Section 86 A win-win battle

A white smoke screen appeared on the edge of the phalanx, and the Ming cavalry who rushed forward immediately turned over on their backs under the rain of bullets, like a wave smashed on the reef, and the remaining cavalry did not dare to rush forward, and separated to both sides of the phalanx, trying to outflank and kill the infantry from the flank. The soldiers on both flanks of the phalanx seized the opportunity to fire at the cavalry that swept in front of them, and the cavalry in armor suffered heavy casualties under the fire of Minnie's rifles. In just a few minutes, dozens of corpses of men and horses had been dropped around the phalanx.

He Zhanran rode his horse back to dozens of zhang, gathered the men and horses, and prepared to rush again. At this time, Yang Zeng shouted: "Ruler 100 meters, fire"

Before the cavalry team that had been assembled could start a charge, it was once again covered by a dense rain of bullets, and dozens of cavalry fell in an instant. The others were completely stunned - no one expected that the enemy's firearms could really hit so far, so hard, and the iron armor had no effect. One smashed the total heart shield to pieces, and the other knocked the total helmet with half of the head and flew out.

The Ming cavalry retreated slightly, and then divided into two groups to outflank them, this time they were very fast, and they probably knew that the thief's bird gun had a long range, so everyone galloped quickly, hoping to use speed to counteract the enemy's aim.

The platoon guns rang out again, and more than twenty cavalrymen fell from their horses. At this time, He Zhanran suddenly turned his horse's head and led all the cavalry to charge straight into the phalanx - originally he thought that the thief was using the "three-stage attack" in the bird's gun tactics, but now that the three rows of guns were released, the enemy must have a long time to reload, and he planned to use this gap to break through the phalanx. One of his cronies, a small leader, rushed to the front with a few personal soldiers, ready to directly hit the bayonet array regardless of life and death, and cut a bloody path.

But once again, the thief's bird gun rang out in a neat volley. The charge was like a raging wave on a reef, and the wave of cavalry was smashed to pieces, and the defeated cavalry retreated until two hundred meters away, and the Mini rifle stopped firing. He Zhanran had already lost almost half of his men, and the rest of the people had no intention of fighting again, so they rode their horses and fled the battlefield. He Zhanran cursed as he slew one of the fleeing cavalrymen as he tried to regroup a few hundred meters away. The sound of artillery rang out in the air.

One after another shells with red light flew through the phalanx of the light infantry, and suddenly burst into the air, and a rain of 88 shotguns was thrown towards the ground, and the cavalry that was assembling was covered by the fierce rain of bullets, and fell one by one, and the screams, screams and groans of men and horses were mixed together.

A projectile almost grazed He Zhanran and shot to the ground, throwing the dirt on his face, and the pungent smell of gunsmoke pierced him so that he couldn't open his eyes. He knew that the thief's firearms were powerful, but he didn't expect them to be so powerful. The cannonballs could explode in the air and then throw a rain of bullets, he didn't dare to fight anymore, and there were only forty or fifty horsemen left at hand, not only was he at an absolute disadvantage, but the military drums of the thieves and the village more than two miles away had already driven out a group of men and horses. He Zhanran turned his horse's head in circles and shouted loudly for the soldiers to flee.

"Stop shooting" Zhang Bolin put down the binoculars, and there were only a few cavalry left in the distance who were fleeing in the direction of the county seat, and he couldn't help but put down his heart hanging in mid-air, "I didn't expect the phalanx to be really useful"

When the cavalry assaulted the retreating infantry, he thought about letting the gunners fire grenades to intercept the cavalry, but the enemy's cavalry ran so fast that they soon reached the front of the infantry phalanx, and it was easy to accidentally injure his own side by firing at this time.

Yang Zeng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the enemy retreating, at this time he was already covered in sweat, and he even felt that his life would be in danger when the cavalry first attacked.

