Chapter 85 Encounter
The post road began to gradually turn from the seaside to the interior, and we walked for a long time. [No pop-up novel website] He Rubin saw that the sun was setting in the west, and it was estimated that it was already the beginning of Shenchu. He looked around, seeing undulating hills and mountains in the distance. Not far from the post road was a small mountain with lush vegetation. As soon as he picked up the reins of his horse, he rode to a hillside beside the post road, and his soldiers and generals quickly followed him.
He was riding a Mongolian horse, which was very impressive. The saddle, bridle and stirrups were all made of brass. The soldiers had polished them to a shiny shine under the sunlight. Holding the reins with his left hand and holding the whip with his right hand, he stared at the people, horses and flags advancing continuously around him, and a feeling of satisfaction filled his heart.
"General Tang Shen" he called.
"The humble general is here"
"How far is this place from Chengmai?"
"Reporting to Master Zhentai, there are still thirty miles." Tang Yunwen crossed his hands on his horse and said, "This place is called Shishan."
He Rubin took a look at the hill, which was about a hundred feet away from the post road. It is a good place to control the post road. If the Kun thief ambush people here, he would have to go through a hard fight to get through. But Tan Ma had just come to explore, and there was no ambush here.
"Kun thieves don't know soldiers." He Rubin commented, "If we set up a camp here and send people to guard it, our army must capture this mountain before we can continue to advance."
"What the Lord said is absolutely true." Chang Qingyun's face was covered with dust and his buttocks hurt, but he still followed He Rubin's headquarters and was not in the old camp. I just hope that at such a time, I can say a few words to show his knowledge and "diligence and loyalty" attitude.
"The terrain here is important. Set up a grain platform here," He Rubin ordered.
The strategy set for the campaign was to encircle a long siege, and the supply of military food for more than 20,000 people was a very important matter. The most convenient sea transportation is unable to transport grain due to the "strong ships and fast guns" of the Kun thieves. It is always quite difficult to transport grain to the land regardless of the distance, especially the condition of the post roads in Hainan is really bad. It was very difficult to rely on conscripted civilian men to carry carts and push them hundreds of miles to deliver food. Therefore, the Ming army adopted a model of setting up grain platforms section by section and transferring them layer by layer.
Shishan has certain terrain advantages and the road is moderate, making it one of the best places to set up a grain transfer platform.
Immediately, he ordered a general Qian to lead 500 soldiers to set up camp here and build a grain platform to be responsible for transporting grain. He also planned to set up a second grain transshipment platform in Chengmai County after the siege of Chengmai was lifted. In this way, a grain platform was set up every forty or fifty miles apart, and soldiers were stationed to guard it. Not only could grain and grass be continuously transported to the army, but it could also ensure the safety of his retreat.
The army then camped at Stone Mountain. There were troops of Kun thieves outside Chengmai County. He Rubin decided to rest here for one night so that the soldiers could recharge their batteries and return to Chengmai tomorrow. This is to prevent the hungry and tired troops from being able to resist the thieves who are waiting for work. If a small defeat occurs under the city, it will have a very bad impact on morale.
"Tomorrow afternoon, our army will arrive at the city of Chengmai County." He Rubin said to the generals and staff at the evening meeting, "According to the report from Chengmaitang, the bandits have built an earthen siege under the city and set up a camp. , with about 2,000 troops and artillery, the defense must be strong. Our army must conquer it in one go without any setbacks."
"Here" all the generals agreed loudly.
Zhao Ruyi said: "Local officials conceal their faults and only show off their merits. All rebels and bandits will exaggerate ten times or dozens of times. Even if there are more than 2,000 people in his stronghold, most of them are ordinary people. Our soldiers will definitely be able to defeat them in one go." .”
"What your Excellency said is absolutely true. However, caution is still the priority." He Rubin asked the Chinese Army Guard Ye Zhengfang, "General Ye, please bring the latest Tang newspaper from Chengmai."
Ye Zhengfang said: "Reporting to your lord, the Tangbao from Chengmai has not arrived for three or four days. I am afraid that the bandits have surrounded the whole city and cut off traffic."
"You need to be more cautious like this." He Rubin felt a little uneasy in his heart, "We will send more horses to explore tomorrow."
