On June 29, 1630, the Fubo Army field army entered the camp under Chengmai City. He Ming set up the camp two kilometers northwest of Chengmai County, less than 200 meters away from the post road. If you want to pass through to Lingao from Yi Road, you must capture this place.
The main camp is a large pentagonal-shaped camp built according to a bastion-style defense system. The entire camp is protected by an earth embankment as high as a person, with artillery and bunkers set up on the embankment. Below the embankment are deep trenches and deer villages. As usual, a tall watchtower was built on the earth embankment. With the help of high-power telescopes, every move within more than ten kilometers around Chengmai County can be clearly seen.
He Ming ordered: Immediately cut off all contact between Chengmai County and the outside world. Hidden posts have been set up outside the three gates of the county. Anyone who attempts to enter or exit the city will be arrested.
Seeing that it was impossible to enter and exit the city gate, the government sent people to lower the city wall to enter and exit. Bei Wei ordered the snipers of the special reconnaissance team to ambush the surrounding area with bolt-action rifles with scopes. In the following days, all attempts were made. Everyone who came in and out of the city was shot to death under the city wall. Then someone tried to launch the city at night, but fatal gunshots would still be heard in the dark night. In the morning, people who tried to leave the city were often dead under the city wall. No matter how dark it was. Even night cannot protect them.
Judging from the killed soldiers in the city, almost without exception they were carrying emergency reports. The captured reports were quickly sent to the headquarters for dismantling. In addition to the clichéd requests for help and false claims of victory, they had already destroyed the city. Everything I saw above my head was written down in detail in the Tong Bao.
He Ming ordered: "Surround the city immediately and do not allow the enemy to spy on our army!"
"Bang."
With the crisp sound of the SKS rifle, a country hero who was lying between the battlements and peering into the city swayed and fell.
"Hit! Shot in the chest!" The soldiers on the watchtower used high-powered binoculars to monitor the movements on the city wall.
"It's 7:2 now, you have to work hard." Bei Wei said with a smile. Behind him stood five or six soldiers from the special reconnaissance team. Yang Zeng, the commander of the light infantry company of the 1st Infantry Battalion, stood beside him. There were also Several light infantrymen with green sash.
They were standing on a small mound almost 200 meters away from the city wall. From this distance, the bows, arrows and firearms on the top of Chengmai City were useless.
The special reconnaissance team and the light infantry were standing here. They were originally tasked with clearing the enemy troops at the top of the city. He Ming ordered that the enemy not be allowed to spy on the movements of the field troops below the city. The light infantry of each battalion used precise shooting to clear out the enemies at the top of the city. , while practicing actual combat shooting skills. It turned out to be a competition between the special reconnaissance team and the light infantry. The targets were all the people and village warriors standing on the walls of Chengmai City.
"The guns used by the special reconnaissance team are better than ours," Yang Zeng was a little unconvinced. The special reconnaissance team used Australian fast guns. Both the rate of fire and accuracy were much higher than the Mini rifles they used, and their range was much higher. There is no smoke when the gun is fired. Some guns also have mirrors, which can hit the target at an incredible distance.
"Oh, okay, I'll use the Minie rifle too." Bei Wei said, throwing the SKS rifle in his hand to the soldiers behind him and replacing it with a Minie rifle.
Judging from the English letters wlb stamped on the stock of this Mini rifle, this should be one of the earliest rifles assembled from seamless steel pipes and parts from the old time and space. The gun is well maintained. Bei Wei looked at it and said,
There is also a j+ mark on the butt, which is a sign of a high-precision rifle, indicating that this rifle can be used by snipers.
"This gun is good!" he praised, and asked Yang Zeng, "Is it yours?"
Yang Zeng said: "It's mine. Nowadays, only the sharpshooters in the light infantry company are equipped with this kind of gun."
Bei Wei gestured, took a round of paper-wrapped ammunition, and loaded the gun skillfully. The special reconnaissance team also conducted shooting training with Mini rifles, and even used various captured British, Portuguese, and
We have conducted shooting training with the bird guns and three-eyed gun made by the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty in order to be able to shoot with various weapons at hand in an emergency.
Bei Wei put the gun against his cheek several times, tried to aim again, and then shouted: "Indicate the target!"
