The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 3
The endless booming sound echoed on the official road, it was the sound made by countless soldiers and war horses as they marched fast.

Shaanxi has experienced a series of severe droughts, and many places are no longer covered by vegetation. The soil has even been dried and cracked. Whenever the wind blows, a lot of dust is rolled up.

Chen Wang squinted his eyes and lowered his head slightly. The dry loess dust was swept by the strong wind and hit the armor on his body, and a lot of wind and sand also blew towards his face.

Although it is not yet the hottest time in Shaanxi in June, he is wearing a thick iron armor and an iron helmet on his head, facing the scorching sun. After a while, his forehead is already densely covered with fine sweat .

The wind and sand blown onto the skin from the gaps, and were stuck to the sweat, making people extremely uncomfortable.

But all this didn't change Chen Wang's mood much.

Chen Wang heard the military order issued by Cao Wenzhao very clearly. Cao Wenzhao ordered to advance quickly, and then ordered Cao Bianjiao to stop, because he was afraid that the vanguard would be alone and fall into a tight siege, so he led the army to respond.

Although there are only less than 700 soldiers here, the number of soldiers is not many, but they are elite. Almost all of these soldiers are veterans of previous wars. They followed Cao Wenzhao all the way to the north and south, and all have experience in fighting. .

The saber, bow and arrow at his waist are Chen Wang's main reliance.

And these soldiers are the second insurance for this battle.

Although the enemy army is numerous, most of them are mobs, and those who can fight are only a few old soldiers.

Fighting head-on, even if there are more than ten times as many thieves, they can still win.

Historical records, after all, are only historical records, and Chen Wang does not fully believe in historical records.

It is said in the records that there were tens of thousands of bandits in the ambush, but most of them are just exaggerations.

If there were really tens of thousands of cavalry under Li Zicheng's command, then Cao Wenzhao would never have traveled several miles and would have been submerged by the sea of ​​cavalry long ago.

And it is absolutely impossible for Cao Bianjiao to escape the siege with five hundred cavalry, and even gather up the defeated soldiers after the battle and reorganize into a battalion.

Being able to reorganize into a battalion proves that in this battle, after the defeat of the Ming army, many soldiers fled.

Tens of thousands of cavalry, I am afraid that all the cavalry of the entire 36th Battalion can reach this number.

It is still eight years of Chongzhen, not 15 years of Chongzhen, and the Ming army is still the strong side.

Chen Wang's eyes flickered, looking around at the surrounding scene.

Turning around Qiutou Town, you enter the mountainous area. On both sides of the official road are some fields that have been destroyed, and then there are mountains one after another, and the vision is greatly restricted.

The mountains on both sides are steep, not a good place for ambush, and no soldiers can be hidden.

But at the end of the road ahead, the mountain is gradually slowing down, and the official road is between the two mountains.

Cao Wenzhao did not send out scouts to investigate the path that the forward had just walked, because if there was an ambush, the forward and the forward scouts would definitely find it first.

If it is Henan, Nanzhili and other places, there is naturally no problem with Cao Wenzhao's arrangement, but this is Shaanxi.

Li Zicheng and others were born in Shaanxi, and they are very familiar with the topography of Shaanxi. Entering Shaanxi is like a bird flying into the blue sky and a fish entering the sea.

This is also the key to why it can succeed in successive ambushes.

Cao Wenzhao was worried that the vanguard would be ambushed, and his mind was drawn to the vanguard cavalry, but he did not expect that the target of the ambush was not the vanguard, but the follow-up infantry led by him.

Along the way, the army continued to climb upwards, and the trend of the mountains on both sides slowed down more and more. They were said to be mountains, but they had actually turned into hills.

Chen Wang's eyes swept across the slopes on both sides, and he didn't see any signs of an ambush, or anything wrong.

They had already reached the highest point of the official road, from here the road began to descend, and the downhill road began to become rough.

The military order to stop was thus conveyed, and Cao Wenzhao led his horse to a slightly higher mound, observing the enemy's situation condescendingly.

As a servant, Chen Wang naturally followed Cao Wenzhao.

Standing on the top of the slope, the field of vision is extremely wide. Just below the hillside is a large plain, and the two sides of the plain are unobstructed. You can already see the rout in the distance.

Those thieves were indeed in a rout, and it could be seen clearly from the top of the slope.

