Without breaking through the enemy's formation or causing the enemy's formation to fall into chaos, cavalry attacks were out of the question. Therefore, Jianlu's so-called "cavalry and shooting" invincibility was based on fierce hand-to-hand melee combat.
But Huang Taiji obviously didn't expect, or didn't want to imagine, that the Danbing attack, as a surprise force, was suffering from fierce counterattacks from three sides, and the casualties were no less than those of the main attacker here.
This besieging Jianlu force consisted of more than 6,000 men and horses drawn from the two yellow flags. Huang Taiji was given the command of his eldest son, Hauge.
It stands to reason that a frontal attack will cause the greatest casualties, while a roundabout attack will be much easier. And if it succeeds, the credit will be considerable. This is also the selfishness of Huang Taiji.
But Hauge and others did not expect that when the battle started, the situation was extremely unfavorable. Or it could be called a setback or even a failure.
The fortifications built on the sea ice are not only connected to those on the land, but are also arranged diagonally, somewhat similar to a bastion, forming a folded corner.
As a result, Jianlu, who was attacking in a roundabout way, was attacked from two sides.
Without waiting for the Jianlu to approach, the mortars opened fire at the farthest range to bombard the Jianlu. Guo Dajing's plan was to repel the Jianlu who were surrounding them, without any tricks to lure the enemy deeper.
Dozens of mortars were loaded and bombarded at the fastest speed. Dozens of shells were fired in one round, which was a ferocious firepower that Haug and other Japanese soldiers had never experienced before.
Hauge's response was to accelerate his charge to avoid the bombardment range of enemy artillery. The idea was simple. Now that he was discovered, he should approach the enemy's position as quickly as possible and engage in hand-to-hand melee combat that he was good at.
But when they rushed more than a mile away, the Hongyi cannon on the defender's position began to fire again. The heavy shells shot out flat, and the hard ice made them bounce farther and have greater lethality.
Compared with the forts on the frontal land defense line, there were more Hongyi cannons along the flanks. Guo Dajing deployed half of the recently delivered Hongyi cannons here.
Once a cannon is fired, no matter whether it is a man or a horse, it will either die or be injured if it sticks to it. It will not stop until the cannonball is full of flesh and blood and the power of the cannonball is exhausted.
The Jianlu who were lucky enough to survive had some arms missing and some legs taken away by the shells. They were screaming and rolling and struggling on the ice.
The Jianlu who were beaten to death were even more miserable. Some had half of their bodies missing, leaving only fragments of flesh and blood hanging on the broken bones; some had their heads flying off, leaving only corpses gurgling with blood.
The bloody scene caused greater psychological pressure on Jianlu. Although the momentum of the attack continued unabated, the howling and shouting turned into self-emboldening.
The array of sharp stakes frozen on the ice was right in front of them. Jianlu jumped off their horses one after another, stretched out their bows and nocked arrows, and shot out clumps of arrows.
The defenders hiding behind the frozen fortifications also began to fight back. The light and heavy muskets also roared, and rows of lead bullets were thrown at the enemy.
"Master Belle, there are enemy ships at sea!" First-class guard Sony shouted loudly, reminding Hauge.
In order to avoid the attack of the land defense line as much as possible, Jianlu's formation was biased towards the direction of the sea. There were several miles of sea ice, so he was not worried about the men and horses falling into the sea.
Haug frowned and did not respond immediately. The main reason was that he did not know what attack methods the enemy's ships had.
Zhang Tao led a dozen ships to pass diagonally across the coastline formed by sea ice. At the forefront were the two flagships purchased from Xiyi.
The cabin door suddenly opened, the black muzzle of the gun was exposed, and fireworks burst out, making a shocking roar.
Red Yi Cannon!
Hauge's pupils suddenly shrank. He had participated in the Ningjin War, and he was not unfamiliar with the sound of such sharp artillery.
The cannonballs crossed hundreds of meters of sea, landed on the ice, bounced back at a very small angle, and crashed into Jianlu's team.
Exclaims and screams came one after another, accompanied by the roar of cannons, playing a symphony that frightened Jianlu.
The two flagships sailed past first, spitting out fireworks like monsters, leaving an indelible impression on Jianlu.
The warship behind the flagship was even closer to the ice, with a distance of less than a hundred meters, and was bombarded with heavy-duty Franchise machines and old-fashioned general cannons.
A round of shelling seemed so long in Jianlu's eyes, and the ice was already littered with corpses and limbs of men and horses.
The ship sailed away from the ice shore, but did not go far. It circled on the sea and slowly approached again.
