the world is at stake

Mang Gurtai gave a heavy 'hmm', but readily agreed, "Okay, give me 3000 troops, and I will guard Guanshui Town."

Fei Yingdong stood beside him with a cold face and said nothing. The old minister who helped Nurhachi found the country felt a deep crisis, which was unprecedented in the past hundreds of years.

In the Ming Dynasty, Liaodong had never been peaceful, and border troubles continued.It's not that Nurhachi is the only one who makes troubles for the Jurchens, but they keep making troubles but only Nurhachi succeeds.

In the past, no matter how the leaders of Jurchen's various ministries made troubles, the border troops of the Ming Dynasty didn't care much. Even if they sent troops to fight, they wouldn't go too deep, just killing hundreds of people to deal with the errands.

Liaodong is poor, and there is no gain in winning the battle, but the dead point makes room.In the eyes of old people like Fei Yingdong, it is almost time for the Xinhua Han people to stop fighting in Kuandian.

Didn't you say you want to chop wood?

Isn't there enough wood by the Yalu River for you to chop?

This aggressive posture, where you want to chop wood, I think you want to chop off people's heads.

The current situation overturned what Fei Yingdong thought, and the Xinhua Han people completely refused to have any communication with Dajin.None of the envoys he sent to make contact came back, as if they were slaughtered as soon as they went.

The other party didn't have any intention of talking, just wanted Da Jin to be finished.

The irrigation city is small, far less solid than Kuandian.Thinking of the sharpness of the opponent's soldiers, Fei Yingdong said to Mang Gurtai: "You take all the horse troops and find an open place to charge a few waves."

Ma Jun?

The Jurchens are fishermen and hunters, not nomads.Their horse army is actually mounted infantry, not good at charging.Only the Yehe tribe in the north communicated more with the Mongols, so they would play some tricks of rushing.

"It's good to bring the horse army, at least go faster." Huangtai class has no objection, "Just note that Guanshui Town is next to the Ai River. The gunboats of the Xinhua Navy are very powerful. Remember not to get too close to the river."

Mang Gurtai said "hmm" again, and set off to the north with [-] infantry and [-] horse troops overnight, heading for Guanshui Town, south of Aiyang Fort.

Just when the owner of the Zhenglan Banner was conscious and decisive, Zhou Qingfeng also led the team out of Zhenshuo Pass and headed south to Guanshui Town.

The name of "Guan Shui" comes from the fact that three small rivers flow into the Ai River in the mountains to the north. There are countless springs and streams in the mountains, and the terrain is complex.

There are scouts riding ten kilometers forward to act as the eyes of the commander.The big troops meandered on the mountain road holding torches, like a fire dragon swimming at night.

Mang Gurtai wanted to grab Guanshui Town, while Zhou Qingfeng wanted to grab the mountain road leading to Kuandian in the south of Guanshui Town.The S202 Provincial Highway in Liaoning later passed through the rare valley among the mountains.

The Huangtai class consciously reacted quickly, and immediately dispatched after receiving the notification of the defeated soldiers.Mangurtai will be able to reach 'Gushui' the next day, and maybe he can regain Zhenshuo Pass and restore contact with Hetuala.

But Tartar is fast, and Zhou Qingfeng is not slow either.

When the defeated soldiers at Zhenshuo Pass fled back to Kuandian, scouts from the Xinhua Expedition followed behind and continued to report information.Confirming that the enemy was negligently taking precautions along the way, Zhou Qingfeng, who had been sluggish all the time, took the pass and led an infantry battalion to head south quickly and lightly.

The mountain roads are undulating, narrow and curved, and the four-wheeled carriage cannot run.In order to speed up, Zhou Qingfeng didn't even want the artillery, and only let Wang Xin lead the remaining infantry battalion and naturalization battalion to keep up.

