Tianxiong's army was small in number after all, and they were already surrounded after the war started.
The front was fine. With the support of the carriages and carriages, the musketeers were still able to fight back and forth with the Qing army. However, the two wings were under tremendous pressure and were holding on desperately.
You never know when a flaw will be revealed.
Once he is caught by the Qing cavalry and breaks in, the Tianxiong army will be annihilated.
Lu Xiangsheng took out his magic weapon.
"Push the cannon up."
After receiving the order, the central army separated to the left and right, and dozens of bronze cannons revealed their true appearance.
Sun Chengzong was extremely surprised when he saw the bronze cannon.
"This cannon was also bought from Shandong?"
Lu Xiangsheng nodded heavily.
"When I was in Fengyang, I relied on this artillery to defeat Gao Yingxiang and save Zhongdu."
Sun Chengzong couldn't help but take a few steps closer, wanting to take a closer look at the bronze cannon.
In his eyes, the bronze cannon looked very delicate, far less heavy than the red cannon and the Franco machine.
Moreover, the barrel is sparkling and polished very smoothly. Unlike the artillery originally used by the Ming army, it looks dark and has uneven surfaces.
Only four soldiers are needed to push a cannon and move it, and they can also adjust the direction of the muzzle.
Sun Chengzong was shocked when he saw artillery being set up not far in front of the Chinese army's formation.
"How far can this cannon reach?"
Lu Xiangsheng stared at his artillery position, his eyes filled with deep love.
"If this cannon is not fired, it will be nothing. If it is fired, it will be damaged three or four miles. It is difficult to hit the target, and it is very accurate."
While he was talking, the artillery began the first round of bombardment.
According to Lu Xiangsheng's order, the first wave of shelling was aimed at the Qing army's carriages.
At this time, there were less than thirty steps between the forward of the Qing army and the Tianxiong army.
He dared to bombard with artillery at such a close distance, which really shocked Sun Chengzong.
However, the artillery shells drew an arc in the air, carrying the roar of death, and accurately hit the Qing army's array. The Tianxiong army that was close at hand was not greatly affected.
Of more than twenty artillery shells, only seven hit the carriage.
But even so, the Qing army's carriage array was still largely blank.
The carriage was smashed to pieces by the artillery shells, and all the broken wood turned into reminders, sweeping away in all directions. Even the Tianxiong Army on the opposite side was affected, and several people were injured.
The Qing army originally used the carriage as a support, and the soldiers hid behind it, but now they were all in trouble.
The carriage was very effective in resisting musketry, but it was like paper against heavy artillery shells.
The artillery shells smashed the carts, and without losing momentum, they crashed into the infantry. They rolled wildly along the way, breaking bones and tendons in everything they touched, next to, or bumped into, and they died on the spot.
Amidst the billowing dust and smoke, there were countless dead and wounded.
This incident made Hauge horrified.
"Damn it, these Ming troops actually have artillery."
He originally wanted to rely on the strength of his numbers to wipe out this Ming army, in order to demonstrate his martial arts.
But not anymore.
The artillery in the Ming army's formation was beyond his expectation and caused heavy damage to the Qing army.
Hauge's troops all marched lightly and could not even attack a slightly larger city. Naturally, they had no power to resist the artillery.
The Ming army had this magical weapon and was obviously invincible.
Fan Ji was also quite surprised by the performance of the Ming army, but just like the muskets, the Qing army had seen this kind of artillery before, so he naturally knew how powerful it was.
Just as he was about to speak, Hauge had already made up his mind.
"Order all troops to stop fighting and retreat slowly."
After hearing Hauge's order, Fan Ji let out a sigh of relief and looked at his master with admiration.
He was afraid that Hauge had a stubborn temper and wanted to perform meritoriously, which would cause huge damage to the Qing army.
Little did he know that Haug had a keen sense of smell like a beast.
When the enemy in front of you is strong, the beast will never forcefully attack you.
How could Hauge not know that once the battle continued and the army's losses were too large, exceeding the gains from the looting, he would have no way to explain to Huang Taiji when he returned.
Since the gains outweigh the losses, then just don't fight.
After receiving the general's order, all units of the Qing army immediately stopped their offensive, covered each other, and retreated into the distance.
Seeing that the Qing army retreated, the Ming army cheered and wanted to take advantage of the victory and pursue it.
Lu Xiangsheng hurriedly ordered all the troops to stabilize their formation and not to be scattered.
Seeing how calm he was, Sun Chengzong admired him very much.
"The Donglu retreated without chaos, which is obviously not without the strength to fight. The surrounding terrain is open, which is most suitable for cavalry to gallop. If our army pursues blindly and the formation cannot take care of each other, I am afraid that the Donglu will be divided and annihilated."
Two capable ministers, one old and one young, obviously have the same idea.
"I just regret that I don't have enough troops. If there are another ten thousand troops, how can we allow the Donglu to retreat calmly?"
Knowing that this group of Ming troops had artillery and were fighting steadily, Hauge was not reluctant to fight at all. He didn't even want to give up Baoding, and retreated north along the original road with the looted population and wealth.
Lu Xiangsheng saved the situation, but that was all.
He led his troops to follow the Qing army, always looking for fighters.
However, the Qing army was well deployed and did not give him a chance at all.
Along the way, he saw villages, towns and countryside destroyed by the Qing army, innocent people's families were destroyed, women were humiliated, and children were disemboweled and left to dry in the sun. Lu Xiangsheng almost went crazy and almost wanted to fight to the death with the Qing army.
If it weren't for the mature and prudent Sun Chengzong who kept comforting him, he might really be angry and raise troops to find an opportunity for the Qing army.
"My generation has read the books of saints, bathed in enlightenment, cultivated oneself, taken care of the family, and brought peace to the world. We only hope that the country will be peaceful and the people are safe. Now we can only sit back and watch the Eastern Barbarians wreak havoc, with no way to do anything. How can we stand between heaven and earth?"
Sun Chengzong was even more miserable than him.
"The situation is becoming increasingly difficult, and it is far beyond what Jiandou can do alone. We can only do our best, obey fate, and wait for the situation to change."
The two of them were filled with grief and anger here, but the court was already celebrating.
Chongzhen was ecstatic when he learned that Lu Xiangsheng sent troops to repel the Qing army, saved Baoding, and drove the Qing army all the way to the border.
"In the past, there was Sun Chuanting's ingenious plan to capture the bandit chieftain, and in the later, Lu Xiangsheng bravely retreated from the Eastern captives. With these two people, the Ming Dynasty will be able to turn the crisis into peace."
Seeing that Chongzhen was happy, Wang Chengen felt that his body and bones relaxed a lot.
When I stayed with Chongzhen these days, all I heard was bad news. It was obvious to the naked eye that the emperor was on the verge of collapse.
As a result, two great pieces of good news came one after another. Seeing that the situation had improved, Chongzhen almost knelt down in front of his ancestors and cried out his grievances.
"Where is Lu Xiangsheng? How long will it take to destroy Donglu?"
Wang Chengen was dumbfounded when he heard Chongzhen's question.
Lu Xiangsheng's memorial made it very clear that he had only repelled the Qing army and could not find a fighter plane, so his own strength was not enough.
Under such circumstances, it is good to be able to maintain the status quo.
This emperor actually wants Lu Xiangsheng to do something that is simply impossible...
