stubborn thief

In Zhang Tianlin's eyes, Yang Zhengfang was like a madman, quickly forming the largest pure infantry phalanx he had ever seen.

The movement changes on the entire battlefield were particularly grand. Two military formations of 7000 people merged into one while jumping over the earth barrier.

At the outermost edge are small square formations spaced seven or eight steps apart. Each small square formation is composed of more than thirty light and heavy infantrymen. A small square formation like this has two layers of stitches on the outside; Under the protection of the small square formation, there were lines of hundreds of people, crossing the earth barrier and moving forward steadily with the horse barrier.

This huge and slow-moving military formation even gave Zhang Tianlin an illusion, as if Yang Zhengfang had deliberately turned his butt towards him, waiting for his cavalry to kick him.

After all, although the large horizontal formations within the square formation, which were separated by more than ten steps, could effectively reduce the casualties caused by artillery shells when the columns charged, they were too easy to be smashed by the cavalry from the front. Of course, it was easier to hit them from behind.

So much so that Zhang Tianlin waved her hand to stop the Qianjin artillery team that was preparing to complete the final attack and pack up the vehicles to retreat north. At their speed, not to mention whether they could rush to the artillery position, just their steady and steady marching speed would still allow the Qianjin artillery team to stop. One more round.

Maybe two rounds.

However, Zhang Tianlin was not impulsive. He was confused by the enemy general's actions and became wary. He just ordered the artillery to continue firing, without giving any orders to the flanking cavalry responsible for impact and disruption. He carefully studied the enemy formation, trying to find the true meaning of this large square formation. flaw.

But the real flaw is the front.

Yang Zhengfang was just gambling, his purpose was not to seize the cannon.

Because as long as the artillery carriage moves, his heavy infantry cannot catch up.

As for the light infantry that has lost the protection of heavy infantry, even if the Miao soldiers rarely fight on battlefields like the north where cavalry is used on a large scale, they still know that cavalry chases light infantry like rabbits, and they cannot be like donkeys hanging from carrots. He chased after him with his head down and the cannon.

What's more, once the light and heavy infantry are separated, both sides will be defeated in a long chase.

Therefore, he deliberately arranged this formation to induce Zhang Tianlin's cavalry to attack from the front. Even if the impact was not enough, he wanted to let him rush over and turn the front line into a melee.

At that time, there will be me among you and you among me, and we will not be able to use cannons to hit you.

Although Yang Zhengfang didn't know who the commander of the marshal's army was, he could tell that he was a brave and ruthless character with great skills. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to use it when there were more than 1 Ming troops within a radius of fifty miles. Five thousand troops surrounded him.

This is certainly not the best tactic, but it is the most useful tactic he can choose at the moment.

But Zhang Tianlin was not fooled.

It's not that he feels sorry for the soldiers and doesn't want the cavalry to rush into the enemy's lines. After all, any general knows that as soon as a person goes to the battlefield, whether he is a general or a soldier, he is no longer a human being, just a number.

There is no question of whether or not a tactical choice is possible, only whether it is worth it.

Yang Zhengfang would not think about how many heavy infantrymen would die during the attack on the artillery array, because this was worth more on the entire battlefield than standing still and receiving artillery fire.

Zhang Tianlin also doesn't think about whether the cavalry can rush into the enemy's position. He only thinks about whether it is worth it.

It's clearly not worth it.

Zhang Tianlin had a clear view of the enemy's front. The thousands of heavy infantry placed on the flanks by the suppressing troops were enough to deter his cavalry from making rash moves.

Under such flank protection, it is meaningless to penetrate from the front. Even if it is defeated from the front, what will happen?
He did not want to defeat the enemy army but to annihilate it.

How many layers can his cavalry penetrate through the large horizontal formations?
With fewer enemies and more enemies, his troops were already stretched thin, and the combat width of the cavalry was much greater than that of the infantry. Regardless of close range shooting or close combat, they could not do better than the infantry on horseback.

If they cannot break through the flanks, the enemy troops will not evolve into a large-scale rout, and the final result will be nothing more than a protracted melee in which they compete for endurance.

So why are you still riding a horse?
During the march of the suppressing soldiers, Zhang Tianlin looked across the battlefield where horses were galloping and bullets were flying, and she turned to Wang Huaizhong, the commander-in-chief of the [-]th Army, and asked: "How long does it take for the commander to arrive on the battlefield?"

