It is impossible, and if one side does not make mistakes, victory can be basically certain. The strategy of large-scale battle should be determined as how to catch the enemy's mistakes, and in an engagement of more than 50,000 soldiers, no commander can command 5,000 soldiers without making any mistakes, let alone quickly and correctly detect any of the enemy's movements, so my strategy is to try to make the enemy make mistakes, and to make the mistakes we expect him to make. Xu Ping saw that Li Dingguo was still about to speak, and raised a hand to indicate that he had not finished speaking: "Of course, we must try to avoid mistakes, Brother Li also said just now, even if Huang Xiaohou is more cautious than I imagined, just like Lord Yang, he will need half an hour to discover our deployment, so we have to crush the left flank of the officers and soldiers in half a pillar of incense." Moreover, it was battalion to battalion, so that even if the other side did not make a mistake, they would not have time to prevent the two western battalions from forming a formation. ”

"That's only a white-knuckle assault." Hearing this time request, Zhou Dongtian hesitated and said, "There is no time to shoot." ”

"That's death." This time, it was Yu Shenhe's turn to retort loudly, the power of the flintlock pistol was not comparable to the bow and arrow at all, so the white-knuckle assault became extremely dangerous: "Our army has to endure the continuous fire of the officers and soldiers and cannot stop to fight back, which is more of a blow to morale than casualties. This kind of shooting would begin after 200 paces, and the platoon guns would be round after round, and although the soldiers of the new army lacked combat experience, they had no problem firing the platoon guns, especially when we did not return fire. In order to maintain our formation, morale, and physical strength, we had to wait until twenty paces before we could launch a sprint, during which we had to eat many rows of guns from officers and men, especially the last one, the first salvo from two hundred paces, a hundred rifles could only hit two or three of us and a small amount of morale, but the volley of twenty paces, a hundred guns at a time would knock out fifty or sixty of us and almost all of our morale, even a battle-hardened Guards battalion would be on the verge of collapse in such a blow, let alone rush up to win hand-to-hand combat after suffering such heavy casualties, And it's in a pillar of incense! Yu Shenhe strengthened his tone and repeated: "This is death." ”

Xu Ping applauded lightly: "Brother Yu is not bad at all, exactly the same as I thought." ”

Yu Shenhe looked at Xu Ping, and after a while, an expression of sudden realization appeared on his face: "It turns out that the adult wants to shoot." ”

Xu Ping nodded and said, "Yes, I plan to let the Guards Battalion fire a shot." Just as you said, Brother Yu, the casualties and damage to morale caused by a salvo shot from a distance of 100 paces are almost negligible, and what I am concerned about is how much damage the platoon guns of officers and men can cause to us after entering 100 paces. ”

"There are also artillery, after entering a hundred steps, the officers and soldiers will begin to change shotguns." Gu Mengliu, who had been silent just now, reminded that although the new army had abandoned some cannons, it was estimated that they would still bring two guns per battalion, and the damage of shotguns to infantry offensive formations was very considerable, especially at close range.

"Yes, and shotguns." Xu Ping nodded again, if the new army carried all the artillery, he would not dare to carry out such an attack, but considering that the number of artillery existing in the new army has been greatly reduced, Xu Ping thought that it could be a try: "I want the guards battalion to advance slowly, and take the last shot at the position of forty paces, as well as their shotgun, one or two cannons." Then we walked quickly until we reached a distance of twenty paces, which should not be enough time for the officers and men to complete the reloading, and we fired a salvo before they finished reloading, and then charged with white blades. ”

"Sounds like a replica of the Battle of the Ancestral County." Yu Shenhe and Li Dingguo said almost at the same time.

"Yes, unlike Xixian, we had enough time to stand on fifty paces and let the Guards Battalion and the Selector Battalion calmly shoot at each other, and we also had the advantage in firepower. This time, however, we had to crush the battalion on the flank of the Forces nouvelles as quickly as possible, so we had to close in at twenty paces and shoot. Xu Ping looked at Yu Shenhe: "Didn't Brother Yu say it just now?" A single volley of twenty paces was enough to demoralize the opponent at once and kill half of them. ”

"Yes, I said so, no matter what," Yu Shenhe shook his head: "The Guards Battalion will still suffer heavy losses. ”

"Yes, the first platoon will definitely fall, and there will be only a few men left in the second platoon, and when we reach a distance of forty paces, if the officers and men do not have time to complete the reload, we will have to stand and wait for them to finish this shot before we can continue to advance, and after this shot, it is estimated that half of the Guards Battalion has already fallen to the ground. But our losses were in waves, not all at once, so our troops should be able to hold out, and the soldiers could not see their fallen colleagues. And we can kill and injure half of the officers and soldiers with one blow, forming the greatest shocking effect. Xu Ping's gaze slowly moved on everyone's faces, and finally stared at Yu Shenhe: "Officer Yu Ying, your soldiers, what do you think?" ”

Yu Shenhe was silent for a moment, then straightened his chest and said, "My lord, I will go and tell them in person." ”

……

After making sure that the Novatives had left their fortified camps, they left a minimum of troops to protect their few artillery and baggage, and then pulled out the camp and began the pursuit. The new army still used a march speed of forty miles a day, while Xu Ping pursued a forced march at a speed of sixty miles a day, and circled to the front of the new army east of Ningling through a small road.