The sun shines brightly on the top of my head.
The foreign affairs committee chief Zhong Xiao took off his helmet, which was burning hot in the sun, from his head countless times. He stopped his horse under the shade of a tree by the side of the path, and several cavalrymen followed him.
"Why doesn't the boss leave?" one of his brothers asked.
"What the hell, it's so hot. We'll talk about this damn place later," Zhong Xiao cursed. His armor was not only hot but also heavy under the sun, and the areas where the leather was connected continued to emit a disgusting stench. He was ordered to lead several brothers to act as scouts and investigate the enemy's situation at any time.
He felt better after taking off his helmet. Not just a sigh. This battle was really a difficult thing. Not to mention the fear, the march alone cost him half his life.
"Master, please come and get this small helmet." A soldier named Xu next to him said flatteringly.
"Okay, go on." Zhong Xiao threw the helmet into his hand, "I can't even find anyone to ask for a drink of water in this damn place."
They had just drank all the water they had brought with them. For a while there was no place to replenish water.
"There is water here." Xu Qinbing quickly handed over a bamboo tube, "I brought a few more before I went out today. You are our backbone, we can't make any mistakes."
"What a good boy, you're really capable," Zhong Xiao praised. Several other soldiers secretly cursed him for being shameless - this man usually wore a smiling face and served the boss respectfully and comfortably as if he were his master. I gained a lot of benefits for myself.
Zhong Xiao's small group of cavalry separated from the main team, left the post road, and went out to patrol south to detect any signs of enemy activity.
They walked more than ten miles in one breath. Along the way, except for a few common people working in the farmland occasionally, I didn't see a single person. He wanted to arrest a few people for questioning, but as soon as they saw the officers and soldiers wearing armor, they immediately ran away. It was difficult to catch the horses in the paddy fields, so he was so angry that he cursed his mother.
Since he couldn't catch the people for questioning, he had no choice but to lead his brothers and ride forward slowly. I am used to living in the densely populated Guangdong, but when I arrived in Hainan, I felt that it was extremely desolate. There were uncultivated wastelands everywhere, and there were few villages along the way. When I encountered a few villages, the people inside had already fled with their slender people.
"There is no sign of the thieves," Zhong Xiao scolded, "They are probably all eating, drinking and having fun in the shop right now, while the little girl is sleeping."
"The boss is right," the soldier surnamed Xu agreed. "Wherever the thieves dare to come out to fight, they dare to set off firearms from a distance."
"Let's go and take a look at the woods on the hill over there." Zhong Xiao felt much more energetic after drinking water.
"5oo meters to the southeast at 4 o'clock, five enemy cavalry are moving northwest," a scout who was observing from a big tree reported in a low voice.
Chen Sigen was already a little asleep - when he heard the report, he slowly turned around and moved to the observation position. He and three scouts had been lurking in a hidden trench on this hill since last night to observe the surrounding movements.
The order given to him was to eliminate all officers and soldiers with less than ten people who appeared within their patrol range. Suspicious characters can be hunted and killed even if they are not in official or military uniforms.
Due to the lack of mobility, the Special Reconnaissance Team's shielded patrols can only rely on two legs. Although the physical strength and endurance of special reconnaissance team members are several times that of ordinary people, it is still quite laborious to intercept a small group of reconnaissance cavalry in a wide area.
Beiwei decided to adopt a slicing and lump sum system to divide the shielding area into shards. Every four people form a team, and every two teams are responsible for a small area. The two teams took turns conducting latent surveillance and armed patrols. Each team uses walkie-talkies to keep in contact with each other and report the situation at any time. If the distance is beyond the range of rifle fire or there are many officers and soldiers, their movements will only be reported, and a special mobile team will deal with them - the mobile team is composed of motorcycles and agricultural vehicles equipped with machine guns.
Chen Sigen and his men chose a commanding height here and set up an observation post. A soldier observes the surrounding situation with a telescope in the branches and leaves at the top of the big tree.
He took out his telescope and observed according to the sentry's instructions: 500 meters away, there were indeed five Ming army cavalry walking over listlessly. Their armor, helmets and sabers hanging on the saddles all indicated their identities.
