prosperous age

Wang Gao knew that the situation was urgent and immediately ordered: "Follow me and fight to the death with Ming Gou."

Immediately, he turned around and said to the guards behind him: "Send people back to the city, gather the people in the city and me to attack from both sides.

If Li Chengliang dares to send people to steal the city, I will let him never come back. "

In a moment, Wang Gao guessed that Li Chengliang should have sent his cavalry relatively close to Gule City, intending to sneak attack Gule City, but he did not expect to be hit by him.

The Ming army did not have many cavalry.

Thinking of this, Wang Gao's confidence increased greatly.

As long as they can defeat this advancing Ming army, their morale will definitely be dampened.

The war was not going well during this period, and many of his subordinates had doubts about victory.

After all, in the eyes of most Jurchens, the Ming Kingdom was too powerful.

The shaking on the ground is getting stronger and stronger, which also indicates that the Ming army is approaching quickly, and the Jurchen army is also quickly gathering into a battle formation.

Although the Jurchens are not accustomed to fighting by dividing their arms into groups like the Ming Dynasty army, they have fought against the Ming army many times, and they can still get a glimpse of it.

As a result, a military formation with axes and spearmen in front forming a barrier for the archers behind quickly took shape. Although from the perspective of the Ming army, this was a very unsatisfactory military formation, but for the Jurchen army, This is already a very remarkable achievement.

Only the troops led by Wang Gao can do this. If it were other Jurchen tribes, the situation would only be worse.

However, when the Ming army and cavalry appeared in front of Wang Gao, he was still deeply shocked.

Because the opponent's cavalry was so good in terms of equipment and momentum, and the number of them seemed to be much larger than he expected.

He thought that this Ming army was just a surprise force, so it should only have a thousand men, so he was confident that he could defeat them.

But the Ming army that caught sight definitely exceeded 2,000 people.

Two thousand people, that's the number of cavalry and infantry around him.

In fact, there were not many Jurchen cavalry during this period. Although Wang Gao had a good relationship with the Horqin and other tribes, it was very difficult to get horses from them.

The Jurchens mostly live in mountainous areas, and there are not many places suitable for raising horses. Therefore, the number of horses they can raise and breed is limited, and the number is also limited.

It can only be said that it has a slight advantage over the Ming army.

However, this advantage is against ordinary Ming army guards. If it is against the elite Ming army, it will naturally disappear.

Among the more than two thousand people, there were no more than a thousand cavalry. They followed the Ming army's formation, with infantry in the middle and cavalry covering both sides.

It was obvious that it would take time for the reinforcements in the city to be assembled and dispatched to get here to join the battle. He had no way to retreat and could only grit his teeth and withstand the Ming army's offensive and buy back the needed time.

Seeing the Ming army's cavalry reining in their horses just two arrows away from them, Wang Gao could no longer laugh. The opponent was very experienced and charged from a long distance. Instead of going directly into the attack, they stopped in the distance to rest their power, and even There are also Ming soldiers changing horses.

When did the Ming army's cavalry have extra horses for replacement?

The scene in front of him clearly exceeded Wang Gao's expectations. He had only seen this kind of situation in the Mongolian army.

This Ming army is extraordinary.

Almost instantly, Wang Gao had a bad premonition in his heart.

Seeing the Ming army quickly preparing to attack, Wang Gao's premonition of threat exploded in his heart. He could not wait for the Ming army to attack.

We broke camp and returned to the city this morning. In fact, our soldiers were still in good physical condition and were not considered exhausted.

Since the other party still needs to prepare for this, Wang Gao will naturally not let them get their wish.

If the infantry can't attack, then use the cavalry to charge and test the opponent's depth.

Following his order, the Jurchen cavalry, which was originally covering the two wings, received the order. The soldiers shouted loudly, waved their weapons, and drove their horses to attack the Ming army's formation.

The two armies were two arrows apart, which was actually only about five hundred meters. For a cavalry charge, this distance was really not that long.

However, it takes time for the horse speed to start, so when the Jurchen cavalry charges up, the time when the horse speed reaches the maximum speed is enough for the Ming army to respond.

The general at the front of the Ming Army's cavalry just raised his arms and swayed from side to side, and then the Ming Army's military formation changed.

At the front, the cavalry that had been densely packed before quickly separated to the left and right, revealing what was covered behind them, which were the black muzzles of more than twenty cannons.

The artillery was not big, so it was just stuck there. There were two Ming soldiers behind each cannon. They made some fine adjustments to the artillery and were waiting for orders to prepare for firing.

Not far from them, there were several soldiers holding the reins of several horses and making horse stakes there.

And behind them, there was another dense cavalry.

