Chapter 119 Occupation of Deyang, against the cavalry
Su He watched Li Dazhuang leading his troops away.
This was the first time they faced cavalry.
I hope Li Dazhuang can deliver a perfect answer.
Li Fengming sighed with emotion: "Finally, we have led the Ming army out of Hanzhou.
We deliberately let the Ming army break out, but I was afraid they would see the flaw.
But the Hanzhou Ming army surprised us by having a cavalry force."
"Inform Wu Jie to stay in Zangzhuo for a few days and then capture Deyang City in three days.
I want to eat dumplings in Deyang City and make up for the dumplings I missed on New Year’s Eve for the soldiers."
The guard took Su He's order and informed the staff department to prepare a military order.
When Su Ying saw the dust settle, he said worriedly: "Commander Su, Chief of Staff, I didn't expect that there are still two thousand cavalry in Hanzhou City.
There were 30,000 Ming troops in Hanzhou City, and 22,000 of them came out.
Twenty thousand infantry plus two thousand cavalry.
Li Dazhuang's Guards Division had no problem blocking 20,000 infantry.
But when two thousand cavalry charge, I'm really afraid that the Guards Division can't stop them."
Su He said confidently: "Don't worry, I will fight against the Tatar and Jiannu cavalry later.
I specialize in the corresponding tactics for firearms troops to deal with cavalry, so that they can respond to cavalry attacks in various situations.
I had Zhang Wansi's cavalry regiment and Guards division practice many times.
The Guards Division had experience in dealing with cavalry.
The cavalry of the Ming Army was not very effective in combat and could not withstand heavy casualties.
The Guards Division can deal with these Ming troops without actual combat."
Li Fengming also added: "The horses here are not good.
The southwestern horse has good endurance, but it is too short and its charging speed is not strong.
The Southwest Horse charged, the artillerymen who were skilled enough fired two rounds of cannon, and the soldiers fired five rounds of flintlock musketry.
We have never fought against cavalry, and the Ming Dynasty's cavalry has never fought against an army with all firearms.
Everyone is very unfamiliar with each other, which depends on the true strength of an army."
Su Ying felt relieved when he saw that Commander Su and the Chief of Staff were both confident.
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Han Shuliang stood in front of the army and shouted loudly: "You have all been frustrated these past few days, and I am also very frustrated.
Seeing the criminals' meritorious service, they almost beat down Deyang.
Now Commander Su has officially issued an order for us to attack Deyang City.
Please cheer me up and defeat Deyang in one battle."
Han Shuliang had good communication with the artillery brigade, so he waited for the signal from the artillery brigade.
Having seen the power of explosive shells, Han Shuliang did not want his troops to suffer losses because he failed to cooperate well with friendly forces.
Zhang Yuliang stood in front of the artillery camp, feeling very happy.
The battle at Zitong showed the majesty of their artillery brigade.
"Artillery correction balloon launched."
After the decryption of hot air balloons, the second unit to popularize hot air balloons was their artillery brigade.
Several gunners of the artillery brigade learned how to raise and lower hot-air balloons after being trained by the Flying Tigers.
Their hot air balloons are all tied to the ground and fixed in a certain position.
There is no need to master complicated hot air balloon operation skills.
The hot air balloon is tied to a rope. Until the rope is broken, no matter how strong the wind is, the hot air balloon cannot be blown away.
The artillery calibration hot air balloon is used to observe the landing point of the cannon and provide information so that artillery officers such as Zhang Yuliang can adjust the cannon parameters in a timely manner.
Watch the cannon fire in the sky and you can clearly see whether the cannon deviates from the target.
Zhang Yuliang saw that the hot air balloon had taken off, and the soldiers on it established good contact with them through semaphores.
"Flower bomb, ready for test firing."
The cannon located at the center of the artillery position roared.
Zhang Yuliang saw the explosive bomb falling on the city wall and exploding soon.
He stared at the soldiers on the calibration balloon, who quickly gave the accurate impact point of the cannonball.
Zhang Yuliang mentally corrected the data given by the balloon, and adjusted the parameters of the cannon according to the target they hit this time.
