When the two armies of Ming Chuang received fire near Daliuzhuang, the Chizhuo battalion, which was ordered to reconnoiter Xiaoliuzhuang, was still hurrying towards the destination, and this was not just the vanguard of the Chizhuo battalion, but the main force of the battalion led by the battalion officer himself. Just now, the avant-garde troops had come to a fork in the road, and they had brought the main force with them, and when they finally found that it was a dead end, the whole battalion was already crowded on the path and could not move.

After seeing the officer commanding the avant-garde army, the battalion officer Wei Wu scolded him all over his head, and now he was so anxious that he was sweating profusely: "I got lost, the commander asked us to attack at noon, and it's almost three o'clock now." Mishandling a military plane is a big crime. ”

The great luck in the misfortune was that there was no intruder in the vicinity, and the other party did not take advantage of the confusion of the lost Chizhuo Battalion to attack, and now the Chizhuo Battalion finally pulled its feet out of the quagmire and embarked on the right path.

Tongzhi, the commander of the Chizhuo battalion, supervised the rear army in the back, and another adjutant, He Feibao, comforted the aggrieved team officer with a few words, and explained for him and Wei Wu: "This can't be blamed on us, the original plan was not to fight here, our sappers did not prepare a map here in advance, and the surrounding people either ran out or refused to cooperate with our officers and soldiers." ”

The Chizhuo battalion was full of people from Zhili, and apart from those officers and soldiers who participated in the winter operations, none of them had ever been to Henan before and knew nothing about this province, let alone this small place. Yang Zhiyuan's originally expected place of engagement was near Yejigang, and the battalions were able to figure out the general geographical environment, and after today's mobile battle between the two armies, the Chizhuo battalion immediately felt that the problem of guidance had become a big problem.

"What's the use of that? After losing the battle, will the marshal listen to your nonsense? Wei Wu said angrily, of course, being angry couldn't make him solve the guide problem, in fact, if he had a way to solve the guide problem, maybe he wouldn't be so angry. Wei Wu was extremely nervous about the unfamiliar and uninformed path of the army, surrounded by hostile civilians, who did not know how many tricks were hidden in the camp, and the fact that the troops could encounter enemy troops or even be ambushed at any time.

The low sound of cannons, as if coming from the eastern sky, suddenly made Wei Wu and the officers around him become silent, Wei Battalion Officer squinted, looked to the east, and said softly after a long time: "The artillery of the Xiliu Battalion is fully fired, not an avant-garde encounter. The thieves also sounded like a lot of artillery, probably four or five. ”

After listening for a while, a staff officer added: "More artillery is firing, it sounds like there must be twenty, right?" ”

The Xiliu battalion had ten cannons, and apparently the other ten were enemy ones, Wei Wu asked, "Does any battalion of the robbers have ten cannons?" ”

The surrounding staff officers shook their heads: "Definitely not, the most elite guard battalion of the rebels, according to intelligence, only has six guns." ”

"The Hosoliu camp has encountered at least two battalions of thieves, and they should all be large camps of thieves."

"Maybe three battalions, even if the battalion is a big battalion, there may not be five guns." According to the intelligence of the new army, I am afraid that the Guards Battalion and the three battalions of Xishou and Xifeng have five or more artillery pieces, and these three battalions are obviously the trump cards in Xu Ping's hands. The dispatch of so many ace troops to attack a lone battalion of the Forces nouvelles may not bode well.

A staff officer said eagerly: "My lord, the situation has changed, we should immediately march to the place where the artillery is sounding." ”

It may be easier to move towards the sound of artillery, and a staff officer whispered: "Then the commander will not know that we are lost, and we will say that we are going to reinforce the Hosoyanagi battalion." ”

But Wei Wu thought about it, and still shook his head and said: "Otherwise, the marshal let us go to Xiaoliuzhuang, although we are late, we still have to go, Zhou Ying himself will report the enemy situation to the marshal, and if the marshal thinks it is necessary, he will give us the order to go to reinforcements." ”

Obedience to orders was a habit that Wei Wu developed under the Marquis of Zhendong, which was one of the main reasons why he hated Xu Ping from the bottom of his heart, although he had followed the Marquis of Zhendong for many years, Wei Wu did not think that he had the qualifications to discuss military affairs in front of the Marquis of Zhendong, and he would never question any decision of the Marquis of Zhendong - there would never be the slightest doubt in his heart. And Yang Zhiyuan Yang Dashuai is obviously the person with whom the Marquis of Zhendong will discuss military affairs, in this case, Wei Wu naturally does not think that he has the qualifications to question Yang Zhiyuan's orders, not to mention that it is the son of the Marquis of Zhendong who is now assisting Yang Dashuai.

