Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 487 Human Sea Tactics
Huaian
Ming army camp
In an earlier battle, the Ming army took advantage of the cover of the earth mounds to ambush the Tatars. Although the rear army's gun formation was inevitably damaged, it was still a great victory compared to the ambush of the Qing army.

It's funny to say that.

The Qing army's stated goal in the Battle of Huai'an was to win a moderate victory, while the Ming army's goal was to seize Huai'an, the place where rivers meet.

According to the tactical objectives of both sides, there should have been piles of corpses and rivers of blood outside Huai'an City, but during this period of time, the fighting between the two sides was only brief and did not cause much damage.

Such a situation seems bizarre to others, as if the generals of the Ming and Qing armies are just slacking off. But they know their own business best. Whether it is Hong Chengchou, Lekedehun, Chang Guanlin or Mei Chun, they all have their reasons for making such a choice.

From the perspective of the Ming army, although they had gained a great advantage in that battle, their rear army had only more than 6,000 musketeers in total, which was a huge gap compared to the power displayed by the Qing army.

In addition, due to the fear of the Tartars outflanking the rear, the rear army simply relied on their advantage in range to fire a few rounds before quickly retreating, and never refused to be killed by the Qing army's gun formation.

War is a matter of two hands tango. Since the Ming army made this choice, no matter how much the Qing army wanted to take revenge after suffering a great loss, it would be difficult for them to get a suitable opportunity.

As a result, the Battle of Huai'an, which was crucial to both the Ming and Qing dynasties, gradually became like child's play.

just
"Old Chang, this is not a solution. Why don't we move the artillery position forward? It's better than wasting time here."

As soon as he entered the central military tent, Mei Chun shouted something at the top of his voice. After sitting in the chair, he suddenly drank a cup of tea before continuing.

"Your Majesty has entrusted the main attack of the Northern Expedition to you and me, but we cannot stop in Huai'an. Otherwise, being criticized is secondary. If we damage His Majesty's reputation, it will be a death sentence that cannot be redeemed!"

Mei Chun and Chang Guanlin were from the same group of the Yingtian Forty-eight Guards, so their relationship was naturally closer than that of others.

But then again, Mei Chun's words also contained some resentment towards Chang Guanlin. Even though the two of them had such a relationship, these words could be considered heavy.

If it were another partner, this sentence alone would probably have led to a falling out, but Chang Guanlin seemed not to care after hearing this. He just sucked his teeth and frowned to look at the map.

He was slightly closer to Mei Chun, Fang Guoan was slightly closer to Hou Chengzu, and with the addition of Li Chengdong, Hu Maozhen, and generals from Jiangxi, Sichuan, Yunnan and others, there was already a subtle division of factions within the Ming army.

Where there are people, there is the world; where there are people, there are conflicts of interest.

For these military generals, achieving more military exploits was naturally the most important thing, and the Northern Expedition was much more important than any other military exploits.

It is conceivable that when the news that the two of them were responsible for the Northern Expedition spread, the generals in the army would certainly be envious and jealous. If the two of them could be unstoppable, then it would be Your Majesty's good judgement of people, but if the army was frustrated,
Chang Guanlin knew this very well. Although he felt a little anxious after hearing Mei Chun's words, he did not feel resentful. It was just that the current situation was like this. If he launched a strong attack on Huai'an, he would definitely suffer heavy losses.

Even if they captured the city by then, the Qing army, whose morale had already been crushed by His Majesty, would inevitably recover some of its morale. Although the two of them won the battle of Huai'an tactically, they lost completely strategically.

Under such circumstances, they will have no part in future major wars.

"When we left, His Majesty repeatedly told us that we must not slow down strategically and not rush tactically. If it was just for this city, we would fight to the death to take it. But His Majesty's vision is not just for this city. We have to think more about the overall situation."

Faced with Chang Guanlin's explanation, Mei Chun seemed a little anxious.

The front army is fine, no matter what others say about them, they all fought tough battles when Your Majesty first started the army.

Under such circumstances, even if the front army did not have enough military merits, they could still be given the title of guard by virtue of their merits in following the dragon.

But their rear army was not so lucky.

Since the day the army was officially formed, the rear army has relied on firearms to defeat the enemy in every battle. In the eyes of His Majesty, this probably makes no difference, but in the eyes of the generals in the army, the rear army is just a soft persimmon that can make achievements by relying on its equipment.

