Chapter 1702 Renzi Juan Outpost Battle (1)

   Putting aside those complicated thoughts, Zhang Dingyuan knew very well that his only task at this time was to guard the stone bridge.

  The number of cavalry that the Xuanfu army crossed the river was small, not enough to pose too much threat to his thousand people, which made him feel more at ease.

The loud noise of firecrackers from the rear is enough to prove that his arrangement is correct. Zhou Zhanpeng and the others must have been attacked by enemy cavalry, and they also counterattacked. At least they did not lose in this battle. The power of this heavy gun can still be trusted.

  A series of orders were quickly issued, and the firecrackers began to deploy defenses along the bridgehead. The bridge deck was only a few feet wide, leaving plenty of room for defense on their own side.

Under the urging of Zhang Dingyuan, the firecrackers began to form formation fifteen steps away from the last railing at the bridgehead. A slightly semi-arc-shaped shooting formation allowed the firepower to cover the north bridgehead. As long as the Xuanfu army was in the north of the bridge Start to gather, and they will be shot and killed mercilessly by their own side.

Zhang Dingyuan still trusts the situation of the firecrackers under his hands. Within forty steps is the most lethal shooting range of his firecrackers. If it exceeds fifty steps, the shooting accuracy will begin to decline regardless of the lethality. Fifteen steps, the lethality against armored soldiers will be greatly reduced, but if Zhou Zhanpeng's hawk-beaked gunmen come up, it will be another matter.

The power of the eagle-billed gun is far from comparable to that of its own fire guns. Its lethality is still astonishing even at a distance of 120 steps. It can easily penetrate the cotton armor worn by soldiers and cause fatal damage. Within eighty steps, even ordinary plate armor cannot resist the shooting of this heavy firecracker, which is enough to show the power of this kind of firecracker.

  These are all things they have personally practiced when they started to equip these firecrackers. Only in this way can the soldiers have the most intuitive feeling and understanding, and also allow them to exert their greatest power at the most suitable distance in battle.

According to Zhang Dingyuan's vision, he can use this stone bridge to carry out a blocking battle, use the firecrackers to form a semi-circular shooting surface at the head of the bridge, and then let the eagle beaked guns line up on the two wings of the firecrackers, fully Take advantage of the long-range shooting range of the eagle beak gun.

The power of the eagle-billed blunderbuss can completely cover the entire north of the bridge, and it can even extend a little farther, so that the Xuanfu army will be hit when it starts to assemble and when it is on the bridge. Within a hundred steps of Duan, it completely turned into a Shura field.

Of course, Zhang Dingyuan also knows that this can only be a short period, and the Xuanfu army is not a fool. If they charge twice and encounter massacres in this way, they may change their methods, but this is enough. What Zhang Dingyuan has to do is to buy time , so that the army in the rear can react quickly.

   Enemies come fast.

   Obviously, the Xuanfu army on the other side of the river also noticed that the number of troops on the south bank of the river was not too large. Although the continuous ringing of firecrackers on the south bank made them realize that the confrontation had begun on the south bank, they had no way of knowing the specific situation.

  But those who have crossed the river are all elite cavalry dispatched. Although there are not many in number, the tactics of harassment can be fully utilized.

  These voices now seem to prove that our vanguard cavalry is implementing this strategy. Now we need to seize this opportunity to quickly break through the stone bridge and control the south end of the bridge.

  Li Daming held the reins tightly in his hand, and looked back to see if the follow-up army had followed.

  As the forward of this eastward advance, he shoulders the important task of capturing Gonghua City.

   The news that the scouts got back said that there were only a few hundred Jizhen guards in Gonghua City, and he was sure to take it in one fell swoop, so he sent a vanguard to cross the river to control the situation.

  Who would have thought that in this short period of time, the situation would change suddenly, and a large army would come from the capital and take control of Gonghua City first. Now even the stone bridge of the Yuhe River, the main throat, might fall into the enemy's hands.

   This made him a little anxious.

  The Yu River is actually not wide, and it can even be said that the water is very shallow. In winter, some areas may even stop flowing, but now it is late autumn.

  The rainfall some time ago caused the river to surge, and now it has become a shackle.

  He has already let the horse go down to test it, and the shallowest part is as deep as a person, and the river channel is silted up.

  It is very difficult for people and horses to cross the river, especially for luggage and carriages.

If there is enough time, it is not difficult to build a pontoon bridge on such a river that is no more than forty steps wide, but the problem is that time waits for no one. The army has already passed the Red Bridge and will arrive here in two or three hours. , how can there be time?

  So Shiqiao has become a must.

  Clearly knowing that the enemy on the other side of the river must have already started to form troops to block the stone bridge, but Li Da knew that he had no choice, even if it was flesh and blood to go, he had to get out of this way.

   "Xu Mengda, you lead the army first! Watch out for the opponent's firecrackers!"

