After catching up with the infantry, the infantry officers, who had heard the news of the victory, did not have time to rejoice, when suddenly gunfire rang out from the bushes beside the road. The Ming officers and soldiers who continued to march looked towards the place where the white smoke was rising, and saw several figures swaying behind the grass and trees.

After half a ring, a few more firecrackers rang out, and Xu Ping glanced at the place where the sound came from: "There are three eyes again, and there are bird guns, it should be the thief's ranger." He estimated the distance from the woods to the official road: "Keep the marching column marching at full speed, and don't bother with them." ”

After the rebels launched for the third time, Xu Ping nodded, this movement further confirmed his judgment, the number of rebels is not much, it sounds like four or five shots sound together every time, and from the perspective of the firing frequency, there are about a dozen shots of various firearms in total. At such a distance, Xu Ping did not think that it would pose any threat to the Ming army.

"The traitors don't have any firearms, and I haven't seen them have formed firearms other than the one we saw last time." Xu Ping quickly said to his subordinates: "There are probably only a dozen people, leave them alone, we will continue to march in a marching column." ”

The rebels continued to shoot for a long time, and finally hit an unlucky Ming soldier, Xu Ping ordered a cavalryman to use his horse to carry the seriously wounded, and the whole army continued to rush at full speed. Since the rebels were hiding far in the woods, they quickly slipped away every time they saw Xu Ping send a small squad of cavalry to expel them. Limited by the terrain and situation, the cavalry of the Ming army did not dare to enter the woods to pursue, and several rounds of fighting, but killed several rebels. When the cavalry of the Ming army returned to the ranks, the rebels would circle in front of the Ming army and continue to shoot cold guns.

"Why are they doing that?" Xu Ping looked around at his subordinates: "Could it be that another army of traitors has caught up?" ”

Yu Shenhe jumped forward and shouted: "My lord, do you want to let the lowly lead a team of people to pursue and destroy them?" ”

Seeing that there were more and more rebel flags on the flanks, some staff officers felt that it would become unsafe to continue to hold the marching column. Moreover, the continuous gunfire made the Ming soldiers also nervous, and they involuntarily slowed down their pace, and put down the weapons on their shoulders and held them in their hands.

Another officer suggested that the whole army should be divided into four pairs and advance alternately, so that the first group of Ming troops would stop first, stand on the side of the road, and fire back at the rebels.

"What's the use of that, so far away, are you beating trees?" Xu Ping categorically rejected this proposal, he hesitated, and did not agree to Yu Shenhe's suggestion, for fear that this group of people would be dragged down, but would become a burden to the rapid march.

"Let them come out, if they dare to rush out of the woods, then the truth will be clear at a glance, if they dare not come out, we will think there are flies buzzing." Xu Ping remembered that there was a sentence in the textbook compiled by Zhendonghou: Tactics are to force the enemy to obey our intentions by various means. And Xu Ping had no intention of obeying the rebels' intentions, and he resolutely ordered: "Continue to keep the marching column and advance at full speed." ”

There were all kinds of noises in the bushes and jungles on the side of the road, gongs, drums, and arrows were shot into the sky from time to time, I don't know how many people were ambushed during it, Cao Yun became a little nervous: "My lord, what if the traitor suddenly kills?" ”

"No, it won't." Yu Shenhe also saw something strange at this time: "Besides, Brother Cao, do you think they are immortals?" Even if they have a large army in ambush in the forest, how can they unify their command, if they rely on the command of the arrows, will they not be in a chaotic position in such a disorderly position, if they do not rely on the command of the arrows to fight in a chaotic manner, then they will have to be in the forest array and then accept the order, and our army will have time to react. ”

"Brother Yu is right, but not everyone understands it that way." Xu Ping saw that the soldiers were becoming more and more uneasy, they had been fighting hard for many days, and there were rumors that the eight battalions of the new army had been defeated, and it was also true that they were being chased by the rebels. Xu Ping knew that the morale of the troops was on the verge of collapse, and under this harassment, the soldiers were walking more and more slowly, and they were less and less able to resolutely obey orders.

"Let me borrow a little morale, stick to your post, and don't come with me." Xu Ping turned his horse's head and galloped from the side of the column to the end of the column with a clamp on his horse's belly, and the panicked soldiers turned around to look at their commander.