"Hold steady and keep in formation," he shouted as he held his command knife and held down his position. He remembered listening to the instructor when he was studying, when the enemy cavalry attacked the phalanx, there might be a second or third wave of cavalry waiting, just waiting for your formation to be a little messy, and you would immediately rush over and destroy the phalanx. The momentum of the cavalry's full-speed charge made him extremely frightened for a while. If it weren't for the long-term continuous training that the soldiers had formed a sense of conditioned reflex numbness, the soldiers would have been in a mess long ago.

He did not dare to change the formation, and ordered the phalanx formation to slowly retreat in the direction of the main camp.

"Steady, steady," he brandished his command knife, and the other two company commanders struggled to maintain order in their retreat, when he heard the flute of the March of the Grenadier behind him. A tall grenadier came from the rear in an orderly manner, and beside them a neat double column lined up to cover their retreat into the camp.

All the way to the gate of the main camp, the artillery and infantry on the earthen fence let out a burst of enthusiastic cheers -- except for some officers and military officers who had participated in the defense of Bopu and the suppression of bandits, this new type of army had never fought the enemy in such a dignified position. Now they saw the results of their daily training on the training ground: 300 infantry against 300 cavalry, and the cavalry did not take advantage of the slightest advantage, but left behind the dead men and horses. Indigenous soldiers and officers were even more confident in their armies and weapons.

When Yang Zeng returned to the camp, he was immediately called in front of He Ming, and he trembled and saluted the supreme commander:

"I brought the company back with no casualties"

"Well done" He Ming punched him hard, making the little man almost fall to the ground, "Give him a first-class merit"

When Tong Yizhen arrived at the battlefield with his family and infantry, he saw He Zhanran's troops who were in a state of collapse, and they retreated in a chaotic manner, most of them lost their helmets and weapons, and many of them had terrible wounds on their bodies, and they were planted off their horses while running.

Tong Yizhen was taken aback, it was not surprising that the outpost had lost the battle, but this was three hundred elite cavalry, and it was more than enough to break three or four times their infantry, and now they were actually defeated, and the defeat was so miserable.

He Zhanran was brought to him in embarrassment: "The humble general is incompetent-"

"How many cavalry are there in the enemy army?" He didn't care to listen to his plea, "Where is it now?" ”

"The thieves don't have cavalry, it's just, it's just ......" He Zhanran barely swallowed a mouthful of saliva that became bitter from the wild running and gunsmoke, "The firearm is very powerful"

He made it clear that his assault phalanx was fired at exactly and continuously from a distance of 200 paces, to being bombarded by a cannonball capable of exploding a projectile cannon in the air:

"The thieves not only have sharp firearms, but their ranks are strictly organized, which is by no means comparable to ordinary bandits."

"You retreat first" Tong Yizhen didn't believe his words very much, officers always exaggerated the enemy's strength and good fighting when they lost a battle, but He Zhanran's defeat was so miserable that it didn't seem to be a lie.

The striker was frustrated, and he decided not to rush directly into the battlefield with his troops, lest he be hit head-on by the morale of the enemy. He already knew from the defeated soldiers that the thieves had abandoned their camp at the south gate and the earthen siege of Chengmai, and that the whole army had retreated to a large camp in the northwest near the coast.

He immediately ordered a part of the family members and personal soldiers of Youma, under the leadership of a young general named Song Ming under his command, to quickly occupy the empty village abandoned by the thieves outside the south gate, and set up his banner. Then he called another soldier:

"Hurry up and tell the marshal, I have taken the thief's south gate Dazhai and broken the siege of Chengmai"

Then he urged the infantry to hurry as soon as possible, and he led his men and horses to the south gate of Chengmai, and took care of the defenders of the city to open the door quickly. The defenders on the city witnessed the fiasco of the official cavalry just now, and they were already desperate, but suddenly saw the smoke and dust billowing in the direction of the post road, and a large number of officers and soldiers were coming in a steady stream.

The soldiers and civilians in the county opened the south gate at the moment, and Tong Yizhen immediately entered the city with his headquarters. quickly took over the defense of the four cities, and then his subordinates hurriedly encircled the houses everywhere, and for a time the county town was full of chickens and dogs, and the soldiers and officers were busy enclosing the houses everywhere to ask for supplies.

