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

Chapter 98: Mount and Blade and Chase
Danchu met up with Jiao Lian again, his eyes excited, and said: "General Jue is wise, our army is advancing enthusiastically, the enemy's formation is in chaos, we will definitely break it!"

Jiao Lian laughed loudly, his voice like a bell, and said: "On the battlefield, changes are unpredictable, and the outcome is unknown until the end. The enemy is weak in the front and strong in the back. The front formation has been shaken. We should roll up the pearl curtain to defeat the enemy!"

The poem says "The pearl curtain is rolled up on the jade hook", and the lyrics say "The curtain is rolled up and the day is long and people are quiet."

The tactics of rolling back the pearl curtain were created by Wang Yangshuang, a great general of the Sui Dynasty. The key is to "use the weak to block the strong, use the strong to attack the weak, drive the defeated to attack the main force, and all who block will be defeated." In short, it is to drive the defeated soldiers to attack the main formation, causing the enemy army to be defeated like a mountain collapsing, achieving an effect similar to an avalanche.

Danchu suddenly understood and said with a smile: "General Jue is a master in commanding troops. We will surely defeat the enemy today!"

Zhao Xing, Ma Qijiao and other brave generals also led standard-bearers on the left wing. Everyone was brave and eager to be the first. The left wing of the Qing army was already showing signs of decline.

Under the leadership of Jiao Lian, the generals pressed towards the Qing army's center.

The Qing army's left wing cavalry was defeated and either retreated or retreated to the center, trampling on their own infantry. For a time, the Qing army's left wing infantry camp was in chaos.

"Woo woo woo!" He Tengjiao finally reacted. He commanded the flags and drums to blow the horn, driving the main force of the front army to launch a charge.

The front army had already made contact with the enemy, and He Tengjiao's move was purely an afterthought. However, the sound of the horn resounding through the sky once again inspired the morale of the Ming army. Even the new recruits in Yong'an Town were inspired and excited when they saw their commander being so brave and the Qing army gradually losing ground.

This is the case on the battlefield. Victory and defeat are not constant, and the strong and the weak often change. For the commander, he can go against the trend or follow the trend. This is the true meaning of "the magic of application lies in one's heart".

The 1st Infantry Battalion also rushed over, and the battalion commander Wei Guosong shouted from afar: "Marshal, Guosong is here!"

When the infantry arrived, they found that the enemy's formation had been shaken and the front line had been breached. Danchu was overjoyed and said, "You've arrived just in time. Come with me and defeat the enemy!"

Wei Guosong was once the captain of Jiao Lian's battalion and was familiar with Jiao Lian. Jiao Lian was also overjoyed to see him and said with a smile: "Good boy! You have become a brave general today!"

The Ming cavalry and infantry joined forces and engaged in a melee with the Qing army. The Qing army was shaken and gradually lost its strength. Seeing this, Kong Youde drove the eight banners of the Han army to fight.

Guilin is surrounded by mountains and rivers to the north, including Fubo Mountain, Diecai Mountain, and the Li River. The terrain is uneven, which is not conducive to cavalry attacks. The Han army's Eight Banners had few soldiers and horses, and the road was blocked by the defeated soldiers, so they could not rush to attack.

He Tengjiao saw clearly from behind the battle line and knew that the situation was urgent, so he ordered the rear army to engage in battle. The governor's personal army, which was the general reserve for this battle, also joined the battlefield. He Tengjiao's move was a desperate gamble.

The Ming army gained new strength and their morale was boosted. The Qing army's elite troops were all in the rear, and they were unable to engage in battle.

The situation on the battlefield was changing, the Qing army was gradually losing strength, and the Ming army was becoming more and more courageous.

At about noon, Kong Youde saw that the situation was not going well and ordered a retreat. The Qing army's rear guard became the front guard, with the Han army's eight banners in front and the Green Camp in the back, all of them scrambling to flee.

It took only an hour from the time the Ming army opened the city gates to the time the Qing army was defeated. It took less than half an hour from the time Jiao Lian led his army to the time the Qing army retreated. A large-scale battle with great momentum turned into a melee in an instant. It was simply anticlimactic and unexpected.

The battle was won and lost, and the Ming army pursued the enemy. The more torment before the battle, the more exhilarating the pursuit. The Ming army beat the fallen, and the new recruits also rushed forward. This was a great victory, but if they didn't get one or two heads, they wouldn't even have anything to brag about when they returned to the army.

