Artillery fire roared, the earthquake trembled, Hai'an, Huangqiao, Taixing, Rugao and other places, everywhere there were fierce battles, Zuo Zongtang, Peng Yulin, Miao Peilin mobilized more than 70,000 people, launched a fierce attack on Rugao, Hai'an and other places, in order to consolidate the positions along the Yangtze River and cut off the supply line of the Pingyuan Army.

Su Hongniang, the commander of the Pingyuan Army, was-for-tat, with different factions of the military horses in the north, and attacking by different routes, the gap between the various departments was too large, and the Pingyuan Army had already laid a good communication and intelligence network in the Tongzhou area, and with the support of small gunboats in the canal, it was determined to annihilate Peng Yulin's troops in the Soviet-Chinese battlefield.

The 2nd Infantry Regiment of the 5th Town transferred an infantry battalion to attack Zhaojiabao, while the main force of the 2nd Infantry Regiment was hidden in the area west of Zhaojiabao, preparing to destroy the left flank of Peng Yulin's invading army. The first step of the corps was to attack Baoying and contain Zuo Zongtang's department, and in any case, Zuo Zongtang's department and Peng Yulin's department could not be linked to each other. The 3rd Infantry Regiment and the 1st and 2nd Infantry Regiments of the 4th Town sought an opportunity to defeat Peng Yulin's main force.

The most tragic battle took place in the area of Baoying, and the sudden collision between the First Infantry Corps and Zuo Zongtang's Division, which was responsible for blocking and containing Zuo Zongtang's Division, was like a shock.

This is an encounter, the first corps never thought that Zuo Zongtang's army would march so fast, and Zuo Zongtang never thought that the Pingyuan army's combat strength was so fierce, and the sudden barrage between the two sides on the east bank of the Grand Canal was the first battle between the Pingyuan army and the elite of the new army in the north.

Baoying area, in the Jianghuai area, the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal runs through the north and south, is the land of fish and rice since ancient times, the waterway is vertical and horizontal, and the collision between the Pingyuan Army and the new army of the north is located in the area of Jiangjiawan and Wangjiaba.

Ding Youxi, the chief officer of the first corps of the fifth town of the Pingyuan Army, is the first fierce general under the red lady, in the past a red tassel gun was known as the courage of ten thousand people, when the Chinese Heavenly Kingdom was in Guangxi, he led three hundred light cavalry companies under thirteen county towns, and it was the murderous demon king who made the Guangxi green camp frightened, he was just in his early thirties, and almost followed the red lady to participate in all the battles since the beginning of the army, and there were no less than 100 scars on his body.

During his training in the Guangzhou Lecture Martial Arts Hall, he fought with foreign instructors, Ye Zhao took pity on him and locked him up for a few days, and the matter was finally over, and he was also the only general in the infantry regiments who did not get the completion documents of the Lecture Martial Arts Hall.

At this moment, in the courtyard of a residential house in Wangjiaba, Ding Youxi frowned, pacing back and forth, and in the distance, the roaring sound of artillery could be heard clearly.

The two small gunboats supporting in the canal were hit by the fierce artillery fire of the northern country and had to withdraw from the battlefield and flee south, which made the situation of the infantry regiment immediately difficult, and the light attack on Baoying, and the heavy artillery were all transferred to support the encirclement and annihilation of Peng Yulin's friends.

The sharpness of the artillery fire in the north is unexpected, just inquired, but it is the two artillery battalions of the Tsarist Russia supporting the Beijing Division, one of which has been secretly dispatched to the Soviet-Chinese battlefield, and few people know about this matter except Zuo Zongtang.

"General Ding, we retreat to Qijiawan and send carrier pigeons to meet the third regiment of the four towns in the Yancheng area." The middle-aged man who pointed to the combat map and spoke was Wang Qixiang, chief of staff of the infantry regiment, and one of the few non-Guangxi generals in the fifth town. Some people are talking behind their backs that Wang Qixiang was sent to take over the post of Ding Youxi, who made a big fuss about martial arts, and that he was an officer from top to bottom of the infantry regiment, and he resisted Wang Qixiang.

