"Double shotgun! Fire!" Following the command of the artillery officer, two 12-pound mountain grenades were fired at the same time mixed with the volley of rifles. The storm of projectiles swept across the entire formation, and the charge collapsed without any suspense.
.
Sha Jianbi led the Chinese army to attack the 1st Infantry Battalion twice more, but was repulsed each time. Seeing that the ranks of the officers and soldiers were gradually becoming chaotic, many soldiers were unwilling to attack the thieves' guns and contradict the officers.
After receiving the order, some people even used knives. One of his generals who wanted to rectify the team was dragged off his horse and killed.
He was breathing heavily and felt that nothing could be done. At the moment, he could only retreat to a safe place and wait for the arrival of the follow-up troops. The two sides would join forces and then make plans. He immediately ordered people to blow the conch and let all the troops move forward slightly.
Fall back and gather together.
Just when he was about to retreat, Zhu Mingxia, who had been waiting for an opportunity, immediately ordered the 4th Battalion, which was waiting behind the mountain, to repeat its old trick and suddenly rush out, sweeping directly across the flanks of the army.
The army, which had already been shaken in morale, was suddenly attacked by such a force. After a little resistance, many people turned around and ran away. This kind of escape was contagious. The organized and orderly retreat of the officers and soldiers ended, followed by
There was chaos, scrambling for their lives, and trampling on each other. The soldiers who escaped not only dropped their flags, weapons, and even their helmets.
Sha Jianbi even killed several soldiers, but still could not stop the terrible situation of total collapse, so he had no choice but to no longer care about the lives of his soldiers, and had no time to think about issues such as questioning after the loss of the army, and took dozens of soldiers with him
Flee in despair.
The officers and soldiers fled so fast that the 4th Infantry Battalion could hardly encircle them. They only intercepted some of the officers and soldiers. The loudspeakers kept shouting "He who surrenders will avoid death." Many people were exhausted and could only drop their weapons and kneel down.
Surrender on the ground.
Zhu Mingxia personally led his troops in pursuit for two to three kilometers, captured hundreds of exhausted soldiers, and seized many supplies and armor. Then he stopped the pursuit and gathered the troops quickly.
"Beat the rally drum! Gather the troops."
The drummers quickly stood in a row and started beating the drums. After about ten minutes, the troops that had dispersed began to consider the direction of the military flag from all directions.
The special reconnaissance team was already warning him: the enemy's follow-up troops were not far away from him.
He thought for a moment. The enemy's follow-up troops were approaching. According to the report of the special reconnaissance team, there were 2,000 people. If they continued the defensive counterattack mode just now, the soldiers had been fighting continuously for almost a day since the morning, and their physical strength and ammunition were consumed a lot.
Fighting another battle may not be as easy as the first two, and the battlefield is being cleaned to capture prisoners at the foot of Shishan. Once the officers and soldiers invest in new troops, all these things will be interrupted.
Considering this, he made a prompt decision: he decided to lead the 4th Battalion directly to face the reinforcements, follow the broken troops in pursuit, use the broken troops to disrupt the reinforcements, and then directly go into battle to defeat the entire army.
Seeing that the troops had been assembled, he called Xiong Maozhang on the walkie-talkie:
"I'm going to fight the follow-up troops. Hurry up and take the prisoners to clean up the battlefield!"
As he said that, he immediately led the entire battalion, shouted and chased down Sha Jianbi on the post road in the direction of his defeat.
Sha Jianbi pushed his defeated troops down for more than ten miles. He originally thought that the enemy had stopped pursuing him. He was about to pack up his troops to join Li Guang's reinforcements. At this time, he heard another burst of fighting and shouting from the rear troops, especially
Among them were the sounds of horns and snare drums unique to the Kun thieves. He knew that if he ran away at this time, not only would his entire army be annihilated, but even Li Guang's 2,000 men would be overrun by his defeated army, so he immediately ordered people on the post road.
He set up his own big flag on a small hill nearby and personally led his servants and soldiers to gather the troops.
However, the sound of gunfire and artillery fighting from the rear group was approaching, and the officers and soldiers who had no fighting spirit were unwilling to continue fighting and collapsed one after another. Sha Jianbi even beheaded several fleeing soldiers but still could not stop fleeing. At the last moment, he had no choice but to
I saw Cao Xiangjiao retreating from behind covered in blood. His forward battalion was on guard for a short time before all the men and horses dispersed. He only escaped from the rice field with the desperate rescue of several soldiers. He was on the road just now.
