Under the cover of the light infantry, the health team and militiamen cleaning the battlefield opened the gate of the village and came out. They first tidied up the fallen of their own side in front of the embankment. Many of the Fubo Army's dead who fell from the embankment had already been chopped down.
Their heads were lost, and the identification tags hanging around their necks were also lost. They could only check their names and units one by one from the cloth stamps sewn on their clothes. Then they began to clean up the bodies of the fallen officers and soldiers, including those who had fallen.
The corpses in the trench were dragged out one by one with hooks and poles. The weather was getting hot, and if so many corpses were left on the ground and rotted, they would soon cause a plague.
When the Ming army saw the Kun thieves opening the gate of the stronghold and marching out in large numbers, they thought they were going to launch a counterattack and climbed onto the wall to fight. However, they saw the Kun thieves' infantry advance three hundred steps out of the stronghold and then stop and form formation. Then they came out again.
Many people in white robes came, their heads and faces were surrounded by white cloth hoods, and they held long poles in their hands. They hooked and pulled the corpses together, and then transported them to a deep ditch in a wheelbarrow for burial -
―The engineering team buried a column of gunpowder and soon blasted a deep trench to bury the bodies.
From time to time, discarded wounded officers and soldiers could be found among the piles of corpses. As long as they were still able to move, they were loaded on trolleys one by one and transported back to the village for treatment.
What made He Ming and the elders regretful was that the army did not leave behind the body of an officer of the rank of General Qian or above, let alone the wounded. They did not even pick up a few flags with their personal surnames.
He Ming did not ask for the recycling of the swords, guns and weapons left by the Ming army scattered on the ground, but he collected all the military flags discarded on the ground without leaving any trace - this was a mark of military merit.
"The thief didn't chop off his head!" The officers and soldiers watched the enemy's actions curiously. Not only did they not chop off their heads, they also took all the wounded back. In the army at that time, once injured in combat, there was a danger of death.
Not to mention those who are seriously injured and unable to walk. When a general army cleans up the battlefield after a victory, regardless of whether the enemy is friendly or not, as long as the seriously wounded are seriously injured, they will usually hit them on the spot.
For the sake of safety, the Fubo Army only moved forward to collect the corpses and clean the battlefield to a place more than 200 meters away from the earth embankment. This distance was also the place where the most corpses were left.
While the health team was busy cleaning up the battlefield, lightning flashed in the thick clouds, and waves of dull thunder came. A heavy rain was coming.
There are often heavy rains after the war, especially in the season of June and July when water vapor is abundant and clouds are dense, and a large amount of dust and gunpowder smoke provide sufficient condensation nuclei.
"The corpses are going to be swollen now," Ren said with a frown, "When the sun comes out tomorrow, I'm afraid of the smell of the battlefield just thinking about it," as he led the careless health team back.
"
"Let's make do with this for now and deal with it later." He Ming seemed to smell the stench of corpses along the road when he advanced to Lang Son. "Disinfectant water should also be sprayed in the camp."
Renn took off his robe, which smelled of disinfectant and blood, and threw his oilcloth boots into the burning boiler, which was burning water to supply the troops.
"The 6th Infantry Battalion is on guard, be careful to prevent rain! The other troops will eat and rest immediately." He Ming ordered loudly, "Tell the logistics department to ensure that every tent and shack is dry."
"Understood." Xie Shu saluted, turned around and trotted away. A roll call sounded in the square of the camp, and soon the third and fifth infantry battalions reported the vacancies of each battalion, including those who were killed and injured.
Officers and sergeants should be replenished immediately, and meritorious soldiers should be upgraded. The vacancies of soldiers should be filled by the militia. In this way, all units can go to the battlefield with full strength tomorrow.
With a burst of violent thunder, sparse heavy raindrops fell on the ground, raising the smell of earth and blood. A gust of cold wind blew, and everyone shivered. A heavy rain poured down, accompanied by a roar.
There was a thunderous sound, and golden snakes danced wildly between the sky and the earth. A white rain curtain enveloped the sky and the earth, and the sound of rain made it difficult to hear each other's voices.
He Ming's orderly had already brought rain gear with him, and he put it on him as soon as the raindrops fell. He Ming did not rush back to the headquarters and asked: "Are the wounded covered?"
"Awnings and large tents have been set up for the wounded."
The thunder gradually became distant, but the rain became heavier and heavier, and people and objects could no longer be seen clearly from a distance of about ten steps. He Ming still inspected everywhere and saw that various places had been properly arranged before leaving.
