Although many generals of the New Army of the Tang Dynasty had experienced many victories against the Ming Army, they were already much more confident when facing the Ming Army. Especially the dozens of officers who came from the early Guards did not let the Ming Army go.
In his eyes, he believed that as soon as his own musketeers were dispatched, the Ming army would disperse in a hurry.
But self-confidence is self-confidence. Even if they think that their own army is much stronger than the Ming army, when the difference in strength reaches more than ten times, they are still not crazy enough to think that they can still win the battle.
If you want to defeat this well-prepared group of more than 2,000 Ming troops, let alone rely on more than 200 people from the first mixed battalion under Fang Xitong. Even if you include the two teams currently led by Hao Bainian, the total will be 400.
It’s probably too much for many people.
Because the Ming army was more than just a force, they also carried a large number of bowl-mouth cannons as well as huge shields and shield vehicles specially designed to resist muskets.
Among the more than 400 people under Hao Bainian's command, there are no corresponding artillery pieces and no grenadiers.
He wanted to wait for reinforcements to arrive before launching an attack, so as to have a greater chance of winning. Anyway, the Ming army had successfully crossed the river. It was impossible to intercept the Ming army on the beach if they rushed over now. It was better to let them go.
Beating.
As for how many reinforcements His Majesty will send, Hao Bainian doesn't know. He doesn't count on the artillery team's artillery. Such big things weighing several hundred kilograms cannot maneuver quickly. By the time these artillery arrives at the No. 2 Ferry, they will probably have to wait until tomorrow.
It's afternoon, and the cucumbers and vegetables are cold by then.
He doesn't count on cannons, he counts on grenadiers!
Or to be more precise, a grenade in the hand of a grenadier!
As long as there are hundreds of grenades and they are thrown out when the two sides are close to 20 to 30 meters away, the Ming army will be guaranteed to suffer heavy casualties. Then, if they cooperate with the musketeers' volley and then charge, even if the Ming army's number is several times that of our own, even if
So what if there are many cannons?
He is confident in this battle, but until reinforcements arrive, he also knows that he must exercise restraint!
After sending the messenger back to the Lanjiang Ferry, he continued to lead the troops towards the No. 2 Ferry. Half an hour later, at about 5:30 in the morning, he and Fang Xitong finally succeeded in the first mixed battalion.
Convergence.
As a result, more than 400 people have been gathered together, and the arms are still relatively complete, including scout cavalry, sword and shield soldiers, archers, musketeers, heavily armed spearmen, and light spearmen.
However, most of the more than 400 people were musketeers and spearmen. There were less than ten scouts remaining, and there were only more than 20 swordsmen, shieldmen and archers each.
After the successful rendezvous, Fang Xitong also breathed a sigh of relief. Although Hao Bainian's arrival would put him under others, it was nothing. He thought that he was Hao Bainian's platoon leader before.
At the same time, with the arrival of Hao Bainian, he no longer has to bear such huge pressure.
Opposite is the main force of more than 2,000 Ming troops, and the main force of the Ming army is well prepared. It is not that easy to fight.
After Hao Bainian completely took over the First Mixed Battalion, he did not launch an attack, but always maintained a distance of more than two thousand meters from the Ming army on the opposite side.
After landing, the Ming troops did not immediately advance to the Lanjiang Ferry in the north, nor did they want to advance deep into the interior of Zhengtai County. Instead, they camped and rested near the ferry.
What do these Ming troops want to do?
Is it just to contain himself and create opportunities for the Ming army at the Lanjiang Ferry?
It shouldn't be. The main force of the Ming army has come here. Even if the Ming army at Lanjiang Ferry is more numerous, how strong can the fighting power of the young men and guardsmen be? Even if five or six thousand people cross the river to attack.
It is estimated that the Lanjiang Ferry cannot break through the beach defense.
So what were these Ming troops doing standing still for several hours? Is there some conspiracy behind this?
Hao Bainian did not know that the Ming army did not have any conspiracy, but an outright conspiracy. They relied on large numbers of troops and attacked in many places to disperse the Tang army's forces.
Another very important reason is that the Ming army was also busy all night. In the first half of the night, they carried boats, rafts and other river crossing tools from all the way around. It was very tiring, and they had to cross the river again in the second half of the night.
Moreover, we must always be on high alert to prevent the puppet Tang traitor army from directly killing them.
After this night, these Ming army soldiers, even the main force, can't hold on!
Now that they have successfully crossed the river, the subsequent battle will naturally take place during the day. They can't really do night attacks. They are not smart, they naturally know that the risks of night attacks are too high.
Crossing the river secretly at night and launching a surprise attack at night are completely different concepts.
Therefore, after they crossed the river, they didn't care about the puppet Tang rebels several miles away, and just rested where they were. Otherwise, they would not have the energy to fight tomorrow.
The Ming army stood still. Hao Bainian was a little confused and could only continue to monitor these Ming troops from several miles away. At the same time, he also allowed the troops who had been running around all night to seize the time to rest for a few hours.
For a moment, there was a scene at the No. 2 Ferry that was quiet but extremely strange. It was far less vigorous than the previous scene at the No. 3 Ferry.
