Dominate the Country

Chenzhou, Zhoujiakou Town.

The endless prosperity of the past has been blown away by the storm. Three years of war have completely changed the appearance of this place. What is left is only the mark of war. There are camps one after another, trenches one after another.

When Zhoujiakou frequently appeared in people's mouths, no one regarded it as an important commercial port, but as a military stronghold.

It, Xihua and Shangshui form a solid barrier to separate the war from the city of Chenzhou.

Five days ago, the person sitting in Chenzhou was still Chen Huizu, who had been fighting with the Fu Han Army for three years. But at that time, he was no longer the Anhui Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, but was given the title of Minister of War and the seal of the general. However, the moon has its ups and downs, and people have their own misfortunes and blessings. The surrender of Chen Shengzu was finally exposed.

Chen Shengzu is Chen Huizu's second brother.

The Qing court immediately took away Chen Huizu's military power. Qianlong also wanted to summon Chen Huizu to the emperor to make a report. The guards who came to convey the imperial edict did not immediately do anything to Chen Huizu himself. However, Chen Huizu's years of meritorious service on the battlefield in Henan were wasted.

Question: Did Chen Huizu really want to stab his second brother Chen Shengzu?

Answer: That's for sure. And it won't be just one stab! - Chen Huizu's inner voice.

Chen Shengzu, Chen Huizu's second brother, was transferred from the Ministry of Revenue to the Military Affairs Office in October of the 29th year of Qianlong's reign, and served as a military secretary (an official under the Minister of Military Affairs). Later, he served as the Guangdong Grain Supervisor and the prefect of Guangzhou Prefecture. When the Fu Han Army attacked Guangzhou, Chen Shengzu was sent to Shaozhou by Bayansan, who asked Chen Shengzu to defend Shaoguan to the death. The result was of course very funny. Bayan San Tai overestimated Chen Shengzu. When the Fu Han army approached Shaoguan, Chen Shengzu was tied up by his men. The Qing army in Shaoguan opened the gate and surrendered. Then, soon after, someone saw Chen Shengzu alive and well, with a big white face and frequent appearances in the Lingnan Garrison Mansion. It was obvious that he had surrendered.

This news was quickly reported to Beijing by the Sticking Rod Office, and then the following scene happened.

"The Chen family actually produced such an unfaithful and unfilial person. I am guilty, I am guilty..." Chen Huizu lay on the ground and cried bitterly.

The person who replaced Chen Huizu was the former Ili General Yiletu.

Such changes in the Qing army could not be hidden from the Fu Han army. Taking advantage of the changes in the Qing army in the Chenzhou direction, the 12th Brigade directly under Chen Hongtao of the 6th Division, together with Chen Kaishan's unit, which had just been upgraded to a cavalry brigade, launched a tentative attack on the Qing army on the Chenzhou front line.

As a result, the infantry made little progress. But the cavalry on both sides fought bloody battles on the plains of eastern Henan.

The Fu Han Army infantry on the front line in Henan were equipped with rocket launchers - multi-barreled rocket launchers. With muskets and various artillery, if they really wanted to show off their strength, the Qing cavalry would not be able to do it.

But the Qing cavalry did not attack the Fu Han Army infantry who were heavily lined up. They just copied the rear road, attacked the transport convoys, and conducted reconnaissance, patrol, harassment, pursuit and other tasks, which were their forte.

The Fu Han Army cavalry fought a ranger battle with them.

Protect the rear road of the Fu Han Army infantry, protect the transport convoys, rob and kill the Qing Army's reconnaissance troops, assault the Qing Army's patrol cavalry, and also harass the Qing Army's garrisons, attack all the Qing Army's outgoing personnel and horses, and attack the Qing Army's supply convoys on the front line...

The work of the cavalry on both sides is completely the same. Even the effects are very similar - not very good.

The Qing army has strong camps and military stations everywhere, while the Fu Han army is cautious.

Today is the day when Chen Huizu leaves Chenzhou and sets off for the north. Outside Zhoujiakou Town, on the bank of Ying River, two cavalry units, one white and one red, also collided with each other by chance.

