Chapter 161: All the Troubles in Nancha (Thirty) Win
The Mongolian heavy cavalry never expected that they, always known for their impact, would one day be surrounded by infantry. What they especially did not expect was that not only did this group of infantry have very good armor, but they also lost the scimitars with the bonus of horsepower.
It's difficult to inflict fatal injuries on them, and almost all of them can continue fighting. Instead, their bayonets will pose a huge threat to themselves.
Although sitting on horses makes the heavy cavalry's upper body vital points farther away from the Ming army, making it usually difficult to directly kill them, the horses under their crotches and their own legs are all good targets for the Ming army's bayonets.
The Mongolian heavy cavalry suddenly had a ridiculous feeling at this time, that is, they would rather stab their own legs than stab their horses. Although the stabbing of their own legs was bleeding profusely and heartbreaking, but people
After all, we are human beings who can think, judge, and evaluate situations. In this critical moment, we can actually endure it temporarily.
But once the bayonet hits the horse, no matter where it hits, the horse will definitely go crazy with pain. At this moment, no matter how good your riding skills are, you can't compete with the beast, but once you fall off the horse, it's all over - at least three or four
The bayonet will definitely follow you like a shadow, and there will be no way to survive.
Fortunately, the light cavalry behind them also joined the battlefield at this time, attracting a large number of Ming army's "Little Yuanyang Formation" to come forward to meet the enemy, giving these heavy cavalry a breather.
However, because the battlefield was not wide enough, the light cavalry could not use their usual diagonal attack tactics, so they could only charge straight in. Although there were no musketeers to give them a heads-up at this time, they lacked horses and equipment and still used scimitars.
The Mongolian light cavalry had worse protection capabilities than the heavy cavalry. They could fight the Ming army in a no-win situation simply by relying on their superior strength. In fact, it could not change the overall situation at all.
The insufficiently wide battlefield along the river has now become a wake-up call for the Mongols, so much so that despite the superior cavalry force, they have been unable to open up the situation. Instead, they were held back by the numerically inferior Ming infantry.
In normal times, the Mongolian cavalry would have retreated when faced with this situation. They had enough reasons not to fight such a silly battle. Just like what they did three hundred years ago during the first western expedition of the Mongolian cavalry.
In the Battle of the Khalkha River (May 1223) at the end of the First Western Expedition, Jebe and Subotai led less than 30,000 Mongolian cavalry to face the 100,000 coalition troops of Oros and Kipchak. The Mongolian army retreated for nine consecutive days to
The advantageous location was the bank of the Khalkha River. The allied forces, which had been chasing for nine days, were in disarray. The Mongolian cavalry launched an assault, and the two wings quickly surrounded them, defeating the enemy in one fell swoop.
In this battle, a total of 70 nobles on the coalition side were killed, and six Oros princes were executed. Including the subsequent siege, the coalition lost about 50,000 people, while the Mongolian casualties were negligible.
Retreating is definitely not a shame for the Mongolian cavalry. It has always been just a tactical action, no different from the stabbing, picking, chopping, and slashing of soldiers on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, this perfectly normal tactical action is no longer allowed.
Burihatu Huangtaiji had issued strict orders repeatedly before the war. Unless there was an order from the rear, they were only allowed to advance in this attack and were not allowed to retreat.
Although the glory of the Mongol Empire is long gone, the military regulations established by Genghis Khan are still valid. Mongolian soldiers have strict military discipline. No one will give up pursuit or fight to rob property. Those who disobey orders and do not attack will be beheaded.
Genghis Khan's punishment for deserters was particularly severe. Those who retreated without permission were considered deserters and would face consecutive punishments: "If someone in a team of ten escapes and others fail to stop them on the spot, the entire team will be punished with death; if all ten people in the team escape,
If so, then all the centurions to which the ten-man team belongs will be executed."
In other words, escape or retreat can only be decided by the superior, and soldiers have no right to make their own choices. Soldiers have only two choices: obey orders, or die.
In this case, it is natural to rather die in battle than to escape. The tribe's family members are under the rule of the Great Khan, so what is the point of escaping? Moreover, living in espionage is not in line with the warrior mentality that has been instilled in the Mongols for many years.
The heavy cavalry and light cavalry had no choice but to grit their teeth and fight hard, hoping that the Ming army would collapse in the face of their bravery, just like the Ming army did in the past twenty or thirty years.
However, Cao Yu obviously disagreed and would not allow this situation to occur. He had seen the Ming army twenty or thirty years ago. Although Zhang Wanbang's troops in front of him could not see any such signs, the cautious Cao Yu still planned to
To prepare for a rainy day, he immediately ordered the Chinese army to dispatch 2,000 troops to reinforce the southern front.
It's not that Cao Yun was reluctant to give up his troops, or that he didn't understand the tactics of refueling, but... he faced the same dilemma as the Mongols: the battlefield was not wide enough, and even if all the Chinese troops rushed to reinforce, they would not be able to truly join the battlefield.