"A moment ago, the Tang soldiers reported that the army had been nearly twenty miles away. They will arrive on the battlefield one after another within an hour. However, the Tang soldiers have all been sent to the northwest to fight with the Liao soldiers Tang Ma. Zu Kuan should be in the eastern suburbs of Xingping County."

an hour?

Zhang Tianlin nodded to indicate that she understood, and said to Tang Qi again: "Ask for help from the commander-in-chief and speed up the march. Our troops are about to engage in battle with the enemy."

After that, he strengthened his confidence, waved his hand and ordered: "Send Zhao Zhirui, order him to lead the two-winged cavalry to continue the harassment, dismount the Zhongqian headquarters, use the magic weapon to push the lion cannon into their faces, and fight on foot!"

Following his order, the regular soldiers staying in the central army, Qian Zong, dismounted one after another, and handed over the horses to Bai Zong, who was in charge of donkeys and mules. Then more than a thousand soldiers put on armor, took off the long shields from the chariots, and stood in front of the battle. List the large horizontal teams for foot combat.

At the same time, the Chinese army in the camp connected the entire camp with 250 and six tanks into a camp, and covered the baggage, war horses, military flags, drums, and the remaining 600 cavalry in the camp.

There are more than [-] steps, which takes a while for the formation of Zhenjun soldiers.

During the two rounds of firing of the thousand-pound cannon, Yang Zhengfang's army moved forward more than 200 steps. It was considered that the entire army had crossed over from the earthen barrier. However, Zhang Tianlin's reaction was beyond his expectation. He saw the enemy [-] steps away. When the cavalry soldiers dismounted and formed a horizontal formation, he knew something was wrong.

The enemy general is not only highly skilled and bold, but also extremely calm.

He suffered mainly from his lack of knowledge.

Although Huguang and even the southwest region are covered with mountains, forests, and rivers, war horses and cavalry are not rare species. On the contrary, they are very common.

There is no shortage of fine war horse breeds in the southwest. Since the Southern Song Dynasty, Shuixi and other places have been the production areas of fine horses. During the Mongolian and Yuan Dynasties, horse breeding farms were also established, and stallions were transferred from the north and the western regions to further improve the quality of war horses.

However, the output is not enough to supply the entire southwestern army, so most of the southwestern horsemen use Sichuan horses and Yunnan horses as their mounts.

After all, the weight of Sichuan horses and Yunnan horses is there, not to mention little guys like Guoliu. Even the Southwest horses with a normal weight of three to four hundred kilograms have not yet passed the test, even if they are carrying a person without equipment. Out of heavy duty.

Although the life of the southwest cavalry is no different from that of the veterans who were born on the fortress. They have also been riding horses all over the mountains and fields since they were young. They are very skilled in bow and horse skills, but in the final analysis they are still light cavalry.

Single-handed, with a bow and arrow, this is just like the Mongolian herdsmen. They are powerful from the perspective of ordinary people, and are nothing compared to the heavy infantry.

Therefore, in Yang Zhengfang's subconscious mind, he felt that although the marshal's army surrounding him had many horses, its total strength was small, and it was impossible to dismount and fight with him.

But in the final analysis, they had to cross the river quickly and lacked heavy equipment, so the Liaodong cavalry ran to find food, leaving the Zhenjun and Mao soldiers alone to face Zhang Tianlin's troops who were able to fight independently.

It is precisely because of this that Zhang Tianlin will hold on to the rockets - such an opponent can be beaten any way he wants, so it is better to save the use of one less rocket for a more important time.

If the formation is not formed, use cavalry to cover it up; if the formation is formed, use artillery to break it down; if it is not broken down, keep bombarding; if it is not broken down, use infantry to charge; if the infantry breaks up, use cavalry to chase it away.

In short... everything he does is wrong.

On the front line of the battle, as Zhang Tianlin's cavalry dismounted and formed an infantry line to move forward steadily, the two armies quickly approached, and soon the distance was only a hundred steps away.

Almost at the same time, the Marshal's army's ten lion cannons and hundreds of electric muskets fired; the Ming army's Yongzhu cannon, tiger crouching cannon and bird muskets and large crossbows were also set up at Juma Gate and fired.

Dozens of small artillery pieces erupted in flames and large smoke in front of the battle line. Thousands of lead pellets and iron rods punched holes in the smoke, and then passed over the battlefield like streams of light with a sound of breaking through the air, creating a tear at the front of the battle line. A cotton-like pop.The thick shield and the strong horse were riddled with holes, and even the thick armor could not withstand it.