"Move closer to the east and stay away from the sea." Haug roared loudly and finally responded.
A three-sided pincer attack from the front, on the sea, and on land, against the Jianlu who were attacking across the ice, was finally formed, causing the Jianlu to be shocked and panicked.
Jianlu moved hastily, trying to get away from the shelling of the sea, but the frontal attack continued, and the exchange of muskets and bows was in full swing.
"Master Beile, don't get too close." Batulu Obai with a yellow flag stepped forward to dissuade him, "Be careful of the enemy's red barbarian cannon."
Haug frowned and raised his hand to wave Oboi away and continue his plan of directing him.
However, dozens of mortars that had adjusted their firing range on the defender's position fired another round of fierce bombardment.
Boom, boom, boom! Explosions resounded all around, and Hauge's horse jumped and neighed again.
First-class guard Sony and other guards stepped forward to protect him and stabilized Hauge's horse.
The gunshots rang out like exploding beans, and the Jianlu who rushed into the wooden stake array were constantly hit and fell down. The dozens of meters long sharp stake array became an insurmountable chasm for them.
Several Fran cannons spit out a rain of lead bullets at an extremely fast rate of fire, round after round, completely suppressing the momentum of Jianlu's attack.
Boom, boom, boom... The warships on the sea were closer to the ice shore, only more than a hundred meters away, and they roared and roared again, firing cannonballs one after another.
Almost at the same time, the defenders on the land defense line took advantage of the fact that the prisoners were far away from the sea and close to the land, and used the maximum range of their mortars to fire dozens of shells.
The explosion was indistinguishable, and dazzling fire burst out among Jianlu's troops, sending up clouds of smoke and causing casualties.
"Master Baylor, our army should retreat." Sony remonstrated bluntly, having lost confidence in the encirclement attack.
Hauge seemed to be deafened by the explosions one after another. He stared straight at Sony, opened his lips a few times, but still hesitated and made no decision.
Sony sighed secretly and said in a more serious tone: "The casualties are too great. King Khan must not want this. Look at how strong the enemy's troops are after the enemy's formation."
At the mention of Father Khan, Hauge's eyes twitched and regained some agility. He blinked twice and looked into the distance. The defender's position had two ice walls and was crowded with people. Further away, thousands of cavalry were lined up.
Ready and waiting.
Hauge finally gritted his teeth and ordered: "Send the order, withdraw the troops and retreat."
There was really no way to go on with this battle. The enemy's powerful firepower and planned attack from three sides made it extremely impossible to break through the enemy's position.
Continuing to persevere is not only meaningless, but also increases casualties in vain. You must know that the two yellow flags are the foundation for Father Khan to secure his position. Hauge knows in his heart that he must not act out of impulse.
The trumpet sounded, like a ghost crying and a wolf howling, and the Jianlu prisoners began to retreat, or rather to retreat in embarrassment.
First with muskets, then with artillery, the defenders continued to use firepower to kill and injure Jianlu, until they were two or three miles away before they gradually stopped.
The ice was strewn with corpses of people and horses. The bleeding blood was still steaming at first, then quickly cooled, became sticky, and finally formed into thin ice.
An injured war horse suddenly neighed and struggled to stand up, staggered a few steps, and fell down weakly. This seemingly ordinary scene on the battlefield suddenly formed a sad and miserable psychological impression on Jianlu.
Haug looked back at the battlefield littered with corpses, his eyes filled with reluctance, hatred, helplessness and regret.
This was not the battle he had expected. There was no cavalry and arrows to defeat the enemy, and there was no hand-to-hand combat to defeat the enemy. In fact, he did not even see a complete enemy.
The enemy is either hiding in the fortifications, with only their helmets and iron masks, and the protruding black muzzles of their guns; or no one can be seen, only groups of bombs flying in the air.
With Hauge's knowledge and IQ, it is obvious that he does not understand the real reason for the failure.
In the era of cold weapons, Jianlu's combat effectiveness was almost the ceiling at that time, even Guo Dajing had to admit it; but in the contest with hot weapons, they had obviously fallen behind.
If you fall behind, you will be beaten. This is an eternal truth.
Times have changed, and with Guo Dajing's full promotion, this process has been greatly accelerated, so fast that Jianlu did not expect it, and so fast that Jianlu could not adapt.
The sparse shooting of bows and arrows showed that the Jianlu had no intention of fighting. The corpses and wounded soldiers were thrown to the ground, and they retreated in embarrassment under the pursuit of guns and artillery fire.
Under the fierce and sharp firepower, the riding, archery and martial arts skills they were good at were completely useless. The feeling of despair and powerlessness was almost unprecedented.
