Chapter 1092 The Power of the Professional Army
When the men and horses of the Wanjia Army marched to about a hundred feet away from the Haihan camp on the west bank of the Jiahe River, they saw the riders on the opposite side gathering together, and then quickly formed a formation of three lines in the front, middle and back, and rode their horses slowly towards them. came over from the direction.
Upon seeing this, Gan Qiang immediately ordered to stop advancing and let the infantry in front begin to form formations in preparation for a possible cavalry attack from the opposite side. Although these infantry were not fully equipped, they were all veterans who had been in battle. They immediately stopped and lined up their long weapons in front of the horse. The densely packed spear points were pointing diagonally forward, and the rear row was densely packed with knives. Ax Archer, always ready to hit the target. This set of tactics is also modeled on the Ming army. Although there are no special spears or large shields to protect the body in the formation, as a civilian armed force, it is not easy for the infantry to remain calm when facing the cavalry. In fact, There is no way to pursue perfection.
It was by relying on this strategy of foot-horse coordination that Gan Qiang gained Wanmeng's trust and reuse, and he had never failed to defeat the enemy using this strategy in the past. Of course, most of the opponents he encountered in the past were the same reckless civilians as the Wanjia Army. If he really encountered a regular army with comparable strength, his copycat skills would definitely not be enough.
Gan Qiang did not think that his opponent this time was stronger than the Ming army. At the moment, he was only thinking about what kind of reward Wanmeng would receive after achieving this record, and he did not foresee the upcoming dangerous situation at all.
"There are some tricks, but it's a pity that we met us!" Liu Xian also noticed the opponent's formation changes on horseback. This is basically the only correct way for infantry to deal with cavalry in the wild. When both sides have equal strength, a solid infantry formation will not be easily defeated by cavalry, and the opponent's leader's strategy is also correct.
But the only problem is that the opponent Wanjiajun encounters is the Haihan Cavalry. Due to its armed level that transcends the times, this unit will rely more on thermal weapons in combat, and its tactics are also formulated around the use of firearms. , completely out of touch with ordinary people’s understanding. The most important thing is that the Haihan Cavalry has never performed combat missions outside Hainan Island before. The outside world has almost zero knowledge of this unit, and there is no way to talk about any targeted tactical arrangements. .
After the distance between the two sides further shortened, Gan Qiang finally saw clearly that the opponent's cavalry was not holding a spear or a scimitar, but a strange-looking weapon that looked like a firecracker, and he was a little confused at the moment. He had seen some Ming cavalrymen carrying muskets, but those weapons had to be dismounted and set up before shooting, and were not suitable for use in mobile warfare. If they dare to dismount their horses and mount their guns during the confrontation, the cavalry on Gan Qiang's side will seize this opportunity to attack and catch them off guard. If the commander of the other side does not even understand this simple truth, then this team of cavalry is really It has become fat meat served to one's mouth.
Before Gan Qiang made a final judgment on the tactics of the Haihan Cavalry, the other side had already begun to speed up the horses, changing from a small trot to a long leap. This was basically the situation when the cavalry launched a charge. . Gan Qiang didn't want to think any more and ordered loudly: "The infantry holds firm, the cavalry is ready to fight!"
The Haihan cavalry suddenly split into two groups about ten feet away from the Wanjia Army formation and turned left and right. At the same time, the cavalry on horseback raised their guns and fired two shots at the Wanjia Army. The three rows of queues all operated in this way. Before the Wanjia Army could figure out what was going on, the infantrymen standing in front holding long weapons fell down, at least twenty or thirty of them.
Although the limited number of long-range weapons in the Wanjia Army also fought back, it was obvious that the sporadic bows and arrows and firecrackers were completely unable to compare with the opponent's firepower density and shooting frequency, and they did not achieve immediate results.
At this time, Gan Qiang had already led his men to charge out. He originally wanted to take advantage of the opponent's cavalry turning in front of his own infantry formation to launch an attack from the side, but the burst of gunfire from the opponent during the charge also caused him and his soldiers to attack. They were all shocked. Gan Qiang estimated that the weapon in the opponent's hand was a repeating fire gun similar to the three-eyed gun, but it could only fire two shots in a row. At that moment, he could seize the gap in the opponent's firepower output and kill him. Therefore, he did not try to change the original battle plan, and still led his men to rush forward.
