Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 395 No! Where did the bandits get the heavy armor?

With the arrival of the guards of the Zhenglan and Xianglan flags, the mere one or two hundred people of the Central Regiment quickly disappeared from everyone's sight like a drop of water sinking into the sea.

Under normal circumstances, the Qing army's reinforcements would have arrived, and the Dashi army's reinforcements would not be far behind.

But when it came to the battlefield, there were only about a hundred real Daxi soldiers. Even if Liu Wenxiu arrived first relying on the horse's power, he was negligible compared to the two flags of guards.

This led to a rather strange scene.

It was obvious that both sides were exchanging hostages, but after some twists and turns, one side decisively sent out a large team to fight for the hostages, while the other side waited until the enemy completely surrounded the central battle group before taking action reluctantly.

Hauge did not have many doubts about this situation.

In his opinion, once the news of Zhang Xianzhong's capture spread, the remaining Dashi Army would lose all desire to fight.

At this time, Liu Wenxiu was able to gather such an army, which could be considered as a good military commander. How could he possibly fight for the lead like the powerful Eight Banners soldiers?
"Have you seen the Emperor?"

After searching for a long time in the chaotic central battle group, Hauge still couldn't catch sight of the bright yellow figure again.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The Emperor Ming and Zhang Xianzhong are already surrounded by our army. They can't escape today."

"Well, that's true, but we can't be careless until the end. Don't look at those bandits who are hesitant and afraid to fight, but things on the battlefield are always hard to predict."

In response to Hauge's caution, Luo Luohun just smiled faintly and said nothing more.

Although the large group of bandits also started to move at this time, they still had seventy or eighty steps to go before they could actually collide with the guards of the two flags because they had lost the initiative.

not to mention.
What happens if we bump into each other?

Not to mention the huge gap in fighting spirit and combat power between the two sides, the difference in the first and second attacks alone determined that the bandits had to break through layers of obstacles before they could get in touch with the hostages.

If the guards allowed the enemy to capture prisoners despite having such a great advantage, it would be safer for the Qing Dynasty to withdraw directly to the border areas.

With this in mind, Luo Luohun withdrew his attention from the main force of the bandits who were slowly moving forward. After scanning the center of the battlefield twice, he spoke to Hauge again.

"Your Majesty, Guangyuan should not be abandoned lightly."

He understood that at this time Haoge's whole mind was on the Emperor Ming, and he could understand the real reason for such concern.

But a bird in the hand is worth more than a hundred in the forest. He thought that as the commander of the army, Hauge should focus more on how to maximize the results of the battle in the present instead of focusing on specific battles.

This is not surprising. After all, Hauge is more of a military general. He is inferior in both planning in the court and in strategizing. It is easy for him to have his attention drawn to a certain point.

But then again, he still has Luo Luohun by his side to assist him, and he himself is well aware of this.

After hearing these words, he immediately withdrew his attention from the chaotic battlefield.

"This prince is a little confused because of his concern," said Haoge, who nodded in approval. Then he continued without thinking, "The Emperor is trapped in the battle array and can't escape. It's time to think about Guangyuan."

"The fact that the prince is willing to accept advice is a blessing for our Qing Dynasty. If Duoduo and Ajige could do the same, how could we have suffered repeated defeats?"

Although Haoge had not expected Luo Luohun's sudden flattery, he felt quite comfortable. However, there were many generals around him, so he had to be a little humble in order to be considered appropriate.

"Don't talk about that. I don't understand the situation at that time. Even if I could do better than them, I think it would be limited."

"Wang Ye Qian"

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Just when Luo Luohun was about to say something, a sudden explosion interrupted his words. When they looked in the direction of the sound in surprise, they saw clouds of smoke rising from the battle group.

这 是
artillery?

No, if the artillery is fired at this distance, the noise caused will definitely be more than this.

But if it’s not a cannon, could it be a musket?
When did the bandits get equipped with muskets?

Could it have been seized when the Ming Emperor was captured?
but
As his thoughts turned, one guess after another appeared in Hauge's mind, but as his thoughts turned, one guess after another was constantly suppressed by him.

After all, at this time, both the Qing army and the Ming army were equipped with firearms of different sizes, and the peasant army was the only armed force in the Ming Dynasty that still maintained the habit of using cold weapons in combat.