After the avant-garde of the Taishan battalion found out that the camp suddenly appeared, they quickly judged that this was Xu Ping's main force, and the Taishan battalion immediately reported to the main force, and when Huang Xiwen arrived with all the main forces of the new army, Xu Ping's main force had also arrived. The two armies were camped less than three miles away.

"The thieves came on the way, and they didn't carry any artillery." In the large battalion of the New Army, Huang Xiwen and the battalion officers urgently discussed countermeasures, and now the whole army of the New Army still has 12 artillery pieces and enough ammunition for these artillery pieces to fight a major battle.

"Xu Ping'er, he treats us too much as nothing." Zhan Tianhao said indignantly, in order to achieve the purpose of continuing the high-speed march, the new army abandoned most of the baggage that was not necessary to carry, except for artillery, even ordinary soldiers only had about enough ammunition for a fierce battle, which meant that the new army must not stay here for a long time. Otherwise, if Li Zicheng and Luo Rucai came one after another, there would be a lot of trouble, but the top brass of the new army also knew very well that if they ran so fast in the camp, then they definitely didn't carry any baggage: "We can't afford to fight a war of attrition, and Xu Ping can't afford to fight either, I don't believe that he can march at a speed of fifty or sixty miles a day with ammunition and food, even in Henan." ”

All the battalion officers agreed with Zhan Tianhao that Xu Ping had left a strong position, that Xu Ping no longer had the advantage of a defensive side, and that Xu Ping had not carried a heavy ...... that would allow him to continue the battle. This shows that Xu Ping thinks that he can defeat the new army in one battle, and if he can't do it, even if the new army loses considerable combat effectiveness, Xu Ping will only watch the new army leave because he has no ability to continue the war.

"Maybe that's what the thief thinks." Wei Wu said: "He wants to scare us away, or fight to see if there is anything cheap to pick up, anyway, even if he loses, we have nothing to do with him, he knows very well that we can't stay in Henan for a long time, there is no way to pursue and eliminate him." ”

"Perhaps, but he still thinks he can take advantage of a fair field battle, at least a chance, or he won't come." The sudden appearance of the intrusion caused quite a shock to the New Army, which had been hesitating and vacillating between the engagement and the withdrawal, which had affected the morale of ordinary soldiers. When the new army finally decided to withdraw, the soldiers were relieved and less nervous because they learned the final result, but the release of this pressure also caused laxity, and many soldiers complained that since they had to withdraw anyway, it was better to leave at the beginning. Today, the soldiers of the New Army suddenly found out that they were going to fight again, and they immediately became nervous again, and even for the commanders of the New Army, the repetition of several times was also a test of their will, and today everyone was obviously a little unable to hold their breath.

"Young marshal, fight to the death with Xu Thief!"

The commanders shouted.

"We have cannons, but thieves don't have cannons."

"We are no less than him."

"Today he travels farther and is more tired than our army."

"We are returning to the division, most of Xu Thief's subordinates are from Henan, our soldiers are in a hurry to go home, and his subordinates are fighting at the doorstep."

The commanders listed the advantages of the new army and unanimously demanded that Xu Ping be engaged.

Wu Zhong finally added: "Even if we can't win, as long as we don't lose, we will be safe, Xu Ping has no baggage, he has to go home after this battle." ”

When Huang Xiwen was about to send a letter to Xu Ping to challenge, a herald brought a messenger who broke into the camp, Xu Ping rushed to send the challenge book, Huang Xiwen glanced at it casually, and signed it on the back of the letter, "Tomorrow's decisive battle." ”

When handing over the letter to Xu Ping's envoy in person, Huang Xiwen said coldly: "I hope General Xu won't be a carp again tomorrow." ”

After the meeting was dismissed and returned to his camp, Wu Zhong urgently summoned the officers of the Changqing battalion to deploy the mission.

"Why did Xu Ping choose to fight here?" Fu Tianjun asked a little puzzled: "Since he is willing to throw down his baggage and chase after him, wouldn't it be better to fight again in Bozhou?" ”

When he retired from the army, Fu Tianjun was worried that when he met Xu Ping's main force in Bozhou, the new army that would be able to reach home safely would lack fighting spirit, and maybe the Changqing camp would be cut off. Fu Tianjun once privately told Wu Zhong that if there was such a situation, it would be disobedient and could not be executed, and Wu Zhong also said with certainty that he would not carry out the order to bury the whole battalion.

