GBP Chapter 436 Battle of Miaogou
Chapter 436 Battle of Miaogou
Hou Lin led an army of 50,000, but faced a team of only 6,000 people in front of him. He was full of disdain and did not even prepare cannons.
In the narrow valley where two towering mountains stand facing each other, farmland and winding paths interweave to create a peaceful pastoral scenery.
However, this peace is being quietly torn apart by the coming storm.
April is supposed to be the season for sowing hope. The tender green wheat seedlings by the roadside sway gently in the breeze, carrying the farmers' hard work and expectations.
However, all this seemed to not exist in Hou Lin's eyes.
He stood at the front of the battle, his face grim, and issued a ruthless order to his soldiers: "Cavalry, charge ahead, infantry, follow closely behind. Kill them all, leaving no one alive!"
Although Hou Lin's troops are composed of a mixed group of people, all of them are bloodthirsty beasts on the battlefield. Their eyes are flashing with desire for battle and indifference to life.
Following the coach's command, a deafening roar rang out. Like huge waves stirred up by a strong wind, they surged forward, vowing to swallow up this peaceful land.
The narrowness of the valley restricted their pace. Even with a tidal-like attack, they could only pour in in batches, with no more than 10,000 people charging at a time.
This not only did not slow down their ferocity, but made each wave of attack like a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, pointing directly at the innocent villages and farmlands with determination and ruthlessness.
Zhao Yongqiang's army had wooden chevaux de frise in front. The soldiers used the chevaux de frise as their positions and held shields in their hands, forming a solid defensive line.
Behind the team were neatly arranged artillery formations, one on each side.
The number of cavalry Hou Lin brought with him was not large, only 5,000. In traditional battles, when two armies faced off in a valley, cavalry was often a highly lethal weapon.
As the target approached, when it was still six hundred steps away, countless bullets were fired from the defense position of the railway protection team, and the bullets were as dense as a heavy rain.
The defensive line consisted of more than a thousand soldiers divided into two rows, one lying down and the other kneeling against the chevaux de frise. They all raised their guns and shot at the galloping horses.
The cavalrymen were shot and fell one after another. In less than a quarter of an hour, only a thousand of the 5,000 cavalrymen were still charging forward.
The fields are not conducive to the acceleration of war horses, and today they feel that the war horses are in abnormal condition.
The war horses neighed from time to time, as if something was hindering their progress.
In fact, they didn't know that the fields were full of caltrops, which were weapons used by the enemy specifically to deal with war horses.
Even if they were lucky enough to dodge the bullets, they would only be considered unlucky if they encountered these hidden weapons. The infantry followed the cavalry forward, and many of them were also hit by the bullets.
In an instant, Hou Lin's army lost most of its combat effectiveness.
Hou Lin, who was watching the battle, had suffered losses at the hands of the new army before. Seeing that the team in front of him still had the killing weapons that frightened him in the past, he couldn't help feeling a little afraid.
"Quick, push the cannon up and fire at them!"
Realizing that the battle situation was not good, Hou Lin hurriedly ordered the cannons forward.
The cannons of the Shili tribe were heavy and difficult to move on the small roads, so the only way to transport them was on a road that was suitable for carriages.
After finally advancing to the range, they heard explosions. It turned out that the enemy had launched an artillery attack on them.
Hou Lin was feeling embarrassed and thinking about how to deal with the situation when he suddenly heard someone say in his ear, "The chief is coming." He looked back and saw Shi Li leading thousands of people on horseback.
"Chief, why are you here?" Hou Lin hurried forward to greet him in person.
Shi Li only nodded slightly when he saw Hou Lin coming to greet him. A fierce gleam flashed in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth and said, "These lowly people have kidnapped my relatives. How can I, Shi Li, let them go so easily? I will definitely skin them and eat their flesh with my own hands!"
Seeing Shi Li's ferocity, Hou Lin knew he had to win this battle. "Chief, the terrain ahead is extremely unfavorable to us. Our army is blocked. I'm trying to find a way to force our attack."
After hearing this, Shi Li looked puzzled and asked, "How many enemies are there?"
"Commander-in-Chief, there are not many people, only 6,000." Hou Lin replied hurriedly.
As they talked, the two men rode to a high ground. Looking ahead, they saw smoke everywhere and Hou Lin's cannons firing towards the front.
Unfortunately, the explosion point was far away from the target, so this attack was just a show and had no actual effect.
"Order 5,000 men to go around the mountains on both sides and surround them."
Shi Li observed the not-so-high mountains on both sides and gave orders decisively.
After Hou Lin re-examined the terrain, he sent out two teams according to his orders, each with 5,000 men, carrying knives and some small cannons, and headed towards the mountain.
Zhao Yongqiang, who was standing opposite, saw all this through the telescope and said to Chen Da with a smile, "Captain Chen, take your men to defend the mountain separately. This kind of terrain is your strong point."
Chen Da smiled knowingly and turned to ask Liu Yongsheng beside him: "Is it difficult?"
Liu Yongsheng looked at Zhao Yongqiang and assured him confidently, "I'll bring a thousand people with me and make sure they can't get through!"
After hearing this, Chen Da also clasped his fists towards Zhao Yongqiang with a firm look in his eyes, as if to say, "Don't worry."
Afterwards, the two men each led more than 1,500 people, carrying rifles and mortars and marched towards the mountain.
Before this, they had already anticipated that the enemy might split up and attack from the mountain, and had set up defensive fortifications here in advance.
The reason why the troops were not deployed on the mountain in advance was to lure the enemy deeper.
After Chen Da's team went up the mountain, they only needed to reach the pre-set position. There was no need to make a long-distance attack. They just had to wait for the enemy to fall into the trap.
Not long after, five thousand ? tribe soldiers rushed over and ran into the railway guards who were on high alert.
The railway protection team first launched a burst of artillery fire.
Because they were on the mountain, although the artillery fire was deterrent, the enemy took advantage of the dangerous terrain and could easily evade it. Therefore, not many enemies were killed, and many still came towards them along the mountain.
Chen Da's team was equipped with the new large eight-grain bolt-action rifle. A thousand people fired at the same time, and in just over twenty breaths, eight thousand bullets poured out like a torrential rain.
Most of the ? soldiers who were in the front were killed on the spot. The enemies behind were so scared that they dared not attack rashly, but they were still subjected to merciless artillery fire.
The attack of the ethnic army along the mountain failed.
In the valley, Shi Li ordered his men to carry the gun barrels and advance forward with difficulty.
To prevent bullet attacks, they sent shield soldiers to clear the way.
I have to say that the shield is indeed quite effective in blocking long-range rifle attacks.
Zhao Yongqiang was not in a hurry when he saw this. He ordered the artillerymen to wait patiently and attack the enemy one by one after they set up their guns.
The bullets in the rifle were still firing forward, but unfortunately, the range was a little short, making it difficult to cause effective damage to the enemy.
On the opposite side, at a position of 800 steps, the enemy began to set up cannons. With the protection of the shields in front, the stray bullets caused little damage to them.
Seeing this, Hou Lin suggested to Shi Li, "Chief, send out a group of soldiers at this time to attack with shields raised. Under the cover of artillery fire, we will surely be able to capture the enemy position."
Shi Li thought this plan was feasible, so he asked Hou Lin to order an attack according to the plan.
At this time, Shi Li also realized that the team that originally had 50,000 people now had only about 30,000 people left, and an ominous premonition quietly came to his mind.