Picturesque Rivers and Mountains in the Red Chamber

Chapter 306 4.102 All—the horizontal team advances!
Volume Four

4.102 All——The horizontal team advances!
"Dong Weng, what should we do?" At the head of Daye County, the county magistrate He Cheng and a master hid behind the parapet in fear. They poked their heads out of the gap to observe the White Lotus sect rebels outside the city. His face was as pale as a dead person, so that the master was trembling when he spoke, "How about we run away?"

"Presumptuous!" He Cheng tried his best to maintain his majesty. Of course, this had to ignore his pale face and trembling body. "I have a duty to protect the land. How can I do something humiliating just because of a few small rioters?" Because you have followed me for so many years, I will let you go this time. If you dare to mention it again, I will sacrifice your head to the flag!"

"What Dong Weng taught me is that the student made a mistake." The master's face turned paler, and he remembered the iron law of the Zhou Dynasty that "it is the duty to protect the land." If a local official lost the city and lost land, as long as he survived, he could still make meritorious service and regain the lost land. If you can save your life, the worst is "martyrdom for the country"; but if you dare to abandon the city and flee, it will be the rhythm of the family reunion. "But, what should we do now?"

"The people asking for help have been sent out?" He Cheng still had some self-control and his mind was not completely blank.

"When we first discovered that the mob was besieging the city this morning, we used a big basket and a rope to put it down." The master said carefully, "It's just that he didn't take the official document sent by Dong Weng yesterday seriously. Will it happen this time?" also."

"Today is different from the past. Yesterday, it was just the Yamen taking people. Of course, he can ignore it. The security of the county is not his responsibility. Today, the city is surrounded by rioters. If he dares to shirk the blame, I may not be able to escape the pursuit of a martyred man. , he will inevitably be charged with 'sitting back and watching the success or failure', at most he will be later than me." He Cheng gritted his teeth and said fiercely.

"I hope - well, so soon?" The master was just about to say a few words of self-comfort when his eyes suddenly lit up and he pointed excitedly towards the east of the city and said, "Look, sir, it's Zhou Qianhu's officers and soldiers who are here!"

In the east of the city, the main force of Daye Qianhu Station had already lined up. They marched more than ten kilometers in less than two hours and stopped at a place less than 200 steps away from the rebel army. Most armies of this era might have already fled. But this semi-firearms army is different. It still maintains a complete formation. It can even quickly organize the army after a slight repair and complete the pre-war preparations.

"Sir, it seems that the leader of the White Lotus Bandits is a layman and doesn't know how to lead an army." At the front of the queue, Meng Kun grinned happily. After all, everyone likes to win a game of torturing vegetables. "Look at them all gathered together in a mess. They are worse than the new recruits. They might have fired a salvo."

"Shut up!" Zhou Yang kicked him on the butt and when he saw him push him aside, he turned to Zhao Tong and asked, "Guang Sheng, are the artillery ready?"

"Don't worry, sir!" Zhao Tong said without hesitation.

He himself is a spearman, but this type of cold weapon troops has been experienced for thousands of years, and the training has already been fixed. At most, it only involves adding some formation changes and coordination of the matchlock soldiers. This gives him enough time to learn. Therefore, he is no stranger to firearms units and is fully qualified to command artillery.

In fact, it is not just him, but other hundreds of households and soldiers are also indispensable for firearms training; spearmen also need to practice certain firearms shooting, and matchlock gunners also use spears to practice assassination and fighting; the real skills of Daye Qianhu "Technical arms" actually only count as artillery and cavalry, but for all Baihu officers, all four arms must be mastered - there aren't many things anyway.

"Other units continue to prepare, and the artillery is in the center. Whether we can win today depends on the performance of the artillery." Zhou Yang said lightly. He always remembers the rule that "artillery is the god of war". Back in modern times, even more so in modern times. During the exercise, I saw with my own eyes the formation of artillery units. "These days, I fire twice a month. Now is their chance to show off!"

"Don't worry, sir!" Zhao Tong gritted his teeth and turned to organize the artillery.

"Sir, just now Dongjie sent someone to report that they have gone into hiding and are on standby in the woods we just passed. They are less than three miles away from here." Li Feng, who seldom spoke, came over to report, "Should we call first? Just a few words and see if we can get them to disperse on their own?”

"There is no need to waste time. Order all the troops to gather and advance steadily according to the battle formation." Zhou Yang simply shook his head. He did not think that such religious rioters would care about "persuading surrender". "All personnel used flags and whistles to As a warning, anyone who dares to act without permission will be subject to battlefield discipline!"

"I understand your humble position!" Li Feng cupped his fists and bowed before retreating.

"Beep beep beep -" the shrill whistle broke the dead silence at the scene. All the officers and soldiers seemed to have been whipped, and they all suddenly woke up. Then they saw the soldiers beside Zhou Yang riding on the horse, using all their strength. He waved the command flag in his hand, and then all the team leaders took the order and gave the order, "All - advance horizontally!" In the open space in the south of the city, which was not very spacious, the main force of Daye Qianhu Station began to advance, with draft horses pulling infantry artillery. In the center, followed by the arquebus soldiers who entered the battle formation, and the two wings were covered by spearmen. The army formation of more than 400 people slowly but forcefully pressed against the enemy. There was a palpable commotion.

