Chapter 475 The First Battle Begins

[Thanks to ‘Kevin93’ for the 500 coin reward, thank you]

"Master Bei Zi, Master Bei Zi,...Wang Ping ran away!"

Yong Lang suddenly turned around in front of a huge map of Tianjin and looked at the panting Chinese army who came to report. "What did you say?"

"Master Beizi, Wang Ping escaped before the battle, and Lord Sengge died on the spot. Only less than a hundred of the four to five hundred flag soldiers and vests escaped!" Captain Goshiha's guard had a look of gnashing hatred on his face.

But Yonglang's eyes were on the expedition, and when he exerted force with both hands, the bamboo whip in his hand broke into two pieces, and then he smashed it to the ground. A raging fire was burning in his heart, and he wanted to call all the Han soldiers in one place, yell at them, and whip them hard to eliminate the fire in his heart. But……

"Catch the defeated soldiers in one place. Tell them not to say anything..." Yong Lang was not a reckless man who ignored everything when his blood was rushing. Calmness took over his brain again.

"Master Bei Zi..." The guard captain's voice contained too much shock and disbelief.

"Get out!" The murderous aura in Yong Lang's eyes was almost solidified. The captain of the guard shivered and retreated hastily.

"Hold it, hold it back. You must hold it back!" Looking at the back of the guard captain leaving, Yong Lang's muscles tightened, restraining a violent beast, he told himself, he must hold it back!

From Lutai Town to Qilihai, the 30,000 Han people in the Qing army were far more than just Wang Ping's 1,000-odd horse team. If this news broke out, a hundred banner soldiers and Mongolian soldiers would definitely be dissatisfied with the training of the Green Camp. Wouldn't that cause chaos? Yonglang must hold back!

The captain of the guard who came back after finishing his work saw the room being cleaned up by the soldiers. The tables, chairs, tea sets, and furnishings, except for the map hanging on the wall, had all been replaced with new ones, and he remained silent.

The evening breeze blew coldly from the door.

At night, on top of the low city wall of Lutai Town, soldiers stood straight and solemn. Facing the Fuhan Army that was about to attack soon, this low city wall was of little use. What was really effective were the trenches criss-crossing the town and the several stone bunkers.

Lutai Town is a typical small town. Because it is right next to the salt factory, the market is quite good. There are four streets, two horizontal and two vertical, dividing the whole town into nine squares of about the same size. The original salt factory yamen also had garrison troops. The Yamen is located in the middle, surrounded by hundreds of businesses and more than 10,000 residents in Lutai Town. But now there are no common people here, and it has become a pure military camp. Semi-enclosed artillery forts stood one after another, and trenches that were more than ten feet deep underground were interspersed with each other. At every intersection of the streets on the surface, there was a tower made entirely of stone and a large blue brick weighing fifty kilograms. A fortress made of forts. On the Manchu and Qing Dynasty's military layout map, this place was called Dong Daying.

The night was already dark, but few people could sleep peacefully. Because everyone knew that Chen Ming had arrived, because they all knew that the war was coming.

In the afternoon, Seng Ge led a team of more than 2,000 horses to fight out of Lutai, but came back with a fraction. Even Sengge himself was hanging on the battle line. Yonglang asked the defeated soldiers to keep their mouths shut, and did not arouse conflicts between the Manchu and Han soldiers, but it also made him unable to escape from the defeat. The two thousand cavalry were destroyed so quickly, and only a few hundred horsemen escaped. How much pressure this put on the Lutai Qing army.

Nothing happened all night until dawn.

The next day, rumbling footsteps sounded from Caofeidian. More than 40,000 Fuhan troops lined up in neat ranks and strode towards Lutai.

The morale of the Fuhan army was as high as a radiating sun. They fought thousands of miles and traveled thousands of miles, and victory was right in front of them. The current spirit of the Fuhan Army can be said to be at its highest since the founding of the army. Regardless of whether these people are the main force of the Fuhan Army, the Tiandihui Rebel Army, Qingshui Cult, Hunyuan Cultist Army, or even the original Qing soldiers who surrendered to Chen Han, one, two, or three years have passed, and they have been The soldiers who were divided into fields, had their points renewed, and sooner or later received real 'dividends', faced with the current situation where their great achievements were about to be completed, a few of them did not change and became Chen Han to unify the country. Where is the most loyal warrior of the great cause?

The Qing army in front of us is finished, and the city of Beijing belongs to 'ours'!

