Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 254 Scout
The ground is dry in winter, and the sound of horse hooves is as crisp as rain hitting lotus leaves. Jiuzhi personally led a team of cavalry along the road on the south bank of Yuandang Port towards Xiamen City.

A team of the Vanguard Bureau consists of ten people, with the captain and deputy captain each in charge of a squad, and the deputy captain is sometimes also called the squad leader. Everyone in the team is equipped with the same equipment, four Parthian flintlock pistols, a saber, and some throwing weapons such as bone buds and throwing axes.

Due to the limited load-bearing capacity of Jinjiang horses, the cavalry of the Vanguard Bureau are currently not wearing armor. From their equipment, it can be seen that this cavalry is mainly responsible for tasks such as reconnaissance, vigilance, harassment, and pursuit.

The Vanguard Bureau was originally entrusted with an important task for this expedition to Xiamen. Lin Hai did a lot of mobilization work for this. As long as they could hold Zheng Zhilong back for a day and a night, the Vanguard Bureau would be awarded first-class merit as a group, and everyone would be rewarded with a minimum of ten taels of silver.

As a result, something went wrong during the march. Five soldiers who raped civilian women were beheaded, and a dozen who took civilians' property were beaten with military sticks. A small number of soldiers in the Vanguard Bureau were punished to varying degrees for being implicated by military law, and the morale of the entire army was dampened.

Everyone held their breath and planned to go to Jiahe Island to perform meritorious service, but when they arrived at Tongan, they found out that Zheng Zhilong was already trapped in a jar, and the collective first-class merit disappeared without a trace.

This time, Lin Hai had only intended to send a team of cavalry to find out the situation in Xiamen City. However, Jiuzhi, the cavalry scout leader, went out in person. After all, he might encounter an enemy ambush while scouting. This guy was in a lot of gambling debts, and all he could think about was the reward money.

The landing point was still seven or eight miles away from Xiamen City. The people were marching at a slow pace according to the cavalry regulations. They did not encounter any enemy troops along the way, so they unknowingly changed to a fast pace. This cavalry had received little formation training. In addition to actual combat, they mainly practiced individual horsemanship.

When he arrived near Xiamen City, Jiuzhi saw from afar that there was a moat outside the city. He rode his horse to a slope and saw a ditch behind the moat. There was no water in the ditch, but there were people.

He had just arrived at Xiamen City and knew that this trench must have been newly dug, so he immediately ordered: "Captain Chen, you lead this squad to the west, and I will lead the rest of the brothers to the south. This trench is newly dug, let's take a look first to see if the damn guys have finished digging it."

The crowd was now in the northeast of the city, and they split into two groups. To avoid fire from the top of the city or behind the trench, they all moved around the trench from a distance.

After an incense stick of time, everyone gathered in the southwest of the city. Captain Chen said, "Captain, the trenches in the north and west have been dug. There are people in them, but not many."

"When our main force comes to attack the city, there will be more people there to fuck with." Nine Fingers said with a grin, "That's good, our business is here, this ditch is definitely the best choice for the Vanguard Bureau."

"This trench is not easy to dig. Doesn't the Army Department have artillery? Can't we flatten the trench wall first?"

"You know nothing. The army's cannons are used to kill people. There's no way you can tear down this wall. You have to use the navy's cannons."

"Naval guns are useless. The trench wall is so long that they can only make a few holes. What good can they do? I heard that the Army Department has newly equipped a thing called a mortar. The shells of that thing fly very high. Not only can they hit the trench behind the wall, but they can also explode. If this thing fires for a long time, the enemy troops in the trench will definitely run away."

Everyone started talking at once, and after listening, Nine Fingers said loudly, "Alright, stop talking nonsense, it's all bullshit. I'm telling you, no cannon will work on this wall."

"Captain, why do you say that?" Captain Chen asked in confusion.

"The mortar can fly behind the wall, but it can't hit the ditch because the ditch and the wall are too close." Nine Fingers' eyes flashed with excitement. "I said, this is our Vanguard Bureau's specialty."

Everyone fell silent. Everyone could imagine what price the Vanguard Bureau would have to pay to capture this trench. "Why? Are you scared now? You cowardly bastards. The Vanguard Bureau gets the highest pay, so naturally you have to do the hardest work. If you're afraid of death, why didn't you quit earlier? It would be great to go to the Army Department and be a cook. You cowards should learn some women's skills."

"The sentry is right. No matter how difficult it is to build this trench, it is not necessarily more difficult than the original mission. It's just that now that we don't have to land in advance to hold back the thief Zheng, everyone's original anger has been somewhat deflated..." Captain Chen echoed from the side. He was transferred from the Navy Department and was one of the few old brothers who could ride a horse.

Captain Chen's words made sense. According to the original battle plan, it would be a difficult task for the Vanguard Bureau to hold back Zheng Zhilong. After all, the Tongan local soldiers were no match for Zheng's elite troops in a field battle, so they could only defend the city.

The advantage of the Vanguard Bureau lies in the fact that skirmishers are naturally good at harassment, in addition to the speed of war horses and the range of heavy muskets. But even so, it is still a very difficult task to hold back the Zheng army together with the Tongan soldiers, and the casualties will certainly be huge.

Everyone had prepared themselves mentally, but when the time came, they found out that they didn't have to fight like this, and they were definitely mentally relaxed. Now that the situation has become serious again, it will be difficult to accept it for a while.

The group rode their horses back to the southeast of Xiamen City. Jiuzhi suddenly sighed and pulled the reins: "Stop running, I want to check out the trench."

"Captain, what are you looking at it for?"

"I want to go see how deep and wide that ditch is."

"There are bandits in that ditch..."

"So what if there are bandits?" Nine Fingers grinned, "What are we doing here? We are scouts! What's the point of going back without finding out the situation? Do you think scouts are just to take a look from a distance?"

"Captain, let's let the flag go." Captain Chen said, "If you die, our brothers won't be able to explain when we return."

"Fuck you, stop cursing me. You guys are not as good at riding fast horses as I am, so I'll go first. If I die, you, Old Chen, will take over. If you die too, the deputy captain will take over..."

As Jiuzhi spoke, he turned his horse's head and rushed towards the trench wall. The warhorse under him sped up in pain, first trotting, then running, and then charging...

The sound of gunfire came from the trench wall. Jiuzhi leaned on the horse's back and rushed forward with gritted teeth. He did not suddenly turn until he was thirty steps away from the trench wall. He stood up with his feet on the stirrups, looked at the trench behind the wall, and took out a pistol and fired a shot.

"What a pity..." Jiuzhi sighed repeatedly after returning to his subordinates.

"What's the matter? Didn't the sentry see how deep the ditch was just now?" asked a cavalryman.

"Bullshit, I saw it, and I even killed a bandit soldier." Nine Fingers said, "It's a pity that I couldn't cut off his head, so the reward for his head was wasted."

(End of this chapter)