Chapter 478: Between Jiaxian and Xiangcheng

The three provinces led by the commander Hou Xun to suppress the bandits, after most of the difficult time, Yu, who had been in a difficult situation with them, finally stopped.

The rain stopped and the land was soaked in water, which was not beneficial to the trolleys. The soldiers and civilians still had to do their best to transport the wheels trapped in the mud. They had to push and shove them with all their might. If it didn't rain, the horses under the cavalry would be less anxious and would be relatively easy to control. The cavalry from Shaanxi were staring even more tightly.

He Renlong, Gao Jie and Bai Guangen are all from Shaanxi. The soldiers under their command are naturally border soldiers from Shaanxi. There is no drought and rainy there, and the horses have not been adapted to the continuous rainy weather.

Cavalry galloped in the rain, often trying to soothe the horses' restlessness, which divided a lot of thought. Relatively speaking, there were fewer whips on soldiers and civilians.

Now that the rain stopped, the movements of these people began to rise quickly, and the whip fell mercilessly on the slightly slow soldiers and civilians.

Despite screams and cries all over the ground, the speed has indeed accelerated a lot. Except for Niu Chenghu, the five generals were all generals who fought old wars, and they all fought with the refugee army, and they did not deal with each other in one go. Although this time, they were forced to break through and survive in desperate situations, they did not dare to make any impulsive and aggressive behavior, and could only be very cautious.

The front and back teams, left and right wings, released the cavalry sergeant and spy. They knew that Li Chuang's army must be waiting for them, but the key to the problem is that at what time and where to wait for them, and this battle must be carried out steadily.

After clearing the Ming army and armed militia in Ruzhou and Yiyang, Liu Tichun and Liu Fangliang's troops began to move south along the distance between Ruzhou and Jiaxian.

They walked slowly. If the Ming army led by Hou Xun wanted to retreat, they could only retreat from this road. That was the time for them to lead the troops of the territory and the old camp led by the King of Chuang to attack.

At present, the roads on Tongguan were blocked by Tian Jianxiu and more than 10,000 troops were led by Tian Jianxiu. The entire Henan Prefecture has almost become the inside battlefield of the Shun Army. There is no need to worry about any changes. The five generals led by Hou Xun have proved that they are a tough guy in previous battles. Liu Tichun and Liu Fangliang must also attack with all their strength and cannot hold back.

There were not many defenders left by Ruzhou and Yiyang, but there were only some local garrison troops. The troops used by the Shun Army to guard the city were even the local gangs of the Shun Army. Anyway, Hou Xun was already in the jungle, and the situation was extremely obvious. What level of victory is currently pursuing, rather than doubting victory or defeat.

After about two hours of leaving Jia County, the Ming army brigade led by the commander Hou Xun had only walked less than fifteen miles, and the vanguard of the army could still see the city walls of Jia County.

The general Hou Xun did not come to his chariot camp, which was leaning on the Great Wall, but followed the personal guards of the Shanxi General Xu Dingguo. The chariot camp was not moving smoothly, but knew that there were great enemies in front and behind, Hou Xun did not dare to claim to be a god of military use, so he had to stay honestly in the team of his closest confidants in order to seek safety.

The Yansui General Gao Jie explored his horse. He soon brought back the news that he found the vanguard about forty miles ahead, which was the front camp led by General Yuan Zongdi.

"Go and ask General He, the bandits are in front. The momentum is fierce. Should we go back to Jia County first to avoid it for the time being."

Hou Xun sat in the car, lifted the curtain and asked Xu Dingguo, the general riding land beside him. The reason why he was closer to Xu Dingguo was simply that when he was ordered to suppress the bandits at the beginning, he was working with Xu Dingguo, and he spent a long time together and was familiar with each other.

Hearing the commander Hou Xu Xun say this. Shanxi General Xu Dingguo frowned. More than 100,000 troops returned to Jiaxian to retreat. It was crowded at that time, and food and use defense would become a problem. Going back would not seek a dead end. However, Shanxi General Xu Dingguo is not a strong person, and he did not want to force Hou Xu over there. He was considering his words. However, Shaanxi General He Renlong's messenger arrived.

"Mr. Hou, General Xu. My master said that since the bandits are in front, there is an open area in front, so we might as well line up there to resist the enemy!"

He Renlong did not hesitate as much as Xu Dingguo. He had the highest status and the strongest strength among the generals of various units. He was now escaping his life. The commander Hou Xun was a fool. He had already taken over the command. Although he sent someone to ask for instructions, he had actually taken care of it and was ready to do so.

The commander Hou Xun and Shanxi General Xu Dingguo had no other opinions. The army of each unit began to act and assigned to each other to dispatch it. They had to ask the cavalry of each unit to come forward and urge the beating, and it was chaotic again.

