scourge the qing dynasty

Chapter 339 Incomplete Victory

The battle on the banks of the Chushui River was still going on. In front of the main formation of the Qing army's infantry three miles away on the north bank, a thousand infantrymen of the Fat Man Army and more than 700 soldiers of the Qing army, who were responsible for the containment task, were surrounded by ten times the Qing army's infantry regiments. There was no fortification. For cover, there was no favorable terrain to defend, let alone the cover of muskets, bows and arrows. It was completely based on flesh and blood as a shield, tenaciously resisting the impact of wave after wave of Qing infantry; The enemy launched counter-charges again and again.

Almost every soldier of the Fat Army was covered in blood, and the two major generals of the Fat Army, Hu Tongchun and An Jiarong, looked as if they had just been fished out of the blood. The lumpy flesh on the arm was still as if it had been made of cast iron, and he swung a Japanese knife and broad axe to chop it out one by one. He could still chop off the heads of Qing soldiers and split the chests of Qing soldiers like cutting apples.Less than an hour after the battle, more than [-] soldiers of the Qing army were killed by the spring ax in the alley. Fatty Lu's nephew, An Jiarong, who was known for his bravery, had already killed more than [-] enemies. His whole body was dyed red and white, and he was as fierce and terrifying as a Shura ghost, so that wherever the two generals passed by, the Qing soldiers didn't have the guts to stop the fight, but ran away crying like a rabbit, letting the two generals pass by. The second general ran amok among thousands of troops, as if he had entered the land of no one.

The ferocity of the Fatty Army not only broke the courage of the soldiers of the Qing Army, but also greatly exceeded the expectations of the generals of the Qing Army headed by Jie Shu. If it is a large formation, then this team must be the ace army under Fatty Lu. It can fight tough battles and basically specializes in tough battles, so Jie Shu and others have long been prepared for a hard fight to the death.It’s just that what Jie Shu and the others didn’t expect was that this fat army would be so tough. After being surrounded by the Qing army, not only did it not show its defeat, but it killed the large and powerful Qing army brigade It was difficult to parry in the defeat, and the [-] Qing army infantry brigade was pinned down, making it impossible for the Qing army infantry to spare their hands to reinforce the ferry battlefield, blocking the northward road of the main force of the fat army.

"Damn it, why is this team of Wu dogs so difficult? When we fought Taiping Mansion last time, we didn't seem to encounter such a tenacious and fierce Wu dog?" Jie Shu cursed.

"My lord, please rest assured that although this team of Wu dogs is fierce, they are only a single army and cannot last long," said Wang Zhiding, the traitor Zhenghong Banner, Jie Shu's right-hand man, and the mite Qing Zhenhai general who refused to surrender after being captured alive by Xia Guoxiang in history. Suggested: "The lord can send more archers to shoot and cover, forcing this team of Wu dogs to charge continuously, consuming their physical strength. After a long time, there is hope for annihilating this team of Wu dogs."

"Then why don't you arrange it?" Jie Shu gave Wang Zhiding a glance and shouted, "Hurry up, the pontoon bridge on Wugou's side is about to be built, and before the main force of Wugou crosses the river, I must eat this Wugou team." Dog alone!"

Wang Zhiding bowed and agreed, and quickly arranged for two thousand archers to be divided into two teams, surrounded by the unstoppable Fatty Army in the chaotic army, and shot arrows together to cover the Fatty Army. After the tactics, in order to prevent the team from being completely passively beaten, Generals Hu Tongchun and An Jiarong could only lead their troops to attack the Qing army's archers with all their strength. The charging distance of the Fatty Army's trapped formation greatly consumed the physical strength of the Fatty Army's soldiers. The fairly capable generals of the Luzhou Qing Army also took the opportunity to adjust their troops, chased and intercepted the Fatty Army with all their strength, and constantly drove the soldiers to intercept the Fatty Army's path to protect the archers. Unknowingly, he fell into a bitter struggle of exhausting power that was constantly forced to charge.

The embarrassing main battlefield finally had some improvement. After heaved a sigh of relief, Jie Shu quickly focused his attention on the ferry battlefield. The performance was even more embarrassing than the infantry of the Qing army on the main battlefield. The two cavalry led by Jueluo Barkan and Zhu Lachan were afraid of the rocket formation of the fat army on the other side of the Chushui River, and they did not dare to encircle the fat army at all. The guards at the ferry just kept charging towards the fat man's army.