When Manggurtai left Kuandian, Zhou Qingfeng's infantry battalion arrived at 'Guanshui'; when the Jiannu horse army quickly went north, he had already learned that the enemy sent troops, so he chose to go on the 'S202 Provincial Highway' from 'Guanshui' to Kuandian Build a field position.

There are only 300 Xinhua infantry battalions in one battalion. Zhou Qingfeng chose to occupy two adjacent hillsides as the commanding heights on a relatively narrow "provincial road", and cut down trees on the mountains to build a stronghold.

By the way, explosives were used to blow up the already bad road surface even more potholes.

Good night training and sufficient food supply on weekdays give soldiers enough physical strength to complete heavy physical labor.

Trees were chopped down all night, holes were blown up all night, and when the next day dawned, there were two more horse positions on the 'provincial road' between the mountains, which clamped the road, arranged at a [-]-degree diagonal.

Manggurtai was bumpy all night on the rugged mountain road.Walking halfway, the Baijia sentry reported back: "Master, there is a group of Han people at the intersection ahead."

Zhou Qingfeng deliberately picked an open space among the mountains with a wide view and a good shooting range.In the twilight of the morning light, most of the soldiers who were tired all night rested with their guns in the temporary fortifications.

A few sentries climbed up trees or hillsides, holding binoculars to observe the surrounding area.Before the Baijia Sentinels found their side, they had already warned.

"Don't panic, the enemy team is still far away from us. Eat breakfast first. Those who should pee should go pee, and don't pee in your pants later." Zhou Qingfeng, as the chief officer, personally inspected the formation.The mood in the two field fortifications quickly stabilized.

And a few miles away, Mang Gurtai also heard the news from the sentinel.But he couldn't believe it, and asked the whistle with a sullen face: "How many Han people do you think are there? How are they arranged?"

"The group of Han people definitely did not exceed five hundred, so they set up camps on the high places on both sides of the mountain road. The camps were also very simple, with neither earth walls nor ditches, but some trees were cut down to build some frames, and ordinary soldiers could climb up with their hands. past.

If there are some troubles, at most there are many holes on the road, which seem to be newly dug, as if to prevent my big golden horse army from sprinting.But those pits are very shallow, and the pawns can just walk through them without hindrance. "

Mang Gurtai was overjoyed when Bai Jiashao explained the details.He drove his horse forward again, took out the bronze binoculars sent by Guo Hai, and observed the arrangement of the Han people opposite.

The sentinels were right. The hillside occupied by the Han people on the opposite side is only 30 meters high from the road, and it is not difficult to climb up.Its number is even less.

Let alone five hundred, Mang Gurtai counted roughly, four hundred at most.He was overjoyed, "The Xinhua Han people are so arrogant after winning a small victory, how dare they use this little force to resist our big Jinqiang army.

Our horse army is not used to charge the battle, so what's the point of being trapped in a horse pit?What's more, the place I chose is spacious, with four or fifty feet from east to west, which is not comparable to a mountain road of two or three feet. It is just suitable for thousands of people to spread out.

Confronting me, Mang Gurtai, here, is seeking death!

Come on! "

Mang Gurtai shouted, and several Jiala Ezhen came out beside him.He said happily: "The Han people on the other side treat me like nothing, and they will definitely kill me today.

Sele, you take five Niulu troops to grab the left side of the mountain road, and use a big ax to cut down the Han people's treasury on the opposite side; horse.

Ilden, you lead a team of 'While Yala', wearing three layers of armor, holding spears and iron guns.When the Han people break through the horse formation, you lead the team to attack, and don't stop chasing and killing all the way.

This group of Han people is small in number, but their firearms are sharp, and they have already killed many warriors of our Xianglan Banner and Zhengbai Banner, even Amin Baylor was defeated by them.

There will be losses in fighting today, but you must not fight timidly.

