Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 645 Confrontation
"Double shots! Let it go!" Following the command of the artillery officer, two 2-pound mountain grenades fired simultaneously in the rifle volley.The storm of projectiles swept across the entire queue, and this charge collapsed without any suspense.

Sha Jianbi led the Chinese army to attack the 1st Infantry Battalion twice, but was repulsed each time. Seeing that the ranks of the officers and soldiers gradually became chaotic, many soldiers were unwilling to hit the guns of the bandits and contradict the officers. Someone even moved a knife.One of his generals wanted to rectify the team but was dragged off his horse and killed.

Panting heavily, he felt that there was nothing he could do. Right now, he had to retreat to a safe place and wait for the follow-up troops to arrive. The two sides joined forces before making plans.Immediately order people to blow the screw, and let the ministries retreat a little and gather together.

Just when he was about to retreat, Zhu Mingxia, who had been waiting for an opportunity, immediately ordered the [-]th Battalion, which was lurking behind the mountain to wait for orders, to repeat the old trick, and suddenly rushed out, sweeping the flanks of the officers and troops directly.

The army whose morale was shaken was suddenly attacked by such a new force. Many people turned around and ran away after a little resistance. This kind of escape was contagious. The organized and orderly retreat of officers and soldiers stopped, followed by There was chaos, scrambling to escape, trampling each other.The fleeing soldiers not only dropped their flags, weapons, but even their helmets.

Sha Jianbi beheaded several soldiers, but still couldn't stop the terrible situation of the whole line collapsing, so he no longer cared about the lives of his soldiers, and had no time to think about the question of punishment after the death of the teacher. Fleeing.

The officers and soldiers fled so fast that the 4th Infantry Battalion could hardly encircle it, and they only intercepted a part of the officers and soldiers.The high-pitched loudspeakers kept shouting "The survivors will not die". Many people were exhausted and could only drop their weapons and kneel on the ground to surrender.

Zhu Mingxia personally led the troops to chase for two or three kilometers, captured hundreds of exhausted soldiers, and seized a lot of supplies, and then stopped the pursuit.Hurry up and gather the troops.

"Beat the assembly drum! Gather the troops."

The drummers quickly stood in a row and began to beat the drums. After about ten minutes, the troops that had already dispersed began to consider the direction of the military flag from all directions.

The special investigation team is already warning him: the enemy's follow-up troops are not far away from him.

He thought for a moment, the enemy's follow-up troops are coming, according to the report of the special investigation team, there are 2000 people, if the defensive counterattack mode just continued, the soldiers have been fighting continuously for almost a day since the morning, and their physical strength and ammunition are exhausted. Fighting a battle may not be as easy as the previous two, and Shi Shanxia is cleaning the battlefield to capture prisoners. Once the officers and soldiers deploy new troops, all these things will be interrupted.

Considering this, he made a decisive decision: he decided to take the 4th Battalion directly to face the reinforcements, follow the routs in pursuit, use the routs to disrupt the reinforcements, and then go directly into battle to defeat the entire army.

Seeing that the troops had assembled, he called Xiong Maozhang through the walkie-talkie:
"I'm going to fight the follow-up troops, you hurry up and lead people to capture prisoners and clean up the battlefield!"

As he said that, he immediately led the whole battalion, shouting and chasing down in the direction of Sha Jianbi's defeat on the post road.

Sha Jianbi led the rout and pushed down for more than ten miles. He thought the enemy had stopped chasing him. He was about to pack up his troops and join Li Guang's reinforcements. It is the sound of horns and snare drums that are unique to kun thieves.He knew that if he ran again at this time, not only would his entire army be wiped out, but Li Guang's 2000 men would also be swept away by his defeated army. He immediately ordered his people to set up his banner on a small hill beside the post road. He personally led his servants and soldiers to gather the troops.

However, the sound of gunfire from the rear team was approaching constantly, and the officers and soldiers who had no fighting spirit were unwilling to continue to fight, and fell down one after another.Sha Jianbi beheaded several fugitives and still couldn't stop fleeing.In a moment of desperation, I saw Cao Xiangjiao retreating from behind covered in blood. It didn't take long for his vanguard battalion to garrison and all the troops collapsed. He escaped from the rice field with the desperate rescue of several personal soldiers. , Just now on the road, he managed to gather some troops. When he heard the sound of the enemy's pursuit, he led the troops and turned around to resist, and was quickly defeated.Cao Xiangjiao was wounded by a bullet, and managed to escape here with great difficulty.

