Sweep Yuan

Chapter 113 Two armies clash, testing their morale

In the northern suburbs of Dingyuan, Shishan and his men stood on a hill on horseback, gazing at the government army camp to the south. Li Wu, accompanied by his elite cavalry guards, explained to them the results of his probing of the government army after arriving in Dingyuan.

"Don't be fooled by the number of government troops; most of them are just local militia brought in to make up the numbers. We didn't even dare to fight back when we charged into their camp. But the Tartar official's own troops are quite skilled; they have many well-equipped cavalry and dare to fight. We almost got entangled with them."

In fact, even without Li Wu's explanation, the generals could already get a general idea.

As the saying goes, laymen watch the excitement, while insiders watch the door.

No one can imagine things they cannot understand. A rural farmer can only imagine the emperor's golden carrying pole. A mob, without proper training, will find it difficult to grasp the many tricks of setting up camp, even if someone teaches them step by step.

Just as Dong Tuanxiao could deduce the true combat strength of the Red Flag Battalion from details such as troop deployment speed, marching, and equipment, Shi Shan could also discern the differences between various enemy units from aspects such as the choice of enemy camps, the spacing between tents, and external defenses.

As Li Wu said, the only place where the government troops had some tricks up their sleeves was the central army camp where the main general was located. The camps of the local tyrants and militias in Dingyuan, even if they had deliberately strengthened their defenses, were still chaotic inside and could not be hidden from discerning people.

"You did a good job! What's the situation in Dingyuan City? Have they launched a counterattack against the government troops?"

"No. We rushed to the city walls, and Guo Zixing sent Guo Xing out to meet us. He said that the troops in the city were undergoing training, and since Third Brother's army hadn't arrived, they didn't dare to risk leaving the city."

"Ah."

Shi Shan nodded. The Red Flag Battalion was the main force in this battle. The Dingyuan rebels were not well-trained and could not play a significant role. If they stayed in the city, they could still tie down some of the government troops.

If we launch a preemptive attack and suffer a defeat, it will only boost the morale of our troops and negatively impact the upcoming battles.

Who is the commanding officer?

"Dong Tuanxiao, that guy got promoted again. Now he's the General Manager of Jining Road."

The corrupt official, fearing we wouldn't know his name, raised his banner and shouted at us, boasting about how he had quelled the Anfeng Road rebellion and that they had just fought a battle in Hefei, killing tens of thousands of rebels.

They advised us not to resist pointlessly, but to lay down our weapons and surrender immediately.

"Pah! Who are you trying to scare? Do you think we're bumpkins who've never seen the cowardice of the government troops before! A few victories and a lot of killings prove nothing! If it were Han Si's lousy soldiers, they could have killed thousands or tens of thousands!"

After Dong Tuanxiao captured Anfeng and Huoqiu, the remaining rebel forces either scattered or fled. Some of them fled to Haozhou to join the Red Flag Camp, and the generals learned of Dong Tuanxiao's name from this.

This man, leading a group of hastily recruited garrison soldiers and local militia, recaptured three counties in succession. He was clearly no ordinary person, and it was not impossible for him to quell the rebellion in Luzhou Road.

Although the Red Flag Battalion had been winning battles, the opponents they encountered were either few in number or had low morale. This time, they had truly met a formidable foe.

Therefore, no matter how easily Ren Liwu spoke, Tang He, Geng Zaicheng, and others were still somewhat nervous.

One's spirit can be invigorated but not depleted.

Seeing this, Shishan pointed to the government troops' camp and joked:

"Hey, this is an interesting location for the camp. Dong Tuanxiao is truly a renowned general of our time."

Wu Liujin immediately understood the sarcasm in Shishan's words and said with a disdainful look:
"Marshal, don't flatter this dog official and provoke us. This fellow only cared about the convenience of attacking the city when setting up his camp, and didn't even think about whether he had a way to retreat if we attacked from both sides. I think this dog official is mostly a pedantic scholar who is good at talking big. He only won a few battles because he was lucky that his opponents were all rabble."