With this understanding, Hauge's brain would naturally pause briefly when he encountered the peasant army using firearms.

"My Lord, please send the cavalry."

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Just as Luo Luohun put forward his suggestion, a burst of intensive gunfire was heard.

After hearing the short interval between the two gunshots, both Hauge and Luo Luohun's expressions changed, and then they looked at each other as if they realized something.

"The enemy in front of us is definitely not a bandit!"

They could understand why the bandits were equipped with muskets.

After all, Dashi had been fighting with the Ming army for more than a year, so some spoils of war were reasonable.

They could understand that the sound of the musketry was quite uniform.

After all, the musket is very easy to use and can be deployed on the battlefield with just a little training.

But they could not understand why the interval between two rounds of firing was so short. This not only required the soldiers to be extremely familiar with muskets, but also to have sufficient practical experience.

To put it bluntly, if the bandits really had such elite musketeers, they would never have hidden them until now before sending them out.

Can.
As his thoughts turned, a series of extremely contradictory information once again made Hauge's thinking stagnate.

However, Luo Luohun was also confused about the situation like him at this time. After seven or eight breaths, Hauge, who had no one reminded him, was awakened by the sound of continuous musketry.

"Li Guohan! I order you to lead our cavalry to attack the enemy's right wing!"

"My lord."

"Go!"

"twitter!"

Amid Hauge's loud roar, Li Guohan finally rode his horse to the edge of the army formation.

He also knew that facing these musketeers who came from strange places, a sudden attack from the flank was the best method.

But his army was mainly composed of infantry, and the cavalry they were equipped with were not only few in number, but also had poor riding skills. Under such circumstances, how could Hauge send out his troops other than to lure out the enemy's flank?
Cannon fodder! Cannon fodder! Without the surrendered troops, the Eight Banners of Han became cannon fodder!
As his thoughts turned, Li Guohan felt more and more annoyed.

Their Li family had been serving the Jurchens since the time of Nurhaci, but they did not expect that after so many years they would still end up being cannon fodder.

"My fellows! Follow me and defeat the enemy in front of us!"

Although the resentment and annoyance in his heart were growing stronger and stronger, he did not dare to delay even a moment. After only seven or eight breaths, Angbang Ezhen, the commander of the Han army flag, had led his men straight to the flank of the "Dashi Army".

For the Qing army generals including Hauge, the inexplicable appearance of these musketeers was unexpected, but they had fought with the Ming army for so many years and had their own appropriate ways to deal with them.

But when the Qing army was dealing with this sudden change according to past experience, a young general in the formation was looking at the old soldier beside him in astonishment.

"It's not that serious."

When the second round of musketry sounded, Wu Sangui, who was dressed as an ordinary soldier, quietly moved closer to his little cousin.

When he raided the Emperor Ming's camp that night, he had already witnessed how hundreds of Ming army musketeers defeated the elite Eight Banners soldiers who outnumbered their own number. Now, as the continuous sound of musketeers rang out, he had his own way to save his life.

But compared to that night, Wu Sangui now had more choices.

"You and I are legitimate cousins. I will never harm you even if I am guilty of a heinous crime!"

"Marshal, that's not what I meant."

Facing Wu Sangui's low-pitched scolding, Zu Zeqing immediately began to explain. However, Wu Sangui had no intention of arguing with him at this moment and leaned over to his ear before he could finish his words.

After a moment, Wu Sangui told all his plans, and Zu Zeqing looked at this cousin who was much older than him in astonishment.

He could understand retreating first when the whole army was defeated, but he didn't think there was time to do so many things at this time.

However, he was quite impressed by his cousin, so he agreed after a little thought.

After convincing his little cousin, Wu Sangui felt a little relieved. However, when he saw the cavalry charging forward, he couldn't help but mutter something in his heart.

This would be a good opportunity to return to the Ming Dynasty, but it's a pity. Alas~~~~~!

He was not a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty, so he would not be a loyal minister of the Qing Dynasty.

At this time, the situation of both the Ming and Qing dynasties was no longer the same as it was in the previous two years. If it were not for a compelling reason, he really wanted to learn from Hu Maozhen and others.

