Chapter 175 The road to Sanliang Town
Jiang Suo is her junior brother, and she knows that this junior brother is very interesting to her. [Full text reading] But her junior brother is four years younger than her, so he can only be considered a half-grown boy. She is unwilling to marry a man who is smaller than herself. It has been delayed like this.
However, she didn't dare to reveal this feeling to anyone, even Jiang Niang, who was usually the closest to her. Not only is this wishful thinking, it will end badly even if it works. There were also cases where sisters who were traveling with them were taken into concubinage by wealthy gentry because of their lust for beauty, and the results were mostly not good. Either being disliked by others is what a slut has to endure, or she is abandoned after being tired of playing with her.
Sanliang's preparations for the war were in full swing, but Shi Zhiqi was living a leisurely life in Shiwan. After the capture of Shiwan, he did not continue to advance - the waterways in this area were complicated and there were no ready-made navigation charts. From the mouths of local people and captive Xiang Yong, we also learned that Sanliang Town, not far from here, was tightly guarded. Shi Zhiqi asked the detachment to be stationed in Shiwan. On the one hand, he liquidated the large households that organized Xiangyong, and on the other hand, he assessed the "reasonable burden" to inspect the properties of "hostile elements".
He set up the detachment headquarters at the east end of Shiwan, in an ancestral hall of a wealthy family near the harbor. There were neat houses and a garden. Not only is it comfortable and convenient to live in, it is also close to the troops for easy command - you can board the ship as soon as there is any trouble. Shi Zhiqi sent many spies to inquire about the news - most of these spies were poor people from the Pearl River Delta who had just taken refuge in the past month. Everywhere the detachment went, in addition to asking villages and towns to bear "reasonable burdens," they would also take out the confiscated rice and silver to help the victims and take in orphans and poor people. Many people who were too poor to survive simply followed the detachment - regardless of No matter what, if you go with me, you can at least eat enough and wear some decent clothes. There are so many of these people that every ten days, Shi Zhiqi has to send a boat to transport these people to Hu Men, and then transfer them to the purification camp on Hong Kong Island.
Some of them stayed in the team and moved with the army. They were organized into a separate team, armed with captured knives and guns, and served as laborers with the army. Those who were more clever and whose loyalty was guaranteed were sent out to act as spies, collecting various information everywhere.
Local spies have many advantages in their activities, at least there are no flaws in their words. It doesn't matter if a few are lost in action. Relying on the activities of the spies, Shi Zhiqi had a clear grasp of the movements of the people within a radius of dozens of miles.
All kinds of people flocked to his headquarters every day. Most of them are poor people who come to ask Australians to "beat up big families", and some of them come to file complaints. Since they hanged several well-known evil gentry and bullies in several places, the number of people who come to file complaints has greatly increased, and some even Coming from more than a hundred miles away, the entrance to the ancestral hall is crowded with people every day, wanting to see the "big leader of Australia".
Some people not only brought writ papers, but also brought "evidence" such as bloody clothes and bloody knives with them. Some people carried papers with densely written words on them. All of them were the size of the fonts under the name of a certain big family, the number of fields, and the number of hidden treasures. How much treasure and so on. It just looks mouth-watering. Every time Shi Zhiqi saw this kind of piece of paper, he couldn't help but want to take people to "fight the local tyrants" himself. It's not that he is greedy for money and treasures, but the sight of many belongings being carried out in front of him makes him feel sincerely satisfied. And the more you capture, the higher your merit will be when judging your merits after the war.
However, there are policy restrictions on inspecting the properties of large households. The Government Affairs Council strictly prohibits "cracking down local tyrants" within a certain scope. In addition to the organizers and leaders of the group training, the main purpose is to severely crack down on local bully landlords and the like. Therefore, the range that can be attacked is not large.
