According to the original march route, Chongzhen will lead the new army to Huangmei County in Huangzhou Prefecture via Susong County, and then go straight to Huanggang to join Zheng Hongkui's navy.
The navy also has a batch of equipment for the new army.
However, as soon as the army arrived at Fengxiangyi, a fast horse came to report.
Bandits from the Dabie Mountains came down in large numbers and surrounded Ying County.
Chongzhen almost laughed out loud when he heard the news. This is really hard to find, and it took no effort to get it. I didn't know where to find you, but you brought it to your door yourself.
The Dabie Mountain area has high mountains and dense forests, and bandits have been rampant since ancient times.
Especially after Zhang Xianzhong and Li Zicheng crossed the border, many old thieves stayed in the Dabie Mountains and joined forces with the various bandits in the mountains. From then on, it became more difficult to stop them.
In addition, after the Jiashen National Disaster, the imperial court's control over local areas was greatly weakened. Mountainous areas like the Dabie Mountains almost became a paradise for bandits. In addition to controlling the county towns, local officials almost completely gave up control of the vast rural areas and only
It can be allowed to be plundered by all kinds of bandits and bandits.
Two years ago, Chongzhen led the scholar battalion into Shanbie Mountain. Firstly, he wanted to train the scholars' hard-working spirit, and secondly, he wanted to train his troops under the pretense of suppressing bandits. Unfortunately, these bandits were very cunning and had been transferred early.
Elsewhere, Shiziying broke into more than a dozen cottages but failed to catch a group of bandits or bandits.
In the end, I had no choice but to use Zuo Liangyu's army to practice courage.
However, by mistake, the new army actually ran into it this time.
At that moment, Chongzhen led the new army to change its route to Yingshan, and at the same time ordered the cavalry battalion and Yiding to follow up on both wings.
After finally seizing such an opportunity, we naturally wanted to kill all the bandits in the Dabie Mountains, so we had to send cavalry to outflank them from both sides and form a siege.
By noon the next day, Chongzhen led the new army to the eastern suburbs of Yingshan County.
I saw that the bandits had already received the news and had set up their formation. Except for a small number of bandits who were left to continue to frighten the county seat, most of the bandits formed a huge horizontal formation with the county seat on their backs.
This was somewhat beyond Chongzhen's expectations.
Chongzhen originally thought that the bandits would flee in advance after learning about the arrival of the army.
In this case, we have to rely on the cavalry to outflank both wings, intercept the bandits, and then hand them over to the new army for training.
However, they never expected that the bandits did not escape, but uncharacteristically formed a position to face the enemy. This was a once-in-a-lifetime training opportunity for the new army.
In fact, the bandits on the opposite side mistook the new army for the Luzhou Prefecture's garrison army.
Fengyang Governor Ma Shiying once mobilized the guard troops from Fengyang Prefecture, Luzhou Prefecture and Anqing Prefecture to go into the mountains to suppress the bandits. In the end, they were defeated by the bandits, so the bandits were not afraid of the guard troops at all.
Because the new army wore bright red cloth armor and had become dirty due to long marches, they looked no different from the bright red mandarin duck war coats of the guard army.
Moreover, the new army only has less than 3,000 people, so the bandits are even more emboldened.
Seeing this, Chongzhen smiled and said: "It's interesting. I'm afraid there must be tens of thousands of people in front of you?"
"Don't say seven or eight thousand." Yan Yingyuan said, "There are thousands of old bandits in armor."
"So many bandits." Gao Qiqian said, "Are all the bandits in the entire Dabie Mountains here?"
"It's probably close." Wang Cheng'en said, "Last winter, there were several heavy snowfalls in the first month of the year. These bandits probably couldn't find anything to eat, so they joined forces to capture a county town to survive.
"
"This is better." Chongzhen said with a smile, "If all of them are wiped out, the Dabie Mountains will stop, and the people in the mountains can live a peaceful life."
Then he said to Xu Yingwei and Yan Yingyuan: "Line formation, three-stage attack."
"Yes!" Xu Yingyuan and Yan Yingyuan immediately ran to the front of the new army formation and waved their sabers twice.
If tens of thousands of troops are fighting in formation, they must be commanded through command flags, otherwise they cannot be seen clearly from a distance. However, for a battle formation of less than 3,000 people, commanding with a sword is the same.
The eight soldiers who received the order quickly reorganized the infantry formation of their own general. Xu Yingyuan and Yan Yingyuan also quickly reorganized the formations of Laodong General and Jiangyin General.
All ten were arranged in a line array with three rows in front and back.
Xu Yingwei and the two continued to swing their swords, and the ten groups began to move, one after another, and finally formed a standard line array with three rows in front and back, each with 900 people in each row.
This is not difficult at all, and the new army has been practicing it for nearly half a year.
Xu Yingwei and Xu Yingwei waved their sabers again and shouted at the same time: "Everyone, bayonet!"
The 2,700 new troops took off their sleeve bayonets from their waists and jammed the barrels of their guns with force.
The sleeve bayonet was made by Zhang Da Quan Scissors Shop according to the style designed by Chongzhen.
Because the size of the sleeve bayonet was standardized, the cost increased to five cents.
The price is really not cheap. You can buy five waist knives for the price of one barrel bayonet.