There are at most a thousand people who can actually play a reinforcement role.
Cao Yu dispatched 2,000 troops, actually preparing for the second wave of reinforcements.
There is no choice in the refueling tactic. The opponent can only do this, and he can only do this. The real competition now is who will eventually be unable to withstand the casualties and choose to retreat.
Of course, a group of infantry retreating in front of the Mongolian cavalry is no different from stretching their necks to be beheaded. Cao Yu knew that he had no choice and the only ones who could retreat were the Mongols.
As a result, the battlefield along the river turned into a meat grinder, and the elites of both sides fought into a pot of porridge on this piece of ground that was not open enough.
The Mongolian cavalry lost most of their impact and mobility, but at least they still had a commanding advantage on horseback; the Ming army infantry lost the powerful firepower they relied on, but fortunately they could still use the advantage of squad tactics.
And the equipment is obviously better than that of the Mongols.
The casualties on both sides began to increase. In terms of the number of people killed in the battle, the Mongolian army was definitely the majority; but in terms of the number of injured, it was the Ming army.
Zhang Wanbang still has his usual style in the past. He led a group of soldiers and servants to go around to fill the gaps. Some of the "cold iron armor" on his body was cut off at some point, and part of the cold iron scales on his left arm were cut off.
But it didn't fall down, it just hung on the outside of the leather armor inside, as if it had become a decoration.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! His close friend was probably also slashed with a knife. Fortunately, it was not able to break the armor, but only left a deep mark on the iron piece, but it was also
Shocking. If this knife had been cut from a running horse, something big might have happened.
There was also a lot of blood on his face, which had dried up and turned black, making his already fanatical face look even more ferocious and terrifying.
Perhaps it was the high-intensity hand-to-hand combat that left him a little exhausted, or perhaps the muddy ground was too slippery. At this moment, Zhang Wanbang suddenly stumbled and almost fell forward.
A Mongolian light cavalryman who was forcibly riding from his side saw this and subconsciously swung a knife at him. However, because Zhang Wanbang happened to stabilize his body, the knife that was originally aimed at his neck turned upward.
The ground hit his helmet and knocked his helmet away.
Another Mongolian light cavalryman who was close to the flying helmet subconsciously stretched out his scimitar and happened to pick the helmet on the tip of the sword.
The Mongolian cavalry was startled at first, then overjoyed and shouted loudly in somewhat off-key Chinese: "Zhang Wanbang is dead, why don't you beg to surrender!"
This routine is not only played by generals. When the Mongols fought against the Ming Dynasty in the early years, they often killed low-level generals. Therefore, many people in the Mongolian army used this trick to scare people: I don’t care whether you die or not.
I yell first and then talk. If you deceive one after another, it will always damage your morale.
Sure enough, his shout also attracted the attention of the nearby Ming army. They subconsciously turned their heads to check, and were stunned when they discovered Zhang Wanbang's helmet.
However, although Zhang Wanbang is less than thirty years old, he joined the army at the age of thirteen and has rich battle experience. How can he tolerate this Mongolian cavalry showing off? He immediately raised his sword and shouted: "Young Tatar, you are playing this trick."
, I am living well, you must die for being such a wild man!"
The Mongolian soldier happened to understand Chinese. Hearing this angry curse, his face turned green with anger, and he was about to throw away Zhang Wanbang's helmet and go fight for him.
Unexpectedly, a heavy cavalry commander suddenly rushed out next to him, suddenly took away the helmet with a knife, and shouted: "Our army has won, the whole army retreats!"
Even Zhang Wanbang was a little surprised at this time. The Mongols fought for so long with huge casualties just to grab my helmet?
However, the servants around him had already surrounded him to prevent his Major General from being in the same danger just now. The Mongolian soldiers began to withdraw from the battlefield and slowly retreated.
The Mongolian army seemed to have discovered something at the rear and began to shout gold. Zhang Wanbang glanced left and right and found that the casualties of his army were not small. However, when he looked more carefully, he felt that the casualties of his army were not as heavy as those of the Chinese army's main formation that was later supported.
So he shouted: "Continue to kill as long as the ground is limited!"
This is Zhang Wanbang's personal style. Although he can give up when he sees fit, he must maximize this benefit. The "limitation of the ground" is about twenty or thirty steps in front of his position. This order is equivalent to "recovering"
entire position, and then drive the Mongols away.
However, the Mongolian cavalry were very obedient to orders. Once they decided to retreat, they did not hesitate and quickly withdrew in twos and threes in coordination with each other. At this time, the Ming army also fought a battle and was not as energetic as before, relying on squad platoons.
The tactics only left thirty or forty unlucky riders.
The Mongolian cavalry had a good way of retreating. Some of the cavalrymen who had fallen off their horses and were "dead" now stretched out a hand. The retreating cavalrymen would take the initiative to "pass by" when they saw it. They controlled the horse with their legs alone, leaned their bodies sideways, and stretched out their hands to pull the horses.
The man who fell from his horse pulled him back onto his horse, and then they moved away together.