After coming down and returning to the headquarters, he asked for an officer to be escorted by a special reconnaissance team to visit the two lurking infantry battalions.
The 1st and 4th Battalions responsible for lurking were both in the wild. Seeing that the rain was so heavy, He Ming was afraid that they would not be able to camp in the wild and might even be in danger of encountering a flash flood.
"Tell them not only to pay attention to safety but also to pay attention to concealment!" He Ming informed the envoy, "Prevent the enemy from sneak attacks at night."
However, both battalion commanders reported that the camp is currently safe and the soldiers have not encountered flooding and are resting.
There was a cloud of sadness in Chengmai's city tower. The whole day's battle today proved that the Kun bandits were not only elite with firearms, but also extremely powerful. Although the exact number has not yet been released, it is certain that the total number of casualties exceeded 2,000.
This is already very serious for an army of more than 20,000 people. The morale of the entire camp is low. Many people are afraid that they will be driven to fight the Kun bandits tomorrow, and they have already thought of fleeing. It’s just that it’s raining heavily outside.
It was pitch dark that prevented large-scale escapes.
While He Rubin ordered reliable troops to control the roads and key passes, he convened a meeting with the generals to appease the generals and asked everyone not to be discouraged and wait for the decisive battle tomorrow. Zhao Ruyi also said something to ask the generals to serve the country with loyalty. He also temporarily promoted a few officers.
The generals asked them to take charge of the troops who had lost their commanders. They also moved the troops with the most serious losses to garrison at the rear, and replaced them with new troops to the front line.
He then ordered people to kill more than a dozen deserters captured by the rangers who did not return to the camp and tried to escape to Qiongshan. The leader ordered the whole camp. Then with this murderous power, he sent his trusted staff and generals to the most unruly camp.
The reliable Cao Jun and Xiang Yongzhong comforted each other, asking them both softly and hard to "work together." After taking care of all this, he returned to the tent. Zhao Ruyi was sitting in the tent twirling his beard. He Rubin knew that he was watching
He seemed calm, but actually he was very scared.
"General Yinzhi, what are the chances of winning tomorrow's battle?" Zhao Ruyi asked.
"Only six or seven points!" He Rubin said, "Our army suffered a setback today, and its morale is quite shaken. The morale of the thieves is strong..."
He did not say the rest of the words, and everyone present knew the subtext: I am afraid that tomorrow's battle will result in more defeats than victory.
Zhao Ruyi coughed and said: "The Kun thieves have sharp weapons and high morale. Our army must not fight with them in the wild. In the opinion of the students, it is better to dig deep trenches and build high walls to drain the Kun thieves' spirit."
He Rubin remained silent. This strategy was useful against ordinary enemies, and even against the imperial court's great enemy, the Donglu. The official army had many firearms and infantry. They dug trenches and built strongholds with firearms to defend them. As long as the officers and soldiers
If everyone works together and the soldiers use their lives, they can usually hold on. This is a good tactic.
But the Kun thief is different from any enemy the Ming army has fought against. Even the red-haired men who are most similar to the Kun thief are different. The enemy has cannons that can shoot farther and more accurately than them. Digging trenches and holding on will only be defeated by the enemy.
Use artillery fire slowly from a distance, and the morale of the entire army will collapse before the enemy attacks.
"Master Zhao, the bandit's artillery is far above me. If you dig a trench and defend it, the enemy's artillery can reach me, but our artillery cannot reach the enemy. We are just like swordsmen, but we are like fish and meat!"
Zhao Ruyi made sense when he heard it: "I'm just going to attack again tomorrow, I'm afraid..." He didn't finish his words and just sighed.
One of the staff said: "Sir, don't worry. No matter how far away his artillery is, he will still be able to reach out to the stronghold and the artillery. The enemy has few soldiers, but with sharp firearms, he may not dare to use the stronghold and the artillery."
At this time, Chang Qingyun stepped in and said: "My lord! The enemy has defeated our army slightly today. It is inevitable that the soldiers will be lazy and arrogant, and they will neglect to take precautions. It is raining heavily tonight again, and the enemy's firearms will definitely not be used. Please send a brave general."
, We will recruit hundreds of dead soldiers with heavy sums of money, and follow the example of the attack on Caizhou on a snowy night, and we will be able to defeat the Kun thieves!"
