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

Chapter 95: Battle of the Large Army

The sun is shining and the spring breeze is blowing. Spring always comes early in Guangxi. It should be the time to plant early rice, but the armies of the Ming and Qing dynasties are lining up outside the city, about to start a brutal battle.

The Qing army calmly formed up their battle array and began to advance. After about a quarter of an hour, the Ming army was able to form a battle array.

He Tengjiao could not wait to give the order to attack. The cannon sounded, followed by several dull horns. The central army raised two large yellow and red flags, which was the signal to move forward.

The huge battle formation of more than 10,000 men began to advance slowly. There were hundreds of scouts, all on horseback, constantly shuttling between the gaps in front of the two armies and on their flanks, delivering battlefield intelligence at any time.

It was the first time that Danchu had seen a battle formation of tens of thousands of people. Every time the central army blew the big horn, each town could respond with a small horn, and the soldiers would march ten steps and then stop to adjust the formation.

The Ming army lacked joint training and had many new recruits, so the further they advanced, the more chaotic their formation became. The rear army was even weaker and in a chaotic formation, but they sped up involuntarily, as if urging the front army to move forward.

The Yong'an Army was sandwiched between Zhao Xing and Bai Yu, and was located in the center and slightly to the left of the front army. The two infantry battalions were in front, and the standard battalion was in the back, with infantry in front and cavalry in the back. Danchu was in the middle of the standard battalion, and was protected by a team of personal soldiers.

The personal guards have a high proportion of veterans, but there are also many new recruits. It is inevitable that the new recruits are nervous and terrified when they go to the battlefield for the first time. Some are not afraid of death, but are very excited and look forward to making military achievements.

Danchu chuckled and touched Cen Yong with his spear. Cen Yong was startled and dodged to the side as if he had been electrocuted, as if he had suddenly encountered an enemy. When he realized that it was Danchu who was teasing him, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "General."

"When we are on the battlefield, you must follow me closely and follow the instructions. Don't act rashly."

"Yes." Cen Yong seemed particularly nervous and excited when he first arrived at the battlefield, and his answer was brief and powerful. He was only seventeen years old, and because of his outstanding performance in the Boy Scouts, he was selected to join the Standard Battalion's Personal Guard and served as a sergeant.

Danchu wanted to tell him something, but then he thought it was unnecessary. A soldier's growth depends on instruction and even more on actual combat. Instead of telling him a thousand words, it would be better to let him fight with real weapons.

The marching column was unusually slow, and the further they went, the more tense the atmosphere on the battlefield became. It was the first time that Danchu was in a large-scale battle formation, the first time he faced a large group of Qing troops, and the first time he might have to fight against the Manchu soldiers, so he felt a little nervous.

Time went by too slowly, and he wanted to talk to He Yun. Yong'an Army had already become a town, and the court had also sent military supervisors and discipline supervisors to Danchu.

Fortunately, he and Qu Shisi were on good terms, and Qu Shisi followed suit and appointed He Yun as the military supervisor of Yong'an Town and Yan Wei as the discipline supervisor. Both of them were from the same hometown as Qu Shisi, and were also his staff members. They had already surrendered to Danchu, so naturally they would not hinder him.

The commander of the battalion was originally Yu Houji, but because he stayed in Yong'an, Danchu changed the commander to He Yun. According to the Yong'an military system, the commander was responsible for supervising the battle and rewarding and punishing.

He Yun quickly reined in his horse, wearing a cotton armor, with beads of sweat on his forehead. Although he was a scholar, he also practiced martial arts and was quite good at riding. However, he had rarely been to the battlefield in person, and seemed a little worried.

Danchu frowned and said with a smile: "Lao He, we will charge into battle soon, can you keep up?"

He Yun smiled bitterly and said, "There will be no problem in charging into battle, Marshal, don't worry. It's just..."

He was worried about affecting morale, so he didn't say anything else.

Danchu nodded, his expression becoming serious. The Qing army was far away, and their flags were very clear. Standing in the Ming army's battle formation, the internal chaos was obvious, which made people worry.

