In their long-term wandering career, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai's retreat was of course very methodical. Zhang Xianzhong had already placed Henan's fifth and sixth teams at the back of the team. The fifth and sixth teams of Henan were both
The "carefully" selected weaklings, and even some strong women were mixed among them. Zhang Xianzhong was prepared to let these cannon fodder stand in the way once the situation changed, stopping the Runing army from pursuing.
Of course, some superficial work still needs to be done. Although Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai have called some of Li Dingguo and Yang Chengzu's cavalry back to their base camp, they still arranged for two thousand cavalry to break up the rear and give the cannon fodder a sense of protection.
sense of security.
It takes time for the Runing Army to line up, and it also takes time for the Runing Army's cavalry to bypass the flesh-and-blood Shura field in front of the formation. Therefore, after the Runing Army's cavalry formed a charging formation under Li Sanhe's order, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai
The army has withdrawn to a distance of more than three miles.
As soon as he saw the cavalry of the Runing Army starting to form a formation, Xue Yongli knew something was wrong. "Fuck!" Xue Yongli immediately spit out curse words. The cavalry of the Runing Army were all trained by Xue Yongli.
, Xue Yongli knew what they wanted to do. The formation of these stupid young men fighting to the death was too obvious.
However, it was impossible to correct the behavior of his cavalry at this time, so Xue Yongli immediately ordered: "Pay attention! When the cavalry begins to charge, the square formation quickly follows up to protect the cavalry. The artillery regiment returns to the car formation.
The whole swarm of the firearms battalion accompanied the phalanx action."
In a chaotic battle, the accidental damage caused by artillery will be very large, so it is not used for the time being. However, the dense peasant rebel army is a good occasion to use swarm of bees. Besides, swarm of bees and artillery cannot be used together.
Otherwise, after a swarm of gunpowder burns and threatens the gunpowder around the artillery, it would be too dangerous for the artillery.
And since your cavalry is going to fight tooth and nail, then let's just let the entire Runing army fight to the death. It's better to burn the cauldron than to look forward and backward at this time.
Xue Yongli's order excited everyone in the Runing Army. To be honest, the blow just now really shocked the Runing Army. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath in their stomachs, feeling an indescribable discomfort.
.
After fighting in the north and south for so long, the Runing army has not yet suffered a defeat. Now it has suffered a loss at the hands of the peasant rebels, who were quite despised by them. Why doesn't this make them feel like they have regained their ground? So after hearing Xue
As soon as Yongli issued the order, everyone in the Runing Army was energized and wanted to show off their power and let the peasant rebels take a look at the style of the Runing Army.
When the cavalry of the Runing Army began to form formation, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai also saw that something was wrong. They did not expect that the officers and soldiers on the opposite side would really go all out. Because until now, the peasant rebel army had fought against all the officers and soldiers.
There is always room for leeway. Of course, the peasant rebels want to survive. And the military attachés of the government army are not willing to suffer serious losses to their troops. Therefore, although the battle lasts for a long time, there are very few real life-and-death battles.
Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai couldn't help but flinch a little when they saw the fangs of Runing's army exposed. But no matter what, those cavalrymen who had been cut off from the rear had to be preserved. That was how Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai managed to survive in these troubled times.
Ben.
Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai unanimously ordered: "Hurry up and let the cavalry avoid it, and let Henan Team 5 and Team 6 rush over."
But it was too late. At this time, the cavalry of the Runing Army had already walked quickly to a place close to the peasant rebel army. Moreover, the cavalry of the Runing Army were quite desperate. They had already formed a death array in the front row. The horses were tightly packed.
Then, at a command, the sprint started.
When they saw the posture of the Runing Army cavalry, Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai's expressions changed. Just as they were about to issue an order, suddenly several spies from the peasant rebel army came galloping from a distance. They had no time to dismount and faced Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai.
He shouted: "Two great kings, there are officers and soldiers coming over there again. They are only about twenty miles away from us, and there are thousands of them."
The Guide Army led by Xue Yong arrived.
Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai were immediately horrified. They cleverly guessed that the Runing Army was going to entangle them here, and then officers and soldiers from various places would arrive one after another to completely annihilate them here.
"Quickly send more spies in other directions to see if any other officers and soldiers have arrived!" Zhang Xianzhong immediately ordered, "Let the fifth and sixth regiments of Henan stay and rush to the officers' dogs. Let's go first! Let the cavalry behind them hurry up as well.
Let’s go!”
Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai ran away very quickly. Soon they left with the elite of their camp. The peasant rebels who stayed behind immediately burst out in an uproar. Why did they stay to stop them? The leaders had already fled. Could it be that they themselves
Stay and die!
The entire peasant rebel army group suddenly collapsed and fled in all directions. A small part of the peasant rebel army cavalry behind them fled from both sides of the group first, but the remaining ones were blocked by the scattered crowds, making it impossible to run away.
Can't run.
…
There is no need to describe the subsequent battle. Whether it was a beating or a one-sided attack, it was a one-sided massacre. By the time the Guided Army arrived, the battle had come to an end. However, this made the peasant rebels even more confused.
