Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 1381 Showdown of wills

The civil war drums of the Ming army's central army were beating, and the generals in each horizontal formation raised their arms and shouted. The sound of whistles and rifle drums followed one after another, and the entire Ming army began to move forward.

Almost as the Ming army moved forward, the horns of the Jin army also sounded. Guo Tianchun heard the shrill horn, and then he grasped the handle of the knife at his waist, pulled it out suddenly, and shouted loudly, "Bongwei army, go ahead."

There were nearly [-] soldiers in the front line of the Jin army, and each battalion was spread out to form a horizontal formation. The soldiers lined up to form a wide front to meet the Ming army.

The front of the Golden Army was about four miles wide. There were [-] gunmen and gunmen in front, and [-] melee infantry behind. The cavalry of the Golden Army did not step forward, but waited for the opportunity.

After Guo Tianchun roared loudly, the soldiers of the Golden Army who lined up neatly followed the beat of the drums and walked past him in small steps.When the four rows of soldiers overtook him, Guo Tianchun rode his horse and followed behind the line of gunfire, and followed the formation.

At this time, the soldiers of the Jin Army were moving forward, and the soldiers of the Ming Army were approaching two miles away. The Ming Army's infantry was very dense, and the gap between each soldier was only a fist, almost sticking together to move forward.

With such a dense front line, the width of the front line is not too long, but in fact, the front line of the Ming army has been stretched to seven or eight miles, which is far wider than the front line of the Jin army, but the two ends of the front line are not in line. The army, but the phalanx of the Ming army, intended to defend the Jin army's cavalry from flanking the Ming formation and guarding the two wings of the front.

Guo Tianchun noticed the characteristics of the Ming army's front. The phalanxes on the two wings can be used for cover, but they can also rush forward and outflank them at critical times.

But he didn't care about this. Wu Jun's strength was weak, and they couldn't take care of all aspects.

Those were not his considerations. All he had to do was to find the Ming army's movements, defeat the Ming army's front, and open the way for the cavalry to assault the Ming army's banner.

In order to maintain the front line, the Jin army and the Ming army walked very slowly. When the soldiers of both sides saw the enemy army advancing like a wall, they felt a wave of fear in their hearts.

During the drill, the Ming army had very strict requirements. The soldiers were not allowed to look around after they were in formation, but could only look ahead.

The soldiers in the front row couldn't see the figures of their comrades around them, and they seemed to be alone. Facing the thousands of troops lined up as a wall, they felt great shock and fear in their minds.

This feeling of one person against all people seems to be against everyone.

This gave the soldiers an urge to stop or turn around and run away, but after repeated drills by the Ming army, the gunners had basically overcome this illusion of facing the enemy alone. The obstacles above, the stability of the Ming army's front, are not comparable to ordinary people.

In the ranks of the Golden Army, the soldiers in the front row looked at the oncoming red front, and naturally felt the same way, but most of them did not have the courage to face thousands of people alone.

At this time, the soldiers in the front row began to feel timid, their hearts beat faster, their palms were sweaty, their lips were dry, and even their footsteps were a little chaotic, unable to keep up with the rhythm of the drums.

Lord Yue once said that as long as he "holds on to the grab without shaking, and has saliva in his mouth" when he is in battle, he is considered a good soldier.

This requirement seems simple, but it is actually very difficult, and the Jin Army obviously still lacks a certain level of enthusiasm.

Guo Tianchun, who was behind the front line, noticed the panic of the soldiers in the front row, and immediately shouted: "Pay attention to the drumbeat and don't panic!"

The officers of the various fronts also scolded again and again. The soldiers of the Jin army with trembling hands and feet stepped on the drums in a hurry. Fortunately, they glanced left and right and found that they were surrounded by their own comrades, and they were not facing the Ming army alone. , the rhythm was slowly recovered.

Dang Shousu, who was located between the second front and the third front, rode slowly on a horse, and used binoculars from time to time to watch the Jin army's front, keenly aware of the panic of the soldiers in the front row of the Jin army.

After all, the state of Jin has limited national strength. Wu Sangui raised 6 soldiers in one Hanzhong. Although there is funding from the Jin State court, it is still impossible for [-] soldiers to be well developed.

Wu Sangui obviously wanted to pay more attention to his horse army. Dang Shousu could see that the training of the Jin army's infantry was obviously weaker than that of the Ming army.

It's no wonder that the Ming army practiced in autumn every year, and each army competed, and the ammunition destroyed was 30 million taels. How could the Jin army have such a toss.

Many of the Ming army's changes in formation, weapons, and organization came from Qiu Cao.

