Chapter 123: The Irresistible Eight Banners Soldiers
This situation made Yuan Shitai feel as if he was in a dream. Is this the legendary uncontestable Eight Banners soldiers?
How could the enemy that had troubled the Ming court for decades be like this?
The first team included not only the old troops of Xiao Yuan's camp, but also a pro-military standard unit led by Zhang Pizhu himself. He also followed up and charged, and immediately captured several flags of the Qing army.
Not only the flags, but also many cannons and muskets were left behind by the Eight Banners soldiers.
If the enemy's front line is shaken and a large number of flags are discarded, it can also be understood that the Qing army is deliberately deceiving the enemy. But now they have abandoned even the artillery and firecrackers in a panic. If this is also deceiving the enemy, then
, the price is too high.
Yuan Shitai was confused. He felt a strong sense of uneasiness. The Qing army could not be so fragile. The enemy must have back-ups.
"General Zhang, the Qing army has been victorious for decades. How could it be so easily overwhelmed by our small vanguard force... No, the enemy has collapsed before we even started charging! Something unusual happened.
, there must be something wrong."
Zhang Pilu pulled the reins of the war horse. He squinted his eyes and looked at the Qing troops fleeing north in panic. He also looked around at the many Qing prisoners who had been captured alive by the intruders before they could escape. He also wondered:
"This is really strange...but it doesn't look like a strategy to fake defeat? How can we seize all the cannons in order to fake defeat?"
Yuan Shitai still couldn't believe that the Chuang army could succeed so easily: "Maybe the enemy is a strong man who cut off his wrist!"
"This is indeed possible..."
Zhang Pizhu waved his hand crisply and said: "Leave a small group of people to nail all the cannon fire doors. The rest of the people, wait and continue to charge with me... Just in case, Captain Yuan, you lead the team to move west.
Protect my flanks to prevent the enemy from suddenly counterattacking and catching the intruders by surprise."
"Okay, brothers, just follow General Zhang's instructions."
Although Zhang Pizhu is very young, he has experienced the same number of battles as Yuan Shitai. He is also a battlefield veteran who has fought many battles for the rest of his life.
Under Li Laiheng's careful training, although the current situation was chaotic and abnormal, and the sudden defeat of the enemy was indeed unbelievable. However, Zhang Pizhu methodically made reasonable arrangements in a very short period of time, which not only maintained the defeat of the Qing army,
As the soldiers continue to pursue, be careful and watch out for possible ambush tactics that the enemy may use to defeat you.
The only surprise was that the defeat of the Ming and Qing coalition forces was many times more optimistic than the most optimistic scenario that Zhang Pizhu and Yuan Shitai could have imagined.
After Zhang Pili led part of the vanguard of the Breaking Army to pursue northward, Yuan Shitai led the old troops of Xiaoyuan Camp westward to cover the flanks of the Breaking Army, and happened to catch Gao Di and Li Fuming who were heading in this direction to "turn back and fight against the enemy."
Soldiers and horses.
Theoretically speaking, although the soldiers of Qiantun Town and Shanhaiguan Pass both suffered serious losses in the Battle of Baigou River, the total number of soldiers and horses in the two towns was higher than that of Xiaoyuan Camp in terms of number of troops and average combat quality.
The old army is half over, and if both sides really have to fight to the death, the winner will only be Gao Di and Li Fuming, not Yuan Shitai.
"Encountered the enemy! It's the main force of the Ming Army!"
Yuan Shitai was also surprised by the unexpected encounter with the main force of the Ming army. He was very nervous. He felt that the arrangement of the enemy's troops and front lines was simply magical, like an antelope hanging its horns, leaving no trace.
"How can there be such an arrangement of troops in the world? The formation of the Ming army generals is too unpredictable!"
The first time the two armies encountered each other, Yuan Shitai even felt frightened in his heart. He just took a cursory glance and knew that the enemy's troops were much larger than his own. Now that Chen Yongfu's main force had not fully caught up, could it be that this time Xiao Is Yuan Ying's old army going to be completely wiped out because of his own rashness?
While Yuan Shitai was panicking, the soldiers of the Invading Army also launched an attack on the enemy with a very nervous mood. Although everyone felt that the overall situation seemed to be unfavorable to the Invading Army, they also knew that they must not retreat at this time. Moreover, it is not easy for ordinary soldiers to observe the overall situation of the battlefield. They rely solely on fighting bravely and without any further consideration, they have already penetrated into the depths of the enemy's front line in front of them.
