Chapter 1363: Capture Zhongzuo City
Although the waves coming from the Houjin Cavalry were fierce, what greeted them was the Haihan position standing on the plain like a reef. After the intensive gunfire sounded, the wave was shattered before it even hit the rocks. After the horses and cavalry at the front were shot and fell together, they were crushed by countless iron hooves from behind. The neighing of the horses and the miserable screams of the fallen were heard together, and the scene was very tragic.
However, the bullets fired by the Haihan military formation on the opposite side seemed endless. Even if the Houjin cavalry risked their lives to attack, it would be difficult to move forward within a hundred meters. Although Muteb collected all the armors and shields in the city of Zhongzuo before setting off to equip this group of cavalry, these protective measures still could not withstand the bullets fired from the Haihan rifle. These armors designed to withstand cold weapons can only serve as a psychological comfort in this kind of battle situation.
The speed at which the Haihan Army harvested lives was no slower than the charging speed of the Houjin Cavalry. The hundreds of men and horses died as fast as they charged. As the commander, Muteb didn't even have time to give the order to turn, and he saw the charging cavalry being shot row by row. Fell to the ground.
The killing was completed almost in an instant. Hundreds of golden cavalrymen failed to cause any waves in front of the dense musket formation. The person who charged the most fiercely among them fell down far away from the Haihan Army. The battle line is still more than twenty meters away. Although this is only a few steps away for the cavalry, it can be reached in one breath, but it is also the distance between life and death. Although the Houjin cavalry has the intention to fight to the death, they do not have the ability to cross this space. ability.
Takahashi Minami did not take action personally. He just rode on horseback, stood behind the soldiers, and reviewed the entire battle process with a calm attitude. Now he rarely rushes to the front line like he did when he was a company commander, because he has gradually begun to understand that the value of his existence does not lie in how many enemies he kills with his own hands, but in ensuring that the troops he commands Able to exert the strongest combat effectiveness on the battlefield. As a commander who influences the direction of the war, his value is far greater than being personally involved in the fight. What's more, as long as the victory of the war belongs to Haihan, the military exploits he obtains will be far greater than killing several enemies with his own hands.
Although it is still unclear how many remnants of Hou Jin are in the city of Zhongzuo, Takahashi Nan can judge that the main force of the opponent's cavalry should have been exhausted in the previous three battles. This is not suitable for Haihan's battle plan. This is undoubtedly good news. As long as the cavalry force deployed by Hou Jin in this area is wiped out, Haihan will have a lot less worries when settling here. At least in terms of logistical supplies, he no longer has to worry about getting from the seaside to the city of Zhongzuo. There are security issues along these miles.
"Clean up the battlefield!" Seeing that the situation was decided, Takahashi Nan ordered the cleaning up work to begin. As for the scattered Houjin cavalry who escaped from the battlefield, he was not worried. There were cavalry battalions on the outside to intercept and suppress them.
Regarding the Houjin Cavalry's heroic charge to death, Takahashi Minami must be lying if he insists that he was not shocked at all. Among the armed forces of various countries he has fought against in the past few years, it is really extremely rare for an army to be able to do this. rare. These people are savage and fearless of death. Even when facing an opponent with a disparity in strength like the Haihan Army, they will still launch a desperate charge. It is no wonder that Ming Dynasty was defeated by such a group of seemingly primitive militants.
Gao Qiaonan recalled that before heading north from Zhejiang, Qian Tiandun had also emphasized that the enemies he would fight in the Liaodong region in the future were extremely fierce. Although he had fought against the Hou Jin Army several times in the past year, it was not until this attack on Zhongzuosuo City that Gao Qiaonan had a deeper and more intuitive understanding of Qian Tiandun's words.
After receiving the order, two platoons of infantry carried rifles with bayonets and began to clear the battlefield in a long snake formation. For those Houjin soldiers who were seriously injured or trying to fight to the death, Haihan soldiers would directly give them finishing blows or kill them. The number of horses killed in these battles today has reached hundreds, even more than the number of horses owned by the cavalry battalion. It is probably enough to feed the troops stationed here until the beginning of next spring.
