Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 217: Defeat the Qing Army
In the first formation of the right army in front of the palace, the blocking of the last part of the soldiers was not completely useless. At least it bought enough buffer time for the defense of the second formation.

However, a considerable number of the defeated soldiers who retreated from the first formation of the right army in front of the palace had completely lost control under the pursuit of the Qing cavalry and were only concerned with fleeing to the rear.

When they saw the densely packed, flat spears in the second layer of the army thirty steps in front of them, they finally regained some rationality and rushed to the two wings.

As the saying goes, "a defeat is like a mountain collapsing." After fighting hard for half a day, facing an enemy much stronger than themselves, the Eight Banners Army and the Palace Army may be like this. This is human nature.

However, the soldiers of the right army in front of the palace in the second layer of military formation, faced with the aggressive Qing cavalry charging, and actually withstood it. They were not forcibly broken through by this group of Eight Banners vests and Guanning cavalry who charged at all costs.

In the second army formation, Tian Jianxiu only reserved two thousand headquarters and his own personal guard battalion, less than two thousand soldiers. However, they had not participated in the previous battles, and they had made relatively sufficient preparations and resisted very tenaciously.

The Qing cavalry, who charged hard and attacked fiercely, quickly lost hundreds of horsemen in front of the long spear phalanx of the right army in front of the palace, and the two sides then engaged in a melee.

In fact, if it were not for the more than 3,000 Qing cavalrymen who adopted a charge at all costs and had sacrificed more than a thousand Green Camp soldiers and Baoyi soldiers before, a loophole would have appeared in the line of the right army in front of the palace, and the Qing army might not have been able to successfully break through until now.

However, although the spear phalanx of the right army in front of the palace was capable of both offense and defense, it was still affected by the defeated soldiers in the first formation and was unable to attack with all its strength.

This undoubtedly gave the Qing cavalry an opportunity to take advantage.

However, Alashan and Wu Sangui looked at the battle situation in front of them and did not look happy at all. What they needed was an immediate breakthrough, not progress.

Because at this time, the Ming cavalry in the south had completed their assembly and were preparing to attack.

Furthermore, the situation on the foothills to the east and west of the valley was also gradually changing. Atop the ridges on either side, over a dozen teams of twenty to thirty soldiers from the Palace Guard successfully broke through the Qing army's blockade and began charging down the mountain path.

These soldiers of the Palace Army rushed out continuously from the dense forests and mountain roads on both wings, launched surprise attacks on the Qing army lines at the edge of the valley, and launched a new attack on the Qing army.

These soldiers acted quickly. They used flag teams as their basic units, and each team attacked on their own. Often, seven or eight people formed a raiding team. They drew their bows and arrows and shot heavy arrows that could penetrate armor at the Qing army's phalanx from the flank.

These heavy arrows shot from the edges of the foothills on both wings whizzed down to the Qing army's positions. Once they hit the Qing army's armored soldiers, especially those of the Green Camp and the Baoyi soldiers, their armor was very weak and could be easily broken.

Although their attack could not harm the main force of the Qing army, it could easily disrupt the Qing army's line, causing the Qing soldiers in each phalanx to feel fear and greatly affecting their combat effectiveness.

When Alashan and Wu Sangui saw the battle situation, they immediately led the cavalry and rushed towards the Ming army's line. If they were any later, they would not even have the last chance to escape.

At this time, in the south of the valley, Lin Changfeng was riding his horse at the edge of the Tianqi Army's phalanx. The valley wind made the high-raised general flag behind him rustle. To the north was the brutal battlefield where the two armies were fighting, and now it was all displayed in front of him without any cover.

He looked at the soldiers in the cavalry formation, whose morale was greatly boosted and who were cheering. He felt as if he had seen victory, and his spirits began to rise.

The big flag with the word "Lin" on it moved rapidly in the army formation, making a whirring sound. Countless cavalrymen who had just gathered in the valley quickly began to move. The helmets on their horses rose and fell like waves, and they came towards the Qing army in the north in an overwhelming manner.

