Chapter 156 The beginning of the end of the cavalry
Kaiyuan 4329, the fifth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, the ninth day of the third month.
Su He was in Lingyun Hall, listening to Li Fengming's report on the Ming army's encirclement and suppression campaign and the situation in each region.
"His Royal Highness the King of Qin, Su Hu, commander of the Northern Front, annihilated the infantry of the Guan Ning Army of the Ming Army in the first battle.
Rifled cannons and rifled guns perform extremely well.
In addition to the somewhat low fire rate of flint, the performance of rifled guns and rifled cannons far exceeds that of previous muskets and artillery.
After improving the fuze, the performance of explosive shells and mines also amazed the entire army.
Especially for landmines, the improved pressure fuse has prevented Guan Ning cavalry from sneak attacks on our military camps many times.
Due to the existence of landmines, the Guan Ning cavalry, the only combat-effective Ming army, no longer poses much of a threat to our main force.
Commander Su Hu is leading the army approaching Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province.
We will soon capture Xi'an, gradually capture the entire Shaanxi, occupy the land of Sanqin, and lay the foundation of our hegemony.
Hou Xun and Su Shan fought steadily in Xing'an Prefecture, constantly engaging in a war of attrition, but neither one gained the upper hand.
The combination of Su Shan and Niu Siyuan has strong defensive ability.
In Sichuan, Qin Liangyu's white soldiers fought like crazy.
They fought their way out of the mountain path many times.
If it weren't for the strong concrete fortifications and the sufficient firepower of the rifled guns, Su Li might not be able to withstand Qin Liangyu's attack.
Su Xiong, the commander-in-chief of the southern front, led the First Army and the Second Army to defeat Xu Chengming, the commander-in-chief of Guizhou.
Zhang Gui, the commander-in-chief of Guangxi, led the Guangdong and Ming armies and did not dare to collide with our army.
He also killed good people and pretended to be meritorious, killing some chieftains and pretending to be our army.
Commander Su Xiong sent a military report that they had captured Kunming, leaving some troops to stabilize Yunnan, and were advancing towards Guizhou, preparing to surround Zhang Gui's troops.
Su Xiong wrote to ask for instructions from His Highness the King of Qin. They have no problem taking over Yunnan and Guizhou. Should they attack Guangxi?"
Su He had already memorized the situation in various places. After hearing what Li Fengming said, he ordered:
"Inform Su Hu that in order to speed up the progress, the Great Wall defense line must be captured within this year.
We should not just focus on Shaanxi. Intelligence from the secret guards showed that Huang Taiji had sent troops to attack the Mongolian Chahar tribe.
Lin Dan Batur's Mongolian army was unable to withstand the attack of the Eight Banners Army near Liaodong.
They could only flee towards Inner Mongolia, where their allies, the Tumut tribe, lived.
From the grasslands near Liaodong to Qinghai Lake, you will definitely pass through the Shaanxi section of the Great Wall.
We must capture the Great Wall before Lin Dan Batur escapes to the vicinity of the Great Wall."
When Li Fengming heard Su He say this, he understood what Su He meant.
When Su He was chatting with him, he said that tigers in Houjin were a great threat and could not be tamed, so they could only be completely eliminated.
The Mongols are wolves, and when tied with a rope they become dogs. As long as I put a hinge on them, they can be used by me.
"Your Highness King Qin, now the infantry of the Shaanxi Ming Army have been defeated by us, and they have absolutely no confidence to resist.
The only Ming army with combat capability now is the Guan Ning Cavalry.
Regarding the presence of Ning's cavalry, Commander Su Hu did not dare to divide his troops.
With the existence of landmines, they are not afraid of Guan Ning's army attacking the camp.
But the supply line was too long, and the logistics team had no way to lay mines while on the move.
Once the logistics are cut off by the cavalry, the consequences will be disastrous.
Our staff department has come up with several combat plans against the Guan Ning cavalry and asked His Highness the King of Qin for approval."
After Li Fengming finished speaking, he handed over the three sets of plans produced by the staff department to Su He for review.
"Just choose the second plan, let the Guards disguise themselves as civilians, and follow the method proposed in this plan to attract the Guan Ning cavalry.
Let Su Hu and Li Dazhuang adjust this plan according to the situation on the battlefield."
Li Fengming remembered Su He's instructions, and he proposed another strategy.
"Your Highness King Qin, regarding Qin Liangyu's white-pole soldiers, I have a strategy to deal with them.
Most of the family members of the Baigan soldiers are in the Reclamation Corps, and they are living a good life now.
