In the Battle of Luochuankou, the merchant army once again defeated the Chuang army, beheading more than 8,000 people, killing the right-wing and powerful general Liu Rukui of the Chuang army, and captured more than a thousand soldiers of the Chuang army alive. They seized 243 war horses and grain.
More than a thousand stones, thousands of pieces of armor, swords, guns and equipment. However, the Merchant Army itself only lost thirty-seven people, and more than eighty others were injured.
Moreover, this battle is different from the previous battle. The opponent is not against the second-rate troops of the Chuang Army, but against Li Zicheng's fifth battalion, which can be regarded as the elite division of the Chuang Army. Therefore, the victory of this battle will be a decisive factor for the success of this battle.
For the Merchant Army, it also has more practical significance. It shows that the Merchant Army can still achieve a complete victory against the elite of the Chuang Army.
While Shang Yi ordered people to clean up the battlefield, he also recruited the main generals of the second and third regiments to summarize the gains and losses after these two battles.
Shang Yi first said: "Everyone, after we went south, we won two consecutive victories, which demonstrated the military might of our merchant army and proved that the reputation of our merchant army was by no means in vain. However, Li Zicheng dominated the world for ten times.
In 2007, we now have an army of four and a half million, and we are still strong. Although we lost these two battles, our vitality has not been damaged, so we still cannot underestimate it. Now please share your views on the Chuang Army, and what happened after these two battles.
Gains and losses, and what kind of tactics we will use against the intruders in the future."
Cheng Jin first said: "Sir, according to General Jumo, the combat effectiveness of the Chuang army is far worse than that of the Tatars. With the combat effectiveness of our merchant army, one regiment is enough to withstand them in a field battle.
The strength of ten thousand to fifteen thousand troops. If it is a city defense battle, the advantage will be even greater. Therefore, I think that our merchant army will definitely win a complete victory when we go south to quell the rebellion."
Zhou Shaohuan said: "I don't think so. Although the combat effectiveness of our Merchant Army is outstanding, its strength is limited after all. Even with the five regiments following behind, it is only more than 10,000 people, while the Chuang Army has four to five million.
Apart from the miscellaneous soldiers, there are also 200,000 elite troops. Therefore, relying solely on the strength of our Merchant Army, we may be able to win some battles, but we cannot completely wipe out the Chuang Army, and other Ming armies are of little use. Our Merchant Army
The army can't fight alone. What's more, there is Zhang Xianzhong in Wuchang. Putting down the chaos this time may not be as easy as imagined."
Shang Yi was very satisfied after hearing this. It seemed that Zhou Shaohuan had indeed lived up to his upbringing. He had begun to learn not to focus on one battle at a time, but to look at problems from an overall perspective. In fact, Shang Yi had already thought about these issues through his experience.
However, this time I went south not to suppress the rebellion, but to find a base in the south to cope with the war after the Qing army entered the customs. However, I cannot tell other people about this idea yet.
Therefore, Shang Yi nodded and said: "Shaohuan is right. Although we have won two battles in a row, we still cannot underestimate Li Zicheng's strength." He turned to Cheng Jin and said: "Just this time, your three regiments will resist independently.
There are 25,000 troops of the Chuang Army. The second time the Chuang Army attacked with cavalry, you almost lost. Although you caused a lot of damage to the Chuang Army, if the Second Regiment did not attack from the left at the earliest opportunity, I am afraid that you would have lost the battle.
It is difficult for you to hold on for much longer. If the intruders take advantage of the melee between you and the cavalry and send out a large group of troops to attack, or directly send out a large group of troops to attack from the beginning, it will be difficult for you to hold on for a long time.
.”
Cheng Jin admitted honestly and said: "Your Excellency is right. In fact, I have regretted it since the first attack of the Chuang Army, because I stretched the position too wide and deployed my troops too widely.
They dispersed, and the intruder army only attacked all the way. If the front-line troops were withdrawn when the defense was deployed, and all the forces were concentrated on one front for defense, then let alone 4,000 cavalry, it would be 8,000 cavalry. I
We can also hold the position." After a pause, he added: "But that thunder cannon is really easy to use. If I have one or two hundred thunder cannons with twenty tubes, I will definitely be able to hold the position even if I divide my troops.
."
Zhou Shaohuan couldn't help but laugh and said: "Do you think the Thunder Gun is a toy? You can build one in two days. If we really had one or two hundred Thunder Guns with twenty tubes, we would have gone straight to attack Xinyang, and we would have waited.
Is it here?"
Xu Jin stuck out his tongue, raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, and said, "Okay, okay, it's all my fault, okay?"
After hearing this, Shang Yi also laughed and said: "It can't be wrong. After all, we won this battle again. No, although we won, we still have to realize our shortcomings. Just pay attention next time."
.The principle of our future battles with the Chuang Army is that we must not fight head-on with the Chuang Army's superior troops, do not fight uncertain battles, and do not fight unprepared battles. Make sure to fight one battle at a time, and try to use the smallest possible force.
The cost is to eliminate the enemy's effective strength while minimizing our own losses."
Although Shang Yi used very concise and straightforward language, the generals were still confused. Cheng Gang couldn't help but asked: "Sir, as the saying goes: Kill ten thousand enemies and lose three thousand to yourself. What should we do?"
Only then can we achieve 'annihilate the enemy's vitality at the minimum cost'!"
Shang Yi nodded and said: "For example, if Li Zicheng gathers an army of 100,000 people to fight us, we will naturally not fight him, so we should withdraw immediately. Look for the small troops of 10,000 or 20,000 soldiers and attack them one by one.
