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

Chapter 358: Tiger Guards Defeat
In the afternoon, Tan Shitai led three scouts to Ningdu, responsible for contacting his comrades, delivering messages, and sniping at Qing scouts. As usual, when a major battle was about to begin, the Red Army would send more scouts and scouts to the front line.

From time to time, we encountered groups of people on the post road, fleeing in panic towards Yudu. The Qing army burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. There was a fire in the distance, and we could hear faint cries and occasional miserable cries.

Soon, they came across an express delivery shop with six large horses tied outside the shop, which aroused Qin Shitai's vigilance.

The Ming Dynasty established a developed postal system, under which there were subordinate institutions such as express delivery shops and delivery offices, providing places for postmen to rest and change horses during the journey.

This express delivery shop had long been abandoned, the earthen walls had collapsed, and several rooms inside had no roofs, but they could still provide shade.

Qin Shitai's heart sank, and he ordered: "Prepare your weapons, load your guns! Slow down your horses, and approach from the woods on the right wing."

Soon, a scream of "Ah" came from the express delivery shop, which made Tan Shitai feel as if his heart was cut by a knife. Then, the Qing army laughed grimly.

Qin Shitai was very experienced and said, "Six horses means three Tartars. We are one on one and have one more. We can catch them by surprise and win!"

The four Red Army scouts were bold and careful. They dismounted and fought on foot, quietly approached the express delivery shop, and then rushed in. The Tartars were raping women, and their armor and weapons were scattered all over the place. In an instant, two of them died and one was injured. The remaining one tried to escape, but as soon as he got on his horse, he was shot off by the Red Army.

There was one wounded prisoner left, and upon inquiry it turned out that he was a Han Chinese bondservant.

"Let me ask you, how many Tartars came from Ningdu, and which banner are they from?"

The bondservant's eyes rolled around, as if he had some evil ideas.

Qin Shitai didn't have time to waste time talking to him. He chopped Bao Yi's calf with his knife and shouted, "If you don't tell the truth, I will chop you up immediately and throw you to the suburbs to feed the dogs."

"Marshal, spare my life, and I will tell you everything."

"Don't waste words. Just answer whatever I ask. If you dare to say no, I will kill you immediately."

The Red Army scouts had already begun to pack up the armor, bows and arrows and other spoils, preparing to transport them back to Yudu on the big horses. The bondservant looked at his master's body and was so frightened that his whole body trembled. He said, "I will never lie to the commander-in-chief."

"How many troops did the Tartars bring?"

"It must be at least 20,000 or 30,000."

"Is it 20,000 or 30,000?"

"Marshal, please spare my life. I have at least 20,000, but no more than 30,000."

"Who are these Tartars?"

"I am a baoyi of the Manchu Firearm Battalion. I only know that the Manchu Firearm Battalion has 5,000 bannermen, at least 5,000 baoyi aha, and 2,000 foster soldiers. General Chen Tai led the vanguard to Ganzhou at full speed. In addition to the Firearm Battalion, there are also the Eight Banners of Mongolia, which should have 3,000 to 4,000 troops. The vanguard is all cavalry, and there are infantry behind them, which are the Eight Banners of the Han Army and the Green Camps of Henan and Hebei, which should have 10,000 troops."

According to the captives, the Qing army had at least 25,000 soldiers and horses, and the Manchu and Mongolian Eight Banners had at least 15,000. Tan Shitai secretly cried out that it was not good, hacked the captive to death with a knife, and led his men to hurriedly return to Yudu to report the news.

The enemy came in greater numbers than expected, but the Red Army had no time to adjust its deployment and had no choice but to fight on.

On the morning of the 15th, the Qing army arrived at Yudu. The soldiers were elite, the horses were noisy, and the armor was bright. It was really a powerful force.

The scouts had already gotten a fairly accurate picture of the enemy in front of them; they knew that the enemy was the vanguard of the Qing army, which mainly consisted of the Manchurian Firearms Battalion and the Mongolian Zhenglan Banner. Including the baoyi Aha, the total number was about 15,000.

The composition of the Baoyi Aha was quite complex, including Manchus of low birth, Manchus who had committed crimes, Han people captured in wars, and even Mongolians and Koreans. Manchus were the majority, accounting for 60% to 70%, while Han people only accounted for about 30%.

