Chapter 1056: Attack by land and water

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readx;?“ What is this for? ”

"Lord Chief, we must have a clear understanding of how he told the rebels about the situation. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info"

"So how did they send information to the rebels?"

"Oh, it's not complicated. The temple faces north and has a large Buddha. Of course, we can't see the front of the Big Buddha, which has ten hands on its back. They hung white cloth on the Buddha's hands to indicate the exact distance between us and the temple, and the direction of this distance was the direction of the bronze bird flag. ”

"Who came up with the idea? What a cleverness! ”

"That's what I know. So the rebels quickly corrected the direction and distance of their firing according to my instructions, and subconsciously shelled the beet field. ”

"I see!" The chief soldier said with a smile.

"The last thing I'm going to do next is to go to the second observation post myself. From there, you can receive information from Hosasaku. In this way, I was able to understand where the artillery positions of the rebels were hidden. That's why I've been running here. It was only after arriving here that I discovered that the rebel artillery and a whole battalion of the rebels were stationed near the temple, which was the observation post of their artillery corps. ”

"You're reckless! Didn't they shoot at you? ”

"Lord Chieftown, I put on my fine clothes, the man had no suspicion of me, and he was relaying his information as I climbed the platform of the tower. Without much difficulty, I lunged at him and gagged him with something. My mission is accomplished, and the next thing to do is to signal to you as agreed. ”

"That's amazing! But there are six or seven thousand rebels around you! ”

"This is what I promised you, Lord Chief. I lit a rocket, then the second, then the third, and the fourth, and the battle began. ”

"But these rockets are used to remind us to correct the shooting deviation of the bell tower; And you were on this bell tower at the time! Our cannons are firing at you! ”

"Oh, I can swear to you, Lord Mas., that at a time like this, I don't even have such thoughts in my mind. When the first shell hit the temple, I felt welcomed. The rebels gave me little room to think, and they immediately sent about six able-bodied soldiers to the tower. Several of them had fallen under the muzzle of my pistol; But then they launched another attack, followed by another attack. I had to hide behind the door that closed the "beast cage" on the roof. When they knocked it down, it became my barricade again; Because I had the weapons and ammunition I had taken from the rebels who were the first to attack, and because I was in a good position and they could barely see me, it was easy for me to hold out. ”

"Our artillery was shelling you at that time."

"It was our cannon that rescued me, Lord Chieftown. Because, if you think about it, once this temple is destroyed, once this roof truss is burned, then they will not dare to venture into the tower; As for me, I have to wait patiently for you to arrive. Chen Chusheng made the simplest narrative, as if all this was a natural thing. The general once again congratulated him and assured him that he would be rewarded and promoted.

The general soldier didn't know that similar things were happening again and again on battlefields everywhere. Every troubled officer and army will be helped by the person holding Lin Yiqing's silver medal to turn defeat into victory, or turn danger into safety.

In the middle of the night, fog gradually began to rise on the surface of the river, and the vision that was still relatively clear gradually became blurred. A string of bright signal lights hung on each ship, and under the shroud of the fog, what originally looked like a string of beautiful colored pearls gradually dimmed as the fog thickened, and some of the distant lights had disappeared into the mist.

Wang Shizhen stood quietly on the bow of his boat, looking at the lights. If it was daylight, all he could see was a stunning fleet. The fleet was composed of 30 steamboats, including river gunboats, and when such a large fleet was marching on the river in an orderly manner, Wang Shizhen was probably the only one who could maintain his usual calmness, and every officer and soldier who participated in this operation felt a kind of shock, and it is no exaggeration to say that such a large fleet has never appeared on this river in the past 100 years.

The fleet was out of sight, even with binoculars. Each ship was loaded with people and supplies, and the waterline was kept extremely low. As the main general, Wang Shizhen knew very well that everything in front of him was already all the strength he had at his disposal that could march long distances and fight. Not only these 2,000 capable troops, but also enough supplies for the troops to operate outside for a month and a half, all kinds of weapons and ammunition, and siege equipment.

Wang Shizhen knew very well that because of Zhang Zhidong's incompetence, the rebels were sitting on the throne and plundering everywhere, and the rich lands in Hunan Province had become a mess, and he could only rely on his own reserves unless he got other ways to supply food. Thanks to the full support of Li Xiaoquan, the governor of Huguang, he was able to carry so many supplies on his way.

Wang Shizhen took his eyes back from the view, night flight is a very dangerous thing, the vision is not clear, the unknowable changes in the waterway, and there are all kinds of other problems that will be suddenly encountered in practice. Even if the fleet had sufficient experience in marching, it would not have been possible for such a large fleet to sail at night without the many naval knowledge and skills of the officers and men who had graduated from the Ship Master and Sailor School. Su Yue's experience in Vietnam also played an important role, she was on night duty, commanding the baggage and pathfinding teams at the forefront of the fleet, assigning the speed and route to the follow-up fleet. Such a young woman, but with the physical strength and perseverance that even Wang Shizhen had to marvel at, commanded all night on the hardest vanguard fleet.

