Chapter 579: Don't be ashamed!

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Before Zhang Zhun returned to Liujiabao, he had already led his army to surround this place, and was methodically carrying out various preparations before the attack. According to the order of the Ministry of War, Xu Dingguo brought a full 10,000 border soldiers. These border soldiers, in Xu Dingguo's opinion, are quite elite. Most of them were veterans who had participated in actual combat and had rich combat experience.

The service system of the Ming army was more complex and chaotic. The system is hereditary, lifelong, and cannot be changed. Soldiers were purely recruited, and the purpose of fighting was to get money. When it was time to fight, they were recruited. After the fighting, they were disbanded. The border army is different. The border army can be said to be a long-serving conscript.

Some of the border troops were hereditary military households, some were recruited soldiers, and some were sent prisoners. In general, they all have a relatively long length of service. Because they have been stationed at the border for many years, they are in a more dangerous situation, and they must work hard to practice their killing skills. Therefore, their combat effectiveness is still relatively strong.

For Zhang Zhun, Xu Dingguo has no other thoughts, just kill!

Zhang Zhun is nominally the Metropolitan Governor of the Houjun Metropolitan Mansion, but in fact he is a complete thief. Zhang Zhun promulgated the Juntian Order, organized the Tiger Ben Army, and repeatedly confronted the imperial court, which can be described as a major problem for the imperial court. Xu Dingguo is very clear about this. Otherwise, what did the military department send him and Wu Sangui to Hejian Mansion for? If Zhang Zhun's head can be sent up, he will definitely be rewarded by the imperial court.

In fact, even if there was no order from the imperial court, Xu Dingguo wanted to come to Zhang Zhun's bad luck. The reason is because of the existence of the "Junda Order". At the beginning, Xu Dingguo held an official position in Shandong. During the Apocalypse, the Wenxiang Sect launched an uprising, and Xu Dingguo was the right-hand man who suppressed the Wenxiang Sect. For all those who want to share the land and wealth, Xu Dingguo hates it very much. Xu Dingguo's hometown is in Taikang, Henan. In his hometown, he has tens of thousands of acres of land.

After Xu Dingguo came to Hejian Mansion, he did not immediately attack. Mainly for the sake of prudence. After all, the Tiger Ben Army is an existence that can defeat the Tartars, and Xu Dingguo does not dare to take it lightly. He also wants to look at the details of the Tiger Benjun and see how much ability Zhang Zhun has. Regarding the rumors outside that the Tiger Ben Army was trying to attack Jingshi, Xu Dingguo did not believe it. How easy is it to attack Jingshi? Zhang Zhun rose up to rebel, it has been less than two years, how can he have so much power?

At the same time, Wu Sangui, who was supposed to command him in battle, had been grinding near Qingxian in the north of Cangzhou. Wu Sangui's order was to let Xu Dingguo take the lead in exploring the bottom of the Tiger Ben army. If he had the chance, he could attack alone. The Liaodong cavalry was not good at attacking cities, and could only play a role in field battles. Xu Dingguo did not doubt him, so he carried it out according to Wu Sangui's order.

It happened that during this time, Zhang Zhun returned to Dongjiabao. Zhang Zhun went ashore at Liujiapu Port, and Bai Longju was already waiting on the dock. Zhang Zhun rode his horse and galloped all the way, and soon arrived at Dongjiabao. There has long been an atmosphere of war readiness here. The commanders of the four battalions of Yang Zixuan, Yang Hongwen, Yang Qianqiang, and Zou Mingjia all arrived, and Xu Ziwen, Liu Chenzi, Mo Ru, and others from the Artillery Association were also there.

Zhang Zhun asked in a deep voice straight to the point, "How is the situation?" ”

Yang Zixuan was appointed as a temporary commander when Zhang Zhun left, and he reported aloud: "Huang Liang is taking Wei Ran and Zhao Yuchen to monitor in front, and Xu Dingguo has not moved for the time being. However, I guess he can't hold it back. ”

Zhang Zhun nodded and said slowly: "Don't take it lightly. ”

In fact, Zhang Zhun was not very concerned about the combat effectiveness of the border army of the Ming army. Since the Ming Kingdom has been completely defeated from the bones, even the elite of the Ming army has quite limited combat effectiveness. The Tiger Ben Army had already fought with the Tartars many times, and they had completely gained the upper hand, and they had no worries about the Ming army's border army. As long as Wu Sangui's Liaodong cavalry did not participate in the attack, Xu Dingguo's 10,000 men would not be able to make any moves.

