As the war drums of the Xuanfu army sounded, the artillery on the rows of tanks beside the trench also roared and fired cannons one after another, roaring towards the Mongolian soldiers of the Waifan on the other side of the trench.
There are a total of sixty tanks on the left side of Yu Jin's tank. Now he uses every ten tanks as a combat team to concentrate artillery bombardment to cover the trench filling by the soldiers of the Chicheng Battalion.
Although the trenches dug by the Tatars were one foot deep and about two feet wide, the Xuanfu army did not need to fill them all in. According to Zhang Cheng's deployment, they only needed to fill in six passages under the cover of chariots.
The Mongolian cavalry of the outer vassal on the opposite side naturally would not let Zhang Cheng fill the trench so easily. However, they rode up several times and shot out waves of arrows. Unfortunately, the Xuanfu Army officers were protected by chariots, and their arrows
Yata is of no use.
However, the rhythmic bombardment from the Ming army's chariots, coupled with the continuous firing of large guns from the chariot camp above the card, did not hurt many Xuanfu army infantry, but their own knights suffered a lot of losses.
Seeing that neither cavalry nor infantry fire could stop the Xuanfu army from filling the trenches, they no longer tried in vain. Instead, they gathered the remaining Mongolian cavalry into a number of small teams, each with forty or fifty riders.
Spread out and patrol two hundred paces away.
Looking at the Mongolian cavalry in the distance, Zhang Cheng sneered and said: "Look over there, the Beibei soldiers want to attack our army when our infantry camp passes through the trench and has not yet established a stable foothold."
Amidst the roaring sound of cannons and cannons, Zhang Guodong smiled and said: "Humph, we must let these northern captives know how powerful our Xuanfu army is."
He looked back at Zhang Cheng and asked for instructions: "Commander, the six passages have now been filled in. The Chicheng Battalion requests to go out to fight and pass through the trenches in front to fight the Beibei cavalry."
Zhang Cheng looked at Zhang Guodong and said solemnly: "Guodong, with light vehicles in front and infantry behind, go through the trenches and form a formation at the head. Only use firecrackers to control the enemy and avoid direct close combat."
"Here, Commander, I will save you the last one." Zhang Guodong answered.
A smile flashed across Zhang Cheng's lips, and he said rather mysteriously: "According to detective reports, the Mongolian soldiers and horses from the foreign vassal on the opposite side are coming to help the Tartar thieves, and they may not be of the same mind as the Tartar thieves.
You must not only fight steadily, but also beat them severely. You must establish the reputation of our Xuanfu Army so that from now on, whenever and wherever they see the battle flag of our Xuanfu Army, they will be in panic.
"
"Here. Commander, please rest assured, Zhang Guodong will definitely fulfill his mission!"
"Go ahead."
…………
With the sound of big drums, the officers and soldiers of the Xuanfu Army began to line up on one side of the trench.
They launched three light vehicles in front of the infantry formation, followed by two rows of shield soldiers, then the musketry soldiers of the Chicheng camp, and finally the sword, shield and spear soldiers.
Four of the six filled passages were arranged in this way, while in the outermost passages on the north and south sides, only ten chariots were arranged on both sides of the passage entrance, but there were no soldiers from the Chicheng Battalion waiting in formation.
These two passages were reserved for the cavalry. After the infantry of the Chicheng Battalion passed the trench and formed a formation to meet Baylor, Guo Yingxian's troops went to the south, and Lin Fangping's Tiger Guard Battalion and Huang Baozhong's retainers went to the north.
In this way, the Mongolian cavalry of the foreign vassal on the opposite side was attracted by the infantry camp, so the cavalry could pass quickly without hindrance, and then outflank the opposite Mongolian cavalry from both wings.
"Gu..."
A shrill swan-like trumpet sounded, and four teams of light vehicles were pushed forward by the soldiers of the Chicheng Battalion. The soldiers of the Chicheng Battalion followed closely and rushed straight to the opposite side of the trench.
At the same time, the rumbling sound of artillery also sounded immediately, and accompanied by the "crackling" sound of firecrackers, the cannonballs and cannonballs flew towards the Beibei cavalry on the opposite side of the trench.
This row of chariots is about five or six steps away from the trench, while the Beilu cavalry on the opposite side is one or two hundred steps away. Ordinary muskets naturally cannot shoot that far, but the Xuanfu Army's chariot battalion is equipped with large guns.
But a gun can shoot one or two hundred steps.
The No. 4 Fran machine gun equipped on each tank could fire hundreds of steps away. At this time, in order to bombard the Beilu cavalry on the opposite side, the firing angle was deliberately lowered.
Soon, the soldiers of the Chicheng Battalion pushed the light cart up the trench channel. They were like four long dragons, leaning out of the formation. As the smoke and dust brought by the wheels rolled forward, the soldiers of the Chicheng Battalion also rushed towards the Beilu on the opposite side.
