Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 483: Well, I can’t stop it

"Hold on! Anyone who dares to retreat will be killed!"

As the distance between the two sides shortened, the hit rate of the muskets gradually increased. When the two sides were more than seventy steps apart, a large number of soldiers would be shot and fall to the ground every time the muskets were fired. The cruelty of line-up executions was also revealed.

At a distance of more than a hundred steps, the hit rate of the musket was only 30% to 40%. After each firing, not only was it difficult for the bullet to hit the enemy, but even if it hit the enemy, it was rare for it to be a fatal hit.

Such killing power would not cause too much fear among the soldiers, and maintaining the integrity of the gun formation was not a difficult task.

However, as the distance got closer, the hit rate of the muskets gradually increased. When the distance reached 80 steps, the hit rate had reached about 60%. Each round of firing could take away a large number of lives, and the pressure on the soldiers naturally increased exponentially.

Faced with such a situation, Tong Yangjia felt a little guilty.

In essence, although this group of people have been training for a long time, it is inevitable that their movements will be distorted due to the tremendous pressure when they first go to the battlefield.

In addition, the firing speed of the Ming army's muskets was six or seven breaths faster, so he was worried that the musket formation would suddenly collapse.

However, every inch has its own strengths and weaknesses, and his army is not completely without advantages.

The troops sent by the Ming army this time seemed similar to those sent yesterday, but Tong Yangjia brought an extra thousand.

With the advantage in numbers, he was confident of winning today.

As long as the gun formation does not collapse.

"You lead Goshha forward to supervise the battle! Those who hesitate will be killed on the spot!"

"twitter!"

After a loud shout, a team of soldiers filed out from the side of Tong Yangjia, but he seemed to be unaware of it. He stared at the battle group in front of him and did not dare to move away for a moment.

Now the distance between the two camps is less than seventy steps, and the frequency with which soldiers fall to the ground is much faster than before.

And at this moment, what he was worried about finally happened.

One soldier was directly crushed by the tremendous pressure. After shouting, he dropped his musket and ran to the back of the formation. Then several soldiers around him were perhaps infected, and a not-too-big gap immediately appeared on the musket formation.

Just as a camp roar would spread rapidly, this rout would also infect the surrounding soldiers. If the supervision team at the front did not deal with it in time, the thousand-mile embankment would be destroyed by an ant hole in a blink of an eye, and the battle would end in failure.

Fortunately.
A few faint howls of pain were heard amid the sound of muskets firing. The soldiers were picked up and chopped down by the officers in front of them before they could run a few steps.

Seeing this situation, Tong Yangjia neither felt sympathy for the cruelty of being shot in a queue, nor was he glad that the collapse was stopped. Instead, he suddenly felt a sense of emotion in his heart.

Fortunately, I was only equipped with some light armor.

When the army was first established, he went to his superiors to argue about this arrangement, but whether it was because too much money was spent on purchasing firearms or because Dorgon listened to those foreigners, his well-reasoned "suggestions" were directly rejected.

To be honest, he was extremely dissatisfied at first, but when the deserters who could have caused a major rout in the musket formation were easily dealt with by the officers in the front because they were only equipped with light armor, he could not help but praise this arrangement.

"Bah!"

"Bah!"

"Bah!"

Tong Yangjia's mind turned several times, but the sound of gunfire in front of him pulled him back. When he tried to look at the opposite formation through the smoke-filled battlefield, he found that there seemed to be human figures flashing in the fog.

这 是
Broken up?

As soon as the thought came to his mind, he started complaining.

If the river wind blew stronger, he would be able to know the movements of the Ming army at this distance, but now.
"A motherfuckin' thief!"

No matter how you think, the smoke that obscures the battlefield situation cannot be changed.

Fortunately, Tong Yangjia was a decisive man. When he saw this situation, he immediately urged his horse to gallop towards the flank of the battlefield.

He thought clearly that this kind of tactic paid the most attention to the density of the army formation. No matter what the cause of those swaying figures were, it meant that there was a change in the Ming army's formation.

If it were an ordinary time, he would be able to easily identify the enemy, but although the breeze was constantly blowing on the battlefield, the bursts of musketry made his vision unclear.

Under such circumstances, he had to find other ways to determine the movements of the Ming army.

Ten steps.

A hundred steps.

Under the fierce charge of his warhorse, Tong Yangjia quickly circled to the flank of the battlefield.

Although he still couldn't see clearly what was happening on the battlefield at this time, the teams of Ming troops rushing out from the smoke allowed him to make a judgment.

