Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 119: Encirclement and Annihilation of the Tulai Army

Chapter 119: Encirclement and Annihilation of the Tulai Army
After this night attack, in order to cover the retreat of the army and baggage, Duoduo had to continue to station troops in the trench positions, but under Zhu Cilang's deployment, small-scale scout battles and large-scale battles involving thousands of people continued to take turns.

Although the Qing army was already very alert, the repeated setbacks in the battles over the past month had made them very tired of this siege. The morale of the troops was in turmoil, and many Eight Banners soldiers who were sent back to the trenches often retreated to the rear just after the battle began.

Seeing this, Duoduo had no choice but to order the army to retreat faster, which was strongly supported by all the generals. However, with the people in panic, once this order was issued, the situation would not be so easy to control.

The main force of the Qing army finally retreated nearly ten days earlier than originally planned. As a result, they had to abandon a large number of artillery and supplies that they had originally planned to transport. Even among the captured civilians, they could only select the more than 10,000 strongest ones.

Duoduo originally planned to take away all the remaining baggage except for dozens of red cannons that had been overused and were about to be scrapped.

But now, all this is no longer possible. Compared with these baggage, Duoduo, Bolo, Tulai and others value the lives of the Eight Banners soldiers more.

However, the Qing army was also inspired by the Ming army during the battle. In the early morning of the final retreat, they used the tents left on the east, south and west sides of Fengyang City to set fire to block the enemy.

Previously, the Ming army had repeatedly used this tactic during night attacks, causing serious obstacles to the Qing army. Now Duoduo also followed suit and successfully hindered the pursuit of the Ming cavalry.

Not only that, Duoduo also sent hundreds of scouts on horseback to chase and kill tens of thousands of released civilians, asking them to block the pursuit of the Ming cavalry in the city.

When the main force of the Qing army retreated to Tushan, it was almost noon. Tulai personally led the troops to cover the rear and guard against the main cavalry of the Ming army following and pursuing them. However, on the way of evacuation from Fengyang City, many soldiers panicked and abandoned their baggage.

It was more than thirty miles from outside Fengyang City to Tushan, and the Qing army generals hoped to pass through it quickly. The rivers and mountains here restricted the Qing army's movements, while the flat riverside plains outside made it possible for the retreating army to be attacked from all directions by the Ming army at any time.

Furthermore, over 5,000 Ming naval forces under the command of Zheng Hongkui and Zheng Sen had already taken advantage of the rising waters to advance north of Fengyang City in the early morning hours. Over a hundred warships, riding the wind and waves, quickly destroyed the Qing army's obstacles in the Huai River. Hundreds of cannons from the ships continuously fired at the shore, forcing the Qing troops to retreat even closer to the river.

Before this, the Ming navy had not taken any action. Nikan had deployed many obstacles in the Huai River. He thought it was those water forts and rolling river dragons that blocked the Ming warships. He was very proud of it, but he did not expect that it was the latter who hid their strength.

So, when the Ming navy went upstream, easily broke through the underwater barriers, and began to bombard the Qing army that was crossing the river, chaos immediately broke out among the already panicked and defeated soldiers.

You know, even if the morale of a marching army is high, it will inevitably collapse if it is suddenly bombarded by artillery, not to mention a defeated army that is in panic and retreating at an accelerated pace.

No matter how clever the plan was, once the retreat began, the army's morale would inevitably decline, which also greatly slowed down the speed of the Qing army's main force crossing the river and evacuating.

Chang Denggui led more than 3,000 cavalrymen and quickly caught up with them. Nearly 10,000 infantrymen from the Palace Army, the Beijing Camp, and the Standard Camp were also on their way. At this time, the main force of the Qing army was still crossing the river. The 5,000 rearguard troops led by Tulai provided cover while fighting on the periphery.

However, these most elite cavalrymen of the Ming Dynasty were not afraid of Tulai's superior military strength, and the latter was unable to fight back with all his strength because he needed to cover the army crossing the river.

