Section 22 Rush Attack (II)

On the evening of 7 October, hundreds of soldiers of the Green Battalion arrived, and they were immediately thrown into intense combat preparations by Zu Zepu. The key to this battle was of course Zu Zepu's standard battalion, their equipment was no big difference from other Manchu cavalry, with nail guns and other weapons, many cavalry mounts still hung quivers, and everyone used their best weapons.

However, in addition to these regular cavalry, there were also 600 men in the standard battalion who had the traditional weapon of the Guanning Iron Cavalry, the long-handled three-eyed gun, which the cavalry would use preferentially to attack the enemy on the opposite side when fighting. This weapon was very effective in dealing with the homeless, and it was also good in this Shandong banditry, and the standard battalion often scattered and collapsed when it was against the enemy on the few occasions when it was fired.

These cavalrymen equipped with three-eyed guns were also equipped with waist knives, but they were even more commonly used on the battlefield than waist knives, as they were basically long weapons, which could be used as maces, and even against nail guns in one-on-one combat. Zu Zepu planned to equip all the standard camp guards with this kind of weapon in the future, and as his godson, the Qing court would not mind equipping his standard camp with this kind of firearm.

However, Li Guoying, the governor of Sichuan and Shaanxi, disagreed, and felt that the cavalry's use of firearms was somewhat indecent. However, Zu Zepu and Shandong Governor thought that Li Guoying couldn't eat grapes and said that grapes were sour, because Li Guoying was poor and couldn't afford to be equipped with such sharp weapons, so they said strange things sourly on the side.

During a meal, Zu Zepu asked Li Guoying with a smile: "Is the fire gun powerful?" ”

"Awesome." Li Guoying honestly admitted.

"Are the cavalry powerful?"

"Of course." If the cavalry is not strong, why do all the governors use armored cavalry as a standard camp?

"Then the cavalry and the fire gun are naturally more powerful." In defending the honor of the Guanning Iron Cavalry, Zu Zepu has always been extremely serious.

"No matter how powerful the firecracker cavalry is, it can't help but rush the Manchurian soldiers." Jie Shu, who was present at the time, interjected coldly.

"That's right, but the Han people are not Manchurian soldiers." Zu Zepu smiled and toasted Prince Kang.

"Well, the Three-Eyed Firebolt is still very powerful." Suppilon made a round. Zu Zepu was loyal to the Manchurians, and there were also some Han military banners from Liaodong in the standard camp, so the Qing court officials had no intention of caring whether he was equipped with firearms.

Today, Zu Zepu lined up the standard camp in a neat formation of 200 people, and the first three rows were all three-eyed iron horses. Zu Zepu noticed that Deng Ming placed the cavalry in the middle, and the two wings were Shandong's fish belly troops, and knew that the other party would probably attack. The bird gun is not easy to handle on the back of a bumpy horse, while the three-eyed gun is much more convenient. There is a distance between each platoon of cavalry, and three rows of men can take turns shooting, and the three-eyed iron cavalry immediately retreats to the rear row after shooting, dismounts and loads.

"The cavalry is a clutch soldier, and it pays attention to charging in turns, and my formation is specifically designed to restrain the cavalry." Zu Zepu said confidently to the left and right. The favorite tactic of the Mongol cavalry was to feint and charge, attract the Ming army to open fire, and then retreat and charge again to consume the Ming army's ammunition. Yesterday, when Zu Zepu asked Fu Shancha and other Sichuan-Shaanxi standard battalions for their opinions, the other party also told him that according to their experience in fighting with Deng Ming for many years, the same was true of the Sichuan cavalry, repeatedly attacking back and forth to pull the enemy's formation, and then giving a fatal blow after finding a flaw.

The Three-Eyed Iron Cavalry is also a cavalry, and when facing the cavalry, they are not as panicked as the infantry, and they can shoot more calmly. Zu Zepu believed that the Sichuan cavalry was likely to charge the battle repeatedly, so it was necessary to grasp the distance very well, and the Sichuan people's riding skills were certainly far inferior to the Mongols in this regard. Zu Zepu's point of view was confirmed by the Sichuan-Shaanxi Governor - even if it was a Mongol cavalry, someone would fall off their horse every time they charged. Zu Zepu had great experience in arranging a manger behind his formation, which was filled with forage and water. When the knights fell off their horses, the uncontrolled horses would run to these manroughs to drink water and graze, and were captured by the Qing army.

Zu Zepu planned to use such a flexible position to ruthlessly consume Deng Ming's already small cavalry, as well as their precious body and horsepower. As early as before the Ming army ran out of Zu Zepu's ammunition, they would be exhausted, and at this time, Governor Zu would seize the opportunity and order the whole army to launch a fierce attack and completely defeat the scattered and sleepy Deng Ming guards.

After such attrition, Deng Ming's personal guards will not have a chance to escape from the pursuit of the Qing army, the only thing that Zu Zepu regrets is that Deng Ming himself will definitely stay in the rear to watch the enemy's array, and when the time comes, he will ride away, and it is really not easy for the Qing army to catch him.

Nearly 500 Deng Ming's personal guards were lined up in a loose formation of more than a dozen rows, and there was no big difference between them and traditional cavalry in terms of lineup and spacing. There were no allies in front of him to obscure his vision, and there was no need for Deng Ming to form a tight formation before launching an attack. Since he saw that the other party had put the firearm cavalry at the forefront, Deng Ming knew that the enemy had handed over the initiative in today's battle to the Ming army, and the Ming army could freely choose the time to start without guarding against the enemy's sudden charge.

