Chapter 84 Marching Troops
On June 29, 1630, the Fubo Army field army stationed in the camp under Chengmai City. He Ming set up his camp two kilometers northwest of Chengmai County. Less than 200 meters away from Yi Road. If the officers and soldiers want to pass through the post road to Lingao, they must capture it.
The camp is a large pentagonal-shaped camp built according to a bastion-style defense system. The entire camp was protected by an earthen embankment as high as one person. Artillery and bunkers were set up on the embankment. Under the embankment were deep trenches and deer villages. As usual, a tall watchtower was built on the earth embankment. With the help of high-power telescopes, every move within more than ten kilometers around Chengmai County can be clearly seen.
He Ming ordered: Immediately cut off all ties between Chengmai County and the outside world. Lurking posts have been set up outside the three gates of the county. Anyone trying to enter or leave the city will be arrested.
Seeing that it was impossible to get in and out of the city gate, the government sent people to lower the city gate to get in and out. Bei Wei ordered the snipers of the special reconnaissance team to ambush the surrounding area with bolt-action rifles with scopes. In the following days, all those who tried to enter or exit the city were shot to death under the city. Then someone tried to attack the city at night, but fatal gunshots still sounded in the dark. In the morning, people who tried to leave the city were often dead under the city wall. No amount of darkness can protect them.
Judging from the killed Lincheng personnel, almost all of them, without exception, carried emergency reports. The captured Tang Baohuo was sent to the headquarters to be dismantled. In addition to the cliche requests for help and false claims of victory, they had written down everything they saw on the city top in the Tang Bao, down to the smallest detail.
He Ming ordered: "Seal the city immediately and prevent the enemy from spying on our army."
"?纭!?br>
With the crisp sound of a rifle, a country hero who was lying on the battlements and peering into the city swayed and fell.
"Hit in the chest," the soldier on the watchtower used high-powered binoculars to monitor the movements on the city wall said loudly.
"It's 7:2 now, you have to work hard." Bei Wei said with a smile. Behind him stood five or six soldiers from the special reconnaissance team. Yang Zeng, commander of the light infantry company of the 1st Infantry Battalion, stood beside him. There were also several light infantrymen with green ribbons behind them.
The location where they stood was a small mound almost 200 meters away from the city wall. At this distance, the bows, arrows and firearms on the top of Chengmai City are useless.
The special reconnaissance team and the light infantry were standing here. They were originally tasked with clearing the enemy at the top of the city. He Ming ordered that the enemy not be allowed to spy on the movements of the field troops below the city. The light infantry of each battalion used precise shooting to clear the enemy at the top of the city. , while practicing actual combat shooting skills. It turned out to be a contest between the Special Reconnaissance Team and the Light Infantry. The targets are all the people and local heroes standing on the walls of Chengmai City.
"The special reconnaissance team uses better guns than us," Yang Zeng was a little unconvinced. The special reconnaissance team used Australian fast guns, which were much higher in shooting accuracy and range than the Mini rifles they used, and there was no smoke when the guns were fired. Some guns also have mirrors and can hit targets at incredibly long distances.
"Oh, okay, I'll use a Mini too." Bei Wei said, throwing the rifle in his hand to the soldiers behind him and replacing it with a Mini.
Judging from the English letters "lb" stamped on the stock of this Mini rifle, this should be one of the earliest rifles assembled from seamless steel tubes and parts from the old time and space. The gun is well maintained. Bei Wei looked at it and saw that there was a j+ mark on the butt of the rifle. This was the symbol of a high-precision rifle, indicating that this rifle could be used by snipers.
"This gun is good," he praised, and asked Yang Zeng, "Is it yours?"
Yang Zeng said: "It's mine. Now only the sharpshooters in the light infantry company are equipped with this kind of gun."
Bei Wei gestured, took a paper bag of ammunition, and loaded the gun skillfully. The special reconnaissance team also conducted shooting training with Mini rifles, and even used various captured British, Portuguese, and Japanese weapons. I have conducted shooting training with Ming Dynasty's self-made bird gun and three-eyed gun, so that I can shoot with various weapons at hand in emergency situations.