"Unless Xu Ping thinks that he can defeat us in one battle with equal numbers and no artillery, I don't see the benefits of him choosing to fight in Ningling." Wu Zhong was also angry in his heart, it would be a fairly fair battle to fight in the field here, and it would even be slightly beneficial to the new army: "But it's okay, as long as we don't lose tomorrow, we will win." ”

"Not losing is winning." Wu Zhong re-examined this point to his subordinates, even strategically speaking, the new army's replenishment ability was not comparable to Xu Ping's: "As long as there is a draw, we will win." ”

In Huang Xiwen's camp, the young commander was equally angry: "Xu Thief despises me too much, does he think he can defeat our army here?" Am I so vulnerable in his heart? ”

Wu Zhong's words just now made Huang Xiwen feel very harsh: "What does it mean to 'be safe if you don't lose', Xu Ping has no cannons, no baggage, the number of people may be less than mine, and the muskets are definitely less than our army." If I go to fight this battle with the idea of not losing, it will be Xu Ping's trick, so I will hesitate and tie my hands and feet. ”

……

On the opposite side of the new army, after it was determined that tomorrow's battle would be engaged, Yu Shenhe summoned the entire battalion of the Guards Battalion to speak and announce to them the battle plan for this time. Before, Xu Ping and Yu Shenhe had planned to meet frankly with the officers and soldiers of the Guards Battalion and tell the truth about the risks of tomorrow's battle, but for reasons of secrecy, they had to delay it until the last minute.

“…… You will be subjected to continuous, repeated volley fire from the officers and men, and the final blow will be given by the officers and men at a distance of forty paces, and no one shall continue until the officers and men have completed this volley, and if you act recklessly, more brothers will die senselessly. And at this time, it is also strictly forbidden for anyone to fight back, and there is no time for you to fill in another round of medicine......"

Yu Shenhe told his subordinates that Huang Xiwen had accepted Xu Ping's challenge on behalf of the New Army, and that the officers and non-commissioned officers were standing in the front row, and everyone could clearly hear every word Yu Shenhe said: "Ben General estimated that half of the people would fall before the shots were fired." ”

The officers and soldiers of the Guards Battalion all looked solemn, Yu Shenhe looked at Xu Ping after speaking, the latter sighed softly, strode forward, replaced Yu Shenhe, and preached to the officers and soldiers of the Guards Battalion in front of him:

"What Lord Yu said just now is the hard battle you will encounter tomorrow," as if to this group of friends instead of deploying, Xu Ping told everyone in detail about his plan, and tried to make every subordinate understand the significance of their unconventional attack, if the Guards Battalion could not win quickly, then the two western battalions that followed closely behind would not be able to form a battle formation, and the offensive route of the Chuang Army would be blocked by the reinforcements of the New Army, and the other wing of the Chuang Battalion was still being attacked by the New Army at this time.

"Tomorrow's big battle will either be a complete victory or a complete defeat, and whether it can win it all depends on the Guards Battalion being able to complete its mission. As General Yu said, we estimate that half of us will fall before the first fire, and for all of you standing before me, tonight will probably be your last. After explaining the whole plan, Xu Ping first gave his subordinates some time to digest, and then said loudly again: "I'm sorry, I'm very sorry. But if we achieve a big victory tomorrow, the new army, the last pillar of the imperial court, will collapse - now there are only 10,000 new troops in the Beijing division, we will finish this battle, go back to Kaifeng without bloodshed, and then we can take advantage of the ice to cross the river to the north and go straight to the Beijing division, and the Ming court has no troops to stop us. Ladies and gentlemen, I know that many of you have been looking forward to Zhao'an, hoping to live a peaceful life, and now this day is finally coming, and it is better than Zhao'an, that is, if you suffer misfortune tomorrow, you can also rest assured that you will be remembered as the founding heroes of the new dynasty, and your children will be raised as the widows of the heroes. ”

After hearing Xu Ping's last words, the officers in the front row were silent at first, and then nodded one after another: "Got it." ”

After Xu Ping announced his disbandment, there was no conversation or discussion in the crowd in front of him, and his subordinates bowed their heads one by one and silently thought about their thoughts, while returning to the camp with heavy steps.

"If King Chuang can get the ...... of the world" Xu Ping looked at the crowd in front of him, and muttered to himself: "Wait until we get the ...... of the world"

Yu Shenhe turned his head sideways, looked at Xu Ping, and waited quietly for his next step. But after waiting for a long time, Xu Ping never could say the second half of the words, and only let out a light sigh: "I know it's bad, but I really don't know what to say to these brothers." After a while, Xu Ping sighed again: "But tomorrow, tonight, how can I not say a word to them?" ”

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