Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 424 Muddy Waters ([-])

In the early morning, a large-scale troop walked low-key on the small roads in the countryside of Laizhou.There was some mist outside today, so the officers had to keep their troops close together.Walking in the forefront was a troop all dressed in khaki military uniforms. The troops were divided into five columns and walked in the middle of the road.

The weather was already a bit cold, and the fields on both sides of the road that should have been planted with overwintering wheat were empty and covered with large swaths of weeds, which made some soldiers walking on the road feel very uncomfortable.A large area of ​​farmland was abandoned, bandits ran rampant in the countryside, and the people fled one after another. This is what Shaanxi was like back then!

These soldiers wore khaki military uniforms with brass buttons on their upper bodies, military trousers of the same khaki color with red seams on their lower bodies, white leggings on their calves, and heavy suede leather shoes on their feet.If you look at it from the above alone, the military appearance of this army is still neat, and it seems to be a strong army; but if you add the messy weapons they hold in their hands (spears, broadswords, samurai swords, harpoons, Bird guns, bows and arrows, etc.), and the messy military hats (straw hats, big caps, leather hats, bamboo hats, hoods) on their heads, you will find that they are no different from those places where the regiments are training.

The only difference is that these people's spirits are much better than those of the regiments. From their rosy faces, it can be seen that they can at least have enough food, and maybe some meat from time to time.And they chanted slogans collectively amidst the officers' passwords every once in a while, which made people feel that their morale was much stronger than those of the country braves and even the Ming army.If those Ming soldiers, who have not been able to eat enough for a long time and have no money to talk about, confront them, I am afraid that they will be defeated in a short time. Isn't it morale to fight these days!

Behind this army was a convoy of donkey or mule carts.These vehicles are loaded with a large number of arrow branches, lead, gunpowder barrels, tents, barbed wire, bandages, disinfectant alcohol, coal stove briquettes, kitchen utensils, dry food and other logistical supplies. A large group of military officers are taking care of the livestock pulling the carts .A cavalry unit of about [-] people was scattered on both sides of the supply unit. They rode the endurance Mongolian horses and walked slowly in the open and flat wheat fields on both sides of the road.Judging from their faces, half of these people have the faces of Semu people, and the other half have the faces of Ming people. They are also wearing khaki military uniforms. A saber with a slender handle.And those Semuren cavalry horses seemed to have a very long spear in their saddlebags, which is rare nowadays!

Behind the convoy are twenty artillery sports cars pulled by horses. There are long-barreled cannons and short-barreled howitzers in different calibers, ranging from 4 pounds to 12 pounds.Inside the cannon carts were artillery shells, propellant powder packs with weighed weights, cannon brushes, cleaning rods, weighing instruments and other equipment. About a hundred gunners sat on the last ten carts, looking boredly at the foggy the wilderness.

Behind the artillery unit were more than a dozen middle- and senior-level officers riding horses and well-dressed. They seemed to be the commanders of this unit.Behind the officers were hundreds of soldiers in khaki military uniforms, big caps, and bayonets and rifles on their shoulders. These people had strong steps and firm eyes, and they walked without a single noise. They looked very elite.

Walking at the end was a large group of soldiers carrying spears. These people were tall, dark-skinned, and lined up quite neatly. It seemed that they had practiced a formation for a long time.It is worth mentioning that the length of the spears in their hands is very long, and the shafts of the spears are also very thick. Once they are held forward, they can almost be used as repelling horses. Strong, I am afraid that it is not good to use such a heavy weapon.

Some landowners in the countryside of Laizhou stood on the wall of their village, watching the troop passing by with trepidation, almost unable to think of any resistance.This is a thief in yellow, a pirate from the east coast!Look at the cannons they pull, my God, this is the Huangyi cannon that is even more powerful than the Hongyi cannon!It's been half an hour since the soldiers went out here, God knows which of these yellow-clothed pirates went out to fight, it is estimated that thousands of people were dispatched this time, this force may even be able to take down Laizhou City, right?

Forget it, let's take care of myself, anyway, it's not my family who are unlucky.The yellow-clothed pirates from the east coast are gone. They dared to run amok in the countryside when there were hundreds of people before, but now it seems that the momentum is getting stronger. It seems that the arrival of the master of the Qing Dynasty can't solve it.I hate that Yang Wei, the deputy commander in chief of the new Dengzhou city, is actually the same as Zeng Hualong who once recruited him. Last month, he dared to send troops to wander around Ninghai Prefecture. Unexpectedly, after being warned by the bandits in yellow, this Yue only dared to shrink back in the city and never dared to stand up again.I don't know what happened to the army under the command of General Ke in Jiaozhou. I heard that the foundation of this army can be traced back to the Tianyou Army and Tianzhu Army in the Qing Dynasty.It seems that only Ke Zongzhen can fight the yellow-clothed pirates on the east coast. It's a pity that Yang Wei, who is based in a famous city like Dengzhou, has repeatedly resisted the surrender of Chen Jin, the governor of Denglai in the Qing Dynasty. Leading the army to Qingzhou to suppress bandits, I am afraid that they will not be able to return to Laizhou in a short time.What a pity, what a pity.

