Chapter 976
In the early morning of the next day, just before dawn, several Mohist scouts came to the place where the Qi army built the fort to observe the terrain.

The Qi army on the other side yelled and cursed loudly, and did not send anyone out to pursue them. Instead, they shot at the scouts across the small river.

The distance was too far to hit at all, and the scouts fired two symbolic shots in return.

The Qi army was small in number, and the chosen defensive camp was about [-] paces across the river.

This is a smart choice, because this small river is only more than 80 steps wide. If they shoot across the river, the Mohist artillery advantage and the suppression of the number of muskets will cause great losses to the Qi army.

The military system of the Qi army was born out of the reform after the Qi-Mo War, and it was mainly based on the hot and cold mix of spearmen and musketeers.

It is not difficult to make the leaf spring of the flint gun, but without thousands of tests, it is difficult to find a way to anneal and quench the leaf spring with lead or tin to maintain the elasticity of the leaf spring. Although the principle is simple and the structure is not complicated, Qi Guo did not can't do it.

Qin's flint guns are very heavy, and the firing device is very heavy. They use the method of using flint guns as heavy crossbows. This only improves the shortcoming that the matchlock guns cannot be too close, but there is no way to install a bayonet because it is too heavy. .

Several elite main divisions on the Mohist side have already switched to flint guns, giving up some advantages of long-range shooting and heavy bullets, and can be equipped with simple spearheads for short spears.

The spearmen were canceled, and the flower team was changed into a pure team, so that the Qi State's firepower for the same number of people would be far from enough.

Coupled with the gap in artillery, the Lord General of Qi gave up the idea of ​​facing the river and built a fort about [-] paces across the river as the main defensive position.

In this way, Qi's bronze cannons can bombard the Mohist forwards crossing the river, and at the same time, their own side can also use limited cavalry to counterattack.

The water in the river is not too deep, and it is autumn and winter again. When the water is dry, it reaches the waist or chest on average.

This will make the gunpowder wet when the Mohists cross the river, so the Mohists are likely to choose to build bridges to cross the river instead of wading directly.

If you build a bridge to cross the river, you need to send a small force to seize the other side of the river first, build a fortification on the other side, and cover the people behind to build the bridge. In this way, the Qi army can use the terrain to carry out an effective counterattack when the numbers are inferior and the cavalry is disadvantaged. .

It runs through the north and the south, and it is a place that must be contested. This part of Qi's partial division is going to resist here for two days.

The general commanding the Qi army here has already decided to sacrifice his life for righteousness, and promised the king with his own body. He didn't even think about retreating, but decided to repay him with death.

The scouts of the Mo family walked along the river for a while, and the nobles of the Qi people on the opposite side shouted: "Don't look for it, this is the easiest place to cross the river. Further north, there is a reed field, and it is difficult to travel."

The scout of the Mo family smiled, pointed to the place where the wooden bridge had been demolished before and asked, "Is it this? Just wait, we can cross the river and defeat you in the afternoon."

"Then come."

The other side replied, the two sides raised their muskets tacitly, knowing that it was impossible to hit each other, but they still shot at each other as if saying goodbye.

The Mo family wanted to race against time, and Qi Guo knew that the Mo family wanted to race against time, so they chose such an extremely dangerous method of formation.

If there is enough time, of course Qi State will not make such an formation, but will choose to escape; the reverse is also the same, if there is enough time, the forwards of the Mo family can cross the river from other places and slowly surround them, but not now.

In the camp seven miles away, the atmosphere before the battle was not so depressing. A few recruits woke up nervously early, and the veterans continued to sleep until the wake-up call sounded before getting up.

After Sima Qiong and the others got up, they went to the river to wash up with the rest of the company, and had breakfast before the battle. Eat a little bit on the battlefield to replenish your energy.

After eating, they began to gather, and the autumn dew on the grass blades was still crystal clear.

The company commander issued an order, asking everyone in the company to put down their backpacks and only carry weapons, sugar and rice balls, water hyacinths, gunpowder and lead bullets.

Sima Qiong listened to the order, put down the backpacks, piled them up and tidied up, and left the camp following the orders, and assembled the whole brigade outside the camp.

It cannot be deployed seven miles away, which will seriously slow down the speed of marching.

The ministries need to march in a column and start after reaching the front, and the cavalry will take the first step to cover in front.

The artillerymen sat on the gun mounts, joking and laughing at these infantry comrades who had to walk two ways. The comrades around Sima Qiong cursed back: "When it rains, you will stop laughing."

The fellow artilleryman smiled and said, "The most difficult summer for the artillerymen has passed. At least half a year is left. We don't need to push cannons in the mud..."

The artillerymen passed by rumblingly, Sima Qiong looked back at the team behind, the stretch was not very long, and the cavalry on both wings could be seen from a distance.

He touched a piece of hard armor on his chest, it was given to him by his father before he was re-enlisted, and the rhinoceros armor was obtained from the South China Sea. Although he knew that this thing could not stop lead bullets, it could comfort himself heart.

After nearly an hour of marching, Sima Qiong's company did not garrison on the river bank.

Some veterans muttered: "It seems that our brigade will either be a reserve team or the main offensive."

