Chapter 264: Hold on to Wuxi City
"Master, enemy reinforcements have arrived."
Cao Shixiu followed the direction of his subordinates and raised the telescope. What he could see was tens of thousands of officers and soldiers gathering in the west of Wuxi.
The Wuxi city wall in front of them is only over three meters high, and there is also a water gate, but Shuimen is not worried. It is obvious that this sudden attack of government troops does not have a naval force;
The only thing that needs to be guarded now is the west gate, but Cao Shixiu is very worried. After all, except for the officers, all of his subordinates are new soldiers. Otherwise, he would not have been beaten at Takahashi and suffered heavy casualties, losing more than half.
This kind of battle damage alone has already disgraced the Dingwu Army. If he can't do something to make up for it, even if he survives the war, he will have to go to the Dingwu Army's Military Justice Department, and he will inevitably die.
"Master, the enemy has moved..."
Cao Shixiu looked immediately and saw hundreds of people carrying ladders moving quickly, but this time there were more than a thousand soldiers holding shields on the flanks following them.
"What are they going to do?"
Cao Shixiu muttered something silently, then turned to look at the soldiers: "Are those who asked for help gone?"
"Back to the teacher's seat, we have already set off from the waterway."
The troops asking for reinforcements did not ride horses, but set out from Shuimen and entered the Longjiang Inland River. At this moment, the sea outside the Longjiang Inland River was under the control of the navy of the Dingwu Army, and the speed up the coast was faster than riding horses.
"Prepare..."
'Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...'
There was a loud sound of gunfire, and hitting these slow-moving living targets at a distance of 150 steps was simply a dummy for soldiers to train marksmanship.
Suddenly, the shield troops operating on the flanks opened the large shield in front of them, revealing the bright turtle-dove-foot muskets and flintlock muskets, as well as a thousand musketeers.
"Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang..."
In an instant, the Dingwu army on the city wall suffered heavy casualties, with more than a hundred people shot. Cao Shixiu was shocked. He never expected that the officers and soldiers were so well-equipped, and the striking range of the firearms was exactly the same as the flintlock rifles in their hands.
"Be careful, the enemy also has firearms."
Because he had suppressed his opponent all the time and basically underestimated his opponent's firearms, Cao Shixiu never expected that the army was also equipped with flintlock muskets. He suddenly felt that the souls of the dead were coming, and he did not dare to approach the city wall. Instead, he commanded in front of the urn city tower. Combat.
It's not that he is afraid of death. If he himself is shot and killed, the second division will be completely destroyed.
"Everyone should pay attention. The enemy has the same muskets as ours. All units must pay attention to avoid the opponent's actions when shooting. The entire army fires according to the third part of the training drill and prepares grenades."
You Shiwei looked at the infantry who rushed to the city wall and were blown away by the explosion, and frowned immediately. The power of the thunderbolts they possessed was no match at all, but now the thunderbolts were in the hands of the firearms troops. In order to reduce the number of Due to the loss of the musketeers, You Shiwei strictly ordered the musketeer battalion Qianzong led by You Shiwei to engage the enemy a hundred steps away before taking action.
Even so, under the condescending attack of the Dingwu Army, many musketeers were still shot and died.
"arrive..."
You Shigong excitedly hammered his hand, and saw the infantry running under the city wall leaning against the city wall. Then, under the cover of the big shield, he ignited the fire oil can in his hand, and threw a dozen of them towards the Wuxi city wall in one breath. Cupping.
The violent explosion sprayed fire oil in all directions. Hundreds of soldiers of the Second Division near the parapet were affected, and they immediately ran away crying for their fathers and mothers.
Cao Shixiu was right next to the urn city tower. The exploding kerosene spread to his feet, making him run away in fright. Fierce kerosene was commonly used before the Dingwu army formed an army. He knew that this black kerosene would not go out when exposed to water. It can only be covered with sand or mud clothes.
"Don't panic, be careful when the enemy climbs the city, cover it with a big blanket..."
Cao Shixiu had just finished speaking, and was suddenly shocked. He thought of something that frightened him. The officers and soldiers were so well-equipped, and there were simple mines such as earth and thunder jars in Nanjing. What if?
Before Cao Shixiu could finish his thoughts, a loud bang broke through the air, and there was violent shaking under his feet.
A platoon leader panicked and ran up to the city tower and shouted: "Master's seat, the officers and soldiers have blown up the city gate."
Cao Shixiu's ghost was so strong that he immediately stood up, pulled out a new style gun from his waist, and shouted: "Guard regiment, assemble immediately to resist the enemy."
The city gate was blown open as expected by You Shiwei. He was very lucky to have brought enough firearms with him this time. He immediately looked at You Shigong, who immediately mounted his horse and prepared to attack with his cavalry. city gate.
"Quick, quick, get bricks and stones to block the city gate."
Cao Shixiu shouted orders, it was an emergency moment, and just as the order was issued, gunfire rang out outside the open city gate. Countless people were shot at that time, and a fierce gun battle broke out between the two sides at the city gate.
Deputy division commander Gao Qingnian led people from the artillery camp to the city gate and shouted: "Old Cao, get out of the way..."
Cao Shixiu turned around and saw Gao Qingnian coming with more than ten tiger squatting cannons. He was immediately overjoyed. This tiger squatting cannon was a great weapon in close combat in such a narrow area at the gate of the city. He immediately ordered the soldiers of the guard regiment to prepare to get out of the way. road.
