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All mothers hate war.
However, all sons often have to resort to war to protect their mothers.
To build a country that is not bullied by foreign enemies, it does not rely on dreams; it will ultimately require blood and iron.
At this moment in the land of Hunan, it is hard to imagine how many white-haired mothers are praying before the Buddha, and how many weak wives are waiting by the door, hoping that their children and husbands who have gone out to fight will return safely.
At this moment at Huangshiji, all the soldiers were told that behind them were their mothers, wives and children, and they had no way to retreat. Only by defeating the enemies in front of them could they fight for a chance of survival for themselves, their mothers, wives and children.
The river wind was roaring, the war drums were rumbling, the three armies were roaring, the war horses were neighing, and the wind and clouds changed color.
The 20,000 Qin troops marched in neat steps and rushed forward to meet the surging Qing army. Tulairang, the commander of the guards, Neiltai, led 300 Manchu troops of the Eight Banners to launch the first charge.
Compared to a battle involving an army of 20,000, 300 cavalrymen doesn’t sound like much;
But if you really think that 300 cavalrymen are nothing, then it means that you don't know what cavalry is. For ordinary people, even if it's just a warhorse charging at you head-on, it's enough to scare you so much that your legs go weak and your face turns pale.
Even if the 300 cavalrymen were divided into three rows, with one hundred in each row, they would still be half a mile wide when spread out in a relatively dense formation. Galloping together, they were like waves surging in the sea. Their crushing momentum and deafening roar were breathtaking.
The Qin army's artillery roared first, and the dense barrage of bullets swept down the cavalry that rushed in two hundred steps. The fallen horses rolled more than ten steps away with great inertia, wailing sadly and bleeding like a river.
This was followed by segmented firing from muskets, which fired rows of bullets in the thick smoke, piercing through the enemy's bodies with the whistling sound of death and bringing out puffs of blood mist.
Nieltai endured huge casualties and rushed to the front of the Qin army fiercely. The galloping warhorse was like a flying meteorite, and the two-foot-long lance was filled with all the strength in the body, violently breaking through the spear forest and shield wall in front of the Qin army.
Facts have proved that not only the Qin army dared to launch a suicidal attack, the ferocious Tatars also had the courage to fear no death. Although only half of the 300 cavalrymen could rush through the death zone, such a fierce attack of one or two hundred cavalrymen was still enough to destroy the iron wall.
The place that had been hit violently before was like a meteorite falling into the sea, stirring up huge waves. For a moment, the air was filled with a foul smell and blood rained down.
Many Qin soldiers were knocked back dozens of steps, their ribs shattered, blood gushing out, and the entire army formation was like a bowstring that had been stretched to pieces, with a thrilling crack.
If the morale and military discipline are a little low, the entire army will easily collapse under such circumstances.
Hao Yaoqi was fortunate that he was leading a well-trained and highly motivated Qin army. They were proud of their victory over the Qing army and would not flee easily.
Shang Yi, who was promoted to centurion for his military merit, did not retreat but advanced when the Tartars broke through the shield wall. At his stern shout, hundreds of his soldiers marched in groups of ten. Taking advantage of the moment when the Qing army slowed down, they rushed forward without hesitation.
For every Qing soldier that was stabbed to death, at least five spears pierced the enemy's body at the same time. On this messy battlefield, the value of veterans was reflected so vividly.
Hao Yaoqi himself led the charge, charging towards the gap with his personal soldiers. A powerful arrow shot by a Tartar penetrated his armor, and the arrowhead pierced his flesh, causing pain.
In a rage, Hao Yaoqi broke off the tail of the arrow, roared like a tiger and hurled his broadsword with all his might, piercing the enemy's lower abdomen. He then snatched the broadsword from his personal soldier, charged forward brazenly, and chopped off the enemy's head. "Kill! Charge forward and plug the gap. The enemy's second wave of attack is coming!"
The two hundred Tatars who tore through the Qin army's formation not only failed to cause the Qin army to collapse, but were instead overwhelmed by countless equally fearless Qin soldiers as if they were trapped in a pool of quicksand.
Meng Ke on the high slope secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The moment just now was extremely dangerous. Although it was 20,000 against 300, if the front army collapsed, no matter how many people there were, it would be useless.
Tulai, on the other hand, was terrified. He had never seen an army that could withstand such a fierce attack without collapsing.
The Qin army almost blocked Neiltai's charge with their flesh and blood, and used corpses to build a flesh wall to entangle the cavalry. In the end, they overwhelmed Neiltai's hundreds of people with their absolute advantage in military strength.
The Qin army may have suffered more casualties, but Neiltai's entire army was wiped out and trampled into a pulp. The heroism displayed by the Qin army, who exchanged their lives for others', faced death with equanimity and finally held their heads high, was so heroic that not only did the Green Camp soldiers feel weak in their limbs, but even the Manchu and Mongolian bannermen, who were always proud, turned pale.
