A white smoke screen shot out from the edge of the phalanx. The Ming army cavalry that rushed forward were immediately turned upside down under the rain of bullets, like a wave of waves smashing on the rocks. The remaining cavalry did not dare to rush forward any more, and rushed towards
The two sides of the phalanx separated, trying to outflank and kill the infantry from behind. The soldiers on both sides of the phalanx seized this opportunity to fire continuously at the cavalry passing by in front of the formation. The cavalry with their helmets on their heads were injured and killed under the repeated firing of Mini rifles.
It was tragic. In just a few minutes, dozens of bodies of men and horses had been dropped around the phalanx.
He Zhanran rode his horse back to a few dozen feet, gathered his men and horses, and prepared to charge again. At this time, Yang Zeng shouted: "The scale is 100 meters, fire!"
The assembled cavalry was once again covered by a dense rain of bullets before they launched a charge. Dozens of cavalry fell in an instant. Others were completely stunned - no one expected that the enemy's firearms could really hit them.
It was so far away and so cruel that the armor had no effect. One of them smashed the president's goggles into pieces, and the other smashed the president's helmet with half of his head flying out.
The Ming cavalry retreated slightly, and then divided into two groups to outflank them from both wings. This time they were very fast. They probably knew that the Kun Thief's muskets had a long range, so everyone galloped on their horses, hoping to use their speed to offset the enemy's attack.
aim.
The volley fired again and more than 20 cavalrymen fell off their horses. At this time, He Zhanran suddenly turned his horse's head and led all the cavalry straight into the square formation - originally he thought that the bandits were using the "three-stage strike" in the blunderbuss tactics, but now
After the three rows of guns were discharged, the enemy must have a long reloading time. He planned to use this gap to break open the phalanx. One of his cronies, a small leader, rushed to the front with a few soldiers, preparing to directly hit the bayonet regardless of life or death.
Formation, fight to open a bloody path.
But the thief's muskets fired neatly again. The charge was like a wild wave against a rock. The wave of cavalry was smashed into pieces. The defeated cavalry retreated until they were 200 meters away before the Mini stopped firing. He Zhanran
Almost half of the men had been lost, and the remaining men had no intention of fighting anymore and fled the battlefield one after another. He Zhanran cursed and killed an escaping cavalryman, just as he was trying to regroup a few hundred meters away. The air
There was a sound of cannon fire.
Artillery shells with red light flew past the light infantry square one after another, and suddenly exploded in the air, throwing a hail of 88 canisters towards the ground. The cavalry who were gathering were hit by the fierce rain of shells.
Covered, pieces fell one by one, and the shouts, screams and screams of the men and horses were mixed together.
A projectile almost missed He Zhanran and hit the ground. The soil kicked up was thrown all over his face. The pungent smell of gunpowder smoke made him unable to open his eyes. He knew that the Kun thief's firearm was powerful, but he did not expect it to be so powerful. The shell could actually be in the air.
Exploded! Then a hail of bullets was thrown! He no longer dared to fight anymore, and he only had forty or fifty cavalry left at hand. Not only was he at an absolute disadvantage, but the drums of the Kun bandit Tuzhai more than two miles away were beating urgently.
A group of men and horses had already been driven out. He Zhanran turned his horse's head and shouted loudly for the soldiers to escape.
"Stop shooting!" Zhang Bolin put down his telescope. There were only a few cavalry left in the distance and were running towards the county seat. He couldn't help but feel relieved, "I didn't expect the phalanx to be really useful!
"
When the cavalry attacked the retreating infantry, he thought about asking the gunners to fire shrapnel to intercept the cavalry. However, the enemy's cavalry ran so fast and soon reached the front of the infantry square. At this time, it was easy to accidentally injure one's own side by firing cannons.
Yang Zeng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the enemy retreating. At this time, he was already covered in sweat. When the cavalry attacked for the first time, he even thought that his life would be in danger.
"Stay steady! Keep the formation!" He kept shouting while holding the command knife, holding down the formation. He remembered that when he was studying, he heard the instructor say that when the enemy cavalry attacks the square formation, there may be a second wave, and a third wave.