At this time, the two groups of Jurchen cavalry on the left and right had merged together, forming a torrent rushing towards the Ming army. However, when the opponent quickly separated from the left and right, the cavalry in front did not know what to do for a moment.

Should they divide into two teams to attack the two groups of Ming army cavalry separated on the left and right, or should they continue to charge forward directly and attack the newly exposed Ming army in front of them.

However, he only hesitated for a moment, because he didn't have much time to think before he was forced to run forward by Pao Ze behind him.

There was no way to separate into groups, so we could only keep the formation and continue to charge forward.

Wang Gao, who was behind, had a bad premonition after the Ming army separated, but because his sight was blocked, he couldn't see clearly what was behind the Ming army, so he just thought it was another group of Ming army.

At this time, the general of the Ming Dynasty had already moved his horse to the left quickly, joined the cavalry there, and then slashed forward with his right arm.

As he completed his actions, the military flags in the Ming army's formation continued to waver, and the Ming army's cavalry, which was divided into two, started again and began to move towards the Jurchen infantry phalanx from both sides.

Yes, just come here.

They did not run in a straight line, but ran outward in an arc, making them further away from the charging Jurchen cavalry in the middle, and the blocked area was also larger.

In an instant, Wang Gao's eyes flashed, knowing that he was facing a tough situation.

The other party discovered the gap in strength between the two sides and planned to surround them all here.

The whole change took place in a very short time, so short that Wang Gao had no time to change his formation.

In fact, by this time, he was unable to change anything. He could only hope that the Ming army was just a showman and the quality of the soldiers was not as high as it appeared, and that his men could stop them.

Just when Wang Gao was worried, a series of cannon fire suddenly came from the front, and then he vaguely saw a large number of his cavalry falling off their horses.

This Ming army actually carries artillery?

Wang Gao felt awe-struck in his heart. The Ming army in front of him was indeed difficult to deal with.

Li Chengliang was not responsible. After Qi Jiguang won a complete victory against the Duoyan tribe outside Jizhen Pass last year, he sent people to figure out the process of the war.

Qi Jiguang equipped the horse camp with a weapon like the Tiger Crouching Cannon that he had never looked down on before. He was also extremely surprised by the power displayed on the battlefield.

Yes, when Qi Jiguang's horse camp encountered the Duoyan tribe, they often avoided fighting and would not engage in an immediate confrontation with the opponent. Instead, they would dismount and form a formation. After the Mongolian cavalry rushed up, they would use the shotgun shells of the Crouching Tiger Cannon to fight. Kill.

Almost as soon as the Tiger Crouching Cannon fired, the Mongolian offensive collapsed instantly.

After all, those at the front were often the fiercest warriors in the Mongolian army. They fell off their horses and died before they even reached the Ming army. The influence they had on other people behind them can be imagined.

It was also because he saw the power of the Crouching Tiger Cannon's shells that Li Chengliang also equipped his servants with twenty-five Crouching Tiger Cannons.

As a young man, Li Rusong was still a hot-blooded young man, but after seeing the lethality of the Crouching Tiger Cannon's shells, he also developed a deep fear of this weapon. No one can withstand such intensive firepower. Faced with the all-round destruction of the Crouching Tiger Cannon, no matter how brave the person is, they will only be beaten into pieces.

Li Rusong is not a fool, he is quite smart.

He knew that if he faced an enemy with a Crouching Tiger Cannon, he couldn't rush over, let alone rush to the front, otherwise he would die.

He knows, but the Jurchens don't.

When more than twenty tiger squatting cannons fired, hundreds of Jurchen cavalry were thrown off their horses. These were the most powerful warriors.

The powerful charge stalled for an instant. Although the Jurchen cavalry were still charging, many Jurchen cavalry who appeared in the front row invariably tightened the reins of their horses and wanted to slow down.

However, at this time, the Jurchen cavalry has reached the speed of charging, and it cannot be reduced by slowing down.

Surrounded by comrades behind him, they rushed forward involuntarily.

The Ming army on the opposite side also moved at this time. Although their horses did not increase their speed, they still relied on their equipment advantages to charge towards them.

"bang bang bang"

The sound of muskets frying beans exploded in the Ming army's cavalry ranks, followed by countless arrows.

Many Jurchen cavalry only saw many Ming soldiers aiming at them with clubs in their hands, and then bursts of green smoke came out from the heads of the clubs. After that, some of them felt pain and fell off their horses. Although some continued to charge, they I don’t know anything anymore, my body is just making movements subconsciously.

In their eyes, the Ming army was already charging towards them with the mallet.

The two groups of cavalry collided quickly. After a while, the two armies fought their way out of each other's formation.

After advancing a short distance, he made another round and came back again.

