Chapter 334 A one-sided battle
The platoon of militiamen brought by Xiao Liang from Guangzhou were only stationed from Shengli Port to Guangzhou in March, replacing the armed personnel originally sent to Guangzhou. What is different from the previous group of personnel is that this group of militiamen are all "veterans" who have been on the Annan battlefield and have been tested in actual combat. They do not have too much nervousness when facing the enemy. Compared with the tens of thousands of South Vietnamese troops who had to deal with the Annan battlefield, these disgraced bandits were not taken seriously by the militiamen at all. Although there was a ten-fold difference in the strength of the two sides, the militiamen did not feel much tension. They just mechanically followed Xiao Liang's whistle instructions, loading, aiming, and shooting... and kept repeating what they had done in daily training. Thousands of tactical moves.
The stormtroopers sent by Liao Dabi were basically bold and sinister desperadoes, but in their past experience of attacking various villages, they had never encountered such intensive long-range firepower. After charging within a hundred steps, the invisible and intangible lead bullets knocked down the dozens of people at the front, and the people behind were a little confused - they were captured as promised, but there was no resistance as promised?
Finally, a few lucky guys rushed to the nearby barbed wire fence, but the dense barbed wire fence was densely covered with sharp hooks and iron pieces. The slightest contact would cause skin wounds and bleeding. Although the injuries caused were not serious, As long as the forward momentum is delayed due to this, the militiamen will immediately be fired at close range by the militiamen more than ten steps away. When shooting at this distance, the militiamen can even omit the step of aiming, and the hit rate is much higher than The aim in Shooting Run is much higher. So in front of this bellows-shaped barbed wire fence that was only chest high, the bandits became living targets and were knocked down by rows of lead bullets without any resistance.
It has to be said that Liao Dabi's men are still very capable of fighting. Even in the face of a one-sided massacre, the desperadoes did not choose to retreat, but continued to charge upward. Finally, someone stepped on the corpse of his companion, jumped over the barbed wire, waved the machete in his hand and rushed towards the parapet with a scream. But it is a pity that what awaits him is not gold and silver treasures, but densely packed iron-tipped spears.
Before the unlucky guy could decide whether to block the attack from the left or the right first, he was stabbed by seven or eight spears at the same time. These spearmen were all militia members of the Li Jia Militia Regiment. Xiao Liang was not in a hurry to let them get their muskets to serve as long-range firepower. Instead, he issued spears to them as a covering force for close combat.
These bandits started to charge from two to three hundred paces away. By the time they got here, they were already panting and their hands and feet were sore. They no longer had the strength to fight. In addition, they were fighting alone. They wanted to fight with the spear formations of the militiamen. It's just a food delivery, almost every time you come in. The Haihan militiamen, who were waiting for work, calmly continued to maintain the shooting rhythm and attacked the bandits who were still trying to climb over the barbed wire fence.
When the number of bandit stormtroopers had lost more than two-thirds, the survivors who saw no hope of attacking Zhuangzi finally lost the courage to continue to die and began to turn around and flee. Xiao Liang did not intend to pursue the fugitives, so he asked the militiamen to turn their guns and aim at the few bandits who were still resisting. After a burst of gunfire, these stubborn bandits were also killed on the spot. The first wave of attacks launched by the bandits on the west side of Lijiazhuang was completely defeated.
From close to the parapet to a hundred steps away, the corpses of the bandits fell all the way. There were also many people who were not seriously injured and fell to the ground, screaming or rolling. The situation was very miserable. However, Xiao Liang was unmoved by this and immediately ordered the militiamen to prepare and stand by, asking the civilians at the rear to come forward to clean up the battlefield and re-reinforce the damaged section of barbed wire.
The fighting conditions in the north were almost the same, and the stormtroopers formed by several bandits also suffered heavy casualties. The fourth company, which had more flintlock guns, placed its opponents at a distance of about thirty meters before concentrating fire. The intensive firepower claimed the lives of hundreds of people in just a minute or two. The stormtroopers here didn't even have the chance to rush to the parapet and have close contact with their opponents before being killed like their comrades in the west. Most of them fell in front of the barbed wire.