The accuracy of the artillery was not enough, and Zhang Yuliang could only cover the range if the artillery volley fired.
Zhang Yuliang calculated all the data in a moment.
"Turn the cannon 0.5 degrees to the left, raise the muzzle 1.2 degrees, and increase the charge by one-fifth."
As Zhang Yuliang's order was given, the gunners acted quickly, quickly adjusting the cannon and loading the cannon with ammunition.
"Five rounds of rapid fire, ready to... launch."
Zhang Yuliang gave the order, and the cannons in the artillery camp roared.
There were more Ming defenders in Deyang City. Zhang Yuliang did not use two rounds of shooting, but fired all the cannons at the same time.
He wanted to project more explosive bombs into the ranks of the Ming army.
Not caring about the life of the cannon at all, the artillerymen began to attack while the barrel of the cannon was still slightly hot.
After five rounds of cannon fire, gunpowder smoke floated over the Deyang city wall.
There was so much smoke that it directly covered the Deyang City Wall.
"The artillery fire is extended, and two rounds of fire are fired alternately. Notify Brigadier Han Shuliang to attack immediately."
Han Shuliang had been waiting for the signal from the artillery brigade and saw the signal from Zhang Yuliang.
He immediately led his team and launched a fierce attack on the city wall of Deyang City.
As the soldiers climbed up the ladder, they could hear artillery shells exploding on the other side of the city wall.
As they climbed the city wall, no Ming army stopped them.
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Hou Liangzhu was frightened by an exploding shell.
He felt that there was danger above Deyang City, so he immediately ran down the city wall with his confidants.
He stood under the city wall, looked up, and saw as many cannonballs as hailstones, attacking towards the top of the city.
"Deyang City is over, Sichuan is going to be over."
Hou Liangzhu saw dense shells exploding at the top of the city, creating waves of air and sending some soldiers flying.
The smoke after the explosion directly covered the entire city wall.
He finally knew how Jianmenguan, Zitong and Mianzhou were lost.
With the firepower of the thieves in yellow, no Ming general would be able to defend the city.
After the smoke cleared, Hou Liangzhu just wanted to lead his servants and rush up the city wall again.
He saw that the explosive shells were already falling into the city, and the impact point of the shells was near them.
He took his troops and immediately fled towards the city.
The soldiers had seen the power of these explosive bullets, and everyone used the fastest speed in their lives.
When Hou Liangzhu saw the explosion stopped, he led his troops back to the bottom of the city wall.
He found that many thieves in yellow were already standing on the city wall.
The thieves in yellow were holding a small wooden hammer in their hands. After seeing them,
When these people pulled it with their hands, the small wooden hammer emitted white smoke.
The thief in yellow threw the smoking wooden hammer towards them.
Hou Liangzhu didn't know what it was, but he knew it wasn't a good thing, so he immediately ran away with his servants.
He heard a lot of explosions coming from behind.
This kind of small wooden hammer can also explode, but it is not as powerful as a cannonball.
But when it explodes, military households within thirty meters will also be injured.
Hou Liangzhu took his soldiers and hid in a large house in Deyang City.
Relying on their knowledge of Deyang, they prevented the thieves in yellow from occupying Deyang City.
Hou Liangzhu was waiting for reinforcements from Hanzhou. He kept paying attention to the army of thieves in yellow. They were all infantry.
General Mu Qishen led the elite cavalry of the Duke of Guizhou.
When cavalry fights infantry, the thieves in yellow can't stop them.
As long as reinforcements can arrive quickly, he still has hope of retaking Deyang.
Hou Liangzhu was afraid that the morale of the soldiers would collapse and the generals would be tempted to surrender.
He first gathered all the generals together to discuss surrender.
Hou Liangzhu found the generals who wanted to surrender, threw cups as a signal, and asked his soldiers to come in and execute these generals in the name of surrendering to thieves.
"We are not disloyal or unjust people. Anyone who betrays the Ming Dynasty will suffer this fate."
Hou Liangzhu shocked the others and encouraged them: "I have invited Mu Qishen, the commander-in-chief of Yunnan, and the cavalry of the Duke of Guizhou to come to rescue.
Not only the cavalry, but also the 20,000 Ming troops in Hanzhou, I have transferred them all to support us.
