stubborn thief

Chapter 355 Despicable
The shells plowed through a large area of ​​soil, bounced twice, and smashed into the trench with the sound of planks breaking.

Tang Tong leaned his back against the ditch, raised his face and closed his eyes tightly, and took a long breath. He didn't care about the smashed cannon carriage, but thought for no reason that if he could save his life after this battle, he would definitely punish him. A good mother-in-law who gave birth to a bunch of dolls.

This was the first battle in which he experienced heavy artillery bombardment in his life.

Tang Tong's time in the army was very short. It was almost when Liu Chengzong left Yuhebao with his elder brother that he joined the army.

He is from Jingyang, Xi'an Prefecture. People in this area generally don't join the army, because Jingyang, Sanyuan, and Hancheng are important commercial towns and the most wealthy places in the Northwest. The common people can live better than being a soldier.

A few years before the severe drought that swept across the country just kicked off, northern Shaanxi and Guanzhong played different roles due to different climatic conditions, and the people on the land also had different encounters.

Tang Tong’s family had a good-field tea shop, as well as his caravan caravan selling tea. He joined the army because Yang Yao and Wang Wenxiu’s mutinous frontier soldiers from Guyuan went to Weibei to plunder. It became a mess.

When everyone was in danger, Tang Tong, who had practiced martial arts since childhood, stepped forward to defend the village with his family's nursing home. Later, he simply took his guards and joined Zhang Quanchang's army.

Although Tang Tong is now a general in Yansui Town, he has been in the Central Army before. The most difficult part of being a soldier is from a soldier to a general. At this stage, as a front-line commander, the death rate is very high.

Many people were stuck in the position of Baizong and died.

But because Tang Tong joined the army at a very good time and location, he skipped this hurdle in the first two years of joining the army because of the help of nobles. Hang left.

If Liu Chengzong raised Yang Yanchang, the general of Yan'an, then Wang Zuogua nurtured Tang Tong's adolescence in his military career.

In the eyes of the officers and soldiers, the early anti-kings in northern Shaanxi had distinct territories and personalities. Liu Shizi was good at fighting, Gao Yingxiang was good at hiding, and Wang Jiayin gnawed at the side wall of the North Road. .

Tang Tong's most important mission in his first two years in the army was to defend Hancheng.

When Wang Zuogua beat Hancheng, Tang Tong was still an ordinary soldier; when Wang Zuogua's third attack on Hancheng was over, Tang Tong was already in command.

So even though Tang Tong fought against various peasant armies in northern Shaanxi later, his knowledge as a guerrilla general was not a little bit worse than that of his colleagues in Yulin.

He had never seen a battle where the two armies faced each other, and the artillery could be bombarded all day long.

This battle was a difficult battle for others, but for Tang Tong, it was a rare learning opportunity.

He watched as the Marshal's Mansion used twelve heavy artillery in a concentrated manner, and used precise salvos to call out the heavy artillery exposed outside the trench one by one, and used seven catties of shells to destroy the artillery carriage and bend the barrel.

I also watched the general Tianzi's cannons scattered by the officers and soldiers use Gonglingsun ammunition, firing alternately to suppress the artillerymen at the top of the city.

Relying on Gonglingsun and the trenches, the officers and soldiers forcibly reduced the range disadvantage of the artillery, and pushed the front line forward until the Fran machine guns could bombard Tucheng across the Huangshui.

The terrible artillery battle lasted for two full days. Just as Tang Tong was hiding in the trench, praying with the life-saving talisman his mother had begged for him, and praying that the artillery battle would never end, You Shilu's messengers shuttled around in the trench, Convey to him the news that the commander-in-chief summoned the generals to discuss matters.

Although the artillery battle was loud and heart-shattering, the officers and soldiers were protected by trenches, and the marshal's mansion also had the advantage of the height of the earth city. The two sides fired four or five hundred shells a day, but few people died because of it.

But what should come can't be avoided.

As soon as Tang Tong withdrew from the front line and went to the rear of the Chinese army commander's tent, he saw pockmarked soldiers pushing carts to the front line, and weak pox soldiers gathered towards the isolation camp. He already knew the time for the general attack It's almost there.

In the open space in front of the Chinese army's tent, the commanders of the three towns gave lectures to the generals at all levels, and several shells of different sizes were placed on the table.

You Shilu said that the artillery bombardment frequency of the Marshal's Mansion's volleys has decreased since the afternoon, and the shells picked up from the front line are already one-jin shells fired by Fran's machine guns, and there are only a few three-jin shells.

The three commanders agreed that the fighter plane had arrived.

It's not that the commander-in-chief of the three towns believes that Liu Chengzong has no shells. Liu Chengzong, who occupies more than half of Hehuang, will not lack shells. At most, there is a problem with the transportation of the luggage.

Even compared to Liu Chengzong having no shells, the three towns commanders are more willing to believe that they themselves have no shells.

