Zhu Youxiao really didn't care who was following him. He walked and stopped from time to time, his eyes seeming to be admiring the flowers and grass, but his thoughts were already flying away.

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The form of war has changed and the opponent has become stronger and stronger. This is what the Jiannu have felt for more than a year, and the generals of the Later Jin Army have a clearer understanding of this.

Sahalian narrowed his eyes. The smell of gunpowder carried by the wind wasn't overpowering, but it still made him feel uncomfortable. The key point was that the battle had already lasted for half an hour, and the result had left him annoyed and disappointed.

The smoke was blown away by the wind, and amid the dense sound of gunfire, Sahalian saw the flickering flames again, saw his own men falling continuously, and heard the screams and wails coming from time to time.

In front, three small phalanxes of Ming troops were distributed within a distance of 100 meters, resisting the Jiannu's offensive wave.

In the distance, the roar of gunfire, the flash of fire, the loud noise of explosions, and the clatter of horses' hooves showed the fierceness of another battle.

Being able to separate the advancing Ming army was undoubtedly a successful strategy implemented by the Jiannu. This was also the plan set by Daishan for his active retreat.

Although the Ming army's chariot formation was strong and its artillery had an astonishing range, they were not omnipotent.

Due to the limitations of roads and terrain, it is an impossible task to rely on chariot formations to advance as a whole across the vast and undulating plains.

Daishan also had this idea in mind. During the retreat, he divided his troops into several teams of thousands of people, preparing to take advantage of the gaps in the Ming army's actions to launch a penetration and split attack.

The opportunity was finally seized by Daishan the next day. Three Ming army squads acted as the vanguard and advanced forward in the shape of a finished product to this rugged hilly area.

This was also the helplessness of the Ming army. They couldn't just carry the chariots forward, right?

Of course, these 1,800 Ming soldiers dismounted from their chariots and prepared to be attacked, deploying their battle configurations with spears and muskets, and had dozens of cavalrymen acting as early warning.

When the hidden Jiannu soldiers galloped on their horses and launched an attack, the cavalry sent out a warning and then notified the large group of troops behind them. The three teams of Ming troops quickly took advantage of the terrain and took up a defensive formation waiting for reinforcements.

There were no chariots, no artillery, only a few hundred muskets, but they held out for such a long time. Although the casualties were not small, they caused greater damage to the Jiannu.

Because the terrain was not conducive to chariots and also posed an obstacle to cavalry, the three Ming army teams occupying the mounds and groves faced the Jiannu who dismounted to fight.

Sahalian now suspected that this was a flaw deliberately exposed by the Ming army to lure his own army into an attack and take the opportunity to kill and wound a large number of his own soldiers.

Even if all three Ming armies were annihilated, Sahalian felt his own army was at a disadvantage. The casualties were not even close, and the victory was not as swift and decisive as he had envisioned.

To put it bluntly, the battle was not planned to be fought in this way. It was completely beyond Sahalian's expectations and also exceeded Daishan's expectations.

With the local military advantage, they should have been able to quickly and decisively eliminate the isolated enemy and give the advancing Ming army a psychological deterrent.

"These must be the elite of the Ming army, sent out deliberately by the Ming army to lure our army to attack?" Sahalian had such a guess, but he was not sure yet, and looked at his generals hoping to get confirmation.

The general blinked his eyes and speculated, "Dead soldiers? That's a possibility."

Boom, boom, boom... As if to confirm Sahalian's speculation, the besieged Ming army used weapons that the Jiannu had never seen before.

Under the cover of comrades in front, a row of black iron lumps emitting blue smoke flew out and smashed into the enemy group that was approaching.

The flames of the explosions came one after another, and in the rising smoke, the Jiannu people screamed and cried out in fear again.

Sahalian's guess was correct. These three teams of Ming troops were indeed the most elite among the Luda Ming troops. Not only were they all strong and fearless, they were also equipped with pull-type black powder grenades, which were manufactured in small quantities.

As mentioned earlier, hand grenades had been developed a long time ago, but the Gunpowder and Weapons Bureau had never made it a production priority, which was also what Zhu Youxiao meant.

The reason was simple: black powder grenades were too heavy for soldiers who were not strong and tall to use. While they were useful for defending cities, sky bombs were much easier to make.

Therefore, the number of black powder grenades produced was small, and they were mainly distributed to Liaozhen and Dongjiang Town as a trial individual weapon.

Zhu Youxiao thought so, but the frontline officers thought this thing was good. The key was that it was easy to carry, while grenade carts and artillery could not accompany infantry at all times.

Therefore, both the Luda Ming Army and the Dongjiang Headquarters selected tall and strong soldiers to form elite troops based on the standard of being able to use grenades.

These troops have all experienced battles, but apart from training, this is the first time they have used grenades in actual combat.

As for the dead soldiers, although it sounds unpleasant, it does have that connotation. And this is precisely the cruelty of war, not to say it is cruel and ruthless.

The sole purpose of war is to achieve victory. The saying "a kind man should not be in charge of an army" makes sense.

The Jiannu were mostly cavalry, and although they could not charge the strict battle formations of the Ming army, they were highly mobile and could come and go like the wind, which really gave the Ming army a headache.

Therefore, Kong Youde and Zhang Pan made such an arrangement. They used elite troops to attack, attract the Jiannu to attack, and take the opportunity to break the deadlock and break through the line of Xinjin and Hongzui Fort.

If the goal is achieved, they can work together with the friendly forces that landed in Fuzhou to attack Daishan's troops from the front and back.

If the Jiannu did not move, the protruding Ming army could occupy the central part of Xinjin, or even the mountains in the north, thus driving a nail in the wall and making it easier for the main force to continue advancing.

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