(For those who are not familiar with the prefectures and towns around Shanghai, please refer to the "Offensive and Defense Map of the First Shanghai Campaign" in the related works)

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The 800 Xuan army in the trench resisted the enemy with a series of guns, which was under the guidance of the foreign teachings, and the method of shooting in the phalanx of Buyong was changed to be used to defend the trench, with a group of three, the left-handed person first put the first shot, and then squatted down to charge, and the middle person continued to release, until the third person in the right hand fired, and the left-handed person had already loaded the ammunition, got up and aimed, and it was just right to catch it. The weakness of the lack of cover when loading also happened to make up for the trenches, so the casualties in the artillery fire of the Taiping army were not large.

When the rest of the Taiping army desperately rushed to the place only more than ten zhang away from the trench, the Xuan soldiers in the trench were brave, and there were really a few people who were so frightened that they threw their guns and crawled out of the trench to escape, but at this time the distance was close, not only the platoon of guns in the trench was more and more accurate, but also the foreign gun teams on both sides of the city suddenly opened fire together, knocking down the approaching Taiping army piece by piece, and several Xuan soldiers who fled backwards were also killed on the spot under the city wall by the guns on the city - this is the military regulation announced in advance: those who go out of the trench without permission will be killed.

At this point, even the most brave and strong pawns will not be able to continue to maintain the momentum of the charge. The 2,000 pioneers of the Taiping army finally retreated, losing hundreds of people and finding nothing.

This is the first battle with the Taiping Army since the formation of the Xuan Army, and it can be regarded as the first victory, and finally shows Guan Zhuofan's cleverness in recruiting courage - although most of them are recruits, most of them have a blood feud with Long Mao, and under the constraints of officers and instructors, their fighting spirit is quite strong, which is completely different from ordinary officers and soldiers. Now that they had actually repelled the long hair with their own hands, and they only had more than 20 casualties, the city and the city couldn't help but cheer, and they were so excited that they couldn't control themselves, and they cried with joy.

Tan Shaoguang and Gao Yongkuan knew that Lu Dao had met a hard hand - such a strong firepower was only seen in his life, even if the Hunan army had never seen it. So he put away his heart of underestimating the enemy and decided to shoot artillery.

Li Xiucheng's troops, because they are located in the southeast and have favorable geographical advantages, are not badly equipped with firearms -- not only are they not bad, but they are even stronger than ordinary officers and soldiers. Their firearms, some of which are self-made, some are captured from the official army, and some are traded from foreigners, so in addition to the first gun, iron cannon and copper cannon, the number of foreign guns and foreign cannons is not small, but there is also a fatal shortcoming, that is, the lack of ammunition, especially the flowering shells of foreign cannons, which are extremely precious and can never be used easily.

Since it was decided to shoot the cannon, the formation was very different from just now. Most of the dozens of cannons lined up by the Taiping army just now have not been fired, and they are used to set up a formation to scare people and increase their prestige, which is a set of things that the Taiping army is accustomed to. Now the flag is waved, and all the cannons are fired in unison, and the earth-shattering momentum is impressive. The soldiers of the Xuan Army, where have they seen this scene? They all have a feeling of heartbreak. However, fortunately, the officers and soldiers also had artillery, so they fired artillery back fire on the city and began an artillery battle.

In this artillery battle, both sides had their own strengths - the Taiping army won because there were more artillery, while the official army won because they had two new foreign cannons and sufficient ammunition. The position of the Taiping army was beaten to smoke and dust, and the city of Songjiang was also full of bricks and trees, so it was fought until the afternoon, and the sound of artillery fell down, and the results of the battle were counted, and it should be the victory of the Taiping army. The walls of the western city were beaten all over the body, and although they did not collapse, the female walls of the city were badly damaged, and the city gates were cracked. Of the original five cannons on the city wall, only one cast iron cannon and one foreign cannon could be used - among the three that were damaged, there was one main iron cannon, which could fire twelve pounds of iron bullets, but one cannon was filled with too much gunpowder and too solid, and it was blown up, not only killing a dozen gunners and surrounding soldiers, but also blowing up a piece of the city wall.

There were also no small losses in personnel. The Xuan army in the long trench was brave, and there were more than 40 casualties, and the soldiers in the city and in the city, there were more than 200 people killed in the battle alone, and most of the houses behind the city wall were destroyed, and the farthest iron bullet actually fell into the Confucian Temple in the city, passed through the top of the hall, and smashed the statue of the ancestor of the hundred generations.

After all, the officers and soldiers were still inexperienced, and during the artillery battle, they were not able to properly conceal their troops, but some soldiers, frightened, ran in all directions, and as a result, they were particularly badly injured.