"Continue to march towards Xiao Liuzhuang."

……

At this time, the two armies of the Ming Chuang on the west side of the battlefield also came into contact, Li Guo looked at the avant-garde troops of the Ming army who were advancing cautiously, and said to the surrounding subordinates: "I have a plan to break the enemy soldiers!" ”

Li Guo ordered the unexposed reserves to hide further behind, while the troops under the tentative attack prepared to be defeated, and the artillery received an order that four precious artillery pieces would be blown up after the infantry was defeated, in order to deepen the illusion that the Ming army had already won.

"Blow up our artillery?"

After hearing Li Guo's order, the staff officers he promoted turned pale one by one, these people were not trained by Xu Ping, Li Guo, like Li Dingguo, selected a group of people who "understand" arithmetic from his old subordinates for many years to play. These cannons were still from Xu Ping during the Battle of Xixian, and Li Guo cared for these four hard-won field cannons as much as his own eyes, as did his subordinates - the bulky Ming-made bronze cannons could be found or captured, but the lightweight, equipped with supporting artillery trucks and able to move quickly with the troops, was nowhere to be found. So far, the battalion in Xuzhou still can't imitate qualified field artillery, let alone Li Guo; Besides, even if Xu Zhou can imitate it successfully, Li Guo is not sure that he will get a few from Xu Ping, and Xu Ping's own artillery is not enough at the moment.

"I can't bear to put my shoes on the wolf." Li Guo gritted his teeth and said, he pointed at the new army opposite and exhaled fiercely: "We must win this battle!" Besides, don't they have cannons? If we capture them, as long as we can win, do we still have no artillery? Looking at those reluctant old brothers, Li Guo finally added: "As long as the battle is won, there will always be captures from the general, and I will definitely get it back for our battalion." ”

……

At three o'clock in the afternoon, in front of the flag of General Yang Zhiyuan of the Ming Army

"The Xiliu battalion reported being attacked by a large number of thieves, General Zhou said that the thieves on the opposite side were at least about three times as many as him, but the level of coordinated attacks of the thieves was very poor, their main forces overlapped together, and they were not able to form a flanking attack on us at the beginning, General Zhou carefully followed the order of the commander's power reconnaissance, and was very careful with his troops, and found that he steadily retreated after encountering the main force of the thieves, and the thieves could only attack the Xiliu battalion from one direction, and they could not give full play to their strength advantages and could not form a flanking attack."

After discovering that Sun Kewang's army was attacking, Li Dingguo had no choice but to rush out of his ambush, and the two battalions that had not communicated in advance did not cooperate very well. The Hosoliu Battalion of the New Army calmly fought and retreated, not only did not suffer losses, but used artillery to inflict considerable casualties on the dense attacking formation.

When the staff officer read the report, Yang Zhiyuan kept nodding slightly, and the staff officer finally said: "General Zhou asks the commander, does he need to drag down the main force of this thief, or get out of the battle as soon as possible?" If he needed to hold the thief back, he had found a suitable defensive position. ”

Yang Zhiyuan didn't answer immediately, but asked, "Isn't the Chizhuo Camp in place yet?" ”

Huang Xiwen immediately replied: "Not yet." ”

"Then wait a little longer." The military intelligence department pointed out that the most untrained person in the camp was the artillery unit, and Yang Zhiyuan was not surprised at all, he remembered that 20 years ago, the Marquis of Zhendong was backed by the Ming Dynasty, and he was doing business and begging for gunpowder. For the training of just six artillery crews, the gunpowder consumed was about the same as that of the entire Liao army, but it still took an astonishing amount of time to make them useful. Xu Ping had never received such support, and his Guards Battalion artillery team was slightly better at absorbing New Army prisoners, but the other battalions were much worse, and judging from the reports of the Hosoliu Battalion, the infantry and artillery coordination of the troops they faced was still in a very early stage.

After waiting for a while, a herald ran over, and his excitement was overflowing: "Marshal, the news has come from the Chizhuo Battalion, they have captured Xiaoliuzhuang, and General Wei asks for further orders." ”

Yang Zhiyuan's face showed some surprise, and he looked at the location of Xiao Liuzhuang a few miles to the east: "I didn't hear any cannon sounds. ”

"General Wei said that he did not meet with resistance, and there were only one or two hundred thieves there, and the avant-garde troops of the Chizhuo battalion took Xiao Liuzhuang with one charge."

