"The first battle was won, several enemies were destroyed, and the confidence of the recruits was greatly increased. When the pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info was cleaning the battlefield, the recruits found many personal belongings from the corpses of the enemy, including amulets, family letters, knives, etc., and everyone felt extremely novel. More attention was paid to collecting the weapons discarded by the enemy, because after our landing ground was destroyed by the hateful Qing warships, there was a considerable shortage of weapons and ammunition, and the rifles used by the enemy were as good as ours. Soon it was heard that our men had captured the artillery discarded by the enemy, and that there were quite a few shells, and everyone was very happy, and many people cheered. ”

"For several days, the fighting broke out sporadically, but each time it was fierce, and the recruits held their ground and repeatedly repelled enemy attacks. The people here have fled, the mountains and fields have become battlefields, and the smell of crops scorched by the war fills the air. ”

"I asked a recruit, his name is Aida, have you killed Qing soldiers? ”

He modestly said, "It's only four or five."

"I asked: Have you ever fought an enemy in hand-to-hand combat, for example, at the height of the battle?"

I was surprised by his answer. He said that we did not have enough ammunition and not many people, unlike the enemy, who had a transport team in charge of supplying them, and that the enemy's stomach was basically hungry, because there were people in the rear to deliver food, and we could only guarantee one rice ball a day. Since ammunition is not effectively replenished, when fighting the enemy, everyone cherishes bullets very much, and only shoots fiercely when the enemy's ranks are at their densest, because the enemy is always so crowded in a mass to attack forward. As for hand-to-hand combat, it is very rare. Because the enemy will quickly retreat after attacking unfavorably, it is difficult to have a chance to engage in hand-to-hand combat with them. ”

Aida and the recruits have been optimistic, believing that although there is a shortage of ammunition and food, they are confident that reinforcements will be sent from the country. One of the most annoying things is that there is no water to drink. Aida said that now is the hottest time of summer, the sun is scorching, the enemy is firing artillery day and night, and even the air is burning on the position. It doesn't rain, there is no water on the position, although there are many streams and springs here, but because of the miasma, a lot of water is undrinkable, and some springs and streams look clear, but drinking them is often fatal. Many people are so thirsty that there is only one way to do it, and that is to drink urine. He said that in fact, urine is not unpleasant, and he has to save himself at a critical time......

Although Kishida Ginka's pen and ink are relaxed and witty, it is not difficult for careful readers to find between the lines that the Japanese army was in a predicament at that time!

Kishida Ginka didn't know that it would not be long before there would be a white-knuckle battle that he had been looking forward to for a long time!

Seeing the embarrassed appearance of the retreating Qing army, Saigo stood up excitedly, slammed the emperor's imperial treasure sword, roared loudly, and ordered, "All attack!" ".

The Japanese rushed out of their positions with wild shouts and screams, and rushed towards the retreating Qing army.

The Qing army was already in chaos under the attack of the Japanese army's platoon guns and artillery, and when they saw the Japanese army attacking on all fronts, there were Japanese soldiers in all directions.

The teams of both sides scuffled together, and the battle immediately became white-hot.

The soldiers on both sides were desperately shooting fiercely, and when they saw the warriors of the Satsuma Domain drawing their swords and rushing towards them, the Qing officers and soldiers also raised their broadswords one after another, and started a white-knuckle battle with the Japanese army!

The fighting was unprecedented.

Saigo Congmichi and Gu Gancheng and the others also seemed to be red-eyed, and they all jumped out of the observation post, brandished their katanas, and personally led their subordinates into the forward position to direct the battle.

Seeing that Xixiang Congdao actually wanted to fight with the Qing army, Li Xiande couldn't help but sigh in mourning.

He now regrets that he came to Taiwan with this "talented major general."

Perhaps Saigo thought that his appearance on the battlefield in a lieutenant general's uniform would greatly boost the morale of the soldiers under his command. But he seems to have forgotten that on the battlefield, senior officers are always in the spotlight of the enemy.

Seeing the appearance of two Japanese generals wielding Japanese war swords, the Qing soldiers who were accustomed to cutting off their heads and arms to receive rewards almost instinctively aimed their guns at them.