.
However, Xue Yongli did not dare to be careless at this time. After dividing the peasant rebel army into a large area and surrounding it, he stopped as soon as possible and ended the battle.
Then, after the three armies joined forces, Xue Yongli immediately ordered the entire army to quickly evacuate with prisoners and captures, and sent a large number of reconnaissance cavalry in all directions to prevent the peasant rebels from approaching again.
Xue Yongli knew that the peasant rebel army could number hundreds of thousands (by this time it had swelled to 40,000 to 500,000 people. The Runing Army had defeated and dispersed at most 100,000 people. However, when the peasant rebel army raised its arms, these cannon fodder quickly
will gather together), if such a battle happens again, some of the Runing army will not be able to bear it.
You must know that this attack by the Runing Army has caused about 720 casualties. This is all the property that Wu Shigong and other senior officials of the Runing Army have worked hard to save. They are not willing to contribute to the Ming Empire again.
What sacrifices were made?
After Zhang Xianzhong and Luo Rucai escaped, they also sent a large number of spies in the direction of the Runing army to prevent the Runing army from taking advantage of the victory to pursue them, and also to prevent other Ming armies from adding insult to injury. Therefore, the two armies quickly broke away from contact.
.
What makes people feel a little ridiculous is that the 20,000 unsupervised prisoners are like domestic rabbits, obediently staying in the area designated by the Runing Army, not daring to move, just waiting for you.
Ning Jun took them with him again.
After quickly retreating for about fifty miles and receiving news from the scout cavalry that the peasant rebel army was not pursuing them, the Runing army returned to normal and began to fortify the walls and clear the fields, transport away property, and forcibly take away the local people.
On December 26, the Runing Army returned to the starting point - Yexian County with the capture and prisoners. Since the area where this battle took place was basically in Ruzhou, it was officially called the Great Victory of Ruzhou.
In this battle, the Runing Army captured a total of more than 6,100 heads of peasant rebels, captured and forcibly captured more than 47,000 civilians, and seized a measurable value of more than 30,000 taels of property, which is difficult to count.
There are countless cans.
In addition, a large number of farm tools and a small number of weapons were also seized. Because the route was blocked by the routed crowds, the surrounded cavalry of the Peasant Rebel Army surrendered to the Runing Army. Therefore, more than 900 horses were also seized.
and more than a hundred mules and donkeys.
Looking at such a glorious result, the highest civil servant in Ye County, the county magistrate Niu Wenqing, was dumbfounded. However, after being stunned, he immediately became elated, and then used his wonderful pen to write a report with great literary talent.
Runing's army was also carrying people in sedan chairs, and it also gave Niu Wenqing a strategizing role. When he saw the mine supervisor Ye Zhong also joined in, he simply made a mention of Ye Zhong in the report. So everyone in Ye County can be said to be
Everyone is happy.
The military merits of the Runing Army were not only given to these people, but the name of the nominal commander of the Returned Army, Zhao Ming, was also listed in the memorial.
When this report was sent to Xuanmo, the governor of Henan, Xuanmo immediately swept away his decline. He also received the support of Zuo Liangyu's tribe who had crossed the Yellow River, so he immediately counted 22,000 troops and marched towards the peasant rebel army.
He went to kill him in the opposite direction and wanted to beat up the drowned dog.
After this report was sent to the court, Emperor Chongzhen and all the ministers were overjoyed. They immediately decided to reward the military attaches who had made great contributions to the victory in Ruzhou.
Then, a ridiculous scene happened. Because of Wu Shigong's absence and because the Runing army wanted to hide its strength, the people reported to command the battle were: Li Lu of Nanyang Guards, Zhao Ming of Guide Guards, and General Qian of Runing Army.
Xue Yongli and Runing Qianhu Qiaosong.
Therefore, the Ming Dynasty court followed the general practice and promoted the highest-ranking Li Lu as the first meritorious service, and directly promoted him to guerrilla (the official title of Gui Dewei Commander Zhao Ming was the highest, but Li Lu was a military attache, so his position here is
The highest). So a new star of the Ming Dynasty rose up.
As for Zhao Ming, the commander of Guidewei, when he heard that the Runing Army was claiming credit for him, he immediately claimed to the outside world that he was "heavily injured during the battle and found it difficult to walk." He pretended to be ill and stayed at home.
Then Zhao Ming prepared a generous gift and sent it to Wu Shigong, asking Wu Shigong not to expose his peep show. Because Zhao Ming is a mature man. He knows that this credit is very hot! As long as he continues, he will be the best in the future.
Drag your old bones to fight on the battlefield.
Zhao Ming knew how much he weighed, so he preferred not to take the credit and hold his concubine at home peacefully. Therefore, the credit given to Zhao Ming by the Runing Army turned out to be a good intention but a bad thing.
So the imperial court was still discussing how to reward Zhao Ming. At this time, other reports about the great victory in Ruzhou were also submitted. What stunned Emperor Chongzhen and the court officials was that the Runing army had been attacked.
There was a sound of impeachment. (To be continued...