Hearing that the deployment was about to be adjusted, Liu Chen became nervous, so he immediately made a gesture to the distance, and someone immediately brought a pen and paper.
At this time, Zhu Jinghong turned around and looked into the distance again, mentally reviewing all the troops under his command.
When he was thinking about it at the end, Liu Chen and the other two staff officers were already in a record-keeping posture.
I am particularly afraid of making mistakes when conveying military orders. If Zhu Jinghong talks too much, it will be really difficult for one person to remember them all.
"Use the three cavalry guards of Qinghai Xingdu Division, plus the Lizhou Guard, Suzhou Guard, Liangzhou Guard, Qingyang Guard, and Hanzhong Guard who have recently arrived with military supplies, to strengthen the defense of the grain camp!"
"Four pro-army infantry guards, plus eight Beijing camp infantry guards, as well as Jurchen cavalry and Mongolian cavalry, resist the enemy's main force head-on!"
"With bravery on the right Guard...stop the Junggar cavalry entering the mountains, and at the same time support the southern flank of our army..."
"Import the brave right guard, extend the power of the central guard, and all the tribes of the Anxi Xingdu Division and the Tibetan tribes will serve as our army. Second echelon!"
"Shenwu central guard, Yangwu left guard to monitor Wucheng to ensure the stability of our army's rear..."
"Hu Ben right guard serves as a reserve force, repeat it to me! "Having said this, Zhu Jinghong turned around and looked at Liu Chen and the other three.
Zhu Jinghong didn’t speak fast, so when he saw that the three people had stopped, he walked closer and said, “Repeat it to me!”
Liu Chen glanced at the paper After confirming that it was correct, he read: "With Qinghai Xingdu Division..."
More than ten seconds later, Liu Chen finished reciting all the military orders, and then hunched his waist and waited for Zhu Jinghong's instructions.
"Quickly inform all the ministries, and two more governors and three generals, as well as several commanders of the pro-army army are here!"
"Yes!"
< p>When night fell, several senior generals came to Zhu Jinghong. They were all commanders of the front army.According to Zhu Jinghong's arrangement, Liu Fang will be responsible for the security of the grain camp, and Shi Guangzhu will be responsible for the security of the northern flank of the Chinese army.
The three chief military officers of the Beijing camp and several commanders of the pro-army forces will be responsible for the Chinese army's advance and will bear the greatest pressure.
In addition to being responsible for the overall command of the entire army, Zhu Jinghong himself will also specifically command the second echelon of reinforcements and the security of the Chinese army's southern flank defenses.
When the generals arrived, even in the poor lighting, it could be seen that their expressions were very solemn.
Zhu Jinghong’s latest order undoubtedly heralds the arrival of the decisive battle, which has arrived earlier than everyone expected.
Inside the military tent, Zhu Jinghong motioned for everyone to sit down.
Seeing the expressions of everyone, Zhu Jinghong said with a smile: "I don't understand... why you all have such sad faces, as if this ancient battlefield in the northwest is destined to be a disaster for us!"
When Zhu Jinghong directly stated what he was thinking, everyone present felt a little embarrassed. Fortunately, Zhu Jinghong did not go into details.
At this time, the guards entered the tent and served tea to everyone present.
“Everyone, these teasWhat was sent from the palace was said to be a treasure among treasures. Jiangnan only paid five kilograms of tribute a year! "
"Only those who are close to the Holy One can be rewarded! "
"This year, the prince got one catty, and Prince Rui and I each got half a catty. I will use it to entertain you today... Isn't it a slight? "
Even if they were in a heavy mood, everyone smiled when they heard these words at this moment.
"Since it is good tea, you should taste it carefully and frown...but you can't taste it. So delicious! "
"Everyone...please! ”
Seeing that Zhu Jinghong was so calm and even invited everyone to drink tea at this time, everyone really admired his ability to withstand pressure.
Although Zhu Jinghong was right, this was the best. The tea didn't taste good to everyone at the moment.
At this moment, they realized more deeply how far behind they were compared to Zhu Jinghong!
No wonder he kept winning. This kind of determination is unparalleled in the world... Everyone has the same opinion. But what Zhu Jinghong is thinking at this moment is that it would be even more perfect if there were cigars, coffee and steak.
p>
Putting aside these messy thoughts, Zhu Jinghong said to everyone: "Everyone, tomorrow is a very crucial day. It is a crucial day in the past hundred years... and even the next hundred years! "
"It is said that times create heroes. It is a rare opportunity for you to experience commanding and fighting in person! ”
“Tomorrow, according to the mobilization of enemy troops, there will be more detailed combat arrangements. You just need to do your best to complete it, and there is no need to worry too much! ”
“There are just two things to remember. One is to have a complete command team, and the other is to never give orders to anyone other than in extreme emergencies! ”
After profoundly learning the lessons of Waterloo and a certain transportation captain, Zhu Jinghong raised these two points.
