Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 157 A fight to the death
After hundreds of vanguard cavalry quickly defeated the more than one hundred Qing army scouts who were blocking them, they immediately launched a fierce attack on the Qing army camp.

They drove away the fleeing Green Camp soldiers, hacking and killing a few of them from time to time. The continuous screams frightened the hundreds of Green Camp soldiers who had no fighting spirit in the first place, and they fled in groups of three or five.

These Green Camp soldiers quickly gathered at the gate of the Qing army camp. Dozens of them followed one after another and quickly broke through the barricades blocking their way. On the way, many of them fell directly into the trench beside the camp.

Lin Changfeng led the vanguard cavalry and rushed into the Qing army camp rapidly, then quickly split into several groups, like sharp arrows, quickly piercing into the huge Qing army camp, chasing the Qing army that was swept away by the fleeing soldiers.

Tens of thousands of horse hooves trampled on the ground, making a dull sound. The tragic shouts of the Qing soldiers in the camp broke the tranquility before dawn. The soldiers of the Tianqi Army waved their swords and guns, and the light and shadow reflected by the sharp blades flickered in the morning light. The prelude to the war began.

Nearly 10,000 Qing soldiers who had just been awakened from their sleep, as well as tens of thousands of civilians around the camp, were all panicked by such a sudden attack. After being frightened, the civilians ran around like headless flies, and the darkness was filled with shrill screams.

At this time, except for the cooks and some civilians who repaired the siege equipment overnight, most of the main armored soldiers in the Qing army camp had just put on the second heavy armor, and some Green Camp soldiers had not even put on the first heavy armor.

Many Eight Banners soldiers, especially the new recruits brought by Bahana, had not yet realized the seriousness of the situation. They were all nervously sorting their equipment, and seemed a little excited in their anger. They had long wanted to have a good fight with the Ming army.

However, there were still many veterans in the Qing army who were experienced in the battlefield. Hearing the sound of horse hooves and drums, they realized that the situation was already very critical. After putting on a heavy layer of armor, they immediately carried other armor and equipment and ran to the shed where the horses were tied.

Most of these Eight Banners veterans managed to seize their horses before the Tianqi Army broke into the camp and attacked. However, as they watched the Ming army charging towards them, the thunder-like sound of horse hooves continued to hit their eardrums. In addition, Ye Chen kept asking his trumpeters to blow the retreat horn, which intensified their panic and they dared not fight anymore.

The poor performance of the new recruits of the Eight Banners and the Green Camp Army was even more appalling.

The sky was just beginning to brighten at this time. Faced with the aggressive Ming army, they were in a panic and had no choice but to run into the route of the Tianqi Army that was dividing the Qing army camp. Before they could react, they were kicked away by horses' hooves or stabbed by several long spears.

Amidst the noise of people and the neighing of horses, in the dim vision, huge chaos spread all the way with the charge of the Tianqi Army's vanguard, and the screams and shouts quickly gathered into a rout.

After Lin Changfeng led his troops into the Qing army camp, he quickly divided them into two groups on each wing. They would attack from the north and south sides, spreading the chaos in the Qing army camp to the two wings, creating conditions for the main army's thundering attack that would follow.

On the front, he still personally led three divisions of cavalry to charge and attack fiercely, using the speed of the cavalry to cover up the lack of his own strength, and at the same time to prevent the Qing army from organizing an effective counterattack.

The Ming army's cavalry, with squads as the basic unit, charged rapidly along the road in the Qing army camp, killing the Qing soldiers that appeared in front of them with their flag spears.

However, they did not indulge in the killing in front of them, but continued to charge quickly into the Qing army camp, completely ignoring those Qing soldiers who could not be killed during the attack, especially the Green Camp soldiers.

About three hundred paces behind them was the equally swiftly charging Tianqi Army formation. The dense clatter of hooves from the four cavalry divisions drowned out the rustling of the armor plates. Like a tidal wave, they swiftly pushed against the fence surrounding the Qing camp.

