Looking at Smith, who was bloodstained and dressed in wolf bèi in front of him, Sherman furrowed his eyebrows deeply: "Ironclad car? Not only is it useless to hit a bullet, but it also runs faster than a horse? ”

"Yes." The miserable Smith nodded hurriedly, "And there is a kind of repeating gun on their car, the firepower of one gun exceeds the firepower of ordinary three companies, not only the rate of fire is fast, but the range is also long, we are far away, we were shot down by them, we can't get close at all, and we don't even have a chance to shoot at them." ”

"That's weird." Sherman said, "Since you can't get close to them and can't shoot at them, how do you know that their ironclad bullets are useless?" ”

"This, this ......" Smith was stunned for a moment, and then roared angrily, "The battlefield is so chaotic, and the target of the ironclad car is so big, we can always shoot from a distance, and we can always hit so many shots...... What, you're suspicious of me? ”

"No, I'm just a little weird." Sherman shook his head, "Ironclad or something, I believe it, because you're not the only one saying that, maybe it's true or not." I believe you when you say a repeating gun, because I've heard of similar firearms. However, as you said, if it is really an ironclad car, it cannot be faster than a horse on flat ground, it is not a train, and as for the repeating guns, there are a few that can be believed, but you say that all of them are repeating guns, which is simply a joke.

So, given that what you're saying is so bizarre, I can only assume that you're deliberately shirking your responsibilities to cover up your failures.

Of course, it's nothing to cover up, but you should at least tell me something useful, but you have said so many things that are obviously impossible, how can you make me believe you? ”

"You, you ......" Sherman said this, and Smith, who was already aggrieved, became even more angry, "What did you say?" Do you think I'm lying? Am I going to watch those awesome guys die? Why do you think I should have escaped alive? It's not just to tell you the truth. Are you afraid of more casualties? However, we have sacrificed so much in exchange for your distrust! Even if I lie alone, will all of us who have escaped lie to lie? ”

"It's quite possible." The adjutant beside Sherman suddenly interjected with disdain, "Of the three thousand of you, less than a hundred escaped back, hmph, who knows if you have made a confession in advance in order to escape punishment, maybe you are lying together." ”

"You. You, how dare you slander me in such a dishonorable way! Smith was completely furious this time, his eyes red and roaring, "Damn, I'm going to kill you, I'm going to duel you!" ”

However, as soon as Smith took a step, the two soldiers next to him, who had already been on guard, quickly restrained Smith, which made Smith even more annoyed. Relying on his burly body, he dragged the two soldiers with brute force and continued to walk forward first.

Finding that the situation was a little bad, the two of them couldn't subdue each other, and Sherman's face changed. Subconsciously took half a step back, and was about to say something when the adjutant next to him suddenly stood in front of Sherman and took out his revolver by the way. At the same time, he shouted loudly: "Guards, guards, hurry up!" ”

With the adjutant shouting loudly. Four more soldiers immediately poured in outside, plus the original two soldiers, and the six of them worked together to subdue Smith and kept dragging him away, but although Smith was subdued, he was still struggling violently, and roared loudly while struggling: "Bastard! Bastard! You self-righteous bastard! You don't believe me! Damn, soon you'll know how wrong you have been, and God will not forgive you! ”

After Smith was completely dragged away, the adjutant inserted the pistol back, and at the same time continued to say with disdain on his face: "Hmph, shameless, failure is for nothing, and you still come up with such a ridiculous reason...... Your Excellency General, this man must not spare him, he must be sent to a court-martial! ”

"We'll talk about that later." Sherman's face was gloomy, and he was actually quite dissatisfied with this casual adjutant, but after all, the other party was also for his own good, and the other party was a noble person and a rich second generation, so it was difficult to say anything.

"George." Sherman said to the adjutant, "Nothing else matters now, the most important thing is that I want to know what the situation of those Chinese is now." You know, although Smith is arrogant, his group of men are quite good, and they are all very good cavalry. After only a while, just let him go to investigate, and only more than 80 of the more than 3,000 people came back...... I must know the reason for such a heavy loss, otherwise, I will not be able to explain it to the above! ”

This is the case, in the previous battles, unless it was some famous battle, generally speaking, it would not have lost more than 2,000 people at once, and this kind of casualties were too great, and they could catch up with the casualties of a battle of more than 100,000 people.

And a cavalry regiment lost only more than 80 people left, which shows that this formation is basically finished, and before the official war begins, its own side has lost a regiment.

