Strategy for the Revitalization of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 359 Fake Reinforcements

On the other side, Lor stood still in the tent with a serious expression.

He lowered his head slightly, folded his hands behind his back, and swept his eyes across the battle map in front of him as sharp as a knife. He calculated the passage of time and measured the movements of the Ming army in his mind, and a strong sense of uneasiness surged in his heart.

He knew that although the Qing army he was in was powerful and had a large number of troops, if he did not take action in time, such an advantage might not last long.

The three important towns of Niangniang Palace, Liangfangkou Pass and Yaozhou Post rely on each other and form a natural line of defense. If one of them is attacked, the remaining two can provide timely rescue within three hours, forming a pincer attack from both inside and outside and dealing a heavy blow to the enemy.

He raised his eyes, looked through the gap in the tent at the dark sky outside, and the feeling of uneasiness intensified.

The actions of the Ming army made him feel that something was wrong, especially the seemingly relaxed Hu Maozhen troops. Although they were not strong in number, they were extremely arrogant, as if they had no worries at all about the threat posed to his powerful army.

Lor's heart was slightly shocked as he pondered this detail - if it was just a conventional attack, why would the Ming army send so few troops ashore, but instead leave thousands of navy in the river and on the sea?
This was obviously some deeper plot, perhaps to lure him into a trap, lure the enemy deep into his territory, and force him out of the city to fight a field battle.

Such a trick was indeed suspicious. But at this moment, the messenger's figure reappeared in sight, hurriedly running towards the tent.

Lor's eyes quickly swept over and his heart sank.

The messenger stepped forward, handing over a package, and said in a low voice, "Commander, the scouts outside the city have brought back news that Li Xiaolin has begun besieging the Empress's Palace."

"What?" Lor was stunned. He quickly unfolded the letter, read it carefully, and frowned tightly.

He cursed inwardly. This information came too suddenly, and he couldn't verify the authenticity of the news immediately.

The intelligence brought back by the scouts was unbelievable - the Ming army actually dared to take such a risk and directly besieged the city, trying to force him to attack.

Obviously, the enemy chose the strategy of taking the initiative, trying to shake up the situation and break down its own defense line through such coercive means.

Lor took a deep breath. Although he still didn't want to believe it, his judgment told him that the situation might be much more serious than he thought.

The Ming army's seemingly reckless move was actually a hidden trap, designed to lure them out of the city and engage in a life-and-death battle in the field.

At this moment, there are already two hundred Eight Banners soldiers serving as a defense line in the Empress's palace. Although this force cannot be underestimated, it is obviously unable to withstand a large-scale siege by the Ming army, especially without sufficient support.

But Lor did not send reinforcements out of the city immediately, because he was still a little hesitant at this time. He instinctively wanted to confirm the enemy's movements so as not to fall into the enemy's trap by hastily sending troops.

So he decided to send more scouts to confirm the true intentions of the enemy outside the city and strengthen the perimeter security.

But something disturbing happened. As time passed, the reports from the first batch of scouts did not meet expectations. They reported that the Ming army had indeed broken through the outer defense line, hundreds of people had ambushed near the city gate, and the scale of the siege was rapidly expanding.

All this does not seem to be a simple test, the enemy has obviously made full preparations.

"Where is the second group of scouts?" Lor's voice was a little heavy, and he couldn't help but urge.

At this time, he didn't dare to delay any longer and had to react immediately.

A moment later, another group of scouts reported:

"Reporting to the commander, the Ming army has further expanded and is tightening its siege on the Empress Palace. The enemy cavalry has coordinated with the navy and is forming a siege."

This news almost made Lor's heart sink. He finally realized that he had made a mistake in judgment. He thought that the Ming army's strategy was just a simple trick to lure the enemy, but he didn't expect that the enemy had secretly arranged a more complicated strategy.

He knew very well that there was no time to delay any longer. If he continued to delay, the defense line of the Empress Palace would probably collapse completely and the situation would become increasingly critical.

Moreover, although the Ming army outside the city is not large in number, it still poses enough of a threat.

If we don't attack quickly at this moment, not only will the Empress Palace be lost, but our entire defense line will also be broken by the enemy.

Lor suddenly came to his senses, his eyes sharp as a knife, and he resolutely ordered: "Assemble the elite troops and prepare to march out of the city to fight! No matter how many enemies there are, we must repel them!"

He immediately mobilized the most elite Eight Banners soldiers, quickly prepared weapons and horses, and prepared for the upcoming fierce battle.