When the New Army soldiers fixed their bayonets, Xu Yingwei and Yan Yingyuan waved their swords again and shouted: "Load flint, load bullets!"
The recruits took out flints from the leather bags at their waists, put them on the triggers, turned the nuts to lock them, and then took out a paper shell bullet from the bullet bag and started loading bullets.
Soon, everything was loaded.
Compared with matchlock guns, flintlock guns, especially those equipped with paper shells, are easy to load.
During the march of the previous half month, the new army would stop from time to time to practice loading bullets, so they were extremely proficient in the whole process and could complete it with their eyes closed.
"Forward!" Along with the roars of Xu Yingwei and Yan Yingyuan, the war drums sounded.
Amidst the sound of war drums in Dongdongdong, 2,700 new troops began to advance in uniform steps.
Xu Wuniu held the flintlock gun in front of his chest with both hands and marched forward according to the beat of the drum. The whole process was very familiar. He had trained in Laodong's hometown for three months and this was what he had practiced.
While walking forward, Xu Wuniu looked forward.
All I could see on the gentle slope in front of me was that they were all bandits.
Seeing this, Xu Wuniu was inevitably a little scared. There were so many bandits, could they beat them?
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Xu Wuniu subconsciously looked around, but at this glance, he quickly regained his composure, because on his left was Xu Dahu, and on his right was Xu Yinglong.
They are all fellow countrymen.
Behind him are all his best friends who have been together since childhood.
Looking forward again, Xu Wuniu became calmer.
Because Xu Yingwei was walking at the front in the middle of the team.
Boss Xu is not afraid of such a high official, so what should we be afraid of?
So Xu Wuniu stared at Xu Yingwei closely, listened to the drumbeats with his ears, and just walked forward. If he walked too far forward, he would slow down slightly and always keep in line with the left and right.
The new army maintained its own rhythm and advanced unhurriedly.
The bandits on the opposite side lost their composure and began to provoke wildly.
Some were shouting, some were slapping wooden signs, and some were taking off their shirts and peeing.
However, these threats and provocations from the bandits did not have the slightest impact on the new army.
The new army was still just stepping on the drums and advancing unhurriedly, not very fast but always moving forward.
Finally, when the distance between the two sides came within two hundred steps, the bandits could no longer hold their composure. A tall and tall bandit leader roared angrily, and all the bandits rushed down like a tide.
Tens of thousands of bandits formed dozens of horizontal lines,
Like a tidal wave rushing down the gentle slope,
This visual effect should be said to be quite scary.
Xu Wuniu's heart rose again, and he felt fear again.
However, Xu Wuniu's feet still did not stop, his eyes were always staring at Xu Yingwei, and his ears were always listening to the continuous sound of war drums. All this has become a conditioned reflex.
However, this conditioned reflex does not come out of thin air.
But in exchange for many pairs of ears and several bloody heads.
When training in Laodong's hometown, Xu Yingwei had killed people.
During one training session, Xu Yingwei hired dozens of cows to charge their lines. Two fellow villagers turned around and ran away out of fear, and were beheaded as a result.
In another training session, Xu Yingwei led them towards a large red-hot fire.
Another fellow villager stopped by the fire because he was afraid and did not dare to move forward. He was also beheaded.
After several heads were chopped off, a fellow villager asked to quit, but was also beheaded without explanation.
After beheading him, Xu Yingwei told them with a livid face that once he was recruited into the army, he would be a soldier. Soldiers could only move forward without permission and were not allowed to retreat. Anyone who disobeyed the order would be executed!
Several heads fell to the ground, and Xu Wuniu and the others were paralyzed.
It was also from that moment that they understood the meaning of the word soldier.
It was also from that moment that they understood that the new performance book was more than just a book.
Therefore, even if there are ten times more bandits in front of them, they will still move forward.
Because if you retreat you will die, if you move forward you may still be alive, and if you win you can still get credit.
Ahead, thousands of bandits were rushing down one wave after another like a tidal wave.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two sides was less than a hundred steps. Clouds of white smoke suddenly rose from the front row of bandits. The bandits also had a small number of muskets, so they opened fire a hundred steps away.
Xu Yingwei and other scholars who were walking in front turned their heads and avoided their faces.
As long as you avoid the front face, the phoenix-winged helmet can provide good protection.
Xu Wuniu and other soldiers lowered their heads slightly, and the iron rim of the helmet was enough to protect their faces.
After a while, Xu Wuniu heard a popping sound in his ears. It should be that lead or iron sand hit the mountain armor of a scholar or the cloth armor of a soldier.
But not a single scholar or soldier fell.
A hundred paces away, a bird cannon is not powerful enough to penetrate the cloth armor.
"Hold on, keep moving forward!" Xu Yingwei raised his sword high and howled.
Xu Wuniu held a flintlock gun in both hands and stepped forward leisurely to the beat of the drum.
The bandits who were coming like a tide quickly entered fifty steps, and with the sound of Xiuxiu's scream, a wave of arrows flew through the air, but it was the bandits' homemade bows that shot out a row of arrows.
A moment later, Xu Wuniu heard another beeping sound.
Immediately, his hat-shaped helmet made a clanging sound, and he must have been hit by an arrow.
However, Xu Wuniu ignored it and continued to move forward leisurely to the beat of the drum.
