I

The plain was deserted, with only weeds in the fields and not a single trace of wheat seedlings.

More than ten thousand soldiers were synchronously arranged in fourteen columns.

The melee soldiers are outside and the fire gun soldiers are inside. Although the formation was a bit scattered when trotting, it was still generally in order.

The elites of ancient times were all good runners.

Whether they can run is also the difference between Datong's regular army and peasant soldiers. Although farmers and soldiers have to train formations and enemy-killing skills, the food is relatively poor after all, and they rarely train in physical activities such as running.

The regular army, on the other hand, ran once in the morning and evening, with sandbags tied to their legs.

At this moment, it was just jogging without wearing armor, which was really easy for the soldiers of Datong.

5,000 dragoons protected the infantry on both sides, and a team of 500 men struggled with Wu Sangui's cavalry. Each time the gun is fired, only one-fifth of the gun is fired to ensure that the gun is always loaded to prevent the enemy from taking advantage of the gap in firepower to kill.

The more Wu Sangui fought, the more frightened he became. Today was an eye-opener for him. There were cavalry attacking nearby, but the infantry dared to march in a hurry.

Moreover, those fire cavalrymen were also disgusting. They repeatedly took turns firing their volleys, making Wu Sangui dare not charge at all. In other words, the miscellaneous cavalry under his command did not dare to charge, and the cavalry officers who were improvised did not obey Wu Sangui's command in everything.

"Uu! Uu! Uu!"

The copper whistle kept sounding, the infantry stopped and lined up to rest, while the gunmen began to change the match ropes. They kept jogging with the match rope burning. As long as Wu Sangui dared to charge with the cavalry, they could quickly form a formation and fire a volley.

Match ropes are really troublesome, it would be nice if they could all be replaced with flintlock guns.

In this era, there was a joke in Europe about the matchlock gun: a matchlock one mile long was carried on the back to fight for a whole day.

"The whole army obeys the order and walks slowly...!"

The flag order was waved in the front, and the army also waved the flag order. After changing the match ropes, the soldiers started to move forward.

You can't jog all the time. Running and walking for a while can restore your strength.

Wu Sangui looked at the scene of orders and prohibitions from a distance, and couldn't help but sigh: "If I had such an army, I might be able to go all the way south to Qiongzhou. No wonder Emperor Zhao of Nanjing can control several provinces."

"Deputy Commander, do you still want to harass me?" Jiang Zhu came running over on horseback.

Wu Sangui in this time and space did not contribute to Shanhaiguan, and he had not yet developed so many troops. Therefore, he was not named king, but became deputy commander of the Han army of Zhenghuang Banner.

Wu Sangui shook his head: "We can't attack for the time being. The enemy's orders are prohibited, but our army doesn't obey orders."

There were more than 4,000 cavalrymen under his command, but only about 2,000 were truly obedient. Wu Sangui was helpless about this. The Manchu cavalry and the Mongolian cavalry were all taken away by Dorgon, and the rest were all the servant cavalry of the surrendered generals.

The surrendered generals were willing to lend their cavalry to Wu Sangui for unified command, which was considered a great honor.

When those cavalry officers left, they were told by the surrendered generals: If they can't win, run away. If you can win the battle, but there will be casualties, then don't go all out.

The servant cavalry are treasures and the foundation of the generals. How could they be allowed to be ruined by Wu Sangui?

Therefore, the glorious tradition of the Ming Dynasty army has been completely continued. Every time Wu Sangui looked for a loophole to charge, he would find some cavalry disobedient. Or they may be obedient on the surface, but become afraid in the middle of the charge, and avoid the dragoon's muzzle very accurately.

"Xu~~~~"

After advancing slowly for a quarter of an hour, the Datong army began to blow the brass whistle again, and the flag order was raised and the whole army began to jog.

Wu Sangui said: "While marching in a hurry, there will always be times when you relax. Slowly look for opportunities to break through the enemy's formation. The enemy has no baggage and auxiliary troops and cannot even set up camp at night. Let's try tonight to see if we can organize a night attack."

