A few days later, the Western Route Army continued to march towards Kaifeng as planned. After passing Linying County, it was Xuzhou, which was the Xudu, who was Cao Cao's welcome to Emperor Xian of Han. The army approached, but if they wanted to arrive in Xuzhou, they still had to cross a Shiliang River. After crossing the river along the way, the army was inevitably attacked by the Qing cavalry. This time the defenders did not surrender as they had before, but instead continued to hold on.

The Western Route Army was afraid of losing control, so they had to cross the river in a more stable way. However, such a situation was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Qing army and would not let it go easily.

On the south bank of Shiliang River, the Ming army built a floating bridge on the river in an orderly manner, and wade through the water to cross some troops to line up at the other end of the floating bridge to meet the enemy. This river is actually not very wide, but there are already Qing cavalry cruising on the other side, and a large number of Qing cavalry are constantly gathering here, so it is inevitable to seek stability.

On a mound far off the south bank, Guoan, the Henan Admiral Line, was looking at the Ming army crossing the river in the distance with a telescope. After many days of follow-up, he personally led the team to harass him. It started from the Ming army entering the territory of Kaifeng Prefecture. This time, for him, it was the best time to break the enemy.

"Mr. Marquis, there is no deception here. When I was in Linying, it seemed that a cavalry arrived later."

Xing Guoan was originally a third-class count. With the series of failures of the Qing court and the performance of Xing Guoan after fleeing from Wuchang, and the Qing court needed this future to take charge of Henan, the third-class prince became a first-class marquis. Out of fear of the fate of the Sanshun King, Xing Guoan also worked hard for the Qing court, especially the only daughter of his veteran general was already the goddaughter of the empress dowager, and he did not dare to make any moves that would rebel against the Qing court, for fear that it would implicate Kong Youde's remaining bones and blood.

After following Kong Youde for many years, Xing Guoan was not only a traitor, but also a general who fought from the Liaodong battlefield to today's current general. He knew that the officers under his command were referring to it, but it was impossible for him to give up the opportunity in front of him.

After weighing the trade-offs, Guoan decided to have a big vote. The Ming army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang carried a large number of local garrisons. When they arrived in a county, they helped this. If this army was really allowed to arrive in Kaifeng, their mobility and maneuverability would be limited, and they would even be more likely to be eroded by the superior Ming army, or even annihilated.

At that time, even if they could get rid of the restrictions, all the cavalry troops under their command were exposed to the countryside and the wilderness for a long time, lacking the city as a support, and relying on the countryside alone would be difficult to support for too long. Long-term plundering would also lead to the lack of enough time for the army to fight, harass and the danger would increase significantly.

"There are no ones who do not take risks when using troops. When they go home, they do not take risks, but that is the work of the women, and men cannot do it. Now we have many cavalrymen, but the overall strength is still a disadvantage. Not only us, but the court is also a disadvantage. No matter what, we must try it, otherwise if the Zhejiang bandits continue like this, how can we do the word "restraint"?

The subordinates knew that the straight Guoan would not surrender. Since this was the case, they had to do their best to make a move. The only thing they could hope was to restrain more troops from the Ming army in the Henan battlefield to create more favorable conditions for the new army. That's all.

The generals under his command no longer advised him, and Shi Guoan also used a telescope to observe the movements of the Ming army's crossing the river. This Jiangsu and Zhejiang Ming army was the main force of the Western Route Army. The two divisions were equipped with no less than 5,000 local garrisons, with few cavalry, with only more than 2,000 people. In addition, the group of later were only about 3,000 cavalry, which was still a disadvantage compared to the 4,000 cavalry he assembled. However, the mixed organization of infantry and artillery cavalry workers, he could not gain any advantage, and had to continue to wait and see and wait for a better opportunity.

There were three floating bridges on the river. The camp that was fighting against the Luling Division first crossed a group of vanguard troops, lined up on the other side of the river to wait for the green camp in Xuzhou. Then a cavalry battalion crossed the three battle camps followed closely behind. The order was in order, and the speed of crossing the river really made sweat on the forehead of the line Guoan.

"I'm afraid this Zhejiang bandit is not easy to attack."

The Western Route Army crossed the river at an unimaginable speed along the line. As the number of Ming troops on the other side of the river increased, the defenders of Xuzhou no longer came forward to harass him like before. Instead, they retreated further and further away, and they could smell it from the far-reaching line between Guoan.

