There is a space for passenger planes in the late Ming Dynasty

Tang County, Baoding Prefecture.

It is about 120 miles away from Longquan Pass, which is exactly a day's journey for the cavalry.

Zhou Rui has already led the cavalry of the Shanxi First Brigade to the nearby area and sent out sentry cavalry to investigate.

At this time, the right-wing army of the Manchu and Qing Tatars, the main force led by Yue Tuo, was besieging Baoding City. The remaining troops were dispersed into small groups in units of Niulu, and went deep into the counties and towns of Baoding Prefecture to burn, kill, and loot. War feeds war.

After a while, the sentry cavalry of the Zhenming Army brought back news of the enemy's situation.

"Report to the Major General that the Tatars have gathered a group of soldiers and horses to capture Henghe Town near Tang County. They have plundered a large amount of property and people and are preparing to transport them to Baoding." The sentry horse reported.

"Approximately how many available men and horses do the Tatars have?" Zhou Rui asked.

"There are probably about 240 or 50 cavalry who can fight, but most of them are escorting supplies and personnel, which will seriously affect the combat effectiveness."

After Zhou Rui listened, he thought for a moment. With his 500 cavalry, he should have a great chance against the more than 200 Tatars who are escorting supplies.

So he immediately ordered his cavalry to divide into two directions to outflank the Tatar Niulu. For safety reasons, he also used the Bailitong that Lin Feng personally distributed to them to contact nearby Panda and asked him to bring the Guards Brigade to respond.

On the official road from Henghe Town through Tang County, Tatar Niulu Erzhen Ayantu was organizing the escort of looted personnel and materials.

He was riding carelessly on his horse, not even bothering to send a sentinel, squinting his eyes as he recalled the magical days he had lived these past few days. This raid into the pass was so exciting. The Ming army offered little resistance and the Niulu warriors suffered very little loss.

No matter which Ming Dynasty town you invade, there will be some wealthy families who will only beg for mercy and let the Manchu warriors do whatever they want.

At the latest, the concubine and daughter of the wealthy family in Henghe Town were really tender, and they raped her in front of their men. This feeling was simply too superior, and it greatly satisfied his desire to conquer.

"Bang bang bang!"

Just as Ayantu was having a reaction in his lower body after recollection, and was about to find a captured woman to deal with him on the spot, a burst of firecrackers sounded.

Several leading Tatar cavalrymen were hit by fire cannons and fell off their horses.

"kill!"

Zhou Rui shouted, and the cavalry leading the Shanxi Combat Brigade rushed forward.

The Tatar Niulu Ayantu woke up immediately, ordered the Tatars to abandon the escorted personnel and property, and divided into several groups to meet them.

The fighting power of the Tatars in this era was indeed very strong. Although they were attacked by a surprise attack, they did not panic at all. They had great confidence in facing the Ming army.

However, after one fight, Ayantu felt that something was wrong. This Ming army was not only well-equipped, but also had a strong will to fight. In addition, with only half the number, the Tatar cavalry was quickly at a disadvantage.

After a while of fighting, since the Zhenming Army could basically fight two against one, or three against two, the Tatars continued to lose their horses, and soon there were only a hundred or so horses left.

Looking at the losses of the Ming army, it seems to be a little less than them. When did the Ming army's field combat capability become so strong?

"Retreat!" Seeing that the momentum was not good, Ayantu immediately called on his Niulu men and horses to break away from the battle, abandon their belongings, and retreat towards Baoding.

It should be said that this decision was very timely. After a few more minutes of melee between the two sides, the Tatars would not be able to withdraw.

After hearing the order, the Qing army immediately began to adjust its formation. Since the Tatars' equestrian skills were generally a higher level than those of the Zhenming Army, they quickly got rid of the entanglement of the Zhenming Army and began to organize their evacuation in an orderly manner.

