Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1816

The mountains on the west bank of the middle reaches of the Cao'e River are steep, easy to defend and difficult to attack. If there are thousands of soldiers here, equipped with muskets, cannons, and sufficient ammunition, it will certainly cause great difficulties for people crossing the east bank of the river.

But in fact no!The Qing army has only one thousand generals here, and the number of troops under its command is also severely lacking. There are only six to seven hundred people in various places, plus some township soldiers mobilized temporarily, and there are no more than a thousand people. They lack both guns and artillery. Come on!Therefore, after the 700 excellent shooters selected by the brave Seventh Mixed Battalion and No.11 Mixed Battalion rushed to the river bank by boat, it took only a few minutes of volley of guns to let these Qing troops and regiments rush away. Dispersed, easily like a parade of arms.

The 72-ton small steamer also sent over two engineering platoons. After landing, these people immediately built simple fortifications to prevent the Qing army from sending cavalry brigades to attack the two hundred musketeers who crossed the river first.But it was obvious that they were thinking too much. Until the sun rose three poles, several hours passed, and there were no Qing cavalry with hundreds of people.At this time, the No.11 mixed battalion had almost all landed. The battalion commander, Major Li Zhixin, commanded his subordinates to seize the high ground and set up shooting bunkers to prevent the Qing cavalry from attacking and cover the landing of the follow-up troops.

By the night of the same day, the Seventh Mixed Battalion and the first part of the Fifth Division of the Zhejiang New Army had also landed, with a total of about 6 people, and there were still many supplies, ammunition, and equipment.On the second day (June 28), many of the rafts temporarily built the day before were also put into use, and the efficiency of people crossing the river on the east bank was greatly increased. By the end of the day, more than [-] people had crossed the river At the same time, the last batch of gunpowder has also been transported to the west bank, and the supplies left on the east bank at this time are only some food.

On June 6, after resting for half a day, the whole army assembled and marched northward, heading straight for the city of Shaoxing.Commander-in-chief Junio ​​was a little surprised, why didn't the Qing army come to harass him during the two days and two nights of crossing the river?It’s understandable if we didn’t get the news on the first day, but Shaoxing Prefecture should have got the news at noon that day. If the Qing army moved fast enough, they would have arrived at Du He on the East Bank in the late afternoon of the next day. Although it was not very useful at that time.

On July 1680, 7, the army on the east bank, which was slowly marching a few miles outside the city of Shaoxing Prefecture, stopped, and then sent out scouts to search for news.Before that, they had already captured all the people collected along the way, and then sent them to the opposite bank with small steamers and rafts, and handed them over to the logistics team commanded by Min Honggui to transport luggage, grain, grass, and ammunition back to Ningbo Mansion , as a reserve for future immigrant population.

Shaoxing Fucheng is a large county, and the two counties are in the same city (Kuiji and Shanyin counties). Not only does the county seat occupy a large area, but it is also famous for its large population and wealth.Therefore, after the more than [-] East Coast troops arrived at the outer periphery, they all geared up to take it down and make everyone a small fortune, although they had already gained a lot from the previous attack on Shangyu County.

But what the people below think about is how to make a fortune. As the commander-in-chief of the army on the east coast, what Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​thinks about is how to annihilate more vital forces of the Qing army.Although there were only 1000 troops on hand at this time ([-] servants were left to guard the ferry to pick up supplies), he was still very confident that he could still win the battle against the Qing army of [-] to [-]. The confidence is that the people he brought here are all elites, none of them are cowards, and they are well-equipped and relatively adequate in logistics.

But the problem is that people from the east coast are blind in Shaoxing Mansion, especially in the northern coastal plain, it is difficult to find a party to lead the way, let alone come to report the situation on their own initiative.Therefore, Lieutenant Colonel Junio ​​really can't figure out how many Qing troops are in Shaoxing at the moment, what their equipment is, where they are stationed, etc., making it difficult for him to make a comprehensive plan.

In desperation, he sent a small group of troops (but not many, and the distance was strictly limited, trying not to give the Qing army a chance) to collect grain and livestock in the nearby villages, so as to reduce the pressure of transporting grain and grass in the rear. All the people were captured and sent to the east of Cao'e River via the ferry.It was like this for a day, until noon on July 7, the people on the east bank finally encountered a wave of enemies: about 2 cavalry.