After the establishment of the Imperial Household Department in the Qing Dynasty, the baoyi of the upper three banners were all under the Imperial Household Department and served the royal family, while the baoyi of the lower five banners still belonged to the nobles of each banner. It can be said that although the baoyi had a low status in the Eight Banners, they still belonged to the upper class in the Qing Dynasty society.

In addition to the baoyi, there were also soldiers in the vanguard. In order to make up for the shortage of bannermen, Shunzhi ordered the selection of strong and capable people from ordinary Manchus, and gave them half of the salary of regular soldiers as a reserve for regular soldiers. Although the baoyi and the soldiers in the vanguard were not regular bannermen, their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated.

The Qing army's vanguard was composed of cavalry, followed by 10,000 cavalry infantry, 5,000 each of the Han Army Eight Banners and the Henan and Hebei Green Camps, who had just arrived in Ningdu. This Han Army Eight Banner was called "Tainikan", not an ordinary Han Army Eight Banner.

The Eight Banners of the Han Army can be roughly divided into "three categories" according to their closeness to the Manchus. The first category is the "Tainikan", who were closest to the Manchus and surrendered to the Qing before the Battle of Dalingh River. The second category is the Han people who surrendered from the Battle of Dalingh River to the Qing army's entry into the pass. The most important of them was the "Three Kings and One Duke" of Dongjiang Town. The third category is the Han people who surrendered after the Qing army entered the pass. The most important of them was the Wu Sangui group.

"The Tartar infantry didn't catch up, but the vanguard dared to advance on light cavalry and attack Yudu directly. Chen Tai really looks down on everyone." Danchu decided to launch an attack while the Qing army was still unstable.

The central army's flag was erected on top of Yu Mountain, and the flag and drum officers followed orders to raise several large flags and fire cannons to pass on the order. Soon, all the troops came out of the camp and formed a battle array.

The Red Army had a large number of soldiers and horses, and used the classic three-fold formation. The artillery corps was in the front, the personal soldiers corps was in the middle, the first infantry corps was in the back, and the cavalry corps were on the two wings. There were nearly 40,000 soldiers and horses in the battle formation alone, and the front width of the battle formation reached two miles.

It was not easy to command such a huge battle formation. As the commander-in-chief, Dan Chu could no longer personally go to the battlefield and had to stay on the top of Yu Mountain to have a comprehensive view of the entire battle formation.

The Qing army had fewer soldiers, but they were not to be outdone and deployed a double formation, with the firearms battalion in the front, the baoyi and nursing soldiers in the back, and the Mongolian cavalry on both wings.

Except for the Mongolian cavalry, the rest of the Qing army dismounted and fought on foot. Under the sunlight, the Qing army's armor and bayonets reflected a little golden light. The proportion of musketeers in the firearms battalion was extremely high, comparable to that of the Red Army's personal soldiers. However, the Qing army used matchlock guns, and imitated the Red Army's equipment with paper-wrapped bullets and detachable bayonets.

At noon, the two armies gradually approached each other. The Red Army used its 100-meter cannon and sky rocket to fire first, and a solid bullet happened to fall into the Qing army's firearms camp, killing four Qing soldiers on the spot.

The Qing army's firearms battalion had an artillery team, but it did not carry any red cannons, so it could only fight back with rockets. However, it was no match for the Red Army and had to speed up its advance.

As expected of the elite Eight Banners of the Beijing Camp, they dared to advance under the Red Army's artillery fire. Fortunately, the Red Army's artillery had a slow firing rate, otherwise, a few rounds of artillery fire would have been enough to inflict a heavy blow to the Qing army.

When they advanced to the 100th step, the Red Army's shotguns began to show their power. The Qing army also used shotguns, and they preferred to use light shotguns such as "hundred-shot cannons" and "mother-and-child cannons", while the Red Army preferred to use their own unique mountain-splitting cannons.

The Red Army had many artillery pieces, but the soldiers were not well armored, so their defense was weak. The Qing Army had few artillery pieces, but every soldier was armored, so their defense was strong.

The wind was from the northeast at the time, and the smoke drifted towards the Red Army's positions, which was unfavorable to the Red Army.

Both sides are evenly matched.

Ma Bao supervised the battle in the battle formation and ordered the artillery to stop firing. His personal soldiers and musketeers advanced 20 steps and used rifles to fight. The Red Army's firearms were the best in the world, and they always won with infantry and musketeers. The Qing army also stopped firing without prior agreement, and the musketeers of the firearms battalion advanced and used muskets to fight against the Red Army.

