A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 821 Preparation
Of course, Sun Chuanting was very concerned about the movement of the barracks. When the bandits suddenly ceased fighting, Sun Chuanting judged that they would make a big move.

Sure enough, there was no incident on the [-]th. In the morning, in the afternoon, a large number of hungry people were driven down to the south end of Yuanwanggou by the soldiers. They wielded hoes and shovels, and then widened the originally widened road. It seems that there are still a lot of supplies. The chariots and horses were transported and hoarded on the opposite plateau.

"Looks like the thief's artillery has arrived."

Sun Chuanting looked at the opposite plateau through the binoculars and murmured.

At this time, his subordinates were gathered around him, the officers and generals of Jingbian, and the generals of the generals of various towns in Shaanxi, all followed him and looked towards the opposite side of Yuan.The difference is that the Jingbian officers and generals each have a binoculars, which makes the local generals envious.This kind of military weapon cannot be owned casually, nor can it be bought with money.

"The governor sees thousands of miles away."

"Calculating the time, the cannons of the bandits should have arrived."

Many people around Sun Chuanting said in unison, of course they knew that the bandits had a lot of artillery, but they hadn't used it these days, everyone thought it was because the road was difficult and their artillery fell far behind.But after such a long time, no matter how difficult the road is, their artillery should be transported there.

However, there are also many people with ugly faces. The arrival of the bandit cannon also means that the battle will be more intense and cruel.

Especially among the local officials and generals in Shaanxi, some of them turned pale obviously.

However, Gao Jie, the commander-in-chief of Shaanxi, did not take it seriously. During this period of time, Shaanxi will tend to be marginalized. Only he can talk to Sun Chuanting. Here, the two plateaus are far apart, and our army's generals can't hit the opposite side. How can they bombard our plateau? They can only pull the artillery down the ditch and approach the bombardment. It's just our division If the high and low artillery positions are measured early, the rogues only need to gather their troops to blow them apart."

His words aroused the approval of the generals under his command, and the faces of the officers in Shanxi Biezhen also looked a little better.

Sun Chuanting was noncommittal, but nodded slightly in approval, only those Jingbian officers would remain silent.

Wu Zhengchun held up the binoculars and looked at it for a long time, and finally said: "I am afraid that the bandits came prepared this time, and they may have found a way to deal with our teacher's artillery fire...Look at the plateau, there are dense sacks, earthen baskets, and earthen carts. They are piled up, they are all anti-cannon weapons... It seems that the bandits are battle-hardened, so they should not be underestimated."

"what?"

The faces of those Shaanxi officials all changed drastically. They didn't have binoculars. From such a long distance, they could only faintly see some movement in the opposite field, but Wu Zhengchun's words could not be false.The thieves have found a way to deal with it, and their artillery has lost their advantage?

Gao Xun also said indifferently: "Indeed, you need to be mentally prepared for this. Earthen baskets and earthen trucks are very effective in anti-cannon. If they use this as a cover to push them in, I'm afraid I won't be able to hit them with the artillery."

Although Sun Chuanting hired gunners from the Jingbian Army to train gunners, the training of gunners is a technical job, and it is impossible to have much effect in just a few months.The effect was obvious before, because the artillery officers of the Jingbian Army measured the distance and position early, and the original artillery fired according to the position.

To be honest, these new army gunners are afraid that at most they will bombard the neat formations, which are still in place, but they will not be able to fight the artillery pushed by those activities.And if the bandits use dirt baskets and trucks to cover them, even if they hit them, they will be blocked by these trucks.

The commander-in-chiefs of all towns in Shaanxi were even more discolored, and Gao Jie was also speechless, with a trace of fear floating on his face.The ineffectiveness of the artillery means that the thieves are likely to break through here. After all, the bottom of the ditch at this end is wide, which is very suitable for the thieves to deploy their forces.

Zheng Jiadong, the general of Guyuan, looked at the faces of the generals around him. He gritted his teeth and said boldly: "Sun Du, if you don't abandon Yuanwanggou, our army will retreat to the Forbidden Ditch, Tongguan City... the Forbidden Ditch is high and deep, and there are thieves' artillery Ineffective, the city wall of Tongguan is strong, and there is no fear of thieves' artillery fire, the general will think..."

"Huh?" Sun Chuanting glanced coldly, swallowing a series of words from Zheng Jiadong at once. He swallowed, but forgot what he wanted to say, and only looked at Lintao General Soldier Niu Chenghu and others for help. people.