Many people groaned the first time they were shot. The thick cotton smocks and iron armor made it impossible for people to tell whether the armor was penetrated by the projectile. Only the huge pain made people lose their strength, and everyone twisted their bodies. Collapsed to the ground.

Some people could hold it back, but more people couldn't. Before the smoke from the battlefield was taken away by the wind blowing in the wilderness, wailing sounds filled the sky over the entire plateau.

But the march did not stop.

More lead bullets and arrows flew between the two armies, and the marching military formation was like running water. The soldiers slowly and steadily stepped over the bodies of their own wounded soldiers and continued to advance steadily.

Behind the formation, Zhang Tianlin formed a car formation in the Chinese army. A Bai Zong, wearing a white helmet and tassels, and a red cloth armor skirt with plain ribbons at the hem, walked out quickly, followed by two men in the same attire but wearing a helmet. The management team holding a small white flag.

Behind the officer, there were soldiers in groups of two. They did not wear armor. Even the few who were strong could only wear chainmail. They were walking around the back of the battlefield with their waists bent, carrying stretchers made improvised with long sticks and coarse cloth bags. Toward the wounded soldiers, he walked as fast as he could.

They are the military medical brigade under the camp.

But these people are serious soldiers, not military doctors.

Affiliated to the main camp, the 120-person military medical brigade is actually more like a military academy.

Each battalion has only one to two experienced general medical officers, two to four doctors specializing in surgery and osteopathy, and three to five doctors experienced in surgery, osteopathy, and acne.

Doctors and medical doctors are all professional titles, and medical officers are medical doctors who receive a salary in the Imperial Hospital.

Seeing the military medical team flying past her, Zhang Tianlin stood on the horse, her hand holding the binoculars became more and more nervous: the front line was about to meet the enemy.

It's not that the two military formations collided head-on. Both sides were from the Ming army. Although the regions were different, there was not much difference in military training. They all used large formations between formations and formations. The enemy's process is the same.

On a larger scale, the two commanders and generals under General Qian in front of the formation formed in tandem. On a smaller scale, the teams in charge of each of the [-]-General Brigade also formed in tandem. .

Then the teams in front of both sides advanced one after another, and when there were only twenty or thirty steps left, they changed to a quick pace. Each of them held arrows and lead pellets, leveled their spears and wolves, and collided with each other.

The wolf sword was not invented by Qi Jiguang, but by Ye Zongliu, the leader of the mining soldiers who rebelled in Zhejiang during the Zhengtong period. A wolf sword could cover half a team of soldiers in a battle formation, and Mao Gourd soldiers who were good at short-range combat were also used. They were transferred to the coast to fight against Japanese pirates, so the army was also equipped with a small number of wolves.

Although this thing looks a bit funny, it is very practical.

The [-]-[-]-[-]-foot wolf spear is longer than the [-]-foot ordinary infantry spear, and there are countless twigs with sharp edges, which not only blocks the enemy's view, but also hides the strength of our own spears. The attack path makes it a particularly tricky weapon in battle formations.

However, Zhang Tianlin's soldiers were all cavalrymen dismounted from their horses. The limited spears they were equipped with were all cavalry spears.

The riding spear is three feet longer than the foot spear.

The two teams collided with each other, and they were ready to use their tactics. Your wolf spear is long, and my spear is not short. Countless spears collided with each other, forming a spear wall. Every soldier on both sides was forced to Under the threat of several spear points, he simultaneously searched for the assassination target in the narrow gap.

But in fact, the mission of the sergeants using spears in the dense military formation is not to assassinate one or two enemies as much as possible, but to move forward.

The teams that were advancing on its side did not move forward. They only aimed at the enemy's face with their strong bows and large crossbows, and tried to open the gap with projectile weapons.

It's not that the Hou Jin Army is the only one in the world who is good at shooting in the face with bows, but in this era, whenever regular armies with normal equipment level fight, it's useless if you don't shoot in the face with a bow and arrow.

Is it possible to shoot the armor seams?

Not to mention shooting at the seams of the armor with a bow and arrow, even with a spear, you can't poke the seams of the armor. Who can see clearly where the seams of the armor are from a distance of four or five meters?
Even if a person only wears a suit of hard leather armor, or even silk armor, or thick paper armor, the arrow will only cause a superficial wound on the body. The only way to kill the person is to shoot the arrow at the face that lacks protection.