"Don't worry, they are coming towards us, put them 100 meters away and then fire." Chen Sigen ordered, "Notify the people in the first team to tell them to pay attention."
Seeing that the five cavalry enemies had reached less than 100 meters away from him, Chen Sigen made a "prepare to shoot" gesture. Then he pulled the gun in his hand to his eyes and carefully aimed at the leading knight who looked like an officer.
Just when Zhong Xiao was looking into the distance again, a crisp gunshot sounded in his ears.
A bullet flew past his ear, and Zhong Xiao was shocked: there were thieves ambushing him here. He didn't dare to think too much, and quickly turned his horse's head, preparing to escape.
At this time, several more shots rang out, and the two cavalrymen beside him fell off their horses. Xu Qinbing, who was still talking in a verbose manner just now, was lying on the ground with half of the back of his head uncovered, and his blood and brain matter were flowing out all over the floor. Zhong Xiao was so frightened that he almost fell off his horse
"Go quickly." He lowered his body, hugged the horse's neck, and whipped the horse's butt.
"Bastard" Chen Sigen cursed, quickly adjusted half the secret position, and pulled the trigger again.
The bullet accurately hit Zhong Xiao's shoulder blade, causing his body to rush forward. The bullet came out of his mouth, and the huge impact tore off half of his jaw. The body fell from the horse into the mud.
The other two cavalrymen turned their horses' heads in panic and fled for their lives. The bullets soon caught up with them, and the two men were shot one after another and fell off their horses.
"It's a pity" Chen Sigen couldn't help but cursed as he looked at the two empty-saddled horses that were running away. These are all Mongolian horses that are rare in the local area.
"Quickly, pull the horses back and pull the bodies into the ditch." He then ordered, "Report, the five Ming army reconnaissance cavalry were eliminated in area B12."
The special reconnaissance team shielded the Ming army's detective horses, causing the officers and soldiers to quickly lose all information. He Rubin sent several groups of detective horses in succession, but none came back. After walking like this for more than ten miles, no one came back. Feeling bad, he ordered the entire army to stop advancing.
"How far is it from Chengmai County?"
The answer was that there was still twelve miles to go. He Rubin felt hesitant. From his experience, the sudden disappearance of his pond horse showed that the enemy's reconnaissance cavalry was also actively active, trying his best to prevent himself from the opponent's movements.
It seemed that the enemy did not intend to be besieged by him in Lingao, but was preparing to fight him in Chengmai County.
"This thief is not easy to deal with." He felt a little worried for the first time. Don’t the Kun thieves have no cavalry? It was impossible for infantry alone to wipe out all the exploration horses he sent without returning any of them.
The generals are all waiting for his order. It will get dark in another hour and a half. The 20,000 troops and baggage are still on the way. If they cannot reach Chengmai before dark, they will have to camp on the spot - time does not allow him hesitate.
"General Tong," he ordered, "immediately send 300 cavalry to Chengmai, and another 500 infantry to follow. Set up a stronghold outside Chengmai County before dark to receive the army."
Tong Yizhen saw the marshal's serious expression and knew that the troops were dangerous. He immediately sent General He Zhanran to lead 300 cavalry and gallop towards Chengmai County. Just in case, he did not send 500 infantry, but he personally led his retainers and 1,000 infantry to follow.
The special reconnaissance team members of Ye Mengyan's detachment, who were serving as shields on the post road, saw more than 300 cavalry coming down the post road. They knew that their small force of four people in a team could not resist, so they immediately moved out of the way to let the cavalry pass. .
"The enemy's large group is coming. There are three to four hundred cavalrymen," Ye Mengyan shouted on the intercom. "There is a lot of smoke and dust behind, and there are still troops coming."
"Don't get entangled with them. The whole team will harass and shoot while exiting the shielded area. Let the enemy go to the county seat."
"clear"
Ye Mengyan raised his rifle and pulled the trigger at the cavalry galloping on the road, and then the team members around him opened fire one after another.
Amidst the shrill sound of gunfire, cavalrymen continued to be shot and fell off their horses. This sudden shooting surprised He Zhanran, because he saw no sign of anyone firing a cannon. But from the sound of gunfire, he knew that there were not many people on the other side. There were at most thirty or forty people. They must be harassing and delaying his troops. He shouted, "Follow me." He immediately ignored the fact that some people were shot and fell off their horses, and headed straight towards Cheng. Go to the county seat.
