"Asshole! Who fired!" Zhu Si was furious and gave the firearmsman closest to him a big mouth, yelling, "Stop shooting!"
Grasping the timing of shooting is the focus of the Fubo Army's military training. Although the loading speed of the Mini rifle is the fastest in this time and space, after all, a skilled soldier can only reach a firing rate of 3 to 4 rounds per minute. It is necessary to fully grasp the timing of the first salvo to obtain the best killing effect. In the battles of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Liaodong, the Ming army had superior firearms, but they were often unable to effectively kill the Qing army. In addition to the generally poor quality of the firearms, poor shooting timing was also one of the reasons.
Now all the loaded heavy matchlocks on board were used up by this indiscriminate shooting. If the enemy launches a water-fording assault, this will be a fire gap.
Under the scolding and shouting of the sergeants, the messy shooting stopped. Zhu Si did not dare to go up to the observation deck and looked out through the observation hole behind the iron plate. However, the hilly areas on the shore were densely covered with vegetation and he could not see the enemy at all. But it can be roughly seen from the swaying of tree branches that the enemy is moving.
"The riflemen fired freely at suspicious targets." Zhu Si ordered, "Reload all firearms!"
Give the order: the riflemen fired one after another, and the heavy matchlock was pulled back from the perforation to load. There was a sudden commotion on the boat.
"Pay attention to the safety of gunpowder!" Zhu Si was secretly frightened when he saw the loading action of the firearms hand.
Suddenly, a plume of thick smoke erupted from the No. 2 command boat in the rear, and the gunfire roared.
"Which bastard fired the cannon?!" Zhu Si was furious and couldn't see what the cannon was firing!
The 12-pound mountain grenade is the most powerful weapon on the ship and must not be used except in critical situations. This is what he told the gunner before setting off: "I can only order it myself before shooting."
There was a burst of cheers from the No. 2 command boat, as if it had hit something.
Sure enough, with this shelling, the attack in the grass and trees came to a halt. Then the signal soldier reported: "Lieutenant Li of the second boat asked for instructions to land and search."
"Searching is a waste!" Zhu Si scolded. In his opinion, it was enough to complete the patrol mission safely. If he rashly logged in to search, if he was ambushed by the enemy and several people were killed, it would look bad on his face. .
"Order: No one is allowed to land, drive to Fengchuan County at full speed!"
The fleet increased their power and soon sailed out of Jieshou Beach. At this time, they encountered two large boats led by Milongtao.
Milongtao's ship was going up, and the speed was very slow. He saw that the convoy had left the first beach and knew that they had not encountered any major danger. Through the semaphore signal, he knew that the convoy was ambushed on the North Channel, but there were no casualties. .
"Damn, again!" Mi Longtao cursed - such attacks have happened many times this month. Although no major losses were caused, this kind of constant harassment made soldiers responsible for local defense like them unbearable, especially since the headquarters also required them to ensure the safety of villages and towns along the river, which made their defense tasks even more arduous.
Mi Longtao passed the descending fleet, commanded the troops to land at the location of the attack, and launched a search.
The search team soon discovered a swarm of abandoned empty barrels among the trees and grass on the shore - this was a new item for Milongtao. He had never found such a thing during the clearing before. Then, another Three bodies and a battered "swarm" were found in an area apparently covered with shotgun shells. Two of the corpses were beaten into human shapes by shotguns, and one was injured in the leg, but his throat was cut - probably because he was injured and unable to walk, he was killed by his accomplices.
Then, another body was found in the bushes, killed by a Nanyang rifle.
Judging from the clothing of the corpse, it can be described as rags. Not to mention armor, it doesn't even have decent clothes. He was probably a bandit's lackey.
Mi Longtao was a little confused. This "swarm of bees" were the firearms of the officers and soldiers. Ordinary bandits would not have such things in reserve. If they did, they would not abuse them casually. Judging from the wooden barrels discarded at the scene, they at least used them. Four or five "swarms" were picked up, and two that were not launched were discarded. Judging from how much they misused and cared nothing for their firearms, it might have been easy to get them.
"This is not an ordinary bandit." A detective team member who acted as a guide said, "The bandits are very particular about not missing out. They are attacking the fleet here, and there is no benefit at all, and they have spent so much money..."
"Do you think they are officers and soldiers?"
"Probably not." The detective team member said, "The officers and soldiers are better than them at least..."
As for the Yao people, no matter their clothes, hairstyles or discarded weapons, they have nothing to do with the Yao people.
No matter who the enemy was, to harass the fleet was to make an enemy of the Senate. Mi Longtao ordered the troops to expand the search area, but apart from finding some rags left by the bandits, nothing new was found.
Mi Longtao returned to Fengchuan with his team. The fleet was moored at the dock. While letting the soldiers go ashore to stretch their legs and feet, he replaced the broken bamboo shields.
