Chapter 1022: The Final Battle (2)

（1022）

[Today's second update is delivered! ] 】

"It's spectacular!"

A number of young Tiger Army staff officers,.

They were all seeing such a big scene for the first time, and they were really a little excited in their hearts. The duel of more than 100,000 people has never been seen in the history of the Tiger Army. Even when the Tiger Ben army attacked Liaodong, the total strength was not 100,000. As the main opponent of the Tiger Ben Army, the Tartars did not have more than 100,000 people dispatched in one battle.

As the saying goes, there are tens of thousands of people, and there is no shore. 10,000 troops, which is already quite a lot. Not to mention a hundred thousand troops. The average phalanx, that is, two thousand people. If there were fewer people, it would have been five or six hundred. An army of 10,000 men is five large phalanxes. An army of 100,000 people is fifty such large phalanxes.

In fact, the Tiger Army did not have a phalanx, but only a line of stragglers. In this way, the length of the skirmish line is even more boundless. Not to mention, among the 100,000 troops, there are more than 30,000 cavalry troops, more than 400 field guns, and more than 500 flying thunder cannons. These equipment and weapons are all laid out, and the momentum is even more spectacular.

In particular, those modified Flying Thunder Cannons, which can move quickly with the battle line, are the most powerful weapons of the Tiger Ben Army at present. The caliber of these flying thunder cannons is thicker than a person's waist. At a distance of 100 meters, the tactics of dealing with the Japanese army's crowd were simply too effective. A thirty-pound ** bag, within a radius of twenty meters, there must be no living people.

In order to solve the Japanese war situation as soon as possible, Zhang Zhun made the greatest determination to dispatch the main force of the Tiger Ben Army to arrive. In the past three months, all the transport ships under the Tiger Ben Navy have been put into busy transportation. In addition to the Huben Navy's own transport ships, Zhang Zhun also ordered the requisition of more than 500 other large merchant ships.

In addition to the troops under the First Expeditionary Corps, there were eight other battalions of land forces. They gathered from different ports to Hiroshima. Some troops set sail from Dagu Pass in Beizhili or Huanghua Port. Some of the troops set sail from Weihaiwei Port in Shandong. Some of the troops set sail from the East China Sea in Nanzhili. More troops, however, set sail from the mouth of the Yangtze River.

Basically, all the vacant troops of the Tiger Army Army were put into the Japanese battlefield. In the Central Plains, there were no fierce battles, and the four major army corps of the Huben Army, plus the Li Yan Army and the Wang Dou Army, could fully meet the operational needs.

Before the Chinese New Year, in order to streamline the needs of the army's operations, Zhang Zhun had ordered the disbandment of all the city defense forces. This means that there is a large number of elite labor, which can be released again, which can effectively promote the economic development of the area controlled by the Tiger Army.

In addition to the eight battalions of army infantry, the other three artillery battalions of the Tiger Army Army were all transferred. In the Central Plains, there is no place where there is no need to use artillery of such great power. Whether it is the Shaanxi rebel army, or the remnants of the Ming army, the light infantry of the four major legions can deal with them. What's more, there is also the assistance of part of the cavalry.

The dragoon battalion, tiger cavalry battalion, and leopard cavalry battalion of the Tiger Ben Army cavalry were all transferred. They are all the elite of the cavalry of the Tiger Army. Three battalions of the Tiger Army cavalry, plus 20,000 Mongol cavalry, constituted a formidable assault force. At the same time, in the vast Mongolian steppe, there are still ten Mongolian thousand-man teams, which are preparing for battle.

The tactics of the Tiger Army, simple and practical, were to feint on both flanks, break through head-on, completely cut the Japanese battle line from the middle, and then encircle and annihilate it. In the face of layers of Japanese positions, artillery and cavalry, of course, were the main forces of the assault. However, before the cavalry could be put into service, the infantry had to open a gap.

"How's it going?"

Jang Jon came to the front line of the attack.

