The five hundred and sixtieth chapters have to be humble
The Tang Army that attacked the right wing of the Ming Army only had the First Battalion of the Liuzhou Independent Regiment and a garrison regiment. Judging from the strength of this unit, it was far inferior to the Fifth Infantry Regiment of the central army and the Sixth Infantry Regiment of the left wing.
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What's more, the Ming army on the right wing was also very numerous, but when the heavy armored infantrymen of the first battalion of the Liuzhou Independent Regiment broke into the Ming army's square formation, the Ming army's right wing quickly wavered.
But when Chen Keqiao took a telescope and carefully watched the right-wing battle line, he revealed his original expression. He said how come the weakest First Battalion of the Liuzhou Independent Regiment and the garrison regiment were the first to defeat the enemy's battle line.
It turned out that the first battalion of the Liuzhou Independent Regiment had already entered the Ming army's formation, tore apart the Ming army's frontal defense line, and broke into the Ming army to kill them. Most of the Ming army in front of them were killed.
They were light infantry, unarmored, and the swords in their hands were even inferior iron knives. They were simply unable to withstand the massacre of the heavy armored infantry in this kind of melee.
Although the troops attacking the right wing of the Ming army were not the main force of the Fourth Army, the heavy armored infantry of the first battalion of the Liuzhou Independent Regiment actually gave the Ming army on the opposite side a far greater shock than the musketeers of the regular army.
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When these soldiers of the first battalion came up to fight wearing heavy armor, even double heavy armor, carrying heavy shields, and all-steel waist knives and spears, it was like meeting gods and killing gods, meeting Buddhas and killing Buddhas, and they killed people.
The efficiency is actually much faster than the slow volley fired by the musketeers.
What makes these Ming troops even more desperate is that they are simply unable to cause much damage to these heavy armored infantry!
In the age of cold weapons, it is actually very difficult to fight against a heavy armored infantry. Otherwise, this kind of heavy armored infantry would not become the true core of a cold weapon army.
There are naturally many ways to deal with heavy armored infantry. You can use long-range weapons, such as bows and arrows, to strike, or you can have spearmen form a formation to fight.
It would be great if there could be a light cavalry unit that is skilled in the use of mounted archery to carry out kite flying tactics.
However, apart from cavalry, these tactics require a prerequisite for the implementation of other infantry tactics, that is, one needs to maintain a tight array, and at the same time, the enemy's heavy infantry cannot be allowed to break into one's array, because in this case, it will enter
Melee.
In a melee, it is almost difficult for heavy armored infantry to find an opponent. The only people who can effectively fight against heavy armored infantry in a melee are infantry who are also wearing heavy armor.
When the heavy armored infantry in the first battalion of the Liuzhou Independent Regiment relied on the heavy armored spearmen in the front to tear out a gap in the Ming army's line, the elite heavy armored sword and shield soldiers in the rear quickly followed up.
The spearmen also dropped the spears in their hands, then drew out their sabers, and instantly transformed into heavy armored sword and shield soldiers to engage in a melee with the soldiers of the Ming army.
Even the archers who provided cover in the rear dropped their bows and arrows at this time, drew their swords and stepped forward to support the battle!
When these soldiers from the first battalion of the Liuzhou Independent Regiment entered the Ming army's array, it was almost impossible for the Ming army's array in front of them not to collapse. This does not mean that the army is too weak, but because they really cannot do this.
Hundreds of heavily armored soldiers fight in the melee.
Seeing that the soldiers from the first battalion of the Liuzhou Independent Regiment had already charged in, the soldiers from the following garrison also hurried forward under the urging of the supervising team to expand the results of the battle.
In just a few minutes, these Ming troops thought they had suffered heavy casualties and were unable to maintain the front line. In this case, deserters would inevitably appear, and if there was one deserter, there would be a second one, and then the whole line would collapse point by point.
Now, what Chen Keqiao saw was the collapse of the entire right wing of the Ming army!
When the right wing of the Ming army collapsed, he knew that this battle was a sure win. When the first battalion of the Liuzhou Independent Regiment and more than two thousand garrison soldiers fought from the right wing of the Ming army to the central army, the central army of the Ming army was sure to win.
It will also be finished.
The Chinese army was finished, which basically meant that the Ming army was defeated across the board.
This situation was not only seen by Chen Keqiao, but also by many Ming army generals on the opposite side, and their reactions were faster than Chen Keqiao expected.
They began to retreat, or rather escape!
The right wing has collapsed. If you don't run away now, you will probably be killed by the bandits if you stay!
Seeing the small-scale collapse of the Ming army's center and left wing, Chen Keqiao immediately said: "Send the order to the second cavalry battalion to pursue the defeated enemy!"
This one has been won!
Although there are still battles to come, they are all final battles. The Ming army, which has begun to collapse, is unlikely to be able to save the situation.
The facts also proved Chen Keqiao's conjecture. Following the right wing, the Ming army's center and left wing also suffered a large-scale collapse. At this time, the officers on the front line also unanimously issued the order for the entire army to charge.
