stubborn thief

Flags are waving and drums of war are roaring.

Liu Chengzong rode his horse with his arms folded, looking at the battlefield two miles away.

At this moment, when the two armies met under such circumstances, there was no tactical choice as to how to engage.

Just collision.

Before the reinforcements from the enemy's left wing arrived, the front, middle and rear teams on the right wing were chopped down and destroyed.

Therefore, there was no trial attack, no attention paid to the enemy's deployment, and even no reserve troops were kept by his side. He directly deployed nine battalions other than the Yulin and Huben, with a total of 30,000 troops to engage, support, and block the enemy, arranged in five formations on three sides, and pressed towards the right wing of the Daiqing Legion, wrapped in smoke, dust and earth.

On the front, the Liaoyang and Zongshi battalions were the first echelon, the Beiyuan and Yanmen battalions were the second echelon, and Gao Yingdeng's regular battalion and Li Hongsi's special battalion of the first brigade were the third echelon.

The left wing was supported by Tang Tong's reinforcement battalion of the First Brigade, while Zuo Guangxian's mobile battalion was responsible for blocking the enemy; on the right wing, Suba's 7,000 Mobei cavalry attacked and blocked the enemy.

In the dust that covered the sky, Liu Chengzong saw at a glance the flag symbolizing the northwestern kings of the Ming Dynasty, which was like a sharp knife piercing in front of Dai Qing's right wing.

The first echelon Liu Chengzong deployed on the front was to break the formation.

The army cannot be fully armed during a march, but in the field where they may encounter enemies, generals will usually deploy armored cavalry on the outside of the army to deal with sudden attacks.

It is certainly not wrong to use armored cavalry to attack armored cavalry, but Liu Chengzong needs faster.

The Imperial Clan Camp and the Liaoyang Camp had many guns and cannons.

The rear guard on the right wing of Daiqing's army was led by Hauge, who commanded 4,000 Zhenglan Bannermen.

He had just discovered a large number of enemy troops appearing on the side and rear. He informed the left wing where Emperor Chongde was, and ordered the army to stop and change formation. However, his three-row horizontal formation had just stopped when it was subjected to unprecedented fierce artillery fire.

Hundreds of captured heavy artillery pieces of various types were lined up on the sand dunes two miles away and bombarded the three formations on the right wing evenly. Hauge's Zhenglan Banner alone was hit by more than twenty shells in an instant.

That is to say, it was sandy ground and the shells could not bounce off. Otherwise, his entire battalion would be wiped out with one salvo.

Even though the shells were unable to cause secondary casualties by ricocheting, more than 20 shells still smashed the army into pieces.

Hauge was almost crying.

He shouted in his heart: My dear brother whom I have never met, why did you pick my army to attack? This is a bloody fratricide!
At this moment, he wanted to escape desperately.

But he didn't dare.

His father always mocked him for not being brave and threatened to kill him at any time, only pardoning him when he was about to be scared to death.

He might not die in battle, but if his flank was suddenly attacked, if he dared to run to the back, his father Khan Huang Taiji would most likely kill him to intimidate the military nobles.

For a moment, the fear of death made him freeze on the spot.

But he didn't need to give the order, as most of the Eight Banners were veterans who had fought for twenty or thirty years.

Beside Hauge, the deputy general of the Zhenglan Banner, Tobohui, and the lieutenant general, Yileshen, gave orders one after another, deploying the troops, ordering the soldiers to put on armor, and sending the five shield-carrying vehicles in the front to the right wing.

Thanks to the command of the veteran generals around him, Hauge regained some composure. He quickly selected his own cavalry guards and ordered them to attack and block the enemy on the right wing first to create opportunities for his own side to put on armor.

However, at this moment, the second shelling came.

This time the bombardment was not as intensive as the first time. It was eighty-eight invincible general cannons. The terrible bombardment fell on the formation again, breaking up the Zhenglan Banner army formation that had just gathered.

In fact, among the three formations on the right wing, only the Zhenglan Banner could gather the troops.

The Mongolian tribes located in the middle of the right wing and monitoring the Han army in front had collapsed under the leadership of Wu Keshan. Groups of cavalry broke away from the formation, some headed north to meet the Marshal's army, some fled to the northwest, and some rushed across the right wing position of the Zhenglan Banner.

