Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 286

"Sorry..."

When the panting of war horses, the whistling of the wind, and the fluttering of flags began to echo on the grassland, both Han and Mongol soldiers became vigilant.

On the bright banners on both sides, one is high and the other is low, and standing below are the chief generals of the two armies.

One is the self-proclaimed descendant of the golden family, the thirty-fifth great Khan of the Mongolian Empire, and the khan name is Hutuktu Khan, Borjijin Lindan Batur.

One is the prince of the Han Dynasty who controls the most soldiers and horses in the world since Qin Wang Li Shimin, Qi Wang Zhu Youjian.

The distance between the two is only three or four miles. Although they cannot see each other, the rattling banners remind each other who is under the banner.

Condescending, Lin Danhan can clearly see all the soldiers and horses of the Ming army.

However, the cavalry force of less than [-] people, although they are all iron cavalry, has no artillery.

And Lin Danhan is not bad here, [-] rangers and [-] iron cavalry, [-] troops against [-] troops, the advantage lies in him...

"how?"

Lin Danhan fixed his eyes on Zhu Youjian's banner, and asked Wan Hu beside him without looking back.

Upon hearing the sound, Wan Hu replied: "The rear army of the Ming army is still [-] miles away, and the front army is [-] miles away. They will stay with us for at least three quarters of an hour."

"Surround them with a cart!" Lin Danhan rode on horseback and greeted Wan Hu who was next to him, and after hearing this, Wan Hu immediately looked at the trumpeter next to him.

"Ugh-"

The dull horn sounded, and other horn players who heard the sound also blew their horns.

In an instant, thousands of households who understood the order began to line up on the wide low slope, and at the same time in the formation of the Ming army, Zhu Youjian could clearly understand the opponent's thoughts at a glance:

"This tiger crouching on a rabbit can also use Chexuan, which I didn't expect, but it seems that the formation of Chexuan is used to deal with us, but it seems a bit self-inflicted."

Zhu Youjian, who mocked Lin Danhan, turned his head and told the flag officer: "Wave the army flag, and make a defensive attack formation map."

"Take orders!" The flag officer immediately blew the wooden whistle in his mouth, and then the twelve soldiers on the left and right began to wave the military flag, conveying the message to each army in the form of semaphore.

Twelve military flags about ten feet high were waving, especially conspicuous on the battlefield.

As soon as the military flag was waved, the thousands of households and flag bearers who were always paying attention to this side immediately understood that the wooden whistle sounded, and after three whistles, it changed from chaos to a uniform and rhythmic military whistle.

The army began to line up, and the horse-drawn carriages and horse-drawn carriages left behind by Cao Meng and others were lined up on the front, back, left, and right sides. The cavalry in the formation dismounted and took off the rifles on their backs.

The two thousand cavalry outside the formation quickly withdrew to the rear, waiting for the enemy's defeat to pursue and encircle.

With less than [-] troops, he still wants to defeat the opponent and pursue the encirclement and suppression. This is not because Zhu Youjian has confidence in himself, but in his own formation and chariot formation.

When the number of enemy troops is several times that of our own, and there are also a large number of triple armored cavalry, although the straight cavalry can defeat the opponent, the casualties are absolute.

Therefore, what to do at this time is to use the car array and rifles to fight back!
"kill--"

The sound of rumbling horseshoes echoed in the low ground, and more than [-] cavalry rushed down from the low slope in a formation of carts, trying to surround the Ming army.

The actions of the two thousand cavalry who kept retreating, and the Longxiang guards who dismounted and formed a chariot formation, were clearly seen by Lin Danhan on the short slope.

"The Ming army wants to form a train formation, Bateer charges first, and cuts a gap."

"The bird guns of the Ming army can shoot at most eighty steps, and they can wear triple armor at twenty steps. Don't be afraid of them. The rangers spread out and shoot in circles to interfere with their riflemen."

"Woooo~~~"

Lin Danhan's military orders continued to be issued, and the horn players around him also began to change their orders.

The melodious horn players sounded continuously. Compared with their continuous horn players, the wooden whistle that the Ming army rang sharply once in a while seemed very thin.

It's just that under this kind of thinness, the soldiers of the Ming army lined up in an orderly manner, arranging the carts into a large square formation, and blocking the wheels with wooden pegs that blocked the wheels.

Immediately afterwards, except for the riflemen in the first row, all the soldiers began to hold their rifles and rods, waiting to change the guns for the riflemen in the first row.

