Late Ming Dynasty: Oops, I am surrounded by the Donglin Party

It was no secret in the Qing court that the Ming army had many firearms.

The Ming border troops had three-barreled muskets, bird guns, Rumi guns, Portuguese cannons, and even red cannons.

Dorgon not only knew about these firearms, but also had seen them during his battles with the Ming Dynasty.

In his opinion, firearms are indeed more powerful than bows and crossbows, and have an advantage in range, but their disadvantages are also obvious, that is, the rate of fire is too low.

As long as they could withstand one or two rounds of volleys from the Ming army and rush into the Ming army formation as quickly as possible, what awaited them was almost a hearty slaughter.

Until I met Zhang Shikang.

Dorgon had never seen a turtle-foot gun, but he had heard from Yuetuo's former subordinates that it was a firearm that was longer and heavier than the bird gun and the Rumi gun.

It is extremely powerful and can penetrate heavy armor.

Dorgon attached great importance to this point. Anyone who could wear heavy armor was almost always a true warrior of the Eight Banners, and he could not afford to lose them.

"I know what's going on. You just go to the rear and wait for orders." Dorgon said in a deep voice, sending Kong Youde away.

In the past month, in addition to searching for the weak points of the Ming army, the craftsmen in the military camp have also been busy building shield carts.

By now, more than one hundred shield carts have been built. This type of shield cart is about eight feet high and has three layers of protection: hardwood, cowhide, and iron sheets, in order to deal with the firearms of the Ming army.

In addition, a number of shields that can be used by one person were also made. The weight of this type of shield is between the heavy shield and the ordinary shield, and it is also intended to guard against the Ming army's banjiu gun.

However, it was heard that there were not many such muskets in the Ming army. Dorgon was worried that if the Ming army was equipped with a large number of them in the future, it would be a real trouble for the Qing Dynasty.

However, the Ming Dynasty court must have this opportunity.

If the Beijing camp can be defeated in today's decisive battle, then by next year at the latest, his royal brother will certainly mobilize the entire country to defeat the Ming Dynasty in one fell swoop.

Thinking of this, he immediately ordered the generals around him:

"Gapushuo, the king orders you to lead the infantry as the vanguard, with the shield bearers and chariot soldiers as cover, to charge into the enemy formation!"

"I obey your order!" The Manchu general named Gapushuo bowed and took the order and left.

Dorgon looked at the Ming army formation in the distance, his eyes gradually becoming sharper.

He led the main force to Dingzhou just to test the waters. If the three Ming armies joined together, he would certainly not risk a decisive battle, let alone attack the city.

But he had long anticipated that the Ming army would certainly not want to delay any longer, and he bet that Zhang Shikang also wanted a decisive battle, and he was right.

Dorgon even knew Zhang Shikang's tactics, using the Beijing camp soldiers in Dingzhou as bait to lure him into a decisive battle, and then the other two armies of both sides outflanked him from both sides.

Haha, the tactics were not wrong, but Dorgon just laughed at Zhang Shikang for overestimating the capabilities of the Beijing Army.

In this decisive battle, he sent out all his elite troops, including 2,000 heavy cavalry, 4,000 light cavalry, and 9,000 infantry, not including the 20,000 Han troops.

Zhang Shikang's tricks had a fatal weakness. If he could defeat him before his reinforcements arrived, he could then use the method of besieging and attacking the reinforcements to defeat the three routes of the Ming army one by one.

Yuetuo used his incompetence to increase Zhang Shikang's prestige, but Dorgon would never make such a stupid mistake.

He will use this battle to vindicate the Eight Banners warriors of the Qing Dynasty. In the face of absolute strength, all evil schemes are futile.

A moment later, the attack began.

Gapshuo led 9,000 elite infantrymen of the Eight Banners to charge the Ming army on the opposite side, with more than 100 shield carts in the front and more than 2,000 shield soldiers following behind.

Each shield cart was equipped with eight infantrymen, three of whom were responsible for pushing the cart, and the other two held scimitars to provide side protection. However, if the person pushing the cart was injured, they would go up to replace him.

There were three five-inch square holes right in front of the shield car, and three elite archers standing on the car shot arrows from the holes.

The shield soldiers held a shield in one hand and a spear in the other, and they and the shield carts on both sides advanced steadily, and the speed was not slow.

All deployments were made to guard against the Ming army's musketeers. As long as the Ming army's musketeer camp could be disrupted, the goal would be achieved.

All that awaited them next was fighting in battle formations, and when it came to hand-to-hand combat, all the Eight Banners warriors looked down upon the Ming army.

Is there any suspense in the fight between the sheep and the tiger?

Five hundred steps.

Three hundred steps.

Two hundred steps.

……

“Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-”

The Ming army's Rumi guns began to fire in volleys, with waves of noise and billowing smoke, but it did not cause any harm to Gapshuo's vanguard.

The range of the Rumi gun is not that far, not to mention that they have shield carts for protection.

Gapshuo thought that the Ming army generals were helpless against his shield carts and were frightened. He smiled coldly in his heart, thinking that after this battle, he should be promoted to the rank of captain.

Suddenly, Gapushuo's eyes froze as he looked at the Ming army.

But a tall special carriage appeared at the rear of the Ming army, and on the carriage stood a man in bright yellow clothes.

Although he couldn't see her face clearly, Gapushuo was startled. The Ming Dynasty court had strict rules and only members of the royal family dared to wear bright yellow clothes.

But Gapshuo knew clearly that the royal princes of the Ming Dynasty had no military power.

In other words, the man wearing bright yellow clothes is most likely the emperor of the Ming Dynasty!

The moment this thought came to his mind, Kapushuo suddenly felt his blood boiling.

He spoke to his subordinates around him in a high-pitched Manchu dialect:

"That is the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. If you capture him, your majesty will reward you handsomely!"

The morale of the surrounding Eight Banners infantry was boosted when they heard this, and their eyes lit up as they looked at the carriage in the distance.

At the same time, Gapushuo immediately sent someone to pass the news to Prince Rui Dorgon. If he did not make a contribution in this battle, who would?

Seeing that the distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer, after another round of volleys from the Ming army, Gapu Shuo could no longer tolerate the slow speed of the shield cart. He could not bear to give up such a great credit to others.

"Everyone listen up, abandon the shield carts, use your shields as cover, and charge straight into the Ming army's battle formation.

Capture the Ming Emperor alive!"

The Jurchen men around could no longer suppress their impulse, and after hearing Gapushuo's military order, they all rushed forward with shields raised, howling.

Gapushuo was not far behind and rushed to the front of the battle formation.

At a distance of sixty or seventy steps, Gapushuo originally thought that he would be hit by another volley of fire from the Ming army, but the sound of muskets did not come.

He was so delighted that he felt his hands holding the scimitar were trembling. If he captured the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he could at least be made a prince!

"Capture the Ming Emperor alive!"

Military merit, military merit, these were the only two words in the minds of all those charging.

Two breaths later, Gapshuo's 9,000 elite infantry finally came into close combat with the Ming army.

However, as soon as they came into contact, Kapushuo felt something was wrong.

……