"So that's what happened." Chongzhen smiled and said, "I want to ask you a few questions."
"Your Majesty, just ask, I will answer truthfully." Niu Er nodded repeatedly.
"Who is the leader of Jiannu?"
"Dodo."
"How many troops are there to build slaves along this way?"
"This villain really doesn't know the exact number, but according to my estimate, there are at least 60,000 to 70,000 slaves, and there are at least 20,000 military followers."
"Where are the main slave builders now?"
"They should be heading towards Tongguan and Xi'an to hunt down the remaining bandits."
"How many Jiu slaves are left, and who is the leader of the army?"
"The eight-banner Han army with the red flag, the white flag, the blue flag and the blue flag left behind, totaling about 12,000 people, are led by the two thieves Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming."
"How many Hongyi cannons are there in total?"
"There are more than 180 red cannons in total."
"Yes, it seems you know quite a lot."
After smiling, Chongzhen suddenly asked: "How old are you, Niu Er?"
"Go back to the Holy Spirit, this villain is twenty-one this year." The smile on Niu Er's face became more flattering, and he continued, "The villain will definitely change his face and be a new person from now on."
"I'm afraid you have no chance." Chongzhen smiled.
"Ah?" Niu Er was stunned. What did the Holy Master mean by this?
Before Niu Er could come to his senses, Hu Guozhu had already stretched out his left hand to hold his head from behind, then held a dagger in his right hand and slashed his throat, then cut his neck open completely.
Hu Guozhu let go of his left hand again, and Niu Er fell to the ground and twitched.
"Full of lies." Hu Guozhu said with a snort, "He is twenty-one years old and has a ninety-year-old mother, but his mother only gave birth to him when he was sixty-nine? That's really a dead tree that springs back to life."
"But what he just said should be true." Chongzhen said.
"I think so too." Hu Guozhu nodded and said, "Duduo probably took away the Eight Banners Manchuria, the Eight Banners Mongolia and the accompanying troops, leaving only the four banners of the Eight Banners Han Army."
Jin Xuan said: "Even the Eight Banners Han Army will not be able to fight this battle."
"It's easy to fight." Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "If we attack from the front, it will definitely be difficult to fight. Our three thousand cavalry are not enough to fill the gap between the Hongyi cannons, but if we attack at night, then the Red Army of Jiannu will not be able to fight."
The barbarian cannons and muskets have become just decorations, while our catapults can be of great use."
"The Holy One really wants to attack at night." Jin Xuan was relieved after hearing this.
Chongzhen smiled and said: "Jin Qing, before dark, I asked you to remember the hills or highlands around the Jiannu camp, especially those within a hundred steps from the Jiannu camp. Have you remembered them all?"
"I remember them all." Jin Xuan nodded, "There are only two places in total."
"Two places are enough." Chongzhen said again, "Just do it like this."
Chongzhen explained it carefully, Jin Xuan nodded and said: "I understand."
Immediately, the Ming army quietly began to take action under the cover of night.
The sky was a bit dark, so it was inevitable that we could not see the road clearly and got bruises and bruises, but it was not a big problem. Compared with fighting on the battlefield, these were nothing.
But the first ones to take action were those who didn't take the night off.
The sources of Jin Xuan's three thousand cavalry are mainly the servants or private soldiers of the previous twenty-eight town commanders, with a small number of veterans from the frontier army added later. These night warriors are the elite of the three thousand cavalry. It can be said that
He is the best of the best, so the Ye Bushou of the Eight Banners Han Army opposite him is no match at all.
…
The unusual movements of the Ming army, which did not close up at night, were quickly reported to Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming.
When they received the news of their defeat, the two traitors were gathering together to smoke tampa.
They also learned how to smoke tampa wild rice from the Portuguese mercenaries, because Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and others found that after working hard all day, they sat down and smoked a bag of tampa wild rice, which actually relieved their fatigue, and they became addicted to smoking.
"What did you say?" Kong Youde frowned and said, "You sent out more than a dozen teams without collecting them at night and then two teams came back?"
"Well, just two teams will come back." Zhenghong Banner Han Army Gushan Ezhen Wu Shojin said with a grunt, "Your Majesty, according to the two teams that escaped back, this group of Ming Army cavalry is not simple, they are very powerful.
.”
"How powerful is it?" Geng Zhongming asked, "Can it compare with Baya Labing?"
"I'm sure I can't compare to Baya Labing." Wu Shojin said, "But compared to the three thousand barbarians trained by Zu Dashou, I'm afraid it's not much different."
"So powerful?" Geng Zhongming said with a concentrated expression.
"Then forget it." Kong Youde frowned and said, "I won't bother if I'm just trying to make ends meet."
"Yes, forget it." Geng Zhongming also said, "As long as we guard the surrounding camp fence and prevent the Ming army cavalry from rushing in, our mission is to safely deliver the Hongyi cannon and grain and grass baggage to Tongguan. As for this group
The Ming army cavalry is not easy to mess with, so let’s not mess with them until Prince Yu captures Tongguan before we turn back to deal with them."
