Chapter 956
: Cavalry loses a small move
Chapter 956: Cavalry Loses a Small Defeat
"Ohh Ohh ohh!"
Outside Daliang City in the south of Beijing,
A burst of rapid trumpet sounds was heard, followed by a rumbling sound from the ground. General Hu Shoucheng of Dingbei, with 40,000 elite cavalry, had already reached less than five miles north of Daliang City. The scout captain came to report that
"Report, General, there are two large camps outside Daliang City, which have been captured by the Taiping Rebellion. There are many soldiers and horses inside. There is also a camp not far to the south. There are faint flags, but the number of rebels is unknown."
"Okay, let's explore again."
"Yes, General!"
The scout captain left again with blood on his body, exhausted. It was obvious that this investigation was also a bloody battle. Those people from the Taiping Sect were not easy to deal with.
Hu Shoucheng was riding on his horse with a gloomy face. He thought that as the vanguard this time, he could meet up with the defenders in the city first and launch a surprise attack on the remnants of the Taiping Sect. However, the report he heard was different from what he expected. Could it be that the remaining main force of the Taiping Sect was here and they wanted to have another battle with the court? As for the large camps on both sides of the city, they were also somewhat unbelievable, which showed how rampant the Taiping Sect people were.
"Order the cavalry of each battalion to go straight to the north gate of Daliang City and bypass it, and first rush into the left camp to test it."
"Yes, General,"
The messenger immediately rode forward to inform the commander of the camp to prepare to turn.
Hu Shoucheng calmed down and looked at the city not far ahead. Smoke rose everywhere and there was a faint smell of blood. Fortunately, the imperial court flag was still on the city wall, which seemed to mean that the city had been defended.
The Taiping rebel army ultimately failed. Hu Shoucheng had not figured out how to lead his army to attack and kill them. He did not dare to attack them too deeply, but he was unwilling to give up if he did not attack them. He could only find a camp to test it out before making any plans.
As for a head-on attack, Hu Shoucheng didn't even think about it. After all, he only had 40,000 cavalrymen. The Marquis had repeatedly told him that the cavalrymen would be of great use, so how could he dare to lose too much?
While he was thinking, most of the cavalry had already reached the north gate. The defenders on the city wall were waving their flags excitedly. Hexi defender Dong Dawang stood on the city wall in a daze, looking at the imperial reinforcements rolling in from the north. His eyes moistened for a moment and he shouted loudly;
"Quick, go and tell the commander-in-chief the good news. The imperial reinforcements have arrived. The reinforcements have arrived. There are more than 40,000 cavalrymen in front. They are soldiers from the Beijing camp. Go quickly."
"Yes, General."
Even the messenger was so excited that he could not speak. It can be said that all the hardships have paid off. Since the siege of Daliang City, the left and right camps have been lost one after another. The morale of the remaining soldiers in the city has dropped greatly. The two generals of Hexi and Hedong, who suffered heavy losses, led the remaining troops to guard the north gate, the south gate was guarded by generals He Yong and Hu Le, the west gate was guarded by Jia Lian and Wang Ren, and the east gate was guarded by Envoy Lu himself with a large army. Ten days have passed, and the weapons are almost gone.
never thought,
How could they not be overjoyed to see the imperial reinforcements coming from the north? Almost instantly, the cavalrymen under the city just glanced at them and immediately headed west.
The noise also woke up Jia Lian on the city wall. He quickly got up and walked to the battlement of the city wall. He stretched his head and looked down. He saw smoke and dust billowing below the city. It seemed that a large group of cavalry were galloping. Whose troops were coming? Suddenly, an idea came to his mind. The court, it was the court reinforcements. He immediately shouted,
"Brother, brother, the imperial reinforcements have arrived, the reinforcements have arrived,"
The shouting was so intense that even Wang Ren, who was leaning against the wall not far behind him, seemed to have changed into a different person. He immediately jumped up and ran over, looking at the large group of cavalrymen under the city with excitement. They had already attacked the western camp and attacked it like a whirlwind. There were still many Taiping rebels left in the camp, which were simply vulnerable.
"Good, good, they are indeed reinforcements from the imperial court. I wonder who is leading these cavalrymen, they should be from the Beijing camp."
As he spoke, he stared at the camp below without taking a step out of his sight. The vanguard cavalry had already broken into the camp, killing the Taiping sect bandits so badly that they threw away their armor and helmets. When they rushed straight into the central camp, he suddenly felt something was wrong. There were so many slave soldiers during the day, and now there were more than ten thousand bandits in the camp, but it was obviously too few.