The No.11 Mixed Battalion and the Seventh Mixed Battalion encountered this group of enemies (the troops and cavalry directly under the battalions of these two battalions were transferred to other places).The Ministry just ransacked a Qing army grain transport team south of Kuaiji County. Not only did they seize more than [-] shi of grain, but they also took the opportunity to interrogate some useful information. Xiaoshan County, and set up a general grain platform there, bringing together heavy troops to rescue Kuaiji County at any time.However, just when they were going to continue to capture the Qing army in the wild and get more useful information, they suddenly encountered this Qing army cavalry.

A hasty battle soon began.After firing a round of ammunition that was prepared in the chamber, the infantry of the two battalions quickly stepped forward and started shooting at a distance of about 500 meters. Living is not a problem - although the power of bullets at this distance is already small and the accuracy is very poor, it still caused a lot of trouble to the scattered Qing army.

It was too late for the artillerymen to set up the cannons at this time, and together with the brothers in the supply company, they piled as many obstacles as possible in front of the formation to cause trouble for the rushing Qing cavalry.Major Li Zhixin, who commanded the battle, was a little nervous, but he still gave orders clearly and accurately. Compared with him and his direct subordinates, the Seventh Mixed Battalion, which had been fighting in the Far East for several years, was quite calm. The officers He spoke the password freely, although the drummer's face was pale, but the sound of the drums was not too chaotic, which made Major Li Zhixin feel a little bit emotional: War really trains people!

The shooting distance of 500 meters is terrible, because it has not yet entered the charging distance of the Qing cavalry, it is much better to fall down, and the Qing army suddenly fell into chaos.However, it seemed that the officer leading the team had more prestige. He stopped the chaos, and then picked a general to lead hundreds of cavalry and start speeding up, planning to try a wave.As for himself, he divided the remaining cavalry into two groups, and made a surprise attack from the two wings to see if he could loosen the position of the people on the east coast. carry.

The shooting continued.The cavalry of the Qing army increased slowly, because people kept getting shot and fell down, which caused a lot of confusion.At the same time, the people on the east bank shooting at such a long distance today also greatly shocked their hearts. Many people are still in a state of white-headed confusion. The gunslinger is extremely sharp, and I have never had an intuitive impression. Today, I have seen it. This makes some people subconsciously slow down their hands and feet, so that they can be in a relatively backward position.

The shooting of the infantry on the east bank continued, the officers' passwords could no longer be heard, and even the copper whistle they blew was gradually drowned out in the bean-popping gunshots.With their efforts, the frontal cavalry of the Qing army kept falling, and then their speed could not be raised, and then they continued to be shot by volleys of guns, such a vicious circle.

This level of destruction made the Qing army a little terrified.Gradually, some people began to turn their horses and leave, and their actions led more people to follow suit, so the frontal Qing army's offensive fell into collapse before it even started.When they finally reached the sprint distance of more than 100 meters, there were only a few dozens of riders still working hard, and the rest either died in battle or fled backwards, which made people dumbfounded.

While the frontal cavalry fled, one of the Qing cavalry who turned around on the two wings made a tentative attack, but was repelled by a platoon of guns before they got close, killing and wounding dozens of cavalry, while the other didn't even try at all. He waited and watched for a while, and then fled away, showing the low will to fight.

Seeing that the three Qing armies had retreated far away, Li Zhixin was finally able to let go of the big rock on his head.Although he has led a team to conquer the natives many times in the mainland, how can such a scale and intensity of battle compare to the real fight with real swords and guns in front of him!He reckoned that in the short few minutes of battle just now, his subordinates basically maintained a rate of fire of two rounds per minute, and performed at a normal level.As for the Qing army on the opposite side, the frontal route suffered the most casualties. It is estimated that three or four hundred riders lay down one after another, which can be said to be a serious injury.The Qing troops on the left and right wings were not seriously injured. The left wing probably lay down with seventy or eighty riders. Hundreds of cavalrymen were killed in battle, and they were beaten to death without even seeing the faces of the officers and soldiers on the east bank. Manmeng iron cavalry has been fighting for many years. It is not that they have never been defeated, but it is the first time that they have lost so strangely and embarrassingly. Woolen cloth.

The morale of the remaining 1000 or so Qing troops was low at this time, and they did not dare to stay any longer. After sorting out their formation, they retreated to the west in a hurry, and could not even collect the bodies of the dead.

Fortunately, they ran fast, and less than half an hour after they left, more than a thousand cavalrymen from the east bank also rushed to the battlefield on black water horses.After seeing the corpses and horses of the Qing army lying dead all over the ground, they also opened their mouths wide, a little surprised.There is nothing more to say next, Li Zhixin asked the cavalry brothers to help guard, and then called everyone to take a knife to cut off the heads of the dead Qing cavalry, intending to use the knife to hit the morale of the enemy army in Kuaiji County, of course, the dead or injured horses are not If they were let go, they would all be slaughtered on the spot and used as military rations to reduce the transportation pressure on the logistical troops.

