"Regiment commander, with our firepower and the quality of our soldiers, it seems that there is no need for passive defense, is it a bit overkill to dig trenches here?" Deputy Regiment Commander Lu Ke asked, Lu Hu scratched his head, and said: "I also want to take the initiative to attack, according to intelligence, Huizhou Governor Tang Chun and Jieshi General Lu Sanda gathered a total of 3,000 soldiers of the Green Battalion, all using old flintlock pistols and eleven artillery, which were also made during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom to fight against Long Hair, and later put Jieshi for coastal defense. In total, there are less than three thousand soldiers of the Green Battalion, and no more than a hundred people can go into battle to fight, and the rest are not even as good as bandits! We can solve such an army with a single assault, and the fortifications built now are mainly prepared for the subsequent encirclement and suppression of the Qing army. By the way, how is the conscription going? ”

Luc said: "Not optimistic, Heyuan County has a small population, and most of the young people make a living as helpers, and this year we are recruiting workers in Huizhou, and the entire county plus nearby towns and villages cannot find a few young people who meet the standards, and most of the migrant workers who are recruited to build fortifications are mainly middle-aged." ”

Lu Hu nodded, this situation was unexpected, but it had little impact. "Report to the chief and explain the situation here, it seems that our soldiers and supplies will all depend on Huizhou for supply."

"Yes! According to intelligence, the Green Battalion soldiers have been deployed, and we need to make a countermeasure. ”

"Our task also includes actual combat training, send out all three battalions, don't let any of them go, those people can't be soldiers, but there is a shortage of coolies on our construction site!"

The order was given, and the soldiers scattered all over the place began to assemble, because of the failure of the suppression of bandits and propaganda, all the soldiers were scattered around the county seat, and after half an hour, except for the two platoons that remained to defend the city, all three battalions were assembled.

"Luc, the city defense of the county will be handed over to you, and I will leave you with the artillery, with only three mortar squads. This time I plan to use only light firepower, otherwise it will be worth more than enough to scare them away with a single artillery fire, and I will have to let the recruits see blood, and few soldiers have fired a shot when the city was breached last time! Lu Hu said.

After experiencing the siege of Heyuan, Le Fei already looked like a veteran, at least he was not nervous after receiving the order to attack, and the situation in the squad was also very stable. The bullets in their waists were bulging, and they vowed to fight more this time, otherwise they would be too sorry for their training results.

Even if the advantage is obvious, Lu Hu also chose a favorable terrain as an ambush site, which is a nameless small valley, flanked by low hills, the advantage is that the mountains and forests are dense and easy to hide, and the disadvantage is that the forest affects the shooting range, which is not conducive to the play of firepower. After arriving at the ambush site, Lu Hu ordered the second and third battalions to lie in ambush on both sides of the valley, not seeking to kill or injure many enemies, just drive them out, the first battalion was ambushed in front of the valley, and if the enemy retreated after being hit, then pursue it with all his might; If the enemy moves forward, it happens to enter the fire network of the first battalion; If the enemy is not afraid of death and attacks from both sides, then give them a taste of superior firepower. According to Lu Hu's estimate, the enemy was most likely to run back, and all a group had to do was to let go of their feet and pursue. There is no way, although the chief did not equip the troops into armored regiments, but the current firepower is enough to form an overwhelming advantage over the troops at the beginning of the twentieth century, whether it is the backward Qing Dynasty or the army power Britain, France and Germany, of course, this is only individual firepower, artillery is almost there, this requires future accumulation, I believe that it will form an advantage in artillery in less than five years.

Le Fei led his men to the area of responsibility according to the order, this is very close to the valley, there is no good cover, and everyone can only quickly dig simple foxholes. The Type 01 sapper shovel, which imitates the German paratrooper shovel of World War II, is very easy to use, and the soft soil and rocks are easily dug up, and a standard foxhole is dug in less than ten minutes. Le Fei wiped his sweat, looked around and said, "Cover the excavated earth and rocks and foxholes with branches, and get ready for battle!" ”

Lu Hu and several staff officers lay on the highest part of the battlefield, holding binoculars to observe the movement ahead. A heavy fire position was built here, with fifteen mortars in the middle and three heavy machine guns placed on the periphery, so that such a firing point could cover the entire battlefield and was also the best observation point, and the regimental headquarters was located here.

