Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 507 Crowd
"Beep...beep beep...beep!"

Time flies, when the [-]th day of March arrived as promised, Sun Chuanting marched when Phuntsok Namgyal and other Tibetan nobles did not send any news.

The road from Nachuka to Lhasa was more than [-] miles long. Sun Chuanting did not choose to gather troops to attack Lhasa, but chose to divide his troops.

He ordered Cao Wenzhao to take 9000 cavalry to walk the primitive Gobi beach and march towards Qiangtang. He also ordered Cao Bianjiao to take a detour and march to Ladakh, Guge, Yaze and other places with [-] men and tiger squat guns.

As for the frontal battlefield, Sun Chuanting assembled [-] rifle cavalry and [-] grain cavalry cavalry and set off for Lhasa.

Not long after they set off, the nobles in Lhasa knew that the Ming army had come to Lhasa.

Due to lack of time, the Ladakh soldiers and horses who are far away have not yet arrived in Lhasa, but even so, Lhasa has gathered nearly 6 soldiers and horses, plus more than [-] slaves.

The arrival of the Little Ice River dealt a great blow to the Central Plains dynasty, but it dealt even greater blows to the nomads and plateau peoples.

In the past, the Tubo grand occasion, which frequently pulled out 10,000+ or ​​10,000+ troops, is no longer possible to appear in the current Tibetan area.

On March 22, when Sun Chuanting was less than eighty miles away from Lhasa, Phuntsok Namgyal, as the Great Khan of the Zangba Dynasty, put on his own Tibetan armor.

Outside the Potala Palace, one hundred thousand soldiers and horses were waiting for him to command, which was a huge army he had never commanded.

It would be a lie to say that he was not excited, but the sense of unknown from the Ming army made him seem extra hesitant.

He has never fought against the Ming army, but he also knows that the Ming army's combat power is very sturdy.

In the long corridor, only the windows a few steps apart can provide a little sunshine.

Phuntsok Namgyal walked through the corridor with his guards. The combination of light and shadow and Phuntsok Namgyal's serious appearance made the atmosphere particularly heavy.

When he walked out of the palace, what he saw was the boundless army gathered outside the Lasa Potala Palace.

Lhasa in March has been much warmer, but the mountains and snow in the distance still exist.

On the vast plateau, Phuntsok Namgyal didn't have any extra words, it was just a simple sentence: "Let's go"

Following his order, [-] soldiers and horses began to set off to the north, and the monks standing at the gate of the Potala Palace shook their heads when they saw this: "It's just hitting a stone with an egg..."

The monks also hoped that Phuntsok Namgyal would win so they could continue lending money, but they knew that was impossible.

They have seen the confrontation between the Ming army and other chieftains with their own eyes, and the performance of those chieftains can be said to be broken at the touch of a touch.

Now there are many soldiers and horses in Phuntsok Namgyal, but those who are qualified to wear armor are still those 4 people. The other slaves can be said to be naked, and they are not as good as the refugees of Ming Dynasty.

Bringing such a team to confront the Ming army, the fate is self-evident...

"Jinglue! Tangqi in front reports back, the direction of Lasa is covered with dust, I am afraid that the enemy army is coming with a crowd, do you want to observe it first?"

A few hours later, as the two soldiers and horses continued to advance, Danba, the general of Duogan camp, reported back to Sun Chuanting in the army.

Riding on horseback, Sun Chuanting's complexion became a little sallow due to the many days of running around, but he was still very good in spirit, after all, the decisive battle was coming.

"The ancients said that once the energy is vigorous, it will decline again, and it will be exhausted three times..."

"Phuntsok Namgyal led the army for dozens of miles, and the army was already exhausted. Let him rest at this time, and tomorrow's battle will be even more difficult."

"Don't stop, just fight directly."

Sun Chuanting knew the advantages of his troops and horses. To put it bluntly, relying on the range of [-] paces, the Ming army basically didn't need to waste physical strength to engage in short-handed combat.

Even if the journey is exhausting, they can even sit on the battlefield with a stool at such a distance, pulling the trigger and resting at the same time.

Of course, this is just a description, it is impossible to really do this.

But this is enough to show that in terms of physical strength, the Ming army did not have the high requirements required in the cold weapon era.

