Chapter 265 The Generation of Willpower
Chen Degong had already understood his opponent's intention. They were going to dig a tunnel as wide as the official road directly to the entrance of the town, and then launch an attack. There were rebel firearmsmen on both sides of the road alternately covering it, so they had to stop it.
"Bring all the Flying Thunder God and Zhentian Lei, and look into the tunnel to say hello, quickly..."
What Chen Decong was thinking of was what the attacking Dingwu army was doing at this moment. Hand grenades were flying towards the entrance of the town like locusts, and from time to time there would be fire and mud flying like thunder on the ground.
Chen Degong's troops immediately suffered heavy casualties.
"Five-stage attack, all units, advance in coordination, attack..."
With loud gunshots and loud explosions, the Battle of Takahashi was destined to suffer heavy casualties.
.
Wuxi City was completely defeated after You Shiwei personally launched the attack. Cao Shixiu led the remaining troops of the Second Division to engage in fierce street fighting on two streets centered on Wuxi County Government.
The Yulin frontier army had never engaged in street fighting at all, and the cavalry had no way to take advantage of it on the street. You Shigong had no choice but to use the firearms battalion to engage in a shootout with the Dingwu army.
Even the surrounding streets and rooftops were full of people, and both sides did everything they could to break their opponents' defenses.
"Our army suffered a lot of casualties."
You Shigong had just rushed back from Zhengqianmen Street. He came to You Shiwei to mobilize his troops.
"Our firearms battalion currently has only 2,000 people. With the casualty ratio, it will not be easy for them."
The frowning You Shiwei wished he could send all the cavalry out now, but due to the street conditions, even the cavalry could only dismount and fight on foot.
"We're in..."
Someone in front shouted something, and the guerrillas in the front line gave the order to rush towards Zhengqianmen Street.
You Shigong turned around and was overjoyed: "Even if we have to take down them with heavy casualties, I'll go right away..."
Cao Shixiu could no longer sit still after learning that Zhengqianmen Street was lost, and immediately led the security regiment from the county government to prepare for battle. Deputy division commander Gao Qingnian was commanding at Changjie at the moment, and he had not yet learned about the loss of Zhengqianmen Street.
"Master, there are heavy casualties..."
One regiment leader's face was covered in blood. The regiment under his command had no organizational structure, and only about two hundred people remained.
Cao Shixiu's face was deserted. When he saw the soldiers who had retreated outside the county government, he shouted: "Soldiers, you are all from Zhejiang. The Duke has given you a chance to rebuild. Now, the war situation has reached a life-or-death situation." At this critical juncture, I swear here today that I will never take a step back, to establish the prestige of my military force, and to fight to the death without retreating..."
"No retreat..."
As the guard regiment roared in unison, the morale of the remaining officers and soldiers of the First Division suddenly rose, and their reputation was like a rainbow.
"Master, we are running out of ammunition..."
The Second Division actually carried a lot of supplies, but most of them were lost after being attacked. It was a day and night of offensive and defensive battles. Because they were new soldiers, there was no way to save as much as the veterans. Most of the ammunition was used up after the first encounter. At this moment, the battle line had all been drawn into the city, and the consumption of ammunition was also increasing in the street fighting.
Taking a deep breath, Cao Shixiu took his Yan Ling command knife from the hands of his general, and pulled out this long knife that had not killed the enemy for many years: "The whole army listens to the order, fix the bayonets..."
"Master's order...mount the bayonet and prepare for hand-to-hand combat..."
"Master's order...mount the bayonet and prepare for hand-to-hand combat..."
"Master's order...mount the bayonet and prepare for hand-to-hand combat..."
As the order was passed on, even the Yulin veterans on the front line heard the hissing cry. The pro-troops around You Shigong were gearing up one by one. The enemy had already issued an order for hand-to-hand combat. It was obvious that the opponent's firearms were gone. Reserve ammunition, when the ammunition is exhausted, a firearmsman is not as effective as an auxiliary soldier of the combat soldier.
After You Shigong got the news, he became energetic and immediately sent someone to spread the word about You Shiwei.
"Hand-to-hand combat?"
After receiving the news, You Shiwei finally raised the corner of his mouth. The opponent finally chose hand-to-hand combat under forced circumstances. It seems that they were at the end of their efforts: "Send the order, prepare the whole army, and move all the spearmen to the front of the formation."
According to You Shiwei's idea, it is impossible for a pure firearms unit to carry a large number of long weapons. Moreover, during the battle at the city gate, the rebels did not see any weapons that could be used for hand-to-hand combat. Therefore, once the hand-to-hand combat begins, That's when he's done his best.
The officers of the second division were all veterans and had experience in close combat with the enemy. However, they had never actually fought with spears and bayonets, so they could not help but feel a little frightened. However, the current situation could no longer tolerate their daze, so they started fighting one by one. He took the only Yanling knife to cheer up the soldiers who were shaking a little while holding the bayonets.
Finally, the gunfire slowly stopped. You Shigong knew that the opportunity had come, and after shouting to kill the enemy, he took the lead and rushed out.
Cao Shixiu's skillful handguns had not yet been used together. When he saw the officers and soldiers rushing towards him, he fired first and then shouted: "Bayonets for battle, prepare..."
"Prepare..."
