Chapter 947 Datong General Can't Kill This Commander?
In the wilderness between Nanguanwai outside Jinzhou City and the Xiaoling River, tens of thousands of horses and horses from both the Ming and Qing Dynasties fought fiercely together. From time to time, the roar of cannons and cannons could be heard as people shouted and horses neighed.
In the rising smoke and dust, patches of blood flashed from time to time. If this war continued, neither humans nor horses would be able to survive such a bloody fight.
Suddenly, smoke and dust rose in the wilderness to the east of the battlefield, and nearly two thousand elite cavalrymen from the Xuanfu Zhenbiao Battalion, led by veteran Guo Yingxian, galloped north, intending to charge directly at the Mongolian Zhenghuang Banner Tatars.
flank.
The charge of the Mongolian Zhenghuang Banner Tatars had stalled under the joint blockade of the Datong Biao Battalion, the right side of Xuanfu's chariots, and the infantry of Xuanfu Zhenbiao Battalion.
As the Datong Army's right-wing battalion reorganized and entered the battle again, Adai Mongolia's Zhenghuang Banner's offensive had already failed and was destined to fail to break through the Xuanda-Dalian coalition's right wing.
Adai also saw this clearly, but the white flag of Azige, the king of Wuying County, was fiercely attacking the Ming army's formation from the side, and some of his captive cavalry had already broken into the Ming army's formation. How could he retreat?
But the war did not depend on his will. Although Adai did not want to retreat, his flanks were threatened by the Xuanfu Army's Zhenbiao Camp cavalry, which was an issue he had to consider.
Adai knew that if he did not retreat at this moment, not only would he not be able to break through the Ming army's defense line, but his flanks would also be in great danger of being broken through by the Ming army's cavalry.
After weighing his left and right sides, he categorically decided to immediately stop attacking the Ming army's right wing, and the defenders retreated to protect the safety of his left flank.
I saw Adai shout loudly for a while, and then more than ten riders ran away from him and went to deliver military orders everywhere. The generals of the Mongolian Zhenghuang Banner kept waving their flags, and the knights in front also heard the sound of gongs.
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Looking at the Mongolian Zhenghuang Banner Tatars who were gradually withdrawing, Datong General Wang Zheng cried out in his heart: "What a blessing, what a blessing!"
In fact, he was also struggling to hold on and not retreat back. At this time, all the soldiers in the Datong Zhenbiao camp also cheered loudly when they saw the Mongol Tatars retreating.
"Retreat..."
"...The Tatars have retreated..."
"...The Tatars...were killed by us..."
They looked at the retreating Mongolian Tatar cavalry battle formation, with expressions of disbelief in their eyes, but they were all extremely excited. You must know that this time they were the main force, facing the Tatars alone.
Although there were Xuanfu Chariot Battalion and Zhenbiao Battalion infantry assisting on both wings, the main attack direction of the Mongolian Tatars was on the defense line of Datong Junbiao Battalion. It can be said that in this battle, they were almost alone against the Mongolian Zhenghuang Banner Tatar cavalry.
Previously, when the Datong Army went out to fight against the Tatars, they almost always followed the Xuanfu Army, and most of them assisted in the fighting. The Xuanfu Army was in front of the Tatars, while the Datong Army took advantage of them.
Only the battle just now was the first time they faced the slave thieves since entering the Liao Dynasty. Wang Zheng did not have much confidence in this battle. He was just holding on. In his opinion, Datong could not be defeated as soon as they entered the battle.
The military's face is still important.
"Fortunately, I finally survived this battle!"
Wang Zheng continued to say to himself in his heart: "Perhaps after experiencing this battle, the Datong Army can be reborn and become a strong and courageous army like the Xuanfu Army."
Amidst the cheers, he galloped up to a high hill on the left. He saw that all the soldiers in his Datong army dropped their weapons one after another. They hugged each other and cheered loudly to celebrate this hard-won victory. of victory.
