The breath of spring can already be felt, and the sky is blue and clear, but Sahalian's expression is serious and depressed.
The sound of muskets and explosions kept coming, and the vanguard led by Sorno was fighting with the enemy.
If it was just a small group of troops attacking, the battle would not have lasted so long, nor would it have been as intense as the sounds coming from it.
Looking back at the moving vehicle, Wakda was lying inside, and several packers pushed the car carefully, fearing that the bumps would cause pain to Wakda and risk their lives.
Suddenly, dozens of crossbow arrows shot out from the woods beside the road, aimlessly hitting the people and horses on the road.
People yelled, horses neighed, screamed in agony, and the Jianlu soldiers who were attacked were in a state of confusion.
But the Jianlu reacted quickly. The attackers had just fired their second round of crossbows, and they had already begun to fight back. They organized their troops, held shields and wielded knives, and charged into the woods.
Despicable, cowardly... After receiving the report, Saharian cursed in his heart, but he did not expect that there were volleys in front and harassment in the back. The enemy cunningly let go of the forwards and only targeted the rear group.
Carrying wounded soldiers is already a burden, and constant reconnaissance and vigilance will definitely slow down the retreat, but Saharian has no good solution.
When a large group of people is marching or retreating, it is inevitable to be harassed, especially if there are mountains and forests and other hidden places on the roadside.
The interception area chosen by Guo Dajing was the Jinzhou District of Dalian in later generations. The terrain was a low mountain and hilly area. In addition, the forest coverage rate in the Liaodong area at that time was much higher than that of later generations, which provided quite good conditions for the attack.
Saharian believed that such a small-scale harassment was a helpless move by the enemy and had no major impact other than slowing down the retreat.
But he didn't know that these harassing enemies were not only trying to contain them, but they would also lay mines and traps in their retreat.
When they were unable to break through Xiaoheishan's blockade and retreated to another route, they were hurt again.
Continuous harassment, constant killing, and too many mosquito bites can suck people's blood dry. Putting Jianlu into continuous consumption can have a very good effect not only strategically, but also tactically.
Saharian, who was in the middle army, did not know the specific situation of the attack on the rear team. Those who did not retaliate and chased into the woods had fallen into the trap and continued to pay the price of death and injury.
"Boom!" A wire mine was detonated by the blind Jianlu. It exploded on a tree branch about one meter high, shooting out shrapnel in all directions.
The landmines were not only replaced with granular gunpowder, but also improved their deployment methods, greatly increasing the power of volley explosions.
Two or three prisoners were the first to bear the brunt. Their faces and bodies were hit by shrapnel, and they screamed in the rising smoke.
"Boom!" Another large mine exploded, knocking the two prisoners to the ground. Their legs and feet with the weakest protection were injured, and they fell to the ground unable to get up for a while.
The successive landmine explosions made Jianlu, who was chasing after them with howling like wolves and ghosts, unable to help being frightened and angry, and slowed down.
The white figures in front were looming among the trees. Jianlu only stared at these sneak attack enemies, but unexpectedly he was already in a dangerous situation where he was attacked from three sides.
This is a joint operation of five or six raiding squads. One squad sneaks up on and lures the enemy into an ambush circle, while the other squads wear white camouflage uniforms and lurk on both sides of the enemy.
"Retreat." Niu Luerzhen, who was leading the team, looked at the trees in front of him. He didn't know how many mines were still hidden, and gave the order unwillingly but helplessly.
But Jianlu, who had already gone deep into the woods, wanted to escape unscathed, but it was already too late.
Han Zhong lay motionless in the snow, looking like a snow bag, but he stared at the enemy between the trees.
The cold temperature did not cool down the burning passion in his heart to kill the enemy. As the squad leader, he finally had the opportunity to command independently.
Gently pulling the trigger, the crossbow arrow flew out silently, accurately passed through the scattered trees, and hit a Jianlu hard in the neck.
More crossbow arrows flew out from various hiding places, and Jianlu was shot down mercilessly without even noticing any trace of the enemy.
"There's an ambush, retreat quickly!" Niu Luzhen was shocked. He covered himself with a shield, looked around, searched, and urged more and more anxiously.
There were no shouts of killing, and there were no enemies charging towards them. Only the cold and silent crossbow arrows were firing, carrying the breath of death, constantly killing and injuring Jianlu.
They are all experienced elites. From a distance of thirty to forty meters, their crossbows can shoot accurately and hard.
Ah! A Jianlu's calf was shot through. He knelt down weakly in the snow. He tried his best to stand up with his knife, but another crossbow arrow flew over and hit him in the face.
