A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 258 Blood Sea
It seems that the turbulent waves encountered a hard rock, and looking down from the air, the densely packed Qing soldiers were blocked in front of the long earthen wall trench of the Shunxiang Army.Around the earth wall, dense gunpowder smoke was densely covered, the firecrackers roared bursts, and the deafening sound of artillery continued to ring out.

There are only five wide and flat passages in front of the Shunxiang army formation, and these passages are full of people... Strands of heavy armor of the Qing army rushed forward holding their shields. Their biggest enemy, first of all, was the gap in the earth wall The Buddha Wolf machine gun and the Hongyi six-pound gun that didn't know when to fire were the biggest nightmare.

Then came the gunfire, still shooting from the right side. They had heavy armor and a large shield, but they couldn't stop the heavy bullets of the Ming army gunmen.With a dense crowd and a distance of dozens of steps, those Ming army musketeers didn't seem to need to aim much. As long as they fired their guns, there would be a cloud of blood spraying from the heavy armor of the Qing soldiers, staggering and falling to the ground.

Fortunately, the firecracker that the Ming army hit with its right hand happened to be the Qing army's left hand.Everyone held the big shield tightly to block their bodies.Although this big shield can't provide everyone with much protection, it can at least provide some psychological comfort.However, on the left-hand side of each gap in the earthen wall, there is at least a large row of Ming army gunners shooting at the empty spaces exposed by their bodies.They also took into account the attack on the Qing army who climbed the wall and crossed the trench in front of the earth wall.

There are more than ten steps in each passage, no matter how dense the Qing soldiers are crowded, each row of people rushing up can only be two to 30 people. Many people died... Although the Qing army had a superior force, it could not be deployed at all.

These people are crowded in this narrow passage, they have to face the untimely bombardment of the Ming army's Buddha wolf machine guns, and they also have to face dozens of Ming army's firecrackers, and the tiger crouching cannon...

After they rushed for nearly twenty or thirty steps, suddenly there was a loud bang from the tiger squatting cannon. The few people who rushed in the front were directly blown away, and the people who followed were all bloody and bloody. Note.Or maybe, after a few more steps, the Ming army's Buddha wolf machine gun or Hongyi cannon suddenly fired shotguns, and these Qing soldiers who rushed forward were directly opened up a flesh and blood alley.

Among the positions of the Shunxiang Army, the two front passages are the widest, each 25 steps wide, which is about 40 meters in meters for later generations.

On these two passages, the artillery of the Ming Army, taking advantage of the gap in the earth wall, has just completed a salvo.A Jialazhangjing of the Zhengbai Banner commanded the battle there and ordered a large number of auxiliary soldiers to follow and push about ten refined chariots, five in front and five in the rear.Behind each chariot, followed by a large group of Qing army archers and heavy armor.

They wanted to rush through the passage before the Ming army's artillery fired again, so everyone shouted and charged, and the auxiliary soldiers pushing the carts pushed the chariot very fast with all their strength.Next to the chariots, those bowmen with strong bows and sharp arrows kept suppressing the gunners of the Shunxiang Army behind the earthen wall.

The two sides shot at each other for a while, those Qing soldiers were really good at archers. After they charged forty or fifty steps, many Shunxiang soldiers only showed their upper body or a head, and they also knew how to avoid the sharp arrows when they fought against the Qing soldiers. ,protect yourself.However, there were still many soldiers who were shot in the face or in both eyes, screaming and never coming out again.

But behind the earthen wall, there were still firecrackers from the Ming army. The closer the chariot was, the more ferocious the firepower. It seemed that they had increased the reinforcements.Their firecrackers were fired from the side, and unprotected cart auxiliary soldiers and archers were constantly knocked to the ground, making their carts go slower and slower. In addition, the corpses of the Qing army who charged in the previous wave remained on the ground. hindered their progress.

