Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 419: Cut off Ma Zhongyi's head and drown all Qing troops

The 42th day of the twelfth lunar month, the 25nd year of Qianlong’s reign.

The snow, which had lasted for half a month, finally stopped and the sun shone faintly.

Suxi Town, west of Taihe County, Ji'an Prefecture.

Bluestone road,

Pools of blood had solidified into ice, looking like mirrors. Soldiers passing by kept slipping and falling, cursing.

……

"Your Excellency, my whole family is loyal to the Qing Dynasty. I still have my braid."

A gentleman knelt down and begged desperately.

however,
Ma Zhongyi didn't care about the braid at all, he just wanted to find a reason to kill someone.

With one slash of the knife, blood spurted out.

"Brothers, hold on for one more day! Tomorrow we will move camp back to Zhuguang Mountain and go back to celebrate the New Year!"

"Whoo."

The messenger carried the news to every camp.

The Qing army was boiling with excitement~
Zhu Guangshan’s camp had stored up a huge amount of supplies, so they could eat and drink as much as they wanted during the New Year.

Some time ago, the fear of "Wu" caused by successive military failures seemed to have eased.

Everyone was talking and laughing, preparing to go home after completing the transaction with the friendly forces.

……

"Master, what is our retreat route?"

"Let's go back the same way and comb through any villages and towns that we might have missed." Ma Zhongyi said easily, "As the ancients said, soldiers go through like combs."

however,
Liu Lu, however, didn't feel relaxed at all.

He suggested in a low voice:

"Why not head west into the mountains first?"

"Ok?"

"It's safer to march in the mountains."

"Are you crazy? In the middle of winter, you're crossing the mountains to return to Zhuguang Mountain? You left all your baggage behind?"

Ma Zhongyi finished his roar.

After a moment of silence, he changed the subject:
"What you said actually makes sense. How about this? We march along the foot of the mountain. If something happens, we can run to the mountain immediately."

……

At noon,

The snow is somewhat reflective.

The Qing soldiers on sentry duty had frozen hands and feet, but suddenly they saw a few black spots vaguely appearing in the distance, and they were immediately excited.

"I'm coming."

"I can't see the flag clearly due to the reflection, and it hurts my eyes."

"No need to look, the miserable appearance of that person is definitely a White Lotus sect bandit."

4 mile away,

The Wu army's light cavalry are making final preparations.

Yesterday, the amount of concentrated feed for the war horses was doubled.

This morning, the warhorse was fed another 4 kilograms of concentrated feed.

Before approaching Suxi Town,

Everyone led their horses and marched slowly.
Wusimai stood on the saddle, opened the telescope in his hand and observed for a while, then put it away and put it into the thick cloth bag next to the saddle.

brush,
He drew his sword and shouted:

"Brothers, the Qing army from Nangan Town is right before our eyes. Don't let them escape back into the mountains. The vanguard will encircle them from the right and block their way into the mountains."

"Check equipment, everyone charge after 300 breaths."

……

The messenger reined in his horse and ran to deliver the message to each company.

Everyone became nervous.

Wu Laoer quickly opened the cover of the cavalry flintlock powder pool, poured the ignition powder that had been left for two hours into the snow, and replaced it with dry ignition powder to ensure that it would fire.

The flintlock was then hung on the left side of the saddle.

He then took out a handful of barley and stuffed it into the warhorse.

"Eat it, eat a few more bites."

The warhorse quickly ate up the fine food in his palm and began to breathe and paw.

Wu Laoer took off the thick blanket, tarpaulin, dry food bag, and replacement cotton socks from the warhorse's back and threw them into the snow.

front,

The legion's banner suddenly unfolded.

Afterwards, each regiment, battalion and company also unfolded their military flags.

Brushing, brushing, brushing,
3000 cavalrymen drew their cavalry swords and put the backs of the swords against their shoulders.

The first row of horses started running, followed by the second row, and then the third row.

Mud and snow were flying.

……

The Qing army looked up in surprise. What was going on? Was it thundering?

The absent-minded Liu Lu reacted the most.

Rushing towards Ma Zhongyi:
"Master, run quickly. Wu's army has set up an ambush."

