The main force of the government and army was stationed in the northeast of Ruichang City, leaning on the Yangtze River to monitor the movements of the Suzaku Army in Ruichang City. [ ] Because it is adjacent to the Yangtze River in the north and the waters of Chihu Lake in the south. The terrain to the south of Chihu is complicated and the Suzaku Army cannot bypass it.
The opening of the official army garrison threatens the Yangtze River ferry and Jiujiang City. The situation has little room for maneuver. The land between the northwest shore of Chihu Lake and the Yangtze River will be the only channel to reshape the pattern, and it is also a destined battlefield.
On the first day of February in the third year of Xuande's reign, the main force of the Yongding Battalion left the city and soon forced into the Shenji Camp. The two armies faced off. It was a competition without any coordinated strategy. On a battlefield that was not considered wide, whoever had the stronger force would win.
win.
Prior to this, Zhu Heng had twice sent envoys to ask for help from the Han army, asking the two armies to temporarily form an alliance to jointly attack the Shenji camp. According to the envoys, Wang Shishun, the general of the Han army, had fully agreed. However, several days passed, and there was no movement from the Han army at all.
I can't count on them here.
Due to the low terrain in the central part, Zhang Ning positioned the Chinese army on the left wing, next to the heavy artillery position. There were still two or three field heavy artillery pieces, all of which were put into the battlefield. The army was laid out in a straight line, with the remainder of the Third Army and the
The left sentry of the First Army is the Fengzi Cavalry Regiment; the entire Second Army is in the center; the middle sentry and the right sentry of the First Army are on the right.
Today's weather is sunny and spring is bright. The wind coming from the rivers and lakes is a bit humid, but according to actual measurements, it does not affect the firing of gunpowder. The air is clear and the visibility is very high. The many people and horses of the Shenji Camp spread out in front are clearly visible; there seems to be no Bagua array in the Shenji Camp.
It is a rather mysterious formation, with each unit arranged in a square formation vertically and horizontally. The Shenji Battalion is equipped with a lot of artillery carried by carriages, but there is no organized cavalry. At a glance, it is full of people and no horses.
Zhang Ning sat in a wheelchair and observed the situation on the battlefield for a long time. Later, after the preliminary preparations of each army were completed, a group of military generals rushed to the central army on horseback and met for one last small discussion before the battle.
After roughly repeating the tactics again, Zhang Ning finally couldn't help but said: "Everyone's plan is up to man and God is up to him. Everyone should do their part and work together. As long as we go all out, there will be nothing to regret in the future. I hope you can encourage us together."
"
The generals raised their hands in salute and said something one after another. Because everyone said something different, the words seemed messy. Zhang Ning waved his hand, and everyone returned to the army. After a while, the Chinese army's flags flashed.
The music was raised, and all the troops paid attention, and the signal for the impending battle was in place.
Regardless of victory or defeat, many people will definitely die on this day. Zhang Ning has seen with his own eyes the large number of deaths caused by his rebellion several times. There are also some unseen civilian casualties. In fact, it is a crime with blood on his hands. It is just a crime.
The road can only go to darkness and there is no turning back. The only good thing is that as long as one reaches a certain height in this world, there are no rules to judge a person's sins, only the difference between victory and defeat.
Zhang Ning saw that the armies were almost ready, and immediately ordered the entire army to advance regardless of what happened to the officers and soldiers on the opposite side. He was not willing to wait, so he took the initiative to attack.
Three long trumpets sounded on the ground, and countless men and horses started to move. The front line slowly began to move. Looking at the officers and soldiers two miles away, they remained motionless, waiting for the opponent's attack... Zhang Ning
I have studied the tactics of the Shenji Battalion. This army cooperates with other troops of the Beijing Camp on the Mongolian grasslands. It usually waits for the opponent to charge, then uses firearms to repel the enemy soldiers, and then counterattacks. An army often has inertial habits.
So I guess Shenji Camp has the same plan this time.
Nearly ten thousand people spread out in a horizontal line and advanced at a very slow speed. It took a long time for the officers and soldiers to react and sent scattered rangers to harass the formation. A small amount of bloodshed kicked off the killing, but
Sporadic rides will naturally have little impact on the overall situation.
There was a small group of people behind him using rough rangefinders to estimate the distance, but it was obviously not very accurate. Zhang Ning just sat and measured visually. He had experienced many battles between these camps, and he could roughly estimate the distance with his eyes.
During the advance, the officers and soldiers did almost nothing. They just waited passively.
After a long time, he suddenly saw fire flashing in the distance, and a moment later he heard the sound of cannons. Cannons were fired on the army camp. Zhang Ning looked up at the sky and seemed to be able to see the flight trajectory of the cannonballs, but it was a bit far away and it was not clear.
On the contrary, I saw a few birds startling in a small forest further away.
Then more firelights flashed, and more and more smoke filled the air, gradually destroying the clear air. Some shells fell into the crowd, and only soil and debris flew up. From a distance, it looked like a small explosion, but that was just
The debris and solid bullets stirred up by the air waves cannot explode. Amidst the roar of the artillery, people's shouts were mixed in, and the ground gradually became more lively.
Zhang Ning turned around and said: "Order the entire army to stop later."
Zhu Heng agreed, and then sent out messengers and called the trumpeters to prepare to blow the trumpets. The two still cooperated tacitly. Zhang Ning felt that Zhu Heng was just a civil servant after all, and his decision-making on the battlefield may not be brilliant, but as a staff officer
It is indeed rare. In the past, Zhang Ning sometimes made vague decisions when he was nervous, but Zhu Heng could always check for omissions and fill in the gaps and issue accurate orders.