Chen Ming knew very well why the morale of the team was so high, so he believed that the Qing army could not resist it at all! Agui should not sit in Tongzhou with the main army. The Qing army's offensive in the past two months was too weak, making them unable to cheer up.

Especially after entering the second half of the first month, the Qing army at this time should not continue to avoid fighting, but should assume a decisive battle in Tianjin early in the morning. Otherwise, every time an army of the Fuhan Army arrived in Caofeidian, their momentum and the courage of the soldiers would become higher and higher. Now Chen Ming's arrival has triggered everyone's excitement. Chen Ming led such an army Attack Lutai without thinking about what would happen if it failed?

Sweeping Lutai, sweeping Beitang, and sweeping Dagukou. If Agui still couldn't hold back at that time, the Manchu Qing Dynasty would really be over. The Fuhan Army marched westward, heading straight for Beijing. The closer they got to Beijing, the closer they were to victory. At that time, anyone who tried to stop them from entering Beijing would be crushed alive.

The 40,000 Fuhan Army came directly from Caofeidian with great momentum. Yonglang sent people to report to Beitang quickly. In addition, he said, "call all the generals to the central army to discuss matters."

Lutai is an important place for the Qing army to deploy. Half of the 30,000 Qing troops were deployed in Lutai. After all, Lutai is the central area of ​​this area, especially the Jiyun River. There are several "Ji"-shaped river bends in this area, and Yangjiawa is next to it in the east. From Yangjiawa to the east is the Bohai Sea. The area between Yangjiawa and the Bohai Sea is full of salt marshes, with complex terrain and many bends. Now that it has thawed, it is impossible to pass through on a large scale.

Yonglang ordered a military meeting. The Manchu, Han and Mongolian troops under his command gathered one after another.

"The fate of our Qing Dynasty, whether it survives or dies, depends on this battle!" Yonglang did not play tricks, and he came straight to the point and announced loudly.

On a finely made military map, three red squares representing the Fu Han Army have appeared in the open space between Dabolai and Lutai Town. All the Qing army officers stared at the three red squares of medium size. The atmosphere on the scene immediately became solemn.

"There is no one here who is not in the banner. You all know how much Chen Ni hates the bannermen. So forget those unnecessary thoughts and let them see how powerful we are!" Yonglang really felt that the late emperor's expansion of the Han army banner was an absolute masterstroke, and what made people even more happy was that Chen Ni never expressed his opinion on this, which forced the Han people to be loyal to Daqingguo. Of course, scum like Wang Ping is inevitable. But at this moment, Yonglang can only hope that there is only one Wang Ping among his generals.

All the people went out with blood on their faces, and Yonglang also changed into a sturdy cotton armor.

The Fu Han army has already marched to the vast open space in front of Lutai Town with high morale. The Fu Han army divided into two troops, one on the left and one on the right, to suppress Yangjiawa and Miaozhuang respectively, and the main force had at least 30,000 infantry and cavalry, arranged outside Lutai Town.

The cannons were still dragged behind the team. There were not many oxen in the team, all of which were used to pull the cannons, as well as horses, donkeys and mules. The 12-jin cannon was too heavy, and the total weight of the cannon cart and ammunition cart exceeded 3,800 jin. Two oxen and four mules were needed to make the cannon move as fast as the infantry.

When the Fu Han Army arrived at Lutai Town, Chen Ming looked at his pocket watch, it was 8:22.

The heavy artillery artillery unit quickly set up the cannons, and another group of guards chose a suitable place in front and began to build artillery positions. The saying that there is strength in numbers is absolutely true. Just as the 32 12-jin cannons pulled by the Fu Han Army were bombarding Lutai Town, the other artillery positions closer to Lutai had been built, and the 8-jin and 5-jin cannons were quickly pushed into the artillery positions.

The Qing army was under greater pressure. The Qing army, which had always produced insufficient cannons, had only a few twenty guns deployed in Lutai Town. Among them, the number of new artillery is less than half. How can we fight an artillery battle with the Fu Han Army?

After an hour of bombardment, those semi-enclosed artillery forts that were built quite solidly either collapsed or were already shaky under the continuous impact of iron bullets.

"Cavalry, prepare!"

"Rocket troops, move forward!"

Chen Ming didn't need to give orders personally. With a wave of his hand, the subordinates knew what to do next.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh..."

Rockets with long tail flames fell one by one on Lutai. The continuous explosions were like thunder in the sky. Large amounts of gunpowder smoke and dust rose up, and the entire Lutai town was annihilated by it.

The attack mode of the Fu Han Army was a bit procedural. After the rockets were launched, large groups of infantry attacked. "The wind follows the dragon, the wind follows the tiger, fame and fortune are dust and earth..."

