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

Chapter 708 Tears
Li Zicheng has been closely observing the situation on the battlefield. At first, he still held a calm expression, but his expression gradually changed.

Even Tian Jianxiu, who was relatively calm, was as pale as Gao Yigong. The casualties were too great, and the new army was too powerful. In particular, Yuan Zongdi organized a flood of 5000 spearmen to attack, but was defeated The fact that hundreds of spearmen of the new army were killed and defeated, dealt a big blow to their original belief in victory.

Only Liu Zongmin looked left and right, with an afterthought of "knowing why we fought like that earlier." As the general sentry, he had a dull face when he led the troops to fight like that before, and now his heart will be more balanced.

Li Zicheng felt chills in his heart. In one morning, there were [-] soldiers on his side and Gezuo's side, all of whom were terrified by Cao Bianjiao's killing, not including the tens of thousands of hungry people. He thought that Yuan Zongdi and others did not arrange The problem, there is a problem, only on the side of the officers and soldiers.

Looking at that side, there was only one thought in his mind. He had fought against Xiao Cao before. At that time, his combat power was not so strong, right?
And at this time, Ge Liyan He Yilong also rushed over, shouting: "King Chuang, we can't fight any longer, your sons and daughters have suffered too many casualties."

In Gezuo, he was known to be brave to fight, and he said so at this time, seeing the loss in front of him, the heads of the fifth battalion of Gezuo were extremely dissatisfied, and encouraged him, the leader, to come to persuade him.

Li Zicheng said patiently: "Old Master He, how can you not continue to fight for this sake? The casualties of the rebel army were a bit higher, but fortunately the backbone was not lost, but on Xiao Cao's side, the casualties were all elites. Work hard, there will always be times when they can't stand it."

His implication is that riding a tiger is hard to get off, and there is no stopping, otherwise the dead will be in vain, especially all the previous layouts will be in vain.

Moreover, he had another meaning that he didn't say. Although many people died in the exile camp, most of them were worthless hungry people and infantry as consumables. As long as there are horse troops, everything lost will still be lost. return.

Niu Jinxing also persuaded: "General He, don't waste all your previous efforts. Although our division suffered a small setback, reinforcements continued. No, at least tens of thousands of troops have arrived. Let them go forward and fight. Forget it, centipede, dead but not stiff."

He Yilong needs to be polite to Li Zicheng, Niu Jinxing is just one of his staff members, how can he be polite, he stared bull-eyed, and shouted: "Your mother is so stupid, donkey ball, you talk about soldiers on paper, Xiao Cao's lively appearance, Is it dead but not stiff?"

Niu Jinxing's face turned livid, such humiliation was unbearable.

During the camp, even the veteran Liu Zongmin was polite to him, He Yilong, how dare he do this?
He forced a smile, and he still wanted to maintain his literati demeanor, only putting on an expression of indifference.

Li Zicheng's eyes flashed a cold and stern look, beating a dog depends on the owner's face, Niu Jinxing is a military strategist who broke into the camp, He Yilong yelled at him like this, did he take himself seriously?The faces of all the generals in the camp also turned ugly, and the irritable Liu Zongmin almost jumped up.

However, considering the overall situation of the war, Li Zicheng held back his anger and restrained his subordinates from moving.

He looked at He Yilong, smiled and said: "Master He, I still need you to persuade the masters. We can't stop. If Cao Bianjiao is allowed to escape, our efforts to come from Kaifeng will be in vain. But as long as we defeat Cao Bianjiao After destroying their new army, the officers and soldiers in Kaifeng City must be terrified. If the rebel army gathers, they can be wiped out in one go. The imperial court will no longer be able to deal with us. Let us gallop around tomorrow, think about that day, and think about us in the past During the days of hiding in Tibet, this battle must be fought!"

He Yilong looked at Li Zicheng, always felt that there was something dark in his eyes, he moved his eyes away unnaturally, thinking about this, if he didn't get something back afterwards, all parties would not be able to explain it, I just thought in my heart: "Damn, I'm on a pirate ship. I knew I would be happy in Nanzhili if I didn't come to join Li Chuang."

He also thought that what Li Zicheng said made sense. Although his subordinates suffered heavy casualties at the moment, the main horsemen were not lost, and the follow-up soldiers were also coming in a steady stream.

In the end he muttered: "Let's just rely on King Chuang."

Li Zicheng looked at him and said with a smile: "Okay, Brother He really understands righteousness."

……

In the afternoon, Liuying organized several more attacks, but they were all repulsed one by one by Cao Bianjiao. Surrounded by all the thieves, the army moved forward firmly.

