Chapter Seventy-One: The Elephant Army Dispatched

Li Li also knew that the weather was hot, and the dead bodies in front of the position would soon decompose, and he wanted to use these rotten corpses as weapons to besiege the Ming army, but he thought that this would hurt the morale of his army too much, so he had to send someone to collect the corpses. From the beginning of the battle at Haiphong Port to the present, his own army has suffered heavy casualties, although there is no exact number, and there are probably 1670,000 casualties. The generals below will underreport their losses, and this is clear to Laili. In the past, when fighting the Ming army, there had never been such a heavy loss in such a short time. Faced with the question of what to do next, whether to fight or withdraw to the defense of Tokyo City, Li Li hesitated. If the battle continues, the generals below are already frightened, especially the Ming army occupies a very favorable terrain, they have their backs to the Red River, and they can get the artillery support of the warships on the river. It seems that the Ming army is now stationed here, and it is definitely not a temporary decision, it must have been premeditated, otherwise it would not have been prepared so calmly and reasonably in a hurry. However, after retreating, hundreds of thousands of people gathered in Tokyo City, and they couldn't let go at all, and they had to set up a formation outside the city to confront the Ming army. It is more passive to stand up and be beaten by the Ming army like that. Now there are still troops gathered over, and their own army still has an absolute advantage in numbers, so they can't retreat, retreat to defend, and their advantage in numbers will not be able to be brought into play.

Determined to do so, Li Li immediately convened a meeting of generals at all levels and asked them to attack with all their might to destroy the invading Ming army. At the same time, 30,000 troops were divided to attack Haiphong Port, Li Li thought that the Ming army brigade was surrounded here, and the Haiphong Port would be empty, and the surprise attack on Haiphong Port would cut off the back road of the Ming army, and the Ming army would inevitably panic.

At this time, Li Li seemed to have been hollowed out by the wine, and he also emptied his brain, he didn't want to think about it, since the Ming army was well prepared, it would leave him a loophole like Haiphong Port?

Li Zicheng looked at the battle summary sent back by Song Xiance and nodded, feeling that Song Xiance looked like a military advisor now.

Song Xiance analyzed, "After these few days of fighting, we have annihilated 1670,000 troops in Annan. After observation, we found that the Annan soldiers were indeed brave and good at fighting, and they were brave and not afraid of death. The courage they showed when attacking was no worse than that of our soldiers. It's just that their training and equipment are too poor, and they don't even have many decent bows and arrows. The artillery has caused us some casualties, but it can't compare to me. Not to mention the comparison with the cannons on the warships of the Yaogang Naval Army. However, the fact that the Annamite people were able to assemble so many troops in such a short period of time shows that their war mobilization ability is still very strong, which is also related to their long-term war with the Ming army. However, the Annam army that is now assembled is far from the whole of the Annam army, and when they fought against the Ming army, they mobilized the so-called two million troops, but in fact there were seven or eight hundred thousand people. Therefore, we still have to gather as many of them together as possible to eliminate them, otherwise they will scatter and flee, and it will be very troublesome for us to pursue them. Therefore, we are not in a hurry to attack Tokyo City, as long as Tokyo City is not lost, Li Li still has the illusion that he can fight with us, and we can destroy as many of their living forces as possible here. ”

After Li Zicheng finished reading Song Xiance's telegram, he handed it to Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong and read it.

Mu Yi said: "Before coming to Annan, we knew that Annan was a network of water and rivers, which provided great convenience for them to quickly move and combine with the army. It's something we can't compare to on our side. It's just a pity to continue killing like this, can you catch more prisoners and send them away? We have to build railways and roads over there, and we all use people! ”

Li Zicheng also said: "In fact, the road from Haiphong to Hanoi is too poor. In the future, if we get a few cars from the kiln, we won't be able to drive. When the battle is over, we will repair the road first. ”

Zheng Zhilong put down the telegram and interjected: "Now it seems that the time is not yet ripe to capture prisoners, and the people of Annam are not afraid of death." We still need to kill as many people as we can, and when we beat them down and we counterattack, the Annan soldiers will not have the fighting spirit, and it will be easy to capture the prisoners. ”

Mu Yi said: "Let's defend now, and when we counterattack, we still have something for them that the Annan people can't forget!" That thing can completely let the people of Annamite know what is terrible! ”

"Hmmm! Commander Mu, tell me quickly, what magic weapon do you have? Li Zicheng's appetite was raised, "Song Junshi said that your heavenly thunder is the devil, do you have anything more terrifying?" ”

"Yes! Commander Mu, tell me what is the deal with that shell that can explode overhead? Zheng Zhilong also asked.

