Chapter 2339
Although this way of eating is quite difficult, Zhu Chen has no complaints about it in his heart. Compared with the past period when he served in Dongjiang Town, the current logistical conditions are pretty good. At least the food can satisfy him. You will no longer have to endure hunger while fighting against the enemy like before.
The patrol team led by Zhu Chen has an activity range just a few miles outside the Jinzhou Isthmus defense line. They will not spend the night in the wild, so they can have their morning and evening meals in the camp. Fried noodles and meat are only needed during the mission. Eat dry foods to replenish calories.
In fact, the military also provides higher-end self-heating field rations to patrols that perform missions in the field for a long time. However, eating that kind of special rations requires bringing food containers and dismounting, which Zhu Chen thinks is too troublesome. , it would be risky to stay in one place for a long time during the mission, so I chose this kind of food that is more convenient to eat on horseback.
Zhu Chen cast his eyes to the west. About two miles away from their team, he could see the faint figures of some cavalry among the bushes. That was not the Qing army, but another cavalry squad with the same mission as theirs.
In order to control the area between the two countries' positions, the Jinzhou Command has deployed five times the number of patrols here than usual. Any Qing army squad that appeared in this area would have a hard time hiding its tracks, and would be besieged by multiple Haihan patrols in a very short period of time.
According to the requirements of the command, such blockade measures may last until the end of the year, which means that patrols like theirs must be maintained in a state of combat readiness, and there may be many battles with the Qing army during this period.
In view of the extremely limited number of elite cavalry garrisoned in the Jinzhou area, teams like Zhu Chen basically have no way to get time to rest midway to ensure that enough patrols are deployed in this area. It is not easy to maintain combat status for more than a month in an icy and snowy environment. Zhu Chen usually tries to reduce unnecessary movements as much as possible in order to conserve his energy to deal with the battle that may break out at any time.
After barely swallowing the last handful of dry fried noodles, Zhu Chen quickly pulled up the cotton towel to cover his face, leaving only his eyes exposed to resist the cold wind. The fur hat, fur jacket, cotton shoes, gloves and other warm-weather clothes he wore were all winter military uniforms issued after joining the Haihan Army. The military uniform he wore before coming to Jinzhou was the cotton-padded uniform issued to the army during the Tianqi Period. It had been changed a few times in the process, and it had long since become tattered and had no warmth at all.
Based on his previous experience in dealing with the Qing army, Zhu Chen knew that the current peace would not last long. Even though the current climate is not conducive to fighting in the wild, the opponent will definitely not be willing to fall into a state of blindness. More Qing troops will be deployed here soon, and a battle may break out at any time.
Zhu Chen raised his head and looked at the sky. Although it was only noon, it was already as dark as evening, and there was still light snow floating in the sky. This was really not a suitable day for wandering in the wild. The only good thing is that there is not much snow on the ground, which will not affect the horses' movement in the wilderness for the time being.
Zhu Chen took out the rifle from the cowhide holster stuck on the horse's back and began to check the condition of the firearm. Although he had only maintained the rifle after returning to the camp last night, he was still used to holding the gun in his hand and trying to figure it out over and over again whenever he had free time, trying to become as familiar with his weapon as possible.
When Zhu Chen was training to use this rifle, the instructor once told him that no matter how powerful a weapon is, you must first master its use before it can fully exert its performance in combat. For example, this seven-shot rifle can only be used through shooting training. However, due to the cost of ammunition, it is impossible to provide them with a large number of shooting training opportunities, so they can only familiarize themselves with their weapons through more primitive methods.
The rifle Zhu Chen received last year was not a second-hand item eliminated from other elite units, but a real new gun. But when it comes to shooting training, he actually only fired about twenty rounds of ammunition, and then he started to go on missions with this gun. The process of becoming familiar with this new weapon is basically completed slowly in actual combat. So far, the number of enemies he has killed with this rifle has already reached double digits.
However, Zhu Chen had seen the performance of the instructors of the special operations group using this rifle for target shooting, and he knew that he was far from giving full play to the performance of this gun, so whenever he had time, he would slowly hold the gun in his hands. groping. Zhu Chen already knew the weight, center of gravity, and structure of this gun, and his familiarity with it was no less than that of the sword he had used before.
Zhu Chen has formed muscle memory through repeated exercises on how to complete the series of actions of loading, raising the gun, aiming and shooting in the fastest possible way. What he lacks now is the ability to aim at targets at different distances. Skills, and these require a lot of live fire to slowly accumulate experience. Therefore, Zhu Chen knew very well how he needed to improve his marksmanship. Since there was no conditions for live ammunition training, he could only improve his strength through continuous actual combat.
Suddenly, a sharp and short whistle came from the distance. Zhu Chen could clearly hear it. It was a signal for help when his family encountered an enemy. He immediately raised his hand and ordered his team to close their formation, and then rode towards the direction where the whistle came. direction.
Although the surrounding area was extremely flat, there were many trees in the wilderness that blocked their view. After riding their horses and running for half a mile, they saw a group of Qing troops fighting with their own troops in the distance.
Similar to the Haihan Army, the Qing Army sent out elites with rich combat experience to perform reconnaissance and patrol missions. Many of them were even Bagala warriors who were famous for their individual combat effectiveness. Although these Qing soldiers' weapons and equipment are still relatively primitive, they are not reckless men who only charge mindlessly. They also have relatively well-established tactics. Moreover, the riding skills of these patrols of the Qing Army were slightly better, so in the competition on horseback, the Haihan Army actually did not have much advantage.