But in the final analysis, these two points are all It is one thing, that is to ensure the smooth flow of the chain of command.
Under the current communication conditions, to launch such a large-scale battle, it is the most difficult thing in the war to fully mobilize all departments to participate in the battle.
"Also, I allow you to act with the camera, but please be careful! ”
Next, Zhu Jinghong talked more with everyone, mainly discussing his own battle strategy for tomorrow.
Generally speaking, the enemy has more infantry and the Ming army has more cavalry.
So in the end, everyone thought that we should use our own infantry to defend the line, and then use superior cavalry to attack its flanks, exposing the enemy's weaknesses before the Chinese army waited for an opportunity to attack.
Half an hour later. , everyone took a map and left. This is the distribution map of the army after tomorrow's deployment.
This night, Zhu Jinghong didn't fall asleep until late at night. Of course, he was very nervous and anxious.
As for the "Eight-Nation Allied Forces" on the opposite side, after noticing the various movements of the Ming army, the top generals were also very nervous.
Although Constantine has been on the battlefield for a long time, he is also very nervous.He also had some nervousness, but he didn't show it like Zhu Jinghong.
Constantine convened the staff adjutants overnight to discuss countermeasures with everyone, but he also went to bed late at night.
The sixteenth year of Orthodoxy, June 15th.
Before dawn, all Ming army troops had already had breakfast and brought two meals of food and water.
According to the military order of the supreme commander Zhu Jinghong, each guard post moved to its designated position one after another. It was already an hour later.
The "Eight-Nation Allied Forces" on the opposite side have also completed the deployment of their forces. The front lines of the two armies are thirty miles apart.
At such a close distance, both warring parties have no way to retreat. Retreating is basically a dead end, and there is no possibility of safe withdrawal.
As time went by, the Ming army took the initiative to advance forward, and the distance of thirty miles was gradually getting closer.
In the center of the front line, Zhu Jinghong, wearing a red regimental dragon robe, was summoning Jurchen and Mongolian generals.
In order to further reassure his subordinates, he wore the prince's more formal uniform, which really stood out among the armored army.
"Everyone, after defeating the enemy coalition and taking Junggar, the property captured... will be distributed according to military merit!"
The Jurchens and Mongols came to participate in the war because they were recruited by the imperial court. If you want to work for free, if you want people to contribute, you have to give them benefits.
After this matter was agreed upon, Zhu Jinghong gave a few more instructions before letting everyone disperse.
At this time, he had learned that the enemy was also advancing hand in hand, and the military formations of both sides were getting closer.
Another half an hour later, the battle finally broke out near noon. The northern flank army fought first, and the cavalry from both sides launched a charge.
As soon as the war began, the orderly formation of troops gradually began to go out of shape.
At Zhu Jinghong's place, scouts kept coming to report the situation, and the staff officers worked non-stop, marking the latest situation on the sand table.
Zhu Jinghong sat on a chair, quietly watching the changes in the battle situation, and at the same time made corresponding military arrangements.
“Tell Xiaowu Youwei that the 10,000 troops in Junggar must be locked up and they must not be allowed to escape...and tell their commanders to be prepared to have a thousand-household camp taken away! ”
“The cuirassiers in Wucheng are remnants. If they leave the city, they can be restrained by the cavalry guards sent by Qinghai Xingdu Division. The left guard and the Shenwu center guard must not be moved until the critical moment.”
"Let the Jurchen cavalry rush out and block the Junggar cavalry on the opposite side. Don't let the enemy cavalry attack our infantry on the southern flank!"
As orders were issued one after another, the battle became more intense, and half an hour passed in the blink of an eye. .
At this time, from the position of the Chinese army, Zhu Jinghong could already see the orderly marching phalanx of the enemy coalition forces on the Gobi ahead.
One mile in front of him were four infantry guards guarding the imperial army, followed by four guards from the Beijing camp on both sides.
The distance between the two sides became closer and closer, and finally the forward stopped at a position of 700 or 800 meters.This is already the maximum range of their respective artillery.
Rumble...
The artillery bombardment began. From the initial ballistic correction to adjusting the artillery position and firing angle, the artillerymen on both sides were busy.
At this moment, Zhu Jinghong’s main energy was focused on the front military formation.
"Your Highness, the enemy infantry phalanx has begun to advance!" Liu Chen reminded.
Zhu Jinghong ordered: "Our Chinese army is advancing, and the slope fifty feet in front must be defended!"
