1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 580 The Great War Begins ([-])
More than [-] troops from the Eight Banners of the Qing Army, the Eight Banners of the Han Army, and the Inlaid Red Banner of the Han Army, Liu Wuyuan and Li Qifeng, and the Guo Hu Division of the Han Army have besieged Rizhao County for more than ten days, but they have not been able to conquer it for a long time.

In addition to the powerful cannons in Rizhao City, there is also the fact that Li Ben’s deep Ming army is actually very well equipped. Both officers and soldiers are dressed in armor, and there are more than hundreds of firecrackers, supplemented by rolling wood, stones and With the dense feather arrows, the Qing army could not reach the city of Sunshine at all, and there were many casualties.

You know, Li Benshen was originally Gao Jie's nephew, and the troops under his command were originally elite. He raided Liaodong a month ago and captured many excellent soldiers from Shenyang and Liaoyang, and Qi State provided him with some firearms. Not to mention how strong it is to get out of Denglai Town, even if it meets the Han Eight Banners troops, it may be slightly better.

Now relying on the sunshine to strengthen the city, facing the siege of more than [-] Han Eight Banners and the original Ming army, Li Benshen was not afraid at all. Instead, he fought vigorously and caused heavy losses to the Qing army.

Compared with Li Benshen's brave resistance, Liu Zeqing's Ming army who surrendered to Denglai at the same time seemed very unbearable.In the early stage, not only did not delay the advancement of the Qing army in the garrison areas, but on the contrary, they gave up all the garrisons and fled all the way from Juzhou, Zhucheng, Jiaozhou, and Gaomi to Laiyang. After escaping from Laiyang, a battle to seize the gate occurred, which made the Qing army take advantage of the chaos to easily break through Laiyang.

Today, nearly [-] people in Liu Zeqing's army split into several groups and fled to Qixia, Rushan, and Wendeng one after another. Liu Zeqing himself took a sea boat and fled to Ninghai Prefecture to avoid the sharp edge of the Qing army.

Originally, it was planned that the ministries of the Ming army on the South Road would delay the Qing army for at least half a month. Because Liu Zeqing's troops collapsed without a fight, the Boluo troops of the Qing army quickly rushed to Qixia, and separated a division to raid Rushan along the southern coastline of Denglai. , Wendeng, Baichiya Housuo, Weihaiwei and other frontlines behind Denglai.

As the overall planner of the Denglai defensive battle, He Yunfeng, facing Liu Zeqing's "long-legged escape", cursed him angrily, reprimanding him for fearing the enemy like a tiger. big picture.

But after the scolding, the Qi army had to find ways to plug the hole and make up for the various gaps Liu Zeqing faced after the defeat of the Ming army.He then ordered the two battalions of the Self-Rescue Army to immediately take boats to Fushan County (now Fushan District, Yantai) and Qishansuo (now Zhifu District, Yantai City), and strengthen the defense there with the officers and soldiers of Denglai Town stationed in the two places, so as not to be captured by the Qing army. Enter Penglai from the rear.

At the same time, more than [-] Musketeers from Changshan Island were ordered to station in Huang County (now Longkou City, Shandong Province) to prevent Zhaoyuan from being attacked and facing a large-scale siege by the Qing army.In addition, the counterattack on the southern front, which would not be implemented until the end of the month, had to be launched in advance.

In view of the grand scale of the Qing army's offensive, Denglaiming's army followed the counterattack strategy formulated in advance, first abandoning a large number of cities and counties in the frontier areas, lengthening the Qing army's supply route, and finally defending north and attacking south, defeating the Qing army. offensive.

North defense, that is, relying on a large number of fortifications built in the early stage, blocked the Qing army in Yexian, Zhaoyuan, Qixia, Huangxian and other places, and then relied on the absolute sea control force of the Ming and Qi allied forces to repeat the old trick, with Qi Marine Corps as the main force , Supplemented by the cooperation of several musketeers from Denglai Town and the Self-Rescue Army, Peng jumped behind the Qing army on the southern line and attacked their logistics supply line, forcing the Qing army to retreat along this road.

