Chapter 89: 1 Word Long Snake
Chapter 89: Long Snake
Shao Quanzhong laughed loudly, "You are dead!"
He drew out his command knife and swung it downwards with force, "Fire!"
More than sixty men lay down and opened fire, and then - more than two hundred enemies fell.
There are no heavenly soldiers or generals to help, but there are a thousand Huai troops.
Here, Liao Tianyan and Deng Guangming suddenly attacked Shao Quanzhong and fired a volley of shots. Tian Xing, who was temporarily in charge of the command when Shao Quanzhong left the team, heard it from afar with his sharp ears.
The sound of rapid gunfire with such density could definitely not be produced by just one company. My second brother must have encountered the Taiping Army's rapid gun team.
He made a prompt decision and ordered Shao Hengzhong to lead the troops to run forward to provide support.
He crouched down and flew towards the battlefield like a wisp of green smoke.
When he saw the situation on the battlefield, he saw Zhang Siwen running wildly with Shao Quanzhong on his back, followed by more than sixty soldiers.
Behind them, a death squad led by Zhang Wushuan was tied down and the pursuers were kept far away.
Tian Xing estimated the speed of both sides and instantly determined the approximate location where the Taiping Army caught up with Shao Quanzhong.
Instead of going to meet Shao Quanzhong, he turned around and ran back.
At the end of China's cold weapon era, a true top-level master of light skills could probably run at a speed close to that of an Olympic champion.
Under his order, the Huai Army lay down and ambushed at the position he estimated.
This is not a smooth road, but a field near the riverbank outside the city wall. Deng Guangming can lead his men to ambush, and so can the Huai Army.
Zhang Siwen ran here carrying Shao Quanzhong on his back. Shao Quanzhong saw his brothers in ambush, gave a thumbs up to Tian Xing who was lying not far away, turned around and ordered his subordinates to load bullets and prepare to shoot.
Deng Guangming ambushed Shao Quanzhong about a mile away.
Here, the Huai Army ambushed Deng Guangming and did not open fire until the enemy approached 50 meters away. Although it was a moving target, the casualties caused by a thousand people firing at the same time at such a close distance were enormous.
With one volley of fire from the Huai Army, more than 200 of the Taiping Army's most elite quick-gun masters were wiped out.
For the Taiping Army, this wave of losses was disastrous. They were all the elite soldiers in the old camp, picked out from a hundred.
The 5,000 ordinary Taiping soldiers might not be as valuable as these 200 elite soldiers, and 40% of the Taiping's quick-firing guns were destroyed in one fell swoop.
After the volley, everyone thought Shao Quanzhong would order a charge, but Shao Quanzhong ordered, "Load the bullets and keep firing!"
Not chasing?
The soldiers had to follow the instructions even though they didn't understand. They stood up, loaded the bullets, and fired while standing.
Although this method is not as accurate as lying down, it allows you to continuously load bullets and fire at a rate of three rounds per minute.
Tian Xing nodded secretly, his second brother was very good at responding to emergencies.
I have seen the pursuit speed of this group of Taiping Army. This is a special force like my own marching team. The Huai Army cannot catch up with them by charging, so it is better to shoot a few more rounds.
When the more than 200 soldiers in front of Deng Guangming died, they were stunned. They were ambushed! Those more than 100 enemy scouts were actually bait?
But the situation on the battlefield did not allow him to be dazed, and he quickly came to his senses and shouted, "The wind is blowing!"
When he got anxious, all the words he said when he was in the underworld came out.
It was absolutely not advisable for less than 200 to 300 people to fight with more than 1,000 enemies with bayonets. Liao Tianyan led his men and turned around and ran away.
The Huai Army did not pursue them, but instead fired three more rounds of volleys until the enemy ran a mile away.
In these three waves, the enemies were getting farther and farther away. One wave killed more than 80 people, one wave killed more than 30 people, and one wave killed only single digit people.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's most elite troops suffered a 60% loss. Liao Tianyan and Deng Guangming were seriously injured. They were shot in the shoulder and in the back, injuring a lung. He almost died in battle.
The Taiping Army's foreign rifle team was like a frightened bird, not daring to stay, and ran away without a trace. Song Laosan, Lin Bozi, Shao Hengzhong, Haiqing, Tian Xing and Wu Ci who participated in the battle looked at Shao Quanzhong together. Tian Xing asked on behalf of everyone, "The battle is over, what should we do next?"