The wave of cavalry is waiting. As long as your formation is slightly disordered, they will immediately rush over to destroy the phalanx. The momentum of the cavalry charging at full speed made him extremely frightened. If it were not for the long-term and continuous training, the soldiers have formed a condition
Due to the reflex-like numbness, the soldiers may have been disorganized long ago.
He did not dare to change his formation and ordered them to retreat slowly towards the main camp in square formation.
"Steady, steady!" He waved his command knife, and the other two company commanders also tried their best to maintain the retreat order. At this time, he heard the flute playing of the brisk Grenadier March from behind. A group of tall men
The grenadiers came from the rear in an orderly manner and formed a neat double row beside them to cover their retreat into the camp.
Withdrawing all the way to the gate of the camp, the artillerymen and infantrymen on the fence let out a burst of warm cheers - except for some officers and military personnel who had participated in the Bopu defense battle and the bandit suppression battle, this new type of army had never
They had fought a battle with the enemy in such a dignified formation. Now they saw the results of their repeated training on the training field every day: 300 infantry against 300 cavalry, and the cavalry did not occupy even a single bit of ground.
It was cheap, but it left dead people and horses everywhere. The indigenous soldiers and officers were even more confident in their own troops and weapons.
When Yang Zeng returned to the camp, he was immediately called to He Ming. He trembled and saluted the highest officer:
"I brought the entire company back! No casualties!"
"Well done!" He Ming punched him so hard that the little man almost fell to the ground. "Give him credit! First-class merit!"
When Tong Yizhen rushed to the battlefield with his servants and infantry, he saw the defeated He Zhanran's troops. They retreated in a chaotic manner. Most of them lost their helmets and weapons, and many of them ran with terrible wounds.
He fell off his horse.
Tong Yizhen was shocked. It was not surprising that the outpost was defeated, but these were three hundred elite cavalry, which was more than enough to defeat infantry three or four times their size. Now they were defeated, and the defeat was so miserable.
He Zhanran was brought to him in a state of embarrassment: "The humble general is incompetent——"
"How many cavalry does the enemy have?" He didn't care to listen to his apology. "Where are they now?"
"The Kun thieves don't have cavalry, but, just..." He Zhanran reluctantly swallowed a mouthful of saliva that became bitter due to the rush and smoke, "The firearms are very powerful!"
He stated one by one that he was shot accurately and continuously when he was 200 steps away from the phalanx, and was bombarded by artillery shells that could explode in the air:
"The Kun thieves not only have sharp firearms, but the orderliness of their ranks is definitely not comparable to that of ordinary pirates."
"Stay back first!" Tong Yizhen didn't quite believe what he said. When officers lost a battle, they always exaggerated the enemy's strength and proficiency in fighting. However, He Zhanran's defeat was so disastrous that it didn't seem to be a lie.
The forward suffered a setback, and he decided not to lead his troops directly into the battlefield, lest he be attacked head-on by the enemy with high morale. He already knew from the defeated soldiers that the bandits had abandoned their camp at the south gate and the siege of Chengmai.
The entire army retreated to a large camp in the northwest near the coast.
He immediately ordered some of his servants and soldiers with horses, led by a young general named Song Ming under his command, to quickly occupy the empty stronghold abandoned by the Kun thieves outside the south gate and set up his banner. Then he called
A Janissary:
"Hurry and report to the commander! I have captured the south gate of Kunthief's stronghold! Break the siege of Chengmai!"
Then he urged the infantry to leave as quickly as possible. He led the troops to the south gate of Chengmai and asked the defenders on the city to open the door quickly. The defenders on the city had witnessed the disastrous defeat of the official cavalry just now. They were already desperate, but suddenly saw the post
Smoke and dust billowed from the direction of the road, and a large number of officers and soldiers were pouring in. Knowing that the officers and soldiers had finally arrived to help, the county magistrate, county magistrate, and others who were lying on the tower commanding the resistance of the people all had tears in their eyes, and they all kowtowed to the north toward the capital.
Long live the mountain.
The soldiers and civilians in the county immediately opened the south gate, and Tong Yizhen led his men and horses into the city immediately. He quickly took over the defense of the four cities, and then his subordinates hurriedly surrounded the houses. For a time, the county was full of chaos, and soldiers and officers were busy surrounding the houses.
Occupy houses and demand supplies.
