Chapter 23 Luochuankou Offensive and Defensive Battle (2)
Under the fierce firepower of the merchant army, the resistance of the intruder army finally collapsed. The soldiers turned around and fled back, regardless of the supervising team behind them. The merchant army took the opportunity to pursue and shoot for a while, After killing and wounding more than a hundred soldiers of the invading army, they stopped attacking the invading army.
Tian Jianxiu, who was watching the battle in the rear formation, could only order the supervising team to withdraw, because he also knew that if the supervising team was allowed to continue to supervise the battle, he was afraid that the desperate defeated army would attack like the supervising team. , but it caused the whole army to be in chaos.
When all the defeated troops returned to their own formation, Tian Jianxiu took a look at the number of people. When they went out to fight, there were 5,000 people, but after they came back, there were only 1,600 or 700 people left. And the time it took for the attack just now was still long. Less than half an hour. In fact, it was only more than thirty minutes, and it only took more than ten minutes from the beginning of the musket shooting.
This result also surprised Tian Jianxiu. Although he had never expected that these five thousand troops could break through the Merchant Army's defense line, he never expected that there would be such a huge loss in such a short period of time. Moreover, the ferocious firepower of the merchant army, the huge power produced by the use of firecrackers and artillery, has never been seen in the past battles with the Ming army. The attacking troops were unable to get close to the position and could only be passively beaten. But She Di didn't even fight back.
At this time, Tian Jianxiu finally believed that what the defeated army said was not wrong. This Ming army was definitely different from any Ming army he had encountered before. The previous Ming army, whether it was Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting or Zuo Liang Yu, although he also used artillery and muskets, the artillery and muskets they used had short range and slow firing. As long as he survived two or three rounds, he could immediately rush to the Ming army's position and start a hand-to-hand battle with the Ming army. The firearms used by this Ming army were obviously not like that. Not only did they shoot extremely far, but they also fired extremely fast. After the muskets started firing, the gunfire was continuous with almost no pause in the middle. Therefore, it must not be underestimated. .
Tian Jianxiu looked at Liu Xiyao, Bai Jiuhe, Liu Tichun, Liu Rukui and others on the left and right sides, and saw that the expressions on their faces were also very unnatural. They no longer had the same complacency as when they first sent out troops. They were obviously also driven by the merchant army. The powerful firepower was frightening. Tian Jianxiu estimated that if Bai Ji proposed to withdraw the troops at this time, they would all agree.
After all, Tian Jianxiu is also a battle-hardened person. Although he was shocked by the powerful firepower of the merchant army, he knew that if he allowed this emotion to develop, his rescue of Guangzhou would be completely failed, and he would not be able to go back to see Li Zicheng. Explain. And in his heart, he was still a little unwilling, so he said: "Brothers, we all saw just now that the Ming army only relied on their powerful firearms and did not dare to come out and fight us head-on. Therefore, as long as we can attack them and fight closely with the Shu army, so that their firearms cannot be used, we will definitely be able to defeat the Ming army."
This point has been recognized by other generals. After all, the advantageous psychology established by the Chuang Army over the Ming Army in the past few years will not be lost because of this defeat. At the same time, everyone also believes that this Ming Army is just Firearms are powerful, but when it comes to hand-to-hand combat, Liu Rukui will definitely not be his opponent. Therefore, Liu Rukui spat fiercely at the position of the merchant army opposite and said: "Damn, the Ming army is a fucking coward. I only dare to Just stay far away and fire, and if you have the guts, come over and fight me with real swords and guns."
Liu Tichun frowned and said, "What's the use of talking about this now? The weapons of the Shu army are so dangerous, how can we get close to the Ming army's position?"
Tian Jianxiu glanced at the Merchant Army's position and said: "Then let's charge with the cavalry. Gather all our cavalry and use the speed of the cavalry to fight for the loss of some men and horses. As long as we rush to the Ming Army's position
, so that the weapons of the Shu army cannot be used, and if the infantry follows up, they can defeat the Ming army in one fell swoop."
After listening to Tian Jianxiu's words, the generals felt a little confident in their hearts. They felt that Tian Jianxiu's method was good. The cavalry was much faster than the infantry. Although they would suffer some losses along the way, it was completely possible.
Break through the firepower of the Ming army and rush to the Ming army's position. If you can defeat this Ming army, it is worth suffering a little loss.
Liu Rukui came out again and said: "Lao Tian, let me lead the troops to attack this time. I will definitely fight to the Ming army's position. By then I will kill several Ming troops with my own hands and seize two
Come with a firecracker and take a look."
Tian Jianxiu was quite satisfied when he saw that the generals' morale had been inspired by him again, so he nodded and said: "Okay, brother Rukui, this time it's up to you."
Among the troops led by Tian Jianxiu this time, there were more than 4,000 cavalry, including 3,000 from the fifth battalion and more than 1,000 from the garrison. Tian Jianxiu transferred all of them to Liu Rukui, which was equivalent to
A desperate attack was launched. If this attack failed again, Tian Jianxiu decided to give up completely and retreated to Xinyang Prefecture to wait for reinforcements from Li Zicheng.