If one didn't pay attention, time had passed for a long time, and they didn't notice that the artillery of the Shunxiang Army in front was loaded with ammunition again.Because the passage is wide, the Shun Township Army deployed two Buddha Wolf machine guns and two Tiger Crouching guns, and at some point pushed over a Hongyi six-pound gun, all loaded with shotgun.

Thirty paces away, those chariots were still trying to move forward, and those Qing army archers were busy shooting at the Shunxiang army, but unexpectedly, there was a thunderbolt, and it sounded several times in a row, making people's ears seem to be deaf.Then a large rain of bullets came, and with that shock wave, many chariots were broken and overturned on the spot, and the Qing soldiers behind the ten chariots also rolled down a large area.Amidst the mournful howls of a group of people on the ground, the rest of them fled back rolling and crawling.

……

There are still too many Qing soldiers besieging, and there are only five passages, as if the barrier lake is looking for an exit, and the rest can't wait to jump in from the first low wall.The low wall is inconspicuous, but there is a ditch behind it. Looking from behind the military earth wall in Shun Township, many people who climbed and jumped over the wall have already fallen into the ditch.

If one didn't pay attention, there were already many people struggling at the bottom, especially those Qing soldiers who had been stabbed into meat skewers by sharp wooden thorns, even clutching the wooden thorns protruding from their bodies, howling inhumanly.Although most of the later people would not be stabbed by sharp wooden thorns, they fell into the ditch wearing heavy armor, trying to step on the corpses of soldiers in their own banners, or ignore the dead soldiers below them. Crawling out of the ditch screaming is no easy task.

The trench is quite deep, and it seems that water has been splashed on both sides, which is very slippery.The blood of those who died at the beginning had already frozen rapidly in the severe cold weather, which made the surface of the trench even more slippery, making it difficult to climb out.Everyone should also be careful that someone falls off their head and presses on themselves.

And there is more than one low wall in the ditch, even if they try their best and struggle to climb out of the ditch, they will face another low wall, then another ditch, fall in again, and climb out with difficulty, they will still face the low wall and another ditch... Damn Ming People, at least seven or eight trenches were dug here, and seven or eight low walls were built. Almost every ten steps, there was a trench low wall.Moreover, the distance was calculated very carefully, even if he tried his best to jump from behind the low wall, nine times out of ten, he would still fall into the ditch.

Even if those heavy armored soldiers did not die, they were all out of breath after climbing the low walls of several trenches. Moreover, the Ming army would not calmly force them to climb the walls...

The black muzzles behind the earthen wall continued to emit flames, and the heavy armor of the Zhengbai Banner Qing army who were panting and climbing the wall were knocked to the ground by the bullets.They howled in different ways, or fell heavily into the ditch in front of them, or fell backwards on the hard ground.

Most of these people survived for a while, many struggled desperately, screamed in pain, or some extremely brave people covered their wounds, held their weapons, and staggered towards them again.In the end, they were finally powerless, and either rolled into the ditch in front of them and did not move, or fell down on the low wall to die, and occasionally their bodies twitched.

……

"Clap clap clap!"

There was a roar of gunfire, and amidst the cheers of the Shunxiang army gunners behind the earthen wall, another piece of Qing soldiers' heavy armor was knocked over between the low walls.This kind of shooting was wonderful, those Qing soldiers who climbed the wall and jumped into the trench had no power to fight back at all, and now there were no arrows to shoot, all the firecrackers were calm and calm, as if they were shooting a target.

These Qing soldiers in heavy armor all carried large shields and heavy weapons, but they didn't have infantry bows and arrows on them.Because before the attack, most of the Qing soldiers believed that there was a large number of archers behind the heavily armored soldiers, and there was no need for them to carry arrows.When things came to an end, everyone realized that they were wrong.

It's not like attacking a tall city. The archers behind can shoot arrows upwards at will to cover their own soldiers advancing, but the earthen wall of the Ming army in front...

The earthen wall is only about half the height of the Ming army, and most of the Qing soldiers are short and stocky, and the height of the wall is about the same as the height of the Qing soldiers.Not counting the Qing troops who fell into the trenches, the flat ground between the low walls was already covered with heavy armored Qing troops climbing over the walls, blocking the sight of the Qing army archers behind.

