Chapter 2035
Although the fire cover from the sea temporarily relieved the pressure on the retreating troops, the situation of Sun Bing's team was still very dangerous. Since the coast here is a relatively gentle beach, troop transports and warships with deeper drafts cannot dock to pick them up, so four small boats can only be used as transitional vehicles. A small boat, excluding the sailors who row the oars, can carry at most ten people at a time, and it takes about three round trips to pick up all the people. But the Qing army that had surrounded them had no intention of letting them go so easily.
Sun Bing was also injured at this time. A bow and arrow hit his right arm, temporarily making him unable to fight with a gun. Moreover, there was a barb on the arrow, so the medical soldiers did not dare to pull it out, so they could only cut off the arrow shaft with a dagger and give him a simple bandage. However, Sun Bing refused to evacuate to the ship with the other wounded, and still insisted on staying on the coast to command the operation.
Thousands of Qing troops have already rushed to this beach. However, due to the weapon gap and the lack of cavalry, it is difficult for them to shorten the fighting distance by charging on foot. Moreover, because they had to march in the mountains and forests, the Qing army did not carry heavy shields when they set off. It was difficult to rely on the single shields in their hands to catch the bullets fired by the Han army in the sea. Therefore, although the Qing army has engaged the retreating Marines, it can still only rely on the long-range output of a few archers to cause substantial damage to the opponent.
The Qing soldiers who tried to rush close to fight for a huge reward were almost always shot and fell to the ground within a distance of about ten feet. This fire network was really not that easy to break through.
Of course, Azig also noticed that his own casualties were far greater than those of his opponents, but he still insisted that as long as he could intercept this Haihan army, the previous casualties would be worth it.
But the prerequisite for the so-called "worthwhile" is that the Qing army can really successfully intercept this Haihan army. Judging from the current fighting situation, this is no easy task. Although Haihan's warships were parked on the sea a hundred feet away from the coast and could not dock, the combat area was still within the range of their naval guns. This kind of bombardment did not require high accuracy at all, and its deterrence was It's already scary.
If one's own musketeers are still there, then the current situation is very suitable for dispatching this special force. Unfortunately, the musketeers were attacked by the opponent before, and the personnel and equipment were completely destroyed. Now the only long-range can be counted on. The only firepower available was the archers in the army.
But archers are not invincible. The proportion of truly powerful archers in the army is not large. In addition, there are casualties during the pursuit. There are only two digits of archers who can still fight today. And they are not gods who can shoot infinitely. A big bow with a range of thirty feet can fire ten or eight arrows in a row, which is considered good. However, the more powerful divine arm bow with a longer range can shoot eight arrows in a row. Shooting three arrows is a rare master in the army.
What's more, the Qing army's archers all hid in the back row to launch attacks. They did not aim at the target like using muskets, but shot arrows from a long distance. The hit rate depended to a large extent on luck. Certainly. If they cannot maintain a dense formation and fire arrows during the battle, the damage this attack method can cause is actually relatively limited, and it cannot prevent the Haihan army from boarding small boats and evacuating the coast.
The last batch of Haihan troops left on the coast consisted of about fifty people, including Sun Bing. However, the firepower output of Haihan's side did not weaken, but became stronger. The two warships responsible for covering their retreat desperately approached the coast to ensure that the firing of naval guns could more accurately deliver the shells to the Qing army's formation. The two ships rushed too close to the beach, and were even on the verge of running aground. The bottom of the ship was actually in contact with the beach. If there were rocks underwater, the two ships would probably run aground.
The navy's desperate efforts also resulted in a better bombardment effect. More than ten shells hit the Qing army's formation that was trying to launch the final wave of offensive, and immediately wiped out a large number of troops. Although the Qing army performed very bravely under the heavy reward, they were also unable to withstand such a blow that was far beyond their ability to resist. In an instant, the offensive collapsed and the formation was forced to retreat again.