The cavalry's trumpets sounded one after another. The captains and flag commanders on the flanks of the cavalry formation shouted orders, drew their swords, raised their flag spears and pointed them forward. The cavalrymen on horseback then clenched the various weapons in their hands and pointed them forward.

The cavalry surged in and kept engulfing the figures flashing between the fires and tents in front. The shouts of the Qing soldiers were earth-shaking. The large camp was in a mess after the charge of the vanguard cavalry, with countless fallen tents, weapons and armor, and corpses piled on the ground.

The soldiers of the Tianqi Army rushed forward bravely, stabbing at the fleeing black shadows in front of them. The screams continued to spread under the horses' hooves, and the remaining defeated soldiers continued to flee to the two wings, their backs disappearing into the darkness.

At this time, any enemy who stood in front of the cavalry would not be able to escape death, even those fleeing civilians could not avoid it. The Tianqi Army rushed hundreds of miles and had no idea where the civilians in the Qing army camp were, so they could only leave it to fate.

As the Tianqi Army rushed into the Qing army camp, more and more Qing soldiers appeared in front of them. Long spears, maces and armored war horses kept knocking down and killing the black shadows that appeared, and screams were endless.

The well-trained Tianqi Army soldiers still strictly abided by military discipline at this moment. They charged forward so as not to use their peripheral vision to pay attention to the position of the flag captain on the side, so as to maintain the speed and direction of their actions.

However, as the Tianqi Army went deeper into the Qing army camp, the originally neat formation was soon separated and distorted by the camp's tents, various facilities, and baggage carts. Its speed also slowed down rapidly, but it still maintained its basic formation and continued to advance, killing all the Qing soldiers it encountered.

The wide front of the Tianqi Army's line drove all the Qing troops eastward, forcing them to retreat to the Pagoda Mountain. This mountain originally served as a cover for the Qing army's camp, but now it has become the biggest obstacle preventing the Qing army from escaping.

At this time, the entire Qing army camp was shaken, and thousands of Qing troops in the east were fleeing in panic. Even the Eight Banners Army organized by Ye Chen was in chaos.

The Green Camp soldiers completely collapsed amid the thundering sound of horse hooves. The sudden night attack, coupled with the endless screams, made them dare not fight back at all. They were all hysterical, screaming and running for their lives.

The atmosphere of panic spread quickly, and the new recruits of the Eight Banners, who were originally full of fighting spirit and eager to try, became at a loss. Although they were wearing two layers of armor, they were still extremely vulnerable in front of the spear heads that were rushing towards them. They were soon knocked to the ground, spitting blood, and had no strength to fight back.

Under such a sharp attack by the Heavenly Cavalry Army, most of the Green Camp soldiers quickly turned around and fled like frightened ants, losing their direction and even dropping their weapons. Some of the Eight Banners Army who wanted to fight back were also taken away by these thousands of Green Camp soldiers and were soon killed from behind by the Heavenly Cavalry Army.

In the narrow passage, densely packed Qing soldiers pushed and squeezed each other, countless people were knocked to the ground, and hundreds of horses broke free in the chaos. They rushed left and right in the camp, trampling everywhere, and the fallen Qing soldiers were then trampled by the crowd and the horses in turn.

In just less than two quarters of an hour, the entire Qing army camp was filled with shouts and neighs of horses. The dim light and tragic cries in the camp, set against the whitening sky in the east, looked like the end of the world.

But the war was far from over. To the east of the Qing army camp, the Eight Banners and some Green Camp soldiers, who had not been hit hard, had basically reacted under Ye Chen's organization. Lin Changfeng then encountered the first wave of strong resistance and had to be careful in dealing with the Qing army.

The main force of the Tianqi Army behind them soon heard the sound of intensive trumpets again. Then, the Tianqi Army soldiers who had originally scattered into the Qing army camp during the charge followed the sound and quickly began to gather under the nearest Baizong flag, and then launched a new and more fierce attack.
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At this time, behind the gloomy clouds in the eastern sky, the light was about to burst out. Zhu Cilang looked at his own cavalry army that was majestic and sweeping away everything, and then looked at the extremely chaotic camp of the Qing army, and felt inexplicably excited.

