Xiaokongtong Loess Fort is located on the high loess slope east of Dong Zhiyuan. It is the main form of military defense blockhouses and is a group of loess blockhouses. It was built in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. There are two main types of forts: one is made of stones
masonry stone
The other type is the loess blockhouse made of rammed clay. Among them, the four-corner loess blockhouse is the most majestic, with a height of more than 30 meters. Most of the loess blockhouses scattered in Dong Zhiyuan have been submerged in the dust of history or have been replaced by stone blockhouses.
replaced.
However, the Loess Blockhouse Group has still survived intact after experiencing various disasters, which has to be surprising. Because the Blockhouse Group is made of rammed yellow clay and is lavender in color, it is also called the Copper Blockhouse Group.
The Xiaokongtong loess blockhouse group stands high on the top of the mountain. The loess blockhouse group consists of three loess blockhouses, which are distributed in the Huizhai of Buchu Village within an area of 1,000 meters long from east to west and 350 meters wide from north to south. The blockhouses are square yellow blocks.
The earth blockhouse has a rectangular plane, with a base length of 100 meters, a width of 70 meters, and a wall thickness of 5 meters. The overall shape is larger at the bottom and smaller at the top.
It is divided into layers with built-in wooden floor frames. A small "T"-shaped window is opened in the middle of the four walls of each floor to serve as a lookout or shooting hole. There is a wooden bucket arch building on the top to protect it from wind and rain. There is a door at the bottom. The door is 2.1 meters high and 1.64 meters wide.
There is no decoration on the appearance of the blockhouse, and each side is as straight as a cut. The three yellow clay blockhouses have different heights, ranging from 18 meters to 20 meters.
The Xiaokongtong loess blockhouses form mutual horns and form a complete defense system. They are mainly used to defend against invasion and robbery during wartime. Once something happens, the old, young, women, and children of nearby households can take shelter inside. In peacetime, the blockhouses are mostly used to store grain and grass.
The Xiaokongtong Loess Blockhouse Group three-dimensionally reflects the Hui people's aesthetic tendency to pursue deep and passionate, simple and powerful, and strong sense of strength. This towering loess blockhouse group can show the Hui people's perseverance and mountains.
Dancing national personalities.
It was these three forts that allowed Xu Zhanbiao to return in vain, because these three forts not only formed a corner, preventing the Qing army from launching their offensive, but each fort also had four French cannons with high lethality of shotguns.
Huge. Due to the range, the cannons of the Qing army were too high to hit the top of the city. Therefore, the small Kongtong loess blockhouses became a roadblock for the Qing army to attack Dong Zhiyuan.
Xu Zhanbiao personally led the army to Xiao Kongtong, and the main officers from the North Road came. They all wanted to see the power of the imported Krupp cannon.
In Dong Zhiyuan, where there was ice and snow, thousands of civilians were building forts right under the enemy's noses. Li Ziying had been on the front line for three days and had overcome many difficulties during these three days. The artillery officer calculated the accurate distance.
Height. The engineers built three majestic wooden observation platforms, more than thirty meters high. Observers can climb up the observation platforms and observe the movements in the three forts one thousand meters away.
The Qing officers and soldiers who returned to the army were helpless to build observation towers and forts under their noses. Not far from the slope below the fort, there were heavy Qing soldiers guarding them, and they established a defensive offensive. The five battalions of the Anhui army Guo Baochang were like a ferocious beast, and they could attack at any time.
They were preparing to attack the returning troops. The Qing soldiers in the trench looked ferocious, and they were all talking about Deputy Commander Xu Zhanbiao's wise decision to kill them all, burn them all, and seize all the chickens and dogs, leaving nothing behind to avenge their dead comrades.
Guo Baochang personally directed the battle and was already at the forefront, preparing for the first wave of attacks. He looked at the three forts behind him and cursed, blaming Li Ziying for waiting for three days and still not seeing a single shell fall.
In the enemy's stronghold, no one can compare to the Anhui Army, which is fierce and stubborn, not afraid of death, and brave enough to climb the city to fight. This army is the direct descendant of Zuo Zongtang.
Although Guo Baochang was full of complaints about Zuo Zongtang, he immediately bowed his head in front of Zuo Zongtang. The hundreds of thousands of Qing troops in the northwest were under Zuo Zongtang's control. Zuo Zongtang would not bring troops without combat effectiveness.
Those who fought in the Shaanxi-Gansu area. Of course, most of the Qing troops were good at defending cities, and most of them defended the city.
Guard strategically important areas. These are the only troops that can be pulled out for field battles, about 50,000 to 60,000 horses. Because the prerequisite for field troops is cavalry, infantry can form an army with little equipment, and cavalry is a troop piled up with money.
