Chapter 258 First Battle

After Li Meng shouted, the drummer beside him beat the marching drum. Although the soldiers were panic and frightened, the strict training of Suli still allowed them to step together.

The drum sounded rhythmically, and the soldiers walked forward slowly according to the drum beats. In this hasty encounter, many spearmen and axe and spearmen were standing in the same row. Looking from a distance, the weapons of the captain of the Jiaozhou Camp were uneven, and the deterrent power brought by the neat formation was much weaker.

The Qing cavalrymen on the opposite side who were driving horses to adjust their pace were even more sure, not to mention that there were more than 100 musket soldiers without formations in front of these three yards. The most difficult thing for the firearms of the Ming Dynasty was the cannons, followed by bird guns. The barrels of these musket soldiers were not too long, and the caliber was slightly thicker, and the caliber would not deter these cavalry.

However, Jiaozhou Camp was not panicked, but the steadily moving forward made the generals of the Tartars start to be cautious. The horse team that was trotting slowly could still adjust. The leader in charge of this wave of offensive shouted loudly behind the scenes. The thirty horses in the first row began to slowly open the distance, but the exposed gap was not to make the formation sparse, and the horses in the second row stepped forward to add spaces.

Such barbarian cavalry was indeed a brave man that their descendants could not reach. Seeing the Ming army on the opposite side was difficult to deal with, it instead increased the power of the first wave of impact.

The formation changed, and time was delayed a little. The Jiaozhou Camp opposite had already walked twenty steps forward, with more than one hundred steps away. The Qing cavalry and the infantry of the Jiaozhou Camp were approaching, but the Taurus cavalry were adjusting their formation and launching another attack. The distance required for the rear row was already insufficient, so in addition to the first row, the cavalry in the rear row began to slow down to increase the distance.

The Qing army's lieutenant was worried that he would adjust the queue, so the other party would take the opportunity to rush over. He had already greeted another lieutenant and asked him to take precautions. Unexpectedly, when Jiaozhou Camp reached the 25th step, he stopped.

The Ming Dynasty official army that I suddenly encountered today is strange. Although it is well-equipped, the commander has no idea how to seize the fighter plane, and even delays many opportunities.

The only thing that can explain the opponent's movements is that perhaps the Ming army was a little timid when he saw that he increased the power of the first wave of impact, or he wanted to re-adjust the infantry formation. This is too naive. The cavalry on the opposite side of the battle had to adjust the formation, so wait for defeat!

However, they did not know the intention of walking before the Jiaozhou Camp. Standing still cannot ensure the neatness of the team, and the distance between soldiers is also required. This requires a small running-in process. Only by moving and walking can one improve it.

In fact, if Jiaozhou Camp took the initiative, it would take nearly 100 steps before the war to completely adjust the team. But at present, it can only take so many steps. It would be really stupid to collide the infantry phalanx and the cavalry fronts in the battlefield. However, if you walk more than twenty steps like this, you will achieve your goal, and at least disrupt the opponent's rhythm.

The first row of the Tartar cavalry teams was long opened, and the distance between the horses was quite large. It seemed that there were no cavalry rushing forward. The distance between the cavalry should be as close as possible. The situation in front of us retained a gap between them.

Moreover, although the horse speed is slowly accelerating, it is not the end of the charge. The personal soldiers standing on the right side of the front row of musketeers temporarily became the command of more than 100 musketeers. Although the musketeers behind were numerous, they could no longer run to the front row now, which would only disrupt the formation.

"Get into fifty steps and get ready to shoot a volley!"

The personal soldier blew the fuse a few more times, carefully clamped the fuse on the hook, held it flat, and looked at the cavalry array pressing towards him.

The array speed of the Qing cavalry was not reduced. Many cavalrymen on the horse held the big bow in their hands, holding the back of the bow and an arrow in their hands. The Qing cavalry began to gently knock the horse's belly with the spurs on their feet. The horses suffered such a small pain and their speed began to get faster.

