"Fire!"

It seemed that at the same time there was a deafening sound of artillery, a large cloud of smoke rose up, and one by one the whistling shells rolled towards the formation of the model brigade on the opposite side. In particular, the six-pounder guns, after using the stocks, fired more than a dozen large and small shells in one shot, and the scene was even more spectacular.

Just now, I watched dozens of old battalion elite horsemen with a full set of Nanban equipment, and they were cut down from their horses by a group of guys who were riding on horses, and Zhang Xianzhong was so angry that he was a little angry, he didn't care about the equipment worth hundreds of silver dollars on everyone, but he felt sorry for the dozens of people who followed him to fight in the north and south, and after countless cruel battles, they gradually gathered to the elite under his hands, and they lost it like this, which really made him unwilling in his heart.

Watching the horse team of the Model Brigade pull dozens of horses, swords, guns and armor into the camp, but patrolling back and forth between the two armies, covering their troops from the camp one by one, Zhang Xianzhong temporarily suppressed the anger in his heart and whispered to Zhang Kewang, "Transfer our artillery team and prepare to bombard this group of donkeys with cannonball!" ”

From the day of the fight, the West Battalion bombarded the battalion of the white pole soldiers with artillery, and this artillery team became Zhang Xianzhong's heart and soul treasure, and Zhang Dingguo, who was the first to build yì to buy cannons, was also praised by Zhang Xianzhong several times in front of everyone, and ordered him to lead this artillery team. This inadvertently aroused Zhang Kewang's jealousy, this time Zhang Xianzhong came to clean up this army of officers and soldiers who did not know whether they were alive or dead, and he Zhang Kewang just took advantage of the opportunity of Zhang Dingguo being left in the old camp to take care of his family.

Ten guns were dragged along the way by the old battalion like treasures on thirty mules and horses, and the gunners adjusted the muzzles of the guns under the cover of the crowd. After loading the cannonball, as Zhang Kewang waved the command flag in his hand, accompanied by his loud shout, a six-pounder cannon shook violently, and the muzzle of the cannon erupted more than two feet of fire, and thick smoke rose with it. The strong recoil force made the two-wheeled gun carriage take a big step back,

In the deafening sound of cannons, large round iron balls smashed viciously into the model brigade formation.

According to the experience of the officers and men of the Western Battalion in the use of artillery, such a round of artillery fire fell in the ranks of the officers and soldiers. It will cause a lot of confusion and commotion. The officers and soldiers who felt that the shell would fall on their heads. Even more so, he ran away, whether he was an officer or an ordinary soldier.

Zhang Xianzhong twisted his slightly yellowed beard, looking forward to the moment when he would wave his army to cover up the past after the official army on the opposite side fell into chaos and collapsed.

The first wave of shells smashed into the array at the forefront of the Model Brigade in an instant. But the effect of this wave of cannonballs was not as good as the Eight Kings imagined. The shells hit the ground. Fly into the array. The lethal effect of running and jumping was not fully exerted, for no other reason, it had just rained lightly. The ground was covered with mud created by the rain, and on this muddy and slippery ground, the lethality of the shells could be imagined.

A shell bounced on the ground, rushed dozens of paces, took away the head of one person, the arms of two people, and the thighs and calves of seven or eight people, leaving a bloody and blurred ballistic trace in the array of the model brigade, leaving a long and mournful howl of blood everywhere.

However, the formation of the model brigade remained largely unchaotic!

Looking at the model brigade formation divided into several rows, with a distance of three or five steps between the platoons, Zhang Xianzhong couldn't help but tear off a few beards, "Donkey ball!" Sure enough, it's a bit evil! ”

Similarly, Zhang Kewang is also keeping an eye on the whereabouts and lethal effects of the shells. However, after the artillery was discharged, the effect of the artillery bombardment that the group of people was intently watching was very regrettable, and although the officers and men on the opposite side were also damaged, and there was a commotion in the military formation, they were generally fine, and the military formation was still in order.

On such soft, muddy and slippery ground, the cannonball does not jump very well after hitting the ground, and unless it hits directly, it is not as lethal as a bow and arrow.