, after the artillery was eliminated, the conditions for cavalry were the best.
"Grandma, why haven't you fired yet? What are you waiting for? Let's go and see what Deputy Marshal Xu is doing. Like an old woman with little feet, please be more relaxed." Guo Baochang was furious. In addition to being dissatisfied with Li Guolou, he had already vented his anger.
Deputy Commander Xu Zhanbiao kept looking at his pocket watch, and it was clear that the time was up. There were military orders saying that if the artillery was not fired at the agreed time, he should be beheaded.
On the fort, Xu Zhanbiao held up his telescope and looked at the fort a thousand meters away. He could see the muzzle of the Franchise cannon. He said seriously: "Li Guolou, the enemy's several cannons pose the greatest threat to our army. We must first remove the cannons."
Knock it off."
As the commander-in-chief of an army, Xu Zhanbiao had experienced hundreds of battles and nearly died, and his military exploits were achieved with one sword and one shot. He paid great attention to this battle when he visited the scene in person. The military orders were cruel and ruthless, and he kept his word, and what he wanted was a complete victory.
"Yes! I promise to complete the mission. My subordinates will knock down the earthen walls of the fortress and level all the bunkers that can be seen by sight." Li Guolou stroked the huge Krupp cannon and was confident in himself. Even the French
Also defeated by the Prussians, a fortress built of loess will be destroyed by powerful artillery fire.
"Well, let's start." Xu Zhanbiao issued the order, pinning his hopes for the offensive on the Krupp cannon. For the officers and soldiers of the Qing Dynasty, without these artillery, they would attack Dong Zhiyuan. With a military order, they would charge regardless of their own safety even to the death.
, relying on flesh and blood to build a new Great Wall.
These officers and soldiers of the Qing Dynasty who fought for the reunification of the motherland and territorial integrity are the pride of a country. Those who belittle them are all traitors.
"Yes!" Li Guolou raised his chest and waved the command flag. The time has come to prove his ability. He will use thunderbolt fury to smash those who have dreams of independence. To fight against the Qing Dynasty and oppression is to fight for independence. Let's start with
Local separatism began.
The artillery observer standing on the observation platform waved the command flag, and the flesh on Xun Xi's face trembled, and he howled: "Fire the artillery!"
boom!
The first huge cannonball, weighing forty kilograms, drew a graceful arc from the barrel and shot towards the high wall a thousand meters away.
The smoke filled the air, and everyone looked to the sky. The sparking iron ball carried the revival of the Qing Dynasty, allowing countless heroic soldiers to rush up the city wall with their flesh and blood without having to brave enemy fire.
There was a loud rumble, and the shell smashed the frame of a French cannon on the wall, and the trembling earthen wall trembled under the gunfire.
A returning artilleryman who was hiding behind the Franchise was blown to pieces, and another observer was hit by the fallen gun barrel, and the rolling barrel pressed on the observer's hands and feet.
"Fire!" Fan Ye from another fort commanded ten howitzers. The first round of artillery salvos fired into the fort together, causing a puff of smoke to rise.
"put!"
The Krupp cannon on the third fort erupted with fury, and the earthen wall of the third fortress withstood the first impact. With a roar, a huge piece of loess on the earthen wall fell down.
"Long live!"
The officers and soldiers of the Qing Dynasty who were hiding in the tunnels raised their arms and shouted, and all three forts received the punishment they deserved.
"Hit me hard!" Li Guolou waved his fist excitedly. The three forts were like a ferocious beast, causing countless heroic Qing officers and soldiers to fall under the walls. This time he wanted to avenge the dead heroes and turn the forts into ruins.
Those who resist have no reason to live.
boom!
boom!
boom!
The heavy cannonballs caused pieces of loess to fall from the trembling earthen walls. Those French cannons had long been buried in the loess, and several French cannons fell from the top of the city.
"Good! Well done!" Xu Zhanbiao praised the artillery loudly for the brilliant results. Without the French artillery for the returning defenders, the mortality rate of the Qing soldiers in the siege could be greatly reduced. But he also wanted to see more brilliant results.
, three forts form a corner
To break the enemy's fortifications, the three forts must be destroyed together. This attack is just a small test. When hundreds of artillery are pulled out, Dong Zhiyuan will be smashed to pieces and fall to the Qing Dynasty. Huanglong Banner will
It will be inserted all over the plateau of the motherland.
The smoke filled the air, and wave after wave of artillery shells hit the earthen walls of the three forts. The returning soldiers hiding in the fortifications not only had to avoid the shells, but the shells seemed to have eyes, and each shell hit the crowds.
smashed into place.
