The wind rises at the end of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 8
The offensive of the bandit's left wing collapsed, fighting for a respite for the pawns above the official path.

There was no need to deal with the attacks from both sides at the same time, and with Chen Wang's reminder at the beginning, Cao Wenzhao issued the order in time, and there was no surprise, and the ambush basically had no effect.

Ambush warfare has evolved into positional warfare, but the bandits still occupy the advantage of geographical advantage and have the advantage of condescending.

It's just that when Chen Wang stood on his horse and looked back, the scene in front of him almost made Chen Wang's heart sink to the bottom of the valley.

The endless black wave is sweeping from the right side of the official road, it seems to completely submerge all the troops above the official road.

The army formation above the official road is like a reef in the sea, exposed to the storm without any shelter, and will be completely swallowed by the wind and waves at any time.

"Steady the army, their bows and arrows won't do much!!"

On the official road, the infantry of the Ming army had recovered from their panic. The soft bows in the hands of the thieves really didn't do much to them, and the tiger squatting guns were too far away to cause any damage.

The soldiers of the two rounds at the front were attacked from both sides, and also suffered double blows from tiger squatting guns, bows and arrows, and were already submerged in the crowd

As for the soldiers of the other two rounds in the front, one round was entangled and isolated.

Under the command of the lieutenant general, the military formations of each bureau are constantly gathering, forming a large formation with divisions as units.

As the infantry in the rear, because they were still far away from the encirclement, the infantry of the two divisions had already assembled. Commander Qian in the rear commanded the soldiers to rush to the center, and to a certain extent contained the attack of the bandits.

In the army formation, Cao Dingjiao was wearing a long body armor, full of fierceness, and his ferocious face looked like a beast trying to choose and devour someone.

He is also Cao Wenzhao's nephew, and he and Cao Bianjiao are brothers of the same clan. He was transferred from a garrison position to the Chinese Army.

"Those who dare to leave the battle and retreat without permission will be killed immediately to shock the entire army!"

Cao Dingjiao's eyes were full of evil spirits, and his voice was gloomy as if it came from the underworld, and everyone who heard it was terrified.

All the guards behind him spread out with their knives in their hands, staring coldly at the armored soldiers in front of them.

Since the appearance of the ambush, Cao Dingjiao has been observing the overall situation, and the command of the front has also been taken over by him at this time.

The central part suffered a fierce attack from the thieves, but fortunately, the casualties in the rear part were acceptable.

However, the casualties in the front were extremely heavy. The infantry of the three front bureaus fell into the enemy's formation, and the soldiers of the one bureau that was withdrawn were still in shock. After being merged into the front, it had a great impact on morale.

The bandit's bow team occupied the high ground, continuously pouring arrows and rain towards the Ming army above the official road, and the sound of tiger crouching and cannon rang out from time to time.

Every moment, there are soldiers in the military formation who are casualties, and the fear of death tortures everyone's nerves.

There are a total of eight rounds of soldiers in the front. Now three rounds have been lost, and they have suffered the most violent attack from the rogues. Right now, there are only five rounds left, with less than 500 soldiers.

Not long after the first five rounds of battle, nearly [-]% of the troops have been lost. If the losses in the previous three rounds are included, the lost troops in the front have already exceeded [-]%.

At this time, the front has not collapsed, it is entirely because Cao Wenzhao led the cavalry to defeat the bandits who swarmed from the left.

This greatly boosted the morale of the army, and also gave the soldiers hope, like a drowning man grabbing a wooden stick.

However, this is the case, the front is already at the end of the mountain, and the main attack direction of the elite cavalry of the thieves is the front.

Unlike the soldiers in the middle and rear who only need to face the enemy on one side, they not only have to face the enemy who comes from the right side, but also needs to face the enemy who comes from the official road in front.

"Send a letter to Sun Anshan, his chance is only for a moment!"

Cao Dingjiao grabbed the red scarf around a messenger's neck and roared.

