Southern Ming Rebel Army

Chapter 437 The arrow is on the string

Although Dorgon's execution of the Han general consolidated his authority to a certain extent, it also planted hidden dangers among the Han army flags.

Dorgon also knew that the morale of the Han army was somewhat delicate and he had to be cautious, so he slightly changed his tactics.

On the next day, the Qing army launched a new round of attack. This time, the Han army flag charged in the front, and Dorgon sent two thousand soldiers of the Eight Banners to follow closely behind. In order to break through the Zhou camp in one fell swoop, Dorgon dispatched a thousand Solon armored soldiers at once.

As the command flags fluttered and the war drums beat, the Qing army's artillery took the lead in unleashing its power, and the Qing army surged towards the camp where Hao Yongzhong was stationed like a tide.

This time, they no longer used cannon fodder tactics, but instead sent their elite troops into the battlefield, intending to storm the camp with lightning speed. The figures of the Sauron soldiers were particularly eye-catching, and their bravery and courage were even greater than those of the Eight Banners.

Facing the Qing army's renewed attack, Hao Yongzhong did not show weakness. He had already been defending for a day. Yesterday's ease made him feel that the Qing army was just like that. These Qing troops were no longer the same as the Qing army that defeated King Chuang back then.

Even though the repaired gap was quickly destroyed by Qing army artillery, Hao Yongzhong was not too worried.

Therefore, the defense organized by Hao Yongzhong was arranged in the same formation as yesterday, with shieldmen in the front, small cannons set up next to the shieldmen, and archers in the back, drawing their bows and ready to fire.

Behind the battle formation, Hao Yongzhong shouted loudly: "Hold on, the Tartars are not fit for a fight, hold the camp, and the whole army will be rewarded!"

After bearing most of the artillery shells and arrows, the first row of Han army flags collapsed almost as soon as they came into contact with the front line of the Zhou army, but the following Eight Banners soldiers were quite resilient.

Facing such a strong enemy, Hao Yongzhong was in the rear, but when he saw that the Zhou army's formations in various gaps showed signs of shaking, Hao Yongzhong immediately felt that the battle was completely different from yesterday.

"Hold on! Hold on!" Hao Yongzhong shouted as he fought hard, while continuously sending reinforcements to fill the gaps.

On the other side, Dorgon would feel heartbroken every time an Eight Banners member fell. He did not have such a feeling when he swept the world in the past, but in the current situation, the disadvantage of the Eight Banners' small population has been fully exposed.

Even if one Eight Banners soldier could be exchanged for three Zhou troops, even such an exchange with a huge advantage was not something Dorgon could bear. But even if Dorgon was unwilling, he would make his final effort. As long as Meng Jun's grain storage camp was destroyed and Tianjin was defended, and the canal was blocked, Meng Jun would most likely choose to withdraw his troops. Once Meng Jun withdrew, the Qing Dynasty could at least delay for another year.

On the battlefield, the fighting entered a white-hot stage. The Eight Banners soldiers had already engaged in close combat with the Zhou army. In such a chaotic battlefield, no matter how superb their martial arts were, without the cooperation of their comrades, they would not be able to match the soldiers on the battlefield.

To survive on the battlefield, martial arts and strength are useful, but the most useful thing is luck that is favored by God.

An Eight Banners soldier was of strong build. He strode forward and vigorously knocked away the shield bearers of Zhou army. He swung the sword in his hand swiftly and murderously, killing two people in a row. He was very proud of himself, holding the sword to the sky and roaring loudly.

However, on the battlefield, there is no room for such arrogant people. Several Zhou soldiers rushed forward, attacking with spears and swords. Before the Eight Banners soldier could feel proud for long, he was stabbed in the calf and beheaded instantly with a sword. Blood splattered and his body was kicked down by someone.

Similar desperate fights were played out in various places on the battlefield, until the Sauron soldiers also rushed up, throwing spears like rain, with a power far greater than that of arrows.

The addition of Sauron soldiers made the battlefield even more brutal. The power of these Sauron soldiers' spears was amazing. Hao Yongzhong witnessed it all with his own eyes. More than a dozen Zhou soldiers were hit almost at the same time. Some of those spears went straight through the chest, some grazed the shoulders, leaving deep wounds, and some were nailed on the shield and even pierced the back of the arm.

The war drums are still beating, the trumpets are still blowing, the battlefield is littered with corpses, and lives are like consumables, being fed into this meat grinder.

As soon as the Solon soldiers went into battle, Hao Yongzhong had already sensed the crisis. By this point in the battle, the sun had already set. Even if Hao Yongzhong joined forces with Shi Yan's remaining soldiers, the number of defenders would be less than 5,000, and Dorgon was still sending reinforcements continuously.

In order to defend the camp, Hao Yongzhong has mobilized all his personal guards to fight. Even in critical moments, Hao Yongzhong personally went into battle and fought bloody battles.

At an extremely difficult moment, a reinforcement force sent by Deputy Commander Wang Jincai was like a shot in the arm, which restored the already declining morale a little. The number of reinforcements was not large, only more than 800 people, but their effect on morale cannot be ignored.

The Qing army did not retreat until it got dark, but this battle made Hao Yongzhong terrified. The entire army suffered heavy casualties in this battle. If the Qing army continued to attack like this, they would definitely not be able to hold on tomorrow.

Therefore, after nightfall, Hao Yongzhong urgently reported to Meng Jun and immediately retreated to the camp where Bai Yongfu was located. Hao Yongzhong also ordered Wang Jincai to evacuate the left camp where he was stationed.

Late at night, Qing army camp.

Dorgon couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He was now a little unsure whether his decision was correct. In today's battle against Hao Yongzhong, the Han army lost 1,600 people, the Eight Banners suffered more than 700 casualties, and 300 Solon soldiers were killed.

Such casualties would not be worth the cost for the Qing court, but the arrow had been drawn and had to be shot.

The next day, the Qing army discovered that Hao Yongzhong had evacuated and the village was empty, so they immediately advanced and surrounded Bai Yongfu's camp.

However, this time, attacking Bai Yongfu's camp was not so easy. Bai Yongfu was stationed in the grain storage area of the Zhou army. Bai Yongfu had more than a hundred small cannons and sixteen large cannons. The camp had been constantly reinforced during these days, especially after Dorgon began to attack the outer camps of the Zhou army, the defensive fortifications of the camp became even more dense.

Such as stockade walls, trenches, stakes, horse traps, etc. In order to enhance the defense capability, Bai Yongfu even took great effort to dig a moat outside the camp to block the approach of the Qing army. Even though this moat was only half a person deep and one person high, it could greatly enhance the defense of the camp.

The wall of the village was not a simple defense built with wood, but was built on a wooden foundation with rammed earth. It had a relatively high defense capability?6?8. Most importantly, there were artillery pieces of Zhou Jun’s navy in Tianjin Port to provide cover.

"Boom, boom, boom" the Qing army's artillery began to bombard, but unlike the previous two days, this time the Zhou army's artillery above the camp could also fire back.

Dorgon looked at the scene in front of him with a frown on his face. The defense of this camp was obviously much more solid.

The flying shells of the two armies were intertwined, and the smell of gunpowder could be smelled throughout the battlefield. At this time, the battle had entered a critical moment.