"Warfare must be fought with real swords and spears; words alone are useless. Dong Tuanxiao's forces are insufficient; he thinks he can defeat us by rallying some local militia. He's clearly out of his mind and courting disaster!"

Putting aside whether Dong Tuanxiao was a "pedantic scholar who only knew how to talk big," the chaotic arrangement of the government troops' camps clearly shows that most of them were a motley crew, only able to fool people because of their large numbers.

Before sending troops, Shi Shan made it clear the importance and necessity of aiding Dingyuan. This battle must be fought, and it must be won decisively, so that the Red Flag Battalion can win back the hearts of the people of Dingyuan and gain a foothold on Anfeng Road.

The Red Flag Battalion had been training for many days, and all the battalions were already putting in their best effort to prepare for the competition. Tang He knew that this battle would be the best test of the training results. He quickly tried to make up for his earlier lack of momentum by saying:
"I thought Dong Tuanxiao had such a great reputation that he must be someone important, but I didn't expect him to be so arrogant. It seems he was just lucky in the past and didn't run into the Marshal. This time, I will make sure he doesn't leave alive. Marshal, when the big battle begins, please have the Fourth Battalion lead the charge."

During the Battle of Haozhou, Hu Dahai had just rushed down the city wall when he encountered Tang He and others, and they almost fought.

After the war, based on his merit in capturing the city, his unit was promoted to the Fourth Battalion of the First Division, and the Fourth Battalion of the Second Division was given to Tang He.

As a result, Hu and Tang developed a special kind of friendship and spoke more casually to each other.

"Why wait for a major battle? Let me go and challenge the enemy camp today and dampen the morale of the government troops!"

Han Cheng was originally ranked ahead of Hu Dahai, but because he failed to gain military merit, the gap widened, and he was naturally unwilling to be outdone.

"Why bother sending out the Mountain-Pulling Battalion? Our Third Battalion is enough."

Zeng Xing, keeping a close eye on the movements of the officers and soldiers in the camp, spoke up:
"Stop arguing, look, the Tartars are gathering their cavalry."

"With our elite cavalry battalion providing support, what kind of cavalry are you afraid of? Come on, you dare!"

"Hehe, okay then..."

As Wu Liujin said, government troops are not all the same, and so are rebel armies. Past achievements can only serve as a reference; in the end, it is the real battles that decide the outcome. The Red Flag Battalion has been tempered by major battles and is no longer the rabble it once was. Not to mention that untrained local militia are no threat, even if Dong Tuanxiao led all his troops, Shishan would not be afraid to fight.

“Very good! Strategically we should despise the enemy, but tactically we still need to pay attention. The elite cavalry has already dampened the enemy's morale, so there is no need to set up camp again. We are tired from marching today, so let's set up camp first, conserve our strength, and kill the Tartars tomorrow.”

On the watchtower of the government army camp, Dong Tuanxiao watched the rebel army disappear from the hilltop, then waved to the newly assembled cavalry and said:

"Disperse. The enemy is cunning. We will not fight today. Let us rest and recuperate so we can wipe them out tomorrow."

After everyone had dispersed, Dong Angxiao stepped forward to greet Dong Tuanxiao as he descended from the observation platform, and whispered:

"Second brother, the bandits in Haozhou are a bit strange; they might not be easy to defeat."

"Ah."

Dong Tuanxiao nodded in response, his expression quite solemn.

After a series of victories, he became somewhat complacent, to the point that during the pursuit of the routed rebels, he made a hasty decision to annihilate the rebels in Dingyuan. However, the rebel army had only recently captured Haozhou and, upon receiving an urgent report, immediately rushed to reinforce it, so the situation was no better.

He chose to set up camp in the northwest of Dingyuan City, based on the comparison of the combat strength between the government and the rebels, taking into account both the influence of terrain and wind direction, as well as the need to block the rebel reinforcements.

Unexpectedly, when the bandit cavalry actually appeared on the battlefield, Dong Tuanxiao realized that he had made the wrong choice.