The cavalry left.
Just as the soldiers of the Chicheng Battalion pushed the light cart through the trench, the Beibei cavalry from the opposite side came galloping in groups, intending to defeat the Chicheng Battalion before it formed a formation.
However, they chose the right way of playing in front of the wrong opponent.
However, this seemingly correct style of play also turned into a mistake for the Mongolian cavalry of nearly a thousand foreign vassals because they chose the wrong opponent!
Because, just as the soldiers of the Chicheng Battalion pushed the light vehicles across the ditch, the rocket boxes on three of the ten tanks providing fire support at each passage were ignited.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!..."
Large rockets roared across the ditch with brilliant tail flames, heading straight for the Mongolian cavalry on the opposite side.
The smoke in the caravan that was originally caused by the firing of cannons became thicker due to the ignition of the rocket box. Even the mountain wind blew by, and it could not be blown away for a while.
There was still not enough space for rockets to fly out of the thick smoke. Under the setting sun, the tail flames of the rockets were even more brilliant, as if they were emitting colorful rays of light.
Cannons, large shells, and rockets almost enveloped the entire battlefield on the other side of the ditch. None of the Mongolian cavalry from the outer vassal dynasty was spared. Before they could engage with the soldiers of the Akagi Battalion, they were already suffering constant casualties.
Although the guns and artillery at this time were astonishingly powerful, their hits were really low. However, even so, under the mixed bombardment that was close to saturation, the Mongolian cavalry still suffered a lot of casualties.
However, most people who are injured by cannonballs will not survive, but most of those who are hit by rockets will not be life-threatening. Unless the rocket is fired at a close range and directly penetrates the body, then it is a different matter.
Under the cover of light vehicles and their own cannons and rockets, the soldiers of the Chicheng Battalion quickly passed through the trench and formed a shield array on the opposite side. They were also slowly advancing forward. Every ten steps the gunners took, they fired a shot.
Wheel of fire.
…………
The banner owner of the Mongolian Tumote Right Banner of the Outer Domain, Zhasak Shanba, was the commander-in-chief of the Mongolian soldiers of the Outer Domain who blocked Guo Yingxian's reinforcements.
There were only more than 1,500 Northern captive cavalry on his side. At first, with the trenches already dug, he did not take Guo Yingxian's more than 4,000 Ming cavalry seriously.
After all, our side and the Ming army faced each other across a trench, and the number of troops on the opposite side was more than twice ours, so what?
Can they still grow wings and fly directly across the deep and wide trench?
And if they want to fill the trench, their knights are not vegetarians, let alone decorations. They will definitely use sharp arrows to shoot the Ming army on the opposite side without knowing who their father and mother are!
But the idea is beautiful, but the reality is not ordinary.
At the beginning, he was suspicious that the Ming army on the opposite side had many troops, but they retreated beyond the range of his own bows and arrows. He neither made any move to fill the trench nor retreated.
Just when Shanba was full of doubts and uncertainties, he saw another group of Ming troops approaching on foot and on horseback.
However, he did not panic because of this. After all, the cavalry had the advantage on his own side. Even if the Ming army tried their best to fill the trenches, they would still leave piles of bones here.
If you can beat your own side, you can fight. If you can't, you can also ride back. Do the Ming army's cavalry still dare to pursue them?
However, he did not expect that the Ming army in front of him was more fierce than the Ming army stationed on Changling Mountain. It was after this battle that Shanba began to rethink his relationship with the Qing.
Keep it up like now.
After all, this time in the Battle of Jinzhou, he saw a different scene than before.
Now, Shanba no longer hesitated. The fierce artillery fire from the Xuanfu army not only caused many casualties to his knights, but also reminded him of what happened on Changling Mountain.
The relationship between their outer vassal Mongolian tribes and the Qing Dynasty was far less close than that of the Eight Banners Mongolia, and their loyalty was not very high. They were just frightened by the Tatars' military prowess, and wanted to follow them to gain some benefits.
They all agreed to lead troops to help in the battle.
Therefore, once their casualties exceed expectations, or they have a premonition that there will be no benefits to be gained, they will naturally want to quit.
Zasak, a foreign Mongolian vassal like Shanba, did not want the warriors of his tribe to die here in vain. If they really lost their troops, they would not gain much benefit.
If this is the outcome, it will definitely affect Shanba's prestige in the tribe. If it is more serious, it will even threaten his dominance in the tribe.
Therefore, when he saw the sharp artillery power of the Ming army on the opposite side, he was surprised. It was only then that he remembered that the colors of the Ming army's flags on the opposite side had a sense of déjà vu.
