"Sir, it seems that there are two general flags brought by Master Wu in front." A soldier next to General Xu said.
General Xu raised his head and looked towards the front of the mountain road.
Seeing a group of officers and soldiers retreating in panic, thinking of the sound of gunshots from before, he thought of a possibility, that is, the people brought by Wu Huai were defeated by the bandits on the mountain.
Thinking of this possibility, his face turned ugly.
When they went up the mountain, the army had just been attacked by bandits on the mountain, killing nearly a hundred people. The soldiers and horses brought by Wu Huai suffered another defeat, which was very detrimental to the morale of the army.
"Master Wu and the others are coming." The soldier on the side warned.
Wu Huai led his men and quickly joined the army. He himself came to General Xu and said with a look of shame on his face: "My lord, the last general was incompetent and was attacked by the bandits' cannons. Forty-three people were killed."
On the way back, he sent his soldiers to count the number of people, and found that there were more than forty people missing. In addition to some who were killed and injured, there were also some who had fled somewhere due to the defeat.
"Incompetent, waste!" General Xu scolded angrily.
Wu Huai argued: "The bandits in Daliang Mountain are not more than a hundred as rumored, but at least four to five hundred. Most of the bandits use sophisticated blunderbuss. With just a few shots, the soldiers and horses brought by the general are gone." The loss was nearly 30%, and we had no choice but to retreat."
General Xu had a dark face.
During the previous sneak attack, he also noticed that the blunderbuss used by the bandits on the mountain were unusual. Unlike the blunderbuss used by their Fubiao camp, they would often explode or injure one of their own people when fired.
"Sir, do we want to continue going up the mountain to suppress the bandits?" Wu Huai asked cautiously.
But in his heart, he was worried that the other party would give up the siege of the bandits in Daliang Mountain after hearing the news of his defeat.
In a battle with bandits in the mountains just now, more than ten of his soldiers were killed. It can be said that the losses were heavy. He still hoped to break through the mountain stronghold and get compensation from the bandits' den on the mountain.
In his mind, the bandits in Daliang Mountain must be extremely rich if they can use such good muskets and wear cotton armor. As long as they attack the stronghold, they will definitely find a lot of valuable things.
Even if he couldn't find a tael of silver, he wouldn't lose as long as he could get the cotton armor from the bandit.
Although the distance was a bit far at first, he could still tell that the cotton armor worn by the bandits was in new condition and could be exchanged for a lot of money.
"Are you afraid after being defeated once?" General Xu looked at Wu Huai.
Wu Huai shook his head and said: "How can the general be afraid of a group of bandits? It's just that the general has lost many soldiers this time and is no longer suitable to be a pioneer officer."
"Since you don't want to be a pioneer officer, then go up the mountain with me." General Xu said, "Since I have followed the governor's order to come to Daliang Mountain to suppress bandits, then I must destroy this group of bandits on the mountain. .”
"General, I am willing to obey your orders." Wu Huai bowed and cupped his fists.
General Xu nodded and ordered: "Send the order and the army will continue on its way."
After placing the soldiers and horses brought back by Wu Huai, the army continued to move up the mountain along the mountain road.
In the forest on one side of the mountain road, a secret sentry from the mountain village retreated slowly, almost to a place where people on the mountain road could not notice. Then he ran towards the mountain along an inconspicuous path to deliver a message.
Cao Guang, who was in front of the mountain stronghold, did not arrange for the people from the stronghold to go back. He was only allowed to sit down and rest on the spot while waiting for news from the secret sentry at the foot of the mountain.
He didn't wait long. The secret whistle at the foot of the mountain came back.
"Captain, there are more than 600 officers and soldiers, and they will arrive at our mountain stronghold soon." A secret whistle came to Cao Guang to report.
Cao Guang nodded.
This number was about the same as he expected, but if he wanted to break up the encirclement and suppression by the army, he could only defeat this army.
"Whether we can defend the stronghold depends on this battle." Zhang Hongtu said.
Ma Lin smiled and said, "Don't worry, Staff Officer Zhang. Our brigade has nearly 400 soldiers, which is only about 200 less than the official army. Moreover, the official army suffered two defeats in a row, so their morale must be low. We can win this battle." deal."
Zhang Hongtu nodded.
The gap between four hundred and six hundred is not too big. Coupled with the incompetence of the officers and soldiers, they have a great chance of winning this battle.
"Go down with the order and form a formation." Cao Guang ordered.
The soldiers of the three squadrons who were resting resumed their fighting formation, still with the gunmen in front, the spearmen in the back, and two squatting tiger cannons on each side.
The banner of the army appeared on the mountain road, and then groups of officers and soldiers appeared from the mountain road, and finally stopped in the open space opposite Cao Guang and the others.
"These bandits can actually form a formation." General Xu noticed the bandit formation on the opposite side and frowned.
As for the corpses and injured soldiers that Wu Huai had left here before, he didn't even look at them, with an expression of indifference.
Wu Huai on the side reminded: "Sir, be careful. As soon as the army attacks, the gunmen among the bandits will fire their guns, using the three-stage shooting of the Qi Army."
"It seems that there are experts behind these bandits who not only know how to fight, but also how to train troops." General Xu narrowed his eyes.
Although he has not fought in any battles in these years, he still has the necessary vision.
The group of bandits in front of me didn't look like ordinary bandits at first glance. They formed a neat battle formation that even the soldiers of his Fubiao camp couldn't do. However, when they appeared on a group of bandits, I knew there must be someone who knew the military behind it. Instruct.
"Besides, my lord, look at the cotton armor worn by the bandits. They are all brand-new cotton armor. Even the border troops don't have such good cotton armor. It can be seen that among this group of bandits, there are not only people who know military skills, but also They are also richer than ordinary bandits." Wu Huai introduced in a low voice.
General Xu sneered: "How can such a bandit be an ordinary bandit if he dares to go to the grassland to rob Xu Ji's more than ten carts of goods?"
"Because of this, this group of bandits must have more money. As long as the master takes over the fortress, not to mention one month's salary, I'm afraid half a year's salary will be earned." Wu Huai said in a low voice.
General Xu turned his head and said to the soldiers beside him: "Lead a team of troops to rush into the bandits' battle formation and see if what they are doing is a good show."
"Yes." The soldier agreed and turned around to mobilize troops.
But he was stopped by Wu Huai on the side.
Just listen to him say: "Sir, there is no need to try. The gunshots of these bandits are very sophisticated, and there is no chance of self-injury by exploding the barrel. Moreover, the gunshot players among the bandits are well-trained, and they will only shoot when they are close." Bird guns are used to cause maximum damage, so if there are too few people, it will be difficult to get close to the bandits, and the lives of the soldiers below will be wasted. "
"Then what do you mean?" General Xu asked Wu Huai.
Wu Huai said: "The general's idea is to let the army rush over in one go. No matter how powerful the bandit's blunderbuss is, as long as someone rushes closer, there will be no use for it."
General Xu looked thoughtful after hearing this.
After a while, he said: "Since you have already fought against the bandits and know the bandits in front of you the best, then I will do what you want. The whole army will attack and defeat the bandits in front of you in one fell swoop."
