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  Chapter 424 422【Military spirit and discipline】

   Cao Bianjiao knew that he would raid the enemy's scattered troops and cause the enemy's entire army to be defeated. Zu Dashou, who has fought for decades, would not know?

  When the two armies were about three or four miles apart, Zu Dashou began to adjust his troops.

  He placed more than 30,000 infantry with normal combat effectiveness at the forefront. He also used himself and Wu Sangui's more than 10,000 Liaodong elites as the Chinese army and reserve team. The cavalry is placed on both sides of the central army. While protecting the central army, it can also support the front army formation, and can come out to parry the dragoons at any time, or to harass the infantry of the Datong army.

  As for the more than 20,000 weak soldiers who had no combat effectiveness, Zu Dashou put them last. If it breaks, it will break. In such a position, it will generally not attack friendly troops.

   Cao Bianjiao and Wei Guoxiang, who were already preparing for a surprise attack, felt very helpless about this.

Jiang Dashan, who had been walking with the soldiers all this time, finally rode his horse and rushed to Huang Shun's side: "Shunzi, the enemy's strength varies from good to bad, so there is no need to fight hard with them. Withdraw troops slowly, disrupt the enemy's formation, or simply drag them to the sky. black."

   "Okay, I'll listen to you." Huang Shun said with a smile.

   Both of them are division commanders, and there is no position level after joining forces. This is a big taboo in war, and there must be a leader, otherwise differences will easily arise.

  The Datong Army had a rule at the beginning of its formation.

  If an officer is killed in battle, a corps leader should be elected temporarily from among the five, and a chief should be temporarily elected from among the ten. By analogy, when several top officials are at the same level, it should be decided in advance whose orders will prevail.

  Jiang Dashan and Huang Shun are from the same village, and they followed Zhao Han in the uprising at the same time, and their relationship is pretty good.

   Moreover, Jiang Dashan was promoted to the division commander first, and his qualifications are older. For this joint battle, the two had already agreed that Jiang Dashan would be the commander in chief and Huang Shun would be the deputy commander.

  In order to take care of Huang Shun's emotions, Jiang Dashan took the initiative to ride over at this moment to discuss changes in tactics.

  Using binoculars to observe the enemy's situation, the two discussed while watching.

Huang Shun said: "Just looking at the marching lineup and flags, the enemy's front army is not as good as our rural peasants and soldiers. The enemy's central army should be elite, with an orderly formation and undisturbed flags. The enemy's rear army... I'm afraid Never fought a war."

  Jiang Dashan said with a smile: "If the enemy army advances further, we will retreat, and their rear army will definitely be left far behind."

   To put it bluntly, pull repeatedly!

   I saw that the two armies were separated by a mile and a half. Zu Dashou sent troops to outflank the two wings, and the Datong army suddenly retreated as a whole, without giving the enemy a chance to outflank.

   This is an unconventional operation, because the distance is too close, it is very likely that the enemy will take the opportunity to chase, and the chase will collapse.

  But the Datong army came lightly, without even luggage, and had strict discipline. The situation when they retreated was more orderly than when the enemy army advanced.

  Zu Dashou marched forward in formation, at a slow speed like a turtle crawling.

   There is no way, if the improvised army moves fast, it will not be able to walk a few dozen steps, and the various ministries will become uneven.

  Seeing the Datong army retreating slowly, Zu Dashou became anxious.

   If you go on like this, you don't even think about fighting. It is impossible for a group of miscellaneous troops under his command to catch up with the Datong army. Once the order to pursue them is given, they will become chaotic. At that time, if the enemy seizes the opportunity, the whole army may be defeated.

  In this case, it has nothing to do with the general's command ability, nor with the tactics and equipment of both sides.

   It is purely a difference in the quality of the army. The well-trained and disciplined Datong Army crushes the enemy's miscellaneous brands in terms of execution.

How to do?

   There are three options for Zu Dashou:

  First, move forward to catch up and fight immediately.

  Second, let the cavalry attack to hinder the enemy's main force and prevent it from retreating calmly.

  Third, stop advancing and set up camp on the spot. It only takes one day to drag the enemy army without luggage to run out of food.

  The first method is easy to play yourself, and the third method may make the Datong army run away.

