In early spring, it gets dark very early. Around five o'clock in the afternoon, darkness envelopes the earth. The whistling north wind brings a bone-chilling chill, which makes people's bodies crawl with goosebumps. There are also some tragically defeated villages in the wilderness.
However, there was not a wisp of people in sight, only the bare old trees shivering in the cold wind, which made people feel even more desolate.
"Report!" The sentry rushed to Mu Sheng, "Many corpses were found in front of us."
"Corpse?!" Mu Sheng was shocked when he heard the news and asked quickly: "Where are the corpses and how many people are there?"
There was no news from the two cavalry teams sent out in the morning and afternoon. How could Mu Sheng not be anxious? For the sake of safety, he also asked the infantry team to slow down their march and sent many sentries to inquire about the news, while waiting
After two hours, the news finally came back.
"There are about thousands of people. My subordinates checked some of the corpses and found that only a few were wearing our army's armor. Many of them were unknown in dress and identity, or were Peking thieves."
"Only a few? Then where are our troops? Why has there been no reward for so long?" Mu Sheng was even more confused. Logically speaking, a victory should be rewarded. If you don't see people alive or dead, what kind of thing is this? Could it be that,
Did those people surrender?
When Mu Sheng thought of this, his brows furrowed even higher. He knew that among the 50,000 men under his command, only the 10,000 firearms battalion was his hardcore force, and the rest were all improvised and miscellaneous troops put together by Shanxi, Shandong and other places.
, loyalty is worthy of scrutiny.
And Mu Sheng also heard that the Peiping thieves were particularly good at winning people's hearts. When they attacked Baoding and Hejian Prefectures, the garrison in that area almost surrendered. Even Baoding Prefecture, which had tens of thousands of people defending it, was coaxed and led away by them.
It is deceived by pulling, but it is hard to guard against.
"Master Marquis, it's already late at this time, so we can no longer march. According to my subordinates, it is better to camp on the spot. When the location of the Peiping thieves is found tomorrow, it will not be too late to decide where to go." An aide advised in a low voice.
"Go down with the order, set up camp on the spot, and send some people to take a look at the battlefield. In addition, arrange more people to patrol at night so that the bandit army cannot take advantage of it." Mu Sheng ordered, and he also knew that he was leading the army in the dark.
If you wander around at night, you will probably be killed in the dark. To be on the safe side, it is better to camp on the spot.
Mu Sheng also had nearly 40,000 infantrymen. With so many people working together, a huge and strong camp was quickly erected. The military camp was surrounded not only by several rows of high fences, but also by more than a dozen sentry towers.
, there are many crossbows and firearms installed on it. Anyone who wants to steal the camp at night will be shot into pieces before they even get close.
Of course, the Ming army didn't know that there was a serious misunderstanding in their thinking: Who said that to steal a camp, you have to get close?
After setting up the military camp and having dinner, the Ming army assigned some soldiers to watch the night, while the rest stayed in the military camp and refused to come out. After all, in this bitingly cold weather, if you stay outside for a whole night, you will definitely suffer from frostbite.
.The Ming army was obviously deficient in terms of equipment and clothing.
You must know that local military households in the Ming Dynasty did not receive military pay like the Peking Army. In addition to the Imperial Guards, local military households not only had to farm fields, but also had to hand over grains for farming to the court, and even had to prepare their own clothes.
Weapons are almost the same as those of serfs, and they are usually exploited by superior officers, so most middle- and lower-level officers and soldiers are extremely poor.
Soldiers are not only poor, but also have a very low status. Once they join the military household, they have been serving in the military for generations. There is a strict distinction between military status and civilian status. Children with military status are not allowed to take the imperial examination. There is no way to change their status. And the terrible thing is,
Even if you have no descendants, you still have to recruit people from the same clan to fill the gap. How can you be so miserable?
Soldiers are not looked upon favorably. Many military households are lucky enough to be freed from military membership. Those who cannot escape have to either become soldiers and wait to die, or flee to the barren mountains and become refugees, even if they are forcibly dragged to the battlefield.
On the other hand, they will not sincerely work for the imperial court. It is almost impossible to rely on these people to win the war, unless the other side defeats the Ming army.
Although the combat effectiveness of most of the Ming army is not worth relying on, Mu Sheng is still very confident in the 10,000 firearms battalion he brought. This army has been following his father and brother in Yunnan to suppress barbarians. After many years of combat experience, this army
The army can be called the most first-class army in the Ming Dynasty.
Different from the mainland of the Ming Dynasty, the ethnic minorities in Yunnan often rebelled, and there were elephant soldiers as a specialty. To deal with the charging elephant herds, it was impossible to rely on war horses, so most of the troops guarding Yunnan were equipped with firearms. As a leader of Yunnan,
As a defender, the Mu family relied on the firearms battalion to achieve consecutive victories.
