After learning the previous lesson, and also understanding the general distribution of the strength and weakness of the army led by Xiao Xuan through the previous contact operations, Yuan Keli, who was in charge of the command, with the help of some generals and staff around him, also quickly made a combat decision: to concentrate more than 10,000 relatively elite forces, mainly Jiading cavalry, to launch an offensive test against the flank of the enemy formation. Even if you can't win, you must deter your opponent as much as possible. In this way, in the event of a large-scale attack by their main forces, the mentality of the enemy will be completely different. Unlike Xiao Xuan, who is more proficient in calculations and rules and principles, traditional generals have always attached great importance to "seizing qi" when leading troops to fight.

Unlike the previous cavalry, which had little protection, the attacking horses were also armoured at the front of the horses. The men, too, generally took on board the semi-armor covering the upper body and head, and rallied from all directions to prepare for a fierce assault on the right flank of the enemy formation. Even if it is not possible to settle the situation in one fell swoop, it is necessary to completely crush the two battalions on the right flank of the opposing side.

In this way, the elite cavalry of the various teams of the Liaodong Army began to concentrate under the responsibility of Cao Wenzhao, who commanded instead of Yuan Chonghuan. Although these horses had great problems in the past because they belonged to different generals, they had a lot of problems when they were fighting together, but because they suffered a lot of losses on the battlefield in Liaodong, they did not encounter any problems when they organized and assembled in the battle this time.

The distance from which the cavalry and horses organized and assembled was also about one and a half miles, about five hundred paces, and about two miles from the target of the attack. According to the general principles of this era, the distance of this impact is somewhat too long, and it is still a light horse carrying armored cavalry, and it is summer. If a horse unleashes an attack at a very high speed, it is likely to lose its ultimate resilience. However, because he learned that the enemy army had a lot of artillery and made good use of firearms, Cao Wenzhao, who was still at a certain level, did not dare to hold it up at this time.

However, what the Liaodong Army did not expect was that at a distance of about one and a half to two miles, the entire army led by Xiao Xuan had at least one hundred and fifty guns of about three or five hundred catties of general-level artillery almost launched fire together.

In the face of a strong enemy, Xiao Xuan also has some experience. Because the opponent doesn't have many really decent individual projectile firearms, it doesn't matter that the actual combat formation is more dense than the requirements of the Pingrong Wanquan Array or Qi Jiguang and others in the military book. The lessons of the Manchu army in the Battle of Ulan Butong are clearly not suitable for the current opponents.

Therefore, the eight brigades, including the 1st and 2nd Teaching Brigades, were basically concentrated within a distance of only about one mile in front and no more than 200 paces or more than half a mile in depth. When the gunner uses heavy shotgun to fire at the extreme range, most of the guns can cover a distance of about a mile and a half in any direction.

Using the Western black powder of good quality and relatively low waste heat of the same standard that captured the elite of the Ming Army on the Southern Road, in just one minute or so, you have fired at least four rounds of firepower, including the round of ammunition that has been loaded, and at least 60,000 or 70,000 three or two shotguns of hundreds of nearly kilojoules.

Because the accuracy of the ultimate range is not very good, the error spread range is more than 100 steps, but because the assembled enemy cavalry is also very dense, it still brings casualties to the elite cavalry of the Ming army in a very short time, including thousands of horses and even hundreds of people.

Although it did not defeat the gathered enemy forces in one fell swoop within the ultimate firing range, it also made the elite cavalry officers of the Ming army, who were just about to launch a surprise attack, completely lose their desire to attack, and scattered and fled out of the range of fire. Because no one knows how much the enemy artillery can have this effect at the limit of range, if it rushes hard, how many casualties and losses the entire elite cavalry will have to pay to get closer.

Seeing that the battle situation was like this, Sun Chengzong could only give up the plan to attack after all, and should rely on the temporary construction of the fortifications to defend the defense. At the same time, I also understood why this team was able to repel twice the strength of the Jianzhou army in the field.

Seeing that the other side had given up the desire to attack after the large-scale surprise attack prepared by the outpost had been seriously frustrated, and instead went all out to prepare for the defense, many officers and men of the teaching brigade even had a feeling of regret. Because attacking means that you may encounter more casualties and losses in comparison with the same combat effectiveness.

Xiao Xuan only hesitated for a moment, and then ordered the entire army to cover the fleet in a dense combat formation to continue to advance. Because no one knows what will happen in the future, the entire army must return to the capital in advance with enough baggage supplies, and Xiao Xuan's heart can really be put down.

Seeing that it was the other party who took the initiative to approach in the direction of the Xianghe River, where the camps were gathered, Sun Chengzong's heart relaxed slightly, and quickly ordered: "Come and don't be rude, let that tyrant puppet emperor see the strength of our Liaodong Army's firearms!" ”

The rumbling of cannon seemed like the muffled thunder of a rainy day approaching in summer. is different from the team led by Xiao Xuan. In the Liaodong Ming Army, the second general and even the third general were also very common artillery. At this time, more than 100,000 people were equipped with as many as 2,000 artillery pieces of 100 catties and above, and the total weight of the body was not inferior to the team led by Xiao Xuan.

It's just that after the cannon was fired, Sun Chengzong found out after careful observation with Western viewing glasses. Even if the artillery of the second general and the third general fired at the maximum range elevation angle, at most it could only hit a distance of about one mile, and even sealed live ammunition. Even if it is an artillery such as a general cannon in the army, the large lead used to fire heavy arquebuses can only hit a distance of about 400 paces, and it still cannot reach the opponent. There were only about 20 jack francs and a few extra-large heavy guns with a relatively long range, but firing at a high elevation angle was a very laborious task.

Seeing the heavy artillery fire in the distance, the only shotguns that really hit were some shotguns that splashed dirt not far in front of the main army. There were still very few heavy ammunition that could be effectively evaded, and the hearts of the officers and men of the brigades were completely relaxed.

Xiao Xuan quickly ordered the whole army to continue to advance in battle formation. Obviously, although it is possible to shoot effectively at a distance of about one and a half miles, for opponents who rely on vehicle formations or fortifications to cover, it is necessary to deploy firepower at least a distance of about one mile to maximize the effect of attacking fortifications.

When the whole army came to a halt again, the Teaching Brigade and the Guards Brave Guards Brigade also began to prepare for bombardment with sealed live ammunition.

(End of chapter)