Chapter 1091 1086 [Eight Hundred Riders Charge into the Formation]
Seeing that the Dali soldiers retreated to their camp a few miles away shortly after noon, Yang Zaixing immediately sent his cavalry down the mountain to conduct reconnaissance.
Cao Xun came back soon and reported: "The enemy was very strange today. I took the cavalry to investigate, but they didn't stop them with all their strength. They just fired a few arrows and ran away in fear. It was like... well, it seemed like they let us go on purpose.
, let us know that the Dali soldiers are about to withdraw."
Li Shao said with a smile: "The enemy troops attacked the mountain stronghold with too many casualties and couldn't attack it. They wanted to lure us down the mountain to fight in the field."
"The enemy is really going to withdraw, or is it just a show of force?" Yang Zaixing asked.
Cao Xun replied: "I can see clearly with a telescope that the enemy's camps are being tidied up, and all the military tents are being tidied up."
Although Kunming has a mild climate, Yang Zaixing seems to be a little angry, and his lips have been chapped these days.
He unconsciously stuck out his tongue to lick it and thought about it without saying a word.
Suddenly, Yang Zaixing spoke: "Bi Jin is old and prudent, leading eight hundred regular soldiers and more than a thousand auxiliary soldiers to stay at the stronghold. If the enemy takes advantage of the situation and comes by boat from Dian Lake, he will immediately light up the smoke to send a signal. The remaining soldiers, come with me.
Try to pursue and see if you can find an opportunity to defeat the enemy."
As soon as these words came out, all the generals were shocked.
They only have 6,000 regular soldiers and more than 1,000 auxiliary soldiers, while the enemy has 40,000 to 50,000.
Under normal circumstances, holding on to the stronghold is a great achievement, but you actually have to split up your troops to pursue it?
Bi Jin dissuaded us: "General, the enemy is just trying to lure us down the mountain, so why do we have to sneak into the enemy's trap? Moreover, we must divide our troops to defend the mountain stronghold and protect the food and grass here. The troops capable of fighting will be even weaker."
Yang Zaixing waved his hand and said, "Otherwise, the enemy army has become frightened and their morale is extremely low. This can be seen from the last few attacks on the mountain. When the Dali soldiers heard the sound of firing muskets, they swarmed in fear regardless of whether anyone was hit.
Turn around and run away. Why are you afraid of such a weak soldier?"
"Also, despite the fact that there are tens of thousands of enemy troops, many of them are without armor. Those must be state and county soldiers (rural soldiers) recruited. They can't even line up in an orderly formation. The retreat of tens of thousands of people will inevitably cause chaos. We seize the opportunity
You can defeat the enemy with one strike!"
Cao Xun reminded: "The horses of the Dali cavalry are better than our horses."
"It's not much better. When the time comes, I will personally lead the cavalry in battle!" Yang Zaixing said.
Although there are ponies in all southwestern provinces, the top one must be the Dali horse.
The average shoulder height of the Dali horse is generally 5 cm higher than other southwestern horse breeds, and it has the advantages of other southwestern horse breeds.
After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, official horse farms were set up in southwestern Sichuan and the white areas of Guangxi to breed mountain war horses. However, little success was achieved in selecting horse breeds.
Northern war horses are not suitable for fighting in the southwest region, mainly due to terrain and climate problems - historically, the Mongols have been breeding horse breeds in the southwest, and they have not achieved much after hundreds of years of breeding.
Therefore, the cavalry horses under Yang Zaixing were mainly purchased from Dali, with a few from the Song clan tribute in Guizhou and official horse farms in southwestern Sichuan.
Will Dali sell its top war horses to Emperor Zhu?
Now the battle between the two sides has revealed that the Dali cavalry's horses are generally two or three centimeters higher at the shoulders than the Guangxi cavalry.
Moreover, the horse is faster.
Only the mounts of generals such as Yang Zaixing and Cao Xun are among the best horses in the southwest.
At this moment, Yang Zaixing was determined to pursue him, and Cao Xun, as a cavalry general, could not stop him. He was even a little eager to try, because he knew how capable Yang Zaixing was.