On November 11, a huge fleet of nearly a hundred ships of various sizes gathered near the mouth of the Futuan River (today’s Futuan River in Zhaoshi City). Launch a large-scale landing operation.

Coming to this familiar landing area again, some veterans of the [-]nd Marine Battalion couldn't help but feel deeply moved. Three years ago, they intercepted and killed a Qing army that entered the customs and looted here, killing nearly a thousand people and seizing a large number of soldiers. supplies, and was cited by Daming as the Great Victory of Denglai.

Now three years have passed, and the Ming Dynasty has already fallen apart, but the Jiannu entered the customs in a large scale and swept the world, and they want to destroy the civilization of our Han family and do the things of the Mongolian and Yuan dynasties.

The landing force this time consisted mainly of the entire Qi State Marine Corps and two battalions of the Self-Rescue Army, supplemented by the Denglai Town Firearms Battalion, with a total of more than [-] soldiers.The commander-in-chief Niu Hu planned to land on the flank of Rizhao County, and united with Li Ben's deep troops to attack from inside and outside. First, he defeated the Qing army besieging Rizhao County, and then went north and went straight to Juzhou to attack the rear of the Qing army on the South Road.

Under Rizhao City, Guo Hu watched his subordinates withdraw from the city again, although his face was calm, but his heart seemed to be bleeding.

Since the surrender to the Qing Dynasty, the original 4000 troops were reduced to more than [-] troops under the inspection of Nanzheng coach Doduo, who eliminated the old and the weak and kept the young.

Afterwards, the main forces of the Eight Banners who followed Duduo went all the way to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi and other places. They suffered battle losses and deaths, and their troops were almost reduced by more than half.Because the Qing army was limited by the terrain, it was temporarily unable to invade Fujian, so Guo Hu's troops returned to Hangzhou, and made some repairs and replenishment of troops.

However, within a few months, before the troops recovered, Doduo ordered him to lead his troops to conquer Denglai.Although I have heard a little bit about Denglai's defeat of the Qing army, I think that my 10,000+ soldiers and horses in the Qing Dynasty will be able to destroy Denglai and capture and kill Emperor Yongchu for myself in the future Qing court. Seek a great future.

However, when Guo Hu and Boluo came all the way from Jining, he felt that something was wrong. The Denglaiming army gave up all the areas from Yizhou to Jiaozhou, and carried out a thorough clearing of the walls. The Qing army could not get the local troops. Material replenishment and logistics all depend on the supply from Jining.

After breaking through Juzhou, Boluo ordered him to attack Andongwei and Rizhao counties with Liu Wuyuan and Li Qifeng's troops to eliminate the threat of the army's flanks and ensure the safety of the food road.

Because Liu Wuyuan's and Li Qifeng's troops belonged to the Eight Banners Han Army with the inlaid red flag, and they were the earliest dragon troops in the Qing Dynasty. Therefore, Guo Hu's department was responsible for all the work of playing the vanguard and beheading the formation.

Although in An Dong Wei, Li Benshen gave up An Dong Wei after only resisting for two days because he was also Gao Jie's general in the past.However, when the army besieged Rizhao, Li Benshen's troops counterattacked strongly. After more than ten days, Guo Hu's troops suffered heavy casualties.There were more than 2000 troops, and there were more than [-] left. What made him feel even more distressed was that the old brothers who had followed him for a long time suffered as many as three or four hundred casualties.

With such a heavy casualty, Liu Wuyuan and Li Qifeng still had no intention of replacing him, and they seemed to use up his troops as cannon fodder.

Thinking of the words of the lobbyists sent by Li Benshen last night, and the surrender edict issued to him by Emperor Yongchu, Guo Hu's eyes flashed an unidentified look, and he looked gloomyly at Liu Wuyuan who was sitting upright on the horse in the rear. Li Qifeng and Li Qifeng rushed over with a few soldiers on horseback.

