The weather is dry.

Although the Japanese grenade bombs did not cause a lot of substantial damage to the Qing troops hiding in the anti-artillery wall of the city, they easily set fire to several thatched houses.

If the Qing army was in charge of guarding at that time, and after discovering the place where the fire started, they could brave the artillery fire and rush out some Qing troops to scoop water to extinguish the fire, although these burning houses could not be saved, but at least the spread of the fire could be controlled.

However, all the soldiers and generals of the Qing army hid for their own lives, and by the time they discovered the Great Fire City, it was already too late!

"It's going off, it's off!"

The Qing troops who were hiding in the wall near the thatched hut could not withstand the scorching heat of the fire and the smoke of the smoke, so they fled from the anti-artillery wall one after another and ran towards the place where there was no fire.

"It's going off, it's off!"

These Qing soldiers shouted in horror, but the generals in the city all ran to Huanxiling to watch the battle, and those who stayed in the city were only the battalion officers at the head of each battalion, where could they organize panicked soldiers to fight the fire.

Soon, the entire main city of Shanhaiguan was in flames, and black smoke was soaring into the sky!

Joy Ridge.

A group of veterans panted and climbed up Huanxi Ridge and climbed the tower of Weiyuan City, before they had time to take a breath, they took a look at the three cities outside the Guan, and the movement of the Japanese in the distance.

In his ears, he heard Lian Shun, who had been watching the battle for a long time, exclaim: "The Japanese are shelling the main city of Shanhaiguan!" ”

The generals turned their heads to look in the southwest direction in shock, only to see the Japanese shells rushing towards the main city one by one, exploding flames.

"The artillery battalion of the anti-Japanese army is actually trying to escape! If you don't get up to shell at this time, the old man must behead this battalion officer! ”

Liu Kun couldn't help but be furious when he saw the anti-Japanese artillery battalion by the Shihe River, pulling the artillery back.

"These cowards, what an angry old man!"

"Look at our Hunan Army's General Tao, who bravely ——, died for the imperial court! This bunch of scum! ”

When a group of veterans saw their soldiers being knocked down by the Japanese army's grenade bombs, they couldn't help but grin in distress and shouted 'wow' angrily.

When the Japanese artillery bombarded the three cities outside the gate just now, no one 'spoke up' about why the artillery didn't return fire.

"The main city is on fire!"

The veteran Li Guangjiu roared, which shocked all the generals with a heavy sigh in their hearts.

When I looked up, black smoke billowed and the fire was raging!

"Hurry up and put out the fire!"

The veteran Tang Renlian jumped straight in a hurry.

It's just that this place is nearly two miles away from the main city, and the veterans have just climbed up Huanxi Ridge tired and half-dead, where do they still have the strength to run all the way back.

The fire is getting bigger and bigger.

Xiao Ligang led the artillery battalion to hurriedly pull 13 artillery pieces and evacuate the range of Japanese artillery fire, so together with Xiang Shaolong, deputy battalion commander, and Liu Shuyi, a battalion intern staff officer, they climbed a small hill on the side of the post road and looked back to the north.

He was shocked to see that the smoke of the city was covered with sun, and the flames were raging.

"It's really a roast fat pig, it's a big New Year!"

Xiao Ligang whispered to himself a little distracted, obviously taken aback by such a 'spectacular' scene.

"Battalion commander, shall we fight back? I want these battalion leaders to know that I am not a bad breed! ”

An artilleryman rubbed in front of Xiao Ligang and said angrily: "It's not that Huang Shilin escaped, he is too mean to everyone on weekdays, even the silver that his brothers are tired of pulling cannonballs in Dalian has been swallowed by him in a blink of an eye, and he can't be angry——, which soft egg will be a deserter; What a shame on the ancestors! ”

When this artilleryman was at the Lushun Coastal Fort, he was sent out to transport shells for extra money, and he had a relationship with Xiao Ligang, so he was elected to ask Xiao Li for orders.

"That's it, that's it, battalion commander, all of us are tough guys, not soft eggs!"

"That Zhang Guangqian is darker, it's not a thing!"

"Battalion commander, you give the order, brothers will set up artillery to kill these little widows now!"