After watching Yang Zaixing lead his generals and soldiers down the mountain, Bi Jin, who stayed behind at the stronghold, had no choice but to quickly redeploy his defenses.
Bi Jin was a native of Yanzhou, Shandong, and historically belonged to Yue Fei's tribe.
But Bi Jin was able to leave his name in history mainly because he had a good son - Bi Zaiyu!
Bi Jin in this time and space has never seen Yue Fei.
He first followed Zhang Shuye to the capital to serve as king, then surrendered to the Ming army in a confused way, and then was reorganized in Kaifeng and transferred back to his hometown. Then he was assigned to Guan Sheng's subordinates and became a small school of the motley army, and then crossed the sea with Zhao Li to attack Liaodong.
After going around in circles for many years, Bi Jin had no stable backer and no decent military achievements. It was not until he was thrown to Guangxi that he was appreciated by Yang Zaixing.
Those who are good at fighting do not have great achievements. Bi Jin cannot be said to be good at fighting, but he is definitely good at defense.
Many generals under Yang Zaixing are lunatics who like to fight in vain.
Therefore, every time they wanted to go out to fight, they would definitely hand over their stronghold and food and fodder to Bi Jin to prevent their old nest from being raided by the enemy.
"Our army has insufficient strength, so the first and second stone walls have all been abandoned, and everyone has retreated to the last stone wall."
"Under the second stone wall, dig a trench immediately."
"There is definitely not enough time to dig a deep trench. Just make it full of holes so that the enemy cannot rush in at full speed when they attack."
"Take some of the rubble from the two outer stone walls and bring it back to make rolling stones."
"..."
Bi Jin arranged the defenses in an orderly manner, and Yang Zaixing had led thousands of troops down the mountain.
"No, the enemy general really dares to come?"
Gao Zhenshou was not happy when he heard the news. He was just trying to lure the enemy. He never thought that the Ming army would actually come down the mountain.
Although I have suffered heavy casualties in the past two days, I still have more than 47,000 soldiers. You have thousands of soldiers and horses in hand to defend the stronghold, but you still dare to go down the mountain to chase and fight?
You really don’t treat me as a human being!
At this time, the various ministries in Dali were retreating in an orderly manner, with elites arranged to alternately cover the route. The baggage troops had even withdrawn more than ten miles north.
Gao Zhenshou did not retreat after receiving the news. He called all the generals and said: "The enemy general is a fool. He has a stronghold and does not defend it, but he wants to fight with us on the ground. We just happened to annihilate them all!"
"Gao Zhenli."
"exist."
"You immediately ride to the northwest camp and lead the 6,000 soldiers and horses there. When we start fighting here, you take a boat and go around to the west of the stronghold to land ashore. Taking advantage of the enemy's empty strength, attack the mountain regardless of casualties."
"yes!"
"Gentlemen, we have the superior force on the front, and we have sent surprise troops to attack the enemy's lair. Once a fight breaks out, the enemy will definitely be defeated."
"The prime minister has a wonderful plan!"
After another discussion and arrangement, the generals went back to lead their troops to fight.
Yang Zhongyan looked confused and said in a low voice: "Brother, what are the Ming troops on the mountain doing? Their main force has almost reached Shanchan. He just needs to hold the stronghold by himself. When the time comes, we will look for opportunities to defect. This is obviously inevitable.
It’s a winning situation. Why did they risk going down the mountain to pursue us?”
Yang Zhongsu sighed: "The generals of the Ming army obviously don't take us seriously. Thousands of people are actively pursuing tens of thousands, and they still think they will win."
"I don't want to turn my back on people who look down on them like this." Yang Zhongyan was very angry.
Yang Zhongsu said: "Send someone to contact Zhang Zheng and ask him to find an opportunity to defect with us. Maybe we can make a big decision today..."
“Woooooooo~~~”
At this moment, the military bugle sounded.
A messenger rushed over and said to the generals who had not gone far: "Every unit quickly gathers the cavalry, the enemy cavalry is coming to kill them!"
"What?"