At the same time, he had already begun to calculate in his mind how to use the Ming army's formation outside the city and his own military strength to launch an effective counterattack.

We cannot afford to lose this battle!

The sun had risen very high, and as it approached noon, the weather gradually became hotter, and the air in the Empress's Palace was filled with a tense and oppressive atmosphere.

The scouts on the city walls were ready for battle, but their eyes were always vigilantly watching their surroundings, especially the southeast.

There, the sound of horse hooves that had just erupted gradually came from afar, accompanied by the heavy footsteps of cavalry, gradually approaching. It was the entire cavalry formation, the momentum surged like a flood, the momentum was overwhelming.

Kada stood on the city wall. Despite his high position and the far view, he could still feel his heart beating violently. The thunderous sound of horse hooves carried an oppressive feeling that could not be ignored.

His eyes were fixed on the cavalry team, and the gradually clear figures made his heart tremble: those were the cavalry of the Qing Dynasty - the reinforcements he had been waiting for for a long time had finally arrived!

Then, Kada's heart seemed to be on fire, and joy instantly filled his chest.

However, after the joy, Kada immediately realized that the situation had changed. The originally orderly Ming army camp had become chaotic. The flags outside the camp had begun to wave, and noises were heard one after another.

This turmoil and chaos meant that the enemy's defenses had loosened, and this was the time for them to counterattack.

"Hahaha, it's that simple once my Qing Dynasty vest arrives!" Kada sneered in his heart.

He looked at the cavalry coming bravely, with flags flying and murderous intent, and without hesitation led his thousand baoyi soldiers and more than four hundred armored soldiers to rush down the city wall and jump onto their horses.

They rushed towards the enemy camp like arrows, ready to defeat it in one fell swoop. He was full of confidence in this reinforcement force, especially in such a favorable situation.

Outside the city, shouts of killing shook the sky. The Ming army's formation began to be disrupted by the fierce cavalry charge. Large numbers of Ming army flags fell. The shouts of the soldiers and the sound of horses' hooves intertwined, making it extremely noisy.

The Ming army's formation, which was originally as tight as an iron barrel, was torn open in an instant with a huge gap. The enemy's defense line collapsed easily in front of Kada's cavalry like paper, and the defeated soldiers fled in all directions.

Seeing victory within reach, Kada couldn't help but feel ecstatic: "Finally, finally, it's our big win!"

However, just as Kada rushed out with more than 2,000 cavalrymen and was about to meet up with reinforcements and the battle was nearing its end, a scene that he could hardly believe happened.

The reinforcements that had been charging straight at the enemy suddenly changed their formation, turned around, and rushed straight towards him, brandishing their weapons! "This... How is this possible?" Kada felt dizzy and hurriedly reined in his horse, a trace of fear and confusion in his eyes.

The cavalry in front of him were clearly his reinforcements, so how could they suddenly become enemy troops?

He suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his heart was beating wildly, as if all the blood in his body had frozen in an instant.

Immediately afterwards, Kada turned around suddenly and saw the formation of the Ming army not far away. The Ming army, which had been scattered before, had now been rearranged in an orderly manner, as if it had come back to life, and quickly gathered its front line.

The originally scattered soldiers quickly formed an orderly encirclement after receiving the order. The pace of oppression was not slowed down. Cooperating with the cavalry gradually approaching on both wings, they quickly formed a pincer attack on themselves and their cavalry.

All these changes happened so quickly that Kada had no time to react.

The situation before them instantly turned from favorable to dangerous - this turned out to be a clever strategy of the enemy. The Ming army took advantage of the chaos just now to deliberately lure them out of the city gate, and then suddenly changed their formation, surrounding themselves in the enemy's encirclement.

"How could this happen?" Kada was filled with surprise and doubt. He had never expected that the Ming army would take advantage of the chaos so cleverly.

The strength of the Ming army was far greater than he had imagined. The defeat just now was just a deliberate attempt to lure him. His face suddenly turned pale, and the hand holding the horsewhip could not help but tremble slightly.

When Kada tried to adjust the cavalry formation and prepare to retreat, he found that he had been surrounded by the enemy.

The Ming army soldiers around all had grim expressions and were on the verge of a fight, as if a huge iron cage was quietly tightening.

A trace of despair flashed in Kada's eyes. He tried to command hundreds of cavalrymen behind him to retreat, but he was unable to change the situation quickly. The enemy was approaching from all directions.

