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

Chapter 362: Field Battle and Defeat the Enemy
The Qing army failed to capture the city and returned in defeat. The small city of Yudu seemed to have become a battlefield, burying countless Tartars.

Chen Tai counted the troops and found that the Qing army suffered more casualties than expected, with 6,000 dead, missing, and seriously injured, and 2,000 lightly injured and unable to fight, with a loss rate of more than 30%. The morale of the Qing army was low, and the spirit was exhausted, so they were unable to launch a new offensive.

General Anyuan Pingkou was completely humiliated, but he dared not retreat lightly. He was depressed and easily got angry. He severely punished his subordinates who made mistakes and sent troops to plunder villages and towns and suppress spies.

Yes, the Qing court’s laws were extremely strict, and no matter who was the commander-in-chief, he dared not conceal the recent defeat.

The Qing court had high hopes for the Manchurian Firearms Battalion. Shunzhi issued 100,000 taels of silver from the imperial court and 500,000 taels of silver from the Ministry of Revenue, and finally gathered 5,000 elite soldiers by coercing and bribing each flag. Jirgalang was the nominal general manager, while Oboi was actually in charge. He gave money, people, and goods when he asked for them.

It was originally thought that the Manchurian Firearms Battalion was invincible, but in recent battles, it still could not defeat the enemy.

At present, many famous Manchu generals are dying. Dorgon, Ajige, Hauge, Tan Tai, Lekedehun, Jirgalang, Bolo and other famous generals have either died of illness, are seriously ill, or have committed crimes and been imprisoned or executed.

Chen Tai was only a second-class Jingqinihafan, or a second-class viscount, and it was a great promotion for him to be able to serve as a general.

Tunqi, who was a prince of the imperial clan, could only serve as Nikan's deputy commander in chief. After Nikan was killed by Li Dingguo, Tunqi took over the title of Dingyuan General.

With the position of general, Oboi as his deputy, the Manchurian Firearms Battalion, and the Eight Banners of the Zhenglan Banner Mongolian Banner, this battle should be won no matter what.

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes! If the Qing army cannot capture Yudu, it cannot rescue Ganzhou. The 20,000 troops were wasted outside Yudu, and the consumption was huge. The Ming army rose up in large numbers, constantly harassing the Qing army's food supply and attacking small groups of Qing troops from time to time, making it difficult to defend against.

It was really difficult to fight or retreat. It was most appropriate to describe Chen Tai as being in a dilemma.

The Red Army fought more and more courageously, and their generals requested to take advantage of the victory to attack the Qing army camp.

"Lord, the Tartars are doomed to fail. They have retreated five miles to set up camp and have closed the city gates. On the other hand, our army has repeatedly defeated the Tartars' attacks. The soldiers have been defending the isolated city for a long time, and they are all willing to eliminate this enemy for the Lord. Please allow me to lead the elite Tiger Guards to open the gates and attack the enemy."

Since Ma Bao followed Danchu, he jumped from a deputy general of Dongxun to a general of the Red Army, and then became Danchu's confidant and the commander of Huben Town. He was grateful to Danchu and admired him. He heard from the captives that Oboi had personally led the Manchu soldiers to attack the city, and he also wanted to lead Huben Town to counterattack.

"As a general, you should be brave, but you should make plans before you act, and not fight recklessly." Danchu warned: "Counterattack is what I want. But you must be well prepared so that you can defeat the enemy in one blow. You are going to lead the Tiger Guards to attack the enemy. When are you going to attack? What battle formation will you use? How will you defeat the enemy? What if the Tartars hold their camp and don't come out? What if they go out of the camp and fight in the field?"

A series of questions left Ma Bao speechless. Ma Bao was the bravest among all the soldiers, but he was also careless, just like Wu Jie in those days, who was brave but lacked strategy. Danchu trained Wu Jie in his personal army for a long time before he finally felt relieved and sent him out as the commander of the third infantry regiment.

"I have no far-sightedness, so I beg the Lord to give me some advice."

"The Tartars have many cavalrymen and have come from afar. Their camps are not well-built and are relatively scattered. If the Tartars hold on with their fortifications, our army can focus on attacking the Green Camp and the Han Army and destroy their camps with 100% artillery. Once the Green Camp and the Han Army are destroyed, the Manchus and Mongols will be isolated and will not be able to hold on."

Ma Bao was very clever and drew inferences from one example: "What the king means is that if our army attacks the Green Camp and the Han Army, the Tartars will be unable to defend their camps and will surely leave the camp and fight us in the field?"

"Yes, you understand what I mean." Danchu smiled and said, "A good warrior attacks others instead of being attacked by others. After the previous battle, the Tartars were defeated repeatedly, and the initiative on the battlefield has been in our hands.

"We should take the initiative to attack the enemy outside the city, avoid the strong and attack the weak, and pretend to attack the Han army and the Green Camp. The Tartars rely heavily on the artillery of the Han army, and they will also use the Green Camp as cannon fodder, and they will definitely fight us in the field.

"Therefore, in the next battle, our opponents will still be the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia. Cavalry is not our forte. To defeat the Eight Banners of Manchuria and Mongolia, we still need to deploy a large formation and meet the enemy head-on with artillery and personal soldiers.

"We need to wait for the wind direction, prepare ammunition, and equip the front-line soldiers with heavy armor. It will take two or three days to be fully prepared. I am not in a hurry to kill the Tartars, and you don't have to rush to counterattack the city walls."

