When Xin Sizhong's cavalry could be seen from afar, Wang Shuo ordered Wang Jianguo, the commander of the musket corps who led the advance of the musket corps in front, to block the Qing army on the spot, cover the retreat plan in the direction of Xi'an, and not to order the Qing army to cross the defensive line One step After receiving the order, Wang Jianguo immediately ordered the troops to stop advancing and dig trenches along the north and south directions.The non-commissioned officers of the musketeers were equipped with sapper shovels, and each squad was also equipped with two digging pickaxes, which was of course Wang Shuo's idea.Wu Langxi still has no way to make the multi-purpose folding and excavation tools of the modern army, so he can only make a shovel according to the drawings drawn by Wang Shuo, and then add a wooden handle.There was no way, Wang Shuo had to ask each squad to pick two soldiers, not with a shovel, but with a pointed and flat sapper pickaxe.The two sides of the Wei River are mostly loess strata, and it is effortless to excavate, only to see the dust on the north and south lines, and 20,000 soldiers began to dig trenches.The officers above the rank of second lieutenant who led the team all studied the shape of trenches and the methods of digging trenches at military schools.A trench about three feet deep and about four feet wide was dug in the ground, and the excavated earth and stones were piled up along the side of the trench to the direction of the enemy's attack.This kind of trench, in which the soldiers lie on a slope facing the enemy, is just right to shoot at the attacking enemy.In this era, there were no curved thermal weapons, and the enemy's artillery or other firearms fired ballistics in a straight line, which would be blocked by the trapezoidal defensive surface in front of the trench, and could not hit the soldiers in the trench.When the enemy cavalry attacked, the horses would pass directly over the trench due to the trapezoidal slope, and could not hurt the soldiers in the trench.The soldiers in the trenches only had to concentrate on shooting at the enemy and blocking the advance of the enemy infantry.The enemy cavalry that breaks through the trench defense line will be surrounded and suppressed by Wang Shuo's cavalry behind the trench.It is not easy for the enemy cavalry to break through the trenches in the rain of bullets, it is a minority, and then it is surrounded and suppressed by Wang Shuo's cavalry who are waiting for work after the trenches, and it is estimated that the chance of survival is very small.Even if the enemy cavalry made a big breakthrough, it would be very difficult for the cavalry to sit on their horses and bend down to kill the soldiers hidden in the trenches due to their height.Moreover, the musketeers of the musketeers were equipped with bayonets more than a foot long, which could be used as cold weapons and spears, and it was really difficult to say who would kill whom at that time.If Li Zicheng had known that the trenches were dug like this, Duoduo's cannon might have really become an ornament.When Xin Sizhong led the cavalry back, the trenches of the musketeers had already been dug.This way of trench warfare was known to Xin Sizhong when he was studying at the military academy.Moreover, many of the tactics and techniques in it are the masterpieces of their first-generation military cadets and Wang Shuo discussing and brainstorming, and he can be said to be very familiar with this.Wang Shuo hadn't seen Xin Sizhong for a long time, the two got off the horse, hugged each other, and made a few jokes, and then Wang Shuo asked about the battle situation ahead.Xin Sizhong said with a smile: "The Manchu cavalry is not as evil as the general said, it is not bad to be fierce and fierce, in terms of tactics and cooperation of small troops, they are far worse than us."
If it's an equal number of cavalry duels, we will win" Wang Shuo didn't believe what Xin Sizhong said.When he fought with He Jin in Xining, his cavalry could not even defeat He Jin's cavalry.The Manchu cavalry was much more powerful than He Jin's cavalry, which he saw with his own eyes when he went east to Yongping to block the Qing army when he was in Beijing, and he personally went into battle to test it.After entering Lanzhou, Wang Shuo's ranks expanded rapidly, and he no longer had time to personally lead his troops into battle, and he did not know very well how his troops were fighting now.Although he did not personally lead his troops into battle, his indomitable and unyielding fighting style and army mentality left behind in his troops had a profound impact on his troops.Although the soldiers regretted that they could not fight with their generals, the stories of their generals affected every soldier and passed down from generation to generation, which is the tradition and culture of the army.In particular, Wang Shuo's invention of the rotation training system and the fried noodles to solve the problem of eating allowed his cavalry to go far without backup, to go deep into the enemy-occupied areas, and to grope their way forward in actual combat every day.Now, his cavalry army is already an invincible army that combines fierceness and bravery, tactics and military discipline, which Wang Shuo did not expect.Xin Sizhong led the cavalry corps to retreat to the rear of the trenches, and when they reached the range of the enemy's red-coated cannons, they stopped and lined up on the spot.Once the enemy cavalry attacked, he would lead the cavalry back and quickly lean towards the trench to kill the enemy who crossed the trench.Kong Youde and Geng Zhongming led the Eight Banners of the Han Dynasty, carrying heavy red-coated cannons, and drove Xin Sizhong's cavalry all the way forward, albeit slowly, and finally reached the front of the trench dug by Wang Shuo's musket army.When they fought against Li Zicheng, they had already seen this way of trench warfare, and they had nothing to fear.So, the two ordered to drag more than 20 red-coated cannons to the front of the formation, load them with scattered shells, and bombard the trenches in front.Violent explosions suddenly sounded on the battlefield, and wisps of blue smoke rose from the Qing army's large array, quickly forming a haze and enveloping the entire large array.On the side of Wang Shuo's musket army trenches, they were also hit by the cannons, flying sand and rocks everywhere, the sky was full of yellow dust, and the power of the cannons was really amazing.After several rounds of bombardment, Kong Youde estimated that the people in the trenches on the opposite side were almost dead, so he ordered the Qing army brigade to attack.The infantry of the Qing army formed a phalanx, lined up with swords and guns, mighty and majestic, and advanced in the direction of the trenches of the Northwest Army.When the artillery of the Qing army bombarded, the soldiers of the musket army sat in the trench with their backs against the wall of the trench, and the scattered pieces from the cannon could not hit them at all.When the Qing artillery stopped firing, everyone stood up and repaired the trapezoidal fortifications damaged by the scattered sons with sapper shovels.The commander of the Musketeers, Wang Jianguo, his corps command system, and Wang Shuo, were in the trenches.It's just that this command trench is behind the trench where the musketeers are waiting, and through the same trench as the trench, it is connected to the trench in front, and there is already a little shadow of modern hot weapon warfare and deep trenches.Seeing that the Qing army's large array began to move forward, Wang Jianguo put down the lookout mirror in his hand and looked at Wang Shuo on the side.Wang Shuo understood what he meant, and said: "You are the commander of the battlefield, don't look at me, what should you do, you make your own decisions." ”Not exceeding the authority to command, this is also a decision made by the Standing Committee of the decision-making level, and Wang Shuo cannot disobey it.He can only make strategic decisions, and as for how the battle will be fought, it is the business of the army commander.Wang Jianguo heard Wang Shuo say this, and gave him a military salute solemnly.After the salute, he turned back to the herald and said: "The order is issued to all companies, with the second division and one company in the middle as the number mark, and they will fire the first shot first."
The enemy forces were numerous, and the firing distance was 300 paces.Let's do it. ”The herald saluted Wang Jianguo, then walked out of the command trench and assigned heralds to convey the orders of the military headquarters to the companies
.
: