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

Chapter 318 Turning defeat into victory
In the evening, the sky was dark and the rain decreased, but there was no sign of stopping.

All the generals gathered in the central army tent, all with sad faces. Many of them were wounded, and they were quite discouraged because of the defeat during the day. Some were worried about the bridge over Longshui River, worried that the river would surge and wash away the floating bridge, and the Red Army would have no way to retreat. Some were thinking about the reinforcements from the second town, worried that they would encounter floods on the way and would not be able to arrive in time to reinforce.

Today's defeat can be regarded as the first major defeat since the establishment of the Royal Guards Association. Except for the artillery battalion, the other battalions had about 10,000 people participating in the battle, with nearly 3,000 casualties. The cavalry battalion suffered the heaviest losses, with more than 800 of the 2,500 cavalry killed and more than 400 seriously injured. It is estimated that the direct loss is 1,200 people, and the casualty rate is close to half.

The most distressing thing is that a large number of grassroots backbones such as captains, sentinels, and corporals were killed. The loss of soldiers can be quickly replaced, but how can the loss of officers be replaced?

The Qing army also suffered heavy casualties, but certainly less than the Red Army. The War Bureau estimated that the Tartar casualties were between 1,500 and 2,000.

The key point is that Luoding is located inside the Qing army, making it easy for the Tatars to rescue it, but the Red Army cannot.

Tomorrow, the Tartars will have 7,000 green troops that can rush to Luoding, putting more pressure on the Red Army. The Red Army reinforcements are nowhere in sight, and the closest reinforcements are the cavalry battalion directly under the Second Infantry Regiment, which has 2,000 cavalry, but there has been no news so far.

The combat effectiveness of cavalry is several times that of infantry, and much higher than that of auxiliary troops. If the cavalry of the second regiment cannot arrive tomorrow, the Red Army can only drive a large number of auxiliary troops to the battlefield.

Today, the enemy and our forces are equal. The soldiers fought bravely and sacrificed a lot, and barely managed to draw a tie. Tomorrow, the Tatars will have 7,000 reinforcements coming, and the enemy and our forces will be much different. If the Second Town Cavalry Battalion cannot arrive in time, the Red Army will be in real danger.

The Red Army's personal soldiers were on the east bank of Longshui River, arrayed with their backs to the water, in a desperate situation. If they were defeated tomorrow, the defeated soldiers would have to seize the floating bridge, which would be extremely dangerous.

The safe approach is to withdraw the personal soldiers to the west bank of Longshui River, join forces with the auxiliary soldiers, and then dismantle the pontoon bridge and wait for the main force of the second town to arrive. By then, the enemy and our forces will be reversed, and the Red Army will be able to fight a decisive battle with the Tartars in Luodingzhou. If the weather clears up and the flintlock rifles can be fired, the Red Army will be able to defeat the Tartars and then seize Luodingzhou.

However, this would have a great impact on morale and the commander's prestige. The soldiers have always worshipped Cen Danchu as a god, and if they retreated easily, they would undoubtedly doubt him.

Only one cavalry battalion is missing. As long as the cavalry battalion of the second town arrives at Longshui tomorrow morning, Cen Danchu will be sure to hold out and fight the Tartars again tomorrow.

"My Lord!" A Titang officer entered the tent, still wearing his raincoat. He was in charge of the troops in the camp and was responsible for delivering messages, a heavy responsibility.

"How is it? Any news?" Cao Yu, deputy commander of Huben Town, asked anxiously. All the generals stopped talking and looked expectantly at the Titang official.

He sighed, and hesitated to speak. Finally, he leaned over to Danchu's ear and whispered, "The Second Cavalry Battalion has reached Tibin Town. On the way, they encountered a flood and lost a group of soldiers. Commander Yang Biao decided to take a short rest and set off again after dawn. They can reach Longshui before noon tomorrow."

Tibin Town is a small town in the Yunkai Mountains, about 40 miles away from the Imperial Guards. The Qing army once set up defenses here to stop the Red Army, and Danchu had a deep impression of this.

The 40-li journey consists of 20 li of mountain roads and 20 li of flat roads. Under normal circumstances, the cavalry can complete the journey in less than two hours. However, it has been raining for several days, and mountain torrents have washed away the roads, making the march difficult.

"Asshole!" Danchu was so angry that he lost his composure and shouted, "Tell Yang Fang that if he can't get to Longshui by noon tomorrow, make him come to me with his head!"