Won, won, the Tianqi Army won! The Ming cavalry won!

Before the army launched the charge and before the Qing army was defeated, Zhu Cilang was actually not 100% sure. He was very confident, but he also knew that this was a military adventure!
But he also has full confidence in the Tianqi Army, which has experienced the "Jianghuai Defense War" and has been tempered by a complete logistics supply system and rigorous training!
The Ming Dynasty had invested a total of one million silver coins in this cavalry. Now, with its four most elite thousand-man headquarters, it rushed over seven hundred miles from south to north and finally defeated the so-called Eight Banners Army in the camp, which claimed to be "invincible with tens of thousands of men"!
This is an unprecedented victory since the outbreak of the war between Ming and Qing. From then on, the Qing army would no longer dare to underestimate the Ming cavalry. They had to be on guard against the Ming cavalry's attack at all times!
Lin Changfu was also extremely excited at this time. He looked at the Tianqi Army charging into the camp, saw the black smoke rising in the distance, saw the burning tents, and heard the earth-shaking cries coming from the Qing army camp. He said excitedly:
"Your Majesty, we won!"

However, at this time, Zhu Cilang already looked like he had everything under control. He smiled and said:

"When the Tianqi troops began to charge the Qing army camp, I had already won the battle."

Lin Changfu was filled with admiration as he watched Zhu Cilang strategize. He immediately said, "Your Majesty is mighty!"

"However, this battle cannot be truly won until the last Qing cavalry is annihilated." Zhu Cilang said, raising his hand and pointing to the south of Pagoda Mountain. There was a passage between the Qing army camp and the foot of the mountain.

"Ye Chen set up camp here, which is indeed safe. There are hills on the east side for support, and he can also dig stones on the spot. But he didn't expect that my Ming Dynasty has such a strong army. I'm afraid he regrets it now."

Lin Changfu had been with Zhu Cilang for so long that he had learned a lot about the principles and techniques of marching and fighting. When he looked in the direction Zhu Cilang pointed, his eyes immediately lit up.

"Your Majesty, the Qing army camp is in chaos. That dog Tartar called Ye Chen will definitely not be able to escape. I request to lead a cavalry unit to block them directly on the plains to the south and stop them."

"Hahahaha" Zhu Cilang withdrew his gaze from the Qing army camp where black smoke was rising in the distance and said lightly:
"Alright, Lin Changfu, immediately lead the 3,000th Headquarters of the Heavenly Cavalry Army and the cavalry from the Imperial Camp to the south to encircle them. If you encounter a large group of Qing cavalry, attack immediately!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Lin Changfu immediately bowed and clasped his hands together, accepting the order.

After Zhu Cilang finished speaking, he turned his head and looked east again. The light of day had begun to leak out from beneath the pale streak of light in the sky. If the previous victory had been a surprise attack, then now, with Lin Changfu taking away the over 1,500 reserve cavalrymen, leaving only a small group of imperial troops, the cavalry of the Ming and Qing dynasties would square off in an open battle!
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Pagoda Mountain is about four miles long from north to south, more than two miles wide from east to west, and more than two hundred meters above sea level. The hilly slopes spreading out in all directions enable it to block the actions of the Qing cavalry within a width of nearly eight miles.

This also gave Lin Changfu enough time to lead the 3000th headquarters of the Tianqi Army and the Imperial Camp south to the plain about two miles south of Pagoda Mountain.

The soldiers of the Imperial Camp were originally the Palace Guards, who emerged from the Beijing Camp after layers of selection. They were experienced in combat and were more elite than the Heavenly Cavalry. They had longer training time and were better equipped.

These were the most special and best-treated troops in the Ming army. They often had to go into the battlefield during the "Jianghuai Defense War". Zhu Cilang would promote them based on their performance and then send them to various camps, thereby strengthening his control over the army.

Zhu Cilang gave the task of blocking the encirclement to Lin Changfu because he saw his progress, and also because the imperial camp had also trained cavalry formations in the past two years.

