Fighting under the cover of artillery fire and fighting under the cover of artillery fire are completely different feelings, at least it is much more enjoyable, and he even has the leisure to light a cigarette to relax before the Japanese break through the barbed wire. Otherwise, there are so many people who are willing to serve as soldiers now, not to mention the food and food provided by the army, not to mention the fish and meat, and when they go back to be a soldier for three years, they will be able to do everything quickly. Since 1902, the logistics have provided more and more abundant supplies, canned food, military uniforms, etc., which can be sent home, and recently cigarettes! At first, Le Fei didn't know about cigarettes, who had ever seen that kind of foreign thing, and they all smoked hookahs in their hometowns. Under the encouragement of his comrades-in-arms, Le Fei also began to try, and after a day of high-intensity training, he lit a cigarette and immediately felt that everything was worth it! I heard that it is a product of the Guangzhou Tobacco Company, but at present it is only available in limited quantities in the army -- tobacco cultivation has not yet been spread out on a large scale.

"Deputy platoon commander, do you want one?" Jiang Maosheng, the most active and fastest-growing recruit in the platoon, said to Dong Dashan with a smile that he was directing the machine gun fire in the platoon to fire fiercely, and his body was blackened by gunpowder. There was one heavy machine gun and three light machine guns in the platoon, and a large amount of ammunition was consumed at all times. The light machine gun consumed a little less, and under Dong Dashan's constant guidance, the machine gunner no longer pulled the trigger and did not let go.

"Ammunition man, move two more ammunition boxes for the heavy machine gun!" Dong Dashan shouted loudly, turned around and glared at the grinning Jiang Maosheng, although Lao Dong was the deputy platoon commander, he was very popular among the recruits, and everyone was willing to joke with him. Especially Jiang Maosheng, but this recruit is stronger than most people, he is a son of Orion from the northern mountains, he has been hunting with his family in the mountains and forests since he was a child, and he has a strong shooting talent. Moreover, Jiang Maosheng was born with a big heart, and when the other recruits were still hiding in the trenches and shivering, he dared to raise half of his body to observe the movements of the enemy army.

"Lao Le, do you think the Japanese are stupid, obviously they can't move or rush this way, in my opinion, they will all die under our machine guns and artillery." Seeing that the situation was stable, Dong Dashan took the time to run over and ask Le Fei for a cigarette, an honest person like him also needs cigarettes to relieve pressure now.

"If there weren't so many artillery pieces and machine guns, it would have been a bloody battle, and we would have to suffer heavy losses. On the battlefield, the Japanese were obviously better trained than our recruits, and they were not afraid of death, and I guess the Qing army was defeated by this momentum. After Le Fei finished speaking, Dong Dashan nodded, allowing himself to charge against the absolute superiority of firepower, he was not sure if he could do it.

Le Fei patted Dong Dashan on the shoulder, just wanted to look at the battle situation, and with a "whoosh", Le Fei quickly lowered his head, glanced at Dong Dashan, and then carefully looked up at the frontal battlefield. Sure enough, the first and second layers of barbed wire had been broken through the first and second layers of barbed wire, regardless of the casualties, and they were charging towards the third and final layer of barbed wire. It can be seen that the passage of the first two floors is very narrow, it is full of corpses, there are very few soldiers rushing over, some squatting on the ground and shooting, of course, after firing a shot, his mission is over, and the kung fu machine gun bullets that change bullets are found.

The second attack failed again, leaving more than a thousand corpses on the battlefield, and it was disappointing that the Japanese soldiers did not even get close to the enemy positions! After more than 20 minutes, the infantry wing that made a detour to attack Guanyin Mountain was also in vain, and the losses were even greater -- the artillery positions on Guanyin Mountain also had strong fortifications, and they were built on the mountain, which was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it was much more difficult to attack than the front!

The sun was setting, and it was impossible to continue the attack. Nishikanjiro looked at the temporary hospital full of wounded soldiers, and knew that when he had to choose, his second division had lost nearly one-fifth of its strength in the afternoon's battle, and the enemy's position had not yet wavered. We must focus on the overall situation of the empire, we can't be rash, and we will definitely bear our own responsibilities!

"Signal Corps, send a telegram to General Kuroki for Zhen, 'Zhangmu encounters the enemy's main force, request tactical guidance'." When the power was generated, Nishikuan Jiro did not forget to be hypocritical, saying that when he encountered the main force of the enemy, in his opinion, having so much firepower must be the main force of the Zhenguo Army. The 2nd Division then began to build fortifications and set up camp in preparation for the next day's attack.

