Chapter 556: Tower Hill Meat Grinder! (4) (aka: The miserable escape road with no end in sight)
PS: Keep asking for a monthly pass! In addition, this chapter can be regarded as a cool article.
The Ming army suddenly burst into a loud cheer, followed by a thunderous shout, but it was the artillery team that lifted more than ten large Francophone machines and six-pounder guns over the low wall, and the column was loaded.
Du Du's department, which was pursuing the retreating Ming army, was inlaid with red flags, and became a little dazed by the cannon muzzles of the dozen or so black holes that appeared in front of him, perhaps because this change came too suddenly. Who would have thought that the Ming dogs, who had been driven down by themselves with long knives and axes, would still have such a vicious backhand?!
The distance between the two sides was only sixty or seventy paces, which was exactly within the effective range of the bow and arrow and the musket, and such a distance was almost the distance that the cannonball would hit the target as soon as it was discharged! In a sentence that Li Shouhan often used to educate artillerymen, "Bayonets on cannons!" "And the blade of the bayonet is directed by the hedgehogs into a regiment, with several layers of nearly 2,000 people inlaid with red flags and horses, in addition to those Bayala soldiers, heavy armor dead soldiers, bannermen, even Yu Ding, Bao Yi and other generations are among them!
"Fire!"
The commander of the artillery team in Ningyuan Town was Wu Sangui's cronies, and he would not care about the lives of these ragtag army soldiers mixed with the Qing army in front of him. The meaning of the marshal is very clear to these people, that is, to use the opportunity of this battle with the Liao thieves to clean up these messy camps in Shanhai Town and Ningyuan Town, they are not dead, how can they vacate military salaries and official positions for their brothers? !
The six-pounder cannon made of nine-turn steel used all shotguns, with an effective range of 200 paces, and the Big Buddha cannon, which was also loaded with shrapnel the size of broad beans, had an effective range of 150 paces.
And on the crowded battlefield in front of you, between the muzzle of the cannon and the faintly visible earthen wall. However, more than a hundred steps, most of the artillery shot straight through, and the entire battlefield could be pierced! Whether it was the Qing army or the Ming army, in the face of this dense artillery fire, the soldiers on both sides who were fighting hand-to-hand, no one could dodge. Straight from beginning to end, the narrow space was suddenly shot out of flesh alleys along the trajectory by dense raindrops of shotguns!
A volley of artillery could be stopped, and the sound of a dense salvo of firearms like a burst of beans rang out again.
The musketeers who were guarding the guns on either side of the guns lined up in two columns and pulled the trigger forward in unison.
However, at a distance of dozens of paces, in front of the impermeable projectiles and shotguns, those Qing soldiers who were swinging their blades like mad tigers a second ago were baptized by the rain of bullets without distinction along with the Ming soldiers. The soldiers on both sides fell like ears of wheat in the wind. Everyone's body is full of flesh and blood, and there are dense blood holes.
Dozens of people were so close to the muzzle of the cannon that they were hit by the shells that had just been discharged, and their bodies burst open, turning into a cloud of blood mist and minced flesh.
"Bomb dropping!"
The commander of the artillery team was obviously not a benevolent gentleman, and seeing the heavy casualties of the Qing troops on the opposite side, he made matters worse, and ordered dozens of grenadiers in the escort to throw horsetail grenades at the rear of the Qing army.
Where dozens of horsetail grenades exploded. The remnants of the Red Banner who had been beaten out of formation by shells and suffered heavy casualties were completely abandoned!
The crowd let out a heart-rending roar, the horror of death. The opponent's brutal fighting style, which does not distinguish between the enemy and me, completely crushed their will to resist. Many threw down their swords, turned around and fled. Escape! Even if the law enforcement team of the masters executes the method of sitting together, it is better than being beaten into minced meat by cannonballs!
The remnants of the defeated army with red flags here fled backwards with Du Du, but Feng Guerrilla from Ningyuan Town over there rushed forward, carrying a waist knife full of blood. His eyes were bloodshot, "The surname is Wu!" You son of a bitch! How did you shoot the cannon? Before my brother has retreated, you have opened fire! Saying that, Feng's guerrilla posture was going to be in command with this artillery team surnamed Wu.
