Chapter 1144 Not giving in

Should he first turn around and deal with the Haihan army behind him, ensuring that his retreat and supply lines are safe, or should he continue to move forward with seizing the mine as his priority goal? This was really a headache for Guo Xingning. He only thought that Haihan might be

He would face off against the Ming army in Fushan County, and even a small-scale conflict would break out. He would have to endure some hardships before giving up the mine, but he never thought that the other party would be bold enough to send troops to outflank his retreat.

After using this method, it is obvious that he has no evil intentions.

After Guo Xingning thought about it for a while, he still did not dare to split his troops into two groups and attack. He only asked one of his officers to lead forty or fifty cavalry and go to the back road to test the strength of the Haihan people. If the Haihan people were just bluffing and setting up a roadblock, then

There was no need to worry too much. After the group took the order to set off, Guo Xingning ordered to continue heading south toward the mine.

But from here on, Guo Xingning found that the Haihan scouts who had been harassing them along the way suddenly disappeared, seeming to disappear into the air. Guo Xingning did not feel relaxed because of this, but instead became more vigilant. Since the other party withdrew the scouts,

It is most likely because this place is completely under their control and there is no longer any need for close reconnaissance by detective horses.

After walking for a few more miles, Guo Xingning and his men discovered that something was wrong with the surrounding situation. There was not even a living person in sight, and the occasional farmhouses on the roadside were empty. Guo Xingning did not

He believed that this situation was just a coincidence. Although there was no concrete evidence yet, he subconsciously believed that the Haihan people had carried out a clearing operation in this area in advance, in order to not leave any opportunity for the Ming army to obtain supplies or inquire about information.

.

Guo Xingning did not dare to be careless, and immediately ordered the infantry to close their formation, and the cavalry to protect the two wings, ready to engage in battle at any time. A moment later, a reconnaissance cavalry reported from the front, and they had seen the Haihan double-color flag raised on the high ground of the mine to the south.

I think the camp of the Haihan people should be nearby.

Guo Xingning soon saw the true face of this mine. Rather than saying it was a mine, it was more appropriate to say it was a well-defended armed stronghold. This stronghold was built on a hillside, and it was built with gradually rising levels according to the mountain.

There are three lines of defense, each with wooden walls and trenches as cover. Outside the outermost line of defense, there are patches of barbed wire, deep roadblocks composed of fortifications such as Luzhai, making it impossible for the cavalry to rush through from the front.

There are dense crenellations and shooting holes built on the wall of the stronghold. Guo Xingning has heard that almost all Haihan soldiers are equipped with firecrackers. If the opponent is fighting behind a bunker, it will be very difficult to break into this stronghold without hard work.

A certain amount of casualties may make it difficult to achieve the goal.

"Sure enough, we are still late!" Guo Xingning couldn't help but start to have a headache when he saw the scene in front of him. The Haihan people had only settled here for more than ten days, but they had already built layers of defenses here. This was obviously from

From the beginning, the intention was to prevent outsiders from snatching it.

Looking at the red and blue flags flying at the top of the flagpole on the top of the slope, Guo Xingning secretly cursed Haihan's audacity. This was clearly the border of the Ming Dynasty, but a group of foreign barbarians dared to openly occupy the mountain and become kings and fight against the government and army. It was simply blind.

Wang Fa.

Now that the situation has reached this stage, Guo Xingning no longer fantasizes about resolving the dispute through peaceful means. If he does not fight with the Haihan people, the other party will definitely not give in. Although his opponent seems to have the advantage, Guo Xingning

But he would not be deterred from fighting because of this. In his eyes, the difficulty of this simple fortification in the wilderness was not at the same level as that of Dengzhou City, which was controlled by the rebels.

Guo Xingning did not rush to order his men to attack. Instead, he stopped about two miles away from the Haihan stronghold and asked the cavalry to go around the outside of the opponent's position to see if there was a terrain more suitable for launching an offensive. However,

He also knew that this possibility was unlikely. Since the other party had spent so much effort building defenses in the north of the mining area, it was probably because this was a weak point in defense that they needed to strengthen the depth of the defense line here.

Sure enough, the cavalry circled far away and then returned. This mine is located on a hillside. Only the terrain on the north side is slightly gentler, and the slopes on the other sides are steeper. Even without fortifications

It is also difficult for large troops to rush up in a short time, and the cavalry has no chance.