Wang Qixiang saw that Ding Youxi didn't speak, lit a cigarette, took two puffs, and said: "If you don't withdraw, it's too late, Zuo Zongtang's strength is three times that of ours, and there are Rakshasa ghost artillery to help, and the green camp militia heard the news, and they must have rushed to encircle and suppress, Ding Junmen, we can't be careless, this battle is going to be lost, you and I are not sorry to die, the entire Soviet Union, but we will spoil it!" ”

Ding Youxi paced two steps, and suddenly scolded Shengniang, "Remove him, a ghost!" Pass my orders, all departments stick to it, Zuo Zongtang is a fart, what's wrong with the Rakshasa ghost? Lao Tzu will touch him today! ”

didn't wait for Wang Qixiang to speak again, and immediately several officers ran out to give orders.

Wang Qixiang smiled bitterly, he was very clear about his embarrassing position in the regiment, and there was no difference between him as the chief of staff and the furnishings, in fact, he and Haric had never been on good terms, especially when he was used to Harich used to blackmail big families and secretly collect money, Harwich found an excuse to punish him, it was the regent who kept him and sent him to Su Niangniang's subordinates in the fifth town, although he was repeatedly treated coldly here, but he felt much more comfortable than in the second town, at least, there would be no one here to shoot dark arrows in the back.

"The military gate, you can't be strong." Wang Qixiang persuaded hard, no matter what others thought of him, he would tell what he thought in his heart, especially his responsibilities, and he couldn't be ambiguous.

Ding Youxi said with a calm face: "Chief of Staff, it doesn't matter if we retreat, Zuo Zongtang is not a good stubble, you can guarantee that he obediently stays in Baoying and fights guerrilla warfare with us, if he divides his troops to the south, we will delay Niangniang's plan!" Chief of Staff, our fifth town, there are no soldiers of bad seeds, Niang Niang said, tell us to block Zuo Zongtang in Bao, even if he has more guns in Zuo Zongtang today, Lao Tzu will have to stop him for five days! ”

Wang Qixiang saw that the officers had gone to give the order, and he groaned slightly, and said: "Okay, just according to the meaning of the military gate, the military gate is aggressive, Wang is conservative, perhaps, the military gate is right." ”

Ding Youxi was slightly stunned, looked at him deeply, nodded, then turned around, took out a revolver, and wiped it gently, this was his habit before the war, the brass of the wooden handle of the revolver, the barrel and the body of the gun were polished, as if it was brand new, in fact, he had carried this gun with him for seven years, but it was given to him by his mother when he was in Guangxi seven years ago.

Ding Youxi has a hot temper, and almost all his colleagues have quarreled with him in the martial arts hall, because he is not afraid of heaven and earth, and even the commander has a headache when he sees him, but he is shy like a child in front of the matchmaker, and he doesn't dare to speak when he sees the matchmaker's face blushing.

He knew that he admired Niangniang and didn't dare to say that he liked this word, it was blasphemy against Niangniang, and every time he was in front of Niangniang, his heartbeat was not the same, so what he was most afraid of was the military meeting that he wanted to meet with Niangniang.

Niangniang married the prince, Ding Youxi was drunk that night when she heard the news, how could anyone in this world be worthy of Niangniang? Even if it's a regent, it's not worthy.

But what can be done? Niangniang is always right, she is married to the regent, and from then on, the regent will naturally become the second person he should serve to death.

At this time, wiping his baby revolver, Ding Youxi sighed deeply in his heart, he really missed the reins of the horse for his mother in Guangxi.

…… Xuzhuang is a few miles north of Baoying County, and Zuo Zongtang's camp is located here.

Banner hunting, rows of new army soldiers steel guns shining, in the big tent of the Chinese army, Zuo Zongtang had a frosty face, it was already the third day, and Wu Yijun was blocked on the bank of this canal and could not take a step forward.

Sheping's army goes south? I am afraid that it will disturb Huai'an, and if Huai'an falls into the hands of the southern rebellion, the entire Soviet-Chinese battlefield will be in danger.

According to these two observations, it is estimated that the Wuyi Army in the Wangjiaba area should be an infantry regiment of the Pingyuan Army, and according to the establishment of the Pingyuan Army, an infantry regiment with about 5,000 combatants. He commanded the Wuyi army in the south, more than 20,000 people, all equipped with the latest Lianzhu fast guns, more than 100 large and small artillery, and an infantry battalion and an artillery battalion of Rakshasa to help, but they were firmly nailed to the shore of Jiangjiawan, as if it was difficult to take a step forward.