Because there are really not many artillery shells for the officers and soldiers, the Gonglingsun shells shipped with the eight general Tianzi guns were only 96 rounds, and they were all fired yesterday.

In fact, the frequency of Liu Chengzong's shooting dropped, and Tang Tong felt that it was probably because he felt that he was losing money. In this artillery battle, both sides would feel that they were losing money.

In the beginning, the general cannonballed Gong Lingsun, and the marshal’s heavy artillery fired seven catties of shells. They fired all day yesterday, and today, the general cannonballs are the seven catty shells picked up, and the marshal’s heavy artillery fires the three-pound shells picked up. A catty of bullets and a catty of sun bullets spewed out groups of sun bullets at every turn.

The roles are reversed throughout.

For the officers and soldiers, it was not so much a sign that Liu Chengzong had no shells, but more like Lintao General Wang Chengen's invasion of Hehuang, cutting off Liu Chengzong's logistics route.

In order to deal with Marshal Wang in Lintao, Liu Chengzong divided his troops. Just yesterday, thousands of Tartar soldiers roared westward, which is a strong proof of this.

Isn't this a fighter plane?
The commanders of the three towns were gearing up and gave the order to attack Hexi from the whole east of the river.

As one of the retreating generals who faced Yang Yaoma's team last time, Tang Tong followed Zhang Hongye as the attacking force in the north.

Hearing this mission, his heart was colder than the sky in the twelfth lunar month.

Huangshui turns several bends at the mouth of the river, and almost the entire east of the river is on the south bank of the river.

Whether crossing the river from the south side of the castle or crossing the river from the east, they will be blocked by the Marshal's Mansion, but the advantage is that the battle lines are wide enough, only the north side is different.

In the north, they could cross the river calmly with their backs, but after crossing the river, it was more difficult to attack the Marshal's Mansion than to defeat Yang Yao's cavalry head-on on the plain.

Because there are steep mountains in the north that cannot be climbed, and the Huangshui River with a width of [-] steps in the south. There is only a country road and a river beach less than [-] steps in the middle.

The whole route could be blocked by the two Francophones firing Sanzi alternately. Tang Tong was anxious to hear this, but Zhang Hongye, the general who had committed a crime, didn't even dare to fart, but accepted the order dejectedly.

On the contrary, Chief Qian Fumin is a veteran general of Yansui Town after all. He explained the situation to You Shilu. The North Road is obviously a terrain that is easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is even more difficult to attack, so I ask the commander-in-chief to reconsider.

You Shilu understood very well, but refused to change the order... Who is not difficult? Isn't it difficult for the Henan army to attack the stone bridge under the obstruction of the army?Or is it easy for the army in Hedong to cross the Huangshui River with cowhide rafts and war horses?

What they are facing is such a situation. If they can't cope with the Lintao Army at this time, the opportunity to fight is fleeting, and in case they defeat the Lintao Army, who can take such responsibility?

What's more, the soldiers already had acne, and they had to fight anyway, otherwise, if only they had acne, Liu Chengzong's army would not be able to get rid of acne.

When the Hedong officers and troops mobilized in the evening, Liu Chengzong was counting the shells picked up by the Fanbing in the earth fortress.

As You Shilu expected, Liu Shizi's shells were indeed not sufficient. He fired 94 salvos in two days, knocking out half of his shell reserves.

But after picking up the shells, Liu Shizi was excited to find that his shell reserves had not decreased compared to before the war, but had also increased.

The public bullets, bullets, bullets, and even group bullets fired by the officers and soldiers, because they are lead bullets, not only can be used, but they can even quickly melt into the caliber they need.

Whether it is a bird gun, a heavy gun, a gun or a cannon, all of them can be used.

Liu Shizixin said that if he knew that the officers and soldiers used this thing to fight, he would not let people carry lead weights, which is strange.

Hearing the horn sounding from the city, Liu Chengzong hurried to the city, seeing the large-scale mobilization of the officers and soldiers throughout the valley, he couldn't help but smile on his face.

In Liu Shizi's view, this must be because he withdrew the Mongolian Corps, causing the officers and soldiers to misunderstand the situation of the battle.

However, he didn't think it was because Xie Erhu went west, but that it was the result of him transferring all the Mongolian soldiers to the west.

In fact, the officers and soldiers did not notice that Liu Chengzong had sent Mongolian soldiers to the west to help in the war. It was funny to say that, although it was blatant for Liu Chengzong to send Xie Erhu to the west to help in the battle, since it was daytime, the officers and soldiers were digging trenches and missed this information.

Instead, Liu Chengzong took advantage of the dusk to complete a secret transfer in the position after the pox inoculated Fanbing from the shooting camp. However, he was discovered by the brave officer scouts because the target could not be seen clearly at dusk and the artillery dropped with precision and did not bombard them.

