stubborn thief

The war horses are galloping.

The twenty-four cavalrymen rushed forward like lightning, rolling up sand and directly attacking the formation of Tianyou's army.

The Tianyou soldiers, who were deploying their battle lines to attack the Mobei cavalry, were overwhelmed by their momentum. The right wing became disorganized, discarded their heavy equipment, and retreated to the center.

From time to time, a soldier would stop while running, turn around with his musket, take aim, fire a shot, and then flee towards the central army in a panic.

There was only one chance to fire, and with a roar, hundreds of cavalrymen in the front line rushed to the enemy in twelve groups.

Then they let go of the reins one by one, controlled the horses with their legs alone, leaned their bodies to the right on the horse's back, held the gun barrel with their left arms and left ribs, held the three-barreled gun in their hands, aimed at the running enemy in front of them on the right, and put the fuse close to the firing port with their right hands.

Bang bang bang!
In a very short period of time, as the three-barreled gun turned and the thumb pushed open the firing port cover, the three gun barrels that had been loaded long ago were fired in turn, spraying nine lead bullets at the rapidly approaching enemy in the smoke and fire.

The gun went off, the bullet popped out, and the man fell down.

The war horses passed over the enemy soldiers who fell and screamed, and the Tang cavalry moved without any pause.

While inserting the gun in his left hand into the gun bag on the left side of the saddle, he lifted his right foot from the stirrup and kicked forward lightly, throwing away the foot rope held by the tail of the pennant spear. With a swing of his right arm, the flag spear passed over the horse's head and was grasped by the rider with both hands.

The tip of the spear is on the left, and the tail of the spear is on the right.

The Tang Cavalryman's light kick with his right foot was not only to throw off the noose, but also to give orders to the mount he had been riding with day and night.

When Tangqi's right foot stepped into the stirrup again, the warhorse changed from a galloping posture with big strides to a walking posture turning left and right. Its speed slowed down and its gait was not as bold, but it was more stable.

The triangular dragon flag fluttered in front of the horse and then pointed to the left side of the fleeing enemy.

At the moment of intersection, the spear tip pierced the armpit armor, and was pulled away from the wound by the horse and the soldier's arm, scratched the unprotected inside of the right arm, cut the leather strap of the shoulder guard and opened it, leaving a string of sparks on the opened armor.

The only thing that remains unchanged on the battlefield is a Tang cavalryman holding a flag and spear, aiming at his next victim.

But there were fewer deserters who turned around and ran away, and there was one more wounded soldier with blood flowing from his ribs and his arm showing bones, as well as several dying people who were twisted and crawling with lead bullets in their bodies.

Of course, these wounded soldiers were all dying.

Because the Shuofang Town cavalry, led by He Huchen, held down their goose-feather swords, and the cavalry rolled into the battlefield like lawn mowers, causing heads to fly and fall to the ground.

Shuofang Town charged into the battle formation like a terrifying torrent, overwhelming and defeating the Tianyou Army almost at the first moment of contact.

But this isn’t actually the scariest part.

While He Huchen's cavalry charged into the enemy's formation, Subadi, who was commanding the Mobei teams to attack Manzhu Xili in turn to welcome the cavalry, discovered that another group of people were running down from the sand dunes in the west.

There weren't many of them, only about a hundred or so, but they looked very scary.

If we have to draw a difference between the Marshal's Army and the Ming Army, the winter armor is more respectable and has a lot of fur decorations.

Without those warm decorations, there would probably be no small flags and helmet tassels on Bozhou's helmet and spear, but it would look more decent.

These people who are running with knives and spears are different.

They wore the same bowl-shaped helmet, the same long red cavalry armor, and carried the same goose-feather sword in a sheath, but they were barefoot and did not wear pants.

The armor skirt was rolled up to the waist and tied to the leather belt with the five-colored ribbons that fell from the waist. Some people had no clothes under the long red armor, and those who had clothes only wore a plain midi and wrapped their feet with leggings as shoes.

It’s just that...their undignified appearance and crazy temperament made Subati feel that they looked like the Ming army.