Although he was a firearms hand, bayonet engagement training was also a daily subject. Now that all the ammunition was used up, the officers and soldiers of the Second Division had to fight hand-to-hand with their opponents. In such a tense situation, anyone would be nervous.
The soldiers lined up in several rows in front were holding long spears and bayonets in their hands, ready at a 45-degree angle. The officers and soldiers coming from the front were holding long knives and big axes. Although they were nervous, they strictly followed the training manual. Not moved.
You Shigong, who was rushing in front, felt something was wrong and slowed down his pace, allowing the infantry to rush forward to engage in the battle.
'prick...'
As the platoon leaders issued orders, they moved in unison like clouds and flowing water. The bayonet thrust out from the upper corner was longer than the Yanling knife in the hands of the officers and soldiers. It was equivalent to a short spear. Suddenly, the people who rushed forward were about to rush forward. The entire row of officers and soldiers were stabbed to death.
After retracting their guns, the officers and soldiers once again assumed a posture of defending against the enemy, preparing for the next round of impact.
'prick...'
After a few rounds, You Shigong discovered that the infantry in front could not get into his opponent's body.
"Get out of the way, the archers are ready..."
Crossbows were the main equipment of the frontier army, and their most important goal was to kill and injure the cavalry units of the ethnic minorities. However, the officers and soldiers of the Second Division in front were hit by arrows in rows without the protection of plate armor.
You Shigong was shocked. If it were his previous opponents, they would have fled in such a battle with such losses. However, the rebels in front of him remained motionless and continued to advance neatly in accordance with military orders.
Of course You Shigong didn't know how terrifying the hand-to-hand combat method of the Dingwu Army was. Chen Cao followed the standard tactics of the later empire where the sun never sets, which was for the musketeers to walk up in an orderly manner while bearing the opponent's firearms. They would only fire when they were within thirty or ten steps, so the opponent would only be beaten passively. The British Empire also relied on this primitive and cruel tactic to defeat European countries.
The main reason for this is the problem of military morale. You Shigong thought that even the most elite Yulin veteran under his command could not compare with him, and he immediately felt admiration.
The rebels in front of him were walking straight up despite the rain of arrows. They were not bothered at all by the fallen soldiers beside them. Instead, they became more and more courageous as they fought.
After approaching, the archers had no time to retreat before they were all assassinated by uniform bayonets. You Shigong hurriedly asked people to go to You Shiwei for help. It was not until the arrival of the pikemen that they could barely block the steps of the officers and soldiers of the Second Division. .
The long spears of the army are generally about 3.2 meters long, while the length of the flintlock rifle with bayonet is only 2.1 meters. It is no match for the army. However, Cao Shixiu is not worried. He still has a thousand guard regiments under his command. These men still had plenty of ammunition and could only wait until their opponents became less cautious before attacking their pikemen.
Knowing that there was not much gunpowder left under his command, You Shiwei issued an order to use hand-to-hand combat tactics to deal with the enemy in front of him as quickly as possible and completely capture Wuxi County.
However, the sudden burst of gunfire from the front position made him terrified. Is the hand-to-hand fighting between the rebels just an illusion?
Sure enough, You Shigong's messenger came and told You Shiwei in detail that it turned out that the pikemen transferred to the front of the formation had crushed the opponent. When they were about to launch the final blow, they didn't know that the opponent actually wanted firearms, and there was a burst of gunfire. Afterwards, more than 300 spearmen were killed alive.
"If the entire army presses forward, even if we sacrifice human lives, we will wipe out all the rebels here."
At this moment, a messenger rushed to You Shiwei and knelt down in front of You Shiwei: "Commander, something has happened..."
You Shiwei trembled in his heart. There was only one place that could cause trouble now, and that was Chen Degong who was guarding Gaoqiao.
as expected.
"Commander, the rebels counterattacked and broke through the Gaoqiao with earth excavation. General Chen could not resist. Another enemy army rushed in from the north of the Gaoqiao. General Chen's troops were defeated and are now withdrawing towards Wuxi. The rebels The army followed closely behind."
You Shiwei clenched his fists and his eyes turned red. He never expected that Chen Degong would make such a low-level mistake. However, he was even more angry because the city of Wuxi had been broken before him, and the only rebel who resisted was the county government. In this place, it has been difficult for me to completely break this hard nut.
"We must capture them no matter what..."
Chen Degong never expected that his opponent would break into the entrance of Gaoqiao Town using earthwork excavation. The smoke-filled battlefield after a random bombing provided great protection to the rebels, so that he was attacked by firearms before he could effectively command the resistance. of blow.
After a close battle with the rebels in the town, he found that his opponent had numerical superiority in firearms and Tiger Crouching Cannon, and smashed the Flying Thunder God that he relied on to pieces. If it were not for the cover of the Turtle Dove Foot Gun and the Five Thunder God Machine, he would not have been able to The safety begins to retreat.
The more than 10,000 soldiers and horses under his command were Yulin soldiers. They were extremely valuable and they did not dare to lose them at Gaoqiao. After seeing that Gaoqiao could no longer hold on, he ordered the entire army to move closer to Wuxi.
After Song Che learned that Gaoqiao had been breached, he immediately led his men to catch up. He had to rush to get reinforcements before the army broke through Wuxi. Otherwise, with the combat effectiveness of the second division, it was difficult for him to imagine whether Cao Shixiu could persist.
