nucmednet Chapter 454 The Battle of Qiuyu Mountain (6)
Chapter 454 The Battle of Qiuyu Mountain (6)
As Liu Ye was commenting on the performance of the field artillery, a commotion erupted from the opposing bandit formation. A group carrying the "Zhang" flag moved aside to make way, and an even larger group came from behind, carrying the "Chuang" flag.
Zhu Dadian reminded him, "General Liu, this is Gao Yingxiang, the bandit known as 'Chuang Wang'. In terms of cunning and shrewdness, he is even more cunning than Zhang Xianzhong."
Liu Ye nodded, indicating that he understood. Actually, he was more familiar with the next "Chuang King"—Li Zicheng—and knew little about Gao Yingxiang. However, Gao Yingxiang's ability to become a leading figure in the early peasant army was due to his exceptional qualities.
The troops marked with the word "闯" (Chuang, meaning to break through) bypassed Zhang Xianzhong's forces and arrived at the forefront. Under the command of their superiors, their formation changed from dense to loose.
Liu Ye frowned. Gao Yingxiang had reacted quickly, knowing that charging the Qionghai Navy with its powerful artillery in a dense formation would be tantamount to suicide. His looser formation would at least reduce casualties from the shelling. The enemy had already made their move; now it was up to Xu Yifan to respond.
On the mountainside, artillery battalion commander Zuo Wuwei also frowned. The looser the enemy's formation, the more disadvantageous it was for the artillery, at least the lethality of solid shot would be greatly reduced.
A messenger ran up, saluted, and asked, "Battalion Commander Zuo, the regimental commander sent me to ask: if solid shot isn't effective, could we consider using explosive rounds or grapeshot?"
Zuo Wuwei returned the salute and told him, "Please tell the regimental commander that the range of the shot is too short, and the enemy down the mountain is friendly, which will cause friendly fire. The current field artillery positions cannot use shot, but the mountain artillery down the mountain is not restricted by terrain and formation. In addition, explosive shells can be used, but the killing effect may not be very good. Also, for safety reasons, I need to stop firing when the enemy enters within 400 paces to avoid friendly fire."
"Understood!" The messenger turned and went down the mountain to relay Zuo Wuwei's answer and suggestions to Xu Yifan.
"Shotguns are unusable, and explosive rounds can only be fired up to 400 meters before stopping? Understood." Xu Yifan ordered the messenger, "Notify the four infantry battalion commanders directly in front and on the flanks that the enemy may attack from three sides simultaneously, just like before, but they will be more numerous and their formation more sparse. Artillery alone may not be able to stop them. Be prepared to engage them with rifle fire or even bayonet charges!"
After the messenger left with his orders, Xu Yifan rubbed his hands together, looking at the "Chuang" banner in front of him with eager anticipation, and said, "Come on, King Chuang, let me see how much more powerful you are than Zhang Xianzhong?"
With three cannon shots, Gao Yingxiang's troops began their charge. Accompanied by shouts of battle that resounded through the sky, refugees from all directions, like ants, rushed towards Qiuyu Mountain.
At the mountaintop, Yan Guang exclaimed in horror, "This rebel leader is quite ruthless; he's probably committed all his troops at once!"
Liu Ye also said, "That's right. Gao Yingxiang is more decisive than Zhang Xianzhong. He didn't use the piecemeal tactic of sending a small number of people to test the waters, but instead sent out all his troops. It seems he's planning to take a gamble."
In fact, Gao Yingxiang did not commit all his troops; not a single soldier from the old camp was sent out. However, compared to the massive force of tens of thousands, the number of soldiers in the old camp was negligible. He had a total of over 30,000 men under his command. After deducting the soldiers escorting the valuables and wagons, and further subtracting the families, elderly, and infirm of the various leaders, this charge mobilized nearly 20,000 men—it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he had mobilized his entire force.
As the saying goes, "When the army exceeds ten thousand, it seems boundless," meaning that the sheer number of people creates a powerful visual impact. The veterans of the Qionghai Navy, who had experienced the Battle of Bofu, remained relatively calm, given that He Rubin's army numbered nearly twenty thousand. However, the new recruits, selected from Shandong immigrants, were a different story. Everywhere they looked, there were densely packed crowds. It would be a lie to say they weren't nervous and afraid. Many men's hands, gripping their rifles, trembled involuntarily, and they clenched their teeth to stifle any screams.
Zhu Jinhu was a new recruit in the First Battalion. Lan Lin, with whom he had fought and been put in solitary confinement, was also in the same battalion, except Zhu Jinhu was in the First Company and Lan Lin was in the Third Company. Seeing the countless refugees covering the hillsides, his heart began to race uncontrollably. He reached up to cover his chest, as if doing so would calm his racing heart. He looked to his right, but since the companies were lined up in parallel, he didn't see Lan Lin. He thought to himself: "That guy is so big and so fierce when he fights, he shouldn't be afraid."
Lan Lin, whom he considered brave, was now panting heavily, showing no signs of composure. Lan Lin had a problem: when nervous or scared, his breathing would become rapid, like a non-swimmer choking on water.
Seeing his appearance, the soldiers around him all stared at him with sympathy and contempt, but due to military discipline and fear of punishment from their superiors, no one dared to speak out.
Standing on the far left of the row was the platoon leader. Seeing Lan Lin's appearance, he said in a low voice with exasperation, "Look at your big frame, how come you're so timid? Don't embarrass our platoon, okay?"
Upon hearing the platoon leader's complaint, Lan Lin's face turned purple. He gasped for breath as he explained, "Platoon leader, I'm not scared, I'm just... just a little excited..."
The platoon leader didn't believe him, and smirked: "Go ahead and blow it..."
At that moment, the sound of a wind instrument began to ring out, its tone bright and its rhythm long. Upon hearing the sound, all the soldiers, from the platoon leader to Lan Lin, immediately took out pre-loaded bullets wrapped in cardboard from the cloth bag slung across their waists, bit open the cardboard, and began the loading process.
Unlike the previous method of "command relying mainly on shouting," the expanded Qionghai Navy has improved and optimized its command methods. Giving orders verbally is no longer suitable for a force of several thousand; long formations and the noise of the battlefield can drown out any officer's instructions, and even the loudest shouter cannot clearly convey orders hundreds of meters away. Under Liang Xiaoming's guidance, and drawing on the characteristics of some modern armies, the command method was changed to a combination of flags and bugles, with the bugle's design and use directly adopted. The long, drawn-out bugle call, like the one currently in use, signifies entering combat readiness, and weapons must be loaded and ready to fire at any moment.
Although the artillery battalion had just achieved remarkable results, Xu Yifan dared not be careless in the face of the second attack by the "Chuang King's" direct troops. Apart from the artillery, he ordered all infantry to enter combat readiness early on. He was certain that it was impossible for artillery alone to stop the attack of tens of thousands of people, and the situation of thousands of people crowding together to be bombarded would not happen again.