  Zu Dashou chose the second option. He ordered Wu Sangui to take the cavalry out to harass the retreating Datong army.

   "Order the dragoons to harass the enemy formation!" Jiang Dashan quickly made a decision.

  When the order sounded, Cao Bianjiao and Wei Guoxiang immediately took the dragoons to avoid Wu Sangui's cavalry and went to attack Zu Dashou's two wings.

  The Datong army stopped retreating and formed an array to face Wu Sangui's cavalry.

  Zu Dashou's infantry formation also stopped advancing, because the troops on the two wings were already somewhat confused. The 5,000 dragoons, only half of them, fired guns at a long distance, and Zu Dashou's troops on both wings panicked.

  Although there is no chaos in formation, the forward speed is slowed down. As a result, the troops in the middle came to the front, and the troops on the two wings gradually fell behind.

   On the other hand, the soldiers of Datong, facing Wu Sangui's cavalry harassment, calmly lined up to deal with it, showing the discipline to judge.

   "Blow the horn and bring back the cavalry." Zu Dashou made a helpless decision. He felt that he should not fight in the wild, but should go to Taikang County to defend the city earlier.

   But the Datong army marched lightly, without luggage, armor and artillery. This kind of temptation made Zu Dashou unable to resist.

  Wu Sangui heard the order, and immediately led his troops back to help, driving away the dragoons who attacked the friendly army.

  As soon as Wu Sangui's cavalry left, the infantry of the Datong Army retreated calmly again.

  The sky is getting darker and darker. This way of doing things, don't even think about fighting today.

  Zu Dashou ordered again: "The whole army stops!"

  As soon as the enemy stopped, the Datong Army also stopped, always keeping a distance of one and a half to two miles.

  So close, Zu Dashou didn't dare to retreat, he didn't even dare to order to set up camp. If he took any action, the formation would be chaotic, and the Datong army seized the opportunity to rush over.

   Riding a tiger is hard to get off, you can't advance or retreat!

  The sky was about to get dark, and the Datong Army retreated again. The distance between the two sides was about two and a half miles.

  Jiang Dashan ordered to destroy the matchlocks. Not only did they not have enough luggage, but the firecrackers did not carry much matchlocks with them. And fighting at night is also very disadvantageous. Once the matchlock is lit, it will be discovered by the enemy.

  Into the night, the moonlight is bright.

  The two armies lined up, sat down where they were, and the cavalry retreated, feeding the horses to restore their strength.

  The dragoons had only one piece of cake left per person. Although they also brought beans and water, those were for the horses. War horses not only need to eat beans and water, but also have to add salt to the water, otherwise it will be difficult to replenish their physical exertion, and they will be more likely to get sick.

  Sitting and sitting, many soldiers under Zu Dashou's command began to lie down staggeringly.

  Anyway, the enemy didn’t attack. After a long day, how tired it is to continue to sit. Let’s lie down and rest for a while.

  Zu Dashou asked the law enforcement team to scold him, but it was useless. The soldiers on this side were called up, and the soldiers on the other side lay down again. They were really tired from marching all day, but they were still very nervous at dusk.

  Enforce military law, either to clean up military discipline when no enemy is encountered, or to punish deserters when there is already a battle.

   Before a battle, no general dares to enforce military laws easily.

  Beheading the generals before the battle is a taboo for the army!

   Especially with a group of miscellaneous troops under his command, Zu Dashou didn't dare to mess around at this time. In case any general harbors resentment and makes a fuss in the middle of the night, the situation will definitely be unmanageable.

Wu Sangui came to Zu Dashou's side and said in a low voice: "Uncle, this battle is impossible to fight. The enemy's army moves like a man, and our army has one order. Although our army is superior in strength, the more people there are, the more chaotic it will be. Why don't you... Come on!"

  Zu Dashou shook his head: "The regent's tens of thousands of Eight Banners troops have already killed Shangqiu. If the Eight Banners army wins, wouldn't it be a joke for us to surrender at this time?"