"These Southern Barbarians picked a good place!" Guo Xingning was a little bit shocked after hearing the reports from his subordinates. The more comprehensive the opponent's defense measures were, the more it showed that they were determined to resist and had sufficient preparations for war. The Ming army wanted to

To defeat your opponent, the price you need to pay will also increase.

Guo Xingning summoned his main officers together, issued a number of combat instructions in this way, and then asked them to prepare separately. Although the Haihan stronghold looked like a prickly hedgehog, he would not be easily defeated by his opponent.

The formation is intimidating, whoever is stronger or weaker will eventually get the real deal.

Guo Xingning's tactics are simple in fact. If you want to break into the mining area, you must first break through the outer defense line. To break through the outer defense line, you must first clear all kinds of roadblocks outside the defense line. If the infantry is allowed to come forward in this environment,

Braving the opponent's long-range firepower to slowly move away from the Luzhai, pull out the wooden stakes, and cut the iron mesh, the casualties would be heavy. Guo Xingning's response was to destroy the peripheral roadblocks as quickly as possible, so he did not use sustained

shield infantry, but gave this task to the cavalry.

Of course, it is impossible for the cavalry to dismount and destroy the roadblock. The weapon they use is an iron grapple with a long rope tied to the end, and the other end is tied to the saddle, and the grapple is thrown far away and hooked on the ground.

After the roadblock, they drove their horses back and used animal power to pull the roadblocks apart. Even those heavier Juma Luzhai can be quickly dragged away from their original positions as long as several riders work together. This tactic

It had been used in the battle to quell the rebellion in Dengzhou in the past, and achieved good results. This time he went to Fushan County, Guo Xingning had done enough homework, and he remembered to bring this relatively unpopular combat tool.

A moment later, dozens of cavalrymen rushed out of the Ming army's formation and rushed towards the roadblock in front of Haihan's position. This was not the first time these cavalrymen had done this job. The distance was accurately measured, and they were still about ten years away from the roadblock.

When he reached 10 feet, he began to control the war horse under his crotch to slow down and turn. At the same time, he raised the grappling hook in his hand and threw it hard towards the opposite roadblock.

"Kill them down!" Behind the wooden wall of the mining area, Morgan gave the firing order to the snipers under his command.

Most of the snipers who went north with Morgan this time were still students who had not graduated, and stationing in the Jiaodong Peninsula was considered a kind of experience. However, even if they were still students in name, these people were actually selected from the top soldiers in active service.

They are no strangers to battle formations. This time, there were nearly ten people stationed in the mining area with Morgan, all of whom were deployed on the higher third line of defense. Their positions were about ten meters higher than the Ming cavalry.

meters, they could basically have a clear view of the battlefield. Although the Ming army was nearly a hundred meters away from them, they were already within the killing radius of the sniper rifle.

Gunshots rang out one after another, and several Ming cavalrymen who were trying to destroy the roadblock immediately fell from their horses. Now that the two sides were ready to fight, Morgan immediately took a cruel step and let his men

The purpose of all targeting people is to frustrate the Ming army's spirit.

Seeing their companions falling off their horses one after another, these Ming cavalrymen inevitably became confused. They did not expect that their opponents could accurately hit them with firecrackers at such a distance. The order they received was to destroy the roadblocks instead of

Fighting with their opponents in the air, most people immediately rode back and tried to evacuate the battlefield as soon as possible. Some people also wanted to try to rescue their injured companions who fell from their horses, but inevitably attracted a new round of fire.

After two rounds of shooting, about seven or eight Ming troops were shot and killed, while others evacuated the battle area in panic. However, when the Haihan snipers opened fire, most of the Ming cavalry had already thrown out

The grappling hooks in his hands were taken away, so part of the roadblock was inevitably destroyed, especially the barbed wire around the wooden poles. When dragged by these grappling hooks, a large piece of the wooden piles, some of which were not buried deeply, were immediately torn away.

They were also pulled out together.

The Haihan Army's iron network roadblocks have always been very effective on the battlefield in the past. Whether they are blocking traffic arteries or serving as peripheral defense fortifications for their own positions, they will become a nightmare for the enemy's infantry every time. The soldiers rely on these roadblocks to delay

The speed of the opponent's advance, and then leisurely firing with muskets from behind the nearby bunker. With this tactic, positional warfare is basically invincible with minimal casualties. Moreover, the cavalry units encountered in the past are also very sensitive to this kind of roadblock.