Even the soldiers of the right wing battalion of the Datong Army who had just finished reorganizing their team and went into battle again were all like this. They expressed their inner joy to the fullest.
Not only was he celebrating that he had finally defeated the Tatars, but he was also glad that he had survived such a cruel battle.
But when Wang Zheng looked into the distance, he found that the Xuanfu troops on the left and right sides of his military formation were not very excited. Perhaps they had won too many battles and had long been accustomed to all this.
The soldiers of the Xuanfu Military Vehicle Battalion and the Zhenbiao Battalion on both wings were seen approaching in a strict military formation for more than fifty steps before they stopped and reorganized their troops. They immediately dug shallow trenches in front of the formation and laid out horses, iron caltrops and other objects. Build a new line of defense.
"From this point of view, it is not without reason that the Xuanfu army can win many battles!"
Wang Zheng muttered something in a low voice, then raised his whip and urged his horse to run down the high hill. When he came to the front of the formation, he immediately gave a loud order, ordering the entire army to move forward fifty steps to form a formation, in line with the Xuanfu army, and to build a new line of defense. .
…………
Zhang Guodong had no intention of dealing with Datong General Ma Baozhong. After driving away the Datong left wing camp and defeating the troops, Zhang Guodong immediately formed a formation to defend the incoming slave thieves.
He mobilized all the musketry from the three soldiers under his command and formed a dense military formation behind the chariot. Each row had more than 450 Yunzhou second-style muskets, and a total of more than 1,300 guns. many.
You must know that the Chicheng Battalion of the Xuanfu Army had participated in the suppression of bandits before, and even went to Henan Province to aid in the suppression of bandits. They have also experienced several battles since entering the Liao Dynasty. They are already the best in both tactical and psychological qualities. state.
Moreover, the training of the Chicheng Battalion gun soldiers is also extremely strict. They use Yunzhou Type 2 flintlock muskets. Such a dense volley of fire muskets, and their rate of fire is so fast. They are equipped with ten tanks. Twenty Franco rapid-fire guns, plus ten tiger squatting guns and ten mortar guns for the battle convoy.
Unexpectedly, they still failed to repel the Tatars with white flags in Manchuria. In the end, the cold-blooded assassins from the three soldiers of the Chicheng battalion went into battle and fought hand-to-hand with the Tatars in bloody battles before repelling them.
It was the heroic fighting of the Chicheng Battalion soldiers that stabilized the left-wing defense line of the Xuanda Allied Forces. If not for this, I am afraid that the Xuanda Allied Forces of more than 20,000 troops would have been in retreat at this moment.
If this situation really occurs, it will inevitably be another tragic ending of trampling on each other and drowning in the river!
Just as the Manchurian Tatars with white flags retreated, the Mongolian red flags on their right also began to retreat. Their cavalry formation spread out widely. Shoot each other with bows and arrows.
Most of them were in small groups of more than a hundred people, fighting with each other outside their respective army lines. They came and went, bringing up billows of smoke and dust. Although it seemed very fierce, the killings among each other were not. Not big.
…………
Zhang Cheng, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu and General Zhenshuo, rode his horse to where the Chicheng camp was. He looked at the Qing army a mile away with a cold look in his eyes.
Wang Pu, the commander-in-chief of Datong, looked a little pale. The reason why he was like this was not because the casualties in his main barracks were heavy, but because the defeat of Datong's left-wing camp almost caused the Xuan Da army to retreat.
Wang Pu's heart was full of anger, but he couldn't do anything to save the horse. After all, he was the Datong General. Although he was under the control and command of the General of Datong during the war, it was not his responsibility to convict him.
It's there.
At this moment, almost all the generals of Xuanda's battalions have gathered here, and the battle losses of each battalion are being intensively calculated, but the general battle situation has been reported.
In this battle, the Xuanfu army's cavalry battalion and Chicheng battalion were most distinguished, while Chicheng battalion suffered the greatest damage, followed by the heavy losses on the left side of the chariot.
