Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 305 Battle of Tianping Mountain (4)

The sound of "ding ding ding" rang out, and the infantry on both wings of Wu's army quickly withdrew from the battle and retreated to the rear. Zhou's army fought in formation and did not leave the formation to pursue. Wu Sangui had a large number of cavalry, and the infantry was not in formation, so they could not compete with the cavalry at all.

Although the Zhou army did not pursue, they shot arrows at the retreating Qing army without reservation. In round after round of arrows, hundreds of Qing soldiers were hit in the back and fell dead on the ground.

The enemy army was defeated and the first battle was a victory.

The soldiers of the three Zhou armies raised their weapons and cheered, "Victory, victory...Victory!"

The cheers of victory were endless. The cheers of the Zhou army were a deterrent to the enemy and a celebration of the victory in the first battle.

When Liu Sanchong's defeated troops retreated into the formation facing the Po Lu Army, they were all panic-stricken and had lost all their fighting spirit.

When an eagle flew in from the distant mountains and circled over the battlefield, Wu Sangui suddenly understood the uncomfortable feeling.

Although he had great ambitions and wanted to stir up the world, the real trend was not chosen by himself. Wu Sangui suddenly understood that perhaps someone could drive the trend of the world, but he could only be driven by it.

Wu Sangui let out a breath and subconsciously flicked the whip, as if trying to shake off the feeling of oppression.

Looking at the Zhou army showing off their might and shouting loudly on the battlefield, Wu Sangui became angry and urgently summoned the cavalry general Xia Longshan, ordering him to lead 3,000 cavalry to either go around the rear or launch a surprise attack, trying to scare the Zhou army and seize the opportunity to fight.

Xia Longshan took the order and rushed out, galloping in front of the cavalry with a ferocious face, rushing towards the Zhou army like a gust of wind.

Three thousand war horses trampled on the ground, and the sound of their hooves was like thunder, as if the whole earth was shaking. The momentum was shocking, and even the long-trained Po Lu Army, which was mostly based on military posture, could not help but shake a little. The soldiers of Wusheng and Ningwu towns, who had been shouting "Thousand Victory", stopped shouting one after another and were on full alert to prevent the Qing cavalry from breaking through their formation.

Upon seeing this, Lin Shiqi urgently ordered all units to form a strict battle array. The Po Lu Army had strong firepower in the front, and was protected by the Ningwu and Wusheng towns on both sides. There were mountains on the side of Ningwu town. Although there was still some distance, the Qing cavalry would not dare to rush in, because a large group of cavalry would have difficulty changing direction without wide space.

As for Wusheng Town, there is an open space on the left side. Although there is a lake several miles away, it does not have much advantage for the battlefield here. Lin Shiqi was also on guard against the Qing cavalry's surprise attack, so he transferred Huang Cheng's cavalry to the left rear wing of Wusheng Town to protect the flank.

When facing the harassment tactics of cavalry, the infantry's counterattack mainly depends on strict formations, solid defense and effective counterattack strategies.

Liang Sanhu looked at the cavalrymen who were ready to move not far away, and hurriedly ordered his subordinates to form a dense square formation. The front row was shield soldiers, and the back row was spearmen in the square formation. These spearmen pointed their spears diagonally upwards to form a "forest of spears" to stop the cavalry's charge.

In the back row were archers, with arrows already on their bows, ready to shoot at any time. As soon as the Qing cavalry came into range, they would launch long-range shooting. At the same time, in the rear formation of the Bulu Army, the artillery positions were also trying to turn their guns towards the muzzles.

If they were on the northern plains, these cavalrymen would be able to perform well against the infantry. However, where they are now, although the cavalrymen have an advantage, it is not too great.

Because Meng Jun was leading the main force in person and was in the rear, on the way, and Daye City was only about forty miles away from here.

On the front battlefield, the messengers would report the situation on the battlefield to Meng Jun from time to time.

