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Although Ma Yongzhen had an army of 80,000, most of them were infantry, with only 7,000 cavalry. If Lekedehun did not take the initiative to attack, how could he destroy the other party's 25,000 cavalry on this plain
How to make Lekedehun attack actively is the key to the problem.
Whether this matter is difficult or easy depends on whether you have something that will make Lekedehun risk his life.
Ma Yongzhen has such things, and they are piled up like mountains.
His 80,000 troops were actually just combat troops. In addition, there were 40,000 civilians and 5,000 carts. As long as you have a brain, you should know what these 5,000 carts are used for. Leke Dehun must know it too.
Unlike Meng Ke's Eastern Army, Ma Yongzhen's Central Army could not transport food and fodder by water, so it could only use a large number of civilians and horse-drawn carts to transport food and fodder.
Food and fodder were exactly what Lekedehun lacked the most. The two horses and five thousand Qing troops were like a group of hungry wolves. When they saw the thousands of carts of food and fodder, they were like hungry wolves seeing meat and could not even take their eyes away.
This is not an exaggeration. If you have ever been hungry, you will know how strong a hungry person's desire for food is.
Moreover, even if they could not seize this batch of food and grass, as long as it was destroyed, it would be enough to cause the complete collapse of the 80,000 Qin troops.
After Ma Yongzhen set up camp in Wanmaping, Li Jiu and Shi Qing quickly retreated, and Lekedehun's troops arrived soon after. A large number of cavalry were roaming outside the Qin army camp, and even Lekedehun himself went to the Qin army camp to inspect the surroundings.
The camp of 80,000 Qin troops and tens of thousands of civilians stretched for ten miles. It was set up in a hurry so it was crowded and messy, even disorganized. There was not even enough time to dig trenches outside the camp.
The large carts carrying grain were placed in all directions in the camp, taking up a large area. Lekedehun could hardly take his eyes off the large amount of grain.
Seeing that the Qin army camp was so disorganized, Lekedehun naturally did not want to miss such an opportunity. He hurried back and then ordered Jixiha and others to lead the army to launch continuous attacks. The purpose of this attack was not to break through the Qin army camp, but simply to harass, so that the Qin army had no time to reorganize the camp, and even made it more chaotic.
The Qin army's cavalry did not dare to go out to fight. They just relied on the simple walls of the stockade to shoot with muskets. However, there seemed to be not many muskets, and the gunshots were sparse. They mainly relied on volleys of bows and arrows to stop the Qing army's attack.
As it was getting dark, with the sound of retreat horns, the Qing army retreated like a tide and quickly disappeared into the twilight.
Tens of thousands of Qin soldiers could finally take a break and have a hot meal.
In the central army tent, the lights were on. The tall, mighty, bearded Zhao Jian was eating his meal while asking, "General, what if Lekedehun doesn't come tonight?"
Ma Yongzhen replied without even looking up: "He will definitely come."
"How can the Grand Commander be sure that Lekedehun will come at night?"
"He spent a lot of time during the day, how could he not come? Besides, would his absence have any impact on our army?"
"But what if he doesn't care about us and we run to Xiangyang?"
"Lukedehun knows very well that Xiangyang is not an empty city. His army of more than 20,000 does not have much food and grass. If he is delayed by our cavalry for a day or two, he will starve to death. He will not risk attacking Xiangyang unless he has no other choice."
At Liangsongpo, 20 miles north of Wanmaping, Lekedehun's men were also eating, chewing some black steamed bread. It was not yet summer harvest under the Qing Dynasty, so having these to eat was already good.
After Jueluo Langqiu and Shui swallowed the hard-to-swallow steamed bread, they said to Lekedehun: "Your Majesty, I always feel that something is wrong. Ma Yongzhen's camp should not be so chaotic."
Zhumala said: "It's good that he was able to set up a camp in such a hurry. How good can it be?"
Seeing that Jue Luolangqiu was always indecisive, Lekedehun was very unhappy and said unhappily, "You don't have to say anything. Whether it was too hasty to set up the camp properly or Ma Yongzhen did it on purpose, his camp was not set up properly. This is an ironclad fact."
Jueluo Langqiu asked worriedly, "Your Majesty, what if Ma Yongzhen sets an ambush?"
"Ma Yongzhen must be on guard tonight, but that's not important. It just depends on whether he is more virtuous or I am more evil." Lekedehun said confidently.
After eating the steamed buns, the 25,000 Qing troops began to get busy at the command of Lekedehun.
At the second watch, each Qing soldier carried a bundle of firewood on his horse and rushed to Wanmaping. The Qing army went around to the upwind side of the southeast side of the Qin army camp, and then rushed to the foot of the camp amid the screams of the Qin army, throwing down bundles of firewood. Amid the sound of frantic horses' hooves, the Qin army's camp wall was soon submerged in firewood.
Then the Qing army ignited the mountains of firewood with rockets, so most of the firewood was raw. The flames were not high, but the thick smoke rolled and drifted into the Qin army camp with the wind.
Wherever the firelight reached, one could see the Qin army in the camp in chaos, running and shouting, and the thick smoke made it possible to hear coughs everywhere.
Of course, the Qin army’s camps were spread over a ten-mile area, so it was impossible to fumigate every place.