In the first year of the Yongli reign, Danchu's soul traveled through time and space and joined Jiao Lian as a soldier. When he first joined the army to reinforce Guilin, he encountered heavy rain. The flood washed away the Yanguan Road. Jiao Lian led the standard battalion and overcame many difficulties and arrived in Guilin as scheduled.

Whether Yang Fang could lead the cavalry to Longshui was related to the outcome of the battle. Even if there were huge difficulties, he had to find ways to overcome them.

This Yang Fang is Cen Danchu's childhood friend, also an orphan from the Shaanxi Army. Now he has accumulated merits and has been promoted to the commander of the cavalry battalion. He has his own strengths.

The Titang official looked stern and replied, "Yes!"

Although everyone did not hear the secret report from the Titang official, they could guess it completely and could not help but feel very depressed.

Mo Guangshu, the assistant military officer, stopped the officer and told him, "Send a few capable soldiers to tell Yang Fang that the outcome of tomorrow's battle will depend on his cavalry."

As soon as the Titang officer left the tent, Deputy Commander Cao Yu summoned up his courage and said, "Lord, the enemy is strong and we are weak. This is the situation. We should retreat to the west bank of Longshui River at night, wait until the army is assembled and the weather clears up, and then fight the Tartars."

Someone took the lead, and the other generals followed suit:
"Yes, the weather is good. It will rain continuously and it won't clear up tomorrow. If we fight the Tartars in the rain, our army will suffer. We should retreat to the west bank to rest and repel the enemy by the river. When the weather clears up, our Dinglu rifles and cannons can fire, and then we can cross the river to attack the Tartars and defeat them with greater certainty."

"Arming a battle array with your back to the water is a taboo in the military. Now the Taki water level has risen sharply and we cannot wade through it. The river water will hit the floating bridge, which is very worrying."

"Even if the Second Town's direct cavalry arrived, there are only 2,000 cavalrymen, which may not be able to turn the tide of the battle."

"Yes, Yang Fang's cavalry was newly formed not long ago, and they are no match for the Royal Guards Cavalry. In terms of hand-to-hand combat, they are no match for the Manchu Tartars."

……

After all, most of the words were negative. Li Yuanyin was very proud at first and tried his best to encourage the Red Army to fight for Luoding. Today, the Red Army suffered heavy casualties, and he felt deeply guilty and dared not say a word.

Lian Danchu was a little shaken, but in the end he was unwilling to retreat to the west bank of Takishui easily.

"Your Majesty, Commander Liu Xie is here!" A guard rushed into the tent with excitement in his eyes.

"Which Liu Xietong?" Mo Guangshu asked, unable to remember when Liu Xietong had appeared in the army. He was previously in charge of criminal law in the military government, and was transferred to the military advisory office as a military assistant last August. He was not familiar with the personnel in the army.

"Liu Fangliang, deputy commander of the Sixth Brigade of the Second Town."

The invincible general on white horse and silver spear!
Danchu was overjoyed and said, "Quick! Let him in!"

Soon, a middle-aged general wearing a straw raincoat entered the tent. He was about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, and walked briskly. When he saw Danchu, he bowed and said, "My Lord! I am late!"

"Please stand up!" Danchu left his seat, stepped forward to help Liu Fangliang up, and asked, "Have you met Yang Fang?"

"Yes, I met Yang Fang in Jinzhu Town this afternoon. Jinzhu Town is surrounded by mountains and happens to be located in a valley. Some places are flooded up to the chest. Yang Fang has a lot of baggage and it is inconvenient for him to go there. I came from afar and brought light cavalry with me. I said hello to him and rushed over first."

"Very good, very good." Dan Chu felt relieved, and a big stone in his heart fell to the ground.

If Liu Fangliang can make it, then Yang Fang can certainly make it too. It's just that the cavalry has a lot of baggage and a large number of people and horses, so they can't march fast. As long as Yang Fang orders to abandon unnecessary baggage, they will be able to reach Longshui before the morning hour tomorrow.

"Fang Liang, how many men did you bring?" Cao Yu asked.

"Not many, only one hundred and twenty."

The generals were a little disappointed, but they heard Liu Fangliang continue to say: "General Kuang believed that the king's sudden change of plan did not allow the rear to prepare in time, and there might be changes on the front line, so he ordered me to come overnight to get the news." "Not bad, not bad." Danchu finally smiled and praised: "I promoted Kuang Shi to be the commander of the second infantry town. People often envied him and said he was too young. You see, he was able to anticipate the enemy and sent Fangliang to the front line to investigate the situation in advance. Who can think so carefully if not for someone with a heart? Fang Liang can come, and Yang Fang will definitely come tomorrow, so I feel relieved."