Kong Youde ordered Wu Shojin again: "Wu Dutong, I'll work hard on you tonight."
Geng Zhongming then said: "Tomorrow night it will be our turn for the Han army to set up a white flag and keep vigil."
While he was talking, there was a sudden noise outside, as if something had happened.
"Go out and have a look." At that moment, Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and Wu Shojin raised the curtains and came out.
As soon as they left the tent, Kong Youde and the other three were surprised to find a fire burning in the southwest corner outside the military camp.
Moreover, this group of fire is very close to the camp, more than a hundred steps at most, but because there is a small hill in the middle, it is impossible to see what is happening on the other side.
Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming were hesitant.
I wanted to send troops to have a look, but I was worried about suffering a loss.
Because this group of Ming army cavalry is really hard to mess with.
Kong Youde suddenly felt regretful. If he had known earlier, he should have included this hilltop in their camp. Wouldn't it have prevented the current passive situation?
"That's useless." Geng Zhongming actually guessed what Kong Youde was thinking, shook his head and said, "This is not a plain, but a mountainous terrain. Within a few hundred miles, there are hills rising one after another, and they are only one or two meters apart.
A hundred steps away, we can't enclose all the hills in the military camp, right?"
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "That's true." Kong Youde said with a frown.
"Then what should we do now? Should we send a team to stay overnight..."
Before the last two words of "look" were uttered, a little bit of fire suddenly flew into the sky from behind the hilltop, and then drew streaks of light in the night sky, flying towards this side.
.
"Hey, this is it?" Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and all the Eight Banners Han troops were stunned.
After a long while, Geng Jimao, who had just arrived, was the first to shout: "Xiangyang Cannon!"
"Yes, the thief is a Xiangyang gun!" Kong Youde, Geng Zhongming and Wu Shojin also reacted.
Then he couldn't help but ridicule: "What dynasty is this? The Ming army actually still uses Xiangyang cannon? What use can such an outdated weapon have?"
…
On the top of another hill in the distance.
Chongzhen touched Zhu Cijiong's little head and said: "Jiong'er, please remember that weapons and equipment are not actually good or bad in an absolute sense. For example, for Jiannu, the Dashao bow is definitely better than the Lumi gun.
For the Mongols, the horn bow is more effective than the matchlock gun, but for me, the Ming Dynasty, firearms are the most efficient weapons."
"However, there are no absolutes. For example, now, catapults are more effective than cannons."
"So you have to remember that weapons and equipment are not inherently good or bad, but only whether they are suitable or not. As long as the weapons and equipment are suitable, they are good weapons and equipment."
"Yeah." Zhu Cijiong nodded seriously.
While the father and son were talking, thirty "incendiary bombs" had already landed in Jiannu's military camp.
These thirty "incendiary bombs" were not ordinary incendiary bombs, but earthen jars wrapped with straw ropes, and the straw ropes were also coated with grease, and gunpowder was sealed inside the earthen jars.
Grease-coated straw ropes will generate high temperatures when burned.
The high temperature will burn the earthen pot red and detonate the gunpowder.
Even if there is no time to heat the earthen pot red, it will break into pieces after falling to the ground, and the gunpowder explosion will still occur.
As a result, a gorgeous and magnificent scene appeared. Some of these thirty "incendiary bombs" exploded after landing, while others exploded in the air and turned into dazzling flames in an instant!
"I didn't expect that the catapult could be so lethal?"
Under the night sky, Zhu Cijiong's eyes exuded a light like black gems.
…
Before the "stone bullets" from the Xiangyang cannon fell, neither Kong Youde nor Geng Zhongming paid them any attention at all.
It was nothing more than dozens of large burning stone balls. Even if they landed in their military camp, the damage and killing they could cause would be extremely limited, at least incomparable to their red cannons.
Unless the Xiangyang cannon's stone bullets were hit directly, nothing would happen.
Except for the fire carried by the stone bullets, it would only cause a small commotion, so it would be fine.
However, when these burning "stone bullets" actually fell, they discovered that they had thought the problem too simply. The stone bullets fired by the Ming army's Xiangyang cannon were actually more powerful than they imagined.
Because, these stone bombs not only burn, but also explode!
More than a dozen "stone bullets" exploded directly in the air, transforming into a dozen dazzling fireballs, and more "stone bullets" hit the ground heavily, followed by violent deflagration, burning a piece instantly!
"This is not a stone bullet, it is a gunpowder can!" Wu Shoujin exclaimed, "Gunpowder can!"
"The gunpowder cans are still covered with grease!" Geng Jimao shouted immediately, "Look, after those stone bombs exploded, they splashed flames on the surrounding tents. The surrounding tents were already on fire. This must be
It’s just grease, the Ming army tied hemp ropes coated with grease outside the gunpowder cans!”
There was no need for Geng Jimao to remind him, Kong Youde and the others had all seen it.
In just a few moments, a fire broke out in the southwest corner of the military camp.
At least three tents have been devoured by fire, and more tents have been ignited. The Eight Banners and Han troops living in these tents have become a mess, like a group of headless flies.
