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

Chapter 721 The End of Zhuxian Town

On September 15th, [-]th year of Chongzhen, at Chenshi in the morning, Ding Qirui led several town Ming troops to go out to fight again.

Their momentum was like a rainbow, and the entire army lined up and spread for more than ten miles. Ding Qirui and Che Ying were still in the middle army, Hu Dawei, Zuo Liangyu and others were separated on the two wings. Stay behind.

The big formation moved forward, the sky was covered with people and horses, the banners covered the sun, and the Liu camp on the opposite side also came out of the camp to fight.

Chen Yongfu, Hu Dawei and Jiang Mingwu Ce walked slowly in the formation.

Looking at the bandits on the opposite side, Chen Yongfu put away his binoculars and snorted coldly: "The hungry people are outside, the second is the infantry, the second is the horse army, and the last is the old battalion Xiaoqi. Thieves, that's how they arrange it, and after so many years, it's still the same."

Hu Dawei also snorted coldly: "In the hearts of the intruders, in their eyes, the lives of hungry people may only be worth a lead bullet."

He said: "If you only think this way, the thieves have miscalculated. The Sanjin Commercial Firm has set up shops in Pingyang Mansion and Lu'an Mansion. They sell guns and medicines. Our children's medicines are endless. Fill it in, let's fill it in, let's see who can't hold it up first!"

Beside him, Jiang Mingwu looked enviously at the binoculars in the hands of Hu Dawei and Chen Yongfu. This is a good thing. If you have money, there is no place to buy it. I heard that it was given to them by the Marquis of Yongning. If you have one yourself, that would be great. up.

He also snorted angrily, and said with a sneer: "The thieves want to compete with my master for consumption. Outside of Kaifeng City, they really made a wrong calculation."

He glanced at the back of the formation. Behind the formation of the Chinese army and his own army, there were many soldiers pushing all kinds of earthen carts. Made a lot.

Hu Dawei naturally believed in Wen Shiyan's warning about the thieves' cannon, and he would not be concerned about his friendship with Wang Dou. Pay attention together.

Earthen vehicles can protect against artillery. This is based on Wang Dou’s suggestion. The Ming army’s experience in the Battle of Songshan, not to mention the early years of the Battle of Julu. Wang Dou used various earth bags to protect the Hongyi cannons of the Qing soldiers. , Hu Dawei experienced it himself.

What's more, the thieves really used the artillery yesterday, so who knows if there will be more today?There's always something wrong with being prepared.

Looking at those earthen carts, Jiang Mingwu thought that Marquis Yongning was full of whimsical ideas, he had been famous for Wang Dou for a long time, and he just wanted to see him.

……

Today's Ding Qirui and Yang Wenyue are full of confidence in the position of the central army. Yesterday's victory has given them great encouragement. From their point of view, no matter what tactics the thieves use, they can calmly respond to them and resolve them one by one. .

Drive out refugees?They are not Cao and Wang who are trapped in a tight siege. How many hungry people come and die!

There is no better way to plan poison than to run out of food, but with such a short distance, there will be no such hidden worries, besides, there are also many horsemen on the side.

Among the cavalry gathered in Zhuxian Town at this time, Zuo Liangyu and others on the left wing alone had more than [-] cavalry, of which Zuo Liangyu had more than [-] cavalry, and Yang Dezheng and Fang Guoan had more than [-] cavalry. Riders, Hu Dawei, Chen Yongfu, Jiang Mingwuren, etc. on the right wing, add up to more than [-] riders.

In addition, in the Chinese army and the reserve team, each general has hundreds of horses and dozens of horses, and there are more than [-] horses in total. For example, although there are only a few hundred people in Ding Qirui's battalion, they are all of the same color. cavalry.

In this battle between the two sides, the total number of cavalrymen of the Ming army is estimated to be more than [-]. Of course, some generals will inevitably eat empty salaries and drink soldiers' blood. The actual number of troops may always be a mystery. None of them will end well, but it is estimated that there are still nearly [-] riders.