General Mu Qishen had just arrived in Sichuan not long ago.
The thieves in yellow did not know the existence of General Mu Qishen, and they had no means to deal with the cavalry.
The thief in yellow will soon be defeated by General Mu Qishen.
As long as we persist, we will see the dawn of victory."
Hou Liangzhu immediately sent troops to gather the remaining soldiers of all the dead generals.
For ordinary soldiers, the way to boost their morale is very simple, and that is to give them money.
After receiving the real silver ingot, the morale of the army immediately rose.
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Han Shuliang led his troops into Deyang City.
He saw that the Ming army in Deyang City was resisting fiercely.
He has already entered the city, and these Ming troops are blocking them by relying on alleys and private houses.
"This is the street fighting that Commander Su said. The city walls are broken, but these houses can still block the cannons."
When encountering some ordinary houses, soldiers kicked open the doors and threw grenades into the courtyard.
In most private houses, this method can solve the Ming army in the house.
Some Ming troops were hiding in a large house in a high house. The courtyard walls were very strong, and there were archers hiding in the courtyard, so the soldiers could not get close.
Han Shuliang immediately shouted: "The artillery battalion brought the 75 light artillery over and blasted me with the cannon."
He commanded his soldiers to directly bring in cannons when encountering difficult-to-attack places and bombard them with artillery shells.
75 light artillery cannot break the city wall, but this kind of artillery can be lifted by four people.
It bombards people's houses and can easily destroy them.
Han Shuliang relied on cannons and grenades to compete with the Ming army in the city for strategic positions.
He continued to compress the living space of the Ming army, and soon drove all the Ming army to the county government.
There were a lot of Ming army crossbowmen gathered in the county government office.
They hid in the corner and shot cold arrows, and the soldiers couldn't get close at all.
There was no way to hit the Ming army hiding behind the wall with muskets.
"The resistance was fierce, but it was completely ineffective. They bombarded me with cannons."
Han Shuliang immediately issued the order.
The artillery battalion dragged over two 110 medium-sized artillery pieces and attacked the county government office.
The gate of the county government office could not withstand the bombardment of the cannon and was directly shattered.
The artillery shell hit the Ming army in the courtyard.
The soldiers took advantage of this opportunity and rushed directly into the county government office.
They threw a large number of grenades into the county government office, causing the Ming troops inside to scream in agony.
When Han Shuliang saw that the last stronghold of the Ming army was captured, he looked relaxed.
They captured Deyang in one day, and the gate of Rongcheng was already open to them.
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Mu Qishen looked at the letter Hou Liangzhu wrote to him.
"The thieves in yellow are nothing more than that. Those civil servants are very good at messing with people, but they are not good at fighting.
Yang He led his troops to a complete defeat. Shao Jiechun was guarding the most important gate in the world, but was easily defeated by the thieves in yellow.
The national situation is difficult, and in this era we still have to look at the abilities of our generals."
The other Ming army generals did not answer the call.
Mu Qishen's identity is different. He is not just the commander-in-chief of Yunnan.
He is also the uncle of the contemporary Duke of Guizhou, Mu Tianbo.
This is the palace of the Duke of Guizhou, the top nobleman of the Ming Dynasty, who has guarded Yunnan for generations.
They are called Muwangfu by the people of Yunnan.
The nobles of the Ming Dynasty had their spines broken after the Tumubao Incident.
The rotten ship still has three pounds of nails. No matter how miserable these nobles are, they are not comparable to warriors like them.
Hou Cai praised from the side: "This is the cavalry under General Mu who did not go to Huguang.
If they go to Hanzhong, they can kill the thieves in yellow and leave no trace behind."
When Mu Qishen heard Hou Cai's compliment, he smiled with satisfaction.
"Don't worry, your father and I have a very good relationship, and we won't leave him alone.
As long as I'm here, your father will be fine.
The thieves in yellow are so hateful that they don't stop us even during the holidays.
I began to prepare to go to Huguang, and even as far as Luzhou, I received an order from Governor Zhu Xieyuan to go to Sichuan.
Fortunately, I arrived early and could fight the yellow thief here, if I received the order in Kunming.