"Brother Lian, something is wrong. When the horn sounded in the evening, the bandits retreated to the camp. I saw quite a few bandits returning to the camp. Now it seems that the number of bandits is not right. Where did the bandits go? Could it be that the only bandits left today are those who fought their way out? In this case, what you and I saw this morning was real."
Jia Lian was also somewhat suspicious. He stretched his head to look at the camp outside the city. Every tent was empty and no soldiers came out. It was obvious that the enemy army was exhausted and on the verge of defeat. However, they were not defeated too quickly. After all, most of the enemy troops who retreated from the south gate were still scattered all over the mountains and plains.
"Brother, I wonder if the enemy army will withdraw first."
"Retreat? How is it possible? Many soldiers from the government army died at the South Gate today. Moreover, the enemy army seems to have received reinforcements and is concentrating its forces to break through the South Gate. General He, General Hu, and Brother Meng Yu all brought the remaining elite troops in the city to reinforce. If they were to retreat, how could they fight so hard to attack the city? It doesn't make sense."
Wang Ren was also a little confused. He looked at the corpses of the bandits under the city today. These could not be fake. What was the situation in the camp not far away? Seeing that the imperial cavalry had already attacked, he immediately gave the order.
"Quick, quick, order the soldiers to clear the stones from the city gate and gather the troops to stand by, quick,"
Following Wang Ren's order, the soldiers on the city wall rushed down from the city wall and began to clean up the stones, wooden stakes and other objects buried behind the city gate. They also asked the soldiers of the original cavalry camp of the Beijing Camp to assemble and bring their war horses to prepare.
Jia Lian was confused and asked;
"Brother, how can we lead the army out of the city without the order from the commander? Even if we need to provide support, we need someone to come with a warrant."
"You are right, but I always feel that something is a little strange. It is better to be prepared."
Wang Ren did not leave the tower for the time being. He had to wait and see what would happen. During this time, he suddenly smelled a little smoke in the air. He was still wondering, so he looked around and suddenly looked towards the west camp. His pupils shrank and he said in a lost voice;
"It's bad, Brother Lian, the imperial reinforcements may have been ambushed."
Before he finished speaking, he saw that in the western camp, the enemy troops were powerless to stop the enemy. Many Taiping Sect slave soldiers were in a panic and ran back and forth in order to save their lives. Only the elite guards of the sect held torches and did not leave the camp. In such a desperate situation, many members of the sect were determined to die. When they saw the imperial army had arrived, they immediately set themselves on fire. The hay, sulfur, kerosene and other flammable materials under the tents would burn when they met fire and swell when they met wind.
Suddenly, a raging fire started up, and with the wind, it swept all around the camp. Half of the cavalry had already charged into the camp gate at the back, and the remaining half immediately pulled the reins and turned back.
The fire was so fierce that it was impossible to escape.
General Hu Shoucheng of Dingbei looked at the fire in front of the camp gate and the large number of cavalrymen who had already rushed in, his face turned pale and he cursed fiercely;
"The son of a bitch set an ambush for me, damn it,"
In the firelight, the cavalrymen who entered later were caught up by the flames and fell to the ground. They were silent in an instant. Only the cavalrymen in the front, seeing the fire sweeping behind them, desperately galloped on their horses, looking at Nanyingkou. Fortunately, horses are faster than people. The bandit army left behind by the Taiping Sect was almost wiped out. Some of the vanguard cavalry of the imperial court had already rushed out of Nanyingkou and escaped, but most of them lost their way in the camp and their lives were unknown.
But the fire in the western camp had burned through the sky, illuminating the entire night like daylight. The main force of the Taiping Sect retreating southward had already entered the territory of Linshan County in the south of Beijing. Leader Chu rode on his horse, turned his head and looked north, looking at the red sky, and sighed softly.
"Hey"
Then, we continued to ride south.
Only the imperial army from the north, still arriving late, was still on the official road.
"Report, Your Highness, Lord, the front army has reported that when General Dingbei was chasing and breaking through the enemy's western camp, he was ambushed by the enemy army, who used a fire attack strategy, and many people were trapped in the camp."
"what?"
Zhang Jinyu's face turned cold, and he thought to himself how could Hu Shoucheng act so rashly, sending cavalry to attack the camp, what was he thinking, and the strategy of fire attack, my goodness, the military advisor of the Taiping Sect must be an expert,
He put down the snacks in his hand, wiped his body casually, lifted the curtain and walked out, standing in the front of the carriage, looking at the city in the south.
