Number of People

  Chapter 1711 Renzijuan Standing for Help

  The barracks of camps arranged along the way caused a lot of trouble for the Kuching cavalry.

  Relying on this semi-arc-shaped camp, the gunners and spearmen cooperate with each other, and the distance between each camp is less than fifty steps, which can form dense crossfire.

Up to a hundred gunners in each camp are enough to form an extremely fierce fire defense line. It is difficult for a cavalry charge of dozens of people to break through. Even if they can break through, they will suffer great losses, especially when there are no infantry. After following up, this kind of charge and assault seemed a bit too uneconomical.

But Kuching couldn't stop moving forward, and saw that the Xuanfu army on the stone bridge began to cross the bridge in a dense manner. If their own side could not stop them, if so many Beijing troops retreated into Gonghua City, if they wanted to win Gonghua City will need to pay a higher price.

  He can only order his subordinates to choose the right time to go around and attack.

   But I have to say that the method of camping vehicles adopted by the Beijing camp is very suitable for this kind of firecrackers.

  These camp vehicles are no more than half the height of a person, and the added fences just become the brackets for the firecrackers to set up the firecrackers. They can rely on the camp vehicles to shoot outside.

Whether it is a group charge or a scattered team, it is difficult to escape this kind of camping camp that is no more than thirty or forty steps apart, especially this kind of crossfire directly blocks the cavalry who intends to insert from the two camps , coupled with the coveted spears on both sides as a preparation, the cavalry, which had failed several times in the attack, quickly lost hope.

  No one is willing to take the risk of being shot at by firecrackers to charge forcefully. Their lives are their own. When there is no hope of breakthrough, this kind of charge is not worthwhile.

Fortunately, Ji Shaochun's archers quickly caught up, taking and throwing and shooting at the spearmen, so that He Huchen's troops finally began to show flaws during the retreat process, especially in the follow-up cover process, it was inevitable to be followed up. The advancing Xuanfu army was biting, especially when they got closer to the Gonghua city gate, the more they hoped to get rid of the pursuit and retreat into the city earlier.

  At this time, He Huchen realized the danger.

Every retreat is a danger. Although he has made very thorough preparations before, and the retreat in the early stage was orderly and smooth, but as the archers of the Xuanfu army crossed the river chased them up, this kind of battalion was no longer in order. The loss of the base's cross-screening method will also increase.

The archers followed by the Xuanfu army are all the best among the elite, and they are top-notch in terms of concentrated shooting and projectile ability. This has given great damage to the musketeers hiding behind the camp and the spearmen hiding behind the camp. , especially when the big guys want to withdraw as soon as possible, the enemy will seize the opportunity to attack if there is a slight flaw at this time.

"Order Zhang Dechang's tiger squatting artillery team to set up at the city gate, and the eagle-billed gun team to set up on the gate tower, ready to cover the last batch of retreating troops. If we don’t enter the city for the time being, we must always cause enough losses to the Xuanfu army so that they don’t dare to approach, this is our chance to enter the city!”

   He Huchen gritted his teeth and gave the order.

The cross cover was effective in the early stage, but when the Xuanfu army pressed up on a large scale and the archers attacked intensively, their losses increased greatly, and it began to be difficult to evacuate the camp vehicles to form an formation. Later, they had to push the camp vehicles slowly Retreat, but the retreat speed is slower and the loss is greater.

   It's just that this kind of loss is necessary, otherwise, once they retreat desperately, they are very likely to be bitten by the Xuanfu army, making it difficult to distance themselves.

   Fortunately, there were only two miles away. When the Xuanfu army rushed up, He Huchen's troops had basically evacuated to the last few camps, less than a hundred steps away from the gate of Gonghua.

When the last two firecrackers and the spear team withdrew from the camp and gathered at the city gate, He Huchen made a rough count. In just two miles, the spear team lost more than 400 people, and the gunners also lost More than 200 people were recruited, which is not a lot, but this is all his own basic strength, it can be said that He Huchen is also heartbroken.

When he got under the city wall, He Huchen was not afraid anymore. No matter how many Xuanfu troops were on the opposite side, the distance they opened determined that they would have to pay a price if they wanted to charge, and whether Niu Jizong was willing to pay the price depended on him. up.

And even if they are willing to pay, they may not get what they want. He Huchen has already ordered two gunners to go to the city first, and together with the eagle-beaked gunners, they formed a second line of attack on the city wall. It is not so easy for the Xuanfu army to capture the troops defending the city at once.

After the two rounds of attacks by the Xuanfu army were repulsed, the Beijing camp had shrunk to the city gate, and relying on an arc-shaped defensive circle formed by the camp vehicles, the firecrackers above and below the city fired alternately, and the tiger crouching cannon With the help of the army, a fairly dense firepower net was formed, and the result of another forced attack was that the Xuanfu army suffered a sharp increase in casualties.

