Chapter 67: Defensive Counterattack

By the time the four companies of the field battalion arrived at Wanjiabao out of breath, the second company had regained control of the fort under the leadership of Shi Zhongshu and was engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy. Ouyang Xuan did not send additional personnel to help the second company defend, but ordered the soldiers of the four companies that had newly entered the fortress to continue to rest silently. On the one hand, he believed that the 2nd Company could repel the enemy's attack with its fortified artillery, although the enemy attacking the fortress was several times larger than the 2nd Company. He firmly believed that Perak soldiers could only grow quickly through fierce battles. On the other hand, he asked the soldiers to conserve their physical strength, so that they could see the right time to fight back and hit the enemy by surprise.

Ouyang Xuan stood on the highest watchtower of the fortress and observed the battle situation. According to his order, Shi Zhongshu led the soldiers of the second company to hide behind the castle and stab them with spears, and as long as the battle situation was not urgent, they did not use grenades or artillery. The reason for not using the weapon of mass destruction was not only to save ammunition, but also because after Ouyang Xuan entered the fortress, he saw that the new annexed army of Dayi County did not abuse the captured soldiers of the garrison after capturing the fortress. Although the new annex did not act out of good intentions, but to sell the captives into slavery. No one wants to compromise their property, and neither do the Thunderbolts. Ouyang Xuan ordered Shi Zhongshu not to kill because the mines in the mountains were in urgent need of free labor. This is also the reason why the top brass of the Perak Army did not aim to kill or injure but to capture as many prisoners as possible when formulating battle plans. Of course, there is no need to be polite to the Mongolian cavalry, which is known for its fierceness and brutality, "the hearts of those who are not of my race will be different", and it is a hidden danger for these people to stay. On the other hand, it was also difficult for the Mongol soldiers to capture, they were all cavalry, and they fled if they couldn't be defeated. In addition, these Tartars are very cunning, and they do not rush to the front in battle, but hide behind and threaten the new annex army to keep attacking.

After several rounds of charges, the Mongol centurion saw that he still could not succeed, so he ordered the new annexed army to press on all fronts and prepare to go down with a single drum. It's just that what he didn't know was that several big killing weapons on the city wall were ready to be launched. The gunners of the second company had already loaded their shotguns according to Ishi's orders. Although solid bullets are more penetrating, in the face of the black pressure crowd under the city, shotguns with large scattered surfaces are obviously more lethal than solid bullets.

When the soldiers of the new annex rushed to the bottom of the wall and climbed down the ladder to the top of the wall, several cannons rang out on the wall. Everywhere the smoke passed, the new annexed army in front did not suffer many casualties, and the Mongols fell in large parts behind. This round of artillery of the Thunderbolt Army was all aimed at the Mongolian archers behind the newly annexed army, not only because of Ouyang Xuan's order, but also because of the dense and accurate arrow rain of the Mongolian hundred-man team that successfully attracted the hatred of Shi Zhongshu. Since the distance of the shelling was only more than 100 meters, the scorching shotgun that came out of the disembowel directly penetrated the huge wooden shield in front of the Mongolian soldiers. This round of shelling directly knocked out one-third of the Mongolian hundred-man team that led the bow and arrow behind the shield. The huge sound of artillery also frightened the soldiers of the new annex army of the Ant Attachment Siege City, and some were even shaken off the ladder. At the moment when they were stunned, the shining spear tip was like a poisonous snake, and every time it stuck out its tongue, it pierced one person; Iron bumps also fell from the sky and exploded under the city walls, and several people fell to the ground every time the smoke passed.

Just when the new annexed army and the Mongols had not yet regained their senses, there was a noise behind the gate of Wanjiabao. Then the heavy door was slowly pushed open a crack, and then slowly pushed open. The sudden opening of the city gate made a brief silence on the battlefield, and several new annex soldiers who were standing at the gate stood in place, until the Thunderbolt soldiers in the fortress charged in formation, and then remembered that they were here to fight, so they raised their weapons again to meet them, but as soon as the long knife was raised, they were pierced by more than ten spears in front of them.

The new attached army of Qingcheng County was dissipated at this time, and watching the black-pressed Thunderbolt soldiers pouring out of the city gate, they were so frightened that they scattered like panicked rabbits. Seeing that the situation was not good, the centurion of the Mongolian army also led his people to retreat. Unbeknownst to everyone, the rout on the battlefield was highly contagious, and when the soldiers of the new annex army saw the Mongols retreating, they fled in a swarm.

Rushing out of Wanjiabao were the 3rd and 4th companies of the field battalion, and under the command of Cao Ergou, they rushed straight towards the Mongolian 100-man team in the rear with their spears. Seeing that the situation was not good, the Mongol centurion led his team to flee as soon as he whistled, and the soldiers of the new annex army also scattered in a hurry when they saw this, and fled with the Mongols. For a time, the road out of the mountain was blocked due to the rush of the Mongols and the soldiers of the new annexed army. The three companies that rushed to the front pursued the Mongols, so they had to deal with the new annexes blocking the road first, killing those who resisted, and tying up ropes to those who surrendered. The soldiers of the new annex who fled to the end heard the shouts of "surrender or kill" from the head of the city, and there would be resistance, so they surrendered one after another. After Cao Ergou left the work of capturing the prisoners to Liu Zhong, the commander of the fourth company who followed behind, he and Yu San, the commander of the third company, hurriedly went to pursue the Mongolian hundred-man team.

It is said that on the side of Wanjiazhai, Chen Hu, who was confronting Zhao Shicai, heard the sound of artillery under the mountain, and knew that Shi Zhongzhu had succeeded in Wanjiabao, so he ordered the grenadiers to throw grenades at the new annex army that was stunned. It turned into a defensive state more than 100 meters away from the new annexed army, which was also carefully calculated by Cao Ergou, and he could throw a grenade by running forward at this distance. The Thunderbolt soldiers could only throw more than 20 meters on flat ground, but at this time, because they were condescending, they could throw to a distance of more than 30 meters. This time, because of the narrow mountain road, in order to avoid accidental injury when throwing, Cao Ergou selected more than a dozen elite grenadiers to be listed behind the shield and spear, these elite soldiers not only throw long distance and high precision, throwing time is also accurate, can make the grenade explode in the air above the enemy's head or just after landing, so that the lethality reaches the maximum, but also makes the enemy have no time to react or throw back.

When a company of grenades was thrown, most of the soldiers of the new annex army thought that the Thunderbolts were smashing people with iron lumps, but at the same time, they thought that these mountain people were so stupid that they actually smashed people with expensive iron blocks. Only a few soldiers of the newly annexed army with a little insight were shouting "Earthquake thunder, earthquake thunder"! But before the words fell, the grenades exploded one after another. After a burst of explosions, there was a wail on the mountain road in the thick smoke.