Twenty thousand troops rushed towards them, but they were not in a panic, not even a single person was in a hurry.

After all, the Shangzhi Four Cavalry Guards were soldiers and horses who had experienced the encirclement and suppression of rebels, the recovery of Liao, and the sweep of Hetao. They had experienced too many battles.

Compared with the [-] ragged Beilu cavalry and the Jianlu cavalry they had collided face to face, they were really too weak.

No one worried that they would be broken, because the chariot formation they used was the pinnacle of restraining cavalry created by Yu Dayou and improved by Qi Jiguang.

"Boom--"

The sound of the horse's hooves stepping lightly on the ground is not heavy, but if the sound is tens of thousands, then it is different.

The heavy trampling of horseshoes was like spring thunder before the rain, accompanied by the sound of horns and wooden whistles of the two armies getting louder and louder.

Twenty thousand cavalry are slowly approaching the Ming army's chariot formation. Their number is basically three times that of the Ming army, and the Ming army in the chariot formation is not chaotic at all. They have confidence in themselves!
When the distance between the two was only one mile, the Mongolian rangers began to spread, trying to extend to the left and right sides, trying to surround the Ming army's chariot formation, while the triple-armored Bateer elite stopped when they were [-] steps away.

Before a cup of tea, the Mongolian cavalry surrounded more than [-] Ming troops under Zhu Youjian's command, and then began to urge the horses to ride and shoot in a circle amid the sound of the horn commanded by Lin Danhan.

Chahar's cavalry were equipped with two or three bows, three huge quiveres filled with arrows, an ax and a rope for dragging weapons.

The leader of the army should carry a machete with a sharp point but only one edge, and put it in a beautiful scabbard.

Among them, as the elite of Battelle (warrior), seven thousand cavalry in triple armor, in addition to the above, all the horses they ride have simple leather body armor.

The body armor of the horse is composed of five parts, with a piece of armor on each side of the horse, covering the horse's head.

Another piece of armor is placed on the horse's rump, and is fastened to the side armor. A hole is left in this piece of armor so that the horse's tail can protrude from the hole. The last piece of armor is on the horse's chest.

On the horse's forehead they also put an iron plate, and tied it to the armor on both sides.

Although it is leather armor, some signs of the Ming army's half-armored cavalry can be seen.

Compared with them, Shangzhi's vest is basically made of cloth face armor, without the heaviness of the outfit, taking into account the lightness of the ranger.

Therefore, when they were surrounded, the two thousand straight cavalry sent by Zhu Youjian easily escaped the encirclement and began to cruise around the periphery of the encirclement.

Although their number is only [-], they seem to be able to handle the encirclement of [-] with ease.

During the period, it was not that no Mongolian cavalry tried to shoot them, but before the group of Mongolian cavalry raised their bows, a burst of white smoke and crisp noise appeared, taking away fresh lives.

The armor-piercing ability of riding a blunderbuss is much stronger than that of a riding bow that can only be face-to-face...

"No wonder the tiger squatting rabbit thinks it can eat us, so it turns out that it has something to rely on..."

Zhu Youjian looked around with binocular clairvoyance on horseback, and he could clearly see the armor of the Chahar cavalry, which was very delicately made.

Take the willow-leaf armor worn by the elite 8 Bateer cavalry as an example. They are first made into a number of iron sheets that are one finger wide and one palm long, and eight small holes are drilled in each iron sheet.

They placed 3 strong and narrow straps as a basis, and then placed these pieces of iron one by one on top of another, so that they overlapped each other, and tied them together by passing a thin leather thread through the above-mentioned small hole. On 3 straps.

On the upper end they tied a leather wire to connect these iron sheets together firmly. In this way, they used these iron sheets to make an iron sheet belt, and then connected these iron sheet belts together to make a All parts of the iron armor.

They joined these parts to make iron armor to protect people and horses.They polished the iron sheet so brightly that they could even reflect figures on the iron sheet.

The [-] Bateer cavalry troops completely resembled the Mongolian iron cavalry that dominated Eurasia four hundred years ago.

If Lin Dan Khan had such [-] cavalry in the original history, maybe he could kill Huang Taiji and realize his dream of unifying Mongolia.

It's a pity that times have changed, he can't have [-] Battelle elite cavalry, and the cavalry and archery they are proud of will eventually be abandoned by the times.

"Wandering to test." Seeing that the position had just converged completely, Lin Danhan immediately issued a military order.