He spoke categorically. He Rubin secretly said: "A scholar's opinion!" It was raining so heavily that it would be difficult to send hundreds of people out in the dark, and they might not even be able to determine the direction accurately.
But Chang Qingyun's words "It's raining heavily, firearms will never be able to move him". In his opinion, today he was still defeated by the powerful firearms of Kun Thief.
It would be best if it rained tomorrow. He Rubin thought to himself.
However, Zhao Ruyi became very interested in this proposal, and the surrounding staff and generals also thought there was a chance - they felt that as long as the thief could not use firearms, they would be nothing. Even if they could not defeat the thief, the enemy would suffer a big loss.
It is still possible to move back to the next round.
"How's the rain outside?"
"I've been transferred to a primary school a little bit," the primary school student who went out to visit reported back.
He Rubin stood up and stood on the balcony of the city tower to look around. The lanterns on the embankment of the Kun bandits camp a few miles away were brightly lit. It was obviously heavily guarded and it was impossible to steal the camp and rob it. However, the enemy's firearms could not be used.
If your side fights with white troops, you may not have a chance of winning a small victory.
Now that the rain has lightened up, He Rubin thought that if he immediately sent people to rob the stronghold, if he could succeed, he would take the opportunity to defeat the whole army of the Kun thieves and completely turn the tide of the war. If the stronghold could not be broken, a small victory would also boost morale.
So he immediately sent people to find other generals to discuss the matter of hijacking the camp. Everyone believed that after today's failure in attacking the stronghold, the Kun thieves never expected that the Ming army would rob the camp, not to mention that it was raining heavily now. Although they acted on a rainy night
It's inconvenient, but this is a common risk between us and the enemy. The Kun thieves cannot use firearms and can only fight indiscriminately. The skills of the officers and men's sword stabbing will be shown, and it may be possible to defeat the Kun thieves.
At that time, it was decided that 500 soldiers from He Rubin's town would be the vanguard to climb aboard in the rain, and Huizhou General Yan Zungao would lead a thousand men to support him. If the attack went smoothly, he would use Qihua as the signal, and He Rubin would personally lead the main force to attack.
Yan Zungao let everyone have a good meal, then he calmed down and quietly moved to the front village. In order to facilitate movement in the rainy mud, the first five hundred people took off their armor and did not bring long guns. They only carried simple knives and
Small shields. In addition, prepare many light ladders. All soldiers' shoes are wrapped with straw ropes in several places to prevent them from being slippery when climbing. After all the units were assembled, they immediately set off in the rain to mark the Chinese army's garrison and guerrilla Ye Zhengfang.
Leading his elite troops to the front, Yan Zuggao led a few guerrillas and a thousand people to prepare for the response. He ordered everyone not to raise fire or make noise, and quickly and quietly ran towards the enemy camp in the rainy night.
He Rubin quietly prepared another 2,000 men, preparing to lead the main force to attack and break the stronghold in one fell swoop once the night attack was successful.
Ye Zhengfang led his men and horses quietly for several miles, and could only hear the sound of rain in his ears. Although there were lights on the embankment, everything was dark. He was secretly happy that the enemy's lights were bright, which meant that the enemy was aware that our army was hiding.
It also pointed out the direction for the attacking team, otherwise it would be almost impossible to find the right direction in the dark and rain.
Seeing that the whole army had quietly reached the bottom of the earthen embankment, and the following men and horses had also reached up, Ye Zhengfang couldn't help but be overjoyed. During the day, thousands of men and horses tried to break through this distance, leaving countless corpses behind, but now they managed to reach it without losing any troops.
When they arrived at the embankment, they saw that Kun Thief was indeed slacking off! He listened quietly for a moment, but there was still no movement on the embankment, only the hissing of the torches burning in the rain.
"Put up the ladders!" He ordered in a low voice. A dozen ladders were slowly raised and moved up the earth embankment.
The surroundings suddenly became bright. For a moment, the officers and soldiers thought it was dawn. At that moment of astonishment, a loud voice reached their ears:
"put!"
The volley of guns instantly swept through the officers and soldiers who were preparing to rob the stronghold between the horn forts. The strong beams of light made the officers and soldiers under the embankment dizzy. The strong stage searchlights swept through the dense rain, making everything around them white.
The officers and soldiers were so blinded that they could not even identify the direction of their escape for a while, and they were killed one after another under the volley of gunfire.
