Chapter 75: Win alone
Due to the existence of the fuse, in order to prevent accidental injury and ignite other people's fuses and gunpowder, the array must be spaced apart a certain distance. This is logically consistent with the fact that the sword and shield soldiers need to be spaced a certain distance when attacking the attack in order to wield weapons.
The new army was lined up in front, and the original three rows of rotation of shooting were also separated by a certain distance. This made the density of the barrage appear a bit sparse. In addition, the shooting accuracy and recoil of the front-mounted smoothbore gun itself have problems, and the sound of a volley was not loud, but the killing was quite limited. Many of the lead bullets were not far away from the gun.
But at this moment, the new army achieved a more dense stance through ups and downs and staggered left and right. The gunshots sounded, and thousands of muskets fired almost at the same time. The gunshots doubled decibels, but they could not cover up the roar of those caliber artillery artillery gaps between the battalions.
With that command, lead bullets came out like a pouring rain. The shells in the artillery that the Jesuit monks called grape bullets were shot out of the muzzle and immediately decomposed into several more shells. The dense rain of bullets was mixed with hail made of steel, covering the Guanning Army's battle formation in an instant.
In just this moment, the Guanning Army's Spanish phalanx was immediately flattened, and the rows behind were shot with such dense muskets, especially the strafing of grape bullets.
Such a heavy formation, the long-lasting casualties are not conspicuous. They are surrounded by robes, and they are so dense that they cannot see the situation clearly. The soldiers' ability to endure casualties will also increase. However, once there are collapsed casualties, the soldiers in the back row can watch the robes in front of or be killed by the enemy in batches, and their fear will be magnified several times in an instant, or even dozens of times, just like Chen Wen used his jumping shots and grenadiers to bomb the Southeast Meridians in Yushan.
After such a round of shooting, the fifteen battalions, loyal, benevolent and filial, who were still taking firm steps before, and the fifteen battalions who were moving towards the new army with an unstoppable momentum could no longer move. A large number of casualties appeared in the front row, and the soldiers in the back row saw that they were killed in just a blink of an eye, as if they were to move forward, they could no longer be able to replenish the queue.
The officers at each battalion were mostly startled in the face of such killing, but just as they reacted one after another, urging, scolding, and even whipping the soldiers to continue to replenish the queue, the musketeers on the new army gathered their guns and stood behind the first row. Next, the spearmen in the rear team pushed forward with their spears, and after a little adjustment, they formed a dense stand, and rushed towards the Spanish phalanx of the Guanning Army one by one.
A distance of only thirty steps, the spearmen of the new army rushed forward, but the central army of the Guanning Army and the various phalanxes on the right wing were still in chaos after a large number of casualties. The lower-level officers were anxious to organize soldiers to restore their formation, but the casualties came to this point. It was inevitable that the brave advance and the timid retreated.
In a hurry, most of the square formations had not yet recovered the front row formation and fought with the new army's spearmen. Faced with these Manchu iron-armored spearmen, the Guanning army wearing cloth armor was immediately suppressed by the new army, which was far fewer than them. Unfortunately, the extra ones never went up. The depth of the twenty people made most of them able to watch the success or failure in the back, and nothing else could be done.
The newly formed Renyong and Xiaoyong Tenth Battalions are all like this. The Zhongyong Battalion can barely stabilize the front. Several battalions even organized a round of close-range shooting of the new army before the battle. However, the overall situation was still suppressed by the new army. At least even the Zhongyong Battalion showed no sign of turning the tables.
The fifteen battalions of the new army and Wu Sangui were still fighting hard, waiting for the moment to completely overwhelm the opponent. But at this moment, in the north of the battlefield, Wu Sangui's left-wing volunteer camp and Fu Shou's old-style Eight Banners Army were already hard to distinguish. In the midst of the defeat without any power to fight back, Fu Shou simply put Prince Xian's banner behind the formation.
This battle must be won for the Qing Dynasty. Otherwise, the decline would be exposed to the eyes of those who are interested, and more and more people would jump out of the Mongolian tribes in the Han area, the south of the desert, and the north of the desert.
