Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

Li Chengming never dreamed that Zheng Jun would be so bold, marching 35 kilometers and only resting for an hour before launching an attack.

What exactly does Zhou Ziyi rely on?

As for Zhou Ziyi, the general who led the troops to attack Xinzhou City, observer Yan Huidong only knew his name, but he didn't know what kind of person he was.

Based on Li Chengming's understanding of the history of the Southern Ming Dynasty, he had never heard of this person, so he must have been mediocre in ability and had no outstanding qualities.

But Zhou Ziyi should know that it is a major taboo for military strategists to launch a long-distance expedition and then immediately engage in the battlefield. Could it be that he has a reason to attack the city now?

Completely baffled, Li Chengming turned to look into the city and, seeing the deserted streets, his expression suddenly changed:

Inside the city, Zhou Ziyi's reliance lies within the city!

It looks like something bad is going to happen in the city today!

Li Chengming had already ordered the people in the city to stay at home and not to go out, otherwise they would be killed on the spot, which is why the streets were deserted and extremely quiet.

However, if Zheng Jun had already sent spies infiltrated and only acted now, they could really cause a big problem if caught off guard.

Since the Xingfu Army had not occupied Xinzhou City for long, its foundation in the city was not yet deep enough, and it was not yet able to thoroughly investigate spies.

After figuring this out, Li Chengming quickly ordered the warehouses storing grain and supplies to strengthen their defenses.

Then wake up observer Yan Huidong and ask him to use a drone to scout the city for any unusual activity.

Most of the troops left to defend the city were stationed on the city walls, and there were not many soldiers patrolling the streets inside the city.

Li Chengming then dispatched another 300 soldiers from the city's defenses to patrol the streets.

Three thousand men were prepared to leave the city to fight, while the remaining two thousand remained in the city to defend it.

Li Chengming did not withdraw the order to send troops outside the city. The decisive battle outside the city was the key. With so many defenses and backup plans set up inside the city, the enemy's underhanded tactics would not be able to cause any major upheaval!

The city gates opened, and three thousand Xingfu soldiers marched out of Xinzhou City in orderly steps, crossed the moat, and then lined up in front of the moat to meet the enemy.

Sniper Chen Shaoping climbed the watchtower with his sniper rifle on his back.

While observer Yan Huidong was monitoring the situation inside the city with a drone, a high-altitude reconnaissance drone carrying grenades also flew over the enemy forces outside the city.

The remaining six commandos, led by Li Chengming, also put on bulletproof vests and carried rifles as they walked out of the city.

Three thousand restoration soldiers stood with their backs to the moat, as solid as a mountain. There was not a sound in the air. The river breeze was gentle, and the spears were like a forest.

Although it was the first time the new recruits had been on the battlefield, and some were so nervous that their hands were trembling as they gripped their spears, they never thought of backing down. In front of them was their company commander, in front of their company commander was their battalion commander, and in front of their battalion commander were Commander-in-Chief Li and five other commanders.

As long as Commander-in-Chief Li and the other commanders do not retreat, the Restoration Army cannot retreat even half a step!

Although a mature army does not need officers to go to the front lines, the Restoration Army is in a special situation at this stage. If officers do not go to the front lines, then soldiers who have never been to the front lines will be afraid of fighting and will easily have a mental breakdown when facing a strong enemy.

The officers' actions at the forefront were both a testament to their determination and courage, and also a sign of their helplessness.

Zheng Jun, who was on the opposite side, also slowly approached, with the three heavy cannons weighing 1,500 jin each pushed at the front being particularly eye-catching.

Zheng Jun was greatly surprised and taken aback when he saw that the Xingfu Army dared to come out of the city to meet the enemy.

Zheng Jun's commander, Zhou Ziyi, repeatedly observed the formation of the Xingfu Army through a Western telescope, and his expression gradually became serious.

Zhou Ziyi thought to himself: This Restoration Army's formation is perfectly intact; they must be quite formidable!

He immediately became furious: How dare such a small number of people go out of the city to fight? How did the enemy's commander dare to do that?

Zhou Ziyi could naturally see that the number of Xingfu Army soldiers was far less than that of Zheng Army soldiers. Moreover, Zheng Army soldiers had powerful weapons like the Hongyi Cannon. The fact that Xingfu Army soldiers dared to send troops to fight under these circumstances showed that their commander was more than just arrogant.

