Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 302 Battle of Tianping Mountain (1)

(Today I read the history of the Southern Ming Dynasty again, which is really infuriating. People say that historical novels are YY, but the real history is even more unbelievable. For example, Zheng Chenggong, it is said that his character is the kind of decisive and ruthless person who can personally order the killing of his sons and wives. As a result, he led an army of more than 100,000 and approached the city of Nanjing. His hesitation was simply unbearable. Even the most arrogant person should not believe in defeating the enemy without fighting. What was he thinking? He allowed the Qing army to reinforce the city. After the initial defeat, he collapsed at the first touch and retreated to the Yangtze River. The great cause of the revival was ruined.

Then there is Li Dingguo. Before he fell out with Sun Kewang, he was a great warrior. He defeated Nikan and Kong Youde. After he fell out with Sun Kewang, Li Dingguo ruled the Yongli court. He owned the lands of Yunnan and Guizhou, and his military force was quite strong. But in the end, the Qing army attacked from three directions, and Li Dingguo was defeated. He was narrow-minded and could not tolerate Sun Kewang's old subordinates. He was also suspicious of Liu Wenxiu and was not good at employing people. I am so angry that I am in a bad mood even when typing ⊙﹏⊙)

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Both sides had a premonition of the outbreak of war. Duoduo, with a large number of troops under his command, was unwilling to defend Wuchang. Although his troops were at a disadvantage, Duoduo still believed that the iron hoof of the Qing Dynasty was enough to crush Meng Jun's armor.

In the third year of the Yongli reign, the new year arrived, but the knowledgeable people in the world had no intention of celebrating the new year. Their eyes were all focused on the battlefield in Huguang.

Although the Qing Dynasty, which controls the north, still has the advantage in the overall situation, it is still unknown who will win the battle between Meng Jun, the Zheng family and Li Dingguo.

Duoduo's camp was located at the foot of Tianping Mountain in Ezhou. Tianping Mountain has an undulating shape like a dragon, with green bamboo and green pines. In the mountain there is a Yungai Temple, which was first built during the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

The Qing troops were stationed at the foot of Tianping Mountain. On a whim, Duoduo climbed the mountain and looked down. Looking around the military camp, he saw the mighty camp, swords and spears like a forest, and war horses neighing. Duoduo stood on the top of the mountain, the mountain wind was whistling, and Duoduo, dressed in a red robe, looked so heroic at first glance.

Duoduo secretly thought it was a pity that he had been in a hurry to climb the mountain and forgot to bring a few Han Chinese civil servants. In terms of flattery, the Manchus and Mongols combined could not compare to the southerners in terms of flattery. The only people who followed him were Wu Sangui, Tulai, and Bolo.

Wu Sangui saw a temple in the mountains and said excitedly: "Prince Yu, since we have seen a temple, why not go in, worship the Buddha, and pray for his protection."

Hearing this, Duoduo sneered, his laughter was full of disdain, and he said: "I have fought in many battles in the south and the north, and have killed more than a million people. What does it matter if the Buddha protects me or not? Wherever the Qing cavalry goes, the mountains and rivers are all at my disposal, and the heaven and earth are all for my support. We are invincible, so why do we need the Buddha's protection?"

After saying this, Duoduo laughed and left. In his heart, he only believed in the Eight Banners Iron Hoofs. He did not believe in the teachings of Buddhism and Taoism.

Speed is of the essence in war, and Duoduo naturally did not come here to waste time with Meng Jun. In the early days of entering the Pass, Duoduo, a member of the Manchu royal family who had ambitions to conquer the world, faced the numerical advantage of the Zhou army. Duoduo firmly believed that only an attack could unleash the power of the Eight Banners Cavalry of the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, Duoduo's brother Dorgon had already sent Duoduo a secret letter.

According to what Dorgon said in the letter, since the fall of Huai'an City, Zhao Yongping reorganized the army and recruited grain workers as soldiers. Zhao Yongping was very powerful and declared that he wanted to attack Shandong and the Central Plains. The Zhongzheng Camp hiding in Kuidong also seemed to have some unusual movements.

From the letter, Duoduo could already see that his brother Dorgon was getting a little anxious.

Now that the situation has come to this point, let's fight. After Duoduo set up camp, he sent out his cavalry in all directions to block the battlefield in an attempt to gain the upper hand.

Huang Cheng's troops had nearly 3,000 cavalrymen, which was considered a large cavalry force in the Jiangnan region. But after Duoduo went south, Huang Cheng's troops were obviously no match for the huge cavalry force of the Eight Banners of Manchu and Mongolia.

When Duoduo attacked Meng this time, he had 5,600 cavalrymen of the Bordered White Banner, 6,000 Mongolian cavalrymen, and 1,000 cavalrymen of the 10,000 Han Army Bannermen. In addition, there were more than 10,000 cavalrymen under Wu Sangui's Guanning Cavalry. The number of cavalrymen was far beyond what Meng Jun had imagined.

Not only Huang Cheng's cavalry, but even Zhou Jun's scouts were greatly suppressed. The losses of Zhou Jun's cavalry increased every day. Seeing this, Meng Jun had to temporarily withdraw the cavalry and only leave the scouts to continue to fight the Qing army.

The early morning of the first month of the lunar year was still cold, but when the morning glow in the east surrounded the rising sun, the sunlight slowly dispelled the morning mist covering the sky above Daye City.

Outside the northern suburbs of Daye City, troops stood silently and solemnly. The cold weather was replaced by the solemnity of the soldiers and horses.

Nearly sixty cannons were neatly arranged in front of the battle line, emitting a frightening pressure. Each cannon weighed a thousand pounds and was placed on a sturdy gun carriage. Each cannon needed to be pulled by several horses and auxiliary soldiers were needed to assist when moving.

Meng Jun set up an experimental base in Wuhu. During this great war, although Xia Wanchun had no idea about high-tech such as cement and steam engines, he still spent more than 100,000 taels of silver to present Meng Jun with a weapon that might change the situation of the war. That was the improved shrapnel bomb, although there were only 65 of them.

At Meng Jun's command, the army marched out with great momentum and appearance. Lin Shiqi's troops were stationed in Ningwu, Liang Sanhu's troops were stationed in Wusheng, and there was also the Po Lu Army. The three armies, with 30,000 regular troops, formed a T-shaped formation, which was mighty and magnificent.

As an army equipped entirely with firearms, the Po Lu Army wore cotton armor and held firearms. The flags of the army fluttered in the wind, like war drums, inspiring the morale of the soldiers. On the flags were embroidered words such as "Ningwu", "Wusheng", and "Po Lu".

The army marched out in unison, and from a distance their steps seemed so uniform and stirring like the beats of drums.

Chen Yonghua whispered to Zheng Chenggong: "With this army's appearance, it may be comparable to the Qi family army in the past."

Zheng Chenggong sighed inwardly that in terms of military discipline, his Zheng family infantry was far inferior to the Zhou army.

But on the surface, Zheng Chenggong still said stubbornly: "It's just a showpiece. Whether it can stand up to the battle will be determined in the battle."

Although he said this, deep down, Zheng Chenggong had already decided that after returning to Fujian, he would have to train his soldiers extensively and change the Zheng family's old pirate style.

(The main battlefield begins!)