For a time, the whole city was filled with the sounds of cursing, pleading, screaming and wailing. Some families were driven out of their homes by the soldiers. Some people simply took the opportunity to rob the people in the city, and some broke into the houses and raped the women.
At that time, there was chaos in the county town, with the cries of the people and the scoldings and roars of the officers and soldiers mixed together.
Liu Jingxuan, the magistrate of Chengmai County, had pale lips. He was trembling with his secretary and government servants at the gate of the county government office to support the officers and soldiers who kept coming to him for demands. He had been slapped several times, and his lips were already broken. Several clerks and servants were
The official huddled behind him.
The Jin gentry were all frightened. When they originally spent money to defend the county town, they were looking forward to the government and army to save them day and night. Unexpectedly, the savior turned out to be similar to a bandit. The county magistrate even ate a lot of their heads when they saw it.
The soldiers slapped each other in the face, and everyone was even more worried about their own wealth and life.
"General, I am here to serve Liu Jingxuan, the main hall of Chengmai County -" he was interrupted by Tong Yizhen as soon as he started:
"Okay, okay, Mr. Zhentai will be arriving in a moment. Please clean out your yamen quickly and welcome Mr. Zhentai!"
"Yes, yes, this is where the official duties are." Liu Jingxuan knew that the imperial court had sent a large army to suppress the bandits. He always thought that it was just a matter of supplying food and grass. Unexpectedly, the bandits actually wanted to fight the official army under the city. He couldn't help but secretly complain.
- He served as a county magistrate several times, and he knew that the most difficult task for a local magistrate was to support the passing dignitaries and the army, both of which were similar to bandits. There were cases where the county magistrate died of illness or even committed suicide because he was forced to do so.
Now that the officers and soldiers were actually stationed in the city, their faces turned pale for a moment, and the officials and gentry behind them also looked very uneasy.
"It's just, just, please ask the general to maintain the military discipline of your brothers." He said tremblingly.
General Tong looked at the chaotic scene in the city. Not far away, there were several corpses with their heads cut off. Judging from their clothes, these people were not thieves.
"Military discipline will naturally be maintained, but the supply of food and grass must also be done with due diligence."
"Yes, yes, I'm the official -" Before he could finish his words, suddenly several women with disheveled hair rushed towards him crying, shouting that they were wronged.
"What kind of world is this!" The woman cried and shouted, "A man died defending the city when the people were strong, and then he was beheaded before he was buried..."
Tong Yizhen knew that his men were beheading people as a reward for their military exploits. This kind of thing was common in the army. He just coughed and told the soldiers to drive the woman away.
At this time, a government official rushed over: "Master, Master!" He ran so red that he even dropped his hat, "Deputies..." He saw many soldiers and several generals around the county magistrate, so he quickly changed his words.
Said: "Beicheng, Beicheng, there's a fire!"
Liu Jingxuan was shocked, and saw that there were already several fires in the city. He said quickly, "Quick, quick, hit the gong and call the Shuishe to come out!" He looked back at the government officials who were already stunned, and waved
He pulled down his sleeves and stamped his feet and said, "You guys should go too!"
"These bastards are making such a big fuss!" General Tong Shen saw that the soldiers were acting so recklessly, and he was deeply afraid of being reported and impeached by the officials. There were also women's cries, and they were making a fuss when the enemy was in front of them.
If he went too far, something would happen. He immediately ordered a general to patrol the city with dozens of soldiers under his orders, and killed several rioters who were robbing and killing people in the street to maintain order.
Half an hour later, part of Li Guang's standard-making battalion also arrived at Chengmai County, but his attempt to enter the city was stopped by the Tongbu - the Chaozhou soldiers under General Tong seemed to think that the city was their prize.
, and others were not allowed to get involved. The two sides met hand to hand, and the swords were at war. If the generals of both sides had not come out to stop them quickly, the Chaozhou soldiers and Zhaoqing soldiers almost broke into a conflict at the gate of the city.
He Ming stood on the tower and looked at the Ming troops that were coming in with high-powered telescopes. They were so numerous that they filled the open space around Chengmai County like mercury leaking out.
Countless teams, countless flags, the clanging of armor, the footsteps of soldiers, and the sound of hunting flags blown by the wind are like a raging tide coming here.