"Keep the marching column." Xu Ping started at the end of the line and shouted to encourage his subordinates: "Keep the marching column." ”

Xu Ping, who was galloping next to the team, was closer to the woods on the side of the road, and the sporadic gunfire of the rebels rang out on one side, Xu Ping held his head high on his mount, raised one arm high, pointed forward, and shouted one after another: "Keep the marching column." ”

The soldiers, who had already put their weapons in their hands, looked around, and couldn't help but bend down when they heard the sound of firecrackers, watched their commander leap past him, and stood up straight again, shouting to Xu Ping in response: "My lord. ”

"Your Excellency."

"Your Excellency."

Xu Ping's horse ran back and forth along the long column twice, and finally stopped his mount in the front row in a place where the gunfire and sound were most intense.

"Phew—" Xu Ping turned his horse's head and turned his back to the various noises made by the rebels, and raised his left arm steadily to point to the front of the road, staring intently at his subordinates to the accompaniment of firecrackers and arrows.

"Your Excellency!"

"Your Excellency!"

The soldiers rushed past their statue-like commander, raised their weapons in salute Xu Ping, and strode in the direction the statue's arm pointed. Their chests straightened again, their weapons firmly on their shoulders, no longer paying attention to the noise around them.

The Ming army's exploration horses had already rushed out of the woods, the edge of the bushes gradually distanced itself from the road, and large wheat fields on both sides appeared in the Ming army's field of vision.

"Traitor!"

After receiving the report of the horse scout, Xu Pingchi came to the front of the army, and a black figure was approaching from his side. Xu Ping took out his binoculars and observed the enemy army, and quickly made a judgment: "It seems that this group of rebels only arrived at the headquarters of the battlefield today by Ji Huisi, and the number of them is about two or three thousand. If we had been dragged down by their rangers, they would have taken the opportunity to block our head-on. We're going to have trouble, too. But not anymore, our department has left the narrow terrain of the forest. ”

The staff officers were sad: "But there are so many rebels on the flank, it is impossible for us to march safely." "The distance between the rebels and the Ming army is too close, and they can barely march under this pressure, and it is easy to collapse, even if they are lucky enough not to have this kind of thing, they may be caught up by the rebels at any time.

"Yes, we've got to beat them down first." Xu Ping looked back at his troops, the soldiers had also noticed the approaching Di Sansi Division, from the nervous expressions on the faces of these soldiers, Xu Ping realized that the army's heart was shaken again, and many soldiers involuntarily accelerated their pace, instead of stepping on the drum to advance, they no longer wanted to fight, they just wanted to leave the battlefield quickly, and this was simply impossible.

"All the army stops!"

Xu Ping shouted loudly again, and the drumbeat immediately stopped, but the soldiers did not, their eyes not focused on Xu Ping or the other officers, but wandering restlessly on the approaching enemy army and the road leading to the north. Most of the soldiers reluctantly stopped before they reluctantly walked a few steps.

"Brethren!" Xu Ping shouted at his subordinates again, pointing one arm behind him: "Where are the thieves, they have defeated the fire battalion, the direct guard, and the standard camp of the Inspector, and now they are trying to defeat us again." ”

The uneasy mood continued to spread among the army, and Xu Ping suddenly let out a loud sneer: "But how come I never feel that there is anything remarkable about them?" Do any of you feel that they have three heads and six arms, and they are as powerful as heavenly soldiers? ”

"The bastards in the woods just now spit on us and released cold arrows, just thinking that as soon as this group of thieves arrives, we will have to be captured." Xu Ping fixed his horse and shouted: "I'm really not convinced, I really want to slap the old thief with Ji Huisi, but it's ......"

Xu Ping paused: "But I listen to you, I listen to the brothers, do we continue to run away with our tails between our legs, or do we destroy this team of thieves before leaving, this team of thieves who want to take advantage of us?" Brothers, you have the final say! ”

The soldiers were silent for a moment, and then suddenly a chaotic shout rang out continuously:

"Destroy these bitches!"

"Kill them!"

