Chapter 271: Retreat

The collapse of the city wall was expected, and the wall with a layer of green bricks on the outside of the earthen wall was not strong in the first place. Wang Qinian expressed regret about this, but remained calm. The well-fed and well-fed people have been very powerful these days, and these people know very well that all the ships on the sea are gone, and once the city is broken, it will be a catastrophe.

Countless sandbags that had been prepared before were thrown at the gap, and when the gap in the city wall was filled up, and when Houjin opened fire, a commander was responsible for shouting: "Lie down." The casualties were unexpectedly small, only two civilians were hit by this round of shelling, and the bricks were scattered. This casualty is not a matter at all. Seeing that the Houjin army on the opposite side attacked again, the speed of filling the gap accelerated.

Under the threat of death, the Goryeo soldiers once again went to the battlefield, and this time it was not only them who charged, but also 1,000 Han troops and 3,000 people. Yue Tuo gave the order to die, even if the people died, the trench must be completely filled.

The red-coated cannon slammed into a section of the wall, and the violent shaking made it impossible for the soldiers on the wall to stand still. The Hongyi cannons are few in number and have a slower rate of fire. Without Kong Youde's warships and cannons in this time and space, the siege battle of Houjin, even without Chen Xie's assistance, may not be a failure.

This time the attack was defeated faster than the last time, and the Korean Bird Gunners, who had suffered a big loss, lost the courage and order of the last time, and were pressed by the musketeers behind the trench to raise their heads, and rushed forward to the front of the trench with bullets, and were knocked down one by one. Sandbags and corpses on the ground formed a low wall.

Taking advantage of the interval between the shooting of the Dengzhou musketeers, the people who rushed forward noticed that a group of people suddenly stood up behind the low wall twenty meters away. Throw out a black stuff that smokes.

When he saw this scene, Yue Tuo also had no hope for this attack. Sure enough, there were successive explosions, smoke and dust rising and debris everywhere. This kind of black powder grenade with grooves drawn in advance is not made of good steel, but some very bad quality pig iron, which is characterized by brittleness.

Every explosion creates a no-man's-land of about two steps. Even if you don't die. It is also a place for the wounded. The people are too dense, and these Dengzhou soldiers kill the people, and there is really no pressure at all.

Yue Tuo didn't know that there was an iron law in the Dengzhou camp. "Anyone stands in the way of victory. It can be regarded as the enemy's resolute annihilation. "The grenadiers easily destroyed the already small will to fight. The people collapsed, and the Goryeo soldiers followed.

Faced with this situation, Yue Tuo glanced at the Derge class beside him. What I got was a slight shake of my head, and I could only sigh. The implication is obvious, the casualties are too great to be increased unnecessarily. Yue Tuo also knew very well in his heart, just look at the battlefield, yesterday and today, at least 1,000 people and 500 soldiers died in battle. At this rate, there won't be many people left after a few days.

The tangled Yue Tuo looked at the sun, it was already noon. Gather the defeated soldiers and cut down dozens of the fastest fleeing Minfu and Goryeo soldiers. Seeing that noon was approaching, and just as he was about to launch a third attack, a horse galloped in.

"Lord Belle, the Ming dog has come ashore in the green mud puddle, and it is all green-skinned soldiers." The herald crawled with rolling and crawling, covered in sweat, and ran at all costs, and as soon as he arrived at the place, the horse fell to the ground, and he could not get up with a wailing sound.

Yue Tuo and Derge were dumbfounded, turned over and dismounted, grabbed the messenger's collar and said, "How many greenskins are there?" ”

"Lord Belle, the sea is full of ships, and I can't count how many soldiers there are. The minions felt that there must be seven or eight thousand people. ”

Yue Tuo and Derge exchanged glances, and immediately made a decision, withdraw their troops, and turn around. Derge said: "Kiba Station, we must not lose it here, our grain and grass are there." I rushed there with 2,000 men. ”

Yue Tuo nodded and said, "Be careful, once the Ming Dog is strong, you can retreat, wait for the main force to turn, and go down with a drum." ”

Derg nodded, and rode away with his men. Wang Qinian, who was at the head of the city, saw it clearly, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and said to the staff officers beside him: "Let the scouts work hard, Jiannu is going to run away." ”

The staff officer stood up and saluted: "I understand my humble duties and promise not to delay the joint plan." ”

Dusk, sunset, golden light on the sea. The long trestle has been completed, like a hand stretched out on the mainland.

The infantry had all landed, and the blindfolded horses of the sunset were led ashore along the trestle by the cavalry.

Chen Xie led his troops to Qingniwa, a small town, about 120 miles to the south, which is Lushun. About five miles to the west, it is the three-way intersection of the official road. There was no longer a single resident in the town, most of them fled to Lushun, and some people who were reluctant to work were also arrested by the Houjin soldiers.