Sun Bing's misfortune never came alone. While commanding the battle, Sun Bing was hit by another arrow in the thigh. At this time, he was forcibly carried to the small boat by two of his men. He was about to reach out to pull the two people up, but then one of them was hit by an arrow in his vest and fell directly into the sea. When others rescued the man on the boat, they saw that the tip of the arrow had penetrated his right chest. When he came out, the arrow was pierced through. Although the person was still alive, blood foam kept pouring out of his mouth, his throat was gurgling, and he could no longer speak.
Sun Bing burst into tears and almost ordered an order to fight to the death with the Qing army. The soldier Zhongjian was one of the first batch of recruits he led when he was the squad leader, and he has been following him in the army ever since. It is said that with his ability and experience, he would have been able to become a squad leader or even a platoon leader, but Still insist on following him as an orderly. Before setting off on this mission, Sun Bing had joked with him that if he made great achievements and returned home this time, he would be able to get a decent position justifiably. However, he was seriously injured at this time, and this subordinate may not be able to persist until he leaves here. Even if there is an opportunity to get promoted and make a fortune, he may not be able to enjoy it.
The warships and troop transports on the sea were all firing their guns at this time, unleashing all their firepower to cover the safe withdrawal of the last group of brothers back to the ship. Although the Qing army was also trying its best to counterattack, in the end its firepower was far inferior to that of the Haihan army, and there were no sea ships available, so the pursuit could only end abruptly on the coast.
Azig was so angry that his teeth bled. There was actually a chance of intercepting the enemy in this pursuit, but the timing was just a little off. If he could have discovered the enemy's escape traces even a stick of incense earlier, it would have been impossible. They were intercepted in the forest and couldn't reach the beach. Seeing the last group of people on the other side escaping by boat, Azig smashed the riding crop in his hand to the ground angrily, his expression full of unwillingness and resentment.
"Baiano, you see, if we had warships today, and warships equipped with artillery like the enemy, they would never be able to escape under our noses!" Azig was filled with anger and had no way to vent, so he He expressed his dissatisfaction with Bayano who was following him nearby: "In addition to selling us guns and cannons, your country should also sell your supposedly powerful warships! Or send shipbuilders here to teach us how to build warships." Boat!”
After hearing what the translator said, Bayano could only smile bitterly. He was a witness to the whole thing today. To be fair, the Haihan Army was indeed far superior to the Qing Army in terms of combat effectiveness and tactical arrangements. Although Azigh has taken counterattacks very quickly, it only took a very short time to complete the mobilization and deployment of troops, and the scale of the troops dispatched also occupies an absolute advantage, the zero armed force at sea is greatly limited. The performance of the Qing army was limited, so it could only watch the Haihan army march away under the cover of warship gunfire. Although the casualty statistics have not yet been released, judging from the battle situation Bayano saw, the Qing army undoubtedly suffered a big loss. The opponent's casualties were successfully controlled to double digits, but the Qing army's losses were definitely far more than that. According to Bayano's estimation, they were at least ten times that of their opponents.
Of course, the heaviest loss was the Musketeers. This special force, which the Qing army invested a lot of resources to form, had only a dozen people left alive after this battle, and had completely lost its combat capabilities. Although a group of reserve teams had begun training before, today's battle caused the Musketeers to lose most of their weapons. Bayano has not yet checked the situation at the site of today's noon firefight, but he knows that the Haihan Army is unlikely to Spare those weapons of the Musketeers after the battle.
When the Haihan Army takes those muskets back for inspection, they will soon find their source. Naturally, this debt will inevitably fall on the Spaniards again. This is the point that makes Bayano feel the most depressing. He could even guess what the Haihan people would do next. Strengthening the blockade of the north-south shipping routes and the Liaodong coast would definitely be an inevitable measure. In addition, the Haihan people would definitely investigate how the Philippine colonial authorities cooperated with the Qing Dynasty thousands of miles away. The next batch of arms equipment and other aid from the Philippines is very likely to be elusive.
As for the Spanish warships and even the shipbuilding technology Azig wanted, Bayano did not dare to make any promises to him. After several years of fighting with the Haihan, the maritime armed strength of the Philippine colonies was much worse than before, and almost half of the armed sailing ships were damaged. Today's Philippine fleet has not only reduced the number of ships by half, but most of them are merchant ships and cargo ships that temporarily replace warships. These ships can be used to deal with the natives of the South China Sea, but if they are to be used to fight against the Haihan naval fleet, they are really not enough.