The Yang brothers looked at each other in shock.
He quickly rode over to see what was going on, and saw about 800 Ming army cavalry, leaving behind the Ming army infantry, heading towards tens of thousands of Dali troops.
"How dare they!" Yang Zhongsu said in horror.
The various units of the Dali Army had just stopped withdrawing and were still gathering in a panic but orderly manner.
The logistics troops cannot be recovered for the time being, but most of the soldiers are already moving closer to form formations.
If the Dali Army did not have a cavalry unit, Yang Zaixing's 800 cavalry would naturally have a chance to successfully attack. The problem is that the Dali Army not only had cavalry, but also had more cavalry than Guangxi's cavalry, and could quickly stop Yang Zaixing's 800 cavalry.
It is still very expensive to raise cavalry, and they are the treasures of the princes.
Therefore, when they withdrew, the cavalry also withdrew separately without handing over their treasures. However, the cavalry units were not far apart and could quickly assemble to defend against the enemy and prepare for any surprises during the withdrawal.
Yang Zhongyan flew back to lead the Yang cavalry. When he returned with the cavalry, the Gao cavalry had already engaged Yang Zaixing.
Both sides are light cavalry, so normally they should shoot arrows first.
However, they saw Yang Zaixing leading 800 cavalry to charge at an accelerated speed, and they were attacking in a conical formation with all their might.
Gao Zhenming, however, led the Gao cavalry and subconsciously dispersed into several teams, trying to distance themselves and shoot arrows on both sides.
When the two armies were dozens of steps apart, the Ming cavalry accelerated again.
Yang Zaixing even bent his bow and arrow at high speed, and shot a Gao cavalryman in the arm with one arrow.
When the Gao cavalry engaged in the battle, they saw the Ming cavalry speeding up and were so frightened that they were still twenty or thirty steps away. They shot arrows randomly and quickly got out of the way.
Ten to fifteen steps is the best shooting range for a mounted bow. After all, not everyone can shoot a strong bow.
The Guangxi cavalry all wear light mail armor, which still has some protection against arrows. A cavalry bow fired from twenty or thirty steps away will have no lethal effect on the Guangxi cavalry unless it knocks the horse over.
There were also some arrows shot from both sides.
The Guangxi cavalry felled more than twenty cavalry in one fell swoop.
However, they rushed over.
He passed through the Gao family's cavalry who ran to block him, and in front of him were two infantrymen who had already formed their formation.
Although the formation was completed, they were not close together and were fully thirty or forty meters apart.
Yang Zaixing led 800 cavalry to slow down and change formation, and suddenly split into two.
One group, led by him personally, passed directly between the two Dali armies. One group, led by Cao Xun, passed by the formation of one of the Dali armies.
The Guangxi cavalry arrived so quickly that all the enemy's expectations were exceeded, and the Dali archers did not even have time to move to the front row to shoot.
Instead, the Guangxi cavalry slowed down and fired arrows at the Dali infantry at close range, causing the two Dali troops to become slightly confused.
"Blow the trumpet and pursue the enemy!"
Gao Zhenming, who was frightened by this style of fighting, suddenly came to his senses, and ordered the cavalry to chase after him in shock and anger.
Passing through the two assembled Dali infantrymen, the enemy troops a hundred meters ahead were still gathering in panic. Yang Zaixing suddenly accelerated his horse and said, "Charge!"
The enemy general in that unit also had the surname Gao. He was Gao Zhenshou's uncle in terms of seniority, but he was only in his forties.
"Quickly form a formation to meet the enemy!" the Gao general shouted in horror.
But the soldiers under his command were even more frightened. Facing the hundreds of cavalry that surged forward, he was in a state of uneven formation, and one after another began to escape from the battle.
Until the Guangxi cavalry rushed within thirty steps, more and more people fled.
After rushing within twenty steps, even the Gao family general started to flee.
Then, the entire army fled.
Cao Xun led his army to attack from the side, and the Dali army collapsed completely.
Gao Zhenming was chasing Yang Zaixing when he suddenly heard the rumble of horse hooves coming from behind.
