The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 13 The Key
With the roar of the artillery on the top of the slope, the originally clear situation became unpredictable again.

Cao Wenzhao's face was ashen, he did not expect that there would be artillery in the bandit army.

The high-intensity fight lasted for so long, and people could still sustain it, but the horses under their seats couldn't last long.

The elite cavalry in the bandit army followed closely behind, and the rear of the bandit's formation was tight, and it was impossible to rush in.

At the end of the crossbow, it is impossible to penetrate Lu Jin, let alone attack a well-organized military formation.

The expression on Cao Wenzhao's face was constantly changing, and his mind was thinking about the solution quickly, but he still found nothing.

In the bandit cavalry team that just broke through, more than a dozen famous soldiers fell in the charge, and there were only about [-] cavalry behind him, after all, the number was too small.

The cavalry that he had just encountered was stronger than the left-wing cavalry in terms of morale and combat power. He mistakenly thought that the left was the main direction of attack, and he never thought that it was just a fancy embroidered pillow. Although there are many people, they are actually mobs.

The real army formation of the bandits was arranged on the right wing, Cao Wenzhao, who was following the cavalry, could clearly see that many of them were wearing the armor of the frontier army, and they were probably from the frontier army.

Chen Wang has been staring at Cao Wenzhao since the cannon fired, hoping that he can find a way to restore the situation again.

But in the end Chen Wang couldn't find any answer on Cao Wenzhao's face.

Chen Wang's heart sank slowly, he knew that Cao Wenzhao might not be able to think of a way to break the situation.

Cao Wenzhao is a cavalry general. He used to be a guerrilla in Liaodong. He is good at cavalry tactics. The infantry has always been led by his nephew Cao Dingjiao.

All the elite cavalry in the army were taken away by Cao Bianjiao. It is hard for a clever woman to cook without rice. It is already a miracle that the situation can be changed to what it is now.

Chen Wang glanced back at the bandit cavalry not far behind him, and then turned his gaze back to the official road.

He just saw a shell that seemed to land not far from the side of the Chinese army's banner, causing the army to be in chaos for a while, but it has calmed down now, presumably Cao Dingjiao stabilized the situation.

However, the elite infantry of the thieves launched an offensive at this moment, slowly pressing down on the official road.

The reason why they didn't launch an attack immediately was just to wait for a few more rounds of artillery bombardment to lower the morale of the Ming army, and then break through the Ming army's formation in one go.

No matter how high the morale of the army is, it can't withstand the bombardment. It only takes a few rounds of bombardment, and the army formation will fall apart. Most of them have suffered from artillery, and they all know it very well.

"General!"

Chen Wang gritted his teeth, yanked his horsewhip, and galloped towards Cao Wenzhao. He was only a few steps away from Cao Wenzhao.

In the current situation, only a dead horse can be a living horse doctor first.

Hearing the shout, Cao Wenzhao turned his head to look at Chen Wang. He remembered Chen Wang and recognized Chen Wang.

This family member who has been following him since Liaodong is extremely brave and skilled in bow and horse.

Following him through dozens of battles, there are seven Jiannu heads in the army, and one of them is a white armored soldier.

It is not an easy task to win the first rank in fighting Jiannu. The lives of Chen Wang's subordinates have already broken double ten in Liaodong.

After entering the customs, Chen Wang's military exploits are still outstanding, he won 32 heads, killed more enemies, probably over a hundred.

He had also thought about promoting Chen Wang and assigning Chen Wang to be the general manager or the general manager.

But Chen Wang has always been taciturn and lonely, he doesn't talk to others very much, and he seldom socializes on weekdays.

After much deliberation, in the end Cao Wenzhao still didn't promote him, but just gave Chen Wang more military pay.

After all, as an officer, he had to restrain the army, and Chen Wang's temperament was not suitable for him.

"The troops have been bombarded, and their morale is low. Although the army has not dispersed, it is barely maintained."

"A few more rounds of shelling, when the enemy army comes over, the army formation will inevitably collapse."

Chen Wang had already risked everything, he was really unwilling to fail like this.

"There are so many thieves and horses. If we confront us head-on, we will definitely be at a disadvantage. It is useless for us to stay on the periphery. It is better to return to the army first."

"With a general in the central army, we can stabilize the morale of the troops. Even if the enemy's shelling continues, the army will not collapse, and the situation can be temporarily stabilized."

Under such rounds of blows, the army has not yet been defeated. To be honest, this is only the case with Cao Wenzhao's leadership.

If other generals were leading the army, they would have collapsed under the first round of offensive by the bandits.

Cao Wenzhao felt that today's Chen Wang seemed to be completely different from before.

First, he was keen to discover details that he hadn't even noticed, so that they didn't fall into the encirclement net headlong.

Now that the situation was complicated, Chen Wang was able to maintain his composure, and thought of a solution, which was still clear.

Cao Wenzhao originally wanted to say something, but when the words came to an end, he nodded his head as if by accident.

"Withdraw the Chinese army!"

Cao Wenzhao didn't drag his feet in the slightest, he pointed at Ma Li obliquely in his hand, and then ordered loudly.

As the military order was issued, the horns preparing to turn also sounded in the formation.

The way back to the Chinese army was very smooth, the bandit's elite cavalry were too far away, and they didn't seem to really want to confront each other. Seeing them turn into the army formation on the official road, they all stopped their horses one after another.

On the hillside, the deafening cannons sounded again, but this time, only the sound of four cannons sounded, and the other one did not fire. It seemed that something went wrong.

But this time, among the four artillery shells, only one shell smashed into the formation of the Ming army, and the other three shells all missed the direction and passed over the formation of the Ming army.

Cao Wenzhao also led a group of servants into the army at this time.

To tell the truth, Cao Wenzhao led the troops to fight out, and many people were worried that Cao Wenzhao would flee with the cavalry army after seeing things wrong, and they would never return.

Many of them are Datong soldiers, and they did not follow Cao Wenzhao for a long time. Their superiors had done such things before.

Cao Wenzhao returned to the army again, and gave a reassurance to the Datong soldiers. The morale of the army has obviously changed.

Looking at the changes in the morale of the soldiers around him, Chen Wang felt slightly at ease.

As long as the team does not collapse, everything is still under control.

Artillery in this era is often done by chance, and the gunner has no tricks at all, and almost all rely on feeling.

The damage that artillery can cause is actually not great, and the main thing is the blow to morale.

"uncle."

Cao Dingjiao was covered in blood, and when he saw Cao Wenzhao re-enter the battle, he immediately came forward to meet him.

Without unnecessary gossip, Cao Dingjiao stepped forward and quickly reported the situation of the various ministries, and the command was transferred to Cao Wenzhao again.

Cao Wenzhao was not in a hurry to give orders, but first looked at Chen Wang who was beside him, and he had a strange feeling.

Whether this battle can be won, I am afraid that the key is not with him, but with Chen Wang.

"Ming History":
"Fan Fucui, the governor and censor, made [-] outstanding achievements in playing the first performance. Wenzhao's contribution is the first, Jiamo's second, Cheng'en's and Qi's second."

"The imperial edict was in Shaanxi, and there were dozens of battles, large and small, with the most meritorious service. It is not a statement of succession."

"Sui Kou Jilue" records that after Cao Wenzhao's death, "all the officials and soldiers of Henan and Chu outside the pass heard about it, and they all took their breath."

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(End of this chapter)