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

Chapter 325 Use offense as defense
Yunxi Valley Road is a strategically located area that both armies must fight for. The Red Army attacked Huangshatian unexpectedly from the rear, blocking the Yunxi Valley Road. After the success, the First Brigade Deputy Commander Cen Xun did not dare to relax and immediately deployed defenses.

"The Huangshatian camp is related to the Tartars' retreat route, and they will definitely attack at night. The Antelope Gorge on the south wing is steep, while the Dinghu Mountain on the north wing is slightly gentler. If the Tartars come to fight for the camp, they will focus on Dinghu Mountain. Of the 900 riflemen in my unit, 300 will be on the south wing and 600 on the north wing."

It was dark, the night wind was blowing, and the torches were swaying. The soldiers had been busy all day, but they all looked excited and not tired at all.

Cen Xun advised: "Last year, the king led his troops to attack Yanguan by surprise, and was able to close the gate and beat the dog, and completely wiped out the Dingnan vassal army. Today, we will surprise attack Gudao, and we may also be able to capture Zhang Cunren alive and completely wipe out the Zhaoqing Tartars.

"You are all the elites of the First Town and the First Association, and you are also the elders of the king. The king and I are also father-in-law and son-in-law. If we lose the position tonight, not only will we be the sinners of the Red Army, but how will we face the king in the future? If we fail, I, Cen Xun, will be the first to commit suicide to thank the king.

"It's just one night. Tomorrow morning, reinforcements will arrive and be enough to block the valley road. As long as we can defend the Yunxi Valley Road tonight, it will be a great achievement. As long as the position is there, the people are there! If the position is lost, the people will die!"

"The position is there, and the men are there! If the position is lost, the men will die!" The soldiers repeated Cen Xun's words, then dispersed, each deploying their own defenses, preparing to fight the Qing army.

Tonight is the waxing moon, with only a small half moon in the night sky, and it is often obscured by clouds. In ancient times, soldiers had poor food conditions and a high rate of night blindness. The Red Army was no exception, and could only rely on torches for lighting at night.

At the hour of Xu, a sharp whistle sounded outside the camp. When the army camped overnight, they would set up sentries and secret sentries outside the camp to detect the enemy in advance.

The Qing army's horses were tied up and their soldiers were holding their tongues. They were discovered by the Red Army unexpectedly. Since they were not far from the Red Army camp, Geng Jimao simply drove the death soldiers to attack. The death soldiers were all wearing heavy armor, and they should take advantage of the Red Army's unstable foothold to recapture the camp in one go.

Night battles were often chaotic, a test of courage and discipline. Cen Xun, stationed at the northern wing, personally went to the camp gate and tried his best to discipline the troops, issuing an order: "Don't shoot until the Tartars reach the deer fort."

Yunxi Valley Road is an important channel for Zhaoqing to communicate with the outside world, and Huangshatian is the throat of Yunxi Valley Road. Although the Qing army built a camp in Huangshatian, it was mainly to intercept merchants and prevent spies. They did not dig trenches, but only set up a stake twenty steps away from the camp gate.

The Red Army had just occupied the camp and had no time to build a camp, so they just placed bells and torches on the stakes.

The Qing army approached, and bells rang. Under the illumination of torches, many Qing soldiers appeared vaguely. They were wearing armor, and the armor plates glowed dimly under the firelight. They also carried a sack filled with soil on their chests to protect themselves from the Red Army's bullets. Some people picked up torches, and some moved the barricades, their movements were very clumsy.

"Bang bang bang bang!" The Red Army opened fire without waiting for orders from their superiors.

The torches gradually died out and the deer fort disappeared into the night.

"Concentrated fire! Concentrated fire!" Officer Cen blew the whistle himself and discovered two long and two short whistle sounds in succession, which was the signal for concentrated fire.

They had enough bullets, but they could not fire at will. By focusing fire, the commander could control the firing rhythm and prevent the soldiers from firing randomly. Otherwise, the gun barrel would be too hot and red, and they would not be able to fire.

The sound of bells continued, and groans could be heard in the distance. Cen Xun went to the front line, leaned against the wooden wall of the camp, and stared outside the camp with wide eyes.

It was dark outside the camp, and the Jiangjun Mountain and Dinghu Mountain in the distance were faintly visible in the night sky. Cen Xun had no idea how many enemy troops there were and how strong the offensive would be tonight. If he were Zhang Cunren, he would definitely go out in full force to fight for Huangshatian overnight.