The road in Yunnan is too difficult and we can’t make it over at all.”
Mu Qishen admired his foresight.
When he heard that the yellow-robed thieves in Hanzhong had killed Zhu Changhao, King of Rui, he knew that Emperor Chongzhen must have hated the yellow-robed thieves deeply.
Mu Qishen spent a lot of money to bribe the eunuchs around Emperor Chongzhen, so that Emperor Chongzhen ordered him to send troops to quell the rebellion.
He has his own plan. If he has made meritorious service in suppressing the rebellion, he will definitely be rewarded by Emperor Chongzhen.
At that time, he will be able to take control of the Duke of Guizhou's palace by virtue of his meritorious service.
His elder brother died in his prime, and the current Duke of Guizhou, Mu Tianbo, is still a little kid.
The power of the Duke of Guizhou was in the hands of his sister-in-law.
He took Yunnan's most elite 2,000 cavalry and 8,000 infantry, preparing to enter Huguang from Sichuan and obey Zhu Xieyuan's dispatch.
Unexpectedly, Zhu Xieyuan broke his plan with an order.
Let him send troops to assist in the defense of Chengdu.
Zhang Lun, the governor of Sichuan, directly asked him to guard Hanzhou.
Mu Qishen didn't want to defend the city. He had done too little to defend the city. He should defend the city. If he couldn't defend the city, he would be dismissed from office.
The military merit recognized by the Ming Dynasty was the enemy's head.
Mu Qishen had no way to refuse. The energy of a governor was not something that a down-and-out noble like him could offend.
He could only agree.
Mu Qishen has been waiting for an opportunity in Hanzhou and has not had a good time on New Year's Eve.
On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Hou Cai, the son of Sichuan Commander-in-Chief Hou Liangzhu, came to Hanzhou to ask for help.
Mu Qishen realized that this was his chance.
The generals of the Ming army in Hanzhou were unwilling to go out to fight.
But Hou Cai had Hou Liangzhu's military order and Mu Qishen was supporting him.
Their army officially left the city, preparing for a decisive battle with the thieves in yellow.
Mu Qishen is imagining that after his meritorious service, he will take control of the Duke of Guizhou.
Now the child death rate is too high, maybe his descendants can become the new Duke of Guizhou.
There was a noise in front of the army, and five people fled towards it on fast horses.
They all had blood stains on their bodies.
These people were scouts sent out by Mu Qishen.
They walked up to Mu Qishen, dismounted and knelt down on one knee to report:
"Master General, there is an army of thieves in yellow in front of us, more than 10,000 people.
We went to test it, but the thieves in yellow killed many brothers with firearms."
Mu Qishen quickly asked: "Are there only more than 10,000 thieves in yellow? Are there reinforcements behind them? Do they have cavalry?"
The scout immediately replied: "We bypassed the yellow-clothed thieves' team and estimated that they only have 10,000 infantry.
The thieves in yellow had no reinforcements, they were all infantry, and even the convoys used to transport the baggage were mules.
There are absolutely no cavalry around the thieves in yellow. They are surrounded by plains and there is no place for the cavalry to hide."
When Mu Qishen heard the soldier's answer, he was full of confidence and said: "Send the order, everyone mounts their horses.
The entire army launches an attack to fight against the yellow-robed thieves."
He gave the order, and the cavalrymen led the walking cavalry. They got on their horses and accelerated towards the yellow thief army.
The Ming soldiers at the back trotted behind the cavalry.
Mu Qishen saw this endless plain, which was where the cavalry could exert its full strength.
Hou Cai followed Mu Qishen on horseback and said happily:
"Commander Mu, the thieves in yellow have sent so many people, they must want to sneak attack Hanzhou.
The thieves in yellow are all infantry, so they must not know that Commander Mu is here.
The cavalry under General Mu’s command are in high spirits.
When cavalry fights infantry, it is not like adults beating children."
Mu Qishen seemed to have already seen victory, and he said arrogantly: "Wait until our cavalry tears apart the formation of the thieves in yellow.
The infantry under my command will cooperate with the cavalry in the attack. You Sichuan soldiers will raid the formation behind me and make sure not to let the thieves in yellow escape."