And the encounter of the two blue shirts is not an isolated case.In fact, some other troops that dispersed were also attacked in varying severity. Most of them were Qing cavalry, including Manchurian iron cavalry and Han cavalry. Some victories and some losses on the east bank, but the overall casualties were not serious. , is also acceptable.Moreover, the Qing army didn't know what they were doing for the past half month, and they didn't do a good job of fortifying the walls and clearing the fields, so that the people on the east bank collected a lot of food in the wild. It can be seen that their combat thinking is chaotic. If you are still hesitating, what a fart!

And since the Qing army showed such weakness, the people on the east coast were not polite. On July 7, the whole army bypassed Kuaiji/Shanyin County without fighting, and quickly developed northward, heading straight for the densely populated northern coastal plain.And just when the 5 troops on the east bank were crossing the canal, Fuquan, Prince Yu of the Qing Dynasty, was still dawdling in Xiaoshan County, and the [-] to [-] troops on hand did not dare to move forward, so they could only continue to maintain a certain limit with Shaoxing City. By the way, he stole chickens and sent a batch of supplies inside, which almost filled up the two connected county warehouses, showing his conservative attitude.

On July 7th, the army on the east bank broke through the Sanjiang Fortress, killing and wounding more than a thousand Qing soldiers, and then sent troops to the north. After a day and night of fierce fighting, they broke through the fortress on the left bank of the Cao'e River on the morning of July 8th. More than 7 Qing soldiers were wounded and captured, and all coastal defense heavy artillery were blown up at the same time.Afterwards, the naval ships that had been waiting for a long time swarmed up and began the operation of clearing the wooden piles in the estuary.I believe that it won't be long before all these annoying obstacles can be removed, and then the entire river will become a traffic artery and a natural line of defense for people on the east coast.

For the next ten days, the army on the east bank has been operating in Kuaiji County (northern coastal plain).Shaoxing Mansion has been prosperous since ancient times, especially in the coastal plains. Therefore, people from the east coast have gained a lot from the raids. Not only are they rich in money and food, but their population exceeds 15.If you count the population captured during the previous series of battles, the total number of people taken away by the army on the east coast in the attack on Shaoxing Mansion this time has exceeded [-]. This does not include the population of Yuyao County and Lieutenant Colonel Junio. The result of ordering to stop the looting of Shangyu County in time, otherwise there may be more.After all, Captain Ma of Yin County has already sent someone over to say hello. Xinchang, Sheng County (the population of Xinchang County has long been evacuated, and there is not much left in Sheng County), Shangyu, and Yuyao may all be managed as their own sites in the future. You After robbing all the money, food and population, who will Captain Ma let in farming, weaving, and fishing in the future?

After ten days of activities in the Ningshao Plain in the north, the people on the east bank gathered the troops who guarded the ferry before, and then the whole army was about 12 people. The epidemic is prevalent, and more than [-] people have been reduced so far. Continue to march westward, while collecting people from Kuaiji and Shanyin counties who fled westward, while intimidating the Qing army in Xiaoshan County.As for the important task of guarding the thousands of Qing troops in Shaoxing Prefecture, they were temporarily handed over to Hu Xingbang, the No. [-] Division of the servant army who came from Xinchang County, and Sun Shouzheng, the No. The Fifth Division of the New Army is in control, so far, Ningbo has already sung an empty city plan), forgive them for not daring to act rashly.

On July 7, the army arrived outside Xiaoshan County.Junio ​​sent a part of the servant army to try to attack, and found that the Qing army was violently cannon fodder and had a strong force. After hundreds of casualties, they retreated.Later, unwilling to be reconciled, he sent sergeants to shout "Dare to fight?" in the county seat, but the Qing army continued to pretend to be deaf and dumb, and only fired some artillery from a distance in response.

In desperation, the people from the east coast had no choice but to plunder the four fields of Xiaoshan County with their troops. After they got some money and people, they took turns to cover and retreated slowly.This battle has been going on for almost two months so far, with five or six thousand casualties due to various reasons. Such materials were also swept away.At this point, the army on the east bank was blunted, and slowly retreated to the Cao'e River at the end of July, then crossed the river in batches, and returned to Shangyu County to rest. This loss is too great!

(End of this chapter)