"Throw a fireball."

Soon, simple fireballs rose into the sky, drawing an arc in the night sky.

Cen Xun opened his eyes wide and clearly saw dozens or even hundreds of assassins gathered at the deer fence and were moving the deer fence.

"Chirp!" A short and urgent whistle broke the silence of the camp again.

The Red Army hid behind the wooden wall, pushing each other, trying to deploy as much firepower as possible on the front line. After receiving the order, they opened fire again.

After a moment, Cen Xun ordered to stop shooting, threw fireballs and observed the enemy situation.

This time, there were no Qing troops at the deer fort, only corpses scattered all over the ground. The deer fort was also incomplete and could not stop the Qing troops.

The Qing army was in the dark, and the Red Army was in the light. Cen Xun did not dare to risk leaving the camp to restore the deer fort, so he had to issue an order to be on alert and prepare to fight the Qing army.

Sure enough, a moment later, the sound of arrows breaking through the air was heard.

The Qing army was shooting arrows in preparation for attacking the camp!

The Red Army had a low armor rate, and Huang Shatian's special forces advanced lightly, without even shields. At this moment, they could only wish for the best and find places to hide.

Cen Xun subconsciously crouched down and hid himself behind the wooden wall with the soldiers.

"Ding, ding, ding!" Countless arrows came and hit the wooden walls with clanging sounds. There were gaps between the wooden walls, and from time to time a soldier would be hit by an arrow and groan in pain.

Damn it, fighting is nothing more than a battle for morale. The Red Army has guns in their hands, why do they still hide like turtles?

Cen Xun was so angry that he took out his whistle again and ordered the riflemen to fight back.

The dense sound of gunfire covered up the sound of arrows breaking through the air and also alleviated the fear of the Red Army soldiers.

Soon, the arrows became weaker, and Cen Xun ordered to stop shooting. The two sides fought back and forth, consuming each other's arrows and bullets.

At about 11:00 p.m., the Qing army could no longer hold back and sent musketeers to storm the camp.

"Xietai, there is a fire in the distance. It must be the Tartar musketeers." The lookout stayed beside Cen Xun and said.

The Qing army's muskets were all matchlock guns. Before fighting, the matchlock had to be lit and blown out from time to time to prevent it from going out.

Cen Xun took the telescope and looked carefully, and indeed saw a faint flickering of fire in the distance.

"Good boy! Good eyesight! Don't let Xieli provide you with good meat and vegetables. Can you estimate how far away the Tartars are from us?"

Lookouts are selected through layers of selection and receive much better food and treatment than ordinary soldiers. This is for the purpose of observing at night and seeing what ordinary people cannot see.

"Probably less than a hundred steps."

"Open fire!" Cen Xun made a prompt decision, blew the whistle and ordered the shooting.

After all, it was night time, and many of the riflemen suffered from night blindness, so the hit rate of the muskets was very low.

Taking advantage of the night, the Qing army's musketeers fired their guns while taking turns to provide cover, gradually approaching the Red Army camp. Occasionally, bullets hit the wooden wall, making a dull sound, and some Red Army soldiers were shot and then replaced by their comrades.

"Woo!" The Qing army blew the horn, which was the signal for a strong attack. Without waiting for Cen Xun's order, the soldiers put on their bayonets and prepared to fight the Qing army hand-to-hand.

Soon, the Qing army soldiers rushed to the wooden wall despite the bullets of the Red Army. People fell from time to time, but they continued to rush to the wooden wall.

The wooden wall was only one person high, and the Qing army only needed two people to cooperate to easily climb over it. At first there were only a few, then gradually there were more than a dozen, then dozens, until they were too numerous to count.

The Red Army had no time to open fire, so they used bayonets to stab the Qing troops. One group was at the top, stabbing the Qing troops who had climbed up the wall, and the other group was at the bottom, stabbing the Qing troops under the wall through the gaps in the wooden wall.

"Ah! Ah!" screams rang out one after another. The short wooden wall became an insurmountable obstacle and also a battlefield for the Jingnan soldiers.

From time to time, Qing soldiers would climb over the wooden wall, but they could not respond to each other and could only fight alone, and most of them were stabbed to death by the Red Army.

This camp is connected to Dinghu Mountain in the north and Shenshuitan in the south, and the wooden wall is not wide. Although Cen Xun only has 600 riflemen, they are good soldiers selected from the whole association, so he can defend the camp with a small number of troops.