By the time the former general of the Shun Army, Yuan Zongdi, led his troops to arrive, the opponent had already set up a formation and the chariot camp was the first, but the layers were quite terrifying.

The formations formed by the large chariots almost blocked all the roads and spaces that could be used for the movement of the large corps. The areas on both sides were defended by brigades, and Bai Guangen, the general of Yulin, was responsible for the defense of the front line. At this time, the tram formation was not used for attacking, but filled the gaps between the carriage and the ground with piled up soil. The carriages and chariots were connected to each other and were completely set up as a temporary city.

The soldiers of the Ming army held spears, bows, arrows, firearms, etc. and lined up behind large chariots. When they came here, General Yuan Zongdi had already received the order not to worry about the casualties of the soldiers below. The key was to break through this chariot array that looked like a turtle shell.

According to the battle examples obtained in advance, I thought that the chariot was pushed forward by the chariot this time, but who thought that the Ming army changed the method and used this method.

A large cart padding with soil and a wooden board for covering the shelter is equivalent to building a low wall of one and a half or two people. With this short wall, and the soldiers guarding behind the wall, if you want to attack, you will not fight in a field, but attack the city. To defend the city, the siege often requires the siege to attack, while the opposite is true for defending the city.

In the Shun Army's usual concept, except for Shandong soldiers who seemed like monsters, the Ming army that could fight the most was the official army from Shaanxi. Bai Guangen's troops could not be said to be weak in combat. It was also a desperate situation. If he kept attacking fiercely, he might have to suffer a lot of casualties.

The Shun Army is different from that time. When they encountered officers and soldiers, they all rushed and fought fiercely without any chance. But now, at the level of generals, or even at the level of General Guoyi, they have their own territory and direct military soldiers, which are also the lifeblood of their power and wealth.

General Yuan Zongdi came with his own direct descendants this time, but he was really reluctant to spend too much damage to his own strength to fight, especially in such a difficult situation in front of him.

Yuan Zongdi hesitated here. But his troops were anxious. The old camp in Tang County was massacred. The commander Hou Xun thought he was going to hurt the morale of the Shun Army. Who would have thought that it would arouse a huge hatred for the officers and soldiers of the Shun Army. This time, when Yuan Zongdi was planning the formation, several mighty generals and commanders came to ask for battle.

On weekdays, the vanguard is rushing for the battle, not to mention the officers and soldiers below are seriously injured, even the generals and officers in the lead are prone to unexpected problems. Everyone is reluctant to arrange the vanguard to attack, but today, these generals are asking for battle with red eyes, and they do not hide their hatred. They are directly saying that they want to avenge their families.

It is difficult to disobey everyone's intentions, but General Yuan Zongdi also wanted to take this opportunity to explore the reality and reality of the opposite side. After pondering for a moment, he called a mighty general. A commander led 4,000 people to attack the officers and soldiers. It would be better if he could break through in one fell swoop. If he couldn't break, he could also check the quality of the opponent.

The choice of generals to go to war is quite particular. The mighty general and the commander of the commander were not the direct descendants of Yuan Zongdi, but the small rebels who were fleeing to other places, and they have never been digested.

If this kind of consideration was normal, it would probably be a bit dirty. However, today, the two military generals solemnly thanked Yuan Zongdi and led the crowd to the battle.

Yuan Zongdi had already arranged a messenger to go to the army's main formation to tell Li Zicheng that on the other hand, he also arranged a messenger to detour to inform Liu Tichun and Liu Fangliang's troops, so that they could prepare for a pincer attack.

After all these were done, he also drew the troops who had just asked for battle to the front army. If the formation was successfully broken, then the troops in the back team took advantage of the situation to cover the killing. If not, they could be used to block the formation. They would not be retaliated by the official army.

More than 4,000 soldiers, or more than 1,000 cavalry, were placed in front, followed by more than 3,000 infantrymen, and the dongdong war drums sounded and began to move forward.

However, after taking more than a dozen steps, the mighty general discussed with the accompanying captain, and the cavalry retreated, leaving the infantry ahead behind the infantry.

Yuan Zongdi was watching the battle in his military formation. After seeing this temporary adjustment, he couldn't help frowning. Such a scene would have to adjust to the enemy. Wouldn't it be a waste of things and give the other party more time to prepare. But he also knew that this adjustment was a helpless move, because the cavalry could not control the horses to cross the low wall on the opposite side. If he rushed so hard, he would definitely knock down the low wall. The Ming army guarded the land with a spear could deal with it.

There was another chaos, and the infantry arrived at the forefront and began to move forward. In order to deal with such complete fortifications, we could only focus on one thing. In order to ensure the attack power at a distance, we could only concentrate with enough troops, and the distance between the two sides was nearly 500 steps.

At marching at a distance of 500 steps, the soldiers' formations easily became loose and chaotic, so they had to use dense formations at the beginning. These more than 3,000 infantry were lined up in such formations and walked slowly forward.