When he surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, the families of his soldiers were all in the vicinity of Shanhaiguan. By the time Li Zicheng led his troops north, he had already managed to free his families from the control of the peasant army with the help of his supporters in the capital.

But now.

Not to mention that Beijing was still in the hands of the Qing army, even the area around Shanhaiguan had become the territory of the Tartars.

Under such circumstances, if he tried to escape or something like that, he might still get the support of the soldiers, but if he wanted to change his allegiance, he would probably become a scapegoat for others to advance.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Just as he was looking at Hauge's back with regret, he was awakened by the sound of musketry, which was even more frequent than the first time.

At this time, the cavalry that broke out first had already cruised to the flank of the "Dashi Army", and another cavalry was leaving the main formation. After seeing this arrangement, Wu Sangui immediately thought of Hauge's real plan, but in his heart he was not optimistic at all.

He had no idea how the previous battle went, nor did he know how the "Daxi Army" in front of him would respond.

But he knew that Liu Wenxiu had not been able to capture the Emperor Ming at all, and all this was just a trap set by the little emperor for Hauge.

He also knew that when facing an enemy, the commanders of both sides would have to find out everything before launching a real decisive battle. Now the little emperor was clearly acting unintentionally. How could Hauge, who had misjudged the key information, have a chance of winning?
Just as he expected, Zhu Cilang had already deployed the central guard army on both sides of the rear army at the beginning of the formation.

Although Li Guohan had approached the flank of the "Dashi Army" at this time, facing the extremely strict infantry phalanx, his team, which was more of a lightly armored cavalry, could only shoot arrows from a distance and did not dare to launch a rash attack.

"Master, our arrows can't penetrate it. How about asking the prince to send some white armor over?"

"Don't count on it. We are just here to test the situation. If the bandits don't reveal any flaws, how can the White Armor come out?"

While answering the words of his general, Li Guohan shot two arrows in succession. But just as the general said, although the two arrows hit the same enemy soldier, the soldier simply pulled out the arrows hanging on his body and continued to move forward steadily with the army formation. Obviously, such light arrows could not cause much damage to him.

Faced with this situation, Li Guohan was speechless. But when he was about to try to move a few steps forward, he heard the general's slightly anxious voice.

"Master, haven't you figured it out yet? This is heavy armor!"

Heavy armor?

Where did the bandits get the heavy armor?
He had fought his way from northern Zhili to central Sichuan, and except for a few battles he had been fighting bandits. Naturally he was quite familiar with the equipment and tactics of these peasants.

What's more, when they were encircling the Dashi Army in Jinniu Road that day, even Zhang Xianzhong's personal guards were not equipped with heavy armor. How could they be equipped with heavy armor when they saw such a remnant army at this time?

"Don't talk nonsense. Our arrows are not meant to penetrate armor. They can't penetrate it."

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

As another round of musketeer fire rang out, Li Guohan saw some blood splattered on the chest of the general beside him. When he turned around, he saw that there was an extra layer of musketeers on the outside of the enemy's formation.

Faced with such a change, Li Guohan, who was only 20 to 30 steps away from the enemy formation in order to increase the power of his arrows, suddenly became nervous. He did not even bother to see whether the general who fell off his horse was dead or alive, and turned his horse's head and ran away.

If he was facing an ordinary musketeer, he would have to spend a long time reloading after firing a round. However, he was facing a self-propelled musket with fixed ammunition. Even though the warhorse under his crotch had already tried its best, it only ran more than ten steps before hearing another round of firing coming from behind.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

The accuracy of current muskets certainly needs to be improved, but Li Guohan was lucky to escape one volley of gunfire, so how could he possibly escape a second round of volleys?

"Oh!"

As the dull sound of landing continued to be heard, clouds of dust suddenly rose from the flanks of the "Dashi Army".

At the same time, dozens of riders including Li Guohan fell to the ground one after another, and the remaining Qing cavalry could only flee in panic.

Seeing this, Mei Chun, who was in the rear army formation, withdrew his attention. When he looked ahead again, the two army formations seemed to be retreating as well.

"Speed ​​up the pace! Defeat the enemy in front of us!"

(End of this chapter)