Preparing for the task of a frontal breakthrough were the two most combat-ready infantry battalions of the Tiger Army. One is Yang Qianqiang's sonorous battalion. One is Yang Zixuan's Dingzi Battalion. Although these two battalions are battalion-level establishments, they actually have more people under their command than ordinary battalions. The sonorous battalion has 8,000 people, and the Dingzi battalion also has 8,000 people, which is exactly the number of a small legion.

"All set!"

"Look at us!"

Yang Qianqiang and Yang Zixuan both responded confidently.

"Good!"

Zhang Zhun nodded with satisfaction.

Surrounded by a group of high-ranking officers, Zhang Zhun came to the front line and shook hands with the soldiers who were preparing to participate in the attack. The sonorous battalion and the Dingzi battalion are the earliest units formed by the Huben Army, and there are many veterans and backbones exported. The veterans of the year are now gone. Zhang Zhun saw that many of them were recruits who had only been in the army for about nine months.

Perhaps it is because the newborn calf is not afraid of tigers, and the ignorant are fearless, and these new soldiers who joined the army do not pay any attention to the Japanese. In their opinion, since the predecessors can defeat all the Tartars, what are the Japanese? I think that back then, the Japanese were still beaten away by the imperial army. And the combat effectiveness of the imperial army is much worse than that of the Tiger Army.

I have to say that such a comparison, psychologically, does have a strong advantage. Zhang Zhun is very satisfied with this kind of psychology. For recruits, what is most needed is fearless courage. Wherever courage comes from, as long as you have it.

"It's up to everyone!"

Jang Zhun loudly encouraged every fighter.

Subsequently, Zhang Zhun went to the artillery position behind and inspected the preparations for firing the field artillery. More than 400 field guns were concentrated on the central front, and all the artillery was already in full array. As long as the time for the attack is up, hundreds of field guns will pour a large number of shells on the Japanese position.

The time for the offensive is coming soon. The whole front line suddenly became very quiet. It was so quiet that only the sound of human breathing could be heard. Faintly, you can still hear the sound of a long fart. This is part of the nervous new fighter, who is overwhelmed by the heavy atmosphere and has an endocrine disorder. Such a situation is not unusual for recruits at all.

"Fire!"

Lu Xiangsheng waved his hand decisively.

As the commander-in-chief of the battle, Lu Xiangsheng seems to be more proficient than Zhang Zhun in such a scene. After all, when he commanded the Huguang Army to encircle and suppress the peasant army, it was not uncommon for hundreds of thousands of people to fight each other.

"Ready!"

"Put!"

The artillery commander's command was very short.

Pennants kept falling.

"Knock knock!"

"Knock knock!"

"Knock knock!"

The fierce cannon fire continued to sound, and instantly occupied the entire battlefield.

After the shells were thrown, they continued to bounce on the ground, taking away lives one by one. The entire center of the Japanese frontline position was soon covered in a rain of bullets. After the field artillery was fired, the flying thunder artillery also began to shoot at close range, throwing heavy bags one by one onto the Japanese position.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The deafening sound of explosions continued.

Standing on the front line, I felt that the whole earth seemed to be boiling. Everyone felt as if there was a constant earthquake under their feet. The soil on the ground, constantly rolling, fully shows how exaggerated the power of the flying thunder cannon is.

"Up!"

Yang Qianqiang waved his hand decisively.

The soldiers of the sonorous battalion immediately swarmed up.

"Rush forward!"

Yang Zixuan's movements are also not slow.

At the sound of an order, the soldiers of the Dingzi battalion rushed up like a tide.

The sound of gunfire continued, and the entire Shinano country was suddenly plunged into a war. Bombarded by the field artillery and flying thunder artillery of the Tiger Army, the casualties of the Japanese front line were quite heavy, and the position was at risk of being broken through at any time. The Japanese commander in the back hurriedly transferred a large number of reserves and tried desperately to plug the gap.