Only one six-pounder cannon shot well, and the six-pounder bullet directly knocked the two model brigade horse soldiers to the ground, and the cannonball smashed the two cavalrymen to the ground, not to mention, they jumped directly into the chest of a pikeman not far behind, breaking a huge blood hole in his body. The rest of the dozen or so small bullets flew sideways in all directions, shuttling and jumping in the ranks of pikemen, directly hitting a bloody path.

"Xiao Wang! Don't open fire! These guys aren't white pole soldiers! Not even those Sichuan soldiers! Zhang Xianzhong's observation of the army's combat effectiveness can be described as insightful, and he can see at a glance that the so-called model brigade in front of him is by no means comparable to the officers and troops encountered in the past.

Under the orders of the Eight Kings, Ma Yuanli, Zhang Kewang and others began to adjust their deployment, and a team of soldiers from the Western Battalion was transferred out and lined up in a dense formation in front of the formation. Standing at the forefront, about two thousand archers, also lined up in four rows, all with bronze iron arm bows in their hands, and triangular steel arrows resting on the bowstrings of raw cowhide.

Although these archers are not the elite of the old battalion, they have also experienced the test of battle formation in the battle against Zhang Ling and the white pole soldiers a few days ago, and they cannot be said to be rookies. They are wearing the cotton armor eliminated by the soldiers of the old battalion, although they are not as good as the infantry and elite cavalry of the old battalion with a desperate knife hanging from their waists, a mourning gun in their hands, and a Nanban steel armor, but their combat ability is no worse than that of the 20,000 Sichuan soldiers who have just been defeated and lost by them, at least they can have a draw.

Behind the two thousand archers were two thousand pikemen dressed in Nanban armor, most of whom were horsemen from the western camp, each armed with mourning guns, and under the leadership of the leaders of their respective ranks, they began to charge the army formation of the model brigade with their spears five feet long.

On both sides of these pikemen were more than 1,000 veteran cavalrymen, each of whom was dressed in the Southern Barbarian Army, but also had cotton armor or chain mail inside. The knights were each armed with spears, and carried stiff bows behind their backs, and the quiver was full of feathered arrows, and by the saddle hung a sharpened sword. They were to follow behind and flank these infantrymen, to supervise the battle, and to pounce on the Model Brigade when it showed signs of confusion and collapse, bleeding the Model Brigade with the sharp blades of their spears.

And Zhang Xianzhong also had four or five hundred personal soldiers around him, with long knives or spears in their hands. With a fire hammer on his back and an ochre-red cowhide medicine box hanging on his chest, Le Ma stood behind Zhang Xianzhong and Zhang Kewang and others.

Almost at the same time, the same passionate drumbeat sounded violently in the model brigade formation, and several battalion officers shouted in unison: "Forward! ”

Immediately, nearly 2,000 firecrackers in the front row of the Model Brigade marched in formation like a wall, and pressed over under the banner of the black pressure of the peasant army in Xiying on the opposite side.

"Catch up!" Zhang Xianzhong pulled down a mustache in his hand, Zhang Kewang next to him immediately waved the order flag, and the troops of the West Battalion began to face the road of the model brigade!

Behind the dense archers were layers of spears. There are also various flags in each queue that are as dense as a forest of horses.

"Forward!"

The two sides are getting closer and closer. In the sound of neat steps, the opponent's armor and weapons, the red tassels on the helmets fluttering in the wind, and even the twisted and hideous expressions on the faces of the soldiers on all sides can be seen clearly.

"Stop!"

The beat of the drums, which was used to adjust the pace, stopped. At a distance of less than one hundred and twenty paces from the peasant army. The officers of the Model Brigade shouted to halt. Immediately, the neat footsteps of the firecrackers stopped.

"Gunner, check the gunpowder!"

As early as the time of the formation, the musketeers had already loaded their fixed cartridge ammunition. At this time, the officers shouted one after another. The dense firecrackers pulled out the cap of the gun, took out the cork, and carefully checked the medicine of their firearms again.

