Chapter Seventy-Five: The State (I)

"This Xu Tiande has already relieved himself of the head of the military bureau, but he is in charge of Lao Tzu's affairs!" Throwing the letters of Xu Da and Wang Bi on the table, Hu Dahai pursed his lips and sneered disdainfully.

Although the assassination a few months ago was ostensibly instigated by his son Hu Sanshe, most of the dead soldiers who actually carried it out came from the auxiliary brigades of the Third Army under Xu Da. Therefore, Hu Dahai was left with a pimple in his heart, and he always felt that the assassin could find the next opportunity, which was inseparable from Xu Da. If Xu Da could have been on guard earlier, instead of blindly trusting his fellow Haozhou villagers, maybe the lord and himself would not have been hurt at all. And his son Hu Sanshe will also be found out by the Internal Affairs Department before the incident, and then ordered leniency by the lord Gongnian at a young age, so as not to end up in a different place.

Once there is prejudice in people's hearts, it is natural to look at the other party's actions as unpleasant. Therefore, Xu Da's kindness, not only did not receive any gratitude, but was directly regarded as an insult to himself by Hu Dahai. However, Ivanov, the deputy commander of the Second Army, saw more clearly from the perspective of a bystander, stepped forward, pulled Hu Dahai's cloak, and reminded in a low voice: "General Hu, compared to the Third Army, the advance speed of our Second Army is indeed poor, and it is not as good as that person." If you don't find a way to break the deadlock in front of you, I'm afraid the lord's battle plan"

"I know, but you don't look at what kind of terrain we're all on the way!" Hu Dahai glanced at him, pacing anxiously in the Chinese military tent like a trapped beast.

In this southern expedition, the battle plan given by the Privy Council was very simple and clear. The Second Army served as the vanguard, taking advantage of Changhua and Fuyang, which were controlled by Zhang Shicheng, to attack Wuzhou. Then continue to the south along Jinhua and Wuyi in Wuzhou, take Chuzhou, Shouning, Minqing, and reach the city of Quanzhou. The Mengyuan soldiers and horses along the way, as long as they don't take the initiative to block the road, they don't care.

The task of the Third Army was to protect the right flank and rear of the Second Army. All the enemy troops left behind by the Second Army will be annihilated if they dare to act rashly.

Echoing the Third Army Corps, the First Army Corps personally led by Zhu Chongjiu undertook the task of protecting Hu Dahai's left flank. At the same time, they deterred Zhang Shicheng and Fang Guozhen, so that the latter two did not dare to act rashly.

Overall, so far, the implementation of the plan has been relatively smooth. The Third Army Corps was led by Xu Da, and completely wiped out the biggest threat to the right rear of the Second Legion, the Miao Army of Yang Wanzhi's Division. The First Army, also under the leadership of Zhu Chongjiu, also blocked Zhang Shicheng, Fang Guozhen and Mengyuan Shaoxing Road Guard Mai Li Gusi in their respective nests and did not dare to show their heads. The Second Army, which was only the vanguard, was now blocked by Fanling after experiencing the initial momentum, and was unable to move forward by half a step further!

caused such an embarrassing situation, of course, not because Hu Dahai himself did not work. In fact, from the moment he was entrusted with the important task again by General Manager Zhu, he had secretly sworn in his heart that he would repay him with a national soldier in this life. In the past four or five days, he has been to the front line in almost every battle, and even led his team to kill him repeatedly. But the results received have never been worse.

The biggest reason for such an embarrassing situation is due to the cunning of the enemy generals. The opponent who led his troops in front of the Second Army was named Shi Mo Yisun. After this person was a famous Khitan general, he was nurtured by his father since he was a child and was familiar with military books. As an adult, he led troops to fight pirates and bandits many times, accumulating enough experience. In addition, this person is open-minded, bold and generous, righteous and squandering money, and has won the heart of the military. Therefore, with the advantages of the terrain in the areas of Xianxialing, Fanling, Taohuashan and Gedu, it is comparable to Hu Dahai.

"The Yuan army does occupy a favorable position, but we don't have to fight to the death from this area. Walk a little further to the east, detour Xianju" Seeing that Hu Dahai was in a hurry, Ivanov thought about it and took the initiative to speak.

"Isn't that the same? Bypassing Peach Blossom Ridge, you can't bypass Kuocang Mountain! Hu Dahai stopped, and his eyes quickly moved on the rice chip map placed in the center of the Chinese military tent. The topography of Kuocang Mountain is even more steep than that of Fanling. As long as Shi Mo Yisun holds a few important places, he can put us in a dilemma. Besides, Xianju is Fang Guozhen's territory right now, and that guy has always been stingy, and he has to jump up and fight with others when he loses a straw. This time the lord went south, and there was originally a suspicion of false extermination. In case Fang Guozhen and the lord are scared against each other, my Huaiyang will definitely lose more than he gains! ”

"Huh?" Ivanov frowned and gritted his teeth.

He only thought about avoiding the truth, but he didn't take into account the "friendship" between his father-in-law and Fang Guozhen, which was so thin that it was not as thin as a piece of pasted window paper. Especially in the case that the Huai'an army may sweep the entire Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces in one go, joining forces with Zhang Shicheng or Mengyuan local forces to protect themselves has almost become Fang Guozhen's best choice!