The firepower of the Tiger Ben Army was indeed fierce, which made the Japanese army change their complexion. However, the Japanese army also has a huge advantage, that is, an almost endless reserve. Under Daisuke Matsui, some of them were troops. After the Japanese army on the front line suffered a lot of losses, the Japanese army behind could still plug the gap to death.

The breakthrough of the Tiger Ben Army was forcibly blocked back by the continuous Japanese army. At a distance of fifty meters, the power of the smoothbore gun is also considerable. What's more, in many battles, the distance between the two sides does not even exceed thirty meters. At such a short distance, there is no difference between a smoothbore gun and a rifled gun.

In fact, on many fronts, soldiers on both sides are already fighting hand-to-hand. The Japanese soldiers relied on a large number of people, and a few people dealt with one of the Tiger Ben Army. In their hands, they either held katanas or spears, and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the Tiger Army. On the side of the Tiger Army, there were almost only bayonets, and hand-to-hand combat was obviously inferior.

There was no way, so the Tiger Ben army had to temporarily retreat, widen the distance between them and the Japanese army, and continue to use Mini bullets and flying thunder cannons to kill and wound the Japanese army. However, the number of Japanese troops was indeed too much, and a large group fell, and a large group was filled later. They give people the illusion that they will never be killed.

"Grass!"

"Grass!"

"Grass!"

In the rear of the Tiger Army, several staff officers couldn't help but curse in a low voice.

The Japanese army's crowd tactics are indeed a headache. Unless the Tiger Army distances themselves, they can shoot them as much as they want. Once it is approaching, it will be met with a strong counterattack. In the face of dense crowd tactics, the usual means of attack have little effect. The essence of the battle on the Japanese side was to exchange lives for lives. There was no way, the Tokugawa shogunate did have enough manpower to exchange for the lives of the Tiger Army.

In fact, for the Tokugawa shogunate, it was forced to adopt such an approach. In normal battles, they are not at all opponents of the Tiger Army. The only thing they can rely on now is relatively sufficient manpower. As long as the Toranoshi army could not afford too many casualties and had to retreat, the Tokugawa shogunate was considered victorious.

On the Japanese side, the giants of the Tokugawa shogunate's top brass almost completely appeared on the battlefield. On the front line, in addition to Masatsushi Chiefizaki and Yuki Abe, there were also Ryuta Sato and others who led the army from the rear. Daisuke Matsui also appeared on the battlefield. Strangely, one person was absent. This person is Tokugawa Iemitsu.

Later historians believed that Tokugawa Iemitsu had a fear of war and did not dare to face the bloody battlefield. Zhang Zhun didn't know if this was true or not. Anyway, according to the information provided by Chafez, Tokugawa Iemitsu did stay in Edo during this war. As for the reason for his stay in Edo, it is unknown for the time being.

The first day of fighting, which began in the morning and continued into the evening. In this process, the sonorous battalion and the Dingzi battalion of the Tiger Ben Army took turns to attack. Field artillery and flying thunder artillery have never stopped. It wasn't until the sun went down that the gunfire of the battle gradually subsided. It wasn't until nightfall that the battlefield returned to a temporary calm.

According to the results of the battle, in the first day of the attack, the Tiger Ben army advanced a total distance of about 300 meters, breaking through the four lines of defense of the Japanese army. After a day of fighting, more than 500 soldiers of the Tiger Ben Army were killed, and the number of wounded exceeded 1,000. With the firepower and equipment of the Tiger Army, the casualties were so huge that the battle was not fierce.

The exact number of casualties on the Japanese side is unknown. The battlefield was in chaos, and there was no time to count the casualties of the Japanese army. Wang Shide and others estimated that the Japanese shogunate army lost at least ten times as many personnel as the tiger army. It could even be twenty times or more. In the daytime battle, the Japanese army was completely blocking the advance of the Tiger Ben Army with their lives.

