Chapter 385: The Ming army's first battle, Hauge's sneak attack
The collision of military killing arrays is different from ordinary fighting.
What matters is being straightforward and confronting each other head-on, without any tricks.
Ordinary fighting methods are no match for the military killing formation.
When two armies are fighting, if the strength of the enemy and ours is not much different, only the Military Killing Formation can fight against the Military Killing Formation.
On the river in front of the Qingshui River wharf outside the south gate of Yanqing Prefecture, the Ming army and the Later Jin Tartar soldiers were fighting in a military battle. After about half an hour, there was still no winner.
Although the Ming army had a large number of troops, its overall combat effectiveness was similar to that of the Tatar army led by Huang Taiji, and it did not have any overwhelming advantage.
"Retreat! Retreat to the big dock!"
"The whole army retreats!"
"Keep the army steady and don't panic!"
Realizing that the soldiers who formed the military killing formation had consumed more than 70% of their blood and physical strength, neither Huang Taiji, Lu Xiangsheng, nor Hong Chengchou could hold on any longer, and they issued the order to retreat in tacit understanding.
Up to this point in the battle, the casualties among the soldiers on both sides were very few, and only a very small number of soldiers were directly affected by the killing array's magical power and died.
But the total number of soldiers killed on both sides did not exceed a thousand.
This is the magic of the military killing formation: as long as one side's military formation does not completely collapse, the soldiers who are protected by the blood and energy smoke formed by the military formation will hardly suffer real harm.
"Roar!"
"Woooo..."
On the river surface, there were more than twenty huge phantoms of mythical beasts. They were no longer as real as before and seemed to be on the verge of collapse. They roared one after another, and the phantoms of mythical beasts transformed by the military killing formation presided over by the person in charge of the formation turned around quickly and returned to the rear.
"All the great treasure ships, attack immediately!"
"Speed up as much as you can right now. Once you are in range, all the psychic cannons and crossbow carts should open fire at full power and blast those Tartar dogs to death!"
Zuo Liangyu and Yang Guozhu, who were appointed as commanders of the rear army fleet by Hong Chengchou and Lu Xiangsheng respectively, were ecstatic when they saw the opportunity to fight, and immediately ordered their respective fleets to attack!
“Swoosh!”…
More than one hundred treasure ships of various levels that had been prepared long ago, led by three top-quality treasure ships, took only a few breaths of time from starting to running at full speed. They shot along the water surface like arrows shot from a bow, heading towards the large dock ahead!
Even Huang Taiji did not expect this tactical arrangement of the Ming army.
He was immediately horrified when he saw this, and immediately used his full spiritual power to spread his words throughout the area of dozens of miles in this direction, "All soldiers, quickly get ashore, stay twenty miles away from the river bank!"
"Hurry! The enemy is using such a despicable tactic. Our energy and physical strength are too depleted now. We can't resist at all!"
"Lu Xiangsheng! Hong Chengchou!"
He was so angry that he shouted, "You are so despicable! You are actually cheating and setting a trap for us to fall into!"
No matter how resourceful Huang Taiji was, he had no means to deal with this sudden change.
The only feasible way is to lead the soldiers as quickly as possible and get out of the range of the psychic cannons and crossbow carts fired from the enemy's treasure ship.
After the recent battle, these Later Jin and Mongolian soldiers were already at the end of their strength.
Wanting to turn around and launch a counterattack is undoubtedly beyond one's ability.
The tactics used by Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou this time were exactly the opposite of their defeat at the hands of Li Dingguo two months ago.
Li Dingguo used his own protective formation and the attacks of psychic cannons and crossbow carts to consume the blood and physical strength of the Later Jin Tatars, and then led his soldiers to seize the opportunity to launch a major counterattack.
Lu Xiangsheng and Hong Chengchou first used the military killing formation to engage the enemy head-on, greatly consuming the enemy's blood and physical strength, and then ordered their own well-prepared large fleet to launch a surprise attack, using the psychic cannons and psychic crossbow carts carried on the ships.
Although the Ming army had only more than a hundred treasure ships, dozens of spiritual cannons, and hundreds of spiritual crossbow carts.
Under the current circumstances, even if these two weapons are not numerous, they can still cause considerable damage to the Tatar soldiers who have basically lost their combat effectiveness.
Although their own soldiers were also unable to launch a large-scale pursuit due to the heavy consumption of the war, it was enough to deal a heavy blow to hundreds of thousands of Tartar soldiers.
"boom!"