While evacuating, he turned around and shot arrows from time to time, forcing Zhou Rui's troops not to pursue too close. Just as the Tatars were about to escape, the officers and soldiers of the 200 Guards Brigade led by Panda arrived in time and disrupted the retreating formation of the Tatar Niulu from the side.

Lin Feng's personal guard brigade are all elite soldiers selected by various ministries. They are equivalent to the special forces of the Zhenming Army, with more sophisticated armor and weapons.

If the ordinary Zhenming Army is still at a disadvantage when fighting the Tatars one on one, the officers and soldiers of the Guards Brigade will have no problem and can defeat the Tatars one on one.

Soon more than a hundred Tatar cavalry were basically eaten, leaving only Niulu Erzhen Ayantu and two or three white-armored soldiers to resist stubbornly.

The white-armored soldiers all wear two or three layers of armor, which are difficult to penetrate with bows, arrows and swords. In addition, they are physically strong and it is difficult to kill them with ordinary cold weapons.

The several people cooperated quite well, and in a short time they cut down many officers and soldiers of the Guards Brigade.

"Everyone, get out of the way. A group of officers and soldiers in the front row raise their guns." Zhou Rui arrived at this time and ordered.

The Zhenming army around Ayantu immediately retreated, highlighting the three Tatars.

"shoot!"

Zhou Rui gave an order.

No matter how strong the armor is, it can't stand the close range volleys of fire guns. Several Tatars were trembling all over, and each of them was shot at least three or four times before they fell down with angry eyes and unwillingness.

"Vice General Pan, fortunately you arrived in time, otherwise this group of Tatars would have escaped." Zhou Rui stepped forward and said.

"Thanks to the Bailitong provided by the Governor, this thing is really effective in fighting. As soon as Brigade Zhou called, we came over immediately and just intercepted these Tatars." Panda replied.

"Then let's clean up the battlefield first and try to evacuate here as soon as possible to avoid encountering the large group of Tatar soldiers and horses." Zhou Rui continued.

"Brigade Zhou, please organize your brothers from the Shanxi Combat Brigade to clean the battlefield. I will lead the brothers from the Guards Brigade to guard the perimeter." Panda suggested.

"Okay, thank you to Brother Pan for the hard work." Zhou Rui replied.

The two Zhenming Army teams and the Guards Brigade were dispersed to a few miles outside to serve as security guards. Zhou Rui led the troops to quickly clean up the battlefield.

In this battle, most of the Tatars, about 260 people, were wiped out. Zhou Rui knew the Ming Dynasty's military merit system for heads, so he cut off the heads of all the Tatars, and had to take them back first regardless of whether they were rewarded or not.

The officers and soldiers of the Shanxi Combat Brigade suffered about 180 casualties. However, because they took the initiative on the battlefield, most of the injured officers and soldiers were able to be treated and recovered. About 60 people were actually killed in the battle.

Because the Guards Brigade wore more protective plate armor, only a dozen people were killed and less than forty were injured. The two armies combined suffered about 230 casualties.

This also fully reflects the combat effectiveness of the Manchu and Qing Tatars. In the case of a surprise attack, the casualty ratio basically reached one to one.

Of course, because the Zhenming Army controlled the battlefield, most of the injured officers and soldiers were able to recover and return to the army, and the losses were far less than those of the Tatar troops.

This battle also captured about 300 Tatar war horses and more than 500 pieces of armor and weapons. More than 200 captured people were rescued, the vast majority of whom were young adults and women. The useless old people and children were basically killed by the Tatars.

More than 5,600 taels of silver, more than 200 shi of grain, and other mules, horses, cloth and other property were seized.

After consulting the captured people, they found out that they were all afraid of being captured by the Tatars again after returning. Moreover, most of the people had family members killed by the Tatars, and young women had been raped by the Tatars, so no one wanted to go home. Follow the Zhenming Army.

Zhou Rui and Pan Dayi discussed and decided to return to Longquan Pass with the rescued captured people and seized property. (End of chapter)