Unlike the militia groups in the Central Plains region, which have experienced wars and are almost armed to the teeth, although the villages along the Xijiang River also have rural warrior groups training, because Guangdong is generally "peaceful", they are far less "armed" than the militia groups in the Central Plains region. , not only are there very few cannons, but there are also not many light firearms. The bandits were attacking fiercely just now, and when they heard the sound of firearms outside, they were already a little frightened. When they heard that the bandits were going to bring "cannons", the timid people even turned pale.
On the contrary, Mr. Xu is a little more calm. He has always known Xu Yong: he is brave and fierce, and he will not show his timidity easily. With his current attitude, he must be in a state of confusion.
If he couldn't stabilize him at this moment, he might just run away quietly, and the whole village would be in doom. He stood up immediately and said: "You lead the way, I will go to the front to see..."
"Master, please don't go - the soldiers are in danger!" someone advised.
"Don't be afraid, the bandits can't get in. I'll go to the front and take a look. If there is a cannon, I have to think of a countermeasure as soon as possible." After that, he ordered Xu Yong, "Lead the way from the front."
"Yes! Master, this way."
Master Xu took a few young and strong servants and followed Xu Yong to the entrance of the village.
Xugang does not have a wall surrounding the village like many villages in the Central Plains. Instead, it uses the intricate rivers, ponds and paddy fields under the hills to build a defense system. Therefore, there are only three roads that can enter Xugang, namely in the east, west and south directions of the village, of which the south is the waterway. The Xu family built a brick and stone watchtower at the intersection of these three roads. Together with the fence and the horse guard, it could effectively resist the attacks of bandits from all walks of life.
Due to the large water area in the east, there are many waterways and ponds across the village, so the bandits can only attack along a small road, making it difficult to form a formation; in the south is a waterway, and the bandits lack enough boats, so the focus of the attack is on the west. noodle.
Mr. Xu walked through the streets and alleys, only to see that every door was closed and every household was locked. There was no sound at all. Even if there were a few people wandering on the street, stretching their necks to visit, they were all old people in their dying years. Mr. Xu was secretly anxious, but he still had to look calm on his face.
As we gradually approached the entrance of the village, we saw that under the eaves on both sides of the road, people sitting or lying were covered with colorful injury marks. Some were randomly wrapped in cloth strips, and some had nothing on them, just humming. It was dripping with blood and very terrifying. There was no dedicated person to take care of them, and many wounds were not bandaged. Although they moaned in pain and asked for water, no one paid attention to them.
Mr. Xu is not a doughty rich man, but when Mu Ran saw so many lottery numbers, he was frightened and secretly palpitated. He secretly quickened his pace, not wanting to be grabbed by the corner of his robe again by a seriously injured lottery number on the roadside, wailing. Begging him to find someone to heal him, he had to pull hard to get free.
"The bandits had too many firearms, and the brothers were unprepared - they were all hit," Xu Yong said.
The intersection has been blocked with bricks, tiles and beams from demolished houses. A few bold village warriors holding big swords are climbing on it to look around. The village warriors and the strong men sent for temporary conscription are huddled together under the watchtower. , some were holding swords and bamboo spears, some were holding crossbows, and some simply had only a whistle stick, all of them looked uneasy. On the threshing floor not far away, there was a row of corpses covered with reed mats, seventeen or eight in total.
"The master is here, the master is here!" The brave men gathered under the watchtower saw him coming and quickly moved out of the way. Master Xu entered the watchtower with a sullen face. There was a disgusting smell of gunpowder mixed with sweat and blood. With the help of Xu Yong, he climbed up the folding ladder until he reached the top floor - the parapets and crenellations on the top floor were much damaged, and there were still bloodstains on the ground.
"Master, the bandits are right there." Xu Yong took him to the back of a intact crenel and pointed quietly.
Mr. Xu looked over and saw that all the way from the village entrance, there were many corpses scattered on the road, in the paddy fields, and on the river bank. They were probably all killed bandits. Less than half a mile away, there is a small village with more than ten households. It is now occupied by bandits. It is not clear whether they started a fire for cooking or burned down the house. Black smoke is rising.
I saw many people gathered in a dark place at the entrance of the village, all holding swords, guns and firecrackers. They stood under the trees at the intersection and played cards. Although it doesn't look real, the formations don't look like bandits - the card-playing thing is large and inconvenient to carry. Neither bandits nor the Yao people who come here occasionally to grab a handful and leave will not use it.
"I think they look like officers and soldiers!" Xu Yong cursed in a low voice, "Their formations and firearms are not what bandits can do."
Mr. Xu nodded silently. Because of the Australians' attack, officers and soldiers from various places dispersed into bandits from time to time. They have also encountered harassment here. However, those "soldiers and bandits" were not many in number, and their equipment was not so sophisticated, let alone so many firearms.
It’s really strange! He asked: "Have you captured any prisoners?"
