Although the passage between the hills was not very wide, the cavalry on both sides were in loose shock formations, and when the two sides hedged at full speed, the horses instinctively looked for gaps on their own. The rider undulates and bumps on horseback, staggering past oncoming enemies in the blink of an eye, sometimes intersecting blades, and sometimes the weapon just makes a trajectory in the air, so sometimes the hedge is still undecided for dozens of battles.

This kind of horse warfare requires the rider to be equestrian in all directions, not only to be able to dodge the enemy and hit the opponent in a flash of lightning, but also to be able to skillfully cāo the speed of the horse, to quickly increase the speed before encountering, and then lower the horse to save horsepower - if the horsepower is wasted, when the mount is tired and unable to run, it is naturally a dead end.

At present, it is not a big problem for Deng Ming to cut down those enemies who are still or too late to start when moving at high speed, and this technique is not very difficult, and he has basically exercised it after his trip to Yunnan. During the first charge today, Deng Ming hit three unprepared enemies in a row. However, in the subsequent hedge, although more than a dozen enemies would pass through the attack range each time, Deng Ming did not get a single result. Because Deng Ming could not accurately predict the next second of his mount's movements, and there were dancing weapons in all directions, Deng Ming was dodging most of the time, and the use of weapons simply relied on instinct and conditionality. At one point, he almost missed back-to-back with an enemy, but both of them were paying attention to the other side, and neither of them attacked the enemy who was close at hand.

However, the cavalry of the Qing army on the opposite side is not a nomadic cavalry who grew up on the grassland, although the time of joining the army is more than Deng Ming, but unlike Deng Ming, who has hardly left the horse for a year, and has experienced dozens of battles; The level of the soldiers of the Three Walls is also about the same, even the officers and soldiers of the old Three Walls at the beginning, their riding skills are not as good as the cavalry of the Full and Eight Banners, and now they are older and their skills have regressed a little; And the new riders have not experienced as many battles as Deng Ming. If it weren't for the high morale of the Ming army, and the half-heartedness of the Qing army's standard battalion guards who couldn't concentrate on the battle, the Ming army would definitely be at a disadvantage in the hedging.

"Our army has just begun to launch a counterattack, and the later the Qing army understands what is happening, the greater the results our army will be able to achieve, and the fewer officers and soldiers will be sacrificed." Deng Ming thought quickly in his heart. The combat effectiveness of the cavalry of the standard battalion of the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi far exceeded that of the local cavalry of the Qing army encountered in Huguang and Jiangxi. Since the Ming infantry appeared on the other side of the battlefield, Deng Ming saw that the standard camp cavalry no longer gathered and looked at the Ming cavalry on his side, many of the cavalry looked around, and even the leading officers also looked at the Ming infantry who were driving over.

"The morale of the Qing soldiers has fallen, I am afraid that after this hedge, they will not stop, but flee without looking back."

The expulsion of the Qing army from the battlefield was the victory of the Ming cavalry, and the wounded Qing soldiers who landed on horseback and the uncontrolled war horses would be the trophies of the Ming army. The cavalry of the Ming army could also pursue and catch up with some standard battalion guards with insufficient horsepower. However, such a victory was far from enough, after seeing the Qing cavalry on the opposite side start to form again, Deng Ming knew that there was not much time left for him, he swung his horse sword vigorously, turned back to the knights behind him and shouted: "Do you know the chain of horses? ”

"Yes!"

Many people shouted, and even those who didn't make a sound nodded one after another.

"Good!" Deng Ming quickly pointed his sword at his wings, "Come to my side, imagining that there is a chain connecting our mounts." ”

The guards and the veterans of the three walls did not hesitate to step forward. They have always been in the front row, and now many people are standing side by side with Deng Ming.

"It's too loose!" Seeing that the guards had left a gap for manoeuvring as always, Deng Ming turned back again and shouted to the cavalry who remained behind: "Fill the vacant seats, don't leave a gap." ”

Many of the cavalrymen glanced at each other, and some had already guessed Deng Ming's intentions, to which Deng Ming continued to explain: "Our formation should be so dense that the stirrups collide. ”

Deng Ming counted the number of people in his heart, and gave an additional order: "All of them are lined up in double columns, the guards and the old three walls are in the first column with me, and the rest of the people are in the second column." Deng Ming shouted with high morale: "Don't think about any of them!" ”

"Don't even think about it!" Infected by Deng Mingqing, a veteran of three walls also roared, no longer hesitating but clamping the horse's belly to fill the gap between Deng Ming and his right-hand guard. After waiting for Deng Ming's side, the veteran hesitated for a moment, and whispered to Deng Mingjian: "Is the Admiral in charge of the overall situation in the back column?" ”