Those brigades deployed along the river are obviously covering the river side, not an offensive formation, but an obvious formation relying on the city wall or the river: the formation is very wide and thin, and the company has no depth.Veterans can tell at a glance that those companies will not participate in the attack. Even if they cross the river to attack, it is the companies that have not deployed in the back.

Artillery and engineers are building simple fortifications by the river. The small artillery of each brigade and the copper artillery directly under the division are all gathered together, but half of the artillery has not been deployed.

Not long after, the company commander came back from a meeting above and conveyed the mission of the company.

It's about the same as those veterans guessed.

After a while, two elite light cavalry companies will cross the river first, clear the river beach before the bridge, and drive away the Qi cavalry.

The engineers had to build the bridge quickly. Once the bridge was built, their company would be the first to cross the river to block the Qi army's counterattack, resist the front line, and let the engineers build fortifications.

The artillery will then cross the river and deploy where the engineers built the fort to cover the subsequent troops crossing the river.

The two wings naturally have support, but the two wings have nothing to do with them.

If the battle is fought like this, there are not many strategies to use if it is positive, and the outcome is clear at a glance.

If the infantry crossed the river to stabilize their heels, the engineers dug and built fortifications, and the artillery crossed the river and the infantry line did not collapse, then the battle was considered won.

The infantry crossed the river without a firm foothold, and the infantry couldn't hold back after the artillery passed, and Qi counterattacked to the river. Then this battle cannot be won today, at least it will not be possible to eat this part of the Qi army tomorrow or even the day after tomorrow.

The company commander just arranged the mission of the company, and the mission of the company is the front, not the wings.

The company commander cursed, and said: "The opposite general Qi is very cunning. He didn't set up an formation facing the river, but retreated a certain distance, so that even if their troops are inferior, they can launch a small-scale counterattack and delay time."

"After the company crosses the river, as long as the engineering comrades have dug the fortifications and the artillery has crossed the river, it will be fine."

"Now, rest where you are. Keep your strength. All connected! Sit down."

The people in the company sat down as ordered, and a few of them were bored drinking the somewhat tasty tea that was poured into the gourd last night. Sima Qiong's books were left in the camp, so they could only watch the engineers and soldiers on the beach ahead busy.

The engineer men emptied the barrels containing gunpowder and wine, used them as buoys for the bridge, and were preparing materials for the bridge.

The artillerymen who had been deployed by the river had already started to try shelling, mainly to bombard the scattered Qi army on the opposite side.

After shelling for a period of time, the light cavalry of the two companies waded directly across the river under the cover of a salvo of infantry by the river.

As soon as they reached the opposite bank, the only cavalry of the Qi army began to counterattack.

This is the most obvious thing. The cavalry of Qi State could not approach the river beach because the copper cannons and muskets of the Mo family on the opposite side would target them.

And if the arquebus infantry shoots in formation, it will be too concentrated and easily attacked by artillery.

The Mohists can't deploy too many troops across the river at one time, and cavalry counterattack is the best way to delay time.

The war horses that had just reached the other side of the river and shook their bodies in the icy water were soon driven by their masters to form a formation.

Only when cavalry moves can they charge and kill. Standing still and being charged by others is not the combat style of cavalry.

The two cavalry companies quickly formed a formation, and rushed towards the more than 200 cavalry from the opposite Qi State.

When more than 500 cavalrymen hacked and attacked each other, a company of combat engineers also held muskets and gunpowder and waded across the river.

Half of the people quickly threw the guns in their hands to the ground, took out the shovels on their backs, and began to dig a hole. Several tall and strong men were holding heavy wooden hammers to smash the thick wooden piles into the mud on the river beach, and pulled them up. rope.

woo woo woo...

When the horn sounded, Sima Qiong stood up under the order of the company commander, and quickly formed a four-row column, which was a common marching formation.

After the light cavalry drove away the Qi cavalry, they crossed the river and lined up on the opposite bank.

The situation is very clear. The Qi army's current plan is to launch a counterattack while the infantry is crossing the river and the artillery is preparing to cross the river.

In that case, it would be difficult for the artillery on the other side of the river to play a role, and the Qi army could minimize the threat of the Mohist artillery.

If the counterattack can be successful when the infantry crosses the river, it can delay at least half a day.

What the coalition forces of the princes need now is time, and the delay is enough so that the main force of the coalition forces will not be bitten by the Mohists before they can withdraw.

What this rearguard army needs is not victory, and it is impossible to win it. All they need is time.

Rivers are dead, roads are dead, villages are dead, but people are alive.The offensive side can't get around here anyway, but the starting point of the attack can be changed, and the defensive side can also change itself according to the offensive side's tactics.

The first batch of infantry crossing the river from the six companies had assembled at the bridgehead, and the fortification army of the Qi army in the distance also responded accordingly.

Seeing that the river was not too turbulent, Sima Qiong tried hard to breathe out.

He knows that the stars he loves and the infinite universe will not protect him from being hit by lead bullets, and whether he can survive can only be pinned on the elusive "fate".

The Mohists say that strength can win life, but it seems to be ineffective in such a small and specific person.

(End of this chapter)

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