"Where is your commander?" he asked.
"Over there with command boat No. 1." said the busy soldier.
As soon as Mi Longtao walked over, he heard a loud scolding: "...This is for making decisions! Do you have any organizational discipline anymore! How did you, a lieutenant, get into it?!"
Mi Longtao walked over and took a look, and saw a National Army captain reprimanding the lieutenant. The lieutenant stood upright. Although his face was full of "disapproval", due to his rank and affiliation, he could only stand respectfully and listen to the lecture.
"...If you were in the Fubo Army, your behavior would have made you lose your head a long time ago!"
Mi Longtao coughed, and Zhu Si, who was reprimanding Li Dong, stopped and saw that the person coming was Lieutenant Fubo Army. His originally stern face involuntarily changed to a soft expression, and he stood at attention unconsciously. A gift.
"Captain Zhu Si of the Wuzhou Brigade of the National Army!"
Mi Longtao responded with a military salute casually: "I am Fengchuan County Security Commander Mi Longtao."
Theoretically, the ranks of the National Army and the Fubo Army are equal, but no matter whether they are officers of the National Army or the Fubo Army, no one thinks that a sergeant who took the rank of the National Army half a year or three months ago will be on an equal footing with a regular army officer. . :
"Yes! Thank you very much for coming to support us in time!" Zhu Si did not put down his saluting hand. Instead, he bent slightly and said loudly.
"Why are you so polite? This is my duty. We are all comrades-in-arms." Mi Longtao waved his hand, "First come and sit in my headquarters and let's talk."
"Yes! I'll come right over." Zhu Si couldn't stop scolding Li Dong for "shooting without permission" and turned to Li Dong and ordered: "You are responsible for the repair and supplement work - don't come up with new tricks! Disband!"
The two came to the headquarters, and Mi Longtao brought Zhu Si a bowl of herbal tea and asked about the details of the attack. Zhu Si immediately explained the situation exactly as it was and marked it on the map.
"This is the latest attack situation." Mi Longtao spread the map in front of him. With Fengchuan as the center and along both sides of the Xijiang River and Hejiang River, there were dense red dots. Especially after Xijiang passes through Fengchuan County, the density of red dots increases greatly.
This surprised Zhu Si. In comparison, the journey from Wuzhou to Fengchuan seemed to have been calm. Except for the attack just now, there were few decent attacks.
"These are from my defense area. The situation downstream is more serious. How about your place?"
"Fortunately," Zhu Si said, "I haven't been in Wuzhou for a long time, but from Wuzhou to Fengchuan, the river is relatively peaceful."
"Your next journey will be much more dangerous." Mi Longtao reminded him, "Further down to the Yunan section of the capital, the Xijiang River has to make two big turns, the observation conditions are limited, and there are many shoals. There are often rivers in that section The enemy attacked, and the joint logistics lost two ships there last month, and more than a dozen boatmen and soldiers died."
Zhu Si began to feel a little hairy on his scalp. He had passed through that section when he came to Wuzhou, and it was indeed a good place for an ambush.
"It seems that the enemy's power is not small."
Mi Longtao nodded: "The enemy's equipment today is very good." He told the situation he found after landing, and praised the accurate and hard shot. "If it hadn't been for this shot, I guess The enemy will have to fire a few more rounds at you - there will be three or four swarms left behind."
Zhu Si smiled awkwardly. Fortunately, Mi Longtao did not continue talking. To change the subject, he asked:
"The intelligence report said that the rioting Yao people's armed forces have penetrated into this area. Could they be responsible for the attack?"
"It's not like that, it's not like that," Mi Longtao shook his head, "It's easy to talk about clothes and weapons, but the Yao people's armed forces are indeed active in this area, but their main purpose is to loot the villages, and they won't go to such a big effort to attack us. Armed ships - what good can it do?"
"But if they are bandits, is this a loss-making business? Could they be officers and soldiers?"
Mi Longtao laughed loudly after hearing this and patted Zhu Si on the shoulder: "If the officers and soldiers were so willing to fight, we wouldn't be here. I think they are most likely bandits. What benefits do they get from the government?" We work hard here. Even the local gentry are counting on our protection now, and there are only bandits who are willing to do anything for money and 'prospects'."
Zhu Si nodded quickly: "That's what you said!"
Mi Longtao felt that he was a little restrained and asked: "What year are you a soldier?"
"Enlisted in the army in Shandong in 1632." Zhu Si said quickly.
"You are older than me, so you seem to be a senior." Mi Longtao said with a smile.
"I don't dare to say anything." Zhu Si almost stood up.
"Don't be so polite," Mi Longtao waved his hand, "Where are you serving? Guard camp? No wonder, when I saw your military posture and salute - that style is better than those of student officers! No wonder you are so old I became a captain in no time.”
Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 358