Horse meat is not a meat suitable for the general public. Its inherent smell also requires certain cooking methods, so many people stay away from it. However, Haihan has a unique technical advantage, that is, it has mastered a large amount of spices produced in the southern tropical regions, which are extremely scarce resources in Northeast Asia in this era.
Regarding how to use spices to marinate horse meat, the logistics department has already had mature recipes and operating methods. After the horse meat is washed and cut into strips, ingredients such as amomum villosum, cinnamon, fennel, pepper, aniseed, nutmeg, cloves, fresh ginger, cooking wine, salt, etc. are added, pickled and then dried to create a unique flavor. The horse meat is dry. You can also stuff horse sausage with spiced horse meat from local materials. The dried horse meat sausage is also quite delicious. Fresh horse meat can also be braised in the same way as beef, or made into barbecue.
However, so many horses were killed in the battle this time that even if they were prepared according to the existing methods, it would take at least hundreds of people and several days to prepare them. There are not so many manpower for logistics and cooking, so some people from the combat troops must be transferred to help.
"Battal Commander, we have captured several Houjin officers, but one of them is seriously injured. Do you think we should provide treatment?"
The sound of reports from his subordinates woke Takahashi Nan out of his thoughts. He was actually not worried about the food supplies for the garrison in the future. The Haihan Army had fought against enemies from various countries in various environments in the past, and had never had any problems with supplies. It was just this. After killing so many horses during the battle for the first time, he felt that it would be a waste to just abandon the horse corpses, so he had to try to make the best use of them.
Takahashi Nan nodded and said: "Bring the person over first and take a look."
Although Haihan had no intention of treating the enemy's seriously wounded during the battle against Lushunkou, and even stipulated that as long as the wounded were incapacitated, they would be dealt with directly. However, the rules are not absolute. If found, If you kill an important person on the enemy's side, there is naturally still value in treating him. It's just that Minami Takahashi personally has the authority to control this.
Soon the soldiers used a stretcher to carry an injured General Houjin to Takahashi Nan. The man was shot in the right chest. Although he was wearing plate armor, a hole was still made by the bullet, and there was blood. It flowed everywhere. Takahashi Minami saw that he also had bleeding symptoms from his mouth and nose, and knew that this man's lungs were seriously injured, and even if Chief Morgan came in person, he might not be able to save his life.
"Has this person's identity been confirmed?" Takahashi Nan asked the officer escorting the person.
"Report to the battalion commander, according to the identification of the prisoners, this person is Jia La Ezhen Muteb who commanded the local Houjin Army."
After listening to this, Takahashi Nan nodded thoughtfully, and then looked at General Houjin who was lying on a stretcher coughing up blood. He thought that even the commander came out to charge into the battle. It seemed that he had indeed lost all his family wealth. Cleaned out. However, this man was so seriously injured that it would be a waste of resources to treat him, not to mention torture, so I took a chance and asked him: "Do you know how to speak Chinese?" After that, there were many people in the Jin army. The Ming Dynasty surrendered its troops and generals, but Mutebu understood Gao Qiaonan's words and struggled to respond: "Muttebu, I won't surrender!"
Seeing that he was injured like this, Takahashi Minami still refused to give in. He was obviously determined to die, and couldn't help but praise: "He is a man, so I'll give you a good time!"
Takahashi Minami immediately pulled out the pistol from his waist, asked the soldiers next to him to take a few steps back, and shot Muteb in the head, killing him.
"Dig a separate pit for him when you bury him." Takahashi Nan waved his hand, indicating that his body should be carried away, which was considered to be the end of the matter. Although he respected the other party's courage and determination as a soldier, he would not put more energy into dealing with this matter. The commander of the Hou Jin Army was killed, but the battle around Zhongzuosuo City was not over yet.
Takahashi Nan looked at the sky. Seven hours had passed since the war started in the morning, and there were still about three hours until dark. Today the special operations battalion fought three battles with the Houjin Cavalry. Although they had a clear advantage, the combat intensity was already quite high, and there were also a certain number of casualties. If we continue to attack Zhongzuo City, it will be a great test for the physical condition of the soldiers.
