Renzi Scroll, Section 107, Stick to Waiting for Help
The camper formations deployed along the way caused great trouble to Kuching's cavalry.
Relying on this semi-arc-shaped fort, the gunmen and spearmen cooperated with each other, and the distance between each fort was less than fifty steps, which could form a dense crossfire.
There are as many as a hundred gunmen in each camp, enough to form an extremely fierce fire defense line. It is difficult for a cavalry charge of dozens of people to break through. Even if they can break through, they will suffer great losses, especially if there is no infantry.
Subsequently, this kind of charge and assault seemed to be a bit uneconomical.
But Kuching could not stand still, and saw that the Xuanfu troops on the stone bridge were also beginning to cross the bridge intensively. If their own side could not stop them, they would have to let so many Beijing troops retreat into Gonghua City if they wanted to win.
Gong Huacheng will have to pay a higher price.
He could only order his men to choose the right time to make a detour and attack.
But I have to say that the camp-car fortification method adopted by the Beijing camp is very suitable for this kind of firecrackers.
These campers are only half a person tall, and the added fences serve as supports for the firecrackers to set up their firecrackers. They can rely on the campers to shoot at their leisure.
Regardless of whether it is a group charge or a scattered team, it is difficult to escape the formation of camp vehicles that are only thirty or forty steps apart. Especially this kind of cross fire directly blocks the cavalry who intends to insert from the two camps.
, coupled with the eagerly looking spear troops on both sides as preparations, the cavalry team, which had failed to attack several times, quickly lost hope.
No one is willing to take the risk of being shot by a large number of cannons and forcefully charge. Their lives are their own. When there is no hope of a breakthrough, this kind of charge is not cost-effective.
Fortunately, Ji Shaochun's archers caught up quickly, taking and launching shots and shooting at the spearmen, which finally made He Huchen's troops begin to show flaws during the retreat, especially during the follow-up cover process, they were inevitably followed.
Especially when they got closer to Gonghua City Gate, they hoped to get rid of the pursuit and retreat into the city as soon as possible. At this time, the Xuanfu Army also tightened its grip and refused to give up.
Only then did He Huchen realize the danger.
Every retreat was a danger. Although he had made very thorough preparations before, and the early retreat was orderly and smooth, but as the Xuanfu army's archers crossing the river caught up, this camp structure
The losses of the base cross-covering method will also be greater.
The archers who followed up with the Xuanfu Army were all the best among the best, with first-rate ability in both concentrated shooting and ejection. This caused a great deal of damage to the fire musket soldiers hiding behind the camp car and the covering spear soldiers.
, especially when everyone wants to retreat as soon as possible. If a flaw is revealed at this time, the enemy will seize the opportunity to attack.
"Order Zhang Dechang's Tiger Crouching Artillery Team to set up at the city gate, and the Eagle-billed Gun Team to set up on the city gate tower, preparing to cover the last batch of withdrawing troops. The Fire Gun Team that retreated first gathered at the city gate to cover. We
If we don’t enter the city for the time being, we have to cause enough losses to the Xuanfu army so that they don’t dare to approach. This is our chance to enter the city!”
He Huchen gritted his teeth and issued the order.
Cross-covering worked well in the early stage, but when the Xuanfu army pressed forward on a large scale and the archers attacked intensively, our losses increased greatly, and it became difficult to evacuate the campers and form formations. In the end, we had to push the campers slowly.
Retreat, but the retreat speed will be slower and the losses will be greater.
It's just that this kind of loss is necessary, otherwise once you retreat desperately, you will most likely be bitten by the Xuanfu army, making it difficult to distance yourself.
Fortunately, there was only two miles of land. When the Xuanfu army rushed forward, He Huchen's troops had basically evacuated to the last few camp cars and formed a fortification, less than a hundred steps away from Gonghua City Gate.
When the last two fire gunners and spearmen withdrew from the camp and gathered at the city gate, He Huchen did a rough inventory. In just two miles, the spearmen lost more than 400 people, and the firegunners also lost
He killed more than two hundred people, which was not much, but it was all his own strength. It can be said that it made He Huchen heartbroken.
When they reached the city wall, He Huchen was no longer afraid. No matter how many Xuanfu troops were on the opposite side, the distance they opened determined that they had to pay a price if they wanted to launch a charge. Whether Niu Jizong was willing to pay this price depended on him.
Already.
And even if they are willing to pay, they may not get what they want. He Huchen has ordered two fire gunners to ascend the city first, and together with the eagle-billed gunmen formed a second attack line on the city wall, plus more than two thousand of Zhao Keming's troops
It would not be easy for the Xuanfu army to capture the city in one fell swoop.
After two rounds of attacks by the Xuanfu army were repelled, the Beijing camp had retreated to the city gate, and relying on the arc-shaped defense circle formed by the camp vehicles, the firecrackers above and below the city fired alternately, plus the squatting tiger cannon.
With the help of the troops, a fairly dense firepower network was formed. The result of another forced attack was that the casualties of the Xuanfu army increased sharply.
