After the combat meeting ended, the officers of each department immediately returned to their troops who had already lurked in the village fortress outside the city and used the villages to hide themselves.

Zhang Hong stood on a temporary observation platform in the village, listening to the reports of the soldiers on duty, nodding from time to time, and giving instructions to the deputy general behind him to organize the team and prepare for battle.

After saying that, he turned to look at the densely packed barracks in the village behind him. There were nearly three thousand troops, hundreds of civilians assisting in the defense, and hundreds of mules and horses transporting supplies. They were all ready. These civilians and mules and horses were in order not to

The target who exposed the army lurking here remained in the village and did not evacuate.

Zhang Hong looked at it for a while, then turned to look at the Qing army camp on the other side of the river. There was already a large area of ​​densely packed barracks, and cavalry rushed out of the camp from time to time.

"Let all ministries check their equipment and weapons, stay vigilant, and start taking action as soon as the signal sounds tonight."

"Yes!" the deputy general behind Zhang Hong responded immediately, and then immediately stepped back to convey the order.

Zhang Hong was actually still a little uneasy. There was no room for carelessness in fighting, and he had even stopped drinking for a while.

On a plain like Jiangbei, if there was not a river blocking the two huge armies, this war might have ended by now.

You must know that once two extremely offensive armies enter a confrontation in the wild, there is no such thing as retreat. In this case, unless it is an extremely favorable time, whoever dares to retreat will cause the formation to be chaotic, and as long as the formation

Once there is chaos, it will give the enemy an opportunity to take advantage of it!

In other words, when both the enemy and we are elite divisions, it is not easy to lure the enemy deep into the army. Even if you are not careful, if any one of them goes wrong, once the chaos of the troops and horses is formed, the situation will be dire.

It's out of control.

Soon, night fell, and everything on the plains on the north and south banks of the Huaihe River was pitch black. Except for the military camps and cities on both sides of the Huaihe River, they were all brightly lit. Lanterns, fire plates, and torches gave off a pale yellow light, which was extremely conspicuous in the night.

On the plains, from time to time, the sounds of sentinels and cavalry from the Ming and Qing armies fighting to the death could be heard after encountering each other by chance, but these were only a few specks, and more was the sound of the whistling wind.

In the camp of Zhou Shixian's army, a special force of more than 200 people was urgently assembled. All of them were equipped with war horses, and were also escorted by nearly 500 of the most elite cavalry in the army.

This secret force of more than 700 people was divided into ten groups and began to march secretly along the east and west sides of the Huaihe River. Then, with the support of the sentries on the opposite side, they successfully crossed the river and galloped towards the direction of the Qing army's camp.

The Qing army's defense was still very tight at night, but these ten secret detachments did not approach the enemy camp, but ended up staying about two miles away from the camp. In the end, nine cavalry groups successfully reached the designated location.

In this position, only one of the Qing army's sentry cavalry discovered it and was repulsed.

This secret force was formed under the temporary order of Zhou Shixian, and it was the first time it appeared on the battlefield. They used the "Shenwei Rocket" that was successfully mass-produced in the latest experiment of the "Nanjing Ordnance Bureau" as a weapon and was responsible for night operations.

Harass the Qing army, undermine the opponent's morale and create panic so that the army can launch a night attack.

In fact, these rockets are not yet mature military products. They were originally designed by Zhou Shixian based on his memories of the British Congreve rocket. This rocket was originally a derivative of the old Song and Yuan rockets, but it was passed to the West and improved and used by the West.

Arriving on the battlefield.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when artillery technology was not yet developed enough, rockets were an excellent supplement to the army's firepower. Because of their superior performance, rockets were used on various battlefields by the British army.

Although the rocket produced by the "Nanjing Ordnance Bureau" has limited power and its range is not as high as that of later generations, reaching seven or eight miles away, it is sufficient as a night attack weapon.

Nowadays, the "Shenwei Rocket" in the Ming Army is designed to have a range of four to five miles, and the firing rate is expected to reach more than 90%. However, in fact, after ignition and launch, less than 60% can be fired beyond three miles. It can really

Those that reach four or five miles, or even further, are less than 50%.

