The smell of gunpowder smoke on the battlefield became stronger and stronger, and the shouts of killing officers, soldiers and defenders shook the world. The chaotic battlefield also made Song Yihe lose the vigilance he should have on his flanks.
Gao Yigong and Hao Yaoqi led the front line of the rebel cavalry and had already rushed out of the dense forest of Triangle Mountain. This group of cavalry had about 800 people. Although the number was small, they were all capable warriors.
Although they are not as capable as the Three Walls under Liu Fangliang, most of them are from Henan thieves and army soldiers. Most of them have more than several years of combat experience. During the speed, the formation is only slightly loose and the formation is not chaotic. It can be seen that the formation is not chaotic.
Well trained.
"Waving the flag, I haven't killed an enemy myself for a long time, and I need your help to see if my skills have deteriorated!"
Gao Yigong waved his horse and rushed towards the enemy's waist. Although he had not killed the enemy on the front line for some time, his amazing equestrian skills had not slowed down at all. The war horse was like Gao Yigong's body.
Like a part, it does whatever it thinks of, just like the arm uses the wrist and the wrist uses the fingers.
At this time, everyone else followed suit. Most of the intruder cavalry carried bows and arrows as secondary weapons. They fired arrows together first, and the flying arrows kicked off the surprise attack.
A steady sound of horse hoofbeats sounded in the ears of the officers and soldiers, and the approaching sound of horse hoofbeats was accompanied by shouts one after another. The officers and soldiers did not need to look back. This even rhythm alone must be a terrifying and powerful force.
The cavalry were surprised by the sudden appearance of the unknown army on the battlefield. They were panicked and helpless. The siege team immediately made a large noise and argued to retreat.
But the horse hooves of the invading cavalry had already trampled the bodies of the officers and soldiers, and arrows, three-eyed muskets and horse sabers penetrated through the waist of the siege troops.
They were like a lone boat swallowed up by the ocean in a heavy fog. They were only a few hundred people, and they crashed into the ranks of officers and soldiers who did not know how many times their own size.
But at the critical moment of the battle, it is not the intuitive difference in numbers that determines victory or defeat, but the timing and the psychological blow to the enemy. The outstanding cavalry of Gao Yigong and Hao Yaoqi gave the officers and soldiers a boost in morale alone.
The severe damage exceeded any direct damage, making them tremble with fear and completely lose their ability to resist.
The siege war has reached the final stage. Both the official troops attacking the city and the Shenzhuang army defending the city are exhausted to the extreme, both physically and mentally. The defenders are even more serious. Most of them think that the defeat is certain and they cannot continue.
As they continued to hold on, they placed their hopes on the reinforcements, but the hope of reinforcements was so slim. At this time, only a miracle could save them from the destined defeat.
The siegeers, on the other hand, seemed too relaxed because of the easy victory. After a long period of fierce fighting that wasted their muscles and bones, their fighting will was no longer as firm as it was at the beginning.
When the hammers of the intruder cavalry arrived, panic became a deadly weapon that spread like a plague, and an atmosphere of disintegration enveloped the entire army.
"who is it!"
Song Yihe was horrified. He was helped up by his own soldiers and got on his horse in a panic. Because he could not identify the specific strength of the enemy's reinforcements, he planned to flee back to the camp first.
"Intruder? Why is the intruder here!"
He wanted to escape back to the camp, but the situation did not give the governor a chance. The artillery and artillery troops of the intruders, who had been prepared in advance, opened fire from a combat position with a good shooting view and a favorable situation, and the artillery shells fell into the siege camp.
, arousing countless smoke and flames of war.
More infantrymen of the invading army, also under the command of Guo Junzhen, either blocked the retreat of the siege officers and soldiers, or followed the cavalry troops and penetrated further, preparing to annihilate the main force of the officers and soldiers.
how so?
Song Yihe never imagined that when he was on the verge of victory, how could the situation take such a turn for the worse? In the chaotic situation, his eyes and ears were obscured by the shouts of killing, and he could not see anything clearly. Except for the sound of galloping horses' hooves heard in the distance,
There was only a dark smoke in Song Yihe's eyes.
He couldn't figure out the enemy's number, flags, and armor at all. Experienced generals might be able to distinguish the specific situation of the enemy and our armies from the chaotic situation, but Song Yihe was definitely not such a material. Since he couldn't figure out Chuang for the moment.
After hearing the truth about the military raid, the only thought in his mind was to escape.