Poof! The horrifying sound of penetration was right next to his ears. Niu Lu’s real shield could not cover his whole body. A crossbow arrow penetrated both of his cheeks and shattered several of his teeth.
Screaming and wailing, cursing and exclaiming, the retreating prisoners kept falling to the ground, and those who were injured could only take a few more breaths, unable to escape the fate of death.
Crossbow arrows were also fired from the back, and the team that lured the enemy also turned back to fight, forming a three-sided pincer attack on Jianlu.
"Boom!" Another landmine exploded. Jianlu's hasty retreat made the landmines laid basically effective.
Of the more than 100 Jianlu prisoners who entered the woods in pursuit, only about 30 people were able to retreat to the road alive, and more than half were killed or injured.
The remaining men and horses in the rear team were only Niulu. The other Jianlu who were watching the horses on the road hesitated again and again, and finally did not dare to enter the forest to fight again.
The rear team was attacked and ambushed, and the forward led by Sorno was not in a very good condition either, suffering heavy casualties.
The several blocking positions chosen by Guo Dajing were all determined by the most favorable terrain and terrain after careful observation and hypothetical actual combat processes.
The Jianlu wanted to make a roundabout flank, but the width was very small and the terrain was unfavorable. If the blocking troops were properly arranged, they could give full play to their firepower advantage and hit the fewer with more troops.
Similarly, when attacking on the main road, Jianlu could not take advantage of his strength and could only attack forcefully.
Sorno saw with his own eyes that the explosion of two large directional mines killed and injured dozens of brave men.
Under the enemy's heavy musketry fire, the armor of the Jianzhou warriors was useless, and they were either killed or injured amid the splatter of blood and flesh.
Just like the roar of artillery, Sorno had experienced the power of heavy muskets under the Port Arthur Fort, and had some psychological shadow.
Not only him, but the attacking Jianlu were also frightened. The heavy muskets were really too sharp, subverting their previous impressions.
Historically, the records of the Later Jin Dynasty were full of disdain for the firearms of the Ming army. In fact, the Ming army had many firearms, but they did not play a role in winning the battle.
"The soldiers fired guns and cannons like rain and snow, but no one was killed in our attack", and "guns and cannons that can penetrate two or three layers of iron armor hit me naked or even those who were wearing thin clothes, but they were not injured. This is all due to the blessing of the gods."
”.
God's blessing is nonsense. It is as invulnerable as chanting a curse and swallowing a talisman, and it is completely unreliable. But if it is completely called propaganda, it is not necessarily true.
At that time, the Ming army's most equipped weapon was not a bird gun but a three-eyed gun.
The bird gun pursues range, and it is indeed difficult to penetrate heavy armor in terms of power. Not to mention the three-eyed gun, which is originally designed to eliminate backward things. If the distance is slightly longer, the lethality cannot be complimented.
The performance and quality of firearms is a problem, but the key lies in the use of the Ming army, which is the biggest problem.
For bird cannons, thirty to fifty meters is considered an effective range. Even so, it lacks lethality against heavy armor.
Most of the Ming troops were afraid of the enemy. Faced with the charging cavalry, they would fire from a long distance, and naturally the power of their muskets would not be brought into play.
Jianlu also grasped this characteristic of the Ming army, and often used cavalry to raid the formation to lure the Ming army into firing. Then, they would take advantage of the opportunity for reloading of firearms to launch a fierce attack.
The key is that the Ming army's hand-to-hand melee combat could not withstand the brave Jianlu, and it could not provide guarantee and time for the musketeers to reload ammunition.
When Jianlu rushed forward, the musketeers lost their ability to fight, and the weapons in their hands were not as useful as fire sticks.
Of course, if you use a three-eyed gun, you can still swing it and use it as a hammer, but it is still better than nothing.
Now, the Dongjiang Army showed Jianlu the correct posture for using firearms, allowing Jianlu to see the real scene of hot weapons warfare.
In Sorno's widened eyes, the enemy's muskets made an ear-splitting roar, white smoke rose from the position, and hundreds of muskets were spitting fire.
A dense volley of lead bullets can easily penetrate the armor, and a stream of blood arrows spurt out from the body; or the human body can be knocked to the ground like a scarecrow, with flesh and blood flying everywhere.
A Niu Luzhen held a shield and wielded a knife, roaring and howling, urging his men to overcome obstacles and charge forward.
The archers tried their best to shoot arrows at the enemy. Despite the large shields and fortifications, they continued to cause casualties to the enemy.
But in the duel between heavy muskets and bows, the enemy clearly had the advantage in terms of range and power.
Niu Lu'erzhen's voice stopped suddenly, his head was beaten to pieces, blooming in a mixture of red and white colors, and his body spun and fell to the ground.