But this was enough for Zhou Shixian. After all, nearly a hundred rockets were fired into the Qing army camp, and the blazing fire was spectacular. If panic was created, Zhou Shixian's purpose could be achieved.

.

Therefore, after Zhou Shixian saw the monthly report submitted by the "Nanjing Ordnance Bureau" before, he still asked the craftsmen to expedite the production of a batch. It doesn't matter whether the shot is accurate or not. Within a year, it is possible to have such a yield rate.

It is enough to prove that the craftsmen of Ming Dynasty are excellent as long as they are on the right stage.

The whistling sound of rocket launch suddenly sounded, and dozens of bright light spots dragged long tail flames across the dark sky, flying towards the Manchu and Qing camp.

On the plain where the Manchu and Qing camps were located, dozens of fires suddenly appeared, and there were sounds of panic and fear everywhere. Faced with this sudden attack, the Qing army did not recover at all.

After all, they were really not familiar with rockets, not to mention that they were fired from three or four miles away. The Qing army's sentries did not notice anything strange at all - even if they launched a night attack, they would not be able to attack people from all directions.

Stop inside and outside.

Not only the Qing troops in the military camp were knocked unconscious by the roaring rocket attacks. Even on the plains, there were also unlucky Qing army sentries who were knocked unconscious by defective rockets that dropped midway. They fell off their horses and broke their necks, and died on the spot.

of.

The soldiers of the Qing army who were on duty at night raised their heads and looked up at the sky when they heard the sound, and then they all opened their mouths in shock. They were completely stunned when they saw those rockets swooping down from high places.

Although the Ming army's rockets were inaccurate, facing the vast Qing army camp, nearly a hundred rockets finally hit the target, instantly igniting dozens of tents and triggering a panic in the Qing army camp.

There was a huge commotion and many Qing soldiers were burned alive in their sleep.

Most of them ran out in a hurry without having time to put on their armor, and even had their quilts and clothes set on fire. They ran out of the tent with a ball of fire, and then set fire to several surrounding tents.

It was the first time for the Qing army to see this kind of weapon. The officers of each battalion did not know what happened, let alone where the flames came from, and they were unable to make an effective counterattack.

In particular, before the fire caused by the first wave of rocket attacks could be extinguished, the second wave of rocket attacks by the Ming army came again. The sharp whistling sound once again caused panic in the Qing army camp. Each camp was full of Han people.

Officers led troops to suppress it, and the Qing army sentry cavalry on the periphery were on urgent alert, fearing that the Ming army would take the opportunity to steal the camp.

After all, the Qing army was camping in the wild, lacking the protection of city walls and mountains, and had no place to rely on outside the camp. How could they not be nervous?

Moreover, nervousness can be contagious, and the Eight Banners soldiers behaved quite calmly. After all, military discipline is strict, and under the personal suppression of Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming, the feudal soldiers have not yet become chaotic.

However, the soldiers of the Green Camp had not yet accepted the suppression of the Qing army's strict military discipline. Although the entire battalion did not collapse as before in the Ming army, they were already in chaos.

It was not until the rocket soldiers of the Dianqian Army fired three rounds and exhausted all 158 rockets that the Qing army had not figured out the situation. Instead, they were in chaos because of fires everywhere in the camp. These chaos greatly reduced the Qing army's

The military's response capabilities prevent it from quickly dispatching troops to respond to emergencies.

On their way back, the elite cavalry of the Ming Army who were escorting the rocket soldiers had several encounters with the scattered Qing army sentries on the periphery. With their superior strength, they quickly repelled the opponents.

Moreover, before Duduo could figure out the situation, summon his troops, and send out a large group of cavalry to search the camp and expel the sudden attack of the Ming army, Xue Laoer and Wu Xingye's armies had already crossed the river first.

Zhou Shixian stood on the platform on the bank of the river and watched the whole rocket attack. He felt quite proud. He designed these rockets himself, so his sense of accomplishment was self-evident.

The Qing army camp that has become a mess shows that these rockets, which are not yet excellent, have basically completed their mission. Facing the large areas of the Qing army camp, accuracy is indeed not important. The fire ignited is enough

The Qing army lost the opportunity to rest, and also lost the opportunity to organize troops and horses to deal with the Ming army's night attack.
Chapter completed!