Yunnan's terrain is high in the northwest and low in the southeast, with complex and diverse terrain types.
There are not only plateaus and mountain plains, but also mountains of different heights, such as high, medium and low, as well as hills, basins and river valleys.
Yunnan Prefecture where Mu Tianbo was located, Yuanmou where Wu Bigui was located, and Mengzi area where Sha Dingzhou was located belong to the central Yunnan region.
Except for a few river valleys and basins, most of the area is gently undulating low mountains and hills.
Due to the limitations of the terrain, the roads here are winding and undulating.
Although it does not affect traffic, it will slow down the army's marching speed.
After the main force of the Ming army took an oath outside the city of Yunnan, they began to march to quell the rebellion under the coordination of strategist Zhou Ding.
Mu Tianbo led 8,000 defenders to stay in the city.
The first was to prepare the weapons and food needed for the war, and the second was to guard against Sha Dingzhou's rebellion.
Although Sha Dingzhou was anxious when he heard the news, he still waited patiently.
He was waiting for Mu Tianbo to make a mistake.
Early November.
The Ming army and Wu Bikui's troops encountered each other near Lujin Village, 25 miles south of Wuding City.
There are large hills here and the terrain is relatively flat.
The two sides faced each other in horizontal formation.
Looking at the Ming army all over the mountains in the distance, Wu Bikui regretted it.
The total strength of the Ming army is as high as 30,000!
And he only has more than 20,000 people.
On the surface, the military strength of both sides seems to be similar, but in reality there is a huge gap.
He sent out 20,000 soldiers and horses because he only had 20,000 soldiers and horses!
The 30,000 troops of the Ming army were temporarily transferred.
If necessary, Mu Tianbo can mobilize 30,000 people.
In addition to mobilizing the soldiers of the nearby chieftains, the garrisons of nearby prefectures and counties can also be mobilized to join the war.
In the wilderness, the confrontation continues.
As noon was approaching, the Ming army could no longer bear it.
They are here to quell the rebellion, and only by attacking can the rebels be wiped out.
Under the command of the strategist Zhou Ding, Shiping chieftain Long Zaitian on the left wing of the Ming army was the first to set out.
Although Long Zaitian was a chieftain, he was very loyal to the Ming Dynasty.
He first helped the Ming court to quell the She'an Rebellion during the Tianqi period, and later followed Xiong Wencan to encircle and suppress Zhang Xianzhong.
In the 12th year of Chongzhen, Zhang Xianzhong pretended to surrender to the Ming court in Gucheng, and during that time he worshipped Long Zaitian as his adoptive father.
Long Zaitian thought he had found a capable adopted son, but Zhang Xianzhong rebelled again.
He was implicated and demoted back home.
Long Zaitian was very excited when he was summoned by Mu Tianbo again to quell the rebellion.
He saw the central army flag waving, and shouted to the messenger beside him: "Spearmen and swordmen form two teams, with archers at the back, and attack in formation!"
Long Zaitian's three thousand troops slowly moved out.
Seeing this, Wu Bikui also waved his flag and ordered his right wing to move out.
Both sides were Tusi soldiers and their equipment was almost the same.
The front-row soldiers basically all wore armor. In addition to the standard armor of the Ming army, there were also armor made by the various chieftains.
Mainly composed of rattan helmets and armor.
The advantages are lightness and cheapness. The disadvantages are average protection and fear of fire.
There is also a small amount of bronze armor.
There are copper mines in Yunnan, and the air is humid, so iron armor is prone to rust, so each chieftain made some precious copper armor.
The similarity is even greater in terms of weapons.
A small number of people were equipped with firearms, while the rest were all equipped with cold weapons such as spears, swords, blunt objects, darts, bows and arrows.
As the war drums beat, both sides came into attacking distance.
The musketeers attacked first.
Although sporadic projectiles caused some casualties, they failed to shake the enemy's morale.
The distance between the two sides continued to narrow.
"Shoot!"
"Shoot!" Long Zaitian and Wu Bikui's generals issued military orders at the same time.
The archers shot the arrows in their hands diagonally into the sky. After the sound of breaking through the air, the arrows came towards them like locusts.
Amidst the dense rain of arrows, both sides charged at the same time.
Only by engaging in close combat as quickly as possible can we avoid having our lives and morale consumed by the enemy's rain of arrows.
After the rain of arrows comes the darts!
Soldiers kept falling down on the way of the charge, some screamed in agony, and some twitched for a while and then lost their voice.
The soldiers behind seemed not to see anything and continued to charge forward, stepping on the bodies of their companions.
boom!
The two armies collided.
The battle between the chieftains and their soldiers was extremely bloody.
They originally lived in the mountains and forests and fought against wild beasts, so when they went to the battlefield they immediately regarded the enemy as ferocious beasts.
The spear thrusts fiercely, and the sharp blade cuts at the weak points of the opponent's armor.
The archers in the distance kept shooting arrows.
Every time the bowstring sounded, an enemy was hit by an arrow.
When the strength is equal, the two sides compete in morale.
The morale of Wubikui's troops came from several consecutive victories.
The morale of the Ming army came from its strong logistical supplies and reserve forces.
Seeing that he could not defeat the enemy quickly, Long Zaitian sent out the cavalry hiding behind.
Because the terrain in central Yunnan was not suitable for large-scale cavalry combat, the Ming army's cavalry were divided into teams of 300 men.
After the 300 cavalrymen went into battle, they first used the undulating terrain to hide their tracks, and then waited for an opportunity to find a gap in the enemy's formation.
As long as we find a gap and rush into the army, the enemy will surely be defeated.
Wu Bikui thought so too.
He sent five hundred cavalrymen to try to bypass Long Zaitian's formation and disrupt it.
soon.
The cavalry of both sides met behind a hillside.
"Kill!" The cavalrymen drew their swords and rushed forward.
As time passed, casualties on both sides began to increase.
Seeing that Long Zaitian's attack was blocked, the strategist Zhou Ding waved his hand and ordered all the infantry to move forward.
The Ming army had the advantage in numbers, and they first lined up and rushed forward.
After fighting for a while, the Ming army's central formation began to protrude forward.
The central army was the elite force brought by the strategist Zhou Ding.
Some of these Ming troops came from local garrisons, and some were personal soldiers of Mu Tianbo's mansion.
The Ming Dynasty repeatedly reduced the power of the princes, and later even disbanded the personal guards of the royal palaces and nobles.
but...
The imperial court did not disband the ceremonial guards of the royal palaces and nobles.
Yunnan, where Mu Ying is located, has a special geographical location, so his guard of honor is relatively large in number and their combat effectiveness is also good.
This group of Ming troops were arranged in three rows.
Holding the bird gun and the three-barreled gun, they took turns shooting forward.
Every time a gunshot rang out, someone on the opposite side fell to the ground.
The armor they wore could not protect against the bullets fired from firearms.
Under the bombardment of various firearms, Wubikui's troops began to loosen.
Upon seeing this, counselor Zhou Ding ordered his men to wave the command flags again, and all the Ming cavalry hiding in the dark moved out.
After arriving at the battlefield, they did not rashly join the battle, but instead formed groups of three hundred and ran around the main battlefield.
One was to guard against sneak attacks by local cavalry, and the other was to divert the enemy's attention by running and force them to cause chaos.
As I was running, the opportunity came.
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