"Light the Rope!"

The sound of a fire fold lit up.

"Prepare for the front row, get ready to shoot!"

The dense firecrackers flipped down, and the more than 600 firecrackers standing in the front row were all aiming the guns of the black hole at the soldiers of the Western Battalion who came in front.

Although the ranks on the side of the Model Brigade stopped, the queue of the western camp on the opposite side was still advancing slowly and chaotically to the south, with two thousand archers lined up in four rows, and the five hundred archers at the front had slowly pulled their hard bows apart, waiting for the military order from their superiors to be issued before they could diffuse. Behind the archers, the pikemen were in a row of 100 or 200 people, lined up in dense layers of more than ten layers, and after the archers in front of them suppressed the Ming army, they rushed over in formation.

Looking down from the air, the heads of the black pressure on both sides are getting closer and closer, 100 steps, 90 steps, 80 steps, 70 steps!

Wang Xingguo, the three harriers who commanded the archers, waved his right hand, "Release the arrow!" ”

Five hundred triangular steel arrowheads were fired by raw cowhide bowstrings and bronze-tired iron arm bows, heading straight for the exemplary brigade soldiers seventy paces away! After a muffled sound and a brief shout, dozens of Model Brigade firecrackers fell in pools of blood, and the soldiers next to them just glanced at them, and then quickly turned their heads, just aiming at the soldiers of the Western Battalion who were rushing in front of them.

The second column of musketeers trotted a few steps to the front row to fill the vacant seats, and the battalion auxiliaries rushed from the back of the queue to carry the wounded and dead away to Lang Zhong for medical treatment.

Wang Xingguo saw that the archers in the second row had already reached sixty paces, and he was about to order the archers in the second row to release their arrows, but he only heard a crisp horn in the queue on the opposite side being blown hard!

In an instant, the sound of bursting beans sounded, and the archers on this side saw a burst of fire in front of them, and then a cloud of smoke rose behind the firelight, and before they could react, they saw blood mist on the cotton armor of the archers in front of them, and then they screamed and rolled over the ground.

The dense projectiles and powerful lethality couldn't help but make Wang Xingguo stunned for a moment, what kind of firearms did the officers and soldiers use, so powerful?

There was a rattle of metal, and the first row of musketeers on this side immediately turned and retreated, making way for the brothers behind to shoot at the ground. They quickly drew their canes, cleaned their barrels, and reloaded the cartridges. Their movements may seem dazzling to outsiders, but they are so familiar with their words that it doesn't take long at all, and some of them don't even need to look at their guns to reload their ammunition.

"Fire!"

The firecrackers in the second column pulled the trigger at the command of the battalion officer, and another fierce fire shot out, and the archers of the western camp fifty paces away burst into a bloody mist, and they staggered and were knocked to the ground one by one.

It is a pity that the vast majority of these soldiers are recruits and trained recruits in Sichuan, and they cannot reach the level of the Nanyue Army and the veterans of the Model Brigade before firing at twenty or thirty paces. But at such a distance, it is also difficult to resist the lethality of these Xiying archers who only have one piece of eliminated cotton armor on their bodies. A lot of people were beaten in pairs. The back and back of his chest were bleeding arrows, and he was carried out by the force of the bullet.

Suddenly hit by strong firepower, such a scene, whether it was the archers in front or the pikemen in the rear, they were all stunned, staring blankly at the platoon of officers and soldiers on the opposite side and sounding again and again.

In the sound of fire, the first wave of archers was swept away, the second row was left with few casualties, and the third column suffered most casualties. Only the archers in the fourth column held their hard bows in their hands, staring blankly ahead.

That's when it happened. In the formation of the model brigade opposite, there was another neat shout, and seeing that the firearms over there were raised in black and oppressive again, some of the archers in front of them who were lucky enough to dodge a few rounds of firearms could no longer hold back the fear in their hearts. They shouted. threw the bow and arrow in his hand. He turned around and fled backwards.

