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

Chapter 702
On the Liuying formation, Liu Zongmin, Hao Yaoqi, Li Guo, and Ge Liyan also paid close attention to the battle situation and tried their best to monitor the situation on the other side.

Looking at the horses, I can't tell the situation clearly, but looking at the other side, the gunpowder smoke seems to cover the entire area, and people and horses are faintly seen galloping, and various shouts and gunshots can be heard slightly, and the battle seems to be very intense.

"It seems that the fight is very tight, and the two sides are at a stalemate."

Liu Zongmin rubbed his cheeks and said in a deep voice.

"Well, Cao Bianjiao still has two brushes. With such a strange formation, he can persist for so long under the impact of my rebel cavalry. He is worthy of being a famous general of the imperial court... But this is only the first wave of attack by my rebel army. After a few moments, he couldn't bear it anymore."

The Reincarnated King Liu Xiyao laughed.

Yuan Zongdi seems to have led people to fight Cao Bianjiao there for a long time. In the past, when the rebel army faced Cao Bianjiao's firecracker battle formation, the battles were often won in a short period of time, such as the half-crossing attack not long ago, but this time it was even worse. After fighting for so long in the past, it seems that Cao Bianjiao's sparse formation is easy to deal with.

He, Zuojin King He Jin, and Troubled Times King Lin Chengcheng looked at each other, and they all saw the eagerness in each other's eyes. There are so many good things in the officers and soldiers, not to mention the armor and supplies, but after defeating Cao Bianjiao, they were able to seize some East Road firearms. If so, then his own camp will make a fortune.

Thinking of this, Liu Xiyao and the leaders of Ge and Zuo Wuying wished that Yuan Zongdi would retreat quickly and let them go up.

All the thieves saw the hope of victory, chatting and laughing vigorously, only Li Guo and old Hui Hui Ma Shouying frowned and looked at that side in thought.

……

"Kill all the thieves!"

"put!"

The sound of platooning guns, amidst the filled white smoke, dozens of cavalry cavalry howled for a while, several shot horses neighed mournfully, one by one cavalry screamed and fell off their horses, and then some people were caught by the galloping crowd. The horse soldiers stepped into meat paste.

"Watch out for the right wing."

"Pay attention to the rear..."

The shouts outside were loud, and the sound of gunfire followed one after another, and there was a pungent smell of gunpowder smoke, which continued to penetrate into the nostrils, mixed with the smell of blood, not to mention unpleasant, but also Line of sight is affected.

Some arrows flew by, and there was a javelin, which was thrown not far from him, and was laboriously inserted into the ground, deep into the soil.

But none of these could change Yang Shaofan's expression. He rode quietly on the horse, watching all this calmly and seemingly indifferently.

At this time, Yang Shaofan was located in a square formation in front of the Chinese army. This formation can be considered as one, with a total of 50 gunmen, 15 soldiers on each side, and each divided into three layers, with [-] soldiers on each layer, and the remaining [-] gunmen. Bing, as a substitute after the comrades on all sides fell.

The same is true for the pikemen. Two rows of pikemen on each side are in the front, squatting on the ground, as a repelling horse, and the last row is behind the pikemen for protection. There are still twenty pikemen like the previous ones. Means as a reserve team.

But Yang Shaofan's small formation will have more people, after all, there are battalion guards and battalion officers.

As the commander of the army formation, Yang Shaofan's middle officer, he was shouting at the top of his voice before, but now his expression has recovered, but his shouting voice is still so loud.

After all, it was the first time to use this kind of battle formation, facing the masses of enemy cavalry, everyone couldn't help being nervous, but the factual results came out, no matter the officers or soldiers in the small formations, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and then fought happily , in full swing.

At this time, many phalanxes were still bombarded by volleys of guns instead of free fire, which also proved that the battle situation was good.

Under the command of the officers from all sides, the gunmen in the front row aimed at the enemy, pulled the trigger, and sprayed a large puff of gunpowder smoke to the front, and then they heard the screams of the bandits, and saw their distressed figures .