The second one!
Sorno gritted his teeth, feeling bitter and painful in his heart. They were all warriors who had experienced hundreds of battles, and they were beaten to death in this way. They were embarrassed and miserable, and they didn't even have a chance to show off their martial arts skills.
Not far away, the first Niulu Erzhen who died in battle was snatched back and fell miserably in the snow. His abdomen was bloody and bloody, and his colorful internal organs were still exposed, which was shocking.
In the narrow passage specially set aside by the blocking troops, there were corpses of Jianlu lying everywhere. The blood was gurgling and misting, and it quickly became sticky. The dead people were all bloody and in various shapes.
Sorno finally figured it out. If you don't destroy all the obstacles, if you try to go through the narrow path or go around, you will die in vain. This is where the muskets are aimed and fired. It is difficult to break through the hail of bullets!
"Ming Jin." Sorno ordered.
He didn't want to call it quits, but he thought he had figured out a way to deal with it, readjusted it, and then launched a fierce attack.
One of the methods that Sorno came up with was to use carriages as cover, approach the roadblocks, and dismantle them. Another tactic was to strengthen flanking detours and bypass the enemy's blocking positions across the road.
Most of the carriages were blown up and burned at Fort Lushun, and the rest could barely transport the wounded, which was simpler and more convenient than building vehicles.
He sent people to report to the Chinese army and first mobilized the carriages for use. Sorno also organized flank attack troops, preparing to use a two-pronged approach to form a breakthrough as soon as possible.
From Sorno's point of view, there wouldn't be many enemies to block them, only two to three thousand would hold up to the sky. Dare to block them head-on, just relying on the sharpness of the muskets and the favorable terrain.
As long as the obstacles can be broken through and the two sides fight together, the enemy will definitely be defeated and suffer a disastrous defeat.
Despite repeated setbacks, Sorno still firmly believed that the Jianzhou Warriors had an absolute advantage in melee combat and could defeat ten of them.
Jianlu temporarily stopped the attack, and the blocking troops seized the time to reorganize and prepare for a more violent attack.
Liu Xingzhi held up his telescope and observed the enemy's movements. As expected, Jianlu was preparing for a flanking attack.
"My lord, I will lead some people to strengthen the flank defense." Sentinel Feng Xijian bowed and asked for orders.
Liu Xingzhi pondered for a moment and said: "There is no need to be too tough in blocking, let the enemy have hope of opening up the road."
Pointing to the battlefield, Liu Xingzhi continued: "The Jianlu were wise and did not continue to increase their troops to attack, so let's not scare them."
The judgment was very accurate. After the disastrous defeat at Lushun Fort, Jianlu had indeed gained a good memory and learned a lesson.
Of course, Sorno did not expect that the enemy on the opposite side also had sharp firearms, and the attack method was basically the same as that of Port Arthur.
Cavalry, bows and arrows, and melee combat, these are the three magic weapons for Jianlu to have an absolute advantage.
But now he can't perform any of them, which makes Jianlu very uncomfortable.
Amin's blue flag has already tasted a new combat mode in North Korea, but the establishment of two red flags is the first time.
Moreover, the enemies they face have fully mastered and used them skillfully, their fighting will is stronger, and their firepower is more powerful and sharp than before.
Give full play to your strengths and contain the enemy's weaknesses.
In fact, the overall combat model revolves around these eight words of purpose and principle.
Although in military literature, the discussion of exploiting strengths and avoiding weaknesses is not new, and is even commonplace. But it is not that easy to really use it.
Not to mention the repeated defeats of the Ming army in Liaodong, even Jianlu suffered repeated setbacks when attacking strong cities. For example, Ningyuan, Jinzhou, and the current Lushun Fort.
Not long after, the carriages were transferred from the squadron. There were only more than twenty vehicles, but they were sent by Saharian himself.
In addition to the carriages, Saharian also gathered a group of armored soldiers, preparing to send heavy armored dead soldiers to open the passage and withdraw to Liaoyang as soon as possible.
We couldn't afford it anymore, and we didn't carry much food and grass with us. We thought it would be a quick battle, and we could capture the food and grass supplies by capturing Lushun Fort.
But Saharian never expected that what he would get were corpses and wounded soldiers. He would not stop on the retreat and would have to fight the intercepting enemies.
Obviously, the enemy is delaying and consuming their food, allowing them to defeat without a fight.
"Lord Belle." Sorno was very ashamed that he was so incompetent that he actually asked Sahalian to take command in person. He bowed his head and apologized.
Saharian waved his hand, found a mound, climbed up and looked at the battlefield ahead.
Sorno followed closely, and after a long silence, he began to explain how the battle was defeated.