"Well, the brothers have the final say." The corners of Xu Ping's mouth curved up slightly: "Array!" ”

When the Ming army urgently lined up to prepare for battle, Xu Ping gathered the staff officers and officers to his side, and their faces were mixed with a mixture of anxiety and eagerness: "Well said, my lord! ”

"It's a matter of morale, but it's impossible to do it again." Xu Ping, like these subordinates, Xu Ping also wanted to sweep away the more than 2,000 rebels on the flank in a blink of an eye, he tried to let reason control his emotions, and explained to his subordinates: "All the staff officers, as well as Brother Yu's team, stay by my side." ”

In addition to these reserves, Xu Ping also detained twenty cavalry by his side. The remaining 700 infantry had lined up against the rebels, and the cavalry was deployed on both flanks. He explained to the officers of the infantry team: "Don't worry, we still have time, we don't want to kill more thieves with this cane, but only to let our brothers be wounded less." ”

It is reasonable that Xu Ping can no longer abandon the wounded soldiers. In the battle after the break, the wounded soldiers made a great contribution to the whole army, and abandoning them when the wounded soldiers could be safely taken away would chill the rest of the people, and there would be incalculable damage in the subsequent battles. In the brief order, Xu Ping emphasized as much as possible that the more urgent it was, the more impatient the Ming army would be, and that it would be necessary to fight this battle calmly. He ordered the officers to fire more often in order to reduce casualties.

"You don't have to save ammo anymore and shoot with all your might."

"Yes, my lord."

"After this battle, we will no longer fight, this enemy army is very few, Ji Kou will definitely not expect them to defeat us, see that they are desperately trying to block our posture, either there are people behind us, or this thief is just the vanguard of the brigade."

Xu Ping's words made the people around him gasp, and Jiang Yizhou was shocked: "How can there be so many thieves? What the hell is the fire battalion doing? ”

"I don't know, I don't know what Inspector Hou sent them to do. However, it seems that this is the fastest chasing enemy, and our battalion and the Shanlan battalion should be safe. Once the fight is over, immediately have the soldiers destroy all their armor and disengage at full speed. ”

"Yes, my lord."

The officers of each infantry team took orders one after another, and Xu Ping carefully explained to Jiang Yizhou and Cao Yun: "Don't rush to charge, we can't afford to lose our horses." Wait for my order, and when the thieves are defeated, when you go to pursue, don't be greedy, just disperse them, don't interfere with the march of our army, and give priority to the thieves with horses. ”

"Understood, sir"

Cao Yun and Jiang Yizhou and other cavalry officers also hurried to deploy. At this time, in the face of the Ming army that left the road and pressed over, the rebels also stopped and began to set up. The Ming army's muskets opened fire at the maximum range, filling their charges as they fired, and slowly advancing. After entering the range of the rebels' bows and arrows, the rebels' reaction was no different from the past, and the feathered arrows they shot did not kill when they touched the armor of the Ming army, and it was almost meaningless to fight back. The Ming infantry continued to advance in a neat manner. Suddenly, Zhou Dongtian, a staff officer beside Xu Ping, shouted in a low voice, "My lord." ”

The rearguard's Tanmalai reported that a large group of rebels were pursuing along their path, and it was estimated that they would soon appear behind the Ming army. Due to the restrictions of the terrain and the harassment of the rebel rangers, Tanma did not know how many rebels there were. Although Xu Ping tried his best to remain calm, those who knew him well could not help but feel the chief's nervousness.

Yu Shenhe stepped forward and shouted, "My lord, I will lead the team to stop them for a while, and when my lord crushes the enemy in front of me, I will come to reinforce my humble position." ”

Although this is a good thing to say, everyone understands that Ci is not in charge of the army, if the rebels coming from behind are small forces, it is fine, if the enemy army is powerful, the main general will definitely abandon the rear guard for the safety of the whole army, just like the Shanlan battalion and the Changqing battalion will never turn around to reinforce Xu Ping. Xu Ping looked at Yu Shenhe, who was clenching his fists, and finally closed his lips and nodded quickly. Yu Shenhe shouted: "Obey, my lord!" ”

The drums sounded behind him, and Yu Shenhe led two hundred soldiers to turn to the right neatly, striding back towards the woods he had just left.

The front soon entered the hand-to-hand combat phase. Xu Ping held the binoculars and looked forward, watching the Ming army continue to press forward step by step. Now the Ming army was within 100 meters of the rebels, and each volley of fire sent a large number of rebel soldiers to the ground. In the face of the fierce firepower of the Ming army, before the contact battle was carried out, the rebels began to loosen their formation. Xu Ping's original intention was to carry out another period of this kind of shooting, and it was best to use gunpowder consumption in exchange for greater casualties for the opponent, or even directly repel the enemy to avoid casualties and save physical strength. However, the new situation forced him to change his mind. Xu Ping signaled the standard-bearer to give the order, and after receiving the order to attack, the Ming gunners began to retreat, and a large number of pikemen put down their spears and pressed towards the rebels with the beat of the drum.

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