In addition to being equipped with a large number of firearms, the "Mu Family Army" also has relatively advanced tactics. When the firearms battalion goes into battle, it is generally divided into three teams. The front team shoots, the squadron prepares, and the rear team loads ammunition. This tactics is also called "three-stage attack".
"The purpose is to maintain the continuous output of firepower and suppress the enemy's charge with continuous firepower.
With advanced equipment and advanced tactics, Mu Sheng was naturally extremely confident. Otherwise, he would not have taken the lead in attacking the Peking Army.
"Everyone, General Chang sent someone to convey the message. The main force is now camped twenty miles away, and our army is still more than thirty miles away from Baoding City. We will set up camp early tomorrow morning and strive to attack Baoding City before dark." Mu
Sheng summoned his generals and briefed them on the military situation.
In fact, the Ming army in the direction of Zhending Mansion totaled 160,000 people. The front army led by Pingxi Hou Musheng had more than 50,000 horses, the middle army had nearly 80,000 horses, and was led by the founding father Chang Sheng. The rear army had 30,000 people.
, led by Prince Consort Guo Zhen.
As for Chang Sheng, he is a descendant of Chang Yuchun, and he can be regarded as a queen of a famous family. As for whether he is the son of a tiger or a son of a general, it is hard to say. And the Prince Consort Guo Zhen is the son of Wu Dinghou Guo Ying, and his background is not small.
no
Dandy, that's hard to say. After all, these people were born in a peaceful era and didn't know what war was. Compared to Mu Sheng who guarded Yunnan, they looked very immature. Mu Sheng also looked down on these two peers from the bottom of his heart.
"General Mu, there is no message from our cavalry, so there may be something unexpected. In the opinion of my subordinates, we should slow down and wait for the main force to arrive before joining forces to attack, so as to ensure that nothing goes wrong." A young emissary stood up.
, advised.
The imperial envoy's surname was Yang Mingyu, and his courtesy name was Shiqi. He was not a Jinshi, but he was favored by the emperor's master Fang Xiaoru, so he was appointed as the imperial envoy. This time he was also sent to supervise the army. However, the noble military generals were squeezed out by the civil servants.
, so generals at all levels do not want to see these military supervisors.
Although he was not well-liked by others, Yang Shiqi still performed his duties and said what needed to be said. He had been sent to Yongping Prefecture to supervise the army. At that time, the Yongping Army fought against the Peiping Army and suffered a secret loss in the end. Experienced
In this matter, Yang Shiqi knew very well that the Peiping Army was unpredictable and could not be measured by common sense, otherwise he would definitely suffer hidden losses.
"Master Yang, there is no need to say more. The front army has a strength of 40,000 and has magical firearms. Are you still afraid of the little Peiping thieves?" A general gave Yang Shiqi a look of disdain.
"What General Gao said is wrong. There is a saying in the art of war: if you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles with no danger. Our army marched for a day and did not encounter the Peiping thieves, let alone the strength of the thieves' army. If the lone army goes deep, something unexpected may happen." Yang Shiqi also said.
"Humph, the reason why our army did not encounter the Peking bandits is because the bandits saw that our army was powerful and fled long ago. If our army did not take advantage of the situation and advance bravely, all the chances of fighting would be lost." The general argued unconvinced.
"General Gao..." Yang Shiqi wanted to say more, but suddenly he heard a rumble of thunder, which made his eardrums pound and everyone present was startled.
"No, artillery, artillery is coming!" Yang Shiqi reacted quickly, but before he could finish his words, he was drowned by the whistling wind, and then the ground trembled for a while. He lost his footing and was directly hit by a blast.
An invisible force knocked him away, and he almost fainted. Not far from him, a large pit with a diameter of several meters appeared. Rocks and soil were flying everywhere. The entire Chinese army tent was blown away, and everything was in chaos.
They were all wounded soldiers.
"No, the enemy has stolen the camp!" A cry of surprise rang out, and the sound of gongs sounded throughout the entire military camp. Many soldiers rushed out of the camp. Except for the discovery of dozens of large pits appearing out of thin air, nothing could be seen.
Enemy traces.
Just as the Ming army was looking for the enemy's location, there was another flash of fire in the northeast, followed by another loud rumbling sound. Countless small lead beads roared and fell like raindrops on the Ming army camp. Many
Before the Ming army had time to react, they were unfortunately hit, and screams could not be heard.
"The enemy troops appeared in the northeast." Mu Sheng got up from the ground, not caring to clean the soil on his body, and ordered to the trusted generals around him: "Quickly, gather the firearms camp and go and kill the rebels."
Shoot down the artillery array."
