Chapter 358: Bloody Battle in Dagu
Li Rushe had already noticed something was wrong.
Through this castle, you can see the transport ships swaying on the coast and the carts transporting goods. The southeastern bandits are indeed moving things.
But at this time, he kept receiving military orders to bypass the strange bastion and attack the Southeast New Army on the coast.
This is not because Li Chengliang is reckless. The Daku Fort does not look very big, far from being comparable to the tall and majestic Great Wall outside the pass.
Not to mention Shanhaiguan, a world-famous pass, the Daku Fort is about the same size as an ordinary fort outside the pass.
When fighting outside the pass, bypassing the Wubao was also a normal cavalry tactic, but Li Rushe always felt that something was wrong with this bastion.
Thinking of the rumors that the southeastern army had elite firearms, Li Ruzhen calmed down. He summoned the tribesmen in the camp and said: "There is something wrong with
this fort. Let's go farther away."
Li Ruzhen was cautious. Most of the Jurchen cavalry saw the bastion. Just avoiding the distance of a hundred steps, he bypassed the Dagu Bastion and rushed towards the ship on the seaside.
Because the effective shooting range of bows and arrows is a hundred steps, Li Chengliang's troops never fought against the Southeast New Army from the time they went south to the north.
Their impression of firearms is still the firearms issued by the Ming court.
Firearms did not work well in the north.
The Ming Dynasty also issued blunderbuss in the north, but the fuses lit by matchlocks made the soldiers targets for archers in the snow.
The harsh Northland weather makes firearms prone to malfunction.
The Ming court's discipline was not as good as that of firing cannons in turns, and the cannon players really had no power to fight back after being approached by the cavalry.
Therefore, in Li Chengliang's mind, his impression of firearms was still at the level of the firearms of the Ming Army. At most, the discipline of the New Army was stricter and the firearms were more powerful.
And the powerful weapons that Zhang Juzheng mentioned many times that can blast through city walls are not used in sword-to-edge combat. The southeastern rebel army can't blow up its own side as well, right?
In the minds of Li Ruzhen and other Jurchen riders, they also regarded bird gunners as archers. They subconsciously believed that as long as they could break into the bird gun formation, the new southeastern army would collapse.
With this idea in mind, a large number of Jurchen cavalry bypassed the bastion and came to the beach near the sea.
This bad muddy wetland made Li Rushen couldn't help cursing, but his riding skills were superb and he quickly stabilized his figure.
The bastion was like a silent giant. When the large group of Jurchen cavalry bypassed it, there was still no reaction.
Li Ruzhen was a little confused. If the southeastern thieves built such a castle, would there be no one to guard it? Shouldn't it?
Li Ruzhen was a somewhat calm Jurchen general. Most of the Jurchens were completely out of control when they saw the carts on the coast and the transport ships docked at the seaside ports.
These are all the treasures that the southeast bandit army snatched from the capital!
Just grab some and you'll make a fortune!
The Jurchen cavalry behind saw that the Daku Bastion did not fire or fire any artillery, so they simply walked around the bastion in order to rush to the seaside quickly.
Seeing a large number of his fellow tribesmen rushing forward, even the cautious Li Rushe could no longer restrain his tribe members. He waved his riding crop and charged towards the seaside on the muddy wetland.
Those who were pretending to carry goods on the beach were the Second Brigade who were pretending to retreat from Tianjin.
In the eyes of the Jurchen cavalry, it is a large vehicle transporting treasures. In fact, it is not a transport vehicle at all, but a special kind of chariot.
Just as a large number of Jurchen cavalry were charging along the seaside, Lin Liangjun immediately ordered: "Turn the chariots around!" The
soldiers immediately pushed the chariots. On the back of the rows of chariots were long wooden spurs. The surface of the car is also covered with a large amount of leather to withstand the mounted fire of cavalry archers.
These chariots were connected together to form a long line of defense on the beach wetlands, and the gunners of the second brigade hid in the gaps between the chariots, aiming at the charging Jurchen riders.
The sharp-eyed Li Rushe immediately reined in the horse and shouted in Jurchen language: "Ambush! Trap!"
However, the wetland was too muddy, and Li Rushe's riding skills could not control the horse. He only saw the horse flip over. Being thrown to the ground!
Like him, some soldiers fell off their horses due to the sudden stop, but those soldiers who rushed forward were not so lucky. They had no buffer time at all and were about to hit the sharp edges of the row of wooden carts. Stung!
Xiong Kuang is the commander of the fifth regiment of the second brigade. Because the fifth regiment is a team of the Ming Ting New Army reorganized from Nanjing, this is their first battle into the southeastern new army.
As the commander of the regiment, Xiong Kuang personally supervised the battle on the front line. He asked officers at all levels to repeatedly remind the soldiers:
"Steady your hands! Enter the shooting range before shooting!"