"Ahead at 2 o'clock!" the soldier on the guard tower shouted.
The barrel of the Mini rifle quickly pointed in this direction, and then Bei Wei saw a figure flashing behind the battlements. He did not fire, but paid close attention to the nearby battlements.
Sure enough, he saw figures beside three or four battlements. It was almost entirely a subconscious reaction of his body that he adjusted his posture in an instant and pulled the trigger.
The bullet grazed Xiang Yong, who was spying, and shattered a brick on the battlement. Xiang Yong was so frightened that he fell to the ground.
There was a burst of laughter on the mound. Bei Wei smiled and shook his head: "Almost!"
The accuracy of the Mini rifle cannot be compared with that of a rifle like the SKS. If he had used an SKS, or even a bolt-action rifle, he would have been able to quickly make up for the missed shot. This is not possible with the Mini rifle.
.
"I'll do it!" Yang Zeng was eager to try. He took back his J+ Mini rifle, reloaded, "Indicate the target!"
The observation post reported: "Enemy, direction 11 o'clock ahead."
Yang Zeng concentrated and held his breath.
"Bang——"
"Hit! Shot in the shoulder!"
"This kid! He hid quickly!" Yang Zeng said, "He hid behind the crenel!"
"The enemy is moving an artillery piece!" the observation post on the tower suddenly shouted. "Direction 9 o'clock!"
"***shoot!" Bei Wei ordered.
The gunshots rang out chaotically. Because it was a gunman who fired the gun, there was a lot of controversy over who fired the gun at the target. From time to time on the mound, there were arguments about who shot a certain target.
debate.
The civilians who were moving the artillery were shot and fell down one after another, while the remaining people lay under the battlements and did not dare to move.
"Quick, push the artillery!" The commander of the army behind the guard waved his knife and threatened to behead, forcing the civilians to continue moving the artillery.
The villagers almost had to lie on the ground to move the cannon to the firing position facing the mound.
Bei Wei did not issue an order to enter the hidden trench. The largest artillery in Chengmai City was only a few bowl-mouth cannons. These were cannons from the middle of the Ming Dynasty. They were not as good as the medium-sized Folang machine cannon. The range was only a hundred meters at best.
You can't hit the mound at all.
Sure enough, the hastily fired cannon produced no effect other than emitting a plume of smoke on the city wall and slightly obscuring the sniper's sight.
After the smoke dissipated, a new round of shooting caused several gunners to fall down. The gunner hid behind the battlements unwillingly, waving a knife and forcing other civilians to come up and continue firing.
Through the telescope, Bei Wei could see a general sword waving between the battlements, but he never showed any signs of his presence. He seemed to be a very cunning guy.
He felt a little pity for those sallow and skinny Minzhuang and Xiangyong, who were forced to die in vain in batches - even if they were only injured, the possibility of death was very high under the medical conditions of the Ming Dynasty.
"Get my 308 rifle!" Bei Wei ordered.
A Saiga-308 semi-automatic rifle came into his hands. This gun uses Nato's 7.62mm bullets. Its firing kinetic energy and penetrating power are much greater than Mini bullets and M43 bullets.
He raised his rifle, and the knife was still waving among the battlements, as if he was still intimidating the people to continue loading the cannon. He estimated the distance, wind force and human body size, slightly adjusted the muzzle of the gun and pulled the trigger.
Yang Zeng and others only saw dust and masonry fragments flying on the battlements with the sound of gunfire, and blood spurted out like raindrops from behind the battlements in an instant.
Blood spots sprayed all the way to the brick wall of the south gate tower. Everyone was startled, and then everyone cheered together. There was a dead silence on the city wall.
This terrifying competition wiped out all the defenders on the city wall. Min Zhuang and Xiang Yong could only lie down behind the battlements, secretly peeking at the conditions of the thieves through the perforations. Even this was not safe, not only
Once, the bullet went directly through the narrow hole and shattered the head of Xiang Yong who was peeping.
Beginning on July 3, the morale in Chengmai City began to collapse. The people and village braves clamored and were unwilling to defend the city. The Chengmai County Magistrate attempted suicide in the chaos. Later, the master advised him not to rush to die in the city -
The bandits didn't look like they were planning to capture the city, so it was better to wait and see.
