The sound of horse hooves and the neighing of horses.

Three thousand cavalrymen turned into a wave of red blades and stabbed towards the shore.

When the Guanning Army was fifty steps away from the shore, the Eight Banners soldiers shot arrows into the air.

Countless arrows formed a rain of arrows, drawing a perfect parabola and falling towards the Guanning Army.

Although the rain of arrows was dense, the Guanning troops crossing the river were all wearing armor.

Although the thrown arrows failed to penetrate the armor, they caused unrest in the Guanning Army's formation.

"Hold your position, anyone who retreats without permission will be killed!" shouted Zu Zepu, who was directing the crossing of the river.

He was the son of Zu Dashou and fought against the Eight Banners Army in Liaodong for many years.

He knew the Eight Banners Army very well.

He knew very well that the most important thing at this moment was to stabilize the formation, otherwise it would lead to defeat.

The spearmen stuck their spears upside down into the ground, with the tips of the spears facing outward at an angle.

The shield bearer stood nearby, holding the shield in front of him.

The archers and firearmsmen stood behind, taking aim with bated breath.

Just as the Eight Banners soldiers were about to enter the range of the three-barreled gun, they suddenly began to change their formation.

They changed from a long horizontal formation to more than ten vertical formations.

Each column has as many as two to three hundred cavalrymen, or as few as one to two hundred.

The leading cavalrymen wore double-layer armor, and their horses were also protected by cotton armor.

"Fire!" When they were thirty steps away, with the waving of the command flag, the Guanning Army ignited the three-barreled guns in their hands.

A dense rain of bullets sprayed out.

The sound of bullets hitting the body and screams were heard instantly.

But it was soon drowned out by the sound of horse hooves.

The Eight Banners soldiers in the front row either covered their wounds and wailed in pain, or gritted their teeth and continued to charge.

Some Eight Banners soldiers fell off their horses and were trampled into pulp by the iron hooves behind them.

Boom!

The sound of hooves came from far away and rushed to the front of the Ming army.

Boom boom boom——

The bowstring clanks and the arrow flies.

The Eight Banners cavalry rushed to the front of the Ming army and began to break through the formation with the tactic of whirling horse archery. (There is a diagram in Chapter 244).

At first, the Guanning Army was able to withstand the offensive, but these Eight Banners soldiers formed a circle.

The war horses kept moving, the attack continued, and arrows continued to fall into the Ming army's formation.

Coupled with the tactical concept of shooting in five steps, the Guanning Army in the front row was quickly shot into hedgehogs.

If they hadn't been wearing double layers of armor, these people would have fallen in a pool of blood.

But even so, they still suffered injuries to varying degrees.

"Grenade, use the grenades to repel the enemy!" Following Zu Zepu's order, the Guanning Army behind took out the grenades.

They lit the grenades as quickly as possible and threw them forward with all their strength.

Boom! A grenade exploded a moment after it hit the ground.

The lead balls and iron filings mixed in it were sprayed upwards, injuring and scaring the surrounding war horses.

As more and more grenades were thrown, the Ming army's front was filled with the sound of explosions.

The Eight Banners soldiers were forced to keep their distance, and the pressure on the Ming troops that landed was suddenly reduced.

On the floating bridge.

Countless Ming troops were running from the south bank to the north bank. With their joining, the Ming army's formation became slightly more stable.

Just when Zu Zepu thought he had gained a foothold on the north bank, the Eight Banners Army returned.

This time, they charged even faster than before.

Amid a hail of arrows and the sound of firearms, the Eight Banners soldiers once again rushed to the front of the Ming army.

The same spinning horse archery, the same five-step shooting.

The Ming army continued to use grenades to stop the enemy.

After repeated pulling and tug of war for several times, the two sides were in a stalemate.

The Ming army was unable to force back the Eight Banners soldiers, and the Eight Banners soldiers were also unable to break into the Ming army's formation.

"Come here," Zu Zepu pointed at the soldiers on the pontoon bridge and asked loudly while riding on his warhorse, "Why are they standing on the bridge and not moving forward? Order them to go ashore, otherwise they will be subject to military law!"

The herald standing on a high ground behind him and observing the battlefield replied: "Sir, it's not that they are afraid of fighting, it's that there is no room ahead."

"No place?" Zu Zepu was stunned.

"Yes," the herald replied loudly, "There are people all over the place. There is no space left."

"Send the order to expand the position outward to make room for the follow-up troops!" Zu Zepu ordered.

"Sir..." The herald looked embarrassed.

The Guanning Army infantry and the Jiannu cavalry were in a delicate balance.

If we expand our position at this time, it will disrupt the existing balance and even expose a flaw that the opponent may seize.

"What's so big about it? Pass the order quickly!" Zu Zepu roared.

The messenger had no choice but to pass on Zu Zepu's military order.

Zu Zepu was not a mediocre person, and he did this out of helplessness.

The current situation is that the Guanning Army is crossing the river on the battlefield.

The army must either advance or retreat.

The worst thing is to neither advance nor retreat.

If there is no advance or retreat, the soldiers in the front will lose morale and patience over time.

This led to defeat.

After Zu Zepu issued the order, the Guanning Army slowly advanced forward under the rain of arrows from the Eight Banners soldiers.

"Kill!" The spearman picked up his spear and walked slowly forward.

The shield bearers followed beside them, and the archers and firearms soldiers followed closely behind.

As the position expanded, the Ming army in front had space to settle down, and the Ming army on the pontoon bridge behind was able to continue advancing.

As long as the infantry formation does not move, there will be no flaws.

Once it starts moving, it will be full of flaws.

This is when the importance of cavalry is reflected.

Your own cavalry will cover the gap, while the enemy's cavalry will look for the gap and launch an attack.

Wu Shoujin, leader of the Han army of the Zhenghong Banner, was using the tactic of circling horse archery to contain the Guanning Army.

After walking around, he suddenly discovered that the Guanning Army's position was moving forward.

After circling half a circle, they found the flaw in the Guanning Army's position.

The spearmen who had been shot into hedgehogs were seriously injured and they were unable to keep up with the other spearmen.

A gap appeared in the Ming army's position.

"Kill!" Wu Shoujin led the flag-bearing soldiers and charged forward.

"Stop them quickly!" The nearby spearmen rushed towards the gap with spears in hand.

Due to the urgency of the situation and lack of communication, a large number of spearmen rushed towards the gap.

Although the old gap was blocked, a new gap was created.

At this time, Wu Shoujin had already rushed forward, and he led the cavalry to charge into the Guanning Army.

The Guanning Army is in chaos!

The soldiers in front dropped their weapons and ran away.

When the soldiers behind saw the defeat in front of them, they turned around and ran without any hesitation.

Behind them was the floating bridge.

It was filled with Guanning troops waiting to cross the river.

Before these Guanning troops knew what was happening, they collided with the fleeing soldiers.

Those in front want to run but have no way to retreat, while those behind don't know why but are still rushing forward.

People squeezed, stepped on, and pressed each other...

Plop!

The Guanning troops on the bridge fell into the water one after another and were pushed downstream by the impact of the river.

“Hurry up and save them!”

"Aim at the Jiannu cavalry and protect our own people!"

In the panic, the Guanning Army on the south bank shot at the Eight Banners Army on the north bank, while using bamboo poles and ropes to salvage friendly troops.

The entire upstream area was suddenly in chaos.

Zu Zepu originally wanted to go to the north bank to kill the enemy and provide support, but was blocked by the river.

The floating bridge was packed with people, making it impossible to cross.

They could only watch the Guanning Army on the other side being killed and driven into the water...