Not to mention Hu Dawei and other infantry of the new army, among these cavalry, the combat power of each town is not very different. After all, the cavalry is the elite of the Ming army, and everyone has always attached great importance to it. Even if there is a difference in combat power, there will be no difference too much.

Their strength in battle is more based on the will of the general. The general fights desperately, and the cavalry under his command are equally brave. If the general does not want to fight, their combat power will be weak, especially the servants, who are the elite among the elite.

Hu Dawei and Chen Yongfu each have thousands of family members, Jiang Mingwu has more than 200, and Zuo Liangyu has more than 2000. He was originally in Liao Town, and later transferred to the hinterland of the Central Plains to fight. Those who do not refuse, there are quite a few elites in the army.

There were seven thousand horsemen, two thousand inner servants, and tens of thousands of infantry. They were a huge force in the hinterland of the Central Plains. This was why Zuo Liangyu had always been valued by the court.

The horse soldiers are patrolling closely, and there is no worry in the rear. In the eyes of the two of them, the bandits and donkeys are poor, and they can't use many new tricks. their continuation strategy.

……

Just like yesterday afternoon, as soon as the two sides formed formations, the bandits drove away the hungry people and launched a frenzied attack on the three wings of the Ming army.

"Raise the gun!"

"Tiger!"

Amidst the majestic shouts and shouts, Tiger Dawei on the right wing and Chen Yongfu were in the position, a total of [-] blunderbuss soldiers in the fourth row of the second town stepped forward neatly, turned down the blunderbuss in their hands, and aimed at the front in another wave of rushing. The hungry people who came.

At this time, gunpowder smoke filled the air, and the pungent bloody smell filled the wilderness. On the plains, there were wailing bandits and wounded soldiers everywhere, as well as those densely dead corpses. It's not a joke, a wave of hungry people has just retreated, and then another wave comes frantically.

There are [-] new army soldiers in the second town. They are divided into four rows, and each row has rounds of front and rear tactics. Rogues, their joys, anger, sorrows and joys are all in front of their eyes.

Although some of these hungry people are not only crazy, but also have helpless, begging, ashamed expressions on their faces, but their hands holding the guns still do not move at all.

If you have been a thief, you should know the result of being a thief. If you have compassion in your heart, will they show mercy to you after the crazy hungry people rush up?I am merciful, I will be the one who will die at that time, I also have an old mother, and my family needs to support me.

Hu Dawei and Chen Yongfu also spent countless efforts on these soldiers of the new army. They were all based on the winning secrets shared by Wang Dou, such as "a good family and dividing the land", but the money and energy consumed were far more than Wang Dou's.

Just like in Wang Dou's army now, all the sergeants have no military pay and no An Jiayin, but Hu Dawei and others are not allowed to do this, otherwise the new army soldiers will not be able to recruit.

However, the cost of raising soldiers at this time is not cheap. An Jiayin generally needs 20 taels per person, at least ten taels. The monthly salary for recruited soldiers is one to two taels per soldier, and it is even higher for officers, etc., 3000 taels per battalion. For a multi-person army, the salary of a month's light is several thousand taels, and the Anjiayin fee is not counted when recruiting troops.

There are also equipment, armor, sub-medicines, etc., and the cost is even more.

In particular, it is necessary to allocate fields to the new army. The cost of reclamation is quite high, and there is a lot of disputes among all parties. It is often a headache. Hu Dawei and others have thought about not allocating fields, but later found out, how is this different from ordinary officers and soldiers? ?
Those who have no property have no perseverance, but those who have property have perseverance. Three or 40-year-old bachelors who have not yet married and established a business have completely different ideas from those who have wives and children. They have increased their incomparable loyalty and stickiness, and all of them are willing to fight to defend their homeland and to fight for the master.