There were quite a few people who came to complain against the "tyrant landlords". Shi Zhiqi was very interested in being the "Master Qingtian" at first, but after meeting people for a day, he was no longer willing to engage in "on-site office work". The common people came to complain, accuse, and tip off. Not only were the sources of information complicated, It is difficult to judge the authenticity, and there are also some who want to use the power of Australians to blackmail Sī for revenge. Shi Zhiqi couldn't figure out whether it would be done well or not. He simply pushed the matter to the civil and intelligence personnel, and hid in the backyard to enjoy himself, and met the landlords from all over the country. They were all afraid of the terrible power of the "thieves", and they came to give gifts to please them.
Shi Zhiqi felt that instead of facing a group of shabby and hateful common people and listening to their scrambling accusations, it would be better to sit comfortably in the imperial chair and talk to the smiling wealthy people, drink tea, and take a look at their Accept the gift list again. A double harvest of spiritual and material things.
There were piles of things delivered, ranging from gold and silver treasures, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, silks and cloths to rice, pigs and sheep, and even maids, women and servants. Shi Zhiqi accepted the order. Although all of them have to be handed over to the public, the feeling of being taken seriously is pleasant. All kinds of property were piled under the eaves of various courtyards of the ancestral hall, just waiting for the ship to be transferred.
Since a large number of the detachment's ships and personnel were used to transport loot and people, the military operation against Sanliang was postponed for a few more days. It was not until October 25th that Shi Zhiqi's E detachment officially launched military operations.
At this time, the E detachment participating in the battle was strengthened to a certain extent. The detachment had more than 300 troops, more than 20 sampans and long dragons. Because I heard that the enemy was carrying out blockage operations in the river, I brought a few extra small sampans without decks with the shallowest draft to use them to pass through the blockage.
After Shi Zhiqi's fleet left Shigang, they walked four or five miles and then turned into the river heading for Sanliang. The terrain here surprised Shi Zhiqi. The river channel becomes narrow, with an average of less than 20 meters. There are a large number of aquatic plants along the bank, and from time to time you will encounter patches of small woods. He realized that the terrain in this area was very conducive for the enemy to organize attacks on ships on the river bank-the enemy could approach the river from both sides of the river completely concealed, and then use bows, arrows and firearms to attack the ships in the narrow river, giving them a major blow. Kill.
"Order all ships to put up protective boards"
The protective board is a piece of equipment that has only recently been equipped on the sampans - it is a protective equipment made in response to the close range bows and arrows and artillery and musket fire that the detachments encountered during the inland operations in the previous stage.
It looks like a large rectangular shield, with brackets and hinges that can be densely arranged on both sides of sampans and dragon boats. Used to protect sailors and soldiers on board ships. This kind of protective board is wrapped with an iron sheet and can withstand all bows and arrows, blunderbuss, and most small earth cannon shots. Soldiers hiding behind protective panels can effectively protect their torsos without hindering shooting and observation.
However, after the fenders were put up, the sailing speed was greatly reduced, the ship became bulky, and it took more effort to row forward. Therefore, it is generally only used when fighting. If the enemy's firepower is not strong, commanders would rather not use this kind of protection to make the ship's movement more flexible.
Shi Zhiqi's judgment was correct. On the advice of several martial arts masters, Luo Tianqiu specially selected a number of rural warriors who were good at shooting and archery. They were led by dedicated personnel and lurked on both sides of the river, waiting for opportunities to attack the thieves' boats as a disturbance. At the place where the ship sank and wooden piles were laid to block the river, Luo Tianqiu ambushed a small team of Xiangyong armed with small cannons, blunderbuss, and bows and arrows. Everyone thinks that thieves may not be able to clear the blockage - because they have many sampans and can easily pass through the blockage. But they would inevitably slow down when passing through these places. At this time, Xiang Yong who was ambushing nearby fired artillery and arrows, causing a lot of damage to the Kun thieves on the ship.
"Send a vanguard team to search both sides of the river to cover the passage of the fleet." Shi Zhiqi gave the order, and then asked someone to bring his helmet - if an arrow flew out from the river bank at this time, the risk of death was very high. .