A few rifle bullets flew quickly, killing a young man and a captain on the spot, as well as many adjutants and personal soldiers, and of course did not let Saigo go go.

The shots rang out, and the Japanese soldiers were surprised to see their commander standing up from the ground covered in blood, but he was lucky enough to suffer a slight wound - a bullet pierced the cuff of his uniform and grazed his arm, and only the blood of the dead Japanese soldier splattered the general's uniform.

If Saigo knew what would happen later, he would understand that in fact, it was not necessarily a lucky thing for him not to die at this time.

If he unfortunately dies a heroic martyr, then a "heroic martyr" and "loyal hero" with the same name as Nogi Noshinori, Tachimi Naobun, Oyama Iwa, Akiyama Yoshiko, etc., will be added to the list of national heroes that have been praised by Japan through the ages. The problem is that Saigo did not die from the way, and when the god of death passed by him, the god of luck also abandoned him, which is why his brother Saigo Takamori later said that "the biggest mistake of the way is not to die in battle".

And the fate of Gu Gancheng seems to be more "lucky" than that of Saigo Congdao.

The battle was fierce, and in a distant col, Kim and several of his companions were nervously observing the battle.

According to the analysis of Tang Dingkui and other generals of the Huai Army, the Japanese army is likely to concentrate its main force to fight a decisive battle with the Qing army, and this area is the main position of the Japanese army, and the Japanese army must have invested a large number of troops here. Therefore, the Qing army entered the battle with the main force, trying to destroy the enemy in one fell swoop. However, surprisingly, the Japanese not only did not shrink the defensive circle, but instead expanded their positions to all sides, and launched a surprise counterattack, inflicting heavy casualties on the Qing attacking troops. Tang Dingkui and the generals of the Huai army suddenly fell into anxiety and confusion, they could not understand why the enemy's resistance was so strong, and how many troops the enemy had invested here? The difficulties of the unclear enemy situation stood in front of the Qing generals like a mountain.

And the reason why Kim Desheng and his partners did not participate in the war was to understand the enemy situation as soon as possible and report to Lin Yizhe.

The air was filled with the smoke of fierce battles, the gunfire became more intense, and Kim saw that about a thousand more enemies rushed up and joined the battlefield. Jin Desheng was stunned by the scene in front of him, so many enemies are simply gurgling out like an underground river, if this is the enemy's reserve, then plus the enemy who is fighting, the total number of Japanese troops is likely to be no less than three thousand!

In other words, the enemy should have staked all his forces!

He saw a Qing soldier knocked to the ground, and several pancakes fell from his pockets, and several short and thin Japanese soldiers immediately rushed forward, and with one hand they copied the pancakes on the ground in their hands, and stuffed them into their mouths with mud and blades of grass.

Seeing this scene, Jin Desheng couldn't help but be taken aback by his conclusion.

The cunning enemy finally shows the fox's tail!

The reason why the enemy poured out of the nest desperately, instead of delaying time and waiting for help, is likely to have fallen into the dilemma of lack of food and ammunition!

Jin Desheng and his companions were all excited, and they were about to leave the battlefield and take a shortcut to report back, when an unexpected situation suddenly appeared.

At this moment, a beam of slanting sun pierced through the trees, like a spotlight, impartially on a Japanese general wielding a saber, and Kim almost cried out, because at this time he and his companions could see clearly without binoculars, the embellishment on the enemy's black uniform, the cockade on the military cap, and the collar badge.

He was a major general.

Jin Desheng did not hesitate to raise the Xia Saibo rifle in his hand, and several partners also raised their rifles at the same time.

Unlike the ordinary soldiers of the Qing Army, who lacked training to fire foreign guns and cannons, Jin Desheng, who was born in the naval army, and his companions had already received good shooting training, and after Lin Yizhe was transferred to the Fubiao Guard, under the influence and requirements of this young governor who loved shooting, their shooting skills were further strengthened. Although he was holding a French-style Chasebo rifle equipped with a naval officer, unlike the governor's special gun with a clairvoyant mirror, his accuracy was definitely not much worse than that of the governor.