It was indeed a sky like a burning cloud, extremely dazzling in the night. I felt depressed. The situation that was sure to win had unexpectedly been ruined. What I lacked now was cavalry. I wondered how many cavalry Hu Shoucheng could have left. Looking at the east side, fortunately, the same situation did not occur.
"Inform the commander, have General Dingxi lead 10,000 soldiers to escort His Highness's central army, and have Duan Hong prepare his weapons and armor to follow me to attack the East Camp."
"Yes, Lord Marquis,"
Zhang Jinyu watched the fire grow brighter and brighter. How could he still sit there? Naturally, he had to lead his troops to check. The western camp was occupied by the enemy army, and the eastern camp was probably occupied as well. So, after Ning Bian brought the horse over, Zhang Jinyu kicked his feet, jumped on the warhorse, pulled the reins and shouted;
"Brothers, follow me, bring your bows, arrows and fire sticks. It's rude not to return the favor. Let's light some too."
"Yes, Lord Marquis, drive."
Soon, the horses increased their speed, and nearly 10,000 elite cavalrymen from outside the pass broke away from the main army with great momentum and quickly approached southward.
Later, General Yang Shixiong of Dong'an arrived with 50,000 vanguard troops to the north gate.
"Pass the order, the army waits here, no troops are allowed to go to support." Yang Shixiong had already seen the raging fire in the western camp, and there were less than 20,000 cavalry outside the camp. He felt something was wrong. Brother Hu had trapped half of the cavalry, but there was no trace of the enemy army.
"General, what should we do?"
The deputy general behind him was somewhat at a loss. It was clearly a test, so how could they lose so many cavalrymen? If the Marquis knew, he would not know what to do.
"Why are you panicking? The cavalry is fast, maybe they can break out. There is an ambush in the western camp, and the eastern camp should be the same. Send an order to turn around immediately and surround the eastern camp, but do not attack it."
Yang Shixiong sighed slightly, frowned and shouted, the camp is not small, it is not easy to attack with fewer soldiers, and if there are too many soldiers, what if the enemy army uses fire again? He can only order the camp to be blocked first, and then plan for the follow-up.
"Yes, General,"
The deputy general did not hesitate. The lesson from the previous incident was still fresh in his mind. He immediately led the vanguard army to turn eastward and surrounded the eastern camp. Unfortunately, the enemy army was stubborn and used chevaux de frise and spears to block the enemy at the camp gate. Many Taiping Sect members had already lined up in the camp, and it seemed that they had been waiting for a long time.
"General, it looks like the enemy army is well prepared and has quite a few people. Should we fight or not?"
The deputy general has checked the enemy camp and found that there are more than 10,000 soldiers there. As long as they rush in, they can encircle and wipe out the enemy soldiers in an instant. After all, the general has five times as many soldiers as the enemy.
"Don't worry. Take a closer look. There is a lot of hay piled up under the tents in the camp. It seems that it was arranged hastily. It's just that General Hu's cavalry was too fast and lost their vigilance. Since they want to use the same trick again, how can we do it as they wish?"
Although Yang Shixiong fought bravely, he was not stupid. The enemy army was well prepared. Since they had surrounded this place, why should they rush?
At this moment, the ground behind him shook like thunder, coming from far away and approaching.
The officers thought it was General Hu who was leading his troops. Who would have thought that when the cavalry arrived behind them, it was the voice of the Marquis.
"General Yang, did the enemy army set a trap?"
Yang Shixiong turned around and saw that the Marquis had already arrived, followed by 10,000 elite cavalrymen, all of whom were strong and sturdy. The war horses they rode were all good horses from outside the Great Wall, fat and strong, with four hooves galloping in the wind. They were wearing heavy armor, with swords on their waists, and bows, crossbows and quivers on their backs. Only those pairs of cold eyes flashed with a cold light.
He quickly took a few steps forward, clasped his fists and said,
"My Lord, the enemy troops in the camp are well prepared. Not only are they fully equipped with weapons and armor, but there seems to be dry grass under the tents that can start a fire. I saw the tragic situation in the western camp and am hesitating to move forward."
Hearing what Yang Shixiong said, Zhang Jinyu rode on his horse, his eyes sharp as torches, and scanned the area with the light of the bandit camp's bonfire. In the front camp, not only was there an arrow tower, but trenches were dug in the surrounding camps. There was only a simple road at the entrance of the camp. The bandit army's flags were flying, and it seemed that there were still many people left. Could it be that the leader Chu had not left yet?
It's impossible to think about it.
