A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 677 Wang Pu's Anger

When the Xuanwu army marched again, the situation of the Datong army that was out of the fortress was not very good.

They left the fortress earlier than the Jingbian army. When the army set off from the north of Datong City, the people greeted them off, the students chanted poems, and the mighty train team followed, which was quite lively.Going north from Datong, there are five important side wall forts nearby, Zhenbian Fort, Zhenchuan Fort, Zhenqiang Fort, Zhenhe Fort, and Hongci Fort.

The locations of these castles are very important, especially the towns of Qiang Fort and Hongci Fort, which are directly related to the safety of Datong Town. In the past, when the northern captives went south, they had to capture these castles first, and then forced them to the city of Datong.

The army of Datong Township marched out in high spirits. They passed Gudian Fort, Hongci Fort, and Zhenqiang Fort along the way, and arrived at the edge of the Great Wall. The first stop they left was the abandoned Fengzhen City. camp.

As the place where the northern captives went south and the north gate of Datong Town, Daming built three Great Walls before and after Fengzhen. The first one was built in the 19th year of Hongwu, along the mountains, over dangerous peaks, and across deep ravines.

The second Great Wall is located at the southern end of Fengzhen, not far from Fengzhen City. It was built during the Jiajing period. Most of them are located in the Pingchuan area.

The third Great Wall was also built during the Jiajing period, along Yanghekou, from the west of Zhenchuan Fort, and connected to the Great Wall of Zhenqiang Fort, making it look like a crescent moon. The defensive side walls of the Datong City Section are these two or three. Great Wall.

Due to years of disrepair and wind and rain erosion, many sections of the Great Wall were actually seriously damaged. Some green brick walls collapsed into the shape of dirt. Many city bricks were actually man-made. They were demolished by local residents to build houses without public morality. Vandalism of public property is a long-standing evil that has been passed down from ancient to modern times.

The army marched along the edge of the Yu River, and the Yu River came from the north, adding its tributaries, forming alluvial plains near Datong City and Zhenchuan Fort. From a distance, the vast flat land is dotted with some sparse trees. Not to mention the official road, even the loess ground full of asakusa is quite easy to walk.

Of course, because most of the places are yellow land, and many of them are naked, the scenery is unavoidably bleak, but the Datong army is all high-spirited, singing military songs all the way, passing by military forts and civilian forts, and there are countless side piers and fire roads. pier and so on.

Most of what they saw was dilapidated, exposing the rammed loess wall inside. Soon, they left the town of Qiang Fort, and the hilly plain in front of them was the land of Gufeng Town.

There is still a vast expanse of loess here, densely covered with shallow grass, sandwiching some poplar trees, pagoda trees, etc.In the past, part of it belonged to the border of Xinghe Shouyu Qianhu, part of it belonged to Xuande Guard, and part of it belonged to Yanghe Guard.

Usually, there were some Mongolians grazing by the Yu River, but at this time, they all fled.

The Datong army succeeded in building a village at the former site of Fengzhen. Since there were not many trees around but a lot of loess, the walls of the village were mostly rammed with loess and some gravel.Wang Pu named this village Yangwei Fort, echoing Zhenqiang Fort not far behind.

He roughly built the stockade, and after leading the army to leave, many officers and soldiers of the guard station, as well as civilian husbands, came to build and continue to complete the city.

Wang Pu's expedition to the outside of the Great Wall is the glory of Datong's soldiers and civilians. In addition, the Wang family has become more and more powerful in Datong, so the expedition has received full support from the top and bottom. City and so on.

The army of Datong Town left Yangwei Fort again in a mighty way. On the first day, they rode along the Yuhe River for fifty miles in one breath. The front battalion encountered a Mongolian cavalry. Up and down, morale is even higher.

Wang Pu was in high spirits, and he planned happily. He didn't know what history would think of him this time. Wei Qing reappeared, and Huo Qubing was second?

But on the second day, Wang Pu couldn't laugh anymore.

Wherever they passed by at this time, the river was winding, there were many hills, and the mountains were undulating. From time to time, the army was ambushed by small groups of Mongolian cavalry. Datong army had a headache.

The cavalry in the army tried to pursue them, but they were either in ambush, or they never returned. In the end, they had to give up. Because the Tatar cavalry harassed too much, Wang Pu had no choice but to order the army to form an army. In this way, they could only walk more than a dozen miles, or even several miles.

Although they left the frontier earlier than the Jingbian army, after leaving the sidewall, it took many days to reach the 200-mile land where Jining Haizi meets. Fortunately, the army carried a lot of food and grass and marched along the river. , There is no problem with food, grass and drinking water.

It's just that being pestered by the Tartars like this, and being nervous all day long, the whole Datong army felt very tired and tired.

On August [-]th, the taller mountains gradually disappeared behind, and there were gentle hills, grasslands, and clumps of forests in front of them. Near noon, the Datong Army was besieged by thousands of Mongolian cavalry. The crow soldiers scattered the stars, which made Wang Pu extremely annoyed.

The tactics of the Tartars are very flexible. Teams of three, three, five or five serve as a cover for each other. The enemy is separated and the enemy is united, and the enemy is united.

Wang Pu resolutely ordered the main army battalion to fight, but although they were all cavalry, their riding and archery skills were not as good as those of the prairie cavalry. But they, so under the first battle, fell behind.

Wang Pu felt distressed when he saw it, and quickly ordered the cavalry battalion to return, gathered in the infantry to cover the infantry, and waited for the Tartars to retreat.

This is also the status quo of the cavalry in the Central Plains at this time. Generally speaking, when the cavalry of the Ming army encountered Mongolian cavalry or Qing cavalry, they all hid in the infantry chariot formation, formed formations on all sides in the wilderness, and rushed out to chase after the infantry won the battle. Killing, very few have the ability to go head-to-head with it.

