Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 244 Alas! What a pity for these soldiers!

Bang!
"Uncle, they held on! They really held on!"

Following a loud noise that shocked the whole audience, Zhao Yinxuan, deputy general of the Yunnan Army who was on the outskirts of the battlefield, was so excited that he even called out his family name.

When the Tatar cavalry launched the attack, Cao Zhijian's troops, who were in the northernmost part, immediately and decisively chose to retreat.

Upon seeing this situation, Hu Shaoyu, the timid general of the Yunnan Army, immediately began to retreat. If it were not for his nephew Hu Yiqing's firm opposition and his nephew Zhao Yinxuan's thought that they should wait and see, the Yunnan Army, which was good at marching, might have already run ahead of Cao's troops.

What's the harm in just taking a look?

The soldiers in the melee were already distracted by the heavy armor of the Southern Army, not to mention that without the protection of a dense formation, the infantry could not deal with the cavalry at all.

In this way, when the Tatar cavalry attacked, the soldiers from all units could only flee to their own camps and offer no resistance at all.

But it was also ridiculous. The soldiers in the battle belonged to different units and fled in different directions. In such a situation, they pushed and shoved each other, and the extremely chaotic central battle group actually held out for a long time under the impact of the cavalry and did not completely disperse.

But to be frank, this was just a coincidence. As long as a while passed, the soldiers would eventually flee in the three directions according to their respective groups, and then the Tartars' target would fall on the main camp of the 43 families.

Although Hu Shaoyu was timid, it was understandable that he could think of this after serving in the army for half his life. However, as an uncle, he could not control his own nephews.

One of them wanted to see if the heavy armor of the Southern Army could be of any use, and the other, stimulated by the Dong bandits' dispatch of troops, simply planned to take advantage of the Tartar cavalry's turning around to block them.

In this way, the Yunnan Army remained in place without advancing or retreating.

"Uncle! Let's send out troops!"

"You are confused!"

Seeing that his fat and dull nephew seemed to be deceived by appearances, Hu Shaoyu immediately scolded him angrily.

He knew very well that although the heavy armor of the Southern Army seemed to have used a dense formation to withstand the attack of the Tatar cavalry, that was only possible because the Tatar cavalry was delayed by the bandits in front and the soldiers from the three parties.

Moreover, this batch of heavy armor seemed to have only 500 at most, while each wave of the Tartar cavalry had more than 300. In this case, even if all of their own men were added, what would happen? Did they really want to learn from the Dong bandits and use the flesh and blood of their own men to create opportunities for the Southern Army?
"The Tartars are all cavalry! If they want to run, can you stop them?"

Although Hu Shaoyu did not give his nephew a detailed analysis, he only used this one reason to make Zhao Yinxuan, who was eager to try, wilted.

It's not that the infantry can't withstand the charge of the cavalry. As long as they are arranged in a dense formation, even the real heavy cavalry will have their momentum faded.

But what happens next?

If the four-legged ones can retreat when they see the situation is not good, can the two-legged ones break away and give chase?

Based on this, cavalry was already invincible when attacking infantry. How could Hu Shaoyu be willing to throw his own men into a battle that was doomed to fail?
just
Did the heavy armor of the Southern Army ever think about whether they could win? Did the bandits of Dong ever think about whether they could win? Did Hu Yiqing ever think about whether he could win?
If they haven't thought about it, why should I?

Thinking of this, Zhao Yinxuan's fat body straightened up immediately. He didn't answer Hu Shaoyu's question, but clasped his fists and said directly: "Uncle! Isn't it for killing the enemy and serving the country that we have come thousands of miles away? If you want to retreat, then please bring my and Yiqing's bodies back home."

"You bastards, how come you all have such tempers? If anything goes wrong with you, how am I going to explain to my elder brother and elder sister!?"

Originally, Zhao Yinxuan planned to charge forward right after saying this, but due to his size, his movements were slow. Just when he was about to turn around, Hu Shaoyu grabbed his arm.

Seeing this, he did not intend to say much, but struggled hard. However, this was a battlefield after all, so how could they keep fighting? But within half a breath, three more loud noises came from the south.

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

"Oh!"

Is it a signal gun?
With some guesses in mind, they immediately turned their heads and looked to the south.

At this time, the main force of the Confederate Army, which was originally lined up in the rear, had already forced its way to the central battle group, and in the middle of the yellow flags that the Confederate generals used to scare people, an even more eye-catching bright yellow banner was erected.

