Ming Taizi's Total War

Chapter 236 Changes on the battlefield, yellow sand everywhere

Zhu Cihong knew very well what Gao Jie wanted to do. Although he wanted to consider for the Ming army, he probably wanted to weaken Li Zicheng's strength and let his old enemy suffer more.

In normal times, Zhu Cixiang would certainly not refuse Gao Jie's proposal, not to mention that doing so would reduce their losses. It was just a matter of giving face to the general in the army, and that was what he should do.

But today is different, and today's enemies are also different.

This is a battle between nations, a decisive battle between the farming nation and the grassland nation.

In this battle, if Li Zicheng and Zhu Cihong were defeated, the Qing army would be able to march straight into Guanzhong and the Central Plains. At that time, Shenzhou would sink, and the hope of the nation might be shattered.

So Zhu Cihong could not agree to Gao Jie today, but had to speed up to fight the bloody Qing army before Li Zicheng was defeated.

"No." Zhu Cihong rebuffed Gao Jie.

"In today's battle, our enemy is not Li Zicheng, but the Qing army. You are not allowed to spare your strength and give me all your wealth." Zhu Cihong clarified their enemies for Gao Jie and others.

If he didn't do this, Zhu Cihong was really worried that Gao Jie and others would run over to beat Li Zicheng and put the Qing army aside.

In that case, this battle would really become a confused battle.

"Obey." Seeing that Zhu Cihong rejected his proposal, Gao Jie was not angry, but complied very calmly.

Because Gao Jie knew that it wasn't that Zhu Cihong didn't want to attack Li Zicheng, it was just that on today's battlefield, attacking the Qing army with Li Zicheng was obviously more beneficial to the Ming army and Zhu Cihong.

Because Li Zicheng had fought bloody battles here for many days and was about to collapse. It was easy to defeat Li Zicheng now, but after defeating Li Zicheng, they would have to face the Qing army alone.

It's better to keep Li Zicheng and others alive, let them attract the firepower of the Qing army, and create a good opportunity for themselves to attack.

But just when the Ming army was about to approach the left wing of the Qing army, a strange scene suddenly appeared in the sky. The clouds turned yellow and were getting closer and closer to them.

"The dust is blown by the strong wind, we won't be able to see it." A soldier familiar with the local terrain shouted.

"What's going on here?" Seeing the scene in front of him, Zhu Cihong was full of doubts, he had never seen such a magnificent sight.

The yellow sand all over the sky is like a layer of yellow gauze covered by the gods on the earth, covering everyone in it, so that everyone can't see clearly the world in the distance.

Hearing Zhu Cihong's question, all the courtiers stared wide-eyed, but no one could stand up and answer.

In the end, Shi Kefa, a scholar with great knowledge, stood up and said to Zhu Cihong, "Your Majesty, the yellow sand is all over the sky. It should be the storm that brought the yellow sand from northern Shaanxi."

"Our army should retreat immediately and avoid the front for the time being. Otherwise, the soldiers will not be able to see clearly when caught in the yellow sand storm, and it will be easy to kill each other at that time."

Because of the massive population reproduction in the Ming Dynasty, the population of the Han region reached an unprecedented 1 million, and the destruction of the natural environment by people was naturally even more severe.

However, places like Shaanxi and Henan have always been densely populated areas. During the Wanli and Tianqi times, the people were still relatively peaceful, so there were certain restrictions on the common people cutting down trees for fuel and building materials.

But since Chongzhen came to power, natural disasters and man-made disasters have continued every year, and the imperial court and government's control over the local area has become weaker and weaker.

Whenever there is a famine, people will spontaneously come to the mountains and fields, and eat up everything they can eat, including bark, grass roots, and even leaves in the end.

If people's teeth are better, maybe even eat the wood.

Coupled with the successive years of campaigns by the peasant army and the official army, cutting down a large number of trees to make weapons, camps, siege equipment, etc., the damage to the natural environment was even more serious, and even reached a level that would be difficult for later generations of flower growers to start large-scale industrialization.

It is not impossible for the strong wind in the northwest to roll up the yellow sand on the land and turn the soil into a sandstorm.

"No, we are only two miles away from the Qing army. The decisive victory lies in this battle. How can we retreat." Zhu Cixiang did not listen to Shi Kefa's words.

When it comes to marching and fighting, Shi Kefa's ability is very poor, and his literary attainments can't be compared at all. Historically, he guarded Yangzhou, but was defeated by Duoduo in one night. If Zhu Cihong wanted to believe him, he might as well go to Fuqi and invite the immortals. Commanding the battle.

"Everyone, don't panic, it's just yellow sand, you can still see things at close range clearly." In order to prevent the soldiers from panic, Zhu Cihong comforted him.

No matter how bad the visibility is, it is impossible to make people blind unless the sun disappears.

"In front is the right wing of the Qing army. If we break them, we will win the war and the world will be peaceful. Soldiers, charge!" Seeing that the distance was close enough, Zhu Cihong ordered the whole army to charge.

In a battle of hundreds of thousands, any tactics and formations are useless, because there are too many people and the battlefield is too low, no matter how powerful you are, there is no room for you to use it.

At this time, the fight is about the combat effectiveness, morale, and number of soldiers on both sides. As long as these points are guaranteed, victory will be won.

"The Ming army is coming, let the right wing change formation to defend." When he found that the Ming army was coming to charge, Duoduo quickly asked his subordinates to command the right wing army to change formation and defend.

At this moment, the yellow sand has not covered his central army, so he can see the movements of the Ming army.

But this was the last time he saw the Ming army, because next, the wind and sand came, and the strong wind rolled up endless yellow sand, making the sky above them look like dusk.

At this moment, none of Li Zicheng, Duoduo, and Zhu Cilang could observe the battlefield with naked eyes and direct the battle. At this moment, only the fighting spirit of the soldiers on both sides could determine the victory of the battle.

They can't even use some technical weapons, such as firecrackers and artillery.

"Quick, fire the cannon." A Qing army fired the artillery group where the commander-in-chief was.

As a result, he never imagined that the strong wind rolled the yellow sand into the gun barrel, and a lot of yellow sand accumulated in a short moment. As soon as the gunner ignited the wire, the gun exploded.

The huge power of the gunpowder threw the Hongyi cannon into the air one meter high, and then smashed it heavily on the ground. As for the surrounding gunners, it was even worse. They were directly hit by the strong shock wave of the gunpowder and the fragments of the broken barrel. , can’t even fight together.

But they are not the worst, the worst is the gunner next to him who did nothing, was cleaning the cannon, and was affected by the aftermath of the explosion of the Hongyi cannon just now, igniting the gunpowder beside the cannon, forming a chain explosion.

This bombing accident cost less than half of the red cannons of the Qing army. After counting the losses, Jialazhangjing, who commanded the cannons, ordered the gunners to block the muzzles of the cannons and stop using them for the time being.

(End of this chapter)