Kurhan galloped back through the mist with a few cavalrymen of Sakhalin origin. After checking the password with the cavalry guards from a distance, they were allowed to approach the central army.

"With the help of Zhai Xiaoshan, we have contacted the people of Monk Zhai Wu. They brought less than 2000 people to Qingzhou, and they are probably in the Le'an area. Zhao Yingyuan took thousands of people to Yidu (that is, Qingzhou City) a few days ago. ), said it was because the family members of the soldiers were in Qingzhou City, so they took people to ask Wang Aoyong to surrender. However, according to Zhai Wu privately, Zhao Yingyuan was afraid that Zhao Yingyuan had surrendered falsely. The special envoy Li Zicheng sent in his army, Yang Wangxiu It should have played a key role in this process." The intelligence staff who set off with Kurhan reported to Mo Ming, the highest officer of this operation.

"Monk Zhai Wu is very interesting. He can reveal such confidential things to us. Zhao Yingyuan is really trusting them to work with them. Sooner or later, he will be killed for not keeping secrets." Mo Ming briefly commented on Zhao Yingyuan , Monk Zhai Wu and others, and then turned to Mao Desheng, the commander of the 104th company of the army, Li Renjun, the commander of the 105th company, and Yang Mingyang, the captain of the newly established cavalry brigade, and said: "This time our purpose is to go to Qingzhou to stir up trouble. If we can cooperate It would be the best for Zhao Yingyuan to take Qingzhou down. If he can't take it down, make a big noise nearby. The bigger the noise, the better. Shandong is only so far away from Beijing, and any disturbance here will make Manqing nervous. What's more, now their main force is heading to Shanxi one after another, preparing to start a big battle with Li Zicheng. It is also good for us to give them eye drops at this time, to share the pressure on Li Zicheng, so that he will not lose quickly. But there is also a The principle, that is, do not fight tough battles, do not fight wars of attrition, soft persimmons can be squeezed, and if the enemy resists firmly, then bypass. In short, we are supporting, not for Zhao Yingyuan, nor for Dashun, but for ourselves. The more chaotic the situation in Shandong, the better."

This was the tone set before the departure, and the chief officers of the army naturally had no objections.Everyone had discussed it before, this time when Zhao Yingyuan attacked Qingzhou City, the people from the east bank went to the countryside of other counties and counties in Qingzhou to collect food and grass while attacking the local forces that surrendered to the Qing Dynasty.The armed strength and morale of the gentry in those places are very weak, and they are really vulnerable to the people on the east coast, even worse than the soldiers who came forward.In fact, this is also good. It can allow the standing team to train and build some self-confidence through abuse of food, which is good for the improvement of future combat power.

The same goes for the new cavalrymen.This time, Mo Ming reorganized more than 350 new Polish mercenaries. These people are basically cavalry. Mo Ming selected 250 of them with rich combat experience and formed them together with 250 cavalry brought by Li Zhengang. A squadron of cavalry was formed.The team leader was Yang Mingyang, an officer of the crossing team, and the deputy team leader was a Polish veteran and Pei Qin, who was transferred from the No. 1 Brigade of the Volunteer Squad.

Since the people on the East Coast have only successfully transferred more than ten horses from the mainland, Madao, and South African military horse farms in the past two years, these horses are currently left behind for breeding in order to improve the breeds of local Mongolian horses and Korean pony horses. , so these cavalry can only ride Mongolian horses traded from the Shandan people.This made the Polish cavalry known as heavy armored cavalry with strong impact suddenly useless, so they have now changed their jobs to light cavalry, mainly using sabers and pistols to engage in close combat with the enemy, and occasionally using spears to attack Take a look at the enemy infantry that is on the verge of collapse.Fortunately, they are all veterans who have fought old battles, and their close combat skills are quite strong, and their morale is not bad, so this cavalry unit is far stronger than the infantry who came forward.

Li Chuang's situation is not optimistic now. The continuous wars in Qinghai and Gansu have restrained a large part of his main force, and Zhang Xianzhong in the south is currently preparing his troops, pointing his sword at Hanzhong, preparing to stab the old Li Chrysanthemum.The situation in western Henan and southern Henan under the control of Dashun is not very good. Under the urging of Shi Kefa's strict orders, the Nanming army began to attack the counties and counties under the control of Dashun. And fight and retreat.On the Shanxi battlefield, where the main forces of both sides gathered, the Qing army, which had a strength of more than 15 after the addition of local armed forces, formed a huge numerical advantage over the Dashun Army of Li Guo, Chen Yongfu and others.The combat strength is not as good as that of the Eight Banners Army, and now the number is less than half of others. In addition, they have brought in a large number of red cannons, and their firepower is also inferior. This battle is already very dangerous.

Therefore, the people on the east bank, who were unwilling to see Li Zicheng's quick defeat and the Qing army's rapid unification of the north, decided to make trouble in Shandong and stir up some tricks to distract the Qing army's attention. It would be better if they could disperse their forces. up.

(End of this chapter)