Unlike them, the Tibetan army, which had driven for nearly forty miles, was a little tired, and the skinny slaves kept falling behind.

For the slaves who fell behind, the means of the serf owners and nobles was to kill them directly to prevent them from escaping.

Seeing this scene, many slaves could only grit their teeth and follow the team for their own lives.

In the end, the former armies of the two armies met in the valley. The valley was less than two miles wide, and nearly a hundred paces was a wide river.

In other words, what can be used as a battlefield is actually only seven hundred paces wide.

"Sorry..."

In March, the Lasa River Valley was very windy and sandy. The horses neighed and kicked restlessly, and the people on the horses were also waiting for them.

Phuntsok Namgyal had no experience in commanding 10 people, but he also knew that putting slaves who were weak in fighting will in the former army was courting death.

Therefore, he put his own elite cavalry in the front army, the middle army was guarded by the soldiers and horses of the major chieftains, and the rear army was the supervising team and slaves.

He rode his horse from the central army to the front army. The road was very rough, and even seemed a bit narrow due to too many people.

Without a telescope, he could only use his naked eyes to judge the distance between the two armies and the strength of the Ming army.

Just by looking at it, he could clearly feel that the aura of the Ming army as a whole was stronger than any army he had ever seen.

Compared with Huang Long and Huang Fei, Sun Chuanting did a better job. The Dogan Battalion under his command only had one heavy cloth face armor, and the mandarin duck jacket was worn inside.

This kind of equipment is actually enough to meet the Ming army's street fighting.

As for the field battle, Sun Chuanting did not think that Phuntsok Namgyal could lead the army to break through his own line of guns.

"Jinglue, marching?"

Danba asked Sun Chuanting, but Sun Chuanting was looking at the military appearance of the Tibetan army with binoculars.

After watching for a long time, he finally shook his head: "The rabble..."

Crowd, this is his evaluation of Phuntsok Namgyal's most elite cavalry.

This is not to disparage Phuntsok Namgyal, but it is true.

Compared with the Eight Banners of Jianzhou, the Eight Banners of Mongolia, and even the She'an Rebellion in Guizhou, the equipment of the Tibetan army is very simple.

But it's not surprising, if Tibet was really that powerful, they wouldn't obey Daming's orders, and honestly stayed on the plateau for more than two hundred years.

"When will the herd of yaks arrive?"

"It should take another hour."

Seeing the military appearance of the Ming army, Phuntsok Namgyal, who was looking at the battlefield, suddenly turned dark.

The morale of the Ming army in the north is like a rainbow, and looking at the state of the army here, it is sluggish...

Seeing the morale of the army, Phuntsok Namgyal was a little dissatisfied immediately.

It's one thing to be able to fight well, but from the beginning you don't even have the courage to fight, so what's the point?
Cowards, real cowards!

"Retreat ten miles first, retreat to Gurong River Bend, and wait for the yak herd to drive over before attacking with the whole army."

"Yes!"

Phuntsok Namgyal was dissatisfied with his own morale, but his dissatisfaction could not change anything.

He never thought that the Tibetan army could directly defeat the Ming army, so he was entrusted with the yak herd.

Although it is said that hundreds of thousands of yaks cannot be produced, only [-] to [-] yaks can be produced in Lhasa alone.

Using a herd of yaks to charge into the formation was the only way Phuntsok Namgyal could think of to disrupt the Ming army formation.

However, it is not easy to use a herd of yaks to charge the battle. He also made a lot of preparations in the early stage.

"Jinglue, the rebel army has started to retreat, I am afraid there is a fraud."

"Don't worry about it, chase..."

As Phuntso Namgyal led the troops to retreat, Zhou Xun who was beside Sun Chuanting reminded Sun Chuanting, but Sun Chuanting only calmly ordered the pursuit.

As a general, Sun Chuanting knows one thing very well, that is, with the advancement of firearms, it will be the main trend in the future to open large formations and fight frontally.

Conspiracies and tricks may be used, but they can no longer play a decisive role.

As long as there is no interference from the rear, head-on confrontation is the key to victory.