  Of course, the archers of the Xuanfu army were not vegetarians, and the competition around the city gate became more intense. The result of this kind of shooting was that the casualties of both sides continued to increase.

  He Huchen came to the city to command in person, continuously narrowed the defensive circle of the formed camp vehicles, and directed the firecrackers to concentrate and shoot until they finally retreated to the city gate before completely retreating into the city.

  This step-by-step retreat method gave the Xuanfu army an air force advantage, but it was a dog biting a turtle—nowhere to go, and could only watch the enemy retreat into the city, leaving more than a dozen camp vehicles behind the city.

Niu Jizong looked at the scene in front of him expressionlessly. He had to say that the military commander on the opposite side had controlled the situation very well. First, he took advantage of the firepower of the firecracker and the cover of the camp vehicle to block the enemy, making it difficult for his own side to bite the opponent. retreat into the city.

   On the other hand, it was a big mistake for the cavalry to fail to cut off their retreat into Gonghua City in advance, but Kuching cannot be completely blamed.

  The opponent was quite cunning, and used camp vehicles to build formations along the line in advance, making it difficult for the cavalry to attack.

  In addition, the stone bridge is too close to Gonghua City, two miles away, you can retreat back in one go, and Guo Yunlu is too cautious to bite the opponent.

  So after considering several aspects, I have such an advantage, but I can't suppress the opponent.

Now that the enemy army has completely shrunk back to the city, plus the original guarding force, there are actually seven or eight thousand people guarding the city in this small Gonghua city. Although the city wall is low, it is a city after all. There is no small price to pay.

But it is impossible not to take it down. Gonghua City was the important supply of food, grass and materials in the west of Beijing. The supplies in Xuanfu Town and the west of Ji Town had to be transferred from here, and let these seven or eight thousand people be behind him. Can't accept it, win here, in order to ensure the next step of Xuanfu's army marching into the capital and possibly encounter the main force of Jizhen in the big battle, so as to allow ourselves to have a safe rear.

  Is it just that You Shigong will give himself so much time?

   This is the biggest problem Niu Jizong faces.

  Gonghua City is small, but with the level shown by the opposing general, I am afraid it is not easy to deal with. With such a good result in the field battle, it is even more difficult to crack this bone if it is changed to defend the city.

  If the seven or eight thousand people are all such sergeants who are mainly gunfire soldiers, not only will they have to pay a considerable price to win Gonghua City in this battle, but more importantly, can they be done before You Shigong's army arrives?

   The scouts have reported back that You Shigong's army is only 60 miles away. If You Shigong does not care about his fatigue, he can arrive at night, and his cavalry may even arrive earlier, which is very troublesome.

   After looking around Gonghua City, Niu Jizong couldn't make up his mind.

There are not many clues to be seen from under the city wall, but Niu Jizong can judge that the part defending the city before should not belong to the same part as the part that fought against Shiqiao. It doesn't seem to be dominated by firecrackers, but spears, swords and shields, which reassures Niu Jizong a little.

According to the information he has learned, the establishment of the new Fifth Army Battalion took a very short time, and the main force of the Old Fifth Army Battalion was taken to Huaiyang Town by Chen Jixian. Part of the battalion was transferred as the backbone before the formation of the new Fifth Army Battalion began.

This Firearms Battalion should have come from the Shenji Battalion, but the reconstruction of the Shenji Battalion has not been long. Qian Guozhong, the leader of the Shenji Battalion, is not a big figure. ? And its tactics are completely different from what I have known before.

  The big reason why I suffered a loss in this battle was because I didn't understand the enemy's situation. This had a lot to do with the fact that I never thought that the Beijing camp would dare to send troops to stop me.

Before, my main energy was put on You Shigong, Jizhen, and I never cared about Jingying, which I thought was no longer worth mentioning. The Jiedu envoy of the old Beijing camp came to dismount.

Time is running out, Niu Jizong can only immediately call all the generals to discuss how to break the Gonghua City. Facing the attack on Gonghua City, even if they only bring two or three statues, they can at least be used to attack the city, but now they have to face the dilemma of using human lives to fill it.

   Fortunately, the walls of Gonghua City are low, and they were not originally built to defend the city, so it is more like a material supply base in the hinterland, and it is not easy for the opponent to defend.

  When Niu Jizong convened everyone to discuss how to break the city, You Shilu and Zhao Jiangong's two 6,000 cavalry troops also rushed to Gonghua City non-stop. This battle was equally critical for them, and the risk of losing Gonghua City was equally unbearable.

  (end of this chapter)