But, in any case, the frontal breakthrough of the Tiger Army, which was not successful. The results of the first day of battle were not very good. The sonorous battalion and the dingzi battalion are the top main forces of the Tiger Ben Army. They attacked with all their might, but they only broke through the distance of 300 meters, which is indeed a bit smacking. This Japanese army is indeed strong enough.

"Tomorrow continues!"

Zhang Zhun's order was particularly cold.

Casualties and so on, he doesn't care at all. As long as there is fighting, there will be casualties. At this time, of course, the Tokugawa shogunate wanted to take out all the strength to eat milk. All he cares about is the outcome of the battle.

The next day, the Tiger Army continued its onslaught. This time, Zhang Zhun personally supervised the battle on the front line. The ones responsible for attacking the Japanese positions were still the sonorous battalion and the dingzi battalion. For yesterday's offensive failure, the officers and men of these two battalions were deeply humiliated. They swore that in today's battle, they must fight their way out and open a passage for the cavalry.

"Knock knock!"

"Tom tom!"

"Bang bang bang!"

The deafening sound of artillery once again completely covered the battlefield.

More than 400 field guns and more than 500 flying thunder guns will be on the front line. In just one morning, more than 10,000 ** bags fell on the frontline positions of the Japanese army. Calculated according to a ** bag of thirty catties of charge. In just one morning, the Tiger Army poured 300,000 catties of black gunpowder on top of the Japanese army.

With the experience of the first day of fighting, the artillery of the Tiger Ben Army was simply crazy. They worked hard and fired shells one after another. Some of the field guns, even the barrels of the guns were red. So they brought water from the side and poured it on the barrels. When the cold water went down, the barrel suddenly made a snorting sound, and white smoke continued to emit out.

After the barrel is cooled, the cannon continues to fire. Later, when the spare water was used up, the urine was used directly. Pour urine over the barrel to cool down. Due to the high frequency of use, as a result, by the afternoon, more than a dozen field guns were completely scrapped. However, out of the four or five hundred field guns, more than a dozen were scrapped, and the Japanese army could not detect it. The Japanese troops on the front line have been completely defeated by the Tiger Army.

In the violent explosion, the Japanese positions were repeatedly overturned by the plow. The people hiding inside, dead and alive, were all blown up. Many Japanese soldiers were shocked to death alive. The thirty-pound ** bag, which has no sheln in it at all, kills people by relying on a powerful shock wave to shatter the heart alive.

By the time the sun went down, the Tiger Army advanced four hundred meters and broke down the five lines of defense of the Japanese army. So far, the number of casualties of the Tiger Ben Army that day has exceeded 1,000. The casualties of the Japanese army, for the time being, is not known. The power of the flying thunder cannon was so great that it blew the Japanese troops apart, and they couldn't find a complete corpse.

"Tomorrow continues!"

Zhang Zhun's order was still extremely cold.

On the morning of the third day, the Tiger Army continued its attack......

Day 4......

……

On the sixth day of the battle, the Japanese army finally could not hold on.

The number of casualties of the Japanese army was even greater than the estimate of the Tiger Army. They continued to use their lives to block the offensive of the Tiger Army, and when they sent a group of people, they were about to die a group of people, and almost none of them could come back alive. The artillery fire of the Tiger Ben Army was so ferocious, and the casualties of the Japanese army were, of course, astronomical.

Even Masatsushi Chieftain, who doesn't care about human life the most, can't support it at this time. His troops are basically gone. If it weren't for the large amount of cannon fodder to fill it, the main force of the shogunate army would have been completely destroyed.

On the sixth day of the battle, just after noon, the Japanese troops on the front line could not support it. On this day, the Tiger Ben Army was transferred up, and they were all new forces. The two battalions responsible for the main attack were Yang Hongwen's Jiezi Battalion and Zou Mingjia's Ningzi Battalion. These two battalions are also the old backbone of the Tiger Army.

The deputy commanders of these two battalions, Lei Shenzhou and Feng Jianjun, both rushed to the front. In order to engage in hand-to-hand combat with the Japanese army, the Tiger Army's troops, in a short time, were equipped with machetes. This powerful machete is the best weapon against Japanese katanas. No matter how you come, as long as you pick it up with a knife, you can chop off half of the opponent's body.