"I caught one, but unfortunately he was seriously injured and died before he could ask questions."
Mr. Xu was secretly worried. It seemed that there were at least three to four hundred people in this group of bandits, and if not all of them, a good number of them were officers and soldiers - this was not something that the few hundred men in his village could withstand. Even without cannons, if we attack a few more times, the village will probably be unable to withstand it.
The only hope is that the Australians in the county come to the rescue in time.
More than half a month ago, shortly after the county seat changed hands, the county asked each village to assign "liaison officers" to the county for a "meeting." The matter of "joint guarantee" was raised at the meeting, and Xu Gang also allocated dozens of A young man and a certain amount of money and food - it is said that it was used by the county to form the "National Army". Anyway, the Australians have strong ships and powerful guns, so they will do whatever they are told. Everyone knows this. Later, each village was asked to prepare for the war, and special rockets were distributed. A pamphlet was also issued, which basically stated how to "call the police" in the event of a siege or other situations. He also solemnly promised at the meeting that as long as he "calls the police," the county's National Army will come to the rescue.
To be honest, Mr. Xu is skeptical of these words. In his opinion, it is true that the Australians in the county need money, food, and young men. The government's rescue has been unreliable since ancient times. Whether they will be rescued often depends on the "conscience" of the county magistrate and his subordinates or their daily routine. The accumulated "love".
Compared with conscience, Mr. Xu still believes in "feelings", so whether it is apportioning young men or money and food, it can be regarded as "enthusiastic". He also tried to follow the path of a fellow countryman who worked as an errand for the Australians and paid tribute to the newly appointed Australians. The "county magistrate" - they called the "director" - went to give a generous gift. Unexpectedly, the director was so stubborn that he not only refused to accept the offer, but also scolded him with a straight face, which made him very upset.
In this way, Mr. Xu can only rely on the conscience of the "director". He felt that at least because of his obedience to the Australians' policy words these days, the Australians could not let Xu Gang die like this, so in addition to setting off smoke, he also sent a capable housekeeper to the county town to "call the police." For the sake of safety, in addition to the servants who were on guard, the housekeeper was also asked to bring five hundred taels of silver. Even if the county director was "conscience", there was no guarantee that the National Army below would not be conscientious.
He looked towards the upstream and downstream directions of the Xijiang River, watching eagerly, hoping that Australian ships would appear on the river immediately - these days, Australian steamships were cruising on the river every now and then, and sometimes they were towed There are a lot of boats, but why can’t you see any of them now?
Just as he was anxious, his arm was suddenly pushed hard, and Xu Yong shouted in surprise and joy: "Australians! Australians are coming!"
Mr. Xu was startled and quickly looked in the direction of his finger. From the upper reaches of the Xijiang River, there were more than a dozen Australian small steamers heading here with black smoke. He immediately breathed a sigh of relief and secretly said: "Blessings from Emperor Tian Bodhisattva!" He ordered: "Quick! Set off flower rockets to contact us!"
"Report! There are residential areas on the north bank of the river launching contact rockets!" the observation post reported loudly.
Zhu Si quickly stood up and raised his binoculars. Sure enough, about 1.5 kilometers down the river from the fleet, a red signal rocket flew up. He silently counted "one, two..." After shooting the two rockets, after a while, two more rockets were fired. Shoot - this is a signal to call for help.
He quickly took out the map from his map bag and compared it - yes, this large village on the hills on the north bank of the lower reaches is Xu Gang!
"Captain, should we fire rockets in response?" the sergeant asked.
"No, let Lieutenant Mi and others respond." Zhu Si said, "Everyone is ready for battle!"
At this time, Milongtao's command boat, which was walking in front, fired a response signal rocket. Then, the flag message came from the front: "Every boat is ready for battle and act according to the plan."
According to the battle plan agreed upon in advance, the main force commanded by Mi Longtao landed in the first wave to directly attack the enemy's heavily-armed group. The squadron commanded by Zhu Si then landed to cover the rear of the main force and at the same time search and suppress the defeated bandits.
According to past general experience, most bandits do not have a strong will to fight. Once they are attacked by regular troops, they will often collapse immediately. They rarely make complex tactical moves in combat, so the combat plan is not complicated.
The fleet slowly approached the north bank of the river. Mi Longtao stood on the command platform. There was no trace of the enemy on the river bank - not even a boat. The enemy did not come from the river.
The distance from the riverside to Xugang is about one kilometer. The terrain is flat but very broken. There are rivers, ditches, ponds and paddy fields everywhere. It is difficult for troops to maneuver in this kind of terrain, so they can only advance by relying on country roads and field ridges.
According to the prior plan, a platoon of Fubo soldiers served as the vanguard and opened the way at the front. The terrain here is flat and the view is good. Mini rifles can fire at long distances and shoot accurately. Mi Longtao estimated that within a few rounds of shooting, the bandits would be defeated by firepower.
Next update: Volume 7 - Guangzhou Governance Chapter 360