As for the Taiping army, although the terrain is open and can be dispersed and evaded, there is no city wall as a support, and it has to face artillery fire, especially the two field guns on the opposite side, which are very accurate, so the losses are actually more than the official army, but there are more than 20,000 troops as the capital, in contrast, the official army suffers a greater loss.

Tan Shaoguang and Gao Yongkuan were very satisfied with this result, and with an order, the shield car was dispatched.

*

*

Guan Zhuofan was in the county office, fidgeting, and he couldn't let others see the anxiety in his heart, so he had to put on a casual look on his face, waiting for the battle reports from all walks of life.

The first charge of the Taiping army was repulsed, which was good news, confirming the power of foreign guns and the results of the training of the Xuan army. However, the faint sound of artillery in the direction of Songjiang made him worry again, and he didn't know how long the city defense of Songjiang could hold out in such a dense bombardment.

Shrinking in the city and being beaten, he was always passive, according to his original idea, he should have looked for an opportunity to fight out. But under the pressure of more than 30,000 Taiping troops around, how could they fight it? Guan Zhuofan was also a little anxious for a while.

Up to now, no trace of the Taiping army has been reported in the direction of Qingpu on the western line Ding Xianda and in the direction of Zhoupu on the southern line of Huaer. Nanxiang on the northern front did not have an urgent report of the battle, so it can be seen that after Liu Zhaojun occupied Jiading, there was no further action, and he should be waiting for Tan Shaoguang's instructions. And Tan Shaoguang's army is still concentrated in the west of Songjiang, and it seems that he will not stop until Songjiang is captured.

Can Ding Shijie withstand it? The telegram received after the artillery battle seemed to confirm his fears, counting that the casualties of the Xuan army had exceeded three hundred, and this was only the second day of the battle, and the cruelty of the battle far exceeded his expectations.

"Qi Weng, Lao Jin, there are two things that must be done immediately." Guan Zhuofan said to Yang Fang and Jin Yulin, who were "sitting in the office", "The first thing, the eldest man in the Xuan military camp is a reserve soldier, and now he can't go up to the top." Lao Jin, I will give you two days to recruit another 1,000 long-term husbands to be on standby in Shanghai and Qibao respectively. ”

"Yes, I'll do it immediately." Jin Yulin thought for a while and said, "Five hundred tomorrow, five hundred the day after tomorrow, it should be possible." ”

"The second thing, Qi Weng, please go with Wu Daotai and go to the Hui Defense Bureau of the concession. Now the main force of Long Mao is attacking Songjiang, and it is all relying on the Xuan army to resist, and it is very hard. I don't have to worry about the casualties, but I have to ask them for help in the replenishment of ordnance and ammunition - to make it clear, we can't buy it all, we should pay half of it, and then count it together after the fight! ”

If it were on weekdays, with the shrewdness of foreigners, this idea would not have been possible, but when the war is closely related to each other, everything is possible. Yang Fang weighed it for a while, felt that it was feasible, nodded and agreed, got into the sedan chair and went straight to the provincial office, found Wu Xu, and said Guan Zhuofan's request.

"Qitang, is this okay?" Wu Xu hesitated, "Foreigners are not willing to suffer this loss. ”

"How is it a loss?" Yang Fang disagreed with Wu Xu's statement, "We will defend and defend, what we are saying is to defend together, now we send people, they shoot, it should be!" What's more, even if you can't talk about it, at most you can buy it with them with silver, and you can't say that you won't supplement it to Xuan Jun. ”

That's right. Wu Xu nodded and said, "Then let's go, go talk to them." ”

"Okay, of course, it's the main talk, I'll beat the side drum, but ...... There must always be a purpose. "Yang Fang's meaning is what kind of proportion is grasped in the requirements made.

"That's nothing more than a 'sky-high price.'" Wu Xu said slowly.

These two are people who are used to dealing with foreigners, and they are cunning and cunning. As soon as Wu Xu said this, they understood each other, so they all got into a sedan chair, escorted by the pro-soldier team of the Provincial Affairs Department, and went out of the north gate and came to a small building next to the British Consulate on Nathan Road, which was the location of the "Sino-foreign Conference and Defense Bureau".

The consuls and fleet commanders of Britain, the United States and France also met here, and when they saw Wu Xu and Yang Fang, they welcomed them greatly, in order to understand the battle situation of this day.

"Matsue is defending! The Xuan army fought very well, but the consumption was also very large, and it needed to replenish guns and ammunition. Wu Xu said, "What Guan Yixuan means is that this batch of ordnance should be provided free of charge by the National Defense Bureau." ”

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