"You two military sects, it is difficult for our troops to fight again today, so please go back to the camp to rest for a few days." Guo Hu said with a sullen face.

"Dorobelle (Boluo) is already furious that our siege of Rizhao County has not been captured for more than ten days. A few days ago, he has issued a document urging our department to end the fighting here as soon as possible in order to consolidate the rear and support the front." Liu Wuyuan said quietly: "General Guo, is he planning to disobey the military order and drag the war on forever?"

Guo Hu suppressed the anger in his heart, and said in a cold voice: "For half a month, our troops have been attacking the city continuously, and the casualties have already exceeded half, and the morale is extremely weak. If you don't show compassion, there will be mutiny among the troops in the end. .”

"General Guo, are you threatening me?" Liu Wuyuan stared at Guo Hu.

"Why is it a threat?" Guo Hu sneered, and pointed at the retreating sergeant behind him, "Do you think our soldiers can continue to fight?"

"General Guo has worked hard!" Li Qifeng said in a smooth manner: "In the past two days, your department will take a rest for a while, and the siege of the city will be done by my son-in-law. The siege of the city for more than ten days without interruption, our department has suffered huge casualties , presumably Li Benshen in the city is also having a hard time. Treat us..."

"Report..." Before Li Qifeng finished speaking, a scout rushed over, "General, the Ming army attacked from the west bank of the Fu Tuan River. At this time, they are less than five miles away from our army camp, and the number of people is about [-].  … There are a large number of black-clothed soldiers in the ranks of the Ming army!"

"Hehe, more than [-] reinforcements... Is there a black-clothed army?" Originally, when he heard that the spy came to report, the Ming army suddenly came from the west bank of the Fu Tuan River, but the number was only more than [-]. There were a large number of black-clothed soldiers coming, and the color suddenly changed.

This black-clothed army is the most prominent mark of the army of the Qi State of the Ming Dynasty, and it has long been known to the Qing army. In addition, it has defeated and severely damaged our Qing army many times, and it has made many generals of the Qing army fearful.

The Ming army would take advantage of their boats and ships to land and attack the Qing army's rear. The main generals of the Qing army had estimated and made corresponding arrangements for this.Originally, Liu Wuyuan, Li Qifeng and other ministries would return to Juzhou after capturing Rizhao, and then divide their troops to station in Jiaozhou to protect the logistics supply line of the Qing army on the South Road.

Today, due to the tenacious resistance of Li Benshen, Rizhao County has been unable to take it for a long time, so that Liu Wuyuan, Li Qifeng and other Eight Banners Han troops cannot return to Juzhou and consolidate the logistics supply line of the Qing army on the South Road.At this time, the Ming army suddenly landed near Rizhao, apparently aiming at them. Moreover, there were also powerful black-clothed soldiers among the Ming army who came, so they couldn't help being nervous.

"After a while we will fight, Li Benshen should rush out from Rizhao City to attack Jiannu's rear?" Li Fade looked at the dark formation of the Qing army in front, then put down his binoculars, and turned to ask Niu Hu.

"Li Benshen is a veteran of the army, so he should be able to grasp the opportunity." Niu Hu said: "It is not difficult to defeat the Qing army in this battle, but it is a bit difficult to keep them here as much as possible. I hope Li Benshen's Hundreds of cavalry can play some role."

"It's a pity, we have never had strong cavalry, and Jiannu escaped most of them every time." Li Fade said with regret, smacking his mouth.

"How can everything be as you wish!" Niu Hu said with a smile: "There are very few slave cavalry on the opposite side. In today's battle, we must defeat them and lay the foundation for the subsequent capture of Juzhou. The army marches forward!"

Liu Wuyuan, Li Qifeng and the others were sitting on their horses, and they were surprised to find that the [-]-odd Ming-Qi allied forces were approaching them on their own initiative, and a red yellow dragon flag was flying high in front, and the rhythmic sound of the trumpets could be heard faintly. Come on, the ones in the forefront are not the black-clothed army, but several rows of gray troops.