The invading army camped along the road in the north was in Yang Zhiyuan's field of vision, where Xu Ping's general flag fluttered in the sky, Yang Zhiyuan shook his head, and there was still a puzzled expression on his face.

Xiao Liu Zhuang covers the flank of Xu Ping's big camp, and Da Liu Zhuang covers the flank of Xiao Liu Zhuang, if Xu Ping's insufficient troops cause him to abandon Da Liu Zhuang and concentrate on protecting the periphery of his big camp, then Yang Zhiyuan will not feel so puzzled. If Xu Ping's battalion is besieged, then he will face a severe military crisis, and even if he can ensure that the battalion is not lost, the command and communication system will be affected or even cut off.

Although he was very puzzled, Yang Zhiyuan did not delay more time, this is the loophole he was looking for, and it appeared in a location that was much better than Yang Zhiyuan's best expectations. Yang Zhiyuan suppressed the doubts in his heart, and quickly ordered: "The Rock Camp and the Xuanfeng Camp are heading towards Xiaoliuzhuang." Let General Zhou defend to the east. After arriving at Xiaoliuzhuang, the Xuanfeng battalion first marched north, then rotated westward, and marched in tandem with the Panshi battalion to destroy all the thieves it encountered. ”

"Yes, handsome."

After issuing the order, Yang Zhiyuan looked back at Xu Ping's banner that was far away from him, and frowned: "Xu Ping, what are you doing?" ”

……

Xu Ping was startled by the sound of cannons coming from the east, and the dull sound sounded as if it was already behind his side, and the distance was within a few miles: "What's going on?" ”

No one could answer Xu Ping's question, and his staff officers were all inexplicable, Xu Ping looked east with a telescope for a moment, the worry on his face became heavier and heavier, he waved his hand and asked the guards to bring the mount, jumped on the horse and ordered Zhou Dongtian: "The command will be handed over to you first, I must go there to see it myself." ”

"Yes, my lord."

With a few guards galloping two miles, Xu Ping rushed to the defense area of the Xirui battalion, but he did not see Chang Shude, who should have been here, under the banner of the general, and there were only a hundred soldiers left, and the officers of the Xirui battalion immediately looked panicked when they saw him.

"What about General Chang?" Xu Ping was anxious and shouted: "Where is General Chang?" ”

Several officers of the Xirui Battalion looked at each other but no one spoke, Xu Ping shouted: "Answer immediately." ”

An officer of the Xirui Battalion cautiously stepped forward and bowed deeply to Xu Ping: "General Chang counterattacked Xiao Liuzhuang. ”

"Fight back against Xiao Liu Zhuang? When did Xiao Liu Zhuang lose it? ”

"Just now, General Chang immediately led five hundred people away after hearing the news."

This news was really like a thunderbolt from the blue, Xu Ping shook his head: "No, how could the four thousand troops of the Xifeng Battalion be defeated by the officers and soldiers silently, and how could they not even have time to notify me?" ”

"And!" Xu Ping stared at the officer of the Xirui Battalion: "You know that Xiao Liuzhuang is lost, why don't you report it?" Why not report it? ”

"General Chang wants to recapture Xiaoliuzhuang and report to the general."

"Xiao Liu Zhuang is not General Chang guarding the ground, why does he want to fight back without authorization?" The more Xu Ping asked, the more stern his tone became.

The officers of the Xirui Battalion were already frightened, so they spit out Sun Kewang's orders and Chang Shide's explanation to Xu Ping. Xu Ping, who had a gloomy face, said nothing more, and continued to rush west with a wave of his horsewhip.

This time, after less than a mile of travel, Xu Ping saw a large number of defeated soldiers rushing towards his horse, and the guards behind him jumped off their horses, tried hard to intercept the rout, and soon brought a cloaked officer of the Xirui battalion to Xu Ping's horse.

The officer of the Xirui battalion burst into tears and said to Xu Ping: "General Chang is dead, and the officers and soldiers have been killed. ”

"How many officers and soldiers?"

"It's overwhelming."

Xu Ping rode forward slowly, he could already hear the sound of the Ming army's war drums, bypassing the small hills that obscured his vision, Xu Ping's eyes suddenly opened up, and the entire eastern plain was unobstructed: the fiery red Ming army flag covering the field, and the dazzling bayonet light flashing in the countless infantry phalanxes, was firmly approaching him.

