Late Ming Dynasty: Special Forces in 1645

The news that Jin Shenghuan personally led an army of 50,000 to attack the Xingfu Army was no less shocking than the Xingfu Army's defeat of 20,000 Zheng troops.

The news spread throughout the entire southeast region, and countless people and forces were watching the war closely.

At Fenshui Pass, Zheng Zhibao sent people out every day to gather information and keep track of the progress of the battle between the Jin army and the Xingfu army.

The fact that the Restoration Army could annihilate Zheng's 20,000-strong army filled Zheng Zhibao with both worry and disbelief.

Hearing is believing, seeing is believing. This great battle between the Jin army and the Xingfu army will be a good test of the Xingfu army's strength.

Before the war began, neither Jin Shenghuan himself, nor the Zheng family, nor the Lu Prince regime in Zhejiang had high hopes for the restoration army.

The Restoration Army's territory was too small and its forces too few, which was a fatal weakness. Even if the Restoration Army was strong, it would be difficult to defeat an enemy several times its size.

But the battle at Qianshan changed everyone's opinion. Jin Shenghuan's 50,000-strong army was unable to defeat the small city of Qianshan, which surprised everyone.

Listening to his subordinate's report, Zheng Zhibao muttered to himself, "Jin Shenghuan actually changed his target and went to attack Ehu Town?"

Zheng Zhibao's subordinate, a lieutenant general, said, "My lord, Ehu Town doesn't have tall city walls, and its troop strength is slightly less than that of Qianshan City. This time, the Restoration Army will definitely be defeated by Jin Shenghuan's army!"

Zheng Zhibao shook his head. The strength of the Restoration Army was beyond doubt. If the Zheng army's crushing defeat hadn't made him realize this, then after the Restoration Army's crushing defeat of the Jin army in the defense of Qianshan City, anyone could see that all of the Restoration Army's previous victories were by no means accidental!

Zheng Zhibao said solemnly, "Although Ehu Town has no city walls, the Restoration Army is by no means the weaker side. Let's just quietly watch them fight it out. The more fiercely they fight, the better it will be for us!"

The adjutant feigned sudden realization: "My lord is brilliant! We'll sit back and watch the tigers fight. Whoever wins will suffer heavy casualties, and then we can seize the opportunity to send troops..."

Zheng Zhibao interrupted, "Xinzhou City hasn't even sent troops yet, how can we rashly send them? Shi Fu and Xiao Gongchen are no ordinary people; they were both defeated by the Restoration Army. Do you think you can defeat the Restoration Army?"

"This..." The adjutant was not unaware of this principle, but he only wanted to flatter the ruler and hadn't thought that much about it. So he said, "Your Excellency is truly wise. How could I have thought of so much?"

Zheng Zhibao instructed, "Send out more scouts to gather information, and report back to me immediately if anything happens!"

Lieutenant General: "Yes, sir!"

......

The battle at Ehu Town has begun. Jin Shenghuan personally took command, identified several weak points of the Restoration Army, and sent a large number of troops to rush over, but they were repelled by the artillery that the Restoration Army had urgently deployed.

The large cannon that Jin Shenghuan pushed over was easily destroyed by the new cannons of the Xingfu Army.

Several probing attacks were repelled by the Restoration Army's new artillery.

Jin Shenghuan realized that although Ehu Town had no city walls, it was no easier to attack than Qianshan City.

Since that's the case, the only option is to rely on our superior numbers and risk our lives to break through the Restoration Army's artillery blockade.

Jin Shenghuan then deployed tens of thousands of troops in the main attack direction, and with a single command, tens of thousands of men charged toward the Xingfu Army's position.

He Mingqiu's expression finally turned serious. He thought to himself that Jin Shenghuan was really going all out, sending tens of thousands of troops to attack only one side. The Xingfu Army had no choice but to go all out as well.

On the main attack direction of the Jin army, the Xingfu Army only deployed three new-style cannons and two Hongyi cannons. He Mingqiu wanted to transfer artillery from other directions to provide support, but the troops in other directions were also tied down. If the artillery in other directions were moved, it would likely cause the Jin army to change its main attack direction.

He Mingqiu gritted his teeth and said, "Let's fight then." He ordered the musketeers to get ready, then the shield bearers to provide cover, and the spearmen to follow closely behind.

If the Jin army breaks through the artillery blockade, then the other infantry should be sent forward.

