In the 17th year of Chongzhen reign in the Ming Dynasty, the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month was the Ghost Festival.
North of Tongzhou.
When there was just a glimmer of light in the eastern sky, hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both armies began to leave the camp and gather in formation. For a while, the sound of shouting and neighing of horses filled the whole place.
When the sun was high in the east, the nearly 300,000 soldiers of the Ming army had all assembled, and Wu Sanfu also led the Guan Ning cavalry to seize the high ground early.
More than 20 miles away, the Tatars' nearly 200,000 horse and infantry troops were also lined up. Looking around, it seemed that the people and horses were overwhelming and endless.
"Report...the front army is ready!"
"Report...the left army is ready!"
"Report...the right army is ready!"
"Report...the Chinese army is ready!"
One after another, war horses rushed from a distance to the high platform of the central army, and the messengers reported the status of each army to the red lady.
The platform is about ten feet high, with twenty large wooden wheels on each side. The flag of the Chinese army commander is placed at the top, fluttering in the wind, and can be clearly seen for ten miles around.
Under the handsome flag, the red lady was dressed in military uniform and holding a sword in her hand. Against the backdrop of the fiery red cloak, she looked even more heroic than before.
At this moment, she was condescending, looking down in all directions, seeing that all the armies were ready, a look of determination appeared on her face.
Immediately he ordered: "Send the order, the whole army marches!"
Ohh Ohh ohh…
Immediately, fifty big men raised their heads and blew the marching horn.
One hundred big men began to push the huge platform forward slowly, and the surrounding rows of soldiers also began to advance.
Every step he took brought with him a strong sense of oppression.
Obviously, the daily drills since March have made this army no longer the undisciplined rebels it was before, nor is it a ragtag army of officers and soldiers that could collapse at the drop of a hat.
It is a strong army with clear rewards and punishments, well-trained and high morale.
The army of nearly 300,000 people was divided into five parts by the Red Lady. The front army was composed of Liu Zeqing's 50,000 people plus more than 20,000 Huang Degong, totaling more than 70,000 people, leading the way.
Two miles behind the front army was the 50,000-strong central army commanded by the Red Lady herself, and seven miles away on the left wing was the 60,000-strong left army led by Gao Jie and Liu Fangliang.
Seven miles away on the right are Liu Liangzuo and Li Dakai's 60,000 right-wing troops, plus the 15,000 Guan Ning cavalry commanded by Wu Sanfu on the gentle slope on the left and the more than 5,000 cavalry newly formed by the Red Lady, the total army is 26
Ten thousand horse infantry, under the long sound of trumpets, began to slowly advance northward.
at the same time.
The Tatar army in the north also rolled towards the south like a black torrent amid the sound of trumpets.
Compared with the 260,000 horse infantry of the Ming army, the Tatar cavalry formation was larger, more than ten miles wide, and seemed more imposing.
Even if Azig took away 10,000 Eight Banners cavalry and 20,000 Mongolian cavalry, Dorgon still had nearly 80,000 Mongolian cavalry and 48,000 Banners cavalry left, plus nearly 70,000 Han Eight Banners infantry, and the horse infantry also reached
reached an astonishing scale of 180,000.
Twenty thousand Korean servants and nearly 50,000 young and strong accompanying troops were left to guard the main camp.
Compared with the snail-like slow advance of the Ming army, the Jiannu army was obviously faster, and of course the formation was more chaotic.
Even so, it still took the two sides nearly an hour to close to four or five miles and establish their positions.
Decisive battles between armies of this scale in the open field between the two sides have been extremely rare since ancient times, and every time, it was a battle that determined the fate of the dynasty's regime.
This time is no exception.
To the north, Dorgon also built a high platform. Accompanied by Hong Chengchou, he stood on the high platform and looked ahead, his face slightly moved.
Excited and excited, but also nervous.
Looking at the four huge infantry phalanxes of the Ming army, Dorgon also knew that today would be a fierce battle, because even when they faced Hong Chengchou, the Ming army was far from having such a formation.
As the saying goes, insiders watch the door and laymen watch the excitement.
Hong Chengchou on the side was also secretly frightened.
He finally understood why the red lady dared to send people to issue a provocation.
Such a military appearance, such morale, and such a huge scale, how could the Ming army have ever seen it since the Tumubao Incident?
If it weren't for the fact that the opponent's cavalry was too few, their equipment was low, and they didn't have firearms to help them, the outcome today would have been really hard to predict.
"Master Hong, this red lady seems to have a lot of skills. Can you tell what the Ming army's skills are? How should our army attack?"
