Wanli 1592

Chapter 867
In the early morning, Niu Bingzhong reported to Li Wen that a large number of sergeants suffered from frostbite last night.

According to statistics early this morning, more than 500 people have developed symptoms of fever and runny nose, and urgently need treatment, otherwise the situation will be worrisome, and as time goes by, by noon, more than 1000 people have had runny nose and fever, and more than 300 people have high fever. retreat.

The number of military doctors and medicinal materials in the army is limited, so Li Wen had to send people back to Feng County to find doctors and medicinal materials, and even sent people back to Baoji to ask people to transport more medicinal materials and doctors.

"Soldiers with high fever persisted on a large scale. Most of them were soldiers who suffered from the cold last night, and soldiers who basically didn't sleep last night were exhausted. If they forcibly marched close to Liuba today, they would inevitably have to fight. If a battle occurred, it would be difficult for the exhausted army To deal with the enemy, the general will ask the governor to think twice."

Niu Bingzhong asked Li Wen listlessly.

Li Wen looked at the report in his hand, and then cast his stern eyes on the senior participants around him.

Seniors, look at me and I look at you, with embarrassing expressions on their faces. Although no one came to attack them last night, they can forcefully attribute their correct tactics, but it is indisputable that so many soldiers are sick and unable to march In fact, they dare not argue.

"What should I do now?"

Li Wen asked his senior participants.

"It's better to leave the sick soldiers in Chaiguan to wait for treatment. We will lead our elite soldiers to Liuba first, occupying favorable terrain, so as to avoid the rebels coming again tonight. Our army needs to take the initiative."

A high-ranking officer said so.

Li Wen thought over and over again, and felt that there was no better way, so he could only agree.

So Li Wen ordered the sick soldiers to stay in the city to wait for treatment, and he led the main force to continue to advance and attack the rebel defense line in Liuba.

According to his estimate, at this moment, Li Ruzhang's men and horses should arrive. Once Li Ruzhang's troops arrive, they will be able to attack Liuba from both sides, and they will definitely be able to break through Liuba. However, the spies' return disappointed him a bit. Because there was no fighting in Liuba, the rebels had already occupied favorable terrain for defense.

Li Ruzhang hasn't arrived yet?

Li Wen was a little dissatisfied, but there was no way, at present, he could only rely on the troops in his hands to fight against the rebels.

Xiao Ruxun is good at commanding troops, capable in employing troops, and skillful in training troops. He can be called the No. 1 general of the Ming Dynasty. Unfortunately, he rebelled and made it so big that it swept over half of the Ming Dynasty. Now the king of heaven and I can't save him. Who else could he count on?
Li Wen still wanted to fight against Xiao Ruxun's army, so on the afternoon of the 21st, Li Wen set up camp by the water [-] miles west of Liuba, and then sent troops to cut down trees along the way to make way, and checked for rebels along the way. Army trap.

In the evening, Li Wen suddenly heard an explosion in the barracks, and ordered the whole army to prepare for battle in surprise. After a while, he saw a group of defeated soldiers returning dejectedly. They were the men who were sent to cut down trees and clear the traps.

"Assaulted with a firearm?"

Li Wen looked at the defeated general with a bad expression.

"Yes, Governor, the rebels have sharp firearms. There are many hills on the road here. They set up artillery on the hills. When they saw our army, they fired at our army. Our army did not escape in time, and more than a dozen people were killed. , unable to move forward, can only retreat, and please punish the governor!"

Li Wen waved his hands with a dark face to make them retreat.

"Governor, it seems that the rebels have taken the upper hand now. They have already mastered this terrain. We have lost the opportunity. If we want to advance aggressively and keep the dam, we can only attack by force and cannot show weakness."

Gao Shen analyzed at the side: "According to Tan Xisi's account, the number of rebels is not large, probably less than 5. It is impossible for 3 people to stay in the dam to guard, so there are only [-] or [-] horses here at most. If you have the advantage, if you defend your troops positively and attack openly, the rebels will definitely not be our opponents!"

Li Wen thought about it again and again, and thought it was reasonable, so he ordered Niu Bingzhong to arrange an attack. Today, he must make a good start no matter what, and give the rebels a little color, otherwise they will really make them look down on him, and they may come to harass him tonight !
After checking the terrain, Niu Bingzhong believed that the roads here were narrow and the terrain was rough, which could not be used for cavalry attack and could only be attacked by infantry. It is recommended to attack by force, and it is recommended to use troops cautiously. Try to use small groups of troops to harass and test the attack many times. This can reduce the battle damage and reduce the advantage of the rebels in terms of firearms.

He knew very well that his subordinates had very few firearms, and there were very few soldiers who knew how to use firearms, and Li Wen himself did not have many gunners in the army, so he was no match for Xiao Ruxun's troops in terms of firearms.

"What if we don't attack by force? Our army is stronger than the rebel army. At this time, we can only abandon all fallacies and heresies, and defeat all the tricks of the rebel army with an upright army. In this way, our army will surely win!"

The senior participants collectively opposed Niu Bingzhong's cautious suggestion.

Li Wen also felt that he had an advantage in combat power, so he didn't have to worry about not being an opponent under Xiao Ruxun's troops on the battlefield. The combat power of the Northwest Frontier Army was very impressive, and they often competed with the northern captives on the grassland. The barbarians?
Li Wen then ordered to gather his troops to carry out a strong attack, to finish the battle before sunset today, to capture several hills and move the front line forward, and by the way, to boost the morale that was somewhat depressed due to last night's incident.

[-] elite soldiers were quickly assembled, [-] infantry and [-] cavalry, led by General Zhao Wu of Ningxia, launched an attack on Liuba. South Army.

But before they got close to the place where they could attack, the artillery of the Zhennan Army on the hill began to roar, catching them off guard. What's the role, I only know to avoid the bombardment of artillery everywhere.

When the infantry, under the leadership of the officers, rushed forward with the firepower, what they faced was the large shield tactics and sharp muskets that the Zhennan Army was very good at. The lead shot down sent flesh and blood to the unprepared frontier army, causing heavy casualties.

When they charged forward with musket fire, sharp guns pierced out again, piercing transparent holes one after another. They couldn't break through this line of defense at all, and they were almost dead.

It can be said that the first tentative confrontation between the two sides ended in Li Wen's fiasco.

Two thousand elite soldiers fled with their heads in their arms, five hundred cavalry were completely lost, more than 400 horses were lost, more than half of the infantry were lost, and many more were injured. Even Zhao Wu's mount was killed by stray bullets, and he fell and injured a The leg was dragged back to the camp by his subordinates. Fortunately, he was fast enough to prevent the Zhennan army from rushing down to kill the defeated army and would be captured.

In the first fight, Li Wen lost miserably.

Li Wen was very dissatisfied with such a disastrous failure.

(End of this chapter)