The time for Yongli to return to China is very appropriate, which is also due to Zhu Yongxing's arrangement, and he did not rush to take over the overall situation when he did not control the overall situation. Now, this incident has almost no impact on Zhu Yongxing, on the entire political situation, and on the entire war. It can be said that it was impossible to produce civil strife, and the main energy of the Ming Dynasty was still focused on the final contest with the Manchus.

From the south to the north and from the east to the west, the competition of war is unfolding in an all-round and all-round way. On the front line, soldiers are fighting, and in the rear, countless people are supporting. From land to sea, the transportation of goods and people continues, and the dawn of victory is in full swing.

The change in the form of the war, and the bleakness of the prospects, were more and more clearly felt by the Qing army. And this feeling is even stronger for the generals on the front.

The gunfire was as dense as bursting beans, and after the flickering of the fire, there were large clouds of smoke, which blurred the vision, but it was still possible to see the falling men and horses, and hear the wails and screams.

Mele's eyes narrowed, the choking smell of gunpowder made him very uncomfortable, and the battle had been fought for half an hour, and the result made him even more annoyed and helpless.

According to the establishment of the Ming army, this is a strengthened general banner of troops, more than 500 people, equipped with three artillery trucks, three baggage vehicles, as a forward combat unit, also responsible for reconnaissance and early warning tasks. Now, this general banner was suddenly surrounded by the cavalry of the Qing army, and after the dozens of cavalry attached to the general banner sent out the warning signal, they had already galloped to summon the brigade, leaving only these hundreds of infantry to fight the Qing army in the wilderness.

And it was these hundreds of infantry who hurriedly spread out a defensive formation around a small mound, with three Francophone machines and hundreds of muskets, to support it for so long and inflict great casualties on the Qing army. Of course, the casualties of the Ming army were not small. But in Hara's view, even if this small group of Ming troops was wiped out, it would be disproportionate, and there was nothing to boast of at all.

In other words, Hara didn't want the battle to be fought like this. The 3,000 cavalry he led should have wiped out all the isolated and inferior enemies like a whirlwind. And to harass the Ming army with the advantage of maneuver, to buy time for the army to redeploy the defense line between the rivers. If the battle had been fought like this, it would have been his defeat, because the three thousand cavalry really could not withstand several such attritions.

"Is the Ming army exchanging people for people?" Hara turned to his general, a little uncertain.

The general was also surprised, pondered for a moment, and replied: "This must be the elite of the Ming army, otherwise how can it fight to the death?" ”

Hara was silent for a long time, gritted his teeth and said: "Then we will annihilate the elite of this Ming army." Chill the enemy's guts. ”

"Boom!" With a bang, the Ming army suddenly launched the Franc locomotive cannon and sprayed a death shotgun at the enemy, sweeping down a large area of the enemy.

The corpses of the men and horses were scattered all over the pillows, forming a large circle around the periphery of the defensive formation arranged by the Ming army, which caused a great obstacle to the subsequent cavalry charge. The Ming army also suffered more than half of the casualties, and the formation continued to shrink, but it still stood still on the small mound.

Swap people for people. Although Hara's judgment is not very correct, it is somewhat true. But this was not the purpose that the Ming army had just begun to follow.

When the training of musketeers took a month or even less to a cycle, when the Ming army was generally equipped with muskets and bayonets, "replacing people with people" in the war became a method for the Ming army to be invincible. There is nothing to blame for this, and in the competition of comprehensive national strength, the number of people is also one of the various resources. Moreover, a war of attrition against the Manchu minority. Perhaps the surest way to win.

Especially after the Northern Expedition, in view of the characteristics of the northern land and the superiority of the Manchu cavalry, the Ming army more resolutely implemented the operational principle of "exchanging people for people".

This was done by using the general flag as the smallest unit of activity and equipped with two or more Furlong locomotive guns. Deploy a small number of scout cavalry. When encountering Qing troops in the field, the cavalry was responsible for warning and calling for help from friendly forces, while the infantry defended on the spot.

All armies have given orders to die, and they would rather die than flee and fight to the end, otherwise military law will be engaged. In this way, even if you are annihilated by the enemy because reinforcements are not available, you must kill and damage as many enemies as possible. Moreover, this also avoided the end of being wantonly pursued by the cavalry during a hasty retreat.

As for why the general flag should be used as the smallest unit, it is not decided by anyone who patted his head, but the result of repeated research based on the experience of actual combat. A total flag of about four or five hundred people can form a relatively stable and solid phalanx, and such a number will not be stretched too long when marching, and the time it takes to form a formation on the spot is relatively short, and it can be quickly transformed into a defensive formation.

In the absence of organized cavalry and the ability to confront the Eight Banners, the Ming army had no choice but to adopt such a strategy. Because it is difficult to completely prevent the harassment and surprise attack of the cavalry on the marching brigade, and it is impossible to always maintain the march of the phalanx.

