Chapter 813: The Great Destruction of the Liaodong Iron Cavalry (Part 2)

Two battalions of cavalry faced off against two battalions of infantry on the plain. It was clear that the cavalry took the initiative.

Na Zukuan and Li Chongzhen originally thought that the rebel army would retreat after encountering the cavalry like the previous times.

As a result, when they led the cavalry to the front of the formation, they encountered the rebels who were waiting for them.

Looking at the neat formation of infantry, with a forest of spears, and mixed with fire fighters, archers, swordsmen and axe-men, Zu Kuan and Li Chongzhen felt a little uneasy.

However, years of combat experience reminded them that this was just another one-sided massacre.

It's easy to encounter a thief and have to fight head-on with the Liaodong cavalry. This is the opportunity to eliminate the thief in one fell swoop.

Zu Kuan and Li Chongzhen couldn't help but look at each other, and then nodded confidently.

Immediately, the cavalry under their command separated into small groups, and then launched an attack on the neatly organized rebels.

Due to the rise of firearms, the weapons used by the frontier cavalry in the late Ming Dynasty were mostly bows and arrows and waist knives. In addition to the famous three-eyed gun and fast spear, the basic equipment configuration is: soft bow, long arrow, fast horse, and light knife.

In addition to the traditional roaming and harassment, the tactics used were to use the sentry as a unit when charging, and to form a dense formation to carry out repeated charges.

Zhang Shun was in charge of the central army, with Wukong, Wang Jinyi, Gao Guiying and Niu Jinxing on the left and right. He calmly looked at the cavalry who came to provoke them, and started playing tricks in front of the rebel formation, hiding people in their legs and shooting left and right.

Fortunately, Zhang Shun had taken in so many wives and was well-informed, so he was not moved at all. Then Ma Yingniang and Lady Hong are equally familiar with this technique, or even better. What's all the fuss about?

It's a pity that his sworn brothers Chen Changzhen and Xiao Qinhu are not here, otherwise he could be shot down with one arrow, which would dampen the arrogance of the officers and soldiers.

The officers and soldiers provoked for a long time, but when they saw that the rebels were unmoved, they sent a few sentries of cavalry to rush in. When they arrived outside the rebel formation, they fired with every step and arrow. Immediately, several rebels were shot down.

Not to be outdone, the rebels fought back with bows, arrows and muskets, and also shot down several cavalrymen.

After testing back and forth five or six times, Zu Kuan and Li Chongzhen saw that they could not gain any advantage, so they hesitated and simply sent more cavalry to conduct tentative charges and harassment designs.

He Renlong and Bai Guangen are both strong men, and they also have some skills. Now that Zhang Shun is in charge of the central army, it is not easy to cheat and cheat.

The two men had to bite the bullet and deal with the Liaodong cavalry of officers and soldiers.

The bow, arrow and cannon in your hand cannot be fired carelessly. Once they are lured out by the officers, soldiers and cavalry, they will be attacked by the opponent taking advantage of the gap in firepower.

They had no choice but to command the spearmen and sword and shield men to hold on, and let several small groups of archers and gunmen shoot at each other.

Under the pressure of death, the soldiers' spirits were tense all the time, their physical strength was passing away rapidly, and some even began to feel hungry.

"Madman He" couldn't hold it any longer, so he couldn't help but send his soldiers to plead with Zhang Shun: "King Shun wants to fight, we will all die; King Shun wants to leave, we will all defend him. Why don't you advance or retreat?" The officers, soldiers and cavalry have been facing off for a long time?"

After hearing this, Zhang Shun turned around and asked, "Has Bai Guangen's messenger arrived?"

"For King Shun, a letter has just been delivered!" Niu Jinxing responded as he came out of the queue.

"It seems that we have reached the limit. The two of us will wait for an opportunity to change formations, and the rear team will change to the front team. Half of the archers and gunners are allowed to provide fire cover, and no artillery is allowed to fire without permission!" Zhang Shun ordered after hearing this.