With great difficulty, he gathered some more troops. When he heard the sound of the enemy's pursuit, he led his troops back to resist, and was quickly defeated. Cao Xiangjiao was wounded by a bullet and managed to escape here with great difficulty.
"General, leave quickly!" Cao Xiangjiao shouted, "The bandits are catching up with me again! General, I will hold off here for a while!" He shouted and returned with a wave of his sword.
Sha Jianbi wanted to hold on for a while longer, but the soldiers around him were already in disarray. Regardless of whether he gave orders or not, they directly surrounded him and fled back.
Cao Xiangjiao and his soldiers stood on the post road for a while, watching the tide of defeated soldiers passing by. Until there were no more people on the road, he led several of his soldiers to throw away the flag and go to the grove on the roadside.
Escape.
Zhu Mingxia's pursuit prevented the defeated army of officers and soldiers from stopping to reorganize. They were routed all the way for seven or eight miles, and all the 2,000 people Li Guang brought with him were overwhelmed. Li Guang's attempt to clean up his men was also wrapped up by the rogue soldiers and headed for Chengdu.
As they retreated in the direction of Mai, Zhu Mingxia led his troops to pursue them closely. They pursued them for another five or six miles and captured a large number of prisoners.
In a series of battles around Shishan, the officers and soldiers suffered heavy losses. Not only did they lose a large number of weapons and horses, but the 7,000 men who reinforced Shishan three times returned only less than 3,000 people. Those who did not return were either lying dead on the battlefield or were killed.
The thieves were captured and one of the generals was lost. This completely ruined the statement that the generals and staff had unanimously said that "the thieves are not good at fighting in the field". A large number of defeated troops fled back to the camp, causing the morale in the Chengmai camp to drop to the bottom.
point. Many generals and officers were already packing up their things and preparing to flee. There was a lot of noise and confusion in the camp. He Rubin and Zhao Ruyi tried their best to send people to comfort and suppress them, and they also collected all the defeated soldiers into a separate battalion to avoid them.
Talking about it everywhere.
Ye Zhengfang, who was in charge of the suppression, killed more than 20 soldiers and junior officers in each camp who were inciting to escape. He Rubin's Zhenbiao and servants remained calm, and the once chaotic atmosphere in the entire camp finally calmed down.
.
General He Rubin and other major generals all gathered in the big tent for a meeting to discuss countermeasures. Some of the generals advocated an immediate return of the entire army to the east, opening a road from Shishan back to Qiongshan to camp and rest, while some advocated a confrontation on the spot and sending troops there tomorrow.
Attacking Shishan. Sha Jianbi believed that the Kun bandits were outnumbered. The actual number of people defending Shishan was only 2,000. If 5,000 men were dispatched to attack at once, and at the same time ordered the remaining troops in Qiongshan to attack from both front and rear, the Kun bandits could be forced to abandon Shishan.
But everyone did not agree with this arithmetic, because a total of 7,000 people were sent today, and they were all defeated. What use would it be to send another 5,000 people?
"Today our army committed the crime of underestimating the enemy." He Rubin said, "General Yan, General Sha and General Li entered the battlefield three times. Each time our army did not gain the upper hand. The enemy used firearms to defend the stronghold and waited for work.
, our army traveled a long distance and attacked with hungry and exhausted troops. It was originally beyond its capabilities, so it was unable to defeat the enemy."
He Rubin was very prepared in his judgment of the battlefield situation. He clearly realized that he had made the mistake of "adding fuel to the fire" because of his impatience. He was unwilling to retreat. Once he returned to Qiongshan, the Kun thieves would surely come back and clear up the enemy.
If you try to capture it, you will lose your troops, your territory, your generals, and the consequences will be disastrous.
Therefore, he advocated sticking to the local area and continuing to send heavy troops to open up the connection with Qiongshan. He estimated that the Kun thieves had limited strength and food and could not divide their troops for a long time. As long as the stalemate between the two sides continued, the Kun thieves would inevitably retreat from Shishan.
After taking stock of the grain and grass army, there are still more than ten days of grain in stock, and the grain depot in Chengmai County also has a lot of grain in stock. In total, the entire army can last for half a month.
"It's just this food and grass..." Zhao Ruyi asked a little doubtfully. Half a month's food and grass reserves can't make people rest assured.
"Within three to five days, we must first open up the grain road with all our strength!" He Rubin said, "If necessary, we can then transport grain by sea!"
