Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

Zheng Jun had already amassed over a thousand troops inside the east gate, and the garrison troops from other gates were still rushing towards this location.

The cavalry of the Restoration Army did catch the Zheng army off guard when they entered, but if the Zheng army had reacted and formed ranks, a hundred cavalrymen facing a thousand enemy soldiers would have been very likely to be completely annihilated.

But as Zheng's army prepared to form ranks, the musketeers behind them quickly followed.

Before the musketeers had fully entered, they had already formed their battle formation and began firing as soon as they stepped out of the gate.

It's still a four-stage firing sequence: one team fires a salvo, then retreats to the side to reload, then the second team moves in... until all four teams have fired.

At this moment, the musketeers and archers of Zheng's army on the city wall also fired at the Restoration Army inside the city. They dared not show their heads outside the city. Seeing that the Restoration Army had entered the city, they wanted to take their anger out on the Restoration Army inside the city.

But the Restoration Army wouldn't let others vent their anger. A squad of Restoration Army musketeers also fired at the city walls. At this time, the Restoration Army archers had also entered the city and joined the attack on the defenders on the city walls.

Zheng's army on the city wall had the advantage of a high vantage point, but the Restoration Army had more men, faster musket loading speed, and higher morale.

As the Restoration Army infantry entered, the Restoration Army musketeers turned their guns toward the defenders on the city walls.

The defenders on the city wall had already been killed or wounded by grenades, then another group was killed or wounded by the shotgun shells from the new cannons, and then another group was taken away by the assault team's rifles.

The remaining defenders, under the strong orders of the garrison commander, dared to launch attacks on the restoration army, but when faced with a stronger counterattack, they were quickly defeated and abandoned their armor, and dared not fight any longer.

The musketeers of the Restoration Army seized the opportunity to fix bayonets and storm the city wall!

With the clearing space cleared by the cavalry and musketeers, the infantry that came in later quickly formed ranks after exiting the gate. Their spears, swords, and shields were neatly arranged, their military bearing was impeccable, and their aura was imposing!

The Xingfu Army and the infantry of the Qianshan City garrison engaged in fierce fighting within the city.

As the infantry of the Restoration Army continued to pour in, the Restoration Army's forces on the east gate soon surpassed those of the defenders of Qianshan City.

In close combat, the defending army's formation was broken in less than two minutes before they were routed.

The battle line was stabilized only when the garrison troops from other city gates arrived!

But the Restoration Army infantry continued to pour into the city, and the stalemate on the front line lasted for less than a minute. With more and more Restoration Army soldiers joining the fight, the defenders began to retreat.

The musketeers who had just captured the city wall opened fire on the defenders from their elevated position, and the archers also began to fire arrows.

The number of casualties among the defending troops continued to rise, and defeat was already evident.

Li Chengming had already entered the city and spotted the garrison commander Liu Xing. He decisively shot him to his death.

Li Chengming roared, "The garrison commander is dead! Those who kneel and surrender will not be killed!"

Upon hearing Li Chengming's roar, the officers and soldiers of the Restoration Army also roared in unison, "The garrison commander is dead! Kneel down and surrender!"

Liu Xing's death became the last straw that broke the camel's back for the defending army. Gaps began to appear in the defending army's battle line, and from these gaps spread to other places. Like water flowing over sand, the gaps grew larger and larger until the battle line was completely torn apart by the Restoration Army!

The defending forces were divided in two by the Restoration Army, and soon the defending forces began to collapse completely!

Li Chengming gave the order, and the infantry slowed their attack and advanced steadily.

The cavalry quickly cut off the defenders' rear, and the musketeers fixed bayonets and followed suit, flanking the defenders from behind.

We cannot let these garrison troops escape. If they are defeated and hide in civilian houses, the whole city will be in chaos.

Li Chengming didn't want the whole city to fall into chaos; he wanted to acquire a complete city!

In order to preserve the integrity of the city, they were even willing to suffer more casualties than to use cannons to bombard and destroy the city walls.