The Fu Han army has a few hundred men and horses, and the Qing army also has about a hundred people, all of whom are bannermen wearing white cotton armor.

Dong Wei slightly straightened his horse's head and looked at the Qing army cavalry a mile ahead with a serious face.

The Qing army cavalry is not all useless. The Green Camp cavalry in the northwest is quite capable, and its combat effectiveness is far from comparable to the Green Camp cavalry in Zhili and Shandong. Then there are the Eight Banners cavalry, which is so complex and changeable that it makes people confused. The combat effectiveness of the Jing Banner in Beijing is average, but it cannot be said that there are no strong soldiers. Some elite forces, the combat effectiveness can be called the best in the Qing army. It is one level stronger than the Jilin and Heilongjiang cavalry. Note that it is one level, not one level, while the combat effectiveness of the Mongolian cavalry is quite average.

What kind of Eight Banners cavalry is this one?

Dong Wei raised his hand and touched the corner of his eye. There was a three or four inch long scar there, which was left by a group of Eight Banners cavalrymen with the flag of the Cavalry Camp. In that battle, half of his cavalrymen were killed, and one of his eyes was almost crippled.

"Ding ding ding ding ding ding ding da..."

The sound of the trumpet spread throughout the whole team. The Fu Han Army cavalry of a hundred people began to reorganize the team and lined up in a long five-row formation, with about twenty people in each row.

Long spears and sabers shone in the winter sun.

The first row of the Fu Han Army all held 12-foot long spears, and the four rows behind them were mainly sabers with thickened blades. The cavalry in the same row were only three feet apart. The first three rows of cavalry - the front and back rows were three feet apart, and the back two rows were ten feet apart.

Dong Wei came to the front of the formation twenty steps, looking at the Eight Banners cavalry lined up opposite, with a calm look in his eyes. The Qing army also began to reorganize their troops, but they did not start as early as the Fu Han army, nor did they finish as quickly as the Fu Han army.

Dong Wei heard the long spear in his hand, with a red flag hanging on the tip of the spear, "whoosh~", and was placed in front of Dong Wei with the sound of wind.

"Ding ding ding ding ding..."

The trumpet sounded again, and without any pre-war mobilization, the Fu Han army urged their horses together.

The horses had already felt the solemnity of the battlefield, digging the ground with their front hooves, and shaking their heads left and right with snorts.

A few hundred cavalrymen urged their horses to move forward at the same time. Dong Wei needed to accurately judge the distance to ensure that they collided with the Qing army when the horse sprinted to the highest speed. At present, the distance between them and the Eight Banners Cavalry of the Qing Army was only about one mile. They had to keep a slow pace of about one hundred steps, and then charge to the limit.

For cavalry, this requirement is absolutely child's play. But for the current cavalry camp. The difficulty lies in how to continue to maintain their relatively dense formation while gradually speeding up. No matter how strict the training and requirements are, the Fu Han cavalry who have just come into contact with this kind of tactics cannot do it within the distance of one hundred feet required by the superiors-as neat as a wall!

A few hundred war horses moved forward slowly. Dong Wei did not take the central position where the commander was in the traditional cavalry formation, but led the horse to the far right of the first row of cavalry.

The other cavalrymen in the front row observed his position and controlled their horses. The entire cavalry formation advanced straight back to the Qing army.

As a person who knows the direction of history, Chen Ming could not be unaware of the weakness of traditional Eastern cavalry in modern wars. Chen Ming really didn't know much about modern European cavalry, wall cavalry.

He couldn't imagine why the Cossack cavalry seemed so vulnerable in front of the French cavalry when the cavalry fought? During the Napoleonic Wars.

Cavalry marched like a wall and advanced like a wall. To put it bluntly, it was a heavy infantry tactic.

In the battle with the scattered traditional cavalry, the wall cavalry had an advantage on the front line, which Chen Ming could understand. What about the flanks? After the scattered traditional cavalry was attacked, they could quickly gather on the flanks and attack the wall cavalry?

And the tightly arranged wall cavalry was afraid that it would be difficult to turn around and turn the horse's head.