With the change of conversation tone, everyone looked much more relaxed, no longer as worried as before.

It rained heavily tonight and it was pitch black outside. All the troops reinforced their camps and added defensive facilities such as stakes and chevaux de frise. The Qing army had been marching for days and was exhausted during the day, so they probably wouldn't dare to raid the camp at night.

Tomorrow, Yang Fang's 2,000 new soldiers will arrive, and the Red Army may be able to fight the Qing Army. The key is to find the Qing Army's flaws, otherwise, Yang Fang's visit will be in vain, and he will only repeat the same mistakes as today.

"In today's battle, the Red Army was defeated. I was at the front line in person, and I don't blame you. The soldiers were brave and tenacious, not afraid of sacrifice, and none of them retreated from the enemy from beginning to end. We gathered everyone tonight to sum up our experience and avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Everyone expressed their opinions and spoke enthusiastically."

Danchu looked around at the generals with a very sincere attitude.

"To be honest, we should blame the horrible weather. It has been raining all day and all night without stopping. If the weather had cleared up, we could have used the Dinglu cavalry rifle to fight the Tartars, and we would have been able to hit them with every shot."

"It's going to rain, and my mother is going to get married. No one can stop her. There's no need to complain."

Everyone chuckled and began to discuss:

The Royal Guards fought after the Cavalry, and their casualties were not particularly severe. The commander Zhou Yiming was the first to speak, saying, "The Royal Guards are used to using rifles, and they also train in hand-to-hand combat, but they mostly fight on foot, and rarely on horseback. Today, the Cavalry was in front, and the Royal Guards were in a hurry to fight, and they were fighting hand-to-hand on horseback, so they were not as good as the Manchus."

The cavalry commander, Morzhen, was also wounded, and his men suffered heavy losses. He was in great sorrow and said:

"In my opinion, there are two main reasons why the cavalry suffered heavy losses. First, the offensive weapons were not good enough. The cavalry mainly used spears as weapons, but the Tatars wore heavy armor and rode large western horses, making them difficult to resist. The cavalry spears often broke, and the lances had no bayonets, which meant they were fighting the Tatars with bare hands. Second, our army did not wear heavy armor, and the armor-wearing rate was low. Once stabbed by the Tatars, they would either die or be injured. We were not good at attacking or defending, so we were defeated by the Tatars."

The spears were easy to break, which was a big reason for the cavalry's defeat. On the contrary, the personal soldiers used three-edged bayonets as weapons, which were much more reliable than spears. They would not break and could pierce the enemy's armor more easily.

"Every Tatar is wearing armor. The Manchu and Mongolian Tatar warriors all wear two layers of armor. Most of the banner soldiers wear Ming armor, and only Aha wears cotton armor. Our soldiers are all on horseback. When we stab the Tatars with weapons, they are often blocked by the armor. On the contrary, some soldiers fall off their horses and use their weapons to attack from bottom to top, which makes it easier to penetrate the gaps in the armor and stab the Tatars to death."

"Your Majesty, I have something to say." Liu Fangliang said, suddenly having an idea.

"please say."

"In the second year of the Yongli reign, the Tartars invaded Huguang. I was in western Hunan at the time..."

In the second year of the Yongli reign, the Tartars invaded Huguang. Ma Jinzhong, the Earl of Wuchang, was commanded by Du Yinxi to lead troops to recapture Changde. The Tartars sent the Eight Banners of the Han Army to stop them and stationed in Mahe, with a large number of cavalry. Ma Jinzhong was defeated in the first battle, and many of his soldiers' spears were broken.

Ma Jinzhong, a native of Xi'an, Shaanxi, gathered a group of people to become bandits in the early years of Chongzhen. He was nicknamed "Hun Shiwan". Later, he surrendered to Zuo Liangyu and became a brave general of the left wing. Most of his subordinates were cavalry.

To meet the Tatars, Ma Jinzhong ordered the cavalry to dismount and fight on foot, breaking their long spears into short spears and using them as the vanguard. The rear camp also dismounted and fought on foot, holding axes. Cavalry was ambushed on both wings to maneuver.