The infantry of the Pingyuan Army, in the past two days, dug a simple trench, scattered in the vicinity of Wangjiaba as a battalion, supporting each other, I don't know how, often in the local fierce battles, they can always gather forces that do not occupy a disadvantage, and defeat the charge of the Wu Yi Army again and again.

In the past, I only heard that the army of the Southern Dynasty was brave, and when he really faced this powerful opponent, Zuo Zongtang's heart was like pressing a boulder, quadrupling his troops, and there was an absolute advantage in artillery support, but every time he charged, he suffered heavy losses.

A slightly darker military attache stood up and said: "Don't worry, my lord, there are 600 militia groups from Touqiao, Sanba, and Madian, and 3,000 militia groups from all walks of life in Chuzhou to help. ”

Zuo Zongtang bowed slightly, looked at the map, and was silent.

At this moment an officer hurried in, knelt down, and presented a letter.

Zuo Zongtang opened it and looked at it, his face gradually brightened, and then he turned around and looked at the map, pointed to a place on the bank of the canal, and said: "Huailou, in this area, there are frequent activities in the south." ”

All the generals were slightly puzzled on their faces.

Zuo Zongtang said: "Let me ask you, what is the strongest point of the Southern Rebel Military Horse?" ”

The military attachés looked at each other, not knowing how to answer, Jing Xiang's subordinates were arrogant and fierce, that was really fighting all over the north and south of the river, inside and outside the gates, in Nanyang, beating the red-haired devils to the ground, where is the strength? It's hard to say for a while.

Zuo Zongtang looked around and said: "In fact, one of the strongest points of the soldiers and horses in the south is the baggage supply, can you recall that since Jingxiang entered the customs and went south, after all kinds of battles, his soldiers have been short of food and ammunition?" Which time, isn't the copper pill sent upwards like a stream? ”

The military attachés pondered carefully, but this was really the case.

Zuo Zongtang said: "The weapons of the Southern Dynasty are sharp, but if there are no copper pill bullets, it is just a toothless tiger, what is the way?" As he spoke, he pointed to the direction of Huailou on the map, and said: "There are canned food and dry cakes in the South Reverse rations, and it doesn't hurt to bring a few for the use of it, but its gunpowder projectiles, with its ferocity of firepower, think about it and consume very little. ”

Staring at the map, his brows furrowed, he said, "It's just that you need to think long-term." "Huai is behind the infantry regiment of this Pingyuan Army, although its small gunboats do not dare to come over to attack and disturb the Wuyi army, but they will definitely escort the transport ships, and how to bypass its position and plunder its transport ships under the southern gunboats is really not an easy task.

Zuo Zongtang pondered for a while, glanced at a hook-nosed Russian [***] officer sitting on the right, and said: "General Ilyich, if your country's mines had been prepared earlier, it would have been said that the southern rebellion would be defeated and lost today." After the first battle of Wusongkou, the Russian advisers suddenly remembered that if the south intended to control the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal, it could be broken by mines, but the road was far away, and it would be an unexpected joy if a large number of mines could be transported to Yanjing at the end of this year.

The Russian [***] soldier who directly supported Zuo Zongtang's battle this time included an artillery battalion and a rifle battalion composed of nearly 600 infantry, all of which were drawn from the Kazan Infantry Regiment of Tsarist Russia, and went to Heilongjiang and took half a year to reach China.

The Kazan Infantry Regiment performed well in the Crimean War, although it was defeated by the French Guards Brigade, which was known as the strongest infantry in Europe at the time, but its performance was also remarkable, and Ilyich was the senior commander of the Kazan Infantry Regiment who participated in the Crimean War, and was naturally proud in the face of the Chinese.

Although Russia had suffered from the Chinese outside the border seven years earlier, the participants in the battle were nothing more than armed immigrants, and the regular army and Cossack cavalry were pitiful, and Ilyich was convinced that if his Kazan infantry regiment encountered the squadron, or more precisely the army of southern China, there would be no problem in defeating its 5,000 men with 500 men.