Besides, Hu Dawei and others also discovered that most of the people who only run for military pay and don't want to farm are not good family members. They have a high possibility of becoming prostitutes in the end, and they will eventually ruin their hard work.

So no matter how much it cost, Hu Dawei and others also gritted their teeth and insisted, but no matter how many soldiers they had, they couldn't afford it. Fortunately, it was worth the money. These new army soldiers are indeed extremely tenacious to fight. Waves of attacks were calmly defeated by their firearms.

"put!"

The sound of firecrackers sounded like popping beans one after another, and the white smoke from the gunfire gates and the nozzles of the blunderbuss diffused again in the formation of the Ming army. Eight hundred blunderbuss soldiers launched a violent volley, Seeing the blood mist rising from the thief in front of him, the people who were shot seemed to be stunned, bleeding from their mouths and noses, rolled to the ground and howled in pain.

Hu Dawei saw a bandit soldier with a dazed expression on his face. He stumbled and dragged a long intestine in his stomach. He just walked more than ten steps like that and fell to the ground weakly.

The offensive of the hungry people is getting weaker and weaker. This time the new army just fired a violent volley, and this wave of hungry people was defeated. The massacre has been going on for so long today, and none of the hungry people has been able to touch the refusal gun ten steps ahead of the musketeer soldiers.

Chen Yongfu also held up the binoculars to look out. Through the diffuse gunpowder smoke and the blood flowing everywhere in the plain, he could faintly see the huge bandit army on the opposite side. It seemed that they were getting closer than before. Chen Yongfu always felt that today The thieves are a bit strange, I don't know what conspiracy is brewing.

Hu Dawei also had this feeling, always felt that there seemed to be something hidden behind the densely packed hungry soldiers and infantry, but the smoke of the battlefield made the sky dark here, and he couldn't see clearly even with a telescope.

The second general kept sending sentry cavalry over, but he was always stared at by the bandit cavalry. Whenever he approached, he was driven away by them.

In Sishizhong, the bandit camp on the opposite side seemed to have not moved for a long time. The cold wind of late autumn was blowing, and finally, slowly, the gunpowder smoke was completely blown away, revealing the clear sky and making the sight of both sides clear.

This is……

Hu Dawei and Chen Yongfu held up the binoculars' hands, and they trembled at the same time, and a chill surged in their hearts.

This is the cannon of the thief?

In the direction of the central army, the smoke was thicker and it took longer for the smoke to dissipate. When Ding Qirui and Yang Wenyue put down the binoculars, they both saw the extremely ugly expressions on each other's faces.

On the opposite side, more than a mile away, there are densely packed cannons of thieves one after another. It is roughly estimated that there will be no less than a hundred of the Frang machine guns inside, and the general Frang machine guns are among them. , not less than fifty.

The hungry people gathered in front had all been evacuated, and what was left was the cannons in front, and behind the cannons, there were countless rogue infantry, firearms soldiers, and archers gathered. Behind these long-range soldiers, there were Layer upon layer of bandit spears.

There was a chill in the hearts of the two of them, and at the same time, they suddenly realized, no wonder they feel that there are so many bandits today, and the dust in their formation is often full of dust. Earlier, the two of them saw that the thieves were playing suspicious tricks, and they secretly joked. ah.

One after another, the bandit cannons are facing this side. Not far from the front of the cannons, there are layers of sharp carbine-repelling guns. Not only that, but beside these artillery, there are many earth bags piled up as cover. When they attacked Luoyang, they built a lot of earthen platforms. There were mounds of earth in front of those earthen platforms as protective walls, and gaps were left in the middle to place artillery. people.

There was urgent information from the right wing, it seemed that the bandits were also using huge artillery to deal with Hu Dawei and the others, and the general Buddha Wolf gathered there also had no less than fifty cannons.

"This... what should I do with this?"

The war plan was quite different from his own estimate, Ding Qirui couldn't help being at a loss, Yang Wenyue's fists were clenched and then loosened, and he clenched again, he suggested to Ding Qirui to immediately order the center line to move forward, and the car camp to push up and shoot at the bandits.

