Crazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty

The cavalry on both wings beat the peasant rebels like waves, squeezing them all into the middle.And the two thousand-man phalanx in the middle, like in the execution ground, ruthlessly shot down the peasant rebels row by row with firecrackers.

The fear of death had accumulated to the extreme, and the desire to live was ignited in the hearts of those peasant rebels.I don't know who was the first to charge towards the Runing Army's phalanx. A large group of peasant rebels immediately went into a state of madness, and rushed over after them, trying to find a way out here.Therefore, the berserk charge under the shadow of death appeared again.

In fact, the Runing Army had been prepared for the peasant rebel army, which was a desperate beast. They had already kept a distance of about [-] steps from the peasant rebel army.However, the intensity of this berserk charge was beyond the expectations of the Runing army, and even the continuous rounds of firecrackers could not stop the footsteps of the peasant rebel army.Seeing that the situation was not good, the gunner commander immediately ordered the gunners to withdraw to the back row, while the artillery with shotguns and the swarming carts prepared behind were urgently pushed forward.

The spearmen in the first few rows of the phalanx also immediately leveled their spears and set up the spear array.This is also the first time that the infantry of the Runing Army fought face-to-face with the peasant rebel army today, so the spearmen were nervous with a hint of excitement in their hearts.

However, the frantic crowd of the peasant rebel army has become very thin under the shooting of firecrackers. There are many women and old people mixed among them, and some of them are even unarmed, so they cannot be called a fighting force at all. army.

On the other hand, the Runing Army's spears in the front and rear rows twitched back and forth, and the assassination movements came and went one after another.It can be seen from the air that the phalanx of the Runing Army is like two harvesting machines, harvesting the soldiers of the Peasant Rebel Army like wheat in the field.The scene is one-sided.

Such a battle made the excitement of the Runing Army's spearmen quickly disappear.It's just the inertia brought about by long-term training, which made the pikemen move mechanically.But their expressions gradually became numb.

After the artillery and a swarm of bees from behind pushed up, a salvo of shotgun shells and rockets knocked down all the remaining peasant rebels.Then the musketeers who loaded the ammunition began to shoot again, and the Runing Army's position was once again tied.

The counterattack of the peasant rebel army aroused the crazy firepower of the Runing army, and the artillery that had fired the shotgun also stopped for a while.The artillery quickly loaded solid ammunition and bombarded the dense crowd of peasant rebels. After several rounds of bombardment, the remaining backbones of those peasant rebels were completely broken.

At this time, it was the gunner who became numb.Although the war is still going on, it gives the impression that civilians are being massacred.Several peasant rebels who knew they had no hope of escape knelt down to the soldiers of the Runing Army. They kowtowed repeatedly and begged for their lives. Some kowtows were gray-haired old men.

Some gunners of the Runing Army couldn't bear it.They all paused their shooting and looked at the fire gun commander, waiting for his order.The leader of the firecrackers also saw this scene, but the military regulations of the Runing Army are quite strict. When the commander does not issue an order to surrender, no one is allowed to stop fighting.

Therefore, the commander of the fire gun can only deflect too far.He didn't direct his eyes towards the direction of the peasant rebel army, and slashed off the waist knife in his hand.And shouted: "Shoot!"

……

Three more pontoon bridges were successively destroyed by the artillery and cavalry of the Runing Army.The peasant rebels had fewer escape routes.The pushing and shoving from behind had already made the people on the Huaihe River unable to stand. They were pushed down the river by the crowd behind them one after another, and the ice on the bank of the river also heard the crackling sound of "crack, blah, blah!"

Compared with the numbness of the infantry, the cavalry of the Runing Army were even more excited.The collision of horses and the trampling of horseshoes, the stabbing of spears and the slashing of sabers, this bloody scene fully stimulated the tyrannical factors in the cavalry's human nature.

Even Tao Xin, who was on the battlefield for the first time, was full of enthusiasm when he led his team of cavalry to charge twice.Tao Xin yelled at his cavalry: "Do it again, okay?"

"Good!" All the cavalry responded in unison.They lined up again, and when it was their turn, everyone immediately rode their horses and started sprinting again, as if they were playing a fun game.

The location of Wu Shigong's middle army is not far from the front line.Everyone can also see this massacre.Even if some people's sight was blocked by the smoke from the firecrackers, they could still hear the screams and cries for help that resounded through the sky.

The triumphant smiles on the faces of the officers and soldiers gradually subsided. They were all soldiers, not butchers. The feeling of fighting the enemy was completely different from slaughtering unarmed civilians.

But these officers and soldiers took a sneaky look at Wu Shigong again, and found that Wu Shigong's face was very calm, so they could only sigh inwardly: "It seems that this Shaanxi bandit has really offended my lord, and my lord wants to drive them all out." Go down to the river!"

This is also because Wu Shigong was surrounded by only these officers, and none of them dared to disobey Wu Shigong's order.If there were civil officials like Deng Qifan now, they might have persuaded Wu Shigong to recruit the peasant rebel army.

