Dominate the Country

When the Fu Han army attacked Zhoujiakou, Wang Tenglong led the Gansu-Shaanxi cavalry of 5,000 to 6,000 people in Tangzhuang, northwest of Shangshui, quietly waiting for the time to attack.

Wang Tenglong was quite confident about this battle. The reason was that the cavalry of the Qing army was much larger than that of the Fu Han army. Of course, Wang Tenglong did not dare to be careless. In his first battle with Chen Han, Wang Tenglong was careless, and he has not gotten up since he fell. He is now a general with the title of admiral, but he is one level weaker than the admiral.

The latter can lead tens of thousands of soldiers and act independently, while he can only obey orders under the boss.

In a landlord's house in Tangzhuang, Wang Tenglong was sitting on an eight-immortal table with his generals Song Yuanjun, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Li Tianyou to build the Great Wall. Since the "final version" was made in Chen Ming's hands, the "mahjong" thing has become very popular in the Fu Han army, and like playing cards, it has quickly spread to the people. [Mahjong was finally "completed" in the late Qing Dynasty]

Then it spread from south to north, and then from the northern folk to the Qing army.

Wang Tenglong was a mahjong enthusiast, and most of his generals and soldiers also knew how to play mahjong.

A big reason for playing mahjong in the army was "gambling". Everyone on the eight-immortal table had a pile of silver in their hands.

"Bang!"

"Damn, broken cards..."

The loud shouts in the room almost reached the door. When playing cards, they were all quiet at first, but after a few rounds, they got angry, not only did they throw mahjong more vigorously, but they also burst out with catchphrases unconsciously.

And don't blame Wang Tenglong and his men for being bored and not doing their work. As a cavalry unit, it would be a very painful thing if they didn't find fun to relax in their spare time on the battlefield.

The war has just begun, and the Fu Han army is energetic and motivated. At this time, if the Qing army harasses them, they will not get any good results, so they should wait. When the morale of the Fu Han army dropped and they had used up their first few attacks, that was when they would attack.

As for whether the Qing army in Zhoujiakou Town could hold out in the first few days, Wang Tenglong was not worried.

The latter was a military stronghold that the Qing army had vigorously operated. If Zhoujiakou could not withstand the fierce attack of the Fu Han army for three or two days, then the Qing army's long-planned tactics - infantry stationed in important places and cavalry guerrilla warfare in all directions - would not be mentioned.

"Gee, steed..."

A fast horse galloped towards the gate. "Report..."

The sound of horse hooves stopped in front of the gate, the rider turned over and fell off the horse, threw a sign, reported a password, and verified his identity. He rushed into the courtyard in a hurry. The anxiety in the long voice made Wang Tenglong, who was playing cards in the lobby, tremble violently.

Song Yuanjun, Zhang Zhiyuan, and Li Tianyou also put away their gambler faces and looked solemn.

"Report, report to the army, Zhoujiakou has fallen..."

The scout ran directly from Zhoujiakou to Tangzhuang, 30 miles away, with rolling yellow dust, his face was covered with dust. The sweat on his forehead was not sure whether it was cold or hot, but it washed away the dust on his face and created a series of "gullies"!

"How is it possible?"

"Nonsense."

"How dare you lie about military intelligence!"

Song Yuanjun and Zhang Zhiyuan slammed the table and stood up, and Li Tianyou was stunned.

Wang Tenglong was also dumbfounded. "You said Zhoujiakou fell? This..., how is this possible?"

The entire Zhoujiakou has more than 10,000 infantry and cavalry, and Chenzhou is behind them for support. Moreover, Lord Agui will arrive with his troops today. No matter how strong the Fu Han Army is, it is impossible for it to take down Zhoujiakou in one day, no, less than one day. Now the sun is just setting, and it has taken down Zhoujiakou in half a day.

"General, Chen Ni has been protected by the great god Chi You. The great god Chi You has appeared on the battlefield, who dares to fight again..." So the entire Qing army in Zhoujiakou collapsed. The Fu Han army broke the Yinghe defense line in the first attack, and then captured the Jialu River and bypassed the Shahe River. The whole battle was over in one morning. Only a small part of the 20,000 Qing troops resisted and died, and a few infantry and cavalry units escaped, and the remaining more than 10,000 people surrendered obediently.

"Bah. Idiot!" Wang Tenglong heard a big joke, and kicked the scout to the ground in a rage, "Chi You, a great god, what a god."

Wang Tenglong was the governor of Shaanxi, and of course he was no stranger to Chi You. But he didn't think he would come. It felt that it was an existence that was older than the legendary gods and Buddhas, just like Nuwa!

Even if Tathagata Buddha or the Jade Emperor came, it would be more reliable than Chi You.

The scout was kicked to the ground, but he didn't feel any pain at all. He turned over and knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly: "General, I really dare not speak nonsense. The great god Chi You was hanging in the air above Chen Ni's army, his eyes were fixed on the government troops. That was not what I saw alone." Then the scout seemed to have thought of absolute evidence, and said: "General, General. Zhoujiakou was lost in a short time. If it weren't for the great god Chi You's divine appearance, scaring the government troops to lose their morale and fighting spirit, how could Chen Ni take Zhoujiakou in one fell swoop."

