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

Chapter 374: Killing Tong Tulai

At the beginning of the encounter, the Eight Banners were full of vigor and swarmed in. After only a quarter of an hour of fighting, several gaps appeared in the first layer of the Red Army. Seeing this, Yang Fang, the commander of the personal guards, ordered the first layer to retreat.

The sound of a golden gong and a long whistle were the signals for the first tier to retreat.

The Third Battalion suffered heavy casualties and immediately abandoned its front line upon receiving the order. It retreated in three groups from left to right, roughly in the order of Team Seven, Team Eight, and Team Nine.

At the same time, the Second Fold Red Army opened three gaps for the First Fold to retreat. The retreating soldiers of the First Fold would line up close to the Second Fold and then be under the command of the Second Fold. Usually, the retreating soldiers of the First Fold became the reserve troops of the Second Fold. If the Second Fold suffered casualties or there was a gap in the formation, the reserve troops would immediately move forward to fill the gap.

This formation is simple to say, but it is extremely difficult to change it in battle. Especially when a strong enemy attacks, the soldiers are psychologically afraid. Without strict discipline, strict military discipline, and rigorous training, it is impossible for the army to change this formation on the battlefield.

Arrows were flying everywhere, and lead bullets rained down like rain. As soon as the two armies engaged, they were eager to kill each other.

The Qing army had just been unable to raise their heads due to the Red Army's artillery fire, but now that they had broken through the Red Army's front tier, they finally felt a little relieved. The Han army was in the front with muskets, but they had seen the power of the Red Army's rifles and their legs and feet were a little stiff.

The Manchu soldiers were behind, some holding bows and arrows, some using swords, some using spears, and a few using matchlock guns, forcing the Han army to move forward. Tong Tulai, the commander of the Han army's Zhenglan Banner, was supervising the battle in the front. Seeing that his subordinates were unwilling to move forward, he personally killed several Han soldiers and finally forced the Han army to move forward.

Ten steps ahead is the Second Fold. The Second Fold is strengthened by the retreat of the First Fold, with more firepower and a more solid line.

The Han army was unable to fight, and many of them were afraid of the Red Army's bullets, so they simply fell to the ground with their heads in their hands. Seeing this, Tong Tulai had no choice but to put on his armor and take the lead in charging forward.

Later generations rumored that the Tong family was Manchu, because the Tong family was also called Tongjia, and many of their descendants used Manchu names, such as Longkodo and Orondai. In fact, the Tong family was an out-and-out Han Chinese, as evidenced by the fact that Tong Tulai was incorporated into the Han army. The Tong family was extremely prominent in the early Qing Dynasty, and there was a saying that "Tong was half of the dynasty", and they were also included in the Bordered Yellow Banner Manchuria. The initiators were the brothers Tong Yangxing and Tong Yangzhen. And it was Tong Yangzhen's second son, Tong Tulai, who really established the status of the Tong family in the Qing Dynasty.

This fellow was brave and resourceful in battle, and was highly appreciated by the Qing court. During the Battle of Qingyuan, Tong Tulai led the Eight Banners to attack the Dragon Flag of Sun Kewang's Central Army, thus turning the defeat into victory for the Qing army. This time, seeing that the Han army was not up to the task, he personally took the horse and led the Manchu soldiers, intending to boost morale and break through the Red Army's formation.

The commander-in-chief of the Han army led the Manchu soldiers? The strange thing was that the Manchu soldiers actually bowed down to him, scrambled to follow him, and continuously attacked the Red Army's battle formation.

Because Tong Tulai was brave and good at fighting, he had already become famous among the Eight Banners during the Battle of Dalinghe 20 years ago. After so many years of fighting, Tong Tulai had more victories than defeats, and was trusted by the Qing soldiers.

Tong Tulai's troops were like a sharp knife, quickly tearing a hole in the Permian Red Army. The soldiers of the Third Battalion fought desperately, using bayonets to engage in hand-to-hand combat, but they could not stop Tong Tulai's offensive.

"This Tartar is very brave. What's his name?" Danchu asked while supervising the battle behind the formation.

"This is Tong Tulai, the deputy commander of Tunqi."