Sun Chuanting's eyes turned to Wu Zhengchun, his expression softened: "What does General Wu mean?"

Wu Zhengchun clasped his fists and said solemnly: "Sun Du, although the bandits have artillery, but the ditch is solid in the distance, how can they just give up? If this retreats, our teacher will be discouraged, and the bandits will be arrogant. If one goes up and the other goes up, it will not be good for the battle situation. The meaning of the last general is that even if you want to retreat, you need to fight a fierce battle to defeat the enemy's arrogance."

Gao Xun also said: "The soldiers have been bathed in blood for many days, all relying on a burst of anger to withstand it. If there is no battle, they will retreat to the forbidden ditch Tongguan. I am afraid that the soldiers will lose their morale!"

Sun Chuanting kept nodding his head. He knew that the towns suffered heavy casualties during this period, and the battalion soldiers were quite resentful, but how does the mere resentment compare with the whole battle situation?

He suddenly made up his mind, and cast a cold glance at the generals in Shaanxi: "This governor is determined to stick to it, and anyone who dares to speak out and back down will be killed!"

Those Shaanxi officials were obedient, Zheng Jiadong and Niu Chenghu looked ugly, some of the generals under their command were stunned, and some were as pale as paper.In particular, a general from Lintao Town was even more dazed, and his tall figure became hunched over.The casualties of his subordinates exceeded [-]%, and he was counted as a participating general. Battalion generals like them lost their status without soldiers.In the future, he is afraid that he will have to rely on other people's breath and look at people's faces to live his life.

Wen Shiyan noticed that the atmosphere was a bit subtle, he laughed and said: "Actually, there is no way to deal with it. Our division has a large number of mortars, but when the thieves approach, see the right time and give them a wave of ruthlessness!" He smiled, But the harsh words came out of his mouth as if nothing had happened.

Sun Chuanting was very pleased, stroked his beard and said with a smile: "What Wen Zanhua said is exactly what I want."

"Let's look elsewhere," he said.

……

Niu Chenghu and the others were far behind, some complained and some cried, but the two of them could only listen with frowns.

Although they are the general soldiers, they only have the right to control the generals in the town during wartime, and the core of their command is only 5000 people. If the soldiers under their command suffer heavy losses, their status may not be as good as those lieutenant generals and generals who have more soldiers and more troops in the future.

Hearing everyone's complaints, Zheng Jiadong said bitterly: "Now our battalion is raised by stepmothers, old cow, I even wonder if Sun Bopi will take this opportunity to use up our battalion, so as to save money and food and practice new skills." military."

Niu Chenghu sighed, looked at the thoughtful Gao Jie beside him and said, "What does Mr. Gao say? I can fight for the court, but I can't wipe out all my troops, right?"

Gao Jie said: "The thieves are powerful, they attack frequently, and the new army suffers heavy casualties. Sun Du is not targeting my battalion soldiers. Don't think too much about it...

As if remembering something, he made a plea and led his subordinates to chase after Sun Chuanting.

Seeing his back in a hurry, Niu Chenghu frowned and said, "Embracing Sun Peeling's thigh, I don't even care about the loss of soldiers and horses under my command."

Zheng Jiadong sneered and said, "He, the chief soldier, fell from the sky in the first place, so he was in a hurry to curry favor. Old Niu, it happens that there is no war today, so come and have a drink in my tent. Anyway, being with Sun Bopi is also a part of listening."

"Never mind."

……

Sun Chuanting was walking along the edge of the plateau, beside Wen Shiyan, the military representative of Jingbian, and the two walked side by side, talking for some reason, and bursting out laughing from time to time.

Wen Shiyan has a dignified appearance, is refined and funny, and is not a pedantic person, and his temperament and personality are very suitable for Sun Chuanting's appetite.Moreover, his nephew Wen Fangliang is the confidant of Yongning Hou Wangdou, and it is necessary to have a good relationship with him.Therefore, among the generals of the Jingbian Army who came to aid, Wen Shiyan and Sun Chuanting had the best personal relationship.

At this time Wen Zanhua suddenly remembered something, Fu Xu said slowly: "Sun Du, I don't know if you have noticed that the towns have a lot of grievances. This matter can be big or small, and it needs to be handled carefully."

Sun Chuanting raised his eyebrows: "Of course the governor knows, hum, these children only know how to protect themselves, and don't know how to serve the country at all!"