"Bang, bang, bang!" The gunshots became more and more frequent, like a sudden rain, which turned into heavy rain, and then into a rainstorm. Today was a sunny day, but the northeast wind was getting stronger, and the gunpowder smoke blew towards the Red Army's position, which was quite unfavorable for the Red Army's shooting.

The Qing army made great efforts to improve the skills of matchlock guns and used paper-wrapped bullets to increase the firing rate. After rigorous training, the firing rate of the musketeers was greatly improved. In terms of the firing rate and power of muskets, the Qing army was still not as good as the Red Army, but it was a great improvement compared to before.

In order to protect against Red Army bullets, the Qing army went a step further and equipped each banner soldier with cloth armor. Before this, only the vanguards of the Qing army were equipped with blue armor, and the death soldiers usually wore two layers of blue armor, while most people wore cotton armor.

The Red Army was unable to equip every soldier with armor, even the most elite cavalry and bodyguard corps.

The two sides fired muskets at each other, and surprisingly, they were evenly matched. The front row of musketeers kept falling down, one after another, and the bodies were scattered all over the place. Both sides suffered heavy casualties.

"Damn it! Our musketeers are good at attacking but not at defending. The Tartars are just the opposite, they are not good at attacking but good at defending. This is not a solution!" The commander of the personal guards, Moerzhen, stamped his feet in anxiety when he saw the soldiers falling down one after another.

At noon, the wind picked up and the smoke was blown to the Red Army positions. The intensive shooting produced a large amount of smoke, and many Red Army soldiers were choked and sneezed.

Seeing this, Ma Bao ordered the cavalry to go into battle. The Red Army cavalry performed poorly in the Battle of Luoding, and after that they were vigorously trained. Today they were back on the battlefield. Although most of them were small horses such as Yunnan and Guangxi horses, the soldiers were brave and the cavalry rushed forward, showing a new look.

The Eight Banners of Mongolia responded to the challenge, first using bows and arrows against the Red Army's lances, and soon they engaged in hand-to-hand combat using sabers, lances and other cold weapons.

However, the horses of the Western Empire were very tall, and the Mongolian cavalry were very strong. Although the Red Army cavalry had made great progress, they were still no match for the Mongolian cavalry, and could only rely on their numerical advantage to fight the enemy to a draw.

"Charge forward and engage in hand-to-hand combat!" Seeing this, Ma Bao ordered his personal soldiers to go forward and engage in hand-to-hand combat with the enemy. Since musket shooting could no longer gain any advantage, they could use hand-to-hand combat to win.

The war drums sounded, and the flag and drum officers issued a high-pitched swan trumpet sound. This was a common charge signal used by the Ming army. When the trumpet sounded, the whole army shouted in unison and charged forward together.

When Morzhen received the order, he knew that the time for a decisive battle had come. He also raised his bayonet and told the flag officer beside him, "Protect the flag!" Then he raised his arms and shouted, "Kill!" The soldiers shouted in unison, "Kill! Kill! Kill!" and charged forward with bayonets in hand.

The Manchu general Chen Tai was in the rear, while the famous Manchu general Guwalja Oboi was in the front line to command the firearms battalion. He had made great military achievements and was awarded the title of "Baturu" as early as the Battle of Pi Island. After Shunzhi took power, he had a special liking for Oboi because he was loyal to Huang Taiji and refused to yield to Dorgon, so he asked him to participate in the political affairs. When the Qing court was planning to build the Manchu firearms battalion, Zheng Erhalang was specially appointed as the figurehead, and Oboi was actually in charge.

"A close combat is what I want." Oboi ordered the horn to be blown, while taking out a large bow and putting an arrow on the string.

Oboi was in charge of the Firearms Battalion and usually attached great importance to the training of the Firearms Battalion. However, horseback archery was the foundation of Manchuria, and the Firearms Battalion's horseback archery skills were not lost at all.

In this battle, the two armies deployed firearms units on the front and used firearms to shoot directly at each other, eliminating the need for archery. The Qing army did not use long bows to shoot arrows, so they could use their special shooting skills at this time.

