Chapter 2036

After receiving the report, Azig immediately called Bayano and went to the scene in person to inspect the temporary base built by the Haihan Army in the mountains and forests.

As reported by subordinates, the traces of life and materials left by the Haihan Army here have shown that they have been lurking here for far more than a day or two.

Azig carefully inspected the camping stove in the temporary base with a gloomy face, and even reached into the stove and took out a handful of stove ashes to check. The structure of this kind of smokeless stove in the wild was not unfamiliar to Azig. The Qing army

When marching and fighting, this kind of strategy will also be adopted to cover up the tracks of the troops.

These camping stoves are all located on slopes and are dug neatly. There are at least four flues outside each stove, and there are large tree crowns nearby to shield them, so they can basically be light-free and smoke-free when used.

, it is difficult to find it from a distance, and the Qing army did not deploy sentries nearby, and the patrol team would not go deep into the mountains and forests. If this incident had not happened, it is estimated that Haihan would not be found in a few months.

The army is lurking here.

Judging from the construction level, the stove ash in the stove chamber and the sintering condition of the stove wall, these camping stoves have obviously been used for a long time. Moreover, the Haihan Army was too hasty when they withdrew, and the large iron pots and other kitchen utensils on the stove were

They were all discarded directly because they were too heavy - these gadgets are definitely not necessary for quick raid missions, and will only be used if you lurk here for a long time.

Rice, pickled meats, and vegetables are all available in the camp. It is obvious that the Haihan Army stationed here enjoys a very good standard of food. No matter what details are looked at, it shows that the former residents here did not just come to visit.

Go.

Azig asked solemnly: "Since the enemy fled in such a hurry, have you found the weapons and ammunition they used?"

It is impossible to leave weapons like rifles to the Qing army. There is still some ammunition that cannot be taken away when they retreat, but the box containing gunpowder has been soaked by the melted snow and frozen into large ice bricks. It must have been

It was no longer needed. If they were not worried about exposing their whereabouts too early and attracting pursuit by the Qing army, the few people who evacuated from the base actually planned to use the gunpowder to burn all the supplies that could not be taken away.

The Haihan Army left a lot of supplies here, but there were not many things that could really be used by the Qing Army for secondary use. In particular, none of the weapons and equipment Azig wanted could be found.

Of course, the focus of searching this temporary base is not to pick up rags, but to find out why the Haihan Army sent such a force to lurk in this place. According to the Haihan Army's past harassment tactics, it has always been to go ashore and start fighting directly.

, they retreated immediately after the attack, rarely even spending the night on the shore, let alone building a temporary base near the shore.

Looking at the scale of this place, there are living areas, cooking areas, warehouses, outposts, and fortifications. They even built a toilet, and used branches and snow to camouflage the outside of these temporary buildings. Just this.

The amount of construction was definitely not accomplished in a day. If it hadn't been for the battle with Bayano's troops yesterday, this Haihan army might have been able to hide here for the whole winter.

In Azig's view, even with the strength of the Haihan Army, it is not easy to risk entering the Qing-controlled area and build such a temporary base in the wild environment in winter. The Haihan people have never done anything without doing anything.

Meaningful thing, then what is their purpose in sending a team of elite soldiers to lurk here for a long time at all costs?

In fact, Azig already had concerns in his mind, but he did not express it directly. Instead, he posed the question to Bayano and asked him what he thought about it.

Bayano does not lack combat experience. He has actually noticed the details that Azig observed, and the answer to this question is not that difficult to guess.

"I think... the Haihan people are here for the Musketeers!" Bayano's face was very ugly. He had already realized that the battle that happened yesterday was not an accidental encounter. The opponent's purpose was very clear, which was to target this special force under his command.

Come.

If not, there was no need for the Haihan army to suddenly expose their whereabouts. They could have continued to lurk in this place with sufficient supplies and shelter from the wind and snow. And they had been waiting here quietly for several days.

, most likely waiting for an opportunity to take action.