"Do you look down on Admiral Ben so much?" Deng Ming smiled and asked in a low voice: "I heard that King Chuang always took the lead back then. ”

"How can this be?" The veteran of the three walls immediately said: "Tens of thousands of troops are facing each other, and King Chuang still has to command behind the battle." ”

"Oh," Deng Ming immediately shook his head after hearing this: "I'm not King Chuang, I'm in the first column." ”

More and more veterans of the camp made up from the back row, and finally formed a tight row, and when everyone joined the front row, they would let out a shout: "Let none of them pass!" ”

Riding is a difficult skill to master, but as the rider gets more and more trained, the chances of surviving on the battlefield become higher and higher, especially if you have a familiar mount. It is entirely possible for a rider who has been fighting for many years to kill a dozen, or even dozens, of inexperienced novices in a hedging battle and be unscathed. The disadvantage of the chain horse is that the cavalry chained together has no chance to show its skills at all, and can only rush straight to victory or ruin, and it is no longer equestrianism and combat skills that determine the life and death of the rider but the will of heaven.

Now the formation of the cavalry of the Ming army did not lock everyone with iron chains, but the effect was similar, the queue was so tight that the riders knees against each other, if there was a horse lance on the opposite side, they could only watch it pierce their chests, unable to dodge. The tight horse formation spread from the passage between the valleys to the foot of the hills on both sides, and after seeing the strange horse formation of the Ming army, the standard camp guards on the opposite side were also stunned.

"Go hand in hand, no one will overtake me, and no one will fall behind me." Deng Ming shouted this order several times with his greatest strength, and then gently instigated the war horse to move forward slowly: "Let none of them think about it!" ”

The guards and the veterans of the three walls both looked at Deng Ming's long sword pointing forward, slowly advancing at the same speed. As a veteran of the three walls, Zhang Yiqian does not like this kind of combat mode. Lined up in such a tight formation, then the victory or defeat, life and death are completely resigned, even if the opposite side is a new rider who is entering the battle for the first time, as long as it is in front of Zhang Yiqian's eyes, the chances of the two killing each other are basically the same.

Because of this resistance in his heart, Zhang Yiqian did not join the front row, but hesitated for a long time, hoping that Deng Ming would realize that his tactics were a great waste of the veterans of the three walls, and he could not give full play to the greatest advantage of the jīng sharp riders.

But seeing that one old guy after another had arrived in the front row, Zhang Yiqian couldn't continue to stay in the back, and when he lined up in the middle of the formation, he also complained quietly, and the old companions on both sides agreed with Zhang Yiqian's dissatisfaction. However, the two companions pointed out that Deng Ming was located in the zhōngyāng of the phalanx, and was also tightly stuck by the guards on both sides.

"Go hand in hand!" The sound of horses' hooves could not completely suppress Deng Ming's voice, Zhang Yiqian glanced sideways, Deng Ming did not rush forward or lag behind, if there was a nail gun erected in front of Deng Ming's eyes, he also had nowhere to avoid, because they were advancing side by side, the guards around him could not do it even if they wanted to be a person.

"Go hand in hand." The speed of the horses increased a little, and this time many cavalrymen spontaneously shouted out with Deng Ming.

The speed of the horse was still improving, Zhang Yiqian felt the wind in his ears, he no longer looked at zhōngyāng, he knew that the admiral was still shoulder to shoulder with the soldiers in the front.

"Leave it to fate." Zhang Yiqian thought in his heart, and he also opened his mouth and shouted with his companions: "Go hand in hand." ”

……

When they saw the Ming cavalry on the opposite side slowly speeding up in a dense formation, the officers and soldiers of the standard battalion were all stunned.

"Is this a cavalry for infantry?" The first thought of the general manager of the standard battalion was that the commander of the other party did not know the soldiers at all, let alone the precious value of the cavalry.

A cavalryman practices equestrianism, goes through battle after battle, and watches his companions die on the battlefield one by one before he can gradually become mature. A hedge is one of the fiercest and most brutal battles a rider can encounter, with the rider having to see and hear all directions, and use skill and luck to dodge unpredictable weapons and deliver a killing blow with precision in a single breath. After knocking down an opponent in a hedge battle and surviving it, it was a time when a cavalryman was most proud, and every time at this time, he would feel pride from the bottom of his heart.

The Ming army on the opposite side did not pick up speed quickly, they had already run more than a quarter of the distance between the two armies, but it was only a jog, and under normal circumstances, it was almost entering the sprint phase in order to reach the maximum speed in the middle line of the two armies. However, the Qing army was completely stunned and didn't bother to accelerate.