"Prepare~~~~, fight~"

After entering the distance of fifty steps, more than 100 muskets from Jiaozhou Camp fired together. The leaders of the army, who had been watching the battle behind, couldn't help laughing. They thought how powerful the muskets fired at this distance could have. Before he could laugh out loud, he saw the cavalrymen in the first row falling down more than 30 horses, howling and neighing together.

During the battle between the Qing army and the Ming army, the fire of long-range weapons, except for artillery, the Ming official army's bird guns, three-eyed guns, quick guns, and thunder guns did not take any advantage in front of the Qing army's bows and arrows, and because of the poor manufacturing methods, the range was even worse than that of the other party's bows and arrows.

The effective range of the Tartar bow and arrow is about forty steps. During this range, the Ming army's firearms often do not have much damage, and are used to being randomly placed outside the range.

Over time, the Qing cavalry also developed a kind of "brave" confidence, dared to attack the Ming army's firearms and ignore the Ming army's firearms.

But the Jiaozhou Camp's muskets were obviously not like this. Within a distance of fifty steps, the accuracy rate of the muskets of Jiaozhou Camp can be considered. Just over 30 cavalry fell to the ground, but because the distance between the first row of the Qing cavalry was relatively loose and the target was in action.

The first row of the Qing army's cavalry was 60 cavalry. After this round of musket shooting, it immediately became sparse. After the musket soldiers were killed, no matter what the enemy in front of them, they turned around and ran to both sides. After the first round of musket shooting, it took too much time to continue loading and firing, and it was unrealistic to replace them with short weapons.

The most suitable consideration is to quickly leave the front line and let the infantry team fight against the cavalry. The musketeers quickly walked around the back of the team to load the bullets.

The only twenty cavalry left in the first row of the Qing army cavalry, after controlling the horses, continued to move forward. The long weapons in the front row of Jiaozhou camp had already begun to be flattened, preparing to face the impact of the cavalry.

However, the Qing cavalry did not continue to move forward. At about forty steps, they leaped off from the horse and directly shot at the infantry team of Jiaozhou Camp.

Within this distance, within the effective range of the Tartar bow and arrow, the arrows roared and flew towards the front row of infantrymen in Jiaozhou Camp.

Li Meng stood in the second row, thinking that the opponent would rush up directly, but the cavalry of that row was sparsely beaten by muskets. More than 20 cavalry and the platoon collided, which was equivalent to rushing into the steel jungle, but he did not expect that the opponent would start shooting arrows at a distance of more than thirty steps. The personal soldier in front of Li Meng was hit by an arrow and didn't even scream, but fell to the ground.

Some soldiers were immediately unable to hold long spears or axes and spears flatly, and covered their shoulders and fell to the ground. Although the ratio of soldiers wearing armor in Li Meng's team was quite high, leather armor and cotton armor could not completely prevent the big arrows shot by the opponent. Moreover, the large arrows of the Qing cavalry were of great strength to break armor.

In the first round, more than a dozen people had lost their combat effectiveness. Although the Qing cavalry in the second row came a little slower, they all turned over and dismounted and started to set off their bows.

I thought the other party was attacking, but I didn't expect that the other party was dismounting and shooting arrows. In Jiaozhou Camp's current state, there was no way to resist the bows and arrows shot by the other party. It was too late for the musket soldiers to go around in front. The personal soldiers around Li Meng and the other two teams were shouting loudly to stabilize the soldiers around him.

“Forward, forward!!”

Li Meng said loudly, and he felt the corners of his eyes beating. The scene in front of him was very similar to when he led a salt rod into Jiaozhou City. At that time, three bows were about to knock more than a hundred people to collapse, let alone the strong bows and arrows of the Tartars in front of him.

After hearing the order, the front row had already tied the end of the spear to the ground, stepped on it with his feet, and lifted it up diagonally in the front section. Now they are hurriedly picking up the spear and stepping forward.

The second round of arrows shot into the platoon, and some soldiers screamed and fell down. Because they were all holding long weapons, when they fell down, the soldiers in front, back, left and right had to avoid their companions' bodies and weapons. The originally strict platoon began to become a little scattered.