Cen Xun led a team of elite soldiers to move back and forth in the camp, specifically to kill the Qing troops that had escaped.

The Qing army was determined to capture the camp, but the Red Army fought hard and refused to retreat, unwilling to fail at the last moment.

Cen Xun sighed, "The Tartars are already a desperate enemy, and they refuse to reduce their offensive. Send out an order, asking Wang Daquan to come to our rescue as soon as possible." In a war, one must have a backup plan, and Cen Xun's backup plan is Wang Daquan, who is currently at the Antelope Gorge Fort with 300 riflemen.

Before Wang Daquan arrived, the Qing army had already retreated. The officers and soldiers cheered, but Cen Xun said worriedly: "Judging from their armor, these Tartars must be from the Jingnan Clan. I have heard that the Jingnan Clan is good at using firearms. Although they had bird guns just now, they had no cannons. This time they retreated, they must have gone back to ask for cannons."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent and their mood sank to the bottom.

Cannon? This thing is the most powerful weapon on the battlefield. Even the greatest courage is worthless in front of a cannon.

"Aren't there cannons on the navy ships? Can they be moved over?"

"How can this be done? The lightest cannon on the third version weighs at least several hundred pounds. How can we move it? Even if we can move the cannon, how can we move the shells?"

"When we captured the camp, the Tartars left in a hurry. Maybe there is some gunpowder left. Let's look for it. It should be useful."

"With such a big mushroom cloud, perhaps all the gunpowder exploded."

……

"Stop talking, it's useless." Cen Xun stopped everyone and said, "The most urgent thing is to repair the wooden wall and check the ammunition."

Everyone dispersed and went about their own business.

At midnight, a muffled sound broke the silence of the night, and then a cannonball flew over the camp with a shrill sound.

"Red Cannon!" Cen Xun blurted out. The Tartars had brought in the Red Cannon, and this battle would be difficult to fight.

He acted decisively and ordered the torches to be extinguished to prevent the fire from exposing their position.

Then, three more cannon shots were fired. Everyone was so nervous that they were afraid that the shells would hit them.

Two shells missed and flew over the camp. There was only one shell left, and the most feared thing happened: the shell hit the Red Army's wooden wall, and immediately wood chips flew everywhere, revealing a gap in the wooden wall. Several Red Army soldiers were sorting their bullets at the wooden wall and were killed instantly.

There was a sudden panic in the camp, and the Red Army soldiers subconsciously lowered their heads.

"Stand back! Stay away from the wooden wall! Throw yourself to the ground!"

Cen Xun shouted loudly, striding away from the wooden wall. The Red Cannonball was a solid bullet, and its own killing area was not large. Once it hit the wooden wall, the flying wood blocks could easily cause secondary damage, expanding the killing area.

After the four shots, there was a brief silence on the valley road. It seemed that the Qing army only had four red cannons.

Cen Xun ran forward and came to the wooden wall. The shell was so powerful that it blew a ten-foot-long gap in the wooden wall. The camp was short of materials, so to fill the gap, they could only pile up corpses first.

Wang Daquan happened to arrive with his troops. When he saw Cen Xun, he said, "Xietai, the three hundred warriors of the first battalion have arrived. Let the navy defend the fort first."

Cen Xun was in a state of panic. He asked Wang Daquan and the others to lie on the ground. He briefly recounted the battle situation and then said, "The Tartars have four red cannons. They just fired a volley and tore a hole in the wooden wall."

Wang Daquan was selected from the ranks of the Red Army and was one of the first Red Army musketeers. He rose from a small soldier to deputy commander and was an excellent marksman. He was young and full of vigor and said, "The Tartars have red cannons, and the camp can no longer be relied upon. Instead of sitting in the camp and waiting to be killed, it is better to use offense as defense, open the camp gates, and take the initiative to attack. In this way, we may be able to catch the enemy by surprise and win."

Cen Xun was surprised, then gritted his teeth and said, "Put yourself in a desperate situation and then survive. That's it!"

Soon, the Qing army launched a second wave of artillery shells, which consisted of four shells. Two of them hit the wooden wall, creating two more gaps in it.

As soon as the fourth shell landed, the Red Army immediately opened the camp gate and took the initiative to challenge. The Red Cannon fired very slowly, so the Red Army calmly formed a horizontal formation and then marched towards the Qing army's position.

After walking about fifty steps, the lookout said to Cen Xun, "Xietai, we found the Tartars' torches."

Cen Xun tried his best to look far away, but could only see the faint light of fire. The Tartars would have to light torches to fire at night.

