Griffin Commander in the Late Ming Dynasty

"Yes!"

"Load the muskets! Let's teach these dogs a lesson!"

After the squad leader finished speaking, he waved the saber in his hand, took out the musket in his hand and rushed out first. The soldiers behind him were already excited and followed him, drawing a black line on the ground.

"All cavalry, more than 30 people, two miles away."

The moment he saw the volunteer soldiers, the deputy next to the sergeant learned the approximate number of volunteers and the distance between the two sides. This has become their instinct.

"You are overestimating yourself. You want to play cavalry with us? Then you can play with them. Prepare your bows and arrows. Sprint after a round of shooting!"

Two miles is about six hundred meters, and the range of a bow and arrow is about 150-200 meters. This distance is just enough for the Qing army to adjust their posture and start a close combat charge after a round of shooting.

The sergeant was confident that his own riding and archery skills were definitely better than those of the enemy. They grew up on horseback, and whether it was horsemanship or archery, it was a dimensionality reduction attack on the Ming army in the Central Plains. However, he soon discovered one thing: there was something wrong with this group of Ming army.

When the distance between the two sides reached 350 steps, the Ming army suddenly stopped and pulled out their muskets! Waves of gunpowder and loud noises spurted out, catching the Qing army, who were still drawing their bows and preparing, off their horses by surprise. Two of them were shot off their horses on the spot!

Only the latest flintlock rifles can reach the extreme distance of more than 100 meters. The bullets fired from the original matchlock rifles at this distance would have already hit the ground, and not many Qing soldiers were hit, because the situation on the battlefield was like this. There were many factors that affected aiming, and even if you aimed, you might not be able to hit the person, mainly because the distance was too far. The paper bullets they currently used were all small scattered bullets, which could kill a large area at a time. The hit rate was % within meters, but to be on the safe side, the squad leader increased the distance to meters, which could be said to have given enough respect to these Tartars.

"We have muskets, everyone speed up!"

After realizing that the enemy had muskets, the Qing army quickly adjusted their tactics and began to quickly close the distance. The range of muskets was longer than that of bows and arrows. What they needed most now was distance. Only by closing the distance would they have a chance to counterattack.

Now that a round of musket fire has been completed, it will take at least twenty breaths to reload the bullets. This period of time is their best opportunity to close the distance. They can no longer save horsepower and must charge now!

"It came so fast!"

The volunteers also felt the fighting intensity of the Qing army, which was completely different from that of the bandits and the Ming army. If the Ming army and the bandits were in this position, a volley of musket fire would make the enemy stunned for a while, and the horses under their crotches would also be agitated by the loud noise. Some of them would fall down after being hit by muskets in front, and would even trip over friendly troops behind them. But this group of Tartars would never do that.

The comrades who fell in front of them just controlled their horses and went around them without even a glance. All the cavalrymen started to speed up and close the distance without any hesitation almost the moment their own side finished firing, which put enough pressure on the young volunteers.

"Hold the line, pull back! One round to reload! Two rounds to the front team, keep shooting!"

Reassuring commands sounded in the class, slightly calming the panic of encountering a completely different enemy. The muscle memory acquired from countless training sessions began to control them to retreat. At this time, the rear team turned to the front team and started the second round of shooting.

After a few more gunshots, the Qing army left behind two or three corpses. The other Qing cavalrymen were still gritting their teeth and galloping forward. They squeezed the horses' bellies hard, 350 meters, 300 meters, 250 meters...

There was a certain gap in the war horses between the two sides. The good relations between the Qing army and Mongolia allowed them to have the best war horses under their command. These Qing cavalrymen cared for their own war horses like their own mothers. At the same time, there was a certain gap between the riding skills of the two sides. It was normal for the gap to be narrowed when comparing the two sides.

Two hundred meters, finally, the fatal distance was shortened. The squad leader was frustrated all the way, and roared out his order: "Shoot!!"

A row of arrows shot out. Two hundred meters away, the musketeers and all the archers chose flat arrows at the same time. The musketeers had no armor at all, so at this time they only needed to increase the damage.

The Qing army's riding and archery skills were indeed amazing, and several volunteer soldiers were shot off their horses.

"Three rounds of shooting!"

Before the Qing army could be happy, the squad leader's order came down, and the volunteers who witnessed the death of their comrades raised their muskets in grief and anger and opened fire again!

The shortening of the distance between the two sides at a distance of two hundred meters was a double-edged sword. The Qing army gained an opportunity for a fair fight, but at the same time, it also increased the threat of muskets to them.

At this distance, the accuracy of musket shotgun shells was greatly improved, and the casualties of the Qing army increased instantly.

"How could it be! How could they change the bullets so quickly!"