Qi Jiguang once said in his military book that when the army lined up, they had to walk in small steps and beat, and every ten steps they had to stop and align the whole team.

Whenever the army on Shandong goes out, they move forward in a square formation, advance and retreat in a row, and the results they achieve are quite brilliant. Unconsciously, the formation is valued again.

In the joint battle of infantry and soldiers, they must be rigorous in line. Everyone understands this principle, but from the Year of the Apocalypse, the military level of the entire East Asia has declined overall.

If the generals want to win in the battle, they all rely on their own personal soldiers and servants. The existence of ordinary soldiers is for cannon fodder and deducting military pay. The battle between officers and soldiers and refugee troops is more about fighting will, and human life is not worth the money. Anyway, if you can get a recruitment, you can find ten times the number of people. Why bother to train one or two?

This trend continued to develop, which was to receive group training in fishing and hunting, and the more barbaric Qing army was rampant in the world.

The existence of Jiaozhou Camp and its glorious victory make people realize the role of infantry and the role of queues. Sun Chuanting and Hong Chengchou both wrote about their understanding of Shandong soldiers in their own notes, and the Shunjun side was also natural, especially generals who knew how to use their brains.

Whether in the Ming army or Shun army, people have noticed such advantages and need to promote the training of this queue. However, if the military pay is deducted, the firearm is not good, and the army generals do not understand it deeply. The effect is extremely poor.

At present, these infantrymen who were rushing to the formation were arranged in seemingly plausible queues, moving forward slowly, gradually moving forward, and looking quite neat.

Being able to line up in an orderly line up in the officer's commands and maintain discipline and constraints when approaching the enemy is something that can only be achieved by a strong army.

When these more than 3,000 infantry approached the edge of the array near the chariot camp, everyone's pace consciously or unconsciously accelerated. Everyone knew that behind the chariot camp array, there must be defensive troops, including bows and arrows and firearms. If they get close to them, they will definitely be killed by these long-range firepower.

In the face to face fighting, no one is afraid. The most feared thing is that they cannot get close to each other, but are killed by the other party there. It is a huge blow to the person and the psychological state. Often, they cannot rush forward, and the entire team may collapse.

Run quickly, and when you get in front of you, you can rush in and fight. The captain shouted loudly to restrain the team, but the team seemed to be attracting something in front. The faster and faster, the formation became more and more scattered.

The impact position they chose was in the middle of the entire "car wall". This is the place with the strongest defense. When fighting against the Ming army and the Ming army, they have always chosen the strongest attack, which often has a good effect of defeating with one blow, and there is also hatred supporting them. Hatred is the easiest to make people fearless.

A distance of two hundred steps. You can already see the hole in the cabin opposite you. Gunshots and white smoke sounded, and the Ming army's old habits were broken again. The enemy's firearms began to fire meaninglessly when they were outside the range. As long as they were the old Ming army, they would have confidence to win.

"Brothers, rush in, rush in..."

The captain had just issued the order to charge and saw a large cart array in front of him. Someone removed the wing board and exposed the large and small cannons mounted on it.

The cannon stands and cannon vehicles like Jiaozhouying actually have high technical requirements for forging and smelting, that is, large-scale production began after the hydraulic machine came out.

The Ming army had to dig pits and pile up soil, then unload the cannons from the box truck, nail the corners, etc. This place was really troublesome, but no matter how troublesome it was, the Ming army built a camp here in advance, and there was quite enough time and arrangement, and it was a matter of being able to stand the cannons here in the Central Army.

The Shun Army and the Ming Army had countless battles, but the Shun Army had too many victories. This smooth flow made many people relax their vigilance.

The Ming army's artillery had problems of one kind or another, which was easy to explode the chamber, had a short range, was extremely bulky, and the shells did not match the chamber, and the shells were always small.

But artillery is an artillery after all. In the face of the concentrated charge formation, artillery with a slightly angle has excellent flat firing effect, especially when the opponent rushed into the range of the artillery.

In this direction, the Ming army gathered the thirty cannons brought by Bai Guangen and Xu Dingguo, all of which were red-clothed cannons cast in the West.

From the moment they saw these dozens of artillery, thousands of infantrymen of the Shun Army began to collapse. Although they were the main force of the Shun Army, they were not steel warriors after all. The people who rushed to the front all turned to both sides. The speed of the people was easy to control, but some people fell to the ground while turning.

The crowds and tramples on each other, and the horse team behind them have gradually accelerated. The sudden chaos in front and the crowds in the front directly affect the horse team, and the horse team also needs to adjust.

The Ming army did not care about the chaos of the Shun Army. In fact, when the Ming army soldiers saw such a large group of people rushing in front of them, the Ming army soldiers were also a little panicked. The muskets were fired in advance, and the bows and arrows were fired in advance. The officers were holding whips and scabbards in their hands and whipped desperately.