"Boom, boom, boom!!!"
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Yue Le and Aljin looked at the situation in front of them, and their faces darkened. However, Alashan and Wu Sangui had not yet made a breakthrough. Even if they wanted to abandon the Green Camp Army and the Baoyi soldiers in front of them, as well as the horsemen supervising the battle, and turn their horses around to break through, it would be impossible.

Although the Qing army had repelled several attacks by the Ming army before, it also suffered severe damage. The Green Camp Army and the Baoyi soldiers were only holding on with their last breath.

In this situation, if they don't want their front line to collapse immediately, they have no choice but to stay and block the enemy, making a last-ditch effort.

On the battlefield, many times you don’t fight only after you win, but you have to fight no matter what!
"Aljin, now that things have come to this, we only have one last fight!" Yue Le turned his head to look at Aljin and said with gritted teeth.

Although he knew that this battle was a life-or-death battle, there was no time for him to hesitate, so he planned to call Aljin for a final fight.

"Beile..." Aljin was slightly stunned, wanting to speak but stopping himself. But he quickly grabbed the other's reins and leaned over to whisper, "Beile, if we charge forward like this and lose, how will we escape?"

"Escape?" Yue Le was slightly startled. He obviously didn't expect Aljin to say such a thing. He immediately glared at her and said:

"If we lose this battle, where can we escape to?"

"The Regent is about to head south. We should take as many troops as we can, and at least defend Luyang Pass! Now is not the time to act out of loyalty. If you and I die, who will defend Ruzhou?" Aljin asked immediately.

Although Aljin was indeed afraid of death, he was not lacking in bravery. He just felt that he should not die here.

After all, the Qing Dynasty had been defeated before, but as long as the main force was safe and the large army could escape, they could gather together and fight again next time.

"Besides, given the current situation, even if you and I lead these thousands of soldiers and charge forward recklessly, what will happen? We will just end up fighting the Ming army and both sides will suffer heavy losses!"

Aljin looked at Yue Le and continued to advise: "The Ming Emperor has few cavalrymen and they are not strong in field battles. The only thing he can rely on is the cavalry formation. The terrain in the valley is most conducive to their use."

But Yue Le was not persuaded. He turned his head to look south and saw that the Ming army's cavalry formation had begun to move. He made up his mind immediately.

Afterwards, Yue Le ignored Aljin and snatched back the reins from him. He then drew out his long-unused waist knife and shouted to Bayala Majia beside him:
"Warriors of the Qing Dynasty, follow this prince and charge forward. Kill all these Nikans! Kill them all!"

A small area soon cleared up beside Aljin, and Yue Le was the first to rush out on horseback, which greatly boosted the morale of the Qing army. Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a large group of Qing army cavalrymen followed closely behind.
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On the south side of the valley, flags were already flying. Nearly 10,000 Tianqi soldiers, led by their respective captains, gradually accelerated, and the sound of horse hooves rumbled.

Three or four miles in front of Lin Changfeng, on the flat ground on both sides of the valley, the vanguard cavalry of the Tianqi Army was fighting with the Qing army's cavalry. The two sides chased each other, shot arrows at each other, or charged close, and the swords clashed, raising billowing smoke and dust.

Zhu Cilang deployed enough cavalry, but these attacking Eight Banners cavalry failed to achieve the expected breakthrough as Yue Le had hoped.

When the Ming cavalry appeared, the Qing cavalry at the edge of the valley were so confused by the sudden appearance of the cavalry that they had no intention of fighting anymore and retreated one after another.

The cavalry formation consisting of nearly ten thousand cavalry soldiers soon stopped slowly at the designated place, while the tens of thousands of horses behind continued to advance.

Under the trampling of tens of thousands of horses' hooves, the flat ground in the valley is now filled with billowing dust. Looking south, there are figures of galloping and jumping war horses everywhere, and the shiny iron armor of the cavalry is flashing dazzlingly in the sun.

