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

Zhang Shikang still remembered that more than a year ago he had secretly taken Brother Chongzhen to the battlefield, and Brother Chongzhen was the same at that time.

While he was discussing matters, he strolled around the military camp. He did not bully anyone and was always friendly and never got angry with anyone he met, which made him very popular.

In the subsequent battle, when Brother Chongzhen revealed his identity, the soldiers burst out with unmatched morale.

And now, the same scene is happening, and this kid Zhu Cilang is even worse.

He even dug trenches with the Guards and spent a long time digging.

Considering that his master Zhang Shikang always taught him that no matter whether he was an emperor or a farmer, he must have a good body, he also asked Zhu Cilang to run and exercise every morning.

He is not like Brother Chongzhen who often complained of being tired when he came to the military camp.

"Hehe, I have nothing to do either!" Zhu Cilang chuckled. He didn't expect that the group of veterans would be so excited after learning his identity.

Wu Dacheng dared to disclose Zhu Cilang's identity, naturally with the permission of Sun Weifan and Zhang Shikang.

In order to win the final battle, the two planned everything, including how to use Zhu Cilang to inspire the soldiers' fighting spirit.

But Zhang Shikang didn't expect that this kid could actually work and chat with the soldiers.

While the two were chatting, the battlefield was already filled with shouts of killing. The morale of the guards was high, but Daishan and Dorgon were not to be trifled with either.

A newly established country may have many problems at its inception, but no one is willing to question the combat effectiveness of their army because that is the foundation of the country.

If the Eight Banners have less than 10,000 men, they will be invincible.

The Eight Banners soldiers at this time were still in the same terrible state they would be two hundred years later. They were full of blood and violence, and regarded beheading generals, seizing flags, and being the first to charge into battle as the highest honor.

The Ming Dynasty is invincible if its military pay is insufficient.

These rumors are not groundless, and they are indeed true from actual historical perspectives.

Whether it was Qi Jiguang, the Yongwei Camp, the Tianxiong Army at its peak, or even the Guanning Army, as long as they had enough food and pay, they would hardly be defeated.

Zhang Shikang even thought that this might be a contest between the two strongest armies in the world today, and the two countries behind them.

Who will win in the end? Zhang Shikang doesn't know.

But he knew in his heart that this battle was destined to go down in history.

Although Zhang Shikang could not make a conclusion about the outcome of the battle, he did not know whether Huang Taiji had any backup plans, but he did.

But even so, his military strength was only a pitiful 30,000. In order to maximize the results of the battle, he still needed the support and cooperation of Wu Sangui, Huang Degong, and even Lu Xiangsheng.

But he had no idea whether these three groups of people could arrive as scheduled.

Maybe, or maybe Huang Taiji would respond and put him in a dilemma of fighting to the death.

But Zhang Shikang knew very well that this was war!

No one can guarantee victory in every war.

This battle was more intense than expected. Wu Dacheng and Chen Erhe each led a 4,000-foot infantry battalion and fought hard with the Jiannu for an hour.

At first, Dorgon and Daishan had the upper hand, but later the infantry battalion and the firearms battalion cooperated with each other.

When they began to lose their strength, Wu Dacheng and Chen Erhe would often inform generals such as Xu Wenyuan or Wang Jingduo of the Firearms Battalion through flag signals or messengers.

They fought and retreated, gradually leading the enemy to the agreed place. Once they reached the designated position, the guys in the infantry battalion would run away, and the Tartars, unaware of the situation, would be delighted with a round of volleys.

Then the infantry battalion continued to fight with the Tatars, and the cycle continued. Of course, the Guards had musketeers, and the Eight Banners soldiers also had many archers. From the beginning of the close combat, casualties on both sides began to surge.

By dusk that day, the infantry battalion was finally exhausted, and Sun Weifan had no choice but to dispatch all his heavily armored cavalry.

When Cao Bianjiao appeared on the battlefield with a total of 4,000 armored cavalry, Dorgon was so shocked that his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Finally, at dusk, Dorgon and Daishan chose to retreat at the same time.

The lethality of 4,000 armored cavalrymen is so great that even if they only use brutal charges, ordinary people cannot withstand it.

Once the front line was broken up by these 4,000 heavily armored soldiers, they would face the baptism of the Guards Musketeer Phalanx, and the cycle would repeat itself.

But Daishan and Dorgon certainly did not choose to repeat the same mistake, so that night, everyone had a rare chance to catch their breath.

In the main tent of the Imperial Guards camp, Zhang Shikang and Zhu Cilang sat in the first seat, followed by Sun Weifan, Wen Bangguo, Wei Shuangyong, Cao Bianjiao and others.

After a whole day of fighting, except for Zhang Shikang and Zhu Cilang who were still full of energy, the others had signs of fatigue on their faces.

“Over 400 musketeers were killed and 1,900 wounded.

Two hundred and sixty soldiers were killed in the cavalry camp, including forty-two heavily armored soldiers.

The Infantry Battalion suffered the greatest losses, with over 1,400 casualties, including Infantry Battalion Lieutenant General Wu Dacheng.

Wen Bangguo reported the rough statistics of today's casualties to everyone, and added:

"Wu Dacheng was struck by three swords and sixteen arrows, but before he died, he killed an enemy general, Meilezhangjing."

His words could not hide his regret for Wu Dacheng, but he was also full of admiration.

The casualties in just one day were as high as 4,000, which was more than one-tenth of the Guanshan Guards. This was beyond everyone's previous expectations of the battlefield.

The true elite of the Jiannu were indeed very capable fighters, and they could fight to the death.

"Where are the Jiannu?" Zhang Shikang asked with a frown.

"Reporting to the commander, there is no time to clean up the battlefield. The soldiers are exhausted." Wen Bangguo replied.

Hearing this, Sun Weifan took over and said:

"A rough estimate shows that we left at least 6,000 people behind in the first round of attack.

The second round seemed to be the Zhengbai Banner of the Jiannu, and we killed at least three thousand enemies.

As for Dorgon and Daishan, although the battle lasted long enough, they killed no more than 5,000 enemies at most."

Our side suffered 4,000 casualties, while the enemy side only lost 14,000 people. If this record had happened in the Ming Dynasty a few years ago, it would have been a great victory, a super double victory.

But none of those present showed any joy at the victory.

It was beyond their expectation that the Jiannu could defeat them on equal terms by attacking in only two directions.

Initially they wanted to hold back on purpose to create an effect of a stalemate in the battle, but now, there was no point in holding back.

Except for the secret weapons, almost all available means have been used.

According to the current situation, the Jiannu will definitely launch a more fierce attack tomorrow, or even an all-out attack.

After all, the enemy troops surrounding them numbered at least 120,000, which were all the elite troops of the Qing Dynasty.

And they still need to hold on for at least two days!

Can we hold on? If it were before the war, of course everyone would be very confident.

But now, we can only say that we are not optimistic.

There was a dull atmosphere in the central army tent. After hearing the casualty report, everyone fell silent.

Zhu Cilang felt very uneasy in the big tent. For the first time, he realized that if he was defeated in the end, he might die, and he suddenly felt a little scared.

He glanced secretly at his Master Zhang.

Zhang Shikang pondered for a moment, and finally broke the dull atmosphere:

"Look at you all, isn't this what we were expecting?

Wu Dacheng fought bravely and ultimately died a heroic death for his country. He should be posthumously awarded the title of Guan Shanbo to inspire all soldiers in the army.

What do you think, Your Highness?"

The topic suddenly turned to himself. Zhu Cilang, who was only in his teens, was confused and said subconsciously:

"Master Zhang, that's a good idea."

……