The musketeers fired the last round of volleys, and then rushed forward with their muskets already attached to the bayonets, following the spearmen.
As for the shotgun artillerymen who had previously killed and wounded many enemy troops by continuously firing shells, now they can only watch the show from behind. Although the artillery they are equipped with is not heavy, it is impossible to say that they will launch the attack together with the infantry.
Charge.
In fact, the infantry's charge only killed a lot of enemy troops at the beginning. When the entire Ming army collapsed and everyone fled, it was actually difficult for the infantry who charged or pursued from the rear to understand.
What damage did the army cause?
At this time, the real protagonist has become the 2nd Cavalry Battalion, which had been doing nothing before.
Looking down from the sky, you can see Lu Yu taking the lead, holding his saber high and leading his nearly two hundred cavalrymen to kill from west to north like a sharp arrow.
Their speed was much faster than the infantry, so they were able to catch up with the fleeing Ming cavalry very quickly. Then the cavalry kept slashing with their sabers, and one Ming soldier after another fell with a knife in the back!
At the same time, there were a large number of Tang Army soldiers in front of the formation shouting slogans such as: "Disarm and not kill!"
This caused many Ming soldiers to begin to surrender on the spot, especially those who fell behind and were about to be overtaken by the Tang cavalry. When there was no hope of escape, many of them obediently dropped their weapons and knelt down.
Surrender on the ground.
Lu Yuzhi's cavalry generally would not kill these Ming troops who had thrown down their weapons, but they would not stop and accept prisoners. They would often just ignore them and continue to pursue them.
The capture of these surrendered soldiers of the Ming army was a matter for the infantrymen who caught up behind them.
The current Second Cavalry Battalion must continue to pursue at this unhurried speed. It cannot pursue too fast, otherwise it will inevitably be surrounded by a large number of Ming troops. Although the Ming troops have begun to collapse and escape,
After all, there are still seven or eight thousand people running wildly. When these two hundred cavalry rush in, they will disappear without a trace in an instant, just like water droplets meeting a sponge.
They only escaped at a slightly faster speed than the infantry, and their target was always the defeated Ming army at the rear!
This pursuit tactic made many Ming infantrymen wish they had extra legs so that they could run faster than their comrades.
When escaping like this, you don't actually need to run the fastest, as long as you run faster than your comrades, because the cavalry of the Puppet Tang rebel army will always chase and kill the Ming army's defeated troops who are at the back.
The Ming soldiers at the front were ignored for the time being.
This scene is actually like a wolf driving a group of sheep away. Each time it pounces on one of the sheep that falls behind, it then continues to pursue.
The only thought of the defeated Ming troops in front now is to run and keep running. As for the cavalry who stayed to turn around and fight against the puppet Tang rebel army, that is naturally a good thing. Maybe they can stop or even annihilate this audacious puppet army.
As for the Tang thief army, this is a huge contribution.
But they won't take the credit for such a huge achievement, they have to give it to their comrades!
As a human being, you must be humble. Let others do the work of meritorious deeds. You should only be responsible for escaping for your life.
It is a pity that there are not just one or two people who think this way, but the vast majority!
So the result is obvious. Not many people stopped to organize resistance at all. Occasionally, a very small number wanted to fight, but they would be killed mercilessly by the sabers of the 2nd Cavalry Battalion.
The cavalry continued the pursuit unhurriedly, but Chen Keqiao behind them had already ordered the infantry to stop the pursuit. Not only would they not be able to achieve much if they continued to pursue, it would also cause the troops to fall into disarray.
He knew, however, that there was a Ming army of 15,000 men coming from the west. He needed to gather his troops now, so that he would have enough options whether to retreat or to fight.
Therefore, in addition to sending only a small number of troops to continue to collect the prisoners, the other infantry units began to return and then began to rest on the spot.
Of course, necessary battlefield cleaning is also needed, but this will not involve too many people. Anyway, the Tang Dynasty does not need to cut off the enemy's heads to record merit. As for burying the corpses, there is no time, so it is just simple
Treat the wounded and collect the weapons left behind by the Ming army and our own side.
Especially the armor that the Ming army left behind in front of the battle.
While the troops continued to rest and recuperate, the reconnaissance cavalry troops also continued to send intelligence from the west. At this time, the Ming army was already only more than ten miles away.
If the Ming army continues to come at this speed, and if our own side does not leave, then it will not take a few hours to engage in battle. If either side of the two sides makes a maneuver, then the fight will be impossible.
An hour later, Chen Keqiao received a report from the reconnaissance cavalry, saying that the Ming army's advance had slowed down!
"It seems that they should have learned the news of the defeat of the Jingzhou defenders!" Chen Keqiao said: "Send people to the Second Cavalry Battalion and tell them to stop chasing them and come back now. There is still a big battle waiting for them.
What about us!"
Although the Ming army's speed has slowed down, they are continuing to advance. Since they are still coming to fight, Chen Keqiao will naturally accompany them!
In frontal combat in the wild, who is afraid of whom?