There was no good way to deal with it. These barbed wire fences of varying heights were like snagging ropes, and the cavalry simply did not dare to charge into them.

But today's battle with the Ming army from Dengzhou, the method used by the opponent was simple and effective, and it quickly caused damage to the peripheral defenses set up by Haihan. This was something the commanders had not expected before. If

Unless Haihan's weapons have superior performance, it would probably be difficult to cause effective damage to the cavalry coming and going like the wind. This army is a genuine Ming Dynasty official army, a professional army with the same nature as the Haihan army.

Just like how the Hai-Han army dealt with pirates or bandits in the past, they were defeated in one blow.

Guo Xingning also observed Haihan's response method and his own combat effectiveness. Although his side lost some men and horses, in his opinion, the level of casualties was still bearable. He immediately sent more than 20 more cavalry to match the previous battle.

Together with the cavalry, they launched another attack on Haihan's position.

"How dare you come!" Morgan couldn't help shouting when he saw the Ming army leaving and returning. Just now, he just didn't understand the opponent's fighting method, until the opponent rushed close and threw the grappling hook, he understood the opponent

The snipers were ordered to fire only after the intention was reached. The intensity of the firepower output was limited, and the number of enemy soldiers killed was not very large. But since the opponent wanted to repeat the same trick, this time there would not be only a few rifles firing.

This time, the Haihan Army did not wait for the Ming Army cavalry to rush to the front of the formation and throw grappling hooks. They opened fire decisively. All the soldiers on the three lines of defense opened fire at the same time, using three-dimensional firepower to attack the dozens of Ming Army cavalry that rushed up.

The power of hundreds of rifles firing at the same time is much greater than the sporadic sniping just now. More than ten cavalrymen rushing at the front were shot almost at the same time. At this time, there is not much accuracy at all. Ordinary rifles cannot be accurate from a hundred meters away.

To take aim, you can only shoot with people and horses as targets.

There were also very skilled people among the cavalry of the Ming Army. They bent their bows and set arrows on their horses to fight back. However, the power of the sporadic arrows shot was extremely limited, and the power of the cavalry bows was relatively small. Almost none of the arrows shot could fly to the sea.

On the contrary, the heads of Han soldiers would be greeted with a hail of musket fire.

The scene of the battle made Guo Xingning's heart sink. Although he knew that the Haihan people were equipped with a large number of muskets, he did not expect that they were so powerful. A third of the cavalry sent out to charge fell almost instantly. The training equipment was so

A group of cavalry consumes a lot of money. Guo Xingning has worked hard for several years, and his cavalry can only be maintained at about 200. This time he brought them all out. Now that he sees his elite men falling in pieces, this is undoubtedly

He stabbed Guo Xingning hard in the heart.

Fortunately, the cavalry under him also had some combat experience. When they realized that the momentum was not right, they immediately turned around and retreated again. Although some men were left behind, most of them finally managed to escape from the battlefield. But after two consecutive setbacks,

, morale must have been greatly affected.

When Guo Xingning saw that his men had suffered a lot of losses, he immediately became angry. Even if the Haihan people were willing to make a truce and make peace, he would not agree to it anymore. Guo Xingning thought to himself that you have musketeers in the formation, don't I? He immediately ordered the infantry to go into battle.

, covered by soldiers holding large shields in front, and musketeers hiding behind, slowly approaching the Haihan position. Guo Xingning hoped that the musket fire of his men would suppress the Haihan position, and then try to destroy its peripheral defenses.

fortifications.

But the wish is beautiful, but the reality is very cruel. Although the troops deployed by Haihan in this position are far inferior to those of the Ming army, the intensity of firepower output cannot be matched by the Ming army. Moreover, it is difficult for muskets to directly penetrate one side.

The wooden wall was used as a bunker, but there was only a shield on the other side. The Ming army was still in a very disadvantaged situation in this round.

The most terrible thing is that several small-caliber field guns were deployed on the Haihan position, and their range and power were far superior to the Fo Lang machine guns in the Ming army's formation. Seeing the Ming army's infantry advancing in formation, Chen Yixin ordered the artillery to prepare

Prepare to fire. There are many parts of the wooden wall that are movable. If you move them to both sides, a gap will be exposed. Each gap is a gun emplacement. After loading, the Ming army will come to deliver food.
Chapter completed!