So Liu Rukui gathered all the cavalry of the Chuang Army and was doing a simple formation, preparing to launch an attack. Although the two sides were far apart, Cheng Jin could see very clearly from a distance. The Chuang Army dispatched all the cavalry in the formation.
, launched an attack on their own side, and the main direction of the attack was the left line.
Cheng Jin did not dare to be careless this time, because the cavalry was far beyond the impact and speed of the infantry. Therefore, regardless of exposing the range of the Hongyi artillery, he immediately ordered that all the artillery on the left line immediately
All were fired. At the same time, all the No. 3 Fran machine guns and Tiger squat guns on the right line were transferred to the left line to assist in the battle. A company of musketeers was also transferred to increase the strength of the left line. And the pikemen were ordered to prepare well.
In preparation for battle, close combat with the intruders may occur at any time.
In the process of emergency deployment of troops, the artillery of the merchant army once again showed its power. After adding the Hongyi cannon, the power generated when the artillery was fired was even more astonishing. Tian Jianxiu and others, who were only five hundred steps away, also felt
The earth is shaking.
At this time, the cavalry of the invading army had just organized their troops and before they could attack, a dozen merciless cannonballs fell on their heads.
A cannonball first hit the neck of a war horse, immediately breaking the cervical vertebrae of the warhorse. The horse's limbs went limp and fell to the ground with a "clunking" sound. However, the cannonball continued to fly, hitting again and again.
After knocking down more than ten men and horses, they finally penetrated the cavalry array and landed in front of the main formation of the invading army, only about ten steps away from Tian Jianxiu. The shells were covered with blood and were still steaming.
Tian Jianxiu couldn't help but be surprised. Is it difficult for the artillery of the Ming Dynasty to hit such a distance? But he couldn't think about it now, because at this time, all the artillery shells fired by the Merchant Army fell into the cavalry array, and the men and horses
They fell to the ground one after another after being hit by the cannonballs, screaming in agony. Many war horses were frightened and jumped wildly in the team, knocking off the knights on their backs. For a while, people and horses neighed.
Even the good queues immediately began to become chaotic.
The Chuang Army did not expect that before they could launch an attack, the Ming Army actually took action first. Even Tian Jianxiu was a little confused at this time, not knowing whether to continue the attack or retreat immediately. But it was Liu Rukui who reacted first at this time. He yelled: "Follow me!" As he said that, he clamped his legs on the horse's belly, and the horse immediately let out a violent roar, pulled away its four hooves, and rushed out. The other cavalrymen followed him, and they all rushed out.
Although Tian Jianxiu was still a little hesitant, when he saw Liu Rukui leading the cavalry to charge forward, he immediately felt uneasy in his heart.
At this moment, the merchant army's second round of shelling also started. Suddenly, a shell whizzed past Tian Jianxiu less than two steps away, bringing out a strong wind, which made Tian Jianxiu feel... His chest felt tight, and a series of dull sounds came from behind him. A passage appeared in the array of intruders, and a row of soldiers fell down. Tian Jianxiu couldn't help but feel something in his heart. There was a chill in the air, wondering whether the Ming army's artillery could hit a long distance, and then several more artillery shells whizzed past, falling into the array of the Chu army one after another. This time, not only Tian Jianxiu, but also Liu Xiyao , Bai Jiuhe, Liu Tichun and others were also frightened, and their faces turned pale. Only then did they realize that they were all within the range of the Ming army's artillery.
Of course Liu Rukui didn't know that his main formation had been bombarded. At this time, he was urging the cavalry to advance faster so that he could break through the Shu army's line of fire as early as possible, rush to the Ming army's position, and engage in close combat with the Ming army. Therefore, the Chuang army spared no effort from the beginning and moved forward at full speed.
But the distance of nearly 500 steps is not short. Even if the horses gallop at full speed, they cannot finish it immediately. Moreover, the cavalry has always been Li Zicheng's elite men and horses, so they are well-equipped, and most of the knights wear heavy iron armor. , and many war horses are covered with cotton armor and leather armor to enhance their protection, but this also causes the war horses to be overloaded and difficult to reach their fastest speed.
Moreover, the artillerymen of the Merchant Army were still methodical, loading the shells according to their own rhythm, and then firing the artillery. Therefore, among the attacking troops of the Chuang Army, people were constantly being hit by the shells and fell to the ground, and often a horse fell to the ground. The ground will trip several horses behind them continuously. It also slows down the speed of many attacks.
Therefore, when the cavalry of the invading army entered the shooting range of the muskets, the supporting musketeers and gunners transferred from the right line were all in place. So the musketeers launched together and opened fire on the cavalry of the invading army. And among the artillery, The Hongyi artillery and the No. 1 and 2 Fran cannons began to bombard the main formation of the Intruders with all their strength, while the No. 3 Fran cannon and the Tiger Crouching Cannon were replaced with graupel fire and continued to attack the Intruders' cavalry.