If it weren't for the need for his own infantry to defend artillery positions, he would have wanted to teach the southern Chinese a lesson, and use death to teach them what war is.

What Zuo Zongtang said, the interpreter told him sentence by sentence, and at this time he raised his head proudly and said: "General, I am willing to lead my soldiers to complete this glorious mission, and I promise you that I will kill all the Chinese and snatch all their gunpowder." ”

Hearing Ilyich say "kill all the Chinese", Zuo Zongtang's face was slightly gloomy, and his heart was even more uncomfortable, but the enemy was at present, and he really couldn't be angry.

"General, you only need to send a guide." Ilyich stood up at this point, and his haughty attitude was unmistakable.

Zuo Zongtang really feels that cooperating with the Russians is seeking skin with the tiger, but the situation is stronger than people, the emperor has the emperor's difficulties, and the court has the court's hardships, at this time, he can only look at the present.

Today, if the Russians carry out a sneak attack, they will be greatly assured, and the Russians are arrogant, but their combat effectiveness is more than a cut higher than that of the Wuyi Army. But because of arrogance and underestimating the enemy, this sneak attack may fall short, so it is really a dilemma.

When Zuo Zongtang was hesitating, a soldier suddenly rushed in from outside, knelt down and said loudly: "Report, report to the handsome!" The Lijiaba artillery position was attacked by the southern counterpart! ”

Zuo Zongtang was taken aback and asked, "How many thieves are there?" "Because of the need to guard the canal gunboats, the Russian artillery battalion was deployed alone in Lijiaba, a few miles away.

Ilyich laughed when he heard the interpreter say it, and then waited for the messenger to say, "Look at the black smoke alarm, there are probably hundreds of them." Ilyich laughed even more heartily, as if he had heard some very funny joke.

Zuo Zongtang frowned and said: "I was taken by this Ding Youxi again, I heard that every step of the Southern Dynasty has a reconnaissance battalion, which specializes in reconnaissance and sneak attacks, it seems to be true." As he spoke, he waved to the slightly black general and said, "Gao Dengkun, your department is the closest to Lijiaba, and you will quickly send people to help." ”

The black military general just bowed down and said yes, Ilyich was already laughing and waving his hand: "No, no, no, just ask my warriors to teach the Chinese, hundreds?" In less than a quarter of an hour, they will be killed, and a Kazan warrior can easily kill ten Chinese. ”

In the tent, from Zuo Zongtang to the various generals, their faces changed.

Ilyich was already laughing and walked out.

Zuo Zongtang stared at his back for a few moments, then turned back to the black military general and said, "Hurry up and rush to help." ”

The swarthy military general bowed down, but secretly gritted his teeth, and said in his heart that the Rakshasa devil, if you want to follow Lao Tzu, you will send a soldier and a pawn today, just with your surname, it is best to see you and the southern reverse dog eat dog, but the commander cannot violate the military order, and now it is up to you.

…… The first battle of Lijiaba was not in the original battle plan of the Pingyuan Army.

When Zhou Xiuying led a reconnaissance team to inadvertently cross the Northern Army battle line between the left and center flanks of the Wuyi Army and came to a dirt mountain, the entire battlefield was immediately visible.

To her left was the Tsarist Kazan artillery position facing the causeway, and even the barrels of the guns that shimmered metallicly in the sunlight could be seen clearly.

Zhou Xiuying suddenly felt the blood surging upward, in the past two days, the battalions of the infantry regiment have suffered enough from the Russian artillery, the third battalion was too dense at the beginning of the war because of insufficient precautions, and the front was too dense, and more than one-third of its personnel were reduced under the sudden blow of its artillery fire, and now, these bastards with the blood of the soldiers of the Pingyuan Army are in front of their eyes.

Zhou Xiuying immediately sent someone to inform the reconnaissance battalion to assemble, the time was urgent, and it was too late to ask Ding Youxi, not to mention, Zhou Xiuying has always been a master who does his own thing.

The women's battalions were reorganized and reduced, and finally merged into the Peacock Infantry Regiment, and the ranks of the main force were demarcated, which means that they no longer undertake combat missions unless necessary. Zhou Xiuying was originally appointed as the chief officer of the Peacock Infantry Regiment, but she repeatedly asked Niangniang for her life, and finally got her wish, and was transferred to the deputy chief officer of the first step corps of the fifth town plus the reconnaissance battalion management band, and she is also the only female pipe band in the infantry regiments of each town of the Pingyuan Army.