There was a tinge of coldness in his words, the battalion soldiers complained endlessly when they suffered a large number of casualties, unlike the new army, not only commanded like a command, but also had a great ability to withstand pressure, he was becoming more and more impatient with those battalion soldiers.

Seeing that Wen Shiyan beside him seemed quite worried, he laughed: "If Mr. Wen is worried about this, there is no need to worry about it. With the pressure of the princes of the Protectorate, they can't make waves."

Wen Shiyan said lightly: "I'm afraid that the success is not enough, and the failure is more than enough."

Sun Chuanting was startled, and Wen Shiyan said slowly: "Actually, it's not a bad idea to retreat to the forbidden ditch and Tongguan city. The new army's combat power has been trained, and the forbidden ditch is more dangerous than Yuanwang ditch. There are only [-] new troops, and the remaining [-] can be stationed in Tongguan City. Defend Xiyuan with a battalion, and draw some cavalry to station with the city. Of course, we have to beat the thieves hard before talking about withdrawing the defense."

Sun Chuanting was startled, and again, Wen Shiyan just stroked his beard and smiled.

Just now, Wen Shiyan could see the subtleties in his eyes. He knew that Wu Zhengchun was an orthodox soldier, and he considered it more from a military point of view.Some of the political stuff Gao Xun might know, but he was an eager man.So these things must be reminded by this painting.

Sun Chuanting sighed, "Thanks to Mr. Wen's reminder."

He cheered up and said: "I heard that Mr. Wen has good tea, and there happened to be a batch of scary incense in the tent. How about the two of us enjoying the tea together?"

Wen Shiyan said with a smile: "I will stick to my wish, but I dare not ask for it."

……

On May 16th, at Chenshi, Wu Zhengchun, who was dark and thin, with a resolute expression, stood by the No. [-] plateau. He looked at the opposite side, motionless, and beside him was his slender, handsome deputy Gao Xun.

The thieves on the opposite side had already gathered more and more, and as expected, they saw the figure of the artillery, and at the same time, there were countless vehicles pushing towards them.

As expected, the bandits were going to attack with artillery trucks.

At the same time as the thieves were making noise, the plateau here was also busy. All the artillery that had been deployed everywhere had been concentrated here. Numerous grass factory tents were set up on the plateau, and a large number of stretchers and other things were placed inside, as well as a lot of alcohol, bandages, etc. , Xuanhu and other rescue and protective equipment, and burned many pots of boiling hot water.

During the period of the war, the doctors of the Jingbian Army played an important role. Many wounded soldiers were treated effectively and casualties were greatly reduced, which was greatly praised by the new army and battalion soldiers.The start of the war was no small matter, so the Jingbian military medical officers tried their best to make preparations. If any sergeant was injured, he could be carried to the tent on a stretcher for rough treatment, and then sent to Dongying Fort for careful treatment.

Behind the two, in addition to Zhao Rongsheng, who supervised the defense of this end, and Li Zhengjing, who defended the northern end of Yuanwanggou, also concentrated here.Behind them, Luo Liangzuo, Lai Dexiang, Chen Sheng, Han Kaihui and others all stood in awe.

Behind them, another [-] soldiers of the Jingbian Army lined up neatly, bursts of murderous aura spreading.

Last night, the mercenaries had an urgent military meeting and decided to gather the troops from Jingbian to give the thieves a thunderous blow.Therefore, in addition to the first-class army in the battalion, and the hussars and chasseurs led by Lord Tiger who are still preparing for supervision, the two second-class troops are all concentrated here. attack.

However, how to use it is slightly controversial. Wu Zhengchun meant to place the Jingbian army on the first low wall defense line of Jihao, while Gao Xun insisted that the Jingbian army be placed in the second low wall defense line as a reserve team.

The purpose of the thieves this time is obvious, and they will use artillery to bombard them again. The new army and battalion on the first line of defense may suffer heavy casualties, and the Jingbian army has rich experience in fighting. If they are placed on the first line, Casualties can be effectively avoided, but Gao Xun persisted.

His tone was gentle but firm: "If jade is not cut, it cannot be made into a weapon. How can it be an army without bloodshed? The reason why the Jingbian Army is a strong army in the world, how many battles have been fought, how many people have died? How many generals have died in battle? If they can survive this Only after one battle can we really practice it."

In the end, Wu Zhengchun agreed with Gao Xun's opinion.

(End of this chapter)