Yuan Shitai was not fond of fighting. The enemy and our forces were greatly outnumbered. Moreover, a ranger force like them should not focus on killing or injuring many enemies.
The key issue is to confirm the enemy's true movements.
The Qing army sped up to catch up, but due to the lack of sufficiently deterrent artillery units, those arrows fired from a distance could not cause much damage at all.
Only the cavalry horses were injured by arrows, so Zhang Guowu ordered other cavalrymen to transfer spare horses to them. In fact, there were not enough horses, so some cavalrymen used the method of riding two people on one horse to take away all the soldiers.
Although the Chuang Army did not adopt the tactic of "one cavalry flanking one step, rolling into formation", this tactic was somewhat popular among the peasant uprising armies in the late Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, if the cavalrymen of the Dashun Army are relatively senior, most of them will not be unfamiliar with the situation of one horse carrying two people.
The Qing army stepped up its pursuit, like tarsal maggots following closely behind, refusing to let go. The marching speed of the Manchu soldiers was indeed astonishing. It is no wonder that the Qing army was able to enter and plunder through Mongolia many times in the past.
Thousands of miles away, it's like entering a deserted place.
Zhang Guowu couldn't help but cursed: "The real prisoners are really tough and tough to deal with."
Yuan Shitai frowned: "There are only so many real Manchu captives. Since the Dashun army fought against the Eastern captives, there have been more than ten battles. I heard from Gu Sima that the number of Manchu real captives we have eliminated totaled about 100,000."
There are more than 10,000 people or even more than 20,000 people. I don’t believe in evil. With the number of real captives in Manchuria, how long can they last?”
Zhang Guowu also said: "Even if the Manchus keep winning like the Deer War, I don't think they can hold on for long. From this point of view, the world will never escape the grasp of the King of Jin."
Yuan Shitai was a general who was directly recruited by Li Laiheng, so he naturally regarded Li Laiheng as his commander-in-chief. When he heard what Zhang Guowu said, he smiled and said: "You are quite sensible!"
Yuan and Zhang were pursued by the Qing army and decided to fight and retreat. The Chu Chuang cavalry were all equipped with heavy horse poles, which were often carried vertically during the march. At this time, the tail end of the horse pole was inserted into a stirrup-shaped container.
, or sandwiched between the cavalry's leather boots and stirrups.
When the charge horn of the three walls is sounded, the knights' horses will be leveled. The first two rows of cavalry in the formation will first raise their spears flatly into a horizontal spear wall and start charging, followed by the third to third rows.
The six rows of cavalry will also attack with flat-ended spears in turn, while the last two rows of the queue usually serve as backup and remain stationary.
In addition, Chu Chuang knights often use short-handed guns, which are wheel spring pistols. This short-handed gun is usually fired one to three times before charging, and sometimes it can also be used in close combat.
Now that Yuan Shitai is leading his troops to fight and retreat, the three-wall cavalry of the Shunjun army can still use wheel spring pistols and adopt semi-circling shooting tactics to counterattack.
In addition to horse guns and short-handed muskets, most of the Three Walls cavalry will also carry a short weapon next to the saddle. In the past, they usually carried waist knives, but later with the public-private joint venture factories in Huguang, after the hydraulic forging hammer technology gradually became popular,
The Three Walls Cavalry began to be equipped with new weapons with standardized specifications.
This new saber is actually a straight-edged sword with a smaller arc. Li Laiheng's original intention in designing this "Yangwu Sword" was that he hoped that it could be used for both thrusting and chopping.
The shape of this "Yangwu Sword" is somewhat similar to the so-called Tang Dao produced by some sword dealers in later generations.
However, judging from the feedback from many generals in the past year, the chopping function of the "Yangwu Sword" is of little significance. Therefore, the three wall knights under Yuan Shitai's command now mainly use the Yangwu Sword to strengthen the direct thrust.
aspect.