But this is not important. As long as there is chaos in one place, the Qing army can rush in from there.
Just imagine, thousands and thousands of cavalrymen rushing in in the dark, what a momentum that would be! The Qin army would surely be like an avalanche, with the entire camp collapsing.
The opportunity was rare and could not be missed. At Lekedehun's command, bursts of horn sounds sounded like wolves howling in the night. The 15,000 Qing troops led by Jixiha and Hetuo, after covering their faces with cloth strips soaked in kettles, immediately rushed towards the Qin army camp from the east side of the fire.
The crude village wall was soon dragged down by the Qing army using lassoes. Countless Qing soldiers rushed into the sheepfold like a group of hungry wolves. In order to increase their momentum, they howled continuously, and the sound was like a tide, reaching the sky.
The camp was filled with thick smoke, blurring vision. The Qing army encountered almost no resistance, as if they were entering an empty space.
There were still a small number of Qin troops fleeing in front. Jiduha and Hetuo drove their horses desperately to chase them. At first, they encountered some scattered carts full of grain, but they didn't pay attention to them. However, the further they went in, the more and more grain carts there were. They were placed in a mess, just like what they saw during the day.
The Qin army also increased in number, hiding behind the grain carts and firing guns and arrows, trying desperately to stop the Qing army.
In the darkness of night, the vision could not be far-reaching. When Jiduha and Hetuo found something wrong, the Qing army that had rushed in had actually been trapped in a large array of chariots, like being trapped in a maze. They rushed left and right, but could not escape the array. The Qing army behind them kept rushing out, and as a result, everyone was squeezed tighter and tighter, and the horses even had difficulty turning.
"Quick, we've fallen into a trap, retreat quickly! Retreat quickly!" Jiduha shouted miserably. This cry was a great irony. Why are you shouting? You know you've fallen into a trap, but don't the Qin army know that you've fallen into a trap? Among the thousands of soldiers, how many people can hear you even if you shout at the top of your lungs
The Qing army never dreamed that the scattered grain carts they saw during the day would become their graveyard;
Countless Qin soldiers emerged from the darkness, also covering their mouths and noses with wet cloths. "Kill!" The muffled shouts were shocking, and rows of black muzzle flames spurted out...
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound of gunfire was like the sound of firecrackers during the New Year, continuous and uninterrupted. The whistling bullets rained down on the panicked Qing army. For a moment, the Qing army crowded in the convoy was like ripe wheat, falling down one by one under the sickle of the wheat harvester.
What was even more terrifying was the thunder bombs. The Qin army didn't seem to take the food on the carts seriously at all, and threw a bunch of thunder bombs in without paying...
Boom! Boom boom boom!
The fierce explosion was deafening, and the blood and flesh of the Qing army flew everywhere, which was a horrible sight. Those who were lucky enough to survive screamed in fear, and they collided with each other and trampled on each other. The flames flickered and the screams were like waves.
The Qin army's musketeers were arranged in several rows. When one row finished firing, the second row would take over and continue firing. Bang, bang, bang! The sound of gunfire and bullets rained down, constantly harvesting the lives of the Qing army.
"Attention, raise the muzzle, shoot people, not horses." Ling Zhan shouted loudly. War horses are very valuable, and the Qin army's war horses are all captured. In fact, the Qin army spearmen had received the order long ago, but Ling Zhan was still worried.
The carts in the middle were placed in a scattered manner, but those on the outside formed a wall. The Qing army could not rush out for a while and could only fight back with bows and arrows in despair.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Qin army's gunfire became more and more urgent. Layer after layer of Qing soldiers screamed and fell off their horses, and were then trampled into meat patties by the ownerless war horses.
After defeating the Qing army, the Qin army swarmed forward, shouting and rushing forward, killing with swords and spears. After all, war horses are very precious, and food is also precious. The carts are loaded with real food, so don't waste it.
The Qing army, which was devastated by the bombing, was only concerned with fleeing for their lives, but they forgot that they were huddled together in the convoy and had no where to escape to. It was just that people in panic had no reason at all;
Zhao Jian was feeling great. He held a ghost-head machete in his hand, laughed wildly, and hacked and killed. The Qing soldiers on horseback were like headless flies. Zhao Jian killed one with one of his swords. It was so refreshing. His head and face were covered with the enemy's blood, like a monster released from hell. Only his mouth full of white teeth remained white.
Dang! After Jiduha blocked his sword, he saw that he could not escape, so he screamed: "I surrender, I surrender, please spare my life! Please spare my life...ah!"
Zhao Jian seemed not to have heard anything. He swung his sword one after another, aiming straight at the vital points, and cursed, "If you dare to block my sword, I'll spare you. I'll spare your uncle, and I'll chop you to death!"
"Master, if I don't stop you, you will kill me. Please spare my life!"
"If you stand in my way, I'll chop you to death!"
Ji Duha, who wanted to surrender and save his life, was so sad that he could not even cry when he met this master... "Master, I really surrender, I really surrender..."
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ps: It's the end of the month, brothers, check your ticket folders to see if there are any monthly tickets that have not been cast. Cast them quickly, otherwise they will be invalid after the expiration date!
Keep asking for monthly tickets and recommendation tickets!
.(To be continued..)
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