Zhu Zhihai looked at the more than 2,000 puppet Tang rebel troops in front of him who had formed a fighting formation. To be honest, he was very puzzled.
His incomprehension does not mean that he does not understand why these pseudo-Tang rebels suddenly appeared at the gate of Liping City. In fact, he got the news yesterday that the vanguard of the pseudo-Tang bandits was about to arrive at Liping City this morning.
I also received news from the scouts that more than 2,000 puppet Tang rebels had arrived at Liping Mansion City!
Therefore, he was not surprised by the appearance of the Puppet Tang thief army, and he would not frown because of it. They were only more than 2,000 Puppet Tang thief troops. Could it be that they could really pose any actual threat to his own army of more than 30,000 people?
?
The reason why he frowned was because these pseudo-Tang rebels hadn't escaped yet, so forget it, and they even formed a formation to block his front. This clearly meant that they wanted to prevent him from leading his army into Liping City.
What gives them the courage to act like a chariot?
Do they think that with just over 2,000 people, they can really stop their own army of more than 30,000 people?
At this time, a man came forward and said: "Sir Governor, the puppet Tang bandit army in front dares to try to block our army from entering the city. I am willing to lead my headquarters as the vanguard, defeat the bandit army, and present the head of the bandit leader to you!"
Zhu Zhihai turned around and took a look, and saw that it was Chang Pingchang, the commander of Longli Weidu under his command. Seeing that this man was eager to fight, he immediately nodded slightly and said: "Since Mr. Chang took the initiative to ask for a fight, then go ahead and I will give it to you."
Two thousand elite troops are dispatched to assist in the battle. Remember not to lose the prestige of the imperial officers and soldiers, and must crush the stubborn resistance of the rebel army in one battle!"
The reason why Zhu Zhihai readily agreed to Chang Pingchang's request for a fight was naturally not simply because Chang Pingchang took the initiative to ask for a fight, but because he felt that at this time, his side needed a victory to boost the morale of the army.
Since the uprising of the traitor army in the Tang Dynasty, they have fought and won consecutive battles, and even the Ming Army of more than 20,000 people on the North Road was defeated at the hands of the traitor army. This more or less made many civil and military officials of the Ming Army, especially the soldiers on the front line, suffer a disastrous defeat.
Create some fear.
At this time, since someone took the initiative to ask for a fight, he couldn't postpone it, otherwise he would chill the hearts of the soldiers!
But more importantly, Long Liwei's strength is pretty good among the more than 30,000 people under his command.
In his army of more than 30,000 people, if you include the nearly 3,000 Ming troops in Liping City at this time, the total number is about 37,000!
In addition to the 8,000 recruited soldiers, there are also about 13,000 garrison soldiers. These 13,000 garrison soldiers were drawn from more than a dozen garrison posts, large and small, and many were from the garrison.
They range from hundreds to more than a thousand people.
Only the Longli Guards had a relatively large number of troops, with more than 2,800 men, which could barely be regarded as 3,000 men.
It is a relatively powerful guard force among the many guards under his command.
Of course, the Puppet Tang rebel army had been victorious in consecutive battles, and previous battles had always resulted in victory over large numbers with less. To be honest, Zhu Zhihai still had great doubts about whether Chang Pingchang's nearly 3,000 men could defeat the rebel army in front of them.
Since the puppet Tang thief army was able to fight in consecutive battles and win many times with a small number, they must be superior, so he did not dare to look down upon them and sent two thousand more troops to Chang Pingchang on the spot.
If I send him another 2,000 guardsmen, then the number will be nearly 5,000. Compared with the 2,500 puppet Tang rebels on the opposite side, it is twice as many as them, and I personally lead it.
Thirty thousand troops marched for him!
Although this battle is not guaranteed, there should be no big surprises! Net
Even if the puppet Tang rebel army is really that powerful and can withstand the attack of 5,000 of his own troops, he will just have to send more troops at that time. If 5,000 men are not enough, then 10,000 will be used, and if 10,000 are not good, then 30,000 will be the best.
I don’t believe that these pseudo-Tang rebels are made of iron.
When Chang Pingchang saw that Zhu Zhihai agreed to his request and sent two thousand more men to him, he immediately couldn't hide the joy on his face and said: "Don't worry, Mr. Sun, I will definitely offer you the head of the leader of the bandit army!"
"
Zhu Zhihai nodded slightly and said softly: "Well, go ahead!"
Immediately, Chang Pingchang got on his horse and summoned his troops!
At the same time, Zhu Zhihai also turned around and ordered a few people from the group of generals behind him to lead their headquarters to support Chang Pingchang in the battle and obey Chang Pingchang's command!
When the Ming army was deploying troops and generals, the Third Infantry Regiment of the New Army of the Tang Dynasty opposite was also continuing to adjust its formation.
At the same time, the soldiers are also sitting down to make the best preparations before fighting!
The musketeers lit the match ropes and loaded the bullets in advance. The heavy armored infantry such as the heavy armored spearmen and the heavy armored sword and shield soldiers began to put on armor weighing dozens of kilograms with the help of their comrades, and then raised their spears.