"Let's go!" Ye Zhengfang was still in shock. He knew that the bandits had already taken precautions and did not dare to stay any longer. With the sound of a gong, the officers and soldiers fled. The white beams of light on the earth embankment closely followed the defeated soldiers. For a moment, the officers and soldiers were in chaos.
They trampled on each other in front of the trench, causing many casualties. Fortunately, Yan Zungao's troops behind him had not yet passed the trench. When they saw the beams of light, they thought the Kun thieves had used some magic trick. Then the muskets roared. Yan Zungao knew that the so-called "firearms are useless in rainy days" was not good for Kun.
Thief is not a truth.
The thief's blunderbuss roared in the heavy rain, but the bows and arrows of the officers and soldiers were difficult to use even in rainy weather. The thousand men and horses who were strictly obeying the command could neither attack nor cover. They saw white light beams swinging wildly across the trenches and towards his men and horses.
He went there, but before he could give the order, a row of random shots fired, and a group of officers and soldiers who were waiting to cross the trench fell immediately. The others immediately dispersed, and Yan Zungao himself was surrounded by his own soldiers and fled.
In the chaos, Ye Zhengfang fled the road under the protection of his own soldiers and generals. He finally escaped from the ditch. At this time, the gunfire stopped on the embankment, and he heard a voice like a huge roar shouting:
"People below, listen! Throw down your swords and guns, take off your clothes! Put your hands on your head and squat down! Otherwise, no one will be left alive!"
The officers and soldiers who were in a mess had already been dizzy by the searchlights and were beaten by volleys of guns. They quickly dropped their weapons one by one, squatted under the earth embankment with their hands raised, and did not dare to look up.
An officer saw that he was at the edge of the light beam, so he quietly moved a few steps, trying to hide in the darkness. A gunshot rang out immediately on the embankment, and he was immediately shot to death in the open space. When everyone saw that they dared to move even half a step, one by one
Don't dare to move again.
Three ladders were lowered on the earth embankment.
"Climb up in teams of ten. If there are any injured, bring them all up!"
The naked officers and soldiers were shivering from the heavy rain. A young officer shouted: "It's convenient for us to put more ladders down. Brothers have no cover when going up and down, and the rain is cold..."
"Send troops and horses, serve the imperial court, and pay attention to serving the country with loyalty. You are not afraid of death, but you are still afraid of catching cold?" Someone on the embankment answered with a smile.
"You must serve the country with all your heart! I am here to eat food and get paid." The young officer saw someone above him answering, and his ruffian nature showed up again, "Although everyone has their own swords and guns, but they are all wearing uniforms."
For the sake of food, be accommodating!"
"It's easy to say! Brother, you are very brave. You don't know your surname?"
"Don't dare, you are a petty person, and you have a bad name and merit."
"Okay, let's put two more ladders down."
So the surrender soldiers climbed up the five ladders in groups of ten shaking their heads. The infantrymen above were watching with live ammunition. The militiamen prepared bundles of ropes. When the prisoners came up, they tied them up with their right hands.
Arms, ten people were tied into a bunch before being escorted away. The soldiers and militiamen couldn't help laughing when they saw the naked officers and soldiers, all with their buttocks exposed, and their messy appearance due to the heavy rain. The laughter became louder and louder.
It penetrated the rain curtain and reached the officers and soldiers camp. The officers and soldiers who had suffered a setback during the day heard the gunshots, but they didn't know why the thieves were laughing like this, and they didn't dare to ask, so they just talked quietly in the dark. Many of them
The lower-level generals and soldiers all realized that the expedition was a complete failure, at least there was no chance of winning.
Teams of ten people were escorted by bayonets and placed in the prisoner of war camp in the corner of the camp. Many fires were lit in each bamboo shed, but no clothing was given, and the prisoners were only allowed to lean on the fire.
Heaps were kept for warmth. The wounded were given simple diagnosis and treatment and those who were serious were taken away for treatment.
Jiang Yougong was warming himself by the fire while shivering. He saw that the place where they were detained was very simple. It was a corner of the camp, with earth embankments on two sides and ditches dug on the other two sides. The ditches were full of sharp bamboo sticks and brightly lit on all sides.
, the bayonets on the muskets held by the soldiers on the enemy tower were shining brightly, and they looked murderous at first sight.
A dozen black iron buckets were brought over, steaming inside, and stacks of wooden bowls were also brought.
"Here, everyone get a bowl and get ready to drink soup!" The cook banged the iron bucket and shouted loudly.