Later that night, Huguang Governor Yu Qian unexpectedly arrived at Changde City, which made the soldiers even more convinced of the importance of this city. Yu Qian did not encounter any trouble on the way to Changde City. In fact, based on traditional military common sense, the officials at this time
The army has an absolute advantage: it has more troops than the rebels; it controls all the important towns around the battlefield and has every advantage.
Yu Qian entered the city from the southwest. Longyang City, Wuling City and other places in the south were in the hands of the government troops. It was difficult for even the rebel scouts to move in this direction. In fact, even a quarry near the rebel camp was
They were harassed several times by army scouts in the past few days; their food supply lines were completely exposed to the hands of the army, and they could hardly get new supplies. Once the battle dragged on, the only outcome would be to collapse without a fight.
.
But all this was just an appearance. As soon as Yu Qian arrived in Changde, he felt the difficulty of the war from the dilapidated city wall fortifications and sporadic shelling at dusk.
Because the rebel artillery position was one mile away, the firearms and defensive equipment of the official army could not reach that far, so they have been in a state of being beaten since the beginning of the war; the defenders could not go out to fight outside the city. In fact, there were
With nearly 10,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry, the defenders should not risk leaving the city.
As soon as Yu Qian arrived in Changde, he ignored the persuasion of his generals and insisted on patrolling various city walls. At this time, the rebel shelling was very sparse, but it had not completely subsided. The officers and soldiers guarding the city were dejected and their morale was very low. Anyone could
After experiencing constant casualties for many days, we could not even touch the enemy's hair, and it was impossible to feel happy.
Seeing that the governor was so kind and kept greeting the soldiers, some people couldn't help complaining in front of the superiors. One team member said: "It's too hot on the city wall when the weather is fine, and we still have to worry about the stone cannons falling. Guard here."
It is better to go out of the city and fight the rebels." Another general said: "We should find some doctors from the yamen, many people are sick."
But soon Xue Lu, who was accompanying him, dissatisfied and reprimanded those officers and soldiers who said nonsense: "It is our duty to do our duty to protect the emperor's territory. Since we are in the army, we must not be greedy for life and afraid of death!"
Yu Qian has not yet figured out the local situation, so he can only make a general observation temporarily. Although he has just taken up the post of official in the Ministry of War, he is actually just a civilian official and has never fought in a war. The person who is actually responsible for the battle is a military general in the army. He only
Able to coordinate and make suggestions.
That night Xue Lu and Magistrate Zhao and others set up a few simple banquets in a restaurant in the city to welcome Yu Qian. This was just a courtesy exchange between colleagues, just do your best. There were not many dishes, because this was
The building next door to our restaurant had just been shelled during the day, causing many of the cooks and waiters in the restaurant to run away without permission.
Yu Qian did not forget to ask about the details of the war at the wine table, how to deploy troops, how to fight, etc.
...In the early morning, the whole world seemed to be sleeping, but the Suzaku Army and Horse Corps had quietly dispatched, and the person leading this army was Feng Youxian. He was a cavalry general of the official army a few months ago, but now he was going to fight against the official army.
Feng Youxian was confident about this raid because he found out that the commanding officer of the cavalry was Zhang Xie. Feng Youxian knew this man. When Dusi presided over the training, Zhang You had always been in charge of the infantry and knew nothing about the cavalry (because Feng Youxian felt that
Zhang You couldn't even figure out the habits of horses), and he himself had mediocre qualifications; Feng Youxian didn't even take notice of him.
What worried Feng Youxian was some conflicts in his heart. He was actually very unwilling to become an enemy of the government. Even after he later decided to defect to the Suzaku Army, he still did not want to fight with the government and the army.
But he was filled with anger, dissatisfied with Duke Cheng Zhu Yong, and by extension the entire Ming Dynasty officialdom. His original idea was to fight for the court and make contributions to his family, but the government would rather use mediocre people like Zhang Wei.
Nor could he tolerate Feng Youxian. After being arrested by Zhu Yong, he had never been convinced, let alone believed that he had done anything wrong. Privately, he was deeply disappointed with the darkness of that frame-up.
The cavalry marched slowly on the road in the middle of the rice fields, and their feet in the stirrups could feel the coolness of the dew. It was not yet dawn, but the sky in the east was gradually turning white. Among the crops full of white scent, lances stood erect.
The black shadow and the sound of armor metal rubbing seemed out of place, like something that shouldn't appear in this natural scene...
Feng Youxian's heart was not at peace because of the quiet early morning. The past events appeared over and over again in his mind. As a military general, obeying military orders is basic. At that time, he could not attack without authorization without receiving orders; when he attacked, he also tried his best to attack.
He did his duty and tried his best to kill the enemy, but at that time, the army's infantry troops were defeated and a large number of troops could not cooperate at all. Feng Youxian repeatedly believed in his heart that he had done nothing wrong in the battle of Gaodu.
I don't know how long it took, but the sky gradually became brighter. Each team of cavalry soldiers passed through a forest one after another. Opposite there was a dry land with vegetables growing on the hillside. After climbing over the hillside, it should be the headquarters of the army's cavalry battalion.
The scouts in front came to report that many of the army's cavalry had left the camp and were setting up formations in front. But Feng Youxian responded calmly: "After the army set up camp, they most likely placed hidden sentries on the road to the south, and they noticed it when we were marching.