Yuan Shitai didn't have time to think too much, so he had to follow up with his own soldiers. He made up his mind that even if he sacrificed himself, he must buy enough time for the arrival of the main force of Chen Yongfu's army.
The Ming army seems to be quite strong, so they cannot be allowed to easily occupy the favorable terrain of Baiyangdian. They must frustrate the enemy's spirit.
"Let's fight!"
With the idea of a decisive battle, Yuan Shitai flew into the formation, and the charging horn of the intruders was blowing louder and louder. In their own eyes, this was a desperate attack that cost their lives, but in the ears of the enemy in front of them, this sound became The ringing tone of death.
Li Fuming was still trying hard to prevent the soldiers in Qiantun Town from turning back and fighting against the enemy. He originally concluded that Li Laiheng was cutting ice to cross the river, and put the main force into the rear of the Ming army to conduct a sneak attack.
With Abatai holding the front line of the coalition forces, it was estimated that they would not be attacked by the intruders in a short time. So Li Fuming tried his best to change the direction of the army's march, at the cost of great confusion for the entire army, and changed the front line to the rear. The rear team changes into the front team, reverses the situation, and prepares to face the enemy.
At this critical moment, the intruder suddenly came from the front and now from the rear!
"Li...Li Zhentai...the rear team still hasn't found the main force of the intruders!"
The detective cavalry from the rear sent back information to Li Fuming, but Li Fuming didn't believe it at all. He asserted: "How on earth does the little thief Li use his troops? How can he hide the main force so well after he has completed a sneak attack?"
"That's right..." Li Fuming's eyes lit up and he figured out Li Laiheng's method of hiding his whereabouts for a sneak attack. "Little thief Li must have asked the soldiers to wear Ming military uniforms, dress up as one of our own, and sneak in..."
"The intruders are pretending to be our soldiers. Don't be deceived by the enemy in front... The main force of the thieves is still attacking from behind, and they are pretending to be our soldiers. Send the order to all the troops to observe carefully and identify the enemy soldiers!"
Li Fuming's judgment in the chaos was actually not unreasonable. However, after the order was conveyed, it further disintegrated the already chaotic military morale. Although the soldiers in Qiantun Town were all familiar with the appearance of Pao Ze around them, not everyone They can recognize everyone's appearance, not to mention there are many Shanhaiguan customs soldiers here that they are not very familiar with.
"You...you are an intruder!"
I don't know which soldier was the first to discover the "intruder" who had sneaked into the ranks of the Ming army. But it is certain that after the soldiers in the current town began to attack the intruders "disguised" as the Ming army, the situation became even more uncontrollable. .
Everyone was in a mess, and no one could tell whether they were the enemy or the friendly forces in front of them. Flags and uniforms could not be used as signs of identification. The sharp chants unique to intruders could be heard from all directions in the army.
.
People kept attacking each other. No matter how hard Li Fuming restrained him, he couldn't control it at this time. Yuan Shitai also began to find that his desperate attack was not blocked at all, but a small group of vanguard soldiers actually penetrated it.
The entire front of the Ming army fought all the way to the enemy's rear, then penetrated back from the rear and fought again to the front.
The dizzy Li Fuming still wanted to say something. He looked around on his horse, trying to gather his servants into a group and rush out, but at this time, a dense sound of gunshots suddenly sounded in the distance.
This thunderous roar is the sound of the "Tingjun" intruders that the Ming army has gradually become familiar with. As soon as they hear this sound, people are even more convinced that they have been completely surrounded by the intruders, and they no longer have any fighting spirit and organization.
, completely collapsed and fled north one after another.
In the chaos, a group of soldiers pushed Li Fuming's war horse down. He was pushed to the ground by the defeated soldiers. He turned several somersaults and fell all the way until he hit a low ice wall and gasped in pain.
tone.
But before Li Fuming returned to the army and reorganized his troops, several swords from the invading army were already placed on Li Fuming's neck. He was wearing bright armor, which easily revealed that he was a high-ranking official.
The soldiers of the invading army swarmed forward and restrained Li Fuming. He wanted to resist, but because he fell so hard, his head was dizzy, and the sole of his foot slipped, causing him to fall onto the ice again.
Taking this opportunity, the two soldiers of the intruder army held Li Fuming on the left and right, and then shouted:
"We captured a high official from the front!"
"We captured a general officer from the front!"
"Who are you? Who is he? Does anyone know!"
"This...this person is Li Fuming, the commander-in-chief of Qiantun Town!"
"Captain Yuan...Captain Yuan! Capture Li Fuming from the front!"