The artillerymen from both sides were the first to join the formation. The Qing army pushed the three red cannons that had been used to attack the city to the front of the formation, trying to disperse the opponent's formation. The enemy is mixed together, so that the firearms that the opponent has a certain advantage cannot be used.

For artillery confrontation, Qi's artillery has obvious psychological and technical advantages. From the establishment of coastal defense fortress artillery ten years ago, to the development of sea artillery of many naval ships, it took countless Live ammunition and gunpowder were cultivated bit by bit.

You must know that during this period, the danger of live-fire artillery shooting was still very high, and the gunpowder and shells were not cheap, and the cost was very high. Not to mention that the gunners of the Qing army did not conduct large-scale live-fire shooting training, it was those European countries at this time. Artillery shooting is often cautious and reluctant to use too much.

In addition, after ten years of continuous improvement and upgrades, the performance and quality of the Qi State artillery has far surpassed that of European countries at the same time. Most importantly, the firing speed of the Qi State Artillery is even higher than that of all contemporary countries. Under the operation of well-trained gunners, Qi's artillery can even fire at a rate of one round per minute, which was an incredible high rate of fire in the mid-17th century.

The artillery of the Ming-Qi allied forces against the Qing army was in a state of absolute crushing in terms of technology, speed and quantity. The artillery confrontation between the two sides only lasted less than five rounds. The army lost a cannon in red, and the gunner also killed or injured more than a dozen people, and he had no choice but to hide in the rear formation.

The Ming-Qi Allied Forces continued to push the artillery forward, and began to bombard the Qing army's formation, bullets hit the formation, and then bounced and rolled backwards, wading out a path of blood.

"All the cavalry go out!" Liu Wuyuan shouted loudly, "Turn off their cannons!"

More than [-] cavalry slowly drove out from the right side of the formation, and rushed towards the artillery positions of the Ming and Qi coalition forces.

"The first and second battalions of the Marine Corps move forward to cover the artillery positions." Niu Hu ordered: "Snipers step forward and shoot freely!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!..." The muzzle of the cannon has been turned to the cavalry rushing.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..." More than 50 marine soldiers with Mini guns also fired when the Qing cavalry was still 300 meters away.

Cavalrymen kept falling to the ground, and some cavalrymen were tripped by the corpses of fallen horses and horses. For a while, the cavalrymen of the Qing army who lined up and rushed into the formation suddenly became a little scattered.

"The first battalion and the second battalion of the Marine Corps fired a salvo, followed by the third battalion, and the Denglai Firearms Battalion is ready!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

"Bang! Bang! Bang?..."

After two consecutive rounds of volleys, more than 600 muskets fired one after another, and the rushing Qing cavalry immediately fell down, and everyone shouted and neighed.

The remaining [-] or so cavalry saw that they were unable to break into the formation and cut down the enemy's artillery positions. After shooting the bows and arrows in their hands, they rode their horses and skimmed towards the right wing of the Ming and Qi coalition forces.

"The whole army marches in firing array!"

The horns in the formation began to become agitated. The Denglai Firearms Battalion was in the front, the Marine Corps was in the middle, and the Self-Rescue Army followed closely behind. Under the guidance of the officers, they slowly approached the front of the Qing army.

At this time, more than [-] Ming troops from Li Ben's deep department in Rizhao City also appeared in the northeast of the battlefield one after another, faintly echoing the landing Ming and Qi allied forces, forming a pincer attack on the Qing army.

"Why is the left wing making such a fuss?" Liu Wuyuan was about to send an order for Guo Hu's troops to attack Li Ben's deep Ming army at the rear, when he suddenly noticed that the flag of Guo Hu's troops on the left wing was rolled upside down, while his troops were moving to the right. Attack the Chinese army.

"General, Guo Hu has turned back!"

(End of this chapter)