After Lin Changfu led his troops into the preset battlefield, he immediately ordered his more than 1,500 cavalrymen to form a battle array in the basic unit of the bureau, with the Imperial Camp in the front and the Heavenly Cavalry Army in the back. They lined up on the plain south of Pagoda Mountain and soon formed two dense square formations, one in front and one behind, with three rows in each.

Like the Heavenly Cavalry, the Imperial Camp's cavalry were equipped with double layers of armor, and the first phalanx of the cavalry was the core force of the entire battle. Naturally, Lin Changfu placed the most elite cavalry of the Imperial Camp in the front.

The first row of the Imperial Camp square array wielded 14-foot-long spears crafted from Su steel, their tips incredibly sharp and possessing immense penetrating power. The second row of cavalrymen wielded halberds, multi-edged weapons capable of both striking and blocking, and leveraging the impact of their horses for immense power. The third row of cavalrymen were equipped with thick-backed swords and maces, specifically designed to deal with the heavily armored Eight Banners cavalry.

The equipment and training of the Imperial Camp and the Heavenly Cavalry Army were naturally based on the "Jixiao Bingshu", but Zhu Cilang also referred to the characteristics of the cavalry formation and made improvements based on the cavalry confrontations on the plains.

In fact, in Liaozhen at the end of the Ming Dynasty, even the so-called "three walls" tactics evolved by Li Zicheng from the Ming army in Shaanxi already had some shadows of cavalry wall charge, and even the tactics combining infantry and cavalry, infantry and artillery, and cavalry and artillery began to take shape.

The ancients were not stupid. Looking at the new weapons and different types of soldiers, they would naturally think of combining the strengths or making up for each other's weaknesses in battle. However, having ideas and achieving results are completely different things.

The Ming Dynasty's increasingly serious financial crisis and its already terminally ill military system prevented these nascent tactics from developing further.

After all, the creative influence that the genius Qi Jiguang brought to the military reforms of the Ming Dynasty is already legendary enough, and there is no second Zhang Juzheng in the Ming Dynasty to support such reforms!

Back to the present, in addition to the two cavalry phalanxes, Lin Changfu also deployed a line of skirmishers at the end. He arranged two flag teams of soldiers as the third formation. They are also a force that cannot be ignored in cavalry combat.

Soon, dense cavalry emerged between the Qing army camp and Pagoda Mountain in the north. Ye Chen was worthy of being an Eight Banners veteran. He was able to bring out thousands of Eight Banners vests in such a short time.

Led by the officers' flags, these Eight Banners cavalrymen soon appeared on the plain. When they saw the Ming cavalry blocking the way ahead, they slowly stopped. The officers came to the front of the battle formation one after another, and Ye Chen also came to the forefront of the cavalry group.

When the rear camp was in danger and the Ming army pursuers could catch up at any time, he did not send out cavalry to test the strength of the Ming army in front of him because there was no time left.

Looking at the Ming army blocking his way, Ye Chen felt extremely angry. He had never suffered such a humiliating defeat before, and tonight was the first time!
However, the Ming cavalry on the other side looked to be no more than a thousand horses, so Ye Chen was not afraid, nor did he think he would be defeated again. The Eight Banners horsemen he brought with him were all veterans with rich battlefield experience.

Thinking of this, Ye Chen immediately ordered all units to prepare. He wanted to destroy the opposing Ming cavalry in one battle, and even wanted to find another opportunity to turn defeat into victory!
Lin Changfu also did not send troops to test the waters. The Imperial Camp and the Heavenly Cavalry had been practicing their formations diligently. Although their horse-riding skills had been trained many times, their overall level of riding skills was still not as good as that of the Eight Banners soldiers.

This is also a major shortcoming that the Ming cavalry must face up to and must avoid on the battlefield. It is difficult to make up for it in a short period of time!
Lin Changfu personally arrived at the center of the battle. The magnificent cavalry formation was complete, and the two phalanxes of cavalry began to move. The cavalry officers and their standard-bearers also appeared on the flanks.