This group of people were also He Huchen's soldiers. The one leading them, running towards the battlefield with his long hairy legs swinging, was He Huchen's son He Zan.

They attacked too hastily and too fast, and more than 200 horses were exhausted along the way.

The generals of several towns in the Mobei Military Governor's Office were sent to Mobei when Liu Chengzong was very poor. Their equipment level is incomparable to the dozen or so garrison brigades now. Their mobile forces have no guns or chariots, only horses and mules.

The mules are still plowing the fields near Guihua City, and the war horses have to rely on their legs to run.

There's nothing wrong with relying on legs, the main thing is that this season is not the time for people to wear armor and fight, so they are almost running like crazy. At the beginning, there were even some people who threw away their armor and went to the battlefield shirtless, and were kicked by He Zan.

You can enter the battlefield late, but you can't lose your armor.

With just these few men, even if they were surrounded by enemy cavalry, with the mutual support of the marshal's troops and their armor, they could definitely hold out until reinforcements arrived.

But if there were no armor, it would be fine if the wind was completely favorable on the battlefield, and they could just chase and chop them down. But if the situation was slightly unfavorable, any cavalry could come and kill them all like chickens.

So they took off their clothes, leather armor, shoulder pads, trousers, and iron boots, and only took two swords, one long and one short, and five arrows. They threw away all the bottles and jars, and ran after the cavalry. When they were near the battlefield, they regrouped on the sand dunes, took a few breaths, and then rushed to the battlefield.

It’s not that they are as scary as they appear, and they would go into battle and kill the enemy even if they were swinging birds.

Instead, He Huchen and Liu Chengzong's Tangqi had already gained an advantage in the local battlefield. In front of them were only enemies lying on the ground, twisting and struggling. He Zan wanted to lead his men to rush forward to finish them off and chop off their heads in the process.

This was He Huchen's request. Unless it was absolutely necessary, we didn't expect them to run several miles and fight to the death on the battlefield. We just had to deal with the fallen bodies to prove our contribution to the Marshal.

Otherwise, with such a large-scale battle and such a chaotic battlefield, his Shuofang Town was a decoy force stationed in the west earlier. By the time he contacted Liu Chengzong to join the battle, it would be too late for the order to be sent back and forth.

If we directly participate in the war, how can we prove that our Shuofang Town is doing its job?
Human head.

The Ming army’s ancestral merit of killing people.

When Suba took the first look, they looked even more like the Ming army. He was so scared that he quickly told his subordinates to stay away from those head-cutting gangs.

In fact, He Huchen was worrying too much.

His Shuofang Town and Tangqi, together with a cavalry of more than 5,000 horses, rushed into the battlefield, and the width of their mighty charge almost swept the entire flank of the battlefield.

The central army had noticed it long ago.

As soon as they appeared on the sand dunes in the west, the lookouts of the Marshal's Office's central army discovered this movement and alerted Liu Shizi.

He was indeed not paying attention to the battlefields on both wings. Earlier, he was paying attention to the battlefield on his left wing, but after the cavalry started fighting, he no longer looked that way.

Can't see clearly.

Cavalry combat has a large maneuvering range and stirs up a lot of dust, making the battlefield unclear.

Moreover, after entering the melee, there was no clear edge of the army formation, and the ground was covered with blood. He could not see individual cavalrymen, nor could he distinguish formed cavalry units. When the fighting became fierce, no one reported the battlefield situation to the central army.

There's no point paying attention.

On the contrary, the central army had a clear battle line. Even when the cavalry went into battle, they formed a formation and moved in and out, so it was at least easy to distinguish.

In fact, Liu Chengzong had already figured out the situation of this battle. As long as it was chaotic enough, there was no need to worry about the two wings.

Because as dusk comes, the sky will darken.

Evening means a rest, and a rest means waiting for dawn.

It should be Huang Taiji, not him, who should be eager to win before night falls.

Although this battlefield is close to Shengjing but far from Xi'an.

But behind him is the vast and boundless Xing'an Mountains.

Liu Chengzong could guarantee that the Greater Khingan Range would not fly up and crush him at any time.