Wu Sangui said: "Even if Dorgon can win a game, can he really win the world? The Datong Army on the opposite side, we didn't know it before, don't we know it now? This is the world's first-class elite, compared with the Eight Banners Army. Poor, the military discipline and morale is even better than the Eight Banners Army. If Dorgon can't win, even if he wins this battle, it will be nothing more than a river. With a scarce population and insufficient food, how can we survive the counterattack in Nanjing?"

   "I'll think about it again." Zu Dashou didn't agree, nor did he directly refuse.

  As for the life and death of their respective families, Zu Dashou and Wu Sangui didn't think about it, and they didn't even bother to mention it.

   Unless it is absolutely necessary, Zu Dashou will not be lowered.

  He has a premonition that tonight is likely to be defeated, but he would rather escape than surrender, which stems from his own hesitant character.

  The two sides each sent a small number of soldiers to collect dry firewood and hay, and set up fires one by one. It can be used for both lighting and heating.

  The Datong army ate dry food, while the Zu Dashou side asked the rear army to set up a pot to cook, and then transported it to the front to fill the soldiers.

  In this case, it is impossible to camp, and both sides are resting in formation.

   After eating, the Datong army took turns sleeping, and Zu Dashou also took turns sleeping. There are cavalry guards between the two armies, and no one can sneak attack. The battle will not continue until tomorrow.

   Second watch.

  The Datong Army lighted up one after another, but the match was lit.

   "Woooooooooooooo..."

  Zu Dashou's sentinel immediately blew the horn to warn, and then the bugle sounded loudly, and the sleeping soldiers were woken up one after another. A few troops even panicked, thinking that the enemy had already killed them.

   As soon as the bugle sounded on the opposite side, the Datong Army snuffed out the match again.

  Third watch.

  The mission officers of 52 dragoon troops ran out with tin horns and began to shout at the enemy in turn.

"Brothers in Liaodong, you have been born and raised in Liaodong for generations, and your ancestral graves are also in Liaodong. Your fathers and fellow villagers were all killed by the Tartars, and your elders, wives and children were abused by the Tartars. You Do you still want to sacrifice your life for the Tartars if you don’t remember the **** feud? Every Qingming Festival, who will worship at your ancestor’s grave? When you die one day, your ancestor will ask you why you didn’t sweep the grave and offer incense? How should you answer your ancestor!”

"Brothers in Henan, the government of the Ming Dynasty was greedy and left Henan empty. The Manchu Qing Dynasty was more brutal than the Ming Dynasty. They burned, killed and looted everywhere. How many brothers and fathers were killed? Many of you used to be rebels. Why do you want to Rebellion? Because we don’t have enough to eat! Our Datong Emperor in Nanjing also killed officials and rebelled because he couldn’t eat enough. He has the same background as you. Your Majesty the Datong Emperor knows how hard the poor are. His Majesty abolished excessive taxes and returned land to the poor. Life is good. Let’s say that in Runing Mansion and Nanyang Mansion in Henan Province, the common people have already divided their land. Don’t work for the Tartars, vote for His Majesty the Emperor of Datong, organize households and divide the land, and cultivate land for yourself in the future. Everyday You can eat enough, and the dolls don’t need money to study!"

"Brothers in Shanxi, most of you are from military households. The Tartars have entered the customs and plundered year after year, and you have been ordered by King Qin every time. How many of your fathers, brothers, elders, relatives and friends have died under the swords of the Tartars. Serving your life for the Tartars, are you worthy of your dead relatives and friends? Surrender quickly, His Majesty the Emperor of Datong, the military households have been abolished. From now on, soldiers and wars are all voluntary. Those who don’t want to fight will be given the land and grow their own food. There is no government. Exploitation, and there are no officers who order you to be cows and horses..."

  As the shouting progressed, Zu Dashou's army became noisy.

  Those surrendered generals who have benefited may only have a little feeling. But the low-ranking officers and ordinary soldiers were shaken by the shouting, and the missionaries said every word to their hearts.

"Han brothers, if you want to surrender, throw away your weapons during the battle and lie on the ground, or squat on the ground. The Datong army does not kill prisoners, but also divides the land for you. Remember, when you start a war, throw away your weapons. Lie on the ground, or squat on the ground!"

  Zu Dashou's face changed drastically: "The cavalry quickly drive out those shouters!"

  (end of this chapter)