Fu Shou knew this truth very well. He followed Shunzhi to inspect the new army several times and believed in the slogans of the new army. The upward momentum in the early Qing Dynasty was still there, and the degree of corruption of the Eight Banners was also very low, which was better than those of the Eight Banners princes who only knew how to buy and sell official positions and make trouble in the court in the future. Although Fu Shou had little military experience, his bravery had not completely faded.
The prince of the banner stood the commanding flag behind the formation and stood under the big banner to boost morale. The Eight Banners Army, which had the old-style tactics, was deeply encouraged and supported, but it was just a last breath.
On the battlefield, the Guanning Army, the northernmost side, had the advantage in the left wing, which had already suppressed the Qing army's overall battle formation. It would have been completely crushed by the time to cause more damage. However, the Guanning Army on the central and right wings had been suppressed by the new army and could not hold on. God knew when it would never be able to hold on.
The battle situation has developed to this point, and it is the collapse that comes first. At first glance, Wu Sangui's army is under pressure on both sides, and only one-line is the dominant one. But in fact, in this two to one, Wu Sangui's advantage in the left wing was too big, which is completely one-sided. The two under pressure are still struggling to support it, but I don't know how long it can last.
The messengers asking for help came one after another. Jidu looked at the central and left wings of the new army, and then looked at the right wings of Fushou. Beads of sweat as big as beans flowed into the neck stalk along the inside of the helmet's cheeks, and even sweat flowed down the long face of his father.
His heart was burning like a fire, and Ji Du was as enthusiastic as Wu Sangui on the opposite side, and he was able to defeat the enemy in front of him as soon as possible. However, compared to Wu Sangui, Ji Du was still too tender because Wu Sangui had already tried to break this dilemma.
In the direction of Weinan County, the Guanning Army's cavalry came out in full swing and rushed towards the south of the battlefield, clearly trying to bypass its own square formation to attack the left wing of the new army.
Thousands of Guanning Iron Cavalry and horse hooves stairs stirred up smoke and dust in the sky, which seemed to be a little eye under this clear sky. Jidu soon noticed this point, and a hint of panic flashed across his face. Then he loudly ordered the cavalry of the new army to fight, and did not allow the left-wing new army to be attacked by the cooperation of Guanning infantry and cavalry.
The cavalry of the new army rolled away, and Ji Du's eyes were always following them, fearing that they would make mistakes. Ji Du's performance was all seen in Liu Cheng's eyes. However, Liu Cheng did not show any doubts about Ji Du's mobilization of cavalry as a reserve team to fight the Guanning Iron Cavalry. After seeing Ji Du's expression clearly, Liu Cheng focused his attention on the right wing of the Qing army.
The envoys asking for help came again, and the Eight Banners cavalry on Fushou's side had already fallen short of the situation, and the extent of interference was reduced. The Guanning army of the Volunteer Camp attacked the Eight Banners Army even more fiercely. Even the fifth town of the New Army, which was assigned to the right wing, began to be affected.
Fu Shou's side was obviously on the verge of collapse, but now all the cavalry on Jidu were released, and the rest were only the new army's units. It was already a dream to send enough reinforcements.
At this moment, Ji Du suddenly felt regretful about sending all the cavalry out to support the left-wing battlefield. But at this moment, Liu Cheng, who had been silent for a long time, said, "Prince, I think it's better to let the third and fourth towns prepare early."
Liu Cheng suddenly said something like this. Ji Du was stunned at first, then remembered the plan before the war, swallowed, and then replied: "What should I do in the fifth town?"
"Prince, we have no soldiers to send now, and the right wing is about to collapse. Now we try to protect the central army and the left wing, and there is still a possibility of winning this battle..."
"Enough, I know."
There is a gap in combat effectiveness between the Eight Banners Army and the New Army. It is precisely because of this that they placed them on the right wing when the troops were deployed before the war - it was close to the Wei River, and the cavalry should not be deployed, which invisibly reduced the intensity of attack there. I thought that Fu Shou could hold the front line on the right wing and wait for the New Army to break the enemy, but unexpectedly, the Eight Banners Army there was so unbearable under the Spanish phalanx. Now, we can only drag the central army and the left wing as much as possible to defeat them when facing the opponent.
