With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

The enemy camp ahead is constructed in a very strange way.

They built a camp directly on a slightly higher earthen slope in front of the road, and the camp was surrounded by trenches. Inside the trenches were soldiers wearing steel round hats, pointing their firearms ahead.

When Li Chengdong saw this scene from afar, his eyes narrowed, especially noticing the weapons in the hands of the bandits.

"Is this the bandit army's firearms? They are indeed somewhat different, but to find out the specifics, let's send a team to test them out."

Immediately, Li Chengdong gave the order to send three hundred fully armed elite troops to advance.

Three hundred men stood ready for battle. Two men in front held shields, while the others behind carried spears, wolf-tooth rakes, bows and arrows, crossbows, sickles, and muskets. They moved in orderly formations of eight or nine men each, with excellent coordination. Clearly, these three hundred men were elite troops.

However, when these three hundred men approached within about one hundred meters of the first trench defense line, hundreds of dark gun barrels were already pointed at them.

The next moment, a scene that horrified everyone unfolded.

As soon as the first gunshot rang out, countless fireballs erupted in front of them, and a heavy machine gun in front also opened fire in bursts.

Faced with overwhelming firepower, these three hundred elite soldiers could not withstand the barrage of bullets. Their bodies were riddled with holes, and within about a minute, they were all killed, with not a single survivor.

Upon witnessing this horrific scene, the generals and soldiers watching from the rear were instantly filled with terror.

"Are you kidding me!"

"Is this the enemy's firepower?"

"What weapons are they using? Those are three hundred armored soldiers! Not three hundred blades of grass!"

Li Yuanyin was Li Chengdong's eldest son. He was in charge of organizing the attack. If the three hundred armored soldiers could successfully break into the enemy camp, he would lead two thousand men to charge forward.

However, seeing the three hundred elite soldiers in front of him fall like straw, he stood there dumbfounded.

His eyes held shock and terror.

At the rate of killing we just witnessed, if 100,000 people rushed in, they could be killed in less than an hour!

Li Yuanyin immediately turned his horse around and found his father standing on the command platform.

"Father! The enemy's firearms are extraordinary; even if our entire army were to attack, we couldn't win! This battle is unwinnable!"

Standing on high ground, Li Chengdong had witnessed the entire scene, and his face was grim.

The firearms in the hands of the bandits were not just sharp, they were practically divine weapons.

"We can't win."

"They couldn't even break through the first line of defense."

But he was unwilling to retreat in such a sorry state.

If Li Tian's influence were to penetrate deep into the imperial court, what position would Li Chengdong hold?

Given the Zhu Ming emperor's personality and those power-hungry officials, they would definitely take the opportunity to suppress Li Chengdong.

At that time, what I will lose will be more than just power.

Wealth, status, and reputation will be gradually stripped away.

"Surround them first and cut off their water supply."

Evacuating 100,000 people is not something that can be done in a few words; it requires a lot of preparation, otherwise it could very well turn into a rout.

"Yuan Yin, you take the farmers and dig a trench around the bandit army to surround them."

Upon receiving the order, Li Yuanyin immediately led his men, carrying hoes, to dig ditches.

Strangely, the New Army, which had the advantage of firearms, did not come out to stop the Ming army's actions, nor did they even fire.

At this moment, inside the new army's position, Yan Naichao looked up at the sky. The sun was high in the sky, and the midday sun in autumn was scorching.

"It would be nice to have a watch." Yan Naichao raised his hand to look at his wrist, but there was no watch on his wrist.

"Judging by the time, Wei Desheng and Hu Fangyuan should have launched their attack around the same time."

About three or four hours had passed since the Ming army launched its first attack.

Yan Naichao was waiting for two battalion commanders to lead two thousand men to launch a surprise attack from behind, but the Ming army suddenly stopped. He didn't know what they were waiting for.

The Ming army had powerful cannons such as the Tiger Cannon, the Frankish Cannon, and the Red Coat Cannon.

In a real head-to-head battle, the new army doesn't actually have much of an advantage.

They were only slightly stronger than the Ming army.

Perhaps the agreed time is almost here.

Yan Naichao immediately ordered the other troops to prepare for the charge.

"The artillery units advance and launch five rounds of artillery fire against the enemy, after which the entire army will charge!"

In this defensive line, the First Army of Longxiang was responsible for defending Yanping Prefecture and the Shunchang area.

They acquired twenty heavy machine guns and eighteen mortars.

Subtracting the ten heavy machine guns and six mortars stationed in Shunchang County, he still had ten heavy machine guns and twelve mortars in his possession.

Upon receiving the order, the twelve mortars were immediately carried forward, with two companies providing cover as they charged ahead.

The farmers and militia who were digging saw the enemy troops rushing out and immediately retreated.

The Ming soldiers in the surrounding area ran even faster, as if they had seen the King of Hell.

Bang! Bang! The new army soldiers fired a few shots, but the Ming soldiers ran even faster, wishing they had two legs.

"General, something terrible has happened! The enemy troops have broken out!"

Li Yuanyin was the vanguard general of the Ming army. His camp was at the front, and the soldiers who had been brought back immediately reported the situation.

"What? The rebel army has actually charged out! How many of them are there?"

"I don't know, it seems there are several thousand."

Li Yuanyin frowned immediately, but he couldn't think about that at the moment.

The battle has begun, and we must fight back no matter what.

Li Yuanyin immediately mustered three thousand vanguard troops to charge out of the camp and confront the rebel army.

However, just as he rushed out of the camp, an even more terrifying scene unfolded.

The explosion occurred on the ground, killing several cavalrymen instantly; their flesh and blood were so mangled that they could not be found.

However, the attack did not stop, and the sound of explosions continued to echo throughout the camp.

The rear camp was thrown into chaos.

In an instant, a terrified scream came from behind. Seeing the chaos in the camp, the soldiers, who were on high alert, grabbed their swords and slashed at their comrades. They heard footsteps behind them, turned around and slashed, not knowing who was approaching.

After several rounds of bombing, a riot broke out in the Ming army camp during the day.

Li Yuanyin also sensed the danger. A loud shout rang out, and the new soldiers in front charged forward with their guns.

They rushed to the Ming army camp and fired a shot at anyone they saw.

The new army, in groups of three, appeared disorganized but actually advanced in an orderly fashion, gradually eroding the Ming army's camp.

Seeing that the morale of his troops was not high, Li Yuanyin immediately turned and ran.

A group of cavalrymen instantly attracted the attention of the new army soldiers, who opened fire on them.

In an instant, the Ming army's vanguard suffered heavy casualties.

The Ming army was attacked not only from the front, but also from behind.

This Ming army was somewhat different. After the infantry breached the weak defenses at the rear, a cavalry force of several hundred men charged into the camp, hacking and slashing at anyone they saw.

Behind them were local militia and laborers, who, upon seeing blood, dared not resist and simply ran around aimlessly.

They were attacked from both sides, and their firepower was weak.

The Ming troops fought independently, and the generals, seeing the situation was not good, even fled.

Li Chengdong, who was stationed in the central command post, saw people running around the camp and his face immediately darkened.

Without any hesitation, he gathered his personal guards, turned tail, and ran.

The 100,000-strong army, without a commander, became a disorganized mess, killing each other, trampling countless people to death, and kneeling in surrender in a dark mass.

In a single day, the new army of 5,000 men decisively defeated the Ming army of 100,000!