As the flags of the various units of the Heavenly Cavalry Army fluttered in the valley, the sound of endless trumpets rang out from the cavalry formation. Densely packed horse heads jumped in the valley, like a rolling black tide, surging violently.

Lin Changfeng was extremely excited as he looked at the cavalry he had personally trained. In this battle, he was going to annihilate all of these tens of thousands of Eight Banners cavalry!

The three battalions of the Celestial Cavalry, each organized into two square formations, one in front and one behind, similar to the dense formation of three rows each, as seen on the Jingmen battlefield. Furthermore, behind each square formation stood a fourth line of skirmishers, comprised of the army's elite cavalry, a formidable force in cavalry combat.

"Pass on the general's order, attack!"

Under Lin Changfeng's command, a series of advance trumpet sounds were heard in the Tianqi Army formation. The flag bearers in front of the cavalry formation heard the sound and waved the flags in their hands, pointing them diagonally forward.

“Woo, woo, woo~~~”

Thousands of cavalrymen in the first large formation began to advance at the same time, and soon, the mighty and magnificent cavalry formation began to move.

In this formation consisting of six thousand headquarters, thirty-six cavalry bureaus, and a total of more than two hundred cavalry flag teams, there are nearly two thousand cavalrymen in each row alone.

At the sound of the bugle call, they just marched slowly at first, with almost no disorder in the entire formation.

After the first large formation of cavalry ran for a distance, the small formation behind it, consisting of three thousand headquarters and more than one hundred cavalry flag teams, also began to advance.

Under the leadership of Lin Changfeng, this largest cavalry formation in the history of the Ming army quickly ran a mile, and the war horses immediately adapted to the formation in the narrow environment of the valley.

Not only that, since the Qing army in the south was basically composed of infantry and could not launch an attack, Lin Changfeng was not in a hurry, and the two cavalry formations in front and behind were still in neat formation.

Yue Le looked to the south and saw two Ming cavalry formations, one large and one small, rushing towards him, and their speed was getting faster and faster. The rows of iron armor and the rumbling sound of horse hooves made him regret his previous decision.

At this time, even the Bayala armorers and guards around Yue Le showed expressions of fear on their faces.

They had long heard of the power of the Ming cavalry, but now that they had seen it with their own eyes, they didn't even dare to fight. But now that the situation had developed to this point, it was too late for them to escape.

"Woo, woo, woo~~"

As the Tianqi Army marched to a position less than a mile away from the Qing army line, a loud trumpet sounded in the square formation, and the speed of the cavalry in the front row became faster and faster.

Zhu Cilang held up the telescope in his hand, and wherever he looked, all he could see were the beating horse buttocks, the galloping horse hooves, and the smoke rising from the valley.

There were two phalanxes, nearly 10,000 cavalrymen, and the charging cavalry of the Qing army that had already started at this time, totaling nearly 20,000 horse armors. Nearly 100,000 horse hooves trampled on the ground, and the sound of hooves was like thunder.

Faced with such a well-trained, strict and dense cavalry formation, Yue Le did not expect the infantry to help him block it at this time. He immediately sent cavalry to evacuate them to the two wings to prevent them from rout and disrupting his own cavalry group.

But given the current situation, it was simply wishful thinking for him to quickly relieve those infantry troops.

After speeding up, the heavily armored Ming cavalry quickly rushed to within 200 steps of the Qing army's front line. For a cavalry charge, this is the most critical distance.

Under Lin Changfeng's command, the bugle call for the Tianqi Army's charge sounded again, this time three rapid blasts. Upon hearing the sound, the cavalry in the front row immediately sped up their horses and began to lay their spears flat for the final sprint.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!!!"

“BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!!!”

The first cavalry formation of the Tianqi Army directly collided with the Qing soldiers who were fleeing to both sides, and then they engaged in a fight with the Qing cavalry coming from behind.

Two torrents of steel collided head-on on the plain of the valley. Thousands of war horses neighed and roared miserably at the same time, and the cavalry on horseback issued earth-shaking shouts of killing.

