Su He looked at the simple map in front of the table and studied the location where the officers and soldiers would be ambushed.
The guardsmen have been in the county town for two days, but they still haven't sent out any troops.
Su Ergou, sweating profusely, opened the door and walked in.
"Commander Su, the army is here."
"Are they just the county government's officers and soldiers? Did the gentry's servants take action? Did the Dashan Pass defenders take action?"
Su He asked the two questions he was most concerned about in succession.
In ancient wars, more people are better than fewer people, and the best are better than the rest.
Occasionally, a few counterexamples are enough to shock the world.
They have been in the army for less than a month and cannot be said to be elite.
It is no problem to use landmines to ambush the army and defeat the army in the county.
If we add the large scattered pass troops and the servants of the gentry.
Even if the exchange ratio is ten to one, he can still be killed with human lives.
Su Ergou told the information he had detected in the past few days.
"Commander Su, there is no sign of troops gathering in the direction of Dasanguan.
Many gentry in the county transported grain to join the Jinshi Master Wang in Yimen Fort.
The people in Yimenbao retreated into the small town and showed no sign of coming out.
To attack us, only the officers and soldiers from the county seat came.
They are composed of 1,000 guardsmen and 800 patrolmen."
After Su He listened to the information told by Su Ergou, he felt relieved.
Continue to look at the simple map on the desktop. This is a map drawn by Su He himself based on the dictation of the Su Ergou reconnaissance platoon soldiers.
"Su Xiong, convene a combat meeting.
Let the soldiers assemble, bring weapons, ammunition, water and food, and be ready to go at any time."
The platoon commanders of each company quickly came to Su He's study.
Su He pointed his finger at a dirt slope on the simple map.
"We set up an ambush at Woniupo, which is the only way from the county government to Sujiazhuang.
Taking advantage of the fact that the officers and soldiers are not familiar with landmines, we use mines to disrupt the formation of the officers and soldiers, and then we kill them from the ambush location."
"Three companies and three platoons defend Sujia Village.
The 2nd Company and 3rd Platoon established a trench position south of Sujia Village to prevent the Dashan Pass defenders from raiding us.
Three platoons in a row kept an eye on the direction of Yimen Fort to prevent the gentry and servants from attacking us.
If the gentry sends too many troops to the enemy and consumes their physical strength, they can retreat to join the main force.
The reconnaissance platoon serves as the general reserve team, and the grenadier platoon serves as the main attacker."
Su He arranged the battle plan, and each officer began to lead his men into action.
Before setting off, Su He stood in front of the queue and gave instructions to the troops.
"Brothers, the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty are coming to destroy us.
You have all heard that a thief is like a grate, and what's more, we are anti-thieves.
As long as we are defeated, they will take our heads to receive the reward.
They will wantonly slaughter our parents, wives and children, and they will take away our land."
"Brothers, can we agree?"
The army responded in unison: "I can't agree."
Su He raised the military flag and shouted loudly: "Then we have only one option: victory."
"Victory! Victory! Victory!"
The army shouted slogans, and Su He saw that morale was ready and ordered the army to set off.
The army ran out of Sujia Village, and many villagers came to see them off.
They have been mentally prepared that their son and husband will never come back.
Su He, Su Xiong, and Su Ying had a small meeting during the march.
"Su Xiong, you must pay attention to the servants and soldiers around the generals on the battlefield.
They are the elite of the official army, as long as we defeat the servants, we will win."
"Commander Su, please rest assured. I know that the officers and soldiers wearing armor must be servants, and they are attacking the servants with grenades."
Su He agreed: "You are right. Ordinary soldiers in the Ming Guards do not have armor. Armor is too expensive. Hiding armor privately is considered treason.
If you attack the servants fiercely, the rest of the officers and soldiers can only fight with the wind."
He turned to Su Ying and said: "You don't have to go to the front line, but you play a very crucial role.
Our team has just been established and has not been tempered by war.
There must be people who are afraid of the imperial officers and soldiers, and they may desert during battle.
You must not be lenient when leading the military law team. Any deserter must be executed immediately.
Deserters will shake the army's will to resist, and if they spread, the army will collapse."
Su Ying assured with a serious face: "Commander Su, please rest assured, the military law team is here to ensure that discipline in the army is not disordered."
Su He just explained in advance that he was very confident in the military law team.
The Military Law Corps was a special team he asked Su Ying to form to manage military discipline.
Members of the military law corps are generally rigid and dogmatic, and they enforce military law without mercy.
Su He led the army to Woniupo, a small mound more than fifty meters high.
The side of Woniupo near the official road is a straight cliff with no climbing points at all.
To rush down from the side of Wo Niupo to the official road, you need to make a large circle of more than 500 meters.
According to conventional thinking, no army can set up an ambush here.
Wo Niu Slope is a loess slope with no trees, and the loose loess cannot build pillars.
There is no way to get down by rappelling. Jumping down directly can kill someone.
After taking a detour and rushing down, people on the official road can see it at a glance.
They had enough preparation time and lost the surprise of the ambush, turning it into a positional battle between two armies.
Seeing this terrain, Su Xiong exclaimed: "Commander Su, the place you chose to set up an ambush is so exquisite.
We are above Wo Niu Slope and can directly attack with grenades."
"Yes, as military technology advances, tactics must also be updated, otherwise it will fail."
Su He saw that Su Xiong was very talented in military affairs. He had never studied the art of war and could make the right choice by relying only on intuition.
When he learns to read and receive systematic training, he will become a general in his own right.
The army began to lay mines and planted 46 landmines on the official road.
This is more than half of the army's reserves.
The arsenal is in short supply of sulfur, so some nitrate can be produced using manure accumulation, but sulfur can only be purchased from outside.
After the landmine was buried, the soldiers compacted the floating soil on top and stepped on it repeatedly with their feet until no one could tell that the land had been dug.
The match rope is wrapped with a layer of bark and buried directly in the soil.
There is no need to lead the match rope to the top of Wo Niu Slope, but directly find a hiding place at the bottom of Wo Niu Slope, and the soldiers dig a hole to hide in it.
The soldier heard the sound of the grenade and lit the match directly in the pit.
Three soldiers lit three match ropes respectively. As long as one match rope was lit, the mine array was triggered.
After placing the mines, Su He took most of the soldiers to hide on Wo Niu Slope, waiting for the officers and soldiers to walk into the ambush circle.
The scout came over and reported: "The officers and soldiers are here."
Su He looked up from the bottom of Wo Niu Slope. Officers and soldiers lined up in a long queue, walking along the official road towards Sujiazhuang.
In front of the officers and soldiers were guard soldiers in ragged clothes, using their spears as crutches and walking slowly forward.
Among the officers and soldiers were servants wearing dark armor.
Most of the servants carried long swords at their waists and shields in their left hands.
A small number of retainers carried longbows on their backs, and there were twenty retainers, two of whom carried a long matchlock gun.
Near the servants, there was a general wearing chainmail and riding a tall horse.
Behind the officers and soldiers were unarmored patrol officers, each carrying a long sword in his hand.
There were dozens of carriages at the end of the army, probably pulling baggage.
What caught Su He's attention most were the three carriages, which were pulling three cannons.