Just like the war between the Ming army and the later Jin Dynasty, the frontal battlefield cannot be won, and no matter how many years of guerrilla warfare in the rear, it cannot prevent the defeat of the war.

The noon sun shines high on the river valley, but when the icy wind blows, people still can't help feeling a little bit of chill.

Under such circumstances, the two armies advanced and retreated, and quickly retreated ten miles, arriving at a relatively wide river bend.

Compared with the previous river valley, which was only less than two miles away, this river bend is a full three miles wide, which is enough to give full play to the advantages of the Tibetan army.

"The rebels should fight here and bring up the artillery."

"Yes!"

Sun Chuanting saw Phuntsok Namgyal's thoughts and arranged them accordingly.

The form of the two armies is obvious. The Tibetan army will definitely launch an attack because they are the defensive side, and they have a large number of people and consume a lot of food and grass. However, the Ming army has many choices.

Whether it's garrisoning in place, or attacking or retreating, the Ming army can afford it.

Compared with the Ming army, the Tibetan army can't afford it at all.

Their land is basically cultivated by slaves, and there are [-] slaves gathered here. If they don't cultivate, the food in Tibet will not be enough.

Even if they were put back to farm, it would be very difficult for the Tibetan area to maintain the rations of [-] troops.

"Rumble..."

Suddenly, a dull voice sounded, Sun Chuanting held up the binoculars suspiciously, and Zhou Xun also directed the artillery forward.

The Ming army did not carry too many artillery pieces, only [-] Yanshan five-jin cannons, but this was enough.

"They want to use the Fire Bull Formation."

Sun Chuanting saw groups of yaks squeezed out of the dust and the crowd, and saw that these yaks had sharp knives tied to their horns and some sewn leather armor on their bodies.

The thousands of yaks that lead the battle all have this shape, but the subsequent yaks do not have such a configuration.

"Jing Lue, this..." Zhou Xun was a little dumb, not knowing how to deal with the herds of yaks that rushed between the two armies, but Sun Chuanting remained calm.

"Throughout the ages, there have been countless people who have used the Fire Bull Formation, but the only two successful examples are Tian Dan and Wang De. The former broke the enemy and the latter broke through."

"It's just that the book "Martial Arts General Essentials" once said that "the cow will run forward in shock, and the enemy will be in chaos, so you can take advantage of it."

"If our army is not chaotic, this fire ox array is just adding meat to the army."

Sun Chuanting explained the reason for his calmness, that is, the Ming army's formation would not be disturbed by the charge of the fire ox formation, so the fire ox formation could not rush the Ming army's formation at all.

During the Warring States Period, Tian Dan set up a formation of fire bulls, defeated the Yan army, and the Qi State was restored. This legendary story was recorded in "Zuo Zhuan", so many generals who had read books followed suit.

Some storytellers also bragged about Yang Liulang's deeds in "The Generals of the Yang Family" using the Fire Bull Formation to defeat the Liao soldiers. As a result, a group of generals began to use the Fire Bull Formation.

During the Anshi Rebellion, Fang Guan, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty who claimed to be a "knowledgeable soldier", used the fire bull formation when he fought back against the rebels in Chang'an.

Shao Qing, a green forest thug in the Southern Song Dynasty, also used the Fire Bull Array when he was besieged by officers and soldiers. As a result, it was self-defeating. Most of the out-of-control cattle rushed to his own people, and the officers and soldiers wiped out Shao Qing effortlessly.

Not only the ancient army, even in modern times, there were still people using the fire bull array during World War II, and the cows turned around and rushed their own side.

Sun Chuanting's words were concise and to the point, and at the same time, he slapped many generals who were dead scholars in the face.

The function of the fire ox array is mainly to disturb the enemy, make them panic, and create opportunities for large troops to charge. It is not only unrealistic but also absurd to imagine that a group of cattle alone can defeat the enemy.

Moreover, the range and power of crossbows in the Warring States Period did not do much damage to the cattle, and the cattle could naturally rush forward against the rain of arrows after suffering pain.

But the problem is that now is the age of firearms, and a yak in leather armor can't hold the breech-loading bullets and artillery of the Ming army.

Not to mention that the Fire Bull Formation is only effective for an army with weak cohesion. After all, the cohesion is not strong. When the cows collide, they will disperse like birds and beasts, but the regular army will not be like this. Pain to run back.