"There are 20,000 infantry and cavalry stationed there, and the court has spent countless efforts on it."

Don't say, this is indeed a very powerful proof.

"Is Zhoujiakou really lost?" Wang Tenglong suppressed his initial nervousness, astonishment and shock, and asked with a straight face.

"General, if you don't believe it, you can send someone to check. Chen Ni has really taken Zhoujiakou..." The scout's tears flowed out.

For a moment, everyone in the hall felt cold all over, and walked in a daze.

…

At this moment, on the road between Zhoujiakou and Shangshui, a large number of cavalry troops were advancing rapidly towards Tangzhuang. Chen Kaishan sat on the horse with high spirits, and behind him and in front of him was the main force of the cavalry brigade - tens of thousands of horse hooves trampled the earth, the yellow earth was steaming, and it made a sound like rolling thunder.

Chen Ming ordered the cavalry brigade to take the opportunity to rush straight to Shangshui Tangzhuang. Who made Wang Tenglong's unit the only cavalry station that the Fu Han Army had found out? And there was no trace of a large number of reinforcements in Shangshui City.

The army took Zhoujiakou in the morning, and Chen Kaishan was amazed. Although he was very amused after knowing the truth. But the victory of the army sweeping Zhoujiakou was real and could not be faked. It was just that Agui was fast, otherwise he would also be a prisoner of war!

"Order the troops to speed up. We must reach Tangzhuang before dark."

The Qing army destroyed the direct passage from Zhoujiakou to Shangshui. Now the army is marching in the deserted fields. There are ridges and ditches of all sizes. It will be a big trouble after dark.

The sight turns back to Tangzhuang.

The small Tangzhuang certainly cannot accommodate five or six thousand cavalry. The Qing army cavalry occupied more than ten villages centered on Tangzhuang.

There is no civilian here. The fields are all deserted and weeds are reborn. Autumn and winter come, and the land is golden.

The Qing army has not learned the silage technology yet. It should be that they did not put their minds on this aspect. This thing has long been promoted among the people in Ruzhou and Nanyang. Especially in Nanyang, the number of cattle and donkeys has increased greatly in the past two years, and 70% of the credit should be attributed to the silage technology.

The Qing army did not have this trick, so they could only let the horses eat grass, plus concentrate and coarse feed. For the same livestock, if we compare only the "rations", the Qing army will spend much more than the Fu Han army.

Wang Tenglong was restless in the hall. He called the camp officers from all over to discuss and sent scouts to Zhoujiakou to inquire.

Now Song Yuanjun and Zhang Zhiyuan have returned to their respective teams to prepare for war. Only Li Tianyou is left by his side. Like Wang Tenglong, he is anxiously waiting for the scout's report.

As the sun sets in the west and dusk approaches, two fast horses carrying two familiar faces of Wang Tenglong's personal soldiers gallop to the gate.

"Zhang Twelve, Lao Wu, how did you two come back so quickly?" Has it only been an hour since you went out?

The personal soldier guarding the gate asked in astonishment.

"Come back quickly? Fast ass. Chen Ni is coming, get ready quickly." The scout named Zhang Twelve shouted to the personal soldiers at the door while running into the yard.

"He's coming..." The personal soldiers at the door looked at each other.

Too fast, too bold, right?

…

Zhoujiakou at this moment, Shanxi Guild Hall.

Chen Ming has already made it his headquarters, with countless staff officers coming in and out. Intelligence from all aspects outside is also continuously sent to the headquarters.

After capturing Zhoujiakou, Chen Ming sent the cavalry brigade southward to attack the Qing army's cavalry in Shangshui Tangzhuang. In order to increase the chances of victory for the cavalry brigade, which was much weaker than the Qing army, Chen Ming allocated a batch of rockets to the cavalry brigade.

Besides, they set out for Tangzhuang at three o'clock in the afternoon, and it was already dark when they arrived at Tangzhuang. It was dusk, and there was no big battle. And the Qing army could not retreat when the Fu Han army approached them, so their greatest possibility was to stay where they were.

So Chen Ming prepared a batch of rockets for Chen Kaishan.

In the original time and space, the British used rockets to attack the Qing army. Although the British backward stuff was not very lethal, it had a long range and had a good harassing effect on the infantry and cavalry of the Qing army. Especially the cavalry, at that time, most of the Qing army's war horses were not used to explosions. When rockets with smoke and fire fell into the herd of horses, the team immediately dispersed. Then it was difficult to pose a sufficient threat to the British army!

In the Battle of Baliqiao, Senggelinqin's Manchu and Mongolian cavalry was defeated, thanks to rockets.

Moreover, some of the rockets allocated by Chen Ming to the cavalry brigade were special bombs with special additives. This time, the additives were no longer mustard, peppers, etc., but yellow phosphorus, powdered wax and a small amount of coal paste. Coal paste is coal tar!

This special bomb is precisely an incendiary bomb. Chen Ming didn't know whether such a "combustion" level could reach the effect of the first generation of incendiary bombs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the original time and space. Anyway, judging from the experimental results, it was still very good.