As soon as the elite cavalry entered the battlefield, they immediately seized the upwind position, chose the weak points in the defenses of the officers and soldiers to break in, but did not prioritize killing personnel, but rather focused on damaging the morale of the officers and soldiers.

The rebel army successfully probed the enemy's territory several times, which greatly demoralized the brave warriors of Dingyuan Township. Dong Tuanxiao had no choice but to send out his elite troops to drive them away. However, the Xiaoqi Battalion fought back while retreating, clearly testing the strength of the government army's cavalry.

The disadvantages of choosing to set up camp in the northwest corner of Dingyuan City began to show – it was vulnerable to attacks from both sides and it was difficult to defend both the front and the rear.

When the rebel army was just a motley crew, there was no need to worry about this. But once the rebels in Haozhou had the strength to confront the government army head-on, any support from the rebel army in Dingyuan City could be fatal.

But by this point, Dong Tuanxiao dared not break camp and re-establish his position under the threat of the elite cavalry.

Scouts reported that the total number of reinforcements from Haozhou was about five thousand, less than half the number of government troops. Even if the rebel troops in Dingyuan City were included, the number was still less than that of the government troops.

Under normal circumstances, Dong Tuanxiao would not have taken this small band of rebels seriously, but the problem was that the rebels in Haozhou were behaving "very abnormally".

Not to mention the tight marching formation, the uniforms of the entire army, the bright flags of each unit, the clear division of front and rear columns, and the use of flags as the primary means of communication during the march, with very few messengers running back and forth.

Even when gathering intelligence, the cavalry would first roam out in all directions, driving away government scouts and seizing high ground. After quickly gathering intelligence, they would decisively retreat, not giving the government cavalry a chance to engage them in a prolonged battle.

It was clear that although the rebel army was small in number, they were a tough nut to crack.

"Why don't we hold our position in the camp for now and wait for the troops from Hefei to arrive before engaging the enemy in a decisive battle?"

"no!"

Dong Tuanxiao rejected his younger brother's suggestion without hesitation, saying:
"The rebellion in Hefei has just been quelled. If the government troops make any rash moves, the rebels will surely rise again. Moreover, this back-and-forth will take several more days. The local militia in Dingyuan already have low morale. If we have superior numbers but avoid fighting, these people will probably collapse first."

Dong Angxiao opened his mouth and then closed it, wisely refraining from making the foolish suggestion of immediately withdrawing his troops.

While an immediate withdrawal would preserve our troops, it would break my brother's invincible record against any enemy.

More importantly, with government troops stationed there, the local militia of Dingyuan dared to fight the bandits; once the government troops withdrew, these people would be easily defeated and incorporated into the bandits' ranks.

At that time, the bandits will be much stronger, and not only will Anfeng Road be difficult to deal with, but even Hefei will be threatened by the bandits from Haozhou.

Seeing Dong Angxiao's appearance, Dong Tuanxiao was secretly alarmed that his self-cultivation was still insufficient. He had been disturbed by the bandit army's strength and had affected those around him. He quickly adjusted his emotions and smiled:

"Haha, Fourth Brother, why make such a fuss! The rebel army only numbers a few thousand. Even if the situation is bad, can it be worse than the Battle of Dinglin? We can win Dinglin, and we can win Dingyuan too. Just watch how I, your brother, will defeat the rebels!"

The biggest weakness of the government troops in this battle was that the local militia had not been properly trained and were prone to losing their composure.

Despite the limited time available, no one could solve this problem.

But who is Dong Tuanxiao? When he quelled the rebellion in the three counties, wasn't he also leading a bunch of rabble?
He had already made up his mind, but the plan was very risky and required the right timing.

After dinner, the entire army went to camp early.

Shi Shan and Dong Tuanxiao simultaneously thought of the attacking and being attacked camps. The two armies lit their campfires brightly, and patrols continued throughout the camps, determined not to give the enemy a chance to launch a sneak attack.

As midnight approached, the northwest wind that had been blowing for several days finally stopped. Dong Tuanxiao got up and walked out of the tent. He looked up and saw a sky full of stars, and his tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed.

(End of this chapter)