"Did the scouts who sent out come back? It stands to reason that they should have arrived at this time! "Lu Hu and the staff officers have been lying here for two hours, their stomachs are a little cold, and they haven't even noticed that the enemy has appeared.

"Regiment commander, the reconnaissance platoon set out three hours ago, and at this time it should cover more than 80 kilometers in front, and we are only 100 kilometers away from Huizhou, they are carrying wireless transmitters, if they find the enemy, they should be able to send back the news immediately."

"Report, the reconnaissance platoon called, the soldiers of the green battalion are about 80 kilometers in front of us, the number is about 3,200 people, the marching speed is extremely slow, the reconnaissance platoon is tracking, and the contact will continue after half an hour." The staff officer finally got the news of the reconnaissance platoon, Lu Hu still overestimated the ability of the Qing Dynasty soldiers, looking at the sky and their marching speed, it was the next morning to arrive here.

"Order, cancel the first-level combat readiness, take turns to return to the temporary camp to rest, and enter the ambush position early tomorrow morning." Since they can't come today, there is no need for the soldiers to lie down in foxholes and suffer. Lu Hu stood up and patted the dirt on his body, turned around and walked back to the tent, since he received the news that the Admiral of Huizhou was attacking, he didn't sleep all night, and now he still makes up for sleep.

Lu Liang in Huizhou was also a little excited, this was his first battle with the Qing court, and it can be said that he fired the first shot against the Qing Dynasty. Although the battlefield is not close to Huizhou, the headquarters is still busy, and first it is necessary to transfer the second regiment from the first brigade to Heyuan to strengthen the strength there, and then strengthen the training of the second brigade so that it can form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, and the formation of the third brigade must also be put on the agenda. Because I don't know how strong the Qing court's follow-up counterattack will be, the goal here is to form three regular brigades with more than 30,000 soldiers. Because the number of recruits is too large, there is still a gap of more than half of the weapons and equipment needed, and the steel base can provide a small part, and the rest will have to be replenished by the military factories under construction, and it is estimated that it will take until April next year to equip all three brigades.

In addition to munitions, Huizhou also has a large amount of materials that need to be transported to Heyuan, including cement and steel for construction of fortifications, as well as necessary materials such as food and ammunition. Considering the need for concealment and the narrow and rugged road, the transportation volume is not very large, and when the 1st Brigade and 2nd Regiment arrive at Heyuan, they will need more supplies, and the Heyuan troops will face a shortage of materials for a period of time, so they have to inform Lu Hu to pay attention to saving ammunition.

Although it is winter, it is not cold in Guangdong, Le Fei is lying in the foxhole, the rifle in his hand is pointing forward, the morning sun shines through the branches, sprinkled on Le Fei's side, the battlefield is quiet, no one can imagine that this small valley actually contains murderous opportunities.

What caught Le Fei's eye was a clearer and clearer figure, and the enemy finally appeared! Le Fei moved his wrist slightly, and the index finger of his right hand gently stroked the bolt, he couldn't wait, and the crosshair of the rifle moved with the enemy's figure. In his opinion, under such terrain conditions, scouts should be sent to check whether there is an ambush, although the comrades are well hidden, but a closer look will reveal clues, see the enemy's swaggering appearance, obviously entered the ambush circle without reconnaissance.

Lu Hu, the commander of the first regiment, was also impatient, and finally waited for the last soldier of the enemy's large army to enter the ambush circle, and he said to the herald beside him: "Order, mortar platoon five rapid fire, cover the rear and middle of the enemy's large army, and cut them into two sections!" Then focus on shelling enemy artillery units. ”

On the mortar position, the artillerymen immediately entered the state after receiving the order, only listening to the sound of "tom tom", a round of fifteen shells flew out, and instantly fell into the ranks of the enemy. "Boom!" The shells inflicted huge damage on the enemy who were lined up in dense formation, and the ambush positions immediately opened fire when the sound of artillery was heard.

"Bang!" Too close, the enemy's large force in front of him was less than ten meters away from his own foxhole, and the enemy was crowded in the valley so densely packed that he didn't need to aim at all, he would definitely hit the enemy. Le Fei fired four shots in ten seconds, which was considered to be his own record, and four bullets hit three enemies. As the mortars fired, heavy machine guns, light machine guns, submachine guns, and rifles opened fire one after another, accompanied by grenades falling from the sky.