"Feng crooked his neck, the marshal said, today's battle. Only ask about the results, regardless of casualties! Your ranger battalion is still fully equipped with soldiers and horses! The county lord has already allocated thousands of Denglai's Tuntian soldiers to the marshal! ”
The officer surnamed Wu was also fearless, and coldly threw a word to the guerrilla in front of him who had left a crooked neck because his neck was lost and crossed.
The guerrilla thought was already in Wu Sangui's speculation.
As long as they can ensure that the officers have a full number of troops, or a full number on the roster, they do not count casualties. Sure enough, I heard that I would be replenished after the war, and it was from the Denglai area, and after training, it was no less than the Tuntian soldiers of the Nanyue Army, as long as it was slightly adjusted, it was an army that was even stronger than Jiading. The guerrilla's face softened slightly.
"Lord Feng, do you want to make meritorious contributions?" Commander Wu pointed to Du Du's golden dragon silk that was shaking in the ranks of the defeated soldiers with red flags not far away, "That's the slave thief with the red flag Manchurian flag master Belle Dudu!" The county lord has put a heavy reward on the figure! If you kill him, what are you afraid of?! ”
In the chaotic and noisy formation, the majestic Weaving Gold Dragon Thread in the past was almost dragged to the ground, and occasionally someone tried to lift it above their heads, but in an instant, it was forcefully flattened by the people next to them. In order not to provoke the artillery fire of the Ming army, we can't fight those blazing projectiles!
The banner is in chaos, and it is a good opportunity to pursue. With such a huge credit, Feng was a little moved when he saw that Feng's crooked neck.
"My lord, if the last general hadn't been in charge of commanding the artillery team, he would have led people to rush up a long time ago! Now, the last general will give this great credit to the adults! I'll order the little ones to drop bombs and help the adults! ”
Commander Wu's words were as seductive as a snake in the Garden of Eden, and the guerrilla Feng was moved.
"Sons, follow Ben to kill Dudu!"
"Kill Dudu!"
Countless voices shouted loudly on the battlefield, forming a huge wave of sound.
The soldiers of the Ming army had already silently recited countless times in their hearts, and the rewards of officers and generals at all levels of the Qing army on the opposite side, even the Bayala soldiers, the heavily armored dead soldiers, the firecrackers, the gunners, and the rest of the soldiers except the bannermen all had their own prices.
The reward of the two brothers, Dolgon and Duoduo, is based on the standard promulgated by the Shouhan during the Battle of Changqing, 100,000 gold! And Dudu and other banner lord Baylor are waiting for it, although it is not as valuable as Dolgon, but Anping Belle Dudu can at least be exchanged for a reward of at least 100,000 silver dollars!
100,000 silver dollars! How many years of soldier's blood you have to drink, how much empty money you have to eat? How many armor weapons can I sell in exchange? What's more, in addition to Ning Yuanbo's reward, there is also the imperial court's canon? On one side is a silver dollar with white flowers, and on the other side is a promotion to a knight, and a wife and son. How does this not impress the guerrillas?
But he's not the only one who is tempted!
and with him he rushed to the kill. It is Hu Zhankui, the right-hand man under the command of Ma Ke, the chief soldier of Shanhai Town, who is said to be related to Master Ma, and seeing such a good opportunity, he also shifted the momentum of the offensive a little, and went straight to Dudu!
"The surname is Hu! Du Du is Lao Tzu's military exploits, you go back to Lao Tzu! Seeing that someone was coming to snatch his silver and reward, Feng Crooked his neck and eyes popped out, roared wildly, and waved his army to cover the past. Of course, he sent a confidant Qianzong to lead people to block the direction of attack of Hu Zhankui's troops.
"Before Lao Tzu cut off Du Du's head, your hundreds of people were all dead, and you can't let the dog thief surnamed Hu rush over! When the time comes, there will be your benefits in the military reward book! ”
Sent someone to seal off the friendly army, Feng crooked his neck and began to chase and beat the remnants of Du Du!
