Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 158: Annihilation of the Qing Army
To the south of Jingmenzhou City, thick smoke was rising from the still dark ground, many tents were on fire, the Qing army in the camp was in chaos, and thousands of defeated soldiers fled in the sudden light of day.

After some Qing troops on the east side of the camp reacted, they set fire to the tents in the camp in order to stop the Ming army's pursuit, but not all of them succeeded. Only some places were on raging fire, and some torches were swaying everywhere. Countless human figures and war horses were running back and forth in the firelight.

In the chaos, the Tianqi Army, the Eight Banners Cavalry, and the Green Camp Army were killing each other. Some Eight Banners Cavalry and the Green Camp Army were even fighting for horses. The corpses on the ground were densely packed and increasing in number.

Although Ye Chen took advantage of the chaos to take away some soldiers and horses, he ultimately took away less than two thousand cavalrymen. The remaining thousands of Eight Banners soldiers and several thousand Green Camp soldiers were all stranded in the camp.

In various parts of the camp, the flashes of musket fire could be seen from time to time. Some Qing soldiers who had managed to escape the first round of charge by the Tianqi Army were fighting back in panic, but such a desperate struggle was almost meaningless. The muskets had no accuracy at a distance of more than ten steps.

The galloping war horses left the Qing soldiers no chance to shoot a second time. They were quickly killed by the swords and guns of the Tianqi Army who rushed up on horseback. The sound of horse hooves echoed like thunder across the plain.

The city wall at the south gate of Jingmen Prefecture was now crowded with soldiers from the "Loyal Camp" stationed there, including those who were resting in the military camp inside the city. They all went up to the city wall at this time.

After all, when the sound of horse hooves was heard on such a large scale, the Ming army in the city immediately concluded that the main force of the Qing army had arrived overnight. Not to mention the more than a thousand soldiers of the "Loyal Camp" stationed in the city, even the thousands of civilian laborers all climbed up the wall.

They looked at the Qing army camp outside the city. The trench and the thin wooden fence surrounding the outermost area had been broken through in many places by the fleeing soldiers and cavalry. The chaos was like a mountain torrent that broke through the dam, and it quickly rushed towards any possible place of escape.

Thousands of defeated soldiers and civilians who had lost their minds due to the melee were running around screaming. In order to fight for the chance to escape, they pushed and squeezed each other, and even fought with each other. Those who were in the front fell into the trenches outside the camp, and were then pierced through the bodies by the sharp wooden stakes inside, letting out heart-wrenching screams.

But at this time, the screams did not serve as any warning at all. Instead, they further stimulated the rest of the people who had already fallen into madness. The people behind them squeezed forward again regardless of everything until the people who had fallen filled the trench.

Since the Ming army in the city did not have enough cavalry to threaten the Qing army, and the soil was very hard at this time of year, Ye Chen did not order the trenches outside the camp to be widened and deepened. This allowed the defeated soldiers in the camp to successfully escape after filling the trenches with hundreds of casualties.

But the Tianqi Army's pursuit followed closely. Some Ming cavalrymen who were originally stranded on the periphery because of the narrow entrance to the camp turned their horses around and circled around the Qing camp to intercept the fleeing Qing soldiers.

Not only that, many Tianqi Army soldiers in the Qing army camp were also pursuing the enemy under the leadership of their respective flag chiefs. They crossed the trenches filled with layers of corpses, chasing the panicked fleeing soldiers, and used swords and guns to kill the Qing soldiers they caught up with on horseback. The fallen corpses were scattered all over the place, and the blood was stained on the snow, which was extremely conspicuous.

Liu Rukui was wearing two pieces of armor, the outer one was fine scale armor. He had been on high alert these days, always ready for a big battle, and now he immediately brought his personal guards to the top of the city wall.

When he first heard the sound of horse hooves, he thought it was the main force of the Qing army. After all, during the Battle of Jingzhou, he had heard Tian Jianxiu say that these Tartars were best at long-distance raids, and perhaps they were making such a fuss just to catch him off guard.