"It's just too much of a deception! Are they still cannons? Let's retreat from Krupp, easily repair them without killing them! ”

On the post road below the hillside, 357 deserters from the Lushun Fort gathered together, looked at Xiao Ligang, and asked for a cannon.

"I understand the thoughts of the brothers, but now how do we find the shelling field of sight and determine the position of the Japanese artillery? You have now also seen the accuracy of the Japanese artillery, if you don't dumb their artillery group first, or quickly shift your position after the shelling, how can you prepare for this grenade shooting down from the sky? ”

The sound on the post road suddenly stopped, and everyone fell into thought, and the more they thought about it, the more shocked they became.

"The commander-in-chief told me that it was not that I would not fight, but that I would not have the right time; If you want to do a good job, you must first sharpen your weapon, this 'weapon' is not only artillery, but also a cannonball, but also the iron discipline and superb skills of our artillery! ”

Xiao Ligang focused his attention on the position of Wu Yuankai's 4th Battalion Chu Army Artillery Battalion, only to see that in addition to the dead corpses and wounded soldiers waiting to die, a large number of caliber artillery pieces were blown up by the projectiles fired by grenade shots, and some of them were even twisted and piled together.

"Rubbish!"

Xiao Ligang cursed in a low voice, and then looked at Huanxiling: "Pig! ”

South Water Well.

"Baga, these vulnerable pigs; And Ito, the bastard, a traitor! ”

Looking at the smoke billowing from Shanhaiguan in the south of the three cities outside the Guanwai, Youpeng in Shan County couldn't help but be surprised, happy and angry.

Because a telegram in the name of the emperor from the Hiroshima base camp last night made Yamaguchi Aritomo design the task of today's attack to capture the three castles outside the Kansai.

In the opinion of Yama County Youpeng, taking the three cities can be easily completed with only artillery and the third brigade of the Yamaguchi Infantry.

The low breastwall defense of the anti-Japanese army, a high-explosive bomb from the empire can tear it into powder!

Therefore, Yama County Youpeng only ordered three artillery wings, plus the 3rd Infantry Brigade to participate in this attack today.

For the infantry, cavalry, and even sappers who had just arrived at Shanhaiguan after a long journey yesterday, Yama County Youpeng ordered them to rest freely, waiting to celebrate the complete victory of the empire and have a good year to remember.

And the current situation is that although the three cities outside the Guanxi were bombed into a mess, the breastwork connecting the three cities is only on the side of Dongluo City, and there are three collapses, but the Great Wall of Shanhaiguan is even more chaotic.

- If the sappers rushed over quickly now, blew up a section of the wall under Horn Mountain or Joy Ridge, and then the Imperial cavalry drove in-

The more you thought about it, the angrier she became, and scolded loudly: "This damn Ito Hirobumi, it's not that he is making trouble in front of the emperor, today's Shanhaiguan is like Seoul, Pyongyang, Liaoyang, Mukden, and went down in a battle!" ”

The generals, overseers, and administrators on the Nanshui Well, including the young Prince Zairen, all avoided their gaze as if they were unheard, and looked at the huge pillar of smoke behind the three cities outside the Guanwai from afar.

There are no regrets in my heart.

After the first battle, down the mountains and seas, below is Yanjing, the capital of the Qing Dynasty.

What a great honor!

"Order the artillery to stop the attack, and the infantry to begin to advance!"

Feeling that the purpose of the shelling had been completely achieved, or even exceeded, Shan County Youpeng was unwilling to waste precious shells, so he immediately issued an order for a general attack.

"Stop attacking!"

"All march!"

With the order of Kuroda Hisataka and Yamaguchi Sotomi, the signal soldiers on the tower immediately waved and changed the small flag in their hands.

"Boom-"

The shelling stopped, and only the aftermath of the sky gradually dissipated.

"Attack!"

"Run!"

"Forward!"

With the commander of the 4th Wing of the Japanese Army, Noki Nakagi, the commander of the 16th Wing, Yoshitomo Fukushima, and the captain of the 4th Wing, Tadazaburo Yamada, almost at the same time shouted and gave the order to attack.