Bayano clearly remembered that in the past month, the Musketeers had never been far away from the Qing army camp, and yesterday was the only time they went out for training in a month. A little further away from the camp, they encountered

He had been thinking that it was an accidental incident yesterday, and that the destruction of the Musketeers was just a matter of bad luck when the Haihan Army landed nearby. But after seeing this place today, he understood that the other party was

Came prepared.

As for how the other party could grasp the whereabouts of the Musketeers, Bayano was not surprised. If he were performing the same mission and had such a long time to slowly reconnaissance, it would be difficult to grasp the movement patterns of the Musketeers.

It's not difficult. Maybe you can find traces of Haihan people's activities near the shooting range where the Musketeers train daily.

After listening to the translation, Azig nodded and agreed with Bayano's judgment: "Whether they came for the Musketeers or not, we will find more evidence soon."

In fact, Azig has also thought of this, so he has sent another team to search the mountains and forests near the shooting range. If the Haihan Army came for the Musketeers, then they must have already carried out the search before taking action.

The daily training of the Musketeers is under their own supervision. They are very aware of the size and actual combat capabilities of this unit. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain how they had the courage to show up and launch an attack when they encountered a Qing army in the wild.

Attack. What the opponent did was not so much a reckless attack due to a chance encounter, but more like a decisive surprise attack after seizing the opportunity after observing the musketeers for a long time.

Bayano and Azig had long known that once Haihan found out that there was such a musketeer team with advanced equipment and tactics in the Qing army, he would definitely regard it as a thorn in his side and would quickly get rid of it.

Therefore, this unit has always been very low-key from its formation to training, trying to avoid attracting outside attention.

The only combat operation this musketeer team has participated in since its formation was the ambush of a Haihan cavalry patrol at the end of last year. Although the ambush was a complete victory, it was not completely wiped out.

Despite the opponent, several Haihan cavalry still managed to escape. Looking back now, it was probably that operation that exposed the existence of the Musketeers and made the Haihan people suspicious of the attack on the patrol.

Azig and Bayano knew nothing about how the Haihan people pursued this matter. If it hadn't happened yesterday, they would probably have thought that the Haihan people didn't take the patrol's affairs too seriously.

Because after all, the Haihan Army did not take any countermeasures after that, and the cavalry patrol only moved the patrol route away from the Qing army's defense line. It seemed that it was just handled as an ordinary small-scale conflict.

But since the other party was deliberately targeting this musketeer team, a lot of investigation and preparation work must have been carried out before the risky infiltration operation was carried out. Then the question arises, is the Haihan Army going to

To send appropriate troops to sneak into this area to take counter-action, how did they confirm the establishment, training status and garrison location of this musketeer team in advance? How much do they know about the composition of the musketeer team and the source of weapons? Will they still take any measures?

For further countermeasures, these are issues that Azig must figure out as soon as possible.

Another team sent to search near the shooting range soon made a discovery. They found several well-camouflaged hidden observation points in the mountains and forests less than a hundred feet away from the shooting range. These observation points were designed to provide better cover.

Fengxue was a bunker built with off-white triangular tents, covered with branches and other objects. The original outline could not be seen from ten feet away. The search team even found Haihan in one of the tents.

A small amount of dry food left by the army, and cigarettes used to refresh themselves - these things have flowed into the Qing Dynasty through some inland trade channels in the past two years. There are also many people in the Qing army who have been exposed to this stuff. And the cigarette packages are printed with

The word "military supply" fully proves that these are materials from the Haihan army.

At this point in the search, it has been basically determined that yesterday's battle was not an accident, but a combat operation that the Haihan Army spent a long time carefully planning and preparing. If Azig's decision to send troops was slower, or perhaps

Bayano and others were not lucky enough to escape, but this Haihan army could even escape calmly after completing their mission.