As the sound of horse hooves outside the city became like thunder, he became more certain of his judgment and prepared to fight to the death. He immediately ordered all the soldiers, civilians, and even women and children who were still able to move in the city to be mobilized.

It was not until he personally climbed to the top of the city wall that he realized that it was a night attack, and it was a night attack against the Qing army. The soldiers on the top of the city wall who witnessed everything were talking about it, wondering whose troops these were and why they were so powerful!
But at that time, it was still dark outside the city, and they couldn't see clearly what was going on. They only knew that many reinforcements had arrived, and the originally indestructible Qing army camp was actually breached so directly.

Liu Rukui didn't know where this Ming army came from, but he was sure that it was definitely not Li Guo. The other side couldn't have so many cavalry, let alone leading such a large cavalry from Jingzhou without anyone noticing, rushing over a hundred miles away.

He listened to the loud sound of horse hooves and estimated that the reinforcements might have tens of thousands of cavalrymen, but he really couldn't imagine where such a large and powerful reinforcement force came from?
The sound of hooves is like thunder, the attack is like fire, and it is unstoppable. They are simply heavenly soldiers and generals!

However, as the sky gradually brightened, Liu Rukui finally got a vague glimpse of the situation outside the city. The incident happened suddenly, and there was chaos outside the city. He was unable to determine the ins and outs of the matter for a while until the messenger sent by Zhu Cilang entered the city.

"Your Majesty is here?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Rukui was so shocked that he stood there in shock, his eyes wide open, and his mind suddenly went blank. This was a possibility he had never thought of.

At this moment, one of the officers beside him immediately raised his hand and pointed to the southwest. On a gentle slope at the southern foot of Shengjing Mountain, Zhu Cilang's dragon flag had already been raised and was fluttering in the wind.

"It's the dragon flag, His Majesty has really arrived!"

A group of officers immediately cheered loudly, and then the other soldiers on the city wall also looked towards the southwest. Under the morning glow, the dragon flag was reflected in everyone's eyes.

"It's a dragon flag! It's a dragon flag! Dragon flag!!!"

"Your Majesty, come! Your Majesty, come! It's Your Majesty!"

A huge cheer instantly exploded on the top of the city wall, and Liu Rukui had already reacted. He immediately ordered his officers to send people to gather troops and prepare to leave the city to participate in the battle.

"Brothers, kill the enemy and serve your country. Now, follow me out of the city and kill the captives!"

"Kill, kill, kill—"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!!"

On the other side, amid the deafening sound of horse hooves and shouts of killing, the chaotic Qing cavalry group appeared in front of Lin Changfu. The distance between the two cavalry groups soon came within a hundred steps.

Under Lin Changfu's command, the Ming army's charge trumpet sounded again. After three rapid blasts, the cavalry in the first phalanx immediately began to lay down their spears and make the final sprint.

At this time, although the Qing army also had shining armor and was in high spirits, its chaotic formation did not look like a strong army at all when compared with the cavalry of the Imperial Camp and the Heavenly Cavalry!

Of course, as the Ming cavalry galloped at high speed, the formation inevitably began to become chaotic. The originally straight lines in the square formation began to become uneven, but it was still within a controllable range. It was not the same as the chaos caused by the Qing cavalry rushing forward.

Soon, arrows began to fly in front of the two rapidly approaching cavalry formations. Everyone stared intently, holding their breath, and were even too nervous to dare to breathe hard!

Among the Qing cavalry, some of the cavalrymen in the front row saw that the situation was not right, and many of them had begun to turn their horses around and wanted to go around the flanks. However, except for the horsemen who were already on the two wings, no one else could do it. Instead, it further aggravated the chaos in front of the Qing army.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"

Two torrents of steel collided head-on on the narrow plain southwest of Pagoda Mountain. Thousands of war horses burst into tragic neighing and roaring at the same time, and the cavalry of both armies on horseback shouted and killed, shaking the sky.