In this way, when the charging momentum of the Qing army cavalry was blocked by the fat army's carbine-rejecting guns and wooden stakes and other temporary fortifications, the cavalry's charge was completely lost, and they could only be honestly separated from the fat army. The fortifications were cut and stabbed, using their own weaknesses to attack the enemy's strengths, and fell into a bitter battle. The fat man's army engineers rushed to repair the pontoon bridges. The four pontoon bridges were more than half completed. Formed in rows, connected to form a bridge, ready to meet the main force of the fat man army who is eager to fight across the river to attack.

"Order Balkan and Zhu Lachan to break through the interception of the Wugou infantry and destroy the Wugou pontoon bridge within half an hour!" Jieshu shouted and ordered, "If not, military law will be followed!"

"Hoo--!" Just as the messengers were dispatched, there was a whistling sound from the fat infantry, which was already stretched to the left and right. A light of fire dragged the gunpowder and flew into the air and exploded, blooming a beautiful flower in the rainy sky. Another huge red fireworks.Seeing this scene, Jie Shu, Wang Zhiding and other generals of the Qing army couldn't help being stunned, and thought together: "What is Wu Gou doing? What kind of fireworks are you setting off during the battle?"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The continuous roar of artillery explained the question. Seeing the fireworks signal rising, the fifty Hongyi cannons with the longest range in the Fatty Army's artillery team immediately adjusted their direction and shot height, facing The rear of the fireworks signal started to fire intensively, and the shells roared and smashed into the most densely populated areas of the Qing soldiers and exploded violently. The huge shock wave knocked the Qing soldiers back and forth, and the flying shrapnel took away countless Qing soldiers. The lives of the soldiers and the tightly organized and dense Qing army were also in chaos. The infantry of the Fat Man Army took the opportunity to charge, slashed and killed the Qing army that was still motionless just now, and at the same time released a firework.

"Fucking Wu Gou! Their fireworks are the guiding signal for the Hongyi cannons to shoot!" Wang Zhiding was the first to wake up, and cursed, "That Wu Gou came up with the idea? Let the team set off fireworks to guide the cannons!" Team shooting?"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Wang Zhiding didn't have time to study who came up with such a wicked idea for the time being. A burst of artillery shells poured into the square before the charge of the fat man's infantry, and the firepower covered the Qing army that blocked the fat man's footsteps.However, what shocked the souls of the Qing army and excited the soldiers of the Fat Man Army who used this tactic for the first time was that after receiving the guidance of the fireworks signal, the power of the Fat Man Army's artillery not only increased greatly, but also the accidental injury was extremely small, and more than [-] shells were [-]% accurate. It hit the Qing army brigade, and the Qing army brigade howled ghosts and howled, and was defeated. Only two shells fell near the front of the fat army's team, causing a small amount of accidental injuries that were definitely within the acceptable range.

"Hoo-!" It is estimated that the artillery team has reloaded and reloaded, and another firework flew into the air and exploded, blooming green flowers. The Qing army in front of the fat army had suffered enough and suffered a lot. When dodging the bombs, the fat army's shells fell behind the fat army's team, and the denser Qing army behind the fat army became even more desperate and defeated.

Immediately afterwards, a ball of orange fireworks flew into the air, and the artillery of the Fat Man Army began to concentrate its firepower on the right wing of Hu Tongchun and An Jiarong's team; when Hu Tongchun's team fired purple fireworks, it was the turn of the Qing army on the left to be unlucky The shells of the Fat Man Army basically fell half a mile away from the left wing where the fireworks rose.

"Haha!" Seeing this scene, Fatty Lu Aijiang Hutongchun laughed happily, "Brother Lu's method is really good, with such accurate artillery reinforcements, no matter how many dogs there are, we are not afraid!"

"Uncle Hu, call for artillery support!" An Jiarong, whose face was covered in blood, pointed at the Qing army flag formation, and roared fiercely: "Let the artillery clear the way for us, let's charge the dog-filled flag formation!"

"Great idea!" Hu Tongchun yelled, swung his bloody axe, and roared, "Red fireworks are ready, set them off while charging!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" A volley of guns was fired, and the firepower covered the Qing army that blocked the way of the Fatty Army's trapped team charging. They scattered and smashed the Qing army one after another, and also smashed the Qing army soldiers to pieces one by one. Hu Tongchun and Anjia Rong's team took advantage of the chaos and went straight to the central palace, advancing towards the Qing army's Lutang Mountain banner formation, and the Qing army's formation was in chaos.

"Hutongchun boy, it's really fun to call for fire support." Seeing the signal fireworks rising one after another through the telescope, Fatty Lu couldn't help laughing, turned to Yao Qisheng next to him and said with a smile: "I bet, Hutongchun After that kid discovered that the fire support is magical, he must have already planned to fill the dog flag array, otherwise, the fireworks he set off would not be farther and farther away."