Although Kim knew that if he and his companions opened fire, they would definitely reveal their hidden positions, but the temptation to kill a Japanese general was too great for them to be a small soldier.

After taking aim at the sword-wielding Japanese general, Kim jerked the trigger. As if there was some kind of tacit understanding, at the same time as he fired, several of his companions also opened fire.

Gu Gancheng huddled in the middle of a group of Japanese soldiers, shouting loudly, waving the katana in his hand, was driving these Japanese peasant soldiers who were cowering due to the epidemic to come forward to fight the Qing army, and just as he turned around, death suddenly came at this time.

Out of nowhere, five bullets flew in unison, one through the chest, then two in the abdomen, one in the neck, and the last in the arm.

The katana that was still flashing with a terrifying cold light just now fell from Gu Gan Castle's hand.

Gu Gancheng's body fell backwards heavily, looking at Gu Gancheng lying on the ground with wide eyes, looking at the sky, and bubbling blood bubbles from his throat from time to time, the surrounding Japanese soldiers realized what had happened and carried Gu Gancheng down with all hands and feet.

Jin Desheng was fortunate to see his victory, he looked at the saber that had fallen to the ground with some regret, turned around and waved his hand, and ran into the woods with his companions while shooting.

"My lord, look over there......"

At an observation post on the shore, Lin Yizhe held a telescope and looked in the direction of Zhou Ruitai, commander of the "Fujing" Marine Corps, and saw a large area of smoke rising from the forest in the distance.

"Tang Junmen, they should be fighting very hard with the Japanese at this time." Zhou Ruitai said.

Zhou Ruitai is a native of Zhenhai, Zhejiang, and has served as the leader of the sailors of the "Wannian Qing" and "Meiyun" ships, one of Lin Yizhe's old subordinates, and now the commander of the foreign gun team on the cruiser "Fujing".

"Machine guns and repeater guns, all ready?" Lin Yizhe put down the binoculars in his hand and turned his head to ask.

"Lord Hui, you're all ready." Zhou Ruitai clenched his fists and said respectfully, "There are two machine gun positions and four Lianzhu gun positions, all of which are set up in hidden places according to the orders of the adults, and they are guarded by the key points. The pirates will not be spotted unless they rush closer. ”

"The foreign gun team is all arranged?" Lin Yizhe asked again.

"Lord Hui, everything is arranged." Zhou Ruitai said, "The four sampans have also been erected, and if the Japanese army arrives, they can be bombarded." ”

Lin Yizhe nodded, did not speak again, but took his sniper rifle and checked it.

"My lord, do you really think...... Lord Tang, can't they stand it? Zhou Ruitai saw that Lin Yizhe had been frowning, and asked carefully.

After receiving Lin Yizhe's order to assemble the foreign gun teams of all ships to go ashore and stand by, Pei Jinquan, Zhou Ruitai and others thought that Lin Yizhe was going to personally lead the ship's navy to participate in the battle and avenge the dead Aya.

The army brigade is here, is it necessary to dispatch a foreign gun team and personally take risks?

The 13 battalions of 6,500 Huai troops under Tang Dingkui can be said to be a rare elite division of the Qing Dynasty Army at present, plus the brave battalions and regimental training from all over Taiwan that have been ordered by Lin Yizhe to rush to the starry night, it is more than enough to deal with the Japanese Army, which is already less than 3,000 troops.

As if hearing Zhou Ruitai's thoughts, Lin Yizhe sat down on a chair, wiped the sniper rifle in his hand, and asked: "Old Zhou, do you think, who is more capable of fighting these battalion leaders under the command of Tang Junmen?" ”

Zhou Ruitai didn't expect Lin Yizhe to ask such a question, he was stunned for a moment, and immediately replied, "I think that the team led by Zhang Gao Yuanzhang and Liu Chaohu should be stronger. ”

"How so?" Lin Yizhe asked quietly.

