There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 174 The Qing Army in Desperation
Mingliang could hardly believe his eyes. He had been observing the battle through his binoculars the whole time. Even though they had used a war of attrition, these Han traitors had not collapsed yet!

Although the Qing army suffered significantly greater casualties due to the constant fighting tactics, and was routed by the Han army in several waves, the Han army was engaged in continuous battles without any rest.

Midway through, the Qing army almost took advantage of the situation and broke through the infantry positions of the Han army's vanguard.

In such a fierce battle, the normal situation would have collapsed long ago, and at the very least, a retreat would be necessary.

However, the Han army not only did not retreat, but fought even more fiercely, and actually took the initiative to advance their positions towards the Qing army camp.

Mingliang was already feeling a chill run down his spine. The morale of the Han army was too high, and even an old general like him was unsure how to proceed.

After much deliberation, Mingliang concluded that the strategy of attrition warfare was no longer effective. Continuing the fight would only increase casualties and demoralize his own troops. He had to find a way to break the deadlock: "All supervisory teams, move forward and form ranks. Before the rebel positions are captured, any deserters from the vanguard battalion will be executed without mercy!"

After issuing the order for the supervisory team to continue driving the vanguard battalion to their deaths, Mingliang paused briefly and then instructed his deputy general: "Pass on my order that all artillery advance forward and fire indiscriminately at the rebel positions. Do not be stingy with shells and gunpowder."

"The central army need not wait any longer. Divide into three routes, left, right, and center, and advance simultaneously. The rebels are outnumbered by our forces. If the entire army surrounds them, we will surely win in one battle!"

Mingliang was pushed to the brink; more precisely, the morale of the Qing army had been severely damaged, exceeding his expectations.

From the start of the war until now, in Mingliang's eyes, the Han army, which relied on its powerful firearms, actually only used mortars and heavy artillery; they did not use muskets, crossbows, or exploding shells.

Thus, the Qing army was so fiercely attacked that their morale was low and their soldiers were demoralized. The casualties of the more than 20,000 Qing soldiers did not seem to be much, and they had not even lost a thousand men.

However, these casualties were all from the Qing army's vanguard battalion. It should be noted that in a real battle, only a small number of vanguard battalions can truly participate in the fighting and determine the outcome of the battle.

Because of a very simple reason, the central and rear armies are blocked at the back. In many large-scale battlefields, regardless of the winner or loser, their central army can hardly see the enemy's whereabouts.

Either the vanguard collapses, leading to a crushing defeat for the central army.

Either the vanguard breaks through, and the central army blindly follows, picking up the scraps and winning effortlessly.

Mingliang was well aware of the composition of his 20,000-strong army. The vanguard battalion had been routed multiple times, and if the fighting continued, the army would inevitably collapse sooner or later, and even the supervisory team would be unable to control it.

If the vanguard collapses, the central army will also perish. Mingliang wants to take advantage of the fact that the Han army's position has been captured and launch a full-scale attack!

"Beat the drums! Let's cheer!"

"Dong dong dong dong!"

The Qing troops on the sidelines began beating drums.

Amidst the deafening drumbeats, the Qing army's vanguard battalion abandoned its previous strategy of rotating troops and instead had all the routed soldiers driven together by the supervisory team, launching the most ferocious charge against the Han army since the start of the war!
Behind the vanguard battalion was the main force of the Qing army, which had not participated in the battle, so their formation remained intact. At this moment, under the orders of their officers, the Qing army was divided into three routes—left, right, and center—and steadily followed, encircling and pressing towards the Han army's infantry positions.

"The Qing army has finally lost its patience!" Bai Nan put down his binoculars, his expression not showing much emotion. He glanced at the sun overhead; the time was almost up. He then gave the order: "Pass on my command: the artillery battalion no longer needs to hide. When the tough battle comes, send them all forward and fight them with all their might!"

"The musket battalion, grenade battalion, and crossbow battalion, follow the central army and advance!"

"Get all battalion commanders and lieutenants ready, a tough battle is about to begin!"

"Trumper, blow the horn!"

A series of military orders were issued, and because the Han army had walkie-talkies, the efficiency of their transmission and execution was far superior to that of the Qing army on the other side.

This resulted in the Han army reacting later, but the orders were delivered to officers at all levels much faster than those of the Qing army.

"Dudududuwuwuwuwu~~~~"

"Dudududuwuwuwuwu~~~~"

The Han army's formation resounded with continuous bugle calls, amplified by electric loudspeakers, making it no less impressive than the Qing army's war drums, and even far superior.

That's just how ancient warfare was. Without advanced communication methods, once an army went to war, it basically had nothing to do with the generals. How the battle turned out depended entirely on how the officers below them adapted to the situation.