The special reconnaissance team then established a shielding layer with a radius of 10 kilometers with Chengmai County as the center. Any government agents, Tang horses and even ordinary people who entered this shielding layer would capture or kill them.
He Ming's idea was very clear: the enemy was outnumbered and we were outnumbered. With the combat effectiveness and weapon advantages of the field army, it would not be difficult for the entire army to form an array outside Chengmai City and defeat He Rubin's troops in one battle. The difficulty was to ensure that most of the prisoners were captured.
This forced him to ambush some of his troops in other directions so that the enemy could not retreat to Qiongshan, let alone flee in all directions.
The general situation around Chengmai County is that Chengmai County is located on the south bank of a small river, about three kilometers from the coastline. This river is not only the moat of the county, but also forms a river branch triangle in the south of the city. However, this river
It is very shallow. Before the rainy season, the water depth is only 1 meter at most, which cannot form an effective obstacle. To the northwest of the county is a peninsula called Xiaoyingchang. There is an abandoned village on the peninsula. There is a well in the village, but according to
Pre-war reconnaissance revealed that the wells had been contaminated by halogen and were unfit for drinking. The post road from Qiongshan passed outside the south gate of the county and then turned northwest.
After repeated calculations, he decided to use only two battalions, supported by artillery, to hold the main camp to block the Ming army from passing through the post road. The third battalion was on standby in the mountains east of the county seat, waiting for an opportunity to cut off the retreat of the army while forcing them to continue.
Moving closer to the brigade, the 5th Battalion lay in ambush in the south of the city, waiting for an opportunity to launch an attack. It roughly formed a siege for the Ming army.
Of course, based on the strength of the field army, such an encirclement is not tight. Only by relying on the better mobility and powerful firepower of the Fubo Army soldiers can we intercept the enemy with a smaller number of troops. If the opponent has one or two
A general with outstanding organizational skills and good judgment can organize his troops to break out of the encirclement in time. Therefore, he still has to keep the last 6th Infantry Battalion in his hand as a reserve force.
The combat idea is simple: intercept the Ming army, defeat it, and then push its remnants toward the coastline.
Intercepting nearly 20,000 enemy troops with 1,800 infantrymen from 2 battalions is an amazing thing just from a numerical comparison. He Ming believes that the problem will not be too big, with enough artillery and fortifications, although the victory may not be easy enough.
But enough to fend off enemies.
"No matter how many people He Rubin has, it is impossible to send them all up to charge - and there is no way to set up a formation here. He will definitely be able to attack with only a few elite troops." He Ming explained his determination to fight to the officers.
"It is difficult for the enemy to outflank and launch a flank attack: north of the camp, we have artillery support from the navy. If he wants to send troops to the north of the camp to attack, he will fall under double artillery fire from the navy and our camp, and he will be attacked from both sides."
After the plan was finalized, the 1st and 4th Battalions, who were responsible for holding the position, reinforced the position of the main camp. In addition to the artillery of the artillery battalion, spare artillery brought by the artillery trainees were also deployed on the camp to intercept the enemy.
A few 12-pound mountain howitzers were reinforced by the 3rd and 5th Infantry Battalions for use as mobile firepower.
Then he called Bei Wei over: "Can you guarantee a 10-kilometer radius of interception?"
"Okay." Bei Wei said without hesitation, "I have deployed multiple lurking posts and patrol teams to ensure that no one within a 20-kilometer radius can detect our movements."
"Are there enough troops?"
"Barely enough. I have ordered all the special reconnaissance teams, except the training team and the Sanya team, to go to Chengmai immediately to await call - they will arrive in the evening. Once these teams arrive, the interception will be more reliable."
"This matter is crucial." He Ming emphasized again and again. All his plans are based on the mobility of the troops. No matter how strong the mobility of the Fubo Army is, it relies on two legs, so the ambush troops cannot leave the battle area for too long.
Far away, otherwise it will be difficult to arrive in time to participate in the battle. Since we are ambushing nearby, we must completely block all enemy reconnaissance, so that they cannot grasp the movement.