Pikemen in the back. Many of them are bandits, poles, white pole soldiers and officers and soldiers collected by Zhang Xianzhong after entering Sichuan, and their combat effectiveness and cohesion are much worse than those veterans in the West Battalion. It's okay to have a good fight. He was already terrified in the face of the sudden and brutal blow, and when he saw the archers in front of him fleeing back, he was still shouting and screaming, lest others would not hear him. With a "boom", the pikemen army exploded.

The rout let out a loud scream of heart-rending, and in an instant they were scattered and fled backwards like a tidal wave.

Suddenly, another terrifying trumpet sounded, and then a trumpet flew into the sky, followed by an earth-shattering shout of killing as if ten thousand people were roaring in unison.

Countless officers and men of the Model Brigade with spears and slow but firm steps rushed towards the side of the West Camp from south to north, and the voices of thousands of people finally converged into one: "Kill the thieves!" ”

The cheers and shouts of the officers and soldiers in front of him were like the sky falling apart, and Zhang Xianzhong's heart tightened for a while when he heard it, and the four rounds of firearms just now had already made him feel terrified. As they shouted, the spears in the distance rose in waves like a sea of forests, and the cold light on the tips of the spears rose and fell like waves in the sun.

"Father! Stick to the point! Get out of the water! ”

Zhang Kewang, who was in a hurry, said black words, pulled the reins of Zhang Xianzhong's horse and was about to retreat in the direction of Liangshan County. Zhang Xianzhong was greatly dissatisfied with his behavior, and picked up the horsewhip in his hand and hit his helmet hard.

"You are Lao Tzu's adopted son, you grew up next to Lao Tzu, and you know Lao Tzu's temper. Lao Tzu will never run away. You see, if you are afraid of death, you will leave me and surrender to the official army; If you are not afraid of death, go and drive the turtle sons away, if you are Lao Tzu's son, drive this group of miscellaneous pieces back for Lao Tzu! Lao Tzu is not going anywhere! ”

After scolding, Zhang Xianzhong simply jumped off the horse, ordered his soldiers to loosen the saddle and belly belt, and looked at Zhang Kewang with a look of being here.

"Father, rest assured! The son will definitely block this group of officers and soldiers! ”

Seeing that Zhang Kewang was resolute, Zhang Xianzhong was very satisfied, but he called Zhang Kewang and whispered a few words in his ear, Kewang immediately nodded and understood, turned over and led hundreds of cavalry to rush up.

The sound of horses' hooves sounded, and a large group of horses also rushed from the other side of the river, stirring up patches of water. Smoke and dust billowed and there seemed to be a dense crowd of horses, rushing down from the mountains to the north, and from several directions, rushing together towards the stormtroopers on the side of the Model Brigade.

"Kill the officers and soldiers!"

A large stream of smoke and dust rose up, and the sight was full of spears and the banner of the peasant army, but it was Zhang Dingguo and Luo Rucai, who stayed in Liangshan County, who arrived with reinforcements!

"Father!"

"Jing Xuan, I heard that I encountered a hard stubble that pierced my hands, and Ning Yuxian's nephew was afraid that you would lose, so he and our old Cao brought 10,000 people!"

The arrival of reinforcements from Xiying and Cao Ying made Wu Biao laugh loudly, "It's just in time!" ”

Seeing Zhang Kewang pull out dozens of deserters who rushed to the front in the rout crowd and slashed them with a knife, wielding a blade that was still dripping blood to intimidate those pikemen to turn around and meet the enemy, Luo Rucai couldn't help but praise for a while, decisive in killing, and a good hand.

Zhang Xianzhong didn't say much, but his eyes were full of sly smiles, and he kept his beard and followed Zhang Kewang and the hundreds of cavalry he led.

A leader of the Yuanchuan native bandits who commanded fifty people rushed a little slowly, and was shot through the armor from behind by the old battalion elite cavalry who supervised the formation, and the old battalion rider used horsepower to pick up the body of the leader and slammed it in front of his subordinates, "Which donkey ball is not selling his life!" That's the example! ”

One after another, Sichuan bandits and pole leaders were hacked by Zhang Kewang and his subordinates in various ways, urging these newly attached people to move forward desperately. Second, it was also to disrupt the structure and interpersonal relationships of these soldiers, and lay the foundation for the complete annexation that followed.