Not to mention the battle at No. 3 Ferry and Li Xuan's side, by the time he learned the latest news about Hao Bainian and Li Chunjing's return, it was already dawn.
The sky has turned slightly white at this time, and it is estimated that it will be completely bright in two quarters of an hour. Although the sky is still very dark, the situation on the other side of the river can already be seen vaguely.
The Ming army on the other side of the river has begun to gather. The river near the river beach is already filled with various boats, rafts, bamboo rafts, etc. used to cross the river. However, if you estimate these boats, you will find that these boats are only at most
Carrying five to six thousand people across the river.
At the same time, news came from Ferry No. 3 that although there were thousands of Ming troops crossing the river, their combat strength was average and they should be ordinary guardsmen. Moreover, no Ming troops were found to cross the river later.
This was enough for Li Xuan to make a judgment. It was obvious that the original 10,000 people at the Lanjiang Ferry had been divided into three. Not to mention how they managed to accomplish this without concealing it from the scouts of the New Army of the Tang Dynasty on the other side of the river.
Large-scale military mobilization.
But it is certain that the main force of the Ming army will appear at the No. 2 ferry!
After learning about this situation, Li Xuan naturally would not remain indifferent. After some silent calculation in his mind, he quickly gave the order: "Send the order to have the 1st Infantry Battalion and the 1st Grenadier separate into three platoons.
Reinforce Hao Bainian immediately. After arriving, the First Infantry Battalion was still under Hao Bainian's command. Then he sent an order to Hao Bainian, asking him to find a decisive battle with the enemy of the puppet Ming Dynasty across the river and defeat it as soon as possible after dawn. After defeating the enemy, he immediately returned to reinforce Lan.
Jiangdukou!”
After saying that, he was silent for a while, and then continued with a hint of determination: "Send an order for Li Chunjing to return to Lanjiang Ferry immediately to help!"
At this time, Zeng Ziwen looked puzzled and said: "Your Majesty, although there are many enemy troops at the No. 2 Ferry, the Lanjiang Ferry is more dangerous. I'm afraid if the First Infantry Battalion is also sent out!"
Li Xuan took a deep breath at this time and said: "I am personally stationed at the Lanjiang Ferry. As long as we guard this beach for an hour, Li Chunjing will be able to come back. As long as we guard this beach for another two hours, Hao Bainian's side should be able to end the battle."
!”
Hearing this, many generals in the rear were stunned for a moment at first, but soon fell silent one by one, and then couldn't help but turn their eyes to the south, which is the upper reaches of the Lanjiang River and the direction of the No. 2 Ferry.
The reason why everyone was silent was because they all thought of the unspoken meaning of Li Xuan's words!
After the battle on Hao Bainian's side is over, either Hao Bainian returns victorious, and then our side wins a complete victory in this battle, and the puppet Ming rebel army of ten thousand people will be completely annihilated on both sides of the Lanjiang River. At that time, the new army of the Tang Dynasty will definitely take advantage of the victory.
With great power, he crossed the river to attack the city of Xingquan Prefecture, and finally took the entire Xingquan Prefecture into his pocket, taking a real step towards world hegemony.
But if Hao Bainian's side is defeated, or if the battle continues for a long time and is unable to return to the Lanjiang Ferry to aid, then things will be in trouble.
If Hao Bainian is defeated, then what is there to say? The first mixed battalion, the first infantry battalion, half of the fourth infantry battalion, and half of the grenadiers commanded by Hao Bainian are all the elite main force of the Tang Dynasty's new army. If
All these defeats showed that the essence of the new army of the Tang Dynasty had been lost by 70 to 80%, and they would have no chance of winning against the puppet Ming army.
By then, instead of the main force of the Ming army coming from the No. 2 ferry heading north for a side attack, the Ming army on the front side of the Lanjiang River will not be able to hold them back for too long. The possibility of the entire army being annihilated by then is not even 100%, but it is still 99%
some.
When they were silent, some people also wanted to propose other solutions, but after much deliberation, there was no better way.
There is no way, the Ming army has more troops than our own. There are tens of thousands of them, while our own side only has 3,800. The real combat strength is only about 3,500, and the main force with large-scale combat experience is only about 1,000.
The remaining people.
The gap in military strength between the two sides is really huge!
The Ming army had more troops, so they could cross the river from three ferries at the same time, and the new army of the Tang Dynasty was overwhelmed.
And if we divide our own forces to resist according to the strength of the Ming army, the danger is still too great. In this case, it is better to transfer all the elite and main forces to the No. 2 ferry, allowing Hao Bainian to have a decisive battle with the Ming army crossing the river, and even defeat the Ming army crossing the river.
of capital.
As long as the main force of the more than 2,000 Ming troops who crossed the river from the No. 2 ferry were defeated, to put it bluntly, the remaining Ming troops would not be a concern. The battle at that time would just be a step-by-step victory.
But all this is based on Hao Bainian being able to lead his army to defeat the main force of more than 2,000 Ming troops who crossed the river from Ferry No. 2!
With Hao Bainian's victory, the Tang Dynasty will be able to annihilate ten thousand enemies and occupy Xingquan Mansion, ushering in a new level of development!
Hao Bai was defeated, and the Tang Dynasty and everyone present were in danger of being destroyed!