"Woooo..."
The treasure ships of various levels were sailing at full speed at an extremely fast speed. After only a moment, they rushed to the vicinity of the large dock at the south gate of Yanqing City. The psychic cannons and spiritual crossbow carts on the ships, which had been ready for a long time, immediately began to roar!
The scorching psychic energy artillery balls did not attack the retreating phantoms of the Tatar beasts, but instead targeted the area where the Tatar soldiers who had just arrived at the pier by diving were quickly landing.
"Boom!"...
These Tartar soldiers, whose blood and physical strength were basically exhausted after swimming across the Qingshui River, suddenly met with a devastating disaster!
Every time a psychic shell exploded, it took the lives of at least hundreds of exhausted Tartar soldiers!
The subsequent endless stream of spiritual weapons, crossbows and arrows were like an overwhelming force, with particularly considerable lethality.
One by one, the Tatar soldiers were hit by the attacking spiritual weapons and sharp arrows. The huge impact force even sent them flying into the air, and their screams were endless.
Moreover, a large number of Tartar soldiers had just dived and climbed ashore when they were nailed to the ground on the river bank by sharp arrows!
The cries of pain uttered by some of the Tartar soldiers who did not die on the spot were heartbreaking to hear.
Under the concentrated fire of more than a hundred large treasure ships, the scene was in such a mess that it was simply horrible to look at.
Although Huang Taiji and generals such as Hauge, Dorgon, Dodo, Turg, and Aobai were furious, they had to hold back their grief and anger, and each controlled the already shaky military killing formation, quickly moving away from the river bank for twenty miles and avoiding the concentrated fire attack range of the enemy's treasure ships.
After this round of ten waves of concentrated fire attacks launched by psychic cannons and psychic crossbow carts, the rain of arrows stopped. The hundreds of thousands of Tatar soldiers who had just landed were lying dead on the ground. They were almost wiped out!
Of the approximately 160,000 Tartar soldiers who dived across the Qingshui River and just returned to the big dock on the other side, no more than 30,000 survived!
This round of ten waves of concentrated fire attacks launched by more than one hundred large treasure ships achieved such tremendous results that it was astonishing.
"Hahaha……"
Hu Dawei, who was still monitoring the movements of the Tartar army in the sky, couldn't help laughing as he watched.
“Swoosh!”…
At this moment, three consecutive arrows suddenly attacked the two big peacocks thousands of feet in the sky!
"Not good! A Tartar expert is making a sneak attack!"
Hu Dawei couldn't help but be horrified and screamed. At the same time, the top-grade spiritual weapon spear in his hand shook quickly, and a bunch of gun flowers flashed! "Dangdang..."
Fortunately, his on-the-spot combat experience came in handy, and with all his might, he managed to deflect the three incoming arrows in time, preventing himself and the two peacocks from being hit.
"Cui'er, Xiaolu, get up high!"
Hu Dawei was frightened so much that he broke out in a cold sweat. While being fully alert, he hurriedly shouted to the two peacocks with green feathers.
He had seen all kinds of spiritual weapons and bows and arrows, but he had never seen one with such great power.
I am a genuine late-stage level five veteran on the battlefield, yet I almost couldn't block this hidden arrow!
"It's Hauge, he's the one shooting the arrow from behind!"
"He wants to assassinate these two level five spiritual birds, peacocks!"
Hu Dawei had excellent eyesight. While riding on the giant peacock and rapidly rising into the air, he focused his eyes on the ground where the hidden arrows were coming from. He just happened to see an extremely burly general who was drawing his bow and arrow again, wanting to launch another round of shooting.
He knew Hauge, so he recognized him at a glance.
"The ancient longbow in Haoge's hand is extraordinary. Even a top-grade spiritual weapon cannot shoot such a powerful chain of arrows."
"Could it be that the longbow in this guy's hand is the legendary divine weapon?"
"Hauge is famous for his archery skills, and he has such a powerful longbow in his hands. It seems that we must be as vigilant as possible when fighting him in the future."
"And we must report this situation to the Grand Commander immediately, so that our soldiers will not suffer any great losses in the future battles with Hauge."
As a senior fifth-level master, Hu Dawei had certainly heard some secrets about ancient myths and legends, and also understood the power of various magical weapons.
There is no doubt that these two level five peak peacocks are one of the most powerful killer weapons of the Tianxiong Army.
It is crucial for marching, fighting and reconnaissance of the enemy, and is now an indispensable spiritual bird for the Tianxiong Army.
