Dominate the Country

The clouds in the sky were particularly low.

The dark white clouds filled people's vision, and the sky was still gray, although there was still the sun. But at this time, the sun was like a poor man who had lost everything, listless and lazily hanging in the sky.

Groups of dark clouds moved heavily and slowly in the sky.

The cold wind of late autumn was unstoppable and drove straight in, mixed with the fierce whistling sound, making the empty fields continue to show the emptiness and wildness that only autumn and winter can have.

From time to time, leaves and straw were blown away by the strong wind, and the big trees also tried their best to stand firm in the whistling winter wind as if they were forcing themselves to be energetic. Let their branches quarrel and shake with the wind, and sometimes you can hear the "crack" sound of branches breaking.

Xuxikou, Suishui, an ordinary town, an ordinary river. Although the river bank had left behind the glory of the Battle of Pengcheng during the Chu-Han Dispute 2,000 years ago, today, 2,000 years later, it is just an ordinary stream, an ordinary tributary of the Huai River.

Because of the arrival of the Anhui Qing army, they have left another mark on the history books. Because of the arrival of the Fu Han army, this shallow mark will be a lot heavier in today's battle.

——Besiege the city and attack the reinforcements!

Chen Ming led his troops from Xuzhou to Xuxikou with a smile on his face, and came to the battlefield southwest of Xuzhou in person. Because he had done so many "sieges and attacks" in the past few years, this time he finally succeeded.

The Qing army and civilians who came from Fengyang Prefecture, a total of about 10,000 people, arrived at Xuxikou at a fairly fast speed, and it was only 70 or 80 miles away from Xuzhou.

Chen Ming only brought a regiment of infantry, plus an artillery unit, no cannons, all mortars. This is not because he is stupid, but because although the Qing army that came to help seemed to be numerous, the main force was Anhui's civilians, with low combat effectiveness and no artillery at all. Chen Ming was afraid that if he brought too many people, he would scare the other side back again.

The northeastern part of Anhui, that is, the Fengyang area, is crisscrossed with rivers. If the Anhui Qing army wanted to "seduce" a part of the Fu Han army, the Fu Han army would advance, and they would retreat and push to the river area, especially the Huai River, and defend the river, that would be very bad. So Chen Ming directly brought a regiment, plus a part of the artillery, and advertised that there were only 2,000 people. It can also let the uninformed Qing officials imagine the intensity of the battle in Xuzhou!

The deep and powerful war drums rumbled, and a Qing army general in military uniform rode on a Mongolian warhorse, drew his waist knife and swung it forward. The three or four thousand soldiers at the front of the Qing army rushed forward like a flood. The shouts, drums, and horses' neighs mixed together and resounded through the sky.

Knowing that their firepower was not as good as the Fu Han Army on the opposite side, the Anhui Qing army, the main general, Tong Jin, the general of Shouchun, and the deputy general Li Yuelong all used the human wave tactics. Anyway, their troops were of this quality. Most of them were civilians who could not even form a battle array. If they fought in a regular battle array, they would die faster and more miserably.

This is the least technically demanding battlefield, and it only relies on the human wave tactics of large numbers. Compared with the human wave tactics of the Red Dynasty Volunteer Army on the Korean battlefield, the same four words are completely wasted. This is pure "human wave", not a tactic at all. [I really thought that the human wave tactics of the Volunteer Army was the author of large numbers at the beginning. I bow my head and confess my guilt...]

Looking at the Qing army rushing up with a roar, Chen Ming did not curl his lips in disdain, but laughed happily. Such an old-fashioned tactic was used on a flat river bank where the power of firearms could be fully exerted, facing an enemy array with powerful firepower. This was purely courting death. There were a full 24 medium and heavy mortars in front of him.

Three infantry battalions plus a command post, two artillery positions, four phalanxes, and three main phalanxes lined up in front, followed by the regiment headquarters and the command phalanx composed of Chen Ming's personal guards. Although they were arranged in four horizontal rows, there were about 400 muskets in a row. Even with the tactics of the Qing army in front of them, the number of Qing army militiamen rushing over was doubled or tripled, and they were purely here to deliver food without artillery power.

They were not here to fight at all, but to die.

Chen Ming did not believe that the Qing army generals on the opposite side would not see the consequences of doing so, but they still chose to fight. In the final analysis, it was because Chen Ming brought too few troops, only "two thousand people"!

"Order the artillery team to fire when the enemy advances 100 feet." Chen Ming asked someone to pass the order to the artillery commander Kong Jie. He was still afraid that the opponent could not bear too many casualties, and would retract his claws after shouting, and then turn around and run away. So he ordered to get closer before firing.