"But your approach isn't useless!" couldn't bear to embarrass his old partner repeatedly, Hu Dahai stared at the terrain simulation map laid out with millet and bamboo chips, and muttered, "Wang Changshi, how many six-pound cannons do we still have in our hands now, and how many days can the shells be used?" ”

The second half of the sentence was asked to his new chief Shi Wang Kai. Although he was not as outstanding as Chen Ji, Luo Ben, Ye Dechen and others, he also joined the army by Zhu Chongjiu's side for several years, and was extremely proficient in military affairs. Without waiting for Hu Dahai's voice to fall, he immediately gave a definite answer, "Except for the three guns that were accidentally blown up by the dead soldiers sent by Shi Mo Yisun the day before yesterday, the remaining seventeen cannons can still be used." It's just that there are fewer shells, and each one can probably be equipped with about 60 rounds. If you think about it more, you can only wait for the next batch of baggage to be shipped over! ”

"Where's the four-pound cannon?" Hu Dahai frowned, continued to ask, Wang Kai groaned slightly, and responded very cautiously, "There are many four-pound guns, and there are one hundred and ten under each brigade, and the shells are far more abundant than the six-pound guns." But the last general does not recommend us to use four-pound guns, the range is too short, and the terrain does not have any advantage.! ”

Since its birth, the four-pound cannon has undergone many improvements. But in terms of range, it is still not satisfactory. You can barely reach 400 steps on flat ground, and if you attack a target on a hill, the range will decrease greatly with the increase in altitude. However, the enemy army was equipped with a large number of bed crossbows and crossbow carts on important places such as Fanling and Taohualing. Condescendingly, it is enough to use a giant arrow with a gunpowder bag tied to the front end to shoot at the Huai'an army's four-pound cannon, exchanging lives for lives.

Hu Dahai has been in battle for a long time, so he naturally knows that Wang Kai is telling the truth. His eyes lingered on the rice chip for a long time, and then he raised his head again and asked in a low voice again: "What if you use a six-pound cannon to open the way first?" Open the way with a six-pound cannon, and then fill the position with a four-pound cannon. Can you suppress the bed crossbow in the hands of the enemy? As long as I can open a gap, I can send a regiment of brothers up and hold it firmly! ”

"Difficult!" Wang Kai and Ivanov both shook their heads. "Shi Moyi is cunning and has dug a lot of trenches in the mountains."

"Shi Mo Yisun's guy is a rat spirit, and he will drill holes everywhere. As long as his soldiers get into the hole and don't show their heads, it will be difficult for the six-pound cannon to kill them! ”

"Uh-huh——!" Hu Dahai groaned in a low voice.

War is the best whetstone. In recent years, not only has the Huai'an Army been growing rapidly, but the opponents of the Huai'an Army, including the most decadent and backward Meng Yuan, are also working hard to improve themselves. In the area of defence against the use of firearms, particularly in the area of defence, new weapons and tactics have been developed one after another. Traditional militaristic weapons such as bed crossbows, cart crossbows, Qingzhang crossbows, and trebuchets were also fully combined with gunpowder and rejuvenated.

Especially the crossbow, as early as the time of Song Xiaozong, the manufacturing technology was already very mature. The crossbow cart developed by the general Wei Sheng, according to history, "the crossbow on the bed is as big as a ballista chisel, and one arrow can shoot several people, and three arrows can be hundreds of steps." Zhejiang Province, but also the Southern Song Dynasty of Gyeonggi, the government has a large number of ballista drawings remaining, and there are countless craftsmen who know how to make ballistas

The advantage of the four-pound cannon is that it is light, and there is no advantage in the battle of positional warfare when encountering a condescending ballista. The power and range of the six-pound cannon took advantage of it, but it was difficult to guarantee the accuracy. If the defenders' tactics are properly handled, whether it is a four-kilogram cannon or a six-kilogram cannon, it will be difficult to be as invincible as it was when it was first introduced a few years ago.

"Before leaving, the chief manager said that if you encounter the enemy's strict defense, you don't need to be too anxious to seek a breakthrough! Anyway, knowing that Hu Dahai was in an irritable mood, Changshi Wang Kai thought about it again and comforted him in a low voice.

The second half of the sentence was top secret, and he looked around and didn't say it directly. But the attitude on his face is already very obvious.

When Hu Dahai heard this, his brows instantly wrinkled into a pimple again. After a long silence, he shook his head vigorously, "No, the strength is not enough." Shi Mo Yisun is just a small mess, and what our second army really has to deal with is Chen Youding and Saifuding. If you can't even take the state, Chen Youding and Sefudin don't need to move at all. ”

"If it really doesn't work, tomorrow we will concentrate all the six-pound cannons and try to bombard the tiger's mouth to the west of Fanling for a few rounds. Then I will personally lead the ironclad battalion to kill, and Tongfu you will send a musket battalion to plunder the battle for me. I don't believe it, without artillery, our Second Army can't fight!" Seeing that one plan after another was rejected, Ivanov became irritable in his heart, stomped his foot, and said angrily.

Hearing this, Hu Dahai's eyes suddenly lit up, "You don't have to wait until tomorrow." You go and gather the six-pound cannon now, and give me a slam on the west side of Fanling. Don't spare any money, smash the cannonball and pull it down! Lao Tzu has been aggrieved enough these days, so he simply played ruthlessly with Shi Mo Yisun. See who's cleaned up at the end! ”

"General!" Changshi Wang Kai was shocked, and immediately raised his right arm to object, "Leading the army to fight is not child's play, and the general must not be rash!" ”

"How many times have you seen Hu acting in a hurry?" Hu Dahai glanced at him, and his face suddenly swelled with a little pride. "You're actually right, Hu must be assertive today. You wait and see, without artillery, Lao Tzu will still take down the state to the chief administrator!"