"Then I'll start with the kind of shells that explode overhead. In fact, this kind of artillery shell is also called an airburst bomb, which usually explodes about ten meters above the ground. It was equipped with a radio proximity fuse. When the shell is ten meters above the ground, the proximity fuse detonates the shell. Since the shells exploded from the air, they had to be loaded with a lot of ammunition, because the shells were already flying fast, as long as they were loaded with more prefabricated shrapnel and steel balls, they could be blown up with ammunition. Such shells can cover targets at ranges of several tens of meters at once. To say that such shells are used in real combat for the first time. The price of one shell can be the price of a few or even a dozen other shells, but its power against a group charge is also worth a few or even a dozen other shells. Mu Yi said.

"Yes! I've never heard of it before. Li Zicheng said.

Zheng Zhilong also said: "Yes! We haven't used it for you either. ”

Listening to Zheng Zhilong's words, the three of them couldn't help laughing.

Li Zicheng said to Zheng Zhilong: "We are still lucky. Ha ha! At that time, I'm afraid the kiln gang didn't study it, right? ”

"Yes! This thing is really new. After the battle, I also asked the Song army division and the generals in front of me to summarize the effect of this cannonball. Otherwise, our cannonballs worth tens of thousands of taels of silver were fired, and Li Wei asked me how I was? I can't say it, and I don't have the face to see people. Mu Yi said.

"Haha! Doesn't that make Li Wei's nose crooked? Li Zicheng and Li Wei also got acquainted with them during the kiln, "I see, Lao Mu, don't hold it, let's talk about any other good things, right?" ”

"Good! In fact, this thing was developed very early, but Mr. Zhang has never allowed it to be used. You didn't see it. Mu Yi said.

"Why doesn't Mr. Zhang let him use it? What the hell is it? Zheng Zhilong stared and asked.

"Hey! I'll tell you, it's solidification***. That thing is so evil that Mr. Zhang has never allowed it to be used. This is still when we went abroad to fight, and I consulted Mr. Chen and Mr. Ouyang, and they agreed that we should take it out with the ship. Otherwise, they are all stored in the cave and are generally not allowed to move. ”

Mu Yi's words even more stimulated Li Zicheng and Zheng Zhilong. Zheng Zhilong said: "Oops! Commander Mu, don't gasp, let's talk about the solidification *** thing, right? ”

"It is to dissolve things such as rubber and white phosphorus in gasoline to form a glue-like sticky thing, and when the cannonball explodes, it burns wherever it hits it. As long as it touches people, it will be terrifying, and it will not be extinguished until they are burned to death. There is no way to save the people around you. If the rescuer accidentally sticks to those things, he will also be burned to death along with the rescued. Therefore, Mr. Zhang resolutely refused to use it. Mu Yi explained.

Li Zicheng and Zheng Zhilong listened to Mu Yi's explanation, and they also had goosebumps on their bodies.

Zheng Zhilong said: "Oh my God! And something like this? ”

"It's so evil!" Li Zicheng said, "I think let's let the people of Annan taste the power of this thing!" Otherwise, they won't be convinced easily. ”

"I think this will shock the Annan people!" Zheng Zhilong also agreed with Li Zicheng's opinion.

"I want to too! We can't use this thing against us Chinese to deal with these disobedient Annanites, we should let them know what a big country is. It's not okay to be unconvinced! Mu Yi said in a daze.

The Annan soldiers of Le Lê cleaned up the bodies for a day, and on this day the two sides ceased fighting.

Due to the arrival of many new troops, the morale of these unfrustrated troops was still very high, especially the arrival of some elephant soldiers, which made Li Li feel more confident.

At this military meeting, Li Li has already revealed his murderous intentions. He stressed that now our side has far more people than the Ming army, and we must do our best to attack immediately. If the Ming army cannot be defeated here, then it is likely to be destroyed. If someone is greedy for life and afraid of death, he will not be spared. Li Li ordered all artillery to be used in two places, and the elephant army should also be used in these two directions. Strive to tear two holes in the Ming army's defense line. When attacking at the same time, light firewood and grass, and cover the army's attack with thick smoke. The trebuchets sent by the army should also be used intensively at the same time.