The sun slowly slopes westward, shining on the top of Liangshan Mountain not far away, the scenery is more and more desolate and dignified, at this time on the ground of Jinji Town, but it is full of gunsmoke, and the sound of killing is shocking. Madness and blood are on full display here.

Although the old battalions of the two families were desperately supervising the battle, they organized a fine cavalry team of several hundred people from time to time to attack the military formation of the model brigade, trying to use the rapid impact of the horse team to break through their military formation. As a result, the Model Brigade fell into a situation of chaos and collapse. However, under the situation that the spears as dense as a forest of firewood kept piercing, and occasionally a row of firebolts shot from behind the pikemen, Zhang Xianzhong, Luo Rucai and others relied on the old battalion elite cavalry and horse team of the Great Wall. Thousands of people were lost.

And the formation of the model brigade is still more or less complete!

Luo Rucai, nicknamed Cao Cao, watched the old battalions of the two families keep urging those newly retracted poles to rush in front of the officers and soldiers. Trying to break through the officers and troops in front of them. But. This group of officers and soldiers seemed to have touched the doorway step by step, using spears to kill and injure poles in large numbers, and then using a dozen firearms to shoot at the old battalion horses and elite cavalry who were supervising the battle. With each short, dense sound of firearms, a few of the elite horsemen were knocked off their horses screaming, with a few more bullet holes spurting blood.

And those poles with spears and broadswords snatched from the hands of officers and soldiers everywhere had such fine knives and guns in vain, and under the attack of the same kind of funeral guns, there was almost no room to fight back, and they were constantly pierced in the eyes, throats, and centers, and fell to the ground screaming.

Every time those spears that kept dripping blood down pierced out like poisonous snakes and strange pythons, a heart-rending scream followed, and the pikemen of the Model Brigade almost every time they stabbed a shot, blood would burst out from the poles of the two families, and the guns would not fail.

Cao Cao didn't know that the model brigade in front of him had completely inherited the training methods of the Nanyue Army, whether it was pikemen or sword and shield soldiers, the hardships of training on weekdays were staggering. The pikeman's requirements for spear staking are that dozens of sprints must hit the target's heart, eyes, throat and other parts.

In addition, they are well-equipped, pay attention to the position of their comrades on the left and right when the spear is stabbed, and pay attention to the footwork and footwork between each other.

"Jing Xuan! This battle can't be fought again! Hurry up and get out of the water! ”

Luo Rucai frowned, looked at the hundreds of dead and wounded people of his old battalion who were carried down, and shouted loudly in Zhang Xianzhong's ear.

"Why can't you fight?! Have we fought less times along the way? Don't be weak because we have killed or injured some people! Can't we gnaw on this point of the officers and soldiers? Do you want us to run away like this? Are your bones softened by the wine and beauties of Sichuan?! ”

In the face of Zhang Xianzhong's ridicule, Luo Rucai didn't care about refutation, but just pointed to the old battalion elite riders who were carried to the back of the battle and followed the soldiers to wash the wounds of the wounded and apply medicine and bandage. "From the time Ning Yu and the others and I arrived here, in less than an hour, we had lost thousands of old battalion elite horse teams, and those pole hungry people were not counted among them. Wang Xingguo, the three harriers who commanded the archers, was also beaten like a blood gourd, you and my brothers ruled the world, relying on these old battalion horse teams, those new hungry people and earth leopards, but it was just like the sea, there is it today, and there will be no tomorrow! But how many old camps do we have?! ”

Luo Rucai's words made Zhang Xianzhong wake up for a while, although after entering Sichuan, the shape was very good, and there were many people attached, but the real old camp headquarters could only use more than 10,000 soldiers. Other poles and bandits are used to strengthen the momentum and fill the façade, and if they really fight a tough battle, ten may not be worth one of the old battalion elite riders.