Well, Zhang Zhun must admit that the Tiger Army is now strong and strong, and the ordinary Ming Army is not in Zhang Zhun's eyes at all. At present, the number of tiger soldiers gathered in the triangle area of Dongjiabao, Liujiabao and Caojiabao has exceeded 4,000. In the port of Liujiabao, there are more Tiger Ben army teams, which are being transferred one after another. However, in order to avoid attracting the attention of some well-intentioned people, Zhang Zhun just sent the Dingzi battalion to fight.

The biggest difficulty of the Tiger Ben Army is not to defeat the imperial army and not be able to get off the stage, but to let the other party retreat. Otherwise, after the defeat of Xu Dingguo in World War I, the court dog jumped over the wall in a hurry, and the Guanning military group would inevitably be transferred. Cangzhou Mansion is too close to Jingshi, and the imperial court must not let him Zhang Zhun toss here. Even at the risk of being broken through the Shanhaiguan defense line by the Tartars, the Guanning army must be transferred. In that case, Zhang Zhun's plan will be completely disrupted.

Zhang Zhun's current purpose is only to weaken the power of the Tartars, not to fight with the imperial court. If the imperial court felt that Zhang Zhun's threat was more terrible than the Tartars in the northeast and the rebellious army in Shaanxi, it would transfer all the Ming troops to deal with him, and all Hong Chengchou, Sun Chuanting, Lu Xiangsheng, Wu Sangui and others would be transferred over to besiege him. Even if the Tiger Ben Army can achieve the final victory, it will let the Tartars and the Shaanxi rebels sit on the throne in vain, and there will be no benefit at all.

Besides, in the battle with the Ming army, they are all their own people, so there is no need to be so ruthless. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the population resources were still precious. In the Central Plains, due to the continuous fighting back and forth between the Shaanxi People's Army and the official army, both sides opened a killing spree and repeatedly slaughtered the city, so the loss of population was very serious. Without population, there is no productivity, there is no combat effectiveness.

Due to the long-term war, some areas of Shaanxi have been emptied. Henan's population has also fallen dramatically. It is like the Three Kingdoms that have slaughtered all sides, and the population of the country has dropped by more than ninety percent, and it is easy to be invaded by more foreign races. It only takes a blink of an eye to kill a person, but it takes at least fifteen years to raise a person, and I can't afford to hurt it!

Xu Dingguo set up his headquarters in a large family in Cangzhou. In order to find out the details of Zhang Zhun, Xu Dingguo decided to salute first and then soldier, and sent his own personal army captain to contact Dongjiabao. To his surprise, the captain of the pro-soldier actually returned quickly. Xu Dingguo frowned and asked, "How does Zhang Zhun explain?" ”

The captain of the pro-soldier said helplessly: "I haven't seen anyone from the Tiger Ben Army from beginning to end, and the other party is a person named Liu Xunchun. He claimed to be the leader of the Cangzhou Volunteer Army. He said that Dongjiabao, Liujiabao, Caojiabao and other places organized the Cangzhou Volunteer Army in order to fight against horse thieves. He also said that he had not seen any Tiger Ben Army. Now stationed in the Sanbao area, they are all troops of the Cangzhou Volunteer Army. ”

Xu Dingguoda frowned, and said to himself: "Cangzhou Volunteers? ”

After a while, he couldn't help but scold in his heart, what tricks was Zhang Zhun playing?

Zhang Zhun didn't actually want to play any tricks, this was his plan early on. In order to avoid excessively stimulating the imperial court, all dealings with the imperial court are in the name of the Cangzhou Volunteer Army. Among the younger generation of Sanbao, the one with the strongest diplomatic ability is Liu Zongli's son Liu Xunchun. So, when Xu Dingguo's personal captain arrived, Zhang Zhun temporarily designated Liu Xunchun to be responsible for the reception.

According to Zhang Zhun's meaning, Liu Xunchun insisted that within the scope of the three forts, they were all under the jurisdiction of the Cangzhou Volunteer Army, and there was no Tiger Ben Army. The purpose of the establishment of the Cangzhou Volunteer Army is only to prevent thieves. Therefore, for the arrival of the imperial court officials and soldiers, they had to discuss before they could decide whether to let the officials and soldiers in. The time for this discussion may be three days, it may be five days, or it may take eight days.