Chen Ming only led one regiment to the south because he was afraid of scaring the opponent. Now he is still afraid of scaring the opponent. He ordered the artillery to get closer before firing. Chen Ming is also fighting hard for this "siege and reinforcement". In fact, the morale of the Qing army and the people's bravery is still relatively strong at this moment, because their number is much larger than that of the Fu Han army, and Chen Ming also set up his own ceremonial guard. If Chen Ming can be captured, the scene will be too beautiful. Chen Ming can feel the "heat" of the high morale.

But Chen Ming is not worried at all that the Qing army can rush to the front and back of the formation under the artillery fire, and can also kill him under the volley of volleys.

If the chaotic group of soldiers in front of us could all be able to charge forward against a regiment of privates firing at us, the invention of the musket and the war would be meaningless.

"Yes!" After receiving the order, the signalman immediately rode to the artillery team and conveyed the order to Kong Jie. This man just happened to have the surname "Kong", but he was not from the Kong family in Qufu.

"The enemy advanced 150 feet."

"The enemy advanced 120 feet."

"The enemy army advanced 100 feet--" The observer quickly reported the distance of the Qing army's advance.

"Fire!" Kong Jie gave the order calmly, still holding up the monocular and looking at the black mass of Qing troops rushing across. After many wars, he was also an old bird. He was used to seeing dead people and was accustomed to the current scene.

In his eyes, these Qing soldiers seen by the camera were already dead. Beside him, there were six medium mortars and six heavy mortars, and the weight of the latter's shrapnel shells had reached an astonishing 12 pounds! At the two artillery positions on the left and right, twenty-four mortars were lined up in a long line. The dark-green barrels emitted a dark and deep light under the lazy sunlight, which was solemn and cold. Now they were ready for everything, just waiting for the Qing army to come to their door to serve them.

The muzzle did not move at all, because they had already adjusted the angle during the previous preparations. To adjust it again, it was necessary to operate the basic shell landing point with fine operations.

After a rumbling sound of artillery, twenty-four shotgun shells pierced through the white gunpowder smoke, turned into black shadows in the sky, and landed on the top of the Qing army's charging crowd with a muffled whistle.

In the second explosion, the thin cast iron shell was completely torn apart by the impact, and countless bullets mixed with shell fragments flew out of it, spreading into a large area in the air. The sharp tail whistle seemed to still echo in my ears, and countless shrill screams had already been heard in the charging ranks of the Qing army.

Even if one-third of the shrapnel shells of the twenty-four mortars were of poor quality and failed to explode and scatter, or exploded again after landing, this wave of attacks would have at least killed hundreds of Qing soldiers.

The flowers of death bloomed on the ground, and the bright red color dyed the ground.

The medium and heavy shrapnel shells weighing eight or twelve kilograms were quite powerful.

The charging Qing army soldiers were instantly silent, and many people were stunned by the casualties. Although they continued to attack under the leadership of the leader the next moment. "Don't stop! Charge, charge quickly-"

"The cannons fired, and they rushed closer, and they couldn't hit them if they rushed closer..."

"Don't stop, don't stop-"

Roaring, waving swords and guns to threaten, the Qing army continued to charge.

As a mortar with a reloading speed second only to the sub-cannon, how could a distance of one hundred feet, more than three hundred meters, not be enough for them to reload? Aren't all those Anhui soldiers possessed by Bogut, and they are all 100-meter sprinters?

At a distance of one hundred feet, they were all jogging, otherwise they would be exhausted even if they reached the front.

Chen Ming also had a batch of rockets in his hand, which was the last trump card. Although Chen Ming felt that they would not be used, he still brought one hundred rockets for safety reasons.

After a short burst of cannon fire, the fragmentation shells that had been reloaded for the second time pierced through the white gunpowder smoke, turned into beautiful arcs in the sky, and landed in the Qing army's attack column with a whistling sound.

The long tail whistle seemed to still echo in the ears, and the "boom boom--" explosion sound was heard again in the Qing army column.

The fragmentation shells used by the Fu Han Army's mortar unit did have quality problems at the beginning. Even now, the failure rate of 20% to 30% is normal, but even if one-third of the 24 fragmentation shells are removed, 15 or 16 will explode in the Qing army column.

For every cloud of thick smoke rising into the sky, there will be several or even more Anhui soldiers killed, wounded and bleeding. The smallest fragmentation shell weighs seven or eight pounds, and its power must not be underestimated.

The air in the chest seemed to solidify instantly. Every Anhui soldier who was wrapped in the orange-red smoke of the explosion felt the suffocation of the dark cloud pressing down on the city. He couldn't even breathe. He was buried in the grave in the blink of an eye.

"Fire!"

The regiment commander gave an order when the Qing army's front line was still 60 feet away.

There was no need to let the Qing army be within 100 meters before attacking. The bullets still had a strong killing power after flying 200 meters.

The Qing army soldiers who were terrified were crying and howling like wolves and ghosts. They didn't even rush to the front of the formation for 30 feet and fled in a panic. They left at least 1,000 people dead and injured on the battlefield.