The cavalry cut off the defenders' retreat. Just as the defenders were about to break through the cavalry's blockade, five hundred riflemen also came forward with muskets fitted with bayonets. With a bayonet charge, a group of defenders fell.

Seeing the increasing casualties, the defending troops completely lost their fighting spirit, unable to move forward or retreat.

Some people began to have a mental breakdown, throwing down their weapons and kneeling to surrender.

From the moment the first defending soldier threw down his weapon and surrendered, less than a minute later all of them had thrown down their weapons and knelt down to surrender!

The East Gate has been completely captured!

Once the east gate is taken, the other three gates must also be captured.

The garrison at the other three city gates was nearly wiped out. The Restoration Army, carrying the head of the garrison commander Wang Xing, pacified the other three city gates with a single proclamation, encountering little resistance.

Those who dared to resist were all killed on the spot.

In this battle, the Restoration Army achieved a complete victory, and the county seat of Qianshan was completely captured!

From the Battle of Ehu Town, to the annihilation of the reinforcements from Qianshan City, and then to the capture of Qianshan City.

From dawn to morning, in just four hours, the Restoration Army launched three battles in succession, all of which were victorious.

The Restoration Army has almost reached its limit!

But the matter is not over yet.

"Captain!" Yan Huidong reported, "An army has arrived outside the city, already about a kilometer away! More than three thousand soldiers, it looks like reinforcements from Fenshui Pass!"

Li Chengming took the tablet computer and sighed, "It's come at the perfect time. Our restoration army is now at its last gasp. We've basically exhausted our physical strength and morale, and it's difficult to organize another major battle."

Yan Huidong asked, "Then what should we do?"

Li Chengming said, "What should we do? Now the roles have been reversed. We are the defenders of the city, and Zheng's army is the attackers. We should ask them what they will do."

All the shells for those six new cannons have been used up. Bring them all into the city and let the artillerymen operate the Hongyi cannons on the city wall. The east gate has been destroyed. Order people to use sandbags and stones to block the gate openings first!

Musketeers, archers, and a small number of infantry went up to defend the city walls. We also went up and used rifles to take out all the enemy officers!

The others rested and ate, preparing to go up to the city walls to defend the city at any time!

After Li Chengming gave the order, although the soldiers of the Restoration Army were exhausted, they still obeyed the order and performed their duties in an orderly manner.

Some are preparing for battle, while others are resting.

Many of the Restoration Army soldiers sat down with their backs against the city wall, gnawing on the hard, dry rations they had brought.

Li Chengming was deeply moved upon seeing them: What excellent soldiers they are! It's all worth it to reduce the number of sacrifices they make.

Li Chengming even planned to use up all the bullets he carried to repel the enemy's next attack!

Three hundred and sixty bullets, which is the total number of bullets carried by Li Chengming, Yan Huidong, He Mingqiu, and Zhou Lei.

Li Chengming was uneasy about the possible attack by the reinforcements, but Zhou Xiaobing was even more uneasy about the command of the reinforcements outside.

From Ehu Town, to the reinforcements from Qianshan City who were defeated on the way, and to the traces of battle beneath Qianshan City, everything demonstrates the formidable strength of this restoration army.

Even Zhou Xiaobing began to doubt himself: He was ordered to go and support Ehu Town, but when he arrived, the five thousand troops stationed in Ehu Town had already been completely defeated.

Taking a responsible attitude, they followed the trail of the Restoration Army and discovered that they had defeated the reinforcements from Qianshan City on the way.

Then they rushed to the outskirts of Qianshan City, only to find that Qianshan City had also been captured.

Zhou Xiaobing: I'm going to use 3,500 troops to confront this incredibly powerful Restoration Army head-on? Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?

Looking at the dark, menacing cannons on the city wall, Zhou Xiaobing stopped 800 meters away and dared not go any further.

Zhou Xiaobing was caught in a dilemma. It was impossible to capture the city, but it would be difficult to explain if he retreated like this.

We had no choice but to pass this thorny problem on to the higher-ups for a solution.

So they sent a messenger to Fenshuiguan to explain the military situation and let Fenshuiguan make a decision.