Even their owner, Lu Xiangsheng, values this pair of level five peak peacocks very much and treats them as if they were his own closest relatives.
If something happens to them and they are unfortunately shot dead by the enemy, it would be absolutely terrible news.
Even the results just achieved cannot make up for the loss of the two big peacocks.
Hu Dawei was so frightened that he dared not stay in the low altitude any longer.
He hurriedly took the two big peacocks, which quickly reached an altitude of three thousand feet, and returned to where Lu Xiangsheng was on the flagship of a high-quality treasure ship.
"Grand Commander, Huang Taiji has led the remaining 600,000 soldiers to rest in formation 20 miles away from the big dock."
"Given the current state of our army, we do not have enough capacity to continue to launch attacks. We can only stand off against the Tartars for the time being."
Hu Dawei first reported the latest military intelligence, and then said, "I was just in the sky with Xiao Cui and Xiao Lu to monitor the enemy situation, but I was almost shot by Haoge with a longbow, and I almost died with these two big peacocks."
"The longbow that Haoge holds is so magical. I guess it must be a divine weapon. That's why it can pose such a great threat to me. I must be on guard against it in the future."
Killing with a hidden arrow has always been the most difficult method to crack. No wonder Hu Dawei, who just escaped a disaster, is still in fear.
"Is there still this?"
Lu Xiangsheng, who was practicing his skills to recover, was surprised when he heard this, "Bows and arrows are extremely rare even in ancient myths and legends."
"This Haoge actually managed to get one? He is really lucky."
Hearing this news, even Lu Xiangsheng's heart was shaken.
There is no way. Any innate magical weapon is extremely precious, especially the extremely rare bow and arrow artifacts.
If it is true as Hu Dawei guessed, then Hauge will pose a huge threat to his generals in the future.
Even Hu Dawei, who was not distracted, was almost hit just now. It is conceivable how dangerous it would be for other generals on our side if they were attacked by Hauge's hidden arrows.
Fortunately, there was no danger just now, otherwise, the loss would be huge.
Once the two hard-earned level five peak peacocks responsible for monitoring the enemy situation are gone, the combat effectiveness of the Tianxiong Army will be reduced by at least 30%.
Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. Lu Xiangsheng understands this principle better than anyone else.
"In that case, when you monitor the enemy from now on, you must stay at an altitude of more than three thousand feet, and you must not be careless at all."
Lu Xiangsheng immediately told Hu Dawei, "Next, our army will continue to pursue the enemy together with our friendly forces. We must not take it lightly."
He had made up his mind that if he had the chance, he would kill Hauge first and take away the sacred bow and arrow.
He has an innate top-grade magical artifact to protect himself, so he doesn't have to worry about being successfully attacked by the opponent.
"Pass the order down, all soldiers, recover as soon as possible!"
Lu Xiangsheng immediately gave the order, "The battle is over now, so it is not appropriate to launch another attack on the enemy right away."
"Let our large fleet remain on the river and wait until the right time for the next round of action."
Lu Xiangsheng also knew that there was no chance to pursue the enemy now, and the most urgent task was to allow the soldiers to recover their blood, energy and physical strength consumed in the battle that had just ended to their peak as soon as possible.
This was to prevent Huang Taiji from leading the remaining 600,000 Tartar soldiers to recover and launch a counterattack against their own army, which would make it impossible for them to cope with the situation.
After seeing Hu Dawei and the generals beside him leave separately to carry out the latest military orders, Lu Xiangsheng thought for a moment, then displayed his skills, jumped off the treasure ship, and flew towards the high-quality treasure ship where Hong Chengchou was.
He must discuss the next enemy plan with Hong Chengchou, and the two armies must work closely together to be able to deal with the major counterattack that Huang Taiji might launch at any time.
Of course, there is a high probability that Huang Taiji would not do this, but would wait until the remaining 600,000 soldiers recovered to their peak condition, and then immediately leave Yanqing City and quickly return to the north.
This is a very wise approach and the best way to resolve this crisis as soon as possible.
He should have learned from the intelligence that the Fuxing Army was advancing both by land and sea, with hundreds of thousands of troops heading towards the various border fortresses in the northern part of Shanxi Province, trying to block the exit route of the Later Jin Tartars and trap the enemy to death within the Ming territory.
If they could take advantage of this opportunity to kill Huang Taiji as they wished, it would be worth it for both the Fuxing Army and the Ming Dynasty official army even if it cost a huge price.
(End of this chapter)