Chen Tai's mission was to rescue Ganzhou, so he would not dare to leave Yudu. The Qing government had deployed troops on a large scale in Sichuan, Huguang, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces, and its military strength was exhausted, so it could not send reinforcements.

It would be better to let the bullets fly for a while longer, let the news of the Red Army's victory spread, let the volunteer armies in various places become more active, let the Qing army's food supply become more difficult, and let Chen Tai's situation become more embarrassing.

Ma Bao suddenly understood and said, "Listening to the king's teachings is better than reading books for ten years. I know, we should prepare carefully and defeat the enemy with one blow." In the next few days, the two sides fought sporadically. The Qing army retreated to camp five miles northeast of the city. After repeated defeats, their morale was low. The Red Army was preparing for war and had no intention of fighting.

By February 23, the weather was clear and windless, suitable for fighting. The Red Army was fully prepared and went out of the city to attack the Qing army. In addition to the auxiliary troops and the volunteer division who stayed in the city, most of the Huben Town and the First Infantry Brigade were dispatched.

The battle formation still used a three-fold formation, with the first fold being the artillery brigade, the second fold being the personal guard brigade, the third fold being the first infantry brigade, and the cavalry on both wings. The Red Army learned from their mistakes and arranged for the front-line soldiers to wear heavy armor, and collected more rattan shields and shields to strengthen their protection against the Qing army's bullets.

In order to boost morale, Danchu personally went to the battlefield and supervised the battle between the Permian and Triassic regions.

Upon hearing the news, the Qing army quickly went out of the camp and formed a battle array, also using a three-fold formation. Chen Tai adjusted the deployment, using the Han army Tainikan in the first fold and the Manchu firearms battalion artillery and armor on both wings to strengthen firepower. The Manchu firearms battalion was used in the middle fold. The Green Camp soldiers suffered heavy losses and had weak combat effectiveness, so they used a three-fold formation.

In order to prevent the Green Camp from collapsing, Chen Tai personally led the battle and set up a supervisory team. The Mongolian Zhenglan Banner was placed on both wings as mobile cavalry.

"Boom, boom, boom!" The Red Army used three whistling bombs as a signal for this attack. The whistling bombs were hollow iron bullets that would make a shrill sound when they hit the air, which frightened the Qing army.

The first tier of artillery fired in unison, using their 100% cannons and sky rockets to firmly suppress the Qing army.

The Qing army had weak firepower, so they had to send out the Permian Manchu soldiers in advance. To make up for the lack of power and firing speed of the matchlock guns, the firearm battalion's baoyi and nursery soldiers also pulled the big bows and shot arrows.

The big bow has a strong bow force and is more suitable for heavy arrows and direct shooting at close range. The Qing army's projectile bows and arrows did not achieve the expected effect.

On the contrary, the front line of the Permian Red Army was all wearing heavy armor, and the front row wore two layers of armor, which greatly enhanced their protection. The Dinglu rifle had a long range and great power. The Red Army was wearing heavy armor and was not afraid of enemy bullets, so they shot more calmly.

The Qing army was not in a good position, Chen Tai became more frustrated and sent the Mongolian cavalry to fight. Ma Bao personally led the right wing cavalry to fight. He was extremely strong and his whip spear was as powerful as a swimming dragon.

"Hit!" A Mongolian cavalryman had already been hit, his face pierced by the sharp blade of the whip spear, and he fell to the ground and died on the spot.

"Crack!" The iron whip hit the air, making a harsh sound. A Mongolian cavalryman in front of him dodged the sharp blade, but was entangled by the iron whip. Ma Bao pulled hard and dragged the Mongolian soldier off his horse. A Red Army cavalryman had already stepped forward and stabbed the Mongolian soldier to death with a spear.

The Red Army cavalry also learned their lesson, and the front team used blunt weapons such as meteor hammers and sabers to attack the enemy.

Ma Bao charged in the front, and his soldiers used their numbers to defeat the few, and victory was in their grasp. The Mongolian cavalry was shaken and several gaps appeared in the defense line.

Oboi supervised the battle in front, calling out to each wing, hoping to hold out. Unexpectedly, the Qing army had more and more loopholes, and the two wings and the second wing were invaded by the Red Army, and the gap continued to expand.

If this continues, there will be a risk of total defeat. Chen Tai had no choice but to order the Sandie Green Camp soldiers to attack and support the retreat of the Dipermian and two wings.

The Qing army was losing its footing and was about to retreat. The morale of the Red Army was greatly boosted, and Danchu ordered the three divisions to move forward to cover the two divisions.

The Second Permian Guards and the First Triple Infantry Brigade moved forward alternately, stopping every twenty steps to shoot a round, and moving forward in this cycle. For a formation of 20,000 to 30,000 people, it was already quite difficult to alternate every twenty steps. This seemed slow, but it was actually quite effective and crucial for organizing large-scale combat.

After Danchu arrived at the battle, he was very pleased and said with a smile: "The Tartars use the Green Camp soldiers in three layers, just like using rotten wood as beams and pillars. We can attack them quickly. Once the beams and pillars are broken, the house will fall down!"

Sure enough, the Green Camp soldiers were quickly defeated, the battle line was shaken, and the soldiers scrambled to escape. Oboi personally beheaded several people, but still could not stop the deserters.

The Qing army's front collapsed, and the Red Army took advantage of the situation to attack and break through several camps.

Chen Tai knew that the camp could no longer be relied upon, so he burned down the remaining camp and led the defeated troops to retreat into Ningdu, where he gathered the remaining troops and made further plans.

(End of this chapter)