Tong Tulai? This is Kang Mazi's grandfather. He looks quite old, yet he can lead the charge.

Danchu frowned and said, "During the battle of Yudu, Oboi approached the city twice. The Red Army failed to kill Oboi, and this clan was deeply shocked. Who can kill Tong Tulai and boost our ambitions?"

After the artillery had retreated into the battle formation, Assistant Commander Ferreira, who was standing beside Danchu, said, "My Lord, I want to give it a try."

Dan Chu said happily: "You have trained artillery and musketeers for our clan, and you are the originator of the Red Army's firearms. Now please come out and kill this giant bandit for our clan."

Ferreira laughed and said, "The founder of the Red Army is the king, and the founder of firearms is also the king. How can I overstep my authority? Let me try my hand at it." Encouraged by Tong Tulai, the morale of the Manchurian soldiers increased greatly, and they had already broken through the second line of the Red Army.

Every time a Red Army line was breached, the front troops would retreat to the next line and strengthen the next line's defense line.

At the same time, the Qing army suffered heavier casualties, their fighting spirit gradually faded, and their offensive was bound to slow down.

The first three layers were composed of the first battalion and three battalions. If the third layer was also breached by the Qing army, the first battalion of the first regiment of the imperial guards would be completely defeated. The third layer of the Red Army received reinforcements from the first two layers, fought hard, and gradually stabilized its position.

Tong Tulai became even more anxious and rushed to the front row, exposing himself more. He had used up all his arrows, so he took a red tasseled spear from his left and right hands, wielding it up and down with undiminished power, and killed two Red Army soldiers in succession.

The Manchu soldiers were greatly encouraged, and followed Tongtulai to approach Sandie and engage in close combat with the Red Army. Soon, Tongtulai opened a gap in Sandie.

He smiled contemptuously and called on his left and right to widen the gap. They then fought on both sides, trying to force the Red Army back and allow more Qing troops to come.

Tong Tulai had already been exposed. It was too late to say it. Ferreira was located behind the fourth tier and had been aiming for a long time. He fired decisively and hit Tong Tulai right in the middle of his eyebrows.

There was no armor covering his forehead, so Tong Tulai fell down. At a distance of ten steps, the lead bullet hit his forehead directly, and Tong Tulai was doomed to die.

Sure enough, Tong Tulai died on the spot. People on both sides grabbed Tong Tulai's body and risked their lives to return to the rear.

Now the Qing army's offensive power suddenly slowed down, the morale of the Red Army increased greatly, and they quickly filled the gap and stabilized their position.

It's time to launch a counterattack! Danchu gave the order to attack, and the central army immediately blew the swan trumpet.

The third tier is still engaging the enemy, the fourth tier advances ten steps, gets behind the third tier, and joins the third tier to counterattack the Qing army. The remaining tiers advance ten steps in turn to take over the position of the front tier, but they do not need to get close to the third and fourth tiers.

The firepower of the three-fold and four-fold guns combined into one was greatly enhanced. The morale of the Qing army was low, and it was difficult to maintain the offensive, and they could only barely maintain their position.

Another quarter of an hour later, the Qing army's front line was loosened and the Red Army broke in. The Red Army was more cautious in defense and more daring in attack. Having opened a gap in the Qing army's formation, they immediately increased their troops to expand the gap.

The Qing infantry was losing momentum, and the cavalry was also losing ground. Ma Bao, who was leading the battle on the left wing, raised his arm and launched a fierce attack on the Mongolian cavalry.

Many soldiers were exhausted after fighting for so long. Ma Bao had a huge appetite and was full of energy, so he still had a lot of strength. His signature whip guns made crackling sounds when they were swung on the battlefield, which was enough to scare the enemy.

By the early hours of the morning, the Qing army was doomed to fail. Tunqi led his troops to retreat to Tunyuan, during which time the soldiers scrambled for horses and trampled on each other, resulting in many casualties.

The Red Army had too few cavalrymen and their total number of soldiers and horses was not as large as that of the Qing army, so they only pursued for five miles. They killed all the Qing soldiers who fell behind, and captured countless horses, armor, and weapons, needless to say.

(End of this chapter)