The phalanx of the Qiongzhou battalion was surrounded by rebel regiments, and the situation was somewhat grim. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Soldiers in all four directions were now crouching on the ground, setting up in a bayonet formation, unable to stand up and shoot, otherwise the distance of fifty paces was just a charge for the cavalry, and before you could reload and fire, the rebels rushed up, and without bayonet formations to block, the cavalry could easily break through the thin two rows of horizontal formations. Giving up shooting and using bayonets to prevent cavalry charges was a dilemma to face the threat of bows and arrows. The advantage of cavalry over infantry lies in this, you can freely choose the battle mode, you can attack at any time, you can retreat at any time, and the infantry is always a passive side.

Fortunately, in addition to the phalanx of 2,000 people, the Qiongzhou battalion also has reserves.

The expanded guard and special combat teams also have a total of several hundred people, and they were ready for battle as early as when the Shandong soldiers attacked the phalanx. Now faced with the threat of bows and arrows from the rebels, they have opted for a preemptive strike.

Yang Youji, who was in charge of the temporary command of the reserves, gave the order: "Prepare for a salvo - fire!" ”

"Hoo hoo", hundreds of rifles fired in three directions. After being divided into three directions, the firepower was a little sparse, but the distance of fifty paces was the best range for the Qionghai rifle, the rebels' queue was relatively dense, and the target of the cavalry and war horses was very large, and they could be hit almost with their eyes closed. Whirling buckshot struck the rebels, all light cavalry, unarmoured, and easily burrowed into their bodies, tearing open wounds, mincing muscles and blood vessels, and blood spurting out.

When Li Jiucheng saw that the other party still had a back hand, he didn't dare to slack off, brandished his saber and shouted: "Shoot me!" ”

The rebel cavalry, who had been attacked by muskets, hurriedly struck, "buzzing", a burst of cotton-like bowstring vibrations sounded, and dense arrows took off like a swarm of swarms and soared into the sky. After flying through the highest point, the dense arrows begin to dive down under the influence of gravity, cutting through the resistance of the air and making a "whine" sound, like a strong wind blowing through the trees.

A rain of arrows fell in the hollow phalanx. Thanks to the thin horizontal column of the Qiongzhou battalion, the hit rate of the thrown arrows was not high, and there were only a few soldiers who were hit by the arrows. On the contrary, the number of rebels hit by lead bullets was even higher.

Yang Yuji ordered: "Free fire." ”

The reserve reloads ammunition and prepares for the second shot. After all, the rate of fire of the bow and arrow was still much higher than that of the flintlock pistol for a short time, and at this time, the rebels who had stabilized their position fired a second arrow. They deliberately aimed at the reserves that could fire, and before the soldiers could fire, they were hit one after another.

Yang Youji shouted loudly: "Steady, don't care about the bow and arrows, keep shooting!" ”

Under the rain of arrows, the reserve soldiers fired a second shot, and dozens of rebels fell headlong.

Li Jiucheng was a little impatient when he saw that the casualty exchange was not good for him, and was about to scold his subordinates to speed up the archery, when there was a deafening sound of horses' hooves behind him, and the whole earth seemed to tremble.

When he looked back, it was actually the thousands of cavalry of the Guanning Army who began to charge.

The Guan Ning army was not a group of garbage from the Shandong soldiers, they rushed over not to escape through the friendly array, but to fight back and forth with this bird-fired army. Li Jiucheng was an old man, and he knew that he couldn't be brutal at this time, so he immediately made a decision and ordered loudly: "If you can't please today, turn around and go back to Dengzhou!" ”

The rebels put away their bows and arrows, turned their horses, and moved away from the phalanx, preparing to retreat in the direction of Dengzhou.

Xia Nan snorted: "If you want to run, how can it be so easy?" ”

He ordered: "The phalanx becomes a horizontal formation, ready to counterattack." ”

Under the dispatch of Huang Hansheng and Wei Lianheng, the strength of the two battalions quickly changed from a hollow phalanx to a horizontal formation, blocking the rear of the rebels.

The Guanning army had already begun to sprint with all its might, and the thousands of galloping cavalry seemed to be an unstoppable torrent that could destroy everything.

Li Jiucheng took a closer look, and the direction of Guan Ning's military selection was very tricky, and he deliberately went around in a circle to block the rebels' defense line back to Dengzhou. The rebels will either fight hard and fight their way out of the Guanning army, or they will bypass it diagonally. But these two roads are dead ends: with the combat effectiveness of the Guanning army, and with ease and work, if you die head-on, the rebels will definitely not be pleased; However, it was almost impossible to bypass the Guanning army, and it was easy to be intercepted by the Guanning army that was sprinting with all its strength under the premise that the rebel war horse did not speed up.

Li Jiucheng's palms were sweating, and he said in his heart: Grandma, I didn't look at the yellow calendar when I went out today, but I didn't expect that in addition to the Guan Ning Army, there was also an inexplicable bird soldier in the ranks of officers and soldiers.

He looked at the Guan Ning army that was getting closer and closer, and then turned his head to look at the Qiongzhou battalion that had become a horizontal team, and made a decision in his heart: the persimmon should pick up the soft pinch, and the bird soldiers will not form a formation, it is a great opportunity to rush forward and kill, as long as they disrupt their array, they can use these bird guns to block the momentum of the Guan Ning army's impact, and he will have a chance to escape.

He raised his saber and shouted, "Grandma's, turn back and charge me through these birds!" ”

In his hesitation, the Qiongzhou battalion had already made preparations, and Xia Nan gave a death order: "Free shooting, no stop without an order, no one is allowed to take a step back, and death must die in their own position." ”

When the rebels turned their horses around again and prepared to return, more than 2,000 rifles opened fire.

"Boom, boom", the sound of bursting bean-like gunshots rang out one after another, and white smoke shrouded the sky above the Qiongzhou battalion, and the rebels fell under their horses before they had time to sprint.

Li Jiucheng rushed to the front first, his body clinging to the horse's back to avoid the raindrops of lead bullets. He knew that at this time, there were enemies in front and behind, and he couldn't slowly consume the other party with bows and arrows, so he could only collide directly with them to have a chance. Fortunately, if the bird-fired soldiers fired, they could not be blocked with bayonet formations, and as long as they were lucky enough not to be killed by stray bullets, they could escape.

The rebels began to flee with Li Jiucheng, and they all lay on horseback, ready to use the impact of their horses to knock through the horizontal team. But the lead bullet is too dense, they can dodge, such a big target as a war horse can't dodge, from time to time a war horse neighs and rolls and falls.

Xia Nan stared at Li Jiucheng tightly with a telescope. He saw Li Jiucheng skillfully sticking to the horse's back and rushing to the front, and his subordinates beside him were hit from time to time, but he was lucky enough to avoid death threats again and again.

Just when Xia Nan was lamenting why the rebel leader was so lucky, an unexpected scene happened: in order to avoid a horse corpse on the ground, Li Jiucheng raised his head, grabbed the reins and manipulated the mount to jump high, and crossed the obstacle, and the moment he straightened up, a lead bullet hit his chest and a blood flower bloomed. Li Jiucheng fell on his back to the sky, and the war horse rushed out due to the huge inertia, Li Jiucheng rolled in the air a few times, and then fell heavily to the ground. Immediately afterward, countless cavalry trampled over his body, and it seemed that he would not survive.

Xia Nan threw away the binoculars, raised his fist high, and shouted excitedly: "Li Jiucheng is dead!" ”