Ming Empire

Chapter 124 Retreat
Dorgon has been standing on a hillside near the camp to watch the battle.

On the battlefield, gunpowder smoke was everywhere, covering the rising sun, and Dorgon didn't have a telescope, so he couldn't see the specific situation clearly.However, he can roughly judge the situation on the battlefield from the movement of the troops on his side.

There are also sergeants who keep running over and report to him the progress of the attacks of various ministries at any time.

Originally, Dorgon thought that today's all-out counterattack would wipe out the Ming army's sneak attack, but he didn't expect that things were far more complicated than he thought.Cao Yue made a careful arrangement, not only sending troops to attack the camp, but also sending the most elite musketeer battalion out of the city to respond.

After leaving the city, the Musketeer Battalion also set up a well-defended camp, even a car formation, and there were a large number of refusal horses.

It is impossible for the Ming army to spend a lot of time arranging these formations, otherwise they would have been detected by his subordinates long ago.It can only be said that the Ming army set up its formation in a very short period of time. From this point, Dorgon can judge that the combat power of the Datong army is far from comparable to other Ming armies.

Judging from the situation on the battlefield, Dorgon already knew that his previous judgment was wrong. There was not only one battalion of firearms in the Datong Army, but at least two battalions with more than [-] men.

From the continuous shooting of muskets, Dorgon also knew that the battlefield effect of Ming army muskets was much better than he had imagined.The frontal attack of the Mongols and the Han army did not make any progress, and the heavy casualties made him completely unbelievable.

Dorgon thought that all the muskets of the Ming army were concentrated in the front, and the flanks were only guarded by cavalry.So he ordered the Mongolian Eight Banners and the Han army to attack from the front at all costs, and ordered the Mongols Manzhu Lixi and the Jurchen Jingqi to attack the Ming army's flanks.Dorgon originally thought that no matter how hard the cavalry and pikemen of the Ming army fought, they would not be able to withstand the impact of the Qing cavalry.

But unexpectedly, the progress of the battle was still not smooth, and he was hesitating whether to attack with all his strength.

And soon, the latest situation on the battlefield reached him.The situation on the battlefield was worse than the worst he had imagined. The most elite Jurchen cavalry were cast on the battlefield, but they still couldn't break through the Ming army's musket array.There were a large number of Ming army muskets firing in several directions, and the Qing cavalry who rushed rapidly could not cross the death line formed by the musket shooting.

Dorgon also knew that as long as he crossed the death line and fought the Ming army at close range, his men and horses could completely defeat the Ming army, gain the initiative on the battlefield, and even wipe out the Ming army outside the city.

But attacks from several directions, after paying a heavy price, still couldn't reach the front of the Ming army's musket formation.

The ammunition of the Ming army seemed to never run out, and their muskets seemed indestructible.The artillery of the Ming army also fired a few bursts from time to time. The huge power of the artillery caused great casualties to the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty.Dorgon wondered if the Ming army developed the latest muskets and stored ample ammunition before Cao Yue dared to go out of the city to fight head-on with the elite cavalry of the Qing Dynasty.

Dorgon also discovered his mistake. If Duoduo hadn't led the [-] Jurchen cavalry to protect the artillery, then throwing those [-] fine cavalry on the battlefield should be able to break through the Ming army's musket array. After all, the Jurchen cavalry The fighting power is far beyond the comparison of the Mongols and the Han army.

"Master, this battle can't be fought like this!" Fan Wencheng, who was standing next to Dorgon, was also very anxious after understanding the situation on the battlefield. Continue to attack, Cao Yue must have made full preparations, the purpose is to use the musket battalion as a bait to lure our Qing army to attack. The muskets are too powerful, as long as they maintain this posture, our army has no way to break through their attack line of defense."

"Sir, do you have any good suggestions?" Although Dorgon was anxious, his expression was still calm, and his tone of voice was very calm.

After Fan Wencheng thought about it again, he said: "Master, this servant believes that the number of firearms in the Ming army is definitely not unlimited. If you use too much, it will definitely break down. The same is true for gunpowder. There will always be a day of consumption. We can use it frequently. We will launch an attack on the ground, consume the gunpowder of the Ming army, let their muskets wear out early, and then attack the city in an all-round way after our artillery arrives, only in this way can we win!"

"There is some truth to what you said, but today's battle has ended like this, and we ended the battle with a disastrous defeat. The impact on morale is very great." Dorgon couldn't help sighing, "We have suffered two consecutive defeats, and our morale will definitely continue. Depressed, how will we fight in future battles?"

"Master, if we continue to fight like this, the losses will be even greater and our morale will be affected even more!" Fan Wencheng had changed his mind, thinking that the only way to defeat the Datong Army was to besiege for a long time and consume all the gunpowder in Datong City.

"Well," Dorgon replied, and didn't speak any more.

After a while, he finally made a decision and shouted loudly: "Pass down this king's order, retreat across the board, and retreat to the camp!"

Soon, the sound of the Jiannu retreat sounded on the battlefield, and the Jiannu army, which continued to attack but failed to achieve much effect, soon stopped attacking and retreated slowly.The discipline of the Jiannu army was good. Although they suffered a disastrous defeat, their retreat was still quite orderly, including the Mongolian and Han troops.

Seeing the retreat of the Jiannu army, Cao Yue was also greatly relieved. He knew that if Jiannu continued to attack in such a manner, the Musket Battalion would not last until the afternoon.Continuous shooting, a large number of muskets have been scrapped, and the consumption of gunpowder is also very fast. He has sent all the backup sergeants, and all the muskets in stock have also been put into the battlefield, but the muskets that can be used on the battlefield are less than [-] branch.

The shooting intensity of the nine thousand muskets has decreased compared to just now, and the loss rate will be higher if they continue to use them.If Jiannu continued to attack with crowd tactics, regardless of losses, then the Datong army would definitely be the one who failed in the end. After all, the Jiannu army had an advantage in numbers.

In case the combat power of the Musketeer Battalion seriously drops, the nearly [-] cavalry and pikemen who went out to guard the city will inevitably join the battle group again.Without the powerful lethality of muskets, Cao Yue could not imagine being able to repel Jiannu's attack by relying on cavalry and other infantry alone.

All the Datong Army relies on firearms. If this is weakened, the combat effectiveness of the Datong Army will drop by several levels.

After seeing Jiannu slowly retreating, Cao Yue also ordered that the Musketeer Battalion withdraw first, and then the cavalry and infantry retreat into the city in batches.

The smoke of gunpowder on the battlefield is the best cover, and the artillery on the top of the city is still firing uninterruptedly, creating bigger scorpions.Soon Jiannu disappeared without a trace, and the tens of thousands of Ming troops outside the city also retreated into the city in batches under the cover of gunpowder smoke.

Fortunately, Jiannu did not take the opportunity to launch an attack when the troops who had left the city to fight returned to the city.

The last group of people retreated into the city, the city gate was closed tightly, and when the suspension bridge was hanging high, Cao Yue's hanging heart was relieved.

"Dorgon is nothing more than that, isn't he as brave and invincible as in the legend, haha!" This is what Cao Yue laughed at Sun Chuanting after seeing all the horses retreating into the city.

Cao Yue himself didn't expect the battle to be like this.

(End of this chapter)