Won!

Zhenzhen won!

How could they possibly escape at this distance? !
"Pass the order! All troops move forward!"
-
“Good press!”

Just as the Qing army's gun formation accelerated its advance due to Tong Yangjia's military order, Lekedehun on Huai'an City suddenly let out a hearty shout.

Because of their height, they discovered the movements of the Ming army earlier than Tong Yangjia, and sent people to remind him as soon as possible.

But what was beyond Lekedehun's expectations was that the other side not only had discovered this situation before the messenger arrived, but also immediately issued an order for the entire army to pursue.

To be honest, he somewhat looked down on the Tong family.

Although those guys who came from a merchant family also led troops to fight, their fighting skills were so poor that they could only be regarded as military supervisors.

At this time, Tong Yangjia was able to make the most correct judgment in the first moment. How could he, the General Pingnan, not change his mind?
"Grandmaster, Tong Yangjia should be credited with the greatest merit in this battle!"

Lekedehun could hardly conceal his excitement when he said this. Seeing Hong Chengchou's face flushed, he continued, "Shaanxi praised the Ming army's fire guns as if they were gods, but they didn't expect that they would be defeated by a bunch of new soldiers!"

After Duoduo returned to the north, Hong Chengchou came to Huai'an. Later, Prince Ying was defeated and killed, Prince Zhishun was trapped and captured, and when Prince Su fled in Hanzhong, not only was the pressure on him as heavy as the Five Mountains, but the situation of the entire Qing Dynasty also reached a critical moment.

This victory was like a long-awaited rain for him, Lekedehun and the Qing Dynasty. Even though Hong Chengchou prided himself on his extraordinary bearing, he could not help but feel excited.

just
"What the general said is true. The Southern Army has been relying on the advantages of firearms to commit atrocities one after another. Now that we have formed a gun formation, they will naturally reveal their true colors."

After all, he was a man who had experienced the ups and downs of officialdom. After hearing these words, he just criticized the Ming army but did not spread the message to Shaanxi.

In essence, he was just a Han minister. Even though he was trusted by Huang Taiji and Dorgon, he did not have the courage to get involved in the struggle of the Aisin-Gioro family.

However, Lekedehun insisted on asking, and when he saw that he did not respond, he changed the subject back to the war, as if he had just spoken out of turn due to excitement.

"Grand Secretary, the two armies are only sixty or seventy steps apart this time. The Ming army will have to sacrifice some lives. If they just close their camp and refuse to fight, we have to make plans early."

If it were three or two incense sticks ago, Hong Chengchou would have thought of retreating to the north when he heard the words "make plans early", but now that a victory that was enough to prove that the Southern Army was not invincible was in front of him, he had to think differently.

In the final analysis, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, so how can there be a single strategy that works throughout?

Since the Ming army had already retreated, he had to change his strategy.

just
How should this strategy change?

The Ming army set up artillery positions around the camp. Even if they used gun arrays to attack, they would only end up dying, unless...
As his mind turned, Hong Chengchou glanced at the large mound that was faintly visible in the smoke. When he turned his head to look at Lekedehun, he saw that he was also smiling. Then they both pointed outside the city at the same time, and then two hearty laughs spread across the city. The mound could be used as an artillery position for the Ming army, and it could also be used as an artillery position for the Qing army. As long as they turned the mound into a high platform, they could blow up the Ming army camp when the artillery was transported.

By then, not to mention defending Huai'an, even repelling the Ming army would not be an extravagant hope.

"Great minds think alike. I suggest that the Grand Secretary recruit civilians now and finish the earthen platform as soon as the battle is over."

"As it should be."

After answering this with a smile, Hong Chengchou planned to turn around and leave the city. He did not feel dissatisfied at all for being ordered around. However, he had only taken two steps when there were several exclamations from the soldiers around him. When he turned around, he saw that Quelekedehun's body had stopped halfway through the turn.

What's wrong?

Did Tong Yangjia withdraw his troops?

Because of the obstruction of the battlements, Hong Chengchou, who had walked a few steps, could not see the movements on the battlefield. Then he walked a few steps toward the city wall with confusion in his heart, and when the battlefield scene was about to appear in his field of vision, he froze in place.

Zhong.Zhong was ambushed?
-
The time goes back to two incense sticks ago.

Just when Tong Yangjia's military order reached the Qing army's gun formation, Xu Wenjue, who was watching the figures of the rear army gradually disappear, whispered to the soldiers around him.

"Hide well, and no one is allowed to move without our order."