Some even rushed into the Han army's positions.

It's a mess.

The Han army led by Ma Guangyuan in the front army was also very calm. This man was once the Lieutenant General of Jianchang and surrendered to the Jin during the Ji Si Rebellion.

The Han troops under his command were not even as calm as the Mongolian soldiers, because all the guns and artillery were in the front of the army, and the Han troops except the Three Shun Kings were not allowed to be equipped with bows and arrows since the time of Nurhaci.

So they were all busy pushing shield carts and artillery to the flanks. Only the panicked right wing musketeers, with their three-barreled guns, bird guns, and large wind-chasing guns, fired at the smoke and the artillery positions two miles away in extreme panic.

As for what they are fighting for, they themselves don’t know.

But the gunfire was effective.

The 300 chariots carrying guns from the royal camp had advanced to between 100 and 200 steps to Daiqing's right wing, forming an oblique line that was closer in the south and farther in the north.

The royal family of the Ming Dynasty immediately raised their guns and fired head-on at the gunfire in the smoke and dust.

In the dust and smoke everywhere, both sides were equally matched and no one could aim accurately.

Not to mention aiming, the Mongolian cavalry under Wu Keshan's command who were charging in disarray could even ride their horses directly into the chariots carrying guns.

Of course, some of them also broke into the formation through the gaps in the chariots, but before they could inflict any casualties on the royal relatives in dragon robes and armor, they were dragged off their horses by the loyal Liaoyang soldiers beside the chariots and hacked to death with their swords.

As soon as Hauge's Blue Banner Guard Cavalry rushed out of the battle formation, they saw the royal camp lined up in a wall of chariots. They hurriedly approached, drew their bows and arrows, and shot at the soldiers on the chariots.

But the cavalry can be driven away, and the chariots standing on the ground cannot be retreated even if all the soldiers run away or die.

Not to mention, just after they shot an arrow, hundreds of Wala cavalrymen with spears came running from the northeast and chased them and stabbed them.

It was Zuo Guangxian who was responsible for clearing the way for the left wing of the Marshal's Army.

Zuo Guangxian's mission was to block the enemy's flank support from the rear of Daiqing. To be precise, Liu Chengzong's order to him was to open a passage to attack the rear of the right wing, block the first wave of cavalry rushing up, and protect Tang Tong's reinforcement camp from moving to the rear of the enemy.

He originally planned to have the Han cavalry in the front and the Mongolian cavalry in the back, but before they even started marching, he saw a group of cavalry running out of the Dai Qinglanbiao camp. He immediately assigned his Khoshut cavalry to attack them.

Liu Chengzong had established a cavalry battalion responsible for expelling enemy cavalry for several years, and it was finally put to good use.

The Eight Banners Guards were luxuriously equipped with mail armor covered with iron armor, carrying long bows with a bow force of more than 70 kilograms and heavy arrows, riding carefully selected tall horses, and were invincible in close combat and archery.

However, when they encountered the Oirats cavalry who were paying blood tax, they had to temporarily avoid their sharp spears under the exaggerated shape of their three lances, one long and two short.

Whether it is one layer or two layers of armor, it has an absolute advantage in close combat. Multiple layers can save your life even when facing arrows and bullets from a distance.

But it’s different with the lances coming straight at you. Anyone who sees them has to hide.

It's impossible to avoid it!

The Khoshut cavalry retained the war horses brought from the Tianshan Mountains, and their other equipment was completely renewed under Liu Chengzong's arming.

Of course, in terms of armor, they were still far inferior to the iron-clad Eight Banners Guards, and were only slightly better than the cavalry servants carried by the guards.

However, they were excellent riders, and with their light armor and finely forged lances, they moved at high speed to an advantageous position behind the right side of the guard cavalry, and relied on the physique and acceleration advantages of the Tianshan horses to recklessly chase the evasive guard cavalry. Some unlucky ones would be shot down by the guard cavalry who were good at shooting with both hands during the chase.

And more people will catch up with the nearest guard cavalry at a very fast speed.

