Finding that the Ma'anguan channel was blocked and there were Qing troops defending the shore, the reconnaissance team retreated one kilometer and prepared to find a place to conduct drone reconnaissance. The place where they docked was on the south bank of Xiujiang River, next to a hill.
It is said that the Xiujiang River flows from south to north to the southern part of Teng County. Due to the obstruction of the mountains, it was forced to turn east and then north, thus forming a wide water surface. When we reached the highest point of the hill, we found that we could see the water barrier of Ma'anguan without a telescope.
The reconnaissance captain of the Hoi An camp is called Chen Wenxiu, and his military rank is captain. This person's name is very delicate, but his appearance and personality are the opposite. There was a scar on his face from the battle with the Dutch, which ran from the corner of his left eye to his chin, making him look very fierce and fierce. Originally from Zhejiang, his ancestors fled to Hoi An in the late Ming Dynasty and became one of the "ten old people and six surnames" of Ming Xiang Society.
"Let the 'eye of the sky' out! I want to see who dares to block us regardless of life or death."
As soon as Chen Wenxiu finished speaking, a gray drone that shrank to only the size of a palm quickly rose from the hillside and flew towards Ma'an Pass.
Today, drones have become the standard equipment of the North Korean Navy in combat. Except for the servitor army, they are equipped with reconnaissance teams, artillery companies, and special operations battalions at the regimental level of all directly affiliated troops. In order not to attract the attention of interested people, Zhao Xin asked his cousin to set up a drone technology company a few years ago, and worked hard to obtain the application platform authorization from a certain drone manufacturer. After the company was established, it claimed to provide industry application solutions. In fact, 90% of the products are self-produced, sold and used by the company, and the handbag companies just changed hands.
Specific to the combat troops of the Northern Navy, both officers and soldiers like to call this thing "Eye in the Sky". The real name "UAV" is hard to understand. After all, there are no airplanes in this time and space.
Due to cost issues, the drones used by the North Korean Navy are mainly divided into two types: ordinary types and advanced types. For example, the artillery troops use high-end products with telemetry functions, while the regiment-level reconnaissance troops use ordinary products with hand-held remote controls; they are small and easy to carry, but the only drawback is that the detection range is only two or three kilometers.
As Zhao Xin's "son" in the Northern Navy's southern faction system, he will have all the necessary equipment for the camp. The instructions for use of the drone equipped by the reconnaissance team indicate that it can fly up to 6 kilometers, but that requires no obstructions on the ground. This is obviously not applicable in a mountainous environment like Guangxi, so it is usually released as far as possible. Two kilometers.
The drone made a cheerful "buzzing" sound, passing over the turquoise river water and turquoise mountain forests, and then rose sharply upwards. The outline of the city wall on the hill to the west of Ma'an Pass appeared in the return screen.
The village covers an area of only five or six acres, which is half the size of a football field. To the north and west are the barracks, with the main door opening to the south. On the east side of the stockade facing Ma'an Pass, there is a fort. There is a small cannon on the gun mount. Judging from the thickness of the gun body, it looks like a second general cannon. Several gunner-looking guys are sitting nearby. Under the thatched hut, they seemed to be chatting.
The Northern Navy has captured this kind of gun many times in past battles. The gun body is one meter and a half long and weighs about 120 kilograms. Two people can easily carry it away. If you are strong, it will be no problem for one person to carry it. Each time it fires, it charges eight taels to one kilogram of explosives, has an effective range of one thousand meters, and its power is average, but it is definitely enough for hitting wooden boats and bamboo rafts.
The camera zoomed in, and Chen Wenxiu noticed a black triangular flag standing on the fort. The flagpole was estimated to be about two meters high, and there was a ribbon more than one meter long under the flag crown. However, because it was noon, hot and windless, the flag could only droop listlessly.
Some people in later generations always say that the green flags of the Qing Dynasty's green camps were all marked by green flags, but this was not the case. In the green camp, generally only the governor's banner and the long flag of each battalion are green, while the camp flags and general flags are all mixed colors. The specific color of the flag depends on what flag the enemy uses. Therefore, contrasting colors can be used to quickly identify ourselves and the enemy on the battlefield.
For example, Shandong Green Camp used to use red flags, but when they discovered that the Northern Navy landing in Jiaodong also flew red flags, they quickly changed it to white flags with black letters. By the way, in the ancient Chinese army, flying a white flag did not mean surrender.
The camera zoomed out again, and it was possible to see that there were not many Qing troops active in the village. It was estimated that there were only about 200 people. On the contrary, there were shadows of people moving in the dense bamboo forest on the south side of the village. It was estimated that some Qing troops had gone into the forest to avoid the sun. .
Chen Wenxiu wiped the sweat from his face with his hand and said to the soldier responsible for the operation: "Go to the east and have a look."
The drone flew across the river and arrived over the walled city on the east side in a blink of an eye. The specifications of the two stockades in Ma'anguan are basically the same, and they are symmetrical from east to west. There is also a fort on the west side of the stockade wall, which houses a second general's cannon. It's just that there are more Qing troops active in the walled city here, about three hundred people.