At present, the infantry of the Ming army has strategic offensive capabilities, but in terms of tactical maneuvering, they are weaker than the cavalry of the Eight Banners. However, in terms of troops, the advantage of the Ming army is still obvious, and the advantage of all firearms and equipment is also very large, and the probability of winning a general battle between the main forces is extremely high. Therefore, the Ming army could adopt this kind of attrition war similar to "man-for-man", even if it lost some men and horses locally, as long as the large army advanced to the vicinity of the Beijing division, it forced the Manchus to have a decisive battle, or continue to retreat until they withdrew from the Guanwai.

"Shoot!" Tang Ji blew a sharp whistle, and in the sound of gunfire like bursting beans, the Qing soldiers who rushed forward continued to fall in the splashes of blood.

"Shoot!" Another long whistle, another row of muskets, smoke and screams.

Arrows were also constantly being fired, increasing the casualties of the Ming army, and the wounded soldiers were dragged to the middle, that is, the highest part of the mound, because the number of people decreased, and the defensive formation continued to retreat and shrink, so as to maintain the density of the soldiers and maintain the power of the muskets.

The Ming army had less than 200 men left to fight, and around the defensive formation, four or five hundred Qing soldiers were killed. From Tang Ji's joining the army to the present, it was the first time that he had experienced such a long, uninterrupted musket shooting. Such a fierce battle showed the advantage of a long training time and rich combat experience. Especially when there was no way out, the Ming soldiers broke out with the determination and will to fight to the death.

Running away, there are enemies on all sides, how can a man outrun a horse? Surrender, not to mention whether the enemy will accept it, even if you are lucky enough to survive, you will not escape the punishment of military discipline. What's more, how you express yourself is also related to your family and your own honor.

"You're afraid of death!" "Being a soldier is not afraid of death, and being afraid of death is not a soldier."

Every day, according to the rules of the Ming army, the chief officer was shouting and asking his soldiers; And the soldier has to answer loudly without hesitation. This is a psychological suggestion that is constantly deepening and reinforcing, and at the same time it is the most basic and reasonable requirement. To be a soldier is to fight, that is, you may be injured or sacrificed, and if you don't have such psychological preparation, is you still a qualified soldier?

The food and salary are sufficient, the treatment is good, and the worries are worry-free. The court has done everything that should be done, and everything that should be given has been given, and you have chosen this profession to glorify your ancestors, be promoted and make a fortune, or support your family, then you must have the consciousness of being conscientious.

To tell the truth, there is no one who is not afraid of death, but those who can not be cowardly in the face of death and can face it bravely are the real warriors. I don't dare to say that there are no cowards in the army, but this is the case when fighting as a whole, and the robes and comrades around you can bring you courage and make you strong. If it's an escape, it's a different matter, it's just a race between individuals, and you can't care about others.

The Qing army intensified the offensive, and more cavalry jumped off their horses and joined the attack. The outermost white-knuckle fight is often a life-for-life stabbing and slashing, brutal and bloody. The Ming army used grenades and carried out heavy bombardment at a close distance of twenty or thirty meters, barely repelling the Qing army's attack.

How many more can stand? Tang Ji gritted his teeth, tightened the bandages on his shoulders, and roughly counted more than a hundred, all of them were covered in blood and extremely tired. The position shrank again, and only a radius of more than thirty meters above the mound remained.

"Check the weapon, reload the bullets, take out the grenades." Tang Ji hoarsely gave orders in a hoarse voice.

The soldiers carried out silently, realizing that it would be the last moment, and even the lightly wounded reluctantly took up their weapons, gritting their teeth and enduring the pain.

"Damn." An old soldier suddenly raised his gun, and a stunned Qing soldier in the pile of corpses staggered to his feet, and with a bang, this guy fell straight down as if he had been hit by a hammer.

"Well played, old black." The shouts rang out, and the dull atmosphere was suddenly relieved, and many people laughed.

"Lao Tzu killed at least ten." The guy who called Lao Hei straightened his chest and raised his head, took out the cigarette pouch and pot, and laughed loudly while filling the cigarette: "It's worth it, it's so damn worth it." ”

Tang Ji smiled and nodded, at this time, such words were too morale-boosting. Suddenly, he turned to the south, where gunfire seemed to be heard.

Tang Ji was not the only one who heard it, many soldiers followed the sound and watched, and hope rose in their hearts. Reinforcements, are reinforcements arriving?

The Ming military formation with the general flag as the unit slowly appeared in the sight of Meler Ezhen Hara, a total of three, and the finished glyph came straight in. In front of the battle were the Fran machine gun carriages, and behind the formation were the infantry marching in order, their bayonets shining brightly, dazzling Hara's eyes.

"Let Du Lu lead his troops to block the coming Ming army, and order Haofa to storm the mound." Hala gritted her teeth and decided to fight to the death. If he lost his troops and lost his generals, but did not even take five or six hundred Ming troops, this would be a great blow to his own morale, but it would be a great encouragement to the enemy, and he would not allow such a thing to happen.

Trumpets whimpered, guns roared, and fierce battles began again...... (To be continued......)