A moment later, the cavalry of the Luling Division crossed the river, and the infantry followed closely behind. At the same time, another unit protected by heavy troops occupied a floating bridge independently. Instead, one of the infantry battalions retreated to the flank cover.

When Shi Guoan noticed this army, he could not bear it immediately. He knew very well that those short and thick cannons were the kind of powerful weapons called mortar cannons. The Qing court also spent a lot of money to smuggle several doors. Previously, the artillery team went to Shaanxi with the new army, and even rammed the city walls of Tongguan. Once these weapons crossed the river, the Ming army could launch an siege against Xuzhou. At that time, the Xuzhou defenders would not last long, and his plan would be completely ruined.

"Go on."

Although there were few cavalry in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Ming Army, which were mixed with infantry and cavalry, the tenacity of infantry battle formations was also famous in the world. Henan raised the 5,000 cavalry, and Guoan gathered more than 4,000 cavalry in the line. However, if he was to completely defeat him, he would not dare to make such a delusion. However, as long as he could restrain this army that had not yet crossed the river and burn some of the food and grass supplies of the rear team, the operational ability of this Northern Expedition Army's partial division will inevitably be damaged. Coupled with the harassment of the food channels by the superior cavalry, the progress of the partial division can be further restricted, thus achieving the established strategic goals.

The sound of the conch sounded, and the head of a thousand cavalry led by the Line Guoan approached the direction of the Ming army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. After a while, as more conch sounded in the distance, more cavalry appeared between the sky and moved closer to the headquarters of the Line Guoan at the fastest speed.

Due to the limited number of cavalry, the early warning range of the Ming army was always suppressed. However, since the Qing army began to gather troops, it was obvious that it was going to take action. The Fujian Central Division of the Ming army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang immediately formed a defensive formation and wrapped the military supplies and food of the rear team.

The attack was halfway through, and the head and tail could not be looked at each other. During this period, the Western Route Army formed a defensive formation, but still did not stop crossing the river - there was no barracks, no artillery teams, and even some military supplies were transporting to the other side in a planned manner.

Xing Guoan was very clear that what the Ming army needs to do now is to destroy the enemy troops along the way, and avoid being exposed to the attacks of the two enemies in the front and back when the warning range is too small. This arrangement clearly shows that it is an offensive against Xuzhou and a defensive force against the Xing Guoan headquarters. As long as the city is captured, there will be a support. At that time, even if tens of thousands of troops are surrounded, they can continue better. What's more, Xing Guoan cannot gather so many troops now.

Xing Guoan was the last general. With a little observation, you can guess the general intention of the opponent with experience. However, he was the least willing to see such intentions. The Ming army gradually used county towns to establish strongholds in Henan. With thousands of cavalry, facing a strong city, each city had thousands of troops, and at least hundreds of defenders to cooperate with the people organized in the city, especially the Qing army's bad reputation for massacre. What's more, the continuous strongholds were not only the improvement of the security of the food route, but also greater restrictions. Now Zhang Zisheng clearly wanted to do this in front of him, which was even more tolerant.

Taking advantage of the gathering of cavalry, Shi Guoan observed carefully for a moment, and through the eyes of the scouts, he quickly set the target of attack. When the assembly was completed, he regained some horsepower, and the harassment officially kicked off.

The Qing cavalry in the brigade roared out, seemingly roaring upwards, with no rules at all, but in the eyes of veterans, they are completely clear in the main and secondary, with main attacks and side attacks. After observing for a long time, Zhang Zisheng could see where the center of the attack was.

"Duke Linguo, this time it depends on your subordinate."

"Please rest assured, Zhang Shuai, I will do my best."

Li Laiheng bowed his hand and left the earth slope of the central army's flag and headed straight for his troops. The Minzhong Division, which was posing in a defensive posture, has been stationed in Guangdong in recent years, and it was not until the tactics were adjusted to take turns to Hunan.

At this moment, the hollow square formation of the Ming army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang was put out. According to the new tactics and organization, the proportion of spearmen decreased. The spear formation in the front row seemed a bit thin, but the musketeers in the back team began to load one by one, and then aimed the musketeers with guns and swords at the storm that was storming.