Chen Wenxiu showed a bit of disdain on his face, thinking that this was all, without the need for a large army behind him, the more than 30 people he brought with him could defeat them with a single charge, and the Qing army would definitely be able to escape.
At this time, a sudden gust of wind blew from the northwest, and the drone was shaken. The returned picture shook up and down. When the operating soldier stabilized it, he soon noticed the black pennant on the fort. It was also blown open, and red writing could be vaguely seen on it. He hurriedly said: "Captain, look!"
Chen Wenxiu came closer and her eyes were almost glued to the palm-sized screen. However, because the drone flew very high from the ground, even though the focal length of the lens was adjusted to the maximum, she could still not clearly see the words on the flag. Seeing the opportunity to confirm the battalion head of the Qing army, Chen Wenxiu urged the operating soldiers to lower the height of the drone.
"Ping Le. Xie. Get closer, get closer! Zuo Zuo Camp Guard. Hey! What's going on!"
Just when Chen Wenxiu was about to read out all the words on the pennant, suddenly, a black shadow appeared from the lower left corner of the screen and quickly approached and grew larger. But before he could recognize what it was, he saw the figure on the screen. The screen suddenly rolled and twisted uncontrollably, accompanied by violent shaking. After a few seconds, the screen finally came to a standstill, and the screen was filled with green branches and leaves, as well as a corner of the sky peeking out from the gaps between the branches and leaves.
The reconnaissance team's drone exploded!
The soldier in charge of the operation was already panicking. His hands were clicking on the control panel quickly, but there was no response on the screen. Chen Wenxiu on the side was also dumbfounded and said hurriedly: "Hurry up and let it fly! Fly quickly!"
"Captain, something seemed to have hit me just now and knocked off the Sky Eye."
When his subordinates reminded him, Chen Wenxiu also felt that something was wrong. He was frowning and thinking when suddenly, the soldier in charge of the operation shouted again: "Captain, look!"
I went and saw a big hand suddenly appear on the picture returned by the drone, and then the camera shook and rose rapidly. When the picture turned, the entire screen was instantly filled with a dark face, but that face Only half of it was exposed, and the enlarged pores and beard were clearly visible. Soon, the screen began to flip again, and this time a gray-blue Qing army uniform appeared on the screen.
Needless to say, the fallen drone was picked up by the Qing army. Chen Wenxiu was very angry about this, because it meant that he had to get it back, otherwise he would not be able to deliver.
Drones are high-level controlled items in the North Korean Navy, and the staff department has long had strict regulations on this; whether it is caused by operation, internal failure, or external reasons, the wreckage must be found and brought back to be handed in, and then a letter must be written. A copy of the cause of the accident must be submitted to the supervisor for review and signature, otherwise there is no chance of receiving a new one. Of course, if it fell into the sea, that would be another story, but someone else must prove it.
The reason for such a regulation is not that the Manchus would pick it up and copy it. After all, things like chips and circuit boards would be useless even if the skilled craftsmen from the manufacturing office came. The key is to ensure that the various departments of the North Navy have a strict management system for military supplies. Otherwise, one day someone will resell a complete drone. If there is another defector, it will be great fun.
There must be at least two to three hundred drones that have bombed aircraft in Beihai Town in the past ten years, with the most damaged during the training process. Most of the reasons for plane bombing are being attacked by an overly curious bird in flight, or because the signal is lost, and there are very few cases of being shot down.
Chen Wenxiu already had a premonition. He estimated that it was his eagerness to ask the operator to lower the height that caused the "Sky Eye" to fall. But what exactly was the black shadow that flew over just now?
He didn't have time to think too much at this moment, and immediately led the people down the mountain back to the shore, and explained the situation to his men. Then he left his deputy and ten soldiers to guard the assault boat, while he took the other twenty people and all the equipment along the river bank to the Qing army camp on the east side of Ma'an Pass.
At the same time, in the Qing army camp on the east side of Ma'an Pass, the drone with a broken rotor was carefully placed on the table. The guerrillas in charge of the camp and several generals came over to take a closer look. The leading guerrilla even had the courage to stab him a few times with his finger.
Outside the door, there were crowds of soldiers looking around, curious about the things on the table. As people who have lived in the Guidong Mountains for many years, they have never seen any kind of bird, but this kind of gray, gray and hard bird is really strange; it has a head without a head and no feathers. But if you want to say that it is not a bird, everyone present saw it flying in the sky just now.
If it hadn't been for the buzzing sound of this thing that attracted the attention of Mr. Qian Meng, who had just returned from outside, and shot it down with an arrow, killing them, they wouldn't have believed that there was such a thing in the world.
As the commander of the battalion, the guerrilla looked for a long time without understanding. He turned around and said with a smile to a six-foot-tall, majestic-looking young general: "Mr. Meng Qian is truly worthy of being a martial arts scholar. His string skills are superb! I have never done this before." I’ve seen such monsters before.”