The white pole soldier cannot read, but he can always understand the pictures.
Send someone to draw some pictures of their family's life, and at the same time publicize their family's situation.
When the general army sees this situation, its morale will definitely collapse.
Even if Qin Liangyu has a high reputation among the white pole soldiers, he can force the white pole soldiers to attack.
The civil servants of the Ming army still dare to use Qin Liangyu and others. Aren't they afraid that these white soldiers will betray them?
They didn't want to go back on their word and let the military intelligence and secret guards spread the news.
If the white soldiers don't want to rebel, the Ming army will force them to rebel."
When Su He heard Li Fengming's plan, he was overjoyed and said: "This plan is good. Let's make detailed arrangements and let Su Li, Zhou Quansheng and others implement it."
He added: "Inform Su Xiong to stop the attack after capturing Yungui.
We need to digest Yunnan and Guizhou and then expand outward.
This time the war ended and we captured Shaanxi and Yunnan-Guizhou.
Not long after Sichuan was captured, Shaanxi and Yunnan-Guizhou were added.
After two large-scale expansions in a short period of time, we must recharge our batteries and manage the place well.
We must turn the people under the Ming Dynasty into people who support us.
Shaanxi experienced severe drought and war, and its population decreased sharply.
Land is scarce in Yunnan and Guizhou, and land conflicts are not prominent.
Most of the conflicts were between the Han people and the chieftains.
Guangxi is different, where the contradiction between natives and foreigners is extremely prominent.
It is a deep-rooted thought that without strong grassroots management capabilities, nothing can be done."
Su Xiong's army could easily capture Guangxi and the Qinzhou area of Guangdong.
Su He had thought of such a strategy before.
Taking advantage of the opportunity to seize the seaport, they can obtain a large amount of silver coins through industry and Chinese specialties.
As long as sea trade develops, he will no longer have to worry about silver coins.
But after carefully sorting out his family fortune, Su He gave up his plan to attack Guangxi.
If you take too big steps, you can easily pull off your eggs.
As long as the Qin army is strong, these areas can be captured at any time.
The primary goal now is not to expand the territory, but to develop industry and improve the foundation.
If it weren't for the large-scale siege by the Ming army, Su He saw that they were at risk of being besieged.
Su He is not prepared to take Yunnan, Guizhou and Shaanxi right now.
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Li Dazhuang looked at the soldiers carrying guns and shouted angrily: "Hide all the guns for me, how can any civilian carry a musket?"
How come no one has mentioned this flaw that is so obvious at a glance?"
He was dressed in shabby linen and had a straw hat on his head, disguised as a civilian husband.
The iron boxcars specially designed for the cavalry were also painted with a thick layer of paint and disguised as ordinary grain carts.
Iron box trucks were distributed on both sides of the team, with many grain trucks in the middle.
Most of them are real grain trucks, and a few are grain trucks disguised as heavy artillery trucks.
Li Dazhuang saw Zhang Yuliang pretending to be a grain transport officer.
He walked over and said enviously: "Old Zhang, you look so elegant in your outfit, why do I have to pretend to be a commoner?"
Zhang Yuliang glanced at the strong Li Dazhuang.
"Old Li, with your figure, you can't even be a grain shipping officer. Others will know it's fake at a glance.
Even if the grain transport officer is not fat and fat, he must be gentle and gentle.
Your muscles and tough temperament are not at all suitable for the role of a grain transport officer."
"Old Zhang, what you said is right. If you can deceive the Guan Ning cavalry into being a civilian man, it will be worth all the hard work you put in."
"Lao Li, don't worry.
His Highness the King of Qin and Commander Su Hu cooperated with each other and used various channels to convince the Ming army that we were transporting materials that would affect the war situation."
"Old Zhang, we are indeed transporting materials that affect the war situation.
Heavy artillery and rockets, both can affect the situation of the battle.
I just don’t know if Guan Ning Cavalry will be fooled?
If they send a small force to test us, we'll be exposed."
"Old Li, go and prepare quickly and replace all the hands and tail of the team with real materials and civilians.
Guan Ning's army will not attack the middle of the team, and they are also afraid of being fooled.
But it's very possible, targeting the front or rear of the team.
Send out a small force to verify whether we are a real logistics team."
Li Dazhuang immediately asked the ordering soldiers to follow Zhang Yuliang's suggestion and ask the civilians to go to the front and rear ends of the team.
"Old Zhang, some time ago, your artillery division really showed its face.
The heavy artillery directly crippled the infantry of Guanning Army, laying the foundation for our current series of victories."