Four groups of vanguards boarded on both sides of the river, searching the river banks and advancing alternately to cover the passage of the fleet. They quickly got into a fight with the Xiang Yong ambushed in the reeds and woods. The reconnaissance, stealth and observation training of the elite soldiers enabled them to detect the unconscious Xiang Yong from a long distance and quickly annihilate them. Since this operation was not a secret sneak attack, Shi Zhiqi did not require that the clearance work be kept quiet - he just wanted to cover the fleet quickly and safely through the river.
In this way, once the leading soldiers discovered the ambushed Xiang Yong, they fired with rifles from a long distance. In the sporadic gunfire, the Xiang Yong on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were quickly eliminated. The living people did not dare to stay on the shore any longer and fled back one after another.
After walking in the winding river for more than two hours, the vanguard soldiers finally encountered a large group of rural warriors for the first time. With the support of the cannon on the ship, this group of rural warriors quickly escaped and left behind Several ménxiao cannons. Shi Zhiqi found that he could not move on. The sampan had reached the bottom - they encountered the first blockage line.
The experienced sailors on the boat went into the water to explore and found that a blockage point consisting of three rows of wooden piles had been set on the river here. The wooden piles were so thick that they almost came out of the water. Even the sampan can only barely pull the top of the wooden pile through. Sometimes the soldiers on board had to disembark to reduce the waterline.
“Put a rope on the stake and paddle hard.”
This approach is very crude, but it has been effective in actual combat. When the Spanish conquered Mexico City in the 16th century, they used this method to remove the wooden piles that the Mexicans had laid in the lakes around Mexico City.
The rope was quickly tied to the wooden pile and fastened, and then several sampans rowed at the same time. The rope was pulled straight, the stern of the sampan was half sunk, but the wooden pile remained motionless.
Then they tried several wooden stakes, but none could be pulled up like the Spaniards had done. However, one sampan almost capsized.
"Strange, isn't that what the Spaniards do?" Shi Zhiqi scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed. He got this knowledge from others and did not read the original book, so he did not know that the Spaniards used a much larger ketch when pulling out the stakes.
Seeing that he had wasted more than an hour without making any progress, Shi Zhiqi decided not to waste time on it. He had neither the right tools nor the manpower to clear the underwater obstacles, so he had no choice but to jump over them and move on. But in this way, all the long queues can only stay outside the barrier, and only the sampans can continue to move forward. All the artillery is assumed to be on the long dragon.
Shi Zhi strangely ordered that 12 pounds of mountain grenades be broken down and scattered on the sampan. The sampan's draft was too shallow to carry too many shells, so the 2-meter gun only carried 40 shells, half solid shells and half shot shells. He then ordered a few people to stay behind to guard the ship, while the others dragged the sampan over the wooden piles one by one and moved on.
After walking for more than two miles, the vanguard soldiers once again exchanged fire with the Xiang Yong guarding the blocking line. At this time, the artillery could not fire for support. The vanguard soldiers with only one squad soon could not withstand the firepower of more than a hundred Xiang Yong. Heavy attacks from bows and arrows and earthen artillery forced them to retreat. The village warriors rushed very close to the sampan before being driven back by rifle fire from the sampan. However, they did not withdraw from the blockade. They just withdrew from the effective range of the mini rifles and waited for opportunities to continue attacking.
Shi Zhiqi once wanted the troops to march ashore, so that they would not be able to effectively use their firepower on the ship and it would be difficult to hide - it would be a living target. But he was astonished when he stepped onto the river bank himself. There is no vast land here at all, there are rivers, ponds, and rice fields everywhere. It can be seen that simple bridges were once erected at some river branches and embankments, but they have all been demolished now. It would take a lot of time for the troops to abandon the ship and land and march on foot just to build the crossing bridge along the way. He had no choice but to order the troops to continue their advance by boat.