The voice has not fallen,

Outside the town, the gongs sounded loudly, then suddenly died down. The sentry had thrown away the gong and was running away.

Ma Zhongyi's forehead was instantly covered with beads of sweat.

He kicked Liu Lu to the ground, stood on a baggage cart, and shouted:
"Don't panic, brothers. Form a formation and head west into the mountains."

……

Don't panic,
Everyone is still panicking!

Because the Qing army in Nangan Town fought against the Wu army too many times and lost every time, the veteran soldiers had already given up in their hearts.

Some obeyed the military order and ran westward in a large crowd.

Some of them didn't listen to anything and just ran south on their own.

Some people were quite brave and ran into the town to defend it.

Most of the time, they are like headless flies, running around in the same place, sometimes heading west, sometimes east.

……

Ma Zhongyi closed his eyes in pain.

"It's over, it's over."

Wu phobia collective outbreak~
Only the thousand or so personal soldiers of the town flag could follow him calmly.

"Hurry, head southwest."

Ma Zhongyi took the lead, followed closely by more than a thousand men from the town.

The New Year’s Ten Thousand People Snow Marathon begins!
……

Liu Lu was unlucky. He was originally in the first echelon, but he tripped and fell halfway.

At least 4 big guys behind him tripped and rolled over, pressing him so hard that his eyes went dark.
Ma Zhongyi shouted as he ran:
"Liu Lu, Liu Lu, where are you?"

However, it was impossible to find anyone in the chaotic battlefield.

What's more terrifying is that
The Wu cavalry was getting closer and closer.

They intercepted the first group of Qing troops fleeing westward, and blood splattered everywhere as their swords swept through.

……

This battalion of cavalry, which carried out the right-side flanking tactics, had a clear goal and intercepted the Qing troops who attempted to enter the mountains, forcing them to turn around and run eastward.

Then they continued forward, made a circle and intercepted the Qing troops running south.

Eventually, the Qing army's range of activities was gradually compressed and a war of annihilation was fought.

There was a huge crowd of people surrounding Ma Zhongyi, and anyone with a discerning eye could guess that there was a big fish.

Wusimai personally supervised the battle.

The cavalrymen drew out their flintlock rifles and took turns firing. The roar was endless and the shotgun shells flew everywhere.

This tactic is not significantly different from that of horse archers.

only,
It is difficult for cavalry to reload twice while running, unless they retreat to a safe place on the battlefield and rein in their horses to reload bullets. However, archers can act as human output platforms while moving.

……

The cavalry split in two.
After one section finished firing, it retreated and reloaded.

Another one waited for an opportunity to rush up and kill~
The Nangan Town logo is like a big onion, cut layer by layer.

"My lord, I can't get out."

"I don't accept it. I don't accept it."

Ma Zhongyi went crazy and rushed to the front with his sword held high. He was hit in the face by a short axe flying at him from close range and fell to the ground seriously injured.

The fighting spirit of the town's standard-bearing soldiers was instantly lost, and more than half of them knelt down in surrender.

in fact,

They originally had the opportunity to fire in platoons and inflict heavy damage on the two cavalry companies.

But everyone suffers from Wu phobia.

I just wanted to escape, not fight back.

I'm no longer angry~
In this case, even if they were equipped with 10 shotguns, they might still lose.

……

Wusimai jumped off his horse and walked to Ma Zhongyi with bow legs.

Questioning the prisoners:

"Who is he?"

"To answer Grandpa Wu Jun's question, he is the governor of Jiangxi and the general of Nangan Town, Ma Zhongyi."

The red coral bead on the warm hat is so eye-catching.

Wu Simai let out a long sigh, weighed the officer's sword in his hand, and felt that the tool was not suitable.

Back to the saddle again,

Pull out a short axe, handy~
…Ma Zhongyi’s mouth and nose were bleeding. Looking at his typical big face and small eyes,

He asked vaguely:
"Are you from the Mongolian Eight Banners?"

"Ah."

Ma Zhongyi suddenly laughed.
He then opened his clenched hands and looked at the sun with lifeless eyes, thinking that the defeat was not unfair.

The eight Mongolian banners have all joined the bandits, and it is possible that the eight Manchu banners will join the bandits soon.