"Your Majesty, the army of Lintong has reported that the artillery positions have been deployed, the Po Lu army and the two towns of Ningwu and Wusheng have formed a battle array, and the Qing army's vanguard is Wu Sangui!"

"Wu Sangui..." Meng Jun murmured unconsciously. This name was very familiar to him. If we talk about the characters that Meng Jun was familiar with in this era, Wu Sangui would definitely be at the top of the list. After all, he was so angry for Chen Yuanyuan.

Meng Jun shook his head, put aside the random thoughts in his mind, and ordered: "All troops, speed up the march!"

Just as Meng Jun quickened his march, news of battle came from the front.

The messenger shouted excitedly: "Report, my king, Lin Tongzhen has an urgent report that the Po Lu army has defeated Wu Sangui and the vanguard has won the first battle!"

Meng Jun laughed loudly and said to his left and right: "Quickly inform the whole army that the vanguard has defeated the Qing army!"

……

Under the personal leadership of Duoduo, the main force of the Qing army rolled in and marched towards the battlefield in a mighty and majestic manner. The scene was grand and magnificent.

The sounds of footsteps, horse hooves, and the neighing of war horses made an extremely noisy scene on the march.

Duoduo was riding on a war horse, looking arrogant. Even when he was about to go into battle, he was still wearing a red robe, a saddle horse and a sword. He stood out among the Eight Banners generals. Even the old women in the village could see that he was the leader of an army.

"Report..." A quick and sharp shout came from a distance. It was the Qing army's messenger. His figure was on the warhorse, rising and falling as the horse galloped.

The messenger galloped to Duoduo, stopped his horse, and bowed to Duoduo, saying, "Your Highness, this is the report from the Pingxi King's army!"

Duoduo glanced at the messenger and said impatiently: "Read it!"

The messenger quickly replied, "Yes, the Pingxi King's army reported that the vanguard encountered the elite headquarters of the Yumeng bandits and fought in the wilderness. The Pingxi King said that these must be elite troops. Please lead your troops into the battlefield as soon as possible to defeat the bandits together."

Upon hearing this, Duoduo hummed and said, "Let Wu Sangui wait." After that, he waved his hand, signaling the messenger to go away.

The messenger bowed quickly, turned his horse's head, and galloped towards the battlefield.

After more than half an hour, another messenger came galloping over. This time he was obviously more anxious, whipping the horse's butt from time to time, "Urgent report from the King of Pingxi!"

Duoduo frowned when he heard this. Wu Sangui was also an old soldier. He knew that it would take time for the army to march. It was useless to urge them. When they forced their way to the battlefield, the soldiers were exhausted.

When the messenger came over, Duoduo waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "What happened to Wu Sangui? Just tell me."

The messenger said quickly, "Your Highness, the King of Pingxi has an urgent report. The enemy's firepower is strong. There are hundreds of red cannons and tens of thousands of muskets. They are like a string of pearls, and they are endless. The three thousand men of the King of Pingxi, including the Lieutenant General Liu Sanzhong, were killed in the battle. The King of Pingxi has ordered the infantry to withdraw and use the cavalry to disrupt the enemy's formation. The King of Pingxi requests that the cannons and muskets be used to meet the enemy!"

Duoduo was stunned when he heard this. Meng Jun had so many artillery and muskets, which was far different from the intelligence. After hesitating for a while, Duoduo said, "Go back and tell Wu Sangui that the army will arrive at the battlefield in two hours. Don't let Meng Jun escape!"

As the messenger turned around and left, Duoduo ordered, "Inform the entire army to speed up and reach the battlefield in two hours!"

Duoduo's face was gloomy. He was extremely dissatisfied with Wu Sangui. It had only been a short time and he had already lost three thousand men. He wanted to consume Wu Sangui's troops first, but not in this way.

Duoduo thought that it was Meng Jun who had personally arrived on the battlefield and defeated Wu Sangui. In fact, Meng Jun, like Duoduo, was still on the march, but the two sides were approaching each other rapidly.