As the sun rose, countless dancing points of light on the white snow were like waves, shining brightly, but accompanied by waves of heavy objects colliding, the mixed sounds of golden swords clashing, and screams and screams, densely packed broken limbs and arms, blood-stained swords, guns, armor, and helmets, bringing up a burst of blood rain, rose into the sky at the same time, and the magnificent waves of light disappeared layer by layer.

Amid the rumbling sound of horse hooves, the cavalry of the Ming and Qing armies crossed each other. Countless war horses in the front row were knocked down and sent flying in the process. The cavalrymen on horseback did not hold the reins tightly because of the excessive force, and they rolled directly into the air, falling heavily from their horses while howling in fear.

They either died under the swords and spears of the imperial soldiers, or were trampled by the hooves of the horses that followed. The armored war horses that collided with them were also exhausted. Hundreds of war horses that were unable to dodge or had nowhere to hide were knocked to the ground, and then, like these cavalrymen, were trampled by the war horses that continued to gallop from behind. It was a horrible sight.

You know, at this time, let alone the chaotic Qing cavalry, even in the Ming cavalry formation, most of the war horses subconsciously chose to dodge when the two armies collided head-on. This is the nature of animals formed by generations of reproduction and the continuation of genes. No amount of acquired training can completely avoid it.

But the Ming army did not need to be perfect. Even in the 19th century, the elite French cavalry, which had been baptized by the ideas of the Great Revolution and had all-round improvements in modern military thinking, would still have such problems when fighting.

Of course, in battles between elite cavalry, wall charges are rare. Both sides will often keep testing and trying to find loopholes, but most of the time the result is that both sides withdraw at the same time.

When masters fight, if they are not careful, both will suffer losses!
But if it is the current situation, where a well-trained cavalry formation fights against a disorganized group of cavalry, the situation will be completely different. It is like an infantry phalanx fighting against a group of chaotic soldiers who rush forward with courage.

After all, although many of the war horses in the cavalry formation were frightened, the imperial cavalry on horseback were all well-trained. During their normal training, they had mastered the skills of how to hold the reins tightly during confrontations and avoid falling off their horses.

These soldiers, who had undergone rigorous training and strictly followed military orders on the battlefield, stared at the Eight Banners soldiers in front of them while galloping on horseback, lowered their bodies, and quickly adjusted the weapons held horizontally in their hands. The entire army formation was like a forest of densely packed spears, which was intimidating.

The result was obvious. The Manchu Eight Banners, who had initially shown extreme disdain for the Ming army and had resolutely charged forward to sweep the battlefield and turn defeat into victory, were quickly defeated by the Ming cavalry, who had undergone long and rigorous training and showed no fear. The dense formation of the Imperial Camp cavalry quickly gained the upper hand on the battlefield. As the first rows of cavalry crossed, both the Ming and Qing armies suffered heavy casualties. However, as the Qing cavalry groups fell into great chaos and were even dispersed, their attack power was greatly reduced in the chaos, and their losses quickly increased.

In the blink of an eye, the chaotic Qing cavalry group was quickly attacked by the second and third rows of the Ming army riding the wall of the first cavalry phalanx. They had no time to react. The Ming cavalry rushed to the front line and swept away those Eight Banners vests who had survived the attack of the first row of riding the wall.

Rather than being able to break through the formation, these Eight Banners soldiers, who had just escaped from the gates of hell, and whose hearts were still in their throats, had no time to retract their weapons that had just been used for blocking and stabbing, were directly knocked off their horses by the oncoming hammers.

In the battle formation where the two armies met, countless Eight Banners armored soldiers fell backwards, wailing and falling to the ground. Even if some of the Eight Banners horsemen reacted quickly, turned their horses' heads and avoided the attack in front of them, they would immediately be hit head-on by another hammer.

Facing the dense cavalry formations of the Ming army, these Eight Banners cavalrymen had no room to hide at all, just like when a mob of soldiers faced an infantry phalanx. This was a crushing defeat in terms of organization.