The commander flag of the line Guoan is located west of the army, with a river on the back. The Fujian Central Division also stands on the river, focusing on the west. In comparison, the east is the weakest, and according to the exploration of the scouts under the line Guoan, the infantry in the east is fine, but the cavalry seems to be more distant than the Ming cavalry in other directions, and is not as strict as the signature and strict as the Ming army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

When Li Laiheng arrived, his subordinates were still touching the brand new military uniforms, especially the cavalry plate armor raised on the chest and abdomen and the helmet that was formed in one piece and fixed with bolts, which made them unable to put down the armor. They were so fascinated by each stain. Even when Li Laiheng arrived, they were all moved.

Unlike other camps, Li Laiheng's troops inherited the troops of Li Zicheng's wife Gao Yigong and his nephew Li Guo, both of whom were the most core force of the camp. They were trapped in Kuidong in recent years and their military power was declining. If it weren't for Chen Wen's assistance, they would have been unable to even have the current strength.

Before coming, Li Laiheng devoted his army to give the best armor, weapons and war horses to the elite troops in his army. Nearly 200 of them were temporarily allocated by Yuan Zongdi and Liu Tichun, all of which were elite troops in the camp. However, when he arrived in Hubei, especially since he caught up with this Western Route Army, he found that the armor he regarded as treasures were all in a pile of rags. When he replaced the standard cavalry plate armor of the Ming army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, he looked even more energetic.

The Qing cavalry in the distance was getting closer and closer, and it seemed to be no less than a thousand cavalry. Li Laiheng rode his horse forward, and his cavalry followed closely behind. Soon, three rows of horizontal formations were listed in front of the hollow square formation of the infantry.

This arrangement does not conform to the usual phalanx formations in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Ming Army, and the cavalry seeks an opportunity to assault. However, since Zhang Zisheng gave Li Laiheng the autonomy of the cavalry, the infantry behind the cavalry had to cooperate in the adjustment of the formation.

In the rolling yellow sand, Henan's troops were getting closer and closer. This central camp was the most elite troops in the line Guoan. They were all composed of Dingnan vassal soldiers. The combat effectiveness was far better than that of ordinary green camps. They received support from more than 400 cavalrymen and horses, and their troops were even more powerful.

This time, using this time as the main attack direction, besides the Ming cavalry here seems to be weaker, more importantly, according to the scout's return, the gunpowder in the Ming army's military supplies and food seems to be waiting for the river to cross the river behind these infantry phalanxes.

This is where the whole body is affected. When defense is the core priority, the Central Camp attacks, what we see is the Ming cavalry lined up in front of the formation and the general is the rank of general in charge of the guerrilla affairs of the Central Camp. Seeing this, the old general of Dingfan had to stop further away, accumulate some horsepower before launching an attack.

The cavalry has strong mobility, and this arrangement is justified by the opponent's surprise attack. However, the Ming army has just started to repair it, but it is the first to take action.

The cavalry were lined up in three rows, but they became a little confused when they ran, but Li Laiheng was not in a hurry. They did not rush to charge, but stopped after advancing to a certain distance and restored the array of three rows.

When cavalry battles, horsepower comes first, and the opponent clearly shows that it is at this time point, but the general of the central camp is not in a hurry, so he simply calms down and waits for the opponent's subsequent moves.

He has this capital. Apart from the elite troops of his command, he has more than 1,400 cavalry under his command, which is more than numerical advantage than his opponent's only 5 and 600 cavalry. Moreover, the cavalry is a clutch soldier. The opponent is riding his horse and fighting in a daze, which looks very dull. Especially when the scene appears, it makes him suspect that the commander of this cavalry does not understand how to use the cavalry.

Li Laiheng's troops restored the three-arrangement array, and then the first departed and rode out, but the second two rows did not follow closely. They just let the first row rush up, and they looked like they were watching a show.

The Ming army was full of strangeness, but the general of the central camp was not in a hurry. He divided three hundred cavalry into battle. He ordered other troops to continue to accumulate horsepower. Compared with the Ming army, he and his subordinates rushed to the line from a distance to Guoan to join the subordinates, and after a moment of repair, they would naturally get more tired. At this moment, he sent three hundred cavalry to fight the two hundred cavalry in the first row of the Ming army, and looked up high. However, when the two cavalry joined the battle, he realized that it seemed that he had sent fewer cavalry.