As the sun sets in the west, the sun shines on the rolling army coming from the east. The armor and spear points are shining, and the sound of military drums, horns and chariots is heard everywhere, accompanied by the vast twilight. There is an unspeakable sense of oppression and oppression.
On his mind.
If He Ming has been on the battlefield, fought against Vietnamese devils, and smelled the smell of gunpowder, then many veteran officers in the field army have never fought in a war, even if they were from the army. Everyone knows from a rational point of view that the Ming army is like this
It is impossible for an army in the medieval era to defeat a modern army, but seeing this army coming in a steady stream, everyone's face was solemn. Some even felt dizzy and simply put down their telescopes and stopped looking.
A general climbed onto a huge stone, and countless helmeted heads surged forward around him. He seemed to be standing on a rock in the rough sea. The general looked forward, the flag in his hand fiercely
Point forward.
More than 20,000 troops arrived at the foot of the county town and occupied the open spaces and hills around the county town. The infantry set up barracks and placed artillery mounts. The entire army set up three camps in total and dug long trenches outside to confront Fubo's army.
He Rubin arrived at Chengmai County before dark. He did not settle in the county, but set up his camp outside the west gate of the county. Together with Zhao Ruyi, he first inspected the captured heads.
Not only are there few heads, far less than the more than 300 people Tong Shenjiang claimed to have killed, but most of the heads of these so-called "Kung thieves" had their hair cut to pieces. Some of them had hair on their hair.
There were traces of blood remaining, and some of the heads had turned black. It looked like the hair had been cut off a day or two after death.
He Rubin had been in military service for a long time, so he could tell at a glance what was going on. As for Zhao Ruyi, he was also a very smart and capable person. However, the war was about to begin and the soldiers needed their lives, so both of them remained silent. After checking, they ordered the Military and Political Department to record the merits of those who contributed.
After inspecting the heads, they took their staff and generals to the North City of Chengmai and looked at the Kun bandit camp camped by the sea.
Tang Yunwen wrote about the Dutch telescope he bought from Macau. He Rubin opened the tube and looked at the Kun bandit camp:
The Kun bandit's camp about four miles away was surrounded by an earthen embankment as high as one person. The shape of the camp was not round or square, but had several large sharp corners protruding from it. He did not understand the structure surrounding the entire camp.
What is the purpose of the protruding sharp corners, but I know that the Dutch also arranged them in this way when building forts.
There are many round wicker baskets installed on the earth embankment, and bundles of bamboo are connected together to form fortresses. There are also many tall towers built on racks, the tallest of which is higher than the county seat.
There are figures moving above it. There are trenches dug outside the entire fortress, and the defense is very tight.
There were lights on the sea in the distance, and there seemed to be many ships moored. Tang Yunwen told him that these were the naval gunboats of the Kun thieves.
Looking at the size of the camp, the Kun Thieves had at least 10,000 troops. He Rubin did not expect that the enemies would come out in full force to fight him to the death at the foot of Chengmai County. Moreover, the Kun Thieves' fighting power seemed not to be underestimated. General Tong Shen led his troops
It was only after a bitter battle that the Kunthi infantry was driven out of the camp. The cavalry also lost more than 200 people.
He saw a village-like place on the coastline about four or five miles east of the Kun Thief Camp: "Where is this?"
"Reporting to Master Zhentai," the county magistrate Liu Jingxuan who was called to accompany him said quickly, "This is Xiaoyingchang. There used to be a village. It was completely destroyed by the earthquake during the Wanli period. Now it is no longer inhabited."
"General Sha! Send a thousand men to garrison Xiaoyingchang to stop the bandits from escaping along the coast and invading Qiongshan Mountain!" he ordered.
Sha Jianbi, the guerrilla commander of Guangzhou Guards' Fubiao Battalion, responded quickly and immediately went down to the city to make arrangements.
After observing carefully for a while, He Rubin couldn't see the weakness of the Kunthief camp. He knew that the enemy camp would be a very hard nut to crack in tomorrow's battle, and casualties would be inevitable.
But as long as the main force of the Kun thieves is defeated here, Lingao will fall in one fell swoop. This force is probably all the Kun thieves' land division. The opponent's tactics are nothing more than the pattern of defending the stronghold with firearms, which is not surprising.