And behind those chaotic thieves, several red fire dragons were jumping back and forth on the plain, dividing it up.

There is no doubt that it is the vanguard cavalry army led by Cao Bianjiao. Looking down from the heights, the cavalry formed by the cavalry is like a fire dragon.

Chen Wang's heart skipped a beat, and he understood why Cao Wenzhao, who had been through the battlefield for a long time, would still be defeated.

The bandits were indeed defeated in this battle, Cao Bianjiao's pursuit and Cao Wenzhao's response were no problem.

It's just that Li Zicheng used these thieves who were really defeated as bait to lure the Ming army into taking the bait.

The road from the top of the slope to the downhill is quite rugged, with gentle hills on both sides and many valleys. It will not be surprising that tens of thousands of troops are hidden behind it.

Once Cao Wenzhao leads the army down, and the ambushes on both sides come out of multiple interceptions, the battlefield can be divided into dozens of pieces in an instant, and the army formation is shattered, and it is difficult to look at the end. Even if Cao Wenzhao has the ability to reach the sky, it will be difficult Salvage the situation.

It's just that there was nothing abnormal between the hills and mountains on both sides of the official road, which made Chen Wang hesitate for a while.

He couldn't make a mistake, and it was indeed the best time to give a warning at this time, but if he found out that there were no enemies hidden behind the hills on both sides, he would hardly be able to bear this responsibility.

If you miss the opportunity to fight, the crime should be executed.

While Chen Wang was still hesitating, the black dot above the sky on the left side of his vision caught his attention.

This pair of body is skilled in bow and horse, and has excellent eyesight. Before I didn't notice it, I just thought it was a black spot. When I noticed it, Chen Wang could see it clearly. Those black spots that were constantly dancing were birds.

Because the distance is too far, and there are only a few of them, they were subconsciously ignored before.

Cao Wenzhao in front had already raised his right hand, as if he was about to order to continue marching.

"General!"

Chen Wang kicked the horse's belly, driving the horse to take a step forward.

Cao Wenzhao paused, and his right hand, which was hanging in the air, also froze in the air.

He turned his head to follow the prestige, and happened to see Chen Wang who was being watched by everyone.

Chen Wang's voice at this time not only attracted Cao Wenzhao's attention, but also attracted the attention of all the servants.

As servants, their duty is to charge forward, and they never say superfluous words on the battlefield.

Suggesting advice and suggestions is the matter of the generals, and has nothing to do with them.

He was suddenly watched by so many people, and one of them was from Cao Wenzhao.

Huge pressure hit his face, Chen Wang could even hear his own heart beating.

"There are birds flying in the sky above the hill on the left, but there are probably ambushes hiding under it!"

Chen Wang led the horse, took a step forward again, and under great pressure, raised his finger and pointed to the sky above the hills on the left to tell his discovery.

Everyone was shocked, and looked in the direction Chen Wang pointed, and they saw a few flying birds circling.

Although the distance is far, all the cavalry who can be selected as servants are skilled in bow and horse, and there is no one with poor eyesight.

"Spins without falling!?"

Cao Wenzhao's heart skipped a beat, and his eyes froze suddenly.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately issued the military order with one stroke of the whip.

"Order the whole army to form an army formation and prepare for battle against the enemy!"

"Blow the horn!"

"Ugh——"

The low sound of the horn sounded on the hillside in an instant.

On the official road, all the Ming army military academies standing on the outside of the queue all stared.

"Warning signal!"

They all heard what the sound of the horn meant.

This is the horn that the army will blow when it is about to meet the enemy, which means that the enemy attack is approaching!

But there was no one around, only bare mountains, some scattered trees and yellow weeds, and there was no one at all.

Orders are like mountains and cannot be disobeyed.

Usually, Cao Wenzhao was strict in governing the army. Although all the military academies didn't know what to do, they all steadfastly carried out the general orders issued by Cao Wenzhao.

"Formation!" "Prepare for the enemy!"

Banners waved on the official road one after another, and the military academies with brightly colored helmets and flags on their helmets shouted loudly, gathering the surrounding soldiers, and they were all doing their best to implement the military orders they received.

Although it was a hasty march, the Ming army still maintained a basic formation.

After receiving the military order, the "bureau" as a unit quickly began to form an army formation.

(End of this chapter)