This situation frightened the uncle and nephew so much that they completely forgot to continue their entanglement. Zhao Yinxuan, who had a slightly more active mind, even murmured unconsciously: "I'm afraid this is a capital crime."

The so-called first impression.

When the Ming army generals present determined that the Southern Army commander was trying to use the tiger's skin to raise a banner, even though they saw the shining prince's banner standing before them, no one believed that the Ming Dynasty's regent prince was really here.

Zhu Cilang probably couldn't think of this, but even if he could think of it, he wouldn't necessarily pay attention to it.

After all, the most dangerous moment of this journey south is about to come.

"Your Highness, you can't do this! You absolutely can't do this!"

The moment Wan Yuanji understood the Crown Prince's strategy to defeat the enemy, he tried to dissuade him again and again as if he was possessed by Xu Yu, but Zhu Cilang seemed unaware and simply let the horse under him move forward with the army formation.

Lure the enemy personally.

They lured the enemy into abandoning their hit-and-run tactics and instead stormed the Ming army's main camp.

In this way, they would have the possibility to keep this cavalry brigade of more than a thousand people here, and then use the power of a great victory to unite the Ming army in Ganzhou.

Honestly, this is just a backup plan.

When they first learned that the various tribes in Ganzhou had started an internal conflict, Zhu Cilang and Hu Maozhen also considered the possibility that the Qing army would take the opportunity to attack. However, after all, there was Ganzhou between the two sides, and a rash attack would involve some risks.

However, Wang Ti’s situation did not allow him to take his time, so he had to seize this God-given opportunity.

In this way, the backup plan was successfully implemented and Zhu Cilang became the bait.

"Mr. Wan, please retreat quickly and don't disrupt our army formation."

"Your Highness! With the great banner here, why do you have to go to the battlefield in person?"

Wan Yuanji understood clearly that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was wearing the standard armor of the Ming Dynasty. Not to mention the Tartars, even he, a serious Ming official, had to come up to him to distinguish him carefully.

Under such circumstances, as long as the flag follows the army, there is no need for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to follow.

On the surface, this is indeed the truth.

But in the past few months, Zhu Cilang has become a veteran on the battlefield. How could he take matters of the battlefield so lightly?
It takes great courage and determination to use infantry to resist cavalry attacks.

It would be fine if we only talk about the guards, after all, in the past few months they have already shown the signs of a powerful army that has experienced many battles. What's more, they are wearing double armor and have strong physique. Even when the cavalry's momentum has been somewhat worn away, they can still hold on.

But what about Hu Maozhen's troops? In the original history, these Northwest soldiers did show extremely strong combat power, but now they are just about to abandon the dark and join the light. Even if they are all elites selected from the army, who can guarantee that they dare to resist the impact of the cavalry with their flesh and blood?
One trick is fresh, eat all over the sky.

Zhu Cilang had already seen what a powerful buff the prince's presence in the battlefield would bring to the soldiers, so at this critical moment he once again used this tried and tested trick.

just
"Turn!"

Seeing that his own momentum was gradually weakened by the interception of the heavy armored infantry, Wang Tizhong once again issued the order to retreat according to the procedure.

"Marshal, the flag in front"

"Don't worry about him, he's just the Prince of Yongning. We can make plans after we defeat the Ming army."

Zhu Cilang finally threw his seductive glances at the blind man. In the eyes of Wang Tizhong, who had been a rebel for half his life, the prince's banner was only slightly larger than the flag of Prince Yongning.

Under such circumstances, how could he disrupt the rhythm of his attack because of King Yongning who had fled all the way here in defeat?
We have to be more careful with the next wave. I don’t know where King Yongning got so many heavily armored soldiers.

While Wang Tizhong was adjusting the direction of his horse, he started muttering to himself.

He had fought with Prince Yongning's troops since the battle of Fuzhou, and then followed them all the way south. After defeating several of their rearguard troops, he had a thorough understanding of the composition of their troops.

From this, he could roughly imagine that these heavily armored soldiers must be reinforcements coming from nowhere.

As he thought about it, Wang Tizhong seemed to have grasped a key point in his thoughts, but he knew very well that he no longer had the concentration he had in the past on the battlefield. He did not have time to think about it too much, and decisively dispelled his thoughts and put all his attention on the turn.

However, in the battlefield game, the most important point is to make the enemy's plan fail. He was about to leave the battle group, and then a roar like thunder and lightning enveloped the entire battlefield.

"The prince's order! Who will capture the thief?"

"The prince's order! Who will capture the thief?"