As long as you can win, I will make up for you twice after the battle, no matter how many casualties you have suffered.If the head of the Han leader can be beheaded, Benbaile will have a great reward. "

Mangurtai spoke impassionedly and vigorously, as if he was sure of victory.The leaders of all levels under him also saw that there were indeed not many Han people on the opposite side, and with the orders and rewards issued by the banner owner, all of them had the strength to fight.

"I have an army of one thousand horses and three thousand infantry, all of which are the elites of the Dajin Kingdom who have fought for many years. Here today, I want to break the prestige of the Xinhua Han people!

The Han people are in decline and don't know how to use troops.My Dajin National Fortune is here, and I will definitely win! "Mang Gurtai completed the formation of troops, his arms were vigorous, his face was bright red, and he kept yelling.

Chapter 43

In the early morning sunshine, an army gathered on the road south of Guanshui Town.There is a deserted village on the side of the road, the population has dissipated, and only some ruins remain.

The warriors of the Dajin Kingdom had to eat breakfast and drink cold water after walking the mountain road all night.One of them rushed into the village to look for a well, and threw the broken bucket into the well, only to pick up a few small white bones amidst the splashing water.

Bah... bad luck!

The buck-toothed Batu cursed disdainfully, and asked the water-drawing servant to pour out the bones and the well water in the bucket, and continued to throw the bucket into the well, shaking the well rope.

The white-armored soldier of the Zhenglan Banner knew exactly what happened in this village because he had been there before.

The Jianzhou army went south to Kuandian, collecting grain, grass and slaves along the way. To put it bluntly, it was robbery.The villages they passed suffered natural disasters, the young and strong were taken into captivity, and the old and weak were slaughtered.

After more than half a year, the corpse thrown into the well at the beginning was rotten and clean, leaving only some bones.Batu didn't care, and only urged his servants to quickly dig the well and produce drinkable water.

It was the Han slaves who were crying while digging out the well, because more and more bones were taken out, and there were no less than a dozen people who were thrown into the well at the beginning.Some are dead, some are alive, and some are half dead.

Batu had driven all night, and smoke was coming from his throat.He thought the slave was slow in working, so he whipped him several times with a whip.The white-armored guard next to him was also dissatisfied when he saw it, and yelled viciously that if the slave couldn't work hard, he might as well kill him.

At this time, Jiala Ezhen and Shuutu in the banner walked into the deserted village. He received the task from the banner owner Mang Gurtai, returned to the gathering place of his subordinates, shouted hello, and began to count on his fingers.

Hearing the shouts of the crowd, Batu didn't care to teach his servants a lesson, so he ate a few mouthfuls of dry food and ran over in a hurry.As the white-armored guard of the Zhenglan Banner, if the count is over and he has not arrived, he will be punished.

He Shuutu conveyed Mang Gurtai's general order to attack the hillside on the right side of the mountain road, it is best to break through the Han people's horses and kill them all.His voice was deep and fierce, and what he said was what his subordinates must do.

"The Han people have powerful firearms, but their numbers are small. We are besieged on three sides, and we can defeat the enemy no matter what. The master has made a vow, and the first to attack will be rewarded. You must fight hard, and no one who retreats will die, and the whole family will be slaves."

Batu stood with the guards of Bailai, listening to He Shuutu's orders, and busy eating the dry food in his hand.A few low-ranking Niu Luerzhen responded with a 'cha' in front, and he followed suit.

They are all veterans who have fought for more than ten years, so Batu knows what he should do without any extra arrangements from above.After receiving the military order, he went to put on his armor.

In order to maintain their physical strength, they will not wear too heavy armor when marching, and they will be transported by horse-drawn carts.Batu's is special, he let his own coat to carry.The harder the slaves carried on their backs, the more heavily armored they looked, the more he liked them.

Since the flag owner said that the Han Chinese had powerful firearms, it was natural to wear more layers of armor to defend against them.

Batu put on a chain armor by himself, and the servants helped put on the cotton armor.