At least the artillery was controlled and did not fire out in advance. Seeing the chaos on the other side, the Ming army's artillery had the courage to ignite the lead with barely controlling the trembling hands.

The roar of artillery large and small, and the smoke in front of the formation was filled with smoke. Dozens of hot metal projectiles flying at high speed hit the dense army. Each projectile easily tore the soldiers' clothing and body, and without any obstacles, flew towards other people.

After this round of shooting, many of the Shun soldiers in this team were killed and injured. The Shun soldiers, who were born without land, had no belief in insisting on the weapon of artillery at such a close distance, and the most powerful weapon in this era.

After the shelling, the formation collapsed immediately without much buffering. Most of the soldiers turned around and ran towards the back, while a small number were facing both sides.

The cavalry behind were relatively elite, and they also tried their best to hold their horses so that the horses would not be disturbed by the sudden loud noise and smoke.

As soon as the cannon sounded, someone immediately took down the wing board and cover on both sides of the cannon position. The cavalry of the Ming army rushed out from both sides. The Shun army that came out to charge had not yet stabilized completely, but the enemy cavalry had already rushed out and could not handle it. Helplessly, the cavalry could only turn their horses and flee backwards.

The cavalry and infantry formation collapsed at the same time. Declaring the complete failure of this attack, Yuan Zongdi cursed in secret on his own formation, but at this time, even though he was desperate, there were still generals coming up to fight. Yuan Zongdi, who was furious, picked up the horse whip and whipped it, and at the same time he shouted:

"Each battalion is on strict vigilance, and don't be taken advantage of by the Ming army on the opposite side!!"

The position formed by piled up soil around the Ming military chariots should have a slope on the inside, which can be used for cavalry to rush out at any time, and it is also a good arrangement for advancement or retreat.

Yuan Zongdi, the former general of the camp, thought that the King of Chuang would lead a large army soon. Seeing that he was fighting so badly, his image in the King of Chuang would probably be reduced. Everyone is a veteran, but he is not as qualified as Liu Zongmin and Hao Yaoqi, and other veterans, who are related by blood, are not as good as Li Guo, Gao Yigong, Li Laiheng, and Li Shuangxi. If he performs poorly in such a decisive battle, he will not know what his future will be in the future.

He was also angry, but he was afraid that the other party would take advantage of the situation to cover up and kill. After the defeated soldiers left the confrontation between the two armies, the cavalry that rushed out of the Ming army also returned to the surrounding of the chariot formation. There was no pursuit. This was the order again, and a group of 3,000 people took artillery to attack on the left side of the front line. The cavalry took four thousand detours to attack on the right wing, and the army slowly moved forward, waiting for an opportunity to move.

The Shun Army also had its own artillery. Of course, it was also troublesome to set up the artillery as the Ming Army. However, since artillery was concentrated in the middle of the front, there was too much of this. Just now, the Shun Army was unlucky to be sent to the ground by the artillery at this point. But now you go to other locations to do something, so you don’t have to worry about anything.

The three thousand Shun Army soldiers with artillery were all infantrymen. The orders were issued and the flags were launched, and the large squadron began to slowly set off their own formation.

You can see the Ming army's chariot camp also erected a wooden tower. I also understood the movements here. The brigade of infantry carrying artillery was removed, and the chariot camp was removed from the other side, and cavalry rushed out. However, these cavalry did not advance and just cruised in front of their own formation.

When infantry rushed to the front with cannons, they were easily rushed to the front by light cavalry, killing artillery and overturning artillery. These were all interactions between the two sides, and each had their own ways to deal with each other. When seeing the other's cavalry was dispatched, the infantry cannons here should naturally be cautious and not move rashly.

But the cavalry sent out to attack the enemy's flanks had already set out. Since the Ming army exposed where his artillery was concentrated, they could harass and attack in other directions, so there was no need to worry about any artillery attacks.

"Master, the bandits sent cavalry to the right wing."

The rules of the government army, the general of a town called him the general. Bai Guangen shouted without much thought when he heard the report from his personal soldiers:

"Look at the thieves on the opposite side, don't let them set up guns, go to the right wing to follow them. He Caizi is waiting there!!"

Between the front lines opposite Yuan Zongdi and Bai Guangen, the body of the Shun Army was thrown into pieces, and near the official army chariot camp, the officers and cavalry were cruising while showing off their power for their victory.

Seeing all this, the Shun Army soldiers were about to break their teeth, and they felt extremely hatred. Yuan Zongdi became even more anxious. It was getting closer and closer to Li Zicheng leading the army here.

Yuan Zongdi played Aristocrats for several circles, and finally made up his mind and turned around and said to his confidant general behind him:
To be continued...