'Dong dong dong...'
The officers and soldiers who stormed the city gate were caught off guard and were blown to pieces by the Tiger Crouching Cannon. In a moment, they even drove back the elite infantry commanded by You Shigong himself.
The Tiger Crouching Cannon can only fire three rounds in a row after being modified with an improved charge. After three rounds, it must cool down for more than ten minutes before it can be used again. Otherwise, the barrel will explode and the gunner will be affected.
After three rounds of attacks, no more infantry soldiers could stand at the city gate. They had to step aside and let the firearmsmen outside the gate hold turtle-dove-footed muskets and flintlock rifles to shoot at the guards.
"Old Cao, you go up to the tower and take command. Leave this place to me."
After all, Cao Shixiu is the division commander. Having him guarding the city tower reflects the morale of the army. Cao Shixiu is not sloppy. Although he repelled the attack of the officers and soldiers at the city gate, there are still many officers and soldiers outside the city gate who are fighting against the fixed positions on the city wall. The armed forces shoot at each other.
You Shigong waved his hand angrily. It was no longer possible to go all out at this moment. If he forced his way in, he didn't know how many soldiers would be lost. These people were all veterans brought from Yulin. They were all treasures, so naturally they were not guards. All troops can compare.
Then Cao Shixiu also felt deeply that the officers and troops in front of him were unusual, but he still saw clues from the generals who led the troops. These people were not the guards of the Southern Zhili, but they were border troops transferred from Jiubian. military.
However, what You Shigong didn't expect was that You Shiwei had already issued an order. Even with huge casualties, Wuxi County must be breached. Moreover, the city gate has been blown open, and the rebels are carrying gravel and soil to prepare to block it. If the city gate is demoralized, it will be very difficult to attack Wuxi County.
You Shigong turned around and received the order and found that You Shiwei had personally led an army of 30,000 to launch a general attack, rushing like a flood towards the three-meter-high city wall of Wuxi County.
"Brothers of the Second Division, listen up. I am the division commander Cao Shixiu. The enemy's offensive is fierce today. I have made plans to die with the city. You have received the great favor of the Duke of the country. You should know the thought of being loyal to the king and serving the country, and guard Wuxi. City, Dingwu army will be victorious..."
"Wan Sheng..."
"All the reserve teams are pressed up, and the order is sent down. All ministries take regiments as units to block the enemy according to their own defensive positions. The messengers asking for help left yesterday. Holding on to Wuxi is victory."
.
Song Che frowned and looked at Gao Qiao in the distance. If we proceed according to the fighting method last night, the losses of the First Division will gradually increase. With all the veterans, preserving the elite of the First Division is the right way.
At this time, Song Che held an impromptu pre-war meeting and asked the participating commanders at the division and brigade level to come up with a solution.
"Military seat, if you don't follow the old tactics, use grenades to open the way in front, and advance with a five-stage strategy, the general will lead people to break into the town from the north again. Although you will suffer losses, you can still solve it as soon as possible. The enemy at Gaoqiao in order to achieve the purpose of rescuing Wuxi."
Feng Zhongping suffered from the ambush fire mine last night. He did not expect that the army would actually plant a lot of ambush fire mines in the town, resulting in a huge defeat and the loss of many people.
Chen Pingzhong, commander of the second brigade, suddenly interjected: "Military seat, the general has an idea."
"speak..."
"The master's idea is completely feasible, but I'm still wondering whether we can use geotechnical excavation to advance. As long as we arrive at the entrance of Gaoqiao Town, we can get twice the result with half the effort with a grenade. This way, we can also avoid being harassed by the opponent's cavalry. At most, to mitigate losses;
Secondly, we still follow the master's advice and break into the town from the north. As long as we enter Gaoqiao, street fighting is also a subject of our daily training, isn't it? "
Chen Pingzhong's words immediately enlightened Song Che. Although the geotechnical excavation was slow, it was safe. Cooperating with Feng Zhongping's five-stage firing plan, it was also a good plan to suppress the counterattack from the front of the army.
"Okay, according to what Brigadier Chen said, Takahashi must be breached in order to rescue Wuxi..."
After receiving the military report, Chen Degong hurriedly walked from the town to the entrance of the town. Only when he got to Tazhai could he clearly see the spread of soil hundreds of steps away, which was like a construction site in full swing.
"Are the rebels trying to dig a tunnel?"
The general's words made Chen Degong shake his head: "It doesn't look like it. Look at all the dirt they shoveled flying back. If it's true, it must be transporting dirt."
Chen Degong didn't know what they wanted to do, so he came to report that there were rebel cavalry coming from the north of the town.
Thanks to the ambush fire mines last night, Chen Degong's troops set up a small ambush and won a big victory. There were not many ambush fire mines left, and most of them were already ambushed at the entrance of the town.
"The rebels are guessing that they are going to attack from both sides again. It is better to block the enemy in front of them first and let Chen Sanlang lead people to Zhenbei to defend against the enemy."
"Sir, the rebel tunnel is getting closer."
Chen Degong looked around and saw that the tunnel that was originally 300 steps away from the town entrance was now at most 150 steps away. If it had been another half hour, this tunnel...
Thinking of this, Chen Degong was shocked, and then shouted: "Quick, shoot the arrow...shoot the arrow..."