"It seems that the general's tactic of calling for artillery support from fireworks has paid off." Yao Qisheng said respectfully, "However, the students should remind the general of two points. The way to release fireworks will mislead our army’s shelling, so it is best for the general to prepare anti-counterfeiting tactics for embankment fireworks signals in advance.”

"Secondly, the Hongyi cannon can indeed shoot up to ten miles, but as long as it shoots more than seven miles, the Hongyi cannon will easily explode. Therefore, it is best for our artillery team to agree on a signal to communicate with the front to remind Soldiers in front must not penetrate too far into the enemy's formation, and lose the cover of artillery fire."

"Mr. Yao is still thinking about it carefully. These are indeed two important issues." Fatty Lu nodded, and then pondered secretly: "When the battle is over, we must find Hu Tongchun and An Jiarong to carefully confirm the specific effects of the artillery support tactics. The effect is really extraordinary, so I have to increase the production and improvement of some Hongyi cannons, the maximum range of the sub-cannon is only three miles, and it is not suitable for firepower to support distant friendly forces."

"Da Zhou!" At this time, there was a burst of cheers from the direction of the ferry. When Fatty Lu quickly raised his binoculars, he found that the first pontoon bridge built by the fat man's military engineers had been completed, and the construction of the remaining three pontoon bridges was also close to the surrounding sound. At the same time, the ships have also formed into four strings, and they are rapidly approaching the north bank under the drag of the fat man's sailors.

"Okay, the speed is good." Fatty Lu nodded in satisfaction. When he put down the binoculars, he saw that Wang Xu had already rushed forward to wait for his order, and his face was full of anxiety and earnestness. Thousands of troops, bring more Sanhao rockets and grenades, don't be stingy with ammunition, and blast those dogs that are not as good as animals."

"Decree!" Wang Xu clasped his fists and agreed loudly, turned around and rushed down to lead the troops to fight. After a while, a group of fat army infantry who had been gearing up for a long time began to advance under the leadership of Wang Xu, towards the pontoon bridge ferry that was about to be completed. Trot and charge.At the same time, the Qing army also discovered this dangerous situation. Both Zhu Lachan and Jueluo Balkan urged the cavalry to charge like crazy, trying to break through the infantry of the fat army and destroy the pontoon bridge.The fat army's sub-mother artillery team also gave up the suppression and sporadic firing of the Qing army's artillery fire, and began to advance towards the ferry.

During the adjustment of the various armies of the enemy and us, the nearest Fatty Army Sub-Mother Artillery Team arrived at the right side of the ferry first, volunteered to serve as an accomplice to Lu Fatty, the old Qing Jiexuan personally calculated the shooting height, and ordered the Sub-Mother Artillery Team Adjust the scales together, and then fire with all their strength, 150 sub-cannons fired one after another, and shells weighing eight catties roared out, overwhelmingly falling on the desperately charging Qing cavalry.During the violent explosion, one after another Qing army cavalrymen and horses were smashed to pieces, blood and flesh splattered, and the momentum of the charge was stopped.Fatty Army engineers rushed to work in a hurry, and completed the construction of two pontoon bridges. Wang Xu's team who came behind immediately divided into three teams, charged across the river on the temporary pontoon bridge that had just been completed, and charged towards the two pontoon bridges covered by artillery fire. The right wing moved and assembled, and quickly set up a simple rocket launcher.

"Wu Gou's brigade has crossed the river!" With desperate screams, Zhu Lachan, the commander of the Qing army, also gave up, shouting orders with red eyes, and organized more than 1000 cavalry around him to outflank and take the risk to attack the right wing of the battlefield. The assembled Wang Xu army.However, Zhu Lachan's cavalry team had just rushed into the range, and fifty fat army cannons were already firing at his team. Wang Xu's team also fired hundreds of Mihao rockets without hesitation, overwhelming the sky. Covered by shells and rockets, Zhu Lachan and countless Qing cavalry were smashed to pieces on the spot. The remaining Qing cavalry lost their command and were afraid of the Fat Man's weapons, so they immediately scattered and fled. The Fat Man's infantry took the opportunity to charge across the river and assembled into a The army also carried more and more superior firearms across the river.

At this point in the battle, the Qing army was basically doomed, but Jie Shu, who hated Fatty Lu so much, refused to order a retreat. Kan led the remnants of the cavalry to continue to charge and destroy the pontoon bridge. The hard-core traitor Wang Zhiding also personally led his direct troops to charge against Hu Tongchun's team.