"The mark was seen when the army came ashore." Zhou Ruitai smiled innocently and replied, "The teams led by Commander Zhang and Commander Liu are neater than other teams, so I know it. ”

"Oh." Lin Yizhe nodded, "Commander Zhang and Commander Liu, which one do you think is stronger?" ”

"Naturally, it is Commander Zhang," Zhou Ruitai replied without thinking, "Commander Zhang was injured, but he still personally led the team to set off, this courage is very rare." ”

"Lao Zhou, do you think that my arrangement is a little unfounded?" Lin Yizhe asked.

"Don't dare!" Zhou Ruitai said with a smile, "I just think that when the Japanese army came to Taiwan, it has been killed and injured a lot by the people, coupled with the epidemic, the water and soil are not adapted, and the combat strength has suffered a big loss. Lord Ho Lao sent his troops ashore. ”

"Whether it can be an enemy or not, we'll see in a while." Lin Yizhe pressed the bullet into the chamber and got up and said.

Seeing the strong killing intent that suddenly rose in Lin Yizhe's eyes, Zhou Ruitai couldn't help but shiver.

At this moment, as the dense gunfire gradually approached, there was a sudden noise like a tidal wave in the distance.

Zhou Ruitai hurriedly turned around and looked, and without using a telescope, he saw the figure of the Huai army routed in a large area of black pressure.

Not bad! It is a Huai officer and soldier wearing a gray cloth with a wrap around his head! It's just that the troops that were originally "elite divisions" have now collapsed and fled towards the landing site like a tide!

And behind them, there is a figure of Japanese soldiers in black military uniforms!

At this time, the advance of the Japanese army has been close to the broken Huai army, the Japanese army continues to shoot, every row of guns fired, the Qing soldiers will fall, and in the face of the enemy's rifle fire, the Qing soldiers seem to have completely lost their fighting spirit, there are few people who return fire, and rarely can hit the enemy.

"Why did you come back with such a few people? What about Tang Junmen? ......" Zhou Ruitai looked at this scene and couldn't believe his eyes.

Lin Yizhe ignored Zhou Ruitai's surprise, but put down the binoculars and picked up his sniper rifle.

Seeing that Lin Yizhe seemed to want to go into battle in person, Zhou Ruitai came back to his senses.

"Slow down, adult!" Zhou Ruitai said loudly, "These widows, hand them over to the mark!" Our shipmaster's sailors can handle it! Lord Bulao personally went into battle! ”

At this time, he had fully understood Lin Yizhe's intention to prepare for the ship's navy.

Lin Yizhe should have expected this scene a long time ago!

"Go ahead!" Lin Yizhe nodded.

Zhou Ruitai led several personal soldiers to stride down the hillside, and Lin Yizhe looked at the Huai army rout who was desperately running towards the beach, and let out a heavy sigh in his heart.

He didn't want to believe in his heart that the elite of the Huai Army, which Li Hongzhang had been running for many years, would be defeated when facing a Japanese army with fewer people than him!

But the fact that the Huai army was about to be driven into the sea by the Japanese army was ruthlessly placed in front of him!

At first, when he wanted to transfer the ship's navy and navy soldiers ashore and ordered the sampan and machine guns to be placed on the shore, he also hesitated whether he was doing something too much. But what is happening now shows that his arrangement is absolutely necessary.

Looking at the Qing soldiers who were running and being knocked to the ground by the Japanese army, Zhang Zhihe, the painter of the "Dianshizhai Pictorial" on the "Fujing", wrote down the following words with trembling hands: "...... Huai Yong was defeated, like a frightened bird, regardless of the path, the team rushed straight away, and the Japanese army put guns and cannons, chasing and killing in the rear. …… Advance and retreat, quite crowded, the Japanese soldiers put guns and knives, chaotic slashing, at this time, looking for the father and the son, calling the brother to call the brother, the ghost cries and howls, shaking the mountains and fields. Those who are a little familiar with the people and the earth, the people who seek the soil lead Ruth, and those who are frightened and helpless, the dead bodies are everywhere, the blood is like a canal, and the sad eyes are miserable, and it is unspeakable. And although the ships at sea want to fire their guns to rescue, they are afraid of accidental injury, and they are not allowed to use ......."