Oboi was not only good at shooting, he also had a sharpshooter under his command, named Jueluo Yabulan. In the second year of Longwu, Prince Su of the Qing Dynasty, Haoge, led his troops into Sichuan. Oboi followed the expedition and encountered Zhang Xianzhong across the river. Jueluo Yabulan used a heavy arrow that could penetrate armor to snipe Zhang Xianzhong across the river, hitting Zhang Xianzhong in the forehead.

The credit for the assassination of Zhang Xianzhong was initially taken by Haoge. Haoge competed with Dorgon for the throne and was persecuted to death by Dorgon. After Dorgon's sudden death, Oboi's status rose rapidly and he took the credit for the assassination of Zhang Xianzhong.

Jueluo Yabulan was very smart and kept silent. His official position rose from Niulu Zhangjing to the third rank, and he has been promoted to the right battalion of the Firearm Battalion.

"Yablan, aim at that red bandit flag, can you shoot it?"

Jueluo Yabulan took a closer look and said, "No problem." He took out a heavy arrow, pulled the bowstring to its full length, took aim slightly, and shot it out with a "whoosh".

The heavy arrow hit the flag of the Red Army's personal guards and tore a hole in it.

The Red Army flag officer was shocked. Moerzhen saw this and quickly ordered: "Protect the flag. The flag does not need to move forward. The rest of you continue to move forward!"

The Qing army used large bows with heavy arrows and the skill of shooting at the target, causing considerable damage to the Red Army on the front line.

The situation was urgent, and the only option was to charge forward and engage the Qing army in close combat. Moerzhen called out to all sides, trying his best to stabilize the position and urge the Red Army to move forward.

"This must be a high-ranking official of the Red Bandits. Kill him quickly!" Jueluo Yabulan took the order and shot again, hitting Morzhen right in the chest.

"Ah!" The heavy arrow was so powerful that it almost pierced through Morzhen's chest and back. He groaned in pain and used the bayonet to support his body, and finally did not fall down. When the guards on both sides approached, they found that the commander had died.

"Kill! Avenge Xietai!" The Red Army rushed forward like crazy, fighting hand-to-hand with the Qing Army under heavy arrows. The personal soldiers desperately tried to grab back Moerzhen's body, and the cries of crying and killing were mixed together.

Mo Erzhen was only 25 years old. He was born in the Yong'an Mo family and was the younger brother of Mrs. Mo. He joined the Red Army very early. Although he was a "noble relative", he was approachable and shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers, and was very popular with his subordinates.

The Red Army's most elite troops were the Red Army's most elite troops, but they were still not superior to the Manchu elite in hand-to-hand combat, and were inferior to the Qing Army in size and combat experience. Without the advantage of muskets, the Red Army could only rely on courage, and under the inspiration of Moerzhen's death, they barely fought on.

Yang Fang, deputy commander of the Imperial Guards, took over the command. Ma Bao, commander of the Huben Army, went to the front line and galloped back and forth with the Cavalry to stabilize the front.

Cen Danchu was stationed at Yushan Mountain. He saw from afar that the casualties of Huben Town were heavy. He felt mixed emotions and felt powerless. The Red Army was a rising star with a great record, but it was still defeated by a large number of elite Manchurian troops. Today, the Red Army is already in decline. If it continues to persist, it will only increase casualties.

He resolutely decided to retreat. A few cannon shots were fired, and drums and gongs sounded on Yu Mountain, and the military flags changed.

Soon, the front line received the order and the imperial guards began to retreat. The third fold was the first infantry brigade, which went forward to take over the battle, set up a defense line, and cover the imperial guards' retreat. The cavalry brigade fought and retreated, breaking contact with the Qing army.

The soldiers were quite frightened, but when they looked back up Mount Yu, they saw the Red Army's flag was still there and the Nanyue King's canopy standing upright, and only then did they feel relieved.

Oboi wanted to pursue the victory, but the Red Army fought extremely tenaciously.

The 1st Infantry Brigade was a fresh force. Although it was not as elite as the Royal Guard Brigade and the Cavalry Brigade, it held its line of defense and stubbornly blocked the Qing army.

The Qing army was exhausted and outnumbered, so they had to give up the pursuit.

The entire Red Army division retreated, their morale greatly reduced, and they retreated into the city of Yudu to hold their ground.

The Qing army retreated five miles and set up camp, waiting for the Han army and the Green Camp.

(End of this chapter)