Bei Wei put the gun to his cheek several times, tried to aim again, and then shouted: "Indicate the target."
"Ahead at 2 o'clock," the soldier on the guard tower shouted.
The barrel of the Mini rifle quickly pointed in this direction, and then Bei Wei saw a figure flickering behind the battlements. He did not fire, but focused on the nearby battlements.
Sure enough, he saw figures beside three or four battlements. It was almost entirely a subconscious reaction of his body that he adjusted his posture in an instant and pulled the trigger.
The bullet grazed Xiang Yong, who was spying, and shattered a brick on the battlement. Xiang Yong was so frightened that he fell to the ground.
There was a burst of laughter on the mound. Bei Wei smiled and shook his head: "Almost"
The accuracy of the Mini rifle cannot be compared with that of a rifle like this. If he had used it, or even a bolt-action rifle, he would have been able to quickly make up for the missed shot. This is not possible with the Mini rifle.
"I'll do it." Yang Zeng tried eagerly. He took back his J+ Mini rifle, reloaded it, and "indicated the target."
The observation post reported: "Enemies, ahead at 11 o'clock."
Yang Zeng concentrated and held his breath.
"?绋d?"
"Hit in the shoulder"
"This kid can hide very quickly," Yang Zeng said, "he hid behind the crenel."
"The enemy is moving an artillery piece," the observation post on the tower suddenly shouted. "9 o'clock direction"
"Free fire" Bei Wei ordered.
The gunfire rang out messily, and because it was a free fire, there was a lot of controversy over who fired the gun at the target. From time to time there were arguments on the mound about who had shot a particular target.
The civilians who were moving the artillery were shot and fell down one after another, while the remaining people lay under the battlements and did not dare to move.
"Quick, push the cannon!" The commander of a guard station behind him waved his knife and threatened with a chop, forcing the people to continue moving the cannon.
The villagers almost lay on the ground before they managed to move the cannon to a firing position facing the mound.
Bei Wei did not give the order to enter the hidden trench. The largest artillery in Chengmai City was only a few bowl-mouth cannons. These were cannons from the middle of the Ming Dynasty. They were not as good as the medium-sized Fo Lang machine cannon. The range was only a hundred meters at best. Can't hit the mound at all.
Sure enough, the hastily fired cannon produced no effect other than emitting a plume of smoke on the city wall and slightly blocking the sniper's sight.
After the smoke cleared, a new round of fire knocked down several gunners. The one unwillingly hid behind the battlements, waving his knife and forcing the other minzhuangs to come up and continue firing.
Through the telescope, Bei Wei could see a general's sword waving between the battlements, but he never showed any signs of his presence. He seemed to be a very cunning guy.
He felt a little pity for those sallow-looking Minzhuang and Xiangyong, who were forced to die in vain in batches... Even if they were only injured, the possibility of death under the medical conditions of the Ming Dynasty was very high.
"Get my 3o8 rifle" Bei Wei ordered.
An IG-3O8 semi-automatic rifle came into his hands. This kind of gun uses NA bullets, and its shooting kinetic energy and penetrating power are much greater than Mini bullets and 43 bullets.
He raised his rifle, and the knife was still waving among the battlements, as if he was still intimidating the strong people to continue loading cannons. He estimated the distance, wind force and body size, adjusted the muzzle slightly and pulled the trigger.
Yang Zeng and others only saw dust and masonry fragments flying on the battlements with the sound of gunfire, and blood spurted out like raindrops from behind the battlements in an instant.
Blood spots sprayed all the way to the brick wall of the south gate tower. Everyone was startled, and then they all cheered together. There was a dead silence on the city walls.
This horrific game swept away all the defenders on the city walls. Min Zhuang and Xiang Yong could only lie down behind the battlements and secretly peek at the situation of the Kun thieves through the perforations. Even this was not safe. More than once, bullets directly passed through the narrow perforations and killed Xiang Yong who was peeping. His head was smashed.
Starting from July 3, the morale in Chengmai City began to collapse. The people and village braves clamored and were unwilling to defend the city. The Chengmai County Magistrate attempted suicide in the chaos. Later, the master advised him not to rush to the city to die?? The bandit Kun didn't look like he wanted to capture the city, so it was better to wait and see.