The armored war horses of the two armies that collided head-on in front of the battle formation all screamed at the top of their lungs. Those that were unable to dodge or had nowhere to hide were knocked to the ground, and then were trampled by the endless stream of war horses that followed. It was a horrible sight.

Accompanied by the mixed sounds of heavy objects colliding, swords clashing, and steel rubbing against each other, the front rows of the two armies crossed each other. Countless war horses were knocked down and sent flying in the process, and the cavalrymen on horseback rolled in the air. Countless swords, spears, helmets, armor, and even soldiers flew out from the horses' backs and soared into the sky.

Of course, during the collision between the two armies, most of the war horses, whether it was the Qing army's cavalry group or the Ming army's cavalry formation, subconsciously chose to dodge.

But compared with the chaos of the Qing army, the well-trained Ming cavalry on horseback all strictly followed military orders. They lowered their bodies and quickly adjusted their held-up spears to meet the charging enemy with dense spear formations.

The terrain in the valley is quite favorable for the cavalry formation, especially after Zhu Cilang controlled the situation at the foot of the mountains on both wings, he had no worries at all.

As for the Qing army, since it was unable to withdraw directly from the north, there was no possibility of winning unless it really gave up most of its troops and horses in exchange for two or three thousand cavalrymen to escape, as Aljin said.

In the confrontation between the two armies, the dense cavalry formation of the Ming army quickly gained the advantage on the battlefield. As the Qing cavalry group was dispersed, especially the subsequent cavalry could not control the frightened war horses under their crotch, their attack power was greatly reduced in the chaos, and the casualties of the Qing army also increased rapidly.

The cavalry in the second, third, and even second cavalry formations of the Ming army were still as neat as a wall, and their weapons were as densely packed as combs.

In the attack of the Ming cavalry, the Qing cavalry group, which had already fallen into chaos, was soon attacked by the first cavalry formation, the second row, and the third row of the Tianqi Army.

The cavalry in the second row of the first cavalry formation of the Tianqi Army directly swept away those Eight Banners cavalrymen who had managed to survive the first row's wall-riding charge and broke through the formation.

Not to mention reacting, they didn't even have time to catch their breath. Before they could retract the weapons in their hands that were originally waving to block the Ming army's attacks, they were knocked off their horses by the oncoming hammers and fell to the ground with a wail.

Faced with the dense cavalry formation of the Ming army, except for some Eight Banners cavalrymen on the two wings of the cavalry group who reacted quickly and turned their horses' heads to avoid the attack in front of them, the Eight Banners cavalrymen in the middle had no room to hide at all.

Soon, under the sweep of the high-speed charging cavalry formation, the Qing army was hit by another round of heavy losses. The third row of the Tianqi Army rode on the wall and defeated the Eight Banners cavalry in front of them with minimal losses. Countless figures who were knocked off their horses flashed in the eyes of the Ming cavalry.

You must know that in such a rapid attack and collision, the Qing army was unable to adjust at all. The officers at all levels who charged with the army were scattered one after another under the division of the Ming army riding the wall who maintained a strict formation. The entire Qing cavalry group completely lost its command.

Of course, with such a confrontation, the Ming army's losses were inevitable, especially at the first line of defense. Hundreds of Ming cavalrymen fell to the ground under the powerful inertia and crashed towards the Qing cavalry group in front of them.

But the second cavalry formation of the Ming army arrived soon after. Facing the Qing cavalry group that had almost lost its ability to counterattack, they swept past again and easily won the battle.

Zhu Cilang watched the battle unfold in the valley from afar and wasn't surprised by the outcome. Without a numerical advantage, the so-called Eight Banners Cavalry couldn't possibly defeat the more organized cavalry formation in such terrain.

He estimated that after two cavalry formations and a fierce attack by nearly ten thousand cavalry, the Qing army had lost at least two to three thousand cavalry, or even more than three thousand. With 30% casualties, and the remaining soldiers in disarray and without any command, the remnants of the Qing army in the valley were now like fish on the chopping board, at the mercy of Zhu Cilang!
(End of this chapter)