The two sides fought for several rounds on a small scale. Chang Denggui held on to the troops sent by Tulai to block the attack. With the Tianqi Battalion as the vanguard, he displayed the momentum of a strong army from the very beginning, forcing Tulai to personally lead his Bayala Majia to join the battlefield, and only then did he force the Tianqi Battalion to retreat.

Chang Denggui was mentally prepared for a tough battle, and he did not dare to take it lightly when facing this powerful Qing general.

After all, there were still too many Qing cavalrymen left behind, and the Ming army only had this much strength. Zhu Cilang naturally didn't want to fight to the death like this, and had already made arrangements.

What he had to do was to hold on to this Qing army, wait for the navy to completely break through the obstacles in the river, cut off the Qing army's retreat, and then cooperate with the infantry to use firearms to gradually weaken and destroy it.

The sudden appearance of the Ming navy and the powerful attack capabilities displayed by the large and small cannons on the warships forced Tulai to change his original strategy. He was willing to stay behind to cover the retreat, but did not want the entire army to be wiped out on the south bank.

At this time, seeing that the Ming cavalry was temporarily forced to retreat, Tulai breathed a sigh of relief and immediately sent Tangma to contact Duoduo, who had already retreated to the north, asking the other party to leave troops in Jingshan opposite the Huai River to support him.

Soon, Chang Denggui launched a second round of offensive. This time he sent more attacking cavalry and dispatched a detachment to the south to contain the enemy and cover the flank of the attacking army, forcing Tulai to stretch the front line and unable to launch a powerful attack and quickly win.

Facing the Ming cavalry, which was also mobile on horseback, the Qing cavalry could not gain an absolute advantage. In addition, the navy's artillery was rumbling, and the main force of the Ming army was constantly launching raids. The Qing army's morale was unstable. Tulai did not dare to be careless and could only send cavalry to cover the flanks.

The only thing he felt fortunate for now was that the carefully selected Eight Banners cavalrymen under his command had been well-rested for a long time and were still quite powerful.

Tulai lost more than a hundred horsemen, but finally forced back the Ming army's attack again. He then ordered the army to continue gathering to fight. After a whole morning of hard work, the soldiers and horses escorting the baggage were about to cross the river.

There were many factions in the Qing army. Except for the Jiala led by Tulai himself, the other troops were the direct descendants of the various flag owners. He didn't want to offend them, so he had to take on the task himself.

Otherwise, when he returned to Beijing, he would be in great trouble and might even be targeted. The soldiers and horses were the apple of the eye of the eye of the flag masters. This was related to their power and position, and this was the bottom line that could not be touched.

Zhu Cilang soon arrived with the Palace Army and the Beijing Camp's infantry under the protection of the Imperial Camp. He noticed something fishy from the deployment led by Tulai himself.

He asked Chang Denggui to delay the Qing army. In addition to waiting for the infantry to be in place, he also wanted the navy to block the Huai River and use the cannons on the ships to fiercely bombard the Qing army, which would cause the Qing army to fall into chaos.

As expected, as the Zheng family's navy, especially those giant ships, broke through numerous obstacles and bypassed Huaiyuan County, the Qing army that was retreating across the river could no longer maintain order under the continuous bombardment of the Ming army's navy.

The pontoon bridge between Tushan and Jingshan was quickly shattered by artillery shells. Many Qing troops on the shore were killed by the French cannons mounted on the centipede boats. The rest fled. Thousands of civilian laborers who were transporting supplies had no time to cross the river and were running around with their heads in their hands.

At this time, the intensive artillery sounds coming from the river and the main force of the Ming army chasing closely from behind intensified the panic and anxiety of the Qing army, making chaos imminent.

After receiving the military report from the front, Zhu Cilang immediately ordered the infantry to line up in the east and west directions south of Tushan, but keep a distance from the Qing army line.

Naturally, he had no intention of sending a large army to fight directly. The Zheng family's navy had sufficient firepower, but the Qing army had been besieging Fengyang. They neither advanced eastward to Huai'an nor forced a crossing of the Yangtze River. They had not had a chance to show their strength until now.

Now, the Qing cavalry are spread all over the plains, and to their south and east, the infantry led by Chen Fu, Lin Changfeng, Hu Maozhen, Tian Xiong, Bai Yongfu and others are already in place. If the Qing army wants to break through, they must charge hard.