"Could it be an ambush?" The adjutant named George said, "The Chinese have always liked to play tricks, they call it strategy, so maybe General Smith was ambushed by the Chinese, and this is why he suffered heavy losses?" ”

"Ambush? Possibly, but what ambush can eat so many cavalry at once? What's more, General Smith, while reckless, is not a fool. Sherman shook his head, "Moreover, if you can eat nearly three thousand cavalry at a time, then the number of Chinese participating in the ambush will probably not be small, and I think the ambush will exceed 30,000 troops in nine out of ten." ”

It is also normal for Sherman to draw this conclusion, because in his opinion, the Americans alone can fight at least five Chinese, and if it is cavalry, if you want to eat nearly three thousand cavalry at once, it is absolutely impossible to have ten times the force.

As for those ironclad cars and repeating guns, he was not unconvinced, but half-convinced, because he believed that since the people who fled back said so, then it is true that the Chinese have ironclad cars and repeating guns.

However, limited by his knowledge, Sherman absolutely did not believe that those ironclad cars ran faster than horses, and even less believed that those Chinese had a repeating rifle in their hands, and it was a repeating rifle with more than three companies on the top of the gun.

During the Civil War, there were many strange ordnance designs in the United States due to the war factor, such as repeating guns. Ironclad cars, etc., are not a rarity.

For example, the famous Gatling gun actually appeared at this time and was patented, and before the Gatling gun, there were all kinds of repeating guns such as organ multi-barrel repeating guns, but they were not widely adopted by the military of the United States because of technical reasons and conservative tactics.

In addition, the idea of an ironclad chariot has also been proposed by someone in the United States. And I have also made real things, but they are still mostly whimsical, but the practicality is very poor.

At this time, the ironclad chariot was generally conceived in three ways.

The first idea is the so-called ironclad carriage, which is not simply a horse with iron armor, but a car with iron armor on the front and back, and then a gap is dug in the middle and back, and the horses pull the cart in the middle gap.

To use a figurative analogy. This kind of carriage is equivalent to adding an iron armor cover to the front of an ordinary carriage, and covering the horses to resist ordinary bullet fire. It's a pity, but the idea is good. But there are many problems, especially the steering problem, which is not easy to solve, so it disappears after a short period of time.

The second idea is the ironclad train. To put it simply, the train is attached to iron armor and then loaded with cannons. This idea should be the most reliable, but unfortunately the trains of this period were not up to par due to the steam engine. The power is insufficient, the speed is too slow after the iron armor is attached, and the route of action is also very limited, and the range of artillery in this period is very limited, which cannot form the deterrent power of train guns, so the actual combat performance is not high.

In fact, the United States once considered trial production of some armored trains to maintain the railway line, but later because the production capacity of steel had to make way for ironclad ships, this kind of steel-wasting, thankless ironclad train was not passed, and in the end it was only left as a kind of technical reserve.

The last idea, which is a little bit like what Smith said, is the steam armored car.

At this moment, since the internal combustion engine has not yet been invented, there are no internal combustion locomotives, but the steam engine car has appeared, but unfortunately it is only regarded as some rarity. After the start of the war, someone in the north designed a steam ironclad car, that is, a steam locomotive that could walk on ordinary roads and did not need rails.

This design idea is naturally very good, but many technical problems could not be solved, and in the end only a test car was produced, but the effect was quite unsatisfactory.

Sherman actually paid a lot of attention to new weapons, whether it was a repeating rifle or the three armored vehicles, he had spent a lot of time studying and was very interested, but unfortunately he also knew that he couldn't succeed at all, at least now he couldn't put it into actual combat, and he couldn't even scare people.

So, since the United States can't do it, how can the Chinese come up with an ironclad chariot that doesn't need rails and is faster than horses?

Although there are great doubts, it is a fact that the losses are too large, and although there is still a considerable distance between the two armies, the sound of guns and cannons and people shouting and neighing horses can be heard very clearly here, and they know that there has been a big battle ahead.

It was because Sherman knew that a great battle had broken out in front of him, and that Smith's cavalry regiment had been defeated too quickly and too badly, which made him feel very strange, so he ordered the whole army to stop advancing, intending to wait until he understood what was happening ahead.

It's a pity that what Smith or the other survivors said is too shocking to be believed, so Sherman moved to send another cavalry force to continue to investigate.

What I want to say here is that at this time, the distance between the main force of Sherman's army and the main force of the Dream Division was only ten kilometers, and a day ago, the distance between the two armies was only about fifteen kilometers, that is to say, in one day, Sherman's army walked less than five kilometers, and this kind of marching speed must not be said to be fast.

This is not really a problem with Sherman's command, on the contrary, it shows that Sherman is cautious.

Because Sherman was an army of 30,000 poured out, not only did he carry all the artillery, but he also directly launched an offensive formation, and advanced in a large wide offensive formation.

Everyone knows that under the frontal offensive formation, the speed of the troops cannot be fast, let alone 30,000 people, so walking five kilometers a day, that is, ten miles, is actually qualified.