In this way, although we do not wipe out many intruders each time, over time, small victories will turn into big victories. Although there are many intruders and horses, there will always be
When it is wiped out, you have to eat the steamed bun one bite at a time. If you try to swallow it in one bite, you will definitely choke. Can one person eat a cow? Of course, but you can't finish it in one meal."
After hearing the metaphor of these two images of Shang Yi, the generals couldn't help laughing. At the same time, they fully understood what Shang Yi meant and thought it was very reasonable.
In fact, Shang Yi knew very well that annihilating Li Zicheng was not a matter of tactics or strategy at all. In fact, it was a social issue. To put it bluntly, it was very simple. It was when the people were forced to have no way to survive that they rose up in rebellion.
, if everyone has food to eat, clothing to wear, and fields to farm, then who will rebel? Therefore, the banditry in the late Ming Dynasty will become more and more suppressed, and the destruction will become bigger and bigger. If this problem is not solved, everything will be in vain.
Even if Li Zicheng is killed, Wang Zicheng will naturally be there, and Liu Zicheng will rise up and rebel.
However, this set of "preserve yourself, destroy the enemy, do not fight uncertain battles, do not fight unprepared battles, and accumulate small victories into big victories" was summed up after countless practices in later generations.
The tactical theory of small victory over big is a universal truth. If it is instilled in them first, it will be widely used in the future, especially when the Qing army enters the pass.
Shang Yi and everyone were talking when the scouts came to report and found the whereabouts of the defeated troops of the invading army. They camped at Qianshatan Beach. Qianshatan Beach is located by the Xiaohuang River fifteen miles south of Luoshan County and forty miles southwest of Guangzhou. Wuwai is about thirty miles away from Luochuankou.
When Shang Yi heard this, he laughed loudly and said: "Have you heard that the Chuang army did not flee back to Xinyang, but settled in Qianshatan? This is another great opportunity for us. Now the Chuang army has just been defeated. This is when the morale of the army is low. If we take advantage of the remaining power of the great victory and sneak attack the invaders tonight, we will definitely give them another heavy blow."
Zhao Yingjie said: "My lord, Li Zicheng and others have been bandits for more than ten years, and the government troops have repeatedly suppressed them. How can they not know the truth of guarding against sneak attacks at night? What's more, the newly defeated army is naturally more cautious. Therefore, please ask for sneak attacks." Sir, think twice."
Shang Yi nodded and said: "What Yingjie said does make sense. But don't forget that we also have special weapons, so even if the bandit army is prepared, we will definitely be able to succeed in the battle tonight."
Seeing that Shang Yi was confident in what he said and usually had absolute confidence in him, the others had no objections. Shang Yi immediately ordered that he would lead the two musketry battalions of the second regiment, plus the reconnaissance company led by Duan Peng. , went to attack Tian Mixiu's camp tonight. The third regiment was left here to continue cleaning the battlefield, and then escorted the captives and trophies back to Gwangju City. The remaining soldiers of the second regiment and the cavalry battalion were all temporarily under the command of Cheng Jin.
After Tian Jianxiu's defeat, he was chased by the Merchant Army's cavalry battalion. He was beaten until he abandoned his helmet and armor, threw his spear and soldiers, and fled in embarrassment. He retreated for nearly twenty miles, and saw that the Merchant Army finally withdrew its troops. , and then he stopped.
Tian Jianxiu, Liu Xiyao, Bai Jiuhe, Liu Tichun and others took a few breaths before sitting down to discuss where they should settle down.
Liu Xiyao said: "I have inquired about it. It is very close to Luoshan County, only five or six miles away. Although Luoshan is a small county, it has a population of several thousand and some supplies, so we might as well go to Luoshan County first. Go and settle down and then make plans."
Liu Tichun shook his head and said: "After the Ming army wins, the next step must be to take Xinyang, and if you want to take Xinyang, you must first take Luoshan County. Therefore, in my opinion, the Ming army will attack Luoshan County at the latest tomorrow. Maybe we will go to capture Luoshan County tonight. We are newly defeated and our morale is low. We will definitely not be able to hold Luoshan County. It is better not to go to Luoshan County and directly return to Xinyang to garrison and wait for King Chuang's reinforcements. "
Bai Jiuhe said: "It's getting late now, and we're still more than thirty miles away from Xinyang. I'm afraid we won't be able to get back to Xinyang. Why not spend the night in Luoshan County? It won't be too late to return to Xinyang tomorrow."
Tian Jianxiu said: "I think what Ti Chun said is reasonable. Even if I can't make it back to Xinyang tonight, I won't go to Luoshan County and camp in the wild. Less than ten miles to the southwest, there is Thousand Beaches by the Xiaohuang River. The terrain there is flat and there is water, so we might as well go to the village there, rest for the night, and return to Xinyang tomorrow."
Others listened and had no objections. So they immediately led the troops to the southwest and arrived at Qianshatan Beach by the Xiaohuang River. Then they set up camp and went down to the village. While Tian Jianxiu ordered people to draw water to make fires and bury pots to make rice, he also checked The loss of men and horses in this battle reached nearly 10,000 people, of which there were nearly 4,000 men from the fifth battalion, most of them cavalry, and Liu Rukui was also missing. It seemed that he was either captured or died in the battle.
Tian Jianxiu couldn't help but be secretly shocked. He didn't expect that this battle would be defeated so miserably. Moreover, Tian Jianxiu couldn't help but shudder when he thought of seeing the merchant army's powerful firepower and ultra-long-range artillery range on the battlefield. Really.
I can't figure out how to deal with such a Ming army.