The lock armor was bought from the Ming army, and Han craftsmen were very good at making it.If the price is enough, the armor will naturally be fine, and the sword will not be able to penetrate it, and the arrow will not be able to penetrate it.

The cotton armor was made by slaves of the Han people. In order to strengthen the defense, water was poured into it before the battle.After filling with water, this thing is thick and heavy, and it is so heavy that ordinary firecrackers can't penetrate it.

These two pieces are usually enough to kill and wear, but this one is different.Batu ran to his Niu Luerzhen and said that he was willing to play forward, and brought another armor.

The striker is well equipped and rewarded after the battle. Batu is willing to be a striker every time.But this time he was not very happy, because the iron armor he brought had two holes in the chest, one in front and one in the back.

The master in charge of military supplies didn't say why the iron armor had two holes, but only said that it was the best armor at hand, and it could resist cutting with knives and axes.

But Batu poked the hole in the armor with his finger and found that it was the right size.He was very curious after putting on this thing, "What can wear such a good armor?"

After putting on the armor, He Shuotu, who led the team, was blowing the horn.Batu grabbed an ax and wobbled to assemble.He had to walk about a mile to get into the field, which was tiring.

Mangurtai's Zhenglan battle flag was erected in the middle of the road, and the main force of the hundreds of cavalry troops, all armed with spears and heavy armor, was slowly advancing.

Batu walked to the front of the right wing, surrounded by dozens of elite strikers.They are going to climb up the slope of the mountain road.Master He Shuutu followed behind with several hundred bannermen to supervise the battle.

Looking around, Batu found that his companions were all wearing thick armor.Let them fight the Ming army on weekdays, and they all go with a smile on their faces.But today the whole face is tense.

The hillside is not steep, but there is no road. There are rocks and potholes everywhere, and it is very difficult to walk.

The forwards of the Zhenglan Banner had to be careful where they stepped, they were wearing armor weighing dozens of kilograms, and if they fell, they would fall like a gourd.Not to mention this embarrassment, but also be reprimanded by the master.

Back from the defeat all the way from Zhenjiang Fort, the ministries of Dajin failed to take advantage of the Han people who were good at firearms.After the defeated soldiers from Zhenshuo Pass escaped back, there were even more rumors.

But the rumors only say 'firearms' over and over again, and few people can tell the specific situation of the battle.The white-armored elites still follow their habitual experience, and feel that more armor is more reliable.

Just walking, Batu reached out and touched the outermost armor, the small hole on it made him feel uneasy.He was vaguely aware of what but couldn't explain clearly, he only felt a kind of fear growing in his heart.

This iron armor is probably stripped from a corpse, the one who can wear iron armor must be a vanguard, and must have worn three layers of armor.But the two holes in the front and back of this thing obviously failed to prevent it.

If you can't defend against three layers of armor, why wear so many?Is it easier to take off this troublesome thing?At least run fast and consume less energy.

The water-filled cotton armor is extremely uncomfortable to wear, and even the inner clothes are soaked.Batu was walking, shivering in the October weather in Liaodong.

But if he didn't wear it, Batu would be even more unsteady, as if he was naked.Presumably other white armor soldiers are like this.Everyone has been fighting for many years, and they are used to wearing heavy armor when facing strong enemies. The more you wear, the better.

Alas...it's useless to say anything now, only move forward.

There are many birds in the mountains, and as the Jianzhou army approaches, they fly away in fright.There are no trees on the hillside, the ground is full of stones, and the wild grass is shivering and twisting in the wind.

Every hundred steps, He Shuo Tu's master will order the whole team to stop at the back, try to line up as much as possible, and the charge will be stronger.After two formations, Batu walked to the middle of the hillside, and he could see the formation of Han people about a hundred paces away.

Very simple two rows of horses, in a circular shape to protect the Han people on the top of the slope.The other party didn't flee or panic, just pointed their guns at Batu and others approaching down the slope.