Shao Quanzhong held his command knife in his hand, furious, "The battle is not over yet! If I don't get something back today, I will never let the Taiping Army go. Damn it, when have I ever suffered such a big loss?"
Shao Quanzhong began to send out his generals, "Brother, you lead the troopers to scout the battlefield. Be sure to be careful and send out scouts two miles away to prevent any more enemy ambushes."
Tian Xing and his men turned and left.
"Hengzhong, send someone to the ship to bring the Hale rocket to me. This time, let the Taiping Army have a taste of the heat."
Shao Hengzhong turned around and went to make arrangements.
"Haiqing, Bozi, lead the men to clean up the battlefield, cut off the heads, and count the spoils."
In fact, it was Bozai who led the people to do the work, and Haiqing's military police were watching.
"Song Laosan, go and carry the fallen brothers onto the boat."
Everyone was sent away, leaving only Wu Ci and Wu Ziyi with Shao Quanzhong.
"Commander, can a thousand of us intervene in such a large-scale battle?"
"Bullshit! The Taiping Army attacking the city had no will to fight at all. They just came to see if they could get an advantage. The southern wall was so narrow, they didn't split their troops to attack the city from three sides because they were afraid that if they split their troops to attack the city from three sides, it would be difficult to escape."
Shao Quanzhong pointed in the direction of Nanjing and said, "Hong Renxuan is a talent for domestic affairs, but the idiot Hong Xiuquan insisted on letting him lead the troops."
Shao Quanzhong sneered, "Was my reconnaissance just now in vain? They only attacked one route, forming a long snake formation. Deng Guangming, who was protecting the flank, ran away, exposing Hong Renxuan's five thousand cowardly soldiers in the middle of the snake."
Wu Ci understood, "So, the enemy's middle is the weak point?"
"That's right. If the Taiping Army has a famous general and doesn't want to fight a long battle and send troops to the two wings, they should withdraw now. If they don't leave, they'll be ready to be destroyed! Maybe I can capture Hong Renxuan alive this time."
"If we attack in the middle, won't we be attacked from both sides?"
"The enemy soldiers have no will to fight and are only after profit. How can there be a unified command if the commander is dead? This time it all depends on Feng Zicai's courage. If he is courageous, this will be a great victory. Even if he is not courageous, he can still drive the enemy away."
Soon, the battlefield was cleaned up and Shao Hengzhong's men came over with Hale rockets.
This thing is not a cannon and does not require aiming. Ding Gongchen set several scales on the launcher. By adjusting the angle of the launcher according to the scales, he can shoot at the corresponding distance.
During the three months of training, there was no special rocket force formed, and all the soldiers easily learned how to launch rockets.
It's just estimating the distance, changing the angle, and then igniting the fire.
The Heng Battalion temporarily served as the Rocket Force, pulling 300 launch pads and pushing rockets on carts, while the Zhong Battalion lined up to guard them.
Zhang Siwen went to the dock and requisitioned a mule for pulling grain for Shao Quanzhong, who had difficulty walking, to ride.
Shao Quanzhong rode a mule, his face full of anger, and rushed to the battlefield with a thousand Huai troops.
When they arrived two miles outside the battlefield, the Taiping Army had not yet withdrawn.
It turned out that Deng Guangming was seriously injured and unconscious, and was carried directly to the rear. There was no one in charge of the Quick Gun Team, and the detailed battle situation had not yet been reported to Hong Renxuan.
The soldiers who attacked the city did not know the strength of the Huai Army, and thought that Deng Guangming underestimated the enemy and advanced rashly, and fell into an ambush. Seeing that there were only 1,000 enemy troops on the flank, and they were infantry, they did not take it seriously and only sent 1,000 troops to monitor.
Even if the enemy's foreign guns are powerful, would a thousand people dare to attack twenty thousand people?
Hong Renxuan was right. A quick-fire gun was not a machine gun, and it would not work if there were too few people. As for the rocket launcher, he had seen it before in Jintian, but it was useless.
Tian Xing arrived in a flash, "Second brother, there are no more enemy ambushes nearby."
Shao Quanzhong ordered, "Prepare for battle!"
(End of this chapter)