There are so many mountainous areas in North Korea that it is impossible to have a name for each one.
For combat needs, Xia Jun could only name them one by one.
For convenience, it is basically determined by height.
Highland No. 603 was the top priority of the Qing Dynasty's coalition defense line.
This is a long and narrow hillside running northwest and southeast, with narrow roads formed by other mountains on both sides.
If you want to pass here, you must knock down Hill 603.
From Xia Jun's point of view, there is only a narrow space to go up the mountain, and it will be attacked by the tops of the mountains on both sides.
This is also the reason why the Fourth Division fought several times before without success.
But this time, the Fourth Division used chemical weapons.
Speaking of which, the Qing army was also pitiful.
It was obviously the most powerful army at that time. No matter it fought against any opponent, it was invincible.
But since they met the Xia army, the Qing army was repeatedly crushed. Faced with a variety of weapons beyond their knowledge, they were beaten to a bloody head.
No matter how high your martial arts skills are, they are still not enough in the face of technology.
Not to mention that the Xia army was superior to the Qing army in terms of military quality, organizational discipline and other aspects.
Therefore, the outcome of the war has already been determined.
Highland 603, which was easy to defend but difficult to attack, completely lost its ability to resist under the Xia army's biological and chemical weapons.
Xie Qian led the special battalion and swept the entire place like a violent storm.
The wind is strong at high places and the poisonous smoke disperses quickly.
But in such a short period of time, a natural hazard has changed its owner.
The Qing army's reserve troops deployed on the north side of the high ground discovered what had happened above, and panicked and wanted to climb up for reinforcements.
As a result, he was blocked halfway by the special battalion.
Xie Qian kept Bai Xiaoqi's order in mind and did not stick to the mountains. Instead, he led a special battalion to launch a counterattack.
This time they were condescending and threw a large number of grenades.
However, these grenades did not produce explosive shock waves, but emitted exactly the same yellow smoke.
It turns out that these are also chemical weapons, specially prepared for special battalions.
The counterattacking Qing army was once again surrounded by poisonous smoke, and still had no way to deal with it.
The shotgun was reloaded, and the special battalion became a killing god again.
Eight bullets in a runner will turn into an overwhelming rain of metal bullets within a range of tens of meters after exiting the barrel, leaving no blind spots at all.
Behind the special forces, Sui Zhizhong led the main force of the 13th Regiment and completely occupied the high ground despite attacks from both sides.
Seeing that Xie Qian and the special battalion had already rushed down, Sui Zhizhong did not delay.
"Put up the cannon and give me a life-threatening blast. The 32nd Battalion stays behind and the rest follow me."
The counterattacking Qing army was suppressed by special forces and suffered heavy losses. They were struggling. The addition of the 13th Regiment immediately caused them to collapse.
On the mountain on the left wing, Ashdar Khan saw that the Xia army had easily captured the high ground, and he couldn't help feeling like he was dead.
"What is Suna doing?"
But no one could answer him.
Of course Ashdar Khan understood that the entire defense line at Highland 603 was the top priority. If this place was lost, the east and west wings would most likely be cut off by the Xia army and they would fight on their own.
He further saw that the Qing army's counterattack had been defeated by the Xia army, and there were no more fighting troops in the entire middle.
"Sakcha, you lead the soldiers and horses to guard the village below. Hold it to the death, do you understand?"
Sak looked at the location of the village below and couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling.
That village is very close to Highland 603, and the people on top can attack the village from a high position.
But that position is extremely important. Once lost, the Xia army can encircle it from the north, making it impossible for the Qing army on the left to escape destruction.
"I wonder how long I can keep it?"
Sakcha lacked confidence.
Ashdar Khan also knew that his orders were somewhat unsatisfactory.
"After the army retreats, you can leave on your own."
Sakcha's face turned pale.
"Retreating without authorization will be punished."
How could Ashdar Khan not know this?