The fortifications built by the Qing army were generally the product of the combination of trenches and earthen walls, ditches and bunkers, and the difference lies in the number of trenches according to the different terrain. It is wide and narrow, and there is a passage between it and the earthen wall for troops to enter and exit, counterattack, and retreat.
The second line of defense where Dudu is located. It happened to consist of an earthen wall and two or three trenches, with four passages in between, for the troops to enter and exit, and also as a trap for the Ming army, surrounded by artillery emplacements, bunkers, and firing holes. There are also many obstacles such as horse rejection along the way.
However, at the moment obstacles are set on these channels. But he became an accomplice who blocked the retreat of Du Du and others and helped the Ming army delay the withdrawal of the Qing army. What's more, there are also trenches of different widths and narrows, and the earthen walls that are more than one person high, all of which have become moats on the road of the Qing army's retreat.
The screaming and shouting Qing soldiers fled to the rear like a tide. Especially those who followed behind Manchuria with the red flag and had just been carried the flag, and they fled quickly one by one. There were those who were running around with their heads covered and turning around, and they were soon swept away by the fleeing crowd, and they didn't know where to flee with the flow of people.
"Fire!"
The enemy army is in disarray, how can they let go of this opportunity? The Ming army's firecrackers continued to step forward in turn, shooting at the backs of the routers, making their formations even more chaotic with projectiles and the dense sound of firearms. Seeing the blood mist coming out of the chest or back of the Pao Ze brothers who were running together, they staggered and fell to the ground, and those who were lucky enough not to be shot were even more panicked, stumbling under their feet, pushing and cursing each other, abandoning the weapons in their hands, holding their heads and just wanting to escape from this terrifying place as soon as possible.
The corpses, wounded soldiers, and pools of bloody limbs strewn across the ground were silently urging them to get out of here quickly, leave immediately! Someone tripped over the corpse and fell to the ground, followed by countless pairs of large feet stepping over them. The people who were trampled on screamed loudly and struggled to get up, but the big feet that split their heads and faces still kept stepping on them, until they couldn't speak, and their heads, faces and bodies were trampled to pieces.
The passage of the earthen wall was crowded with people, and those who were anxious to flee for their lives pushed the horses and other objects that blocked the advance to the ground, and ran forward. There were too many Qing soldiers who wanted to escape, and the crowd was like canned sardines, and from time to time there were bursts of explosions, exclamations and screams from the crowd, and the Ming grenadiers dozens of paces away picked up their horsetails and threw horsetail grenades at the heads of the retreating Qing troops. These heavy grenades, like crows, would cause at least dozens or hundreds of casualties every time a flock flew over the heads of the Qing army, and the greater damage was to create panic, so that many Qing soldiers were squeezed to death or trampled to death by the panicked crowd, so that Du Du's efforts to stop and reorganize a little bit were in vain.
Du Du, who was surrounded by dozens of cronies and guards, relied on the loyal guards to keep using scabbards, guns, iron whips and shields to open the way for him in front, snatching a way out of the dense crowd, and vaguely saw the large group of men and horses rushing down from the direction of Tashan Fort, the flag waved and the smoke and dust rose, and it could be seen that there were not a few reinforcements. In the direction of Baitai Mountain, there are also signs of a large group of people and horses.
Seeing this scene, Du Du couldn't help but let out a long breath, as long as the two princes could send reinforcements, this battle would be thrilling.
Looking back, the defeated soldiers under their own banner were closely pursued by the Ming army, and some people were in a hurry to flee for their lives, and even climbed the earthen wall from the top of people's heads. Prepare the earthen wall to climb over the wall, there is a kind of imitation, the earthen wall is densely packed with people who climb the wall to escape. On the four-foot-thick earthen wall, people kept climbing to the top of the wall, but in the blink of an eye, they disappeared from people's vision, and they either jumped down. Or they were hit by arrows and bullets that kept flying from behind, and fell down screaming.
Under the earthen wall, screams and moans kept coming, and it was the Qing soldiers who had climbed the wall and fell into the trench under the wall.