After all, although the Qing army's cavalry group was much deeper, the speeds of the front and back were inconsistent, and there would be gaps of varying sizes during the charge. Especially when the front row was impacted and the rear row began to slow down, these gaps would prevent a large part of the Eight Banners cavalry from playing their due role on the battlefield.

However, when the three walls of the first phalanx of the imperial camp collided with the Qing cavalry group in the rear, they were still met with a fierce counterattack. At this time, they were basically in chaos and soon fell off their horses under the head-on attack of the Eight Banners cavalry.

The Eight Banners cavalrymen brought by Ye Chen were extremely skilled in riding and fighting. They were able to control the horses under their crotch without being directly hit.

This is why a wall charge can be considered suicidal. The survival rate of the front-row cavalry is extremely low. They have to face life and death again and again before they can hold on to the final victory.

But this was only temporary. The second cavalry formation formed by the 3000th headquarters of the Tianqi Army arrived soon after. They still maintained a strict formation, holding spears, maces, thick-backed knives, and maces, and also holding the weapons horizontally. They used the power of the horses' charges. Without any complicated tactical moves, they could kill the enemy with just a slight flick and a swing between the two armies.

No matter how brave those Eight Banners horsemen were, they had to face the attack of several weapons at the same time. They had no way to fight back or dodge and quickly fell off their horses.

Even those who were considered brave, not only killed the Ming cavalry in front of them, but also avoided four rounds of wall attacks. The most elite and luckiest Eight Banners cavalry still had to face two more walls and the pursuit of the last ranger.

Not only that, the entire process took almost just a blink of an eye. The distance between each wall was only a dozen steps, and the distance between the cavalry formations was only a few dozen steps. It was simply a matter of seconds. Even those Eight Banners soldiers who were knocked off their horses were just fleeting black shadows in the eyes of the Ming cavalry.

Soon, there was another round of chaotic attack. Under the charge of more than 700 war horses of the Tianqi Army, the Eight Banners cavalry, which were already in chaos, fell down in rows and were soon submerged in the cavalry group. The dense and overlapping cavalry formations of the Tianqi Army caused them to suffer heavy losses.

Faced with the Qing cavalry that had almost lost its ability to fight back, the Ming cavalry easily brought up countless broken limbs, helmets and weapons of the Eight Banners horsemen, and bursts of blood rain spurted out into the air.

This time, the Tianqi Army suffered much less damage. Compared with the damage suffered by hundreds of cavalrymen in the imperial camp, the Tianqi Army only lost more than thirty people and quickly defeated the Eight Banners cavalry group in front of them. The unprecedented impact caused the Qing cavalry group's already loose and chaotic formation to completely collapse.

The Ming cavalry swept across, leaving only a mess on the snow, with broken limbs of people and horses everywhere. In such a high-speed collision, the Qing army was unable to make any adjustments at all.

The Eight Banners officers who controlled the cavalry charge were also scattered one after another. Some were swept to the two wings, while others were squeezed and pushed by the vests in the chaos and could not move. Those who were unlucky were directly killed by the Ming army that came in from the outside.

But the nightmare of the Qing army was far from over. The skirmish line acting as "hussars" in the third line immediately began to expand the results of the battle and launched a surprise attack on the Qing cavalry that escaped the impact of the six walls.

Under the relentless and powerful attack of two cavalry formations, six cavalry walls, and a line of skirmishers, Ye Chen's pride and the arrogant Eight Banners were shattered in the blink of an eye, and his army was completely routed!
Although Ye Chen successfully escaped the disaster under Bayala's protection, he was completely stunned at this time. An inexplicable fear quickly spread in his heart, and even made this veteran of the Eight Banners lose his ability to command.

You know, just a while ago, less than an hour ago, he was still thinking about seizing Jingmen Prefecture, conquering Jingzhou, and even defeating the so-called Emperor Ming.

But now, fate seemed to be playing a huge joke on him. The Ming cavalry came like a drop from the sky, completely unstoppable, and quickly annihilated his army!

"Why is this happening? What is going on?" Ye Chen wailed helplessly in his heart, but no one answered him.