After thinking deeply about it, I suddenly remembered that the colors of the Ming army's flags opposite seemed to be very similar to the colors of the Ming army's flags on Changling Mountain.
The Mongolian tribes in their outer vassals also often broke into the Ming border areas to plunder. Although they had many interactions with the Ming border armies, especially those in the northwest, they still had only a partial understanding of the colors of the Ming army's flags.
Now, he first felt the power of the volley of guns and artillery, which seemed familiar, and then he realized that the two Ming army flags were actually very similar.
Shanba couldn't believe it. How could Mingguo, which had always been a coward, suddenly show up with so many fierce and powerful troops?
He was not willing to gnaw hard bones for the Qing emperor. He just wanted to follow the Tatars and drink soup. But now that he saw the Ming army on the opposite side with many troops and sharp artillery fire, how could he fight to the death with them.
What's more, in the smoke on the opposite side of the trench, he saw two teams of knights riding through the trench to outflank his own knights.
The northern barbarians of Tumote's right-wing banner, headed by Shanba, took advantage of the Ming cavalry before they could pass through the ditch, hurriedly snatched up their own dead and wounded warriors, and rode westward.
Only the bones of more than a dozen Beilu knights who were too late to be collected were left behind, as well as dead or injured horses everywhere!
…………
In the 14th year of Chongzhen's reign in the Ming Dynasty, on the first day of September, it was dark at night.
At this moment, it may be late autumn elsewhere, but the land of Liaodong has entered the early winter season. Especially after the sun sets, the land that has lost the sunshine has become extremely cold.
The Songxing Avenue, more than ten miles northeast of Xingshan Fort in Liaodong, is brightly lit, stretching for several miles along the mountains beside the avenue, like a fire dragon.
It was Zhang Cheng's Xuan army and horses who came back from the Songshan front line to camp here, and their location was also part of Changling Mountain.
However, this section of mountains was undulating and stretching toward the northeast, so it was not suitable for camping, so they set up camp along Songxing Avenue.
The entire camp stretched for several miles, with some open space left between the various camps so that when the police encountered, there would be room to react and rescue each other, lest one battalion was attacked and the entire army collapsed.
Less than five miles further west from here is where the Qing Dynasty Prince Duduo of Henan led the army with white flags, red flags and yellow flags garrisoned. More than ten miles north is Xingshan Castle.
In order to resist the cold night wind in early winter, Zhang Cheng set up camp early. In addition to setting up light and dark sentries in the surrounding mountains, he ordered his soldiers to cut down more trees.
Nowadays, there are piles of bonfires lit inside and outside each camp, and many soldiers gather around the bonfires to keep warm. After the names of each battalion, department, and bureau are called, except for those who go out on patrol, they have to go into the camp tent to rest.
There is a large camp in the middle. The lighting is the same as elsewhere, but there are slightly more patrols inside and outside the camp. This is the Chinese army camp of Zhang Cheng, the commander-in-chief of Xuanfu Town.
In the Chinese army's tent, the battalion officers returning for reinforcements will gather here to discuss important military matters.
Veteran General Guo Yingxian had just introduced the military situation he had learned, and finally said: "The slaves are treacherous and have dug trenches everywhere. Their intention is to prevent me from returning reinforcements. From this point of view, Xingshan, Gaoqiao, Tashan and other places are really dangerous.
"
Zhang Guangda immediately responded: "Commander, there are only more than 3,000 soldiers in Dushi Camp. Even if you include the left side of the carriage, it is less than 5,000 people. And it has been three days and nights in Changling Mountain alone against tens of thousands of slave thieves.
Now that the slave thieves have spare strength, they have sent out troops to dig trenches and block the roads. Changling Mountain must have been surrounded by the slave thieves. Brother Chen Zheng is also in extreme danger. Please make a decision quickly. We will wait for how to fight the slave thieves tomorrow.
Relieve the siege of Changling Mountain."
Zhang Cheng knew that he was really worried about Chen Zheng's safety, so he just smiled but didn't say anything.
Zhang Guodong on the side said with a smile: "Zhang Huzi, you will be confused if you care."
He continued: "If Brother Chen's Monolith Camp were to fight against tens of thousands of Tatars alone, it would be really dangerous. Not to mention that you are worried, who of us here can be relieved?
No matter how many ditches and low walls there are on Changling Mountain, no matter how strong the stone fortress on the top of the mountain is, the numerical disadvantage here will eventually lead to it being broken by slave thieves."
Zhang Guodong continued: "But it's different now. Now that my army has reached this place with more than 10,000 troops, how can we allow the slave thieves to attack Brother Chen with all their strength?
Even if I don’t do anything, Duduo won’t allow me to wait for the army, just camp beside him!”
"Hahaha……"
As soon as Zhang Guodong finished speaking, there was a burst of hearty laughter in the big tent.