The [-] infantrymen who broke into the camp and Gezuo were no longer willing to fight. The battle in the afternoon was all participated by newly arrived infantry and hungry people from various families. However, the news of the tragic battle in the morning made these people feel anxious unstable.

Li Zicheng and others killed many people to stabilize the morale of the army. Niu Jinxing came up with another way to separate the infantry and hungry people who arrived later from the previous ones. Without hesitation, he rushed towards the Ming army formation.

The corpses piled up higher along the way, and the blood continued to flow into the Xiangshui, as if it was going to dye the entire river red.

Facing the intercepted floating infantry and hungry people, Cao Bianjiao killed and scattered them to encircle them again and again, taking advantage of them fleeing in all directions, the army moved forward quickly.

However, Li Zicheng's tactic of concentrating the cavalry and dragging them around was quite successful. Whenever the hungry infantry in front collapsed and the rest were too late to rescue, Gao Yigong commanded nearly [-] cavalry, and they rushed over like a tide, forcing Cao Bianjiao to form a formation to protect himself. , Gathering their pawns and gaining time again.

Only a few times, when the cavalry of the main battalion attacked, the infantry quickly caught up and killed more than a thousand of their cavalry. However, Li Zicheng noticed this afterward and deployed more troops to drag their new infantry.

In the afternoon of the same day, more infantry and hungry people from the exile camp arrived, and the surrounding flat land was covered by their crowd.

Song Xiance also arrived, and he proposed to build and transform more equipment, such as using carts and wheelbarrows carried by hungry people to make simple shield carts, erecting hard and thick wooden boards to protect gun bullets, and even covering some shields with quilts Waiting for things, so continued to cause casualties to the Ming army, making Cao Bianjiao anxious.

But there is also good news. Wang Tingchen, who broke out earlier, led him more than [-] cavalry, and suddenly attacked the [-] cavalry specially arranged by Li Zicheng to guard against the royal army and other Ming troops, and almost killed them. To be defeated, Li Zicheng asked Li Guo to lead the two thousand old battalion to rush there, so that he could stabilize the situation.

After that, Wang Tingchen wandered outside and attacked everywhere frantically. In Shen Shizhong, he attacked a camp of hungry people, causing these people to flee in all directions, and a total of tens of thousands escaped.

Li Zicheng was still in shock, and ordered Li Guo to be more on guard, and then asked the hungry people to dig trenches on the road ahead of Cao Bianjiao, digging holes everywhere, making it difficult for the Ming army to march.

On August [-]th, there were more and more thieves. On this day, Li Zicheng organized dozens of attacks.

At noon on August [-]th, Luo Rucai, Sun Kewang, and Li Dingguo arrived. The tragic scene in front of them shocked Luo Rucai. Li Dingguo felt a little unbearable, but Sun Kewang's face showed excitement.

The three families finally reunited, and at this time, the infantry under each's command and the hungry people under threat basically arrived, only the artillery did not arrive.

Luo Rucai's suggestion to imitate the siege warfare and build solid equipment such as shield chariots and cymbal chariots to deal with the sharp firearms of the Ming army was highly praised by Li Zicheng... On the [-]th, afternoon, Weishi.

There is a local place called Huqiao, only thirty miles away from Xiayi.

The sound of gunfire resounded through the sky, and rows of flames spewed out. The cover of the bandit shield car in front of it was crackled, the cotton wool on the quilt was flying, and the bandit soldiers pushing the cart were shouting and chaotic everywhere. Running wildly, intending to avoid the bullets that seemed to them to be extremely terrifying.

"Kill the thief!"

Another wave of pikemen was dispatched, these brave warriors roared, braved the arrows shot in front, and some three-eyed gun bullets, bravely rushed towards the back of the shield car, there were some potholes on the ground, even when the A moat will appear.

However, even if they fell, they would get up immediately and continue to charge with their guns.

The rogues behind the shield chariot scattered in a blast, all of them abandoned their weapons and fled howling. Suddenly blocked with the shield, Kankan used the round shield to hold the spear.

However, the strong force still brought him to fall. This thief is also a veteran, so he rolled on the ground in a hurry, trying to get up in a hurry.

Before he could straighten himself up, Tang Tingji's long spear pierced his right eye fiercely with the sound of the wind, and the blood was shot out with white brains, and the thief fell silently on the ground. on the ground.

The thieves who dared to resist were killed and injured in a short time, and the rest turned and fled in panic, and were killed one by one by Tang Tingji and others from behind.