The orders were already in disarray, and Jiao Lian was no exception. He took over the command of the front army from He Tengjiao and ordered the infantry to stay and kill the Qing infantry, and the cavalry to let the Qing infantry go and pursue the Qing cavalry. When an army is defeated, it is often a crushing defeat, and the Qing army is no exception. The Qing army did not even want the camp and retreated directly to Lingchuan County.

The reason for this is that the Eight Banners had few soldiers, and their main force was mostly from the Green Camp, which was composed of surrendered Ming troops, and their combat effectiveness was not strong.

After entering the Pass, the Eight Banners fought in the north and south, suffered heavy casualties, and had serious personnel losses. The Manchu and Han armies had a small population and were seriously lacking in manpower potential. Whenever there was a battle, the Eight Banners were used to driving the Green Camp to fight in the front, taking credit for victory and fleeing first if defeated.

This time, Kong Youde followed the old ways and placed the elite troops of the Eight Banners in the rear team. Unexpectedly, Jiao Lian did not play by the rules and defeated the strong with the weak, breaking the battle formation of the Qing army. It was incredible.

Danchu gathered the cavalry of Yong'an Town, and assembled the cavalry of the standard camp, the personal guard, the musketeers, and the cavalry sentries of the infantry battalion, totaling 400 cavalrymen, to pursue the Qing cavalry.

The other towns were similar to Yong'an Town, each with four to five hundred cavalrymen, totaling no less than two thousand cavalrymen. They were as fast as the wind and vying for the lead.

Along the way were defeated Qing soldiers, both cavalry and infantry, who had no intention of fighting and were scrambling to escape. Some were unable to escape, cut off their braids, and knelt on the ground begging for mercy. Some abandoned their weapons and baggage, and went into battle lightly, just to run faster.

The Ming cavalry reaped the Qing army's heads with great enthusiasm and encountered almost no resistance.

Approaching Lingchuan County, the Qing army tried to build a defense line in Lingchuan County and gather the defeated soldiers. However, the Ming army pursued too fast and the defeated soldiers had not yet entered the city before the Ming army caught up.

The Qing army had no intention of fighting and retreated again. It should be noted that Lingchuan County is located west of the Li River and south of the Gantang River, which is a desperate situation. If the Qing army wants to hold on to Lingchuan, it will be a desperate battle, which is extremely dangerous.

The Ming army continued to pursue the enemy until they reached Gantang Ferry, which, as its name implies, is a ferry crossing with a floating bridge. It is located at the confluence of the Gantang River and the Li River, connecting the east and west banks of the Li River, and is of vital importance.

Kong Youde urgently ordered Xian Guoan to cover the rear and defend Gantang Ferry to ensure the safety of the pontoon bridge and gather as many defeated soldiers as possible.

Xian Guoan was born in Dongjiang Town and had followed Kong Youde for many years. Kong Youde was the leader of the Three Shun Kings, and among all the generals under his command, Xian Guoan had the greatest contribution and the highest position. He followed Kong Youde in the Dengzhou mutiny, crossed the sea to surrender to the Qing Dynasty, followed Kong Youde into the pass, and defeated Li Zicheng. He was a brave general.

At this moment, the army was defeated and the soldiers had lost their minds. They rushed to the floating bridge frantically and trampled on each other. Xian Guoan did not dare to fight a desperate battle, so he had to cross the river to the east bank of the Li River and ambush archers and musketeers on both sides of the floating bridge to help the soldiers retreat.

He also wanted to deploy swordsmen and axemen to cut off the pontoon bridge in an emergency, but the infantry battalion retreated slowly and had not yet retreated to Gantang Ferry. Occasionally, infantry passed by, but most of them had already abandoned their weapons.

At 3 p.m., a large group of Qing troops rushed in. The Ming army's vanguard followed them closely and also chased them, killing them wantonly.

The floating bridge was narrow, and the Qing army's infantry and cavalry crowded and trampled on each other, refusing to give way to each other. With the Li River in front and the pursuing troops behind, every defeated soldier's life was hanging by a thread. How could they give way to each other in the face of life and death?

The Qing army was eager to survive, and some even used weapons to clear the way, and chopped down anyone who stood in their way. In such an occasion, no one cared about who was rich or poor, who was tall or short, and everyone rushed to the floating bridge.

The scene was in chaos, with people and horses falling into the Li River from time to time on the floating bridge. The west bank of the Li River was crowded with defeated soldiers, and the people in front were pushed into the river by those behind.

People were shouting, horses were neighing, crying, screaming, and groaning mixed together, it was simply hell on earth...

(End of this chapter)