When Zhang Yuliang heard Li Dazhuang's compliment, he smiled unconsciously.
The artillery division made outstanding achievements in this battle.
Let all armies see the power of heavy artillery clusters.
From the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period to the Ming Dynasty, there was no army that did not collapse with more than 30% casualties.
The heavy artillery cluster directly caused more than 50% of the casualties of Guan Ning's army, and more than 30% of the casualties of the Ming army that crossed the Wei River.
Their morale collapsed and they had no will to resist.
Seeing this situation, Commander Su Hu asked Han Shuliang, who was protecting the artillery, to attack.
It was a brilliant victory and proved to everyone the status of artillery.
Zhang Yuliang said politely: "Old Li, you are not bad either.
The Guards took a long route and attacked the rear of Hong Chengchou's troops of the Ming army.
Cooperating with the two divisions of the First Army, they directly annihilated Hong Chengchou's 100,000 Ming army.
Especially since you have captured Kong Youde of the Ming Army.
Kong Youde's abilities were mediocre, but the artillery he led was very experienced.
With a little education, you will become an elite artilleryman."
When Li Dazhuang heard Zhang Yuliang's compliment, he also smiled.
The battle he fought was not a major battle, but it had a great impact on the situation in Shaanxi.
Without these 100,000 Ming troops, Sun Chengzong would have no way to defend Shaanxi.
He must find a way to break the situation. If Sun Chengzong is anxious, the Ming army will have flaws.
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Xi'an Prefecture, Shaanxi Province.
Sun Chengzong summoned all the generals to discuss matters.
He looked at the two distinct groups of people.
Now only the Shaanxi Army and Guanning Army are left.
After such a long period of testing, the generals of the Shaanxi army did not turn to the thieves in yellow.
However, the two parties are very hostile to each other, and the situation is getting worse.
After losing the first battle, they were chased by thieves in yellow during their retreat.
Guan Ning's cavalry took advantage of the cavalry and directly threw away the pursuers.
The Shaanxi Army and other supporting armies were left behind.
Because they were too panicked, other troops lost their way, and they were all wiped out by the thieves in yellow.
Wu Xiang stood up, knelt on the ground and said, "Master Sun, please think of a solution quickly.
The thieves in yellow attacked too quickly, and most of the food and grass distributed to us by the court were taken away by the thieves in yellow.
The army is now going to run out of food.
Shaanxi has been experiencing severe droughts for many years, and there is no way to collect food locally.
Once we run out of food, we will not be able to fight this war."
When Xu Kaisheng heard about the food shortage, he couldn't help but step forward.
"Master Sun, our army is also running out of food one after another, and the military households are all starved of food.
Why should food be given priority to Guan Ning’s army?
In the current war, we are fighting at the front, and Guan Ning's army has achieved very few results.
The surplus food in the army should be given priority to us.
During this period of time, have we ever spared any effort in fighting the thieves in yellow? Our identity as spies has long been cleared.
In every health center in Shaanxi, people died at the hands of thieves in yellow clothes.
The thieves in yellow did not hold back, and we fought desperately.
We are not as strong as the thieves in yellow, and we have suffered repeated defeats.
It’s better than Guan Ning’s army fleeing without fighting.”
Sun Chengzong believed that the Shaanxi army had spies from the thieves in yellow.
But it is basically impossible for the Shaanxi Army to fully surrender to the yellow-clad thieves.
From their battles with the thieves in yellow during this period, some clues can also be seen.
"Everyone, please stop arguing. This is a difficult time for the country.
I have already put the spies to death, and if any spies are discovered in the future, they will be severely punished."
Sun Chengzong spoke, but everyone was silent.
He looked at everyone and said: "When I was occupied by thieves in yellow clothes in the official warehouse of Fengxiang Mansion, I wrote an inscription for the court.
The imperial court is also in a difficult situation now, and the food has not yet been shipped here.
Now that we are about to run out of food, we have to find a way on our own.
The Jinyi Guards are here. They have spies lurking at the thief in yellow.
The secret agent sent important information. The thieves in yellow rely heavily on firearms for their military strength.
Their firearms and ammunition are all specially manufactured.
It is impossible to simply make ammunition for firearms through military craftsmen like our army.
The thieves in yellow attacked too fast and the front line was already short of ammunition.
After our testing in the past few days, we have found that the thieves in yellow on the front line are indeed short of ammunition.
We must not allow the thieves in yellow to safely deliver ammunition to the front line.
We suffered some losses along the way, and there is still a stalemate on other paths.
