Take the arsenal to Da Ming

Chapter 268 Large-scale Northern Expedition ([-])

After a heated discussion, with the approval of Dorgon, the Qing court sent out two main banners, Zhenghong Banner and Xianglan Banner.

Then, more than 15 people were drawn from the Mongolian Eight Banners and the Han Eight Banners in Shanxi to form an army of [-].

Man Dahai, the leader of the Zhenghong Banner, and Jierhalang, the leader of the Xianglan Banner, divided into two groups to block Tangning's east and west armies.

And just two days after the reinforcements of the Qing army went south, the huge fleet from Guangdong and Fujian also entered the Yangtze River smoothly.

The fleet numbered more than [-] ships, of which more than [-] ships had a displacement of more than [-] tons, and these ships also transported a large amount of supplies.

However, these supplies were not unloaded.

Tangning also organized a large number of manpower to continue loading the materials collected by Ying Tianfu onto some transport ships.

This busy work lasted for a few days, and [-] white soldiers led by Qin Gongming and nearly [-] wolf soldiers led by Wei Zhengliang also arrived one after another.

After a short rest, they boarded the ship one after another.

Soldiers with seasickness boarded ships with a displacement of more than five hundred tons, or even more than a thousand tons.

Ships full of supplies and soldiers quickly sailed out of the Yangtze River, into the sea, and disappeared from people's sight.

Many people didn't know that Tang Ning himself was also hidden in it, and he personally led [-] elite new troops.

In addition, most of the former northern troops such as Wu Sangui, Shang Kexi, and Ming Anda's Rites were transferred.

These can be said to be elite, with a total strength of more than 6 troops. The use of so many ships and supplies is definitely a big deal, so Tangning has to personally sit in charge.

In order to prevent some unruly people from making small moves after leaving a power vacuum, he also deliberately transferred Song Yunshu and Wu Shu from Guangdong, and transferred more than ten thousand new troops from Guangdong and Fujian to Ying Tianfu.

At the same time, the intelligence department, staff department and other important institutions of the new army were all moved to Yingtianfu, so as to more conveniently command and command the whole army to fight.

Such a blatant and large-scale move by the new army naturally couldn't be hidden from Doduo's eyes and ears. While he was horrified, he was also a little at a loss.

Because he didn't know where Tangning's goal was, but he was certain that it must be heading north.

However, the navy is the most indispensable thing in the Qing Dynasty. Even if you want to track or block it, it is difficult to do it.

In desperation, Duoduo could only send someone to report to the capital quickly.

Before the information sent by Duoduo reached the capital, the Xianglan Banner, which the Qing army went south to support, first fought with the East Route Army of the New Army in the south of Shandong.

Two days later, another route also fought with the West Route Army in southern Henan.

The new army set up a tight defensive formation with barbed wire, barbed horses, and trenches, waiting for the Qing army to launch an attack.

Since the Qing army mobilized the two banners to go south again, they naturally wanted to stabilize the situation as soon as possible, first resolve the battle on the east and west routes, and then go to support Prince Yu Duoduo.

Because they couldn't afford it, the longer it dragged on, the worse it would be for Qing Dynasty.

Faced with this situation of the new army, the two Qing armies launched attacks again and again. The Han army, the Mongolian army and the Manchu Eight Banners took turns to attack, but all ended in failure.

Because defensive measures such as barbed wire, horse refusal, and trenches have too much impact on the cavalry, even if they rush forward, there is no way to break through the barrier of barbed wire.

In addition to these strict defensive methods of the new army, the horizontal tactics of the new army in three long rows are also very powerful.

Within [-] feet of the new army, it was almost a natural moat, and the closer it was, the greater the casualties.

However, it is not the real soldiers of the new army who practice this kind of line tactics at this time, but the Dashun army.

In the long-term battle of the Dashun Army, they did not lack musketeers, and many musketeers were even older than the new army.

During Ying Tianfu's reorganization process, under Tang Ning's order, the commander of the new army gathered all the musketeers to practice line tactics, and replaced a large number of flintlocks for them.

This kind of tactic is easy to put out. To exert its combat effectiveness, the main thing is to be able to maintain the integrity of the formation on the battlefield at all times.

This will test the execution ability and courage of the soldiers.

The execution ability of the Dashun army is naturally not as good as that of the new army, and the courage is also not as good.

Therefore, the command of the musketeers is all taken by the commander of the new army, and the main role of the musketeers of the new army is to supervise the battle.

If the retreaters are timid during the battle, the new army standing behind them will not hesitate to drag the fleeers out and shoot them.

Fortunately, the defense line of the new army is very tightly arranged, and the enemy, whether it is infantry or cavalry, cannot break through it.

After witnessing the lethality of this tactic to the enemy, the morale of the soldiers of the Dashun Army Musketeers also quickly improved. They were no longer so afraid, and they didn't feel that this tactic was deliberately sending them to death.

After several rounds of offensives with disastrous defeats, both Man Dahai and Jierhalang realized that after the former defeated army joined the new army, it really changed a lot in a short period of time, and the way of fighting became completely different. .

It also proved once again that the new army's linear tactics are feasible.

Once the defeated army changed into this formation, it immediately seemed to have changed into an army.

It only takes a few thousand people to line up in three long rows, and shooting in turn can block one direction to death. It is difficult for infantry to rush through, and it is also difficult for cavalry to rush through.

Moreover, there is that damn barbed wire, which is more difficult than repelling horses and trenches.

The Han army accompanying the army suffered heavy casualties, and their fighting will was not high, and their morale was on the verge of collapse after repeated defeats.

And Man Dahai and Jierhalang didn't want to consume too much strength of the Mongolian Eight Banners and Man Eight Banners cavalry, so they didn't dare to try a large-scale attack lightly.

Because they can't afford to lose, and they don't want to be the next Azig.

Although there was no direct contact between the two, they chose to suspend the attack and confront the new army in a tacit understanding.

It can also be seen from this that the vigor and pride that once filled the Eight Banners have dissipated a lot due to various reasons.

However, Tangning's use of so many troops in the Northern Expedition was not for the purpose of confronting the Qing army, nor was it to give them time to strengthen their defenses.

Under the order, the new army gave up their solid positions and took the initiative to attack, forming six hollow square formations and slowly advancing towards the enemy's positions, with a certain distance between them.

Behind the hollow phalanx, thousands of cavalry followed closely, followed by infantry equipped with cold weapons.

Although both Mandahai and Jierhalang had heard of the power of this hollow phalanx tactic, they would not be reconciled if they did not try it.

Their approach is still to save their own strength as the primary purpose, and they are all arranged in columns and layers of defense with the infantry of the Han army in front.

The cavalry was placed in the rear, ready to look for the right time to rush out from the two wings to attack.

The new army's hollow phalanx advanced until about twenty feet in front of the Qing army's formation before launching an attack. Before that, the commander strictly prohibited firing in advance.

On the contrary, the enemy on the opposite side couldn't help but shoot with bird guns and bows and arrows first. Although it caused some damage to the hollow phalanx of the new army, it did not stop the phalanx from advancing.

The commanders of the new army who commanded were also frightened, and kept shouting orders to stabilize the formation, because they knew very well that once the formation was unstable and collapsed, the consequences would be very serious.

But fortunately, the quality of the Dashun army is still much better than those mobs. Under the force, they withstood the pressure and did not let the formation collapse.

After the counterattack began, they quickly seized the initiative and their morale quickly recovered.

The enemy on the opposite side was miserable, falling down in pieces like cutting wheat, and then crashing.

(End of this chapter)