In fact, Wu Shigong was also hesitating in his heart.On the one hand, he really hated the losses caused by the peasant rebel army to Runing and Guide, especially the more than 500 casualties caused to the Runing army in Ningling County; on the other hand, He also felt that the peasant rebels who were besieged were really pitiful.Most of them are honest people who just joined the peasant rebel army when they couldn't survive.

But when Wu Shigong was hesitating, two more pontoon bridges were interrupted by artillery.Some peasant rebels who were unable to cross the river were already desperate. They looked at the other side and jumped into the water one after another to commit suicide.

The peasant rebels who had crossed the river were basically selected young and strong. Most of their family members stayed on this side, so seeing that their families could not get out of trouble, many peasant rebels on the other side also knelt on the ground and cried loudly. Shout, call.

The scene on both sides of the strait seems to be the end of the world, and the separation of a river is like the separation of life and death.Those peasant rebels who could not cross the river fell into the water like dumplings in a pot, and a layer of corpses was immediately spread on the river.

Two more pontoons were broken, leaving only the last one.The pontoon bridge was crowded with people who wanted to cross the river, and the ugliness of human nature was undoubtedly exposed at the critical moment of life and death. Those women with babies in their arms and the frail elderly were pushed off the bridge one after another, only those who were strong still persisted Move towards the opposite bank.

But the pontoon bridge was kept for a shorter period of time.All the artillery of the Runing Army was concentrated, and soon the pontoon bridge was interrupted again.A peasant rebel soldier on the other side of the broken bridge obviously had his family members left behind. He cried and called for his family members to come over, but when his family members gritted their teeth and jumped into the river, the river was just beaten. One swirl and no one can be seen.

Wu Shigong also felt the gazes from around him, and he was also on pins and needles, but after several struggles, he was still hesitating.But when Wu Shigong saw that one of his cavalrymen knocked a woman carrying a baby into the air, and the baby flew high into the chaotic crowd and disappeared in a blink of an eye, he couldn't bear it anymore.

"Send the order quickly! Surrender! Surrender!" Wu Shigong hurriedly issued the order, and before he knew it, he had already stood on the stirrup excitedly.The soldiers who had been waiting for a long time immediately rushed to send orders to the various troops.

Feeling his loss of composure, Wu Shigong sat on the back of Renlai Crazy again, and after taking a long breath to stabilize his emotions, Wu Shigong continued to order: "We are all citizens of Ming Dynasty, as long as we swear that we will not follow the thief again." , those who are injured must be treated, those who are hungry and cold must be resettled, and as many people as possible should be kept! Alas——!"

After receiving the order, all the soldiers of the Runing Army shouted in unison: "Surrender! Surrender! Throw down your weapons and lie on the ground!"

The remnants of the peasant rebel army actually didn't want to resist any longer. They all had a sense of exhaustion, and they all collapsed on the ground, and some of them even burst into tears.

Seeing that it was impossible to meet those who were still on the other side of the river, Zhang Xianzhong asked, "How many people are we coming here?"

"More than 7!" Li Dingguo, who managed to cross the river at the last moment, replied, "But those women and children basically didn't come over, and most of the property we took away didn't cross the river."

"Alas!" Zhang Xianzhong also let out a long sigh.I don't know whether he is sorry for those women and children, or for the lost property, "Leave immediately! Don't let Butcher Wu drive across the river, tell those sons by the river, just say that my Eighth King will do it for you!" If they want to take revenge, go and take down Luzhou first. For those who are disobedient and refuse to leave, just tie them up and go, and the official dogs on the opposite side will come soon!"

In fact, Zhang Xianzhong was also very complicated at this time. He felt sorry for those people and property that had not crossed the river, and felt that he had abandoned those useless women and children, and because of the loss of these women and children, he had gained those loyal loyalists who had a deep hatred. I really don’t know about this. Is it good or bad!

The Runing Army ignored Zhang Xianzhong's troops who gradually disappeared on the other side, and they escorted groups of prisoners down.The vigor and spirit of those captives were completely knocked out, and everyone's state was like a group of ghosts.

Of the more than 8 peasant rebel troops who stayed here, except for the more than 2 who ran away, the Runing Army only captured [-] people.The rest of the nearly [-] peasant rebels lost their lives in this short period of half a day.

Although after the fierce battle, the soldiers of the Runing Army were a little hungry, but seeing the Shura field full of dead bodies, none of the soldiers had any appetite anymore.Some new soldiers even vomited yellow water from their stomachs.

The emotions of Wu Shigong and other generals also affected the entire Runing Army, and they were not at all happy after the victory, and they were all silently doing the finishing work.

Zhou Xun came to Wu Shigong's side and comforted him softly: "Old Commander! It's not your fault! These people are all bandits!"

Wu Shigong looked at the blood-stained ground in front of him, at the corpses floating on the Huaihe River, shook his head and said, "I don't want such a victory!"

The sun finally tore through the clouds, and a ray of sunlight fell, and Ren Laifeng immediately hissed towards the ray of sunlight...

(End of the fourth volume) (To be continued...)