"Woooo..."

The horn began to sound, and under his command, Chahar's ranger started a spiral projectile of the car suspension.

They began to gallop on horseback like a vortex, and ran like a horse racing circle, like a deep vortex, while the Ming army was a sea eye, at the center of the vortex.

While running and walking, they kept squeezing the space of the Ming army. Seeing that the throwing distance had been reached, many Mongols took out four arrows from their quiver and held the arrows between their fingers.

A qualified Mongolian archer can shoot these four heavy arrows within five seconds. The only question now is whether the armor-piercing heavy arrows that the Mongols rely on can cause damage to the Ming army!

"Beep!"

Two whistles sounded, and the chief banner officers of Longxiang Guard's banners waved their command flags. In an instant, the [-] Longxiang Guards in the formation were united as one, raising their firecrackers one after another.

Being able to do this kind of preparation uniformly in an instant made the Mongolian cavalrymen who were approaching gradually break down in a cold sweat.

This is probably the most elite army they have experienced since they went south, even more elite than the Jurchen cavalry.

"Beep-"

"Clap clap clap clap..."

With the arrival at a distance of sixty steps, the chief banner officers blew their whistles one after another and issued orders to attack.

Behind the chariot formation, thousands of Longxiang Guards musketeers who raised their guns pulled the triggers one after another, and the flying bullets were like cutting wheat, cutting off the lives of hundreds of Chahar rangers and causing them to fall off their horses. down, and was trampled to death by his own cavalry.

The Ming army unhurriedly handed the firecrackers to the people behind, took the firecrackers and continued to shoot, while the people behind began to skillfully clear the chamber, charge the powder, and fill in the lead bullets.

The sound of musket crackling continued, and in less than five breaths, they fired three rounds of volleys, and the Mongols only now began to throw armor-piercing arrows.

Accompanied by the sound of the air being cut, arrows shot into the sky, hitting like a shower.

The soldiers of Long Xiangwei half-kneeled on the ground, hooked their heads, trying to reduce the area of ​​force on themselves, and most of the arrows shot on the armor of the Ming army.

The arrow pierced deeply into the armor, but it could only penetrate part of the first-layer armor, and had no effect on the Ming army with three-layer armor.

However, there are also unlucky Ming soldiers who were shot in the eye, injured and retreated...

There was a gap in the sound of "cracking" muskets, and the loading speed of the rear row gradually slowed down under the pressure of the rain of arrows. The riflemen in the first row could also clearly sense that the Mongolian cavalry was constantly approaching their own vehicles. .

Despite the hindrance of the fallen horse, their chariot projectiles began to become flat shots with distance.

Once they reached the distance where they could shoot flat, the first row of rifles only had to squat down, relying on the carts in the car formation to protect themselves, and took the rifles after a few breaths and stood up to shoot.

This was an intentional raid, but Zhu Youjian abruptly turned it into a trench warfare.

The chariot formation became a simple fortification between the Ming army and the Mongolian cavalry, but it was this simple fortification that became an insurmountable moat for both sides.

The distance between the two sides was only more than twenty steps. At such a distance, the riflemen of the Ming army did not need to aim at all. Instead, they squatted behind the cart and raised their guns with both hands to shoot.

This shooting method is very similar to the picture of a chimpanzee shooting with an AK held high in later generations, but it is undeniable that the real battlefield does not have so much time for soldiers to aim.

In the Ming army's position, the guns do not need to be aimed, and the trigger can be pulled after being raised horizontally. Each gun can harvest the life of a Mongolian cavalry or injure it.

But the Ming army was also uncomfortable. Even if the armor-piercing arrows shot at twenty steps could not penetrate the triple armor, it would not be uncomfortable to be hit by an arrow.

A tightness in the chest is not bad, but if you meet a rider who likes to use a strong bow, the force of the arrow shot will crack the ribs of the Ming army who hit the arrow.

"Humph……"

As rounds of arrows flew towards them, Longxiang's guards were also hit by arrows one after another. From time to time, when they encountered powerful arrows, they couldn't help but groan.

"Battle charged!"

On the low slope, when Lin Danhan looked at the dead and wounded on his side, he also saw the close distance between the two sides.

He gave the order to charge, and the sound of the horns on both sides also began to change suddenly.

"Woooo-"

The sound of the trumpet sounded, and some Mongolian rangers on the left and right began to disperse consciously, revealing an empty field of tens of feet.