In this way, they continued to attack each other, and the resistance they encountered became more and more intense. It was probably because the bandits were unable to use artillery that the village warriors became rampant. When the sampans tried to cross the blockade, the village warriors fired fiercely with cannons and bows and arrows. It was not until the marines boarded the river bank and charged that they were driven away. The battles across the river blockade continued one after another. The villagers took advantage of every opportunity when the fleet was delayed by blockages and stayed on the river surface, unable to use firepower. They launched attacks again and again. Bows and arrows and cannons fired like raindrops. , although there were not many casualties, it greatly delayed the progress of the detachment-the detachment traveled almost a morning on the waterway of less than ten miles in total. One person died and ten others were injured during the incident. Another sampan had its bottom scratched when it was dragged over wooden piles, leaking water and sinking.
Shi Zhiqi's face was ashen, and this embarrassment was too great. As soon as the E detachment entered the battle along the Pearl River, they attacked villages and villages along the way, but no one was killed. The ship was lost, but now a soldier was actually killed by Xiang Yong. It would be too embarrassing to sink a sampan back home.
At this moment, the sampan in front opened fire again. He quickly raised his binoculars. The leading sampans were already shrouded in thick smoke from the firing of Mini rifles. Only the flames of the rifle when it was fired could be seen in the smoke. There were loud gongs and drums on the river bank, many people were shouting and screaming, and there was a lot of noise. Suddenly, a cloud of thick smoke rose from the trees, there was a thunderclap, and many small water columns crackled on the river. Some pieces of iron hit the protective plate of the sampan directly, making a clanking sound.
"Fire in the direction of the thick smoke," the sergeants on the nearby sampan shouted, guiding the direction of the shooting. A dozen Mini rifles fired at the smoke-emitting trees at the same time. The sound of gunshots and bullets ripped through the branches and leaves. crack. The screams of people became a mass. Shi Zhiqi nervously observed the river bank with a telescope. Several sampans had already rowed to the river bank without waiting for orders, allowing the navy to board the river to drive away the enemy.
Dense arrows flew out from the bushes, and the sailors hid their heads behind the protective board. The dense arrows were scattered all over the protective board. From time to time, there were a few roars of bird cannons. The iron hit the protective plate with a loud bang. The sailors poked their guns out from behind the protective panels and fired back continuously. After a few minutes of firefighting, the fire gradually stopped and became silent on the shore.
After driving away Xiang Yong, the fleet slowly passed the blockage line, with a bend in the river ahead. The river narrowed. The water is flowing fast. The banks become steeper. In order to avoid the current in the center of the river, the first sampan moved closer to the river bank. At this moment, several figures suddenly jumped out of the grass on the river bank and pushed a dark thing onto the sampan.
Before Shi Zhiqi had time to scream, the first sampan exploded with a cloud of smoke.
Almost at the same time, the sampan behind them opened fire at the same time. The grass was beaten to pieces, and a country hero was shot from the river bank and fell into the river.
Other sampans quickly moved closer. The bombed sampan is still floating on the water. The protective panels on both sides and part of the hull were blown away. More than a dozen sailors and sailors on the ship fell to the bottom of the ship, all dripping with blood. There was one person who probably had an explosive exploded in his arms. A hole was opened in his stomach, and his dark red internal organs were exposed. A bloody smell of burning and smoke filled the air.
"Ten thousand enemies!" shouted a naval officer.
Ten Thousand Enemy is a domestically produced firearm in China: a clay jar is used to make a bomb, and seven or eight kilograms or dozens of kilograms of black gunpowder are placed in it, plus various iron, small stones and porcelain fragments. At that time, the fuse was lit and dropped from the top of the city. The killing effect was very impressive according to the standards of the time. It was a powerful weapon for defending the city. However, the "Ten Thousand Enemies" is very heavy and cannot be used as a grenade at all. No one thought that Xiangyong men would be used in field battles.
I didn't expect that they would take advantage of the terrain characteristics of the river bank cliffs, wait for the ships to pass by, directly push down the ten thousand enemies, and blow them up without hesitation. This thing exploded on a crowded sampan. The power can be imagined.
All eleven people on the sampan were killed in this sneak attack, and all their weapons were destroyed. lost heavily. After the marines landed on 6, they only found a few corpses of Xiang Yong who had been killed by gunfire nearby.
"Fuck" Shi Zhiqi waved his command knife angrily, "Surge into Sanliang City and leave no one behind."