Guo Baochang cheered, and the loess poured down from the earthen wall of a fortress. He was eager to launch a charge, but the shells whizzing by above his head still did not stop. The heart hanging in his throat made him swallow the words again.
.
boom!
A watchtower with earthen walls was defeated. The returning soldiers hiding in the watchtower cried for their fathers and mothers. Hiding on the earthen wall, there was no safe place. The blind spot that they were originally proud of was also hit by artillery shells.
A watchtower disappeared from sight, leaving only a pile of rubble.
The officers and soldiers of the Qing Dynasty opened their mouths wide. The shocking shelling made them feel small. The earth walls were like quicksand, constantly moving, and the earth was shaking.
Incendiary bombs shot into the fort like firebirds, disappearing from the sight of the Qing officers and soldiers. The rising clouds of thick smoke indicated that a fire was already burning inside the fort.
No one could be seen on the earthen wall. The fragmented earthen wall was blasted with gaps one after another. In some places, it was possible to climb up without using a ladder. The three sturdy fortresses were destroyed by artillery fire. The returning soldiers hiding in the fortifications were blown away.
The flesh and blood were blurred, and the broken limbs and pieces of flesh were flying everywhere.
"Tick tick tick tick!" the loud bugle sounded, which was the bugle of Li Ziying issuing the clarion call for attack. The artillery on the fort was firing into the fort, allowing the soldiers on the front line to advance despite the artillery fire.
Guo Baochang waved his hand and shouted: "Charge, warriors of the Qing Dynasty!"
Amidst the roar of the mountains and the tsunami, thousands of Qing warriors carried loaded bayonets, carried a broad knife on their backs, bare arms, and carried bamboo ladders, and rushed up the mountain ridge. Countless Qing warriors, surrounded by darkness, braved artillery fire.
.Some of the artillerymen from Li Ziying carried bronze cannons and ammunition boxes, and followed the large army to climb the earth wall.
The war was very cruel and bloody, and honor was defended with blood, so whichever troop climbed to the top of the city would benefit the most. Guo Baochang's Anhui army accepted the most dangerous mission and did not allow others to interfere with everything in the three fortresses.
However, due to the attack by Li Ziying's artillery, Guo Baochang agreed to let 200 of Li Guolou's men participate in the fort climbing. As long as they lived, they could do whatever they wanted. This was the law of war. Even if Li Guolou did not burn, kill, and loot,
But the bestiality among his soldiers has already broken out. More than 2,000 people are vying for these 200 spots, and there are all kinds of people. Those who are not afraid of death must use killing to prove that they are qualified warriors.
A group of desperadoes from Li Ziying also participated in the climb to the top of the city. Several gunners in the vanguard climbed onto the mound, set up their bronze cannons and began to blast at the gap, turning the originally small gap into a large gap.
The bronze cannon was flexible and convenient, and two gunners could lift it up and run forward, firing at close range with perfect accuracy. Rumbling explosions came one after another, and there were gunners in every gap.
"Okay, okay! I want all these artillery battalions." Guo Baochang was excited. Guo Ziying, who was wealthy and wealthy, also wanted to build an artillery battalion.
After seeing the power of the cannon salvo, Guo Baochang had a new understanding. He still had to be willing to spend money where money should be spent. Like Li Ziying, who did not ask for anything from anyone, only he would come up to flatter Li Guolou. A modern army would
It should be so powerful. No wonder Li Ziying was able to wipe out more than 2,000 return army cavalry at one time. The return troops on the wall were easier to hit. With one round of fierce bombardment, how many of the return troops in the fortress were destroyed? I'm afraid it was on the earth wall.
Most of the soldiers who returned to the army died.
The returning troops guarding the fort had long been defeated. There were corpses on the earthen walls. Qing officers and soldiers with bayonets in their hands, led by team officers and sentry officers, rushed forward. There were gunshots, cannons, and trumpets.
, shouts of killing, gunpowder smoke filled the air, snow mountain lion flags were stuck on the tall earth walls, bronze cannons and howitzers were mounted on high places, blasting into the fortress, the picture of the war was so long and endless
So bloody.
"Okay! So many military flags have been put up! Well done to Guo Ziying." Deputy Commander Xu Zhanbiao rubbed his eyes and couldn't believe his eyes. There was no brutal battle to climb the city, and the ground was not piled with corpses of Qing soldiers.
The three forts are dotted with the flags of the Snow Mountain Lion Army.
"Glory! Glory belongs to the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty." Li Guolou's eyes were filled with tears. For a nation and a country, the soldiers of the Qing Dynasty who were not afraid of death sacrificed their youth and blood and used their loyalty and courage to prove the rise of the Chinese nation.