Du Du, who was guarded by his cronies' house slaves, didn't think much about it, and quickly passed through the earthen wall, and escaped a little farther away from the Shura field behind him. Resounded on the battlefield "Kill Dudu!" Kill Dudu! The slogans of the Ming army seem to be less harsh. However, in the face of the scene in front of him, Du Du couldn't help but scream. "Bitter!"
The Qing army, which had just climbed out of the trench under the wall, was crowded in one place, looking at the trench and the rejection of horses that had come out of nowhere, and they didn't know what to do for a while.
The trench was filled with water that was about to be chestless, and there were large and small ice cubes floating on the water, and the trench was filled with the undulation of the water, faintly revealing dense sharp wooden thorns, which were wooden stakes planted at the bottom of the ditch. The width of the trench was nearly a foot away. It's people who can't jump over no matter what. But what is more troublesome is the dense row of repulsion horses along the ditch opposite the trench, which is set up close to the root of the earthen wall.
When the fortifications were first built, they were afraid that they would not be strong. The trench is afraid that it is not wide, but now it is a cocoon.
The retreating Qing soldiers hesitated whether they should struggle forward or stay where they were, waiting for reinforcements to put up the wooden bridge over the trench and let them pass, so they stayed where they were. The Qing soldiers in front were blocked in place, and the Qing soldiers in the back, who were eager to flee for their lives, did not know what was happening in front of them. Still rushing forward desperately, the result is more and more crowded, and finally it has a feeling similar to the hard-seat carriage of the train during the Spring Festival.
The dense formation could not move, staying in a narrow area, followed by shouts of killing that were getting closer and closer. Du Du couldn't help but smile miserably. "Ben Belle has endured humiliation and secretly lived for so long, I can't imagine that I will still die at the hands of the Li family's father and daughter today!"
"Lord Belle, don't panic!"
Several brave and loyal house slaves next to them exchanged glances with each other, each picked up the big knife and axe in his hand, and began to frantically cut down the defeated soldiers who were crying one by one, and threw the corpses into the trench.
"Look what! If you don't want to die, throw all the dead people into the ditch! Fill out a path! ”
The Qing soldiers, who were frightened by the crazy slaughter of these people, came to their senses, and when there was no hope of escape, someone pointed out a way out, and at that moment all the people began to lift the dead bodies lying next to them, the wounded who were still groaning, and threw them into the cold water. The wounded man, who was still conscious, cried out, "Brothers, please, make up for me!" Let me die a happy death! ”
No one heeded their pleas, but threw a body into the trench.
The corpses and wounded who had been thrown into the trench were splashed with a few splashes of blood in the icy water, and then they were smashed to the bottom by the successive dead and wounded soldiers, or pierced on the spikes of the stakes, where the wounded still lingered and wailed.
Seeing that a narrow passage with the dead and wounded was about to take shape. In the distance, the banners of Li Shutai, Alzin and others who rushed from the direction of Tashan Fort became clearer and clearer, and Du Du also swept away the decadence of seeking death, and kept urging his subordinates to pave the way for escape with corpses.
(Speaking of which, there may be someone who is looking for a brick and is ready to shoot the unkind author to death.) "Where's such a bastard thing?! Pave the way to escape with the dead? ”
Slow down! Slow down! Not only did they use the bodies of the dead to build bridges and pave roads, but they also used the dead to build fortifications. If you have time, you can look for the memoirs of Du Yuming, Huang Wei and Hu Lian. In Shuangduiji, Chenguanzhuang and other places, they used the corpses of soldiers killed in battle to build bunkers, and threw the dead and wounded soldiers into the river to be used as building materials for building bridges. This bridge, made of dead and wounded soldiers, walked on the tank that Huang Wei and Hu Lian were riding in when they fled. Perhaps it was the souls of those who were used as building materials for the construction of the bridge not far away, and Huang Wei's tank went out of fire after walking a short distance. Since then, he has been engaged in scientific research on perpetual motion machines at the War Criminals Management Institute. )
"Quick! Fast! Du Du waved his blood-soaked waist knife and urged his men to hurry up, faster. He could already hear the sound of killing getting closer and closer, "Kill Dudu!" The slogans are getting closer and closer, not to mention, but also more and more.
