After receiving the military order from Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, Liu Zhaoji, the commander-in-chief of Liaodong, immediately decided to rescue. After learning the news, all the soldiers in his camp cheered in unison.
Most of the family members of Liu Zhaoji's lieutenant generals lived in Songxing forts. Due to the war, except for a few who fled to Tashan, Ningyuan and other safer places, most of the rest hid in Songshan and Xingshan, as well as in surrounding forts.
They all thought of their relatives and relatives, and their morale was high. Moreover, after the army crossed the high bridge, they also forced back many slaves and thieves sentries and cavalry along the way, and even beheaded seven levels, which also gave them courage.
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What is even more gratifying is that the number of Tatars besieging Xingshan at this moment is no more than 10,000, and their armored slaves are only a few thousand. However, there are nearly 10,000 soldiers in his own camp, including nearly 3,000 cavalry alone.
If we add in the thousands of guards in Xingshan and the more than 10,000 soldiers and horses of Yang Guozhu's tribe in Xuanzhen who came later, even if these Tatar thieves cannot be eliminated under the walls of Xingshan City, there is still no problem in holding them in a stalemate until the whole army comes.
of.
Therefore, nearly ten thousand soldiers wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, not only to save their loved ones, but also to achieve some military exploits. Following the order from the commander-in-chief Liu Zhaoji, the army rolled forward and rushed towards the Xingshan Fort in front, bringing up smoke and dust.
All over the sky.
The distance from Gaoqiao to Xingshan is only eighteen miles. As soon as you leave Gaoqiao, the surrounding fields are filled with flat rivers.
It was already afternoon, and the heat wave was rolling in. Looking around, there were large areas of abandoned land everywhere. There were occasionally small cultivated fields, which had also been destroyed by the invading Tatars. Everywhere was bare, both on the mountain and down the mountain.
It's hard to see green.
Due to long years of drought, the once turbulent rivers are now no longer even small ditches, and the land has been dried out by the sun, but it has made it easier for the army to move.
In the face of a formidable enemy, Liu Zhaoji did not dare to neglect at all. He commanded the two infantry battalions to deploy, and arranged the chariot battalion in front of the formation. He also separated two lines of cavalry to protect the two wings of the infantry formation, and also sent fast cavalry to Yang Guozhu.
Department, urging him to come up to help him as soon as possible.
After Liu Zhaoji's men deployed in a fighting formation, the troops were forced towards Xingshan Fort under the scorching sun. They were all sweating and their armor was soaked, but they did not dare to be disrespectful and only maintained a strict battle formation.
Along the way, the Ming army's sentinel cavalry was engaged in close combat with the captive cavalry. Liu Zhaoji sent out large groups of servants' fine cavalry one after another to suppress the slaves' reconnaissance line and push them back.
Liu Zhaoji led the army in formation and had just crossed the Qili River when he received news from the front. Due to their mighty advance and strict formation, the Tatars saw that the reinforcements were strong and had no chance to take advantage of them, so they quietly withdrew.
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The entire Tatar army gathered in a temporary camp beside the road a few miles north of Xingshan, but they did not retreat. Instead, they sent more sentries, as if they wanted to test the true combat power of the Ming Dynasty's reinforcements.
After successfully breaking the siege of Xingshan Fort, it was considered a success. Liu Zhaoji's army cheered loudly. He immediately sent people to report the victory to Hong Chengchou, the governor of Jiliao, and reported the true situation here.
At the same time, Liu Zhaoji felt that he still had unfinished business. He led the army to prepare for the attack, but easily solved the siege of Xingshan without firing a single shot. In this way, he was far away from his desire to achieve great success.
He looked at all the officers and men under his command, and they all had such expressions. Even the soldiers and the small army had regretful expressions on their faces, and several of the lieutenants, officers, and generals in the army couldn't stop shouting.
Everyone suggested that while the morale of the army was at a high level, they should rush forward to start a fierce battle with the Tatar bandits in the north of Xingshan Mountain and capture some heads.
Although Liu Zhaoji also had this intention, he felt that it was somewhat risky. He hesitated for a long time, but finally failed to get through the persuasion of the generals around him and decided to fight the Tatars.
When the road ahead was only one mile away from the north gate of Xingshan Fort, Zheng Yilin, the deputy general of the defense camp stationed in Xingshan, saw that the slave army was retreating, so he also sent 2,000 troops out of the city to join the army, including more than 600 cavalry. With reinforcements, everyone Even more courageous.
So the army gathered in formation and advanced towards the location of the Tartar camp. The infantry still pushed the two-wheeled light vehicles in the center, and the cavalry separated to guard the two wings and advanced slowly.
Just when Liu Zhaoji's Ming army was less than three miles away from the Tartar camp, trumpets suddenly sounded. However, they saw the Ming army approaching from a distance, and they also formed a formation outside the camp to fight.
The armies of both sides moved forward and kept getting closer. Liu Zhaoji saw a low rocky slope not far to the right in front of him. He hurriedly ordered his cavalry to seize the area quickly.
Then, he arranged the cavalry to station their horses on the mountain, the infantry to form a formation with chariots in the wilderness at the foot of the mountain, and another group of cavalry to roam around the outside. In this way, they could attack, defend, and take advantage of the terrain.
Under the scorching sun, beside the handsome flag, Liu Zhaoji rode his horse on the top of the mountain and looked down at the Tatar formation. He saw a sea of flags in their formation. In front of the Tatar formation, densely packed shield chariots were lined up, and behind the shield chariots , all of them were Tatar cavalry wearing red or red armor with white rims.
"snort!"
He snorted coldly, a look of contempt flashing in his eyes.
I saw the slave thieves pushing a shield cart in the distance, followed by their archers, and there were also distinctions between dead soldiers and sharp soldiers. I was very familiar with this kind of trick.
He turned his gaze and looked at his own position, feeling reassured.
The layout of the Ming army included some simple barricades in front of the formation, followed by chariots, which were equipped with small folang machines and rockets, as well as many Baiziguns and other firearms.
In the infantry formation at the back, there was a dense infantry formation with spears, broadswords and shields. It was high up, with its back against the hillside, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack, not to mention the cavalry guarding the rear.
More importantly, most of the sergeants under his command have experience in fighting slaves and bandits, and they know the Tartar warfare methods very well. As long as the sergeants are courageous and united, this battle will be fought with more enemies and fewer enemies, and the terrain will be advantageous. It may not be impossible to win a great victory and achieve great military exploits.
For a moment, Liu Zhaoji couldn't help but feel very hopeful!
The sound of horns came in waves, and the Tartar shield chariots were also slowly moving forward. They seemed to be conserving their energy and did not push hard. It seemed that they would only push hard when they were in the final charge.
The shield cart was pushed closer and closer. Looking at their shield cart, there were wheels underneath and thick wooden boards in front. They were all covered with thick leather quilts and other materials to cover the bow arrows and bullets fired from the opposite side.
However, Liu Zhaoji was disdainful. Even if the wooden boards in front of the shield vehicles were covered with leather and cotton quilts, he could still penetrate these shield vehicles with the small Folang machine and the big Baizi gun on his own chariot.
The array of thieves was getting closer and closer, and the Ming army was silent and waiting in full formation. The personal guards and servants of each general were also ordered to patrol, reminding the soldiers of the infantry camp that they were not allowed to fire cannons or cannons without any reason without receiving orders from the central army. Violators will be beheaded on the spot.