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

Chapter 188: Calm and Calm
The Red Army killed the Qing Army's envoy. Lekedehun was furious and led his troops to attack the Red Army's Leigongling camp.

By the time of the Southern Ming Dynasty, the Eight Banners of Manchuria had accumulated rich combat experience after sixty or seventy years of fighting. Whether it was field battles, sieges, city defenses, or night battles, the Eight Banners of Manchuria rarely met an opponent.

In terms of offensive warfare, the tactics of the Eight Banners in the early and later periods were very different. In the early period, the Eight Banners had backward firearms technology, and if they wanted to attack, they often used shield carts and ladders as cover, with death squads placed behind the shield carts and ladders, until they were under the city wall, or they set up ladders or chiseled their way in through the wall.

Yuan Chonghuan defeated this tactic by using cannons to fortify the city. With the help of Kong Youde, the Eight Banners also mastered the red cannon technology and evolved a new tactic of attacking the city: concentrate dozens or even hundreds of red cannons to break through the city walls, and then send in the death squads to rush in.

After entering the pass, the Ming army was defeated. The Qing army preferred to use methods such as alienation, inducement to surrender, and intimidation to capture the city. When encountering a strong city, the tactics of internal and external cooperation failed, and then the red cannon was brought in. For example, in the defense of Jiangyin, the rebels held the city for 81 days. Finally, the Qing army brought in the red cannon to blow up the city wall and finally conquered Jiangyin.

During the Yongli reign of the Southern Ming Dynasty, the Qing army's tactics became more mature. Its typical tactics became: first use artillery to bombard, then send in heavy armored infantry, and then send in cavalry to plunder when the enemy's position is shaken.

This tactic has been tried and tested, but it may be greatly reduced in the face of the Red Army at Leigongling.

It was already noon. Although it was early summer, the sun was scorching hot, the hottest time of the day. Danchu sat at the top of Leigong Ridge, overlooking the surroundings, with a panoramic view.

In the distance, the Qing army had lined up and began to advance towards Leigong Ridge. Their armor was bright, their cavalry was like a forest, and their men and horses were very majestic.

Fortunately, the Red Army had defeated Jueluo Guoke at Tangjiapu, breaking the myth of the invincibility of the Eight Banners, and the confidence of the officers and soldiers increased greatly.

Danchu put down the telescope and rubbed his eyes. Zhou Yiming, the guard captain beside him, quickly took the telescope and looked like he couldn't let it go.

Zhou Yiming was extremely brave and performed outstandingly in the Battle of Nanning. He was promoted from a soldier to a sentry leader. Danchu specially transferred him to the personal guard camp and trained him carefully.

The guards on both sides showed no fear, which was obviously different from the battle at Tangjiapu. Danchu smiled and said to Zhou Yiming, "Yiming, use the telescope to see if the Tartars have red cannons?"

Only officers above the rank of battalion commander were equipped with binoculars. Zhou Yiming was so delighted when he received the order that he raised his binoculars to look through.

Yang Yuqi, the director of the Operations Bureau, stood by and said, "General, our army has set up camp on Leigong Ridge, occupying the high ground, and built a wall of chevaux de frise inside the trench. Even if the Tartars have red cannons, it will be difficult for them to exert their firepower."

"Well, the Red Cannon has a high barrel-to-diameter ratio and a straight trajectory, which is not conducive to upward attack." Danchu was calm and asked his subordinates: "Tell me, if you were Lekedehun, how would you use your firepower?"

This was to inspire and teach the young officers, and the directors and section chiefs kept silent. Several staff officers and personal soldiers discussed for a while, but could not find a better answer.

Danchu smiled and said, "We can pile up the dirt to make a mountain and move the cannon to the mountain."

Everyone suddenly realized.

Danchu continued, "However, the workload of piling up earth to form a mountain is huge, and it is difficult for ordinary troops to bear it. The artillery of the Tatars belongs to the Eight Banners of the Han Army. When the battle is about to begin, the Eight Banners of the Manchu army will transfer the artillery of the Han army to the front line and send Manchu soldiers to supervise the artillery of the Han army to fire.

"This time the Tartars have penetrated deep into Huguang. The Eight Banners are mainly Manchus and Mongols, with few Han troops. The troops are divided into four groups and fight over thousands of miles. Lekedehun led his troops to reinforce Quanzhou. They are all cavalry, and they don't have red cannons."

Everyone was amazed and gained a lot of inspiration from the coach's words.

Zhou Yiming put down the telescope and said, "The Marshal is very smart. I didn't find the Red Cannon."

Danchu was very interested and asked, "What are the benefits of setting up camp on high ground?"

This question is very simple, and everyone quickly gave the correct answer: it can make good use of firepower, swoop down during counterattacks, and be powerful and difficult for the enemy to stop.

“What are the drawbacks?”

Faced with a powerful enemy, everyone relaxed and enthusiastically answered Danchu's questions:
“It’s not easy to transport the baggage.”

"It's not easy to feed a war horse."

“It is easy for the enemy to cut off the water supply.”