Wu Sangui sent several cavalrymen to chase Zu Dashou and report the military situation.

…

The Datong army marched in a hurry, but Zu Dashou's side felt like an outing.

Most of the garrison troops from nearby states and counties gathered in Xihua County, totaling 70,000 to 80,000 people.

Some generals even forced hungry people to join the army on the way, so that they could ask for more military rations in Xihua County. Among the 70,000 to 80,000 people, there are probably more than 30,000, all temporarily recruited by the surrendered generals.

Routine operation, no need to be surprised.

Who told the Qing Dynasty not to pay military salaries? Even if military pay is allocated, only some money will be thrown in.

The surrendered generals could not afford to support the army, so they could only cut down the army in large numbers and concentrate money and food to feed their own servants. When there is a war, just recruit more troops and ask the Manchus for more departure fees.

During the Thirty Years' War in Europe, countries did this when fighting wars.

They recruit troops during war and then disarm them after the war, often without even giving severance pay. Of course the people are not willing, so they will just coax and lie. For example, let an aunt lure a man who is hungry into a cellar with food as a temptation, and lock him up until he is so hungry that he can only agree to join the army.

Zu Dashou was riding on horseback, turning his head to look at the lagging army, and said helplessly: "I am ordering all the troops to move faster, and we will rest slowly when we reach Taikang County!"

However, military orders have little effect.

The troops did speed up their march, but before they got very far, they slowed down again. And the elite troops moved very far forward, while the troops composed of hungry people fell far away, dragging them into a long snake that stretched for several miles.

Zu Dashou also ordered the generals to throw away these useless soldiers.

But the generals don't want to, this is their army. The Manchus and Qing Dynasties didn't give them enough departure fees. Could it be that they weren't allowed to receive more military rations during the war?

No matter what kind of garbage soldiers they are, if there are soldiers, they must be paid.

If you are given one tael of silver or one stone of rice, the generals can eat up 70% to 80% of it. Anyway, they are all temporarily recruited hungry people. They just need to be hung up to avoid starving to death, and they can always be used as tools for receiving wages.

The marching team grew longer and longer, and Zu Dashou was made to lose his temper.

If he dares to govern the army strictly, the surrendered generals will dare to find opportunities to defect. If he dared to abandon his various ministries and take only the elite to Taikang County, the surrendered generals would dare to turn around and join the Datong Army.

Zhao Han has a bunch of burdensome people who only know how to eat, and Zu Dashou has a bunch of scum here who only know how to get paid.

Seeing that the various ministries were completely out of touch, Zu Dashou had no choice but to order: "The whole army should get closer and rest for a while."

For half an hour, the army of 70,000 to 80,000 people finally came together with difficulty, no longer dragging for nearly ten miles as before.

"Ta-ta-ta-ta!"

The cavalry sent back by Wu Sangui came and reported the military situation: "Commander, the enemy is marching in a hurry and is chasing our main force."

"So fast?" Zu Dashou said in surprise.

The cavalryman said: "The enemy troops all took off their armor and marched with only their weapons. They were also protected by thousands of cavalry with gunfire, so General Wu could not stop them."

Zu Dashou said with joy on his face: "The enemy has really taken off all their armor?"

"Take it off, no one is wearing armor," the knight said.

Zu Dashou confirmed again: "We were traveling in a hurry, but we didn't bring any artillery?"

"There are no cannons," said the cavalryman.

Zu Dashou was immediately overjoyed: "The enemy will take the risk and advance rapidly. This is a great opportunity to defeat him in one fell swoop!"

When Zu Dashou thought about it, the Datong Army lost its artillery and even took off its armor, which was just meat on the chopping block. There is no need for him to leave anymore. He can just stay here and wait for work, and he can easily defeat a group of unarmored enemies.

…

"Bang bang bang!"

"Boohoo!"

On the field, Datong Army's cavalry were fighting in a small scale with Wu Sangui's cavalry.

As the pursuit deepened, the dragoons detached five hundred riders and rushed further forward to inquire for information. Wu Sangui divided his troops to stop him, so the dragoons sent out more troops.