"The Kun Thief Navy is so powerful, I'm afraid I won't be able to do what I want."
"This is a precautionary measure." He Rubin said and shouted:
"General Tang!"
Tang Yunwen knew that this "good job" must be found on his head, so he immediately stood up and responded: "The humble general is here!"
"Can the navy transport grain from Qiongshan with confidence?"
Tang Yunwen did not dare to say "not sure", so he had to say: "This matter can be done, but the cost of repairing the ships under General Bei's command over the years has never been enough, and there are not many available ships..."
"There are still sealed merchant ships and fishing boats in Haikou, you can call them."
"Yes!" Tang Yunwen said, "Please give the commander the arrows immediately, and I will send someone back to handle it immediately."
He Rubin said: "No, you go back and handle it in person. I'll give you ten days. The food and grass must be delivered! Otherwise, don't blame this town for naming strict ginseng!"
"Yes, the humble general will live up to his command!" Tang Yunwen was happy and worried at the same time. He was so happy that he had escaped from this inevitable defeat - unlike other generals and staff, he was fully aware of the strong military power of the Kun thieves and the officers and soldiers.
There is no doubt that this time it will be a failure. The worry is that although it is not impossible to supply food by sea, it is not sure whether it can be supplied within ten days. Once the army is defeated, He Rubin will shirk his responsibility for failing to supply food on time.
Excuses. When the time comes, there will be no excuses.
That night, Tang Yunwen quietly boarded a fishing boat in Xiaoyingchang with a small number of his followers, and quietly left along the coastline at night, heading for Qiongshan. His troops were led by Chen Renjie, the general manager of Baisha Village
In order to provide supplies from the sea, He Rubin decided to reoccupy Xiaoyingchang. This time, the officers and soldiers fully learned their lesson and not only dispatched 2,000 troops, but also strengthened many firearms and prepared to defend to the death.
In the following two or three days, the entire army ceased its activities and did not go out to fight in the stronghold. He Rubin only urged the generals to continuously build the stronghold and dig trenches and reorganize the troops. After a few days of rest, he would personally lead Zhenbiao and his servants as the main force.
The heavy army group defeated the entire Shishan bandit army in one fell swoop, recaptured Shishan, and rebuilt the grain road.
The camp was busy and there was a solemn atmosphere, but there was a different scene in a courtyard in Chengmai County. This is the village of the richest family in the county. The owner's surname is Song, and he also has the identity of a supervisor. This time
When the Fubo army besieged Chengmai, he contributed the most to the defense of the city. When the officers and soldiers arrived, he was also very flattering and offered part of his private house for the military officials to live in. The generals wanted to control the army and at the same time express themselves.
It meant "sharing the joys and sorrows" with the soldiers, so only civil servants and staff moved in. Song Jiansheng also used this group of staff as "talismans" and was very attentive to hospitality and supplies.
At this time, Chang Qingyun, Qian Taichong and about a dozen of their usually more open-minded staff were drinking tea and enjoying the cool in the garden of the mansion, accompanied by the owner of the mansion, Song Zonghui. The prison supervisor was quite elegant and had a few
He is rich, and the mansion is also decorated with some spring stones and has a little garden charm, which is very rare in this southern border area.
Because they were on military duty, the staff did not dare to openly invite friends and drink. They just set up a few tables in the garden with some tea, fruits and snacks, and chatted under the moonlit night.
Because of the unfavorable outcome of the war, several generals were lost in succession, and the food routes were cut off. The whole army was in a very dangerous situation. Except for a few people who could still drink and laugh freely, most of the staff were worried. When they were in Qiongshan,
The optimistic atmosphere was swept away.
Many individuals realize that this campaign against the Kun thief has been a failure, but no one dares to say it openly. Some people are still unwilling to admit that the Kun thief's ability is limited to "wonderful skills and cunning", even in
In the field battle, the Fubo Army defeated three troops in succession at Shishan. They also believed that this was purely due to objective factors such as the "dangerous position of Shishan". As for whether Shishan was "dangerous" or how the battle was fought at that time, they had no idea.
interest.
Qian Taichong is much more pragmatic than these people. He has been listening to military discussions in the big tent recently, and has also personally visited junior generals who have participated in the battle. From them, he has learned a lot of first-hand information about the Kun Thief.
