Zhu Si was quite hesitant. The current channel basically passed through the middle of the sandbar. The sandbars on both sides were flat. Except for a few reed swamps, the sight and shooting range on the sandbar were very wide. Not to mention the possibility of an ambush by a large group of people.
More than a dozen people can't hide.
But it's not possible on the waterway to the north. On one side is an open sandbank on the river, and on the other side are hills on the bank with lush vegetation. It's no problem to hide dozens or hundreds of people.
He was not worried about the bows and arrows of the officers and soldiers or the Yao people, but he had to guard against the opponent's firearms. When the teaching team was learning, the instructor pointed out many times that although the enemy's projectile firearms were primitive, they would be better if used under good concealment or protective conditions.
, then the killing power is still considerable, especially when the enemy ambushes, a successful sneak attack can often cause a large number of casualties to the troops.
But continuing to wander here is not an option. Zhu Si nodded: "Okay! Let's change the course!"
At this time, in Fengchuan County, more than ten miles downstream, Lieutenant Fubo Army, who was responsible for Fengchuan's security, was making arrangements for routine patrols for the next day and the more important task of covering the transport fleet on the Xijiang River.
Originally, such a county town could not be garrisoned by regular troops such as the Fubo Army, and a squadron of the National Army was standard. However, the sudden outbreak of the Yao Rebellion made this place suddenly become important.
Fengchuan, an important town established when the Central Plains entered Lingnan during the pre-Qin period, is a well-deserved key to the two rivers. Although it is not as prominent as the governor-general town of Zhaoqing, nor as developed and prosperous as Wuzhou in Huijin, Guangdong and Guangxi, it is nothing more than an ordinary county town with old city walls.
, the dilapidated buildings are similar to many county towns that the South China Army passed through, making it difficult for the passing veterans to take a second look. However, the geographical location of the intersection of Jiangxi River and Jiangxi River still makes it necessary to insert it on the map of the General Staff Headquarters.
A bright red flag.
Let’s not talk about the significance of Fengchuan County to Xijiang for the moment. The Hejiang River that flows into the Xijiang River from in front of the county seat is the lifeline directly to Hezhou and Lianzhou. If anything goes wrong in Fengchuan, the Fubo Army who is going deep into this area to quell the chaos will
The supply of food and wages was endless. As the scale of the Yao Rebellion further expanded, Fengchuan's status as a transportation hub became increasingly important. The joint logistics not only set up a military station here, but also set up a field hospital specifically for the treatment and transportation of the wounded.
land.
A large number of materials and personnel have to be transferred here, and the temporary storage yard is piled up like a mountain. Once the enemy sneak attacks, even just setting a fire will make Minister Hong jump, let alone the troops fighting deep in Lianzhou and other places and the troops trapped in Lianzhou.
, the National Army in the county towns of Hezhou and other places.
For this reason, Zhu Mingxia had to deploy a company to garrison Fengchuan despite the shortage of troops. The National Army headquarters in Guangdong also sent an additional National Army squadron here. Their mission was the same as that of the National Army brigade in Wuzhou: to defend the city.
In addition, motorized vessels are used to carry out powerful patrols along the river to promptly eliminate various potential threats to shipping.
Lieutenant Mi Longtao of the Fubo Army came to Fengchuan County in this way. As soon as he and his company arrived in Fengchuan, in addition to strengthening the defense of the county, he also set up a position on the top of Tashan Mountain ten miles away from the city on the north bank of the Xijiang River. Although this mountain
It is inconspicuous, but the view is excellent. When the weather is good, Wuzhou City can be seen from the top of the tower without a telescope. It can also monitor a large area of Xijiang and Hejiang at the same time. In terms of terrain, it and the county seat are located on the north and south banks of the Xijiang River, and are mutually exclusive.
The horn can effectively defend the estuary at the intersection of the two rivers. Mi Longtao deployed a squadron and several artillery pieces here. He also specially dispatched observation posts with high-power telescopes and communication troops equipped with semaphores and light signaling equipment.
Mi Longtao was arranging tasks when suddenly the correspondent knocked on the door and came in, reporting an emergency at the Tashan observation post.
"What's going on?" Mi Longtao is not too surprised - because there have been quite a few such "emergency situations" recently. Small groups of bandits and armed Congyao people often appear on both sides of the Xijiang River, attacking villages and passing ships. Although in most cases
They can't break through the fortified villages, nor can they seize the ships of the transport fleet, but every attack will cause high tension in Fengchuan County - after all, there are too many supplies piled up here.
"The observation post reported: They saw that a convoy of six ships was blocked at the first beach of the upper reaches of the county. The smoke from the fleet did not move significantly for a long time, and there was vague gunfire."
"Command Tashan, keep observing, and report any situation in time!"
After the correspondent left, Mi Longtao glanced at the map. There was enemy activity in Jieshoutan. The situation in this area was really not optimistic. He raised his head and glanced at his subordinates gathered around the table and said:
"Needless to say, they must be the patrol fleet of the Wuzhou National Army that was scheduled to arrive in Fengkai at noon today. In all likelihood, they have encountered some kind of trouble." He turned to ask a man at the table who was wearing Ming Dynasty indigenous clothes and had long hair.