Gan Qiang clearly saw that the other party's cavalry inserted the three-foot-long muskets into their saddlebags after they finished shooting. He tightened his grip on the spear in his hand, stared at one of the targets, and planned to engage in the battle. Then I stabbed him to the core. These Haihan cavalry didn't even have decent armor or helmets. In Gan Qiang's eyes, they were just undefended living targets. The armor he was wearing was ripped off from the Ming army officers who died on the battlefield during the Denglai Rebellion. Although it was a bit heavy, its protective power was quite good. It was basically difficult for an ordinary scimitar to damage it. Cut through.
Gan Qiang was getting closer and closer to the opponent. He slowly raised his spear and calculated the distance. The opponent was obviously not equipped with long weapons and only had a scimitar hanging on his waist, which was obviously not enough to resist his spear. Attacking, Gan Qiang thought that his record of killing enemies on horseback should be increased by one more. But at this moment, Gan Qiang noticed that the opponent did not draw out his machete to fight, but took out another weapon from the saddlebag, which looked like a blunderbuss but was no longer than a foot long. Gan Qiang even saw the other party smile triumphantly at him, and then point the object in his hand at him.
"Take the move!"
Seeing that the distance between the two was less than one foot, Gan Qiang roared and was about to thrust out the spear in his hand. At this moment, he saw a flash of fire from the weapon in the opponent's hand. Before Gan Qiang could react, he felt as if his chest had been hit by a sledgehammer, and his body suddenly lost balance and fell backwards. However, he knew in his mind that if he fell off the horse, he would be trampled by the horses of his accomplices following him, so he clamped the saddle with all his strength with his legs and feet to prevent himself from falling.
But this posture actually saved his life. His body fell on the horse, and his eyes happened to see the scene of more than 20 riders following behind being shot one after another, and blood blooming on their bodies.
These ordinary riders don't have the capital to be like him. They are equipped with good Ming army standard armor, and their physical bodies are simply unable to withstand the opponent's close shots. Although the bumps on the horseback greatly reduced the hit rate of pistol shooting, after dozens of guns were fired at once, more than half of Wanjiajun's more than 20 horsemen were shot, and seven of them were shot on the spot. Eight people fell from their horses.
Although the armor on Gan Qiang's body saved his life, the mount under his crotch was not so lucky. He happened to be at the front of the entire queue, and was hit by several stray bullets flying around. On the horse he was riding. After the horse was in pain, it lost Gan Qiang's direct control, and it broke away from the battle formation and ran in another direction. After running a hundred feet, it slowly collapsed from exhaustion and lay down in the grass. Fortunately, Gan Qiang was able to roll down to the ground steadily, avoiding the end of the fall with broken hands and feet.
Gan Qiang groaned and propped up his upper body. He lowered his head and looked at the location where he had been hit hard. He saw that the armor on his chest had sunk deeply to form a pit, and a lead bullet the size of a soybean was embedded in the bottom of the pit. Although it did not penetrate the armor, Gan Qiang could clearly feel the pain coming from his chest. He thought that the impact should have caused some damage to the bones and organs. Gan Qiang saw that his mount could no longer stand up, so he endured the pain on his body and slowly stood up with his hands on the ground. I don't know where he dropped his spear just now, and now he only has a short knife that can be used as a self-defense weapon. However, when he saw the situation on the battlefield clearly, this willingness to continue fighting immediately disappeared.
More than half of the cavalry he led had been destroyed by the opponent's musket fire, and the few remaining cavalry that had survived had been scattered and fled in all directions, making it impossible for them to engage in a head-on battle with the opponent. The situation of the infantry was even worse. When Gan Qiang led the troops to rush out, the infantry was already on the verge of collapse. The cavalry collapsed after contact with the opponent, and the infantry lost its only cover. These stragglers were not professional soldiers, and they did not have much fighting will at all. They were able to fight with a favorable wind. When encountering such a situation, they first gave up resistance to save their lives and began to run away.
However, how could a two-legged man outrun a four-legged horse? These men could not run more than a hundred steps before they were chased from behind by the Haihan cavalry who came back. Once the infantry are dispersed, they will be completely defenseless to the cavalry. All they need to do is harvest them one by one with their sabers. However, the Haihan cavalry did not act cruelly. After cutting down the fastest runners, the remaining ones no longer dared to try to escape and could only lie down and beg for mercy.