The special reconnaissance team then established a shielding layer with a radius of 10 kilometers with Chengmai County as the center. Any government agents, pond horses and even ordinary people who entered this shielding layer would be captured or killed.
He Ming's thinking is very clear: the enemy is outnumbered and we are outnumbered. With the combat effectiveness and weapon advantages of the field army, it was not difficult for the entire army to form a formation outside Chengmai City and defeat He Rubin's troops in one battle. The difficulty is ensuring that most of the prisoners are captured. This forced him to ambush some of his troops in other directions so that the enemy could not retreat to Qiongshan, let alone flee in all directions.
The general situation around Chengmai County is that Chengmai County is located on the south bank of a small river, about three kilometers from the coastline. This river is not only the moat of the county, but also forms a river branch triangle in the south of the city. However, this river is very shallow. Before the rainy season, the water depth is only 1 meter at most, which cannot form an effective obstacle. To the northwest of the county is a peninsula called Xiaoyingchang. There is an abandoned village on the peninsula. There is a well in the village. However, according to pre-war reconnaissance, the well has been contaminated by chlorine and is not suitable for drinking. The post road from Qiongshan passes outside the south gate of the county and then turns northwest.
After repeated calculations, he decided to use only two battalions to hold the main camp with the support of artillery to block the Ming army from passing the post road. The 3rd Battalion was on standby in the mountains to the east of the county seat, waiting for an opportunity to cut off the retreat of the officers and soldiers while forcing them to continue to move closer to the brigade. The 5th Battalion was ambushing in the south of the city, waiting for an opportunity to launch an attack. Roughly forming a siege of the Ming army.
Of course, based on the strength of the field army, such an encirclement is not tight. Only by relying on the better mobility and powerful firepower of the Fubo Army soldiers can they intercept the enemy with less force. If the opponent has one or two generals with outstanding organizational skills and good judgment, they can organize their troops to break out of the siege in time. So he still had to keep the last 6th Infantry Battalion as a reserve.
The operational idea was simple: intercept the Ming army, defeat it, and then push its remnants toward the coastline.
Intercepting nearly 2,000 enemy troops with 1,800 infantrymen from 2 battalions is an amazing thing just from a numerical comparison. He Ming believes that the problem will not be too big, with enough artillery and fortifications, although the victory may not be easy enough. But enough to fend off enemies.
"No matter how many people He Rubin has, it's impossible to send them all up to charge... Besides, there's no way to set up a formation here. He will definitely only be able to attack with a small number of elite troops." He Ming explained his determination to fight to the officers. "It is difficult for the enemy to outflank and launch a flank attack: north of the camp, we have artillery support from the navy. If he wants to send troops to the north of the camp to attack, he will fall under double artillery fire from the navy and our camp, and he will be attacked from both sides."
After the plan was finalized, the 1st and 4th Battalions, who were responsible for holding the position, reinforced the position of the main camp. In addition to the artillery battalion's artillery, spare artillery brought by the artillery trainees were also placed on the camp to intercept the enemy. A few gates of the 5th Battalion. Used as mobile firepower.
Then he called Bei Wei over: "Can you guarantee a radius of 10 kilometers to block it?"
"Okay." Bei Wei said without hesitation, "I have deployed multiple lurking posts and patrol teams to ensure that no one within a 20-kilometer radius can detect our movements."
"Are there enough troops?"
"Barely enough. I have ordered all the special reconnaissance teams except the training team and the Sanya team to go to Chengmai immediately to wait for call... They will arrive in the evening. Once these teams arrive, the interception will be more reliable."
"This matter is very important." He Ming emphasized again and again. All his plans were based on the mobility of his troops. No matter how powerful the Fubo Army's mobility is, it relies on two legs, so the ambush troops cannot leave the battle area too far, otherwise it will be difficult to arrive in time to participate in the battle. Since an ambush is nearby, it is necessary to completely block all enemy reconnaissance so that they cannot grasp the movement.