Of course, the archers of the Xuanfu Army were not a vegetarian, and the battle around the city gate became more intense. The result of this exchange of fire was that the casualties on both sides continued to increase.
He Huchen personally came to the city to take command, continuously shrinking the defensive circle of the camp vehicles, and commanding the fire cannon soldiers to concentrate their fire until they finally retreated to the city gate, and then completely retreated into the city.
This step-by-step retreat method gave the Xuanfu army an advantage in strength, but it was like a dog biting the turtle - there was nowhere to start, and they could only watch helplessly as the enemy troops retreated into the city, leaving more than ten camp vehicles at the bottom of the city.
Niu Jizong looked at the scene in front of him expressionlessly. He had to say that the general on the opposite side controlled the situation very well. He first used the firepower advantage of the musket and the cover of the camp car to block the enemy, making it difficult for his side to bite the opponent, and then steadily
Retreat into the city.
On the other hand, it was a big mistake for the cavalry to fail to cut off its retreat into Gonghua City in advance, but this cannot be entirely blamed on Kuching.
The opponent was quite cunning and used camp cars to build fortifications along the route in advance, making it difficult for the cavalry assault to be fully successful.
In addition, the stone bridge was too close to Gonghua City. It was two miles away and he could retreat back in one go. However, Guo Yunlu was too cautious and failed to bite the opponent.
Therefore, after considering several aspects, I had such an advantage, but I was unable to overpower the other party.
Now that the enemy forces have completely shrunk back to the city, plus the original defenders, there are actually seven or eight thousand people guarding the small Gonghua City. Although the city wall is low, it is still a city after all. It will probably take a long time to capture it.
It's a big price to pay.
But it is impossible not to capture it. Gonghua City is where the important grain and grass supplies to the west of Beijing are located. The supplies to the west of Xuanfu Town and Ji Town have to be transferred from here. And if you let these seven or eight thousand people behind your back, no matter who you are,
It is impossible to accept that by taking this place, we can ensure that the Xuanfu army marches into the capital next and may encounter the main force of Jizhen in the war, so that we can have a safe rear area.
Will You Shigong just give himself so much time?
This is the biggest problem Niu Jizong faces.
Although Gong Huacheng is small, I'm afraid it won't be easy to deal with based on the performance of the opponent's general. It can achieve such good results in field battles, but it will be even harder to crack the bone if it is to defend the city.
If seven to eight thousand people were all sergeants who were mainly fire-gun soldiers, not only would they have to pay a considerable price to capture Gonghua City in this battle, but more importantly, could they do it before You Shigong's army arrived?
The scouts have reported back that You Shigong's army is only sixty miles away. If You Shigong ignores the exhaustion and long journey, he can arrive at night, and his cavalry may even arrive in advance. This is very troublesome.
After looking around Gonghua City, Niu Jizong couldn't make up his mind.
There aren't many clues from the city wall, but Niu Jizong can tell that the one that defended the city previously should not belong to the same unit as the one that blocked the battle at Shiqiao. Although they both belong to the Beijing camp, they should be the troops of the fifth military camp, but
It seemed that the army was not dominated by fire guns, but mainly spears, swords and shields, which reassured Niu Jizong a little.
According to the information he learned, the New Fifth Military Camp was established very soon. The main force of the Old Fifth Military Camp was taken to Huaiyang Town by Chen Jixian, and the rest were some old, weak, sick and disabled or non-direct troops. King Zhonghui came from Shenji
Some of the battalions were transferred as the basis for the formation of the New Fifth Military Battalion.
This firearms battalion should come from the Shenji Battalion, but the Shenji Battalion was rebuilt not long ago. Qian Guozhong, the leader of the Shenji Battalion, is not a great figure. How come this firearms battalion is so capable of fighting?
?And its tactics are completely different from what I knew before.
The main reason why I suffered a loss in this battle was because I didn't understand the enemy's situation. This had a lot to do with the fact that I had never thought that the Beijing camp would dare to send troops to stop me.
Before, my main focus was on You Shigong in Ji Town, and I never cared about Jingying, which I felt was no longer worth mentioning. I didn't expect that when I hunted geese all day long, I was pecked by geese, but Xinjingying gave me
This old Jingying Jiedu envoy made a show of force.
Time was running out, Niu Jizong could only immediately summon the generals to discuss how to break the Gonghua City. At this time, he also realized the problems caused by his sudden advance, that is, he did not bring a single Xiyi cannon in the army. If he thought of attacking
When facing an attack on Gonghua City, even if you only bring two or three of them, they can at least be used for siege and defense. But now you have to face the dilemma of using human lives to fill the gap.
Fortunately, the walls of Gonghua City are low and were not originally built to defend the city. Therefore, it is more like a material supply base in the hinterland. It is not easy for the opponent to defend it.
Just when Niu Jizong convened everyone to discuss how to break the city, You Shilu and Zhao Jiangong's 6,000 cavalry troops were also rushing towards Gonghua City non-stop. This battle was equally crucial to them, and the risk of losing Gonghua City was equally unbearable.