Behind Huang Taiji was the Guanning Army, ready to fight.

No one can accurately predict the mental state of these border troops in these chaotic times, and no one can predict what they will do.

So two wings?
No news is good news, and disruption means delay.

Liu Shizi's mentality gets better and better as the game goes on.

When it gets dark and both armies withdraw to their camps, the morale of the Marshal's army will not change.

Emperor Chongde had to endure the inner torture and was so ashamed that he slapped himself in the face: How could 60,000 people not be able to defeat 30,000?

Liu Chengzong's attention was only on the central army. He saw the left wing shrinking and the right wing being entangled, leaving only a very solid central army line. He fought with the Han army and the Mongolian army, but failed to break through the chariot fortifications of the royal family and the second camp of Liaoyang. Instead, Gao Yingdeng sent a cavalry to rush out and defeat them.

The enemy troops in the third line of defense in the rear did not attack. He could feel that the enemy commander's fighting spirit was wavering.

After being covered in blood and flesh, no one can keep punching a motionless wall.

Now, all that is missing to launch the most violent attack is an opportunity, and that opportunity is the moment when the balance is broken on any of the left, center or right sides of the army.

Whether Subadi's Mobei Army was defeated, or Zuo Guangxian and Tang Tong's First Brigade could not hold on to the Second Battalion, or the enemy army opposite them could not hold on, for Liu Chengzong, they were all opportunities to secure victory.

Because Huang Taiji was in the one-two line formation in the center of the army, the first two lines of defense were already vulnerable.

Although the number of troops was not reduced much after suffering casualties from the attack, the army formation was still there, and they fired firearms at the clan camp.

But Liu Shizi knew very well that it was all an illusion. Even if they formed a formation to attack, they would be beaten back by the cavalry of the First Brigade. How could they not be afraid?
What about when the First Brigade actually launches the attack?

Defense, what the hell!

The First Brigade could overwhelm them as quickly as it took them to run over.

Liu Chengzong only asked Huang Taiji to mobilize the Eight Banners Army in the third line of the central army.

Regardless of whether it is supporting the wing, expanding the wing advantage, or making another inside move like supporting the right wing.

As long as the formation moves, it will be an opportunity for the First Brigade to launch a general attack, engulf the first and second lines of defense, and defeat the enemy in the middle.

It was also at this time that Liu Chengzong's central army received a series of reports.

"Report! The enemy's left front is retreating towards the center!"

"Report! The enemy is moving eastward from the left rear!"

"Report! The right wing of the Mobei Army is charging straight to the enemy's left front, no, straight to the left center!"

"Report! The enemy's left front square camp has changed into a horizontal formation and is outflanking the Mobei Army... West, a cavalry is coming from the west!"

"Tangqi! It's Tangqi!"

"After Tangqi, it's General He from Shuofang Town!"

No need to report.

Liu Chengzong looked through the telescope and saw that under the rolling dust, cavalrymen with pennant flags formed a black line, engulfing the left front team of Dai Qing's army and then spreading to the left squadron.

Just this moment.

Liu Chengzong burst into laughter.

His scalp felt tight, his eyes widened and blood oozed out, the hairs under his armor stood up, and he unconsciously used force to break the horsewhip - the time for the general attack had come!
Liu Shizi suddenly turned around and ordered: "Send the message to Gao Yingdeng and Li Hongsi."

"Zhengqi Second Battalion, fire all the rockets in front of the formation, attack, and go straight to their third formation!"

"We won't withdraw until dark!"

The messenger ordered the cavalry to mount their horses and gallop.

He Huchen, who was sweeping across the western side of the battlefield like a sandstorm, was still charging forward.

Across two military formations, on the Khan's tent carriage, Huang Taiji held the wooden railing of the Khan's tent cart tightly with both hands, gritted his teeth and looked at the battlefield.

flank!

The flank again!

After the formation change, the flank was attacked again!
His head ached so much that he could hardly open his eyes, and he could feel a chill on his lips. He raised his hand to wipe it, and the blood from his nose spread out in large black patches on the sleeves of his blue satin armor.