"Your Highness, the Qing army in Xihua has been dispatched. One part has reached Fangkouji, and the other part is advancing towards Lijia Town."

Fangkouji is located directly north of the Fu Han Army, and Lijia Town is located diagonally behind the Fu Han Army.

Chen Ming pointed at these two places, and there was a gap of 20 to 30 miles between them. It seemed very close, but on the battlefield, such a large gap was enough for the Fu Han Army to cut and surround them.

These Qing troops jumped out from their solid nest Xihua. The purpose was very simple, which was to contain the Fu Han Army and slow down the Fu Han Army's attack on Chenzhou City. And I think tomorrow, a large group of cavalry will cut towards the Shahe behind the Fu Han Army.

"Has there been any news from Chen Kaishan?"

"To your Highness, there is no news from the cavalry brigade yet." Xiong Bingzhang followed Chen Ming again, "but there was news from the dark camp."

Chenzhou Prefecture is so close to the Fu Han Army, so it is naturally the focus of the Dark Camp. And let's put it this way. In the past few years, the Qing Dynasty has been plundering and oppressing, making Chenzhou, which was originally a wealthy prefecture located in the eastern Henan Plain, very miserable. Not only the common people are miserable, but also the gentry and wealthy families in the territory are miserable.

Just like the big owner of Chen Yihe's business, he has a close connection with the Dark Camp itself. When Chen Han's troops first visited Zhoujiakou, Chen Yihe escaped the disaster by relying on his relationship. At that time, Chen Liang was still running the Shunfeng business and bought a lot of sulfur and saltpeter from Chen Yihe. Although the Fu Han Army was on the defensive in the Henan battlefield later, the secret contact between the two sides has never been severed. And the Chen family is just one of the many contacts of the Dark Camp in Chenzhou Prefecture!

"According to the intelligence statistics in the dark camp, there are only 5,000 to 6,000 Qing troops in Chenzhou Prefecture. Agui has already left Chenzhou Prefecture with a large group of cavalry. In Chenzhou Prefecture, the army is in chaos and morale is low because of the rumor of 'Chiyou's manifestation of the saint' and the news that Zhoujiakou was broken in half a day, and Agui's departure."

"Do you know where Agui went?"

"We only know that Agui led his troops out of the city from the south gate."

"What about the time?"

"Around 3:30 in the afternoon."

Chen Ming looked at the map for a long time without saying a word. Agui left from the south gate of Chenzhou. Could he go back to Shangshui?

"Send a message to Chen Kaishan. Tell him to be careful." It's better to be safe than sorry. If Agui really dares to risk losing Chenzhou Prefecture, the military supply focus of the Qing army, and go to Shangshui to make trouble, then the cavalry brigade should be careful.

...

After dawn, there are still a few stars hanging in the sky, and a hint of white appears in the eastern sky. The sound of horse hooves like thunder was heard outside Tangzhuang.

Wang Tenglong and Li Tianyou were both in military uniforms, and their cavalrymen were ready to go. Although the sound of horse hooves outside was loud, Wang Tenglong's ears were not deaf. At most, there were four or five hundred cavalrymen wandering around, while the Fu Han Army cavalrymen who arrived in the evening were no less than three thousand cavalrymen.

Since receiving the news that the Fu Han Army cavalrymen were coming, Wang Tenglong's reaction was no different from what Chen Ming expected.

He did not retreat in a hurry in the dark, nor did he attack the Fu Han Army cavalry brigade, but chose not to retreat without fighting. The cavalry cavalry from more than a dozen surrounding villages were gathered into five villages centered on Tangzhuang. Tangzhuang itself had less than two thousand cavalrymen stationed, and each of the other four villages had thousands of cavalrymen!

Outside Tangzhuang, Chen Kaishan did not sleep either. He was quite close to Tangzhuang.

The five villages were not specially arranged. The four villages outside Tangzhuang only roughly covered Tangzhuang. In fact, the location of the four villages was a nearly flat diamond, and Tangzhuang was located in the northeast of this flat circle.

With the range of the rocket, as long as the angle is set, it is completely possible to hit Tangzhuang. It's a pity that the number of rockets is limited. If Tangzhuang is the main target, the other four villages can only be harassing.

Chen Kaishan ordered a battalion of cavalry to gallop, one to create a tense atmosphere; the other to cover his actions.

"Brigade commander, get ready."

"Then launch--"

Dawn had passed, and Chen Kaishan didn't want to wait for a quarter of an hour.

In the deep darkness, suddenly bright flames appeared, and twenty rocket launchers were fixed to the ground with long iron nails.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh..."

Ignition, the tail of the rocket sprayed violent flames, white smoke rose painfully, accompanied by a strong heat wave, the loess was sprayed in the smoke by the tail gas, and rockets flew out from the launcher like meteors.

It was like a flash of lightning across the dark sky!

"Boom boom boom..." The violent explosion sounded inside and outside Tangzhuang.

"Didn't Chen Ni bring a cannon?" Wang Tenglong heard the sudden explosion and his face changed immediately.