The captain was puzzled. The interval between the two rounds of shooting was less than eight breaths! How could such a fast reloading speed be possible? He knew about muskets. They took a long time to reload and had a short range. How could they be completely different in the hands of the Ming army?

The volunteers once again distanced themselves from each other, but the sergeant knew that he could not chase them anymore. It was obvious that the other side was planning to kill him and others by flying a kite like this!

The sergeant was very angry. These people had terrible riding skills and bad horses. They relied on their strange muskets and abnormally fast reloading speed to suppress their Qing cavalry. What a shame! But now was not the time to be ashamed. If they did not retreat, they would be left here!

"Retreat after firing a volley!!"

The Qing army finally fired a round of arrow rain to cover their retreat. Many volunteers were unable to dodge and were hit by the arrows. They fell off their horses screaming in pain. Some of them were not shot in vital parts and continued to stay in their combat positions without saying a word.

"Damn it, you can come as you please and leave as you please, what do you think this place is? A public toilet?"

Spitting fiercely on the ground, the squad leader looked at his dead and wounded comrades and said ruthlessly: "Chase them!"

This is a new proverb among the people of Yangzhou today. In order to improve the city's appearance and also for agricultural composting, Jiang Han built a number of public toilets in the city for people to use. Although they are relatively simple dry toilets, they are much better than urinating and defecating anywhere on the roadside. Everyone can come in and out freely, hence this joke.

The two sides switched sides at this moment. The Qing cavalry were running desperately in the front, and the volunteers in the rear were chasing them desperately. The sound of gunfire kept echoing in the air like popping beans.

The villagers in the distance looked at everything with excitement. They had nothing but endless hatred towards the Tartars. When they saw the Tartars being chased and beaten by their own army like dogs, they all cheered!

Despite this, there was still a gap between the riding skills and the level of horses of both sides. After chasing for a while, the squad leader reluctantly asked the troops to stop: "Stop the pursuit!"

"Are you not going to chase me anymore, squad leader?"

"What the hell are you chasing after! You're just a bitch, you're flirting faster than a rabbit."

Helplessly looking at the black dot in front of him that was getting smaller and smaller, the squad leader turned his horse around and said, "Let them go back to deliver the letter. We will retreat and take the people away!"

Such situations occurred in many frontier villages in Huai'an and Xuzhou, with casualties on both sides. This was the first time that the Volunteer Army suffered casualties in a frontal battle, which shows the strength of the Qing army. However, it is also because the Volunteer Army has been established for too short a time and has immature experience. They still need to grow and need the test of blood and fire to make them truly an iron army.

"Has the fight already taken place?"

After hearing the battle reports from the front, the General Staff became extremely busy, coordinating information, adjusting deployments, and combining forces. All kinds of affairs made the General Staff extremely noisy.

"Very good! Everything is going according to plan. Once the frontline troops engage, the enemy will quickly adjust their formation. They will no longer search in a scattered manner, but will advance in a concentrated manner. So next, we need to give the enemy a target."

"Notify the troops in front to fight and retreat at the same time. Everyone, run in this direction!"

Liang Tiancheng pointed to a mark on the map, and the location was clearly written on it: Muyang.

"Mu Tao, the vacation is over, your chance is coming"

191, who was adapting to his new weapon, heard Jiang Han's words and said excitedly: "Really?"

Her Qinglong Halberd has been forged. The craftsman has put in a lot of effort. The entire halberd is made of steel using forging techniques. It is hard and tough at the same time. The crescent blade on the tip of the halberd is not connected to the outside like other halberds, but is directly integrated with the halberd head, making it look like a weapon that would only appear in an ACG work.

In order to achieve success, 191 is constantly practicing his every move.

"Of course, our frontline troops have already exchanged fire with the enemy. Next, they will lead the enemy in one direction. Once they find out that Ajige has appeared in the enemy's team, it is time for you to take action."

"I will definitely live up to the commander's trust!"

"Hahahahahaha, tell me, Mu Tao, when were you number one in the world?"

"Today! Today!"

Volume 306: Chapter Chapter : The So-called Sacrifice

"Didn't you say... that Jiang Han would definitely come to Changzhou for inspection within the next few days? It's been fifteen days now! He's not here at all! Where the hell is he?"

The Suzhou prefect took great pains to make this plan go smoothly, using himself as a guarantee to arrange things everywhere. God knows how much hair he has lost in the past few days, but what is the result now? After so long, not even a hair of Jiang Han has been seen!

"I don't know!"

The staff also looked confused. Logically, he should have come over, so why wasn't he here?

That shouldn’t be the case. Why didn’t he come?

At this time, the drawbacks of Chongzhen's previous measures were reflected. Because of the cancellation of the post stations, the information exchange between the various prefectures became very delayed. Especially in such a complicated period as today, the transmission of intelligence became extremely difficult.

