Chapter 236 Prefecture Raiders

It's just that the next moment, Bi Dingbang was afraid.

He has been fighting horses for decades, and he thought he was well-informed, but at this moment, he was frightened by the momentum of this dragon spear battalion.

"Dragon Lance Battalion, invincible, invincible!"

"Dragon Lance Battalion!"

This is the most elite dragon spear battalion of the red thieves, Bi Dingbang has only one feeling, that is, it is worthy of its name!

He even had a feeling that the prisoner he had personally interrogated was not saying that the combat effectiveness of the dragon lance battalion was high, but that it was low, and as soon as they attacked, the entire battle situation was completely reversed.

Obviously, there are more than 2,000 Qing troops in Zhanyang, but unlike the fierce battles between the Niudao Battalion and the Nanxi Battalion, this infantry battalion seems to be a natural protagonist!

That's right! This is how it feels that Bi Dingbang found himself for the first time on the battlefield not the protagonist, not even a supporting role, but just an insignificant pawn.

The dragon spear battalion had only one infantry battalion, four extremely well-equipped infantry companies and a few artillery pieces, but the enemy forces in front of them had no room for parry, and immediately collapsed under their offensive, even if they did not even have the courage to reorganize themselves for a counteroffensive.

This kind of feeling is different from the Nanxi battalion and the Niudao battalion, the Nanxi battalion and the Niudao battalion are very strong, but after the Qing army was defeated, they still had the determination to fight back again after being urged by the officers, but this dragon spear battalion, after they came out of the side of the Qing army, directly hit the soft coercion of the Qing army.

The Qing army is not the opponent of this dragon spear battalion at all, not to mention that this dragon spear battalion is still killed from behind, and now Bi Dingbang is watching the groups of Qing soldiers kneeling on the ground, waiting for the dragon spear battalion to kill.

Ay...... Most of them didn't even shoot a single shot, but they didn't expect it......

Just thought of this time, Lai Gaoxiang over there had already dragged him and shouted: "Old Bi, let's go!" ”

As the supreme commander of the Qing army on the entire battlefield, Rao Tingxuan's performance did not live up to Governor Wang's evaluation of him, the last of the first-rate generals, but he was considered a top figure among the second-rate generals, and he tried to organize counterattacks again and again.

But his counterattack was ineffective, and it could even be described as Tulao, there were more and more red thieves killed on the opposite side, and now the direct teams of the Nanxi Regiment and the Dragon Lance Regiment also rushed over, and the nine-pounder field guns also participated in the battle.

There were obviously more than 2,000 Qing troops under his command, but the order was mixed, and more than 2,000 people were crowded on the road, and the cries, moans, and howls rang out, and an even more fatal blow came.

Zhou Xiuying waved her saber on her war horse and shouted, "Cavalry battalion, assault!" ”

The infantry had opened a gap for their charge, and now the cavalry battalion pressed up to give the Qing army a fatal blow, seeing the tide of iron cavalry, all the courage of the Qing army was lost, they either turned around and ran to both sides of the avenue, or knelt on the ground and begged for mercy, and some people cried and didn't know what to do, so they could only shout: "Huangtian, Huangtian!" ”

And Rao Tingxuan is still insisting on the last resistance, but now Bi Dingbang and Lai Gaoxiang have pulled him back together: "Zhentai, Zhentai, let's retreat, we are worthy of Wang Xuexuan, a fellow countryman!" ”

This sentence offset Rao Tingxuan's last fighting spirit, he found that he found that Bi Dingbang and Lai Gaoxiang, who were the most trusted and strongest in combat, were all killed and wounded, and the foreign guns and cannons that he finally bought fell into the hands of the red thieves, and now the only units that insist on fighting on the battlefield are some shotguns and gun-carrying units, and they simply cannot confront the countless foreign guns and foreign cannons of the red thieves.

In this case, he can only make the clearest judgment: "Withdraw, we are worthy of Wang Xuexuan, a fellow countryman!" ”…,

Today, he will leave at least 2,000 people, and such a large casualty and loss is indeed worthy of Wang Youling: "We withdraw, how far can we evacuate!" ”

"Kill!"

There are teams of red thieves on all sides, especially the horse team into pursuit, and the captured Qing army is countless, and there are kneeling Qing soldiers everywhere on both sides of the avenue, they hold their heads and dare not look at Zhou Xiuying, they just shouted: "The red thief spares his life!" ”

Among Zhou Xiuying's horse team, there were Fujian veterans who broke through from Shanghai, and immediately said in the tone of fellow villagers: "Fellow countrymen, we are also Fujianese, you surrender, we will not kill anyone!" ”

It was enough to have this sentence, the Qing army didn't expect that there were also Fujianese among the red thieves opposite, and immediately became cordial: "Then can you put us back?" ”

"This has to be checked after the inspection!"

However, Zhou Xiuying estimated that at least more than 1,000 prisoners could be captured today, and with so many human resources, it is estimated that Liu Chang would not be able to release all of them from Fujian, at least Jingzhuang could not be put back.

According to the tradition of Liu Chang and the Hongjun, those who smoke crows and cigarettes, the old, the weak, the sick and the disabled, and those with bad habits must be paid to pay the passage money and put them back, but at least half of the strength should be replenished to the battalions and companies.