Of course, it is clearly recorded in the history of war that the wall cavalry won the competition with the traditional cavalry. It pushed itself to the altar with a series of great victories with huge disparity in casualties between the enemy and us. But Chen Ming really didn't understand its god. Considering the differences in war horses, weapons, and even geographical terrain between the East and the West, he really didn't think that modern cavalry was so awesome. In the battles he still remembered, modern cavalry rarely fought alone, but achieved "glorious victories" with the cooperation of a large number of artillery and infantry!

Or they were the younger brothers of artillery and infantry.

Finally, Chen Ming felt that the biggest difference between traditional cavalry and wall-style modern cavalry was that the former could be used as a single combat unit, while the latter was only a member of the combat sequence in a battle.

But this did not delay him from ordering the cavalry to carry out wall-style training. This tactic is still very effective when it comes to frontal attacks.

The cavalry units of the Fu Han Army were also equipped with flintlock rifles, but they generally did not use them much, unless there were three or five cavalry fighting, which was an order from Chen Ming. The Qing army was different. No matter what the scale of the battle was, they always had to pull the trigger, and then they would draw their sabers or hold up their spears.

The gentle sound of horse hooves did not make people feel tired at all. The five rows of cavalry were arranged neatly, just like the small trees planted on both sides of the road.

The distance of a hundred steps passed quickly, and the distance between the two sides suddenly shortened by half. The Qing army cavalry was scattered in a group. One by one, the gunners held flintlock rifles, drove the war horses, and rode in the front row.

The trumpeter beside Dong Wei blew the advance horn. Dong Wei gently pinched the horse's belly. The war horse that had been with him for more than a year jumped gently and began to accelerate.

The speed of the Fu Han cavalry was getting faster and faster, but the speed of the Eight Banners cavalry was much slower. They also had to take care of the muskets in their hands. The war horses ran too fast, and the horsebacks were bumpy, which was not conducive to their aiming.

The five rows of Fu Han cavalry were still roughly neat, but the distance between the soldiers in the same row was a little larger. The formation did not cause a big disturbance due to the acceleration. The training of half a year still had certain results.

The dense hoof sounds slowly merged into a rumbling sound, which sounded like fairy music in Dong Wei's ears. The frontal impact of the wall cavalry is still trustworthy.

The two sides were less than a hundred steps apart, and the Qing army on the opposite side fired their muskets. Dong Wei looked directly at his opponent, watching the white smoke rising from the opposite cavalry formation, without any intention of dodging or avoiding. There were voices of soldiers being injured in the queue, and some fell off their horses, and some horses fell down with wailing, but compared with the total number of Fu Han Army, the casualties were very small.

The Qing cavalry appeared in front of Dong Wei in full, and their flintlock rifles were thrown on the ground or stuffed back into their saddlebags. Most of the weapons in their hands were spears and waist knives. The speed of the war horses was also rapidly increasing, and the formation also began to become strict. Of course, this strictness was only relative to their previous ones. Their speed was also much inferior to the Fu Han Army cavalry, which had already entered its peak state. The intervals between the cavalry of the Eight Banners Cavalry were wider, and the troops were not evenly distributed. There were obviously small teams left on both wings as backup.

"Ding ding ding ding ding ding..." The third horn sounded, and this time the horn sounded more urgent.

The speed of the Fu Han army's horses increased to the peak. The rumbling sound of the horses' hooves was like thunder in summer, and the red tassels on the Ming helmets were dancing like countless flickering flames.

All the Fu Han cavalry were equipped with standard rattan iron armor. In addition to the breastplate weighing seven or eight pounds, the other rattan strips and leather strips weighed less than four pounds. In short, it was much lighter than the cotton armor worn by the Eight Banners cavalry.

Running in a hurry, the Fu Han cavalry formation began to bend, but the distance was already very short, and the short bend was not enough to affect the strictness of the formation.

Dong Wei's face flushed. With his eyes wide open, he clenched the flagpole with a red triangular flag in his hand, and pointed the spear head at an Eight Banners cavalryman opposite him, who also held a spear and looked fierce.

He was finally a little flustered at this time. Because he had to face the attack of two spears. Not just Dong Wei's. Although Dong Wei's trumpeter only pointed the spear slightly at the cavalryman.