This is tantamount to allowing the Ming army to not only learn through war, but also to constantly fight left and right to achieve self-improvement and development.

Dang Shousu put down the binoculars, ready to deal with the upcoming fight, but at this moment, a few cannons were heard from behind the Jin army's formation, and several shells fell on the road ahead of the Ming army's line.

An iron bullet on the left hit the Ming army's line, and three soldiers were knocked down by an iron bullet.The golden army's shells splashed pieces of soil on the ground, and several gaps were punched in the Ming army's line.

The advancing Ming army did not stop. The soldiers walked over the corpses and blood-stained ground, and the soldiers in the back row immediately stepped forward to fill the gaps created by the shells.

The Jin army's artillery was placed in front, and as soon as the Ming army entered the range, it immediately fired bombardment. The shells hit the ground, splashing mud, and the screams of the Ming army on the front line rang out everywhere.

At this moment, the artillery located on the two wings of the Ming army opened fire, and several "boom, boom, boom" cannons sounded, and the Ming army's six-pound field copper cannon shot out an orange-red flame, and a large cloud of white smoke rose. When he got up, the gun body and the two-wheeled gun carriage retreated sharply, and the iron bullets roared and smashed towards the Jin army who entered the range.

The good guns of the Ming army were placed on the two wings, far from the front of the Jin army, so after the Ming army entered the range of the Jin army, it took two rounds of artillery before the Jin army entered the shooting range of the two-wing artillery team.

Although the shells were launched late, the effect of the shelling was far better than that of the Jin army.

This is not only the reason why the artillery of the Ming army is several times that of the Jin army, but the line of the Ming army is narrow in depth. The Jin army bombarded from the front, even if it hits, it can only smash four soldiers in a row, while the Ming army placed the artillery on the two wings. , is to form a crossfire against the Jin army's front, and hit a diagonal line. Once it hits, it will not only hurt one or two people.

The improvement of the Ming army naturally came from the experience gained during the drill.

At this time, the Ming army fired a round of cannons, and the gunners next to each cannon quickly pushed the cannons back to their positions for the second round of loading.

For a while, the Ming army's wings were filled with gunpowder smoke, while the Jin army's formation was splashed with mud pillars, and black smoke rose one after another, and the golden formation was repeatedly pierced.

Guo Tianchun saw that the battle line was still a bit chaotic, so he turned his eyes to the two wings of the Ming army. He saw dozens of cannons emitting flames at the same time, and the projectiles roared towards him. When he got up, the blood turned into a blood mist and scattered a large area, which made the advancing Jin soldiers feel fear and uneasiness.

There were screams everywhere, and Guo Tianchun continued to move forward with the golden formation. From time to time, there were big pits hit by shells on the ground, and there were scattered golden army corpses from time to time, which made people feel nervous.

At this time, gaps were opened in the front line of the Jin army. Some soldiers just filled in the gaps, but were soon torn apart by a cannonball.

Guo Tianchun couldn't help swallowing his saliva, if he was bombarded like this, the Jin army would collapse in a short time, but at this moment, the two armies were already within two hundred steps away, he quickly shook his head and let himself Become sober, and then suddenly ordered: "Raise the gun, bombard!"

A flag drum beside him raised his head and blew a shrill horn. White smoke billowed up in the Jin army's formation, and the projectiles fired by raising the gun shot out. A big hole was punched in the chest of the Ming army in the front row, in twos and threes. continuous fall to the ground.

Dang Shousu narrowed his eyes, knowing that he was about to enter the most difficult distance, the Jin army raised his gun, and soon the firecrackers would fire, and the Ming army would march forward with the Jin army's projectiles.

This will be a contest of willpower. If the Ming army advances to thirty steps and has not collapsed under the bombardment of the Jin army, then when the Ming army opens fire, it must be the Jin army that collapses.

"The first row holds guns with both hands, and the soldiers in the back row fill in the gaps at any time to keep the front line intact! If there are escapees, the governors of the battalions will kill them on the spot!" Dang Shousu saw the soldiers in the front row fall to the ground again and again, and the Ming army finally collapsed. There was a fluctuation, and an order was issued immediately.

"Resist the guns on the shoulders, the first row is ready to hold the guns!" The officer shouted loudly in the advancing Ming army.

The soldiers in the first row of the Ming army held their blunderbuss in both hands, stabbing forward obliquely. The soldiers moved in unison, ready to shoot at any time.

The soldiers behind them put the sticks on their right shoulders, pointing the thorns at the sky, following the steps of the soldiers, they rose and fell like waves...

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(End of this chapter)