Idiots know that all Liu Xunchun's words are excuses. The problem is, it's a really good excuse. The local clan forces in all parts of Cangzhou are very powerful. There are too many martial arts practitioners here, and each fort has its own personal disciples, who are very loyal and very core forces. Because the court deliberately suppressed them, their resentment against the court can be said to have been for a long time.

In the past, due to the high pressure of the imperial court and the existence of the Ma family's army, the clan forces in Cangzhou did not dare to openly oppose the imperial court. However, now that the Tiger Ben Army is here, and the Ma Jiajun has also been cleaned up by the Tiger Ben Army, they dare to disobey the imperial court. Even if they don't openly defect to the Tiger Army, they will definitely fall in love with the Tiger Army.

In the face of these clan forces, the imperial court really has no excuse to start. Knowing that the Tiger Ben Army was hiding behind the Cangzhou Volunteer Army, the Ming Army really had no other solution than war. Of course, Xu Dingguo doesn't care about this. What Cangzhou Volunteers, obviously under the guise of Zhang Zhun. To eliminate Zhang Zhun, it is natural to remove all the pretenses. To clear the pretense, war is, of course, the best means.

"Command the troops!

"Attack!"

Xu Dingguo shouted without hesitation.

All the Ming troops immediately moved and slowly advanced towards Dongjiabao.

The topography of Dongjiabao is the most prominent, at the very top of the zigzag. The Ming army had to take the lead in attacking Dongjiabao in order to continue to expand to the front. If you can't take Dongjiabao and attack Liujiabao and Caojiabao from the flank, the effect will not be great. Therefore, in such an offensive battle, Dongjiabao has become the core.

The Tiger Army's defense of Dongjiabao is of course the strongest. The defense system of the Tiger Army is set up according to the strength of the fight against the Tartars. One can imagine how powerful the firepower will be. If he completely lets go of fighting, Xu Dingguo will not be able to see it at all. The problem is that Zhang Zhun won't reveal all his hole cards all at once.

Standing on the wall of Dongjiabao, Zhang Zhun held a clairvoyant mirror, and he could clearly see that the dense Ming army foot soldiers were pouring towards Dongjiabao all over the mountains. Most of these soldiers of the Ming army were armed with firearms, and only a few continued to use swords, guns, and halberds.

"My lord, the enemy has attacked."

Yang Zixuan said in a low voice.

"Huang Liang!"

"Hit!"

Zhang Zhun said without hesitation.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The gunfire of the Tiger Ben Army suddenly rang out.

In order to hide the strength of the Tiger Army, only a co-force led by Huang Liang shot at them, about three hundred people. In the battle sequence of the Dingzi battalion, the combat effectiveness of the five squads commanded by Huang Liang is relatively ordinary.

At this time, the Ming army was more than 100 zhang away from Dongjiabao. Ordinary firecrackers can't hit such a distance at all. However, the range of the Mini bullet was enough to fly into the ranks of the Ming army and cause damage to the Ming soldiers.

"Hmm!"

Suddenly, the marching Ming soldiers, someone fell to the ground with a muffled grunt.

It turned out that a Mini bullet hit the target. Even after flying a distance of hundreds of feet, the lethality of the Mini bullet is still very amazing. Ordinary armor can't stop it at all. If you are hit, it is a situation of death or injury.

As the guns continued to fire from the Tiger Army, more Ming troops were hit. This inevitably caused a little confusion in the ranks of the Ming army. Being so far away from Dongjiabao, he was hit by the opponent's firecracker, how could the Ming soldiers not be shocked? If they had followed such an attack speed, they would have been killed at all.

The situation was quickly reflected to Xu Dingguo.

"How is that possible?"

Xu Dingguo suddenly frowned.

More than 100 zhang away and hit by a firebolt? Impossible!

However, after personally examining the wounds of several deceased, Xu Dingguo had to believe that his subordinates were indeed hit by the projectile of the firecracker. Xu Dingguo couldn't believe what he was looking for, and he stared suspiciously at Dongjiabao in the distance. His subordinates are still at least a hundred zhang away from Dongjiabao. What kind of firearm is the Tiger Army, so powerful?

"Speed up!"

"Run forward!"

Xu Dingguo frowned and decided to continue fighting.

A few casualties didn't stop him from moving on.

"Tom!"

Suddenly, a violent cannon rang out.