Hou Cai looked at Mu Qishen who wanted to take all the military achievements for himself.
He was very dissatisfied, but for the sake of his father's safety, he could only obey Mu Qishen's instructions.
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Li Dazhuang led his troops out of the mountains, and there was a large plain in front of them.
Chief of Staff Duan Ruide looked at this plain and said happily: "This is a good place for farming, look at the ditches by the river.
In these small places, people have spontaneously built ditches.
In recent years, there have been either droughts or locust plagues in the north. I have inquired along the way and found that Sichuan has not suffered from large-scale natural disasters.
After we occupy Sichuan, we no longer have to worry about food problems."
As they chatted, the scouts had returned and reported the results to them.
Just now, a small number of Ming army cavalry were testing the front of the military formation.
After most of them were killed by the musketeers, they fled in confusion.
Li Dazhuang sent scouts to follow the traces of these cavalry to detect the situation of the Chinese army.
They listened to the scouts' report on the results.
Zhu Shi Pan Hongcai heard the scout's report, and he curiously asked: "Why don't the Ming army's cavalry ride horses when they are on their way?"
How can a soldier dismount and lead the horse to walk? Is this still a cavalry?"
When Li Dazhuang heard this question, he explained: "Master Pan Zhu, you have this impression because you were influenced by opera and novels.
No cavalryman can ride a horse for a long time and charge.
The cavalry on the grassland, such as Tatars and Jiannu, have many horses, usually two or three horses per person.
When walking, he rides one horse, and when fighting, he rides another horse.
In our Central Plains region, horses are very precious and it is impossible for a cavalryman to have two horses.
You can only dismount and walk with the horse, wait until the attack is launched, and then fight on horseback.
Horses are very explosive, but their endurance is not as strong as humans.
A man can travel seventy miles in a day, but a horse cannot do that."
Chief of Staff Duan Ruide sighed and said: "The Ming Army cavalry has launched an attack on us.
At this time, we only have enough time to dig some traps and place some mines.
If we are given enough time, we can build solid fortifications.
In a positional battle with the Ming army, these Ming troops are definitely no match for us."
Li Dazhuang said confidently: "There is no need to be afraid of the Ming army's cavalry.
If it was a grassland alien race, I would still be a little worried.
The Ming Dynasty's army was in ruins.
As long as we can block the first wave of attacks, we will encircle and suppress the Ming army.
I believe that our firearms can block the first wave of Ming cavalry attacks.
No matter how powerful the cavalry is, it cannot withstand the cannon."
Li Dazhuang began to write military orders and asked Chief of Staff Duan Ruide to convey the orders to each regiment.
Soldiers are grouped into regiments and arranged in a small square formation.
Within each square formation, there are a large number of 75mm light artillery, forming a city artillery position.
Li Dazhuang could already see the smoke and dust billowing ahead.
The Ming army's cavalry formally launched an attack on them.
Their military formations were also arranged, with each regiment forming a square formation, a total of nine square formations, to deal with the Ming army's cavalry.
In front of the military formation, a large number of horse traps and mines were laid.
Li Dazhuang stood in the regimental square formation in the center, raising the Great Wall military flag and his general's flag high.
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Mu Qishen led his troops to charge closer and saw the military formation of the thieves in yellow.
"Haha, the thief in yellow is really unprepared."
When he saw this formation, he knew that the thieves in yellow had prepared in a hurry and did not deploy defensive equipment such as horseback.
Mu Qishen was afraid that the thieves in yellow were ambushing him, so he first sent a small group of cavalry to test the situation.
After many tests, he found that there were no reinforcements behind the yellow thief.
It's just that there are some traps and explosive things in front of the military formation.
He first sent the Sichuan Ming Army to attack the army formation of the yellow-robed thieves.
The Yunnan infantry followed behind and filled up the horse trap.
He wanted to keep the credit for himself, and let the Sichuan Ming Army bear the danger first.
Mu Qishen knew that the thief in yellow was good at firearms, and he also observed the power of the thief in yellow's firearms.
The Sichuan Ming army attacked twice and fled the second time.
