In the impression of ordinary people, the galloping cavalry charge of thousands of horses should be the most powerful means of attack, especially for the infantry, and it is the trump card for victory.

In fact, this identification is not comprehensive, such as the Manchu Eight Banners, known as the unparalleled cavalry and archery, but it is rare to use cavalry to impact the opponent's well-organized infantry array. And the tactic they used most often, or the weakest point of the Ming army in the past, was hand-to-hand combat.

In the battle with the Ming army, the Eight Banners or cavalry feints to invite the battle, luring the Ming musketeers to shoot, and taking advantage of the reloading to storm and attack; Or break the formation with the iron armor of the dead soldiers, and then use the cavalry to charge to expand the results of the battle after the Ming army's formation is chaotic.

Therefore, the conditions that cavalry usually have to meet when attacking the enemy formation are the confusion and destruction of the enemy formation, otherwise, the relatively simple rejection of horse guns and chariot formations can also pose a threat to the cavalry. Or, when the enemy is defeated, the infantry who are only concerned with fleeing infantry will not be able to resist at all, and will not have the heart to resist.

This is also the reason why Zu Zepu, the governor of Shandong, did not send cavalry for a long time, he could not see the signs of chaos and destruction of the Ming army's array, and could not see the ideal direction of breakthrough. Throwing in cavalry in such a situation is not a more normal tactic, but a desperate risk.

Of course, if it succeeds, it may crush the phalanx of the Ming army and drive the defeated troops to attack the other formations, causing a chain reaction like an avalanche; But if it fails, it will suffer heavy losses, the morale of the army will be dealt a heavy blow, and there will be no chance of turning the tables and winning.

The Ming army was also well aware of the hidden danger that the enemy's cavalry had not moved, and the phalanx maintained a strict state, slowly advancing forward, not giving the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of. Casualties were disproportionate but inevitable, especially in the prominent middle phalanx. And in order to make up for the gap, the phalanx is advancing, and it is slowly shrinking. This gradually widens the gap with the left and right phalanxes.

The cavalry must be dispatched! Zu Zepu narrowed his eyes, the infantry was retreating step by step, signs of collapse were already emerging, if it caused a chain reaction, the consequences would be unimaginable, and the prominent phalanx of the Ming army also seemed to expose the weakness of the flanks.

Maybe it's only this one chance. Zu Zepu decided to send out cavalry to fight, taking advantage of the fact that the phalanx on both wings of the Ming army had not yet leveled with the central phalanx, and while the central phalanx of the Ming army had also suffered a lot of damage.......

Flank assault, Zu Zepu ordered the cavalry to go out, avoiding the front where the fire seemed to be the most intense, and attacking the left side of the Ming army's protruding phalanx diagonally. At the same time, he ordered the infantry to press forward in the rear formation, while stabilizing the position, and preparing to flank the Ming army's formation when it was shaken and chaotic.

Smoke fills the air. The view from the battlefield was not clear, but the shaking of the earth and the thunderous sound of hooves still presupposed.

Supervising the standard, fubiao, and the reinforcements of the Manmeng Eight Banners, thousands of cavalry rushed out from behind the formation, diagonally inserted into the Ming army formation.

Azil's left and right were filled with countless horses' heads, the rider's pigtails swayed from side to side in the air behind his head, and the screams around him were deafening. Several cannon roars, and the screech of iron bullets scraping through the air is joined by the roar of hooves. The neighing of the horses rang out from side to side, and the horses were left behind for a moment. In the midst of a gallop of thousands of horses, Azil felt that nothing could stop his cavalry.

The riders skillfully controlled the horses, and took out their riding bows, javelins and other weapons, their formations were not dense, and they were even more overwhelming. The phalanx in front of them stood firmly, but Azil had no doubt that they would be defeated by the cavalry. In his impression. He had seen countless infantry formations of the Ming army collapse and rout in advance in the earth-shattering charge of the cavalry, and then be trampled to death by the cavalry like ducks running around.

The charge of the cavalry was earth-shattering, and it was rapidly approaching the Ming army's phalanx, and the things placed in front of the phalanx could already be seen clearly. Azil recognized the Ming army's artillery carriage on the back of his swaying horse, turning to the incoming cavalry. And the Ming soldiers behind the artillery carriage were raising their bayonets. Squatting in a row, standing in a row, forming a row of bright knife formations. At this time, the blood in his head made Aqizai fearless, and he did not feel that the bayonet could stop the advance of the iron cavalry more than the repellent rifle.

As soon as a feeling of pride arose, a dazzling fire suddenly erupted on the chariot of the Ming army, white smoke rose instantly, countless lead bullets met the cavalry group, the screams of the horses and riders rang out, the shotgun shooting of the Francophone was very fierce, and Azil felt that the vision ahead was blurred.

The fierce cavalry was in a mess, the horses hit by the lead bullet rolled on the ground and fell, the riders in the rear slowed down to avoid it, and those who could not avoid it also crashed between the injured horses, the attack in the middle was sluggish, and the riders in front who were not hit continued to move forward, and the formation became a little scattered.

Azil struggled to make out the road ahead in the white smoke, adjusting his horse's head, the force of the impact still there, but his feverish head calmed down a lot. Because he didn't see the panic of the Ming soldiers, and he didn't see the chaos and crowding of the Ming army's formation.