Afterwards, these gunmen passed the empty guns with empty ammunition to the back with their left hands, and their right hands took over the real guns filled with fixed-loaded paper tube ammunition from behind, and then fired again, taking turns to keep the firepower uninterrupted. It is also a tactic used by the Shenji Battalion for a hundred years.

In the tense battle, many blunderbusses had fought several rounds without knowing it, but the blunderbusses were still firing, and the blunderbusses were still safe and sound, which was one of the guarantees for their confidence to continue fighting.

Qi Jiguang once said: "The bird guns are cast according to the schedule, and the enemy is extremely accurate. According to the scheduled shift, one up and one down, although the third release of the gun is hot, it cannot be released again. If each person wets the cloth with water for a few feet, after the third release, the cloth is wet. Guns, you can always let them go.”

That is to say, many blunderbusses in the Ming army fired only three rounds before they were too hot to be released. Unless the blunderbusses were wrapped in a damp cloth, they would be in danger of exploding their chambers. Especially some sudden battles, encounters, etc., the conditions are really limited.

The poor quality of firearms is indeed a big problem. After only firing three rounds, you have to rest. How to fight?
Hou Yilin also said in "Longmen Collection": "Or ask: the old gun, after three rounds, either spontaneously ignites or explodes. Recently, I heard that it is still usable after ten guns are fired. Why?"

"It is said: Whether the gunpowder chamber is bright or not, it is due to the fineness of the gunpowder or not. In the old days, the gunpowder did not know how to drill and grind, and there were pits and ridges in the chamber. , quickly loaded the rear medicine, the front fire was not extinguished, and it exploded naturally. There is a pit in the gun chamber and I don’t know how to wash it. If I scrub the pit, the medicine residue may not be completely removed. Once it gets wet, the barrel will corrode. As the days get deeper and deeper, and the leaks are gradually revealed, will it explode?"

With excellent firearms from the east, coupled with successful tactics, compared to the panic of the thieves in the formations, the soldiers of the new army in each formation feel like they are shooting targets.

However, they are not without danger. The cavalrymen who broke into the camp were eliminated step by step from the hungry people and the infantry. Although they are not as good as the old battalion's brave cavalry, many of them are equally skilled in fighting. Many people only act on instinct, but some elite knights still fight bravely.

In the shadow covered by gunpowder smoke, in the tide of cavalry passing by by the group of horses, an arrow, a javelin, a dagger, etc. would be shot from time to time, or some cavalry rushed straight up, and even There is a firecracker.

A blunderbuss soldier in the front row had just received a loaded blunderbuss with his right hand when he suddenly swayed and fell to the ground without a sound. Go, get mixed up in the horse tide, and don't know where to go in a blink of an eye.

He held a weapon in his hand, which looked like a pistol, probably something like a matchlock.

The Chuang army was invincible in the Central Plains, and many weapons of all kinds were seized, and firearms were only one of them.

There are also several corpses lying beside the two rows of gunmen squatting in front of the formation, and the wounded are moaning in pain. As the role of rejecting horses, they need to endure the fear that ordinary people cannot bear, and have what ordinary people cannot have. courage.

Pikemen say it is easy to practice well, but it is difficult to practice and it is very difficult to practice. The key is whether they can form strict discipline and have the courage to bear casualties.

After all, the comrades around him were constantly injured or even died, and blood and stumps flew to their faces. When they were on their bodies, they often had to stand still and not move, otherwise, if they moved, the spear array would be wasted, and it was indeed not something ordinary people could bear.

When the Ming army fought Japanese pirates back then, it can be said that most of them were pikemen. According to Hongwu year regulations, for every [-] households, there were ten musketeers, twenty sword players, thirty archers, and the rest were pikemen. However, encountering the elite soldiers of the Ronin and the Japanese swords, the spear array soon collapsed until it was replaced by the Qi family army.