The movement of the Annan army has been discovered by the scouts sent by Song Xiance, because the mobilization of the cannons on the muddy roads of Annan is particularly difficult, so it is a big thing to move the bulky cannons. And the Annan army came from a complicated source, and the clothing was not uniform, and no one paid attention to the scouts mixed in among them. At this time, the Annam army did not have the consciousness of serious precautions. Soon, the Annamites concentrated their artillery, and the news of the arrival of a lot of elephant troops was sent to Song Xiance's Chinese army account. Song Xiance sent the coordinates of the artillery positions of the Annan army to Mu Yi and them by telegram, and agreed with Mu Yi that after determining the direction of the elephant army's attack, he asked the artillery to cover them. On a long front, Muyi's artillery fire can't cover all of them, but the key targets must be solved.

On a wet morning, the Nan'an people began to attack. First of all, the soldier carrying firewood and grass walks in front and puts down a row of firewood and grass, and the soldier who carries firewood and grass in the back walks forward for a while, and then puts down another row of firewood and grass, and keeps pushing forward. When the advance was almost over, the Annan soldiers lit the firewood and grass, and the wet firewood and grass smoked from it. The Annam soldiers continued to push firewood and grass in front of the Dashun army camp. Because the Annan soldiers were not very dense, Song Xiance did not let the artillery on the mountain fire. However, when the soldiers of Annam advanced the firewood and grass into the range of bows and muskets, the archers of the Dashun army began to shoot. Seeing that the front was fighting, the generals of the Annan army commanding behind knew that the method of encroachment was over, and just when they were about to let the artillery open fire, there was a "boom" thunder in the air, and then there was a violent explosion from their loaded ** artillery positions, and the Annan soldiers who had fought several battles heard that it was the artillery of the Ming army that fired. This time, Mu Yi ordered the 230 and 130 caliber artillery to open fire at the same time, and to quickly cover the artillery positions of the Annam army in accordance with the coordinates. After only one calibration, the ship's artillery was fired, and the artillery positions in Annam did not exist.

Li Li, who personally went out of the city to supervise the battle, knew that it was not good when he heard the explosion. When it was confirmed that the two concentrated artillery positions were destroyed, Li Li was so shocked that he broke down in a cold sweat, these artillery had just been concentrated, how could the Ming army find out so quickly, and besides, the Ming army was heavily surrounded, how did they send the information from the outside.

At this point, these can no longer be taken care of, and the offensive must continue.

The Annam army rushed to the position of the Dashun army like a tide from all directions. At this time, Song Xiance gave the order, and the artillery on the mountain opened fire "dong dong" and "tongtong". Now that Annan has adapted to advancing under artillery fire, the soldiers in front are blown down, and the soldiers in the back will not hesitate to make up for it. The bravery of the Annan soldiers still made Song Xiance and the generals of the Dashun Army who observed with binoculars admire.

Under the cover of smoke, the Annan soldiers quickly rushed in front of the Dashun army regardless of casualties, and the fifty heavy machine guns all roared "bang bang" again. Then the musket bow and arrow began to fire non-stop, and finally the hand ** began to "boom" and explode.

At this time, the battlefield looked from the mountain, and the Annam soldiers were like a swarm of moths rushing towards the fire, constantly being swallowed by the fire.

In response to this situation, Song Xiance had already asked the generals at all levels to do the work of the soldiers, and warned the soldiers that they must not be soft when it is critical. They expected that the Annan army would adopt the tactics of crowds, which could easily be unbearable for the soldiers.

When the fierce battle was in full swing, Li Li used a killer move, and the elephant soldiers went into battle, and the tall elephants who were trained were tied to a small watchtower, on which sat several archers, who stood high and saw far away, and could attack from a distance with bows and arrows.

Those elephants with their trunks rushing over with their soldiers are really scary, and it is easy to have a great psychological intimidation on the guards. Seeing that the Lili Elephant Army finally came out, Song Xiance immediately asked people to use the radio to notify Mu Yi to carry out artillery support.