"Let's go, general!" Cao Xiangjiao shouted, "The gangster is catching up again! The humble general will resist here for a while!" He shouted and swung his knife before returning.

Sha Jianbi wanted to hold on for a while longer, but the soldiers around him were already in disarray, regardless of whether he ordered it or not, they immediately surrounded him and fled back.

Cao Xiangjiao stood on the post road with his own soldiers for a while, watching the defeated soldiers rushing past him like a tide.Until there is no one on the road.Only then did he lead a few of his own soldiers to throw away their flags and flee to the grove by the roadside.

Zhu Mingxia's pursuit made the rout of officers and soldiers unable to stop and rectify. Those who were routed all the way for seven or eight miles wiped out all the 2000 people brought by Li Guang. Back in the direction, Zhu Mingxia followed closely with his troops.They chased them another five or six miles and captured a large number of prisoners.

In a series of battles around Shishan, the officers and soldiers suffered heavy losses. Not only did they lose a large number of Jiazhan weapons and horses, but the 7000 people who reinforced Shishan three times before and after only returned less than 3000 people.Those who didn't come back either died on the battlefield or were captured by the thieves.Also lost a member of the general.This completely bankrupted the original saying that "kun thieves are not good at field battles" that the generals and staff had said unanimously.A large number of defeated soldiers fled back to the camp, causing the morale in the Chengmai camp to drop to the bottom.Many generals and officers were already packing up their things and preparing to flee for their lives.There was a lot of noise and chaos in the camp.He Rubin and Zhao Ruyi thought hard, sent people to comfort and suppress them, and took all the defeated soldiers into a separate battalion to prevent them from talking around.

Ye Zhengfang, who was in charge of the suppression, beheaded and killed more than 20 soldiers and junior officers who were agitating to escape in each battalion.He Rubin's Zhenbiao and his servants remained calm, and the once chaotic atmosphere of the entire camp finally settled down.

All the main generals of General He Rubin gathered in the big tent for a meeting to discuss countermeasures.Some of the generals advocated returning the entire army to the east at once, breaking a road from Shishan back to Qiongshan to set up camp and rest, and some advocated confrontation on the spot and sending troops to attack Shishan tomorrow.Sha Jianbi believed that the Kun bandits were outnumbered.According to the fact that there are only 2000 people guarding Shishan, if 5000 people are dispatched to attack at one time, and at the same time order the left behind troops in Qiongshan to attack front and back, it can completely force the bandits to abandon Shishan.

But everyone didn't agree with this arithmetic, because a total of 7000 people were sent today, and they were also defeated.What is the use of sending another 5000 people?
"Today our army violated the taboo of underestimating the enemy." He Rubin said, "General Yan, General Sha and General Li's units were sent to the battlefield three times, each time our army did not have the upper hand, and the enemy occupied the stronghold with firearms and waited for work. Therefore, our army was unable to attack the enemy with hungry and tired soldiers after traveling long distances."

He Rubin was still very prepared to judge the situation on the battlefield. He clearly realized that he made the mistake of "refueling" because of his impatience.He didn't want to retreat because once he returned to Qiongshan, the Kun bandits would come back and capture Chengmai. He would lose his troops and lose his generals, the consequences would be disastrous.

So he advocated sticking to the local area and continued to send heavy troops to open up the connection with Qiongshan.He estimated that the Kun bandits had limited food and grass, and it was impossible to divide the troops for a long time. As long as the stalemate between the two sides continued, the Kun bandits would inevitably retreat from Shishan.

There are still more than ten days of grain in the army, and the grain depots in Chengmai County also have a lot of grain in stock. All in all, the whole army can last for half a month
"It's just the food..." Zhao Ruyi asked suspiciously.Half a month's grain and grass reserves are not reassuring anyway.

"In three to five days, we will try our best to open up the grain road first!" He Rubin said, "When necessary, we will transport grain by sea!"

"The Kun thief sailor is powerful, I'm afraid it won't be as good as it should be."