It wasn't just Ye Chen. Boundless fear was also spreading rapidly among these Eight Banners soldiers. After the previous battle, the Qing army had already lost their fighting spirit!

Run, run for your life, run for your life!

The Eight Banners cavalry who survived the first round of charge by the Imperial Camp and the Heavenly Cavalry Army had completely lost their command, did not listen to any orders at all, and quickly began to flee in all directions.

But the battle was not over. The two cavalry formations that had just dealt a fatal blow to the Qing cavalry group rushed out three or four hundred steps, then turned their horses' heads and began to line up again at the shouts of their officers.

However, this time, the Ming cavalry no longer had the so-called strict formation, but only a crooked "cavalry formation" in front of them, with the number of cavalry in each row and the spacing between them varying.

After all, no matter how much training they receive, after a round of wall charge, even the most elite cavalry cannot reorganize into a strict formation in a short period of time.

You must know that those strict and straight cavalry formations were arranged in advance before the war began. Although the cavalry was moving, officers at all levels were able to effectively control their subordinates. Everyone knew their position and the position of their officers.

The realization of the cavalry formation is not a miracle. These tedious disciplines and preparations are the basis for the realization of the cavalry phalanx in motion.

Now, the two cavalry phalanxes in front and behind were directly mixed together. Lin Changfu and the captain of the 3000th headquarters of the Tianqi Army led the organized cavalry group and quickly killed back.

At this time, there was no time to care about the so-called cavalry formation. The most important thing was to seize the opportunity and annihilate all the Qing cavalry who had been beaten to pieces and unable to fight back before they fled.

Soon, Lin Changfu led hundreds of assembled cavalrymen, just like the Qing cavalry group commanded by Ye Chen just now, and rushed forward, chasing the fleeing Eight Banners cavalry with a huge front.

Zhu Cilang looked at the place where the two armies collided, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a cold smile.

He estimated that after the attack of the two cavalry phalanxes, the Qing army had lost at least five to six hundred people, or even more. The 30 to 40 percent casualties and the broken formation had made it impossible for the remaining Qing army to fight back. Now they were like fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of others.

"Your Majesty, the Tartars have been defeated!" Not long after Liu Rukui led his troops into battle, he realized that he had nothing to do, so he immediately came to the side of Zhu Cilang under the dragon flag.

At this moment, he was also looking at the battlefield where the two armies were colliding with each other, which was full of corpses of soldiers and horses and broken armor. Hundreds of Eight Banners armored soldiers were wailing on the ground, and the fallen war horses also made a loud and miserable cry.

However, Zhu Cilang had a calm expression. He turned his head to look at Liu Rukui, who had hurried over and was still catching his breath, and asked slowly:
"Mr. Liu, am I here in time?"

"Your Majesty is a master strategist with brilliant foresight. You arrived just in time!"

Liu Rukui's face had flushed with excitement at this time. It was not that he did not expect Zhu Cilang to lead the army in person. After all, he had seen it during the Battle of Jingzhou. But he never expected that Zhu Cilang would lead the army in person in this way. This was simply too incredible.

He looked at the battlefield in front of him, paused, and then bowed to Zhu Cilang and said:

"In today's battle, Your Majesty led the royal army on a thousand-mile raid, completely annihilating the invading Manchus. This not only enhances the military might of the Ming Dynasty, but also demonstrates to the world that the Mandate of Heaven still rests with the Ming Dynasty.

After this battle, the whole world will be shaken. Your Majesty's divine power and heroic strategy will surely terrify all the villains in the world and make the Manchus dare not talk about war again!"

"Hahahaha" Zhu Cilang laughed after hearing this and looked towards the plain south of Pagoda Mountain. Lin Changfu was leading the Ming cavalry to chase and kill the remnants of the Qing army.

"The shock of the world is a matter for the future. Today, I will kill every Tartar without leaving a single piece of armor behind!"

　Copper prices have skyrocketed, and I need to take leave for the next two days due to some matters. I hope my readers will be aware of this!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)