Originally, he wanted to wait until the formation was assembled before launching a charge, but Li Daming worried that the opponent would also take advantage of this time to perfect the formation, and his own side might be at a disadvantage. It would be best if he could break through and gain a firm foothold in the south of the bridge. Even if the opponent was prepared to rush back and retreat, the loss would not be too great.

  Xu Mengda's troops are his own elite, and the troops on the other side of the river are not many, and it may not be so fast to form a team in the dark, so there is still a chance for such a rush.

  Looking at the six hundred soldiers quickly completing the formation, and all the foreskin shields forming a complete line of protection, Li Daming nodded with satisfaction.

The shield bearers of Xu Mengda's tribe are veterans who have experienced many battles. They are all made of high-quality poplar wood and are covered with thick cowhide. Even Mongol arrows can't shoot through them. The gun shoots at the shield at a distance of 30 to 50 steps. It takes a gun to penetrate the shield until it is within 25 steps. It is difficult to penetrate beyond 30 steps.

   And at a distance of twenty-five steps, as long as it withstands a round of shooting, it is enough to achieve a breakthrough.

   "My lord, get ready." Xu Mengda's deep voice sounded.

   "Very good, pay attention to keep your distance, launch a charge at 25 steps, and defeat the opponent in one fell swoop." Li Daming warned: "The opponent may have spears and shields to cover, but I believe you can deal with them."

   "Don't worry, my lord, even if the gang in the Beijing camp doubles, they will be so cowardly. After a while, your lord can lead troops to follow up!" Xu Mengda waved the shield in his hand vigorously.

   "Okay, I'll wait for your good news." Li Daming nodded with satisfaction, the morale is high, and the morale of the army is available!

  The south bank of the river.

  Zhang Dingyuan watched helplessly as the shieldmen of the Xuanfu army gathered on the bridgehead on the opposite bank, feeling very anxious.

  If you can hit the opponent at this time, it will definitely disrupt the rhythm of the opponent's assembly, which can not only effectively kill the enemy, but also win time.

  But the formation change speed of the eagle-billed gunner was too slow. Zheng Zhang Dingyuan was very satisfied with Zhou Zhanpeng's successful defeat of the enemy's attack, but now he has some complaints.

  They were originally lagging behind and managed to catch up, but now it was too late, and the Xuanfu army on the opposite side was about to launch a charge.

   "Brother Zhanpeng, hurry up, the Xuanfu army is about to attack, immediately arrange for your people to set up an attack formation from both sides, and block the area under the bridge head in the north, yes, that is the area that is gathering..."

  Zhou Zhanpeng ran up in a hurry, and stomped his feet anxiously when he saw Zhang Dingyuan. Looking carefully, it's no wonder that the other party was anxious.

It is at least seventy steps away from here, and there are still thirty steps away from the south end of the bridge. Although the range of ordinary firecrackers here can reach that distance, the lethality is not enough, and all the opponents are protected by shields. It is impossible for ordinary firecrackers to pierce through these shields. They must travel at least thirty to forty steps away before these firecrackers can penetrate these shields.

   "It's too late, they are going to charge." Zhou Zhanpeng glanced at it and knew that the people on his side were too late to prepare.

"I know it's too late, and you guys should prepare immediately. The Xuanfu army is definitely more than this wave. Look at the torches behind the opponent, there are at least 3,000 people. This wave is only about a thousand people. I can handle it. The ones behind You're going to mess them up for me..."

  Before Zhang Dingyuan finished speaking, the formation of the Xuanfu army at Henantou had already begun to move. There was no time to say anything else, but with a wave of his hand, Zhang Dingyuan hurried forward to take command.

  The Xuanfu army was very powerful, well-covered, and paced neatly. One could tell at a glance that this was a veteran soldier.

  The entire formation seemed to be a bit shorter, and the soldiers all bowed and hooked their heads slightly, shield by shield, and pressed towards the bridge densely.

  The pace of the soldiers is not fast, but they are extremely strict and uniform. The tan cowhide is wrapped outside the wooden shield, and under the light of the torch, it flashes a dull color like oil soaked.

   There was no sound at all, only the sound of footsteps tapping on the bridge surface, converging into a rumbling dull sound, sweeping over.

At this moment, Zhang Dingyuan only felt his tongue was dry and his lips were dry, and he subconsciously swallowed his saliva. The soldiers beside him were also trembling nervously. This was the first time they had encountered such a large-scale enemy attack head-on. The blades and spears hidden behind the shield were faintly visible. , it is conceivable that once they cross this stone bridge, they will forcefully insert themselves into their formation, and can the spearmen on both wings withstand it?

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Dingyuan tried his best to make his voice cold and stable, but he sounded a little dry: "Don't worry, wait for them to come, listen to my order! Without my order, no one can fire !"

   "..., wait a minute, wait a minute, there are still thirty steps, they can't fly over,..."

   "Very well, everyone, hold on, don't worry,..."

   "Listen to my command, one or three bursts, you can fire!" Seeing the enemy's pace gradually getting faster, Zhang Dingyuan's eyes were bloodshot, and he couldn't help taking a step forward, and waved his hand violently!

  (end of this chapter)