The order was issued, and the third and fourth towns of the central army began to slow down the offensive. The musketeers who had penetrated the spears also retreated in part, put away their knives, and picked up the muskets again. However, at this moment, the other Eight Banners troops on the right wing had been defeated by the Fifth Battalion of the Volunteer Army, and the front line had been bent, and the only difference was the moment when it broke.
The battle situation in the northern section of the battlefield has reached such a situation. It keeps advancing and stabbing straight. The Guanning Army is full of energy here, but it is not much better to go in the middle section and southern end of the battlefield.
Fortunately, the middle section was an old camp like Zhongyong Fifth Battalion was stationed here. Wu Sangui's army was centered on infantry, so it was impossible for the Qing army to achieve a breakthrough in the middle. However, in the southern section, the formation of the Renyong Fifth Battalion and some Xiaoyong Fighters was too short after all. At this moment, facing Oboi's fierce offensive, it also reached the zero point of collapse.
The new army has been training the spear against the spear for nearly two years, and has been as skilled as the swords, shields and spears they used before. In contrast, these battalions of the Guanning Army have just rushed to face the enemy, and their formation has not yet recovered. When they are passively beaten, even if they are hit, they often have to face two or three spears at the same time, and the casualties are not on the same order of magnitude at all.
There are constantly spearmen being stabbed to death by the new army and killed them in place. With such a dense formation, the spearmen behind them often have not yet prepared for combat and have made tactical actions before they can attack from the front or side.
Looking down from the sky, it seemed as if dominoes were being pushed down one after another. Soon, as the casualties intensified, the Guanning Army in the back row could no longer suppress their fear of death. The giant dominoes composed of countless dominoes were instantly pushed down by the new army's spear, which led to more square formations collapse.
"Defeated!"
Hurry screams sounded at the southernmost end of the battlefield, and the army collapsed as unstoppable as mountains collapsed. Not only was the nearby Spanish phalanx shocked, but even the Guanning Iron Cavalry, who were fighting with the Eight Banners Cavalry, began to collapse after slight fluctuations.
While the cavalry of the new army continued to attack the Guanning Iron Cavalry that had not yet escaped, they also divided some cavalry to cooperate with the new army's infantry to start expelling the defeated soldiers and reverse more square formations. One after another, the Spanish phalanx after another declared collapse under the attack of the defeated soldiers and the new army, turning into more frustrated soldiers. Wu Sangui's defeat was decided, but at this moment, the northernmost end of the battlefield, the Fifth Battalion of the Volunteer Army also completed the defeat of the Eight Banners Army and began to reverse the formation of the fifth town of the new army.
In a blink of an eye, the fifth town retreated in the direction of the central army under the attack of the collapsed troops and the Spanish phalanx. The collapse of the army was staged on the right wings of the two armies at the same time. However, no matter how you look at it, it seems that Wu Sangui will be defeated faster, because the Fifth Battalion of Zhongyong could only support it when facing the third and fourth towns of the new army independently. Although the formation of the new army is thinner, the momentum of the offensive is still there. The fifth town on its right wing was also trying hard to attack. When the fifth town was reversed, the Guanning army in front of him was already a little late for the opponent.
With a slight time difference, the new army already had a greater chance of winning, but on the battlefield, even 99% of the chance of winning could be overturned by that one percent, not to be like now. However, when the defeated soldiers on the right wing of the Qing army began to approach the central army, when the rows of musket guns in front of them leveled the Lumi guns aimed, when the knockout soldiers failed to deviate from the battle formation, the rows of musket guns made a louder and denser sound, the defeat of the Guanning Army became a foregone conclusion.
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In order to prevent the defeated soldiers from rushing to the central army, the new army used muskets to urge the defeated soldiers to turn. At the same time, the left wing of the new army swept the central army of Guanning Army. Wu Sangui abandoned the army with his close friends and his personal soldiers to flee. The fifth battalion of the Volunteer Army was defeated in other Guanning Army. After the new army's central army shot and killed a group of their own defeated soldiers. They were on the bank of the Wei River and had nowhere to escape, they soon fell into the same fate as other Guanning Army.
The battle was over, and the defenders of Weinan County also abandoned the city and fled. The cavalry of the new army was still pursuing Wu Sangui and the fleeing Guanning Iron Cavalry. The command and co-organizer of the left wing, Obai led his army into the city and began to control the city defense so that the army could enter the city to rest.