He Tengjiao left no room for retreat, opened the city gates, and attacked the Qing army in three directions. The elite troops were all at the north gate, but they were in such a mess, how could they defeat the enemy? Danchu took a telescope and observed the direction of the central army. He Tengjiao became more anxious, as if he was facing great torment. Jiao Lian sat upright on his warhorse, his upper body stable, as still as a mountain.

Well, you should be calm when facing big events. Danchu felt ashamed. He had already shown signs of anxiety. He first warned Cen Yong and then talked to He Yun. This was a manifestation of his inner anxiety. On the other hand, Jiao Lian really had the demeanor of a great general.

The two armies were less than 300 steps apart. The artillery of each town began to get busy, preparing to fire at the enemy.

The Qing army was no exception. Through the telescope, Danchu could clearly see the enemy's artillery. Judging from the model, it seemed to be a sky rocket, which could fire shrapnel and had a greater lethality.

The Ming army also had sky rockets, as well as more Weiyuan cannons, tiger squat cannons, etc. In those days, artillery either had a too slow firing rate or was too weak to play a decisive role in field battles.

He Tengjiao ordered the troops to stop, gather the troops, and reorganize the formation. If nothing unexpected happens, this will be the last time the Ming army stops to reorganize the formation. Next, the two armies will advance under the enemy's artillery fire until they meet the enemy. The Qing army also paused tacitly and began to reorganize the formation.

"Boom boom boom!" The Ming army fired first. At this distance, light artillery was useless, only the sky rockets and red cannons could be used.

There were too few artillery pieces, the firing rate was too slow, and the firepower was too weak. About five or six shrapnel shells exploded in the Qing army's formation, causing a slight disturbance.

"Boom, boom, boom!" A burst of dull artillery sound came, and the Qing army fired back. Danchu subconsciously lowered his head, praying that the shells would not fall on the Yong'an army.

Like the Ming army, the Qing army's artillery skills were also poor. The Ming army's front army was hit by four shells, and the rear army was hit by three shells. The front army was elite, with the enemy in front and the rear army behind, and there was no way to retreat. The rear army was mostly foreign troops, and after being hit by three shells, some soldiers were shaken. The supervisory team killed three deserters and stabilized the position.

After the bombardment, the battle began. Heavy artillery such as the sky rocket and red cannon remained in place, while the rest of the troops continued to advance.

The two armies were getting closer and closer. The enemy troops were clearly visible in the front row, and they were indeed the Green Camp. Judging from their armor, banners, and flags, they seemed to be more elite than Jiao Lian's troops.

When the distance was one hundred steps, the Ming army began to fire rockets. Rockets such as "A Swarm of Bees", "Fire Dragon Out of Water" and "Divine Fire Flying Crow" made a sharp roar and flew towards the Qing army's formation.

Rockets have little killing power and pose no threat to armored enemies.

When the two armies were engaged in battle, even the sky rockets and red-haired cannons could not defeat the enemy, let alone rockets? In many cases, the Ming army fired rockets just to boost their courage and to undermine the enemy's morale.

The Yongan army was only equipped with a few rockets, which were used as night signals. At a distance of 100 steps, Danchu preferred light artillery such as sub-cannons and tiger squat cannons. The artillery team of the standard battalion and the artillery sentries of the infantry battalion were deployed in the front and opened fire on the enemy.

The Qing army's firearms technology had caught up with the Ming army, giving them an advantage in close combat. Lead bullets rained down on the Ming army's positions.

The armored soldiers in the front row of the Ming army held rattan shields, swallowtail shields and other shields, but they were still hit by lead bullets from time to time, and felt a dull pain in their bodies.

Dan Chu was extremely anxious. His soldiers and weapons were inferior to those of the enemy. How should he fight the next battle?
After a wave of artillery fire, Cen Yong shouted to Dan Chu: "Marshal, the commander is charging!"

What? Danchu looked in the direction of his finger and saw a fierce general leading one or two hundred heavily armored cavalrymen, attacking from the left wing of the Ming army and charging straight into the enemy. Behind him, the "Jiao" general flag fluttered in the wind. If it wasn't Jiao Lian, who else could it be?

(End of this chapter)