The charge distance left this time was shorter, and the horse speed could not be increased, so a fight soon broke out on the battlefield. The Ming cavalry and the Jurchen cavalry fell into a chaotic battle.

Wang Gao knew that the cavalry could no longer be counted on, and now he had to face thousands of Ming army cavalry attacking his infantry square from both directions.

It can be said that the balance of victory in the war did not tilt towards the Jurchens from the beginning, and the battle between the Wanggao tribe was completely led by the Ming army.

Looking at the approaching Ming cavalry, Wang Gao waved his hand in despair and issued the order to attack.

"Whoa Whoah"

Amidst the intensive sound of horse hooves, Li Rusong took the lead and rushed towards the Jurchen army formation in front of him.

"Boom."

With a sound, Li Rusong felt his head being hit by something. He immediately knew what was going on and immediately lowered his body and started to avoid it.

At this time, screams came from the cavalry behind them from time to time.

Li Rusong knew that someone had been hit by the arrows thrown by the opponent.

At this moment, he felt another arrow fall from his back and hit his back. It just felt like being hit and there was no pain.

He knew that under the defense of his three layers of armor, the arrows fired by the Jurchens would not do much harm to him.

Leaning forward, Li Rusong hung up his saber and took out his horse bow to observe the distance between the two armies.

If you get closer, you can use the horse bow to shoot at the opponent.

His actions also affect the people behind him.

Countless servants of the Li family hung up their weapons and held bows, crossbows or three-barreled guns in their hands.

Soon, after entering the range of the horse bow, Li Rusong decisively began to release arrows.

After he fired the bow and arrow, countless arrows flew out from less than one meter above his head and shot straight towards the opposite military formation.

The arrows from both sides were flying back and forth on the battlefield, which was really exciting, but the worry in Wang Gao's eyes was indeed heavier.

How can we fight if the archers can't stop the charging cavalry?

Inadvertently, Wang Gao and his men slowly moved towards the rear of the military formation. All he could lead were his personal guards, a cavalry of more than 20 people.

When the Ming army's cavalry approached the Jurchen army formation, the Ming army's cavalry began to make a "pah-pah-pah" explosion from one side. It was a mallet. To be precise, it should be a three-eyed gun being fired.

The barrel of the three-eyed blunderbuss is very short, so both the range and power are actually insufficient, which is to build momentum.

However, for the Jurchens who were only equipped with a small amount of leather armor, the lethality was still there.

Following a burst of screams, many more people fell to the ground injured.

The remaining Jurchens also widened their eyes in horror at this moment, looking at the Ming cavalry that was getting closer and getting taller and taller.

"kill."

At this time, Li Rusong had put down the horse bow in his hand, replaced it with his long-handled saber, waved it in the air, and slashed down suddenly when he was approaching the Jurchen army formation.

The general took the lead and rushed into the enemy's formation. The guards behind him could only scramble to follow him into the Jurchen army's formation in horror.

Li Rusong chose a good point to break in. There was no big shield to cover him, and there were only a few spears in front of him, so he slashed hard at the few spears at hand, and then he ran into the Jurchen army formation with men and horses, and there was a spear beside him. When he looked at the big ax, he flipped his wrist and the saber in his hand had already cut off the opponent's right arm holding the axe.

Before waiting for the last strike, he had already passed by.

The injured Jurchen should be left to the cavalry team behind him.

Li Rusong waved his saber to block the weapons coming from the front, while searching around for Wang Gao's location.

Among the infantry, Wang Gao on horseback and a kind of guard beside him were still very conspicuous.

"Capture Wang Gao alive and reward him with a thousand taels of silver."

After seeing Wang Gao's position clearly, Li Rusong raised his arms and shouted, and the guards around him responded immediately.

For a time, continuous shouts rang out from the Ming army formation.

"Capture Wang Gao alive and reward him with a thousand taels of silver."

The silver reward stimulated the fighting spirit of the Ming army. They vigorously waved their weapons and slashed at the Jurchens beside them.

The Ming army cavalry on the other side were also infected and came towards Wang Gao from the other side.

The horse quickly slashed fiercely, directly cutting a bloody path through the Jurchen infantry team. Li Rusong took the lead and rushed towards Wang Gao.

Seeing that the Ming army's forward speed was not blocked by his men at all, Wang Gao knew that it was dangerous.

Immediately, he decisively abandoned his men and fled toward Gule City with only his bodyguards.

However, at this time, the Ming army on the other side had already arrived. Although it did not completely block the way, Wang Gao could also see that it was impossible to continue escaping in that direction. The distance between them and the Ming army would not be more than a stone's throw away.

Rather than being shot from behind by the Ming army, it would be better to flee north.

In an instant, Wang Gao made a decision. (End of chapter)