Among the Datong army, Wang Pu's Biao battalion had the greatest military exploits, followed by Zhenbiao's right-wing battalion. Hou Fangke's guerrilla battalion was the last to attack, so its military exploits were not obvious, but there was no fault.
On the other hand, the left-wing battalion of Datong General Ma Baozhong, although it was on the front line and bore the brunt of the attack by slaves, bandits and cavalry, the performance of the right-wing battalion in the same position was remarkable.
But as soon as the Zuoyiying camp and the slave thieves came into battle, they were defeated like a tide, which almost caused a catastrophe. How could Wang Pu not hate it?
Just imagine, if Ma Baozhong's left-wing battalion was defeated and the Chicheng battalion was really disrupted, allowing Azig's Manchurian Tatars with white flags to march straight in, the consequences would be disastrous.
It would definitely lead to the defeat of the Xuanda Allied Forces, and the only way to cross the river back to the south bank was the pontoon bridge. At that time, tens of thousands of people were fighting for the crossing, and the pontoon bridge was congested and difficult to cross.
As a result, I don't know how many of the tens of thousands of soldiers of the Xuanda Alliance Army will fall into the river and die. If this leads to the complete defeat of today's war, not only Ma Baozhong will be unforgivable, but even he, Wang Pu, will not be able to escape the fate of being killed.
After Zhang Cheng heard the reports from the generals, he simply asked: "Where is Ma Baozhong now?"
Xuanfu guerrilla Zhang Guodong came out of the crowd, clasped his fists and reported: "Back to the commander-in-chief, Datong General Ma Baozhong is being held in the camp of the last general."
Only then did Zhang Cheng turn around and said coldly: "Bring him up."
A moment later, Ma Baozhong, whose face was covered in blood and whose clothes were disheveled, was escorted up by four soldiers from the Chicheng Battalion of the Xuanfu Army.
When all the generals present at the Xuanda University saw him like this, they couldn't help but sigh in their hearts. You must know that the general of a town is a third-rank military officer. How noble he is on weekdays. How could he have imagined that there would be such a tragic situation today.
Ma Baozhong was already deeply resentful of the Xuanfu army for binding him. Now that he saw Datong General Wang Pu, General Wang Zheng, Su Dawei, guerrilla Hou Fangke and others, he became more energetic and couldn't help but struggle hard.
When the four Xuanfu soldiers who were escorting him saw this, they couldn't help but fight with each other with fists and kicks. Zhang Guodong shouted loudly: "Stop, you can't be rude in front of the commander."
Zhang Cheng did not agree with this, he said calmly: "Take off his bindings."
After hearing this, Zhang Guodong hurriedly waved to the four soldiers, and soon Ma Baozhong was untied. He hurriedly spat out the rags in his mouth and shouted: "Wang Shuai...Wang Shuai, save me."
.”
Wang Pu didn't want to pay attention to him at first, but then he thought about it. After all, Ma Baozhong was the commander-in-chief of Datong Town. As the commander-in-chief of a town, he couldn't live alone. Besides, everyone got along very well with each other on weekdays.
With this in mind, he opened his mouth and said, "Ma Baozhong, do you know what happened today?"
Ma Baozhong was stunned when he heard this. He originally thought that he was not a general of the Xuanfu, and Zhang Cheng had no right to interfere with his gains and losses. Then he called Wang Pu repeatedly, hoping that he would remember their friendship and untie himself and protect him in the Datong army.
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As for today's defeat in battle, we can only try to excuse it later. Fortunately, the defeat of his left wing battalion did not lead to the collapse of the entire division. Ma Baozhong believes that when the war is over, as long as he gives up some money, it may not be impossible to save his life!