The distance between the two armies was about one mile, and the northern part of the official army (the left wing of the Suzaku Army) began to advance head-on. As expected, the Shenji Battalion could not sit back and wait for the attack like they did in the Mongolian attack, because they understood that the "rebels" artillery was not a vegetarian.
, so close to one mile, if you still don't take action, wait for the "rebel" heavy artillery to be set up soon, won't you just sit there and be bombarded in vain?
Upon seeing this, Zhang Ning said loudly to Zhu Heng: "Two orders. After the whole army has stopped, the left-wing infantry advances forward to fight, and tells the general to implement the tactics we agreed on; secondly, the Chinese army camp is moved forward to avoid the ordering troops.
The round trip distance is too long, which affects the command efficiency."
The three human seas of the Suzaku Army stopped advancing one after another, and each unit adjusted to a parallel front. The artillery on the left had already transported the artillery to the predetermined high ground and was unloading and erecting the artillery array. The infantry of the Shenji Battalion in front were forming a formation and gradually advancing.
After a while, an infantry force in front of the left wing of the Suzaku Army also attacked head-on. The battle between the two armies predictably started from the north.
The sound of artillery was intermittent, all from the opposite artillery fire, and there were constant casualties among the Suzaku Army. Zhang Ning's ears were buzzing, but he had already experienced such a scene, and his mind was not disturbed. The situation in front of him made him
Guessing the opponent's intentions is also clarifying one's own thinking. As a decision-maker in the battle, it is natural to adapt to changes, but before the war, you have your own set of ideas, a series of tactical ideas on how to win, otherwise it will be without purpose.
The ground is in chaos... No matter how the situation changes, as long as the final development proceeds according to your own ideas, the battle will most likely be won.
The Shenji Battalion took the lead in attacking from the left wing. A moment's thought would make it clear: their target was the heavy artillery position, and their intention was to defeat the opponent head-on with infantry as they did last time, and then destroy the artillery of the Suzaku Army, thereby establishing a firepower advantage from the start.
At this time, the two armies on the left were two to three hundred steps apart. The generals on the artillery array sent people to report that the artillery had been set up and loaded, and it was ready for the first firing. Zhang Ning did not hesitate and immediately ordered a salvo of heavy artillery.
.
Several small triangular flags on the artillery array were brought down together, and suddenly there was an earth-shaking loud noise, "Boom..." The ground was shaking. It was not a description at all, it was indeed moving. Zhang Ning lowered his head and looked down.
The hand on the armrest of the wheelchair was shaking with the wood. The cannon fired so fast that he didn't even think of covering his ears. For a moment, his ears seemed to be temporarily deaf, and even the noisy human voices disappeared.
The solid iron bullets flying at low altitude quickly poured into the crowd of officers and soldiers. Many iron balls could be seen bouncing on the ground with the naked eye. The iron lumps weighing six or seven kilograms could not stop hitting the human body while flying at high speed.
Coming down, it was easy to penetrate four or five rows of linear squares in depth. The forwards of the army suffered heavy casualties after the attack. The gunpowder in the chambers of more than 20 heavy cannons exploded, forming a large amount of smoke and reducing visibility; but the screams came from the distance.
, made Zhang Ning seem to see the scene of broken limbs and broken arms, a broken head and blood flowing freely.
The infantry of the Suzaku Army responsible for the left-wing attack was the left sentry of the First Army. There were about 800 officers and soldiers in the sentry, forming four long linear formations, spreading out to cover the fire.
After a round of field artillery salvos, the forwards of the army not only suffered heavy casualties, but also the camp was torn apart and caused chaos... It was a pity that the infantry of the Suzaku Army could not take the opportunity to attack them quickly; Zhang Ning also wanted to launch the artillery before the two armies fought.
Boom, but in that case, the distance between us and the enemy is too close, and with the accuracy of the artillery, we may even hit our own people.
The two armies were within a hundred paces. The officers and soldiers on the opposite side managed to restore the fighting order after reorganization, and a row of heavy matchlocks was set up. Unexpectedly, at this moment, the soldiers on the Suzaku Army suddenly raised their round shields.
This is one of Zhang Ning's tactics. He is very clear about it. Regardless of the large caliber of the army's muskets, they still shoot round lead bullets, and the barrels naturally have no rifling. The lead bullets without rotational movement can't be fired at a distance of a hundred paces.
The loss of kinetic energy during the process is huge. It may be possible to break through the thin armor of the Suzaku Army, but it will be difficult to break through the shield. It is still useful to use the shield as a musket, which can greatly reduce the casualties in the first round of volley. Moreover, the smooth bore
Guns have a low hit rate to begin with. The officers and soldiers have to start firing at a hundred paces. The lead bullets are more likely to miss and the hit rate is even lower.
So Zhang Ning really doesn't think it's a clever way to increase the caliber of matchlocks without thinking. If that's the case, everyone's arms race in the future will be over the caliber of muskets.
"Crackling" gunfire, Zhang Ning hurriedly watched the battlefield to confirm his assumption. The sound of lead bullets hitting the shield was clearly audible like hail hitting the roof, and the Suzaku Army soldiers in the front row fell.
Some people suffered slight casualties, but the proportion did not seem to be large.
There was a cry on the battlefield, and the morale of the Suzaku Army was very high for a while. The shield can block lead bullets at a long distance. What a simple matter. People's fear can also be reduced because of a shield. After all, they no longer have to see a whole row of black guns.
With your mouth facing yourself, you also have a little more confidence in protection, and the psychological impact is not small... It has the same effect as the bayonet installed in later generations. In fact, the bayonet row is rarely used.