There is indeed a slope fifty feet in front of the military formation, which rises on the Gobi. It is only about seven or eight meters, extending a hundred meters from the height to both sides, and then connected to the surrounding flat ground.
In a place surrounded by mountains and slopes, this small slope looks very inconspicuous, but it is particularly important now that it is in the center of the battlefield.
The terrain here is seven to eight meters high. Whether you are setting up artillery or standing in a square formation here, you will have a great advantage when facing the enemy.
The Ming army facing this slope is the Jinwu left guard led by Shi Chong, advancing towards the mountain ridge two hundred meters wide from north to south in front.
On both sides of Jinwu's left guard, there are more guards and guards advancing, occupying at least three or four miles wide, plus the second echelon is two miles long in front and back.
The infantry formation of the "Eight-Nation Allied Forces" on the opposite side is about the same size, but slightly larger.
The bombardment continued. After the Ming army advanced one hundred and fifty meters, they stopped their formation and waited for orders. At this moment, both sides of the war had suffered losses.
"Call the infantry guards, as long as they resolutely hold the line of the decisive slope, we will win!"
The decisive slope is the name given by Zhu Jinghong to that ordinary hillside, just to let him The whole army knows the key tasks.
The Ming army really only needs to hold on. The cavalry is the key to their victory. This is called giving full play to their own advantages.
Of course, after several years of fighting on the battlefield, the Ming army’s infantry is also very strong.
Constantine also discovered the key to the problem, so he immediately ordered the entire front to advance, especially the central part of the military formation, to capture the decisive slope.
The first echelon of infantry of the coalition forces, with a total of nearly 60,000 people in twelve brigades, looks extremely oppressive when advancing forward.
The artillery of the Ming army fired one after another, and the front-line infantry were ready to reload, looking at the enemy troops approaching from the front line.
Six hundred meters, four hundred meters, three hundred meters...
As they got closer and closer, all the soldiers became nervous. Only those who were brave still followed the surroundings. The companions chatted and laughed.
The calmer soldier took out the small porcelain bottle and drank the treasured wine inside.
The current Ming army's muskets have an effective range of about one hundred meters, but they must have reliable accuracy of up to seventy meters.
The equipment of the coalition forces on the opposite side, especially the Rakshasa Guards Infantry Brigade facing Jinwu's left guard, is also here.
"Raise the gun..."
Shi Chong rodeThe war horse is at the rear of the military formation, with its mouth opening downwards to convey military orders.
There are five thousand-household stations in Jinwu Zuowei, and each thousand-household station has ten hundred-household stations. There are a total of fifty small squares, arranged in two rows on the hillside.
It would be impossible for him to shout alone, so there were messengers running back and forth on horseback to pass on the military orders as quickly as possible.
The enemy troops were still approaching, and when both sides could see each other's faces, they still refrained from opening fire.
Normally, whoever fires first will lose the second move, but Shi Chong himself doesn't care much about this.
Because he knew that the opposite side was still using ordinary reloading ammunition, and his troops, as bodyguards, had been issued the latest integrated reloading ammunition.
To put it simply, the reloading speed of his men is at least half faster than that of the enemy.
So, when the enemy approached a distance of 70 meters, Shi Chong decisively ordered to open fire.
For a time, the battlefield was filled with smoke, and the elite Rakshasa infantrymen on the opposite side fell one after another during the march.
The Ming soldiers who had already opened fire took the initiative to retreat ten meters and start reloading. The soldiers in the second row immediately raised their guns and fired a second round of fire.
At the same time, the Rakshasa Guards Infantry Brigade was also firing. The two sides were only sixty meters apart at this time, and both sides caused losses to each other at such a close distance.
At this time, all the Ming army was reloading, and the second marching formation of the Rakshasa Kingdom came forward and opened fire, causing a lot of damage to the Ming army.
After two rounds of firing, each of the warring sides lost three to four hundred people. Such losses were much more efficient than cutting each other with cold weapons. It is no wonder that this style of fighting is called queuing to kill.
The Ming army was indeed reloading faster, at least much faster than the Rakshasa people imagined. The gunfire that sounded fifteen seconds earlier made the Rakshasa people panic.
No more than ten seconds after one round, when the Rakshasa front row was reloaded, the Ming army's second round of shooting came again, and both sides opened fire almost at the same time.
In an instant, a large amount of gunpowder smoke spread out. The Ming army fired one more round, but because the fighting distance was closer, the Rakshasa side suffered nearly a hundred more losses.
The Ming army occupied a high ground. After two rounds of rapid fighting, Shi Chong immediately ordered the front row to attack.