Biao Yingqian always looked dazed and at a loss, the other party rushed over in such a dense formation, it was impossible for anyone on his side to pass through such a formation, no matter whether he could kill the enemy on the opposite side or not, he was already dead. If you increase the speed of the horse to hedge as fast as possible, it is even more inevitable to collide with the enemy's cavalry, and neither the enemy nor the enemy can dodge.

"We are cavalry, not infantry, and we can't fight each other in a dense formation, this is suicide." At this moment, the guards of the standard battalion almost wanted to shout at the cavalry commander of the Ming army, no matter how the Qing army reacted, no matter whether they were in a dense formation like the Ming army, as long as they hedged, they collided violently.

"Go hand in hand!" Deng Ming shouted again, as the speed of the horse became faster and faster, he feared that the battle line would rupture, so that the Qing army could rush through the gap and leave the battlefield.

Almost the entire first row of Ming cavalry let out the same roar at the same time, and they tried to control their mounts, scanning their companions to the left and right with their peripheral vision, making sure that they did not exceed too much or more than half a horse.

Seeing that the enemy soldiers were getting closer and closer, as if there was no attitude of evasion at all, Zhang Yiqian had completely ignored the situation around him, and while he roared, he stretched out his spear in front of the horse with all his might--left and right were his companions, and the weapons did not need to be pointed anywhere else except in front of him--all the Ming cavalry were in the same posture, one by one, they bowed up from their horses, tried to stretch their arms, and leaned forward with their swords, guns, swords, and halberds.

The Qing army in the distance was getting closer and closer, and there was still no attitude of evasion, Zhang Yiqian estimated the direction, and felt that the enemy in front of him would probably bump into him, and the other party was holding a long nail gun in his hand. As long as the enemy stretched out the spear in place, Zhang Yiqian would crash headlong and die on the tip of the sharp spear.

Shut down

"I'm not a bad seed." The companions on both sides did not have the slightest intention of slowing down, Zhang Yiqian thought in his heart, and he let out a louder roar while constantly kicking the horse's belly to keep himself from falling behind.

"I'll close my eyes then." Zhang Yiqian, who had already made up his mind to bump into his head, instantly burst into a series of thoughts: "No matter what I do, this dog tartar is dead...... Maybe I'll be able to save a life. The Ming army had already run past the middle line, but the speed had only increased to about two-thirds of the normal maximum speed: "No! I'm going to keep my eyes open, I'm going to see with my own eyes how the Tartar's gun pierced me. ”

"Go hand in hand!" Zhang Yiqian shouted after his companion again, his eyes fixed on the enemy soldier directly opposite. The other party was holding a spear in place, Zhang Yiqian finally estimated the length of the opponent's weapon, and felt that it was about the same as his own gun, and it was difficult to say who stabbed whom first. However, this will not make a big difference, and when there is no way to avoid it, the cavalry with the spear cannot prevent the enemy soldier with the dagger from dying with him with his last breath.

"Yaaaaaa

Zhang Yiqian let out a final roar.

Almost all the cavalry of the Ming army roared angrily and continued to increase their speed, and Admiral Deng rushed with him, none of his companions slowed down, if he took the lead in slowing down at this time, would he still be able to be a man in the future?

The whole row of Ming troops pressed against them like a wall, and all the weapons stretched out from the front of the horses, like a row of sharp wolf teeth, as long as they were bumped into, they would definitely die. Several of the standard battalion guards in the front row blushed and turned their horses' heads to avoid it.

"Crazy, crazy." More standard battalion guards muttered that now all the standard battalion armored cavalry knew very well that the commander of the other side really didn't know anything about cavalry tactics.

"Kill!" Zhang Yiqian's eyes were already red, staring at the enemy soldier who was bound to take his life, as well as the long-pole nail gun in his hand, there was nothing else in his eyes at this time.

"I'm going to keep my eyes open!" Zhang Yiqian made up his mind, his eyes widened, the horse's speed had been raised to the highest, but he was still kicking and beating the mount.

At this moment, Zhang Yiqian suddenly saw the nail gun on the opposite side slanting to the ground, no longer aiming at him squarely.

"How ......" Before Zhang Yiqian could understand, the standard battalion cavalry facing him had already thrown down his nail gun, held the reins in both hands, turned the horse's head at a fast speed, and increased the horse's speed with all his might, trying to escape from the wall that he had collided with.

……

The enemy soldiers in front of him turned around and fled, which suddenly loosened Deng Ming's nerves, which had been tense to the extreme. In the final moments of the sprint, his mind was blank, and there was no more tactics or tricks to speak of. Although Deng Ming was a staunch atheist, there was only one thing left to do a moment ago, and that was to pray to all the gods and Buddhas, while mechanically continuing to urge his mount to rush forward.