The current situation in Huai'an Prefecture has not yet reached the ears of Suzhou Prefecture, and they do not know that the Tartar army has arrived in Huai'an.

Of course, even if they knew it, they would not care too much. After all, they were on the other side of the Yangtze River, and the natural barrier of the Yangtze River was still very valuable. After all, the Tatars were just a group of cavalry, and it was basically difficult for them to threaten them on the other side of the Yangtze River.

"There are only two possibilities for Jiang Ze not showing up. Either there is a traitor among us, who leaked the news to Jiang Ze, which made him more alert..."

"Sir, you know me. I was the one who came up with this plan."

The staff immediately began to show their loyalty.

"You proposed that?"

The prefect glanced at the aide.

"Of course, you are the one who takes the lead, and I just did some minor work..."

The emotional intelligence of the staff was at least 416 times higher than that of the scarecrow, and he quickly figured out what his boss was thinking. Yes, what was the other party running around for? Wasn't it just for this credit? Then he must not take the title of the first initiator.

"Humph, I don't think you dare to do such a betrayal."

Retracting his gaze, he began to speak out his second speculation: "So, something big must have happened that caused the other party to cancel their plan to come here."

"You have an unshirkable responsibility for the failure of this plan. I will give you a chance to redeem yourself from your crime. Go check what major incident occurred in Yangzhou and come back to tell me."

The blame came so suddenly that the aide was unable to react and was even stunned for a moment. What the hell, when did I have an unshirkable responsibility? What does it have to do with me if others didn't come?

But soon, he realized that after investing so much manpower and material resources, the other party didn't come. The higher-ups would always find someone to take the blame, so wouldn't he, who proposed the plan, be the best candidate? If someone came and believed the slander of the people below, causing the prefect to misjudge the travel time of the thief Jiang, he could directly put the blame on himself. In order to make him work hard, he said that he would make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence. In order to avoid being charged, he would definitely work hard to find clues in Yangzhou. Moreover, he believed that the prefect would definitely give him all the support except for the actual help, and then take the credit for himself.

After figuring out the key points, the staff was really, really numb, and felt numb! I really admire this Lao Liu!

But what can he do? What can he do? He has no law, he can only do what others do.

"Yes, I will check it out right away."

Suzhou Prefecture has not yet learned about the situation in Huai'an, but Fengyang Prefecture is different. Ever since the Tartar army marched south, Cao Bianjiao and others have been extremely anxious and want to immediately support the army to fight against the Tartars. What Cao Bianjiao cannot understand is why Marshal Hong was actually retreating step by step in the face of the Tartars and had no intention of fighting head-on?

Hong Shuai, what are you doing, Hong Shuai, why are you just watching!

The Tartar army continued to march southward, and Cao Bianjiao was like the anxious king. He had to be anxious now. Hurry up, hurry up and give me the order to go to support. I am so anxious, I am so anxious! Hum! Hum ah ah ah ah ah ah!!

However, the imperial decree that had no response told him again and again that they knew he was anxious, but he should not be anxious, as there would be no imperial decree and he should just do it himself.

In desperation, Cao Bianjiao could only vent his anger on the bandits remaining in Fengyang. The bandits in Fengyang and other places were in bad luck. It would be difficult for them to have a good death in the hands of the current King Jiji, Cao Bianjiao.

Cao Bianjiao was a stubborn person. If others had seen the Tartars almost reaching Nanzhili without receiving the imperial order for reinforcements, they would have known what had happened. But he was different. He was a stubborn person who dared to fight but was stubborn. He always believed that the imperial order would come.

So, while he was waiting for the imperial order to arrive, he was also collecting information from the Tartars in the north.

Although he could only get some information about the movements of the Tartars, it was enough for Cao Bianjiao, and the situation in Huai'an was now on his desk.

"You mean, there is a group of troops fighting with the Tartars in Huai'an, rescuing the people, and they call themselves the Volunteer Army?"

"Yes, General. I learned this from the local people in Huai'an. It has been confirmed many times and is very reliable."

"Volunteer Army...isn't that the name of the troops under that thief Jiang?"

A deputy general remembered the affiliation of the Volunteer Army. When they were marching south, they had heard more than once that their general was worried about the big thief entrenched in Yangzhou. For this reason, the entire army naturally tried their best to collect intelligence on the other side. The name of the Volunteer Army was investigated during this period of time.

"I heard that these volunteers were very active, and they had more than a hundred clashes with the Tartars, both large and small, and they actively rescued the people. The people in Huai'an praised them highly..."

"Okay, that's enough, no need to continue."

Rubbing his forehead, Cao Bianjiao felt a real headache.