A middle-aged man with a bun and a beard asked, "What's going on outside the city these days?"
The middle-aged man is the captain of the Fengkai County Detective Team. He is responsible for collecting intelligence inside and outside Fengkai County. Most of his subordinates are locals. Although the personnel are not very reliable, the intelligence collected is very useful and he is an important eyes and ears for the local garrison.
.
"Recently, the spies have not reported any news of the arrival or gathering of large groups of enemies - so I think even if they encounter an attack, it should be a small-scale harassment." The middle-aged man seemed confident. Even though he looked like a native of the Ming Dynasty,
In fact, he is an old naturalized citizen who has received special training from the Foreign Intelligence Service.
According to the standards of the Foreign Intelligence Service, a group of more than 100 armed personnel is called a large group of enemies. Once a team exceeds 100 people, it will be very conspicuous whether it is to ensure food supply or marching accommodation. It is difficult to ensure concealment and it is impossible not to be attacked.
The detective teams operating on both sides of the Xijiang River discovered.
However, if it is harassed by a small group of armed forces, there is no need for the escort fleet to stop. According to the escort patrol regulations, if the fleet encounters a small-scale harassment attack, it can just use the firepower on the ship to fight back. It is not necessary to land and fight, so as not to fall into the enemy
The trap. Although Lieutenant Mi did not know Zhu Si and Li Dong, he believed that the commander of the fleet knew this rule.
Now that the fleet is stationary, it means that they have encountered insurmountable troubles. As a result, he had to send out troops to respond.
"The enemy situation is currently unknown, and we must remain vigilant. I will lead a platoon to board the ship immediately and rush upstream to check the situation. The deputy company commander will lead the second platoon to stand by at the dock. The agreed signal: one green flare is safe, and one red flare is
If there is any enemy situation, reinforcements will be sent immediately. The second platoon will board the ship and come to meet me. The rest of the personnel will all enter combat positions!"
"yes!"
"Order the Tashan post to strengthen vigilance and observe the enemy's situation in the direction of Hejiang." Mi Longtao added.
After giving the order, Mi Longtao took off the command knife on the wall and tied it on: "Play the assembly drum!"
Just when the Fengchuan garrison began to beat the rally drum and prepare to take the initiative to send out rescue, Li Dong, Zhu Si and others had already encountered swarms of bees several times on the Northern Channel.
I don’t know where the enemy had plundered this thing from. The entire convoy entered the Northern Channel cautiously. Everything went smoothly, and they completed almost half of the journey calmly. At this time, suddenly there was a chirping sound from the shore.
The sound of arrows piercing the air was followed by dozens of black smoke, spraying out from the woods in the direction of the fleet.
"A swarm of bees!" Zhu Si at the head of the team called out - in Denglai, he had seen Sun Junmen's subordinates practice this thing. A long hexagonal wooden barrel can be carried by one person. After lighting it, a few
Ten rockets shot out, and the scene was very spectacular.
Before he finished speaking, these rockets flew towards the fleet. In fact, these rockets were exactly the same as the swarm of swarms that Zhu Si saw in the martial arts field: flying up and down - Zhu Si didn't know that there was a swarm of swarms in the world.
The formula called Brownian motion can perfectly describe the scene he saw. But the scene of dozens of rockets dragging black smoke in the sky was quite shocking, and the National Army soldiers on the ship suddenly became commotion.
"Don't be chaotic!" Zhu Si drew out his command sword and waved it, "Calm down! Calm down!"
Although the trajectory of the swarm of rockets is very strange and almost without accuracy, the general direction of shooting is still correct, and it is no problem to use it to carry out area strikes. Seven or eight of these dozens of rockets hit one
The No. 1 boat and the No. 3 boat that followed were bounced away by the bamboo shields and iron plates. The most threatening shot hit the observation tower of the No. 1 boat, startling the observation post above, and quickly fired
His head shrank behind the iron guardrail.
"Signal, move forward at full speed, and get out of here!" Zhu Si ordered loudly.
At this time, the second group of "swarms" shot out again, then the third group, the fourth group..., one after another "swarms" shot out towards the fleet. The enemy came through the dense forest on the shore.
, put it down and left. Although no casualties were caused, the continuous rocket attacks, the black smoke in the air, the whistling sound of rockets and the tearing and bouncing sounds of sharp arrows hitting the barrier,
This made the soldiers of the National Army who had not been trained for a long time panic. Although most of them claimed to be officers and soldiers in the past, they actually had no combat experience. The training after being incorporated into the National Army only focused on queues and discipline, and they would only mechanically follow the orders of their superiors.
They were ordered to line up, march, thrust and fire volleys - many of them had not even fired live ammunition from Nanyang rifles.
Feeling nervous and fearful, the heavy matchlock gunners opened fire indiscriminately without waiting for orders - this kind of firing had neither target nor aim, and was no different from the practice of many Ming soldiers who fired volleys of firearms to embolden their courage during battles. Turtle Dove
The cannons not only fired randomly at the north shore, but also received many shots on the sandbank in the south where there was no trace of human beings at all.
Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 357