Ouyang Xuan and Yang Bangxian stood on the top of the Sandu Water Fortress, watching the Mongolian army on the other side of the river recede like a chaotic tide. Although his face was calm, his heart was filled with turmoil. To be precise, he was terrified. The heavy fog had dissipated at this moment, and every move of the Mongolian army on the east bank of the river could be clearly seen. As soon as Mi Zhe Huoli left with his Mongolian cavalry, Liu Heima's Mongolian and Han troops also followed them towards Wenjiang City. Now, the only ones left behind were hundreds of new vassal troops and civilians on the beach in the river. It wasn't that they didn't want to escape, but because the pontoon bridge had been completely blown apart.
Although the section of the river where the floating bridge is built is very narrow, it is still more than ten meters wide. This distance is not a problem for those who are proficient in water skills, but it is extremely difficult for those who cannot swim. What's more, even if you can cross the river, you will definitely be soaked. Whether you can escape to Wenjiang City more than 20 miles away and survive in this biting cold weather is another matter. In this war-torn era of malnutrition and lack of medical care, headaches and brain fever may be the end of the road for ordinary people. While these newly attached soldiers and civilians were buzzing and huddled together in front of the blown-out pontoon bridge, a large number of Perak Army soldiers shouted "Kill those who resist, surrender and avoid death" and rushed down the river embankment.
Without any suspense, most of the civilians and newly attached troops on the river bank knelt down and surrendered. Only a small number of newly affiliated soldiers risked their lives and swam to the other side. These people were either hardcore traitors or had the blood of innocent people on their hands and knew that surrender would not bring good results. Ouyang Xuan attached great importance to the political propaganda offensive, so after fighting several battles at the beginning of his rise, all the new affiliated armies in western Sichuan became aware of the Perak Army's prisoner policy. From the perspective of the New Affiliated Army, if you become a prisoner, you will definitely dig in underground mines that are hidden from the light of day. However, you will have food and clothing to eat, and you can be treated when you are sick. The days are not much different. As a lackey of the Mongols, he could barely get enough food and clothing. He was beaten, scolded and humiliated on a daily basis, and he had to be used as cannon fodder in wartime.
When Huang Dagen and his men finished capturing the prisoners and completely destroyed the remains of the pontoon bridge, another group of Mongolian scouts appeared on the east bank of the river embankment, and faint thunder could be heard in the distance. Ouyang Xuan stood on the top of the fortress, facing the muffled thunder, and raised the telescope hanging on his chest. The camera zoomed in and saw a black cavalry on the northeastern horizon, with a huge plume of smoke rising behind them. These cavalry are the Mongolian cavalry from Chengdu and Pengzhou. As these cavalrymen got closer and closer to the river bank, Ouyang Xuan even saw the horses rushing forward with their nostrils turned out and their bodies dripping with sweat. The flying hoofs of the horses rolled up large areas of mud and grass stems of wheat seedlings.
Before the large group of cavalry entered the range of the fortress' cannon, the group of Mongolian scouts on the river embankment turned their horses and headed back. The pontoon bridge was broken and the surprise attack plan had failed, so after a while, the Mongolian cavalry rode towards Wenjiang City. It is said that the momentum of three thousand cavalry galloping at the same time was amazing. The sound of tens of thousands of horse hooves on the ground was like thunder. Even Huang Dagen in the river beach felt the earth trembling slightly. More than ten minutes later, the Mongolian cavalry had disappeared. Only the choking smell of dust in the air and a messy wheat field could prove their past existence.