The river breeze was very cold, Wang Shizhen touched the fastened wind and discipline buckle, and there was no more way to resist the cold. But he didn't want to go back to the cabin to escape the cold.

When the critical moment comes, it's time for me to lead the team up, right? Such a thought popped up in Wang Shizhen's mind. What made Wang Shizhen himself strange was that he didn't have the slightest fear of such a result. Of course, there was not the slightest passion. This idea of one's own life and death was quickly put behind him. Wang Shizhen even closed his eyes and began to constantly recall the tactics determined at the military meeting in his mind. The cold wind blew on the military uniform, and the cold air through the seams of the cloth made Wang Shizhen chill for a while. But thinking about tactics in his mind, Wang Shizhen gradually couldn't even feel the cold. I don't know how long it took, until the signal light transmitted new instructions, and the sailor moved the rudder and caused the hull to shake, which interrupted Wang Shizhen's train of thought.

"What's wrong?" Wang Shizhen asked subconsciously.

"It's almost time to reach Horseshoe Lake, and the waterway situation has changed a bit." The signalman replied immediately. As he spoke, the signalman couldn't help but rub his hands. The river was too cold in winter, and Wang Shizhen stood at the bow of the boat, and the signalman did not dare to go back to the cabin to avoid the cold. Now the uniforms of the troops are not thick, and there are no gloves and other equipment, and after standing for so long, the signalman can freeze to death.

Wang Shizhen wanted to see the movements of other ships, but the fog was too thick, and he couldn't see anything clearly except for a few boats in front and behind. He didn't waste any time, and straightforwardly chose to go back to the cabin and sleep for a while.

After daybreak, the flotilla traveled another section to reach a supply point. According to Li Xiaoquan's order, the local government prepared a number of supply points in advance, so that the troops could try not to consume their own food before entering the battlefield.

If the troops are on the ship all the time, it is very exhausting to combat power. At least when they can eat, the troops still try to get off the boat and stretch their muscles as much as possible.

"Lord Liu, when can we get to Changsha?" A soldier asked Wang Shizhen's subordinate general and friend Liu Ruitang, who had obviously never been to the ground in Hunan Province before.

"It's going to be a few days." Liu Ruitang said very generally.

"Who is bigger in Changsha than Yueyang Mansion?" The soldier continued.

Someone immediately interjected, "Changsha is definitely bigger than Fengyang Mansion." Didn't you say it all last time? ”

Liu Ruitang smiled: "That's right, Changsha is bigger than Yueyang Mansion." ”

This unit was formed and trained according to the standards of the Jianrui Battalion of the Beijing Army, and it was extremely disciplined, but the relationship between the superior and the lower levels was very harmonious. Many of the officers and men who participated in this expedition had fought in battles and experienced a certain degree of life and death tests, and this was certainly one of the reasons. But the rigorous training in peacetime is not unrelated.

After eating, the troops had undergone a short period of recovery training, and then they got on board to continue the expedition. By the afternoon of the next day at the latest, the troops will have completely entered the "enemy-occupied zone." At that time, the work of opening the road was entirely dependent on gunboats.

When they arrived at the intended location, the troops disembarked from the ship.

When Wang Shizhen raised his head again, the outline of Changsha City in the twilight could already be seen quite clearly.

Far ahead, gunshots rang out!

The whole unit was as if people had applied the immobilization method, and everyone was stunned. Then another shot, another shot. Everyone was accustomed to hearing the sound of gunfire. It can probably be judged that it is near the east gate of Changsha City.

"Run forward!" All the commanders shouted the same voice. With the order, the rumbling sound that would only form when thousands of people ran together became louder and louder, and soon became the loudest sound in the east of Changsha City.

Night fell, in people's sight, those people under the city of Changsha have become more and more distinguishable, I don't know how long it took, suddenly from under the wall burst out a burst of fire, followed by bright gunshots. Bullets struck patches of brick chips on the battlements of the city walls. Several of the soldiers who were guarding the battlement let out a scream and fell to the ground. Everyone at the head of the city subconsciously lay on the city wall. Some of the soldiers who were hit were not killed immediately, and their screams were particularly poignant in the night.

A dull explosion was heard in the distance, along with a flurry of gunfire. But it came from the north, and Wang Shizhen knew that it was the sound of large-caliber shells exploding. In order to succeed in the plan to attack Changsha, Lin Yiqing specially transferred him a "mosquito ship" with heavy artillery that was not inferior to the ironclad ship.

Koukou

Koukou )

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