Therefore, for Sun Chuanting, if Phuntsok Namgyal hadn't prepared for the backhand, then I'm afraid this battle will be like this.

"ignition!"

"Mu—"

On the Tibetan army's formation, with the cotton oil from the tails of some Tibetan army yaks ignited, the frightened yaks immediately began to charge towards the Ming army.

At the same time, the Tibetan army also placed carts full of sand in front of the army. Obviously, Phuntsok Namgyal was fully prepared for the herd to turn back.

Sun Chuanting looked at this scene and shook his head, thinking that he had missed an opportunity, but he was not discouraged, but calmly ordered:
"The artillery is filled with shotguns, and the enemy counterattacks with the riflemen after three hundred steps away from our army."

"Yes!"

Zhou Xun and Danba began to order Tangqi to send orders to the whole army. At the same time, the [-] artillery pieces on the artillery positions were also loaded with shotguns, and the riflemen were loaded with bullets.

The distance of one mile is only a dozen breaths for the frightened yaks, so when they rushed into the range of the Ming army, the artillery of the Ming army fired...

"Bang bang bang-"

There were bursts of gunfire in the valley. Some slaves of the Tibetan army had never heard the sound of artillery, and thought it was the anger of the gods, so they knelt down one after another.

However, the eye-catching battlefield is not on the slaves, but on the yak herd.

In just a split second, three hundred artillery pieces and thousands of rifles fired shotguns and bullets like a shower, and the thin leather armor couldn't stop the bullets at all.

When the gunfire stopped, the herd of yaks fell down one after another like harvesting wheat, and then caused the yaks behind to fall down one by one.

The yaks in the Tibetan area do not have the conditions for the rear army horses. The yaks without artillery scare training start to turn around when the artillery fires, and the moment their companions fall down, they are afraid even before rushing into the Ming army's position for [-] steps. Turned back.

The Tibetan army has no artillery, and their equipment is basically cold weapons. In terms of firearms, they only have a few hundred matchlock guns. Therefore, when the yaks turn back and charge, they can only hope for the baggage carts and spears.

"Mu!"

"Boom bang bang-"

For a while, the returning yaks collided with the baggage truck. Although it did not disturb the Tibetan army's position, Phuntsok Namgyal's expression was not good.

He tested the firepower of the Ming army with a herd of yaks, but after seeing the firepower of the Ming army, he retreated in his heart.

"Actually... there is nothing wrong with surrendering."

Phuntsok Namgyal was beating drums in his heart, but the surrounding nobles could not surrender. They all suggested to Phuntsok Namgyal:
"The fire ox is still effective. The Ming army needs to rest for a long time after firing the artillery once. We can use a small amount of yaks to stop their artillery, and then let the cavalry charge while the artillery stops."

The Tibetan army did not have the idea of ​​using shield vehicles, because this style of play did not exist in their tactics.

Whether they are Mongols or Jurchens, those who can learn the fighting style of the Ming army's chariot formation, the prerequisite for them to learn is that they have fought against the Ming army and suffered from the chariot formation.

But for the Tibetan army, which has kept its law and order for more than 200 years, how could they dare to fight the Ming army?

Hou Xian and Liu Zhao brought hundreds of people into Tibet and they could send 10,000+ slaves to build post stations and post roads.

The only ones in Tibet who dared to attack the Ming army were the wild Tibetans in the Qiangtang area. They actually plundered the Ming army patrolling Uzang.

But they are all attacking small groups of people, and they dare not attack large groups.

In addition, the chariot formation only rose during the Wanli period, and the last time the Ming army patrolled the border was in the Zhengde period, so it is even more impossible for the Tibetan army to know how to use the chariot formation.

The car formation is not just about pushing the car forward, the formation coordination is particularly critical.

Using a shield car without knowing this can be said to be a simple target.

Phuntsok Namgyal didn't want to fight anymore, but the nobles under him kept encouraging him.

He knew very well that if he didn't continue to fight, the nobles would definitely hold him hostage.

This was the case in the Tang Dynasty. Even if the Jiedu envoy wanted to surrender, the generals below held him up and refused to let him surrender.

