The floods have not completely receded yet, and a vigorous production movement - rice seedling planting - has begun in the Perak Army territory. At this time, the soil in the field has been soaked in water and is very soft, and there is still a thin layer of silt in many places, which is very convenient for planting rice seedlings. Ouyang Xuan, who usually attaches great importance to grain production, uncharacteristically did not go to the fields to work in person, or even went to the fields to inspect the situation. At this time, he was on a ship heading to Xinjin City. In the cabin, he read the staff's battle plan while looking at the map. Among the people standing next to him were Staff Officer Xia Dagen, who took the lead in formulating this combat operation, and Chief of Staff Huang, who had just returned from Maozhou. Large root.
Yu Xing's order was for the Perak Army to contain the Mongolian Army, but the Perak Army did not want to stop there. When Ouyang Xuan proposed to seize Pengshan and Meizhou at the joint military and political meeting, he received unanimous support from the top brass of the Perak Army, and even the usually calm Yu Zhu applauded. The people of western Sichuan have been suffering from the Mongolian army for a long time! Recovering Pengshan and Meizhou will not only save the people from fire and water, but also open up the water channel southward to obtain a steady stream of funds and information. At present, the Pili Army is developing rapidly. It urgently needs to obtain strategic materials south of Jiading, east of Jiading and even the former Dali Kingdom. It also needs to find a broader and more stable sales market for industrial products.
According to the combat plan formulated by the staff department, the military operations troops to capture Pengshan City were divided into two groups. The first route was along the waterway, under the personal command of Ouyang Xuan, with the entire navy brigade, two infantry battalions of the field brigade, and the teaching battalion of the garrison brigade, with a strength of 3,000 people. This was also the main direction of attack. The staff plan was to use gunboats to destroy the city defenses, and then infantry to occupy the city. The other route was to use a partial division starting from Changqiu Fort. Dong Hu commanded a special brigade to attack Pengshan from the flank. The strength was 1,000 people, including three. A company of cavalry is called mounted infantry to be precise.
Since the floods have not completely receded, the road surface is extremely muddy and slippery, and there is still a lot of water in some places, making it impossible for heavy artillery to pass. Therefore, the field brigade and the training camp only brought light artillery to participate in the military operation, and all attack firepower was provided by water. The army is responsible. The three battalions of the naval brigade now have thirty light artillery ships and ten heavy artillery ships. They should be equipped with a total of 240 light artillery pieces and 40 heavy artillery pieces. However, due to the insufficient production capacity of new naval guns in the arsenal, only 100 heavy artillery pieces were equipped. Forty light guns and thirty heavy guns. However, according to the calculations of the staff department, this firepower configuration is enough to suppress the Mongolian army. Besides, the infantry of the field brigade and teaching camp also brought light artillery, as well as muskets and grenades, which was enough for the Mongolian army in Pengshan City to drink a pot.
In order to prevent the Mongolian army from taking the opportunity to make a sneak attack when the army moved south to Pengshan, the general staff kept the cavalry battalion of the field brigade in Chongqing Fucheng. However, the area occupied by the Mongolian army was also full of mud after flooding. It was obviously very difficult to march and gather at this time, and the rivers were still turbulent, making it extremely difficult to cross the rivers. The only target that the Mongolian army could attack without crossing the river was Guankou Village. In order to prevent the Mongols from sneaking into Guankou Village, Ouyang Xuan personally took a boat to inspect the village the day before yesterday, and asked Yu Zhu to mobilize three more companies of key militiamen to assist in the defense. At the moment, Shi Zhongshu was leading the people from Guankou Village to dig trenches, build walls, set up defensive horses, and lay many mines on the outside.
After everything was prepared, the Pili fleet sailed south along the river. We set off in the morning and saw Pengshan City from a distance by noon. The Mongolian army at the top of the city saw the mighty Perak fleet, and naturally they were in chaos. At this time, the water in Pengshan City was up to the ankles, and rotten wood, clothes, and other debris were still floating in the low-lying areas. Occasionally, there were drowned rats and other small animals, emitting a stench in the high summer temperature. Before the flood came, there were originally 1,000 new auxiliary troops and 300 Mongolian cavalry in the city. There were more than 20 artillery pieces on the wall, and more than 200 small warships. When the heavy gunships of the Perak Army were unable to come, I'm not too worried about the Thunderbolt Army. When the flood came, most of the Mongolian cavalry relied on the speed of their horses to escape to higher ground. The few cavalry who failed to escape were picked up by their companions after the water receded because a plague broke out in the city. Because of this, the Mongols did not allow the newly attached troops to go to high water shelters to prevent them from being infected together.
Great floods stir up germs buried deep in the soil, which is also the reason for the frequent plagues after disasters. The soldiers and civilians of Pengshan City who were trapped on the city wall were suffering from thirst and would naturally fall ill after drinking the dirty muddy water, causing vomiting and diarrhea. At this time, the few people in the city were sick and hungry, with less than 500 people left. Since all the soldiers of the New Affiliated Army were in their prime and strong in resisting disease, less than a hundred of them died. However, most of them were severely tortured. Many of them even staggered when walking. Where could they get weapons to fight? In the eyes of these new auxiliary troops guarding the city, when the Perak Army came to attack, they were "taking advantage of my illness to kill me"!
Since you can't fight, why not escape? That's because the Mongols simply wouldn't allow them to escape without a fight. The road outside the city is full of mud, and you can't go far before you are overtaken by Mongolian cavalry and exercise military law. A considerable part of the new auxiliary troops in the city were navy troops. However, because the water fortress was washed away by the flood, most of the moored boats had disappeared, and a small number of boats were unable to successfully cross the river under the pursuit of the Perak Navy navy. Despite their predicament, these new vassals refused to surrender. Although the reasons why these traitors surrendered to the Mongolian army were different, they all had in common that they were greedy for life, fearful of death and greedy for pleasure. In their view, although being a lackey of the Mongols is highly discriminated against, they can still earn some leftovers, and if they are lucky, they can also enjoy good food and drink. This kind of life is better than hard labor in the dark mines of the Perak Army.
The new vassal troops in the city refused to surrender. On the one hand, they imagined that the Mongols would send troops to help. This Pengshan City is really important. To the north, it can attack Xinjin City, to the east, it can connect with Chengdu City, and to the south, it can go straight down to the river through Meizhou and Jiading. Even if the Mongolian army does not save them, they will not give up this strategic location easily. . On the other hand, although diseases due to lack of drinking water are prevalent in the city, the city defenses have not been damaged. With the twenty well-preserved artillery pieces on top of the city, it is still capable of fighting. These artillery were already deployed on the city wall, and the ammunition was transferred to the city wall in time. From the perspective of the new annexed army, the Perak Army's warships, including light artillery boats, came many times and had to retreat under the artillery fire from the city wall. You only need to persist for a few days, and when the reinforcements arrive, the Perak troops besieging the city will naturally retreat.
It’s just that “the ideal is very plump, but the reality is very skinny.” Seeing the Perak Army warships approaching, the newly attached troops on the city wall adjusted their cannon muzzles and fired into the river. However, the shells fell into the water one after another, causing huge splashes. They did not damage the Perak Army warships because the impact point was far away from the Perak Army warships. The center of the river where the warship anchored was still half a mile away. "It's not polite to come and not return." Seeing the opening of the city, the Pili Army warships also quickly adjusted their array. The ten largest gun boats slowly turned, facing the Pengshan city wall, and then the side windows opened, revealing a row of black gun ports. Immediately afterwards, flames and thick smoke appeared from the muzzles, and solid bullets flew toward the city head with a huge scream.