When Tulai saw that Zhu Cilang had deployed a large number of troops, advancing both by land and sea, with more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry alone, he immediately realized that the situation was not right and quickly ordered all the cavalry to be deployed, leaving only more than 1,000 Eight Banners cavalry as a reserve.

He tried to break out immediately before the Ming army gained a foothold. As for the baggage and laborers still stranded on the south bank, he didn't care at all.

Fierce battles continued to break out between the Ming and Qing armies on the south bank of the Huai River and on the plain south of Tushan. At this time, the Ming cavalry, which had been deployed in full force, immediately launched a counterattack against the Qing troops who were rushing towards them and breaking out to the south, hoping to completely tie down this remaining Qing cavalry.

At the same time, the musketeers of each camp once again shined. The power and range of the muskets in their hands far exceeded those of bows and arrows, and the armor on their bodies was enough to withstand the Qing army's cavalry bows. A few rounds of volleys repelled the Qing army, which was the vanguard and was charging in scattered ways to test the strength of the Ming army.

Due to the harassment of the Ming navy's artillery, the Qing army fell into chaos and no longer had an advantage in terms of military strength. Facing the counterattack of the Ming cavalry, the offensive immediately wilted.

However, Tulai was already very adept at commanding such a large-scale battle. He quickly reacted and the powerful Eight Banners cavalry cooperated with each other, and withstood the counterattack of the Ming cavalry at the cost of only a hundred men and horses.

The troops sent by both sides launched a full-scale battle on the plain south of Tushan, and casualties were constantly exchanged. However, the Ming cavalry never launched a full-scale attack, but only kept harassing and blocking.

Although the Qing army successfully blocked the Ming army's offensive, it was unable to counterattack effectively and could only watch as the Ming army completed its deployment before the decisive battle.

Tulai was extremely anxious as he watched his soldiers falling one after another. He only hoped that Duoduo could come back to support him, otherwise he would not only be unable to shake off the Ming army's pursuit, but the casualties would also increase further.

At the same time, he also began to plan to concentrate his troops and fight his way out. In his heart, Duoduo was no longer so trustworthy.

Zhu Cilang tried every possible way to continue delaying. The longer the delay, the more intense the navy's bombardment would be, the greater the losses of the Qing army would be, and the smaller the number of troops that would eventually break out would be.

Otherwise, with his current military strength, even if he surrounded 5,000 Eight Banners soldiers at all costs, he would not be able to achieve the maximum results originally planned.

You know, there are plains to the south and east of Tushan. As long as Tulai can break through the current blockade, Zhu Cilang will have no way to do anything to him.

Under the fierce bombardment of the navy, the 5,000 Qing troops who were left behind found it difficult to assemble quickly. Their command was also quite chaotic as they had to avoid the shells.

Under such circumstances, it would naturally be difficult for the Qing army to immediately enter the battlefield, and Zhu Cilang would not fall into a local disadvantage due to the lack of cavalry.

At this time, on the north bank of the Huai River, a large group of Qing troops had already evacuated. Bolo looked at the Tulai army in the south that had fallen into chaos and felt a little hesitant.

Although the Ming army's pursuit was anticipated early on, Zhu Cilang was clearly short of cavalry at this time, and was at a disadvantage both in terms of numbers and overall combat power. However, the huge infantry and the navy that continuously fired artillery shells became the biggest resistance they had not expected.

"Beile, Tulai is waving flags to urge us to come to their aid. Should we cross the river and return?" Baiyintu turned his gaze away from the dragon flag fluttering in the wind on the eastern plains and asked hurriedly:

"The battle was so intense, yet Emperor Ming hadn't yet deployed his entire army to attack. It's very likely that he was waiting for the navy's artillery fire to severely damage Tulai's cavalry. It seems that Oboi lost thousands of soldiers in northern Jiangxi."

Bolo narrowed his eyes and also withdrew his gaze from where Zhu Cilang's banner was, but still nodded and said:

"You're right. The Ming army this time is not only sending cavalry, but also nearly 10,000 infantry. The combat power of these Nikans is extraordinary. If we continue to waste time like this, Tulai will be finished."

