Southern Ming: A boy soldier at the beginning, supporting the world

Chapter 8 Breaking the Formation
The left wing of the Qing army had already collapsed, with broken flags and broken horses, and the ground was in a mess. The left wing was composed of local soldiers who had never fought in battles. They were defeated at the first blow, and they fell like leaves in the autumn wind. The right wing was more elite and experienced in the battlefield, so it was still able to hold its ground.

Jiao Ke was in a killing spree and kept chasing the soldiers on the left wing. Jiao Lian was weak against a strong enemy and still fought hard. The 100 standard soldiers under his command fought bravely and did not lose the upper hand.

However, the Ming army was outnumbered, and the Qing army's right wing still resisted stubbornly, showing no sign of retreat. Damn it, at this time, let alone 3,000 soldiers, if there were only 1,000 soldiers, it would be enough to defeat the Qing army on the right wing.

There were still some soldiers guarding the city walls of Guilin, who could only wave flags and shout, but could not go out to fight the enemy. There were also many militias stationed outside the city, all of whom were landlords and local militiamen, who had been watching from the sidelines and would not easily go into battle until the outcome was clear.

Alas! To defeat the enemy, we must rely on ourselves! We must rely on Jiao Lian's three hundred standard bearers!

The battle lasted until the end of the hour of Wei, which was the hottest time of the day.

Cen Danchu wiped his face when he had time. Sweat mixed with blood and a foul smell all over his body. It was his first time on the battlefield. He killed too many enemies and used too much force. His right hand holding the spear was shaking slightly.

We can't stop, Cen Danchu warned himself, and rode to Jiao Ke and said, "General, the Qing army's right wing is still there, we must gather our troops immediately and go to reinforce the Marshal!"

This sentence reminded Jiao Ke: Don't be greedy for heads and spoils, you must first reinforce the commander. He whistled, and the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth teams of standard-bearers gathered and rushed towards the right wing of the Qing army.

Cen Danchu was about to spur his horse forward when he saw a warhorse crying beside him. It was the Juhuaqing horse, which had many wounds on its body but struggled to come over, as if it wanted to fight with him.

Dan Chu felt warm in his heart. He gently patted Juhuaqing's horse's head, took off his vest, put it on his own Xuelihong warhorse, and galloped towards the right wing.

The standard bearers gathered together, and their morale was boosted. However, there were too many Qing troops on the right wing, and three hundred standard bearers faced thousands of Qing troops, and they could not kill them all.

Cen Dan arrived late, approached Jiao Lian, and shouted, "General, the enemy is numerous and we are few. It would be better to divide the troops into three groups and penetrate the enemy camp back and forth, just like using an iron saw to cut a large tree, cutting the Qing captives into four parts, making it impossible for them to take care of each other, and then we will surely break the enemy's formation."

"Good!" Jiao Lian's eyes gleamed, and he immediately followed suit and gave the order: "Team one and two follow me, teams three and four follow Jiao Ke, teams five and six follow Dan Chu, attack the enemy!"

Changing tactics temporarily on the battlefield has always been a problem. Fortunately, the battalion had been through many battles, and the Shaanxi soldiers were well-trained and easy to command.

At Jiao Lian's command, the flag bearers on the left and right waved their flags, and the formation of the standard camp changed accordingly. The two flag bearers came in front of Cen Danchu and became his messengers. The military flags were waved, and hundreds of soldiers from the fifth and sixth teams quickly gathered.

"Team Five, Team Six, follow me to attack the Qing army's flank. There is no need to engage in a fight with the enemy, just break up the Qing army's formation first!"

Cen Danchu was a young man with a strong aura, and he showed no fear in front of the veterans. His bravery and intelligence had already spread throughout the camp, and just now he had captured the flag and killed the general among the thousands of soldiers, which was witnessed by everyone.

The army worships the strong, and even the captains of the fifth and sixth teams are in awe of him.

"Charge!" Cen Danchu still used his horse spear and led the charge. A hundred standard bearers followed closely behind him, with great momentum.

A Qing army general came towards them, also using a horse lance and wearing heavy armor, and rode his horse to fight.

The two horses met and the spears collided, making a dull "clang" sound.

Cen Danchu felt a pain in his palm and the horse spear almost slipped out of his hand. The opponent was very strong and a tough guy.