They were standing on a high ground, when nearly two thousand soldiers attacked downwards, bringing great oppression to the Rakshasa people who had suffered greater losses.
Before their second round of reloading was completed, the infantry in front had already engaged the Ming army. Under the impact, these people could only retreat.
It can be said that Shi Chong had a good start here, losing nearly 400 people and killing more than 600 enemies.
As for other guard posts, the battles with various ministries resulted in winners and losers. Generally speaking, the Ming army achieved greater results.
On the one hand, the Ming army was waiting for work, and on the other hand, some of its equipment was more advanced.
Due to the fighting on all fronts, the battlefield ahead was filled with smoke and dust, and it was difficult for Zhu Jinghong to understand the situation visually.
FortunatelyThe communication and chain of command were relatively smooth, allowing him to have a relatively good grasp of the battle situation.
The two sides went back and forth, and soon the Rakshasa side launched a second wave of attacks. This time the southern flank of the Ming army was pushed back, and they had to temporarily mobilize a thousand brave right-guard cavalry to survive. The formation that retreated nearly 200 meters was stabilized.
Although they were pushed back, fortunately the Ming army's defense line was intact and they were not cut off and surrounded by the enemy coalition forces.
The Jinwu left guard on the decisive slope has become a prominent part of the battlefield, at the forefront of the battle between the two sides.
Because of this, Jinwu's left guard was under the greatest pressure and suffered the most rapid attacks from the enemy.
Aware of the importance of the decisive slope, Constantine mobilized more troops, and even sent part of the second echelon of troops, vowing to capture the decisive slope.
Normally speaking, key positions such as the decisive slope should be reinforced and defended at this time.
However, because other places needed to make up for the leaks, and the decisive slope was too small, Zhu Jinghong sent his troops to other fronts.
Indifferently, after Jinwu's left guard, there were still two thousand families of effective and brave left guards. At this time, Zhu Jinghong left a fresh force, ready to go to the decisive slope at any time.
It’s just that it’s not the last moment yet, and the top has no other use except being shelled and beaten.
It was afternoon, and the Gobi desert on the west side of the decisive victory slope was already littered with corpses.
Under the all-out offensive posture of the enemy coalition, both its northern and southern wings retreated to varying degrees. Only Jinwu's left guard was firmly nailed to the slope.
Even if they are the most elite army of the Ming Dynasty, even if they occupy a geographical advantage, the difficulties they have endured until now under the heavy attack of the Rakshasa people are unimaginable.
At this time, the entire battlefield pattern was that the cavalry on the north and south wings had achieved results, at least at the cavalry level, they had gained a greater advantage.
Zhu Jinghong estimated that if we continue to hold the line as it is now, our cavalry will be able to gain an absolute advantage in two hours at most, and then we can encircle the enemy infantry.
Of course, the infantry on the Ming army's side has also been used to its maximum strength.
Even the reserve team he had designated, namely Juhu Ben right guard, had already drawn out two thousand households and pushed them to the front line of the southern wing.
In Wucheng behind the Ming army, the enemy cuirassiers came out of the city an hour ago and engaged in a confrontation with the Yangwei left guard.
At the same time, a Junggar cavalry force of 10,000 households and three infantry 10,000 households in the city, totaling nearly 20,000 people, also left the city and advanced westward, intending to attack the rear of the Ming army.
At this time, according to Zhu Jinghong's previous deployment, Liu Fang ordered two cavalry guards from Qinghai Xingdu Division, plus Suzhou Guards and Liangzhou Guards to dispatch to block the advance of Wucheng's troops.
Now, what Zhu Jinghong needs is time, and he only needs two hours.
And these two most critical moments are destined to be the most tragic period of time.
Soon another hour passed,A deputy from Jinwu's left guard came to Zhu Jinghong's command post to convey military information.
The battle report was forwarded to the staff, and then Liu Chen came behind Zhu Jinghong.
"Your Highness, Jin Wu's left guard has sent a message that he has repelled the eighth enemy attack. More than two thousand of his troops have been killed, and more than half of each thousand households have suffered casualties. Commander Shi's message is... ...Can the Huben right guard take over?"
The commander of the Huben right guard, Hou Jing, is at Zhu Jinghong's headquarters at this time, so he is naturally willing to take on this important task.
Just listen to Liu Chen continue to say: "Commander Shi said that if he continues to fight, his entire army will be annihilated. If he loses his position, then..."
Before Liu Chen waited, After Chen finished speaking, he heard Zhu Jinghong say in a stern tone: "Send a strict order to Shi Chong again. I don't want his casualties. I only want the decisive victory slope!" The recent serious transcoding has given us more motivation and faster updates. Please trouble you. Move your little hands to exit reading mode. Thank you