Of course, there is also good news for Haihan. After the group of Houjin cavalry that rushed over just now were eliminated, Gao Qiaonan can judge that there are not many armed forces in the city anymore, and it is likely that they are mainly infantry and logistics auxiliary personnel. If Haihan launches an attack, the opponents in the city may not be able to resist.
Gao Qiaonan's judgment was verified before the rest of the special operations camp ended. Some cavalry found that the north city gate was opened again. After a group of Houjin personnel left the city, they evacuated directly to the north. There were about six to seven hundred people in total. many.
Takahashi Nan's first reaction was that the defenders in the city had abandoned the city. The destruction of the cavalry led by Muteb outside the city probably extinguished the last hope of the defenders in the city. If they don't seize this opportunity to leave, when the Haihan Army breaks through the south gate, it may be too late to withdraw.
Takahashi Nan ordered the cavalry to continue tracking the opponent's troops retreating to the north, and then ordered people to enter the city from the north gate to check the situation. The cavalry entering the city soon found that the city was empty, so they rushed from the city to the south gate, opened the crumbling city gate, and allowed the large troops to enter the city.
Although a group of enemies were finally let go, Gao Qiaonan was not too depressed. During the siege, he had wiped out all the main forces of the Hou Jin garrison, including his commander. This was well accomplished. completed the pre-war tasks. Now that the defenders in the city are forced to abandon the city and flee, our own side has also reduced unnecessary casualties, which is actually a good thing.
While Gao Qiaonan sent people to the beach to report, he led his army into the city and arranged manpower to inventory the material situation in the city.
The circumference of Zhongzuosuo City is only more than two miles and less than three miles. Most of the original houses in the city were destroyed in the war between Jin Dynasty and Ming Dynasty, so the city is full of tattered tents that look like refugees. There are more battalions than armed strongholds. When the Houjin garrison in the city hurriedly evacuated, they did not have time to take away these belongings, but the gold and silver were so soft that they basically did not take them away, leaving no loot for Haihan.
The few buildings in the city that could provide shelter from rain and sun were transformed into horse stables to accommodate the hundreds of horses that housed Hou Jin's garrison, as well as to stack and store fodder for the winter. There weren't even many metal objects left in the city, and there were only two earthen cannons on the city wall used for display. Perhaps because they were too heavy to carry, the Jin army did not take them with them when they evacuated.
"It seems that these fodder are our most important trophies." After a brief inspection of the situation in the city, Takahashi Minami came to a rather helpless conclusion. In the past, whenever the Haihan Army conquered a place, it would definitely gain a lot. For example, in Penghu, Miyako Island, the Spanish Castle in Taipei, and the Zhoushan Islands, the Haihan Army gained quite a lot. An armed fortress was laid down like this, and there were only mountains of fodder inside. This was the first time even the well-informed Takahashi Minami had seen such a situation.
After the large forces entered the city, they quickly split up to clean up the facilities in the city. Afterwards, the Jin army naturally couldn't keep those smelly tents. Gao Qiaonan had people gather them together, transport them out of the city on a cart and burn them directly to prevent fleas and parasites from continuing to spread in the city.
The Hou Jin Army threw stones into the two wells in the city to block them before evacuating. Fortunately, they were in such a hurry that it was not difficult to solve this level of blockage. It just took more time to remove the stones from the wells. Get them all out.
After further searching the city, the soldiers found several survivors hiding in the haystacks of the stables. After a brief interrogation, it was determined that they were all Han Chinese from Liaodong and were sent here to work as slaves by Hou Jin. They had also taken advantage of the chaos before the withdrawal of Hou Jin's army to hide in the haystack, and finally escaped safely. Although they didn't recognize Haihan as an immortal, they could always understand Chinese. They all quickly cried and told their tragic experiences, hoping to win some sympathy.
Under the guidance of these Han people, the soldiers found the cellars used by the Hou Jin army to store grain in two locations in the city, totaling about three to four thousand kilograms of grain. It may be that the Hou Jin army left in a hurry and did not have time to destroy these stored grains, or it may be that they were lucky enough to think that the Haihan army would not discover these cellars, but in short, in the end, all these benefits fell into the hands of Haihan. Takahashi Minami, who was originally seriously disappointed with the spoils of harvest, finally felt a little better after seeing the food.
(End of chapter)