"General, the firepower of the rebel army is so fierce. We are afraid of losing, so we should retreat." The general surnamed Gao also got up from the ground. He didn't take the Peking Army seriously just now. Now he was bombarded by artillery. He immediately
Withered.
"You can't retreat. Let the main force disperse quickly to avoid the rebel artillery fire, and then send people to snatch the rebel artillery." Yang Shiqi endured the huge pain in his waist and stood up and shouted.
"After the order is passed, the entire army will immediately be divided into two groups. One group of 10,000 people and the firearms battalion will go to destroy the rebel artillery array. The remaining group will be divided into two parts and move forward slowly to serve as the firearms battalion's side response." Mu Sheng was also calm.
, issued several orders in succession.
At this moment, another burst of rumbling artillery fire came from the northeast. The Ming soldiers in the camp ran away long ago without waiting for orders from their commanders. The entire military camp became a mess, and many wounded soldiers wailed helplessly.
Mu Sheng did not dare to stay in the camp any longer, so he crawled out of the camp with a group of close followers.
Although the Ming army was in chaos, the firearms camp was very organized and disciplined and did not disperse in a hurry, and those small soldiers who planned to disperse in a hurry were also pulled back one after another. After the army was pulled back, Mu Sheng gave the order
The firearms battalion led 10,000 infantry to attack the artillery positions of the Peiping thieves, and he himself led nearly 20,000 infantry to follow up as a backup. As for the thousands of wounded soldiers in the camp, he had no time to care about them.
.
In a night battle, the infantry of the Ming army who had no tents to rely on were at an absolute disadvantage, especially when encountering elite cavalry who were good at riding and shooting. No, the firearms battalion had just advanced a few hundred meters when it was hit by a burst of arrows.
After firing a volley, they quickly fired back with guns, only to find that the enemy had already run away like ghosts.
The firearms battalion had just finished firing a shot, when another hail of arrows flew from the other direction. They hurriedly loaded the gunpowder pellets and were about to launch, but once again found that the enemy had disappeared. They were about to continue moving forward, but suddenly there was another shot from behind.
There was the sound of horse hooves, and then a shower of arrows fell, but the enemy still disappeared like a ghost.
Being surrounded and beaten by people from both sides, the firearms battalion finally realized that they were in big trouble. However, this firearms battalion was also brave. Although there were more than a thousand casualties, they still did not mess up and continued to move forward in a square formation.
While advancing, he looked around cautiously and fired his gun whenever he heard any noise. He was so cautious, but he forgot to pay attention to his steps.
The firearms battalion moved forward for about two hundred meters and was about to attack the Peking Army's artillery array. At this moment, thousands of rockets flew from the sky, like stars. The firearms battalion had already been there.
After entering, he quickly put the shield on his head to protect his whole body.
However, although the shield could protect the vital parts, it could not stop the rockets that were like a hail of arrows. As soon as the rockets fell, there was only a "whoosh" sound, and the flames suddenly shot up, and the firearms battalion soldiers suddenly discovered at this time,
The soft things under my feet were not weeds, but wheat straws, piled up wheat straws. These wheat straws seemed to have been added with oil and would start a prairie fire when exposed to fire.
"No, we're ambushed! Quick, retreat!"
"Ah, gunpowder, the gunpowder was attracted." A soldier kept beating the flames on his body, but before he finished speaking, he heard a loud bang, and the man turned into a huge ball of fire and exploded.
The flames splashed on the companion again.
"Quick, throw away the gunpowder, take off your cotton-padded clothes, and run away." Facing the raging fire, no matter how disciplined the firearms battalion is, it still becomes a mess, and many firearms battalion soldiers carry a lot of gunpowder.
, these gunpowders can turn into gunpowder barrels with a little spark, and many people become pyromen. For a time, explosions and screams can be heard non-stop.
A fire, just a fire, the firearms battalion, the most elite unit of the Ming army, collapsed! The more than 10,000 small soldiers died and ran away, and many of the slow runners were trapped in the sea of fire, directly transformed into
The burning man was buried in the sea of fire.
A fire shot up into the sky in front of him. When Mu Sheng, who was following the firearms camp, saw this, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. He was about to send troops to rescue him. He only heard a burst of rapid horse hoofbeats. He faintly noticed that there were countless ghosts.
Ordinary cavalry appeared in the four directions, front, rear, left and right. Through the light of the torch, he could see the blue armor, which seemed to be emitting the light of death...
"Put down your weapons and surrender without killing!"
"Put down your weapons and surrender without killing!"
As the sound of horse hooves approached, a chorus of roars came from all directions. The sound was like a pack of wolves howling wildly, and like a dragon roaring and a tsunami. It directly shook the soldiers of the Ming army. Many soldiers loosened their hands and crackled.
, spears, bows and arrows, broadswords, and muskets were thrown all over the place.