More than 300 cavalry in the central camp rushed out, rode their horses and shot, and threw arrows at the Ming cavalry in the distance, while the Ming army also fought back with the same technique.

When the arrow was shot, the bow was collected, the arrow was returned to the quiver, the rifle, the saber and all kinds of weapons they were used to, rushed straight to the distance, which was no different from them.

Three hundred cavalry against two hundred cavalry, the Qing army had the advantage in its power, and it covered its opponent with a larger range like a dark cloud. After a moment, the cavalry intersected, and the Qing army guards led the team slashed with a sword, but were dodged by the flexible Ming army.

When the sword edge passed by, it was aimed at the Ming army's neck, but the Ming army was able to give up the sword edge in a flash, and it was definitely not a new recruit.

The Ming cavalry avoided this attack, and almost at the same time, another Qing army on the right stabbed him with a long spear and stabbed the armor on the lower abdomen.

While dodging the slash of the long sword, the Ming cavalry also twisted their bodies to avoid the spear's straight stab. This instant reaction was so calm that anyone with a discerning eye could see that this was definitely a veteran who had been experienced in battle formations.

But the next moment, the spear that was stabbing straight could not penetrate it. Just after a dazzling fire was cut across it, the force was removed by the slopes on both sides of the half-body cavalry plate armor.

The spear was almost pierced, and it was just when the force was not collected. However, before he could withdraw the spear and stab again, the head had already flew high and there was no chance.

The battlefield was fought, life and death were only in a moment. The Ming cavalry was so calm and reacted quickly, while reasonably avoiding the angles of chopping and straight stabs. In addition, the armor on their bodies was strong and more reasonable, and at the same time, they killed one person under the attack of the two people. At most, the armor on their bodies was damaged, and they did not suffer even a slight injury.

Such elites were definitely killed in the sea of ​​corpses and blood. However, this phenomenon is by no means an isolated case. Every soldier in this cavalry team either evades attacks in various ways and takes the opportunity to kill the opponents, or uses a more rapid attack to kill the Qing army in front of him, and his quality is even better than the remaining troops of the Dingfan.

After the collision, both sides left more or less corpses and wounded soldiers on the battlefield. The Qing cavalry began to slow down and continue to attack from another angle.

During the first collision, the Qing army suffered a small loss. Unexpectedly, this was better for the Ming army's riding skills. He mastered the speed of war horses better, completed the turn faster than the Qing army, and then rushed up. At the same time, the cavalry in the second row rode out and immediately formed an angle with the first row that was fighting over.

As soon as the second row of the Ming army moved, the general of the central camp realized something was wrong. However, the Qing army charged and the collision was closer to the Ming army's cavalry formation. When he waved the entire army to attack, the distance could no longer relieve his thirst. He could only watch the two teams of already elite Ming cavalry launched a pincer attack on the Qing army.

However, these two cavalry did not love to fight. After taking advantage of the situation, they escaped with the main force of the central camp coming to help and fled straight to the Ming army's infantry formation along with the third row of Ming cavalry.

The Qing army followed the army with more than a thousand cavalry, and they rode their horses to chase the Qing army, but they did not dare to chase them too quickly. They just tried to kill the Ming cavalry who might fall behind. The general of the central camp looked carefully. The spear forest of the Ming army's infantry phalanx had been raised, and they would never win when they fought head-on. Only by forcing the Ming cavalry to retreat into the formation can they find flaws and try to hit the target with one blow.

As expected, this Ming cavalry, who had just shown excellent combat qualities, retreated into the formation without hesitation. The Qing cavalry followed him and did not directly hit the spear forest. Instead, he staged the old trick of riding and shooting again, but the effect was minimal.

However, just as the Qing cavalry team was turning, the Ming cavalry retreating into the formation rushed out of the other three holes and headed straight for the Qing cavalry who had just completed the turn, not only turned back to the Ming army formation but also greatly reduced the horse speed, and immediately caught him off guard...

Under the commanding flag, Zhang Zisheng and the staff of the Minzhong Division looked at the battlefield on the east with a telescope. The combat effectiveness shown by the cavalry of Li Laiheng and the cooperation with the Jiangsu and Zhejiang Ming military formations really made them dumbfounded. After a while, Zhang Zisheng sighed sincerely and murmured to himself: "These are three walls, and they are indeed well-deserved."