However, the girl with a big knife show is famous, the so-called "heroine Zhou Xiuying, big red pants are small and tight, carrying a big knife of 100 pounds, and killing four doors on the Tangwan Bridge." "Even if it's a man, who doesn't give Zhou Xiuying a thumbs up?

The reconnaissance battalion commander was equipped with both short guns and a single soldier whose combat ability was the best in the army. Green battalion uniforms, each of the reconnaissance battalion soldiers have a set.

The Russians in this area, along the terrain, have a wooden fence to enclose, behind the wooden fence, the Russians three steps, one post, five steps and one sentry, the security is extremely tight, the village behind the wooden fence, thinking that the people have already fled to the fine, now it has become its military camp station, and its artillery position is on a high slope in the east of the village.

The vigilance of the Russians is extremely high, and although the more than 100 scouts at a sentry approach very naturally, they are still stopped by the Russian sentries from a distance, and they are not allowed to approach by looking at the gestures.

The Pingyuan army obviously did not know the real relationship between the Russians and the "friendly army", and a scout smiled, and as soon as he took another step, he heard a "bang" and was shot in the leg. In fact, the Russians fired warning shots at the grass, but did not want to hit the scouts.

The sentry officer of the Pingyuan army thought that his hiding was exposed, and immediately ordered to open fire, and this fierce battle that shocked the north and south was so confused that the curtain began, in fact, if both sides knew each other, they would do better.

The Russians were hit suddenly, and more than a dozen Russian soldiers at the wooden fence line were shot dead on the spot, because the wooden fence was still far away from the village, and when the reconnaissance post rushed to the entrance of the village, the Russians had already occupied the roof, trees and other bunkers, and opened fire.

Zhou Xiuying was lying on a dirt slope, seeing that the sneak attack had turned into a Ming war, I was afraid that in a moment, the Qing army brigade arrived, gritted her teeth, and just wanted to retreat, but suddenly saw that in the village, a white body ran out of a house, I don't know what she was shouting, it seemed to be a naked [***] woman, and then, I saw a Russian [***] person, cut her down with a knife, the woman's leg was still moving in a pool of blood, and the Russian [***] person cut it several times in a row, and the woman gradually stopped twitching.

Zhou Xiuying stood up suddenly, needless to say, this must be a Chinese woman robbed by the Rakshasa devil, and she was kept in captivity for her silver music, I heard that outside the gate, these beasts regarded Chinese women as white sheep, and they were spoiled enough, and some perverts were boiled and eaten.

"Die or die! It's enough to spell one, isn't it?! Zhou Xiuying's voice was low and terrifying, and the scouts around her were silent, silently putting on their bayonets.

Zhou Xiuying turned around, gritted her teeth, kowtowed hard to the south, kowtowed to the regent, kowtowed to Niangniang, and silently said in her heart: Lord, Niangniang, Zhou Xiuying is a wild girl, I don't know anything, in the next life, continue to follow Wang Ye Niangniang, listen to your two teachings.

got up, pulled out the red tassel gun on his back, and said word for word: "Kill all these brutes!" ”

The Russians never expected that the southern soldiers would suddenly launch a charge, and there were northern soldiers and horses in front and behind, and the nearest was only three or five miles away, and the enemy was only a few hundred in number, and they would inevitably flee if the sneak attack failed.

The Russian [***] officer who had just brutally hacked to death and wanted to take advantage of the chaos to escape from the village girl was called Vladimirovich, who was also the commander of this Kazan infantry battalion, and he was triumphantly giving orders, preparing to pursue the Chinese, who knows, the Chinese suddenly launched a counter-charge.

"The Chinese are crazy! Get on the bayonet! Vladimirovich laughed, he did not think that the physical strength of the yellow race could make any achievements in fighting bayonets.

But soon, Vladimirovich knew that he was wrong, that the Chinese may not be as strong as the Russian soldiers, but they are more flexible, well-trained, and, fiercely, even if your bayonet pierces his chest, he will hold your rifle so that his companion can give you a fatal blow from the side.

