud voice was heard shouting:

"The people below listened, threw down their knives and guns, stripped naked, put their hands on their heads, and squatted down, otherwise none of them would be left"

The officers and men who were in a mess had already been dizzy from the searchlights, and they were beaten by the platoon of guns, so they hurriedly dropped their weapons one by one, and squatted under the earthen embankment with their hands raised, not daring to look up.

When an officer saw that he was at the edge of the pillar of light, he quietly moved a few steps in an attempt to hide into the darkness. A gunshot rang out immediately from the earthen embankment, and they were immediately killed in the clearing, and when everyone saw where they dared to move for half a minute, they did not dare to move again.

Three ladders were lowered on the earthen embankment.

"A team of ten, a team of people climbed up. If there are any wounded, bring them all."

The officers and men who had stripped off their knees were shivering from the heavy rain, and a junior officer shouted: "It's convenient to go up there, put a few more ladders down, brothers have no cover up and down, this rain is cold......

"Send troops and horses, serve the imperial court, and pay attention to loyalty to the country. You're not afraid of death, but you're still afraid of catching a cold? Someone on the earthen embankment replied with a smile.

"The fart is loyal to the country, Lao Tzu is to eat food and get paid," the little officer saw that someone above answered, and the true colors of the soldier ruffian flare up again, "Although everyone has their own main sword and gun without eyes, this will be for the sake of wearing a numbered gown and eating food, and accommodation is one"

"It's good to say that the brother is not small, and he doesn't know the big name?"

"Don't dare, petty Jiang, cheap name and meritorious service."

"Okay, let's put two more ladders down."

So the soldiers climbed up along the five ladders, and the infantrymen on it were under the watchful eye of the loaded guns, and the militiamen prepared bundles of ropes, and when the prisoners came up, they tied their right arms, and ten people tied them up in a string and then escorted them down. The soldiers and militiamen couldn't help laughing when they saw the officers and soldiers naked, all bare-chested, and embarrassed by the heavy rain, and the laughter became louder and louder, penetrating the rain curtain and reaching the officers and soldiers camp. The officers and soldiers who had been defeated during the day heard the gunshots, but they did not know that the thieves were laughing like this, and they did not dare to inquire, so they only talked quietly in the dark. Many middle- and lower-ranking generals and soldiers realized that the campaign was a complete failure, and at least they did not see a chance of winning.

A group of ten men was escorted by bayonets and placed in a prisoner of war camp in a corner of the camp. Many fires were lit in the bamboo huts, but no clothing was distributed, only the captives were kept warm by the fires. After simple diagnosis and treatment, the wounded were taken away one by one for treatment.

Jiang Yougong shivered while roasting the fire. He saw that the place where they were being held was very simple, it was a corner of the camp, there were earthen embankments on two sides, and ditches were dug on the other two sides, and the ditches were full of sharp bamboo sticks, and the lights were bright on all sides.

More than a dozen black tin buckets were brought over, steaming inside, and stacks of wooden bowls were brought in.

"Come, take a bowl for each of you, and prepare for soup," the man shouted loudly as he banged on the tin bucket.