As for shipbuilding technology, Bayano does not believe that the colonial authorities would provide this level of military assistance to the Qing Dynasty. This is one of the technical foundations for Spain to establish colonies around the world. If it is exported to a country that is not even an ally, then It is too insecure for Spain.
In the final analysis, the colonial authorities just hoped that the Qing could cause some trouble for Haihan in the north and firmly tie the main force of the Haihan army in the north to reduce the military pressure on the South China Sea. As for whether the Qing could use the military provided by the colonial authorities He believed that the governor did not have high hopes for this, otherwise he would not have provided only a hundred or so muskets to the Qing army.
If the number of muskets provided to the Qing army at that time could have been two to three hundred more, the outcome of today's battle might have been completely different. But Bayano also knew that it was just a hypothesis. The Philippine colonial authorities did not have the courage to conduct an arms transaction of this scale when they first dealt with each other. Moreover, the transaction was arranged through an intermediary and did not sit down face to face. Negotiated terms.
But this time, the Haihan Army came and knocked out the Musketeers. It might be difficult to complete the reorganization in a short time, let alone retaliate against the Haihan Army. It is no wonder that Azig became furious on the spot. This not only meant that the many resources the Qing army invested in the Musketeers in the early stage were all in vain, but also frustrated the Qing's senior officials' hopes of using a new type of army to change the passive situation in the Jinzhou area. When Huang Taiji turned around and asked about the matter, Azige was afraid that he would have to take the blame again.
Bayano also expressed indignation and condemnation of the brutal and cunning Haihan army, but in the end he did not respond to Azig on the issue of military aid. Even though he really wanted to train an elite army here to defeat the Haihan people, he knew that he did not have the objective conditions to achieve this goal at the moment. The support he can get from the South China Sea is no more than Aziggo. If he wants to complete subsequent arms transactions and military cooperation with the Philippine authorities, it cannot be achieved unilaterally by the Qing Dynasty.
The only thing that gave Azig some relief was that today's battle once again proved that the Haihan Army was not an invincible force, and the opponent also suffered some casualties during the battle. If the opponent had not arranged an escape route in advance, the only result of continuing to fight today would be that the Haihan Army would be trapped and die on the coast after running out of ammunition. If the Qing army can make full use of its strength advantage and suppress the Haihan army locally, the Qing army will also have a chance of victory.
After Azig calmed down after getting angry, he also realized that shipbuilding could not change the balance of power between the two sides in a short period of time. The Qing Dynasty did not have no warships and fleets in the past. The Dengzhou Navy and the Shang Kexi Department of Dongjiang Town that took refuge in Hou Jin Dynasty both brought a large number of warships and established naval forces, which were even comparable to those of the Ming Dynasty in the northern seas. Higher and lower.
However, these surface armed forces have been wiped out one after another in the battles with Haihan over the years. So last year when the Qing army tried to invade North Korea, they were blocked by the Haihan fleet on the north bank of the Yalu River and were unable to move. Later, villages and towns near the coast were continuously attacked by the sea. The Han army landed and harassed, and the Qing army's defense system showed no power to fight back against attacks from the water.
And this battle was due to a loophole in coastal defense. The other party could drop troops anywhere on the long Liaodong coastline, carry out harassment, and then calmly withdraw from the sea. In the past, it was villages and towns that suffered, but that was fine. It was just a loss of some people, and they would go back to the Ming Dynasty to plunder more Han people. But this time, even the carefully trained special forces were defeated by the Haihan army that landed ashore, which really made the top brass of the Qing army feel heartbroken.
A search near Jinshitan the next day found that the Haihan Army had built a large-scale camp in the mountains and forests near the coast, less than two miles away from the final place of boarding and evacuation. Because of their hasty evacuation, the tents and many supplies were not taken away. Judging from the conditions of this camp, there should be a hundred troops stationed here for at least half a month. This is consistent with the Qing army's previous speculation that the Haihan Army ran into Bayano's musketry team shortly after landing. There is a huge difference.
(End of chapter)