"King Shun?" Niu Jinxing was shocked and reminded quickly.

For combat in the cold weapon era, rotation before the formation and retreat before the formation are very dangerous things.

Even more dangerous than this is the rotation and retreat of the enemy's cavalry.

The rebels had repeatedly fought against the Liaodong cavalry of Zu Kuan and Li Zhongzhen before and retreated completely. Thanks to the cover of the cavalry, they did not make a big mistake.

Now that Zhang Shun planned to fight a battle of annihilation, the cavalry, as the "surprise force" in his hands, could not move lightly.

In this way, the rebels will have to carry out dangerous tactical actions when facing the threat of cavalry, and the risk will be even greater!

"No need to say it, I can trust them!" Zhang Shun stretched out his hand to stop Niu Jinxing.

Can you trust them? This is just Zhang Shun's political terminology.

In particular, how long has it been since He Renlong's "work as a foreigner"? Did Zhang Shun suffer from amnesia?

In fact, the original combat effectiveness and organization of the soldiers under He Renlong and Bai Guangen were not significantly higher than those of the elite Ming army.

However, after careful inspection by Zhang Shun in the past few days, in fact, the quality of their servants and personal guards was definitely good.

And they are different from Cao Wenzhao and Cao Bianjiao's uncle and nephew who were attracted by Zhang Shun.

As the "defeated generals", He Renlong and Bai Guangen, the middle and lower-level subordinates under their command all went through rigorous training and assessment at Ma Yingniang Military Academy before taking up their posts again. They are fully capable of these relatively complex and high-end tactical actions.

After the officers, soldiers and cavalry tried and harassed them again, they just turned around and retreated when the rebel soldiers took action.

The spearmen of the rear team leveled their spears, and walked towards the front row through the gap between the soldiers.

After the two sides were shoulder to shoulder, the original spearmen began to make way for the axemen behind them.

At this time, no matter how stupid Zu Kuan and Li Chongzhen were, they could see what the rebels were going to do.

"Change the formation before the formation?" Zu Kuan and Li Chongzhen laughed angrily, "Who are you looking down on?"

"The whole army attacks?" Zu Kuan glanced at Li Chongzhen.

"The entire army attacks!" Li Chongzhen also nodded.

Originally, Zu Kuan and Li Chongzhen wanted to spend a while. If the rebels succeeded in changing their formations, then those who could not defeat their opponents would be replaced by officers and soldiers.

It turns out that Gao Guiying's idea for Zhang Shun was to take advantage of the long-distance attack by the officers and soldiers to actively consume the physical strength and endurance of the officers and soldiers' mounts.

Although the carefully selected war horse is an excellent mount, in reality, it is a relatively delicate creature.

Before each battle, black beans and other concentrated feed must be fed, and fat must not be lost.

For example, the nomadic people who do not have enough concentrated feed to feed can only wait until the autumn is high and their horses are fat before they can invade the south.

Moreover, during a manned rapid march or a long march, a large number of war horses will die.

Back then, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty recruited 140,000 war horses and launched the Battle of Mobei.

Although they won a great victory in the end, they lost about 110,000 horses at one time.

Regardless of Zhang Shun or Niu Jinxing, although they were full of wits and plans, they did not fully understand the habits of war horses. On the contrary, they were not as good as Gao Guiying, who had lived in the border areas all year round, who could come up with countermeasures.

Gao Guiying's "defensive tactics" to deal with Fu Zonglong's mobility is very simple. If you are not mobile, then I will destroy your mount and see how you execute this tactic!

Nazu Kuan and Li Chongzhen were also careless. It was not until the officers and soldiers were rotated that they suddenly realized that the mounts of their cavalry were very tired. If the battle could not be won quickly, the battle would be in danger.

This is the fundamental reason why these two people saw the rebel army changing formations and suddenly decided to launch an attack with the entire army!