weaving

Chapter 694
After receiving the military order from Jiliao Governor Hong Chengchou, Liu Zhaoji, the general soldier of Liaodong, immediately decided to rescue. After learning the news, all the soldiers in his camp cheered in unison.

Most of the family members of Liu Zhaoji's lieutenants lived in Songshan and Xingshan Forts, and due to the impact of the war, except for a few who fled to Tashan, Ningyuan and other safer places, most of them hid in Songshan and Xingshan, as well as the surrounding forts.

From others to themselves, they all thought of their relatives around them, their morale was high, and since the army passed the high bridge, they had forced back many slaves and sentry cavalry along the way, and even beheaded seven ranks, which also gave them courage .

What's even more gratifying is that there are no more than 3000 Tatars besieging Xingshan at this moment, and only a few thousand armored slaves, while there are nearly [-] soldiers in their camp, including nearly [-] cavalry.

If you add the thousands of guards in Xingshan and the tens of thousands of Yang Guozhu troops from Xuanzhen who came later, even if these Tartars cannot be wiped out under the city of Xingshan, it is still no problem to hold on to them until the whole army comes. of.

Therefore, nearly ten thousand soldiers wanted to take this opportunity to not only save their relatives, but also make some military achievements. Following the order of the general soldier Liu Zhaoji, the army rushed to the front of Xingshan Fort, bringing up smoke and dust. all over the sky.

The journey from Gaoqiao to Xingshan is only eighteen miles away. As soon as you leave Gaoqiao, the surrounding fields are mostly flat rivers.

It was already afternoon, and the heat wave was rolling in. As far as the eye could see, there were large tracts of uncultivated land everywhere, and occasionally a small piece of plowed field was destroyed by the invading Ta thieves. Hard to see green.

Years of drought, the big river that used to be turbulent, is now not even a small ditch, and the land is also dry and hard, but it is convenient for the army to march.

The enemy was at hand, Liu Zhaoji did not dare to neglect at all, he commanded two infantry battalions to deploy, and even arranged the chariot battalion he carried in front of the formation, and separated two groups of cavalry to protect the two wings of the infantry formation, and sent fast cavalry to Yang Guozhu Department, urging him to come up to meet him as soon as possible.

After Liu Zhaoji's subordinates launched a battle formation, the army will face the scorching sun and press towards Xingshan Fort. They are all sweaty and soaked in armor, but they dare not be slighted, and only maintain a strict battle formation.

All the way forward, the sentry cavalry of the Ming army had engaged in close combat with the captive cavalry. Liu Zhaoji dispatched a large group of Ding Jingqi one after another to push the slave reconnaissance line back and forth.

Liu Zhaoji had just crossed the Qili River when he led the army, when he received the news from the front, because they were marching forward in a mighty manner, and the formation was well organized, the Tartars saw that the reinforcements were strong and they had no chance to take advantage of them, so they quietly withdrew from the siege. .

The whole Tartar army gathered in a temporary camp a few miles north of Xingshan Mountain, but instead of retreating, they sent out more sentry cavalry, as if they wanted to test the real strength of the Ming reinforcements.

…………

Successfully breaking the siege of Xingshan Fort was considered a great success, Liu Zhaoji's army was full of cheers, and he immediately sent someone to the governor of Jiliao Hong Chengchou to win and report the truth.

At the same time, Liu Zhaoji felt that he still had some unfulfilled feelings. He led the army to wait in full force, but he easily broke the siege of Xingshan without firing a single arrow or shot. In this way, he was far away from his wish to achieve great achievements.

He looked at all the soldiers under his command, they all had such expressions, even the small soldiers all had expressions of regret, and several lieutenants, senators, and tour generals in the army couldn't get enough of their breath.

Everyone suggested one after another that while the army's morale was sharp, they should catch up and start a fierce battle with the Tatars in the north of Xingshan Mountain, and it would be true to capture some heads.

Although Liu Zhaoji also had this intention, he still felt that it was a bit risky. He hesitated for a long time, but finally he couldn't be persuaded by the generals around him, and decided to fight the Tartars.

When the road ahead was only one mile away from the north gate of Xingshan Fort, Zheng Yilin, the deputy general of the defense battalion stationed at Xingshan, saw that the slave army was retreating, and also dispatched 2000 troops out of the city to join the army, including more than [-] cavalry. It is courageous.

So the army assembled and marched towards the place where the Tartars were stationed. The infantry still pushed the two-wheeled light carts in the center, and the cavalry separated to protect the two wings and advanced slowly.

When Liu Zhaoji's Ming army was less than three miles away from the Tartar camp, horns sounded suddenly, but they saw the Ming army approaching from a distance, and formed a battle formation outside the camp.

The armies of both sides moved forward and kept approaching. Liu Zhaoji saw a low rocky slope not far from the front right, and he hurriedly ordered his cavalry to seize the place quickly.

Then, he arranged cavalry to station on the mountain on horseback, infantry to form a chariot formation in the wilderness at the foot of the mountain, and another team of cavalry to cruise around the periphery.

Under the scorching sun, beside the handsome flag, Liu Zhaoji rode his horse and stood on the top of the mountain, looking down at the formation of the Tartars, he saw a sea of ​​flags in their formation.

In front of the Tartar army formation, densely packed shield chariots lined up in a row, behind the shield chariots were all Tartar cavalry wearing red or red armor with white borders.

"Humph!"

He snorted coldly, a look of contempt flashed in his eyes.

I saw the slaves in the distance pushing the shield cart in front, and their archers behind them, and there was a distinction between dead soldiers and sharp soldiers. I was too familiar with this trick.

He turned his gaze, looked at his own position, and couldn't help but feel relieved.

The layout of the Ming army set up some simple repelling trees in front of the formation, followed by chariots equipped with small Frang machines and rockets, as well as many firearms such as Baizi blunderbuss.

In the infantry formation behind, spears, swords and shields form a dense infantry formation, condescending, with their backs against the hillside, easy to defend and difficult to attack, not to mention that there are cavalry guarding behind.

More importantly, most of the soldiers under my command have experience in fighting slaves and thieves, and they know the tactics of the Tartars well. It may not be impossible to win a big victory and make great military exploits.

For a moment, Liu Zhaoji couldn't help but look forward to it!
The sound of horns sounded, and the shield chariots of the Tartars were also slowly moving forward. They seemed to be saving their energy and did not push hard. It seemed that they would only push hard when they were finally charging.

The shield carts were pushed closer and closer. Look at their shield carts. There are wheels under them and thick wooden boards in front. They are all covered with thick leather quilts and other things to cover up the bows and bullets fired from the opposite side.

However, Liu Zhaoji was disdainful in his heart. Even if the wooden boards in front of the shield chariot were covered with leather and quilts, the small Frang machine and the big hundred guns on his own chariot could still penetrate these shield chariots.

The array of Tartar bandits is getting closer and closer, the Ming army's position is silent, waiting in full force, the generals' personal guards and servants are also ordered to patrol, reminding the soldiers of the infantry battalion not to fire guns or cannons without reason without the order of the Chinese army. Violators will be beheaded on the spot.

(End of this chapter)