Liu Chengzong has been counting the time when the soldiers of the hunting camp have acne. In his mind, this is the reference point for the officers and soldiers to have acne. He always estimated that the officers and soldiers would attack before the acne appeared, but he did not attack until the acne appeared, which made him a little regretful. .

Originally, Yang Yao was asked to attack because he wanted to kill the spirit of the officers and soldiers, but he didn't expect that Yang Yao's combat ability was so fierce that he frightened the officers and soldiers directly.

Seeing the actions of the officers and soldiers, Liu Chengzong was overjoyed, and ordered the hunting battalion to garrison various important places, and Yang Yao's horse battalion was used as a reserve army, ready to join the battle line at any time.

Immediately afterwards, he fell into doubts and summoned Yang Yao, Huang Shengxiao, Basang and other generals to discuss matters... The movement of the officers and troops was to launch a full-scale attack along the river, but the situation at this time was not suitable for a decisive battle.

Now it was dusk, and the army of the Marshal's Mansion occupied a favorable location. Just crossing the Huangshui River meant that the officers and soldiers would have to pay a huge price. Even if they were relocated, Liu Chengzong couldn't guarantee that he would not be repelled before nightfall.

The general offensive should at least start in the morning.

Several generals had the same doubts, and it was concluded that the official army was not planning to launch a general offensive.

But if it is not a general attack, what purpose does the official army's attack want to achieve?do not know.

A few people thought about it for a while, and their faces almost showed fierce looks one after another: These bastards are planning to poison!
To be honest, Liu Chengzong considered the inevitable spread of smallpox during the war, but he never thought that smallpox would be deliberately used as a weapon.

With hindsight, Yang Yao shook his head and said, "The commander-in-chief is kind-hearted, they are too despicable."

"I am kind? You are mistaken, it is not my kindness."

Liu Chengzong chuckled, but the expression on his face gradually turned cold: "Smallpox is just a human pox for us, a pox that can be solved by humans; but for the officers and soldiers, it is an unavoidable natural pox, so it can only control the fate of heaven." And when they use it, they are kind.”

Yang Yao shook his head and wanted to say more, but he didn't expect that Fan Sanlang behind Liu Chengzong said with a serious face: "General Yang, the commander taught me that the greatest kindness in wartime is to adopt the best tactics to win regardless of the cost, and end the war as soon as possible. .”

Liu Chengzong glanced at Sanlang approvingly, and nodded slowly: "That's what I mean. We are fighting, and we are fighting to the death. No matter what tactics the enemy uses, save the accusations of their despicability until after the victory. No matter what you say, the dead can't speak back." .”

For Liu Chengzong, although he never thought of using smallpox to infect the enemy, it was because the smallpox did not break out on his side. His smallpox was all smallpox, and he had no infectious ability. Also smallpox.

It was because he couldn't use this tactic. His strategy in this war also used smallpox, which may be infected by the officers and soldiers, as one of the considerations for weakening the enemy.

He even said that the officers and soldiers could not solve smallpox, and a large part of the reason was because of him.

Without his army, which could cross Huangshui and attack at any time, the officers and soldiers could calmly inoculate the vaccine, and wait for the soldiers to be immune to smallpox before fighting the battle fairly.

But where is fairness on the battlefield?
"The enemy's choice of this tactic is good for us. Huang Xiao, remove the heavy artillery from the city, keep the pack horses close to the artillery, stay away from them, and hand over the Fran machine gun to the hunting battalion... They are destined to fail to achieve their tactical goals."

While everyone was talking, the sound of heavy artillery sounded again, and the horn sounded one after another. Soldiers waved various flags at dusk, conveying information to the army that enemy troops had drilled out of trenches everywhere.

The officers and soldiers were attacking across the board. Even in the east of the river, there were officers and soldiers throwing cowhide rafts into Huangshui to cross the river. There were also horse soldiers moving north, seemingly planning to attack from the path at the foot of the mountain.

This further strengthened Liu Chengzong's guess that the officers and soldiers wanted to poison him. Under normal circumstances, they would only break through at Shiqiao, and it would be difficult for the officers and soldiers to break through his line of defense.

Only by attacking on all fronts can the officer and army form a superiority in strength on the battlefield and fight hand-to-hand with his army.

After all, when the Mongolian army retreated to the west, the army of the Marshal's Mansion did have a disadvantage in terms of battlefield strength. He had only 1 people, but he had to deal with [-] troops.

But this is not a big problem for Liu Chengzong. He asked Huang Shengxiao's men to bring heavy artillery, and he was ready to retreat westward if the situation was not good. Qingbu Mongolian soldiers also entered the battlefield.

"They want to infect me with smallpox, which is destined to be whimsical."

As Liu Chengzong spoke, he finally couldn't help smiling, opened his hands and said, "All my troops in the front line have had smallpox!"

　good evening!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)