"Is there any news about Zhang Biao?" Chen Xie habitually asked, and Lin He, who was beside him, stepped forward and said, "It was still news half an hour ago, the first battalion of infantry had arrived at the fork in the road and started to build fortifications. The lowly duty is still more worried about the sea, in case the weather changes, the landing of artillery and cavalry will inevitably be affected. ”

Chen Xie nodded: "This is a helpless thing, we can't control God." ”

As soon as the horse flew over, the commander turned over and dismounted: "Report, General He Xian has a letter, the cavalry battalion has all landed on the shore." ”

For the first time, Chen Xie's solemn face showed a smile and said, "Yes, the efficiency is very high. Sue sù He Xian, as far as I can catch up with the brigade, I need the cavalry to move north and monitor the movements of the Houjin reinforcements. ”

At the fork in the road, what Zhang Biao feared most did not happen, and before a large number of horses arrived in Houjin, a low wall and a trench were formed. Zhang Biao, who personally led two infantry battalions and rushed here on a hurried march, inspected the position along the trench. The soldiers continued to widen the trench, three meters wide and one meter deep, as required, and the excavated earth was piled up on the outside to form a low wall. Unfortunately, I didn't carry a sack and couldn't make it stronger.

"General Zhang, Ding Garrison arrived with the third battalion of infantry." The herald brought good news again, an infantry battalion had 1,000 musketeers, although no artillery was brought, 3,000 musketeers plus this simple line of defense, Zhang Biao was confident that he would defeat at least 5,000 Houjin soldiers. If you are a horse team, you are not afraid of one to one.

"Let them take the time to rest and eat, and after dark they will be replaced with torches, and at least one more trench will be dug."

The individual equipment of the Dengzhou Lao Infantry Battalion can be described as the best, with a rifle, 30 rounds of ammunition, and a sapper shovel. Together with other equipment and dry rations, the weight carried by each person is about forty catties. The rapid march of half an hour demanded fifteen miles. Recruits will definitely not be able to do this, but veterans will have no problem at all, and it can even be said that it is quite easy. When the training was strict, they had to march twenty miles in an hour. Of course, this is the limit, and if necessary, it can be faster to drop non-combat equipment.

Hundreds of small boats on the sea lit up the sea with soldiers with torches. It was already dark, but it did not affect the simple pulley crane on the cargo ship to lift the cannon weighing less than 1,000 pounds, put it on the gun carriage on the trestle, and then quickly fastened it by the artillery. The pack horse that went up to the pier first, hung a cannon, and four soldiers pushed it behind, and one cannon after another was sent ashore.

The artillery battalion garrison Weng Zhengqing was not too worried about the small-caliber six-pounder guns that were coming ashore. The field gun carried by this infantry battalion can be disassembled into six large pieces, and it can be quickly assembled by hanging it on the trestle. What he was worried about was the large-caliber artillery of the independent artillery battalion, equipped with a 12-pounder rifled cannon specially designed to suppress enemy artillery, with a barrel weighing 1,500 catties, and the advantage was that the firing range could reach 4,000 meters.

The improved artillery battalion consisted of four artillery teams, each equipped with six 12-pounder rifled guns, and commanded the opponent's artillery. When necessary, bombardment of the city wall and attack the infantry can also be mixed up. This artillery battalion has poured all the efforts of Weng Zhengqing, as a student of the Jiading teaching team, Weng Zhengqing is undoubtedly a rising star. After being promoted to garrison, Weng Zhengqing fulfilled a wish and married a hospital nurse, Xiaolan. It's not a concubine. This move was affirmed by Chen Xie, and he personally attended his wedding.

After the 2,000 cavalry of the Derge class converged with the cavalry in charge of patrolling and determined that the Ming army was at the three-way intersection and did not directly attack the Kiba Station, the Derge class breathed a sigh of relief. It is necessary to defend the Kiba Station, which is not only a place for grain storage, but also a way out. A place like the fork in the road, although it is also important, but there is no place where no one lives, and there is no comparison with this place.

Zhang Biao has no intention of taking the initiative here, his task is to guard the fork in the road. Although the altitude in this area is not high, there are many slopes of tens or even 100 meters, and the official road turns a corner here. In the Ming Dynasty, there were no roads extending in all directions in modern society, and the only official road existed in the terrain of slopes, lakes, wetlands, and woods, appearing in the shape of a "human". If you look at the map instead of going to the field and then make a battle plan, you will definitely suffer a big loss.

Therefore, the three-way road is definitely the only way to go. Of course, you can also abandon the carriage and horses, go west, and then go north after reaching the beach. But doing so is no different from a rout. Yuetuo and Derge will definitely not consider this route. It is common sense to leave the troops to build a defensive line, and the main force to turn back and defeat the reinforcements.

Retreat is a very delicate matter, and it is much more difficult than attacking. It was very troublesome to move the heavy artillery up the Golden Mountain and other mountains, and to move it down. While monitoring the defenders in the city, he prepared to retreat, and was busy until it was dark, and he was basically ready. It's not that Yue Tuo doesn't want to be fast, but he can't be fast at all. He is reluctant to give up those cannons, and it is not easy for him to save this bit of possessions.

After receiving the news of the Derge class, the Kiba post was still in his hand, and he began to defend on the spot, and Yue Tuo ordered another 2,000 cavalry to reinforce the Derge class. The main force carried torches and went north overnight, trying to meet the Derge class as much as possible. When passing through Phoenix Mountain, Yue Tuo also left the Korean Bird Gunners behind them, allowing them to build obstacles here to block the pursuit that might come from behind. (To be continued......)