What shocked Kada even more was that the Ming soldiers who had just been fleeing in all directions had actually rearranged themselves into a formation within just a few minutes, forming a tight line of defense and quickly surrounding him and his cavalry troops.

Such a reaction speed definitely exceeded Kada's expectations, and even made him doubt for a moment whether he had seen something wrong.

The discipline and responsiveness of the Ming army were far stronger than he had imagined, and they were no match for him that he could easily deal with.

"It's over..." Kada's heart felt like it was sinking into an icy sea, and the situation before him was completely out of control.

Kada was no longer able to be surprised at this point. Everything around him was rapidly getting out of control. Before he could fully react, he was drowned out by the deafening sound of horse hooves.

Hundreds of Ming cavalrymen came like a tide, with galloping horses, flashing swords, and shouts, orders, and neighing intertwined.

The moment Kada rode up to fight, he realized that he was surrounded by the enemy. The Ming cavalry quickly surrounded him and his troops like a bolt of lightning.

Although he commanded hundreds of brave cavalrymen, he still seemed so small in front of this huge and elite Ming army. His horses were struggling desperately on the battlefield, but what followed was the enemy's ruthless swords.

Kada tried to swing his sword to fight back, but a sharp blade scratched his chest. Pain surged into his heart, and with a violent tearing sensation, he fell off his horse and fell to the muddy ground.

As soon as his body touched the ground, it was ruthlessly trampled by the galloping warhorse, blood splattered everywhere, and his bones shattered into mud.

And his subordinates - the hundreds of brave Qing cavalry - could not escape the same fate.

The elite cavalry of the Ming army was like a storm, violently attacking the Qing army's defense line, and Kada's troops were unable to make an effective response.

The unprepared Qing cavalry not only failed to effectively resist the Ming army's charge, but were crushed in an instant.

The swords and spears of the Ming cavalry cut through the air, accurately killing every enemy that stood in their way. Almost no Qing cavalry could escape.

On the battlefield, drums beat, war horses galloped, and the sound of swords and horses clashing echoed in the air, mixed with intermittent screams and orders.

Outside the city, the horses of both sides were intertwined, the cavalrymen fought hard, swords and guns flashed, and the air was filled with smoke.

The Ming army's cavalry advanced with thunderous force, forming a dense formation and giving the enemy no chance to react.

Those Qing cavalrymen who had not yet retreated had almost no power to resist and were knocked down or forced to retreat one after another.

Especially after losing Kada's command, the morale of the Qing cavalry collapsed instantly.

Faced with the Ming army, which had an absolute advantage in both numbers and strength, the remaining cavalry were almost powerless to fight back.

They fled in all directions like wild horses, but were closely pursued by the elite cavalry of the Ming army, who surrounded them tightly. The initial chaos gradually turned into a total collapse.

Although the Qing cavalry who tried to break through the encirclement struggled hard, they all fell down soon after.

Then, the Qing soldiers on the city wall watched all this happen and began to feel extremely panicked.

Hundreds of elite Manchu cavalry were torn apart by the Ming army in the blink of an eye. Thousands of baoyi soldiers fled in chaos. The Ming cavalry's arrows rained down on the defeated Qing army, which had no way to avoid them.

Under such circumstances, the remaining soldiers were almost unable to escape, and their bodies quickly piled up in every corner of the battlefield.

When the Baoyi soldiers saw that their cavalry team was defeated in an instant, they were filled with despair, and many people even began to flee in panic.

However, running away has become meaningless.

There was a fierce battle in front and a dangerous moat behind. The Ming cavalry had laid a tight net, and the pincer attack was like the scythe of the god of death, sweeping away everything.

Those Qing cavalrymen who wanted to escape were hit by Ming cavalrymen's sharp arrows and long spears as soon as they turned around.

The battle outside the city had reached an extremely tragic level, and almost no Qing army could escape. The Ming army's cavalry defeated the Qing army's defense line at an extremely fast speed and quickly occupied every inch of land on the battlefield.

The Qing army's cavalry of more than 2,000 people were almost wiped out by the Ming army. Only a few of them tried their best to cross the suspension bridge and escape back to the city.

The rest either fell under the swords of the Ming army or were swallowed up by the impact of the moat when trying to escape.

The water in the moat was not frozen, and it almost immediately pulled the Qing army's bondservants into the water. Their heavy cotton coats made it impossible for them to get out, and the icy water dragged their bodies relentlessly, completely swallowing them.

Those soldiers who could not break free had no chance of survival at all. They were almost drowned alive, and their bodies eventually became floating objects in the river.

(End of this chapter)