Li Wang, who had just been promoted to the company commander of the fifth regiment, repeatedly warned the soldiers in the company. The soldiers shouted: "Listen to my order! Shoot!"
Li Wang was at the protrusion of the Juma chariot defense line. His company took the lead in engaging the enemy and fired the first shot of this battle!
"Round fire! Round fire! Reload in the back row! Don't panic!"
Li Wang kept reminding him. The soldiers who fired the first shot immediately withdrew to the rear, and the soldiers in the second round immediately took up their positions and continued shooting.
At the beginning, the soldiers were still a little nervous and needed Li Wang to constantly maintain order.
But soon this kind of round-robin shooting became a mechanical action. The soldiers felt safe behind the horse-fighting chariots and did not need to worry about being hit by the enemy at all.
The only thing they have to do is to keep shooting, withdrawing, reloading, and shooting again, over and over again, just like weaving in a workshop.
The other companies were similar. Even Li Wang felt bored. At this point in the war, personal bravery had become meaningless. Discipline was all that an army had.
The Jurchen cavalry were immediately destroyed.
The worst thing was for the riders in the front row. They had no time to slow down and crashed directly into the Juma chariot, and were blown into "meat skewers" by wooden spikes.
If the rider behind wants to slow down, he will be shot directly into a sieve by the bird cannon.
On such a muddy road, the Jurchen cavalry who rushed forward had no room to turn. Knowing that there was a dead end ahead, they could only step over the corpses of their comrades and continue to rush forward to meet the next round of volleys of bird cannons.
The coastal defense line of the Second Brigade remained motionless. These tall and heavy chariots were blocked with wooden stakes and turned into a temporary Great Wall. The New Army soldiers hiding in the Great Wall only needed to pull the muskets. A trigger can take away the lives of a large number of soldiers.
Some Jurchen cavalry who were skilled with bows and horses finally stopped their charge. They took out their bows and arrows and shot at the chariot. As a result, all the bows and arrows were stuck in the leather of the chariot and could not penetrate the thick wooden boards.
The soldiers of the New Southeast Army could still continue to fire rounds from the firing ports and gaps in the tanks. The casualties of the Jurchen cavalry were increasing, and the bodies of men and horses were piled up on the seaside.
Li Ruzhen woke up from the coma after falling off his horse. When he woke up and looked at the battlefield again, he saw the bloody harvester on the coast, frantically harvesting the lives of Jurchen riders.
He looked around in fear and saw a member of his own race who was frightened out of his courage.
Li Ruzhen showed a fierce expression. He drew out his short sword and stabbed this fellow man to death. Then he snatched his horse and dashed towards the rear! We must escape from this hell!
Li Ruzhen ran away frantically to the rear, and Li Chengliang, who was behind, already knew the situation on the beach.
At this time, the Liaoyang cavalry of the Chinese army had also rushed to the vicinity of the Dagu Bastion, and the thousand elite soldiers led by Li Chengliang himself could also see the walls of the Dagu Fort.
If we retreat at this time, wouldn't all our previous efforts be wasted?
What if the enemy's line collapses after one more charge?
In fact, this is not Li Chengliang's greed, but the nature of commanding operations. When the amount of troops invested reaches a certain limit, the balance of victory and defeat will be reversed.
Li Chengliang originally looked down on these three thousand Jurchen cavalry. Most of these Jurchens did not wear armor. Maybe the Liaoyang cavalry could break through the enemy's formation?
Just when Li Chengliang was still weighing the decision, Daku Fort helped him make a choice.
The black cannon was loaded and pushed out of the gun room. It adjusted its angle and pointed it at the Liaoyang cavalry near the Dagu Bastion.
"Fire!"
As the artillery roared, many riders with superb riding skills were unable to control the frightened horses.
But if you can't control it, you can't control it. The rain of scattered projectiles quickly shot them into a sieve, including men and horses.
Those cavalrymen who wanted to take a shortcut and stick to the Daku Bastion had no time to react, and were all annihilated by artillery.
Those who were a little further away were not spared. They were hit by flying scattered projectiles, injured and fell off their horses. Mingting's ordinary cotton armor could not stop them at all!
ambush!
Li Chengliang now completely understood that this was not a hurried escape by the southeastern bandits at all, but a carefully laid trap!
Li Chengliang no longer hesitated, he immediately ordered the Liaoyang cavalry in front to withdraw! Don't get close to that weird castle.
And he himself took a thousand elite guards and ran back without looking back!
If the three thousand Jurchen cavalry are lost, they are lost. Anyway, there are too many Jurchens in the white mountains and black waters. Just go back and capture another group of people.