And at this moment, Liu Chang also came up, and he listened to Lu Ziyun's report over there: "Rao Tingxuan's troops have crossed?" ”

"Hit them!" Lu Ziyun said in a reassuring tone: "At least more than half of them will be annihilated, or even more than two-thirds!" ”

Annihilated more than half, the rest of the Qing army was lost in this way

Under the blow, it will take a long time to regain combat effectiveness, Liu Chang, nodded, nodded, and asked, "How about the casualties in your battalion?" ”

Lu Ziyun replied: "The casualties of the whole battalion are more than one-third, one company should be more than half, and another company is also close to half......"

However, he reported an important piece of information: "Check, the reason why the Qing Demons have caused us so many casualties this time is entirely because they are equipped with a considerable number of foreign guns and cannons!" ”

"Foreign guns and cannons?" Liu Chang was taken aback: "How much are they equipped?" ”

"At least 600 foreign guns, a few small-caliber foreign guns!"

Lu Ziyun told Liu Chang: "Our combat effectiveness is improving, and the Qing Demon is also improving!" ”

While Liu Chang achieved brilliant results with foreign guns and artillery, the Qing army, which had been hit hard, did indeed speed up the pace of equipping itself with Western firearms.

In fact, the Manchus only made progress when they were beaten by others, and throughout the Qing season, every time they were beaten, they were forced to take a step towards modernization, and the Taiping War was a good example, the Qing army was equipped with foreign guns and cannons under the pressure of the Taiping army.

It's just that Liu Chang, as a supreme commander, must pay attention to this tendency, compared to the territory he only controls a dozen counties, the Qing army controls one or two thousand prefectures and counties in the country, and its financial and material resources are countless times more than his own.

As long as they are willing to make up their minds to enhance their combat effectiveness and equip themselves with foreign guns and artillery, then the influx of foreign guns and cannons will be like an avalanche, not to mention that they occupy all five treaty ports and can legally introduce Western weapons, while Liu Chang can only buy a batch of foreign guns and cannons at a high price through smuggling.

In history, after He Guiqing became the governor of Liangjiang, the first thing he did was to focus on the renewal of the weapons of the Jiangnan battalion, and in just a few months, the foreign guns of the entire Jiangnan battalion were realized, and although the Hunan army was accustomed to using Chinese and Japanese firearms, the proportion of foreign guns and foreign guns equipped in the army was also very large, as for the Huai army, it was an army with completely Westernized weapons. …,

Then taking Ningbo Port will be the highlight of this autumn!

Therefore, Liu Chang stayed for a while, and then replied to Lu Ziyun: "That's right, the Qing Demon is also improving, you can't underestimate the Qing Demon, this time we defeated Rao Tingxuan, and we can rest assured that we can return to Zhejiang Middle School!" ”

Even if he can't take Ningbo Mansion this autumn, then before the Chinese New Year this year, he must capture Ningbo Mansion no matter what, and this victory in Zhejiang gave Liu Chang more confidence, and he was ready to take Ningshao Mansion in one go.

Over there, Lu Ziyun asked Liu Chang: "Next, did we wipe out Rao Tingxuan's troops in one go?" ”

Liu Chang hesitated for a moment, and immediately replied: "You can annihilate as much as you can, Guan Jian is still in Zhezhong, are you interested in doing it in Chuzhou?" ”

Chuzhou was originally within the scope of Liu Chang's strategy, but according to the original plan, it was to take Jinhua Mansion first and then capture Chuzhou Mansion, but Rao Tingxuan's march made this step earlier, and Lu Ziyun was also very interested in this topic: "Yes, but just one of our battalions?" ”

Now the Oxknife Battalion is a three-company infantry battalion, and the newly formed infantry company stayed in Taizhou Mansion and was temporarily incorporated into the mixed battalion. ”

The infantry company of the Ox Knife Battalion is only 120 people at full strength, which is not as good as the Dragon Lance Battalion, and each company is in a state of overstaffing, with as many as 1670 people: "Can you let the Dragon Lance Hall lend me a company?" Otherwise, if we are in a state and a government, it will be very difficult for us to garrison a battalion! ”

There are only six counties in Taizhou, plus jade, and there are only seven counties in Huanxian County, but the prefecture capital is a big mansion of eight counties, and the mountains and forests are dense, and the roads are complicated.

Therefore, Liu Chang quickly agreed to Lu Ziyun's suggestion: "I will try my best to support, the fourth company will be returned to the establishment as soon as possible, and the garrison of Jin, Yun County can be handed over to Shanye Military Academy to be responsible!" ”

This was to undertake the garrison task of a county for Lu Ziyun, at least saving him a reinforced platoon or even an infantry company, and then Liu Chang went around the dragon spear camp again, and came back and told Lu Ziyun an unexpected surprise: "I discussed it with Commander Zhai and Battalion Commander Zhu, and they agreed to support a battalion for you."

"A battalion?" This is definitely a surprise for Lu Ziyun: "Is there really a battalion? ”

You must know that his original estimate was to take five companies and one artillery company to be responsible for eight counties, but now it has become two battalions at least eight companies and two artillery companies to be responsible for l counties, but Liu Chang also told him: "It is an independent battalion, and the dragon gun battalion is responsible for supporting thousands of troops and backbones, and recruits from prisoners and soldiers are transferred to form an independent battalion, which is close to Huang Taiyu's independent battalion, and the command is under your dispatch." ”。 ）