After all, most of his car camps are small cannons, many of which can't hit even a mile, while the big general cannons of the rogues can hit more than a mile. It's dangerous to stand like this.

Ding Qirui just said: "This governor... this governor...

But at this time, the sound of hoofbeats sounded, and it was Wen Shiyan who ran to Ding Qirui's side, with a livid expression on his face, all the elegance of the past was gone, and it seemed that he had returned to the coldness when he offered Wang Dou the strategy beyond the Great Wall.

It is true that Wen Shiyan was very annoyed. Ding Qirui and others were too lazy to say that they were prepared for him in every possible way, but the situation was dangerous at this time. Wen Shiyan came to observe, not to die. It is difficult to support it.

Seeing that Ding Qirui couldn't come up with a decision for a long time, he rushed here decisively.

Seeing Ding Qirui's face, he yelled unceremoniously: "Master Ding, immediately send an order to push up the earthen trucks in the rear to cover the tanks! Order the battalion to go forward and shoot at the bandits! Order Hu Dawei on the right wing and others!" Let their cavalry go up and grab the cannon! Immediately, immediately!"

Ding Qirui was yelled at by Wen Shiyan, a little dumbfounded: "Oh, okay, okay..."

Yang Wenyue ignored Wen Shiyan's impolite tone and said, "Ambassador Wen, can you order Zuo Liangyu from the left wing to bring their cavalry as well?"

Wen Shiyan said: "No, according to the analysis of the battle situation, the thieves fired artillery at our central army and the right wing. If they were on the left wing, they would attack with horse soldiers. Tens of thousands of cavalry were afraid that Zuo Liangyu and the others would not be able to support them. The new army of Hu Dawei and others was transferred over, and they used the horse-rejecting and blunderbuss formations to beat them to death before the horse-rejecting!"

Wen Shiyan said viciously, his expression became more ferocious.

……

Snorting, a war horse snorted, causing countless horses to commotion. Behind the stray camp, a dense army of stray horses had assembled. Looking past, the thicket of horses of various colors seemed to cover the plain.

"Before the battle, there are [-] horses, called three walls. The former looks back, and the latter kills them!"

In the end, Li Zicheng decided to adopt Yang Shaofan's opinion, and issued stricter orders. In order to increase the attack power, he also decided to charge the old battalion of the Chuangying camp to the front. This is the most elite force in the Chuangying army. It's them.

In addition, in the cavalry battle formation, there are Li Guo, Yuan Zongdi and others commanding among them. The rough-looking Hao Yaoqi even carried a big flag with the word "Chuang" and rode to the front of the cavalry formation. He decided to use the momentum of thunder , Breaking through Zuo Liangyu's flank in one fell swoop.

Of course, Li Zicheng and others have some reservations. The three coalition forces have nearly 1000 cavalry, and about [-] cavalry attack the left flank. Among them, there are about [-] soldiers from the old battalion. Arrest or command behind the formation.

"Success or failure, it's all about this!"

Li Zicheng, He Yilong, Luo Rucai and others looked solemn. They looked at the direction of the central army and the right wing. According to Yang Shaofan's arrangement, there should be no problem. In front of the layers of artillery, there are stacks of refusal horses. Cannons, I am afraid that there will be heavy casualties, not to mention that behind the artillery, there is a gathering of already square infantry.

The decision has been made, and it depends on the final result of the battle. Li Zicheng took a deep breath. The rebel army cannot be consumed with the officers and soldiers. Today, the victory and defeat must be determined. We will wait and see whether our formation is first broken by Hu Dawei and the others, or whether our own formation is defeated by Hu Dawei and others. The cavalry broke through their left flank first.

Yang Shaofan stood behind a big general gun, watching the gunner light the fuse, the fuse hissed and sparks kept coming out.

His eyes flickered, and his eyes narrowed slightly.

(End of this chapter)