Although Jieshu's tactical intentions were too correct, and the generals of the Qing army were also considered capable, the tactics they implemented were flesh-and-blood soldiers with families. The rockets fired became more and more dense, and shells continued to fall from the sky. More and more infantry and cavalry of the Qing army completely lost the courage to continue fighting to the death, and began to collapse and run for their lives. Stopping the soldiers from fleeing and forcing them to go back to the battlefield has always had little effect.At the same time, Fatty Army's four pontoon bridges and four boat pontoons were also completed, and the speed of Fatty Army's crossing the river was also accelerated.

At you in the afternoon, all the [-] Fatty Army led by Wang Xu successfully crossed the river. After quickly assembled into an army, they immediately launched a counterattack against the Qing army's Jue Luo Balkan. Although Jue Luo Balkan's troops were all cavalry But the firearms were completely at a disadvantage. They were killed by the Fat Man's rockets, firing pin guns and grenades, and they couldn't get close. Generals Li Kuang and Yao Yi also took the opportunity to lead their troops to counterattack, and concentrated all the remaining rockets in their hands. Get up and shoot concentratedly at Jueluo Barkan's cavalry. Under the repeated bombardment of thousands of Miyoshi rockets, the Qing cavalry who suffered heavy casualties were forced to retreat.

Just after the first quarter of the unitary hour, two thousand cavalry of the Fatty Army led by Quanjie crossed the river and assembled, under the cover of infantry, charged towards the remaining cavalry of the Qing Army. Counterattack, attacking the Qing army's main formation that has been turned upside down by Hu Tongchun and An Jiarong.Seeing that the defeat was decided, Jie Shu had no choice but to lead his army to retreat to the north, and the hard-core traitor Wang Zhiding led the army to the rear.

At three o'clock in the unitary hour, the troops of Hu Tongchun and An Jiarong finally joined forces with their allies, and miraculously still retained more than two-thirds of their strength. The battlefield is rested, the wounds are healed, and other fresh troops are replaced to pursue and expand the results of the battle.

The fat man's army's pursuit continued until it was completely dark, and it was not until the Qing army retreated into the formidable Liutangshan camp to defend. In this battle, the fat man's army wiped out more than [-] people from the Jieshu Department of the Qing army, including More than [-] cavalry of the Qing army barely achieved the tactical goal of weakening and severely injuring the Jieshu Department of the Qing army.The Fat Man's Direct Legion also suffered more than [-] casualties, and consumed a large amount of rockets and high-precision shells, so the loss was not insignificant.

At the battle summary meeting that night, the generals of the Fatty Army summarized four important reasons for the bitter and bloody battles during the day. One is that the combat effectiveness of the soldiers of the Fatty Army has indeed deteriorated after entering Jiangnan for a large number of expansions, and the recruits rely too much on superior firearms Therefore, the casualties of the Fatty Army were mainly concentrated on the ferry battlefield, and the Hutongchun Army and Anjiarong Army, which were basically composed of old Fatty Army soldiers, suffered little casualties.However, Jie Shu led the Luzhou Qing army, whose combat effectiveness and morale were far higher than that of the Zhejiang Qing army. The recruits of the Fat Army who were used to abusing the Zhejiang Qing army were not well prepared, so they suffered a lot.

The second is that the number of cavalry in the fat army is still too small, there are few horses, there are few qualified cavalry, and there are even fewer qualified cavalry generals. Therefore, after the defeat of the Qing army, the fat army was not able to intersperse and cut off the retreat of the Qing army, and could not further expand the results of the battle. .In this regard, Yao Qisheng suggested that Fatty Lu follow Zhu Yuanzhang's use of Mongolian troops, boldly and massively use the Qing army's cavalry to restrain the Qing army's cavalry.

The third reason comes from the Qing army, that is, the Qing army has also been beaten by the fat army's firearms, and has learned to find ways to limit the power of the fat army's firearms.For example, before the start of the Chushui battle, Jie Shu wisely chose to stick to the north bank of Chushui, and placed the main infantry far away from the artillery range of the Fatty Army's advantage, and only sent out the mobile cavalry to compete with the Fatty Army for the ferry. Limit the power of the fat army's large number of sub-cannons and expose the weakness of the fat army's lack of long-range artillery.

In addition, Jieshu even more cleverly destroyed all the bridges on the Chushui River, forcing the Fatty Army to cross the river with boats and rush to build pontoon bridges. Due to the obstruction of the river and the carrying capacity of the ships, the Sanhao rockets used by the Fatty Army to restrain the Qing cavalry could not be massed. When transporting across the river, they could not bomb and shoot intensively like before, and could only use a small amount of fire to consume the strength of the Qing cavalry, and could not stop the Qing cavalry from rushing to the front for hand-to-hand combat. This caused huge casualties on the battlefield at the ferry.

