In the first year of the Apocalypse (1621 AD), Liaodong Jingluo Xiong Tingbi was framed and removed from his post by the Ming Dynasty. Upon learning of this news, Nurhaci led the Eight Banners Iron Horse to attack Shenyang.
As the important military town of the Ming Dynasty outside Guanwai, Shenyang undertook the heavy responsibility of commanding the envoys of Liaoyang, where the commander of the Liaodong Capital was stationed. If, once Shenyang is lost, then the entire military defense system of the Ming army east of the Liao River may collapse. Yuan Yingtai, who was then the governor of Liaodong, began to draw troops from various forts in Liaodong as reinforcements for Shenyang. At that time, the Liaodong region, under the painstaking management of Xiong Tingbi, who had been the former Liaodong Jingluo, had a huge army of about 130,000 people. Therefore, Yuan Yingtai quickly assembled a large army, including 94,000 infantry and cavalry, and 7,000 sailors. In addition, according to Yuan Yingtai's deployment, after the arrival of various reinforcements in Shenyang, 10,000 people will defend Shenyang, 10,000 people will guard the Puhe River, and 7,000 people will be stationed in Fengji.
The strength of this unit can not be described as strong, but at this time, the Ming army has long lost its former glory, and most of them are just indiscriminate generations, and they simply do not have the ability to engage in field battles with the Eight Banner Army. Therefore, the only main force that can really be used for combat is the 3785 Qi family army from Zhejiang, the 3800 white pole soldiers from the Shizhu Xuanfu Division (a total of 6800 white pole soldiers stationed in Liaodong), and the 4000 Toast soldiers from the Youyang Xuanfu Division (a total of 5000 Tusi soldiers stationed in Liaodong), a total of about 11585 people. Since then, the facts have also proved that this Ming army of more than 10,000 people suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of hunhe. Wei Yuan, who regarded the Qing Dynasty as the "current dynasty", also had to sigh that "the first bloody battle since the use of troops for the Liaozuo".
However, regarding this blood-curdling war, many people have remembered the tragedy of the Qi family army and the fierceness of the white pole soldiers. However, the toast soldiers of the Youyang Xuanfu Division did not pay much attention to the performance of this great war. It should be known that Zhang Heming, the Shangshu of the Ming Dynasty Military Department, praised the "solid stone pillar and the second tusigong of Youyang". Therefore, it is necessary to introduce this Tusi bing from Chongqing, who is ignored by many people.
In fact, as early as the forty-seventh year of the Ming Dynasty (1619 AD), Xiong Tingbi requested Emperor Mingshen to "recruit 4,000 soldiers from Youyang Xuanfu" to fight in Liaodong. The reason why Xiong Tingbi asked the Tusi soldiers of the Youyang Xuanfu Division was because they were not only good at war, but also loyal to the central court. According to statistics, in the Ming Dynasty, the Xuanfu Division of Youyang responded to the imperial court's requisition more than 21 times, went to Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan and other places to suppress peasant uprisings, and also fought against the Wokou on the eastern coast. Therefore, this plan was quickly approved by the Wanli Emperor, and in November of that year, the military department issued a requisition order to the Youyang Xuanfu Division. Ran Yuelong, who was then the envoy of The Xuanfu Division of Youyang, received the order to transfer troops from the military department, and immediately led his brothers Ran Jianlong, Zi Ran Tianyin and Ran Wenguang, as well as 5,000 native soldiers to aid Liao.
Soon after the Youyang Tusi soldiers arrived in Liaodong, they did not make corrections and immediately threw themselves into a battle. At that time, Nurhaci was leading troops to besiege another important barrier in Liaoyang. As a fresh force that had just arrived, the Youyang Tusi soldiers were immediately sent to the front to rescue the besieged Fengji. As a result, the Youyang Tusi soldiers engaged in a fierce battle with the Eight Banner Soldiers outside Fengji City. According to records, the Youyang Toast Soldiers "lined up and shook the earth." The Eight Banners Iron Horse, which had been traversing Liaodong for many years, had never seen such a brave Ming army. As a result, the Eight Banners Army routed and left, and the Youyang Tusi soldiers won the initial battle, which not only broke the myth of the invincibility of the Eight Banners, but also relieved the danger of Fengji City. After that, this Unitary Yang Tusi army was stationed at Hupi and Huangshan in Liaodong.
In 1621, the Youyang Tusi soldiers stationed in Liaodong were once again involved in rescue operations. The difference is that the rescue is Shenyang City, while the Youyang Tusi soldiers only dispatched more than 4,000 people, and together with the Shizhu White Pole Soldiers and the Zhejiang QiJia Army, a huge force of more than 11,000 people was formed. Of course, the enemy they face is also more ferocious, after years of fighting the Eight Banners Iron Horse, the combat experience is more abundant, the strength of the troops is more abundant, it is said to reach more than 50,000 people. Although there are many differences, the will to fight of the Youyang Toast soldiers has not weakened, and the lethality of the Eight Banner Army has not weakened. At the Battle of the Hun River, the Youyang Tusi soldiers and the Shizhu White Pole soldiers lined up north of the Hun River.
