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

Chapter 383

After the failure of the ambush and the attack on Ruzhou that day, Liu Fangliang and others only led more than 1000 people to escape, and only 1000 to [-] soldiers and horses were left.Not to mention those hungry soldiers and infantry, the cavalry also lost more than [-] people, and the old battalion suffered two or three hundred casualties in the chaos. This really broke Li Zicheng's heart.

These old battalions have been slowly gathered from various places in the past few months. Most of them are tough men who have fought for many years. Many of them rose up for the old eighth team.With so many casualties all at once, Li Zicheng was furious and wanted to execute Liu Fangliang, Li Guo, and Hao Yaoqi.

Because of the generals' intercession, Li Zicheng actually didn't want to punish them sincerely. After all, Li Guo was his nephew, Liu Fangliang was his confidant general, and Hao Yaoqi was also extremely brave.Thousands of troops are easy to get, but a general is hard to find, especially when the number of troops under his command is rapidly expanding, there is even a shortage of generals who can lead the army.

Li Zicheng followed suit to save the three of them from death and ordered them to redeem themselves.

In fact, after the three of Liu Fangliang returned to the old camp, Li Zicheng also inquired about the situation at that time in detail. I didn't understand the news, so Li Zicheng asked Liu Fangliang to explain in detail, taking advantage of this opportunity to gather them for a discussion.

Among Liu Fangliang, Li Guo, and Hao Yaoqi, Li Guo and Hao Yaoqi were downcast, feeling that it was hard to meet people after a big defeat, and only Liu Fangliang kept a calm expression.His mentality is more stable, and he can objectively evaluate the war at that time, so Li Zicheng asked Liu Fangliang to explain.

Liu Fangliang got up to salute Li Zicheng, then clasped his fists to the generals, and said, "King Chuang, brothers, I, Liu Fangliang, feel very guilty. When we led the army to attack Ruzhou that day, King Chuang and all the brothers had high hopes and hoped that we could defeat Ruzhou." In Zhoucheng, the momentum of my rebel army was strengthened, but King Chuang was disappointed."

Li Zicheng said: "Ming Yuan, now is not the time to blame yourself, how Wang Dou fights, how the soldiers and horses are, you can tell all the brothers well."

The generals of the Chuang army below were also chattering: "Yes, brother Fangliang, don't take it to heart when the matter is over. We old brothers are born and died with King Chuang. Victory and defeat are commonplace, so how can we blame you?" Woolen cloth?"

A rough voice sounded like a thunderstorm: "Okay, boy Liu, King Chuang and all the brothers don't blame you, you just don't want to be a mother-in-law and look like a woman. Tell me how to fight the Ming general Wang Dou!" Yes, it's rare to have an opponent, and I, Liu Zongmin, feel itchy."

The speaker was sitting on top of the military commander. He was nearly 40 years old, with a very burly figure, and his face was angular, full of wind and frost.The face is rough and bold, with short beards like steel needles and halberds.He was wearing an iron helmet and a heavy armor, with two long knives pinned to his waist, and a bloodstained cloak and cloak.

His voice was like thunder, Gu Panzhong's eyes were shining, and he was extremely powerful. It was Li Zicheng's confidant General Liu Zongmin.

As soon as he opened his mouth, Liu Fangliang made up his mind even more, he knew that Liu Zongmin had a very high status in the Chuang army, what he said, even the Chuang king gave him a lot of face.He said brothers don't blame, then really don't blame.

He saluted respectfully: "Thank you, Master Liu."

Liu Zongmin waved his hand nonchalantly.

Li Zicheng said with a smile: "Jiexuan is full of arrogance. When I heard that there is an opponent, I couldn't wait."

Everyone laughed even more.

Liu Fangliang saluted Li Zicheng again and entered the topic: "Speaking of which, Wang Dou has many soldiers and horses among the officers and soldiers. There are 7000 soldiers in one general. It seems that the famous generals who lead the battalion are the generals and deputy generals. Yes, there are only two or three thousand soldiers and horses, and there are even more than 1000. The officers and soldiers are corrupt, eat nothing, drink blood, and many people have insufficient soldiers and horses."

He said: "Chen Yongfu, the deputy general of the city guard of Kaifeng, came with Wang Dou. He is a rank higher than Wang Dou in the army. There are less than 3000 soldiers and horses in the camp. This Wang Dou is really a strange creature. He has raised so many soldiers and horses. I don’t know where the money and food come from.”

"He not only has many soldiers, but they are also very good. Half of the cavalry in the army are armored, and the horses are also fat and strong. The strange thing is that all his infantry are also armored. Their long The spearmen are all wearing iron armor. Chen Yongfu's vanguard battalion is considered elite in Henan, but none of his servants have iron armor."

Hearing this, all the generals in the camp were moved, and whispers spread. In the crowd, Li Yan listened carefully, as if thinking about something.

Liu Fangliang continued: "I have the impression that this Wang Doujun sentry cavalry is very powerful, and they fight very steadily. It seems that the camp is full of elite soldiers, and there is no difference between Ming generals and ordinary soldiers. I have also fought against Chen Yongfu, and their soldiers are as good as ordinary soldiers. The soldiers can tell it at a glance, but Wang Doujun can't. If it is said that these 7000 people are all his servants, it would be too scary."

Hao Yaoqi interjected: "Indeed, when it comes to fighting, they don't fight very well, but they are good soldiers and well-equipped. If my old Hao had such good soldiers, he would fight better than them."

Having said that, he cracked his mouth and shook his head, looking very regretful.