However, neither Lei Shenzhou nor Feng Jianjun's machete came in handy. As soon as they rushed in front of the Japanese army, the Japanese army was completely defeated. The Japanese army, which had already been beaten to the brink, no longer had the slightest ability to resist. They desperately threw down all their weapons and equipment and fled desperately behind them.

The soldiers of the Jiezi Battalion and the Ningzi Battalion immediately rushed up like a tide, and the breakthrough was constantly expanding. The Japanese troops on both sides wanted to make a detour and fill the gap, but it was too late. After six days of hard fighting, the central gap of the Japanese army was finally broken. The time has come for the cavalry of the Tiger Ben Army to go out.

"Attack!"

Zhang Zhun waved his hand decisively.

The cavalry of the Tiger Army, who were waiting for the battle, immediately urged the war horses and swarmed towards the breakthrough in front. The sound of fierce horses' hooves seemed to beat the drum of victory. The fleeing Japanese soldiers were even more panicked. The Japanese troops on both sides also fell into chaos.

The cavalry of the Tiger Cavalry Battalion led by Zhong Wuying was the first to jump out of the breach. They skillfully manipulated their horses, and on the potholed positions, they bypassed the corpses of the Japanese soldiers everywhere, as well as sundries, weapons, and flags everywhere, and attacked the rear of the Japanese army. From time to time, they also brandished sabers and hacked sporadic Japanese soldiers to death.

The dragoon battalion, the leopard cavalry battalion, and the Mongolian cavalry all swarmed up, following behind the tiger cavalry battalion, and continuously advanced towards the rear of the Japanese army. Half an hour later, the large force of the cavalry of the Tiger Ben Army all surpassed the Japanese defense line and appeared more than ten miles deep behind the Japanese defense line. At this time, the big picture is already doomed.

There was no need for Daisuke Matsui's orders, and the Japanese troops on the entire front had to retreat. If they continue to stay, they will only be divided and surrounded by the Tiger Army, and then annihilated individually. Under the oppression of the Tiger Army, the retreat of the shogunate army soon turned into a great rout. The officers could not find the soldiers, and the soldiers could not find the officers, and they were in a mess.

"Yaga!"

"Stop!"

"Don't run away!"

Chieftain Masagao shouted viciously.

"Chirp!"

I don't know where a rain of bullets flew from nowhere, and it hit the body of Chiefizaki Masatsu.

Before he could react, his body involuntarily weakened, and then he knelt on one leg on the ground. Faintly, he could see that on the side of his body, there seemed to be some cavalry of the Tiger Army.

"I hate you ......"

Chieftain muttered unconsciously and fell to the ground.

"Run!"

Yuki Abe shouted in a panic.

Contrary to Chieftain Masasa, Abe's thought was to preserve his strength. He understands very well that even if he defects to the Japanese imperial family in the future, as long as he still has the army in his hands, he can get better treatment.

"Retreat!"

Daisuke Matsui had no choice but to give an order.

"Chase!"

Lu Xiangsheng ordered without hesitation.

"Kill!"

The Tiger Ben army marched forward with a high song, like a duck, and launched a pursuit.

The Japanese army, which was completely defeated, no longer had the slightest idea of resistance. The most they want to do is get out of the way. After several days of pursuit, less than 50,000 of the 400,000 Japanese troops fled back to the area around Edo. These remnants of the Japanese army, around Edo, were deployed in place in an attempt to make a final death throe.

The news of the defeat of the Tokugawa shogunate soon spread throughout Japan. The Japanese imperial family took the opportunity to launch activities to win over the local powerful factions who supported the shogunate. Soon, all regions outside of Edo declared allegiance to the Japanese imperial family. At this point, the Japanese shogunate was on the verge of extinction. What awaits it will be the final blow of the Tiger Army.

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