"Did you lose?" Lai Shancheng was confused at this time. He was shot in the right shoulder near his chest, but it was not fatal. At this time, he had recovered from the dizziness caused by the bullet impact.
"Get back to the ship quickly." He gritted his teeth and said to the soldiers beside him.
Needless to say, all the water bandits are now trying to escape back to the ship as soon as possible. They wish they had two more legs.
The colorful army on the opposite side was still chasing them. They didn't know why the colorful army's muskets were so fast and accurate and could shoot so far. It was completely different from what they had encountered before.
In the past, when intercepting ships, some merchant ship guards would also use muskets, but they had to get close to shoot, and the reloading speed was very slow. Today I saw that some muskets used by the colorful military did not need to be loaded from the front. Could it be that they used it?
Magic.
One by one, the water bandits were shot in the back and fell to the ground. In the end, less than 200 water bandits fled to the river. 600 people knelt down and surrendered while escaping, and nearly 1,200 people were killed and wounded.
Fortunately, the boat was still on the river. 200 people escorted the injured Lai Shancheng onto the boat and fled south along the Salt River.
Dong Shuheng ordered the troops to stop the pursuit by the river. They might not be able to catch up if they went out to pursue them. Anyway, there was a navy waiting for them in the south.
Previously, the reconnaissance company reported that 500 people were heading towards Shijia Town. He ordered Liu Qingnan to lead 500 people to rush to support. He stayed to deal with the aftermath. Nearly 80 ships in the river had to be collected first. The captured baggage was very large.
Not much, after all, they are coming here to grab things.
"Shusen, you go find a few prisoners. After you go south and join the navy, let the prisoners lead the way to take out the water bandits' lair. I can't do business at a loss."
Last night in Gaoyou City, many people stayed up all night. Some people were still thinking whether it was a little hasty to put their wealth and life on Dong Shuheng.
Although he was indeed very good after watching his team training, he had never actually fought against the water bandits.
Early in the morning, many wealthy families sent people to the city tower to inquire about the news. However, the city tower was blocked by the Zhizhou Yamen, and outsiders could not get up.
So approaching the east gate, you can see the Orchid Bamboo House outside the east gate, which has become the first choice for everyone to watch the battle. The owner of the restaurant is also smart, opening the Orchid Bamboo House before dawn, and also prepared morning tea and snacks. At this time
Those sitting on the top floor were all well-known people in Gaoyou City. The downstairs was also full of people, and Xiaosi would come to the top floor from time to time to report on the battle situation outside.
"I just say that Dong Xian's nephew is reliable. Just look at the gunfire and wipe out all the water bandits." Mr. He said cheerfully, as if he was showing off his nephew to others.
Standing at the west intersection of Xiejia Town, Wang Xiao's face was so smoked that he could only see a pair of white eyes.
In the morning, Mayor Hu brought breakfast, and the soldiers had a hot meal. Not long after, the soldiers who went out to conduct reconnaissance came back and reported that they had discovered the enemy, about five hundred people.
Although the enemy was five times his own, Wang Xiao did not panic at all. He remembered that Dong Shuheng told them that information and firepower determine the outcome of a war on the modern battlefield. He was confident in the firepower of his company.
Ding Zhonglin, the third son of the water bandits, was also a ruthless man who could fight. When he came to the town, he saw a small earthen wall blocking the way. There was not a single figure exposed behind the earthen wall. If something goes wrong, there must be a monster.
Ding Zhonglin did not let all his brothers rush forward in a swarm, but arranged for more than 100 people to test the attack.
"It seems that the enemy is very cautious. Brothers, don't rush to shoot. Use the sound of my gun as a signal." Wang Xiao said to the brothers beside him in the trench.
The water bandits were getting closer and closer, crossing the 100-meter line, and gradually approaching 50 meters from me. The men behind the trenches could almost see the stubble on the water bandits' faces.
Wang Xiao took out his pistol and aimed it at the strong man in the middle. This man was wearing Qing army armor. It was very shabby, but he was the only one in the group with armor.
"Bang...bang bang bang bang..." After a crisp pistol shot, the dull sound of the rifle continued to sound.
The armor-piercing leader was hit by three or four bullets at the same time, and it seemed that the soldiers next to him also took a fancy to him.
The bandits turned around and ran away. They had been ordered in advance to retreat after a trial. However, they still had more than 300 meters to run out of Dreiser's shooting range. This section of the road became the death line for the water bandits.
There may be some water bandits lying on the ground pretending to be dead, but none of them came back.
Ding Zhonglin frowned. The opponent was different from the caravans and Qing troops he had faced in the past. Now they had to either retreat or fight. Retreating was definitely not an option. There was a wealthy town in front of them. If they retreated, they would not be able to do anything.
Explain the method to the boss.
Then, there is only one way in front of him, which is how to rush over. The opponent's muskets are sharp, but judging from the range of the fire just now, there are not many people on the opponent. As long as he can rush forward, even if half of them are dead
People also have the ability to defeat each other.
"Brothers, all disperse when we charge, and gather together in front of the earthen wall at the entrance of the village." Ding Zhonglin shouted to the water bandits around him.
The water bandits immediately dispersed, and more than 400 people pulled out a long fan.
"Ready... to charge!"
The water bandits rushed forward with a long loose line. They looked like a group of stragglers and had no structure, but they did bring trouble to the Huaihai regiment training.