In order to destroy us, the thieves in yellow mobilized troops to support other places as soon as possible.
They sent a large number of civilians to transport all the weapons and ammunition stored by the thieves in yellow to the front line.
The thieves in yellow were not only transporting ammunition this time, they were also transporting enough food to feed 100,000 people for three months.
If we can seize these food and weapons, we still have hope of victory."
Sun Chengzong received the news about Jin Yiwei. He verified it through many parties and sent a small group of Guan Ning cavalry to check it out.
Now we have learned about the logistics and transportation team of the thieves in yellow.
This is a huge transport team with a small number of people, and it mainly relies on mule carts for transportation.
There are only 4,000 civilians and 1,000 yellow-clad thieves as a second-line force.
Sun Chengzong told the details of the transport team of thieves in yellow.
Zu Dashou immediately stood up and said: "Master Sun, the task of attacking the yellow-robed thieves' logistics team can be handed over to our Guan Ning army.
Our cavalry is faster and easier to retreat.
If the thieves in yellow didn't ambush us, we would be able to obtain a large amount of food and firearms.
The thieves in yellow are ambushing us, so we can retreat calmly."
Zu Dashou is determined to win this task.
The situation of the thief in yellow was discovered by Guan Ningjun.
The yellow thief cavalry is very weak. Even if there is an ambush, they can retreat intact.
At this moment, nothing is as valuable as food.
Only by getting enough food can they survive.
Sun Chengzong was very satisfied when he saw Zu Dashou volunteering.
The task of the yellow-clad thief's logistics team after such a sneak attack must be handed over to the cavalry.
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Zu Dashou held a telescope and saw the logistics team of thieves in yellow moving slowly in front of them.
"The thieves in yellow are not only advanced in firearms, but their telescopes can also see farther.
Brother Wu Xiang, have you found a large army of yellow-robed thieves hiding in the surrounding ten miles?
We only have so many brothers left. I still want to take the brothers back to Liaodong, but I can’t leave them here.
The regular army of thieves in yellow are too powerful.
On the frontal battlefield, our cavalry was not the main attacker, and we were often killed and wounded by the muskets and artillery fire of the thieves in yellow.
Especially the mines used by the thieves in yellow are so disgusting that a horse's legs will be broken if they step on them.
It seems that the casualties are not large, but over time, we, the people, cannot withstand such consumption.
What's more, the thieves in yellow also transported a large amount of food.
We must get food."
Wu Xiang said: "Brother Shou, all the brothers know your good intentions.
After detailed investigation, I found that there was no ambush by the thieves in yellow within a radius of ten miles.
There is an ambush ten miles away. With the speed of our cavalry, we can escape before the thieves in yellow arrive here."
Zu Dashou was completely relieved when he heard that there was no ambush.
He saw the yellow-clad thief's logistics team but didn't notice them.
The thieves in yellow are marching slowly, which proves that there are no mines or other weapons placed around the logistics team.
Now is the perfect opportunity to strike.
"Let brothers charge, don't charge too fast. Once you find something is wrong, don't hesitate, turn around and run away immediately."
Zu Dashou felt unspeakably awkward in his heart. Did he find the problem?
He informed the cavalry to reserve some strength so that they could escape even if an unexpected situation occurred.
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Zhang Yuliang saw smoke and dust billowing ahead, and through the telescope he could see tens of thousands of cavalry rushing towards them.
He said in surprise: "Guan Ning's cavalry is really here, and it seems that they are still coming out in full force."
"Old Li, you have to hold on for a while. Guan Ning's cavalry will find that they can't escape. They will definitely attack madly."
"Lao Zhang, don't worry! As long as all our guards are not killed, Guan Ning's cavalry will never cross our defense line."
After Li Dazhuang finished speaking, he put the whistle he had been hanging around his neck on his mouth.
A unique whistle sounded in the military formation.
When officers heard the whistle, they also blew their own whistles.
The whistle was relayed and soon spread throughout the army.
The soldiers heard the whistle, and under the command of the squad leader, they connected the iron box cars end to end.
The iron box car is firmly locked directly through the mechanical lock.
Without a special key, this kind of steel lock cannot be opened with a knife.
They opened the iron box car and loaded it with muskets and ammunition.
The soldiers skillfully took out their muskets and quickly loaded them.
Zhang Yuliang also commanded the artillery and directly took off the camouflage on the heavy artillery.
The artillerymen were adjusting the firing angle of the heavy artillery according to the position of Guan Ning's cavalry.
The craftsmen who accompanied the army began to install collision fuzes on the explosive shells.