"Yu'er, Xiaowang, pack up our old brothers, and put away the armor, knives and guns that can be used. Follow us back to the county! Let's not go to Chongqing Mansion! ”

Zhang Xianzhong was defeated!

This thunderous news spread all over eastern Sichuan in an instant.

For a while, the Ming troops of various departments, who had claimed that their soldiers and horses were tired a few days ago, pressed towards the Liangshan area, trying to get a piece of the battle against the water dogs.

Yang Sichang, the supervisor who was coming to Chongqing from Youyiling, couldn't help but laugh when he heard the news, "All the armies in central Sichuan are not enough, but the only soldier who can fight is my model brigade!" ”

However, this praise has added a lot of trouble to Yang Sichang's great cause of suppressing thieves.

Zuo Liangyu, the general of the Ping Thief, was first angry because he asked Wu Biao for a thousand pairs of captured Nanzhong armor, and was about to find a place to export his evil anger, when he heard Yang Sichang's words, he simply led the army and horses to pass by with Yang Inspector, and Shi Shiran went out of Sichuan and returned to Huguang.

And He Renlong, who is known as He Maniac, was surrounded by his subordinates, clamoring to pull out the camp and return to Shaanxi. Leave a huge gap for Yang Sichang to clean up.

Yang Sichang was very helpless, but he was at a loss for these arrogant generals. I had to order the guerrilla attacks to be blocked back and forth like a tiger.

In this way, the Kawanaka form shì is even worse.

When Zuo Liangyu and He Renlong got up to leave, they would not clean the yard for the landlord, and if the water tank was filled with water, they would have to burn and loot it. Naturally, the various units in central Sichuan, headed by fierce as a tiger, will not be much better, and under the banner of guerrilla prevention and blockage, they loot and burn everywhere in central Sichuan.

For a time, the cities of Shifang, Mianzhu, Anxian, Deyang, Jintang, Rongchang, and Yongchuan were looted, and there were no fireworks for 700 miles from Baoning to Dazhou.

These are all recorded on the head of the eight kings Zhang Xianzhong.

And the eight kings Zhang Xianzhong was not stupid, he did not go to northern Sichuan or eastern Sichuan according to Shao Jiechun and Yang Sichang's wishful thinking, but shook a shot, and after appearing in Jiange and other places, he turned south, won a battle in Zitong, attacked Chengdu Buke from Mianzhou, and went down the Tuojiang River, as if he was going to attack Chongqing, and suddenly turned from Yongchuan to the southwest and broke Huzhou.

Along the way, the Ming army of all parts of central Sichuan was dragged to complain and complain.

What can make Inspector Yang comfort himself a little is Wu Biao's follow-up achievements.

Although he did not get the cooperation of friendly forces, Wu Biao did not dare to pursue Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai alone. I had to vent my anger on the heads of the Thirteen Yellow Shakers in northern Sichuan. As a result, these bandits, who were called leopards by the Sichuan people, killed northern Sichuan to the point that they were sparsely populated, but they didn't want to provoke a demon king to come, and in a blink of an eye, the thirteen shares were beaten to only seven shares, which really relieved the people of Sichuan.

Yang Sichang, who was overstretched, thought that the current Sichuan troops could not complete the encirclement of Zhang and Luo, so he had to write a letter to Zheng Chongjian, the governor of the three sides, asking for 20,000 Qin troops to be transferred into Sichuan to suppress them.

20,000 Qin soldiers who blockaded Shennongjia and Shangluo Mountain were transferred into Sichuan, invisibly opening chains one after another, and giving up Tongqu Avenue to Li Zicheng, who was hiding in the mountains.

Li Zicheng led more than 3,000 people to break into the camp, set out from Huguangfang County and other places, and entered Xichuan and Neixiang in Henan by way of Pingli, Xunyang, and Shangzhou in Shaanxi.

"King Chuang! When I arrive in Henan, as long as I can be stationed steadily for two or three months, I will also be able to get cannons for the camp! He has the eight kings of the West Camp, and you will definitely have it! (To be continued......)