The so-called three walls are not only a cavalry tactic of the tide of the tide army, but also an elite cavalry unit of the tide army. They came out of the sea of ​​blood in the north of the late Ming Dynasty. Before, Wu Sangui suffered a lot on a stone, and even once made Ajige lose his power in northern Shaanxi. At that time, Jin Shenghuan and Wang Deren were in trouble. Zhang Zisheng heard Wang Deren mention the three walls of the tide army. Now, he saw that he really lived up to his reputation.

Among the three walls here, some of which Li Laiheng made fine adjustments based on actual conditions, but the superior cavalry of the Qing army was completely played with applause, and casualties continued to increase. It was obvious that there was no need to worry about the battlefield in the east.

Seeing this, Zhang Zisheng, who was relieved, did not hesitate and simply sent out the cavalry battalion under the Minzhong Division, with the direction being the Qing cavalry to the west.

"It's time to let this guy straight Guoan bleed, so as not to underestimate our Jiangsu and Zhejiang Kings Division!"

While cavalry battles were staged on the battlefield in the east, the west and south were completely a one-man show of Qing cavalry. The cavalry charged, cavalry shooting, turned, and the whole team immediately launched a charge again, completely using the Ming army's square formation as a target to shoot.

However, the Ming army's phalanx was not easy to mess with. The muskets were fired under the protection of spears, and the spearmen even wore plate armor and lowered their face armor on their heads. Every time the Qing army charged, they did not take much advantage, and sometimes they lost more people.

With Zhang Zisheng's order issued, the Ming cavalry of the brigade rushed out from the hollow square formations in the west. He just added a little in front of the formation and rushed straight towards the direction of the line Guoan's flag. Looking at the momentum, he seemed to have never thought about looking back.

When the Ming cavalry was dispatched, the line Guoan immediately focused his attention here, but the Ming cavalry here was very strange. The cavalry was not fast and there was no formation. They held the reins in their left hand and held a musket shorter than a bird gun but much longer than a hand gun. The muzzle was facing upwards and rushed towards the Qing army.

The Ming army in Jiangsu and Zhejiang always had some new tactics. Some of them had average effects, but more of them showed excellent results on the battlefield. Every time the Qing army was used as the background board, which made the Qing court have to pay attention to this, especially after Jiergalang's death.

The generals under Xing Guoan looked at everything in front of him and always felt that they looked familiar, but they seemed to be speechless but could not speak. Fortunately, their coach had a deep understanding of this, but when he saw the scene in front of him, he immediately recalled the scene under Dengzhou City nearly thirty years ago.

"Damn it, why did these Zhejiang bandits learn from Guanning Army?!"

While saying this, the cavalry also faced the Qing cavalry who had just completed a round of volleys and readjusted their formation in the distance.

The Qing cavalry could not get any advantage in front of the long spear forest. When they saw the Ming cavalry dispatched, they rushed over immediately. The Qing cavalry in the brigade held the cavalry, staring at the distance between the two sides, and were always ready to shoot at the Ming cavalry. However, the Ming cavalry flattened the muskets in their hands far beyond the range of the cavalry. Then, the Ming cavalry sounded, and the Ming cavalry came out of the smoke of gunfire, and the warriors among the Qing cavalry who rushed in front also ushered in this head-on attack.

It would be fine if it was just like this. The shooting accuracy of the musket shooting in this era was a problem, and there were only a few people who were injured in the Qing army. However, this scene happened, and the Qing cavalry was stunned. Next, as the Ming army, who had completed the shooting, stuffed the musket into the gun bag, pulled out the sabers one by one. The horse speed suddenly rose and rushed straight over, and was caught off guard again.

While holding a bow to prepare for riding and shooting, he was already raising his horse and drawing his sword to kill him. The former had already lost the opportunity and was in a hurry to fight. At this moment, he was killed by these Ming soldiers and turned over.

Under the commanding flag in the distance, the generals had realized that the cavalry had declined, and they all asked the straight Guoan to send troops as reserves to join the war in order to restore the decline.

However, Shi Guoan frowned, then shook his head, and then said no, "We are not here to fight to the death with the Zhejiang bandits, and now we can't win at all. Don't forget our mission, and we will withdraw our troops!"

……………………
Chapter completed!