They couldn't see the situation of the Ming army behind the earth wall dozens of steps away at all, they only saw the densely packed bodies and heads of soldiers in the banner in front.Shooting arrows behind here will not hit the Ming army's head at all, and 100% will hit their own people.

Next to the first low wall shield car, there seems to be a Qing army archer who was too anxious. He took a captured Ming army bazooka and fired a bunch of rockets in front of him. Dozens of arrows roared away, but they were shot over. A group of heavy armored soldiers from the Qing army who climbed the wall in front did not expect to die at the hands of their own people, and they fell to the ground with regret.While the archer was dumbfounded, he was angrily chopped to the ground by a Zhengbai Banner Niu Luzhangjing who was supervising the battle beside him.

"Shu Tan, Shu Tan..."

Looking from behind the earthen wall, the front line of sight is clear at a glance. Those half-person-high low walls and deep trenches will only hinder the progress of the Qing army, but they will not affect the sight of Han Zhong's gunfire soldiers at all.They stepped forward one by one, and each of them carefully aimed at the heavy armored soldiers of the Qing army that were densely packed between the low walls but moving slowly.

After finding their own targets, everyone determined to aim and pull the trigger. Few people missed.

"Target!"

All the musketeers laughed happily, stepped forward to shoot in rows, then retreated, loaded the fixed paper tube ammunition, and then stepped forward again.

The deafening sound of firing guns rang out several times, and streams of gunpowder smoke rose from behind the earthen wall, converging into a thick patch, which was quickly blown away by the howling cold wind.Unknowingly, under Han Zhong's command, more than 400 firecrackers, including the soldiers, have fired four rounds of firecrackers, fired hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and each fired three or four rounds on average. .

At this time, the flat ground between the low walls, not counting the heavy armor of the Qing army who fell into the ditch or died, was already full of densely packed corpses of the Qing army in a short period of time. All of them have different expressions, some with wide eyes, some with unwillingness on their faces, or deep fear and disbelief in their eyes.

The scarlet blood was shocking, and the hot blood flowed out from each person's body, warming the dry and cold ground, and then the blood that flowed out merged into the trenches and quickly froze, increasing the slipperiness everywhere.Many surviving wounded soldiers of the Qing army howled sharply, struggled and crawled around, were seriously injured by projectiles, and the severe winter weather added to their pain.

Finally, those Qing soldiers came to their senses, and instead of screaming fiercely and climbing the wall, they ran back screaming.There is a saying that it is easy to go forward and difficult to retreat, and they have to climb several ditch walls to go back. Many people panicked and fell into the ditch and couldn't get out for a long time.

The Shunxiang army shot them in the back for a while, so that none of the people who fled back survived.

……

Lu Xiangsheng was amazed. Standing on the tall Yuanrong chariot, he could see the situation of the Shunxiang Army's defense line at a glance. The power of the Shunxiang Army's artillery salvo opened his eyes.What makes Lu Xiangsheng even more unforgettable is the fortification of this kind of low wall and trench.

It looks simple and small, but it exerts unimaginable power.The Qing soldiers who came rushing like a tide seemed to be just here to die, and even their most threatening archers couldn't play at all.I really don't know how Wang Dou came up with such a fortification.

Chen An, his general in the Chinese army, sighed beside him: "General Wang, you are truly a genius, such a line of defense..."

He shook his head, not knowing what to say.

……

They rushed to the last few low walls, but when they fled, the heavy armors of the various banners who were at the forefront fled back behind their own shield vehicles, all of them still had their eyes straightened, with lingering fear in their hearts.Fortunately, those soldiers who rushed to the front were backed up, so they could escape back.

It's too scary. The Ming army's line of defense is really a method that only demons can come up with.The powerful warriors of all banners have become their targets helplessly, and they can't fight back just by being beaten. This kind of deep powerlessness is too heart-shattering, and the firecrackers of the Ming army are too powerful. What heavy armor? It can't be stopped, even if they are killed in the future, everyone will not attack this kind of low wall and trench again.