But the Guangxi infantry came riding on spare war horses and pack horses. Those pack horses were all Baise-colored horses, with an average shoulder height of only 1.5 meters.
"Where are the many cavalry coming from?"
Gao Zhenming was frightened and panicked. He blew the trumpet and ordered Gao's cavalry to stop chasing the enemy and gather back to block the enemy behind them, otherwise a larger number of Ming "cavalry" would rush in.
When Gao Zhenming returned with his cavalry to fight, he saw that the Ming "cavalry" had dismounted and formed formations.
There were even Ming "cavalry" who took down the Crouching Tiger Cannon from horseback, as well as baskets filled with gunpowder and gravel...
"Bang bang bang!"
Some soldiers of the Ming Dynasty who had just dismounted started firing cannons a hundred steps away.
"Dong dong dong dong dong!"
“Woooooooo~~~”
There were chaotic sounds of war drums and bugles coming from behind. Gao Zhenming turned around and saw that several units of his own infantry had been scattered, and countless broken troops blocked the Dali cavalry who had come to assemble.
Some of the Dali troops who were forming a formation and getting closer had no idea what was happening in front of them, and saw countless friendly troops breaking up and rushing towards them.
So they began to flee, and even the generals couldn't restrain them.
Zhang Zheng originally wanted to find an opportunity to defect and assemble his nearly 3,000 soldiers early, but he did not move closer to the main force of the Dali army, but silently waited for the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to Gao Zhenshou.
The idea was beautiful, but his troops collapsed!
Before he could change sides, three thousand soldiers fled on the spot.
Those soldiers did not know that there were only 800 enemy cavalry, nor did they know that there were friendly infantry and cavalry in front of them that had not been defeated. They only knew that many of their own routed troops were coming, and they must have suffered a great rout. If they wanted to save their lives, they had to escape faster than the friendly troops.
Faster.
They are all too familiar with running for their lives.
In recent years, when they encountered rebel barbarians, they often fought and fled.
Those who survived the escapes have all developed various special skills. These life-saving skills are even passed down from father to son and brother to brother in the Dali Army.
Therefore, some recruits who first entered the battlefield also knew when to run away, which was repeatedly warned by their fathers and brothers.
"Don't run, don't run, we are going to turn against you!" Zhang Zheng shouted, almost crying without tears.
Fear spreads like a virus, spreading from one to ten and then to a hundred. In the blink of an eye, more than ten Dali troops fled.
Gao Zhenshou was so anxious that he beat drums and blew trumpets, and constantly dispatched troops to restore the situation, but nothing could be done to stop it. Even some of the organic troops actually fled with the broken troops when they were intercepted by Gao Zhenshou.
"Don't run away, I have decided to join the Ming Dynasty!"
Yang Zhongsu was also shouting, half of his 6,000 troops had been routed, and Yang Zaixing's cavalry was still three or four miles away.
In other words, Yang's army didn't even see the enemy, and was defeated by the defeated troops running at the front.
The cavalrymen of all surnames had completed their assembly, but they were confused when they saw the infantrymen escaping everywhere, and even many cavalry generals led their troops to stay away.
Yang Zhongsu took his sons, abandoned the scattered infantry, and ran on horseback to join his brother's cavalry.
Yang Zhongyan asked: "What should I do?"
Yang Zhongsu pointed at Gao Zhenming's cavalry and said: "Lead the troops and rush from behind him!"
Gao Zhenming was dealing with the Guangxi infantry who came on horseback, but he did not have the courage to lead the cavalry to charge, so he only rode around the infantry in a sparse formation and fired.
Cavalry and infantry shooting at each other?
That infantry also has muskets and tiger cannons?
Gao Zhenming became more and more anxious as he fought, and his cavalry were too frightened to come any closer. In fact, they didn't kill many people, but they were frightened by the firearms.
Further away, the horseless infantry of the Ming Army were still trotting forward, trying to join the infantry on horseback.
At this moment, the Yang brothers arrived with their cavalry.
Gao Zhenming quickly said to the ordering soldiers: "Raise the flag and let them bypass the enemy's formation to outflank them and attack from the enemy's rear."