Li Zicheng also pondered, he said: "Ming Yuan, you will talk about the process of fighting with Wang Doujun with all brothers."

Liu Fangliang said: "Yes, King Chuang."

He said: "Brothers, as I said just now, they are very powerful sentry cavalry. Brothers Li Guo and I, Brother Dayong, knew the news of their rescue of Ruzhou long before the officers and soldiers arrived in Jia County, and set up an ambush early. Somehow, Wang Doujun found out about it, and after thinking about it, they should have sent out the scouts. It’s very surprising, against other officers and soldiers, our rebel army’s ambush will most likely be successful.”

Chuang Jiang Gao Yigong suddenly interjected: "That's right, they are very powerful sentry cavalry. After Brother Fangliang returned to camp, our rebel army wanted to set up an ambush in the area between Daxing Fort and Longmen Pass, but the officers and soldiers discovered them all. It's only three things. If It is said that Brother Fangliang was an accident that time, and the defeats this time prove that Wang Doujun sentry cavalry is really powerful, and it is almost impossible to ambush them."

This Gao Yigong is less than thirty years old, but he is the younger brother of Li Zicheng's wife Gao Guiying. His real name is Gao Guoxun, and his name is Yigong. Few people yelled, just like Hao Yaoqi.

Because he is a brother-in-law and he is prudent in handling affairs, Gao Yigong was appointed as the commander of the whole army. He is usually taciturn, but now he speaks, which proves that Liu Fangliang's words are true.

Tian Jianxiu beside him said softly: "It seems that setting an ambush against the officers and soldiers is useless."

Liu Fangliang said: "Master Tian is right, setting an ambush against Wang Doujun is really useless."

Tian Jianxiu is also Li Zicheng's confidant general, serving as the chief general of the old battalion, and plays a pivotal role in the Chuang army.

Liu Fangliang continued: "On the 3000th of last month, after my brother Li Guo and Brother Dayong failed to set up an ambush in Ruzhou, we didn't understand the strength of the officers and soldiers at that time, and led more than [-] rebels to surround their forwards and attack hard... ..."

There was a look of emotion and fear in his eyes: "they were only 1000 people, and they guarded a mound with a river on one side, so they guarded three sides, about 200 people on each side, with half spearmen and half gunners. I and Brothers Li Guo and Brother Dayong discussed and encircled the three ques and one, only attacking two sides and letting go of one side."

"Our rebel army attacked twice. The first time they put 1000 people on each side, and the second time they put 2000 people on each side. They fought very badly. Their bird guns are very powerful, and they are very lethal at a hundred steps. The strong wind They can fight in the weather, and they won't blow up their barrels. They rarely misfire. Our bows and arrows are not as good as their blunderbuss, let alone the three-eyed blunderbuss. Their blunderbuss soldiers also all have armor, which should be cotton armor. I'm afraid it's covered with iron leaves, so bows and arrows and three-eyed blunderbuss won't go in, even if you have a bird blunderbuss, if you fire it at a hundred paces, it's probably useless."

"My brothers fought badly and lost a lot of blood. Their blunderbusses were well-trained and kept firing. Although there were only a hundred blunderbusses on each side, our rebel army could not attack at all. They didn't know how to use a single What kind of blunderbuss can kill a person in 150 steps, and it is very accurate..."

Liu Fangliang shook his head: "After the first time our rebel army retreated, they attacked again. They dispatched spearmen. I thought they were only powerful with firearms, but I didn't expect their spearmen to be even more powerful. My rebel army has tens of thousands of people. , was beaten to pieces by less than 1000 of them."

Unknowingly, Liu Zongmin patted his palms hard on his thighs, and said from his mouth: "Donkey balls are hard stubble."

A shadow flashed in everyone's hearts, Liu Fangliang was one of the most famous generals in the camp, brave in battle, resourceful and wise, but he was defeated miserably by Wang Dou's attack.Moreover, it has also been seen from these times that the officers and soldiers of that unit are quite difficult to deal with, and they are quite different from the officers and soldiers who were fleeing on the lookout when the Chuang army fought in various places in Henan.

Li Zicheng said in a deep voice: "Ming Yuan, if you go on, how did you fight against the officers and soldiers under the city of Ruzhou?"

Liu Fangliang replied: "Yes, King Chuang."

He continued: "Brother Li Guo, after Dayong retreated to the city of Ruzhou, the main force of Wang Dou's army and Chen Yongfu's vanguard battalion also went to the city. In the first few days, my rebel army fought against Chen Yongfu's vanguard battalion, and Wang Doujun just watched from the sidelines. To be honest, Chen Yongfu's forward battalion is very capable of fighting, but my rebel army can also fight on par with them, although the casualties may be greater than theirs, but Wang Doujun will join the battle in a few days..."

There was a deep look of fear in his eyes: "I thought their guns and spearmen were powerful, but I didn't expect that they used a kind of artillery, which should be able to hit two miles away. I am tens of thousands of rebels, and I was beaten by their artillery." The soldiers fled everywhere, and they were chased by thousands of cavalry with outstanding horsepower. Even many brothers in my cavalry team could not escape their pursuit and kill, and finally returned to Yiyang and Yongning. Brother Yu."

After speaking, he broke down in tears.

Seeing him crying bitterly, everyone in the hall felt uncomfortable.

Hao Yaoqi muttered: "These officers and soldiers are too reckless, what kind of heroes are they to use bombardment. If you have the ability to fight face to face with a knife and a gun, my old Hao will definitely not be afraid of them."

Li Zicheng asked Liu Fangliang to sit down and pondered: "What kind of gun do they use that can hit so far?"

(End of this chapter)