Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 318 Completely baffled! What kind of battle tactic is this?

It's broken!
The campaign got off to a bad start when Zheng Bing unexpectedly led a cavalry charge.

They had barely traveled five miles when they encountered Dong Chuan's elite troops.

This was not an evenly matched battle, but a one-sided massacre.

How could Zheng Bing's light cavalry possibly gain an advantage against the elite charge of Dong Chuan's troops?
Dong Chuan had originally received news that the Daqian army had been stationed in Yunxi City yesterday.

He then planned to send troops to attack Yunxi City.

but,

In the end, however, he was held back by Sun Zhong.

Although Sun Zhong's army was completely defeated by Chen Jie, it had lost its rightful place under the command of Prince Li Ben of Han.

but,

After all, he had fought under the command of Prince Li Ben of Han for many years and had a very good relationship with Dong Chuan.

Therefore,
King Li Ben of Han brought Sun Zhong under Dong Chuan's command, hoping he could redeem himself through meritorious service.

Dong Chuan planned to launch a night raid on Yunxi City, but Sun Zhong dissuaded him midway.

It's very simple; Sun Zhong was well aware of the terror of Ximentang's cannons.

If a surprise attack on Yunxi City is launched at night, and the Ximentang army is encountered, it is easy to fall into an ambush.

Ximentang's incendiary bombs, flares, and artillery—!
The barrage of cannon fire left Sun Zhong with a psychological scar.

After much persuasion, he finally convinced Dong Chuan to abandon the attack on Yunxi City.

but,

Early this morning, scouts reported that the Daqian army had launched a preemptive strike, intending to attack Tongshan County.

Upon hearing this, Dong Chuan flew into a rage.

He originally wanted to listen to Sun Zhong's advice and play it safe by defending the city.

With the overwhelming firepower of his 100,000-strong army, he was confident that even if Ximen Tang attacked the city, he would be able to defeat him.

but,

When he heard that the person who attacked Tongshan County this time was Guo Feng from the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty, he was surprised.

therefore,

Dong Chuan could no longer hold back and immediately led his army out of the city to meet the enemy.

He wanted to see just how powerful the cannons really were, those bastards in the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Sun Zhong originally wanted to persuade him, but after hearing that it was the Daqian army, he remained silent.

honestly,
Aside from fearing Ximen Tang, he didn't take the Daqian army seriously at all.

Besides, he's a defeated general now and has no right to speak.

He understood Dong Chuan's personality well, and when he first tried to persuade him, Dong Chuan would give him some face.

The Great Qian army has already come knocking on our door.

It's no use trying to persuade them anymore.

therefore,

He had no choice but to join Dong Chuan in fighting against the army of Da Qian.

Upon seeing the rebel army, Zheng Bing immediately ordered an attack.

He wanted to take advantage of the enemy's unstable formation and launch a surprise attack with light cavalry to break through the rebels' defenses.

As long as the Dongchuan rebels' defenses are breached.

Next,
If Guo Feng leads his army to attack, he will be able to defeat the rebels and make them flee.

He had heard that Ximen Tang had easily crushed Sun Zhong's army, and now he wanted to do the same and achieve a resounding victory.

Dong Chuan was not a reckless man, but rather a resourceful and valiant warrior.

He has extremely rich combat experience and never engages in fierce battles or launches aggressive attacks.

Although he found Sun Zhong's description of the Ximentang cannons terrifying, he harbored doubts.

but,

He only doubted whether Sun Zhong's statement was exaggerated, but he never underestimated Ximentang's fighting strength.

An army capable of defeating the Sakata Army of the Toyotomi must have been strong in combat.

at this time,

Seeing that Zheng Bing was leading light cavalry, attempting to break through their defenses.

all of a sudden,

Dong Chuan was a little confused.

Is this guy out of his mind?

He himself was Dong Chuan, the most elite ace force under the command of Li Ben, the Prince of Han.

Let alone light cavalry, even heavy cavalry would not be able to break through their defenses.

After heavy machine guns were deployed, the combat effectiveness of cavalry was greatly weakened.

Moreover, Dong Chuan's troops were equipped with Japanese field artillery.

Leaving aside weapons such as artillery and heavy machine guns, even a musketeer unit would be enough to completely crush the light cavalry.

Dong Chuan fought against the Daqian army and the army of Prince Ning, Li Mu, for many years.

He had fought against cavalry many times, so he naturally knew how to deal with light cavalry.

If there are no heavy machine guns, use volley fire!
Five platoons of musketeers fired continuously, one platoon after another.

After the first rank finished firing, they immediately began reloading, and then the second rank fired.

After the fifth platoon finished firing, the first platoon had just reloaded and began firing again.

Therefore,
To deal with light cavalry, using continuous fire in volley formations is a very good method.

Of course, if heavy machine guns are used, there is no need to form a gun formation at all.

Ten heavy machine guns were placed on the ground, lined up in a row.

The cavalry couldn't even get close enough to charge and break through the defenses.

Unless it's heavily armored cavalry, energy can't stop heavy machine gun fire.

In such situations, it is necessary to use defensive fortifications such as landmines or 'zama', including trenches, grenades, and so on.

Heavy cavalry could break through volley fire formations, but they had little chance against artillery formations.

at this time,

When they saw Zheng Bing's light cavalry begin their charge.

Dong Chuan calmly gave the order for the machine gunners to prepare.

in addition,

He ordered his heavy cavalry to launch a flanking attack.

At the same time, he ordered his infantry and artillery to retreat and form an arc-shaped battle formation.

That's right,

Dong Chuan was now employing the 'arc formation' that Xi Mentang was skilled in.