In the past, Mei Chun would not have cared much about these things. After all, those contributions were real. However, the rear army in Huai'an repeatedly avoided fighting against the Qing army's gun formations that were equipped with firearms, and the entire army naturally developed a sense of crisis.

"The overall situation, the overall situation, you know the overall situation. One of us only achieved success with firearms, and the other missed several battles in the southwest. If we stay in Huai'an, we will have to wait for reinforcements. How can we still bear the title of guard?"

After these words, the tent became quiet again. It was obvious that Chang Guanlin was not convinced by these words.

Seeing this, Mei Chun was helpless. He sighed and walked out of the tent.

"Marshal, what's wrong?"

"Old Chang is very stubborn. Let's get the troops out of the camp first. I'll talk to him when we get back."

As soon as he stepped out of the tent, several generals came to greet him. After hearing the first half of Mei Chun's sentence, everyone looked disappointed, but when the second half came, the generals who were about to leave the tent today still clasped their fists to receive the order.

Although they did not launch a strong attack on Huai'an during these days, they always maintained a certain amount of pressure. As for the way of exerting this pressure, there was nothing special. After all, they could not escape the support of the militiamen to transport the soil out.

Mei Chun wanted to persuade Chang Guanlin before leaving the camp so that he could strike hard at the Qing army after they accepted the challenge.

After a while, all the teams finished their military formation, and then thousands of militiamen pushing carts headed straight for the mound under the protection of the gun formation and the front army. Mei Chun personally supervised the battle in the rear.

To be honest, over the past few days, both the Ming and Qing armies have become familiar with the process, and there is no need for a general like him to follow them out of the camp.

After all, the Ming army's gun formation had the advantage of range, and the entire army retreated after only two rounds. The Qing army did not dare to pursue with all their strength due to the threat of the Ming army's artillery.

Under such circumstances, why do we need a general to take command?

After a while, a military formation consisting of four to five thousand Ming troops arrived in front of the mound, and then the Huai'an city gate slowly opened, and teams of Qing troops went out of the city one after another. When Mei Chun looked around, the other side had already begun to form a military formation, while the generals in the front were already preparing to fight the enemy without the arrival of military orders.

This scene has occurred twelve or thirteen times outside Huai'an City, and everyone is familiar with it.

Afterwards, wheelbarrows controlled by militiamen continuously dumped the soil that had been drying for several days in front of the mound, while the Qing army reorganized the ranks step by step.

Seeing this, Mei Chun did not find it strange. After looking around, he fell into his own thoughts.

He is actually very contradictory.

On the one hand, he knew that this Northern Expedition was not so simple. From the moment of crossing the river, His Majesty had been using various means to lure the Qing army to reinforce its troops, trying to annihilate the Qing army's vitality as much as possible in this densely networked area. As a general in charge, he had to obey His Majesty's arrangements.

But on the other hand, they first delayed at the river mouth, and then delayed in various cities in Huaidong. By this time, several months had passed. The Qing army had no plans to reinforce its troops except for the musketeers who had arrived in Huai'an early, and his attention gradually shifted to other places.

With the two factors combined, although Mei Chun felt that the plan to annihilate a large number of Qing troops was hopeless, at the same time he could not help but share the same idea as Chang Guanlin.

These thoughts kept fighting in his mind, and he really didn't know what to do.

“Bang!” “Bang!”

"Bah!"

Just when Mei Chun was feeling confused, the sound of muskets firing came from the front. When he looked, he saw thick smoke rising into the air. It was obviously caused by his own men opening fire first.

Seeing this situation, Mei Chun did not care too much. He just ordered the scouts in the army to pay attention to the movements on the flanks according to common sense, and then he started thinking again.

Wait a few more days, and if the Qing army still does not make any moves, then find a dark night and deploy artillery around the mound.

After thinking for a while, he finally made a decision in his heart.

After all, everyone has his own considerations. The front army can wait calmly, but his rear army does not have such qualifications. What's more, there are as many as five or six hundred large and small artillery pieces in his army. As long as they can build an earth platform with this advantage, they can directly blow down the wall of Huai'an.

Of course, once the arrangements were made, they would inevitably have to face the fierce counterattack of the Qing army.

Then
Alas~~~~, too passive!
After thinking about it again, Mei Chun let out a long sigh. When the surrounding generals looked at him, his expression had returned to normal, but the general who was in charge of Zhu Cilang's ace troops regretted it for the first time.