The flood discharge gap of the barrier lake was finally blocked again. Except for a few passages deliberately left by the Shunxiang Army, the rest of the Qing army who attacked the low wall and trench, fled back densely and with difficulty under the farewell of the firecrackers behind them. He kept falling down and rolling down from time to time.

Finally, after they fled back, it seemed that they were going to let out their previous sullenness and fear. These heavy armors shouted wildly, ordering the archers behind the shield chariot to go out and shoot arrows.

Arrows whistled, and a large rain of arrows rushed towards the Shun Township Army behind the earthen wall. At the same time, there was a loud thunder, and many Qing army archers rang the large rockets seized from the states and counties of the Ming Dynasty.Regarding the arrows of the Qing army, the Shunxiang army behind the earthen wall hid them well, and let him shoot them.

Anyway, when those Tartar soldiers rushed over again, their dense figures filled the low walls and ditches again. With these people covering them, the Tartar archers in the back were useless, and everyone could shoot targets leisurely again.

The arrows jumped over the earthen wall and shot down the outer defense line of the Shunxiang army. The arrows shot by the Qing army's archers lost their power long ago when they were sixty or seventy steps away.Even if they fell from the sky, the armored pikemen in Wang Dou's army were protected by full armor, and the firecrackers either hid behind the earthen walls or erected the shields supported by the Xuanda camp, nothing happened.As for those rockets, they shot hundreds of paces and passed through the defense line of Shunxiang Army from the air, and they flew to nowhere.

Wang Dou stood on the earthen platform, and the guards beside him used shields to protect him from the arrows falling densely from the sky.

Looking at the gunners covered by shields, Wang Dou thought to himself, it seems that it is not enough to only equip the gunners with breastplates.After returning to Baoanzhou after the war, the gunners were still equipped with full armor.There are many pairs of captured Qing soldiers' armor in my supply department. After today's battle is over, I will find more iron armor and chain mail, and put them on the firecrackers to reduce their casualties.

"Happy, happy..."

The front line of defense of the Shunxiang army has become much quieter. On the riverside to the west of the camp, the soldiers of the Supervising Biao Battalion defending the Haoshui Bridge watched the Qing army on the opposite side of the bridge vigilantly, but they still remained silent.However, Yang Guozhu and Hu Dawei, who remained in the Xuanda camp, were still fighting fiercely on the two wings of defense.

Looking down from the air, the shouts were like thunder, and the densely packed Qing army rushed to the earth walls and low wall trenches on both wings like a tide.Behind the earthen wall, there was a burst of sound of gunfire and artillery, and large puffs of smoke rose.

On the left flank defended by Yang Guozhu, the chief soldier of Xuanfu Town, behind the earthen wall, there are densely packed soldiers from the firearms team in the main barracks.Yang Guozhu's main barracks had two thousand soldiers, one of them was a gunner and one of them was a killer team.It seems that at this time the concept of a reserve team in the Ming army is not strong. Yang Guozhu's firearms team has more than a thousand people, but they are divided into five rows and continue to shoot.The remaining cold weapon fighters of Mr. Qian all lined up behind the gun fighters, ready to support and fight at any time.

As soldiers in the main battalion, they were all cavalry, so everyone in Yang Guozhu's army had armor, either iron armor or cotton armor, and their armor was painted with a fiery red color.Many people still had feathers on their iron helmets, fluttering in the cold wind.

During the fierce battle, all the soldiers had long forgotten the freezing weather, and just shouted loudly and fought, with bursts of bird guns or three-eyed guns ringing.

In Yang Guozhu's army, there are more than [-] bird guns, and the rest are three-eyed guns.No way, except for the Wang Dou army, the bird guns of all battalions generally have the problem of being easy to explode, and it is difficult to ignite and launch in cold windy weather.The most important thing is that bird guns are much more expensive than three-eyed guns. If you buy one bird gun, you can buy several three-eyed guns.