As far as the eye can see, the military formations of various flags on the front line flashed by like a revolving lantern, and there were people moving in the formation lines of each flag.

The subconscious impression left on him at that moment was that the army was in chaos.

In fact, only the left wing of the front line was in chaos, while the central army was still under Yue Tuo's command, firmly defending against the enemy.

What he saw were just the messenger cavalry running around in the formation.

Yue Tuo, who was commanding the front line, only saw the emperor moving to the rear of his army, and immediately ordered his left and right: "Quickly report to the Holy Khan, the left wing can't hold out, the central army is about to face the enemy, the Holy Khan is worth a million gold, you should move to the right wing!"

"Pass two red flags and form a battle formation to resist the enemy."

Yue Tuo secretly groaned in his heart, this order was almost obvious. Once the fighting started, if the Han and Mongolian flags on the front line were defeated, the two red flags would be sent to cover the rear.

No flag leader with a normal mind would give such an order.

Even in the current situation, he would rather lead his troops to escape than fight to the death with his own troops.

Especially Yuetuo.

The two red flags are not like the other six flags. The yellow flag has changed its color and the remaining five flags have changed their flag owners.

The two red flags had been his and his father Daishan's main force from the very beginning.

But the problem now is that Huang Taiji’s Zhenghuang Banner is right behind him.

If the front line could not hold on, the defeated soldiers would directly attack the lines of the two red flags. If he continued to run after them, he would not be able to escape the responsibility for the defeat.

Yue Tuo was not afraid that Huang Taiji would kill him, but he was afraid that he would be like Du Du, stripped of his status as a banner leader and stuffed into another banner as a Gushan, which would be a torture more painful than death.

When the flank was attacked again, Huang Taiji neither sent the yellow flag to the left wing for support nor to the central army for support, which showed that his determination to win the war had wavered.

Therefore, on the current battlefield, Yue Tuo even felt that although he was the commander-in-chief on the front line, he was not wrestling with Liu Chengzong, but competing in will with Huang Taiji.

It depends on whether he retreated first because of cowardice, or whether Huang Taiji ordered his two red flags to retreat, or whether the entire army retreated.

Just as Yue Tuo was fighting an invisible enemy in his mind, a line of white smoke suddenly rose from the enemy formation directly in front of him.

This white smoke is familiar; it is the smoke from gunfire.

But what is puzzling is that the smoke came from the enemy's camp.

It was not in front of the battlefield, and there was no sound of gunfire. Instead, there were faint hissing sounds gathering together, as if countless cords were burning at the same time.

Yue Tuo frowned: "Then, what is that?"

Gun smoke burst out from almost every spot behind the wide central front of the enemy camp, and in a very short time it became more and more numerous, the sound became sharper and sharper, from a light mist like that fired by a musket to an invisible pure white, and became thicker and thicker.

Finally, the rocket gathered enough power to lift it off the launch pad.

The sound of whizzing through the air continued to come from behind the clan camp's chariot formation, and countless rockets shot up into the sky.

At that moment, everyone on the battlefield raised their heads unconsciously, watching the rocket's tail flame draw a waterfall of smoke in the sky.

In a very short time, the beautiful scenery turned into a killing array.

Rockets whistled down the positions in irregular flight trajectories, knocking down the Han and Mongolian troops on the front line of Daiqing.

Amid the hissing sounds, people fled in a hurry.

boom!
When the first rocket exploded, everyone on both fronts was deafened.

Countless echoes roared in everyone's heart, covering the sky and the earth in smoke, until hail and rain blew the smoke into a bloody curtain.

The blade was revealed, the red-armored cavalry leaped on their horses and broke through the blood mist, the goose-feather swords were reflected golden by the afterglow, they stepped onto the Han and Mongolian flag lines and charged straight into the two red square formations.

The army was in turmoil, and before they could even touch each other, the soldiers of the two red flags were routed like a mountain collapsing.

The Emperor Chongde, who was outside the Khan's tent, looked as if he was dying: "Retreat, retreat!" (End of this chapter)