As expected, just like at the foot of Qianshan City, the Jin army broke through the Xingfu Army's artillery blockade after suffering nearly a thousand casualties.

The Jin army originally thought that after breaking through the artillery blockade, they could engage the Xingfu Army in close combat, but there were still tiger crouching cannons and small breech-loading cannons waiting for the Jin army, followed by the Xingfu Army's new type of firearms.

Only after the Jin army suffered heavy casualties and broke through the range of all firearms did they officially engage the Xingfu Army's spearmen in battle.

To the Jin army's surprise, the Xingfu Army's spearmen were even more formidable, with a tight formation. Facing an enemy several times their size, everyone was fearless, and their spears were swift and ruthless.

The Jin army's archers rushed over to suppress the Xingfu Army's artillery, who were busy dodging arrows and unable to fire for a while.

Without artillery bombardment of the Jin army's rear guard, subsequent Jin troops could continuously rush forward and engage the Xingfu Army in close combat.

Faced with an increasing number of enemies, the musketeers of the Restoration Army took turns firing at the Jin army. The enormous firepower of the muskets compensated to some extent for the Restoration Army's numerical disadvantage.

Once the fighting became close, the Xingfu Army's numerical disadvantage became apparent. The Xingfu Army used every means at its disposal to barely hold off the Jin army's attack.

Now both sides are in a hurry. Jin Shenghuan saw that the casualties of the Jin army were far greater than those of the Xingfu army. He was secretly anxious, but he thought that he had finally broken through the Xingfu army's fire blockade. If he withdrew now, all his previous efforts would be in vain. So no matter how heavy the casualties were, he could only advance and not retreat!

He Mingqiu was also anxious. So what if the Jin army's casualties were several times greater than his own? The Jin army had far more troops than the Xingfu army. The Jin army could afford to die, but the Xingfu army could not!

He Mingqiu gritted his teeth, knowing that if he didn't use his trump card now, it would be too late.

So they brought out the exploding bomb!

When two armies are engaged in close combat, firing exploding shells from artillery at such close range could easily injure friendly forces. However, by manually igniting the exploding shells and throwing them into the enemy lines, there would be no such concern about friendly fire.

So, dozens of grayish-white objects, emitting white smoke, were thrown into the Jin army's formation.

The Jin soldiers were completely bewildered when they saw the olive-shaped object. Everyone who had seen the exploding shells before was already dead, so this group of Jin soldiers did not know that this was an exploding shell.

But when the Restoration Army saw this, their expressions changed, and everyone quickly retreated, secretly cursing those who threw the exploding shells for not being able to find wives and for not throwing them farther away.

"boom--"

After a loud explosion, thick smoke rose, and a group of Jin soldiers were blown away, suffering heavy casualties!

Before anyone could react, the Restoration Army threw another batch of exploding shells, this time hundreds of them. This time they were thrown farther, so there was no risk of them hitting their own people.

Another loud bang shook the Restoration Army soldiers in front, making them dizzy and their ears ring.

Another batch of Jin soldiers suffered heavy casualties on the other side!

After the third time the exploding shells were launched, the Jin army finally collapsed, and the supervising team guarding the rear was no longer of any use.

The Jin army's supervisory team tried to stop the retreat of the defeated troops, but they were hacked to death by the retreating soldiers. At this point, the Jin army's defeat on the main attacking direction was inevitable.

Seeing the enemy retreat, the Restoration Army had no intention of pursuing them.

There's plenty of time; we can kill him next time.

This time, Jin Shenghuan was so angry that his face turned ashen. Unlike the last time when he leisurely stayed in the rear during the attack on Qianshan City, this time Jin Shenghuan witnessed the entire Jin army's defeat.

Most importantly, the casualties suffered by the Jin army this time were no less than those suffered during the previous failed attack on Qianshan City.

Although more than half of the casualties were Wang Tizhong's former subordinates, they all belonged to the Jin army. What Jin Shenghuan lost was his prestige and face, and his strength was also weakened!

How many more defeats like this could the Jin army withstand?

Seeing the Jin army retreat, He Mingqiu's tense expression finally relaxed, and he muttered to himself, "Winning a battle isn't that difficult, just follow the established procedures!"

The use of artillery, muskets, spears, and explosive shells in succession was an experience gained by the Restoration Army through numerous battles.

In a battle, all the effort is put into the manufacture of weapons and equipment, and into peacetime training.

The final tactical implementation is only one part of the overall grand strategy.

This is the power of an industrialized army!