Two attacks resulted in five to six thousand casualties, and the army was basically destroyed.
They also failed to break through the army formation of the thieves in yellow.
But they have cleared all the Chinese army's traps and explosive objects.
Seeing that the time was right, Mu Qishen led his cavalry to attack the yellow-clothed thieves.
Two thousand cavalrymen launched a collective charge, forming a torrent and directly attacking the central army of the yellow-robed thieves.
Mu Qishen wanted to capture the general who was a thief in yellow. This was the greatest military achievement.
The infantry followed closely behind the cavalry. When the cavalry conquered the military formation, the infantry followed to expand the victory.
Li Dazhuang commanded the army with flags and signal flares.
"Fire, use shotgun."
The military formation made an opening to let the cannon behind fire canisters.
Every time a cannon was fired, hundreds of Ming army cavalry could be killed.
The Ming cavalry did not react to the death of their companions and continued to charge towards the military formation.
The Ming cavalry had already rushed to a distance of 200 meters from the military formation, and the artillery fired two volleys.
It takes time to cool down and there is no chance to fire again.
The cannon was dragged to the rear, and the military formation immediately closed up.
The musketeers raised their flintlock rifles and divided into three groups to fire.
Three rounds of shooting directly killed more than 200 Ming army cavalry.
When Mu Qishen saw a large number of cavalry dead, he did not show any fear, but shouted loudly:
"Accelerate the charge, victory is at hand."
With only such a short distance, the cavalry is about to rush to the formation of the yellow-clad thieves. As long as they rush to the formation and only use the yellow-clothed thieves to tear them apart, they will win.
The cavalry is very fast.
When the musketeers met the cavalry for the first time, the soldiers were very nervous and their movements were slower than during training.
But when they completed their fourth salvo, the cavalry was less than 200 meters away from them, which was not enough distance for them to reload ammunition at once.
Mu Qishen led the cavalry to rush down the formation of the yellow-robed thieves. More than half of the cavalry were already dead.
He didn't expect the thief in yellow's firearm to be so sharp.
Company commander Zhang Yaohua saw that the Ming cavalry was about to rush over and shouted loudly: "First row of soldiers, throw grenades, last knife.
Other soldiers, quickly reload and fire freely."
The musketeer threw the grenade from his waist and recharged the musket at the same time.
They carried muskets, which turned into sharp spears.
The grenade exploded, and the remaining cavalry of the Ming Army, which was heavily engaged in the battle, had no time to hesitate and continued to charge towards them.
Zhang Yaohua picked up his musket. As the company commander, he stood at the front of the team.
"Everyone listen to my orders and don't be afraid. We can block the cavalry in front of us."
When Zhang Yaohua saw the cavalry in front, he raised his long sword in his hand and told him to charge over.
He knew that the cavalry charge was very fast and they didn't have to swing their swords hard.
All you need to do is rely on the speed of the horse and the long knife in your hand.
He will be separated from his body.
Zhang Yaohua used new strength and thrust forward hard.
He shouted at the same time: "Stab."
The musketeers in front were in uniform formation, thrusting forward with their rifles.
A Ming army cavalry horse was stabbed directly by a musket.
But the musket was too short and could not effectively harm the Ming cavalry.
Many musketeers were killed by the cavalry.
Zhang Yaohua was directly hit by a horse and flew out.
The charge momentum of the Ming army's cavalry was stopped.
The cavalry who cannot initiate a charge are the targets of the musketeers.
The musketeers in the rear row loaded their ammunition and started firing freely.
The cavalry was two or three meters in front of them.
The flintlock gun has very high accuracy at this distance.
One or two shots can kill a cavalryman.
When the square formations on both sides saw that the Chinese army was blocking the Ming army's cavalry, they immediately outflanked them from both wings.
The musketeers lined up in neat formations and attacked the Ming cavalry from both sides.
Li Dazhuang saw the Ming cavalry and the infantry following them, and they were directly surrounded by the Guards Division.
The Ming army collapsed immediately, and most of them surrendered.
Li Dazhuang left two regiments to manage the prisoners, and he commanded the other troops.
He took the surrendered Ming army generals, put on Ming army clothes and went straight to Hanzhou.