They moved very quickly. After loading a cannon shell, the artillerymen took the shell and carefully transported it to the vicinity of the cannon.
Zhang Yuliang came to the most special artillery camp.
He saw that the artillery was loading and had just finished loading the rockets with collision fuses.
The soldier's operation speed is very fast, and the loading of rockets is also very convenient.
It took them less than five minutes to prepare the rockets.
Zhang Yuliang observed with a telescope, and he saw that the cavalry at the rear had all entered the range of the heavy artillery.
"fire."
The messenger lit the signal flare.
When the artillerymen received the order to fire, they pulled the gun rope.
The ignition tube ignites the gunpowder in the shell.
There was a bang.
The cannonball was fired.
Even more spectacular than cannonballs are rockets.
Dense rockets flew towards the large cavalry troops.
There are more rockets, but they are not accurate enough and rely on saturation attacks to kill a large number of cavalry.
The accuracy of the artillery shells is much higher, and some artillerymen are specially focused on the generals of Guan Ning's cavalry.
Rockets and artillery shells covered most of Guanning's cavalry.
Wu Sangui was at the rear of the team. He saw the logistics team of the yellow-robed thieves suddenly appeared with so many cannons.
He couldn't imagine that there were only 5,000 yellow-robed thieves, even if they were all artillery, how could they fire so many shells in a short period of time.
Cannonballs exploded among the cavalry, and the neighing of horses and the screams of people were heard one after another.
The battlefield was soon obscured by gunpowder smoke, and he could not see clearly the scene ahead.
"father."
Wu Sangui cried out in pain and fled immediately with his troops.
This is obviously a trap for the thief in yellow. If he doesn't run away, he will have no chance.
Guan Ning's cavalryman, who was in the rear, turned around and fled in a hurry.
Wu Xiang was at the rear of the logistics team. When he was shelled, he knew it was an ambush by thieves in yellow.
He immediately led the cavalry under his command and ran to the side.
The war horses shuttled through the smoke, and some of the soldiers around him were injured by the cannon and fell off their horses.
He quickly ran out of the artillery's firing range.
Seeing that there were only a few hundred cavalry left around him.
Most of the cavalry have fallen into chaos and have no way to escape.
He saw the yellow-clothed thief's iron box cart slowly encircling the center from both ends, preparing to surround the cavalry with infantry.
The yellow-robed thief's team was guarded by iron box trucks on both sides, so he had no way to rush past.
Wu Xiang shook his head and withdrew from the battlefield with his remaining team.
Zu Dashou, who was in the front of the cavalry formation, heard the sound of cannons and saw dense shells flying over.
He knew that he had fallen into a trap. The front was not the logistics team of the thieves in yellow, but the elite thieves in yellow.
He looked behind him and on both sides. These places were shelled by thieves in yellow, and the cavalry were in chaos.
If you turn the horse's head around now, they won't be able to escape.
"Everyone, follow my charge. As long as you get close to the formation of the yellow-robed thieves, their cannons will have no effect."
Zu Dashou led Guan Ning's army and launched a charge.
During the cavalry charge, they picked up flintlock muskets made by the imperial court.
Now the flintlock musket has replaced their commonly used three-eyed musket.
When Zu Dashou led his troops to charge, he saw Song Wei's general soldier being affected by explosive shells and falling off his horse.
He led a large army and quickly rushed to the front of the army of the thieves in yellow.
There will no longer be shelling here.
But he heard loud gunshots, and soldiers around him kept getting shot and fell to the ground.
They fired back, but did not hear the screams of the thief in yellow.
"The muskets of the thieves in yellow have a longer range, so everyone is shooting closer.
We are cavalry, as long as we break through the defense line, it will be victory."
Zu Dashou and his soldiers, you have already rushed to the formation of the thieves in yellow.
They fought back with flintlocks and shot many of the thieves in yellow.
He didn't have time to load the flintlock gun, so he picked up the steel knife and rushed towards the thief in yellow.
All he heard was a shout of "volley!"
I felt a pain in my chest, vomited blood, and fell off my horse.
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Zhang Yuliang looked at the Guan Ning cavalry in front who put down their weapons and surrendered.
These cavalrymen found that they had no way to escape, and they could not break through the defense line formed by iron box cars.
Morale completely collapsed and most of them surrendered to them.
Li Dazhuang sent troops to guard these surrendered troops and clean the battlefield.
Zhang Yuliang looked at the battlefield full of bomb craters.
"This battle will be the beginning of the end for the cavalry.
In the future, cavalry will no longer dominate the battlefield.