There is no need to exert too much strength to chase the heavily armored cavalry in double armor, nor is there any need to spur the horse to sprint at full speed. Even at the moment before the enemy's attack, the experienced Oirats cavalry would slow down in advance to prevent their arms from being unable to withstand the impact.

He just used the weight of the men and horses and the force of their advance to lightly tap the enemy with the spear - pop!

The thin cloth armor would be easily pierced, and the riveted finely forged chain mail would appear to be non-existent, breaking apart in an instant.

Most importantly, impact.

It is not like a bow or a musket. Even without mentioning the kinetic energy decay, it only causes damage in an instant. Unless the rider's thigh does not exert force at the moment of hit, he will usually not be knocked off the horse.

The force of the lance is continuous in a short period of contact, and unless the person is stabbed through, it can easily knock him off the horse.

But the most terrifying force on the battlefield was obviously not the Oirats cavalry of the Ranger Battalion.

Although these cavalrymen had great killing power and could easily chase down the guard cavalry, if Hauge had only sent out cavalry servants, he would have been able to chase them down and attack them.

Because neither Zuo Guangxian, who commanded the front line, nor Liu Chengzong, who commanded the rear, would be willing to use cavalry to fight against mounted banner slaves.

What was really scary was the clan camp that deployed chariots in a large horizontal formation.

None of the Marshal's Army generals ever considered the Imperial Clan Battalion as a combat unit worth using.

A battalion had more flags than Gao Yingdeng's brigade, but no one complained about it, just like the Beiyuan battalion holding high the nine-flag white banner, both were the political mascots of the marshal.

Among the four camps led by Liu Chengzong, the clan camp was ranked behind the Northern Yuan camp. It was equipped with chariots because it had to build roads through mountains and bridges over rivers. Many axes and pickaxes were loaded on the chariots, and even the guns and heavy guns were equipment picked up from other camps.

They were even equipped with many of the three-barreled guns that were previously used by Xie Erhu's Mongolian Brigade, the old-style one-foot barrels and the tails of the guns that looked like pickaxes and shovels.

But this doesn't stop their various banners from looking scary.

Amid the sound of gunfire, the rifles that were as big as small cannons fired continuously from the chariot, shooting huge lead bullets into the three formations on the right wing of the Daiqing army. Anyone hit would be pierced through, and even two or three people could be killed by one bullet.

On the flank of the Zhenglan Banner alone, a large number of armored soldiers were shot down, and a corner of the flank and rear was flattened by continuous attacks.

This scene made Liu Chengzong on the sand dune very excited.

He turned to the messenger cavalrymen standing on both sides with their backs holding the flags of the camps, and said: "Quickly report to Wu Sihu, the southeast corner of the Blue Flag Camp has been breached, and all the armored cavalry have been shot dead. Lead the Beiyuan Camp to break through the gap and trample the enemy formation. Don't be stingy with the war horses, and kill the unarmored soldiers with all your might!"

Immediately, a messenger cavalryman belonging to the Northern Yuan Camp stepped out of the crowd, saluted, mounted his horse, and galloped to the front line.

"Report to Taiji and Sun Long that the enemy's Blue Flag Battalion has been disconnected from the Cavalry Battalion. The Liaoyang Battalion was the vanguard and attacked the Cavalry Battalion and engaged in a melee. The Yanmen Battalion deployed on both wings and completely repelled them."

Cavalry is most threatening when in formation, but is also most likely to be pushed back and defeated by any organized force in a melee.

This is also the most basic usage of the one or two character formation.

In fact, it is the word "three". One is to confront the enemy head-on and engage in a melee with the enemy cavalry; the other is to spread out on both wings and encircle the enemy.

This was also Li Chengliang's usual method when he had an advantage in combat power. When he had an advantage in equipment, he would also use the one-line formation to face the enemy head-on, and the two-line formation would move forward alternately, similar to the three-stage attack of a musket, which is also called a triple formation.

Engage the enemy with one-third of your combat power in exchange for long-term sustained combat capability.

When they were at a disadvantage in terms of military strength and were about to be surrounded, they would split the middle of the three characters into two wings to form a hollow square camp. This is also the reason why the Ming army often gave people the impression that they would sit in a square camp when fighting.