Only a few soldiers were braver, and most of Fubiao's generals were scattered. Many of them were shot to death by the invading army's cannons, bows and arrows on the way back from the siege front line to the siege camp, but the remaining soldiers
Although there is some hesitation, overall there is still no shortage of courage.
The Huguang official army is not a weak army, or it should be said that most of the Ming army is not a weak army. In smaller-scale battles, they are not only not inferior to the Chuang army, but also not inferior to the Eight Banners of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties.
of troops.
What inhibits the combat effectiveness of the officers and soldiers is more chaotic command, poor logistics and disorganized organization. Once the scale of the battle reaches thousands or tens of thousands of people, the officers and soldiers will seem to completely change their appearance.
Fubiao's surviving generals and sentry officers were not reconciled to such a useless failure, and some other chieftain soldiers with strong cohesion also joined the counterattack.
But at the end of the powerful crossbow, it was not powerful enough to penetrate Lu's silk.
What's more, Li Laiheng also led the last reserve team and rushed into the battlefield. The cavalry around him all wore red tassel helmets and cloaks. Li Laiheng, surrounded by people, still wore a felt hat and a sky-blue arrow jacket.
Coupled with his cloak, he looks no different from Li Zicheng from a distance.
He used a slow speed to express his leisurely and calm attitude. Wherever the Chinese cavalry reached, the soldiers of the invading army all shouted "Long live the commander".
In such a fierce battle, putting oneself in such a position of being attacked so slowly and advancing so slowly is not allowed by military common sense.
It's just that Li Laiheng couldn't restrain his complacency among the two armies. He also considered what kind of changes his appearance would bring to the morale of both sides.
Li Laiheng was not a piece of Li Shimin, or even a piece of material like Li Cunxu, but there was no doubt that he hoped that he could have a heroic image in front of the invading soldiers.
Everyone's eyes were focused on this group of cavalry, and naturally the same was true for those small units in the official army that still had fighting spirit and fought back bravely.
Many of Fubiao's soldiers aimed their bows and arrows at Li Laiheng's position, and all the arrows were fired. Unfortunately, the distance was not enough, and none of the arrows hurt Li Laiheng. At this time, one of the former garrison generals under Song Yihe ignored the attack of the invading cavalry.
He blocked Li Laiheng and galloped to a closer place. In the midst of the gallop, an arrow flew up and hit Li Laiheng's helmet.
Up and down the city, inside and outside the camp, tens of thousands of people seemed to be screaming in exclamation. It was hard to tell whether it was happiness, admiration, panic, or regret.
"Everyone rush in!"
Li Laiheng finally stopped waiting. He had no time to show off on the battlefield, nor did he have the time to use the lives and flesh of his soldiers to create a false heroic image. The last few groups of pro-army cavalry swarmed in, and those Fu Biao who were stubbornly resisting
The soldiers and Shizhou soldiers were shot and stabbed to death in an instant.
Several officers and soldiers who prided themselves on being warriors were unwilling to be captured like this. Before the intruder cavalry rushed in front of them, they shot several more arrows in a row. Some also lit firecrackers, and finally hit Li Laiheng's helmet with a loud bang.
fly.
But after all, this young thief Li is no longer the same one who died of hunger in Zhuxi two years ago. Several years of battles with Li Guo, and Liu Fangliang's careful teachings have also allowed him to develop martial arts skills that are better than those of ordinary soldiers. Without delay, Li Laiheng galloped forward.
He used his saber to kill two officers and soldiers in succession, and several more arrows hit him, but most of them were embedded in the gaps in his armor and did not penetrate the armor. Only one arrow penetrated the flesh, but it also missed the vital point.
Li Laiheng led this group of cavalry to kill through the official position and rushed to the other side of the siege camp before stopping his horse. Zhang Pikui rushed over in a hurry and wrapped Li Laiheng's wound with a rough gauze handkerchief.
The old blood had formed purple lumps on the gauze, and fresh blood still seeped out from the squeezed wound. The old and new blood coagulated together, making it look quite ferocious.
But when Li Laiheng looked at the arrow wound, he felt calm and calm. He understood a little bit what was the inner source that made Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong, the leaders of the rebel army, to take the lead and risk the arrows. He smiled at Zhang Pili and said: "The flesh and blood."
Don't worry about the injury. I'm just trying it out for you. Even I can pass through the formation without serious injuries. It seems that the enemy's defeat is irreversible. The victory lies with our army!"
In fact, there were still many troops in the army, and Song Yihe gradually discovered that the raiding force of the Chu army was not as large as he had expected. However, most of the officers and soldiers were like headless flies, squeezed between the siege camp and Macheng city wall.
