Chapter 65: Kill

  The monotonous sound of gunfire dominated the battlefield, as the Gongning Army surged forward like a tide, but fell at a speed much faster than their charge.

  In front of the battlefield, corpses piled up like mountains, both human and war horses, blood flowing into rivers. Those who were lucky enough not to die let out heart-wrenching wails, the battlefield was as terrifying as a Buddhist hell.

  But in all these years, the Gengning Army has never encountered such a one-sided massacre. Even when facing the Qing army, both sides would engage in fierce battle, but now they can't even touch the edge of the enemy.

  Starting from fifty or sixty paces, all the way to thirty paces, a impenetrable wall of fire was formed. Row after row of musketeers took turns firing, dense lead bullets wove into a deadly barrage. No matter how heavy the armor, it couldn't withstand the hail of bullets; the braver ones, who charged forward, were hit even more, their corpses scattered all over the place.

  Wu Sangui once dispatched over a thousand cavalrymen, but in the blink of an eye, two or three hundred had been killed, and those who survived were all terrified.

  Li Xu and Yue Po Xu were in charge of the right wing cavalry, saw this scene, Li Xu couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Po Xu, did you see that? When Qi Ye guarded the border back then, it was just as majestic. As long as the fire gun is sharp and trained properly, what iron cavalry, it's just a dish!"

  Yue Po Xu also widened his eyes and couldn't help but say: "Wait until we have a place to settle down, I'll definitely have a good talk with Seventh Brother. I want to lead the firearms troops too, it's really too tempting!"

  Not only did they say so, but also Sun Cheng and others who were watching from behind were itching for a fight.

  "Look, Wu Sangui has suffered a great loss. I think the Guanning Army won't be able to hold on. Let's get ready and charge up in a moment."

  "Don't be in a hurry!" Li Jibo said with a smile: "If it were the past, more than half of the Guanning Army would have collapsed by now. But things are different now. From the moment they surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, they became despicable Han traitors. These people also know in their hearts that there will be no good outcome for them, and they will definitely fight to the death. The bloody battle is yet to come!"

  Li Jibei was right, the remaining Guanning Army did not retreat in the face of difficulty, but instead continued to charge forward. The distance between the two sides quickly narrowed to about thirty steps.

  Xie Bin's mouth curled up into a cold smile as he glanced around and said, "It's time for everyone to show off their skills!"

  "Alright then!"

  More than a hundred arquebusiers emerged from the rear and gaps of the square formation, quickly selecting empty positions and aiming their muzzles at the leading charging general.

  These people look no different from ordinary firearms, but the trick lies in the firearms in their hands. Gu Zhenhua got a batch of fine firearms from Zhu Chunchen, with an effective range of 150 steps.

  After some exploration, Xie Bin found that although the fire spear couldn't be said to be accurate shooting, a good fire spear was still quite accurate at around thirty steps.

  Gu Zhenhua originally proposed forming a team of soldiers responsible for accurate shooting when ambushing Li Yan.

  Actually, Gu Zhenhua was just talking casually, but Xie Bin listened with intention. He took advantage of this period and found a batch of soldiers to undergo rigorous training, building up his strength.

  Now was the time to show off their skills, a soldier took aim, the gun fired, and instantly an enemy's chest burst with blood, his massive body fell under the horse.

  This soldier was obviously lucky, among more than a hundred gunners, only over thirty people hit the target, and the probability was simply incomparable with sniper warfare. However, the effect it achieved was devastating, they aimed at all the qianhu, baihu, as well as youji, and the worst were also zongqi and the like.

  The officer was shot dead, which broke the backbone of the Gengning Army and stopped the momentum of the charge.

  Zhou Yingjie also saw the opportunity, and with a neat volley of gunfire, they mercilessly attacked the routed enemy, killing over 200 more cavalrymen in an instant. The Gengning Army had already lost nearly half its strength, and its formation suddenly became scattered and disorganized.

  Moreover, all the bravest and most skilled warriors with the thickest armor were killed. After they died, the others lost their courage to charge forward and retreated rapidly like a tide. No matter how they were summoned, it was all in vain.

  Seeing this scene, Wu Sangui's eyes were straightened, he had never thought that Gu Zhenhua could defeat him in a field battle. The big traitor was stamping his feet and pounding his chest, his eyes were almost bulging out.

  "General, I don't believe in this evil, I'll lead the charge myself and definitely break through the hedgehog defense!" Yang said with discontent.

  Wu Sangui opened his mouth, wanting to give an order, but in the end he closed it again. He turned his horse's head and came to He Luojie's side.

  "General He, you've seen the situation on the battlefield. I'm really at a loss as to how to deal with their firearms. The brave warriors of the Qing dynasty are unmatched in the world, and they must be able to break through the enemy lines. Please, General He, help us out!"

  He Luohui was from the Plain White Banner, compared to those fierce generals of the Qing dynasty, he was a man who knew how to use his brain and would not be swayed by Wu Sangui's flattery.

  "General Pingxi, there are still over a thousand men in the Guanning army who have not been defeated. It is possible to turn defeat into victory. My great Qing brave warriors should not snatch the king's credit."