Of course, Bayano's decision to take the troops to a place far away from the camp undoubtedly gave his opponents a chance to take action. If he had insisted on letting the troops train at a shooting range not far from the camp, maybe he would

This leaves no opportunity for the opponent to take advantage of it. However, what has happened has already happened, and it is impossible for Azig to put all the responsibility on Bayano. What's more, if Bayano is convicted and punished, who will clean him up?

The army continues to train musketeers?

The debate about whether it is worth investing a lot of resources in training musketeers and whether it can pose a sufficient threat to the Haihan Army can be put to rest from now on. The Haihan Army has spent so much effort to deal with this musketeer team, which shows that the opponent has already

The fact that they felt extremely threatened was enough to prove the value of the Musketeers.

Judging from the results of the battle, it was not too miserable for the Qing army. After cleaning the battlefield, the Qing army found twenty-seven corpses of the Haihan army. This number did not include those who were eventually taken away by the Haihan army.

Those dead and wounded soldiers. This record is the battle in which the Qing army has caused the largest casualties to the Haihan Army since the end of the Korean War last year. Considering that the opponent in the battle yesterday must be the ace unit of the Haihan Army, and there are also troops from the sea

The fire cover was so great that in the end it was a great effort to achieve such a harvest.

What makes Azig regretful is that he was not able to capture any survivors in the end. Apart from cutting off their heads to ask for credit and boosting morale, these dead people actually did not have much practical effect. If there were survivors, the Qing army might be able to

We can find out how the Haihan people noticed the existence of the Musketeers, how they made the decision for yesterday's attack, whether there will be next steps, etc.

As for the Qing army's own personnel losses, they were indeed much greater than their opponents. After the musketeers were raided by the Haihan army, there were only a dozen lucky ones left. In the subsequent pursuit battle, the Qing army was killed again.

Nearly three hundred people were killed, and two-thirds of the casualties occurred on the beach. The lack of cover and bunkers allowed the opponent to be completely exposed, but it also made the Qing army a living target for guns and artillery.

Moreover, the shelling from the sea in the final stage was so fierce that a single shell flying into the Qing army's formation would often kill seven or eight people in an instant.

The casualties involved in the pursuit also included two Niulu Erzhen and more than ten Bajala warriors. In addition, many Qing soldiers who were originally eligible to receive Azig rewards failed to leave the battlefield alive in the end.

However, in the view of Azig, who has been dealing with Haihan for several years, this level of casualties is actually still acceptable.

Although it was unlikely that the Haihan Army would return, Azig still carefully deployed about seven or eight sentries on the nearby coast to prevent his opponents from invading again without noticing.

"The Haihan people are so afraid of our musketry team, and the enemy is afraid, which means that our approach is right! So we must try to retrain a stronger musketry team as soon as possible!" On the way back to the camp, Ah

Zig once again made a serious request to Bayano: "We need more help! If your country wants to maintain an alliance with our country and want to work with us to deal with the Haihan people, then ship us more as soon as possible.

arms!"

Bayano could only smile bitterly: "I will mention these requirements in the report sent to the Philippines, but the journey is long and this may not be something that can be done in the short term."

Azig said impatiently: "Although it is cooperation in name, our country uses real money to buy your weapons. Do you understand? I don't want to know what kind of difficulties you have, but a fight will break out here at any time. Many

The brave soldiers fell under the guns of the Haihan army like that. If you could do business more happily, they would have had the opportunity to blow the heads of the Haihan people with better weapons! As long as you provide enough weapons to our country, we will

You can beat the Haihan people so hard that they will have no time to look back and pay attention to what happened in the South China Sea! Write what I said into your report and send it back as soon as possible!"

Bayano knew that what the Qing prince said was actually right, but he did not dare to tell the other party the fact that the Philippine authorities were unable to provide a large amount of weapons, which would probably cause the current fragile cooperative relationship to collapse directly. He could only send

I hope that the middleman Yu can work more efficiently and send his report to the Philippine Islands as soon as possible so that the colonial authorities can understand what is happening in Liaodong in a timely manner.
Chapter completed!