"General, the Ming army has left the city!"
The scout in charge of the investigation immediately reported the news to General Yuan Zongde.
Yuan Zongde did not panic. While deploying troops to deal with the situation, he asked the messenger to pass the message to Li Zicheng.
Looking at the huge character "王" on the Ming army flag, Yuan Zongdi drew his sword and shouted, "This is Wang Yongji's Guanning Army. Xie Junyou, you lead 10,000 cavalry to fight!"
"I obey your orders!" General Guoyi Junyou was about to leave when he heard General Yuan say, "Wait!"
Xie Junyou didn't understand and could only look at Yuan Zongde while riding on his horse.
"No, the number of people is wrong!" Yuan Zongde muttered to himself while holding the clairvoyance.
"Wrong number of people?"
"Yes! When Wang Yongji entered the city yesterday, there were only more than 6,000 people. Now the number is probably over 10,000!" While Yuan Zongde was speaking, he handed the clairvoyance in his hand to Xie Junyou.
Xie Junyou took the clairvoyance and looked at it for a moment and was also stunned.
The Ming army that was leaving the city was gathering. There were more than 10,000 soldiers, but almost 20,000!
"General Yuan, what should we do?"
Yuan Zongyi was at a loss for a moment. Now the total number of soldiers under his command was 25,000.
If time could go back one day, he would have the confidence to annihilate these Ming troops.
After all, wherever the Shun army went, the Ming army surrendered!
But after that night, his attitude towards the Ming army changed 180 degrees.
Just one thousand Ming troops turned the tens of thousands of Shun troops upside down!
The 500 infantrymen in particular left such a deep impression on him that it would not be an exaggeration to describe them as indestructible.
"Messenger!"
"exist."
"Immediately send a message to the central army, have 20,000 Ming troops march out of Chaoyang Gate and Dongzhi Gate. Your Majesty, please send troops to support us!"
After the messenger left, Yuan Zongdi ordered: "General Xie Junyou, General Ma Chongxi, General Ma Shiyao, each of you lead 5,000 cavalry and wait for the opportunity to move. The infantry will form a battle formation with this general and hold the camp without any mistakes!"
With his order, 25,000 people moved.
Ten thousand infantrymen retreated back to the camp and moved out the chevaux de frise and antlers to prevent the Ming cavalry from rushing into the camp. Then the artillery of each camp was also moved out. Although these artillery and muskets were of little use in siege, they were sufficient for defense.
Fifteen thousand cavalrymen, led by Xie Junyou, Ma Chongxi and Ma Shiyao, retreated to the rear of the camp, ready to launch a surprise attack when the Ming army attacked the camp.
As soon as Yuan Zongde finished giving his orders, he saw that the Ming army had already assembled.
Military flags fluttered in the wind, and the Ming soldiers stood solemnly under the flags, with their swords drawn and their bows and crossbows drawn.
He looked at the flags.
The southernmost Ming army held up the Tang flag.
Tang? Tang Tong?
When Tang Tong was defeated at Juyong Pass, he still had 7,000 soldiers under his command. This time he left the city, he must have had a chance to rest.
Not far from the Tang-character flag is Wang Yongji's Guanning Army. These soldiers have strict military discipline and distinctive armor, giving people a feeling that they cannot be looked directly at.
"They are indeed the elite of the Ming army! Wow!" Yuan Zongde couldn't help but sigh.
But...aren’t the troops under Wang Yongji’s command a bit too many?
Yuan Zongde made a rough count and found that Wang Yongji's army had at least tens of thousands of people!
The army formation next to the Wang flag did not raise any flags. There were about three to four thousand people, and it seemed like a hastily assembled team.
Before Yuan Zongde could see clearly, the Guanning Army took the lead.
A thousand Guanning cavalrymen were the first to rush out of the army formation and rushed towards the Shun army camp at the fastest speed. While they were moving, the rest of the army formations also moved out and slowly advanced towards the Shun army camp.
Yuan Zongde was not at all panicked. He stood behind the artillery with a hint of mockery on his lips.
The Ming army's generals must be crazy to use cavalry to charge the enemy!
The advantage of cavalry lies in its mobility, kite flying, guerrilla warfare, and pursuit!
Charging into battle is the job of infantry!
"Fire!" Seeing that the Guanning Army cavalry had come within the artillery range, Yuan Zongde immediately ordered the artillery to fire.
Just as the artillery fired, the Guanning Army suddenly turned their horses' heads, and the thousand cavalrymen instantly divided into several small teams, rushing in the north and south directions respectively.
The timing and distance were perfectly controlled, resulting in most of the Shun army's artillery being fired in vain.
Only a few muskets fired a barrage of bullets that knocked more than a dozen Ming soldiers off their horses.
"Damn it!" Yuan Zongde slapped his thigh. He didn't expect that the Ming army would actually play this trick, and played it so perfectly!
However, the Ming army did not give him a chance to think. The thousand men first split into small groups and then regrouped and rushed towards the artillery positions of the Shun army.
whoosh!
The sound of breaking air was heard, and a rain of arrows and bullets instantly covered the artillery position.
Thanks to the fine traditions of the Ming army, the artillerymen of the Shun army also had no armor, and suffered heavy casualties in an instant under the saturation attack of arrows and projectiles.
Although the Shun army infantry in the camp also fought back, the cavalry was too fast and passed through the front with only a few dozen casualties.
Just as the Shun army cleared the artillery positions, the Ming cavalry came back again. This time they used grenades instead of bows and arrows.
boom!
The sound of explosions one after another covered the Shun army camp.
"Why can the Ming army's artillery fire so far?"
"That's not a cannon. I was blown up by this thing when I was attacking the city the day before yesterday. I didn't expect it to be blown up again today!"
"Oh, shit! This thing is poisonous. I can't breathe!"
The Shun army was immediately thrown into chaos after being attacked by the grenade.
Although they had heard of grenades, the grenades used by the Ming army before were large and heavy. Even a man who was good at throwing them could only throw them a few meters or a dozen meters away on flat ground.
So no one expected that the Ming cavalry would use this weapon to attack them.
In fact, the Ming army used small grenades.
With the help of the horse's speed, the cavalry can easily throw it twenty to thirty meters, or even farther.
After all, these Shun troops were elite troops, and under the command of their generals they quickly recovered from their panic.
They raised their weapons, pointed them at the thick smoke that had not yet dissipated, and remained alert.
Soon, the smoke cleared.
The Shun army soldiers were horrified to find that the Ming army infantry had arrived outside their tents in chariots and were clearing away the chevaux de frise and deer horns.
The Ming infantry was divided into teams of 500 men. The men in front wore double armor, with swords in their left hands and shields in their right hands. The spearmen stood behind them, and the bowmen and firearms soldiers were behind them.
"It's the heavy infantry!"
Someone in the Shun army shouted loudly.
The Shun army soldiers who participated in the siege that night were suddenly shrouded in fear in their memories!
These heavy infantrymen cannot be killed by gunfire or shot by arrows!
There was no other way to deal with the situation except artillery, and the artillerymen on their side had all been killed by the Ming cavalry.
Under the threat of the heavy infantry, the Shun army's infantry formation began to waver, and some soldiers kept looking back, trying to find an opportunity to escape.
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