"Just withdraw like this?!" Liu Qishi, who was behind the formation, held up his telescope and said with regret, "Not too many people died!"
Liu Xingzuo smiled and said: "They are men and horses with two yellow flags, how dare they lose more? Two or three thousand casualties will make Huang Taiji extremely heartbroken."
Liu Qishi put down his telescope, sighed softly, and said: "If we change the place, I will not have the confidence to continue fighting. Could it be that the cavalry has fallen behind and the world will be dominated by musketeers in the future?"
Liu Xingzuo pondered for a moment and said: "The cavalry is not out of date, but it is difficult to attack the well-organized infantry battle formation. If there are carriages or horses blocking the way, it will be difficult to attack. Of course, the cavalry still has the mobility advantage."
Liu Qishi seemed to have some understanding, nodded slightly, and said: "When the musketeers also have horses to ride on, they will be the main force on the battlefield. No wonder Dajing requires every officer and soldier to learn to ride a horse. This is to lay the foundation for the future."
"He sees farther than anyone else and thinks more than anyone else." Liu Xingzuo sighed, "It is precisely because of this that we can achieve today's results."
Liu Qishi grinned, as if he was praising himself when he praised his brothers. He focused on the distance, where the flag of Jianlu had already disappeared.
The faint sound of gunfire gradually subsided, and Huang Taiji's heart sank to the bottom. Don't wait for the reward, he already knew that the ice attack had failed.
The reason is very simple. After a breakthrough, there will be fighting and the sound of gunfire. But without the sound, it can only mean that our own troops have retreated.
With his face covered with gloom, Huang Taiji stared into the distance.
The enemy was also retreating, and there was nothing left on the snow. Even the corpses and weapons were taken away, leaving only some broken legs and broken arms, fragments of flesh and blood, and tattered flags.
On the battlefield, the red flag was fluttering, and the color redder than blood stung Huang Taiji's eyes. He suddenly reined in his horse and galloped towards the camp.
The Jianlu retreated like a tidal wave, coming in force and then disappearing. The nearly three hours of fighting did not seem to leave anything behind on the battlefield.
But the victory and the disastrous defeat were equally impressive to the defenders and the captives, and their moods were turbulent.
"We won!" Mao Wenlong exhaled a long breath. Although he had long been determined, it was not until this moment that he could truly feel relieved.
He watched the battle from beginning to end. But Mao Wenlong neither raised his flag nor intervened in command, just like a bystander.
Although while watching, his mood was more ups and downs than that of a spectator, sometimes nervous, sometimes excited, sometimes excited, sometimes ecstatic.
He was confident in resisting Jianlu's attack. After watching the offensive and defensive drills and knowing the weapons and equipment on the defense line, Mao Wenlong already believed that he could successfully defend and defend Jinzhou, the most important base.
But he did not expect, or underestimated, the power of the combined use of various weapons and equipment in actual combat. This is normal. It is impossible to use full firepower during drills, and he cannot afford to waste so much ammunition.
"Very good, very good!" Chen Jisheng accompanied Mao Wenlong, his voice trembling with excitement. Although the results of the battle had not been calculated yet, he already knew that the casualty ratio would be very disparate.
Mao Wenlong smiled and nodded, reached out and patted the old man's arm, and said: "You can safely occupy the entire Jinzhou, even Fuzhou."
"To occupy Northern Jinzhou first, we must be stable and not act too hastily." Chen Jisheng calmed down and said with a smile: "Population is the key. If there are more than 100,000 or 80,000, Fuzhou can be recovered."
There are also disadvantages to a large territory. If there are not enough troops, the defense will be weak; if the population cannot keep up, it will not be of much use if it is occupied without management.
Chen Jisheng spent half a year turning all his energy to government affairs and the management of Jinzhou. He already had a clear understanding and accurate estimation of the balance of population, army, land, output, etc.
Mao Wenlong has also read relevant reports and plans, and he also agrees with Chen Jisheng's conclusions, smiling and chin.
"Is it time for Dajing to be promoted to another level?" Chen Jisheng said slowly: "As for military affairs, let him work more hard."
Mao Wenlong was silent, not because he thought Chen Jisheng was wrong or because he was not sincere.
There are two lieutenants, one in charge of government affairs and one in charge of military affairs. It should be a good arrangement for him to be the commander-in-chief.
Moreover, Guo Dajing's great contribution has been fully revealed after this battle. The Dongjiang Army will grow and develop in the future, and it cannot do without his generous funding.
But at this time, Mao Wenlong thought of Guo Dajing's attempt to exchange human heads for silver, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.