Unlike Wang Doujun who made all the firearms by himself, most of the bird guns and three-eyed guns of Yang Guozhu and others were purchased from the eunuchs in the Ministry of Industry and various warehouses. Buying one firearm can buy several knives and guns.Gunpowder is also expensive, and you have to buy it when you run out. Therefore, compared to firearms and their poor quality, all battalions of the Ming Dynasty are generally willing to use cold weapons at this time.

However, Yang Guozhu's subordinates are the main barracks after all, so the degree of firearms is still very high, reaching half.Because of the cost performance, it is understandable that there are more three-eyed guns in the camp than bird guns.

On Yang Guozhu's earthen wall defense line, the Qing army rushing like a tide also encountered the same problem as the Shunxiang army.The heavy armor of the Qing army climbing over the walls from the trenches of the low walls blocked the sight of the Qing army archers behind them, allowing these gunmen to shoot leisurely.

The densely packed three-eyed musket stands on the earthen wall, and the three-eyed musketman of the main barracks held coal in one hand while aiming and shooting.They put a little fire coal on the eyelet on the back of the gun, and there was a loud bang, and a flame shot out.A little more coal, and there was another loud noise, and the firing speed was very fast.Some three-eyed gunpowder pots are even shared, and the ammunition in the three barrels will be fired at the same time after being ignited.

The three-eyed blunderbuss has an effective range of [-] steps. Even if these Qing soldiers climbing over the wall are wearing heavy armor, within a few or a dozen steps, the three-eyed blunderbuss can still break their armor and make them roll on the ground one by one like a target. The same without danger.

Usually it took a lot of effort to kill a Tazi soldier, but now they fell down one by one so easily in front of his eyes, everyone's cheers and strange cries kept ringing out.

In the dense sound of gunfire and gunpowder smoke, Yang Guozhu wore iron armor and a red cloak, and personally led his large group of servants to patrol around. Before seeing the tide of Qing soldiers blocking his earthen wall, his face with vicissitudes showed an inconceivable expression. He sighed: "I have never fought such a happy battle before. I really didn't expect this low wall and trench to be so powerful!"

His Chinese army general Guo Yingxian was also grinning. At this time, everyone was standing behind the earthen wall, and the artillery team officer under Wang Dou's support, Wen Fangliang, was ordering a volley.

In the sight of Yang Guozhu and others, on a passage not far from the right, a Buddha wolf machine medium-sized artillery and a tiger squatting cannon opened fire one after another, making the rushing Qing soldiers cry for their fathers and mothers, leaving behind a piece of stump, The rest of the people scrambled and ran back.

Guo Yingxian sucked in his breath and said, "What a powerful cannon!"

Yang Guozhu was also secretly surprised at the power of the Shunxiang army's artillery salvo. Fortunately, Wang Dou supported his artillery, so that the Qing soldiers laboriously blocked the passage.But soon after, everyone found a group of Qing soldiers with heavy shields and heavy armor rushing up frantically.

At this time, the artillery in Yang Guozhu's formation fired several rounds in a row, and it was necessary to stop for a while to dissipate heat and clean the barrel.The bird gunners and three-eyed gunners on both sides of the earth wall shot desperately at the group of Qing soldiers, but they couldn't stop their advance, and soon they were about to rush into the earth wall.

Guo Yingxian said happily: "Good guy, it's finally here!"

He asked Yang Guozhu in a loud voice: "Army Gate, the last general is willing to lead the soldiers under his command to drive all these slaves out of the wall!"

Yang Guozhu looked at his favorite general, and also said loudly: "Okay, General Guo, you will lead a few teams of servants, and kill all the slaves who rushed in!"

Guo Yingxian took the order, raised his long-handled sword, summoned several teams of servants, and roared majestically: "Soldiers, follow me to kill slaves!"