"When the flag of the Chinese army is waved and all the guns are fired, it is his chance to withdraw!"

"This is his last chance..."

Cao Dingjiao's eyes were red, his eyes moved away from the face of the messenger, and he looked towards the front of the army formation, gnashing his teeth.

"If you can't withdraw...you will die in the battle!"

"kill!!!"

The shouts of killing reappeared, and countless arrows from the rear of the bandits flew into the air, weaving a large net of death in the air.

"Raise your shield!"

The officers of the Ming army immediately issued orders before the battle.

A group of soldiers of the Ming army at the front raised their shields one after another.

The feathered arrows of locusts rushed towards the army with a piercing sound. Most of the arrows rained down and were blocked by the shields. In an instant, there were bursts of screams and groans in the army formation.

Cao Dingjiao's eyes froze suddenly, this time the rogue's arrow rain was fast and urgent, and even some of the armor was pierced by the feathered arrows, the ones who shot this burst of feathered arrows were definitely the elite of the rogues.

Not long after the rain of arrows fell, another shower of arrows shot up from the rear of the thieves not far away, and the continuous sound of horns also sounded in the formation of the thieves.

At this time, the bandit's troop regained its momentum, and almost all the people standing in the front were poorly clothed, yellow and emaciated.

They held all kinds of weapons, and the weapons in many people's hands were even wooden sticks, not even short knives.

Cao Dingjiao's eyes did not stay on them for a long time, he knew that these people were not the main force of this war, they were just cannon fodder that was pushed out.

These hungry people lost their land and their property. Whether they wanted it or not, they could no longer survive.

After the war, those who survived and took off the heads of officers and soldiers were eligible to become infantrymen.

Only when they become troops and horsemen can they have enough to eat, and at the same time, they are also eligible to make their families have enough to eat.

Their eyes are full of madness...and hunger...

Cao Dingjiao looked beyond the queue of hungry people and cast his gaze further away.

After the hungry people lined up, those bandit infantry wearing armor, holding sharp knives, neat banners, and neat formations were the real main force of this battle.

Many of those people used to be generals in the army just like them.

It's just natural disasters and man-made disasters, this damn world, turned them into refugees, turned them into thieves, turned them into villains.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The rapid drumbeat suddenly sounded from the back of the hungry people's formation, and in the next moment, more than a thousand hungry people standing in the front line all moved forward one after another.

They yelled and roared crazily, venting the fear in their hearts, mustering up the remaining courage in their hearts, as if this could stimulate the few physical strength and courage in their bodies.

They swept towards the formation of the Ming army like a tide.

However, just as they rushed forward, only thirty steps away, the faces of the craziest hungry people in the front were full of fear, and some even turned around and wanted to escape.

But the swarming crowd behind them blocked their way, making them in a dilemma. Many people who wanted to retreat were knocked down and overwhelmed by the crowd...

And after they fell to the ground, those behind them discovered what it was that frightened them so much.

Just in front of them, the Ming army's formation is not rows of dense spears, but black gun barrels one after another.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

The gunpowder smoke instantly obscured everyone's vision, and the sound of tiger squatting guns in front of the Ming army was as loud as thunder.

On the official road, gunpowder smoke filled the air, and large pieces of flying stones rushed out from the tiger squatting cannon.

Pieces of stone bullets were sprayed on the crowd almost face-to-face, and the few old bandits in the front didn't even groan, they were directly smashed into sieves, and fell directly on the dry land.

The front line of the rogue troop that was originally surging was even swept away by it, and fear quickly spread among the hungry people like poisonous weeds.

The continuous sound of cannons rang out in the formation of the Ming army, and a lot of gunpowder smoke rose up. The huge casualties and the fear of the artillery caused the entire rogue team to fall to the bottom of the valley in an instant.

Terrifying screams resounded over the official road, and countless stone bombs fell on the surging crowd.

It's like... the sky is falling...

(End of this chapter)