"The prince's order! Who will capture the thief?"

这 是
Heavy armored soldier? Prince?

Heavy Armored Soldier! Prince!

In just this instant, Wang Ti's mind connected these two extremely important pieces of information together.

Yes, the Ming Dynasty has become such a mess. Apart from the prince who won several battles in Jiangnan, who else could produce so many heavily armored soldiers? !
With this in mind, Wang could no longer care about anything else, and several thoughts came to his mind in an instant.

There were many Han princes in the Qing Dynasty, but the one he envied the most was Wu Sangui.

Why?

However, more than a year ago, he was just a general of the Ming Dynasty. In detail, his position was similar to that in the Dashun Army.

But now?

He was still the general, but Wu Sangui had already become the number one person under the Han kings.

If this trend continues, Wu Sangui's enthronement as a king will probably only take one or two years. How could Wang Tizhong not be envious?
But God helps those who work hard, and his qualification to be crowned king finally appeared outside the city of Ganzhou.

In such a situation, how could he control the thoughts in his mind?
"Join the forces! Bypass the heavy armor! Attack the Ming army's main camp!"

Just when they were about to pass each other with the rear team, with a loud shout from Wang Ti Zhong, the front team adjusted their direction again, while the rear team suddenly slowed down and waited for the two teams to join forces.

At this point, every cavalryman knew that a huge achievement was just around the corner. Even though the commander-in-chief's order was obviously inconsistent with the tactics, they still resolutely carried out the order.

After all, these cavalrymen were from the Chuang Army. Their years of life as bandits made them able to control their war horses as well as the regular grassland cavalry. They completed the joining of forces only a moment after the military order was issued. Even though the remaining distance after the change of formation might not allow the war horses to increase their maximum speed, they were not going to attack the heavy armored formation this time, so everyone was full of confidence, as if they had already seen the moment of accepting the reward from the Tartars.

As the saying goes, some people are happy and some are sad.

After Zhu Cilang announced that he was on the battlefield in this way, he felt that the Qing cavalry, who were 70% to 80% sure of winning, were overjoyed. However, the Ming army was
"Are you under the command of the prince?"

Taking advantage of the time when the Qing cavalry were gathering their troops and forming a battle array, the guards at the forefront of the battlefield were also reorganizing their ranks. Zhang An, while squeezing his way into the battle array where there was no place for him at all, asked a question to the guard who had previously saved his life.

"Ah."

"Oh my! The prince missed his way, and instead of coming back to help you, you are still standing here in a formation?!"

"Noisy!"

The guard suffered a great loss when resisting the cavalry's charge because he lost an iron rod. At this moment, he only felt the pain in his forearm. Naturally, he was not in a good mood when he saw the mountain man talking nonsense.

But who would have thought that Zhang An didn't care about his attitude. As soon as he finished speaking, someone on the other side shamelessly said, "The prince must have offended you, otherwise why would you ignore his life and death?"

"Asshole! His Highness is full of wisdom and has planned everything out. We will do whatever he arranges. When will it be your turn as a mountain bandit to make decisions?!"

After extracting useful information from the guard, Zhang An squeezed into the formation and said nothing.

But no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't figure out where the prince got the confidence to send the heavy armored soldiers to the front and only leave a group of ordinary infantry in the main formation to meet the cavalry attack?

Such doubts existed not only in Zhang An's mind, but also in the minds of every general on the field. The Prince of Yongning, who was on the city wall of Ganzhou, had a clearer understanding of this.

When internal strife was about to break out, the Qing army prepared to attack the city in the north. Although he had thought that there might be changes in the south, facing the Qing army's attack that could be real or fake, he could only rush to the south city wall after arranging all the defenses.

It is probably both unexpected and reasonable.

As soon as he arrived, the Tatars had already launched the first wave of attack. Afterwards, Cao Zhijian decisively fled, while the Central Battle Group advanced slightly under the heavy armor of the Southern Army and the hard resistance of the Dong Army.

At this point, the Dongbu main camp, the Yunnan army main camp, the prince's main camp and the central battle group formed a square-like shape.

But when facing the enemy, it is not a matter of fancy moves. Even if the shape is square, how can it help in resisting the Tartar cavalry?

Of course, if the heavy armored soldiers could hold out to the end, then the rest of the troops would always have a chance to escape into the city. However, the prince was like a fool and took the initiative to expose his position at this time.

Did he really think that ordinary infantry could withstand a cavalry attack?

"Ah~~~~~! What a pity for these soldiers!"

(End of this chapter)