The soldiers outside the door were frightened and took a few steps back when they heard Master Guerrilla calling him a "monster". The guy who had just picked up the things excitedly turned pale immediately, hurriedly ran to the sun, kowtowed to the north, and muttered something.
Meng Denggao, the general manager of Zuoying Qian of Pingle Xie, ignored the commotion outside the door, cupped his fists and saluted, saying: "Thank you for your compliments, sir! The generals are just some trivial skills, they are nothing. Speaking of which, your archery skills are amazing, I No one knows about Ping Le Xie."
"Why be humble?" Guerrilla, who is nearly fifty years old, waved his hand and said: "According to my opinion, let alone Pingyuefu, the only one in Guangxi who can use a ten-power bow is Qin. Even in my prime, I am far inferior. Mr. Meng Qian If you take part in the provincial examination, you will definitely be able to pass the high school martial arts examination, and then it will be no problem to go to Beijing to get the top martial arts championship. Originally, the new emperor ascended the throne, and there will be an enke in the coming year, but now the enemy is coming, alas, what a pity! "
Meng Denggao said calmly: "I don't think so. The ancients said that fame can only be obtained from horses."
"Report~~~!"
Before Meng Deng finished speaking, he saw a soldier running in from outside the door. He knelt on one knee and said breathlessly: "My lord, sir, a group of people came from the south. There are more than 20 people. Look. Dressed like a pirate."
"What?!" Zhangying Guerrilla's expression changed and he asked, "Are you sure there are only about twenty people?"
"How dare a villain deceive an adult? I am willing to guarantee it with my life."
The guerrilla leader in charge of the camp said that twenty people dared to provoke him. Who are you looking down on? I have a thousand soldiers under my command, and there are another thousand soldiers and two thousand auxiliary soldiers in Teng County.
Thinking of this, he slapped the table and said angrily: "What a pirate from the North Sea, you dare to deceive me, there is no one in Ping Le Xie, you are really arrogant! Mr. Meng Qian, I ordered you to bring one hundred, no, two hundred wolf soldiers, I’ll give you thirty more gunmen, and we must wipe out all these bandits.”
"I obey you!"
230 against 20, although it sounds like overkill, but Zhangying guerrillas still dare not be careless. The reputation of the Beihai Navy is really too great. He was sent here by Zhu Gui's name, and he received enough reward money to make other battalion leaders jealous. He could not be defeated in the first battle no matter what.
On the other side, Chen Wenxiu was walking while thinking about the words on the black flag he just saw.
Pingle Xie Zuoying should be the Qing army from Pingle Mansion. He carefully read the information about the green camps in various places in eastern Guangxi at the regiment headquarters. Among them, the Qing army in Pinglefu had three battalions, including Pingle Xiezuo Camp, Fuhe Camp, and Mailing Camp. The total registered strength was 1,400 people. Among them, the strength of Pingle Xiezuo Battalion should only be 400.
It's a joke to just order troops like this and try to stop me from setting up camp! Let's see how I deal with you later.
Poor Chen Wenxiu didn't know at this time that the four hundred soldiers of Pingle Xie Zuoying were just ordinary troops during non-war times. After Zhu Gui, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, issued an order to mobilize troops to assist Wuzhou, all wolf soldiers and native soldiers in eastern Guangxi were quickly recruited, so the number of soldiers in Pingle Xie skyrocketed to 4,000.
The "Xie" of the Green Camp is actually called "Xie Ying", which generally consists of two to five battalions. Its number is not fixed, with large ones having thousands of people, and small ones with only dozens of people. The troops are allocated completely based on the local environment where they are stationed. . If there is no war, a few hundred people are enough. But once the garrison is deployed for cross-border operations, the size of the battalion head will be expanded.
The number of troops in the established army cannot be increased or decreased at will, but no one has ever cared about the number of auxiliary soldiers. They can be as many or as little as they like. Anyway, the court does not provide food and salary, and the generals who have the ability to command the army can be raised, so it has always been about the same. But this time Zhu Gui said that although the auxiliary soldiers were not responsible for pay, they could be responsible for food, and they would be rewarded for going into battle.
Two hours later, Chen Wenxiu, who was eager to recover the wreckage of the bomber, and 230 wolf soldiers led by Meng Denggao finally collided head-on in the forest at the northern foot of Lingshan Mountain with 20 of his men.
In addition to their official names, the artillery in the Ming and Qing Dynasties were usually called "big generals, second generals, and third generals" according to their size. If there is a large fort somewhere, as long as the one with the second largest size and weight can be called the "Second General". The heaviest Second General in the late Qing Dynasty was a 3,000-pound wine bottle-shaped front-loading iron cannon with an effective range of 15 kilometers. It was located at Qikou Fort, which is now Huanghua Port. So don’t think it’s some fixed type of front-loading gun when you see the Second General. There isn’t one.
(End of chapter)