With the "rumble" in the sky, an airburst bomb exploded above the elephant army's head. Elephants and Annan soldiers were constantly bombed, and those elephants that were not killed rushed forward frantically, and the elephants that were not bombed were also frightened by the terrifying explosion and rushed forward. Some elephants rushed close to the fence of the Dashun army, directly hit the fence, and rushed into the position. Elephants with rough skin and thick flesh are useless with bows and arrows. The heavy machine guns didn't care about the elephant behind, and the musketeers had to fire at the elephant at close range. The elephant was beaten with holes all over his body, and he reluctantly fell to the ground and died. The opening of the elephant also opened the passage for the Annan soldiers behind, and the Annan soldiers who were not afraid of death continued to rush into the first line of defense. Although the Annan soldiers who rushed in were quickly killed, their success inspired the Annan soldiers behind them, and the war drums behind them kept urging them to attack.

After attacking the Elephant Army, the artillery on the warship had to open fire again to support the defense of the Dashun Army. But this attack was different from the past, and Li Li's order was to die endlessly, the front arrived, and the rear followed. Those Annan soldiers who were killed by airburst shells, and the ones behind them also did not hesitate to make up for it.

In the end, Mu Yi had 203 mm heavy artillery also participate in the bombardment of the attacking soldiers in Annam.

On the battlefield, the sky was dark and the blood flowed like a river, but the Annan soldiers continued to attack. In order to breathe a sigh of relief, and also to attract the Nan'an army to continue the attack, Song Xiance ordered the soldiers to retreat to the second position. At this time, whether it is the artillery of the Dashun Army on the mountain or the artillery on the warship on the Red River, they can have a short rest. However, Li Li seemed to see hope, and did not leave the Ming army a little more respite, and the Annan soldiers crossed the first line of positions and attacked again.

At this time, Li Zicheng, who had always been calm, also said to Mu Yi: "Old Mu! Lao Tzu, I am the ancestor of the tactics of using crowds, but I have never been so desperate. I think only that thing of yours can defeat the Annams! ”

"Don't worry, Song Junshi means to attract as many Nan'an soldiers here as possible, it is indeed much easier to kill them here than to catch them everywhere." Mu Yi said.

"I think Li Li'er, I want to bring everyone here to fight with us today!" Li Zicheng said, "That's not how the battle was fought!" ”

Zheng Zhilong smiled and said, "Lord Chuang! You have to understand King Le Lê, they can't beat us here, they are likely to abandon Tokyo, they keep their army and don't use it here, where else will they use it? ”

"According to this style of play, at least the entire Annan army will die more than last time, and it will be almost the same if there are no more than 100,000 people!" Li Zicheng said with a frown.

"It will not be less than 100,000 people," Mu Yi said, "and this time the Annan people will attack more people and attack more intensively." We're using more artillery fire, too. That's it, less than half of the army invested by Li Li, let's wait and see the situation of the Song military division. It's really difficult. We're going to sacrifice that guy! However, I don't think it's surprising that Li Li should attack another day tomorrow. They're going to defend the city of Tokyo! ”

Li Zicheng asked puzzledly: "Li Li died so many people today, can he still attack tomorrow?" ”

"Our scouts report that if there is still an Annan army gathering here. They have so many troops, if they don't attack us and defend the city, the city can't let go. I think Li Li will attack! Mu Yi analyzed.

"Those soldiers are human too!" Li Zicheng said, "Then there is such a way to send soldiers to death? ”

"There are a lot of people in Li Li who have died, but they think that it has also consumed our strength, and he just wants to use the advantage of numbers to consume us." Mu Yi said, "Besides, for Li Li, raising so many troops and civilians, not using them in wartime is equivalent to useless!" He doesn't care how many times he dies! ”

At this time, Song Xiance and the musketeers who retreated to the second line of defense did not dare to shoot continuously because the barrel of the gun was too hot to shoot continuously. The artillery on the mountain also had to cool the barrel with water before firing a cannon after firing a cannon. As soon as the rate of fire came, the Annan soldiers who kept coming up became even more crazy.

Song Xiance sent a telegram to Li Zicheng to retreat to the third line of defense.

Li Zicheng discussed with Mu Yi and Zheng Zhilong, and did not agree with Song Xiance's suggestion, so let him stick to it first. Mu Yi decided to use ***.

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Mt. Fuji erupted, Japan was earthquaked. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".