It is reasonable. It would be abnormal if a troop of soldiers and horses were attacked in their sleep. However, they must have been ill-prepared since they had just learned of the situation, and the surprise attack was still successful."
Feng Youxian then rode his horse up to the top of the slope. The dim light from the east and the fire in the camp in the distance immediately dispelled the gloom at the bottom of the mountain. The battlefield was right in front of him. Rushing down from the vegetable field on the hillside, there was still about a mile away from the army camp.
There are probably some beans planted in the open fields and crop fields on the roadside, which does not affect the horizontal deployment of the cavalry.
The noise of men and horses was heard in the distance, and it was reported that the officers and soldiers were forming up outside the camp. Feng Youxian's face showed a hint of ridicule: "The horse soldiers became mounted infantry in Zhang Wei's hands. When he was attacked, his first thought was
The only thing is to defend in formation."
More and more horses rushed up the hills and gathered one after another. The heads of the war horses showed the temperament of holding their heads high in the morning light. The soldiers looked at the prey in front of them. Many of the horse soldiers of the Suzaku Army may have better riding skills than
Except for some who were recruited from the prisoners of the army, many were new recruits selected from the Suzaku Army: riding a horse is easy to learn, but fighting on horseback may be a bit unfamiliar. But these are not the most important, in Feng Youxian's opinion
, the cavalry is not separated by individual cavalry, but as a whole. What is important is fighting spirit, belief and military discipline.
The atmosphere of the battlefield gradually excited him. As a general, what he should do now is just to defeat the enemy in front of him. It was a very pure and simple motive. No soldier wanted to face the shame of defeat.
The entire cavalry regiment is organized into four outposts: forward outpost, rear outpost, left outpost, and right outpost. In addition to being a name, the title is also convenient for assigning places when camping, but it does not represent the position in the battle formation.
Feng Youxian immediately issued a military order. He brought his own outposts and rear outposts with a total of about 750 cavalry. With the general flag as a two-row unit, he launched a charge towards the center of the army with the intention of directly penetrating and tearing apart their camp; the left and right outposts maneuvered to
After the enemy's two wings are assembled, when the attack in the center is successful, they charge from both wings and divide and tear the enemy's formation again.
The layout was very simple, and Feng Youxian's order was very clear. Maintain the impact of the brigade without fighting in the middle. After breaking through, turn around, reorganize and continue the attack.
After receiving the order, the commanders of the sentries organized their troops and horses. Feng Youxian shouted: "Let's go!" Immediately more than a thousand horses began to trot in the mountains and fields. They swooped down the hillside first, and the sound of horse hooves suddenly rumbled like clouds.
Thunder and lightning brewing.
Countless war horses galloped around him, the wind whistled in his ears, and the hazy scenery flashed quickly behind him. At this moment, Feng Youxian had almost forgotten his inner conflicts, and he had already understood his thoughts. Just like birds flying in the air and fish swimming in the water.
, as long as he charged on horseback, he felt like he was flying. He had never imagined how boring life would be without being able to fight on horseback.
Defeating the enemy at lightning speed, the belief in it has been far away from the killing. Brothers fighting side by side, cavalry charges unable to retreat, horses sharing the joys and sorrows, in Feng Youxian's heart, the horse is not an animal, but a member of the cavalry regiment, a trustworthy partner
.This feeling of trust and destiny can only be truly understood by brothers who have also experienced it.
One hundred and fifty steps later, no order was needed. The soldiers had already prepared their weapons. Feng Youxian pulled out the slender saber from his horse, pointed forward and shouted: "Kill!" The soldiers reflexively shouted out the training
At that time, the words "for glory", some people also shouted long live. People's blood was already boiling.
One hundred and fifty steps, a distance that an infantry soldier could not reach with a bow and arrow, the cavalry regiment rushed in front of the officers and soldiers in less than twenty snaps (twenty seconds), almost in the blink of an eye. Likewise.
A large group of cavalry charged, and their skills such as martial arts were almost useless. They came flying at the speed of arrows, and they couldn't even see the coming force. The forward cavalry soldiers held more than ten feet of lances, and with this rapid impact,
The sharp edge of steel penetrated the passive defense of the army and cavalry, and the armor could not block such sharp edge at all.
The lance directly pierced the man's chest, and blood splashed in the wind. It was too late, but it was fast. Feng Youxian's two sentry horses were like cannonballs that penetrated the earth wall, directly penetrating into the army camp. The man in front who had thrown away his lance pulled out his lance.
The sabers were slashing wildly. There was no clanging and fighting, one touch was almost a fatal blow. The charging knights could not avoid the attacks of the officers and soldiers, and the officers and soldiers could not even think of parrying the slashing blades.
People couldn't stop, even if the blood on their bodies was rushing, as long as they were alive, they couldn't stop. There were more than thirty columns running behind them, and if they stopped, they would only be trampled by iron hoofs.
In addition to the bone-chilling sound of metal piercing the body, and the bang-bang-bang explosion of firearms, the gunshots this time were all made by the army. Only the army cavalry was equipped with three-eyed muskets.
When the blood-red sun rose, the grass and trees in the wilderness were already stained red with blood.