Chapter 187: The Third Suppression (V)
It’s coming! It’s coming! It’s finally here!
When the four thousand cavalrymen circled the rear and flanks of the Han army and launched an attack on them, all that could be seen on the plains were galloping horses and the cold light of the cavalrymen's spears and swords. The roar of sixteen thousand horse hooves on the ground seemed as if the entire earth was shaking and boiling.
Standing in the way of the two cavalry units were only four battalions, 1,600 Han troops.
The Green Camp of the Qing army in the front suddenly felt that the artillery fire of the Han army had weakened, and soon, the Eight Banners army, who were eyeing the enemy covetously, began to shout and curse at them.
In the eyes of the Green Camp, being scolded by the noble bannermen was not shameful. Under the shouting, scolding, and even beatings of officers at all levels, the Green Camp began to quickly reorganize the disrupted ranks, preparing to cross the open space covered with corpses and wounded soldiers again and launch the final attack on the Han army.
Qian Qing, Lei Hu, Liu Shiwang and Yang Wangfu had already arrived at the four camps facing the Qing cavalry.
There was nothing to say. The biggest threat to the Han army was not the 96,000 Green Camp and Eight Banners infantry. After yesterday's battle, the Qing army launched wave after wave of attacks against the Han army, but their front teeth began to loosen, and they were unable to achieve the hand-to-hand combat and melee they expected.
Huo Chong stopped at the artillery position. Twenty-four ten-jin cannons had already been prepared in their positions, waiting for this moment.
As the saying goes, if you know yourself and the enemy, you will win without danger. "Knowing the enemy" should be put before "knowing yourself", which fully reflects that Sun Wu himself has fully understood the logic of war.
If knowing oneself is the premise, then one must cultivate oneself to a very strong level to deal with all problems. However, if knowing the enemy is the premise, then it will be more targeted. The enemy is not a god, and the actions of the enemy as a human being can be predicted and judged.
While Huo Chong was thinking about things that had little to do with the current situation, the artillerymen had already begun fighting according to the previously set plan and the methods they had trained extensively.
The Qing cavalry began shooting at a distance of about 1,000 meters.
Artillery is expensive not only because they have to be equipped with weapons that cost a lot of money to make. Even if Huo Chong provided the correct idea, the fuel consumed to make a 1,500-jin artillery piece would be more than ten tons, or more than 30,000 kilograms.
As for the yield rate, Huo Chong failed to produce several qualified gray iron cannons in the first few years.
The total weight of the twenty-four guns and the gun carriages was twenty-four thousand kilograms. In addition to the 120 three-kilogram guns, the total weight of the muskets and other metal weapons of the sixteen thousand troops in this battle was not much more than the total weight of the artillery.
Artillery requires a lot of experiments, and the gunpowder consumed in each training session makes the logistics personnel suffer so much that they are almost heartbroken.
Even so, the hit rate of artillery fire at a distance of 1,000 meters was only a pitiful less than 30%.
However, every shell that hit the target created a path through the Qing cavalry. A ten-pound iron ball flew into the cavalry, and it was impossible for one person and one horse, or a few people and a few horses, to consume all the kinetic energy.
In this era, it took several years to train cavalry. For a cavalryman to grow to the point where he could charge, he would have to eat for at least twenty years, and would need taxes and food supplies provided by dozens or even hundreds of people.
Such a huge expense was wiped out the moment the shells hit them. The lifeless corpses, especially the corpses of horses, formed a new obstacle, which slightly slowed down the speed of the Qing cavalry's charge.
A well-trained artillery crew could fire a shell in one minute according to the training parameters. As the Qing cavalry rushed to 600 meters, the hit rate of the 10-jin cannon immediately increased to more than 80%.
After one round of artillery fire, more than a dozen passages were created in the Qing cavalry group, and at least hundreds of people died.
Just as the Qing army approached within 300 meters, the artillerymen with 3-jin cannons hurriedly entered the gun positions and began to use grapeshot to spray iron balls weighing at least one or two taels at the Qing cavalry.
Qing army casualties began to increase dramatically.
Even so, these proud Qing cavalrymen did not retreat, because they had not designed a retreat route.
Turning the horses around would only allow them to continue to be attacked unilaterally. The Qing cavalry just slowed down slightly and drew their bows and arrows.
The four battalions of the Han army formed a hollow square formation and began to organize volleys of gunfire. These four battalions were all wearing cotton armor captured from the Qing army. This thing was made of cotton and iron sheets were added inside. Ordinary bows and arrows could not penetrate it at all.
With the iron helmets on their heads, even facing arrows, these four battalions composed of veterans did not panic at all.
The Qing cavalry had never expected the enemy to be so brave, and they were quickly beaten to pieces in the exchange of fire, and fell off their horses one after another. Even if there were more than a hundred brave and lucky ones who rushed to the hollow square formation of the Han people, they were blocked by the wooden horses in front of them. They could only rush in through the narrow passage.
The cavalry wanted to use their horses to trample and ram the Han army, but the soldiers deployed here were all the most elite Han soldiers, and the soldiers in the front row of the hollow square formation all had their rifles equipped with bayonets.
The gleaming bayonets made the horses, which had stopped galloping, stand up instinctively. The cavalrymen at the top were either thrown off their horses or shot dead at close range by the Han army's musketeers while they were trying desperately to stay put.