Thinking that the opponent's troops were at most three or four hundred, and they were divided into left and right sides, Batu also wanted to ridicule the stupidity of the Han people.He raised his head and looked up for a while, feeling annoyed that he didn't take another shield so that he could charge forward against it.

Just when I was about to talk about shields, there were actually some people in the forward line with a machete in one hand and a wooden shield in the other.

Batu glanced at it and recognized another Niulu's Wild Jurchen, who had just been captured from Haixi.

"The barbarians who eat raw meat." Batu cursed secretly.He himself has an ugly face with buck teeth, but he still feels like a civilized person in front of the wild Jurchen.

The forward line is less than a hundred steps away from the top of the slope.Wild Nuzhen probably remembered the reward promised by her master, so she was determined to be the first to take a few steps forward.

Some people scramble to be the first, and some people are afraid to be behind.

Ye Juzhen took the lead, and the grumpy ones in the forwards immediately followed.

When everyone followed up, Batu also had to expend more energy to speed up his pace, so as not to be regarded as avoiding the battle and being lazy by the master who supervised the battle.

But at this moment, the muffled sound of gunfire rang out on the battlefield.Batu was stunned for a moment, and the entire marching queue stopped for two or three seconds.They identified the source of the noise and found that it was the Han people on the left hillside who fired.

The Han people on the left opened fire, and the Jiannu on the right were unlucky.

Dozens of Zhenglan Banner White Armored Soldiers lined up in a row, two teams at the front and back.The wild girl standing at the front was holding the wooden shield forward, but suddenly staggered, fell down suddenly, and couldn't get up again.

There is no observation of the wound before death, no unwilling nonsense, just the sound of the gun, and the death is sudden and refreshing.

Batu continued to be dazed, turned his head to look at the fallen Yejuzhen, and found that he was shot in the side, the bullet was extremely powerful, it was shot from the left and shot from the right.

Hiss... the three-layer armor couldn't stop it either.

The water-filled cotton shell seemed to become ten times heavier in an instant, and it was freezing cold.

Batu turned his head again and looked at the Han people on the slope opposite the mountain road who were firing. The distance between the two sides was about [-] to [-] steps.The bow and arrow were completely inaccurate at this distance, but the blunderbuss shot over in a daze.

This was just the beginning. After the sound of the gun, the shooting continued.

The two hillsides face each other across the road, and the Han people arranged them at [-] degrees according to the horses.The Han people on the left did not fight the Zhenglan Banner soldiers on the left, but only the right side; the Han people on the right also concentrated on fighting the left side.

Cross fire on both sides, play side shot.

Why is Mao like this?

In the Jiannu attacking queue, there are only two rows in front of the striker, but from the side, there are no. 30 people.

An enemy with a height of 1.8 meters is 0.002 meters away, and as long as the error of the muzzle exceeds [-] degrees, it will be inaccurate.The biggest problem with firearm shooting is the deviation caused by the jumping up of the muzzle. If the muzzle cannot be pressed, the bullets will fly randomly.

As for the cross-targeted side shots between the hillsides, the slope of the attack line naturally turned into a large target nearly ten meters high.The bullet can't hit the former one, but it can easily hit the latter one.

This hit probability increased several times.

After the Ye Nuzhen who was trying to preempt was brought down, Batu found that the bullets hitting him all came from the side.There was only one wave of bang bang firecrackers, and seven or eight vanguards fell down.

The view on the hillside is wide, suitable for deploying troops, but it is also unobstructed, and the attacker can only stand and be beaten.

However, the Han people shot their firecrackers extremely fast, one wave followed by another immediately.They put the firecrackers in their hands on the racks of the horses, aiming steadily, and they were definitely not like the Ming army.

After the Han firearms fired a round, Batu found that the white-armored soldiers who served as the vanguard had fallen by more than [-].The dense formation around him also loosened up, because everyone fell to the ground, either dead or injured.