Thinking of this, he immediately understood what Wang Pu meant and said hurriedly: "Commander Wang, I was ordered to go out to fight the slave bandits, and the soldiers under my command also fought bravely in front of the battle. However, the bandit cavalry was fierce, and my soldiers suffered heavy casualties, so I had to retreat a little."
He knelt on the ground and crawled forward, and said urgently: "Commander Wang, the general will not fight for right and will not be defeated in actual combat. What crime is this?"
Ma Baozhong crawled to Wang Pu's feet and said loudly: "What's more, the last general is the Datong town council general. Even if he is guilty, he should be questioned by Wang Shuai and reported to the governor's office for discussion.
How can we allow him, the commander-in-chief of the Xuanfu, to intervene? Doesn’t it mean that we, Datong Town, are deserted?"
Wang Pu's expression had already softened somewhat, but when he finally heard that he was questioning Zhang Cheng, his expression changed drastically, but he also knew that what Ma Baozhong said was indeed true.
If a third-grade general like him had not escaped from the battle and was killed in front of the army, he would indeed need to report to the governor's camp for conviction, and he would have to report to the Ministry of War before he could be dealt with.
Zhang Cheng indeed had no authority to deal with him, and as the chief military officer of Xuanfu Town, Zhang Cheng had no authority to interfere with Ma Baozhong's guilt even if he was General Zhenshuo.
Moreover, in this battle, Wang Pu's Datong Town army and horses were the main ones. Zhang Cheng was only ordered to lead the Xuanfu troops and horses to assist Wang Pu in the battle. Therefore, based on this calculation, the Xuanfu army should not capture Ma Baozhong.
What's more, there were other Datong Town generals and guerrillas present. In order to protect his position in Datong, Wang Pu could no longer remain silent at this moment, even if it was just for the sake of his poor face.
"General Zhenshuo, there is some truth in what Ma Baozhong said. I wonder if I can temporarily detain him in the Datong Army and report the matter to the Governor's headquarters for disposal."
After Zhang Cheng heard Wang Pu's words, he didn't rush to reply to him, and just put them aside.
After a while, two soldiers brought a big chair over. After Zhang Cheng sat firmly, he asked: "Ma Baozhong, I want to ask you, do you know your guilt?"
Ma Baozhong raised his eyes and looked at Zhang Cheng, only to see him looking at him with cold eyes. He couldn't help but shudder, completely forgetting what he said before, and felt a sense of fear in his heart.
But he still replied very stubbornly: "I am Datong General, you are the general of Xuanfu, you have no right to hold me accountable."
"Hahaha……"
Zhang Cheng smiled instead of getting angry when he heard this. He said very calmly: "You led the army to fight against the slave bandits. As soon as they engaged in the battle, the whole camp was defeated. This is a crime of lax military management.
I know that the stakes in today's battle are very important. Whether or not the siege of Jinzhou can be lifted depends entirely on this battle. However, I don't know how to lead the defeated troops to retreat outside the battlefield to avoid disrupting my own army. This is because I do not understand the situation and have no overall situation in mind. This is the second reason.
crime;
You led your troops to attack the Chicheng Camp of Xuanfu. Commander-in-Chief Liu Changliang led his troops to dissuade you. Not only did you not realize your crime, you even insulted and abused me in public. Finally, you were captured by our Xuanfu soldiers, which almost caused a catastrophe.
Three sins for you."
After hearing Zhang Cheng's words, Ma Baozhong realized that it would be difficult to give up today. He couldn't help shouting: "I am the Datong General, and you are the general of the Xuanfu. You have no right to accuse me."
Zhang Cheng ignored his shouts and just said lightly: "You have committed these three crimes. Even if I chop off your head, it would not be an exaggeration. Are you still not pleading guilty?"
Ma Baozhong seemed to be a little anxious, but he still shouted: "I am a military attache of the third rank of the imperial court. I am not worthy of the military department. Even if I am guilty, you Zhang Cheng cannot kill me!"
"snort."
Zhang Cheng sneered and said, "Do you think I can't kill General Datong?"