Although there were many casualties in the first wave of confrontation, it only lasted a short moment in terms of time. Such a casualty rate was really too heavy for the bandits who numbered only a few thousand. Liao Dabi was already furious before the surviving men could escape back to the formation: "Where is this guy Li Maozi who is cheating and cheating? Catch this bitch quickly!"
Not long after, the dejected Li Maozai was escorted over by his men, but before Liao Dabi could get angry, Li Maozai knelt down directly with a "pop": "Boss Liao, I didn't know that things would turn out like this. Ah! Please, sir, give me a chance!”
"With so many brothers killed and injured, how dare you beg for mercy? If I give you a chance, who among us will be convinced?" Liao Dabi was filled with hatred and anger. He pointed at Li Maozi and cursed: "You said there are no strong men in Lijiazhuang, so you can do it easily." Take it, did so many musketeers fall from the sky or pop out of the rocks? Did you conspire with the government to deliberately lure me here so that the officers and soldiers can set up an ambush and kill our brothers? "< br>
When Li Maozi heard this, he was very slapped. He quickly shook his head and argued: "This is absolutely not the case! Boss Liao, I am willing to guarantee with my life that I have never conspired with anyone, let alone schemed against Boss Liao. With all my brothers!”
"Guarantee your life? Okay! Very good!" Liao Dabi took a few steps back and forth and made a decision: "You will lead the attack in the next round! If we can't defeat it, you don't have to come back!"
When Liao Dabi was in chaos, a messenger came from the north and asked Liao Dabi why he encountered such strong resistance. Liao Dabi could only deduce that this was Lijiazhuang's militia. After everyone rested, they would launch an offensive together and use all their strength to conquer Lijiazhuang. In order to prevent the allies from giving up, Liao Dabi also gave a very good-sounding reason - the militiamen protecting the village were so desperate and equipped with sharp weapons such as muskets, which just proved that there were a large number of people in the village. wealth?
However, the allies were not so easy to dismiss and immediately proposed to renegotiate the proportion of the spoils. Therefore, under the situation that the wounded soldiers who had returned from the previous round of defeat had not received timely treatment, several leaders had temporarily put aside the current war situation and started bargaining back and forth through messengers. The people who were killed and injured in the charge just now have been forgotten by the heroes of various families and have become complete cannon fodder.
However, Liao Dabi and his friends were not the only ones who were unlucky at this time. Zeng Aniu, who was trying to make some extra money on the Shawan waterway, was now in a state of tears. After enduring two back and forth attacks by the "Exploration", the fleet that Zeng Aniu had worked so hard to pull out from his hometown in Xinhui County was basically reduced to half - this included those that were injured but did not fall apart. The boat is inside. Looking at the big, majestic and strange ship, except for some scratches on the waterline on both sides of the bow, there were no conspicuous injuries at all.
"I am provoking someone!" Zeng Aniu looked angry, completely forgetting that half an hour ago, it was he himself who ordered the "Discovery" to be taken down. Looking at the "Exploration" slowly turning around at the fork of the river in the distance, Zeng Aniu couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart, and shouted at the top of his voice: "Get out! Get out!"
The deputy next to him asked: "Boss, are you waiting for Liao Dabi and the others on the shore?"
"What the hell are you waiting for! A boat has blocked the waterway. Could the villager be unprepared? Liao Dabi probably kicked the iron plate this time. If he wants to die, let him die. I don't value my life. I will accompany you! Say hello to brothers, retreat quickly!" Zeng Aniu was obviously much clearer than Liao Dabi. Although he still had the strength to fight, he decisively chose to give up. Although there is no good way for the small boats under my control to take the "Discovery", it is actually quite easy to escape the pursuit of the big ship in the dense water network nearby. After all, in terms of the flexibility of traveling on inland waterways, this sea Boats are far from comparable to boats.