"This is a strategy that should not be used." He Rubin said and called out:
"General Tang!"

Tang Yunwen knew that this "good errand" must be found on his own head, so he stood up and responded immediately: "The humble general is here!"

"The navy is transporting grain from Qiongshan, are you sure?"

Tang Yunwen didn't dare to say "I'm not sure", so he had to say: "This matter can be done, but the repair costs of the ships under the command of the humble general have not been enough over the years, and there are not many available ships..."

"There are still nailed merchant ships and fishing boats in Haikou, you can use them all."

"Yes!" Tang Yunwen said, "Please give the order to the commander, and the humble general will send someone back to handle it immediately."

He Rubin said: "No, you go back to handle it yourself. I'll give you ten days. The food and grass must be delivered! Otherwise, don't blame the town for naming Yan Shen!"

"Yes, the humble general will not disgrace his life!" Tang Yunwen was both happy and worried.I am so happy that I have escaped from this desperate situation that will undoubtedly be defeated - he is different from other generals and staff, he is fully aware of the military strength of the Kun bandits, and the official army will undoubtedly be defeated this time.The worry is that although it is not impossible to supply food by sea, it is not sure whether it can be supplied within ten days. Once the army is defeated, his failure to supply food on time will become an excuse for He Rubin to shirk responsibility.At that time, there will be no debate.

That night, Tang Yunwen took a few of his relatives and quietly boarded a fishing boat in Xiaoyingchang, quietly left along the coastline in the dark, and headed for Qiongshan.His team is led by Chen Renjie, the general manager of Baishazhai
In order to meet the food and grass at sea, He Rubin decided to reoccupy Xiaoyingchang.This time the officers and soldiers have fully learned their lesson, not only dispatched 2000 troops, but also strengthened many firearms, ready to defend to the death.

In the following two or three days, all the officers and soldiers put down their banners and drums, and did not go out to fight. He Rubin only urged the generals to continue to repair the village and dig ditches, and reorganize the troops.After preparing to rest like this for a few days, he personally led the heavy army group with Zhenbiao and Jiading as the main force, defeated the entire army of the Shishan bandits in one fell swoop, recaptured Shishan, and rebuilt the grain road.

The camp was busy and full of awe-inspiring atmosphere, but it was a different scene in a courtyard in Chengmai County. This is the village of the richest family in the county. The owner's surname is Song, and he also has the status of a supervisor.This time when the Fubo army besieged Chengmai, he did the most to defend the city. When the officers and soldiers came, he was very fawning, and took out part of his private house for the high officials in the army to live in.Because the generals want to control the army and at the same time show that they "share weal and woe" with the soldiers, only civilian officials and staff members live in.Song Jiansheng also used this group of staff as "talismans", and he was very hospitable in hospitality.

At this moment, Chang Qingyun, Qian Taichong, and a dozen or so staff who are relatively vocal on weekdays, accompanied by the owner of the house, Song Zonghui, were drinking tea in the garden of the mansion to enjoy the cool.The supervisor is quite elegant, and he has some money. The mansion is decorated with some springs and stones, and it has a little garden, which is very rare in this southern land.

Because they were going to the army, the staff did not dare to openly invite prostitutes and wine, but set up a few tables in the garden, put some tea, fruit and snacks, and chatted under the moonlit night
Due to the unfavorable battle, several generals were lost in a row, and the food road was cut off. The situation of the whole army is very dangerous. Except for a few people who can drink freely and talk and laugh, most of the staff are worried.The optimistic atmosphere in Qiongshan was swept away.

Many individuals realized that the crusade against the Kun thieves was defeated, but no one dared to say so openly.There are also some people who are still unwilling to admit that the ability of the Kun bandits is limited to "extraordinary skills and ingenuity". Even in the field battle, the Fubo army defeated three army troops in a row on Shishan, and they still think that this is purely due to "the danger of Shishan". such objective factors.As for whether Shishan was "dangerous" or how it was fought at that time, they were not interested at all.

Qian Taichong is much more pragmatic than these people. Recently, he has been listening to military discussions in the big tent, and he has personally visited the low-level generals who have participated in the battle. He has learned a lot of first-hand information from them. Not only the firearms are pure, but also the ranks are neat and disciplined, and they are not inferior to the official army in fighting.He felt that this was a great enemy, because the Haizhu bandits here in Guangdong had never had such troops in the past. It is impossible to gather so many troops and launch offensive and defensive field battles with the imperial army.