Now Phuntsok Namgyal is also experiencing this kind of experience. Faced with such a situation, he can only grit his teeth and order: "Prepare to appease the yaks and march again."

"Yes!" The nobles were so excited that they sent people to appease the yaks.

After a quarter of an hour, the yaks quieted down, and the Ming army never fired solid bullets.

Sun Chuanting wants to completely solve the Tibetan army here, and his chance will come at this moment.

"ignition!"

"Mu—"

It was still the old-fashioned way of charging into battle, but this time the Tibetan army started to move. They marched along both sides of the river and divided into two groups, leaving the middle road for the yaks to turn back.

In such a situation, the yak rushed to the front of the Ming army.

"put!"

"Boom bang bang-"

The artillery broke out fiercely, and without accident, the Fire Bull Formation was broken again, but at the same time, [-] Tibetan troops along the two sides of the river had already approached the Ming army at a distance of less than [-] paces.

"Go to the hundred paces and shoot again. After the defeat of this unit, the cavalry is ready to charge." Sun Chuanting looked at the Tibetan army indifferently, thinking that the opportunity to fight had arrived.

In front of him, Tibetan cavalry and infantry rushed into the Ming army's position a hundred paces away, shouting some slang.

"Defend the Bodhisattva, defend the Lhasa! Follow along!"

"Hold the knife steady, as long as the Ming army on the opposite side is eliminated, everyone will reward you with a tael of silver!"

Some nobles and serf owners of the Tibetan army roared loudly and kept waving their long knives.

Looking at the soldiers of the Ming army on the opposite side, there was a bit of bloodlust on their faces. It seemed to them that the short soldiers of the Han people were very weak. As long as they rushed into the army formation, victory was in sight...

"Bang bang bang-"

"hiss……"

The Ming army's shooting started, and the Tibetan army was beaten to the ground for a while.

At a distance of one hundred steps, some Tibetan cavalrymen were killed by bullets before they even started to bend their bows and set arrows.

There are tens of thousands of horse troops in this era, no matter from what level, they are all very powerful.

Of course, the premise is that their opponent is not the Ming army...

Just like right now, this group of Tibetan cavalry wearing armor is being slaughtered overwhelmingly at this moment.

This round of close-range shooting caused heavy casualties to the Tibetan army. More than a dozen nobles were killed on the spot, and countless other grassroots generals were killed and injured.

The cavalry continued to panic, and the momentum of the charge dropped sharply, while Phuntsok Namgyal and a large number of nobles who stayed in place seemed to be frozen when they watched the scene in front of them.

The mentality of the Tibetan army has gradually collapsed. Although they rushed into the distance of fifty steps and could already see the appearance of the Ming army, the ensuing bullets stopped them from advancing.

"Bang bang bang-"

The pungent smell of gunpowder smoke became a symbol of hell. Thousands of bullets at such a short distance, carrying unparalleled speed, broke through the armor and penetrated into the body of the Tibetan army. Countless people fell on the road of charge superior.

Almost an entire row of Tibetan troops fell to the ground. It is conservatively estimated that the number of casualties exceeded two thousand...

After such a round of blows, the cavalry of the Tibetan army fell into complete collapse.

"withdraw!"

"retreat!"

The nobles were no longer brave, but turned their horses' heads in fear to try to retreat. They shot arrows to prevent the Ming army from shooting, but the arrows could do too little damage to the Ming army's musketeers.

At a distance of fifty steps, unless it is a strong man who can open a ten-power bow, even if the arrow hits the face, it will be blocked by the bones.

Of course, the Tibetan army still caused a lot of casualties to the Ming army, but the Ming army was not just infantry.

"drive!"

The Duogan Battalion was dominated by cavalry, so when Sun Chuanting gave the order, [-] breech-loading cavalrymen who were ready to go began to charge.

They crossed the artillery position and the direction of the infantry, rode their horses to kill the fleeing Tibetan army, and while galloping, they unhurriedly loaded the bullets and pulled the trigger.

"Bang bang bang-"

On the battlefield full of gunpowder, the battle between the Ming and Tibetan armies was presented in front of Phuntsok Namgyal and others with the Ming army's one-sided massacre as a result.

(End of this chapter)