"It's the Xuanfeng Camp again—" Xu Ping clenched his binoculars and muttered, "There is also the Rock Battalion." ”

"There's no way to stop them." Xu Ping whispered to himself, the second infantry wing was resisting the pressure of the Ming army from the front, and after Yu Shenhe reported that several tentative attacks by the Ming army opposite him had been repulsed, Xu Ping sent all the recruit troops in that direction, intending to replace the defense line with them and the rear army that was about to be in place, and replace the first infantry wing. By the time they had completed the replacement of the defensive line and the 1st Infantry Wing had been able to withdraw and return, it was estimated that their headquarters had already been pushed away by the Ming army.

It was necessary to launch a counterattack immediately, so that they could not continue to attack their headquarters, Xu Ping immediately realized that only the two western battalions could take on this responsibility, but this Ming army had already cut off Xu Ping's connection with the east.

Xu Ping jumped off his horse and asked the guards to bring the officers of the Xirui battalion for questioning again, this time the name of the Chizhuo battalion appeared in their report, it sounded that Xiaoliuzhuang was captured by the Chizhuo battalion, and Chang Shide was the only battalion when he launched a counterattack.

"Fighting back against a battalion with five hundred men, is he committing suicide?" Xu Ping read in a low voice, and then realized that Chang Shide had confirmed this sentence.

Between the two western battalions and his own headquarters, there were three battalions of the New Army, and Xu Ping estimated that Yang Zhiyuan had invested in his reserves. Needless to say, Xu Ping has lost the ability to command the West First Battalion and the West Front Battalion, that is, he can contact them, and a counterattack by one battalion against the third battalion of the new army is also tantamount to suicide.

Not long ago, Li Guo reported that there was a fierce battle in his position, so he would definitely not be able to pull out of the front, and even if he could, it would be too late.

These military information quickly turned again in Xu Ping's mind, and now the reserves at hand were only the two disabled infantry wings of the armored battalion, and hundreds of infantry who lacked artillery and cavalry cooperation.

"If you can launch a series of attacks from the flank, you may be able to delay for a while," Xu Ping struggled to control his anxiety, forcing himself to calm down and think of any possible way: "Maybe we can delay until the Guards battalion rushes back, or ......"

Or to restore contact with the two western battalions, although it is a short moment, but Xu Ping thinks very far, the new army inserted from Xiao Liu Zhuang into the defense line of the Chuang army has separated the Chuang army, they have the advantage of fighting on the inside line, even if the strength is quite large, the Chuang army will be at a complete disadvantage, so the two western battalions must try to retreat; And Xu Ping's command must also retreat in order to maintain command; Similarly, the camps further west had to be retreated, and the whole army had to retreat in an attempt to restore the integrity of the front.

The strategic posture has returned to the situation this morning, the new army has gained the full initiative, and if the intruding army in any place insists on fighting, it may be detoured, surrounded, and annihilated, and retreating will cause confusion, so that the opponent can take advantage of the victory to pursue it.

For a while, Xu Ping felt that his head was about to explode, and there was no worse situation than putting on a long snake formation, and then being cut off by the opponent with a knife: "No, it's worse than the situation in the morning, now there is no room for maneuver between our army and the new army, and all battalions have begun to contact and fight, and they can't retreat safely." ”

Xu Ping muttered to himself, but he still did not lose his fighting spirit, and still had to continue to resist: "The whole army must be allowed to retreat again, this retreat must be properly coordinated, and there can be no mistakes, and this ......"

And this requires that Xu Ping's command cannot be pushed away in any case, and all departments cannot be allowed to lose their unified command and fight independently.

Xu Ping looked up at the banner on the opposite side, intending to try to launch a harassing counterattack from the flank, delaying the pace of the new army's attack, giving him a chance to command and control his army for a while longer, and bring more troops out of danger.

Right in front of Xu Ping, the two battalions of Xuanfeng and Panshi were adjusting their formations, the former had shifted from facing due north to facing due west, while the latter had crossed the sister battalion and circled to their flank.

After seeing the covering posture made by the Panshi Battalion, Xu Ping knew that there was no last bit of hope, and he could not launch any influential attack on the Xuanfeng Battalion in charge of the main attack.

"There's no way to stop them." Xu Ping confirmed his judgment.

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