This time, Wang Xiao did not wait for the opponent to approach, but let the regiment members start shooting freely after the opponent entered the effective shooting range. The regiment members behind the trench hunted the advancing water bandits like a hunter, and from time to time, water bandits fell.
But this time the water bandit fell much slower.
At a distance of 100 meters, there were still more than 200 water bandits. At this time, they finally began to gather together. The group members killed the water bandits much faster. But the water bandits were still moving forward quickly. Fifty meters away, Ding Zhonglin's long sword
Pointing forward, he shouted, and all the water bandits followed him up with an overwhelming shout.
Many members of the regiment were stagnated by this momentum, and their reloading speed slowed down significantly.
"Grenade, prepare..." Wang Xiao shouted to the brothers beside him, and the gunfire in the trench gradually stopped.
Ding Zhonglin was overjoyed. He felt that victory was beckoning to him. Just as he was rejoicing, iron lumps with wooden handles flew out of the trench. Before he could react, "bang bang bang..." explosions came one after another.
.The smoke and air waves from the black powder explosion swallowed up Ding Zhonglin and the water bandits around him.
On Lanzhu Tower, all the squires who were chatting and laughing in the private room on the top floor now looked solemn.
"Why do these water bandits have cannons?" asked a squire.
"It must have been left behind by the Qing army when they fled. The imperial army cannot fight. If you run away and send weapons to compete with each other, you still have to rely on the soldiers from your hometown to fight." The speaker was Mr. He, who was old and senior.
There are no taboos in talking.
"Look at the colorful army coming forward!" Both the water bandits and the common people like to call the Huaihai regiment "the colorful army". The term regiment no longer fits the combat power of Dong Shuheng's men.
In fact, Dong Shuheng has been thinking about unifying the names. Now Zeng Guofan is organizing regiment training in Hunan, the Hunan Army has begun to build up, and there will be a Huai Army in a few years. If he delays, the military number will be snatched away by Li Geidi.
So he had already thought about reorganizing the troops after this battle and unifying their titles to lay a solid foundation for future military expansion. As for what everyone calls themselves, people in the company and the army cannot all call themselves chairman, which is a bit nondescript.
.
At this time, the people on the tower were constantly sighing, because they saw the soldiers of the colorful army facing the shelling of the water bandits and constantly using their guns to kill the water bandits.
"He who hears the artillery but does not rebel is a strong army; he who greets the artillery and fights is the strongest among the strongest." said a Juren named Zeng Xianfeng.
"Everyone, the victory has been decided. We have to fulfill the promise we made that day. When an army of disciples with such a strong force defends Gaoyou in the future, we can sit back and relax." Mr. He said, whether it was because of the relationship with Dong's father that year.
Whether it was friendship or current interests, he had to stand by Dong Shuheng's side. There was no question of who controlled whom, just out of their respective interests.
Everyone kept saying yes, everyone was smart, and safety in troubled times was much more important than money.
At the junction of the Salt River and the canal, the navy, which had already arrived, was ready. The newly-elected naval commander Liu Dahai was very excited, and his heart, which had been dormant for many years, became warm again. He thought that when he went to sea, it was not that he had not experienced naval battles.
In 1840, when the British army invaded the Yangtze River Estuary, he watched helplessly as his ship was sunk by British artillery. Later, he was rescued by Mr. Dong. After being with Mr. Dong for so many years, his personality became much more reserved, but the fire in his heart
It has never been destroyed.
Now looking at the young master's actions, I suddenly have hope, a hope of leading a warship to sail the sea in my lifetime, a hope of revenge against the British Empire fleet.
Four sand boats at the mouth of the river were speeding towards the canal.
"Commander, the water bandits' ship is here!" a deputy reported to him. This person's name was Zhang Qiang, who was the second innkeeper of the transport fleet.
"Are you sure? Why are there only four ships? Don't you mean there are more than eighty ships in total?" Liu Dahai asked. He felt that the scene at this time did not match his ambitions at all!
"It should be no problem. Look, there's a big flag with the word "Lai" on the ship!" Zhang Qiang replied.
Liu Dahai stood on the deck of his flagship "Yangzhou", stroking the barrel of his 24-pound naval gun, as if he was touching the thigh of a young girl, but he said angrily: "Master, Master
, you just gave us your navy number, how come you ate all the meat yourself and left so little soup for us!"
"Brothers, go up and say hello to them, we are the Huaihai Navy!"
A whistle sounded from the boiler room in the cabin, and clouds of black smoke came out of the smoke of the two ships, "Humph... Humph..." As the boilers were pressurized, the two ships took the lead and moved forward quickly.
Rushing away, at least several times faster than these inland river wooden boats.
Lai Shancheng was desperate at this time. He looked at the two steel behemoths that were rushing toward him. Lai Shancheng felt like he was going to cry. He was so fucking bullying. He just used muskets to bully us with knives, and now he uses ships to bully us.
Our small wooden boat. "Dong Shuheng, you damn young people don't respect martial ethics!" Lai Shancheng shouted in his heart.
"Brothers, hang the white flag and surrender!" Lai Shancheng shouted with his last strength, and then passed out.
On the other side, Liu Dahai was also about to cry, "You fucking gave me a chance to shoot. I haven't done any target shooting with this new ship!"
However, the other party had already flown a white flag, so they had no choice but to go over and receive the prisoners. Of course, Liu Dahai was still very careful. He first sent a small boat with people to take control of the other party's ship, and then allowed the big ship to approach.