Both the Qing army and the Han army used the best combat skills they had mastered. It was obvious that the Han army, which knew itself and the enemy better, had an overwhelming advantage in killing.
Most of the Qing troops did not even have the chance to face the Han army. The iron balls weighing one, two, or three taels that kept falling from the sky took their lives.
Huo Chong watched the Qing cavalry fall to the ground quickly under the bombardment of artillery that was at least at the level of 1850, like wheat slashed by a sickle. It was finally confirmed that the Qing army's defeat in the two Opium Wars was not simply due to the corruption and depravity of the Qing Dynasty.
In the face of industrial civilization, even the most primitive industrial civilization, the peak countries of agricultural civilization do not have the strength to face it head-on.
...Of course, forget about that Italian crap.
It seemed like a long time had passed, yet it seemed like just a short time, before the Qing cavalry finally collapsed.
This year is the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign, which is 1727. Counting both years as one year, it has been ten years since Huo Chong met Yongzheng in 1718.
Ten years of hardship and twists and turns were finally condensed into a battle of less than an hour. Huo Chong just felt that this result was really boring.
However, the soldiers of the four battalions cheered loudly. Even though these were veterans who had followed Huo Chong the longest, it was the first time for them to face a cavalry charge of more than a thousand enemies. Facing this torrent of enemies, every officer and soldier's heart almost stopped beating more than once.
When an enemy that seems to be invincible is destroyed by oneself, the cheers are not only to express one's ecstasy, but also to remind oneself that this is not a dream! It reminds oneself that one is still alive.
Footsteps sounded, and the generals led by Qian Qing rushed to Huo Chong. Qian Qing stepped forward and grabbed Huo Chong's arm. Tears already welled up in her beautiful eyes. She shook Huo Chong's arm vigorously and shouted, "Sir! Sir! We won! We won!"
Lei Hu, who rushed over next, also felt as if a fire was burning in his chest as his heart beat violently. This fire melted away the barrier he once had with Huo Chong. He didn't know where he got the courage from, but Lei Hu rushed over and hugged Huo Chong, and also shouted loudly: "Sir, I won!"
Officers such as Liu Shiwang and Yang Wangfu were not far behind, and they all rushed over and surrounded Huo Chong, one wanting to pull him, the other wanting to hug him.
Qian Qing, who was also surrounded, shouted, "Let's lift the gentleman up!"
These words reminded everyone, and they all bent down and worked together to lift Huo Chong up and hold him high above their heads.
Some people felt that this was not enough, so they lifted up Qian Qing as well. They cheered loudly while holding up the two of them.
Those officers and soldiers of lower ranks also rushed over at this time, and seeing that the commander-in-chief and deputy commander-in-chief of the entire army were already high up, they all cheered loudly for the two of them.
I don't know who started it, but someone has already started shouting, "Long live! Long live! Long live the sir!"
Huo Chong was not so excited. It had been ten years, ten years to get to where we are today. Compared to such a long time, this small victory was just the beginning.
Although he didn't care at all, Huo Chong still knew that his personal sorrow and joy were not important at this moment. His most urgent task was to respond to those who followed him. So Huo Chong shouted loudly: "Everyone, listen to me!"
The excited soldiers immediately quieted down when they heard what Huo Chong was going to say. The crowd effect took effect, and as the people in the inner circle quieted down, the people in the outer circle also quickly quieted down.
"We have won here, but we haven't won over there yet!" Huo Chong turned around and pointed in the direction of the Qing army's infantry. "We can only say we have won if we defeat the Qing army in one fell swoop. Now, return to your teams and prepare for battle!"
Yue Zhongqi, the commander of the Qing army's third expedition, learned the news of the complete collapse of the Qing cavalry about half an hour later than Huo Chong. When he heard the news, although Yue Zhongqi was extremely shocked, he did not panic.
The veteran general even felt like the answer to the mystery had been revealed. Nian Gengyao commented that Huo Chong was erratic in his use of troops but solid in his combat. Since Huo Chong dared to fight a Qing army five times his size head-on, he certainly would not be crazy.
It's just that this realization came a little late, and the late realization was too heavy and bitter. Yue Zhongqi knew that his greatest advantage had been shattered, and he would have to face Huo Chong's attack next.
"Pass the order down!" Yue Zhongqi roared.
The generals and commanders around did not dare to make a sound and listened quietly to Yue Zhongqi's orders.
"From now on, all generals will send out their supervisory teams. If there is an order from the general, those who advance will be rewarded! Those who retreat will be killed!" Yue Zhongqi's voice was as cold as frost. "Each general will be supervised by the Eight Banners behind their formations!"
As if they were whipped, the generals all changed their expressions. Some generals wanted to say something, but when they looked up and looked at Yue Zhongqi, they were so scared that they dared not say a word. The murderous intent flashing in Yue Zhongqi's eyes alone made these generals dare not say a word.
Yue Zhongqi continued, "What the Huo bandits fear is the government cavalry. Now that the cavalry has been destroyed, the Huo bandits have nothing to fear. They will surely launch a massive attack. Three days into the war, the government troops have lost 10,000 men. If we are defeated again, we will either die on the battlefield or die by the imperial decree. How do you want to die?"