"Bah!"

"Bah!"

"Bah!"

Another burst of gunfire was heard, and Mei Chun couldn't help but look into the distance.

At this time, almost everything on the battlefield was shrouded in smoke, and it was difficult to see anything except the lonely pile of earth.

At this point, he knew that his men should withdraw, and his thoughts, which had been turning back and forth, finally came to a focus. Then, faint military orders came from the smoke, and he quietly waited for the end of the battle.

The first group to return were naturally the militiamen. Although they were in control of the carts, they just dumped the dirt and walked away without lingering in front. Their speed was much faster than the soldiers in front.

After about ten breaths, the soldiers in front also ran out from the smoke, and Mei Chun began to observe carefully at this time.

He had no political acumen and no far-sighted vision, but when it came to training troops, he was slightly better than the guards.

In his view, opportunities for training are everywhere.

Although the troops in front were fleeing at this moment, this was precisely the best opportunity to show the strengths and weaknesses of each group. He only needed to figure out which group's formation was more orderly and which group's formation was more scattered, and then he could make detailed arrangements based on their strengths and weaknesses in the future.

just
Something is wrong!

Just as his eyes were scanning between the various departments, several figures holding weapons drew his attention.

If these figures were on the two wings of his own gun formation, he would not have had such thoughts, but the other party was at least sixty or seventy steps away from his own gun formation, and was directly behind the formation.

How could there be any other possibility for this situation except the Qing army?
But what do they want?
If the enemy's gun formation chased to this distance, they could probably fire a few shots and knock down a few people, but these are hand-to-hand combat soldiers, can they really fly over?

No! The Tartars have been very cowardly these days, so there must be something wrong with this situation.

The thought flashed through his mind in a flash, and when he was becoming more and more confused, he saw a large number of Qing soldiers rushing out from the smoke one after another.

He naturally did not understand the Qing army's arrangement, but as a general in command, he would not delay the issuance of military orders because of his confusion. It only took him a few breaths for his generals to receive the orders and go everywhere.

"Bah!"

"Bah!"

The Qing army's moth-to-flame behavior did not cause the retreating Ming army to feel the slightest panic. While they were running, some of the brave ones turned around and shot. However, Mei Chun shouted loudly after seeing this scene.

"Don't fight too long! Each unit should take turns to stop the enemy, and never let the enemy soldiers rush in front of you!"

The retreating Ming army might not know why their commander-in-chief would issue such an order, but Mei Chun was on a higher platform after all, so what he saw was different from that of the retreating soldiers.

In his vision, the Qing army was still rushing out from the smoke, and it was roughly estimated that there were more than 10,000 people.

It is obvious that the Qing army wanted to take advantage of the Ming army's slackness and use human wave tactics to directly break through the camp outside the city.

If his troops could not be withdrawn in time, unless the camp behind them could open fire without any regard for the consequences,
As his thoughts turned, Mei Chun couldn't help but look back.

At this time, several thousand-household teams had formed up in the rear according to his military orders. As long as the retreating troops were divided into two sides according to the training pattern, the shooting angle would be freed up.

If it were any other time, with these military formations as a foundation, he could safely wait for the Qing army to return in defeat. But now, there were more and more Qing troops within sight, and these enemy soldiers were even fearless, as if the bullets continuously fired from the front would not have any effect on them at all.

This was because the density of the bullets fired by the retreating soldiers was not enough. Once the rear formation was not covered, the enemy soldiers would not be able to survive.

Seeing this, Mei Chun couldn't help but have an idea in his mind. At this time, the retreating soldiers had already dispersed to both sides under the command of the general, and he also led the surrounding troops to do the same.

Perhaps only seven or eight breaths later, he had circled to the flank of the rear army formation. When he looked behind him again, the retreating soldiers had split into two groups, and there was finally no cover in front of the thousand-household teams that had been ready for battle.

"Bah!"

"Bah!"

"Bah!"

As the sound of muskets being fired continued to be heard, bursts of smoke rose into the sky. Then the front team retreated and the rear team moved forward, and immediately another round of bullets flew out.

At this point, although Mei Chun was still surprised that the Qing army suddenly sent out such a large number of soldiers, he calmed down when he saw that his men were not at all panicked.

But how could the Qing army make such arrangements just to give credit to the enemy?
When he looked back again, the surprise in his heart had turned into shock.

"Why haven't the Tartars collapsed yet?"

(End of this chapter)