Three or four teams from Ye Mengyan's detachment fired from both sides of the road, causing He Zhanran to leave more than 20 riders on the post road. Ye Mengyan originally wanted to stage another ambush, but the infantry of the Ming army had already rushed over from all over the mountains and plains. Tong Yizhen heard the gunshots in front and judged that the enemy troops had spread out. He ordered the infantry to spread out and form a formation. He personally led dozens of servants on horseback to rush forward.
Ye Mengyan originally thought that the enemy was nothing more than this, and was simply vulnerable to rifles. Now he saw the infantry of the Ming army coming all over the ground, with flags and flags fluttering, and swords and guns like a forest. His heart was beating wildly. Damn it! It's too spectacular. I thought there would be a machine gun here, but I'm afraid it won't be able to hold it - there are too many people.
"Retreat quickly." At that moment, he ordered the entire unit to retreat separately. He raised the -D rifle without aiming, and emptied a 2o magazine towards the Ming army that was coming. He quickly went down to the ditch and escaped.
The special reconnaissance team's retreat route was surveyed in advance, and the terrain was used as much as possible to avoid the enemy's pursuit. Since the weapons used by the special reconnaissance team shoot smokeless bullets, and all members are equipped with camouflage uniforms, it is difficult for the Ming army to identify their location in the wilderness.
Tong Yizhen's men lost more than a dozen people in the last blocking shot by Ye Mengyan's team, including one of his generals who was also killed. The enemy's traceless shooting made him very frightened. But the people behind him kept coming, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and lead the troops towards the county seat.
He Rubin heard the gunshots and shouts of killing in front, and knew that the forwards had engaged the enemy, so he quickly ordered Li Guangxun, the guerrilla who commanded the mark-making battalion, to lead the mark-making battalion to rush for reinforcements. He personally led his servants and Zhen Biao to respond from behind.
"Tell General Yan to hold down the troops behind him and move forward slowly. Don't mess up the position yourself first."
The rear team not only has a large amount of baggage, but also local warriors and local troops. These troops are very unreliable and will flee in a hurry if they waver at the slightest moment. So he took special care of it. After passing the order, he personally took his servants and followed Li Guang's troops forward.
He Zhanran's cavalry was the first to arrive outside the south gate of Chengmai and occupied the empty stronghold abandoned by You Huhu. The light infantry who had been conducting blockade shooting outside the city gates had withdrawn from their positions and retreated towards the main camp in the northwest of the city.
He Zhanran saw that more than 300 infantrymen were retreating, and they had only gone less than two or three miles, so he quickly led the cavalry to rush over.
The 1st Light Infantry Company of the 1st Infantry Battalion commanded by Yang Zeng was the first to withdraw from the position, but the 5th Light Infantry was delayed for more than ten minutes in receiving the order. Yang Zeng, who was serving as the blockade commander under the city, responded to the 5th Battalion's light infantry. , waited for a while on the way, and was bitten by the cavalry of the Ming army flying over.
Seeing that the cavalry was already rolling in, Yang Zeng immediately drew his command knife and shouted an order: "Get into bayonet square formation."
The snare drum beat urgently.
The 1st Light Infantry Company, which was retreating, immediately turned around and stood in front. The 5th Light Infantry Company was divided into two, with half of the soldiers on the left and right. The 3rd Light Infantry Company turned its back to them.
Yang Zeng found that there were not enough infantry on the left and right wings. He was deeply afraid that the firepower of the two wings was too weak and the enemy would break through. He immediately ordered the companies in front and behind to allocate a platoon to the two wings.
Because the number of people was relatively small, the square array was simply arranged into three columns deep on each side. The first column knelt on one leg in front, pointing their rifles with bayonets upwards. The two columns behind held their rifles level. Always ready to fire.
This series of maneuvers took less than three minutes. The enemy had already rushed to the front of the square formation in an instant. The full impact of the cavalry made the soldiers who had been trained in countless infantry and cavalry confrontations begin to waver.
At this critical moment, Yang Zeng shouted: "The ruler is back!" He slashed down with his command knife, "Fire"! ~!