The first to launch the attack was the Shandong Army's 1st Division, which arrived in Caofeidian the earliest after the New Year. Yang Mingzhao certainly would not stand in the army, as he had already changed his job. He surrendered all his troops, just like Wang Lun, and stayed in Nanjing to enjoy the glory and wealth.

The commander of the First Division of Shandong Army is none other than Tang Wencan. After going to the battlefield in Anhui, Tang Wencan did not make any remarkable contributions, but his position was high enough and he was loyal enough. When the garrisons of various provinces were established, these people entered the garrisons as division commanders and brigade commanders.

The deputy commander of the First Division is Wang Jinglong, Wang Lun's adopted son. After the Qingshui Sect started the rebellion, his own contributions were great, and Wang Lun himself gave up all his power, so Wang Jinglong was promoted to the position of deputy commander of the First Division.

More than 5,000 people from the First Brigade of the First Division of Shandong Army sang military songs and rushed towards Lutai Town with high spirits. But the sound of the cannons stopped, and in the ruins of Lutai Town, the walls of which were destroyed, "It's time to protect the Qing Dynasty and die for the emperor! Brothers, follow me to kill the bandits!"

Hysterical shouts echoed in the ruins, and one after another, the remnants of the Qing army stood up from the ruins. The large number of Qing troops that Yonglang had transferred out of Lutai Town before also began to enter the ruins. At the same time, the Qing troops in the direction of Yangjiawa and Miaozhuang Town also launched a diversionary attack on the Fu Han Army.

The hot air balloons carried by the Fu Han Army have not yet risen, and it seems that Lutai will be taken down by them.

"Beep beep beep..." A quick whistle sounded, which was a signal to stop.

"Stand at attention, look to the right..."

"Front row squat! Middle row stand! Raise your guns——"

The shouts of officers at all levels in the Shandong Army came one after another. The entire brigade troops had been dispersed into small groups based on teams. Facing the Qing soldiers who had gathered little by little in the ruins of Lutai, they had rushed to In the Shandong Army teams on the edge of Lutai, troops began to stand and fire guns under the guidance of the officers. Especially the team in the front row on the left had already formed two horizontal lines.

"Aim...release!"

A sound of "release" seemed to open the door of thunder, and the muzzles of a hundred shotguns burst out with flames at the same time, and then two neat lines of white smoke spurted out from in front of the Shandong Army's formation, filling the space between the two armies. A group of Qing troops who had just assembled on the opposite side fell to the ground.

The ruins of Lutai Town echoed with the fierce fighting sounds of soldiers from both sides.

Chen Ming clearly saw two groups of "morale" entering the ruins from behind Lutai Town (south), but he did not give orders to the artillery or rocket troops. This Shandong garrison is not a rookie who has just seen blood. It is good to be tempered in the current 'appetizers'.

You see now, these Shandong heroes are not at all frightened by the reinforcements from the Qing army. Their morale is still strong, and the front line in the ruins is always advancing little by little.

"Soldiers, the time has come to serve the imperial court. Come with me!" At dawn, a thousand cavalry troops were urgently transferred from Qilihai. After joining the bodyguards of Yonglang, the total strength was less than 1,500. People, Shi Lang, the commander in charge of this army, shouted loudly. Under his leadership, it was like a big curtain being opened at this time, crossing the frozen water between Yangjiawa and Lutai Town, rushing towards the Fourth Brigade of the Second Division of the Shandong Army led by Meng Can. The latter was the follow-up force sent by Chen Ming to the ruins of Lutai.

The battle line of the First Division of the Shandong Army is still extending to the south, but the speed has slowed down.

At this time, they need the support of reinforcements, which will not only bring them military support, but also revive their morale, which has begun to decline.

As for the group of Manchu and Qing cavalry that rushed out from the gap between Yangjiawa and Lutai Town, Chen Ming had already made arrangements to deal with them.

"Beep beep beep beep..."

A regiment of Guards Brigade soldiers lined up in two columns and quickly inserted themselves toward the southeast, blocking like a thin line between the Qing Army's cavalry and the Fourth Brigade of the Second Shandong Army Division.

"Raise the gun..." During this period, the two artillery positions on the left wing of the Fuhan Army allocated part of their firepower and aimed their muzzles at the Qing Army's cavalry.

"Boom, boom, boom..." Including the rocket troops, rockets fell on the path of the Qing army's cavalry charge.