Shields, swords and other weapons.
The artillerymen in the battalion artillery team are nervously pre-planning the shooting elements and equipping them in advance. The battalion artillery team of the 3rd Infantry Regiment has a total of two 150-pound battalion cannon and four captured self-explanatory guns.
The army's hundred-jin bowl-mouth cannon.
At this time, these six shotguns were all deployed, waiting for the Ming army to enter the effective range!
More than fifty cavalrymen belonging to the cavalry team directly under the infantry regiment also quietly led the horses in the rear of the array. Next to this small cavalry team, there was the grenadiers!
Compared to the fearful expressions on the faces of ordinary infantrymen, these grenadiers held their heads high and their chests high. Their commander, Captain Zhou Daniu of the Third Grenadier Team, was mobilizing them before the war!
"Our grenadiers, from the first day of their establishment, have been the strongest unit among the many units of the New Army of the Tang Dynasty! Only the bravest and strongest soldiers can be selected into our grenadiers, and these strongest soldiers,
It’s you!
In the original Battle of Lanjiang, our grenadiers only numbered a hundred or so, but they annihilated more than a thousand enemies, defeated the enemy's intensive charges several times, and made great contributions to the revival of the Tang Dynasty!
And today will be the time when our grenadiers once again become famous!"
Having said this, he paused briefly, and then shouted: "The grenadiers will never retreat until they fight!"
The soldiers under his command also shouted in unison, and they shouted with confidence and even fanaticism: "The grenadier will not retreat until the death!"
Song Tianbiao from the back looked at the high morale of the grenadiers, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, these grenadiers are indeed the most elite troops in our Tang Dynasty King's Division! To be able to maintain such high morale in such a critical situation is really a sign.
It’s rare!
He said that the grenadiers were the most elite arms of the Tang Dynasty. This is not an exaggeration at all!
From the first day the grenadiers were established, it was determined that this unit was an elite unit!
First of all, there are soldiers. Basically, everyone is tall and tall. Only the best soldiers in terms of height and physical fitness can be selected into the Grenadier Team!
This is mainly because the current grenades are still relatively heavy. In order to maintain their power, the weight of the grenades is relatively large. To throw such a heavy grenade more than 20 meters or even 30 meters, to be honest, ordinary soldiers simply cannot do it.
Only soldiers who are tall and strong and have excellent physical fitness can do it.
At the same time, in addition to physical fitness, the soldiers in the grenadiers also have very high requirements on the courage of the soldiers!
Because although grenadiers can be considered a type of musketeers, they rarely use muskets in combat. Most of them run directly to within thirty meters of the enemy and then throw grenades. In the process, the grenadiers
The troops cannot fight back and can only passively withstand the enemy's firepower. And once they reach the distance where they can throw grenades, they have to be bold in the process of throwing grenades!
These days, grenades must be lit with a match rope first. To be honest, it is difficult to control the explosion time of a grenade that relies on a match rope to detonate!
And in order to prevent the enemy from picking up the grenade and throwing it back, you have to hold it in your hand for a while after lighting the fuse!
If you hold a grenade in your hand that can explode at any time, and your hands must not shake, otherwise you will not be able to throw it out later, or if it simply falls on the ground, then the grenade will most likely explode in your queue!
This would be extremely embarrassing!
Using such dangerous weapons to fight, and having to passively withstand enemy firepower while marching, to be honest, if the soldiers are not courageous enough, it will be difficult to persevere, even if they have extremely strict military discipline.
!
Therefore, when selecting soldiers for the grenadiers, there are two things that cannot be ignored, one is physical fitness and the other is courage!
To put it bluntly, only the strongest and bravest soldiers can be selected into the grenadiers!
Based on this alone, it is not an exaggeration to say that they are the most elite troops in the New Army of the Tang Dynasty!
What's more, they have more training subjects, more arduous training tasks, and their combat quality is better than that of ordinary soldiers!
Such elite grenadiers only numbered more than 400 in the Tang Dynasty. Currently, only the First Infantry Regiment, the Second Infantry Regiment, and the Third Infantry Regiment have three complete grenadier teams. The remaining
The more than 100 people under the command were scattered among the Fourth Infantry Regiment, the Fifth Infantry Regiment, and the Guards Battalion.
More than 400 soldiers were selected from tens of thousands of people. It is no exaggeration to say that they are elites!
Whether we can hold on to this battle or not, I'm afraid we still need to rely on the performance of the Grenadiers!
Seeing nearly 5,000 Ming troops pouring out one after another, Song Tianbiao immediately nodded to Captain Zhou Daniu, the captain of the grenadier team!
Zhou Daniu, who was riding on a war horse, immediately shouted the order: "Grenadiers listen to the order and march in unison!"
Immediately, this grenadier team of only a hundred people marched forward in a standard formation of three columns. When they marched, they were not much different from ordinary musketeers. They were all marching to the drumbeats of the military musicians accompanying the team.
Goose-step forward.
But unlike ordinary infantry, when they walked onto the battlefield, they didn't have the slightest fear, but had confidence on their faces!