During the Qing army's defeat, 24 mortars fired the fourth round. This is the advantage of letting the Qing army close to fight. Compared with blasting them away from a distance, the results of the battle are greater.

Tong Jin, Li Yuelong and others all looked gloomy. They originally wanted to rely on their large numbers to disrupt the formation of Chen Ming's army and fight a close battle. The number of the Qing army was five times that of the Fu Han army. Even if they didn't win, they shouldn't suffer a big loss.

Who would have thought that the powerful firepower of the Chen Ming army on the opposite side was simply a bottomless pit. 4,000 or 5,000 people charged and 1,000 people fell before they reached the place. Their entire army was only 10,000 people. How many of the 10,000 people who charged would fall before they could get close to hand-to-hand combat?

The heavy pressure was like a mountain pressing down on the top, wiping out all the confidence of Tong Jin, Li Yuelong and other Qing army generals.

"Retreat. Go back to Xuxikou!"

Came with great momentum and left with a dispirited look. Li Yuelong personally led the team to hold the line, and Tong Jin led the team to retreat rapidly.

Chen Ming, of course, chose to pursue. He fought all the way from the battlefield to Xuxikou Town. The ten-mile road was full of Qing army corpses and prisoners of war with their hands on their heads. Then the results of the battle were counted. More than 2,000 Qing soldiers were captured, of which 70% to 80% were civilians.

Chen Ming fought this battle so easily and it was really cool.

"How great would it be if the Qing army had been fighting field battles?" The Fu Han army killed and captured 3,000 to 4,000 Qing soldiers, and how many people did they lose in total? Five people died and 23 were injured. Except for one death and one injury due to stray bullets during the formation, the rest were all injured in the subsequent pursuit.

Chen Ming felt the majesty of the British and French armies in history. There were so few casualties, and the Westerners repeatedly exchanged for great results for the Qing army with very few casualties. The crushing of weapons and firepower is the most important factor!

Modern armies, with their full range of guns and artillery, faced the current tactics and weapons of the Qing army, or the Qing army that was in battle formation, they would first bombard the Qing army, and then use infantry volleys to finish off the battle. If there were cavalry and they attacked and killed them at this time, it would be a complete crushing.

"Boom..."

"Boom boom boom..."

As the sun set, the Fu Han army, which had chased outside Xuxikou Town, began to bombard. The Qing army destroyed a brick-and-wood bridge that connected the town to the Suishui River. The Fu Han army sent one shrapnel shell after another into Xuxikou Town while urgently building a pontoon bridge.

The most commonly used pontoon bridge for the Fu Han army was a combination of boats. If Xuxikou Town could not find a small boat, it would use a sheepskin raft and a raft.

Kong Jie held a pocket watch in his hand and looked down at the time. It was only four o'clock, and there was at least an hour and a half before dawn. If the pontoon bridge was built before five o'clock, the Fu Han army could spend the night in Xuxikou Town.

The smoke enveloped the entire artillery position, and when the cold wind blew away, it started again.

Chen Ming stood on a high place and looked at the direction of Xuxikou Town with a telescope. It was not very friendly, and the telescope was still a little low, so he could only see smoke and dust...

The morale of the Qing army in the town seemed to be declining faster along with the dust.

"Let the following select a team to cross the river on a raft." Chen Ming suspected that the Qing army's generals had escaped.

The earth collapsed and the rocks cracked, and the houses and buildings in Xuxikou Town quickly turned into ruins under the bombardment of shrapnel. After only a quarter of an hour of bombardment, the entire Xuxikou Town seemed to be in tatters.

Chen Ming gave an order, and immediately a team of soldiers carried a raft and rushed towards the Suishui River.

There was no shadow of a Qing soldier on the other side of the 20-30-meter-wide Suishui River. They had already fled in the bombardment.

However, when the Fu Han Army soldiers of this team rushed into Xuxikou Town with bayonets, the blue-gray Qing soldiers also emerged from the ruins in the north of the town and collided fiercely with the attacking troops.

The sound of killing shook the sky, and the mortars that had been so powerful before began to extend their firing to the rear of the town. The subsequent support troops quickly followed up under the command of the regiment commander without Chen Ming's words.

"Kill!" Zhu Yan took the lead and rushed into Xuxikou Town with his troops. He is now the deputy regiment commander, and his eyes are fixed on military exploits. He must take a step further and get the position of regiment commander.

The patrol station in Xuxikou Town has now become the location of Li Yuelong's camp. As for Tong Jin, he has already fled with his town flag.

"Xietai, the north of the town has been lost, Peng Si is dead, Xu Guang surrendered. Zhou Youjiliang also died in the battle."

"Then surrender..." Li Yuelong said as if nothing had happened. "Tong Jin has run away, what's the point of our fighting?"

"Whoever wants to work for Da Qingguo can go, if you want to die, don't drag your brothers into it."