Ouyang Xuan, who arrived in a hurry, listened to the situation and the analysis of Huang Dagen and other staff members, and fell into deep thought. Before he arrived at the staff headquarters, Huang Dagen had sent people to various forts and settlements to warn, and also sent people to Qiongzhou, Hengyuan Fort and Pengshan City to mobilize troops. After receiving news of the Mongolian army's movements on the second day of the first lunar month, the staff headquarters transferred the teaching battalion to Guankou Village and most of the special brigade to Pengshan City. According to the staff analysis, the most likely direction for the Mongolian army to break through the Jinma River is the Guankouzhai-Daojiang County direction. The river here is narrow and shallow, making it easier to cross the river in winter. Next is the direction of Pengshan City. During this period, Liu Heima trained his navy again and built many ships.
It was extremely difficult to mobilize troops under the heavy fog, because neither boats nor waterways could be used, nor horses could be used, so they could only march on foot. Qiongzhou, where the infantry battalion of the field brigade is stationed, is about 150 miles away from Sandu River. Baizhang County, where the cavalry battalion is stationed, is more than 200 miles away. It takes at least three days to reach there. The special brigade rushed back from Pengshan. Most of the road was not an official road and required climbing over mountains and wading through rivers, which took longer. Although Yokoyuan Fort is only a few dozen miles away, it can only mobilize an understaffed guard battalion at the moment. Although the troops stationed in the direction of Guankou Village were larger and more powerful, they did not dare to mobilize them at all. Once the troops move south, it is extremely easy to fall into the trap of attacking from the east and attacking from the west. If the Mongolian cavalry crosses the river in this direction, the situation will become worse.
The navy brigade was unable to move due to the weather, the special brigade and the field brigade were far away from water and could not quench their thirst. The main force of the garrison brigade was restrained in Guankou Village and could not move. The urgently mobilized basic militia company was unable to bear the heavy burden. This left Huang Dagen and Ouyang Xuan is in trouble. However, the war is like a fire and it is obvious that it cannot be allowed to develop. Once the Mongolian army takes Sandu Shui, there will definitely be a large number of reinforcements and even elite cavalry coming continuously. Once the situation becomes like this, even if the main force of the Perak Army arrives, it will turn into a war of attrition with huge casualties, and it may even lead to the Mongolian army's plan to encircle the point for reinforcements. Everyone in the staff knew that they had to find a way to annihilate the vanguard of the Mongolian army at the Sandu Water Fortress and prevent the subsequent Mongolian army from crossing the river.
"Why not let the Second Battalion of Instructors go to stop the enemy?" Yang Bangxian's words broke Ouyang Xuan's meditation. After receiving the news of the Mongolian army's movement on the second day of the first lunar month, in order to avoid the losses of the Second Teaching Battalion, Ouyang Xuan transferred it to Anle Township, five miles outside the east gate of Chongqing Prefecture. The reason for such mobilization was that the staff judged that the direction of the Mongolian invasion was Guankou Village, which was not far from the Second Teaching Battalion of Hengyuan Fort and could be reached by the Mongolian cavalry in half a day. If this precious seed force suffers huge losses, it will seriously shake the foundation of cooperation between the Perak Army and the Miao and Yibo regions, and even cause the alliance to break down.
"Brother-in-law, don't you always say that the sharpness of a sword is sharpened? How can you become a strong army without going through war? What's more, in Bozhou we killed the Mongolian army, and in Western Sichuan we also killed the Mongolian army. What's the difference? Besides, teach the students of the second battalion. He was an elite soldier before he came to Chongqing Mansion..." Yang Bangxian spoke hurriedly when Ouyang Xuan didn't answer, and his tone couldn't help but rise a lot. In his opinion, his brother-in-law looked down upon the combat effectiveness of the second battalion. Among the five companies that teach the second battalion, Miao students account for the majority. Among them, the first company is Yang Bangxian's guard, so he also serves as the deputy battalion commander, and the battalion commander is concurrently served by the garrison brigade commander Zeng Yong.