On the battlefield, the new army was escorting the defeated soldiers, dismantling their weapons, and driving them to specific areas. In contrast, more auxiliary soldiers were cleaning the battlefield, carrying away the Qing army's dead, sending the Qing army's wounded soldiers to the wounded site, stripping down all the clothes, armor and property of the dead of Guanning Army, and loading them together with the captured on the battlefield. As for the wounded people of Guanning Army, no one paid attention to their painful wailings.
"Congratulations to the prince, congratulations to the prince. Wu Sangui was a famous general in the world when he was in the Ming army. Now the prince defeated many with fewer people and won this great victory. This shows that the prince surpassed the blue and was the first general of our Qing Dynasty."
Hearing this, Jidu laughed out loud. After the ecstasy and excitement subsided, he said to Liu Cheng: "You servant have done your best. I will return to the capital and ask the emperor to give you an additional title. It is not impossible to carry the flag of Manchuria, haha."
Looking at the battlefield in front of him, the commander of the rebels, Prince Heshuo Zheng, the general secretary of the new army, and Liu Cheng, the minister of the two deputy deputy directors of the rebels and the new army, looked at each other, and then the latter further flattered the former.
Liu Cheng kept talking, while Ji Du was smiling, but before the "first general" could get enough, an unsightly officer rushed to report something that Ji Du and Liu Chengdu couldn't laugh.
"Prince, Prince Xian is whipping the officers of the Fourth Town."
"Prince Xian, the king's army won a great victory. But you are whipping the meritorious soldiers at this great victory. What are you doing!"
Jidu and Liu Cheng rushed over, but they saw that Fu Shou had beaten several officers from the fourth town of the new army to the ground. These officers came from the Zhenghong and Yinghong flags of Manchuria. They were not his slaves, nor Fu Shou's slaves, but they were his subordinates, which was equivalent to half of his slaves. They were dissatisfied and wanted to stop talking.
"Prince Zheng, what is the rule for the slave to shoot the master? My nephew gave his uncle face and didn't kill them, but he wouldn't give them a memory. He wouldn't be in a rebellious future!"
After saying this, Ji Du and Liu Cheng immediately understood where Fu Shou's resentment came from. The right wing was defeated, and the central army forced him to deflect with muskets to avoid breaking down the formation. However, Fu Shou was also among the defeated soldiers at that time. Judging from his current appearance, his armor was broken and his helmet disappeared. Even his braids were a little scattered. It was obvious that he had suffered a lot, so it was not surprising that he could do this.
"The prince, the situation at that time was a last resort. Besides, the prince's troops were not the only one on the right wing, but the fifth town of the new army was also there..."
Ji Du was speechless. Liu Cheng spoke to persuade him, but before he finished speaking, he heard a bang, and Fu Shou raised his hand and whipped it directly on Liu Cheng's face.
"My master talks with you, you, the slave, interrupts?"
Liu Cheng is the minister of the new army, a confidant of Shunzhi, and Ji Du's deputy. If you don't beat the dog, you will depend on your master's affairs. The orders were also issued extremely. At this moment, Liu Cheng was beaten by Fu Shou for his words. Ji Du immediately shouted to Fu Shou: "Prince Xian, you have vented your anger."
Ji Du was the commander of the army and also Fu Shou's uncle. Ji Du expressed his dissatisfaction and Fu Shou no longer dared to force himself. However, Fu Shou's words were right. The master could not interrupt his words. He scolded Liu Cheng slightly, and gave him a errand that he had seized, and then sent him away from here.
Fu Shou is the prince of the banner, but he is a slave who beats other banners and is also resentful of the correct decision of the commander. This matter should be handed over to the meeting of the prince and ministers to discuss the punishment.
After Liu Cheng left here, the whip marks on his face had already swollen and it was even more painful. However, when he walked away, there was no expression on his face, but Liu Cheng was already happy in his heart. This pain made him better hold his smile in his heart.
"After a great victory, so many of the Eight Manchurian Banners died. When the new army is expanded, let's see how you Tartars can maintain the suppression of the Eight Manchurian Banners on the Eight Han Army."
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Chapter completed!