Chapter 317 Heavy Rain Water Diversion Pass III
Zhang Ting's generals prepared long ladders and made simple planks for crossing the river and placed them on the Baixi River. However, the casualties paid for this were very high. Many soldiers even fell into the rushing Baixi River after being shot by arrows. In the stream.
However, from a few miles behind him, he could clearly hear the sound of a whole troop of infantry approaching. If his 23rd Brigade did not rush to Guancheng as soon as possible, they might be shot by the teammates behind them.
Zheng Zhilong's eyes widened, but now he was unable to organize an army to repel the Songjiang army that suddenly appeared. He was surprised to find that the firearms in the hands of this unknown group of troops were extremely sharp. After each shot, The soldiers under his command died immediately, and even his own soldier had his arm directly broken by the projectile.
Zheng Cai grabbed the dazed Zheng Zhilong and said, "Uncle, hurry to the Tongshan Fort Camp."
Fenshui Pass is not a big city, and can only accommodate less than 3,000 men for garrison. However, reserve soldiers can be stationed in the town behind the city. Because it is a civilian residence, the Tongshanbao military camp closest to Fenshui Pass is The place where Zheng Zhilong's 30,000 troops were stationed.
Zheng Cai is right. There are currently more than 15,000 troops in Tongshan Fort, plus 10,000 Zheng's private soldiers, a total of 25,000 people. They can rely on Fenshuiguan to fight against their opponents. no problem.
Xin Laosan only had a thousand men. After coming down from the mountain, he and his regiment leader Xu Tao each divided 500 troops to outflank them from the left and right directions. Although the heavy rain and darkness gave them solid cover, the disadvantages were also revealed. Many The enemy troops are all in the camp, and they can't tell which direction the opponent's main force is in the camp, let alone where the Chinese army's main camp is.
It is precisely because of this that Zheng Zhilong was able to leave the Nanying Gate at Zheng Cai's reminder and lead his people straight to the Tongshan Fort camp ten miles away.
When Chen Cao rode his horse to the front of the formation in the rain, the engineers from the engineering battalion had already blown open the gate of Fenshui Pass. The forward troops of the Eighth Division had already filed in. Division Commander Yan Chun rode his horse and saluted in front of Chen Cao's horse: " Please report to your lord, our division has already entered Fenshui Pass, but the enemy forces in the pass have extremely strong resistance and the forward is blocked."
Chen Cao returned the salute and then said: "The First Division sent people into the city to assist the Eighth Division in clearing out the stubborn enemies in Guancheng."
"yes..."
The battle was extremely fierce. Zhang Ting suddenly discovered that the uniforms of the defenders on Guancheng were pitch black and they did not look like Ming Dynasty people. He was immediately surprised: "Could it be that the people on the city are Kunlun slaves?"
Thinking of this, he recalled that he had heard from the division commander Yan Chun that Zheng Zhilong had a firearms unit composed of Kunlun slaves. Last year, Zheng Zhilong relied on this black unit to defeat the Portuguese in Haojing, and thus signed a contract with them. entered into a series of military agreements.
"Raise the gun and shoot the Kunlun slaves on the top of the city."
'Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...'
'Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...'
'Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...'
The two sides launched a fierce exchange of fire, and with the addition of the other two brigades of the Eighth Division, the Kunlun slaves on the top of the city were instantly beaten to the point where they were unable to fight back.
However, the casualties on both sides immediately produced a sharp contrast. The condescending black army attacked Zhang Ting's troops at the top of the city without aiming. Coupled with the heavy rain, strong wind, and darkness, both sides fired indiscriminately, relying entirely on luck.
"They have shields."
Zheng Zhibao was not stupid. After receiving the military order to delay his opponent as much as possible, he left a way out for himself and let the powerful Kunlun slave army attack the front. The Zheng family's private soldiers were on guard at the pass road near Yandang Mountain to the west of Guancheng. , once Fenshuiguan cannot be defended at all, he will rely on the narrow passage in Guancheng to retreat to the pass path in sequence.
What's more, they were on the roof-covered Guancheng Tower, so they didn't have to worry about their firearms being unable to fire in the rain. The only horse road leading to the city in Guancheng was blocked by stones and broken bricks. If they wanted to attack the city, they had to attack by force.
"Dong...dong dong dong..."
Several cannons were fired in a row, and Zhang Ting was shocked. The sound of the cannon was very familiar. It was the sound of the Crouching Tiger Cannon. The Southeast had resisted the Japanese for many years. The biggest weapon used by the Fujian army to fight the Japanese pirates was the Crouching Tiger Cannon used in close combat. Zhang Ting was shocked. When Ting led the army to attack, the artillery camp did not enter the city at all, and the people who fired the artillery now were definitely not his people.
At this moment, the soldiers with guns in front were shot in large numbers and fell to the ground wailing, which made Zhang Ting furious.
Yan Chun looked up at the city and shouted coldly: "Bring the fierce fire oil."
.
'Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...'
'Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...'
'Bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...bang bang bang...'
In the Zheng's camp after Guancheng, Xin Laosan's troops, who originally had the upper hand, were unexpectedly surrounded by their opponents. Zheng Zhilong, who hurried back to Tongshan Fort, did not retreat immediately. Instead, he ordered the Zheng family generals to come with 10,000 reinforcements.
Xu Tao was forced to retreat from the east camp to the center, just in time to move closer to the center.