The Tatar cavalry had heavy armor that was difficult to break, so the Ming army used short spears to "pierce the armor from below", and the swordsmen and axemen assisted from the side, and they actually defeated the Tatar cavalry. In this battle, the Ming army beheaded more than 7,000 people, and four of the Eight Banners officers of the Qing Han Army, Dong Tingbo, Zong Shangyong, Ma Rubi, and Gao Jie, were killed. Ma Jinzhong was promoted to Wuchang Marquis for this, and now he has been promoted to Duke of E.

"The elite Red Army has ten times more troops than the Duke of E. Although they were defeated today, the soldiers are brave and are planning to counterattack. If we fight the Tartars again tomorrow, we may win."

Yes! Two years ago, the Red Army fought against the Manchu prince Jirgalang and ended up in a draw, thanks to the hollow square formation of the musketeers. On rainy days, the musketeers could not shoot the Tartars, but they could still defeat the enemy on foot.

Danchu said resolutely: "I have made up my mind. I will fight the Tartars tomorrow and defeat them on foot."

The next day, the rain lessened considerably, but it was still continuous, making it difficult to use firearms.

At noon, the Qing army took the initiative to attack. The formation was much larger than yesterday, with the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia in the front, the Jingnan Clan in the middle, and the Green Camp reinforcements at the end. There were five to six thousand Green Camp reinforcements alone.

The Red Army's formation was much inferior. Despite the addition of Yang Fang's cavalry, the total number of people was still much smaller than that of the Qing army.

At the beginning of the battle, it was exactly the same as yesterday. The Qing army first sent death squads to clear the fortress, and the Red Army sent cavalry to block them. However, there were a lot of corpses left on the battlefield. The Red Army's fighting spirit was also not as strong as before, and they were defeated not long after the battle.

Bashan fell into the trap and led his troops to drive the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia and the Jingnan Clan to fight.

The Qing court used to use the Han army's eight banners and the Green Camp as cannon fodder, and the Manchu and Mongolian eight banners as mobile forces in the rear, and then reap the benefits later. When the enemy was strong and the Han army's eight banners and the Green Camp were unable to deal with it, the Manchu and Mongolian eight banners would go down to join the battle, and even serve as the vanguard.

Bashan was well aware of this. He had seen the power of the Red Army yesterday, and today he had to use the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia as the vanguard. Unexpectedly, the Red Army's front cavalry moved to the rear of the two wings and changed into infantry to fight the Qing cavalry.

The Qing army was startled, thinking that the Red Army was going to use muskets. Fortunately, the rain was still falling, and the Red Army's weapons were only short spears and bayonets. The Qing cavalry rushed over, but saw that the Red Army infantry was ready to fight, and did not flinch in the face of the enemy cavalry.

When the war horses saw the gleaming bayonets and spear tips, they involuntarily slowed down.

"Kill!" The Red Army shouted in unison, with great momentum, and then thrust out their short spears and bayonets, specifically targeting the Qing army's weak spots, aiming at the gaps under the Qing army's armor plates and stabbing. If a Qing soldier fell, the swordsmen and axemen would immediately come forward to finish him off.

The Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia also suffered heavy losses in a bloody battle yesterday. Today, facing the Red Army infantry, their performance was not as good as yesterday.

In particular, the Red Army placed the guards' standard in front, holding Dinglu rifles and using bayonets to meet the enemy. The three-edged bayonet was hard and sharp, and could easily penetrate the gaps between armor plates. Once it penetrated the enemy's body, it could often penetrate deep into the chest and abdomen, causing fatal damage to the enemy.

About two quarters of an hour later, the Red Army infantry fought against the Qing Army cavalry and was able to hold its own. The Qing Army Green Camp, Red Army auxiliary troops and other infantry also joined the battlefield. The rain continued to fall, and bows and arrows and firearms could not be used, and the battle turned into a melee.

Danchu saw that the two sides were already locked in battle, so he ordered his cavalry to attack the two wings of the Tatars. Yang Fang led two thousand fresh troops and rushed towards the Qing army, like a tiger coming down the mountain, with great momentum.

Liu Fangliang, riding a white horse and holding a silver spear, charged into the enemy camp from the right wing, attracting a lot of attention on the battlefield.

Bashan only had one Eight Banners Army as a reserve force, but their numbers were few, so he had no choice but to fight.

The Qing army gradually lost the upper hand, but Bashan still did not want to retreat and personally jumped on his horse to join the battle. At noon, the Qing army finally collapsed, with the Green Camp soldiers fleeing first, followed by the Jingnan soldiers, and finally the few remaining Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners.

The Red Army mounted their horses and pursued, killing them for twenty miles.

(End of this chapter)