The only people who could follow Li Meng and barely keep the queue were four or five rows of soldiers beside him. One fell down and one person came forward to make up, and the rest began to get messed up.

The cavalry of the Tartars were archery for such an opportunity. The uneven infantry platoon did not threaten the cavalry. The Tartar cavalry who were shooting archery moved very quickly and did it again. They roared and activated the horses, drew out the long sword and big sword, and rushed towards the platoon.

Although the soldiers in the square were in chaos, they still looked at the vermilion-red and white-thorned spear in front of them, although the rest of the soldiers were already panicked, they still gritted their teeth and followed the square forward in accordance with the daily training requirements.

Li Meng had three heavy arrows on his body. Although the Qing cavalry on his body did not know the meaning of the armor and weapons in his hand, they also saw that it was different. A few people concentrated on shooting arrows at Li Meng.

However, the big arrows of the Qing Dynasty could not cause any damage to the plate armor on Li Meng. At most, it would only make a dent. As long as Li Meng raised his arm to cover the arrows in front of him, there would be no problem with those arrows coming towards him.

At a distance of forty steps, the horses could already rush up. Although Li Meng wanted to rush out with his spear in his hand, he kept suppressing his emotions and reminded himself to maintain formation. Only organized infantry can resist the impact of the cavalry and maintain formation with the people around him.

While walking, Li Meng loudly reminded his subordinates to follow the drummer's drum beats and not to be messy. However, in this state, except for the few rows of people around Li Meng, the rest of the soldiers could not follow the drum beats.

The Tartar cavalry wielded the long sword and the big sword rushed over. The Jiaozhou camp forward could no longer be said to be a threat to them, and the formation of the square and the formation was scattered.

"end!!"

Li Meng shouted again, and the soldiers around him immediately stood at attention and stopped when they made a sound, aiming the spear and axe gun at the front with their tips.

The cavalry was already in front of him. Li Meng could hear the heavy breathing of the soldiers beside him, and the sudden sound of drums. Li Meng turned around and glared fiercely, but the expression hidden in the face was difficult to distinguish between happiness and anger. However, he saw the drummer's hand trembling, and the drumstick in his hand accidentally touched the drum face on his waist.

When he was in a flash, he could still look back at this. Li Meng's mind was clear, and he could clearly hear the Jurchen cavalry shouting from the mouths of the Jurchen cavalry on the opposite side. He could even see the Tartar cavalry rushing in front leaving the stirrups with his feet and slightly tilted his body towards the back.

Although the formation was already scattered, whether it was Li Meng, Wang Hai or Chen Liu, the officers and soldiers who had been moving forward did not retreat when facing the cavalry, but instead stood still and aimed their spears at the cavalry rushing towards the opposite side.

The cavalry rushed over, and the sense of oppression was extremely psychologically shocked to the enemy soldiers who were the first to bear the brunt. Many people just couldn't withstand such pressure and disintegrated directly.

But although the formations of the Ming army in front of them were scattered, they did not collapse. They still had a firm spear with a flat end and a slant finger. The Ming army we encountered today was indeed wrong, but it was no longer enough to think about it carefully. In the first row of charges, the Tartar cavalry knocked the horse's belly with their heels. The spurs on the horse's boots pierced deeply into the horse's flesh. The sudden and severe pain made the horses rush forward without caring about the spears and axes and guns in front and rushed forward madly.

Li Meng was actually standing in the first row, watching the horse rushing towards this side, even the other party's bloodshot eyes and the white foam splashing out from the horse.

Holding the spear tightly and exerted force with both arms, the soldiers of Jiaozhou Camp still shouted nervously, but the soldiers of Jiaozhou Camp still did not retreat!

The Qing army's cavalry and the infantry of Jiaozhou Camp collided heavily. The rushing horse was pierced by the tips of several spears and axes and guns, and hung on it and neighed bitterly. The Tartar cavalry on the horse had their feet left the stirrups. At the moment before the impact, they all leaned back or overturned.