  Wu Sangui cursed inwardly, feeling shameless. Since he had defected to the Qing dynasty, Wu Sangui clearly knew that his status and military power were directly proportional; as long as he still had tens of thousands of soldiers, he had weight, otherwise he was nothing!

  "What about you, Lord He? These people don't just have a grudge against the Guanning Army, but also made the Prince of Duoluo suffer at their hands. Don't you want to take revenge?"

  He was also asked about his pain, and Duoduo repeatedly instructed him to bring Gu Zhenhua back alive, and only then could he be executed to vent his anger.

  "General Pingxi, our Qing warriors can take on the main assault task. You must pin down the cavalry on both flanks, and also send out two hundred vanguard troops as a precursor."

  Wu Sangui listened and could only grit his teeth and nodded in agreement.

  The bugle sounded, more and more cavalry gathered, people crowded together, it was clear that the real decisive battle had arrived.

  Everyone's heart on the battlefield couldn't help but tighten. The terrifying sound of horseshoes came again, and the massive cavalry corps charged over once more, with a number that was more than double the previous charge.

  "Don't be afraid, brothers! However many come, they're all targets!" Zhou Yingjie kept cheering everyone on.

  The earth shook with the sound of horseshoes, and the Qing army came rolling in like a flood. They finally charged to within about 50 paces, when the sound of gunfire rang out, and those at the front fell down in sheets.

  But just as the gunfire sounded, there was also a whirring sound in the air, a dense rain of arrows, almost simultaneously rushing towards the gunman.

  This is the sinister part of He Luojian, he took advantage of the sharpness of the An Guo military firearms and deliberately let Wu Sangui's men serve as human shields to cover the Qing soldiers entering about fifty steps.

  The Qing soldiers' arrows were abundant and extremely accurate, with over twenty firearmsmen shot down in just one round of arrow fire. Although they did not spare their lives, wearing double-layered armor, the Qing soldiers' bows and arrows were cunning, many of which targeted the face, rendering the armor useless.

  There was a soldier who had an arrow shot right into his eyeball, let out a cry of pain and fell to the ground. Some people were hit by four or five arrows, their armor pierced, and blood gushed out.

  The Manchu bows and arrows have another vicious aspect, the arrowheads are all soaked in feces and urine, as long as they are shot, the hope of survival is not great.

  Hearing the cries of his comrades, the matchlock gunner also showed a slight hesitation. The second round of arrows from the Qing army arrived, and in an instant, another dozen or so people fell to the ground.

  Watching the fire spearman suffer losses, Zhou Yingjie's heart was bleeding, and he hastily ordered: "Fire spearman retreat, knife shield soldier cover!"

  The firelock soldiers hastily retreated and hid behind the shield-bearing soldiers. However, just as they were changing formation, the Qing army seized the opportunity and suddenly charged out with their elite dead-soldier heavy cavalry.

  A tiger out of its cage will choose its victim and pounce!

  Like a whirlwind, it swept to the front of Anguo Jun's formation.

  "Fire!" Xie Bin shouted loudly, and the sound of gunfire burst out like popping beans.

  The leading dead soldiers were shot, the two layers of armor on their bodies were all shattered, and blood and flesh flew everywhere. However, the subsequent people didn't care at all, they still lowered their heads and charged forward fiercely.

  The distance between the two sides had already entered within ten steps, a guy raised his wolf-toothed club and slammed it down heavily. It just hit the shield, and in an instant, the shield was smashed to pieces, and the soldier's arm was also broken off.

  His wolf-toothed club was raised again, and at this moment a bullet hit his belly, and blood gushed out. This guy gritted his teeth, using the last of his strength, and smashed the shield-bearing soldier to death with his wolf-toothed club, and he also fell to the ground. From behind him, countless Qing soldiers surged out, desperately attacking this gap.

  Thin soldiers, can't withstand the charge of heavy cavalry, in an instant five or six knife shield soldiers were cut down, a gap appeared on the battlefield, and the Qing army rushed in.

  One leak will drain the whole line.

  Front-line soldiers were on the verge of collapse in an instant!

  "The commander has given an order, the whole army retreats!"

  Just at the critical moment, Gu Zhenhua's orderly also arrived.

  Xie Bin and Zhou Yingjie heard the order, could only grit their teeth, and ordered a retreat. The soldiers retreated from the front line, with the Qing army pursuing closely behind. Fortunately, Gu Zhenhua had arranged for horse-drawn carriages to be placed in the middle, providing the best cover for the firearms team. They quickly passed through the reserved passage and retreated to the rear.

  "Seventh Brother, we couldn't stop the Qing soldiers and have lost face for you!"

  "Never mind that, hurry up and get the gunner back in fighting shape, I'll take care of the rest!"

  Gu Zhenhua rushed forward as he spoke. At this time, the Qing army had already crossed over the chariot array's obstruction, but their speed had also greatly decreased, and their momentum was much weaker.

  "Raise your spears and thrust!"

  In an instant, hundreds of long guns were like venomous snakes, stabbing towards the Qing army. The armor was penetrated, and a Qing soldier was pierced by four or five long guns, his body bursting with blood, and he fell to the ground.

  More and more Qing soldiers rushed up, both sides fell into a fierce battle, every moment someone fell down.

  Gu Zhenhua also raised the long knife in his hand high up, the snow-bright blade emitting a cold light.

  "An Country Army, kill!"