As in the last time he faced the Sichuan-Shaanxi Green Battalion, Deng Ming was the only person in the whole army wearing fiery red armor, and the rest of the people, including the thirty Mongols, were also uniformly black.

Riding horses from the passage between the friendly forces and the guards in Shandong to the front of the formation, Deng Ming's appearance once again caused a cheer. He calmly ordered his war horse and carried out the final pre-war mobilization of his subordinates: "All the monarchs know that now our army is engaged in a life-and-death decisive battle in the south of the Yangtze River, and the winner of this war will be the master of South China. We traveled thousands of miles across the sea to Shandong to ensure that our army could win victory in this decisive battle. I have no secret of saying to you, if we lose Jiangnan, we will fall into a bitter battle to defend Sichuan, and we will use the ruined Sichuan to fight against the whole of China and try our best to attack the Central Plains in the north, even with the eloquence of Zhuge Wuhou, it will not be realized. ”

"If our army is defeated in Jiangnan, if our Sichuan falls, neither I, Deng Ming nor Zhujun, can survive alone." Deng Mingmian pointed at his guards, and pointed his arm to the back: "Today's battle is small, but it is very important, it determines the victory or defeat of Jiangnan, the survival of Sichuan, whether we become the master of South China or even the lord of China, or whether we are a skeleton on the loess that no one can hide." Gentlemen work hard. ”

"Victory, victory!" The black-armored cavalry broke the silence and waved their arms as they shouted reassurance to their commander.

"Okay, please follow Deng Ming, who can't exist alone." After Deng Ming finished speaking, he turned his horse's head and quietly stopped in front of the soldiers, about three meters away from the first row of knights behind him.

Behind Deng Ming, the first row did not move, and the cavalry behind them plunged forward into the gap in the front row, and finally became a tight four rows that could not be exchanged with each other.

"Is this a clutch array?" Seeing that the other party suddenly changed formation, Zu Zepu muttered to himself. Although Fu Shancha, Yao Changzun and others said it well, this formation looked tighter than the formation of the Manchurian soldiers, how could they turn around and avoid the fire when the time came?

However, Zu Zepu no longer had a chance to ask Fu Shancha and Yao Changzun. At this time, Fu Shancha was on the right flank of the whole army, and the bright red-clothed cavalry general appeared behind the battlefield just now, and the eyes of the Qing troops on the entire battlefield were attracted and gathered on him, but Fu Shancha and his men were staring closely at a small hill behind the Ming army's formation. On that hill, a large group of captured officers of the Green Battalion could be seen. As long as the situation was not right, Fu Shancha would charge the enemy line without hesitation, kill anyone who dared to stop him, and hack everyone on that hill to death. On the other wing of the Qing army's position, Yao Changzun, the leader of another hundred Sichuan-Shaanxi Green Battalions, was also the same as Fu Shancha, staring at the hill and turning the same thoughts as Fu Shancha. Although Deng Ming had completed the transformation of the impact lineup, the Sichuan-Shaanxi Green Battalion turned a blind eye, and each of their minds was focused on their real enemy.

Deng Ming pulled out his long horse sword and held it high, and there was a neat sound of the sword unsheathed behind him, and he didn't have to look back to know that the guards were ready.

"Come with me." Deng Ming said calmly, and then began to move forward with a clamp on the horse's belly.

Behind him were the thirty Mongols with the best horsemanship, and they insisted on being in this position in order to protect Deng Ming's safety, which was also the common request of all the guards.

"Keep up with the Admiral." After seeing Deng Ming start to move forward, the Mongolian thought to himself, clenched the sword in his hand, and slowly increased his speed according to the requirements of training.

"Is that the one in front of you Deng Ming?" Zu Zepu saw that the red-clothed general did not retreat after mobilizing on the battlefield, but took the lead in leading the team forward, and asked suspiciously.

"Probably not," replied one of the soldiers with some confidence, "this must be a stand-in." ”

"Let the stand-in do the mobilization, it will affect morale, right?" Another asked.

As he spoke, Deng Ming had already increased his horse's speed to a semi-charging state. The wind was whistling in his ears, and he pointed his sword diagonally forward, and began to increase the horse's speed to a charge. There was no one else beside Deng Ming, and he didn't know if the distance between himself and the guards behind him was still the same, and he didn't know if he was too fast, so that he opened the distance. Although the urge to look back was growing stronger, he tried to restrain himself, knowing that this was not the right time to turn back or slow down his horse.

"How can you take the world without risk?" Deng Ming muttered in his heart, and suddenly let out a loud shout, raising the speed to the highest.

I don't know who hurriedly released the first shot, and then I heard the sound of firecrackers, and in the blink of an eye, the three-eyed iron cavalry in the first row fired their firearms one after another, and the white fog instantly filled the entire battlefield, blocking the Ming and Qing armies.

The large white fog slowly drifted away, and the three-eyed iron rider in the front row couldn't help but look back as he retreated, trying to see the scene behind the fog.

The second row of three-eyed iron riders stared at the edge of the white fog ten meters away in front of them, wondering if the enemy had evaded the fire, or if they should shoot blindly into the white fog.

Before the first row could fully retreat, a war horse suddenly jumped out of the dense fog and pounced on the three-eyed iron knight with a fiery red figure on its back. When the sword light in the figure touched the first Qing cavalry, several black-armored knights also rushed out of the fog, followed by hundreds of people, and the entire row of Ming soldiers appeared from the fog together.