After observing for a while, Dorgon's throat trembled twice, then he looked at Hong Chengchou and asked.
Even the title has changed.
There was no way. In the past, when the Eight Banners defeated the Ming Army, they would either directly charge with cavalry to scare the enemy away and then massacre them, or they would pursue them with stray fire, or they would besiege and attack the city.
Dorgon had never fought like this with hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses in the open air, so he had no idea how to fight.
But he knew that the opponent's formation was such that facing hundreds of thousands of cavalry and more than a hundred cannons, they could still keep the military formation calm. It would probably be impossible to rush up and beat them randomly as before, and it would be impossible.
If you do well, you will suffer big losses.
Hong Chengchou had fought against insignificant bandits in the past, and he had never fought a serious battle in the Songjin Battle. He had also never fought a serious open-air battle involving hundreds of thousands of troops between the two armies.
But after all, he is familiar with military literature, familiar with all major battles in ancient and modern times, and has the added bonus of having the temperament to pretend to understand even if he doesn’t understand.
At this moment, facing Dorgon's request for advice, his face still showed an incomprehensible and celebrity-like demeanor.
After pondering for a while, he put his beard under his forehead, pointed his finger forward and said slowly: "Your Majesty, this red lady is really not simple. Please see, she put up such a formation because she wanted to use the front army and her own army as bait to lure me.
The army goes forward to attack fiercely, and then the left and right armies attack together!"
"Yes, why did I say that her left army and right army were so far apart? It turned out that she wanted to use the more than 100,000 people in the central army and the front army as bait. She is really insidious!"
Dorgon nodded, feeling frightened in his heart. Just now, he really planned to capture the thief first and capture the king first. He sent his cavalry to bypass the front army, attack the Red Lady's center army from the left and right wings, and capture her alive.
"However, she is still a female prostitute. She does not understand the essence of the art of war. She only knows what is happening but does not know why. Otherwise, she would not have made two fatal mistakes."
Hong Chengchou stroked his beard, put one hand behind his back and said again.
"oh?"
Dorgon's eyes suddenly lit up.
What he likes to hear most is when his opponent makes a mistake.
"Your Majesty, look at it again. Her front army is obviously more powerful than the central army, but the formation of the central army is twice as large as that of the front army. It is so scattered and has no firearms. How can it block the cavalry attack?
Also, the left and right armies are too far away from the central army. They may not have to be seven or eight miles away, so how can we encircle and rescue them in time?" Hong Chengchou did not give in and explained.
"Yes, she must not know how powerful my Eight Banners cavalry is."
Dorgon was right when he thought about it.
The cavalry of seven or eight miles arrived in an instant, but if the infantry wanted to maintain their formation and advance, it would take at least half an hour.
And if a swarm of swarms rush in to rescue and attack, how can they stop the iron hoof's charge?
"My lord, you can order 70,000 Han and Eight Banners to attack the enemy's front army head-on. Then you can order 80,000 Mongolian cavalry to quickly attack the Chinese army in roundabout ways. With 48,000 and 80,000 elite Banners pressing down on the formation, we will definitely be able to defeat the Ming army in one fell swoop and capture the Red Lady alive!"
Hong Chengchou said with determination.
The red lady actually wanted to use her own central army as bait, so they used the Mongolian cavalry attacking the central army as bait to lure the opponent's left and right armies to attack and rescue, and the elite Eight Banners took advantage of the situation to attack.
"Okay! Haha, Mr. Hong and I coincidentally agree. If we can defeat the Ming army this time, Mr. Hong will be the first to take credit!"
Dorgon looked up to the sky and laughed, his face becoming confident again.
It seemed as if the Ming army's defeat was a foregone conclusion, and the Han people had thousands of miles of land at their fingertips, right before their eyes.
"It is gratifying to send the order. Geng Jingzhong and Kong Youde will immediately launch an attack on the Ming army's front army. Anyone who refuses to advance after hearing the drum, or who retreats in timidity, will be killed!"
Dorgon slowly pulled out the long knife from his waist, pointed it at Liu Zeqing, who was five miles ahead, and shouted loudly.
"fire!"
Boom boom boom boom…
In front of the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty, one hundred and fifty red-coated cannons had already been lined up in a row. Following Shang Kexi's order, they roared immediately.
For a moment, the fierce sound of artillery resounded throughout the battlefield, causing many war horses to start commotion.
Fortunately, Jian Nu had already had experience with the war horse's ears being plugged, and he was used to it, so he would not be frightened and run wild.