Tulai was ready for the second wave of attack right after Neiltai, and no longer dared to rush in so directly. He flew past the Qin army's formation, shot a few arrows with his bow and arrows, and then fled back in a panic under the dense attack of Qin army's bullets and arrows.
There was a roar like a raging storm in the Qin army's formation, and they held up the severed Tatar heads to demonstrate to the Qing army.
Meng Ke accurately grasped the opportunity and ordered his men to beat the drums in the central army. Amid the earth-shaking drumbeats, he issued the order for a general attack. At the same time, he sent Xiang Liancheng with 10,000 troops to bypass the lake in the east and prepare to attack Tulai from both sides.
Urged by the sound of war drums, the 20,000 Qin troops were like a black iron curtain, gathering a mountain-like strength and marching forward. Their murderous aura was enough to overturn mountains and move seas and rivers.
Tulai was going to take the initiative to attack today, but now he had to order a retreat to Huangshiji. He knew very well that the morale of the soldiers had been damaged. If he forced a decisive battle with the Qin army, the Green Camp soldiers would soon collapse and the final result would definitely be the annihilation of the entire army.
The Qin army advanced to Huangshiji again. Meng Ke would certainly not be foolish enough to attack Huangshiji again. His prestige had been established, and now was the time to continue to amplify this prestige, further undermine the morale of the Qing army, and lure the Green Camp soldiers into surrender.
Meng Ke ordered that all the Tartars' heads be chopped off, and the bodies be thrown into a big pot to cook. Then the severed heads were cracked open, the brains were taken out, and the skulls were used as wine glasses. Shang Yi and other front-line soldiers received special rewards and could drink from wine glasses made from enemy heads in front of the battle.
War is not the most cruel, but more cruel. Meng Ke wanted to use this cruel action to further strike the barbaric Tartars. The meat porridge made from corpses was not eaten by people, but fed to dogs!
Tulai was so angry at seeing all these scenes that he had completely forgotten how he had cruelly harmed the people of the Ming Dynasty in the past. But even though he hated them, he did not dare to order a war.
As the saying goes, when a rabbit dies, the fox mourns. The Tartars on the mountain saw this and felt angry and sad. The Green Camp soldiers who had just surrendered to the Tartars had even more complicated emotions.
Qin Ke once again sent people to carry the silver to the front of the battle line, and asked dozens of Green Camp soldiers who had slipped down the mountain to surrender last night to come forward and tell their stories. He shouted to the Green Camp soldiers on the mountain: "Brothers on the mountain, don't hesitate. Look at us. Governor Meng did not lie to us. After we came down the mountain, we really received the silver. Look!"
"Brothers, the 100,000-man army of Qing King Ajige was destroyed. Now you can see that the Tartars are no match for the Qin army. Following the Tartars will lead to your death."
"We are all Han people. If we don't accept the money, we will follow the Tartars and die. This is something that even fools would not do. Brothers, let's get down the mountain quickly."
"Meng Dudu said that the Qin army will launch a general attack tomorrow. Anyone who does not come down the mountain and surrender will be treated like these Tartars. Their meat will be boiled to feed dogs and their heads will be used to make wine. Don't choose the path of death!"
Meng Ke had a blank expression on his face. The Battle of Huangshiji had reached this point, and the chances of victory were already very high. However, the soldiers could be proud, but he, as the commander-in-chief, could not. He could not be complacent until the war was completely over.
The soldiers were still cheering for the victory. He had strictly ordered Xiang Liancheng and Jin Shenghuan's troops to take turns to guard the camp tonight to prevent the enemy from raiding the camp. At the same time, he ordered Jin Shenghuan to continue looking for firewood and fumigating the Tartars at night.
Sure enough, that night when the Qin army set off thick smoke to kill the rats, Tulai personally led his troops to bypass the lake from the east to raid the camp at three o'clock in the morning. As a result, they were ambushed by Xiang Liancheng and retreated in disgrace after suffering heavy casualties.
When Tulai went down the mountain, many Green Camp soldiers on the mountain wanted to escape and join the Qin army, but because the Tartars were well prepared and had tight defenses, they could not escape for a while, and it eventually turned into a riot of thousands of people.
Tulai's deputy general Harin led the flag soldiers to suppress the rebellion. At that time, the Qin army was fighting with Tulai who had sneaked into the camp. There was also thick smoke in the south, so they failed to launch an attack in time, resulting in the thousands of rioting Green Camp soldiers being suppressed by Harin in the end.
Meng Ke immediately adjusted his tactics, ordered his men to quickly extinguish the fireworks, and launched a general attack from the north and south in the cover of night.
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ps: April is about to pass, and it’s time for the general attack. Brothers, please check your ticket folders and don’t miss the monthly tickets. I beg you for monthly tickets!
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