"Facing the Ming army's infantry formation and the cavalry covering the flanks, I'm afraid our original cavalry charge and surprise attack strategy will hardly work." Baiyintu said worriedly.

You know, if the infantry of the Palace Army and the Beijing Camp were paired with cavalry, their flank protection and mobility disadvantages would be fully compensated. In this way, they would be no less powerful even against the Eight Banners.

"Natu Lai" Bai Yinshan asked hesitantly.

Boro knew that the other party had also lost the will to fight, and he was no different. He immediately said:

"Raise the flag and have Tulai break out to the south. There's a ferry crossing upstream on the Huai River. The river is narrow and shallow there, so the Ming army's large ships can't get on. We'll meet him there."

"Yes!" Baiyintu responded immediately.

After Bolo finished speaking, he immediately waved to the leader of his own army, Bayala, and ordered him to gather his troops immediately. Then he led a team of Eight Banners soldiers up the river in advance.

Bolo wouldn't be so foolish as to send his cavalry directly into close combat with the Ming navy; that would be courting death. Furthermore, the Ming warships were densely packed, and even the small cannons on them had a very powerful firepower that the cavalry's armor couldn't defend against.

On the other side, after Tulai received the military intelligence from Bolo, he immediately began to adjust his strategy. He had the same idea as Bolo.

But even if he was a hundred miles upstream of the Huai River, he needed someone to pick him up and build a pontoon bridge in advance, otherwise the Ming cavalry would definitely catch up.

Zhu Cilang soon noticed that the Qing army on the opposite bank began to withdraw, and he was quite disappointed, but Tulai's quick action made him immediately send out all his cavalry to fight.

Tulai was indeed a veteran on the battlefield. After his tentative breakout attempt failed, he did not hesitate too much and immediately ordered the army to move south. At the same time, he personally led a team of cavalry to support the formation to prevent the chaos from escalating.

This veteran on the battlefield is not easy to deal with at all!

As a result, the Ming army could only dispatch cavalry, using the thousand headquarters as units to cover the infantry in the south, while leaving behind a battalion of infantry and the imperial camp as the final reserve troops.

Although these Eight Banners soldiers were afraid of the Ming army, they quickly gathered under the command of Tulai and began to break out to the south. Only by breaking through the Ming army formation in the south could they escape.

Zhu Cilang watched the movements of the Qing army and naturally knew Tulai's intentions, especially since Bolo had already begun to withdraw his troops.

Tulai is a veteran of the battlefield, and his military command ability and battlefield insight should not be underestimated.

The bows of the dozen or so large warships on the Huai River soon fired shells again. The shells, weighing from one to more than ten pounds, whizzed through the air and then slammed heavily into the Qing army formation.

The Qing cavalrymen riding on their horses were completely vulnerable to the artillery shells. No matter how many layers of armor they were wearing, once hit by a artillery shell, they would fall off their horses with screams, vomit blood and die, or even be torn into pieces and scatter into a pile of broken limbs.

After suffering a blow, the Qing army quickly dispersed into groups and launched an unprecedented fierce charge towards the Ming army line in the south.

In this way, as the two armies fought in a melee, the Ming navy warships on the surface of the Huai River could no longer bombard with impunity.

The roar of artillery, the sound of shells colliding, the screams of wounded soldiers, the pungent smoke coming from the river, the strong smell of blood on the Qing army's front, and the smoke on the river surface were constantly spreading under the influence of the wind.

The rumbling sound of horse hooves became more and more frequent, the ground kept shaking, and the Qing cavalry slowly accelerated and began to charge, which made the Ming army armored soldiers in the formation nervous, especially the musketeers in front of the formation.

Many of them even had dry mouths and their hands holding the muskets were trembling slightly, but without receiving the order to fire, they just raised their guns and stared in front of them.

These musketeers were all well aware of the importance of the first round of volleys, and they were also aware of the strict military discipline. Even if the Qing cavalry rushed in front of them, no one would open fire without authorization.

