Ping An Biography

Finally, when the news of the dispatch of the official army came, a large number of people from the Shenji Battalion slowly marched westward from Jiujiang City.Zhu Heng sent a large number of scouts to investigate the military situation, and the two armies encountered small-scale conflicts in various places.

The main force of the Shenji Battalion marched from the front, and each unit was deployed very close to each other, and they went hand in hand to support each other. It was a well-regulated way of marching, and it was neither wise nor risky to fight steadily.However, half a day later, Zhu Heng got the news that thousands of people from the right wing of the official army, relying on the river, protruded greatly from the linear deployment and broke away from the main camp.

Zhu Heng summoned all the sentries to command the above-mentioned generals to the Chinese army for a brief discussion.Some people think that it is a fighter plane that can quickly attack the northern salient of the government army, and achieve a successful start with a local force advantage; the reason is that there may be problems in coordination between the various departments of the government army, and the mistake caused the right wing to protrude.However, there are also conservatives who believe that this move is too risky. If the main force of the Suzaku army is slightly hindered from attacking in the north, it is very likely that the enemy's central main force will catch up and attack from the flanks.

After weighing the pros and cons temporarily, Zhu Heng decided to adopt a more conservative strategy.As a core member of the Senate, he knows the strategic secrets of the Xiangwang Group like the back of his hand, so he has to consider the serious consequences of Yongding Camp once it is defeated; if the elite of the Suzaku Army is lost here, the consequences will be even more devastating... He had considered before that if Yongding Camp was really lost in Jiujiang Mansion, he would not be able to bear the responsibility, so he could only commit suicide and apologize on the spot.

So he ordered the third army of Yongding camp to go ahead and attack the right wing of the official army to the north; the main force was deployed behind the front side as a move to monitor the center of the official army.If the main force of the Shenji Battalion catches up and threatens the flank of the Third Army, the Yongding Battalion can also attack from the front as reinforcements and support for the Third Army.The arrangement of the encounter on the left wing (the right wing of the official army) is based on Zhu Heng's tentative considerations in the early stage. If he wins the first battle, his morale can be greatly improved. If he can't win, he can retreat with the reinforcements of friendly troops . [

The third army, led by Zhang Chengzong, was already on alert for battle, and quickly dispatched to the left wing after receiving the official written military order from the Chinese army.The whole army consists of about 500 infantry, with sufficient equipment and ammunition, twelve six-jin long-barreled cannons, and several Franco-mounted cannons.

In the afternoon, Zhang Chengzong's troops encountered thousands of people from the Shenji Battalion oncoming. The two armies formed their formations at a distance of nearly two miles.Zhang Chengzong didn't intend to take the initiative to approach, so he chose a nearby position with higher terrain, and first unloaded the heavy artillery from the vehicle to set up the artillery position to stop statically.

This is the first time this long-barreled heavy artillery has been put into actual combat. Although it has been tested many times on the school field before, and the generals have a clear understanding of its range and performance, it is still unclear what effect it will actually have on the battlefield. uncertain.The cannon body weighs about [-]-[-] jin, and its length is [-] times that of the caliber. The inner bore is made of copper, and the outer tube is covered with cast iron. But the other side doesn't seem to know it... After all, it's still too early for the people of the Ming Dynasty to see the more powerful Hongyi cannon. People can't imagine that long-range weapons can hit two miles away.

From a distance, the formation and queues of the Shenji Battalion are not very attractive, and the armor system may be relatively casual and outdated. Many military households bring their own clothes and items, and they are not very neat from a distance.On the other hand, the troops of the Third Army are very different. Most of the soldiers in the Yongding Camp belong to the standing army. The whole body, from underwear to armor, is all custom-made by the public. Two or 3000 people in the same uniform stand together in a queue, which is quite a sight to watch. Shocking.Some people wear brand new armor, and even soldiers wearing old armor have just bathed and changed... The Suzaku Army has some small rules, such as drinking water and adding salt in hot weather; and washing the body and clothes before a battle, because Zhang Ning believes that if there is too much dirt on his body, once he is injured on the battlefield, the wound is more likely to be infected, which will increase the death rate.In addition, the first training content of the Suzaku soldiers entering the army is the formation, and then the use of firearms, long spears, etc., so their neat formation is the basic content, and people have formed a habit in the army.

However, whether they look good or not on the battlefield is obviously of secondary importance, and the Yongding Camp with bright armor and military appearance is not necessarily better than the Shenji Camp.

During the brief confrontation on the battlefield, the officers and soldiers first dispatched scout rangers to rush towards this side scatteredly.At this moment, suddenly several thunders roared, the ground shook and the mountains shook, and smoke billowed from the artillery array.The weapon power of black gunpowder is not very powerful, but the amount of use is very large, and the momentum is very public, and the dangerous atmosphere permeates the battlefield for a while.

For the shelling close to Erli, the cannons could only increase the elevation angle, and the accuracy was extremely low. After several shots, none of them hit the target, but some iron eggs had already flown farther.The loud noise stopped for a while, the observation post yelled, and the gunners readjusted their angles.The second explosion was a salvo of twelve heavy artillery, which was even more powerful, and several shots hit the enemy camp, but it didn't seem to have any effect.

