Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 182: Killing Jueluo Guoke
The personal guards were all cavalrymen, and the musketeers also had one man on one horse. They rushed to the chevaux de frise like a storm, quickly dismounted, and prepared their guns.

Battalion Commander Qiao Song climbed up the barricade first, only to see the Qing troops huddled in front of the trench like ants:

The rear team was carrying bedding and tents forward, trying to fill the trench with them. The front team was mostly wearing heavy armor, only ten steps away from the chevaux de frise, using bows and arrows to cover the rear team. Their archery skills were excellent, and they were not at all inferior to the Red Army's musket team.

The Qing army was so ferocious and stubborn that they pushed the bodies of their comrades into the trenches in order to fill them.

Looking at our side, the losses were also not small. Many bodies were lying in all directions under the barricade.

"Old Joe, you're here!" Kuang Shi, the commander of the second infantry battalion, was also supervising the battle at the chevaux de frise and was already extremely anxious.

"Please forgive me, the commander-in-chief has been reluctant to give orders, so I dare not act on my own initiative."

The Second Firearms Battalion consisted of two musket teams, which were urgently equipped with two hundred new-style matchlock rifles before the war, but had relatively weak firepower.

Kuang Shi was ordered to defend the barricades and not to retreat. In order to stop the Eight Banners soldiers, he also called up archers. However, the Red Army's bows were mainly lacquer bows, which were far inferior to the Manchu bows and could not penetrate the enemy's heavy armor.

Cen Danchu had long ago concluded that the Manchu Eight Banners were more like heavily armored infantry on horseback than cavalry. In a field battle against the Manchu Eight Banners, light artillery and heavy muskets would be the way to victory. Kuang Shi was supervising the battle at the front line, and was very close to the Tartars, so he had a more real feeling about this.

"No problem. The commander-in-chief is a master at commanding troops. There must be a reason why he has been so slow to issue orders. It must be to paralyze the Tartars and lure them closer to the trench. Now that the Tartars have fallen into the trap, it's your turn to take action! Don't let the Tartars pass through the trench, otherwise they will use their special skills of shooting at the surface, and our flag will be in danger."

Kuang Shi was a talented general and was highly trusted by Dan Chu. These words also inspired Qiao Song, who originally wanted to issue the "free fire" command, but resolutely decided to change it to "concentrated fire".

Free fire, as the name suggests, allows musketeers to fire at will without paying attention to the commander's orders.

Concentrated fire requires the shooter to strictly obey the commander's orders and concentrate fire on the enemy.

The Imperial Guards' Musketeer Battalion had three musket teams, and the Imperial Guards' Battalion had two musket teams, all of which were equipped with new matchlock rifles. When put into battle, the Red Army's firepower would be doubled, enough to give the Qing army a hard time.

"Please hold on for a moment while our musketeers line up calmly and concentrate their fire."

"Okay." Having said that, Kuang Shi was already as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

The enemy was fearless and worked hard to fill the trenches, gradually creating five passages. At this rate, it would take less than a quarter of an hour for them to pass through the passages and attack the barricades.

Qiao Song knew the importance of the situation and ordered the four teams of musketeers to disperse. When the infantry saw their savior coming, they also made way to make it easier for the musketeers to climb the chevaux de frise.

The chevaux de frise is trapezoidal in shape, with soil taken from the trench. It is steep in the front and gentle in the back, making it easy to block the enemy.

Soon, in the middle of the army, the Eight Banners soldiers gradually filled up two passages. Some of them jumped down and walked on tents, bedding and other things, staggering forward under the Red Army's artillery fire.

The closer they got to the chevaux de frise, the more casualties the Qing army suffered. However, someone finally passed through the trench and reached the chevaux de frise. Being so close, it was inconvenient for the Red Army musketeers to shoot. However, the Eight Banners soldiers used their special skill of shooting at faces, specifically aiming at the Red Army's faces, and their arrows never missed, causing the Red Army's casualties to increase rapidly.

"Qiao Song! Why aren't you firing yet?!" Kuang Shi shouted at Qiao Song. He was always calm, but when he saw his soldiers being killed and wounded, his emotions gradually got out of control.

The five musketeers were not ready yet, but the situation was urgent, so Qiao Song had no choice but to order them to open fire.

The first row of musketeers quickly stood up, climbed up to the top of the wall and fired. The distance was so close that even if the Qing army wore two layers of iron armor, they could not withstand the Red Army's new paper shell fixed bullets.

"Bang bang bang bang!" The bullets were not as dense as imagined, but were enough to cause fatal casualties to the Qing army.

The Qing army was caught off guard and was in a dilemma. Advance? There was a wall of chevaux de frise ahead, and more musketeers appeared. Retreat? They didn't even want bedding or tents, and rushed to the wall of chevaux de frise under the Red Army's artillery fire. How could they give up so easily?

Jueluo Guoke was no ordinary man, he had been in battle for a long time and rarely lost. In the 14th year of Chongzhen, he led his troops to the expedition, besieged Jinzhou, defeated the Ming Dynasty's Ningyuan reinforcements, chased them to Lianshan, beheaded 30 people and captured 32 horses, and thus became famous.

Now, he was leading his army deep into the enemy's territory alone, but was blocked by an unknown person like Cen Danchu. How could he give up so easily?

Gioro Guoke did not give up, but beat the drums and drove the bannermen to fight to the death. As expected of the Manchurian Bordered White Banner, although they were already at a disadvantage, they still showed no fear and dared to advance under the bullets of the Red Army.