Soon, scattered Qing cavalry moved within a hundred steps and began to harass the Ming army's line by shooting arrows, but as soon as they got close, they would be counterattacked by the Ming cavalry on the flank.

As time went on, the main force of the Qing cavalry led by Tulai quickly rushed over and focused their attack on the western wing of the battlefield, which could not be affected by the warships.

"Bang! Bang! Bang -"

As the Qing cavalry advanced seventy steps, a series of musket shots suddenly rang out on the Ming army's line. The three rows of musketeers, who were already on edge, fired in unison, and thick white smoke rose into the sky.

Then, driven by inertia, these musketeers quickly loaded their ammunition and prepared for a second round of volleys. The continuous onslaught of lead bullets killed and wounded hundreds of Qing cavalry, causing the latter's offensive to stagnate.

Zhu Cilang watched the fierce battle on the battlefield from the side. The clouds of smoke scattered by the musketeers continued to dissipate. Amid the screams, he seemed to see bursts of blood rain surging and weapons and armor flying.

In the next round of volleys, the accuracy of the muskets increased rapidly as the distance was rapidly shortened. Hundreds of lead bullets, under the huge propulsion generated by the gunpowder explosion, were much more terrifying than the short axes thrown by the Qing army, and easily penetrated the sturdy armor of the Qing cavalry.

As the defending side, the Ming army had the advantage of muskets at this time. The deafening gunshots and the blood rain bursting out from the muzzles continued to weaken the Qing army's fighting will.

The warships on the surface of the Huai River were still enjoying themselves at this time. The cannonballs on the bow roared again and continued to shoot towards the rear of the Qing army line.

Tulai did not command the cavalry to directly attack the two large formations in the center of the Ming army. In order to reduce the casualties of the Ming army's musket fire, he did not launch a full-scale raid. He now only wanted to break out.

But the Ming army was well prepared, and a tough battle was still inevitable. As the Qing army rushed to the west wing, they ran directly into the Ming army's spear formation. As the Qing cavalry approached, the spearmen quickly moved forward.

Dense swarms of spear heads emerged like a forest, and the Ming army's phalanx was like an angry hedgehog, full of murderous intent, which directly stopped the thousands of cavalrymen led by the Eight Banners who were rushing in like a tide.

Facing a well-trained infantry formation, using cavalry to charge directly would undoubtedly be a dead end. Even the armor of the Eight Banners might not be able to break through.

Baiyintu was a veteran of the battlefield and had rich experience. He quickly led the cavalry to change direction, trying to avoid the sharp edge of the Ming army. However, the Ming army's long spear formation and the cover of the cavalry on the sides greatly limited the mobility of the Qing cavalry.

After a burst of rumbling horse hooves, the ferocious Qing cavalry successfully approached the Ming army formation, and iron bones and short axes and swords flew out from the sky.

Under Tulai's command, Baiyintu led more than a hundred elite Bayalas to charge in person, followed by thousands of Eight Banners cavalrymen. The battle line was crowded with people, and the soldiers' armor shone brightly in the sun.

On the battle line, as the sounds of various objects colliding with each other became more and more intense, the Ming army's formation, which had already had loopholes, was finally broken through by the Qing cavalry and was shattered.

On horseback, sharp spears and swords were wielded, knocking down the Ming soldiers at the front of the line. The Ming soldiers and musketeers also raised their spears and muskets, shooting at close range at the cavalry that rushed to their sides.

“Bang, bang, bang!!!”

"Kill, kill, kill!!!"

The Qing cavalry on horseback kept falling down, with shouts and screams ringing in the ears. The front was littered with corpses of men and horses, densely packed together. In the pungent smoke and sickening smell of blood, the uniforms and armor of different colors looked even more disorganized.

Under such a swift counterattack, except for the desperate charge led by Bayala led by Baiyintu himself and the charges in two other places that achieved breakthroughs, the Qing troops that broke out in the other three places were all repelled.

As the bugle sounded, deafening shouts of killing erupted from both wings of the Ming army, and the dense sound of horse hooves rumbled. The battle lines, which had become jagged due to the melee, suddenly rushed towards the Qing army like a flood that broke through the dam.

(End of this chapter)

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