"It's too late. I don't know what happened to Suna, and there is no news yet. If we delay any longer, we will all die here. Sakcha, we have a white flag and we can't afford any more deaths. If the emperor calls for punishment in the future, I will bear the full responsibility."
Sakcha finally understood his painstaking efforts.
Now that things have come to this, what else is there to say?
He quickly led his soldiers and horses into the small village at the foot of the mountain to buy time for the retreating army.
Ashdar Khan turned his head south.
The high ground in the middle was lost, and the one on his side was not stable either.
Those Xia troops seemed to be going crazy and were rushing forward bravely. The nearest place was already less than twenty meters away.
The Qing soldiers were resisting desperately, and the casualties on both sides were increasing sharply.
If there is no accident in the middle, Ashdar Khan is very confident to hold on, no matter how high the price is.
But now that it is passive in one place and everywhere, it is meaningless for the left wing to persist.
He grabbed the 16th Niulu Zhangjing Murtai, pointed at the Xia army that was attacking violently, and shouted: "Take your people and stay here. You are absolutely not allowed to retreat."
Murtagh was simple-minded and fought fiercely. He didn't think much about it when he received the order, and just nodded.
The cover and the troops at the rear were all arranged, and Ashdarhan knew that if he didn't run at this time, he would have no chance again.
The sound of the withdrawal horn resounded through the mountains, and the Qing soldiers who were struggling and frightened all felt like they had been granted amnesty. They withdrew from their positions under the leadership of their generals, and then rushed north along the path.
At the same time, although the Qing army on the right had not said hello to Ashdar Khan, they had the same idea and were retreating desperately.
There were more than 80,000 Qing coalition forces in Pingchang, twice the strength of the Fourth Division.
However, the gap in combat effectiveness between the two sides and the generation gap in weapons and equipment made the war one-sided.
Before Ashdar Khan escaped, he had already sent a fast horse back to Hongchuan and reported the situation to Dorgon who was guarding there.
On the Pingchang side, as the Qing army began to retreat, the Xia army's offensive pressure suddenly lightened.
The morale of all the troops was greatly boosted, and they rushed towards the Qing army that had been cut off from the rear and began to fight fiercely.
Lu Zhiqian, who was already very dissatisfied with being assigned the task of feint attack, had already made up his mind to turn the feint attack into a main attack. So he personally led the team to attack the top of the left wing.
Murtagh led three Niulu to resist desperately, and eventually it developed into a hand-to-hand fight.
He slashed three Xia army soldiers to death one after another with the sword he wielded, and he spotted Lu Zhiqian at a glance.
Although Lu Zhiqian's military uniform is the same as that of ordinary soldiers, he has a sword hanging on his body, which is the unique symbol of Xia Army officers.
Murtagh also understands the principle of capturing the thief first.
He shouted loudly, jumped down from a high place, and aimed his sword straight at Lu Zhiqian's head.
The wind behind him was like thunder, and of course Lu Zhiqian felt it. Without any time to think about it, he immediately swung his gun back to block it.
During the violent collision, Lu Zhiqian's palm went numb and the musket flew out of his hand.
Murtagh showed a ferocious smile, and swung the sword round again, trying to cut Lu Zhiqian in half.
Lu Zhiqian took two steps back and found that he was a general of the Qing army, and his fighting spirit was ignited.
He casually drew out his sword and slashed at it with all his strength.
Seeing that the sword in his hand was slender and narrow, and far inferior in weight to his own sword, Murtagh felt that he would win.
However, when the two knives collided with each other, with a loud bang, Murtagh's sword broke into two pieces.
This scene left him stunned and confused.
Lu Zhiqian did not hesitate too much, and the blade turned with the force, as bright as lightning, and chopped off Murtagh's head.
Murtagh only saw the light weight of Lu Zhiqian's sword, but he had no idea that this kind of sword was made of fine steel, which was far beyond what his wrought iron broadsword could compare with.