Liao Dabi did not know that some of his allies had already retreated. He would not make the decision to retreat as quickly as Zeng Aniu. Regardless of the victory or defeat in this battle, Liao Dabi's men and horses will have to retreat to their home base in the north. It will take at least five days of travel. The two thousand people in the team will eat horses and chew them, and the food and grass supplies they need are not small. Number, if we can't capture Lijiazhuang, will everyone have to beg for food all the way back? For the current plan, of course, we must first appease other allies, and then gather a large number of troops to attack Lijiazhuang again.
The situation in Lijiazhuang Zhuangzi was much easier than when preparing for the war in the first two days. No matter how Li Nai boasted about the superior combat power of the Haihan Militia beforehand, the local people would still have to see the actual performance before they would feel relieved. The Haihan militia did not live up to expectations, easily resolving the first round of the opponent's charge, killing and injuring more than 200 people, but not even a single wounded person appeared on their own side. What combat power? This is living combat power!
Li Jifeng had also returned to his usual calm appearance at this time, and directed his subordinates to deliver hot tea to the position for the militia soldiers to quench their thirst.
"Your army really has outstanding combat power. These bandits are like chickens and dogs. They are vulnerable to your army!" Li Jifeng took advantage of Xiao Liang's retreat from the front line to rest and hurriedly stepped forward to deliver it. A tall hat.
"Thank you, Boss Li." Xiao Liang smiled slightly, but he didn't mean to be humble. In Xiao Liang's eyes, the opponent was indeed similar to Li Jifeng's description. Not to mention the Haihan Militia, it would not be too difficult for the Li Family Militia to deal with such an opponent. This time the troops were dispatched, it was easy to gain a huge favor from the Li family. "How do your army plan to deal with these dead and injured bandits?" Li Jifeng continued to inquire about Xiao Liang's words. With so many people dead, it would be quite troublesome to report to the official afterward. The Panyu County Government is also located in Guangzhou City. If you want to report to the official, it would take two or three days to go back and forth. With so many corpses, I am afraid that it has already begun. Rotten.
"Catch what should be caught, and bury what should be buried." Xiao Liangyan responded concisely and concisely. He had no sympathy for the first batch of bandits who came up to kill them. At first glance, these people are desperadoes who regard human life as nothing. It is best if they are dead. Those who are not dead cannot stay in society and harm others. As for whether Lijiazhuang would report this matter to the government, to what extent and what the results would be, he didn't care - if the Guangzhou government could take care of these matters, the people would not be in such chaos.
"Do these injured people need medical treatment?" Li Jifeng continued to ask.
Xiao Liang raised his head and glanced at Li Jifeng, and instantly understood what he meant. He shook his head and said, "There is no need to treat those who are seriously injured. Let everyone accept their destiny!"
Treating these injured bandits will definitely require a lot of medicine and someone to take care of them, and Lijiazhuang is obviously not willing to bear this responsibility. Xiao Liang also felt that there was no need to waste too many resources on these scum, so he simply followed Li Jifeng's wishes.
"I understand, let's deal with it now." Li Jifeng bowed and retreated. If Xiao Liang said "treat", then Li Jifeng would have to grit his teeth and pay for it, but it was obvious that Xiao Liang had no sympathy for these bandits, and Li Jifeng was happy to save unnecessary expenses.
The intermission period between the bandits' attacks was much longer than the Lijiazhuang defenders expected. By lunch time, there was still no movement from the opponents, but people could be seen constantly coming in and out of the rogue camps to the west and north.
"No wait, let's eat first!" Xiao Liang put down the telescope angrily and gave the order.
Although the first round of attacks directly wiped out the group, his side did not show its full strength, which still gave the opponent a little hope of a comeback. He originally thought that the other party would launch the next wave of attacks after taking a short rest, but he did not expect that these bandits neither retreated nor attacked, and just remained in a stalemate.
Of course, Xiao Liang hopes that the opponent will use his imagination to encircle Lijiazhuang. Anyway, the waterway to the south has been cleared, and materials and personnel can come continuously from the Shawan Waterway to the south. There is no need to worry about whether the opponent will. Adopt siege tactics.