"How far away are we?"

The lookout was unsure and said, "I can't tell for sure, it should be a hundred steps away."

The heavy matchlock gun had a range of 200 to 300 steps. The Dinglu rifle was not as powerful as the heavy matchlock gun, but it had improved granular gunpowder and its effective range could reach 200 steps. The Tartars deployed artillery and would not dare to get too close.

As the Red Army continued to advance, the torches of the Qing Army became clearer and clearer, providing a clear target for the Red Army's riflemen. Now, the Qing Army was in the light, and the Red Army was in the dark.

Suddenly, the moon completely disappeared into the clouds, and the valley was completely dark. A gust of night wind blew, bringing with it a little smoke and the sound of the Qing army talking in low voices.

Who cares? Shoot first! A burst of rapid whistles cut through the night sky, and the Red Army stopped immediately, firing dense bullets at the Qing Army.

Although the target was not clearly visible, the screams of the Qing army could still be heard in the distance. Throwing four or five hundred bullets at a time, even a blind cat could catch a dead mouse.

The riflemen in the front row crouched down to reload bullets, while the riflemen in the back row moved forward, and they alternated firing in this way.

The Red Army's paper-wrapped bullet technology had been perfected, making loading more convenient, the muskets firing faster, and the shooting tactics changed from three-stage shooting to two-stage shooting. That is, the riflemen only lined up in two rows, front and back, instead of three rows like the matchlock shooters to fire continuously.

The Qing army was greatly surprised. They had never thought that the Red Army would dare to take the initiative to come out of the camp to fight. The gunner was at the front of the team. He hurriedly lowered the gun barrel and fired four shells in succession.

Two shells were too high and flew directly over the Red Army's heads. One shell pierced through the bodies of two Red Army soldiers, and the other ricocheted, bounced on the ground, and flew over the Red Army's heads again.

Despite the casualties, the Red Army soldiers felt relieved. The Red Army cannons had a slow firing rate, so they could take advantage of this gap to get to the front of the Qing army and engage in close combat with them.

Geng Jimao also knew that the situation was urgent, so he led his cavalry and engaged the Red Army in close combat.

The battlefield was pitch black. The Red Army could only hear the sound of Qing army's horses' hooves. Without waiting for orders from their superiors, they subconsciously tightened their formation, moving left and right, and keeping distance between the front and the back.

The flag officer lost no time in blowing the swan horn. The Red Army got the message and shouted in unison, shouting the word "kill" three times. They had already taken the lead before engaging the enemy.

The Qing cavalry charged towards the Red Army under dense bullets, and from time to time, they fell off their horses. The horses could not see the Red Army's bayonets clearly, but were no longer afraid and rushed towards the Red Army at an accelerated speed.

The Red Army was also blood-thirsty, and would not retreat even if the Qing cavalry was approaching. The soldiers raised their bayonets diagonally upwards. The Qing cavalry was very fast, and no matter whether it was a man or a horse, if they were touched by the Red Army's bayonet, they would be seriously injured if not killed.

Judging from the sound, the main force of the enemy cavalry was approaching, and Cen Xun had no time to reload. He stood firmly on his horse, put the butt of his rifle against his waist, and extended the bayonet diagonally upwards, which was a standard stabbing action.

"Crazy!" The enemy cavalry attacked, and the war horses seemed to sense the danger and let out heavy panting sounds.

A huge figure attacked Cen Xun. He felt an inexplicable fear, but still refused to retreat.

Fortunately, the warhorse knocked down a soldier beside him and passed by Cen Xun. The soldier was seriously injured and the warhorse was also stabbed by the bayonet and fell heavily to the ground. The Qing cavalry fell to the ground and hurriedly got up, just bumping into the bayonets of the Red Army in the back row.

Nothing can be seen tonight, the advantage of cavalry over infantry has been greatly weakened. The few elite troops left in Jingnan Fan will be exhausted if they continue to fight like this.

Geng Jimao shook his head and sighed, saying: "I have fought in many battles for more than ten years, and I have never seen such a ferocious bandit."

He had no choice but to order a retreat, and at night he led the Jingnan troops along a small path, crossed the General Mountain, and retreated towards Sihui and Qingyuan.

Jiangjun Mountain was a rugged and difficult place to cross, and the Jingnan soldiers would have to abandon their weapons and baggage, and a large number of soldiers would flee. At this point, he had no other choice but to escape as much as possible.

(End of this chapter)