Because of the weather, the scouts on both sides were not able to detect the opponent's military situation. Zheng Zhilong's 30,000 garrison troops, plus 10,000 Zheng's private soldiers, plus 20,000 Zheng's naval forces in Pumensuo Bay, were enough. Sixty thousand people.
However, 15,000 people were allocated to Fenshuiguan camp, 5,000 were in Guancheng, and the remaining 10,000 were in the army camp behind Guancheng. Due to Xin Laosan's surprise attack, Zheng Zhilong was beaten. I was caught off guard, so I did take advantage of it for a while.
In the southeastern part of Fujian, there have been battles with Japanese pirates for a long time, and the people's customs are fierce. The guards' troops are not like the soldiers in the south of the Yangtze River in the Central Plains. They can't talk about surrendering. So at the beginning, they suffered a huge defeat and dispersed. But after Zheng Zhilong arrived with reinforcements and then regrouped to counterattack.
There are still nearly 7,000 or 8,000 troops in the camp, and Xu Tao's judgment is not yet half complete.
"Our army's rifles have the advantage. Although their firearms are flintlocks, it seems that the enemy does not have paper shells. We should be able to defend until the army comes for reinforcements."
After speaking, Xin Laosan looked around in the rain, and then commanded: "Xu Tao, immediately arrange for people to surround the surrounding fences, rely on the Chinese military tents to form defenses, and move their food over to use as sandbags."
A series of arrangements were made in an orderly manner, and thanks to Xin Laosan's rich combat experience, otherwise he would have to choose a direction to break out at this moment, but Xin Laosan had his own plan, and he was determined to use his regiment of 1,500 troops to support them. Zheng Zhilong's army thus gave the main force time to encircle and suppress them.
.
After dawn, the typhoon and rain for days finally stopped, but there was still drizzle in the sky. When Chen Cao stepped onto Fenshuiguan City, which was covered with blood and mud, there was almost no place to put his feet on the leather boots on his feet.
The corpses of black people were lying in a mess on the corridor of the city wall, smelling of burning.
Chen Cao frowned and saw Yan Chun walking up: "Your Majesty, guard Zheng Zhibao has evacuated from Guancheng Xiaokou in the west and entered the mountains. General Mo has already sent people to chase him."
Chen Cao didn't care at all whether he could catch Zheng Zhibao. He was just a small role under Zheng Zhilong: "Are these Africans?"
"Africa?"
The generals who followed had never heard of this term. Black people have been called "Kunlun slaves" since the Tang Dynasty, and they are still used today.
"What are the casualties of the Eighth Division?"
Faced with Chen Cao's inquiry, Yan Chun clasped his fists: "Back to your lord, the 22nd Brigade of our division was previously responsible for the main attack. It was not until the 23rd Brigade was replaced that the position was stabilized. By the time the previous battle was basically over, the 22nd Brigade was responsible for the main attack. The 13th Brigade suffered more than 3,000 casualties.”
"More than half of the casualties?" Chen Cao was indeed a little nauseous. The smell of blood and mud mixed with rain and burning spread out, making him retching even more.
The sergeants cleaning the battlefield from the front units were walking back and forth, but Feng Zhongping, who was in charge of the pursuit, rushed back from the front line: "Your Majesty, the general is incompetent and let Zheng Zhilong run away."
"It doesn't matter." Chen Cao took a mint leaf from Zhao Xin's hand and chewed it. After the mint entered his mouth, his entire nasal cavity and brain ventricles resonated, and he instantly became more awake: "Where are the surprise attack troops?"
"Xin Laosan, commander of the second brigade under our division, led his troops to resist Zheng Zhilong's reinforcements all night long. Most of the regiment suffered casualties, with only more than 300 people alive, and everyone was injured."
Xin Laosan was able to survive purely because of the advantage of the rifle and the help of the heavy rain. After Zheng Zhilong's reinforcements arrived, the bows and arrows could not be fired, so they fired with powerful crossbows, but they were both accurate and lethal in the heavy rain. Minus, it was not until Zheng Zhilong finally brought in the throwing spears that he began to cause considerable casualties to Xin Laosan's headquarters.
"Um..."
Chen Cao responded habitually, and then said: "Xin Laosan has made meritorious deeds. I will keep it in mind with the army leader Bo Xian, and I will reward him based on his merits in the future."
Feng Zhongping added: "After the general led his troops in pursuit, Zheng Zhilong's remnant army retreated to Tongshan Fort, but they were well prepared and ambush on both sides of the road and caught our army off guard. The general was careless and did not order a retreat, which resulted in the appearance of the enemy." There were some casualties..."
Chen Cao felt that he had heard this sentence somewhere, but he could not remember it, so he asked: "Did Zheng Zhilong escape into the sea?"
Feng Zhongping nodded: "The forward scouts detected that Zheng Zhilong's army has entered Pumensuo Bay, and must have now boarded their Zheng family's warship."
Chen Cao immediately asked someone to lay out a map and looked at the detailed map of Fujian: "The coast is not safe. They will go along the sea and will probably go south to the capital city of Funing Prefecture."
Cao Shixiu, the commander of the Second Division, said: "Your Majesty, please see, the road south to Funing Prefecture after Tongshan Fort is unobstructed. If the Zheng family is trapped in Funing Prefecture, it will be like sitting on the ground waiting to die."