The Mongolian cavalry came and returned, much to Yang Bangxian's chagrin. When he saw the large group of cavalry stopped outside the range of the artillery, he stamped his feet anxiously. The twelve heavy artillery pieces of the Sandu Water Fortress showed their might just now, not only blowing up the pontoon bridge, but also beating the Mongolian troops assembled on the east bank to flight, which made him very relieved. Thinking about the scene of the fortress's heavy artillery bombarding the cavalry at the same time, and the cannonballs falling into the dense enemy, it is really a relief! Now the barrel has cooled down and can be fired again, but these cunning Tatars are far outside the range of the artillery. How can he not be annoyed? What he didn't know was that the Mongolian cavalry had suffered enough from artillery as early as the Battle of Hengyuan Fort. Since then, the senior leaders of the Sichuan Army have reached a consensus that they will never directly attack the Pili Army's forts with heavy artillery, especially those guarded by gunboats.
As the saying goes, "Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers." The retreat of the Mongolian cavalry made Yang Bangxian unwilling, but made Ouyang Xuan, Huang Dagen and other personnel feel lucky. If the Sandu Water Fortress is not recaptured and the pontoon bridge is not destroyed, once these three thousand Mongolian cavalry cross the river, they will have no power to stop them from galloping on the plains. Thinking about this consequence sent shivers down Ouyang Xuan's spine. Although this time the Mongolian army was able to successfully attack the Sandu Water Fortress during the dry season and took advantage of the dark night and heavy fog, there was a lot of luck in it. However, wars and historical trends are inherently random and are greatly affected by accidental events. The current Perak Army simply cannot afford the serious consequences of such an accident. To mitigate or even avoid this impact, the prerequisite is that you must have enough strength to resist risks and increase the fault tolerance rate.
This battle was extremely passive in terms of strategy. The process was frightening, but there were no dangers. In terms of the results, it was even very rewarding. In addition to the more than 300 Mongolian and Han troops who were made dumplings in the fortress, more than 600 people were captured on the beach in the river, including more than 200 new attached troops and more than 400 civilians. Most of these people go to the mines. The difference is that civilians generally only serve hard labor for less than half a year, while the New Affiliated Army and the Mongolian Han Army generally serve hard labor for more than five years, and some people even serve in the twenties. years and above. In addition to obtaining the strong labor force of nearly a thousand people, the Perak Army also seized a large amount of logistical supplies on the east coast. Most of these supplies were piled near the river embankment, within the artillery range of the fortress, and the Mongolian army did not dare to come back to snatch them.
The losses on the Perak Army's side were not great. In addition to the basic casualties of the fortress garrison company, the troops including the Second Teaching Battalion only suffered more than a hundred casualties, most of which were arrow wounds, and the majority were minor injuries. This was mainly because the thick fog prevented the Mongolian army from taking advantage of their bows and crossbows. Instead, they were beaten by the Thunderbolt Army's grenades. The twelve heavy cannons of the fortress also killed and injured a considerable number of the Mongolian army. However, in this battle, the Perak Army threw thousands of grenades and spent hundreds of artillery shells and a large number of landmines and other military supplies, which were also valuable. Huang Dagen roughly calculated the price and surprised Yang Bangxian. He now finally understood what Ouyang Xuan meant when he often said, "When fighting a war, we fight for the economy." Before, he was secretly laughing at his brother-in-law for being so petty and always talking about money and property.
After cleaning the battlefield, the troops directly under the general staff escorted the prisoners to Jiangyuan City, where they would take a boat to Dayi and Qiongzhou to perform hard labor. Because the Sandu Water Fortress garrison company has been wiped out, its defense will be taken over by the Second Teaching Battalion until the new garrison arrives. The Second Battalion only lost seven people and wounded more than twenty in this battle. It was still considered fully equipped. It was more than enough for them to defend the Sandu Water Fortress. Moreover, the navy brigade has sent light gunboats to reinforce, and the Mongolian army has no possibility of building a pontoon bridge to cross the river. The garrison of Chongqing Mansion returned to the city with Ouyang Xuan and Huang Dagen. Fucheng is the center of the Perak Army and a political, economic and scientific research center. Not only is it home to a number of factories and businesses, but it is also the seat of family members. There is really no room for any loss.