For a time, the city was filled with the sounds of shouting, pleading, screaming, and wailing. Some families were driven out of their homes by the soldiers, some people simply took the opportunity to rob the people in the city, and there were also women who entered the house, and for a time there was chaos in the county, and the cries of the people were mixed with the scolding and shouting of the officers and soldiers.

Chengmai County Commander Liu Jingxuan's lips were pale, and he took the secretary office and the officials to support the officers and soldiers who kept coming to ask him for help at the gate of the county ya. He had been slapped a few times, his lips had been broken, and several clerks and officials had shrunk behind him.

The gentry were frightened one by one, originally when they paid for the county seat one by one, they looked at the officials and soldiers to save them day and night, but they didn't expect this savior to be similar to the bandits, and they saw that the county order had eaten a few big soldiers, and everyone was even more worried about their lives.

"General, Liu Jingxuan, the main hall of Chengmai County, Xiaguan-" He was interrupted by Tong Yizhen as soon as he started:

"Okay, okay, Lord Zhentai will be here in a while, quickly clean your yamen out and wait for Lord Zhentai"

"Yes, yes, this is where the official position lies." Liu Jingxuan knew that the imperial court had sent a large army to suppress the thieves, and he always thought that it was just a matter of supporting grain and grass, but he didn't expect that the thieves would actually have to fight a decisive battle with the official army under the city, and he couldn't help but secretly complain - he had served as a county commander for several terms, and he knew that the most difficult thing for a magistrate was to support the passing officials and the army, both of which were similar to bandits. The magistrate died of illness because he was strangled, and even committed suicide. Now that the officials and soldiers were actually stationed in the city, their faces turned pale for a while, and the officials and gentry behind them also looked very uneasy.

"It's just, it's just, the military discipline of your brothers, please maintain it by the general." He shuddered.

General Tong looked at the scene of chaos all over the city, and there were several corpses with their heads cut off not far away, and from the way they dressed, these people were not thieves.

"Military discipline will naturally be maintained, but the supply of grain and grass must also be done with all our hearts."

"Yes, yes, Lower-" Before he could finish his sentence, suddenly several women with disheveled hair rushed at him crying, shouting that they had been wronged.

"What kind of world is this," the woman cried and shouted, "The man died when the people were strong and defended the city, and his head was cut off before he was buried......"

Tong Yizhen knew that this was his subordinates cutting off their heads as a battle achievement. This kind of thing is a common thing in the military. He just coughed and watched the soldiers chase the woman away.

At this time, a servant hurriedly came: "Master, master" He ran so red that even his hat fell off, "Deputy masters......" He saw many soldiers and a few generals around the county commander, and quickly changed his words: "Beicheng, Beicheng, there is a fire"

Liu Jingxuan was taken aback, and saw that there were already several fires in the city. He hurriedly said, "Quick, quick, hit the gong, call the water society out of the dragon" He looked back at the officials who were already stunned, waved his sleeves and stomped his feet, "You guys go too"

"This group of rotten cubs, it's too unpleasant" Tong Shen General saw that the soldiers were so nonsense, and he was afraid that he would be denounced, impeached by the officials, and the cries of women. At that moment, he ordered a pro-general to take dozens of pro-soldiers to patrol the city according to his orders, and beheaded a few robbers and murderers on the street to maintain order.

Half an hour later, Li Guang's first battalion also arrived at Chengmai County, but his attempt to enter the city was stopped by the Tong Division, who seemed to think that the city was their spoils of war and that no one else was allowed to touch it. If the generals of both sides hadn't come out to stop it, the Chaozhou soldiers and the Zhaoqing soldiers almost caused a conflict at the city gate.

He Ming stood on the tower and looked at the Ming army that was constantly surging with high-powered binoculars. Their number is so large, like mercury spilling, filling the empty space around the entire Chengmai county,

Countless troops, countless flags, the sonorous clash of armor, the footsteps of soldiers, and the sound of hunting with flags blown by the wind, it was like a great tide surging here.