When Gan Qiang saw this, he knew that the situation was over. Seeing that the other party had not yet divided his troops to capture him, he quickly took off his armor and escaped into the nearby forest while enduring the pain in his chest.
From the time both sides started sending troops to the battle, to the end of the battle, the whole process only took about ten minutes. Except for the Haihan side who were sure of defeating their opponents before the war, the other two sides who were fighting inside and outside Fushan County were shocked by the process and results of the battle. They did not expect that the strength gap between the two sides would be so huge. Of course, what shocked them the most was the unusual fighting method of the Haihan Cavalry.
"Sir Huang, if I were not dazzled, then the Haihan people actually defeated the Wanjia army by shooting from horseback with firecrackers?" Although they were far away, the firelight and smoke when shooting the firecrackers were visible, but this time The incident was so unbelievable that Zhang Pucheng had to seek confirmation from Huang Qu, who also watched the battle.
Huang Qu was no less shocked than Zhang Pucheng. As an officer, he naturally knew how difficult it was to shoot with a firecracker on horseback. This is all secondary. The key is that the team of Haihan riders were able to shoot multiple times continuously on horseback and forcibly defeated the Wanjia army with superior strength. How on earth did they do this?
"Master Zhang, these Haihan people... are probably more powerful than we expected. According to my opinion, it is not appropriate to confront them head-on. With such strength, even if Qishan Qianhu sent reinforcements, they will not be able to defeat them. But theirs." After Huang Qu pondered for a moment, he still gave an answer that sounded timid.
Zhang Pucheng still didn't believe it: "Our Ming Dynasty officers and soldiers are well-trained. If our troops are equal in strength, how can we not defeat this foreign militia?"
Huang Qu said with a gloomy expression: "Mr. Zhang, have you ever seen a militia group equipped with so many firearms and war horses, capable of handling wild battles with ease? I have lived for more than forty years, and have been in the army for more than twenty years. I have never seen this before. Which militia group can have such strength! To be honest, I have never seen the kind of repeating fire guns they are equipped with.”
Zhang Pucheng was also startled by Huang Qu's tone: "Master Huang, what do you mean by this?"
"This is not a militia group!" Huang Qu shook his head slowly but firmly and said: "This is an army! An army with rich combat experience and complete equipment! The Wanjia Army wants to cause trouble for them, but they are simply throwing an egg at a stone. Mr. Zhang, we’d better not interfere in this matter, lest we get into trouble!”
Zhang Pucheng was dubious about Huang Qu's judgment. Although he did not believe that Haihan was as strong as Huang Qu described, the opponent did defeat Wanjiajun cleanly and under his nose, and Huang Qu was an expert in military matters. Regardless of whether he has selfish motives or not, his judgment is definitely much more reliable than that of a civil servant like himself. But considering his position, Zhang Pucheng still had to say a few words: "But if this group of people has evil intentions towards the local people, or attacks the county town, then I will fight to the death regardless of their origins! ”
Huang Quxindao can fight, but he has more than enough heart but not enough strength. He is not strong enough to defeat others. If he fights to the death, he will only lose his life in the end. The example of the Wanjia Army is in front of us. Although the Ming Army is better armed than the bandits, it is still only too strong. The Haihan riders fired a volley from horseback. Huang Qu can't think of any effective way to deal with it now. .
If the Ming Dynasty officials on top of the city were shocked by this, then the Wanjia army watching the battle below the city were even more shocked. When Wanmeng sent out his troops, he was quite optimistic about the outcome of the battle. He believed that even if the opponent's riders could not be completely wiped out, as long as they defeated the opponent, dispersed the people waiting by the river, and prevented the opponent from implementing their immigration plan here, the battle would be a victory. It's working.
However, reality gave him a big slap in the face. The more than 20 horsemen and horses led by Gan Qiang were defeated almost instantly, and the infantry formation formed was of no use at all. In the end, even ten percent of the people who escaped back were defeated. None. As for the manpower previously sent to the river as an undercover agent, I don’t know if they have been mobilized there. Anyway, no results have been seen at all. Obviously, this arrangement has failed.
(End of chapter)