In the unsheltered area, the overcrowded space made it impossible for them to find enemies, and they could only become lambs to be slaughtered.
However, there were still many officers and soldiers who, driven by their survival instinct, broke through the blockade of Guojun Town and rushed out through some gaps. Most of them divided into two groups, some fled back to the siege camp, and some fled on the spot.
Enter the mountains and forests.
Those poor people who escaped back to the siege camp were just out of the tiger's mouth and into the wolf's den, and were quickly shot to death by Li Shiwei's cannon and artillery troops. Only those rebels who dispersed into the mountains and forests inadvertently found a way out.
, and also added more little troubles to Li Laiheng.
What else could Song Yihe do?
He wanted to gather the remaining defeated generals, but after the situation took a sudden turn for the worse, this bird officer, who had won the position of governor of the border by flattering Yang Sichang, showed a rare calmness.
Song Yihe managed to collect hundreds of stragglers in a corner of the siege camp that was not covered by the cannons of the invaders. He managed to gather more people with such a small force. Slowly, there were really many stragglers who were fleeing.
Then they regrouped at this corner.
Turning defeat into victory is not completely impossible.
The intruders charged too fiercely, and they dispersed many troops to block the retreat of the officers and soldiers and capture prisoners. This invisibly dispersed their own strength and lost their local strength advantage.
In comparison, the official army already had an overall strength advantage, but it was only the organization that was disrupted that made it appear so vulnerable. When Song Yihe regrouped more and more stragglers in a corner of the siege camp,
At this time, he was regaining local strength advantage.
Should we go all out and fight to the death with the thief Xiao Li? Or should we take advantage of the local strength and quickly break through and escape back to Wuchang?
The fighter plane was fleeting and there was no more time left for Song Yihe to think.
In the third year of Chongzhen's reign, he started his career as a rural official. He first served as an edict, and then moved to the county magistrate. He was promoted quickly in the chaos of the late Ming Dynasty because he knew the military and was good at military affairs. Within ten years, he was promoted to the official position of governor of the border areas.
When Xiong Wencan was Prime Minister of Nanji, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Huguang, Sichuan and other provinces, he was in charge of the military affairs. Song Yihe recruited Huang Sanyao, Liu Xicai and other thieves and thieves for Xiong Wencan. After Xiong Wencan was killed and Yang Sichang became the supervisor, he took charge of the suppression of the bureau.
, Song Yihe assisted Zuo Liangyu in defeating Zhang Xianzhong at Manao Mountain, and also contained the offensive of Ge Zuo's fifth battalion in Qizhou.
He did not think that he was a talentless person. He signed himself up as "Song Yiniao" just because he flattered Yang Sichang, and was despised by the people in the world. Song Yihe also wanted to prove himself, so he was never willing to use his precious life and
Half a lifetime of fame is spent gambling with a pariah like Li Laiheng.
Break out and escape back to Wuchang!
But what is called a breakout is ultimately an escape. The military morale that was originally stable and the corner of the position that was still stable, once it turns into an escape, the people's morale will be shattered and it will be completely irreversible.
Song Yihe tried to escape back to Wuchang, but he lost his life instead. During the "breakout", the group of stragglers who had been gathered no longer cared about their Master Futai, and everyone went their separate ways.
Running wildly, they were attacked by the soldiers in Guojun Town who intercepted and pursued them. They were either killed or surrendered, completely collapsed.
Song Yihe's war horse was also shot down by Guo Junzhen's infantry. He fell to the ground and was almost made a prisoner. The good life in the past few years after he was promoted to governor has made him no longer the same person who defeated Gezuo Wu in Qizhou.
The battalion attacked with determination and courage, and two soldiers picked him up.
But at this time, a large number of remnant soldiers who had been driven by the intruders fled over. They ignored Governor Song in front of them and regarded him as a stone blocking the road. They pushed Song Yihe and two loyal and brave soldiers to the ground. Then countless
The foot stepped on it like this, and Song Futai, who had been wise but neglected for a while, was trampled until his flesh and blood were mutilated and he had no human shape. The blood spurted out blocked his mouth and nose, and eventually he suffocated to death.
Because the battle situation was too chaotic, it took about three or two days until Li Laiheng continued his pursuit and swept away the remnants of the officers and soldiers who had fled in different directions. It took about three or two days for the soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield to find out among the pile of dead bodies.
The body of Song Yihe, who was a feudal official, was found.