In the end, the cavalry from both sides fought between their respective main forces.

The fight lasted for half an hour, with only single digit casualties on both sides.

Not only those generals cherished their servants and cavalry, Wu Sangui also did the same. He was reluctant to let his servants get close enough to be shot. One or two, all to preserve their strength, mainly because the Qing Dynasty's dominance was not stable, and the surrendered generals could only rely on the army to safeguard their own interests.

Historically, even if the Qing army reached the south of the Yangtze River, the various tribes and generals were still annexing each other.

But the small court of Nanming was even more rubbish and had all kinds of internal strife.

At that time, Jin Shenghuan, the surrendered general, was ordered to go to Beijing. Because he was afraid of being deprived of his army, he took the initiative to lead troops to attack Jiangxi. This guy only has a few thousand soldiers in his hands and claims to be a vanguard. The Qing Dynasty is about to have an army of 200,000 go south. The Minister of Civil and Military Affairs of Nanming in Jiangxi was trembling with fear, so Jiangxi surrendered...

Because when Jin Shenghuan occupied Nanchang, he obtained a large amount of gold and silver treasures. The Jiangxi civil servants appointed by the Manchu Qing Dynasty were jealous and demanded and extorted money. The Qing Dynasty did not have a large bounty for Shenghuan, so Jin Shenghuan simply took the whole of Jiangxi to seek refuge in Nanming.

I heard that Jiangxi rebelled, and Guangdong also followed suit, because Governor Tong Yangjia suppressed surrendered generals who were not from Liaodong.

Civil servants blackmailed and suppressed military generals, causing the Manchus to lose Jiangxi and Guangdong one after another... This script is bad enough.

But the Manchu Qing Dynasty and the Nan Ming Dynasty were competing against each other, and in the end, the Nan Ming Dynasty was better.

The Manchu and Qing Dynasties are really incomparable, and they conquer the world in a daze.

At this moment, several cavalrymen rushed back and reported the information: "The enemy camped halfway, waiting for our army to kill them."

After Jiang Dashan discussed with Huang Shun, he ordered the entire army to stop and rest and take out the dry food they carried with them to eat.

The distance between the two sides was about twenty miles. Zu Dashou quickly got the information and ordered the entire army to slowly move closer to the Datong Army. He had to take advantage of the fact that the Datong Army had no armor or artillery, seize the opportunity to take the initiative to attack, and complete the victory in one battle!

Zu Dashou's march was extremely slow, being dragged down by a group of garbage soldiers.

When they were only a few miles away from each other, the sun had already set in the west. Zu Dashou was afraid that he would be attacked by the enemy at night due to too much encumbrance, so he continued to lead the front army and planned to fight a decisive battle before dark.

Cao Bianjiao, who was fighting with the enemy cavalry, gradually distanced himself. He raised his telescope and observed for a while, then immediately rode towards Wei Guoxiang on horseback: "General Wei, the enemy army is in chaos in some places. Let's just lead the cavalry and kill them!"

Wei Guoxiang was the son of a noble family in Zhejiang. He had been studying since he was a child, but he liked to dance with swords and sticks. He joined the Datong Army as a scholar.

First, he served as a military missionary. Because he was proficient with bows and horses, he became a cavalry general when training cavalry. Now, like Cao Bianjiao, he commands 2,500 dragoons.

Wei Guoxiang also took out his telescope to observe carefully, and then smiled and said: "I will attack the left wing, and General Cao will attack the right wing."

After that, the two of them each took their cavalry and pulled further to restore their horses' strength. At the same time, replace the match rope, light it again, and wait for a more suitable time.

Wu Sangui also led his cavalry back, but retreated to the rear of his own infantry. He had the advantage of troops here and wanted to wait for the infantry to take action first before looking for an opportunity to attack the main force of the Datong Army... He still wanted to preserve his strength and did not want too many cavalry members to die.

The setting sun casts its afterglow over the land, coating the grass in the wilderness with a layer of gold.

(No more today.)