Almost half of the people did not do so ingeniously. They were pierced by the long weapons of Jiaozhou Camp and their horses, and some fell to the ground and were stepped on by the horses rushed over from behind.

The horse and the impact were too great. Li Meng felt a great force coming from the spear, and his arms and shoulders were shaken. He could no longer stand steadily and staggered backwards, but the spear inserted into the horse was not pulled out, and he stabilized his body with this force.

The other two infantry platoons were directly knocked away and their formations dispersed. The Qing cavalry behind rushed in directly, and the long swords and big swords in the hands of the cavalry on the horse were chopped or snatched, and with the horsepower, they directly chopped down the Jiaozhou camp soldiers in the front.

Now the formation of the Jiaozhou Camp completely scattered. At such a distance and state, it is difficult to fight against the rushing cavalry. Many people subconsciously retreat, or throw away the spear and pull out the swords from their waists to fight, but they still suffer losses when facing the cavalry in this way.

In the Qing army array not far away, several Qing generals and subordinates laughed, and the reserve leader said to Beizi around him excitedly:

"Mr. Beizi, Nabeile's future, my servants have earned you a lot."

Bei Zi, who had flattered the team, raised the mace in his hand on the horse, drew a circle in the air, waved forward, and hundreds of left-behind cavalry also shouted and rushed towards the battlefield in front.

On the battlefield now, the cavalry of the Tatars and the infantry of the Jiaozhou camp were completely scattered. The infantry's formation was scattered by the cavalry, and the soldiers scattered everywhere did not escape. They just took the weapons in their hands as much as possible and fought back. The cavalry that was chopping and slashing there in front also hindered the cavalry behind who were about to attack, and they could only scatter and rushed in, and the field was completely mixed together.

But the spears of Jiaozhou Camp are not suitable for such close combat. The short weapons they carry are not as good as the condescending long swords and swords of the Tatar cavalry, and they are completely at a disadvantage.

Li Meng in front pulled out his spear from the horse, and a Tartar cavalry rushed over with a horse, and the big knife in his hand slashed down with the sound of wind.

All Li Meng can do now is to lift the spear horizontally to block it. Judging from the opponent's momentum and strength, Li Meng can almost think of the next scene. The big knife cuts the spear rod and then chops it down. At such a close distance, even the armor made by fine crafts will not have much effect.

Li Meng was about to move, but he felt that his eyes were dark and he was hit by someone. He took a few steps back. Then a few drops of warm liquid splashed in from the gap in the face armor, which was blood. He held his body and saw a personal soldier lying under his feet, with a nearly open wound on his shoulders and back, which was no longer moving.

The Tartar cavalry missed a blow, and he clamped his legs with his horse's belly. He raised his knife to urge the horse and rushed towards Li Meng. But at this time, Li Meng had complete reaction time. Li Meng turned his arms and swung the spear in his hand immediately. The spear rod hit the head of the Tartar soldier, and directly smashed it from the horse.

He smashed the one in front, but the enemy was not this one. Two cavalrymen behind him stared at Li Meng and rushed over. Li Meng took a deep breath, his spear was tilted, his feet were pulled apart, and his spear tip trembled slightly. He was not sure where to pierce. The two Tartar cavalry still had a difference between front and back.

Li Meng shook his arms, and his spear stabbed straight at the cavalry rushing in front. Li Meng made many mistakes in his military judgment this time, but his personal combat skills were indeed outstanding. The spear in his hand was like a short sword, pointing accurately.

The cavalry running in front was accurately stabbed into the throat by the spear in Li Meng's hand. The horse's momentum was quite strong. Li Meng took advantage of the force to take a step back. The spear in his hand was about to be retracted. The blood immediately splattered, and his body was lying softly on the horse. The horse lost control and ran toward the side.

The Tartar cavalry next to him was originally murderous, and he felt that the unique general in front of him was about to become a ghost under the sword. The question to consider was who would kill him first with his companion first. He only felt that the red shadows around him flashed quickly, and the companion next to him was already covering his throat and his life and death.