They deployed their camp too quickly.

And when firearms have the advantage, it is Yu Dayou's chariot soldiers.

The chariots fired a round of artillery fire, and the cavalry went out to reap a round. The chariots moved forward and fired another round of artillery fire, and the cavalry went out to reap another round, and the cycle continued.

At Anyin Fort in Datong, Yu Dayou led 100 chariots and 3,000 infantry and cavalry, and used such tactics to defeat tens of thousands of Mongolian soldiers, forcing them to flee on the ground.

As for the advantage in military strength, the Ming army basically did not consider this issue.

But some people have considered that the peasant army represented by Li Zicheng, the ignorant literati in the interior of the country, called the peasant army's formation "three walls", which was actually the one-two-character formation commonly used by border troops.

Even the sword-breaking formation that Zhang Yichuan learned had the same underlying logic as the one-two-character formation.

However, the quality of their soldiers was too poor, and they did not have the basis for completing tactical actions. If they faced the enemy head-on in a single formation, they would be defeated head-on; if they spread out on both wings in a double formation, they would be crushed on three sides; if they rotated front and back in a double formation, all three formations would collapse and flee.

The performance on the battlefield is the brutal fighting style of risking life like breaking through the sword formation.

Different people have different abilities and resources, so even if they use the same ideas and tactics, they will form different forms of expression.

There is no constant situation in war.

While Liu Chengzong was mobilizing his troops, Haoge in the Daiqing army also received Huang Taiji's first order: "Hold your ground, open your left wing, and let the reinforcements enter the battle."

The army was suddenly attacked from the flank during the march, which gave Huang Taiji a splitting headache, because his army was divided into two wings with twelve formations, and he himself was in the center formation on the right side of the left wing with six formations.

The large horizontal formation of 60,000 people had a formation within a formation, a team within a team, and a large camp surrounding a small camp in order to provide rapid support for the enemy head-on. The horizontal length of the entire formation was more than ten miles, and the command distance was several times farther than that of Liu Chengzong.

Behind the messenger, the imperial tent pulled by nine oxen was rolling northwards in the army formation, and along the way, the messenger cavalry was sent out in all directions to convey the troop deployment orders to each flag and unit.

Just when Hauge saw the messenger, Huang Taiji had already sent out the guard cavalry of the Bordered White Banner to support the Plain Blue Banner in the rear of the army formation which was reorienting itself to face north.

In the marching formation of the Bordered White Banner, soldiers in armor were putting on their armor and preparing for the second batch of support; and on the rear side of Hauge's right wing, two hundred guard cavalrymen of the Plain White Banner were also coming to support from the outside of the formation.

On the left wing of the army farther away, the two yellow flags, the red flag, the vanguard camp, and the guard camp did not even wear armor, and all the cavalry mounted their horses and rushed north.

Just at this time difference, the Zhenglan Banner opened the rear of the square camp and let the Bordered White Banner guards into the battle. The officers under their banner shouted loudly that reinforcements had arrived to inspire the morale and fighting spirit of the Banner Army to fight to the death - the sound of rumbling horse hooves came from the southeast corner.

The hair-raising overtone call echoed across the battlefield.

Rows of cavalrymen from the Northern Yuan camp, fully armed and with their horses half-armored, galloped towards the northeastern gap of the Zhenglan Banner.

The cavalry in the front team spread out to the left and right, forming two rings outside the northeast corner of the army formation, and shot at two points in the army formation. The continuous strong arrows made the gap bigger and bigger.

The cavalry in the rear deployed in a small horizontal formation, charging across with long swords and short spears, like axes chopping wood, and wedges fiercely into the formation, killing people and horses in an instant.

The unarmored soldiers in front dodged backwards, and the unarmored soldiers behind were squeezed and crashed into the queue of reinforcements of the Bordered White Banner Guards.

The guard cavalry could not stop their retreat. The flying arrows had already hit them. The entire army was pierced in an instant. The fleeing army rushed back like a tide and then rushed into the army of the Bordered White Banner who were wearing armor.

"General, the Beiyuan Camp first defeated the Blue Flag Camp, and then attacked the White Flag Camp, breaking through two formations in a row!" (End of this chapter)