For example, the tactic of infantry in the center and cavalry protecting the two wings has become less and less since the middle of the Ming Dynasty. The cavalry who can fight this way are all famous and strong troops. Although the infantry combat effectiveness of the Datong Army has improved, the combat effectiveness of the cavalry has not. go up.

Although Guan Ning's cavalry and others have this ability, the chief general is reluctant to spend this capital.

On that day, the Datong Army suffered a setback. Although there were not many casualties, the marching ability had been restrained.

On the [-]th and [-]th, the Datong army was besieged by a large number of Mongolian cavalry. On the eighth day, a large group of Mongolian cavalry gathered in the four fields, staring at them. The number may be as many as four or five thousand. Wang Pu was not willing to be entangled like this, and ordered The barracks went out to fight, just...

"Hateful Tartars, hateful Raven Soldiers!"

Wang Pu scolded loudly.

The situation in front of him annoyed him very much. He saw strands of Tatar cavalry passing by his side's cavalry. Some throwing axes, iron bones and other weapons.

These Tartars were superb in riding skills, their various movements on horseback were unimaginable, and all of them were extremely accurate on bumpy horsebacks. In terms of riding and shooting abilities, how could the cavalry of the Datong Army compare with these grassland cavalry?The cavalry of one's own side kept being hit by arrows, but few of the opponent's horses were shot.

They may learn from the Manchurian Tartars. Their arrows are increasingly using arrows with strong armor-piercing and blood-letting capabilities. The arrows are all large and heavy, with three-edged blood grooves. The soldiers are well-armored, which effectively reduces casualties.

The two sides fought, and many people dismounted to fight, shot arrows at each other, or fought together.

When shooting arrows on the ground, our own side is also not as precise and ruthless as these Tartars. It is better to fight hand-to-hand, but there are not many such opportunities. The cavalry of the two sides fight against each other. Generally speaking, although our side is not beaten one-sidedly, it is obvious that we are at a disadvantage.

Wang Pu was anxious. Although he paid more attention to the infantry these years, the cavalry in the main barracks was his treasure in his heart. Seeing the loss, how could he not feel distressed?
He ordered the infantry to support, but as soon as the infantry moved, the Tatar cavalry quickly rushed from the two wings, and even went around the back. Wang Pu could only order the infantry to stop and form a defensive formation on the spot. Finally, more helplessly, Ming Jin withdrew the troops and let the cavalry battalion come back , Let the infantry protect on all sides.

Wang Pu's courageous battle obviously failed again. In this battle, more than 200 cavalry casualties and more than 100 horses were lost, which made him feel unspeakably painful. If he wasted a few more times, wouldn't his own cavalry be finished?He is absolutely unwilling to let the main barracks fight again.

The Datong Army formed a formation with strict guards on all sides, and the entire army was huddled in the formation. In addition to the cavalry, there were also many civilian men who transported luggage standing in fear. From their high spirits at the beginning to their current panic, their moods changed in just a few days. between.

Alas, the Tartars are really fierce, it seems that going out of the fortress was a mistake.

After the formation of the Datong army, thousands of Mongolian cavalry did not attack again. They also knew that the Ming army in front of them was not what it used to be. They all had sharp Xuanzhen bird guns in their hands, which could break through heavy armor with a hundred steps. Of course, they would not take it rashly. Rush forward to die.

However, according to the plan beforehand, entanglement of the Datong Army and the Jingbian Army on the road is a victory. It is best for them to walk for a year or a half for a month's journey, so that they will retreat before they reach Guihua City.

It is best that when they go more than halfway, there is insufficient food and grass, and there is no way to continue, which may wipe out their entire army.

After that, the two sides stared at each other across the army formation, and did not fight each other again, but it did not mean that the Tartars on all sides remained still.

There are still some small groups of Mongolian cavalry galloping around the army formation, shouting strangely, sometimes rushing up and shooting a few arrows, putting pressure on the Datong army in the formation, and trying to attract them to fire guns, while a large group of cavalry is watching from the rear. Move at any time.

With the aftermath of victory between them, the appearance of these Tartars baring their teeth and claws is still very scary. Seeing their vicious and inhuman eyes, they seem to get goose bumps all over their bodies.

However, the new barracks of the Datong Army have been tempered, especially many of them have gone through the bloody battle in Jinzhou, and their psychological quality is very good. Except for a few who can't stand the temptation to fire a few guns, most of the gun soldiers are holding guns and waiting in full force, so that the Tartars on all sides Nothing to take advantage of.

It seemed that the Ming army was different. After half an hour of stalemate between the two sides, four whistles and roars sounded, thousands of Mongolian cavalry trapped in the formation scattered in all directions. In a blink of an eye, they disappeared into the hills and bushes.

Seeing the Tartars retreat, Wang Pu regained his spirits, but his complexion was very bad, and he was in a bad mood. He summoned all the battalion officers and generals and yelled: "A bunch of idiots, a bunch of fasting waste, what did you do... Thinking of me, Wang Pu, who fought north and south, fought north and south, fought in the north and south, risked life and death, and even made the Tartars fearful at the Naughty River, how can we fight like this now?...You have lost the reputation of my Datong army!"

The generals lowered their heads, facing Wang Pu's saliva, they didn't dare to make a sound. They knew that the general was in a bad mood. In the past in the Datong army, Wang Pu always had a smiling and kind look. Now the thunder is furious, obviously angry Very.

They didn't dare to make a sound, but it didn't mean that Wang Pu let them go. He cast his gaze on the face of his own general, Wang Zheng, and shouted, "Colonel, do you have nothing to say?"

(End of this chapter)