The enemy, who was originally standing opposite each other with a sharp blade, suddenly turned his horse's head to reveal his back, and Deng Ming's frozen gaze could finally move and re-observe the enemy situation in front of him.

Almost all the standard battalion guards turned their horses around and fled in the direction of the Ming infantry. At the last moment when the wall that was rushing over hit the wall, the overwhelming momentum of the Ming army woke up the last few cavalry of the standard battalion who could not avoid it from their dreams, and their first reaction was not to infuse the weapons in their hands and exchange their lives with the Ming army, but to let out a desperate cry of despair.

These Qing mounts were quicker than their masters, and when the riders lost control of their fears, the horses that were about to be hit spontaneously turned to dodge, or jumped to the steep cliffs on either side to avoid the hundreds of galloping horses rushing at full speed.

The guards of the standard battalion scrambled to escape, and hundreds of cavalry pulled out a team of hundreds of meters and rolled westward. Behind this long column of cavalry, two rows of imposing pursuers followed closely.

Another right turn, Zhang Yiqian consciously slowed down a little, the companion on the right slowed down more than him, and the companion on the left accelerated one after another. The queue swept across a small sector, then resumed its uniform speed again and continued to catch up.

From time to time, the cavalry of the Qing army was caught up by the horizontal column of the Ming army, and in the blink of an eye, the enemy would be stabbed by four or five weapons at the same time, and he would fall off his horse and be trampled by countless horses' hooves. The enemy horses that had lost their owners continued to run forward, driven forward by the Ming army's array, and several standard battalion guards were chased and stabbed down by the Ming army because they were rushed and blocked by these empty saddle horses that came from behind.

Zhang Yiqian saw that a standard battalion cavalry in front of him had run so much that he even dropped his helmet. The opponent has a strong physique, thick and powerful limbs, and coupled with the equestrian skills of the jīng Zhan who came out of the escape, Zhang Yiqian estimated that he must be a strong opponent in the hedging battle. But now the enemy could only flee for his life, and from time to time he turned his head to look at him with panic and fear. Every time this standard battalion armor horse glanced back, he could see the entire platoon of Ming troops following closely behind, countless sharp weapons shaking in their hands, this is by no means a single person can contend with, and it will definitely be a dead end to turn back and fight.

And Zhang Yiqian, who was chasing behind, looked at this fleeing standard battalion armor rider with the same gaze as looking at a dead man, no matter how he flashed and moved, there were always many weapons shaking behind him. Zhang Yiqian made a judgment that this standard battalion guard would not escape death after all, maybe he could flash under the guns of a certain Ming army, but it was impossible to escape the swords and guns of a hundred Ming cavalry.

Going hand in hand with his companions on the left and right, Zhang Yiqian suddenly had a feeling that was completely different from the past.

In the past, although everyone rushed to kill together, the cavalry was always lonely on the battlefield, and each companion was struggling in front of the ghost gate, and no one would have time to look at you. Zhang Yiqian is the same, every time he staggers by, he doesn't have the heart to observe other companions, accompanied by only his own equestrian skills and combat skills, hedging again and again, until one side is defeated. If Zhang Yiqian is unfortunately shot down and dismounted, it is possible that until the end of this battle, no companions will find that he is no longer alive. Take Zhang Yiqian himself, he has several friends, and he suddenly died on the battlefield in this way, although Zhang Yiqian knew that his partners around him were decreasing, but he didn't notice who disappeared at all, and it wasn't until the end of the battle that he was about to celebrate the victory, only to find that his friends were already lying on the battlefield.

But now, everyone is moving at the same pace, shouting the same slogans, holding their weapons in the same posture, and when an enemy soldier approaches, everyone stabs with their guns. This feeling was completely different from the previous loneliness, Zhang Yiqian felt as if he was in a collective, dissolving into the whole queue.

"Is this what infantry feels like?" Zhang Yiqian suddenly had such a thought in his heart, but then denied it: "No, this should be the feeling of a chain horse." ”

Seeing the cavalry of the Qing army suddenly running towards his troops, Mu Tan was surprised and delighted, and immediately ordered the whole army to fight.

The Ming army marching on the main road between the valleys stopped, and the soldiers with horse-repellent rifles went to the front row -- in Huguang, Deng Ming and Li Laiheng divided 1,500 horse-repelling rifles equally, and before the battle, they were equally divided among the five Ming troops, including Ren Tang.