At most, the commander-in-chief would give general instructions before the battle, and if the situation turned unfavorable, he would use gongs, drums, and banners to order the army to retreat or attack elsewhere.

It can be said that before the battle even officially began, the Han army had already won the majority of the battle. The real-time communication via walkie-talkies and the superior command and control compared to the Qing army meant that Mingliang's all-in gamble was destined to end in a crushing defeat.

"kill!"

The first wave of combat broke out between the soldiers of both sides.

Strictly speaking, this could no longer be considered the first wave, as it consisted of Qing soldiers who had previously fled, now being driven back by the supervising teams behind them.

Moreover, this time, the Qing army's routed soldiers had no way to retreat. If they dared to escape, they would be killed on the spot, unless they were all wiped out or the Han army's position was breached.

Huang Gouzi clearly felt the pressure increase sharply. There were too many Qing soldiers. In his eyes, many of them seemed to have lost their minds, their faces showing both crying and laughing, as if they were insane.

But even madness is useless; madness cannot turn a new recruit into a battle-hardened veteran, nor can it make a coward into a brave and valiant warrior.

"Pikemen, thrust!"

"Slay these Qing dogs and fake Tartars!"

The Han army had already divided the Qing army into two factions: those Eight Banners soldiers wearing cotton armor were the real Tartars, while those Green Standard Army soldiers not wearing cotton armor and wearing only uniforms were the fake Tartars.

Whether they are real or fake Tartars, they are all Tartars, cowards who aid and abet evil and oppress the people.

"Pooh!"

Huang Gouzi reached out and wiped the sweat from his face. Because his hands were stained with the blood of enemy soldiers, they were soaked with sweat and he simply smeared the blood all over his face, making him look fierce and menacing.

When the Qing soldiers who came to greet them saw Huang Gouzi's devilish face, they were immediately terrified and couldn't help but shout that he was a "devil" and a "monster".

Yellow Dogzi wouldn't give them a chance. He went up and stabbed one of them to death with his spear. The swordsmen and shieldmen in the front row also took advantage of their unpreparedness, blocked the Qing soldier with their shields, and chopped off his head with a single blow.

On the central front, the hand-to-hand combat between the Han and Qing armies had reached a fever pitch. Even the elite Han soldiers inevitably suffered casualties in such fierce fighting.

On both sides of the battlefield, the Qing army's flank troops, which had been sent out to encircle the enemy, had already collided head-on with the Han army's troops that had been urgently dispatched to meet them.

Viewed from above, the two armies appeared as interlocking, like interlocking dog teeth, tightly locked together.

Two armies, with uniforms of completely different colors, clashed fiercely on the outskirts of the battlefield. Initially, the Qing troops on both flanks, emboldened by their unfamiliarity with the Han army's strength, dared to fight desperately. However, less than half an hour into the battle, the Qing left flank collapsed first!
The Qing army was terrible. It wasn't that their morale was low, but rather that their combat skills were simply lacking. They had only been training for two months, and even if they trained once a day, they couldn't compare to the veteran soldiers of the Han army who had been training for more than a year.

The only thing the two armies had in common was that both the Han and Qing armies were "new recruits" who had little experience in actual combat.

However, the Han army not only drilled once a day for more than a year, but also had plenty of meat and rice at every meal to ensure sufficient nutrition, which made the Han soldiers all fat and strong.

Judging by the physical fitness of the soldiers of both armies alone, the Han army was far ahead of the Qing army!

Looking at the soldiers' fighting strength and morale, the Qing army relied entirely on officers giving orders and charging with the main force. While the Han army was similar, their training was very unique. In addition to physical fitness and battle formations, the most important aspect of Han army training was military discipline.

As the main person in charge of drafting the military training guidelines, Nie Yu was very clear about what his army needed most at the moment.

The Han army could not afford to develop its military industry system, nor could the Qing dynasty give it that time. Therefore, a fully modernized army could only be built while fighting, racing against the Qing army for time and development.

The ultimate goal of establishing strict military discipline is to turn the army into an obedient machine.

Upon hearing a command, even if one is instinctively fearful, the body will instinctively charge forward.

Of course, the Han army paid a heavy price to achieve all this, including ample provisions, generous treatment, rewards for military merit, compensation for those who died in battle, welfare and honor policies for military families, land distribution to all citizens, and increased land distribution to military households, among other things.

With so many privileges and benefits added on, the army finally began to look somewhat respectable.

This method of training troops was very rudimentary, and the Qing army could actually copy it, but the problem was that the Qing army could not possibly succeed.

Because the first step, distributing land to the people, was something the Qing army could never achieve!

(End of this chapter)