In the village, there were fierce battles everywhere, and even, the horn of the Qing army sounded in the distance, but the Chinese seemed to be unaware, and each stabbed their opponents with bayonets as if they were crazy.

Suddenly, Vladimirovich realized that these Chinese did not want to go back alive, they were just here to fight hard, they were exchanging their lives for their lives.

He who had always been a murderous surname suddenly felt a little panic in his heart, and apparently, his subordinates quickly sensed the intentions of the Chinese.

Gunshots sounded faintly in the distance, and in the village, Chinese and Russians were stabbed into bloody holes by bayonets, and there were pools of blood and corpses everywhere.

Vladimirovich suddenly felt a chill in his heart, and looked at it in surprise, opposite was a Chinese soldier with thick eyebrows and big eyes, with red tassels fluttering, the head of the spear pierced his chest, and blood dripping down.

Is it a woman? Chinese woman? Vladimirovich even felt a little ridiculous, a little ironic, and then he felt a strong force coming, his body was picked off, and at that moment, he also lost consciousness.

"Bang", Vladimirovich's body fell heavily in a pool of blood, Zhou Xiuying chased after him quickly, and stabbed his corpse hard, once, twice, three times, until he stabbed him in the chest.

Since she came into contact with white-knuckle warfare, she has changed her marksmanship, and she has been instructed by the matchmaker, and she has almost no opponents in the Pingyuan army.

The Russians were finally defeated, and Zhou Xiuying shouted: "Kill all their artillery!" "I can't get out alive, and I have to die to make some movement.

To Zhou Xiuying's surprise, the well-trained Russian artillery had already organized a defensive line, and behind the artillery, they opened fire, and the soldiers of the Pingyuan Army, who had already killed the red-eyed, almost rushed forward with their chests against the rain of bullets.

I don't know how many soldiers of the Pingyuan Army fell in a pool of blood, and the screams of the Russian artillery one after another were endless.

Zhou Xiuying only felt that the blood in front of her eyes was red, and she didn't know how many Rakshasa people's chests her red tassel gun had penetrated, until someone shouted: "Zhou Xiuying! Lord Zhou! There is an order from the military gate, ordering you to retreat quickly! ”

Zhou Xiuying was stunned for a moment, and gradually came back to her senses, the sound of killing gradually subsided, the Russians had already collapsed, and there were corpses everywhere in the pool of blood.

A herald came running quickly and said loudly: "The military gate orders the lord to go back and be responsible!" Why don't you set up a flag soldier to receive the order! ”

Zhou Xiuying smiled bitterly, listening to the gunfire in the distance, knowing that the Qing army reinforcements must have been intercepted by other infantry battalions of the infantry regiment.

"Withdraw!" Zhou Xiuying let out a low sigh and looked at the artillery around her, but unfortunately she didn't have time to blow them up, and she didn't have any explosives.

The scouts, looking for the wounded very quickly, some supported each other, retreated along the village, Zhou Xiuying saw several unkempt [***] women running out of a farmhouse, picking up the military uniforms of the Russian corpses and putting them on their bodies, sighed softly in their hearts, and said, "Take them!" ”

The battle probably lasted less than an hour, but most of the reconnaissance battalion was killed, and almost all the survivors were painted. But looking at these poor women, seeing that their numb faces finally had expressions, and suddenly hugged the soldiers of the Pingyuan Army, hugged these strange men and cried, as if she had seen relatives, Zhou Xiuying knew that the brothers who were sleeping underground were also smirking honestly at this moment. These rough men are almost all singles, when will any woman cry for them? Zhou Xiuying's heart was sour, she wiped the corners of her eyes, and walked silently out of the village.

At this time, Ilyich, who had just been caught by the guards sent by Zuo Zongtang, had not yet arrived at Lijiaba, he encountered the Russian soldiers who had fled, and when he heard that Vladimirovich had been killed, the Chinese had already pounced on the artillery position, he was immediately stunned and wanted to see what was going on, but the guards hurriedly dissuaded, in fact, he was also timid in his heart, especially when he heard that the Nan [***] soldiers did not leave a living mouth, and shouted at the defeated Russians: "Russian pigs coming to China!" There will be no one left! These bloody words made him shudder suddenly.

(To be continued)