He couldn't help but trembled in fear, and the direction of the horse's forward rushing suddenly turned a little. If he rushed forward normally, Li Meng would not have the right distance to sting. However, after this deviation, Li Meng's chance came. He recycled his spear slightly, took a step forward, and stabbed him fiercely again.

The cavalry was wearing cotton armor, but the piercing power of the spear was very strong and did not form too much obstacle. He stabbed through the ribs with a shot. The Tartar cavalry screamed and fell directly on the horse. However, Li Meng was taken a few steps forward, and he used too much force and got stuck between the ribs.

In desperation, Li Meng could only let go of the spear in his hand. On the battlefield, there were enemies from all directions. Li Meng quickly pulled out the knife on his waist, and another cavalry on the right shouted to kill him. He had short weapons in his hand. The Qing cavalry was in a fast momentum and was full of concentration. Li Meng, who had no long weapons, felt a chill in his heart, but on the battlefield, the burning fighting spirit still filled his whole body.

He held the knife with one hand and stared at the cavalry rushing forward. Just as he was about to attack sideways, the cavalry suddenly raised his body, opened his mouth but made no sound, and was pulled down from the horse.

Li Meng, who was relaxing, saw a soldier from Jiaozhou Camp pulling out an axe and gun from the cavalry's body. The axe behind him had completely chopped the spine of the Tartar.

Li Meng smiled and walked forward a few steps forward, picking up a big knife that fell to the ground. The big knife almost reached Li Meng's jaw, and it was also very heavy. It looked like it was the big knife of the Qing cavalry. Li Meng held the knife in both hands and ran quickly towards the soldier who used an axe and gun.

"Follow me and invite someone to come here!"

Li Meng greeted the soldier and rushed forward. His whole body was almost parallel to the ground. The big knife in his hand also waved it out. His legs were directly cut off by Li Meng's big knife. The knife in his hand slid across Li Meng's back.

The plate armored chest armor was a set, and it would not cause any harm when it was cut like this, but the cavalry was thrown out by the horse kneeling forward and broke his neck. Li Meng rolled on the ground, stood up and chopped down at the back of a Qing army in front of him.

The cavalry was raising his sword to chop at a soldier in front of him, but his back was suddenly split by Li Meng, and he was immediately extinguished and died.

When Li Meng killed the cavalry, four or five guards and subordinates had already arrived with him. Li Meng noticed that the soldiers who used spears had already replaced them with short weapons, and only the axe and spearmen were holding long weapons. It seemed that if the spearmen did not cooperate closely with the musket soldiers, such a situation would be a great loss.

There are various problems with his command. When facing the sudden attacking enemy, he was not prepared enough. He thought that the opponent would use cavalry to rush forward and spearmen could solve the battle. Who would have thought that this would be the case?

On the battlefield, the Qing army was wearing face armor or leather armor and hoods. Only when the spear was assassinated would it be possible to kill. Sometimes it would not cause much damage if it was thrust.

But the current situation is a bit stalemate. The approaching Qing cavalry cannot give full play to the advantage of impact. The axe and spearmen in the Jiaozhou Camp are more flexible than spears, more convenient in close combat, and more diverse attack methods.

What is a little different from other Ming troops is that although the Jiaozhou camp, which was scattered by the cavalry, retreated, but did not flee. After they took a few steps back, they resisted nearby.

Often, one person presses the tip of the axe gun at the tip of the axe gun. When the horses of the Qing cavalry rushed over, the people next to him immediately cut them. Or they would chop them horizontally according to the horse's legs, and the axe gun that was more than seven feet long was cut off. The axe was cut off, and the soldiers wearing armor would be split open. When the back of the axe was smashed, the bones would definitely be shattered. At first, the majestic Tartar cavalry began to be chopped down to the ground one by one.

Li Meng kept walking back and forth on the battlefield, and more and more people gathered around him. Gradually, more than 200 people gathered around him, and there was no way to talk about the tactics of the platoon. Now the battlefield is chaotic, and the enemy and us are intertwined, so the Tartar soldiers dare not shoot arrows at will.
To be continued...