Danchu saw it clearly through the telescope, and a sneer appeared on the corner of his mouth. Jueluo Guoke is brave but not wise, and he will definitely lose this time. Although the Eight Banners soldiers are brave, they are outnumbered and will definitely lose. "Pass my order, the Tusi soldiers will clear the deer fort and open the passage. The Tusi cavalry and the Yunnan cavalry will assemble and wait for orders, and will join the personal cavalry battalion and the personal battalion to pursue the Eight Banners."

According to the agreed flag, the Red Army waved the flag to signal. Tusi Bing Cen Xun and Yunnan Division Hu Yiqing received the order and got busy.

At the barricade, the battle became more and more intense. The Eight Banners soldiers were extremely brave, and more and more banner soldiers passed through the trenches, leaving more and more bodies. The Red Army musketeers also gradually got better, and the firepower became more and more intensive.

The Eight Banners soldiers piled up corpses and tried to climb the barricade. The Red Army was brave and refused to give in, engaging the Banners soldiers in close combat. Even the musketeers had bayonets as hand-to-hand weapons. As soon as the Banners soldiers appeared at the barricade, the musketeers could either shoot or stab them with bayonets.

The Eight Banners soldiers, who had been unopposed for a long time, encountered trouble in front of the trenches and chevaux de frise in the small town of Tangjiapu.

The situation on the battlefield gradually became clear. The Red Army had more troops, more guns, and stronger firepower, and had a clear advantage over the Qing Army.

The Qing army was used to using heavy arrows, and could only carry 20 to 30 heavy arrows for each battle. Now, their arrows were running out, and they were wearing heavy armor, so it was difficult to pass through the trench, and the five-foot-high chevaux de frise seemed unreachable.

At this moment, the only thing the Qing army had to contend with the Red Army was courage. Courage comes at a price, and Jueluo Guoke refused to order a retreat, trying to save his own honor with the lives of his soldiers, but this only increased his own casualties.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The war drums at Qijialing sounded like thunder, followed by a burst of shrill swan trumpet sounds.

Charge!
Nearly 3,000 Red Army cavalry, Tusi cavalry, and Yunnan Division cavalry rushed out from the area between Yumi Mountain and Qijialing, looking down from a high position, like a tiger descending from the mountain, and pounced on the flanks of the Eight Banners.

Jueluo Guoke was dumbfounded. He was still supervising the battle outside the trench, leaving only 300 cavalry as a reserve. The enemy cavalry was so densely covered with dust that it looked like a huge army. No matter how brave the Eight Banners were, they didn't have three heads and six arms. One punch couldn't beat four hands!

The Ming army had always been cowardly and afraid to fight. They would flee when they saw the Manchurian soldiers. How could they be so brave today? How could they have so many cavalry?

The wind was howling, and Jueluo Guoketon felt that he was surrounded by enemies. He quickly ordered a retreat and ordered the reserve troops to fight against the Ming cavalry to buy time for the front-line infantry.

Seeing this, Kuang Shi made a prompt decision and ordered a pursuit. The musketeers were on the wall of chevaux de frise, closest to the enemy, and they raised their bayonets and rushed down.

The Qing army was blocked by the trenches, and the narrow passage was crowded with fleeing soldiers. Many people fell into the trenches, were pierced by sharp wood, or were killed by the Red Army.

The Ming cavalry roared down from the Qijialing and Yumishan hills, and their number was several times that of the Qing army. No matter how brave the Qing army was, it could not resist and had to fight and retreat.

Seeing this, Danchu led his personal soldiers and cavalry battalions to the north to cut off the Qing army's retreat. Hu Yiqing had been angry for a long time, and now he could vent his anger on the defeated Qing army. The Yunnan Division joined forces with the Tusi soldiers and attacked the Qing army fiercely, pushing the Qing army to the west bank of the Xiang River.

"The direction of the flag must be Jueluo Guoke. The personal soldiers will follow me to attack the enemy's flag, and the cavalry battalion will hold the north wing to prevent the enemy from escaping."

There were only a few dozen riders left with Jueluo Guoke. When he saw the Red Army cavalry rushing towards him, he uttered a string of barbarian words, probably curse words.

This slave is wearing a golden helmet, he must be Jueluo Guoke. Danchu led his troops over, and a group of personal soldiers came forward to fight. Jueluo Guoke had few soldiers, but they were all brave and good at fighting. Although they were outnumbered, they managed not to lose.

When Danchu saw that the Eight Banners soldiers had been entangled, he led his personal soldiers to challenge them. Jueluo Guoke, holding a dagger, chopped down two personal soldiers in succession.

"You good slave chief!" Danchu cursed, wielding his spear to fight with Jueluo Guoke.

With a "bang", both men exerted their full strength, their weapons collided, and sparks flew.

Danchu felt a tremor in the base of his right hand, and felt a dull pain. He pretended to loosen his left hand, and held the spear with his right hand, gradually losing the upper hand.

Jueluo Guoke showed a grim smile on his face and became more and more courageous as the fight went on, forcing Danchu to have no choice but to fight back.

Danchu took advantage of his unpreparedness, took out a flintlock pistol with his left hand, pointed it at his face and pulled the trigger.

With a "bang", Jueluo Guoke screamed and fell off his horse.

Dan Chu dropped his pistol, held the spear with both hands, and used all his strength to stab the tip of the spear into Jueluo Guoke's mouth and pierce through the back of his head.

(End of this chapter)