In addition, while the large army is cautiously moving forward. He also sent a regiment of cavalry to reconnoitre, which shows that he did things well, and in this era, although his approach was not bold enough, it was safe.

Sherman also couldn't help it, because he knew that there were at least 10,000 or 20,000 Chinese, and the number was not much less than himself. Moreover, although Sherman looked down on the Chinese, he also knew that the Chinese's weapons were not bad, and it was said that each person had a Sharps rear-loading gun. In terms of weapons, they are much stronger than his army, so he can't afford to be careless.

In addition, the terrain of Sherman's location is actually higher than that of Li Yongji's position, and it is the height of summer at this time, and the vegetation is vigorous, not only are there many bushes along the way, but the weeds on the ground are also very high, which makes him unable to see the situation directly from a distance. You can only be more cautious and rely on cavalry to reconnoiter in advance.

It should be said that since Sherman knew that the Chinese had landed nearby, he was right to decisively lead his troops to attack. And his behavior of launching an offensive formation during the march and sending cavalry to reconnoiter in advance was also appropriate, but he did not expect it. The elite cavalry of a regiment was eaten so quickly, and it was still unclear what was going on on the other side. This cast a shadow over his heart, and for the first time he had doubts about the victory in the battle.

This is actually very normal, don't look at Sherman looks very hideous, usually in front of people always burst foul mouth, look very rude, as if he is a rectum, but in fact he is a sentimental guy, always like to think cranky, he had this problem before.

Thus, after the loss of a regiment of elite cavalry, his cranky flaws flared up again, and all sorts of strange ideas arose that made him strange, and even had the idea of retreating.

"What? The whole army stopped advancing and went on the defensive? Did I hear me right? ”

"Yes, you heard it right."

Listening to Sherman's words of confirmation, his adjutant George was a little dumbfounded: "General, is this too conservative?" You must know that we are now in an offensive formation, and the marching speed is slow, but if we defend on the spot now, the opponent will have more time to prepare, and our attack will lose its surprise effect. ”

"I know, I know." Sherman clenched his fists, "But we don't know the situation of those yellow-skinned monkeys on the other side, and it is not good for our army to rush over."

On the contrary, we are now on a high ground, and further down is a great sniper position.

If we set up a sniper position here in advance, if the enemy attacks, he will have to attack from the back, which is very disadvantageous, but we are just condescending, and the terrain is much more favorable to us.

And at this distance, their naval guns are also ineffective and are the best sniper positions. ”

"But what if the other party doesn't come?" Adjutant George said, "What if they take a detour and don't come to attack us?" ”

"Don't worry, with an army like ours here, they don't dare to make a detour casually, once they make a detour, they will take the initiative to expose the flanks to us, and that is to kill themselves."

"So, what if they don't call, continue to board the ship, and go north along the Mississippi River?"

"That's okay." Sherman said, "Then we'll retreat, join General Grant's troops, and then fight again." ”

"This, this ......," George was speechless for a moment, "General, you have always been known for your bravery and good fighting, why are you so timid this time?" Are you scared just because that fool Smith buried a regiment? ”

"You're right, I'm cowardly, I'm just scared." Sherman's face was gloomy, and he stared directly into George's eyes and said, his tone was a little unkind, "Listen, little guy, whether Smith is a fool or not, those three thousand cavalry are not decorations!" Even 3,000 pigs could not be exterminated in such a short period of time!

Therefore, no matter what the reason or how to do it, more than 3,000 people and horses finally only more than 80 people ran back, which shows that the Chinese are not idle, and more than 80 people say that the Chinese have a large number of repeating guns and ironclad cars, even if it is exaggerated, but the fact that the Chinese have secret weapons is probably true, and this is not to be careless! ”

"You, General......," George blinked, "General, you can't believe that fool of Smith, are you?" Do you really believe that the Chinese are driving some ironclad chariots, all using repeating rifles that can fire continuously? ”

"Believe it or not, it's a fact that the three thousand cavalry are finished." Sherman said, "And the troops that can quickly encircle and annihilate three thousand cavalry, whether it is because of the large number of people in ambush or some secret weapon." We can't take it lightly, we all have to take it seriously. ”

"Then, if you are afraid that the Chinese have some mysterious weapons, just send someone out to investigate." George said, "Send another cavalry, and you can always get some accurate information." ”

"I have only two regiments of cavalry!" Sherman said viciously, "Now that there is no more regiment, do you still want me to take the last cavalry regiment with you?" No, never! ”

With that, Sherman walked straight up to the young lieutenant. grabbed the other party's collar: "Listen, I don't have time to talk nonsense with you now, and I don't have time to explain to you." Either you will obediently convey the order to me immediately, or I will immediately remove you and send you to the front to die, even if you are some kind of damned parliamentarian! Got it? ”

"I, I'm ......" George, who was grabbed by the collar, couldn't talk any longer, only nodded his head, "I know." General, I'll go and give orders. ”

Sherman's troops were still traditional troops, and they had to rely on heralds to convey orders, one regiment after another. Then the regiment that received the order then conveyed the order to the lower levels in turn, so the efficiency of the troops in conveying was much slower, and the action was much slower.