Zhou Ziyi sneered, and in his anger, ordered Zheng's army to speed up their march. They pushed the Hongyi cannons to a distance of two miles from the Xingfu Army and stopped. Then, the men behind them carried stones one by one and quickly built a simple gun emplacement.

The recoil of the Hongyi cannon was enormous; without the protection of the gun emplacement, the wheeled vehicles underneath would be shaken apart after only two shots.

At this moment, the Restoration Army also lined up and advanced, the soldiers holding long spears, looking from a distance like a moving forest.

However, this grove of trees has no branches or leaves, only sharp thorns!

As the two armies drew closer, war was imminent!

When the two armies were 300 meters apart, the Xingfu Army's formation split up, and hundreds of cavalrymen rode out from the middle on their warhorses, then accelerated and charged toward Zheng's musketeers!

Seeing this, Zhou Ziyi was not only not alarmed, but secretly pleased. He thought that the commander of the Restoration Army was not only arrogant and conceited, but also incredibly stupid! Charging the infantry formation head-on, and targeting musketeers at that, if he didn't turn them into sieves, he would be wielding nothing but fire sticks!

Cavalry isn't used like that. Its strength lies in its rapid mobility, used to attack flanks, outflank the enemy, and quickly exploit weaknesses.

For cavalry like the Restoration Army cavalry, which weren't even mediocre cavalry, charging into a musketeer formation was practically suicide.

Just as Zhou Ziyi was feeling smug and a cold smile was playing on his lips, his gloomy face appeared in the sniper's scope.

On the watchtower by the moat, the sniper lay prone on the wooden floor, his body at a 90-degree angle to the 8.6mm high-precision sniper rifle.

For a sniper, the distance to the enemy commander Zhou Ziyi was only 1,300 meters, which was not too far.

Once we find this person among thousands of troops, killing him will not be a problem!

To ensure a perfect shot, the sniper didn't aim for a headshot, but instead targeted the man's body.

The sniper held his breath. In that moment, he had a clear understanding of the distance, altitude difference, wind speed, air temperature and humidity, and the target's next move.

The sniper aimed the crosshairs of the scope at Zhou Ziyi's chest and decisively pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The scorching bullet was propelled from the muzzle by the high-temperature, high-pressure airflow, piercing the air and flying toward the target!

Zheng Jun's commander, Zhou Ziyi, was watching the cavalry charging towards him with smug satisfaction, waiting to see a good show of musketeers slaughtering the cavalry!

Unfortunately, he can't see it.

He was dead the moment he appeared in the sniper's scope!

Even a dead person needs a bullet to announce his death to the world.

The bullet struck Zhou Ziyi in the chest 1.5 seconds after it flew. Zhou Ziyi felt as if he had been hit in the chest with a hammer, and then he involuntarily fell straight backward.

The sky is so blue!

This was the last scene Zhou Ziyi saw, and then his mental world was completely swallowed up by darkness!

Zhou Ziyi suddenly collapsed, startling the guards who rushed to help him up. But when they reached behind Zhou Ziyi, they felt a warm, slippery, and sticky sensation.

Only then did they notice that something had pierced a hole in Zhou Ziyi's chest and back.

"General Zhou is dead!" a guard exclaimed, only to be immediately kicked by a quick-witted recruit.

Is it permissible to announce loudly if the commander-in-chief is in trouble on the battlefield?

"Don't talk nonsense, go and inform Deputy General Meng immediately!"

The impact of Zhou Ziyi's assassination will take some time to spread.

The musketeers were keeping a close eye on the cavalry charging towards them from a distance, waiting for them to enter their firing range.

The muskets were already loaded with bullets, ready to fire as soon as the enemy soldiers approached within sixty paces.

There were 500 musketeers and only 100 cavalry. Under normal circumstances, the musketeers only needed to fire one volley to basically destroy the charging cavalry!

Once they entered the firing range of the muskets, whether the charging cavalry were half-baked or Manchu iron cavalry, their fate was the same.

Of course, there are exceptions, such as...

Because of the noise on the battlefield, no one noticed that a drone was hovering more than 100 meters above the musketeers.