Just at the same time as it was exposed, some Mongolian rangers began to strengthen the arrow rain against the Ming army's musketeers at the gap.

"They want to charge, but it's okay, the army can prepare to shoot a round."

Zhu Youjian, who realized something was wrong, was still calm and relaxed, because the casualties of the Ming army were still within controllable range, and the casualties of the Mongols were several times that of the Ming army.

One round of firing was an order for everyone to stand up and prepare to run out of rifle ammunition.

One round of shooting is enough to destroy the Mongolian Rangers...

"Beep! Beep—"

The harsh whistle sounded, and the rhythmic whistle was heard by many hundred households and chief banner officers, and they also took the lead in standing up.

The chaotic sound of "hum" sounded, and the four thousand dragon guard cavalry in armor got up in the mode of half kneeling in the first row, standing in the second group, and filling ammunition in the third and fourth rows.

The arrows flying like locust rocks instantly shot the riflemen in the front row into hedgehogs, but the riflemen were also prepared to protect their cheeks with gauntlets.

As long as the cheek is not in the middle, other places will at best be unable to withstand the force and fracture.

The fighter plane is often only in an instant. When the whistle of "beep" sounds, the Ming army in the first row and the second batch pull the trigger in an instant.

"Clap clap clap-"

Smoke lingered in the car formation, and the lead bullets that flew out instantly smashed the Mongolian ranger who was only ten steps away.

Like straw after autumn and leeks after rain, a group of Mongolian rangers who were flamboyant just a second ago encountered the Waterloo of life.

The Mongolian cavalry in the rear was still throwing fire, but suddenly saw the comrades in front fell down, and before they could react, the Ming army's musketeers changed their guns and fired again.

"Bang bang bang-"

The dense lead bullets shot out instantly broke the morale of the Chahar rangers, and everyone began to squeeze back, while the Battelle heavy cavalry, who was trying to charge, was forced to stop by the commotion ahead.

"Fire the arrows, and the outer cavalry burst into battle"

Zhu Youjian looked sideways at the flag officer next to him, and the other party immediately took out the hand crossbow that was placed aside.

The other twelve flag bearers took out their hand crossbows one after another, and pulled the trigger against the sky.

"Wh... bang bang bang—"

The sound of arrows sounded, and the [-] Ming army cavalry cruising around the periphery no longer hesitated, and immediately launched a surprise attack on the Chahar rangers who were still unsure of the situation and retreated.

Almost at the same time, the sound of "booming" horseshoes also appeared on the northern horizon.

The sudden change of the situation on the battlefield changed Lin Danhan's face on the low slope. He first observed the white mist rising neatly in the formation of the Ming army, and then saw the Ming army cavalry launch a surprise attack.

Of course, the appearance of the cavalry in the north also attracted his attention, which made him wonder whether Du Lenghong didn't follow his military orders.

It's just that the battlefield is changing rapidly, and he doesn't dare to bet on whether he can break the formation, whether the reinforcements from the north are the vanguard of the Ming army or the soldiers returning to the reinforcements.

"withdraw!"

Lin Danhan gave the order with an ugly face, and Wan Hu immediately led the people to stop the sound of the horn, and began to Humai instead.

The sound of Humai from thousands of people echoed in the low ground, which gave Bateer Jingqi, who was in a dilemma, the backbone, and began to retreat towards the low slope.

Seeing their elite retreating, the other rangers also began to retreat.

As soon as they retreated, Long Xiangwei's two thousand cavalry stepped up their pursuit, and upon seeing this, Sun Shoufa hurriedly bowed and said:

"Your Highness, the last general requests to lead the troops in pursuit!"

"No need..." Zhu Youjian raised his hand to stop his thoughts, but sent an order:
"Change the sentry order, the cavalry should return to the main formation, and don't catch up with the low slope."

"The last general takes the order!" The commander Long Xiangwei next to him accepted the order, while Sun Shoufa was anxious after being rejected.

However, Zhu Youjian frowned and persuaded: "That place is a low slope, and we are short of troops. Forcibly rushing up the low slope will only result in heavy casualties."

"The main meal for sweeping north is Horqin's captives, not Chahar."

"The general understands..." Sun Shoufa could only suppress his temper when he heard Zhu Youjian's explanation.

Naturally, following Zhu Youjian's order, the Ming army cavalry began to stop chasing, and Lin Danhan on the short slope looked at the corpses of Chahar cavalry densely packed around the car formation, feeling as uncomfortable as eating shit.