Fortunately, this time the order was not to move on. It's about defending in place, so even if you delay a little time, it's nothing.

This army of Sherman. After all, it can be regarded as an experienced army, especially many experienced junior officers, so how to deploy defenses and how to repair fortifications is not something that Major General Sherman should worry about, what he cares about is the enemy in front.

At a distance of ten kilometers, not to mention that it is not clear to the naked eye, even with a telescope, you can only roughly see the outline of the army on the opposite side, and roughly judge how many people are on the opposite side, if you want to see the specifics, it is impossible to do it.

Because the magnification of the monoculars at this time is not high, at most it is two to four times the magnification.

The telescope used by Sherman was calculated, and it could barely be magnified by four times, but if it was a target ten kilometers away, it was also quite vague, and he couldn't see the appearance of a person at all, and at most he could see a vague shadow.

However, even if he could only see a vague shadow, Sherman still looked at it carefully, and as a result, he really saw something, but it was what he saw that made him more and more frightened.

For no other reason, he saw something resembling an ironclad car, and although it was still a little vague, it seemed to be some large vehicle.

The reason why I know that it is a large vehicle is because of the contrast, because those vehicles are the same thing, and they are obviously much larger than the figure next to them.

Ten kilometers away, if you look at people, it is smaller than a sesame seed, but if you look at armored vehicles, you can barely see an outline.

That's just it, the problem is that he saw that the black shadow composed of a large number of Chinese troops on the opposite side seemed to be moving towards his side, and looking at the scale of the dust suddenly raised over there, it seemed that the speed of the other party was still quite fast.

"Is it coming?" Sherman put down his binoculars and suddenly said to the herald next to him, "Bring Colonel Smith for me." ”

Soon, Colonel Smith, whose hands were tied and his face was bruised, was escorted over by two soldiers, and after he was escorted, before Smith could open his mouth and scold, Sherman took the initiative to speak: "Colonel Smith, the Chinese have begun to advance towards us, let me ask you again, what you said before, what ironclad car, what repeating guns, is it true?" ”

"Of course it's true!" Smith snorted coldly, "Anyway, you'll meet soon, and you'll know who's real and who's fake when the time comes." ”

"That's right." Sherman didn't refute this time, but frowned vigorously, and began to subconsciously touch his chin, as if he was very shaken.

Seeing him like this, Smith, who calmed down, no longer spoke ill of him: "Actually, I didn't believe it at first, I didn't believe that there was a kind of ironclad car that didn't need a horse and no chimney could run so fast, and I didn't believe that they had that kind of repeating gun with a fast rate of fire and a long range...... However, the facts are there, we are a group, we are beaten like rabbits, we have no power to fight back, if I didn't run fast, even I wouldn't be able to come back......"

"Is that kind of ironclad really impenetrable bullets?" Sherman asked suddenly.

"Yes." Smith nodded, "I really can't get through, it's just an iron lump, like an ironclad ship running on land!" ”

Speaking of this, Smithton paused, and suddenly said: "General, listen to me, while it's still far away, retreat quickly, in the face of that group of monsters, we have no chance of winning at all." ”

"Retreat?" Sherman, who had a calm face, suddenly smiled evilly, "If you don't fight, you will withdraw, that is not my style." What's more, if it's really like you said, those ironclad cars run faster than horses, then even if we run, we can't outrun each other, so it's better to fight them hard here, maybe there is still a chance.

At the very least, we still have a lot of artillery, I don't believe it, the so-called ironclad car of the Chinese can't even penetrate the artillery! ”

Hearing Sherman say this, Smith opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything, because in his mind, he also agreed with Sherman's idea.

Indeed, he has learned the opponent's mobility ability, the troops here are mainly infantry, even if they run now, they can't outrun the other party at all, it is better to stay and snipe.

Thinking of this, Smith turned his head to look at the rows of front-loading guns in front of the position, and his eyes narrowed.

Yes, Sherman didn't say it, Smith almost forgot that one of the reasons why Sherman's unit was most famous in the Union Army was that the number of artillery was overnumbered, and it was precisely because Sherman's troops had a large number of artillery and excellent gunners, and had fierce artillery fire, that they won a lot of fame in previous battles.

Well, the musket may not be able to penetrate those tin monsters, but with artillery, there may be a real chance. (To be continued......)