His last memory was,
Wusimai put his hands on his waist and recited a poem to set the scene:

"I wanted to chase the light cavalry, but the heavy snow covered the bows and swords."

Then his big face turned slightly red, and he swung the axe and chopped it down hard.

Before Ma Zhongyi's head lost power, his last brainwave was: That 500 taels of debt is now settled.
……

The fleeing Qing army was compressed again and again by Wu's army.

Except for the more than a thousand people defending Suxi Town, the rest were like frightened prey, running around in the encirclement.

The suppressive effect of cavalry on infantry is terrifying.

The 3rd Company under Wu Laoer rushed to the southernmost part and used sabers to force 2000 Qing troops to turn around on the spot.

Seeing that the Qing army ahead was running slower,

He squeezed the horse's belly with his boots, and the horse accelerated instantly.

Catch up with the Qing army that fell behind~
The sabers swept past lightly, and the Qing soldiers fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.

Under the oppression of the scythe of death,
The surrounding Qing troops quickened their pace of escape, squeezing out their last bit of physical strength in an effort to get ahead of their companions.

"Second Lieutenant, do you want to persuade them to surrender?"

Wu Lao Er shook his head, temporarily reined in his horse, drew out his flintlock and silently loaded it. Everyone followed suit.

……

"Commander-in-chief, what should we do?"

"Drive him into the river."

"As ordered."

After receiving the clear military order, the Light Cavalry Corps did not hesitate, and all members raised their sabers and executed the "order to drive the people into the river."

The military judge said nothing.

In this weather, collecting the prisoners and taking them back to the rear might be a burden.

Moreover, the Light Cavalry Corps still has a mission after destroying Nangan Town.

Big cut and big kill~
There were sporadic gunshots.

The Qing army continued to fall to the ground exhausted, trampling on each other and wailing miserably.

Finally, the Qing army, which was in the front, saw the Shushui River covered with a thin layer of ice, and they instantly understood the vicious intentions of the Wu army.

Shushui River,

One of the tributaries of Ganjiang River, it originates from Luoxiao Mountains and flows into Ganjiang River in Taihe County.

……

Someone tried to stop the companion:

"Don't run. The ice is too hard to handle."

Liu Lu is also among them~
At this moment, he no longer had the ferocity and arrogance he once had, and he ran so fast that his vision went dark.

I saw people around me stop one after another, afraid of falling into the river.

He gritted his teeth and used his last bit of strength to quickly rush out of the crowd and away from these idiots.

The ice didn't break.
Liu Lulian fell several times and his face was bleeding, but he still used his hands and feet to crawl forward frantically, leaving bloodstains behind him.

Shouting in my heart:

“Can I make it to the other side?”

……

Gunshots rang out again.

The Wu cavalry dismounted, formed a battle array and opened fire. If you don't go down to the river, we will kill you.

The cavalry corps' bullets are quite special, consisting of one round lead bullet and three small lead bullets, and they do not pursue accuracy.

"Run."

The Qing army shouted and tens of thousands of people rushed down the river bank.

As expected, the ice surface of the Shushui River was instantly filled with cracks, making creaking sounds.

The Qing soldiers running on the river were even more frightened and pushed and trampled on each other in an attempt to cross the river quickly.

Click~
Followed by a loud breaking sound.

As if by magic, the river opened its bloody mouth, hundreds of Qing soldiers fell into the icy river, and countless unfortunate people struggled in the freezing river water.

……

The Qing army behind them quickly stopped and ran downstream.
But after running a few steps, he fell into the river.

The integrity of the ice surface was broken, its load-bearing capacity dropped significantly, and everything within sight was broken. The sound of the ice breaking and the desperate screams of the Qing army resounded through the sky.

Wu Simai narrowed his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth.

war,

There is no mercy and accidental injuries are inevitable.

The civilian laborers and auxiliary soldiers of Nangan Town enjoyed the same treatment as combat soldiers.

The Wu Army established by Li Yu himself was not a "benevolent and righteous army" in the traditional sense from the very beginning, but a fierce semi-feudal and semi-modern army.

……

Wu Laoer raised his right arm and cheered!
The surrounding cavalry cheered and smiled.

This winter, the temperature in southern Jiangxi is not too low.