"withdraw!"

Without hesitation, there is no time for him to tangle right now, Lin Dan Khan ordered the withdrawal of the army, and the army began to break out to the northwest.

"Send out the sentry cavalry, harvest the heads, count the casualties, and send the Tang cavalry to let the military doctors of the rear army go north quickly."

Seeing Lin Danhan's withdrawal, Zhu Youjian glanced at Sun Shoufa, and Sun Shoufa also accepted the order, and turned around to deal with these matters.

Zhu Youjian got off his horse and went to see the dead and wounded soldiers who were dragged from the front line to the Chinese army.

However, after walking dozens of steps, as the hooves of the Chahar cavalry gradually drifted away, the wailing of the soldiers began to ring in his ears.

On the trolley of the Chinese army, many soldiers lying on the trolley were unarmored, and most of them were shot in the face and hands.

The hands are okay, but the face is a little troublesome.

Zhu Youjian frowned and glanced around, only to find that no fewer than two hundred people had been hit by the arrow.

This kind of battle damage is normal for the Waigongwei Battalion, but it is a bit big for Shangzhi.

There were only fifty or so military doctors in Long Xiangwei's army. Treating these two hundred people kept them busy. As the commander-in-chief, Zhu Youjian could only be responsible for ensuring the logistics.

"Use the spirits accompanying the army to disinfect."

Zhu Youjian explained to the commander next to him, and the commander immediately ordered someone to bring the drinks.

The wailing made Zhu Youjian feel uncomfortable, so he frowned, turned and left the place, and commanded the army to withdraw from the car formation, and began to harvest the heads as military exploits.

When the army was harvesting, the cavalry in the north also rushed to the front of the formation:
"Your Highness! Commander Cao sent me to lead Qianqi to support, but the support is slow. Please punish me, Your Highness!"

"Innocent" Zhu Youjian helped up Qianhu who got off his horse and knelt in front of him and said:
"You guys are already here very fast, how is the vanguard?"

"Returning to Your Highness, the northern prisoner withdrew three miles away, as if he wanted to hold back our army." Qianhu bowed in response, and Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, patted him and said:

"Rest for a quarter of an hour and go northward with the cavalry of the Wuxiangwei Left Army and return to the vanguard army. The rear army will soon follow."

"The last general takes orders!" Hearing this, Qianhu of the right army could only retreat obediently.

Sun Shoufa, who was in charge of cleaning the battlefield, returned to him with the number of battlefield cleanings after Zhu Youjian appeased Qianhu of the Wu Xiangwei Army.

"Your Highness, there were [-] people who were shot and fell off their horses. Those tigers squatting like rabbits are in pain."

Sun Shoufa rode forward with the list to announce the good news, but Zhu Youjian nodded when he heard the sound, and asked, "What about us?"

"One hundred and eighty-five people were seriously injured, thirty-four people were injured and disabled, and fifty-seven people were killed in battle. The total number of casualties was [-]." Sun Shoufa replied, but the battle loss ratio was [-] to [-]. It also made Zhu Youjian feel a little relieved.

The result of the cavalry storming the car formation is equivalent to the light infantry storming the bunker, and it is normal for the casualties to vary greatly.

However, Zhu Youjian did not expect that the Chahar Rangers would be so strong that they collapsed after suffering nearly [-]% of the casualties.

With a sigh, Zhu Youjian's thoughts also returned to the battlefield.

More than [-] people died in the battle here, and if Cao Meng's side is added, there may be no less than [-] to [-] people.

With the loss of nearly one-sixth of Chahar's troops, I am afraid that Lin Dan Khan's authority will be completely wiped out.

But it’s okay, the split Chahar Department is more beneficial to the Ming army, and they will be busy with internal fighting and will not go to support Horqin.

Now it is enough to deal with Horqin and Huang Taiji who may come to support him...

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian squinted his eyes, as if he was thinking about how to send Huang Taiji to meet his ancestor Aixinjueluo Dongshan in advance.

After a while, he turned his head and glanced at the army, and at the same time ordered:
"Take the wounded soldiers back to the rear for treatment. The army continues to go north, and the sentry rides far away. Tell Cao Meng to drive these northern captives to the northern foot of Harawen Mountain!"

　We will have an online meeting this afternoon, starting at one o'clock, and I don't know when it will end.

　　Not sure about the afternoon update...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)