This is the difference between cavalry and combat soldiers. Cavalry officers are in high danger. They must rush to the front and use flags and bugles to command the battle at any time. Otherwise, the cavalry will lose command after a round of charge.

“Woo! Woo! Woo—”

At Lin Changfu's command, the trumpets of the army's advance sounded intensively, and the flag bearers immediately pointed the flags in their hands forward. More than 700 cavalrymen in the first formation began to advance, and there was almost no chaos in the entire formation.

At this time, the Qing cavalry group, which had also started to move, was already in some chaos. They had originally fled in a panic and had not had time to reorganize the team.

Under the leadership of Lin Changfu, the Ming cavalry quickly ran more than two hundred steps. After the cavalry of the first formation ran for a distance, the cavalry of the second formation also began to advance.

Before the two armies began to accelerate, they still maintained their formations in order. From the captain to the flag commander, officers at all levels effectively controlled their subordinates.

Such a dense formation and strict queue depended on the flag commanders who had triangular flags on their helmets and weapons. They were also on the right side of the cavalry column at this time. This was to make it easier for the captains to see their orders and for the cavalrymen under their command to see them.

The ordinary cavalry controlled their speed and direction in combat based on the speed of the flag on the right and the direction the flag pointed.

This is why cavalry formations need to undergo rigorous training to be able to exert their due combat effectiveness. The high-speed movement of cavalry means that it is much more difficult for them to fight in formations than infantry, but they are also much stronger.

At this time, the sky was already bright. Ye Chen rode his horse at full speed, watching the two Ming cavalry phalanxes, one large and one small, slowly accelerating and rushing towards him without hesitation. The distance between them was getting closer and closer, and he suddenly felt a strong sense of uneasiness in his heart.

The rumbling sound of the Ming cavalry's hooves hit his eardrums. He looked at the unfamiliar Ming army and cavalry in front of him and felt incredible.

Subconsciously, Ye Chen despised the Ming army. He didn't even think it was necessary to go out in person. He was leading the charge just to vent his anger. He never thought that the Han people also had strong cavalry.

But looking at the powerful Ming cavalry in front of him, he was completely shocked. When did the Ming army become so strong that they dared to confront the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty?
Not only Ye Chen, but also the Bayaras who were guarding Ye Chen were all horrified and felt it was incredible when they saw the Ming army's cavalry formation!

You have to know that this was completely impossible in the past. Even the most elite cavalry under Wu Sangui only dared to fight against them under the cover of the mountains, relying on their superior manpower, and even needed the cooperation of infantry and artillery.

But this is Pingye. As the most elite and powerful force in the Eight Banners Army, they only needed less than a hundred cavalry to defeat thousands of Ming soldiers.

Seeing that the Ming cavalry in front of them still maintained a strict formation after accelerating, these Eight Banners Bayaras had to admit, no matter how reluctant they were, that there were indeed strong soldiers in the Ming army!
But at this point, the distance between the two armies was less than 500 steps. Ye Chen had no choice but to continue leading his cavalry forward and fight a decisive battle with the Ming army.

“Woo, woo, woo—”

Another loud trumpet sounded in the Ming army formation. The cavalry in the front row continued to speed up and soon reached their limit. They were less than three hundred steps away from the oncoming Eight Banners cavalry.

Wherever Lin Changfu looked, he saw jumping horse heads, galloping horse hooves, and the white snow kicked up by the horse hooves. Under the reflection of the morning glow, it was quite magnificent. The two charging cavalry units totaled more than 3,000, and tens of thousands of horse hooves trampled on the ground, making a thunderous sound.

The most crucial part of a cavalry charge is these two hundred steps. After speeding up, the charge launched by these heavily armored cavalrymen in a tight formation will be unstoppable.

In front of such a well-trained, dense and strict cavalry formation, any personal bravery, riding skills and combat skills are not worth mentioning.

If they sit on the fence and sweep across, any so-called strong army will only end up collapsing!
　Thanks to the book friend "Yuekenlu Dazhuang" for the reward.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)