There were still a lot of cavalry running around, and the artillery fire in the Ming army's formation began to turn to bombardment. Azil slowed down, hid behind them, and after a few moments, it suddenly became clear that he had run out of the smoke from the explosion of the cannonballs, and appeared on the left flank of the hollow phalanx. The front row of the Ming army was half-squatting, and the back row was standing, with bayonets sticking out.

The cavalry that had rushed out of the smoke first screamed again, and ran along the right flank of the hollow phalanx with their horses, and the cavalry bows in their hands shot waves of bows and arrows at the Ming troops. Azil saw that the musketeers of the Ming army were shot, but the Ming army did not shoot.

A swan sounded, and the hollow phalanx erupted into a volley of fire at the Qing cavalry, along with the bombardment of curved guns and the shotgun of the Franco.

Azil felt a wave of air jerk around him, and the loud bang made him unable to hear all the sounds for a moment. After steading his horse, Azil found that his mount was still running, and the blow to the vanguard did not stop the thousands of cavalry from pouring across the battlefield.

Muskets were constantly firing, bows and arrows were flying in the air, and both sides were desperately attacking their opponents, and more and more corpses of men and horses were piled up inside and outside the phalanx.

A round of screaming sounded in the air, and a dense number of cannonballs rolled on the ground, then exploded, and black smoke rose among the cavalry of the Qing army, and people shouted and neighed. This is the artillery fire of the left flank phalanx began to support, and the bombardment of Tianwei artillery is hitting the middle of the Qing cavalry. At the same time, the left flank phalanx accelerated forward, forming a situation of flanking the Qing cavalry.

Fooled? Caught in the enemy's trap? Zu Zepu's face was pale, he didn't dare to be sure, and he couldn't order to stop the attack. Because as soon as the cavalry loses speed, it becomes a target for muskets. The opportunity to defeat the Ming army has not yet been completely shattered, as long as the central phalanx is defeated before the left wing phalanx of the Ming army presses up, the situation may still be reversed.

The battle became more and more intense, and the Qing cavalry, who heard the sound of war drums, slammed into the Ming army's phalanx, regardless of the casualties and obstacles caused by the artillery fire. The sound of cannons, gunshots, shouts of killing, and neighing of horses mingled, and flesh and blood flew and guns and knives flew.

It's just that under the artillery fire of the Ming army, the speed and density of the cavalry of the Qing army have been greatly weakened, but the casualties of the Ming army are also surging.

When one soldier fell, the other immediately filled, raised his bayonet, fought with the enemy, and blocked the cavalry charge. The muskets in the back fired, stepped back, reloaded, stepped forward, and fired......

The muscles on Zu Zepu's face twitched twice, although the impact of the cavalry suffered heavy casualties, but the Ming army's front seemed to be shaking, and the two sides exchanged people for people, and exchanged lives for lives, and the fighting was extremely fierce.

The artillery fire of the Ming army continued to bombard, and the central phalanx and the left flank phalanx killed and injured the Qing cavalry and disrupted the continuity of the cavalry impact. The ownerless war horses were jumping and screaming, and the Qing soldiers who fell off their horses stumbled and raised their weapons, howling and rushing towards the Ming army.

The left flank of the central phalanx was squeezed and distorted, but the soldiers transferred from the rear and right joined the battle group, trying to maintain the deformed front. On the battle line, soldiers on both sides fought and shot, and then—

One by one, the grenades emitting green smoke crossed the heads of the Ming soldiers fighting in the front row and landed in the crowd more than ten meters away, and the explosions were heard one after another. Before the sound had dissipated, another round of projectile bombardment was ......

Because the grenade was loaded with black powder, it was large to ensure its power, and the projection distance was relatively close, only more than 20 meters. Therefore, the grenade was not a necessary weapon for the soldiers of the Ming army, but it was only equipped and trained with the army, but it was up to the commander to decide when to use it.

Obviously, this situation now made the Ming commander think that the time was necessary, and the soldiers who reinforced the left flank rushed over with grenade bags on their backs from their baggage wagons, and threw them one by one, striking the enemy with a dense rain of bombs.

This kind of intensive and continuous bombardment showed a very good effect, the Qing troops who rushed to kill were blocked, and those who were fighting with the Ming army were stabbed and shot to death by the superior Ming army. Time was precious, and only a few dozen seconds of pause were enough for the Ming army to regroup and restart the musket fire.

The pressing distance of the left flank phalanx had already made the sky-bombardment cannon in the formation have enough range, and the artillery fire became more dense and fierce, the corpses of men and horses were lying on the ground, and the smoke of gunpowder filled the surroundings, which hindered the impact power of the Qing cavalry.

It was not only the left flank phalanx that pressed forward, but also the right flank and the rearguard, and the rows of soldiers in the rearguard phalanx ran rapidly after receiving orders, and did not have to keep any line in order, they would soon enter the central phalanx and become a reinforced force.

When the Franc cannon pushed in front of the left flank phalanx began to roar, the rain-like lead bullets swept across the Qing army in front of them, and the entire Qing cavalry was facing artillery fire on the back waist of the impact formation, and the battle situation had become irreversible.

It's over, it's over! Zu Zepu closed his eyes in pain, this was not just a defeat, Jinan behind him would be difficult to defend, the canal would be cut off, and the passage to Zhili would be opened. (To be continued......)