……

"Very good. When setting up camp at a high place, the first thing to consider is the water source. People cannot live without water for a day. In summer, when marching and fighting, they must drink water frequently. Leigong Ridge is not high and is close to the Xiangjiang River, so the water level is relatively shallow. If the stored water is used up, you can dig a well in the ground..."

"Woo-woo-woo!", the horn sounded, the signal that the enemy was about to launch an attack. Everyone stopped talking and looked towards the east camp. Those who had telescopes used them, and those who didn't used their eyes.

As Yang Yuqi watched, he said, "The Tartars have dismounted, about 150 steps away from the trench. The artillery team is in front, fortunately they are all small cannons, including sub-cannons and Weiyuan cannons."

With a "boom" of a cannon, the Red Army also sent out a signal to prepare for battle.

The musket battalion had already prepared at the barricade, ready for battle. The camp gate was wide open, and the auxiliary battalion opened a gap at the stakes outside the gate, ready to receive the musketeers back to the camp at any time. Since the artillery was inconvenient to carry, the artillery battalion stayed inside the camp gate, ready to fire.

About a mile southwest of Leigong Ridge, the two camps of the Second Infantry Battalion were also ready for battle. The three camps formed a corner with each other and could reinforce each other when necessary.

All the battalions were operating according to schedule, and everything was under control. Cen Danchu collected his thoughts and paid close attention to the situation on the front line.

The Qing army had only 3,000 cavalry and could only focus on attacking one camp. Lekedehun's deployment was simple and crude, concentrating all his forces on the east side of Leigong Ridge, trying to destroy the Red Army on Leigong Ridge in one fell swoop.

As usual, the Qing army's heavily armored warriors dismounted and marched in formation, with the cavalry following behind them.

"Boom, boom, boom!" The Qing army advanced to one hundred steps before the trench and the artillery team opened fire.

As Danchu expected, the Qing army's artillery were all shotguns that fired lead bullets, or Weiyuan cannons that fired small solid bullets, with limited power. The Red Army was in a commanding position, and the front-line musket battalion had a wall of chevaux de frise for protection, so it was less threatened.

Most of the lead bullets hit the barricade, stirring up a cloud of dust. The Red Army's musket battalion soldiers lay on the reverse slope behind the barricade, with only a few officers lying on the top of the wall, closely watching the Qing army's formation.

Don't shoot easily before you get close enough. Qiao Song, the commander of the musket battalion, lay on the wall of the barricades, holding a telescope, staring at the Qing army intently, completely ignoring the lead bullets falling beside him.

"Bang!" A lead bullet hit Qiao Song's helmet. This was a Ming helmet, made of fine iron. Qiao Song's forehead shook, and the lead bullet was bounced off the Ming helmet.

What a close call! Qiao Song breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed for a moment. However, the Qing army had stopped firing and began to drive the heavy armored infantry forward.

The Tartars were about to attack. He cheered up and gave a signal with his whistle, and a yellow flag was raised behind the chevaux de frise.

Upon receiving the order, the musketeers immediately checked and adjusted the fuse. The bullets were loaded and ready to be loaded at any time.

The Qing army had noticed that there were Red Army troops lying in ambush at the chevaux de frise, but they had no choice but to continue advancing.

It was seventy paces away! A sharp and long whistle sounded, and a red flag was raised in place of the yellow flag.

The musketeers were divided into three rows, the front row was close to the top of the wall and could fire at any time. There were 100 musketeers in each row, and considering that muskets often misfired, they could fire about 60 to 70 bullets in one volley.

Sixty steps! A burst of rapid swan trumpet sounds, the whole battalion shouted three times, and the front row of musketeers took a step forward, half-knelt on the wall, held their guns, aimed, and fired.

"Bang bang bang bang", the bullets were not as dense as imagined, but enough to cause fatal damage.

The Qing army fell in large numbers, but Lekedehun relied on his large numbers and drove the Eight Banners soldiers to continue moving forward.

The Eight Banners soldiers kept falling, but they were not afraid of death and continued to advance. When they were about thirty steps away, they stopped and used the long-pointed bow to counterattack.

The Red Army's musket battalion had fewer men and could not gain an advantage at this distance. As agreed, Qiao Song called back the troops. The musket battalion quickly left the barricade and returned to the camp through the gate.

The auxiliary soldiers' battalion cooperated closely, and as soon as the musket battalion entered the camp, they immediately restored the stakes and closed the camp gates.

The Qing army was overjoyed when they saw the Red Army retreating, and they swarmed towards the trench, but were dumbfounded. The trench in front of them was wider and deeper than expected, two feet wide and one foot deep, and there were sharp wood inserted all over the bottom of the trench.

The Red Army dug deep trenches to repel the enemy at Tangjiapu, and this was effective. This time at Leigongling, without waiting for Danchu to urge them, all the regiments enthusiastically dug deep trenches.

"Boom, boom, boom!" The Red Army's artillery battalion began to show off its power. The sky-rocketing cannons fired shrapnel shells and the mountain-splitting cannons fired solid bullets. The Qing army was immediately thrown to the ground.

(End of this chapter)