……

In front of the Shunxiang army's position, the archers of the Qing army who shouted to shoot arrows stopped in frustration. The Ming army behind the earthen wall didn't take their heads off. No matter how many arrows they shot, it was a waste of their physical strength and arrows.Unknowingly, everyone stopped and looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

The Qing soldiers attacking the passage had already stopped, or they all hid behind the chariots and retreated far away, or tried to avoid the passage on both sides.The Ming army artillery at the gap in the passage and the firecrackers on both sides of the earth wall were too sharp, and they rushed back four or five times before being shot back.

There are only five passages for the Ming army on the front, each of which is sixty or seventy steps long and more than ten steps wide.At this time, there are broken chariots everywhere on the passages, as well as the corpses of our own warriors who have been battered by artillery, broken limbs and broken legs everywhere, and the intestines that flowed out from everyone. The scarlet blood everywhere is shocking. .

On the various passages, there were still many seriously injured Qing soldiers lying on the ground moaning, but no one dared to step forward to rescue them.These people were lying on the ground in pain waiting to die, and their helpless begging and moaning came along with the wind.

The Qing army's cavalry were still densely surrounded in front of the Shunxiang army's position, but they were all quiet, and each of them only heard the sound of their own banners tumbling in the wind.There are also the sound of drinking and killing and the sound of firecrackers and artillery from the two wings from time to time.

There were bursts of gunpowder smoke and the choking smell of blood, which was particularly pungent in the severe winter.The cold wind also howled, and many Qing soldiers shivered all over, perhaps because of fear, or perhaps because of the exhaustion of physical strength during the fierce battle.

They looked at each other in blank dismay, and the Ming army's position in front was like a hedgehog, sharp and sharp, and it was impossible to attack.Although our own side has densely packed shield vehicles, they are useless.The attack on the first day was like this, how will we fight in the future?
"These Nikans are too...too..."

The Eight Banners Manchuria was in the Red Banner Baya Camp Niulu Zhangjing Tan worshiping, and heard Jialazhangjing Buyan Tu muttering next to him. They, the Baya soldiers, were marching behind and had not received the order to go forward to fight.However, the tragic appearance of the warriors in each banner also made the Ba Yala soldiers in the banner feel chilled.

No matter how brave you are, facing such a Ming army position, it will not be of any use at all, right?The Ming army's position in front of them, their defense and combat methods are far beyond everyone's cognition. Everyone doesn't know how to use it, and they don't know how to start.Being puzzled by the unknown made them feel fear in their hearts. In the eyes of everyone, the low defense line of the Ming army suddenly became impenetrable, as if it would never be broken.

Just when the Qing soldiers outside the Shunxiang Army formation did not know what to do, suddenly there was a sharp sound of Mingjin withdrawing troops from the side of the large formation Dorgon.Immediately, those Qing soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, pushing the chariot, retreated like a tide on three sides.

Seeing their retreat, cheers erupted from the Ming army's position. Standing beside Wang Dou, Li Guangheng said excitedly: "General, do you want to lead the knights under the general's command to go after and kill them?"

Wang Dou smiled and said: "They are just trying for the first time, they haven't exhausted their strength yet, it's not time to attack!"

Amidst the cheers of the whole army, Lu Xiangsheng also laughed and came, accompanied by Wang Dou, Yang Guozhu and other generals, inspected the three sides of the Xuanda camp.

Everyone saw the iron-hard corpses of the Qing soldiers surrounding the low wall of the earth wall, and there were patches of blood that had been frozen in the cold winter. In the pool of blood, the painful groans of the undead Qing soldiers could be heard from time to time.Those Qing soldiers who died densely in the trenches were mixed with mud and blood. The corpses were of different shapes and had already formed hard lumps.

All the passages are in a mess, with severed heads and feet, stumps and intestines everywhere, and you will step on it if you don't pay attention.The bloodstains here and there are thicker and thicker, which makes people frightened.Not to mention the broken chariots and Qing army weapons and flags discarded everywhere.

Seeing everything in front of them, everyone took a deep breath: "Terrible..."

(End of this chapter)