It's you! Dan was delighted to see the prey for the first time. He turned his horse around and fought with the general again.

After five or six rounds, Danchu figured out the general's tactics. He was a man of brute strength, but a little fat and slow in reaction.

The opportunity had come! The two men rode against each other again. Danchu carefully dodged his lance and then turned his horse's head sharply.

Xuelihong felt the pain, neighed loudly, and raised its front hooves high. Danchu took advantage of the situation and turned around, using all his strength to swing the horse spear and made a beautiful counterattack.

"Here!" The horse lance was 18 feet long, like a dragon emerging from the sea, flashing with cold light in the sun, and the sharp blade instantly penetrated the iron armor and stabbed into the back of the Qing general. "Ah!" The deputy general screamed and fell off his horse. Cen Danchu rushed forward and slashed his throat with the horse lance.

Blood spurted out, dyeing the Xuelihong mount into red snow.

With the death of the general, the Qing army was defeated and no one dared to confront them. Cen Danchu led the fifth and sixth squadrons of standard-bearers, like a tiger pouncing on a flock of sheep, fearless of swords and arrows, and galloped through the enemy camp as if he were in an empty space.

In less than an incense stick of time, Cen Danchu led a hundred standard bearers to penetrate the enemy camp from the front line and separate the enemy's right wing.

Not long after, Jiao Lian and Jiao Ke also led their troops to rush behind enemy lines and divided the Qing army's position into four sections.

However, the number of standard soldiers was too small, less than one-tenth of the Qing army. Although they broke the Qing army's battle formation, they were unable to defeat the Qing army. After a moment, the four sections of the Qing army merged into one.

There are too few soldiers! Damn it!

"Charge again!" Cen Danchu refused to admit his mistake and ordered, "We will not withdraw until we defeat the Qing invaders!"

After saying that, he once again took the lead and attacked the enemy camp in turn.

The Qing army retreated one after another, and no one dared to block it. Some of them were blind and could not dodge in time, and were soon killed by the horse spears.

Jiao Lian and Jiao Ke also reacted and turned their horses around to attack the enemy formation.

This time, the Ming army took less time and quickly arrived in front of the Qing army, dividing the Qing army into four sections.

The Qing army had never been defeated since entering western Guangdong. Gao Gushan was also very stubborn and refused to order a retreat, so the Qing army was united again.

Damn it, it never ends!

"Charge again!" Cen Danchu led his troops to attack again, dividing the Qing army into four sections.

After arriving at the Qing army's camp, the Qing army still did not collapse. The standard-bearer was very tired and a little impatient.

The defenders in Guilin and the militia outside the city, you have been watching the battle for a long time. If you don't go into battle now, when will you?
Cen Danchu was furious at the lack of performance of his allies and ordered: "Brothers, attack the enemy camp for the last time!"

After charging through the enemy camp for the fourth time, the standard bearer arrived in front of the Qing army. Cen Danchu handed the team over to the fifth team, and rode on Xuelihong, holding a spear in one hand and a military flag in the other, and rushed to the outside of the city wall trench, waving the flag and shouting loudly:
"If you don't attack now, when will you attack?"

Just now, Cen Danchu rode on the Xuelihong warhorse and led his troops in and out of the battlefield, always being the focus of the battlefield. The soldiers and civilians on the city wall had been watching the battle for a long time and admired him very much.

Qu Shisi could not hear what Cen Danchu said, but he understood what he meant and gave the order: "The battle in the standard camp has been bloody for a long time, and the Qing invaders have been defeated. Pass the order, the soldiers guarding the city should go out of the city and fight immediately!"

He personally beat the war drums and urged his servants to go out of the city to fight.

As soon as the city gates were opened, the soldiers guarding the city left the city one after another. The militia, who had been watching the battle for a long time, took action upon hearing the news.

The battlefield situation is clear, and everyone with a discerning eye knows that the Ming army will win and the Qing army will lose. If we don't move out now, we won't be able to grab the spoils!
Although the city guards and militia were useless, they could increase the morale of the troops. Seeing this, the Qing army's psychological defenses completely collapsed, and they fled regardless of the orders of the commander-in-chief.

The standard bearers hacked and killed the enemy indiscriminately, chasing them for twenty miles, and only returned to the camp in the evening.

(End of this chapter)