When Yang Bangxian said this, Ouyang Xuan was moved. When he saw Huang Dagen also nodded, he no longer hesitated and ordered: "I will summon the direct subordinates of the staff and the Fucheng Guard Camp to accompany me to Sandu Shui. Bang Xian, you first go to the second battalion to gather your subordinates, and after meeting me, Let's go fight together." Huang Dagen and Yang Bangxian hurriedly accepted the order and left. Ouyang Xuan returned to his residence to inform Yang Yan of the situation. He was really worried about Yang Yan's blame. Unexpectedly, Yang Yan was not angry but happy after hearing this: "The heads of my Yang family have been the ones who led troops in battles. Although Bang Xian is young, it is time for him to go to the battlefield. Brother Xuan, don't worry, this kid has been very smart since he was a child. .”
It was already dawn when Ouyang Xuan led his army to leave Fucheng, but the thick fog made it impossible for them to ride their horses, so they had to march lightly. Due to the extremely poor visibility, the effectiveness of the muskets was greatly weakened, and the artillery was heavy, so he did not order these two main battle weapons to be brought. A total of 1,000 people were sent to Sandushui this time. In addition to the 500 people from the Second Teaching Battalion, there were 200 people directly under the General Staff and 300 people from the Fucheng Guard Battalion. In addition to swords, spears and shields, each of these soldiers carried five grenades with them. The dozens of mules and horses behind the queue also carried many grenades and landmines. In addition to these melee weapons, soldiers from the Miao border also brought many bows and crossbows. While Yang Bangxian was waiting for Ouyang Xuan, he ordered the soldiers to coat the crossbow arrows with poison.
Chongqingfu City is about twenty miles away from Sandu Water. After a forced march, they finally arrived at Sandu Water Fortress at noon. Although the thick fog had dissipated a lot at this time, the visibility was still less than ten meters. Only the roar of people could be heard from the direction of Jinma River, and from the fortress side there were constant shouts of killing, and the occasional sound of grenades exploding. The group did not care to catch their breath, so Ouyang Xuan ordered Huang Dagen to lead his troops to disperse the Mongolian troops by the river and build a position to block the Mongolian troops preparing to cross the river. He and Bang Xian led the Second Battalion of Teaching to recapture the fortress.
Cries of killing and explosions came one after another. Under the cover of thick fog, the second battalion quietly marched towards the outer wall. The Mongolian and Han troops who were besieging the inner fort were not surprised until the second battalion rushed to the gate that they were not friendly forces. They all turned around in panic, preparing to close the door together. It is said that the gate of this fortress is covered with iron sheet. Once it is closed, it cannot be broken except by heavy artillery. The first company that rushed forward missed the opportunity to open the city gate. They rushed forward under the rain of arrows and threw grenades. Although more than ten people were shot down, they also threw a few grenades into the city gate. After a burst of smoke, more than a dozen Mongolian soldiers who were closing the city gate fell to the ground. Where is there a place to hide in the narrow city gate?
Of course the Mongolian commander knew the importance of the city gate. On the one hand, he kept sending people to close the city gate, and also ordered the crossbowmen to stand on the city wall and fire arrows. However, the Pili Army was willing to let them close the city gate again and keep throwing grenades into the city gate hole. The Mongolian archers could not see clearly the soldiers of the Perak Army in the thick fog, so they had to shoot blindly. After a few rounds, the Mongolian soldiers defending the city suffered more casualties, because bows and arrows were point-kill, while grenades were area-kill, and one explosion would cause a large area. More importantly, the soldiers of the Perak Army hid in the thick fog and kept throwing grenades into the city gate. The corpses of the Mongolian soldiers killed by the explosion had gathered in piles. Don't even think about closing the city gate again until these corpses are cleaned up. It's just that the Thunderbolt Army couldn't rush in because the arrow rain at the city gate was too dense.
The shouts and explosions from the direction of the outer fort made the soldiers of the Perak Army who were guarding the inner fort cheer. After half a day of fighting, only a dozen of the original more than 30 soldiers were still fighting. The leading deputy company commander was also dying due to fatal arrow wounds, and grenades and bullets were about to run out. The Mongolian army did not want to completely destroy the fortress, but wanted to occupy it, so they did not use the method of setting fire to it. It was this greed that caused heavy casualties to the Mongolian soldiers who attacked the inner fort and arsenal. The doors of the inner fort and the arsenal were thick, solid and covered with iron sheets, which was really a problem for the Mongolian army without artillery. Moreover, the Thunderbolt Army in the inner fort would definitely not let them break through easily, but would continue to "warmly welcome" them with muskets and grenades.