Now he is holding on to Gou Chengxuan, asking him to talk about the Kun thief.In particular, Qian Taichong and others were more concerned about the firearms of the Kun bandits.Gou Chengxuan had no choice but to tell what he knew, especially the bird guns and artillery used by the gangsters. Because the gap between the times was too great, Qian Taichong and others had to leave a very impactful feeling.

"So, most of the firearms of the Kun bandits are made in Lingao?" Qian Taichong asked seriously.

"Exactly." Gou Chengxuan nodded, "Cannons, bird guns, submunitions and bullets, all of them."

"The imperial court has used red cannons made by Westerners since the Tianqi period. It is also a military weapon. I never thought that the cannons of the Kun bandits can be so sophisticated." A staff member sighed, "The bullets can explode and hurt people. My brother wrote in "" It is also seen in "Wu Bei Zhi", it is not rare, but this kind of projectile that can explode in the air is really unheard of in ancient times."

"Only God knows whether those so-called bombardment artillery in Wu Bei Zhi will work or not." Qian Taichong snorted, "It's been a long time since the military battles were built during the Jiajing period."

"Brother thinks this kind of flower cannon is nothing more than the Song and Yuan's 'fierce cannon', and our dynasty means 'ten thousand enemies'. But in the past, we used trebuchets, but now we just use cannons." Chang Qingyun also knows firearms, Immediately added, "If we talk about Taixi's cannon-making, it's just the legacy of Da Song's bursting gun..."

"'But', 'just', I said it again and again, but we still need Westerners to help make guns!" Qian Taichong slapped the table excitedly, "Nowadays, the guns and firearms of the thieves are better than those of the Westerners. One floor. I call Naihe in vain!"

Everyone felt very abrupt, and they didn't know why this scholar was so excited.Qian Taichong probably also felt that he had lost his composure, so he took a sip of tea and fell silent.

An elderly staff member said: "Although the Kun thief's firearms are powerful, they are only a county in size, so there is nothing to worry about. The most worrying thing is that the fake Kun under his subordinates is willing to risk his life and death for him. The art of deceiving people's hearts is a serious problem for the court."

At the moment, everyone lamented for a while, "little people seek profit", "the world is going downhill" and other words.

Qian Taichong said in a firm tone: "However, today's long-standing evils are far more than these! In my humble opinion, I still think that instead of seeking treatment for each branch, it is better to treat the root cause. The so-called root is 'education' ..."

He talked for a long time, and there was a discussion among the staff.Some people talked about "qi" and "heart", and some people talked about Wang Yangming's "mind study". They were chatting vigorously when suddenly there was a desolate sound of horns outside the county town, which shook the sky.interrupted their discussion.Only then did everyone realize that what they were talking about at this time was not only ridiculous but also absurd.

Chang Qingyun came back and talked about his method of "breaking the enemy with water mines".In his opinion, what kind of fast ship and iron ship of the Kun thief will be wiped out when it encounters the "Huangjiang Dragon" he advocates. Once the Kun thief's navy is broken, the food road will be opened immediately.

"The Kun bandits can occupy the area of ​​Shishan if they want. When the tens of thousands of catties of food are exhausted, the 3000 men of the Kun bandits will be alone. If there is no fight, chaos will follow." Chang Qingyun was speechless.

But everyone knew that his so-called mine battalion was somewhat whimsical, and it would be useful when besieging Bopu. Now the gangster's ships are just anchoring near the shore, not to mention the current is opposite.Everyone ignored him.Only Qian Taichong sneered:
"Once the sea roads and grain roads are opened, I am afraid that there will be countless drifts. I am afraid that the money and grains in Chengmai will be good in five or six out of ten." He said, "I think it is the best policy to open up the grain roads."

"Yes, if the grain roads cannot be opened up, the city will not be able to last for many days due to the lack of grain in the city." Song Zonghui finally found a chance to intervene.He is different from this group of staff. His family and business are all in Chengmai, and the success or failure of officers and soldiers recruiting thieves is directly related to his family business and personal safety, so he has to care about it.

(End of this chapter)