There were screams and pleadings, as if history was repeating itself, and another thief turned around, with a young and terrified face, still so childish.

But Tang Tingji's heart was already as hard as steel. Without hesitation, he stabbed the young bandit's throat with the hand holding the spear. He pulled out the spear again, and then moved forward without stopping, leaving the bandit holding his hand. The wound twitched desperately on the ground.

Killing, killing, killing continuously, Tang Tingji's spirit has long been numb, and most of the time fighting is only based on instinct and habit.

He waved his hands again and again, assassinated again and again, and he couldn't even remember how many people he had killed. It seemed that there were young, old, young, male, and female. Many partners also had emotional breakdowns due to excessive killing. There are not a few.

If there is a mirror in front of him, Tang Tingji will find that his eyes have already turned blood red, as if he has become a killing machine, and the thoughts of death and fear are no longer in his mind.

Even he and many pikemen, after killing and dispelling the infantry formation, still rushed up to the rogue horsemen who came to intercept them, making them run away in fear, while shouting: "crazy, crazy, let's go!" Help the lunatics..."

Ming Jin's voice sounded, and Tang Tingji suddenly felt that his whole body strength seemed to be lost. He felt that there was pain everywhere in his body. He returned to the position with the same tired spearmen, and sat on the ground with one buttocks. Many people even lay there like that, ignoring There was blood and corpses on the ground, and some people even used the dead man's thigh as a pillow.

As the army moved forward, there were too many fallen corpses, too many to clean up. In many cases, the living and the dead were mixed together like that.

"Are you back? Come, drink some water."

When he was tired and sat down, a coconut ladle was handed over, but it was Tang Ting'e, the gunsling armor leader whom he regarded as his elder brother, who handed over his water bottle.

Tang Tingji took it silently. The coconut ladle that used to feel light and light now seemed to be as heavy as a thousand pounds. The muscles on both arms were sore all the time, and the wounds everywhere seemed to be numb with pain.

Tang Tingji didn't speak, and took a few sips. The pot of water seemed to have a strange smell. This was because too much blood flowed into the water and too many corpses were mixed into it.

The Shangguan ordered that unboiled water should not be drunk, it must be boiled and boiled, but because the enemies were all around and firewood was hard to get, a pot of water became more and more precious.

After taking a few sips, Tang Zhengjing snatched the coconut scoop in his hand, and Mei Heizi also took a few sips, then put the cork on the pot carefully and handed it back to Tang Ting'e.

He put his arms around Tang Tingji's shoulder affectionately: "Ah Ji, I almost thought you would never come back. Fortunately, you are lucky, and you will be fine every time..." He looked at Tang Tingji's face: "It's just disfigured I'm afraid it won't be easy to find a wife in the future, I heard that the Jingbian Army has a special military matchmaker, and it's really enviable to enroll in the army to guarantee a wife."

He laughed heartlessly a few times, accidentally touched the wound, and then coughed hard.

He also suffered several wounds on his body. As the battle became more intense, he fought countless times a day. Their gunfire soldiers often turned into sword and shield soldiers, and they fought with bandits at close range.

"Talent is dead."

Tang Ting'e, who was silently looking at the kettle in his hand, said suddenly, everyone was dumbfounded immediately, no matter how numb Tang Tingji was, he still felt that his chest was congested, tears almost came down from his eyes, his fellow countryman Tang Tiantian had gone again, a dozen of his fellow countrymen who joined the army together back then , half of the dead and injured, the rest, can they survive?

He leaned on the back of his comrade-in-arms tiredly and looked. Everyone around him looked extremely tired. There were repeated scars, and his expression faltered.

All kinds of blood, and the pungent smell of gunpowder smoke rushed into the nostrils from time to time. There were all kinds of corpses in the formation. Tang Tingji saw the officers in the middle of the formation, sitting or standing without any image, and many of them were silently smoking pipes , just don't talk.

A large flag with the word Cao character was still flying, but there were dozens of corpses of rogues beside the flag. Tang Tingji saw Marshal Cao, Deputy General Yang, and Deputy General Sun from Zunhua Town. The three of them gathered together and sat down. On the pile of corpses, everyone's feet were stepping on pools of blood, and they didn't know what they were talking about.

The army was already on the verge of collapse, but it didn't look like it was when it was resting. With just one order, the army still staggered with scars and pain, and continued to march forward with unimaginable perseverance. go ahead.

But, looking up, there are still thieves all around, can the army really escape?