Manchus generally use curved waist knives. This short weapon is suitable for light cavalry. It is more flexible in close combat and is also suitable for displaying the knight's personal martial arts.
As for the Dashun cavalry, now not only Chu Chuang's three wall cavalry, but most of the heavy cavalry are popularizing the wall charge tactic.
In the phalanx of the wall charge, the space for the knight's personal martial arts to be displayed is very limited, and it is not suitable for a weapon like the waist knife that requires a large swing to chop.
The role of the Three Walls Cavalry is to attack the enemy's line to open a gap, so the straight-edged long sword suitable for thrusting is perfect for them.
Of course, the most important main weapon of the Three Walls is the horse spear. For cavalry charges, short weapons are always a forced choice after falling into close combat.
The cavalry team of the Dashun Army gave full play to their tactical characteristics, fighting and retreating, and quickly retreated safely to the control of the Taiyuan garrison from the fierce pursuit of the Qing army's elite troops.
Yuan Shitai ordered Zhang Guowu to light his flag. After the defenders on the city saw Yuan Shitai's flag, Chen Yongfu immediately ordered some defenders to be sent out of the city to respond.
Chen Yongfu's son Chen De died in the hands of the Qing army, and his hatred for the Manchus was beyond words. Looking at the rangers who hurriedly retreated, Chen Yongfu wanted to ask them why they gave up their mission so quickly.
But Chen Yongfu knew Yuan Shitai quite well. This warrior who made outstanding achievements in the Baigouhe Battle was probably not a coward who ran away from the enemy.
"Jilharang is moving his troops east?"
This sudden news also made Chen Yongfu and Jiang Yu have the same speculation as Yuan Shitai.
As the coach of Taiyuan City, they have a relatively broad vision. Especially Chen Yongfu, who has such a close relationship with Li Laiheng, and has a certain understanding of the Shun Army's overall strategy. He knows that Li Laiheng's main purpose of leaving troops in Kaifeng is to deal with Dorgon's inevitable
A decisive battle on the Yellow River was initiated on his own initiative.
Jiang Quan was not clear about the core strategy within the Shun Army. He carefully observed Chen Yongfu's face, but he could not find any clues on the bold and careful Chen Yongfu's face, so he had to give up.
Chen Yongfu remained silent. He sat back and put his hands on his chin. After pondering for a moment, he said:
"Are the real prisoners from Manchuria actually being transferred?"
Yuan Shitai and Zhang Guowu shook their heads. This sentence made Jiang Yu feel that the situation would definitely change.
The loyal and brave Marshal Jiang finally asked: "If the Qing army moves its troops eastward, it seems that the decisive battle on the river is imminent. Are we... continuing to hold on?"
Of course, Jiang Yan's original intention was to hold on to Taiyuan and avoid any trouble. But he also knew that based on his understanding of the Dashun Army over a long period of time, the Shun Army's combat style has always been to actively seek battles.
If fighter planes do appear, Li Laiheng will definitely appreciate generals who take the initiative to fight.
Jiang Quan considered how his career would develop in the Shun Dynasty if the Dashun Army was defeated, and he couldn't help but feel that it might be more accurate to take the initiative when Jierhalang mobilized his troops.
Chen Yongfu said solemnly: "The enemy has not mobilized many troops yet. It is difficult to say whether to defend or attack. But I believe it is not long. In a few days, we should know what decision to make."
He then looked to the east of Taiyuan City, looking across the lofty Taihang Mountains and towards the Yellow River where the ice and snow were about to melt. The time window for Dorgon to cross the Yellow River south was estimated to be no more than half a month.
Even if Dorgonzi breaks through the four prefectures of Hebei and defeats Li Laiheng's reinforcements in the past half month, the Qing army may not have time to cross the river.
"Dorgon was slow to use troops and lost the opportunity." Chen Yongfu said, "The Qing army has no other choice. We must not be impatient."