The fourth reason was brought up by Yao Qisheng alone, pointing out mercilessly that the reason why this battle suffered heavy casualties, losses, and results were not as expected was that Fatty Lu's tactical arrangements were too underestimated and aggressive!He thinks that if Fatty Lu can mobilize Li Guodong's navy to rush for reinforcements via the Chushui River, or prevent Hu Tongchun and An Jiarong's elite soldiers from taking the risk of making an assault, but let this team that is best at fighting tough battles cross the river and stick to the ferry to cover the friendly forces Building a pontoon bridge and crossing the river to land, coupled with the cover of the Fatty Army's unparalleled artillery and Miyoshi rockets, the casualties of the Fatty Army will definitely not be that great!This battle is never that hard!

After listening to Yao Qisheng's merciless and strict criticism, the fat man's army generals were silent, and they didn't even dare to take a breath. Lu fat man was also very embarrassed. He wanted to admit his mistake but was too embarrassed to speak out - Lu fat man is the coach. In terms of arrangements, he casually admits his mistakes. From now on, every fat general in the army dares to comment on Fatty Lu's tactical arrangements. Is there anyone who will resolutely implement Fatty Lu's tactical arrangements?Where is Fatty Lu's prestige?

Fortunately, Yao Qisheng is also a smart person, and he added: "Of course, the students think that the general's tactical arrangements may be insufficient, but the strategy is extremely correct. The two tactics proposed by the students are correct in tactics, but in terms of strategy. It turned out to be a mistake. If General Li Guodong’s navy was mobilized to go north by way of Chushui for reinforcements, then it would take at least two days to waste more than two days, and it is also possible that Mangou saw our navy arrive. Fleeing before the battle, our army's plan to severely injure Jie Shumangou fell through."

"As for the other tactic, it's the same reason. If the two generals Hu Tongchun and An Jiarong didn't bite the main force of Mangou and chose to build a pontoon bridge to cross the river with all their conservative tactics, then when our army crossed Chushui, the main force of Mangou would also We slipped away early, and we still can't achieve the strategic goal of severely injuring Jie Shumangou. Therefore, the students believe that the general's quick battle depends on the strategic advantage. In order to free up our army's direct army as soon as possible to provide backup for other battlefields, our army The necessary sacrifice is well worth it."

"It's best for Master Yao to understand this. I wanted to argue with you, but it seems unnecessary." Fatty Lu, who knew he was wrong, smiled brazenly, nodded at Yao Qisheng with great satisfaction, and turned to The generals of the Fatty Army smiled and said: "In any case, we have won the battle today, and it also proves that our army's long-range artillery reinforcement tactics on the battlefield are indeed effective and have gained a lot. General Hu Tongchun and General An Jiarong also You played well, you played with the prestige and ambition of our army, and it deserves a big reward."

"Thank you, General, for your compliment." Hu Tongchun and An Jiarong, whose heads were both wrapped in gauze, hurriedly thanked them happily. They knew that the Fatty Army had always been rewarded the most for military exploits, and this time we could make a small fortune again.At the end, An Jiarong suggested again: "Uncle, you'd better ask my father to bring troops here as soon as possible. Of my 500 soldiers, there are only more than [-] left."

"Don't worry, your father has a more important mission in Zhanyi, so he can't come for the time being." Fatty Lu shook his head, and said, "Since you have lost a lot of soldiers, let's go to our infantry. Choose warriors at will to supplement, wrap white cloth and hold Japanese swords like you, let them melt into one with you, and tell them that if they can receive the most rigorous training like you, and be brave and fearless in fighting and killing enemies, then they are worthy of you Also receive three times the military pay, otherwise go back and continue to be an infantry."

"Thank you uncle, my nephew will go to pick them tomorrow." An Jiarong happily agreed, "Please rest assured, uncle, no matter if they are Yi people or not, as long as they join our Yi people, my nephew will definitely bring them to the same level as Lao Yi As brave and fearless as soldiers.”

"Very good, I believe you can." Fatty Lu nodded in satisfaction, and praised this cheap and powerful nephew, and then Fatty Lu made a final decision: "It's decided. Since Jie Shumangou still has vitality, our army will not Withdraw the troops, and send troops to attack Mangou's Liutang Mountain camp tomorrow, we must completely scare Jieshu Mangou, so that he dare not even dream of the land in the south of the Yangtze River!"

(End of this chapter)