In the silence, a hesitant voice suddenly sounded: "You say, we really can't go on, Cao Shuai and the others, will they leave us alone?"

Everyone looked, but it was Tang Yanfu who spoke. This simple and honest young man stammered: "I don't mean to blame Cao Shuai and the others... for this, even if they leave, I won't say anything wrong, but I... Just thinking about my mother..."

Tang Tingji's heart twitched even more. What he was thinking about was not his mother at home?

My father died early, and my mother brought me up with my own hands. If I am gone, what should she do alone?
It is not that there are no rumors in the infantry at the moment, and they are worried that the cavalry will leave the infantry and run away, but because Cao Bianjiao and others have proved it with practical actions, they have dispelled everyone's doubts, but in any case, this worry always exists.

Tang Yanfu wanted to speak, but he came into contact with Tang Ting'e's fire-seeking eyes. He was too frightened to say any more, only to hear Tang Ting'e yell, "You are shaking the morale of the army!"

"Snapped!"

He slapped Tang Yanfu hard.

Seeing that brother Ting E, who usually takes good care of himself and is closer than his eldest brother, slapped himself like this, Tang Yanfu covered his face in a very aggrieved way, and everyone around him also shut their mouths tightly and did not speak.

Tang Tinge stared at him, with a slightly relaxed expression, and said: "What nonsense are you talking about? Cao Shuai really wanted to leave, and he left long before the thieves encircled him, and he waited until now? Think about how Cao Shuai treated us in Yutian. Be aware of loyalty and conscience."

Tang Yanfu lowered his head and murmured: "I know I said something wrong, I'm just worried..."

Tang Ting'e shouted: "Still talking?"

Mei Heizi smoothed things over: "Okay, okay, stop arguing, ah, Mr. Qian is here to see."

Everyone was startled, at this moment, there seemed to be a commotion in the army formation, and then the cheers sounded, and finally became louder and louder. One by one, the soldiers stood up and cheered to the general under the banner of Zhangba, who rode his horses on all sides of the army formation Walking, he looked tired but determined, he said: "Let's move on, I will never give up a brother!"

"Cao Shuai, Cao Shuai, Cao Shuai..."

The cheers became louder, and there were bursts of thunderous shouts in the army. Like the soldiers, Tang Ting'e waved his fist vigorously, blushing. In his heart, there is no doubt.

Tang Tingji stabbed into the sky with a spear in his hand, looking at the man under the banner, the fiery red cloak fluttering in the cold wind, the tears in his eyes finally couldn't hold back.

……

August 21.

At that time, a dense crowd of people marched towards the Ming army again. Wave after wave of hungry people held spears and sticks. With numbness or fanaticism, they only marched towards the target. In the crowd, there were as many people as possible. The original siege equipment such as carts and pointed wheels, and even some trebuchets, were pushed hard by the hungry people.

In front of the waves of hungry people, there are as many simple or sophisticated shield chariots as possible. Behind the hungry people as dense as ants and insects, there are also layers of pawns, holding swords and shields, spears, and firearms. Going forward, behind the infantry, there are tens of thousands of horsemen galloping and roaring.

Li Zicheng and others have already fought their way out. After several days of brutal fighting, all battalions were equally damaged. The 20 infantry of the three coalition forces were all frightened by Cao Bianjiao's thousands of new troops. Luo Rucai personally led Yang Shengzu and led the infantry to attack back. Later, Luo Rucai thought that the number of casualties was counted as a zero.

Inevitably, the three generals had a fierce quarrel, and the fifth battalion of Ge and Zuo became more and more impatient. In the last battle, all the troops were concentrated, and they really couldn't fight, so they had to withdraw.

As the leaders of each family, Li Zicheng and others lived in the rear, on a high platform that was temporarily erected, and Li Dingguo couldn't help sighing when he saw the Ming army formation still standing majestically amidst the crowds.

Sun Kewang smiled and said, "What is the second brother thinking?"

Li Dingguo said: "I'm thinking, Cao Bianjiao's bravery, the new army's fierceness, my volunteer army is not as good as it."

Sun Kewang said: "Although Cao Bianjiao is brave and the new army is fierce, there is a disadvantage. My rebel army does not have this disadvantage, and neither does Wang Dou."

Li Dingguo pondered: "What did the elder brother say?"

Sun Kewang nodded: "Four words, endless stream."

At this time, Li Zicheng gave the order to attack, and tens of 10 people shouted, rushing forward like a tide, and the earth trembled.

Sun Kewang took a deep breath: "This is what I want, man, it should be so."

(End of this chapter)