"The thousand households have issued an order. Do not move without military orders."

"No movement without military orders."

Seeing his military orders drifting away while being passed on by word of mouth, he shrank his body towards the mound of earth. When there was no other sound around him except the sound of muskets, he turned his full attention to where the Qing army was coming from.

After yesterday's battle, the entire camp was filled with a dejected atmosphere.

To be honest, the frustration of being defeated by the Qing army almost drove Xu Wenjue crazy.

If his brother had not written to him many times, telling him to obey orders from his superiors and not to be arrogant because of family affairs, he really wanted to rush to Chang Guanlin and Mei Chun to ask them why the order to withdraw was issued.

He is not just being arrogant.

No matter what, the rear army's shooting speed is much faster than that of the Qing army. When the battlefield is covered with smoke, his retracted melee troops can still take advantage of the cover and rush to the front of the Qing army.

By then, even if he risks his life, he can still fight the Qing army to the death. He will not be defeated at the first blow and bring shame to Your Majesty.

The final result was obvious. Xu Yinjue's repeated instructions finally came into play at the critical moment. Even though Xu Wenjue was so angry that he was shaking all over, he still did not rush to the two cowards.

Of course, Chang Guanlin and Mei Chun are not cowards. Choosing to withdraw troops when the situation suddenly changes is also an essential quality for a general.

Until last night, when military orders were issued from the general's tent, after knowing the arrangements of the two men, although Xu Wenjue was still stubborn, he also realized the gap between himself and the general.

"Qian Hu, don't rush too far forward."

"Nonsense! Your Majesty is leading the charge, how can I just stay behind?"

The words "Your Majesty always leads by example" silenced the generals around Xu Wenjue. After that, there was no sound at all until a series of faint military orders were heard from afar.

"Raise the gun!"

"put!"

"Bah!"

Hearing this noise, both Xu Wenjue and the soldiers around him knew that the Qing army was approaching. However, the noise was not real yet. The Qing army's gun formation was still ten or twenty steps away, and their ambush troops would not reveal their tracks at this time.

As time passed, the orderly footsteps became clearer and clearer. At this moment, Xu Wenjue's hand holding the sword was trembling slightly, and it was obvious that he was quite excited.

To be honest, he is not a rookie on the battlefield, so he should not have such a reaction when facing a battle.

It’s just that the front army couldn’t hold its head up in front of the other armies because of its military achievements, and he also had a certain reputation because of his family background.

If he couldn't find a way to get back at the Qing army this time, he didn't know how those people would deal with him. Seeing that the opportunity to take revenge and restore his prestige was right in front of him, he could hardly suppress his emotions.

"Raise the gun!"

"put!"

"Bah!"

As time passed, the sound of military orders became clear to his ears. He then pricked up his ears, as if he wanted to collect all the sounds of footsteps.

Ten steps.

eight steps.

Five steps.

He did not have the ability to identify positions by sound, so his judgment was not accurate, but at this moment the footsteps were already approaching, and even the voices of the generals in their spare time could be heard clearly. He knew that the opportunity he had been waiting for for so long was right in front of him.

"kill!"

With a loud shout, Xu Wenjue was the first to rush out from behind the mound of earth. He then ran two steps and then rolled over. When several black shadows flashed past his eyes, he chopped at one of them without having time to distinguish them carefully.

"puff!"

"Bah!"

Just as the sound of flesh and blood being torn reached his ears, the sound of muskets being fired followed.

He didn't know whether the shot was fired by the black shadow or by his comrades. After pulling back the sword, he rolled on the ground a few times. Then another black shadow came up and the sword chopped out as before.

"puff!"

"Bah!"

"Bah!"

Light armor?

It was a very satisfying chop.

His figure kept rolling in the gun array, and the sound of gunfire rang out one after another.

Although Xu Wenjue looked quite embarrassed at this time, his sword was constantly reaping the lives of Qing soldiers.

At this time, his soldiers continued to rush into the Qing army's formation. The sound of gunfire, which had originally only been heard beside Xu Wenjue, immediately spread from the mound to all directions.

At this point, the Ming army ambushed behind the mound began to kill like a tiger among a flock of sheep. By the time the Qing general reacted, his lightly armored men had already been killed and were running away in panic, howling like ghosts and wolves.

It was unknown how much time had passed, but Xu Wenjue and his comrades finally chased out of the area covered by smoke. When they reached the edge of the city's firing range, the depression in his heart suddenly eased, and then a burst of angry shouts came out of his mouth.

"The front guard army! Invincible!"

(End of this chapter)