Nishikanjiro's telegram caused an uproar in the Humen General Headquarters, and soon after, cavalry brought a detailed account of the battle situation in Nishikanjiro. The commander of the First Army, General Kuroki Weizhen, couldn't believe it, but when it was getting dark, Lieutenant General Yoshimasa Oshima of the Third Division of the First Army also sent back an explanation of the battle situation and asked for tactical guidance, which was not something he could cover up.

On the afternoon of April 14, Oshima Yoshimasa's 3rd Division encountered sniper fire from the Zhenguo Army in the Houjie area, and the road north to Guangzhou was blocked. Similar to the situation of the 2nd Division, the 3rd Division was hit on the head and bled in front of the 2nd Division of the 1st Army of the Zhenguo Army, which was waiting solemnly. At this point, the hope of entering Guangzhou and Huizhou in a short period of time has been dashed.

"Let's not talk about the equipment, fortifications, and combat effectiveness of the Zhenguo Army, I think the first thing we should pay attention to is our own safety. Just after receiving information, when the scouts of the Fourth Division searched south, there were traces of the Zhenguo Army in Fuyong, Shiyan, Songgang and other areas south of Humen, and the direction north and east of Humen were blocked by the Zhenguo Army, and if the south was blocked again, we would be in the unfavorable situation of being besieged. "Just as Oyama Iwa, Kuroki Yuzhen, and Nishikanjiro, Oshima Yoshimasa, and others who had rushed back overnight were urgently discussing how to break through the enemy positions, Lieutenant General Katsuka Tsukamoto of the 4th Division, who was stationed at the Humen and coastal landing sites, brought even more unfavorable news.

"Can you know the exact number of enemy troops in the south?"

"No less than one division, and fortifications are being built in those three places."

"The ambition of the Zhenguo Army is not small, and it wants to surround us. Losing the first meeting doesn't mean we've failed! Kuroki stood up and said, then pointed to the map and said: "This area has a dense water network, there are swamps and rivers between Houjie and Zhangmu, and Guangdong has now entered the rainy season, and the amount of water is not small, and it is difficult for our troops to pass. The area south of Zhangmu to Humen is a low, hilly area, and there is no sign of enemy troops here, so I think this is our best chance. If you want to besiege the strength of one of our armies, no one in this land has the ability to do it! ”

"Admiral Kuroki, how many troops do you think it will take to break through from the hilly terrain? Is it safer to wait for the arrival of the Second Army before launching an attack? Oyama Iwa seems to agree with Kuroki's statement, but his thoughts are more stable.

"Houjie and Zhangmu only need to launch a diversion attack, and one infantry brigade can be transferred each to replace the Fourth Division to garrison Humen. The task of attacking on the flanks was entrusted to the 4th Division. It was clear from reconnaissance that no new roads had been built in the hilly terrain, and that the key to this attack was concealment and speed, so I advised against carrying a large amount of artillery and baggage. Tsukamoto Katsuka nodded at Kuroki's gaze, as long as he went around behind the enemy, his infantry would teach Shina pig a hard lesson!

Of course, Lu Liang would not let go of such an obvious defensive hole, and according to the battle plan of the General Staff, the Japanese army was surrounded on three sides and a hole was exposed, and then waited for it to pass through the hilly terrain before encircling and annihilating it. Now it seems that the Japanese are very cooperative, maybe they think that the Zhenguo Party will not be able to use too many troops to fight a war of annihilation, there are about 30,000 Zhenguo troops in the Houjie and Zhangmu areas, and more than 10,000 people south of Humen, so it is impossible for the Zhenguo Army to come up with more troops! Who would have thought that in the period of about a year since the uprising, the Zhenguo Army would have more than 100,000 well-equipped soldiers?

In the early morning of April 15, 1902, the 4th Division took advantage of the darkness to advance to the hilly terrain, aiming at the Cheonggye area, and from there made a detour to the rear of Zhangmu. At the same time, nearly 30,000 people from the Third Division of the Second Army and the First Division of the Third Army, which were in Huizhou as reserves, quickly moved to the Qingxi area by road by trucks, jeeps, motorcycles, and other means of transportation. The road network around Huizhou is more developed than in Guangzhou, and every township and larger village is connected by new roads, and Qingxi is no exception. The local administrators, with the assistance of the militia and the vanguards, began a large-scale forced relocation of the local population, and it was impossible to achieve perfection in one night, and there must have been many people left in the local area, hoping that there would be no tragedy.