Facing the cavalry attack without fear, never retreating in the face of heavy casualties, never moving without orders, without these qualities, one cannot be called a pikeman, and one cannot be said to have mastered the pike formation.

Those repelling horses silently covered the firecrackers in the rear. After they were killed or injured, the reserve soldiers in the formation also stepped forward silently to fill their positions. No one complained. The new army went south to fight continuously, and many people were used to it. life and death.

"put!"

The loud noise of firing guns again.

Yang Shaofan turned his head and looked towards the Chinese army. He felt that the thieves were about to retreat, and the death traps formed between the formations were full of corpses of the intruders. They could hardly bear it.

To be able to persist until now, Yang Shaofan felt that they were at a loss.

Looking at the Chinese army, although there are more intruders gathered around, and countless horsemen circle around, it is relatively easier to defend.

They have vehicles, and some refuse horses and guns as defensive equipment. The cavalry of the main barracks have cold weapons and shields. Under their cover, the three-eyed musketeers and archers in the inner circle are constantly shooting arrows and firing muskets.

White smoke filled the air, arrows shot across the sky, and from time to time some thieves screamed and fell down. In addition to this concave and convex formation, those thieves had to worry about attacking from other directions. They complained endlessly.

Based on Yang Shaofan's understanding of Marshal Cao, the Chinese army will soon dispatch cavalry to counterattack, and that will be the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

"Continue to shoot, all archers in the formation, face the direction of the right wing!"

Yang Shaofan's expression turned cold, and he shouted orders, and a gust of wind blew up his cape and cloak.

"put!"

Sixty firecrackers in the first row on all sides fired again, and the turbulent gunpowder smoke sprayed out again, crying and screaming outside, and then their cries were drowned in the phalanx of firecrackers.

……

On the side of the Liuying formation, Liu Xiyao's eyes suddenly lit up, and he said with a smile, "Okay, Master Yuan is back, brothers, follow me!"

Before Yuan Zongdi returned to the formation, he led the army with Zuojin King He Jin and Troubled Times King Lin Chengcheng and left impatiently.

Liu Zongmin frowned, even if it was planned earlier, the rebels would attack one after another, without giving Cao Bianjiao a chance to breathe, no matter what, he would have to wait for Yuan Zongdi to return to the formation and describe the situation of the opponent, so he couldn't wait, Underestimating the enemy and greedy for merit, what kind of battle are you fighting?

Old Hui returned to Ma Shouying, Ge Li watched He Yilong stay behind, seeing Liu Zongmin's displeasure, He Yilong laughed and said: "Master Liu, calm down, the three masters are just eager to make contributions."

Liu Zongmin snorted, but had no choice but to give up, Gezuo Fifth Battalion was not his subordinate, so he could not just shout and reprimand him casually, but he was already a little dissatisfied in his heart, looking at Li Guo and other generals who broke into the camp, they were equally dissatisfied.

Liu Xiyao and others rushed away, even Yuan Zongdi sent someone to call them urgently on the way, and they galloped ten thousand horses, and in a blink of an eye, they went straight into Cao Bian's formation.

Soon, Liu Zongmin and others collectively frowned again. Yuan Zongdi's appearance was not right when he returned to his teacher. to the extreme.

Ma Shouying's face was full of bitterness, He Yilong was very anxious, and said to Liu Zongmin: "Master Liu, we must take care of Master Liu and the others immediately!"

Liu Zongmin felt more and more angry, his internal organs were like oil, and that anger seemed to burn him into coke. He was a violent person and was about to explode when Li Guo suddenly shouted: "They are back!"

Sure enough, Liu Xiyao and the others came back. They seemed to only run from the front of Cao Bianjiao's formation to the back of the formation, shuttle through the formation once and then come back.

They ran fast, whipped their horsewhips hard, and at the same time they yelled: "lost, defeated! defeated, defeated!..." Liu Zongmin's face became more and more gloomy, and he couldn't bear it any longer. He stopped and cursed angrily: "Donkey ball, get into your mother's hair!"

(End of this chapter)