The firelight flickered, the horses fell to the ground whining, and the horse soldiers turned into corpses. The violent explosion can tear a horse into pieces, and human life becomes as small as an ant in the continuous explosions.

"Charge, charge..." Shi Lang shouted loudly. No matter how many shells were fired, he had to rush towards the Fuhan Army.

Yonglang sent the order, and Lutai Town could no longer bear it. If this unit of the Fuhan Army entered the ruins of Lutai, what awaited the Qing army would be a complete collapse. The infantry from Qilihai have not arrived yet, nor have the troops from Beitang. If the Qing soldiers in the ruins of Lutai collapsed, the consequences would be a disaster.

The Qing soldiers who don't even have a support are likely to be completely wiped out by the Fuhan army.

"Tell Niyada to send reinforcements. I want to send reinforcements. The soldiers in Lutai cannot hold it all morning!" The Fuhan Army's artillery fire was just that. The rocket attack was really demoralizing. Soldiers hiding in deep trenches can be shocked to death. Such weapons are simply cheating!

Yong Lang held the knife handle in his hand tightly. This was Chen Ming's first battle after arriving in Caofeidian. It could also be said to be the first battle in the showdown between Manchu and Han. He didn't want to lose so hard that he had no ability to fight back. And all this depends on Shi Lang.

"Men of the Eight Banners, the time has come to protect the emperor and protect the Qing Dynasty!"

"You guys can't embarrass our ancestors!"

"Come on, hold in all your strength! It's our turn to swing the knife soon."

"Hold the knife handle tightly and let the men use the knife to teach these traitors a lesson..."

Amidst the violent explosions, shouts rang out from the Qing army's cavalry, and the officers loudly encouraged their subordinates. Because there is only a thin red line in front of them.

The soldiers of the Guards Brigade showed no fear. Facing the Qing army's cavalry that rushed out of the artillery blockade, the leading officer seemed to pay more attention to the number of flag soldiers in this cavalry.

Not bad, very good.

There were only a thousand cavalry left in front of them. Most of them were wearing cotton armor, so they were all flag soldiers. "Brothers leveled their guns and told the Tatar soldiers in front that the days of cavalry being awesome are gone forever."

"I have them all, aim...shoot!"

There was a thunderbolt out of thin air, which was the sound of a salvo of two thousand flintlock muskets, and a neat line of white smoke sprayed out from in front of the Fuhan army line. A hundred paces away, the Eight Banners horse-armored soldiers fell to the ground one by one.

Shi Lang knew that the morale of the team was high today, and every bannerman knew that their 'Da Qing Guo' was on the verge of life and death. Many people's families are still in Beijing. They are not only fighting for their country, but also fighting for their families.

But the cavalry could actually continue to charge under such fierce artillery fire. This was something Shi Lang had never expected, and it was also something that made him extremely happy and excited. Their Eight Banners Iron Cavalry was indeed powerful. When they broke through the fire blockade of the Fu Han Army with great courage, there was only an extremely thin infantry line in front of them. This was not a hollow formation, but a single line of soldiers.

Shi Lang did not take the enemy in front of him seriously. Such a thin line, wouldn't it be broken with a single charge? Not only could he attack the flank of the Fu Han Army's reinforcements today, but he could also make a lot of money before that.

However, when Shi Lang was still dreaming of making achievements on the battlefield and achieving his endless honors with the blood of the Fu Han Army, he was completely stunned the next moment.

"Boom..."

The sound of two thousand flintlock rifles firing at the same time was really more intense than the explosion of the heaviest model of rockets.

A lead bullet penetrated the neck of the warhorse under his crotch, and the galloping warhorse fell to the ground. Shi Lang was thrown out and fell heavily on the yellow earth. The huge pain made his eyes black and he never woke up again. Shi Lang didn't know that in that moment, hundreds of flag soldiers and horsemen were thrown out of the horse like him. Some of them died, and some were still alive and conscious. They could hear the continuous screams of people and horses falling and the continuous wailing of warhorses.

The Qing army cavalry was scattered, so facing the volley of a regiment of the Royal Guard Brigade, they suffered a large horizontal area of ​​injury, and the casualties were so heavy that the remaining horsemen no longer had the courage to face the bayonets of the Fu Han Army soldiers.

First, there was the bombardment of artillery fire and rockets, and then there was a volley of a whole regiment. This Qing army cavalry was like their commander Shi Lang, dead!

"Charge..."

The 4th Brigade of the Shandong Army shouted slogans and rushed into the ruined Lutai Town. Yong Lang closed his eyes and two hot tears flowed from his eyes.