The people dispersed and could cross the river on the ice without any problem.

But thousands of men were running madly on the ice, and even the King of Hell could not bear to watch it anymore.

This battle,

A perfect ending.

The survivors in Nangan Town will not survive more than one flood season.

Falling into an ice river in winter means death.

Within a quarter of an hour, the screams and thrashing sounds in the river became quieter and quieter until they were completely silent.

Countless bodies floated downstream and were blocked by the ice downstream.

If nothing else,

It will freeze again at night.

It will only float into the Ganjiang River and Poyang Lake after the beginning of next spring.

of course,

Before that, the county government would definitely organize people to salvage and bury the bodies, otherwise the epidemic would take away people within a hundred miles.

……

Wu Si Mai had already prepared a draft in his mind and wrote a poem loudly:
"Poor bones by the Shu River, still the man in the spring girl's dream."

The surrounding cavalry cheered and praised the commander-in-chief for his talent in both civil and military affairs, and a Confucian general!

It’s a pity that I was born in the wrong era. If I was born in the Tang Dynasty, I could at least become a frontier poet.

Wusima's face turned red and he was so happy.

There are not many Confucian generals like me nowadays.

Looking at the entire Wu Kingdom, none of those who could fight could also compose poetry, and none of those who could compose poetry could also fight.

He even thought arrogantly:
There are 8 dou of literary talent in the grassland, and I have 1 dou alone. The Golden Family owes 2 dou~
……

"Commander-in-chief, what should we do with the Qing troops in Suxi Town?"

"Send someone to Taihe County to notify the county's patrol chief and military officer to bring two small cannons over. Leave one company behind, and the rest will set out in two quarters of an hour. Our destination is Pingxiang County."

The 2400-man Light Cavalry Corps marched slowly northward.

A war horse cannot run for a long time. At best it will be seriously injured, and at worst it will die.

Horses are more delicate than humans!
Especially when they were hunting down the Qing troops in Nangan Town, they ran back and forth and killed until their horses were exhausted.

at this time,

The knights were busy eating and feeding their horses at the same time.

Two messengers of victory,

He headed south to Nanxiong Prefecture in Guangdong to report to Miao Youlin.

Head north and then east to report the victory to His Majesty.

Add a string of small firecrackers to this year's New Year atmosphere.

……

Half an hour before sunset,
Armed personnel from Taihe County arrived with a 1-pound cannon and a 6-pound cannon.

When the first solid bullet fell into the town and smashed down the adobe wall, the morale of the Qing troops defending the town, which was already low, completely collapsed.

They came out to negotiate under the white flag.

If I surrender, can I avoid being killed?

They witnessed the cruel scene in Shushui River and were terrified.

After receiving the solemn promise from the only civil official present, the young military judge of Taihe County, the more than a thousand remaining soldiers guarding the town immediately laid down their weapons.

Since then, the Qing army in Nangan Town, which had been causing trouble in Jiangxi, disappeared.

All counties promoted the event extensively, showing Ma Zhongyi's head and the general's flag to all counties and prefectures, winning over quite a lot of people's support.

What Ma Zhongyi did was really outrageous.

Before entering the mountain, he plundered crazily, and after entering the mountain, he carried out bloody massacres, which are too numerous to mention.
As a result, the Jiangxi people who originally resisted Wu's army now hated the Qing court from the bottom of their hearts.
No one knew that Ma Zhongyi had even thought of a strategy:
Kill in the east and replenish in the west.

Luoxiao Mountains are the boundary between Jiangxi and Hunan provinces.

To the east, they burned and killed people in Jiangxi. To the west, they robbed Hunan.

……

Li Yu breathed a sigh of relief when he received the good news.

If a Qing army in the mountainous area of ​​southern Jiangxi quickly changed its fighting style to banditry and guerrilla warfare, it would be a nightmare, and it would seriously threaten their own food and coal layout in Jiangxi.

While feeling pleased, we also did not forget to commend:
"Wusimai, promoted to Bronze Star (2 stars) Captain, rewarded with a golden flintlock rifle and a good horse from Ili."

"Miao Youlin has also made great contributions. He will be rewarded after we capture Guangzhou."

【Take a day off tomorrow! 】

(End of this chapter)