The Yang brothers seemed not to see the order flag and accelerated towards Gao Zhenming's cavalry.
The two sides were getting closer and closer, and Gao Zhenming finally felt something was wrong, but Yang's cavalry was already making a final charge.
"Damn it, the Yang family actually rebelled!"
"Father, leave quickly!"
Gao's cavalry was attacked from behind by Yang's cavalry, and was instantly defeated without any precautions.
Li Shao, who was commanding the infantry of the Ming army, immediately shouted: "Mount your horse, there are still undefeated enemy troops in front!"
As a result, more than a thousand Ming army infantry found new horses to ride on, and the tiger crouching cannon and ammunition were also carried in baskets and hung on the horses' backs.
The first two Dali armies were obviously elite. They were the first to face Yang Zaixing's attack, but they still formed a large formation and did not collapse until now.
Although they did not collapse, they stood there at a loss.
The Dali general who led them didn't know how to fight next. He didn't even dare to move casually for fear that his soldiers would be defeated by the rout.
Until the Ming Dynasty infantry came on horseback and picked up the Crouching Tiger Cannon dozens of steps away.
"Run away!"
These two Dali elites finally could not withstand the pressure. They had seen wounded soldiers who were hit by the Crouching Tiger Cannon but did not die.
Before the Tiger Crouching Cannon could be fired, those Dali elites dispersed.
The entire battlefield became increasingly chaotic.
Stretching for seven or eight miles, there were broken troops everywhere.
Gao Zhenshou was so shocked that he could not speak. His son pulled him onto his horse and urged him to escape.
There are still 3,000 elite troops around him who have not been defeated. If they deal with it calmly, Yang Zaixing's 800 cavalry will not be able to break through.
But when troops are being routed everywhere, can those elites really stay calm?
Yang Zaixing drove the defeated soldiers all the way, staring at the banner in front of him, and led the cavalry to charge forward.
Before he could get close, Gao Zhenshou's big banner suddenly fell over.
However, Gao Zhenshou was dragged away by his son and his own soldiers, and his elite men also fled for their lives. The wooden frame used to insert the large scroll was knocked over by the defeated soldiers.
"Failed, the Prime Minister has been defeated!"
The Dali elites scattered throughout the battlefield who had not yet been defeated, found that Gao Zhenshou's banner had fallen, and finally confirmed that their side had been completely defeated, and even suspected that Gao Zhenshou had been killed by the formation.
Yang Zaixing rushed to the big banner, but could not find any trace of Gao Zhenshou.
In anger, he led his troops to charge towards the enemy again. If he found an enemy general, he would chase after him and kill him first, no matter what his name was.
Gao Zhenshou's war horse was extremely splendid. He quickly jumped over countless broken troops and fled to the front. In his panic, he even lost his son and his own soldiers.
He fled all the way back to Guandu City. After he revealed his identity, the defenders here were shocked.
Gao Zhenshou was invited into the city, but his head was still dizzy.
He still doesn't understand why his entire army suddenly collapsed?
He had made a plan to lure the enemy in advance, so he had enough time to set up a large formation.
The enemy general led hundreds of cavalry to suddenly attack, which was completely unreasonable. What's even more ridiculous is that he sent cavalry to stop it, but it didn't stop him. Facing the charge of Guangxi cavalry, his elite Gao's cavalry actually
Forgetting military orders will only lead to avoidance.
what to do?
The home base of the Gao family is Guandu City, which is equivalent to the Gao family's private fortress.
After more than a hundred years of operation, it has become the commercial center of the entire Dali Kingdom.
As soon as the cold wind blew, Gao Zhenshou suddenly woke up and rushed to the Gao family's ancestral home on horseback: "Gather the clan members and evacuate to Dali immediately. As long as the gold and silver are needed, don't take anything else with you."
He did not dare to defend Guandu City.
The Gao family's ancestral home can only be given up.
Shanchanfu City (Kunming) cannot be defended either, so we must lead the army back to Dali City, and then summon the princes from the west, King Qin.