In order to reward the Haihan militia for fighting bravely, Li Jifeng had two more pigs killed in the morning to give the militia extra meals. Li Jifeng's instructions to the logistics were very clear, which was to ensure that the Haihan Militia had "rice for every meal, meat for every meal, and a bed for everyone" during the battle in Lijiazhuang. Compared with the safety of Lijiazhuang, this amount of money is not a painful amount for Li Jifeng. He has heard Li Nai mention that in order to invite the Haihan militia to help in the war, the Annan people are simply throwing away the pot, including the population and land. The reward was paid to the Haihan Executive Committee, and since I could choose to use money to resolve the matter, it saved me a lot of trouble.
The rogue bandits stationed in the wilderness are not so lucky. Not to mention meat, even staple food is already very tight now. There are thousands of acres of rice fields belonging to Lijiazhuang nearby, but at this time, there is still more than a month before the rice matures, and there is no possibility of eating it. Most people could only get a small bowl of wild vegetable porridge, which contained almost the same ingredients as the morning meal. It could only be said to be better than nothing.
As the bandit leader, Liao Dabi naturally had a separate meal, so he didn't need to drink the astringent and bitter wild vegetable porridge. But he was not in the mood to eat at all now, because his subordinates had just reported that Zeng Aniu and his gang on the Shawan Waterway in the south had disappeared.
Thinking of the post-war material transportation plan that Zeng Aniu had sworn with him two days ago, Liao Dabi was so angry that he wanted to flip the table. According to what Li Maozai said, there are hundreds of thousands of kilograms of grain, illegal salt, hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and all kinds of valuable things in the Li family village. How can such a lot of things be carried on the shoulders of the brothers? Walk? When will it be shipped?
At this time, Liao Dabi was still thinking about how to deal with the spoils after the war, but he was completely unaware of what the sudden disappearance of Zeng Aniu and his group meant. Several other bandit forces finally decided to stay and continue to attack Lijiazhuang because Liao Dabi agreed to give another 20% of the profits to everyone. Of course, for them, the criterion for weighing the pros and cons is actually very simple - if they choose to give up and withdraw their troops now, then this time it will be a 100% loss-making transaction, and they will lose a lot of manpower and food and supplies in vain; if they stay and continue to attack Lijiazhuang, Although there is a risk of casualties, if it can be defeated, it will definitely be a big business that can last for several years. It is still worth taking this risk.
In the afternoon of that day, the bandit coalition organized another wave of offensive, still launching attacks from the north and west directions, and the number of troops sent exceeded that in the morning, with a total of nearly a thousand people on both sides. The defenders also continued to use the defensive mode in the morning, still using the rotating gun formation as the defensive firepower output, and launched long-range attacks on the bandit teams rushing into the formation.
In view of the increase in the strength of the opponent's troops, the defenders on the two positions did not dare to be too confident and started shooting after the enemy entered the shooting range. In this direction, Xiao Liang was responsible for adding two platoons of musketeers from the Li's Civilian Regiment as supplementary firepower to ensure sufficient firepower intensity within the range. However, the artillery that had been deployed on the position was still silent and was not put into use.
This is because Xiao Liang insists that the opponent will definitely make a desperate move in the end, betting all the troops on hand to win or lose. If the artillery is used now, it will definitely undermine the opponent's confidence, and they may choose to leave the field without finishing this one. As for artillery, a powerful weapon, Xiao Liang decided to save it until the last critical moment to use it. He tried his best to eliminate these potential hostile forces within the controllable battlefield range, lest they become hidden dangers after escaping here. .
The offensive launched by the bandit coalition in the afternoon still did not make substantial progress. If there is any gain, it is that they learned the lesson from the morning, lifted many door panels and ladders during the charge, and skillfully subdued the obstructionists. Barbed wire. Of course, this small detail is not enough to affect the outcome of the battle. In the face of intensive firepower, those who rushed through the barbed wire fence still became the living targets of the militiamen without any suspense.
(End of chapter)