It is a pity to lose the Liaoyang cavalry, but they are also the troops and horses of the imperial court. As long as there are enough soldiers and horses, they can be rebuilt.
But these thousand personal guards must not be lost! These are the foundations for Li Chengliang to settle down and live his life!
As a military general, Li Chengliang knew that he could make Yang Bo be polite along the way and be able to withstand civil servants such as Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng because of the soldiers and horses in his hands.
If the troops and horses are gone, even if he wins the battle, Li Chengliang will not end well!
On the contrary, as long as the troops and horses of the headquarters are still there, even if the battle is defeated, we can make a comeback in the future!
Having made up his mind, Li Chengliang retreated back with his guards without looking back, but it was obvious that Su Ze was unwilling to let him leave so easily.
Lin Deyang, who had been ambushing in the flank fortifications, was in a depressed mood. He led his troops to dig hidden trenches on the flank of the battlefield, but the cavalry did not even take a detour and rushed directly to the seaside to die.
Then after working hard for so long, wouldn’t it mean that I have really become a native master?
But there is no cemetery beside Dagu that can be dug up!
Now the battle achievements all belong to Lin Liangjun's second brigade, while he has not made any achievements after digging for so long.
It's not that he didn't accomplish anything. According to the current military merit calculation standards, cover and flank operations are also considered meritorious service.
But I feel aggrieved!
The second and third brigades are really shouting! If they were defeated by the Second Brigade this time, I don’t know if the soldiers would even be able to hold their heads up!
However, Lin Deyang's frustration did not last long, and he finally received Su Ze's order: attack with the entire army, leaving Li Chengliang's personal cavalry behind!
Lin Deyang immediately issued a slogan: "Charge! Capture Li Chengliang alive!"
The soldiers of the third brigade, who had already held their breath, immediately rushed out of the trench with blunderbuss!
The artillerymen lifted the cover, hitched the six-pound land gun to the carriage, and drove the horses forward!
Lin Deyang hurriedly pursued and surrounded Li Chengliang's army. The second battalion led by Feng Shuo finally surrounded Li Chengliang's army.
"Form up!"
The soldiers of the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Brigade all lined up at the command of their respective officers, while the artillerymen raced against time to calculate the firing points and adjust the angle of the muzzle.
Li Chengliang was extremely angry when he saw such a group of soldiers rushing towards him from the flank. They didn't even have armor and dared to block his way!
The number of the second battalion is only 500, with a total of three musket companies and an artillery company.
A mere five hundred infantrymen dared to block thousands of cavalrymen. This southeastern bandit didn't regard himself as a human being!
Li Chengliang immediately ordered: "Stop! Form up and prepare to charge!"
These soldiers were worthy of being elites raised by Li Chengliang with high salaries, and they were able to quickly form formation under such circumstances.
The armor they wear is better than that of ordinary cavalry. It is not the blue cloth cotton armor of the Ming army, but carefully crafted half-length iron armor. This type of armor is extremely powerful when charging, and requires high-quality horses to carry it.
Feng Shuo also became nervous at this time. He had rushed too fast and his comrades behind him had not caught up. He had to hold off Li Chengliang's troops to buy time for other comrades in the third brigade.
Feng Shuo gritted his teeth and ordered: "Pass my military order, fight to the death!"
"Fight to the death!"
The gunmen have already formed up. This time it is a decisive battle in an open area, and there is no cover. The opponent is still half-armored. Elite, this is also a tough battle that the Southeast New Army has never fought before.
Feng Shuo personally picked up a blunderbuss. He stood behind the front row of artillery and personally directed the artillery.
"Hold on! You only have one chance to fire before the battle. You must wait until you are close before firing!"
All ten six-pound cannons were loaded with scattered ball shells, and the muzzles were aimed at the position of fifty steps. Li Chengliang's personal guards on the opposite side were already The charge began to accelerate.
Feng Shuo kept giving orders: "Fight to the death! Trust your comrades!"
The soldiers touched the muskets and looked at their comrades on both sides. They finally felt a little more at ease. These are all brothers from Paoze who eat and live together. Now they are It’s time to trust each other with our lives!
"Fight to the death!"
Feng Shuo raised his gun and shouted loudly: "First row, shoot!"
When the cavalry entered eighty steps, the gunmen in the first row had already fired, and the entire formation of gunmen began to roll. , row after row of soldiers began to shoot, reload, and shoot again.
Some cavalrymen had already begun to fall off their horses, but Li Chengliang's cavalrymen were also very elite. They did not care about their companions falling off their horses and continued to charge fiercely.
At fifty steps, Feng Shuo calculated the distance and shouted loudly: "Fire!"
Try writing about war, let's just make do with it. Fat Bird is really not good at writing about war, and it won't be too long. Please lighten up!
(End of chapter)