Although the bandits blocking the entrance to the camp were fully armed, the soldiers behind them were not wearing armor. I guess they were the slave soldiers of the Taiping Sect that made people tremble with fear. As for those flammable objects, you can guess without even looking at them that the camp on the west side was almost burned to the ground.
"General Yang did a good job. It's better to be cautious. There are not only things that can start a fire in those places, but also kerosene and sulfur. We really can't rush in."
"My Lord, I am ashamed. Should we send an army to attack first and then make plans?"
Yang Shixiong's face turned slightly red. He was too cautious just now. Seeing the losses of General Hu's troops on the west side, he lost some of his mind. As long as he captured the camp gate, he could advance and retreat freely, and he would not be afraid of the enemy army setting fire to the camp.
"Haha, that's a good idea, but today, I can't give you, General Yang, a chance. Since they like big fires so much, I will give them more. Duan Hong, go ahead."
"Yes, Lord Marquis."
Zhang Jinyu had a cold smile on his face, his eyes flashed with a cold light, a trapped beast fighting.
Duan Hong behind him agreed and left. Then a large number of battalion commanders passed on the order privately.
"Everyone, light the rockets, aim at the camp ahead, 150 steps ahead, get ready."
immediately,
A shocking scene was reflected in the night. More than 10,000 cavalrymen quickly took out their crossbows from their backs and dipped their arrows in special kerosene. The arrowheads of these feather arrows were tightly wrapped in a layer of brocade. They followed the torches in the hands of the surrounding captains and ignited the arrows in their hands.
In an instant,
Like stars appearing in the darkness, a bright light flashed, and then he drew his bow and arrow, aiming at the camp in front. Duan Hong looked back, his face turned fierce, and he shouted loudly;
"Release the arrows,"
At the command, thousands of arrows were fired. More than 10,000 rockets, like thousands of meteors, streaked across the sky, carrying blazing flames, whistling towards the enemy's camp. The rockets drew arcs in the air, dragging long tails of flames, and shot straight towards the tents and arrow towers in the camp.
In a matter of seconds, the fire rained down. In an instant, flames shot up into the sky and thick smoke billowed from the enemy's camp. The fire starters that the enemy had prepared in advance were ignited almost instantly. The tents, wooden fences of the camp, arrow towers, etc., caught fire and made crackling sounds.
The flames rose, and the fire grew with the wind, spreading and gradually forming a sea of fire. The Taiping Sect's bandit army could no longer maintain their battle formation and fled in all directions. The bandit leader at the camp gate ordered the removal of the barricades and led his army to rush out madly.
Unfortunately, the remaining road was not wide, and with another order from Yang Shixiong,
"Crossbowmen, get ready, fire."
"Long guns are laid out in a horizontal formation, defend."
After a few orders, a large number of Taiping sect bandit corpses were left at the exit of the camp, almost a massacre.
Looking at the tragic scene of the sea of fire in front of him, Zhang Jinyu felt no joy in his heart. He thought that these people were still ordinary people before, and even if they were thieves, they were forced out by the court. With such a fire, he didn't know how many people Hu Shoucheng had lost in the western camp for being so reckless.
"My Lord, do you want to charge in?"
Yang Shixiong had already led his troops to encircle and kill the bandits who had broken through the siege. Seeing that the bandits at the camp gate were getting fewer and fewer, he became restless and was ready to make a move.
Zhang Jinyu shook his head and said;
"Don't rush in. It has come to this. Why rush in? Wait until all the survivors gather here and shoot them with bows and arrows. Then you can lead your troops in."
"Yes, sir, I understand."
Yang Shixiong understood what he meant and organized his archers to fire several rounds at the bandits gathered in the camp until they had no more troops to attack.
Feeling that the time had come, he called out;
"The whole army advances and presses forward,"
then,
Ten thousand elite armored infantrymen, holding swords and shields, rushed into the enemy camp like a tiger descending from a mountain, killing anyone they saw without mercy. The remaining members of the Taiping Sect were not cowardly at all and fought back desperately. The two sides fought each other in the burning camp, but because the enemy army was outnumbered and had no reinforcements, the sound of fighting gradually ceased in the camp.
"Report, Lord, the eastern camp has been captured, but the main camp was almost burned to the ground and can no longer be used."
"Okay, if you can't use it, then don't use it. Tell the brothers to go into the city to rest tonight. If there is not enough sleep, set up the tent on the city wall."
"Yes, Lord Marquis,"
Zhang Jinyu looked at Daliang City from afar and saw that a bonfire had been lit on the city wall, reflecting the moving figures of people!
(End of this chapter)