According to the information provided by the historical data group, the Ming army placed 24 ponds about 20 miles away during normal marches, and 30 miles to the front, back, left, and right to explore the horses. Moreover, the Ming army's Tanma are all cavalry, and their mobility is still considerable. In addition, the Ming army may have sent Xizuo to visit in advance. Therefore, blocking the enemy's eyes and ears has become an important matter.
After meeting Bei Wei, Chen Haiyang also came ashore to discuss cooperation with him. The two parties agreed on communication signals and methods. Chen Haiyang also ordered the ten typewriters on the battleship to be dismantled, and landed along with the shooters and ammunition to assist in the defense.
By this time, all the units of the field army were fully prepared for battle. Not only did each unit know its own battle plan, but they also conducted on-the-spot surveys of the battlefield where the battle was about to begin to avoid missing anything.
On the morning of July 3, the scouts from the special reconnaissance team in Qiongshan came: "The enemy's entire army has been dispatched" report. The second counter-encirclement and suppression campaign officially kicked off.
He Rubin's army came out from Qiongshan and moved forward along the post road. In the war, his attitude was still prudent. For this reason, as soon as he left Qiongshan, he sent a large number of scouts to investigate the situation.
Chaozhou General Tong Yizhen led a dozen generals and more than 2,000 soldiers in front. At the front are three hundred cavalry led by his subordinate Qian Zhanran, who are ready to attack quickly if they encounter enemies on the road, covering the deployment of large groups of infantry and firearms behind them.
Cavalry is a very useful unit, but there are not many cavalry available in Guangdong, so the entire army stopped with 800 cavalry. He Rubin believed that cavalry was of little use in Hainan. This time, most of the battles were sieges and sieges, so it would be useless to bring more cavalry. And the news everywhere said that the Kun bandits lacked mules and horses and did not pose a threat.
Huizhou General Yan Zungao led 2,000 soldiers to break up the rear. They were previously a firearms battalion led by Chief Qian Li Baidao of the General Town Firearms Battalion. Most of the heavy artillery was pulled by oxen and there were many vehicles, so the progress was very slow and they were second to last. Before Firearms Camp was Ladder Camp. This is a professional force specially used to attack cities and seize strongholds. Six hundred ladder soldiers carry disassembled ladders and many equipment. In case it is necessary to attack the stronghold directly, the ladder soldiers will serve as the assault forward.
The Chinese army of Zhenbiao camp was guarding Sun Changzuo, and Ye Zhengfang led a dozen generals, 1,500 soldiers of Biao camp and 500 servants of He Rubin to guard the old camp. Zhao Ruyi and his staff followed the old battalion. Since he was sending troops to fight, he said he would march on horseback, but He Rubin still took care to prepare a sedan and three groups of bearers for him at any time.
He Rubin led his soldiers and some of the main generals in front of the old camp. People on the post road were shouting, and smoke and dust were billowing. Although it had rained continuously in the past few days, the weather was slightly better these days, the sun was very hot, and the road was very dusty. Many soldiers drank all the water in their earthen jars and skin bags before walking far.
Almost every time they came to a river with clear water, soldiers and horses would crowd to the river to drink water. People crowded together, horses neighed, and there was chaos.
"Tell all the generals to leave quickly," He Rubin urged his generals, not to let the soldiers stay by the river for too long, lest they disrupt the ranks and be attacked by the enemy.
However, the enemy obviously had no intention of making a surprise attack. Even in such a high-risk state when the entire army was wading across the river, Tan Ma found no trace of enemy activity nearby.
The 24 Tangtang horses released kept sending back reports of safety in all directions. He Rubin was a little relieved.
"Send orders to all armies not to delay," he ordered.
The normal distance between Qiongshan and Chengmai is only half a day's journey. If the officers and soldiers walk an average of 20 to 30 miles a day, this journey can take three or four days. But Hainan is different from other places. There are very few prefectures and counties along the way, and the countryside is also very poor, except for prefectures and counties like Qiongshan and Danzhou that have official warehouses with large reserves of grain. Otherwise, there would be no way to supply a large army. If we march slowly according to the old rules, the food carried by the army will be exhausted in advance. He Rubin ordered the generals to urge all ministries to move forward as soon as possible. u! ~!