On the top of the city wall of Dongjiabao, a puff of white smoke rose up. Obviously, it was the cannon of Dongjiabao that was firing. Immediately after, there was a little commotion in the ranks of the Ming army. Soon, Xu Dingguo received a report that it was a fist-sized solid bullet that fell in the middle of the ranks of the Ming army and bruised a soldier. Fortunately, there were no fatalities.

"It's ......"

There are lieutenants who look at each other, their mouths full of bitterness.

The Tiger Army was clearly heavily armed and waiting for them to arrive. First the ultra-long-range firecrackers, and then the cannon fired, obviously warning the Ming army not to approach Dongjiabao. Yes, this is a warning. If it was a real battle, the opponent would not have shot so quickly.

"Drag the cannon up!"

Xu Dingguo shouted angrily.

Are you the only ones who have cannons? We have that too!

Soon, the artillery of the Ming army was pulled up. The border troops of the Ming army generally used all Franc machine guns, and the caliber was basically about 60 mm. This time he went south, and Xu Dingguo also brought sixteen gates. Originally, he was not going to use a cannon, but now it seems that he may not be able to use a cannon.

"Fire!"

Xu Dingguo shouted angrily.

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

The Franc cannon began to fire, and the cannon rumbled.

Solid bullets continued to whistle and shoot towards Dongjiabao.

At a distance of 150 zhang, the hit rate of the Franc machine gun was still relatively high, and several rounds of solid projectiles fell on the inside of Dongjiabao and smashed some buildings. However, the Tiger Army and everyone else were hiding in the bomb shelter, but there was no damage.

"Adult ......"

Yang Zixuan was a little angry.

Xu Dingguo actually fired at Dongjiabao, he was simply looking for his own death.

"Let Mo Ru fight back!"

Zhang Zhun said coldly.

He didn't want to cause too many casualties to Xu Dingguo, lest the Tartars had not yet arrived, and he would first fall into a large-scale infighting with the last elite of the Ming army, and let the Tartars take advantage of it in vain. However, since the other party is unwilling to stop, he will not be polite. Come on, who's afraid of whom? Don't be ashamed!

"Good!"

"Well played!"

Seeing that the shells fell on the inside of Dongjiabao, Xu Dingguo said with satisfaction.

As long as this continuous bombardment continues, the tiger army in Dongjiabao will definitely not be able to stand it. When the time comes, the Ming army will be able to take down Dongjiabao with one blow.

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

"Tom!"

Suddenly, from the inside of Dongjiabao, there was an unusually loud cannon sound, which shook the ground nearby, and it seemed to tremble slightly. Many people felt the vibration under their feet. For a moment, they couldn't help but stop and check out.

When Xu Dingguo started, he didn't care too much, and then he realized that something was wrong. Because, in his line of sight, what appeared was not a single solid projectile, but a rain of bullets. At this time, the sky happened to be clear and cloudless, and Xu Dingguo could see the flight trajectory of the bullet rain very clearly. The black pressed patches were like patches of locusts flying over.

"Oh my God!"

"It's grapeshit!"

By Xu Dingguo's side, someone shouted out in a lost voice.

It turned out that what Dong Jiabao shot was actually a grape bomb!

"Poof!"

"Poof!"

"Poof!"

The grape bomb fell, and the Ming troops who were walking in front suddenly fell.

"Tom!"

Without waiting for Xu Dingguo and the others to come back to their senses, inside Dongjiabao, there were cannons roaring again.

"Poof!"

Suddenly, a solid bullet fell in the middle of the Ming army's ranks, smashing several people fiercely. The impact of solid bullets is much stronger than that of grapeshot bullets. The Ming army that was knocked over on the ground was all blurred flesh and blood, incomplete, and there was no human appearance at all.

"Quick!"

"Pick up the shells!"

Xu Dingguo hurriedly shouted.

He subconsciously noticed that the cannons fired by the Tiger Ben Army were a little different.

The soldier next to him hurriedly searched for the cannonball. After a while, a heavy bloody iron ball was sent to Xu Dingguo. After Xu Dingguo saw it, he couldn't help but gasp. The volume of this big iron ball is actually the size of his two fists!

The average Franc machine gun, the solid projectile is slightly smaller than the fist of a normal person. And this solid projectile is bigger than two fists. As far as Xu Dingguo knows, there is only one type of cannon whose shell is so large, and that is:

Hongyi Cannon!

Sky! Inside Dongjiabao, there is a Hongyi cannon!