One hundred and fifty six-meter-long repulsion rifles were placed on the ground at one end, and the soldier pressed against it with his foot, and the other end was tilted upward, and in an instant a tree with metal branches and leaves grew on the avenue.

"Archer, put!"

When the cavalry of the standard battalion fled to the rejecting position at the end of the road, the Ming archers had already occupied the hills on both sides and rained down arrows on the enemy cavalry between the roads.

The panicked standard battalion cavalry rushed to Mu Tan's horse position, they hurriedly strangled their horses in front of the tip of the spear in the cold light, and looked at the surrounding hills in horror, except for the insurmountable steep slope, the figure of the Ming infantry was exposed everywhere.

More armoured riders fled, and then saddled mounts joined their ranks, squeezing the small open space.

Even this living space is still being rapidly compressed, and the Ming cavalry chasing the standard camp armored cavalry has also arrived, they stopped not far away, but still maintain the airtight formation just now.

"Surrender!"

"Surrender!"

Seeing the Ming infantry approaching, the standard battalion armor cavalry who had no way to escape threw down their weapons one after another.

……

The captive said that Li Guoying's standard battalion was divided into two roads and ran all the way along the river, and it should go to Zhao Qianhu. The group in the middle has been wiped out by us. Mu Tan's face was full of excitement that could not be concealed.

The cavalry of the Ming army beat the standard battalion armor cavalry in the middle to the point of demoralization, and as the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, they did not even wait for the Ming army to start persuading them to surrender before they began to disarm, and many officers also recruited Li Guoying's military deployment.

Deng Ming learned that, just as the Ming army had hoped, after discovering that the Ming army was retreating in a fan shape, the Qing army also dispersed and pursued in an all-round way. In addition to the standard camp armor cavalry, Daniel Zhang and Wang Jinbao also took their soldiers along the river.

"That is to say, Zhao Qianhu is under a lot of pressure." Deng Ming immediately made up his mind: "I will go with the three walls to reinforce Zhao Qianhu first, which can just hit the back of the Qing army on the North Road." You lead your troops back the way they came. When Zhao Qianhu and I defeat Daniel Zhang and them, we will go back to the middle to reinforce you. ”

"Yes, Admiral." Mu Tan said yes loudly. As for Zhou Kaihuang's actions, Deng Ming asked Mu Tan and Zhou Kaihuang to judge for themselves, if there was pressure in the middle, they would fight back side by side, and if it was extremely easy, they could also reinforce the two wings according to the situation.

Pursuing to the south were Wang Mingde and others, who, like the enemies in the middle, were troops transferred by Li Guoying from Ganshan and other places. Deng Ming knew that although they were quite numerous, their field combat ability would certainly not be comparable to Wang Jinbao and Daniel Zhang. Wang Jinbao, Daniel Zhang, and Zhao Liangdong, like Zhao Liangdong, were all offensive generals that Hong Chengqian specified to participate in the Battle of the Southwest, and any general who could get Hong Chengqing's attention would of course receive more attention from Deng Ming.

In addition to the reason of combat effectiveness, Deng Ming decided to attack the enemy on the northern road first for another reason, that is, Daniel Zhang and Wang Jinbao attacked along the Yangtze River. At present, the naval division of the Ming army has withdrawn from the battlefield, and it may be a long time before the people of Guizhou can be put down and returned. If these Qing troops were unfavorable in battle, they might withdraw to the camp with the assistance of the Qing army's naval divisions; The Qing army, which was attacking south, was different, and even if they were given more time to react, they did not have the opportunity to camp and then escape through the boats on the Yangtze River.

In this case, Deng Ming of course gave priority to attacking the Qing army on the northern route, which had a better chance of escaping, and after giving the order, Deng Ming led the cavalry north.

"When we see Li Guoying's standard camp guards, we will have another chain of horses." Deng Ming said to the cavalry around him.

"Good!" Everyone responded in unison.

At this time, Deng Ming didn't know that the expedient measure he had just come up with in a hurry was the wall-style charge used by the modern cavalry in his previous life. What binds modern cavalry together is not the personal charm of the commander or the iron chains, but the military discipline that is more indestructible than the chains of the chain horses. Any cavalry less brave than the modern army is vulnerable to a wall charge, and when confronted with a braver enemy, the modern army can die with the enemy cavalry.

As Napoleon said, one Mamluk could defeat three French cavalry, but a hundred French cavalry could defeat a thousand Mamluks. After the advent of modern cavalry, although the nomadic cavalry still far superior in individual horsemanship, they were no longer able to defeat the cavalry units of the farming people, and they did not even have the courage to fight with them. And the only one who can block the wall charge of the modern cavalry who looks at death as if they were at home is the modern infantry who also have an iron will.