There is no way, these White Lotus sect members have the courage to follow the Xiang Master, senior brothers and other backbones to besiege the county. They are naturally die-hard loyalists, but this does not improve their military quality, although the total number of people gathered now has already exceeded a thousand. Five, but there is basically no integration. A group of people spread out on the ground, grouped together according to their proximity.

"Xiangzhu, here." In the shed in the center of the rebellious army, a man who was obviously a confidant held a ghost-headed sword in his hand and said anxiously, "I heard that this Qianhu surnamed Zhou is very good. Even the Ye family, which was originally known as the 'first family', was neatly cleaned up by him.

Now that our number is three times theirs, we should take advantage of their opportunity to rush over and disperse them in one go. Why should we let them prepare for war in less than two arrows and sit back and watch the enemy?"

"You think I don't want to?" The strong man who should be the owner of the incense angrily smashed the wine bowl in his hand on the ground. "You also saw it yesterday when I called people. There are so many people piled up together. How can we deal with it? Fortunately, now The officers and soldiers are here, otherwise most of them would still be clamoring to eat before they can work!

If you had followed my orders earlier, everyone should have entered the county seat by now. How many wealthy families there are, but you can't find what you want to eat?It's all right now, we've been yelling at the door for nearly two hours, and we haven't discussed who will take the lead, so you don't have to discuss it anymore, now we have to disperse the officers and troops in the east, if not, we'll lose our heads! "

A bunch of senior brothers and altar masters in front of the pergola also realized their mistake. No one dared to answer the incense master even if he lost his temper. But getting angry can't solve the actual problem. If you want to enter the city, you can only go step by step; fortunately, you can get away with it. There are no fools in the leadership. Seeing that the problem is now clear, no matter how thoughtful a group of people are, they can only go back and reorganize their own hands first.

This is also the biggest problem of the White Lotus Sect. Although every family in the world wears the same "big hat", in fact, they are not subordinate to each other. This is true at the top level and the same at the grassroots level. The incense owner in a county must be the top figure in the county. , isn’t it the altar leader and senior brother below?The feudal army has always been "the soldiers are the generals", and the White Lotus Sect has always been "whoever pulls the troops will return to them".

The result is a mess, each with their own hands. It looks like a lot when piled together, but inside they are all in groups. It's natural for you to share the money and eat for me. But when you need to fight hard like this, it will only be you. They pushed me and I pushed you, so that thousands of people gathered in front of the city gate, and they didn't even discuss how to fight until Zhou Yang arrived.

"Beep, beep, beep, prepare for battle, prepare for battle!"

No matter what happened to this gang of rebels, the Daye Qianhusuo side had completed its advance and stopped less than two hundred steps (a place of two arrows) away from the White Lotus Sect rebels. All the infantry artillery in the middle had been unloaded from their draft horses. , after putting down the single-leg gun mount and even loading the medicine bag and iron sand, the shooting preparations were officially completed!

Although this infantry cannon weighs less than [-] kilograms, if it fires solid bullets to attack a city, the effect is basically equivalent to nonsense. However, the killing range of grape bullets against "the most basic unarmored units" such as the rebels can reach a full range. Two hundred steps away, what's more, no matter what era it is, the pressure of artillery on the enemy cannot be compared to that of infantry!

"Cannons, the official army has cannons!" The White Lotus Rebellion, which had not been able to complete its preparations, became even more chaotic now. They were obviously ready, and all fools knew that the next step was to fire cannons. Let alone a frontal attack at this time. If they hadn't been brainwashed for a long time, coupled with their devotion to the so-called "lifeless old mother", this group of rabble would have run away long ago!
"Don't make a mess!" Seeing that if he didn't think of a way out, the people he had gathered with great difficulty were about to flee. Even though he was already panicking in his heart, the Xiangzhu of the White Lotus Sect still rallied and climbed up the so-called "Dharma altar" that was specially set up. ", "We are launching here today in accordance with the decree of Wusheng Old Mother, and we are fighting for the Holy Religion!

Once a fight breaks out, my mother will protect us; even if we die unfortunately, we will enter the paradise world and enjoy happiness after death. Even our family members will be blessed by my mother, and their lives will get better and better in the future; but who If you dare to defect, even if this Xiang Master spares you, Mrs. Ming Wang will never let you go! "

The White Lotus rebel army turned into a vegetable market with a "boom", but the noise quickly subsided. Not only that, but with the hoarse shouts and threats from the leaders below, the originally shaken rebel army gradually stabilized. One by one, their eyes turned red, they fiercely grasped the wooden guns and farm tools in their hands, and stared at the officers and soldiers of Daye Qianhu Station not far away!

"My mother has no life, my hometown is empty—kill her!"

"Artillery—fire!"

(End of this chapter)