But in a forest of spears, it's not easy to hit the face accurately.

On the contrary, muskets have great advantages in this kind of melee. As long as they hit, no matter which part they hit, they can quickly lose combat effectiveness.

During the head-on confrontation, the marshal's cavalry located on the flanks and back of the Ming army were not idle either. They harassed the troops with musketry cavalry again and again, and even formed small groups and large groups to attack the positions, but it was difficult to achieve success.

After all, heavy infantry is inherently resistant to impact.

At the beginning of the battle, if you charge, he will be full of energy and high fighting spirit. It is impossible for him to charge, and he will even dare to shoot you with a crossbow.

For a period of time after the battle begins, your physical strength is low and your fighting spirit is weak. Even if you are mentally able to rush, you will not be able to physically run away, which means you still have no urge.

So in fact, for the heavy armored infantry who are in hand-to-hand combat, even if they are not hit by projectile weapons, they will quickly lose their combat effectiveness... If they can wear heavy armor and maintain the front line to fight hand-to-hand for a quarter of an hour, they are already considered to have superhuman physical strength.

Zhang Tianlin's dismounted infantry clearly had the advantage in this regard. They had more physical strength at the beginning of the confrontation. Soon the heavy infantry on the front line of the suppression troops were exhausted. Every squad was shaken and slowly retreated.

Zhang Tianlin's infantry naturally pursued the victory, but after only advancing a dozen steps, the battle line was quickly filled by the team behind them, starting a new round of fighting.

The two sides fought back and forth for two times, and the battle line returned to the far point during the tug and pull. The soldiers also changed groups between the advance and retreat. The officers also figured out the opponent's combat capabilities, and it was time for the artillery carried by the army to come on stage.

From time to time, huge bursts of gunpowder smoke erupted from the intersecting battle lines. The soldiers rushed into the line stepping on the corpses of wounded and dead enemy soldiers, using their sabers and gourd bones to smash out pieces of flesh and blood.

At the same time, more than a dozen Liaodong cavalry carrying flags ran out of the locust forest to the west of the battlefield. Zhao Zhirui, who was on the side of the battlefield, soon heard the warning from the Tang soldiers: "Liao soldiers!"

Then more Liaodong cavalry poured out of the woods and lined up in a wide front with their spears straightened. One brigade followed the other brigade and charged directly towards Zhang Tianlin's Chinese army; behind them, there was another battle line of cavalry, and the Liaodong cavalry formed a front line. The soldiers held bows and arrows and three-eyed blunderbuss, and waved their shining sabers in the sun, moving faster and faster.

Farther away on the southwest bank, troops from Huguang Deputy Commander-in-Chief Lei Shisheng crossed the Wei River, geared up, and rushed to the battlefield in the northeast.

Zhao Zhirui, who was on the left flank of the Zhenjun soldiers, was in a tight formation. The rangers under his command scattered on the battlefield broke away from the flanks of the Zhenyu soldiers and formed cavalry brigades amidst the sound of cavalry waist drums.

He drew out the general's war sword from his waist and pointed it at the center of the Liaodong cavalry's advance route to the west of the battlefield, preparing to launch an volley at the thousands of Liaodong cavalry who appeared on the flanks of the battlefield.

At this moment, Zhao Zhirui's Yu saw something flashing in the distant sky.

He raised his head, and saw first black dots circling from the northern sky, and then hundreds of vultures spread their wings in the air, casting huge shadows on the earth at the moment of blocking the sun, and passing by with hoarse and shrill cries. battlefield.

Zhao Zhirui, who was preparing to intercept, looked happy, and his sword and horse head immediately turned to point at Lei Shi who was crossing the river: "The horse soldiers listen to the order and follow me to attack the Ming army crossing the river!"

The thundering horse hooves swept the dust across the battlefield and passed through the smoke. On the horizon behind Zhang Tianlin's army, a large amount of smoke and dust rose from the ground. A red-bottomed banner with handsome characters revealed its true appearance in front of the smoke.

A lone Tangqi under his banner was struggling to walk along the ditch with a three-eyed gun in his ribs and a war flag. He finally found a passable field ridge and tied the war flag on the ridge.

Immediately, rows of marshal's soldiers leading horses arrived at the battlefield, urged by officers wearing bare-shouldered shirts. (End of chapter)