Ming Empire

Chapter 234 The Helpless Dorgon
Just when those slaves who managed to escape the artillery bombardment and continued to rush forward were looming in the dense smoke, several big iron horns were raised in front of the trenches, and the thick-throated soldiers used the big horns to fight desperately. shouted to those people who were walking in front to stop and lie down on the spot, not to serve as a shield for the slaves.The soldiers of the Ming Dynasty couldn't tell which were ordinary people and which were slaves. If they went any further, they could only shoot and kill them all.If you want to survive, run for your life and don't rush forward.

This trick is quite useful. Although there is no amplification equipment, dozens of people roar with this kind of big iron horn, and the sound is still not small, and it can be transmitted to Jiannu's formation amidst the rumbling explosion.Some people panicked immediately after hearing such shouts, and no longer cared about the escorting Jiannu behind them, they desperately broke free from their control, or lay down on the spot to avoid being shot and killed by the Ming army's muskets and artillery.

They had to be coerced, because of the threat of death, if they did not obey, they would be killed by Jiannu.But now, following Jiannu's order and continuing to move forward, they were about to be shot by the muskets of the Ming army, so they naturally thought of running for their lives.At the beginning, they were unwilling to obey the orders of Jiannu, and their end was death, but being escorted to the battlefield might have a way of life, so they chose to obey; now they will definitely be shot and killed if they continue to move forward, and they may pick up one if they run away or lie down. If they were ordered, they gave up obeying and chose to fight.

Seeing that Jiannu was close to the firing range of the muskets, and the people they forced to go to the battlefield were scrambling to escape or lie down, Cao Yue decisively ordered the artillery to approach and shoot, and ordered the musket battalions to get ready to shoot.

Following Cao Yue's order, the artillery of the two guards lowered their shooting angles and fired at the Jiannu who began to accelerate their impact.Because these Jian slaves were holding the people, they were not bombed by the shelling in front of them. The people began to escape without their control, and the shells fell on their heads.Many innocent people were also hidden by the artillery, unfortunately died or were injured

Naturally, the slaves began to suffer casualties. In the process of desperately avoiding shell bombardment, they also accelerated their charge, trying to rush through these areas in front and within the range of bows and arrows.Only when they rushed within the range of the bows and arrows, would they have a chance to attack the Ming army, and would it be possible to severely damage the Ming army.

But the huge crater created by the shocking explosion the day before, as well as some traps set by the Ming army, seriously affected their impact speed.At this time, they also rushed into the range of the Ming army's muskets, and as rows of muskets fired, one after another Jiannu fell under the Ming army's guns.

The shooting of muskets feels far less powerful than cannons, but the actual lethality is far beyond that of cannons.

The 8000rd and [-]th Guards Divisions deployed [-] Musketeers in front of the positions, divided into three rows at the front and back. The soldiers in each row hid in the trenches, and the [-] troops in several trenches fired salvos each time. It is [-] rounds of bullets, and the lethality of a round of salvo to Jiannu is very terrifying.Jiannu, who were lucky enough not to be wounded by the artillery, fell under the musket fire of the Ming soldiers in large numbers.

Because of the demonstration of the veterans, the overwhelming victories in several consecutive battles led to a surge in morale in the army, and the recruits did not have any stage fright. Jiannu was still a hundred steps away, and the bows and arrows could not shoot them. Most of the sergeants could Follow your normal training routine.Because the new flintlock guns are equipped with primary sights, the shooting accuracy is greatly improved, and the overall lethality against Jiannu has been greatly improved.

In the end, after more than a dozen rounds of shooting, Jiannu dropped countless corpses and fled. The number of Jiannu who were lucky enough to rush into the range of bows and arrows in both directions was no more than a thousand. The bows and arrows they shot caused very few casualties to Ming soldiers.After figuring out the situation on the battlefield, Dorgon, whose face was distorted due to anger, finally gave the order to stop the attack helplessly.

What made Dorgon a little relieved was that the Ming army did not take advantage of the situation to pursue, and still stood firm and did not attack.

The huge casualties for two consecutive days and the results that hardly brought any trouble to the Ming army made Dorgon feel terrified.After the armistice was withdrawn, he immediately ordered that all troops retreat for five miles and completely break away from contact with the Ming army.After the men and horses of the various ministries were gathered and defeated, they strictly guarded the camp to prevent possible surprise attacks by the Ming army.Dorgon knew that the battle had become like this, and no matter what, it couldn't continue like this.If the fight continues, his two 10,000+ troops will not be able to deal with the Ming army if they are all wiped out.

When did the war become like this, Dorgon was puzzled.

The last time they fought against Cao Yue, the Ming army relied on explosives and muskets, as well as the strength of Datong City, to defeat the Qing army. This time, the Ming army was preparing to attack Liaocheng. Qing army.Relying only on temporary fortifications, without a tall and solid city wall to rely on, the Ming army still defeated the Qing army, and the ratio of casualties between the two sides was such a disparity, which he never imagined in his dreams.This made him deeply fearful, and he knew that the balance of power between the two sides was completely tilted in the direction of the Ming army.

In the war with the Ming army, the protagonists were no longer cavalry and swords, but artillery, muskets, and explosives, which Dorgon had never considered.The last time Datong was defeated by Cao Yue's musketeers, he realized the power of muskets, so he tried his best to search for about [-] muskets, prepared a musketeer battalion, and prepared to enter the battlefield in this battle. Give the Ming army a hard blow.

These muskets were collected from the Ming Jiang Army, and they were all old-fashioned muskets, but Dorgon cherished this musket battalion as if he had found a treasure, and would not use it easily.But judging from the situation on the battlefield in the past two days, his gun battalion, which is regarded as a treasure, may be wiped out by the opponent without even a chance to make a move in front of the Ming army equipped with a large number of artillery and guns.How can we decipher the tactics of the Ming army and bring out the advantages of the Qing army so as not to continue to suffer disastrous defeats? This is Dorgon's most important consideration now.

After stopping the attack and ordering the whole army to retreat five miles to set up camp, Dorgon immediately called the main generals and counselors of the general to the big tent to discuss countermeasures.When Dorgon called these advisors and main generals to the big tent, the preliminary statistics of the battle results had already come out.

During the two-day war, the Qing army lost more than 5000 horsemen, including [-] Jurchen elites.

This is the number of dead, more wounded, at least more than 3, and the number of seriously injured is also quite a lot.Even if these seriously injured people could recover a life, most of them basically had no possibility of continuing to participate in the battle.

There is no need to find out the casualties of the Ming army, Dorgon can already estimate that the opponent's losses are almost negligible.

Although the main force has not suffered major losses, and the casualties mainly occurred in the Ming Jiang Army, Han Army, Korean Army, and Mongolian Eight Banners, this has already made Dorgon feel terrified, and it seems that this battle cannot be fought.

(End of this chapter)