When the Eight Banners Iron Horse discovered this "lone army" with a small number of people and a backwater formation, it immediately concentrated all its forces and launched an attack on the Youyang Tusi soldiers and the Shizhu White Pole soldiers. In the face of the attack of the Eight Banners Iron Horse, the Youyang Tusi soldiers and the Shizhu White Pole soldiers assisted and cooperated with each other, and repelled the three attacks of the Eight Banners successively. According to the "Records of the Ming Dynasty", "first defeated the white pacesetters (that is, the white flag), and then defeated the yellow pacesetters (that is, the yellow flag), and killed 2,000 or 3,000 people who fell from their horses", and also captured "one general and two guerrillas". Although, the Youyang Toast Soldiers and the Shizhu White Pole Soldiers made the Eight Banner Soldiers pay a heavy price. However, in the face of the repeated attacks of the Eight Banners, they simply did not have time to eat and rest, and "the armies were hungry and exhausted." At the same time, the rebel general Li Yongfang bribed captured Ming gunners and used artillery to bombard the two units.
Under the double blow, the Youyang Toast Soldiers and the Shizhu White Pole Soldiers were no longer able to support, and 3800 White Pole Soldiers did not retreat from the battle, "all dead". The Youyang Tusi soldiers successfully broke through from two directions, and after merging with the 3785 Qi family army, continued to fight bloody battles with the Eight Banner Soldiers on the south bank of the Hun River. However, at this time, the Eight Banners not only occupied an absolute superiority in terms of troop strength, but also approached or even surpassed the Qi family army from Zhejiang in terms of the quality of weapons due to the bribery of the Ming army. Therefore, when the Qi family army "ran out of firearms", after the two sides engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand combat, the Qi family army was also completely destroyed. The Youyang Tusi soldiers, who had been fighting for a day, once again successfully broke through and returned to Liaoyang City. However, there are still 1,000 toast soldiers whose blood stains the Hun River. Later, in the defense of Liaoyang, another 700 Tusi soldiers died. 5,000 Unitary Yang Toast Soldiers, after two major battles, lost more than 1,700 people. Of course, the Eight Flags Iron Horse also damaged nearly 10,000 people.
After many bloody battles in Liaodong, although the Losses were heavy, they were still able to break through the encirclement of the Eight Banners, which showed the strength of their combat effectiveness. The reason why the combat effectiveness of the Youyang Toast Soldiers is so strong is probably that after a long period of conquest — competing with other Toastmasters for resources or following the dispatch of the imperial court — they have finally cultivated a well-organized army that kills and kills Xiao Yong.
According to the military system adopted by the general toast, we can know that the Unitary Toast uses a military system that combines battalion and flag. According to the military system of the Ming Dynasty, most of the toasts set up five battalions of "left, center, right, front and rear". Among them, the middle battalion is the most dominant, usually led by the eldest son of Ying Xi, and the other four battalions are led by relatives of the big surname or toast in the territory. The flag is a kind of military and political integration organization in which all toastmasters and soldiers are in agriculture, and all residents within the territory are incorporated into the flag. The flag soldiers are produced in peacetime and marched out in wartime, "each tribe of toast is called a flag, and each flag has its own strengths, which governs the household registration, and is subordinate to the state division and under the general division." The number of people in each flag is different, some flags control thousands of people, and some have hundreds of people. Usually, these flags "scatter for the people to learn to cultivate and chisel." In the event of a war, they are "mobilized as soldiers" and mustered according to the method of "one out of ten".
Of course, the people who draw toast are all people who have been trained for a long time every day. It is recorded that in the usual training, the main focus is on three kinds of training. "Shield spear training", this kind of training is mainly based on long weapons, as well as the combination of copper, leather, and rattan shields; "combat training", soldiers need to wear a full set of equipment, of which "the helmet weighs sixteen pounds, lined with thick wool, such as bucket big; the armor weighs dozens of pounds, sharp arrows can not enter", after wearing these equipment, and then carry out weapons and fist and foot training; "climbing training", because toast is mostly concentrated in the mountainous southwest, so in order to attack the city, it is necessary to carry out relevant training. In addition, Toshi also pays attention to the training of soldiers' military discipline, and uses the training of daily hunting and courage. This kind of training is of great help to improve the combat ability of individual soldiers.
However, when marching and fighting, the emphasis is on the coordination of large armies in order to win victory on the battlefield. Therefore, the Youyang Toastan army generally adopted the "Twenty-Four Banners" formation when facing the enemy. "Head, one person per flag is in front", the second three people are listed as the second heaviest, the second five people are ranked as the third heaviest, the second seven are ranked as the fourth, and the second seven or eight are ranked as the fifth. The rest are put behind, cheering and helping, if the former loses, the double center will be replenished, and the two wings will be the same. Victory or defeat is limited to five weights, and if all are lost, there is no hope. Sixteen men per banner, twenty-four flags and three hundred and eighty-four men, all selected soldiers also.". In addition to these 384 elite soldiers, the rest of the toast soldiers lined up in the rear, ready to replenish the "arrows" in front.
In order to make this formation exert great power, Toshi also formulated a very strict military law. In the Toshi Military Law, it is clearly stipulated that in the course of combat, the members of each combat group ("Wu") may not easily leave the lineup to cut off the enemy's first rank in order to obtain battle merits, but are responsible for special personnel, and the battle achievements belong to the entire combat group ("Seven people are in the army, and each team is responsible for its own life.") Four focused on stabbing, three focused on cutting off their heads, and the first rank was obtained, and seven people were together"). At the same time, in order to make every combatant and "Wu" fight heroically, Toshi also formulated a cruel law of sitting together, stipulating that "one person who does not fight, and those who do not attack left and right, that is, beheaded; all of them are guilty of crimes and amputation of ears." When a group goes to the enemy, the left and right armies will attack and attack, and a team will fight to save them. If there is no battle, the left and right wu do not pinch those who are cut off; the crowd of the first team is all about sin and amputation of the ear. ”
It can be said that after strict personnel selection, hard military training, and supplemented by strict military law. Youyang Toast finally forged an army with great fighting power.