The officer's infantry began to advance in the shape of a character, and then suffered a second round of shelling, which also did not cause too many casualties.At this time, the long-barrel cannon's elevation angle is too high at a range of more than one mile, which is not conducive to jumping, and its lethality is naturally greatly reduced.

As time went by, when the forwards of the officers and soldiers advanced one mile away, all the loaded heavy artillery were already waiting for them.Between lightning and thunder, all the heavy artillery let out a huge roar, and solid iron balls weighing six to seven kilograms flew towards the officer camp, and some artillery smashed on the ground in front of the crowd, like tiles floating in the water, and continued. Fly; another direct hit on the crowd.In the dense crowd, it was as if a bloodstain had been torn open. The spattered flesh, stumps, arms, and even brains were mixed in a blood-red mist, and it was like sharp arrows flying across the surface of the rice field, falling all the way, and the camp of the officers and soldiers was obvious. shaken.

Even the chief general Zhang Chengzong was stunned for a long time when he saw the scene in the distance. It was really the first time this inexplicable power was shown in front of people beyond recognition.However, as one of the three major battalions of the capital, the Shenji Battalion and the elite of the Ming Dynasty are not in vain. After their camp was torn apart, they showed no sign of collapse at all, and no one even retreated; As they marched as a whole, they had to reorganize their soldiers and horses.

Zhang Chengzong soon realized that he had made a serious mistake.The wall of the long-barreled heavy gun is too thick, and the breech is sealed before loading. After three consecutive shots, it cannot dissipate heat in time. It must be stopped for a period of time before it can continue to be used; own people.Now the artillery array has fired three salvos in a row, and the heavy artillery can't be used for the time being... Zhang Chengzong wasted two opportunities to kill the enemy in large numbers, but used the opportunities on long-range blind projectiles.He didn't realize that the heavy artillery could exert such great power before, which was also the result of failing to adapt to the new weapon.

People on the left and right accused him of his mistakes in the battle, but Zhang Chengzong's heart was unconsciously covered with a trace of annoyance.

Sure enough, the forward of the Shenji Battalion was not repulsed, and continued to advance after a little rectification; then the artillery of the official army was also set up in front of the formation.The artillery's fury shot out again, and a large amount of stone and iron flew towards the Suzaku army's camp from the opposite direction, but the artillery of the official army was still weak, and the hit was worse than that of the Suzaku army's artillery. It is estimated that half of the cannons fired from one mile away. Neither hit.The cannon slanted down from mid-air, smashing into the crowd suddenly, which is very scary; the stone will shatter and explode when it falls on the hard ground, which can also make the soldiers panic... It just seems that the imperial court still hasn't understood the principle of the cannon's jumping, and the official army's cannon The long-range bombardment is all flying down from the air, imitating the experience of bow and arrow throwing, so the killing range is very limited.

However, judging from the vehicles and horses carrying the artillery in the army, they did not use the "generals" of the past; because the generals were too heavy to be fired at a distance of one mile, they were not so easy to transport and set up.It looks very similar to the "Tiger Cannon" in a piece of information that is not very detailed. It is probably a field cannon newly created by Fusi Nanzhen by studying the mortars of the Suzaku Army to replace the bulky general with poor performance.

The former army of the Yongding Camp was also not scattered after being bombarded. Although there were many casualties, their positions were as stable as Mount Tai.Yongding Battalion has been the oldest of the Suzaku Army since Shimen County raised troops, and there are many veterans who have experienced all the bloody battles. These people have seen all kinds of gun battles, and they have seen a lot of blood; The trump card in the army, military expenditure has always been sufficient, years of doing nothing, training for a long time, strong will, not so easy to collapse.

At this moment, the officers and soldiers were getting closer and closer, and they could roughly see the faces of the people in the front row, as well as their armor and equipment.Most of the soldiers in front were tall and burly, with rough and tanned skin on their faces. It looked as if the accumulated dirt had never been washed. The worn burlap and ragged threads under the armor could be seen faintly... The so-called Jingying even With this appearance, many people thought that the permanent presence of the Beijing Army in the capital city was like a dude, but the image of the main battle army in the capital left by Emperor Yongle was completely different.

Zhang Chengzong ordered the first linear formation in front to rectify and counterattack.At this time, the sporadic cavalry of the officers and soldiers had rushed to within fifty paces of the front, and the scattered cavalry were far and near, shooting arrows here from time to time, and occasionally some unlucky people were shot at places with weak armor and fell down or screamed. The officers and men of the Suzaku Army all had loaded matchlocks in their hands, but no one fired without authorization. People just silently replaced the brothers behind them after the brothers in front fell down.

The dense army had already traveled a hundred steps away, and the Rangers withdrew to the two wings one after another.Suddenly someone yelled, and there was an earth-shattering cry from the oncoming officers and soldiers: "Tiger!" A group of burly black men stared angrily, and the terrifying voice made people tremble with fear.