He wanted to wipe out Zheng Bing's five thousand cavalry in one fell swoop.

Dong Chuan had heard from Sun Zhong that Ximentang's artillery was powerful and had a long range, and it also possessed the firepower of heavy machine guns. Ximentang's artillery could even strike targets ten miles away.

Therefore,
Dong Chuan ordered his troops to disperse, fearing that if they were too densely packed, they would be caught in the crossfire of enemy artillery.

Although the scouts reported that only the Daqian army was ahead and no Ximentang, dressed in camouflage, was spotted.

have to say,

Dong Chuan's combat experience is indeed very sophisticated.

He ordered his troops to disperse and form an arc-shaped battle formation.

Four consecutive lines of defense formed a comprehensive firepower suppression.

On both flanks, an additional 10,000 troops were deployed on each side to form a flanking maneuver.

Seeing Dong Chuan's troop deployment, Sun Zhong couldn't help but admire him.

Only now did he realize that Dong Chuan's reputation as the most capable general by Prince Li Ben's side was undeserved.

He was not only resourceful, but also had an unparalleled mastery of tactics.

This is not a battle formation from the era of cold weapons, but a battle formation that Dong Chuan figured out on his own after being equipped with Japanese weapons.

"Giddy up—giddy up—!"

Zheng Bing's light cavalry quickly approached Dong Chuan's army formation.

Five thousand light cavalrymen were fast and made a great show of force.

Dong Chuan stood in a defensive position at the rear, looking at the cavalry in front through binoculars, his face expressionless.

He looked behind the Daqian light cavalry and did not see the camouflage soldiers that Sun Zhong had mentioned, which reassured him.

Thump thump—thump thump—!
at this time,

Suddenly, the Daqian cavalrymen on their horses began firing their muskets.

A burst of gunfire rang out.

Upon hearing the gunshot, Sun Zhong was startled and quickly took out his binoculars to look at the flanks and the rear of the cavalry.

hiss--!
He thought Ximentang had arrived and was firing from the rear.

He was immediately startled.

Dong Chuan was also a little stunned by the sudden gunshot, and felt a sense of tension for no reason.

but,

He observed through his binoculars for a moment but found no artillery barrage or heavy machine gun fire.

All I saw were many cavalrymen firing their guns from their horses.

Because Dong Chuan could only see the cavalry at close range through his binoculars, he didn't know if there were other troops from the Great Qian Dynasty behind them.

Therefore,
He did not launch an attack rashly.

After the scattered gunfire subsided, he saw the light cavalry still charging forward, about to enter the range of the heavy machine guns, without slowing down at all.

what's the situation?
Dong Chuan was a little confused.

Without artillery cover or heavy machine gun fire?

How dare several thousand light cavalry charge so brazenly into their own battle formation?
What kind of battle tactic is this?
He didn't hear any artillery fire, nor did he see any casualties among his soldiers, so he relaxed a little.

Sun Zhong, standing next to Dong Chuan, was also completely bewildered.

He watched the Daqian light cavalry charge forward at breakneck speed, his heart filled with doubt.

Unbeknownst to Dong Chuan, Zheng Bing was currently wreaking havoc in the ranks of the Daqian cavalry.

He rode his horse and roared:
"Who the hell fired that shot? Who led the firing just now?"

"You're more than two miles from the rebel camp, not even within firing range. You're firing at thin air? Do you want to die?"

"Load the ammunition! All of you, load the ammunition now—!"

original,

When the cavalry charged, they became very nervous upon seeing the rebels in the distance.

Therefore, they decisively began firing even before entering firing range.

After the first person fired, gunshots rang out.

quickly,

The domino effect began, and almost all the cavalrymen started firing their guns.

Unfortunately, the distance was too great, and neither side came within the firing range of the muskets.

The cavalry under Zheng Bing's command fired their guns, but it was a completely futile effort.

They couldn't even reach the rebel soldiers, let alone kill them.

in fact,

At this point, the distance between the two sides had narrowed to within one kilometer.

If it's Ximentang's sniper rifle, it's already within effective range.

However, the muskets used by Zheng Bing's cavalry were all Western muskets captured by Ximentang.

These muskets were all outdated and unmodified, with an effective range of only about 300 meters.

Even at its longest range, it's only about 600 meters.

At this point, the two sides were a kilometer apart. How could an ordinary musket possibly hit the other side?

This is why the heavy machine guns of Dong Chuan's rebel army did not fire.

Just as the light cavalry entered the range of the heavy machine guns.

The spirited horse gallops forward with unstoppable momentum!
The Daqian cavalrymen, holding their muskets, felt tense and their blood was boiling.

Many people are still starting to change their bullets.

Although these muskets were ordinary muskets that Ximentang had confiscated and discarded.

but,

After all, these muskets were products captured from the Western Allied Forces.

For the Daqian army, this was definitely a high-end item.

"Fire! Fire!"

unfortunately,

The surroundings were extremely noisy; who could hear his voice?
Zheng Bing shouted repeatedly and noticed that many cavalrymen were changing their bullets.

Damn it!
He suddenly burst into a tirade of curses as he watched as the gun entered firing range.

but,

We fired too early; we didn't even have time to change the bullets.

Da da—da da—!
at this time,

The rebels' heavy machine guns began to fire fiercely.

Plop—plop—!
The light cavalry horses at the forefront were quickly hit by heavy machine gun fire and fell to the ground.

The cavalryman on horseback was thrown more than ten meters away.

"Run! They have heavy machine guns!"

The cavalrymen who fell off their horses were terrified when they saw that more than a dozen Japanese heavy machine guns were set up in front of them!

They shouted and turned to run!
Panic spread among the cavalry!
(End of this chapter)