Don't underestimate this move. Zhang Wanbang knew that they had this habit, but he could only watch as the Mongolian cavalry brought back more than two hundred wounded soldiers who pretended to be dead.
Cao Yu of the Chinese Army breathed a sigh of relief and ordered Zhang Wanbang to count the battlefield and count the casualties. Qi Jin on the east side and Gao Yimin on the north line also sent people to ask for instructions, saying that their army doctors were ready and could go to the south at any time.
I asked for help, and Cao Yun agreed on the spot.
At this time, there was some disharmony on the side of the main formation of the Mongolian Chinese Army. Burihatu's face was as dark as water and he said nothing, and Tumen's face was also quite ugly. He stared at the several Mongolian generals who had just withdrawn, suppressing his anger.
Asked: "Who was the first to give the order to retreat?"
A general in full armor held Zhang Wanbang's helmet and rode forward, saying: "Khan, this is my order."
"Tata'er, are you afraid of blood?" Tumen seemed a little surprised, but still had a stern face: "As one of the six battles of Chahar, are you planning to give up this honor?"
Battle means hero or warrior. It has a more familiar transliteration called "Batu". It even has another Manchu variant called Batur.
It is not easy to obtain such a title. The Mongolian heavy cavalry commander named Tatar shook his head and said: "Great Khan, Tatar is never afraid of battle. The reason why we ordered the retreat is because we have basically achieved the deployment plan."
At the same time, we have no remaining power to continue to expand the results of the war. Continuing to fight will be useless except for increasing casualties."
Tumen frowned slightly, glanced at Burihatu, and then asked Tata'er: "The Ming army's southern front has not collapsed yet, and you have not even seen Cao Yun's face. Can you say that the combat objective has been achieved?"
Tatar showed no fear and said: "Great Khan, your and Burihatu Huang Taiji's orders did not say to take Cao Yun's head. Huang Taiji's order was to break through the bayonet array and find out their depth - we have already completed this.
Already."
When it comes to breaking through the bayonet array, if the word "breakthrough" is used to death, then the Mongolian cavalry has indeed accomplished the tactical purpose. Even before the light cavalry arrived, the heavy cavalry accomplished this goal.
However, what happened later is obvious to all, and the significance of this breakthrough is actually not very great. The bayonet array seemed to be broken, but in fact it turned into a quagmire, and the Mongolian cavalry was trapped in it, almost unable to extricate itself.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! This is something that no one expected in advance. Once the Ming army in the past was broken by the cavalry, they basically had to wait to be defeated by the Mongolian warriors.
Chopping melons and vegetables, how could there be such a magical scene today?
Tumen was also speechless, and after a pause he asked: "Although the bayonet array was broken, it was not broken completely enough. And what depth did you find out about them?"
"Khan, please take a look." Tata'er gently threw Zhang Wanbang's helmet towards the pictures. After they caught it, he explained: "This helmet belongs to Zhang Wanbang."
Tumen was surprised at first, and then became suspicious: "Zhang Wanbang is dead?"
If all the generals were dead and the Ming army had not been in chaos until the last moment, it would be unreasonable.
Tatar shook his head and said: "He's not dead, but he may be injured - there's still blood on the helmet."
Of course, Tumen couldn't tell whether the bloodstains on the helmet belonged to Zhang Wanbang, but since Zhang Wanbang's helmet was here, Tatar's claim that he had found out the depth of the Ming army could not be said to be nonsense.
The Great Khan of Tumen could not find anything to say to criticize him for a moment, so he had to ponder. Burihatu next to him suddenly said: "Since our army has won and we already know the details of the bayonet formation, then this battle can be considered a success.
Meaning, the dead warriors can naturally return to the heaven of eternal life and receive the blessings of the Buddhas."
Tumen turned to look at him, wondering why he changed his attitude faster than himself. But Burihatu did not explain, but just nodded to the Khan: "Khan, it's time to return to Chahanhot."
Tumen frowned and said, "What about Xicheng? No more Beiguan Commercial Road?"
Burihatu shook his head and said: "There is still chaos in Beiguan. We don't have to rush to take action. We will wait until others have made enough trouble." He paused and explained a little: "To stir up the situation, you don't necessarily have to die.
In the eye of the storm."
Tumen nodded and sighed: "You're right, let's not be busy for now and wait until those people who have their own agendas have had enough fighting."
There was actually nothing we could do about it. Tumen knew very well that if he was as powerful as Ming Dynasty, he wouldn't have to wait at all.
As soon as he waved his hand, the Mongolian army immediately turned around and began to slowly retreat southward, and a bloody battle came to an end.
Afterwards, both the Ming and Mongolian sides claimed to have achieved a great victory in the Battle of Yehe River. The Mongols claimed that they defeated the bayonet array that the Ming army had become famous for in recent years, while the Ming army claimed that they easily repelled the Mongolian cavalry attack and
More than 1,600 people were beheaded.
Who wins and who loses depends on the Ming and Mongolian sides and even the surrounding forces.
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