"What's going on? This Jiang Han is a thief. He is actually fighting against the Tartars and helping the people? This is simply... This is simply..."

The adjutant was at a loss for words. He had never seen such a strange situation before. A bandit leader was actually there resisting foreign enemies and rescuing the people. Aren't these bandits committing all kinds of evil, including burning, killing, looting and committing all kinds of atrocities?

“It’s tricky…”

Cao Bianjiao sighed: "This Jiang Han is completely different from other great thieves in the past. This person has long-term goals and meticulous plans. This action is an open conspiracy."

"In the face of foreign enemies, we should unite against the enemy and help the people. This is also in accordance with heaven. Every action is extremely correct. How can we stop it? If we take action in this foreign land, we will be despised by others. If we stop helping the people, we will lose the support of the people. This person is completely different from those bastards. His goal is to fight for the world."

You know that his actions will surely win the support of the people and be extremely detrimental to the Ming Dynasty, but what can you do? You have no law. If you take action against him, you will naturally stand on the moral opposite. With the enemy at hand, you are fighting among your own people? If you really do this, I'm afraid Jiang Han will wake up laughing in his bed. If you can kill him in one fell swoop, it's fine. If you can't win, then you and the Ming Dynasty will become the laughing stock of the world!

But in fact, according to his inner thoughts, Cao Bianjiao had a hint of approval for Jiang Han's behavior this time. After all, Jiang Han did what he had always wanted to do in his heart, resisting foreign enemies and helping the weak. What is the meaning of a military general?

The meaning of a military general is to protect.

Guarding peace, guarding the people, guarding everything that requires peace, but now, I can only be trapped here, unable to move forward.

When will the imperial decree arrive?

At this time, Jiang Han, who was being talked about by them, was not in a good mood.

"Is it really necessary to do this? I think our battle plan can be optimized. The Volunteer Army is currently suffering too many casualties!"

He had some opinions on the current battle plan. There was no other reason. It was the first time that the volunteers faced such a high-intensity battlefield. And unlike the last time against the Ming army, they were protected by bastions. This time they were fighting completely in the wild. As the war continued, the Qing army's countermeasures were constantly changing.

Today's wild boar skins have a strong fighting capacity, because they are desperate. Liaodong should have been a prosperous land, but now it is bitterly cold. During the Little Ice Age, the average temperature in Liaodong in winter can reach more than minus 40! This is a temperature that will freeze people to death if they go out. The people in this land have no way to produce, so they can only constantly improve their fighting ability to plunder.

So at this moment, the wild boar skins are the strongest, because they have nothing but the bows and arrows in their hands and the horses under their crotches.

How could the Ming army, which was wearing shoes, be able to win against the barefoot army? The wild boar skins now were desperate to improve their combat effectiveness. They would absorb external knowledge like a sponge to arm themselves. If others had cannons, they would steal information and build them themselves. If others had muskets, they would sell everything they had to make them. They had to maintain their high military strength to survive.

Therefore, after facing the initial disadvantage of the Volunteer Army's musket tactics, they quickly adjusted their combat methods and began to transform into large-scale group combat. A team of Volunteer Army soldiers would often find during the battle that the enemy's reinforcements far exceeded their own. The two sides clashed back and forth, and each suffered casualties. This was also the highest casualties since the establishment of the Volunteer Army.

"A plan is necessary. If we want to attract the enemy's army here, Ajige must die. The enemy is very cautious. Even so, their army's advance speed has not increased much. If we want to kill him, we must ensure that he has absolutely no way to escape."

As a tactical master, Parosa is sure about this battle plan. It is indeed the best solution for them at the moment.

It's OK to use a humanoid with high combat power to attack directly, but the other party is not a fool. He knows you are powerful. Can I not fight you? I will just take a detour. It's robbery anyway. Whoever I rob is not the same? Can you chase me forever?

Moreover, once the human form is exposed to the other party, the information of himself and others will be placed in front of the Qing army. Under such circumstances, Yangzhou will become the focus of the Qing Dynasty's close surveillance, and his plan to march north will inevitably be discovered. In this case, the rear of the Qing army will definitely be on guard, and the effectiveness of the Northern Expedition will be greatly reduced.

"But... even if we can insert some iron blood into the army, it would be good to minimize casualties..."

They were all young people trained by him. Jiang Han felt very sorry for them. So many people walked out of Yangzhou with vigor and smiles, but in the blink of an eye, only a corpse was left when they came back. He really couldn't bear it.

"War means death. War is not a dinner party. There is no room for human feelings. The army cannot be merciful. If you want to defeat your enemy, you must be more brutal, greedy, and fierce than him! Only iron and fire can produce the winner of the war! If they continue to live under your protection, then they will only be babies in swaddling clothes all their lives, not warriors!"