Not only were their firearms pure, but their ranks were neat and disciplined, and they fought no less well than the official army. He felt that this was a formidable enemy, because in the past, the sealord bandits in Guangdong had never had such troops, and the Kun thieves were somewhat
It looks like the Folangji people, but neither the Folangji people nor the red-haired people can gather so many troops to launch an offensive and defensive field battle with the imperial army.
At this moment, he grabbed Gou Chengxuan and asked him to talk about the Kun thief. Especially the Kun thief's firearms, which Qian Taichong and others were more concerned about. Gou Chengxuan had to tell him everything he knew, especially the
The blunderbuss and artillery used by the Kun thieves had a huge gap in time, so they had to leave a very impactful feeling on Qian Taichong and others.
"So, most of Kun Thief's firearms were made in Lingao?" Qian Taichong asked seriously.
"Exactly." Gou Chengxuan nodded, "cannons, blunderbuss, sub-powder projectiles, all of them."
"Since the Tianqi period, the imperial court has used red cannons made by Westerners, which are also powerful weapons for the military state. I didn't expect that the cannons of the Kun thieves could be so advanced." One of the staff sighed, "The projectiles can explode and hurt people. I wrote in "
It has also been seen in "Military Bei Zhi", it is not considered rare, but the projectile that can explode in the air is really unheard of in ancient times."
"Only God knows whether those so-called thundering artillery pieces in the Military Bei Zhi are effective or not." Qian Taichong sneered, "Except for the military battles during the Jiajing period, we haven't seen them for a long time."
"My brother thinks that these kinds of firecrackers are nothing more than 'fierce artillery' in the Song and Yuan Dynasties. I mean 'thousands of enemies' in the Song and Yuan dynasties. But in the past, they used trebuchets, but now they use cannons." Chang Qingyun also knows about firearms.
He immediately added, "Taixi's cannon-making is nothing more than the legacy of the Song Dynasty's sudden fire gun..."
"'It's just', 'That's all', after saying it again and again, we still need Westerners to help build cannons!" Qian Taichong excitedly slammed the table, "Now the guns and firearms of the Kun thieves are much better than those of the Westerners.
One floor. How can I do nothing in my life?"
Everyone found it very strange and wondered why the scholar was so excited. Qian Taichong probably felt that he had lost his temper, so he took a sip of tea and fell silent.
An older staff member said: "Although the firearms of the Kun thieves are powerful, they are no more than the size of a county, so there is nothing to worry about. The most worrying thing is that the fake Kun under his subordinates is actually willing to go through life and death for him and take the risk of an arrow. This and so on.
The art of confusing people's hearts is a serious problem for the imperial court."
At that moment, everyone lamented for a while that "little people seek profit" and "the world is declining".
Qian Taichong said in a firm tone: "However, today's accumulated shortcomings are not limited to this! In my humble opinion, I still think that instead of trying to cure one branch after another, it is actually not possible to cure the root cause. The so-called root is 'education'
…”
He was frothing for a long time, and there was a discussion among the staff. Some people talked about "Qi" and "Heart", and others talked about Wang Yangming's "Xin Xue". They were chatting enthusiastically.
Suddenly, a desolate horn sound came from outside the county town, and the sound shook the sky. Their discussion was interrupted. Only then did everyone realize that what they were talking about at this time was not only ridiculous but also absurd.
Chang Qingyun came back and talked about his method of "destroying the enemy with mines and mines". In his opinion, any fast iron ship owned by Kun Thief would be wiped out when it encounters the "Hunjiang Dragon" he advocated. Once Kun Thief's navy is destroyed,
, the grain road will be opened immediately.
"Kun Thief can occupy that place in Shishan if he wishes. When the tens of thousands of kilograms of grain are used up, Kun Thief's three thousand troops will be alone and will be in chaos if they don't fight." Chang Qingyun said, foaming at the mouth.
However, everyone knew that his so-called mine camp was somewhat whimsical. If it had been used to besiege Bopu, it would have been of some use. Now the ships of the thieves were just anchored near the shore, not to mention that the current was opposite. Everyone ignored him.
.Only Qian Taichong sneered:
"Once the sea food road is opened, I'm afraid countless people will float away. By then, the money and food that can reach Chengmai will probably be good." He said, "I think it is better to open the food road."
"Yes, if we can't open up the food route and there is not enough food in the city, we may not be able to support it for many days." Song Zonghui finally found an opportunity to intervene. He was different from this group of staff. His family and business were all in Chengmai, and his officers and soldiers were recruited.
The success or failure of a thief is directly related to his family business and personal safety, so he cannot care less about it.