There were still people in the Qing army column firing muskets, and three more Fu Han soldiers in the first column fell off their horses. As the distance shortened, the lethality of the muskets in the hands of the Qing soldiers increased sharply. Dong Wei didn't know whether the three soldiers who fell off their horses were alive or dead, because the short distance was fleeting.

"Kill!!" The Fu Han cavalry formation burst into a hoarse roar.

"Boom!"

Two groups of horses, two torrents, collided head-on. Countless broken gun barrels, accompanied by the continuous screams of the collision between horses and men, resounded in people's ears.

The sound of the blades and the hard iron of the armor colliding and rubbing made people's teeth ache. The horses that could not avoid it collided with each other and their bones were broken, and they fell to the ground and wailed. There were also wailing sounds from enemy and friendly soldiers.

At the last moment, Dong Wei's mount also turned to the left obediently, but did not let his spear deviate too much. He stared at the Eight Banners horseman, lowered his body, and staggered with the roar of hooves. A shot pierced the man's abdomen!

Dong Wei originally aimed at the man's chest. He threw away his spear and drew his waist knife. Several Qing cavalrymen had already flashed in front of him. A cold light flashed in front of him, and Dong Wei just dodged it by instinct and slashed the oncoming spear with his knife. Then he felt a pain in his waist and legs, but he didn't have time to see if he was injured. He chopped a cavalry soldier's left arm with a knife. He didn't have time to see the results of the battle. The horse had already taken him out of the Qing army formation, and there was no enemy in front of him.

The dense formation of the Fu Han cavalry took advantage. The first row of twenty lancers stabbed at least six or seven enemies. After throwing away the long spears, the sabers also chopped and wounded many. But as the first row, they also paid a heavy price. Only eight riders were left!

The death rate was 60%. Those soldiers who fell off their horses had almost no chance of survival. They did not all die in the cold weapon war, there were also the previous muskets, but they were in the first row after all. And five of the remaining eight people were bleeding, such as Dong Wei himself.

But the Qing army was not easy either. After the first row, there was the second row, and then the third row.

The fourth and fifth rows of the Fu Han army did not continue to move forward. They instantly split into small teams of two or three cavalrymen each, and launched an attack on the escaped fish of the Qing army, as well as the Eight Banners cavalrymen who came from the left and right wings. They held sabers in their hands, and there were hand guns in their saddlebags, most of which were double-barreled hand guns.

After three rounds of attacks, only three or five people were left of the twenty or thirty cavalrymen in the front team of the Qing army. The death was even more miserable than that of the Fu Han army.

In terms of frontal impact, the wall-style tactics are of course stronger.

After they dealt with the first row of lancers, they suffered a lot when they encountered the second row. When they reached the third row, they had almost no power to fight back, and they couldn't even evade the horses to the left or right - it was too late. However, the damage to the second and third rows of the Fu Han army cavalry was much less than that of the first row.

The two teams of the Qing army left behind, one on the left and one on the right, rushed towards Dong Wei. But just after the fight, they rode away again. It was like a swallow skimming the water, passing by lightly, leaving only a little ripple.

"Boss, the Tartars are running away!"

Dong Wei pressed down the horse's head and turned to look behind him. The pain from the wound on his waist made him grin. But when he saw the Qing cavalry galloping forward without stopping after a charge, he just wanted to laugh happily.

"Count the results of the battle!"

Dong Wei knew that he had won this battle. The bodies of the Eight Banners cavalrymen who fell on the ground, including those who were injured but not dead yet, were all corpses, which were obviously much more than the casualties of the Fu Han Army.

"Daniu, Daniu is still alive..."

"Tietou is still alive, medical soldiers, medical soldiers come quickly..."

The soldiers of the Fu Han Army who were checking the results of the battle shouted happily from time to time. Those soldiers who fell off their horses were not necessarily dead. There is always luck, and there is always good luck.

"Team officer."

"A total of 42 Tartars were killed. 30 horses were seized."

"Twenty-two of our soldiers were killed, and 11 horses were lost. 17 were injured, including serious ones..."

The results of the battle were quickly counted.