As the sun set, the sun shone on the rolling army from the east, the armor and spear tips glistened, and the snare drums, trumpets, and hoops sounded in all directions, accompanied by the vast twilight. An indescribable sense of coercion pressed heavily on his heart.

If He Ming has been on the battlefield, fought Vietnamese devils, and smelled gunpowder. Well, many veteran officers in the field army have never fought even if they are from the army. Everyone knew from a rational point of view that it was impossible for an army in the Middle Ages like the Ming Army to defeat a modern army, but seeing this army coming in one after another. Everyone's face was solemn. Some people even felt dizzy and simply put down the binoculars and stopped looking.

A general climbed onto a massive rock, and countless helmeted heads surged forward around him. He was like standing on a reef in the middle of a stormy sea. The general looked forward, and the command flag in his hand pointed sharply forward.

More than 20,000 people arrived at the county seat one after another, occupying the open space and hills around the county seat. The infantry set up barracks and placed artillery mounts, and the whole army lined up a total of three barracks, and dug long trenches outside. Confront the Fubo Army.

He Rubin arrived in Chengmai County before dark, and he did not settle in the county seat, but set up a large camp outside the west gate of the county seat. Together with Zhao Ruyi, he first inspected the first level he had obtained.

Not only are the heads scarce, far from matching the more than 300 people reported by Tong Ginseng, but most of the hair of the heads of these so-called "thieves" is cut in pieces. Some of them still have blood stains on their hair, and some of their heads have turned black, and they look like they were hair that was cut off a day or two after death.

He Rubin has been in the machine for a long time, and he knows the cat at a glance, and Zhao Ruyi is also a very shrewd and capable person. But the big war was imminent, and the soldiers needed to use their lives, and both of them were silent. After the inspection, he immediately ordered the Military Administration Department to record the merits of the contributing personnel.

After inspecting the head, they took their staff and generals to the north of Chengmai. Look out at the camp of thieves encamped by the sea.

Tang Yun wrote that he bought a Dutch telescope from Macau. He Rubin opened the mirror tube and looked at the thief camp:

About four miles away, the camp of the thieves was surrounded by a man-high earthen embankment, and the shape of the camp was not round or square, but protruding with several large sharp corners. He didn't understand the use of the protruding corners that surrounded the camp, but he knew that the Dutch had built the fort in this way.

There are many wicker baskets on the earthen embankment, bundles of bamboo are intertwined together to form fortresses, and many tall towers built of shelves, the highest of which is taller than the county seat. There was a figure swaying on it. The entire camp was heavily defended by a trench dug outside the barracks.

There were lights on the sea in the distance, and there seemed to be many ships moored. Tang Yunwen told him that these were the sailor gunboats of the thieves.

Looking at the size of the camp, the number of thieves is at least 10,000. He Rubin didn't expect that the enemy would pour out of the nest and fight him to the death under Chengmai County. And the combat effectiveness of the thief does not seem to be to be underestimated. It was only after a hard battle that the general Tong Shen expelled the thief infantry from the camp, and the cavalry also lost more than 200 people.

He saw a village-like place on the coastline about four or five miles east of the thief's camp: "Where is this?" ”

"Returning to Lord Zhentai," Liu Jingxuan, the county commander who was called to accompany him, hurriedly said, "This is Xiaoyingchang, there was a village originally, and the earthquake was completely destroyed during the Wanli period. It is now uninhabited. ”

"General Sha, you send a thousand people to Xiaoyingchang. Stop the thieves from scurrying along the Qiongshan Road," he ordered.

Guangzhou Wei commanded the guerrilla Sha Jianbi of the Fubiao battalion to quickly respond and immediately went down to the city to make arrangements.

After carefully observing for a while, He Rubin couldn't see the weakness of the thief's camp. Knowing that tomorrow's battle of the enemy's camp will be a very difficult bone to gnaw, and the loss of troops will be inevitable.

But as long as the main force of the thieves is broken here, Lingao will also go down in one go. This part of the force is probably all the land divisions of the thieves. The opponent's tactics were nothing more than the pattern of using firearms to defend the village, and it did not surprise him.