According to Wu Sangui's military order, the troops of Feng Crooked Neck and Hu Zhankui should have retreated and rested a long time ago. Surrender the battlefield to the troops who come to take over. But who would give the money they were about to give to someone else to spend?
"Ignore him! Just go and kill Dudu! Feng crooked his neck and pretended not to hear the order for him to withdraw from the battlefield and go to rest, so he just waved his army forward to cover up and kill! The defeated soldiers who drove the red flags continued to rush into the small space behind the low wall.
"Hurry up!"
Seeing that the corpse that filled the trench could already be faintly seen, Du Du couldn't help but become more and more impatient, as long as he could fill in half of the trench, he could escape.
But. Perhaps due to the resentment of the people of the Central Plains who were killed by him, and the dead and wounded of the Qing soldiers who were thrown into the icy water, several horsetail grenades exploded around him, and immediately blew up the seven or eight guards around him to the ground.
"Protect Lord Belle!"
The two house slaves pounced and hugged Du Du's body, and saw that Du Du was unharmed, and then he was relieved.
"Master! Let's go over quickly......" The slave urged Du Du to escape from the trench quickly, but when he saw that Du Du was speechless, he was surprised at the moment.
looked closely, but saw Du Du's forehead. A stream of red and white is slowly flowing out. But it was the shrapnel that exploded just now that hit Du Du's forehead.
"Du Du is dead!"
"Du Du is dead!"
The Ming army cheered loudly, and the speed of the attack suddenly increased a lot. Everyone knows what it means to kill Dudu!
"Quick! Hurry up! Grab Dudu! Grab the silver! ”
Hu Zhankui and Feng on the left and right sides crooked their necks and shouted the same order in unison, and their hands and feet sped up. As long as Du Du's corpse, dragon and other things are snatched, it can be regarded as complete military merit. Even if Shangguan wants to share some of this reward, he will get at least half of it!
"Take back Anping Baylor!"
Arzin, Li Shutai and others, who are not far from Dudu. Hearing such news, almost my soul was scared away. Just now, an auxiliary prince was killed in battle. In the blink of an eye, there was no Anping Baylor. Is this father and son very unlucky today?
Arzin gritted his teeth, snatched the big flag in the hand of the flag bearer next to him, waved the big flag to encourage morale, and personally led the charge of the team.
Li Shutai, who was not far from him, saw this situation and rushed to the front by example. Pounced on the opposing force, dressed in almost the same armor, but now looking extremely brave.
And a little farther away on the Ming army positions. Among the thousands of Ming troops who had just entered the battlefield and were ready to take over, someone shouted, "Brothers, whose military merits should Du Du be?" ”
"Ours!"
"Who should be the reward issued by Uncle Ning Yuan?"
"Ours!"
Kill Du Du's military exploits. At least tens of thousands of silver dollars can be obtained, as well as the official titles and titles of the imperial court, which are all eye-catching things. What's more, according to Wu Sangui's military order, they should be the ones who are fighting on the battlefield at this time. With the roar, thousands more Ming troops rushed into the battlefield, making the already chaotic battlefield even more complex and chaotic.
"My lord! My lord! This is the corpse of the pseudo-reverse Anping Beledudu! Dragon! In the end, Feng crooked his neck was a little closer to Du Du, snatched Du Du's body and flag, and chopped off all the heads with a big blade with a large blade with the more than 200 remnants of the soldiers who stayed and hid nearby.
Just as he was about to retreat back to report his merits, Hu Zhankui on the right also led his subordinates to rush to him, and before the two of them could open their mouths to fight, more than a dozen Niu Lu people from Li Shutai, Aljin and others behind him also rushed to the front of him.
"Kill the slave thief! Change silver! ”
Just as Guerrilla Feng and General Hu Shen were worrying about how to retreat when the slave brigade came, I don't know which guy got carried away for the silver and yelled in the team. Immediately afterwards, almost all of the two of their subordinates roared in unison, shouting in various accents, and each launched a surprise attack with their weapons against the troops of Arzin and Li Shutai and others. The two sides soon got into a bitter battle and mixed up, and even the artillerymen didn't know where to fire. (To be continued......)