According to the materials provided by the historical data group, the Ming army placed 24 ponds during normal marches, about 20 miles away, and the Tanma ranged 30 miles in front, back, left, and right. Moreover, the Ming army's Tanma were all cavalry, and their maneuverability was quite impressive. In addition,
The Ming army may have sent a spy to visit in advance. Therefore, blocking the enemy's eyes and ears has become an important matter.
After meeting Bei Wei, Chen Haiyang also came ashore to discuss cooperation with him. The two parties agreed on communication signals and methods. Chen Haiyang also ordered the ten typewriters on the battleship to be dismantled and landed along with the shooters and ammunition to assist in the defense.
By this time, all units of the field army were fully prepared for battle. Not only did each unit know its own battle plan, but they also conducted on-the-spot surveys of the battlefield where the battle was about to begin to avoid missing anything.
On the morning of July 3, the scouts of the special reconnaissance team in Qiongshan sent a report: "The entire enemy force has been dispatched." The second counter-encirclement and suppression campaign officially kicked off.
He Rubin's army set out from Qiongshan and moved forward along the post road. In the battle, his attitude was still prudent. For this reason, as soon as he left Qiongshan, he sent a large number of scouts to investigate the situation.
Chaozhou General Tong Yizhen led a dozen generals and more than 2,000 soldiers in front. At the front were 300 cavalry led by his subordinate Qian Zhanran, who were ready to quickly attack and cover the enemy if they encountered them on the road.
The large group of infantry and firearms behind them unfolded.
Cavalry is a very useful unit, but there are not many cavalry available in Guangdong, so the entire army stopped with 800 cavalry. He Rubin believed that cavalry was of little use in Hainan. This time, most of the cavalry was focused on sieges and sieges, so it would be better to bring more cavalry.
It's useless. Moreover, the news everywhere says that the bandits lack mules and horses and do not pose a threat.
Huizhou General Yan Zungao led 2,000 soldiers to break up the rear. They were the firearms battalion led by Li Baidao, the general commander of the firearms battalion. Most of the heavy artillery was pulled by oxen, and there were many vehicles, so the marching speed was very slow, and they were second to last.
.Before the Firearms Battalion is the Ladder Battalion. This is a professional unit specially used to attack cities and seize strongholds. Six hundred Ladder Soldiers carry disassembled ladders and many equipment. In case it is necessary to attack the stronghold directly, the Ladder Soldiers will be responsible.
Strike forward.
The Chinese army of Zhenbiao camp was guarding Sun Changzuo, and Ye Zhengfang led a dozen generals, 1,500 soldiers of Biao camp and 500 servants of He Rubin to guard the old camp. Zhao Ruyi and his staff followed the old camp because they were sending troops to fight him.
He expressed that he wanted to march on horseback, but He Rubin still took care to prepare a sedan chair and three teams of bearers for him at any time.
He Rubin led his soldiers and some of the main generals in front of the old camp. People on the post road were shouting and smoke was billowing. Although it rained continuously in the past few days, the weather has been better these days and the sunshine has been very bright.
In addition, the road was very dusty, so many soldiers drank all the water in their earthen jars and skin bags before walking very far.
Almost every time they came to a river with clear water, soldiers and horses would crowd to the river to drink water. People crowded and horses neighed, making a mess.
"Tell the generals to leave quickly!" He Rubin urged his generals not to let the soldiers stay by the river for too long, lest they disrupt the ranks and be attacked by the enemy.
However, the enemy obviously had no intention of making a surprise attack. Even in such a high-risk state as the entire army was wading across the river, the detective horse found no trace of enemy activity nearby.
The released 24 Tangtang horses kept sending back reports that everything was safe. He Rubin felt relieved.
"Send orders to all armies, no delay!" he ordered.
The normal distance between Qiongshan and Chengmai is only half a day's journey. If the officers and soldiers walk an average of 20 to 30 miles a day, this journey can take three or four days. However, Hainan is different from other places. There are very few prefectures and counties along the way.
Not to mention, the rural areas are also very poor. Unless there are prefectures and counties like Qiongshan and Danzhou that have official warehouses with large reserves of grain, they will not be able to supply a large army. If they march slowly according to the old rules, they will
The food carried by the army was exhausted in advance. He Rubin ordered the generals to urge all ministries to advance as soon as possible.