The seven-shot rifle is still a high-end weapon with extremely limited production capacity, so it is not commonly installed in the military. Normally, the number of patrol teams dispatched is small, and they can still collect the number needed to arm one or two patrol teams, but now almost all patrol teams have been dispatched, and these seven-round rifles are not enough. Zhu Chen said There are only three teams led by him. The remaining people are either equipped with old-style muskets or still use cold weapons such as swords and bows.
There were about fifty Qing troops fighting with the patrol that sent out the signal for help. The weapons they used were rather miscellaneous, including sabers, hunting bows, short spears, etc. The formats were not uniform and they seemed to be improvised. Team.
Several members of the patrol team have been put to the ground, and their lives and deaths are temporarily unknown, while the remaining people are unwilling to give up their partners and are still trying to deal with the enemy. Although they had a few muskets, the Qing army was outnumbered and outnumbered, so they rode horses around the patrol, waiting for an opportunity to attack. It is not an easy task to aim at a target in such a chaotic scene.
If reinforcements arrive later, the casualties of this patrol may increase. Zhu Chen led his team to charge directly over, and only opened fire at a very close distance, relying on the power of the continuous musket to open a gap in the encirclement.
Zhu Chen leaned over to dodge the knife that hit his head, and then pulled the trigger. The muzzle of the gun was less than two feet away from the Qing soldier. The sound of the gunshot knocked him off the horse. Being shot in the chest from such a distance, even a Qing soldier wearing cotton armor would definitely not survive.
Soon two other patrols came following the sound. After a fierce fight, the remaining dozen or so Qing troops finally gave up the fight and fled.
The Haihan Army did not pursue it rashly. No one knew whether this group of Qing soldiers was a decoy. It was better to be cautious. Similar situations have occurred in the past. A patrol trying to pursue a fleeing enemy plunged into a trap set by the opponent in advance, resulting in relatively large casualties. Of course, this method is not unique to the Qing army. The Haihan army has used this trick against the Qing army in recent years, killing at least two to three hundred people.
The patrol that encountered the enemy first had lost five men in the previous battle and had many wounded. It could no longer continue its mission and could only return to the isthmus defense line to rest as soon as possible.
Zhu Chen did not check the casualties of that team. He wanted to confirm the safety of his team first. After counting the people and horses, Zhu Chen put his rifle back into its holster, got off the horse silently, and then got off the horse. He took out a long knife from his backpack and walked towards the Qing prisoners of war who were unable to escape due to serious injuries.
Zhu Chen has long been famous for his deeds of beheading enemies on the battlefield, so no one will try to dissuade him from doing so when they see him walking out with a knife.
Zhu Chen walked around the place where the battle had just taken place and chopped off thirteen heads in one go. He asked his men to tie the heads to the horses and hand them over to the superiors for credit when they returned.
The heads Zhu Chen chopped off with his own hands were all the enemies killed by him and his team in the conflict just now. As for the results achieved by other teams, Zhu Chen had no intention of taking credit for them.
But as soon as he finished beheading here, the Qing army's retaliatory offensive came again. But this time, the number of people and horses pouring out from the direction of Daheishan was far more than just a few dozen horses.
As the sound of horse hooves comes in the distance, experienced people can quickly hear some signs from the sound of hooves. Zhu Chen heard this clearly and quickly got on his horse and directed the patrol to evacuate towards the isthmus defense line.
Soon the cavalry team of the Qing army appeared in the area where the battle had just occurred, with as many as a thousand cavalry. With such a large scale dispatch, Haihan's various patrol teams naturally did not dare to confront it head-on, so they had to avoid its attack first.
When Zhu Chen's team retreated to the vicinity of the isthmus defense line, they found that preparations had been made to send troops again. Only two to three hundred cavalry were gathering, and it seemed that they were going to fight their opponents on horseback.
Zhu Chen knew that things were certainly not that simple. His boss, Chen Yixin, was not a greedy person. Even if he wanted to compete with the Qing army, he would never use such a precious unit as the cavalry to fight a war of attrition against the Qing army.
Sure enough, he soon learned the next tactical arrangement, which was to use the cavalry to drive the Qing army closer to the isthmus defense line, and then use artillery to attack them after they entered the fire area.
In order to realize this combat plan, the Haihan Army has used the two days bought by the patrol to dig out several artillery positions about a hundred feet in front of the defense line, and deployed more than a dozen artillery pieces to these concealed positions. . If these artillery pieces fired grapeshot at the same time, they would be powerful enough to form a dense barrage, and the range they could cover would be astonishingly large.
Zhu Chen was unwilling to miss such an opportunity and immediately led a team to join the team responsible for luring the enemy. If this wave can be successfully won, then the Qing army will really have to cut off his head until he is weak.
The action started quickly, and the Haihan cavalry rushed into the wilderness and headed straight for the direction where the Qing army had just appeared. When the enemies saw each other, they were extremely jealous and started fighting immediately.
Haihan has a certain advantage in weapons, and his attack distance is far greater than his opponent's. Therefore, he will try to maintain a favorable fighting distance, use muskets as his main means of attack, and use kite-flying tactics to contain the Qing army.
But such tactics are not flawless. Whether it is a flintlock gun or a seven-shot burst, it is difficult to complete the loading of ammunition on a fast-running horseback. Therefore, it is basically scrapped after firing, and in the end it is still very dangerous. To achieve the effect of luring the enemy deep.
Once they lost the assistance of muskets, the combat effectiveness of the Haihan Cavalry was greatly reduced. The Qing troops arriving in tandem could sometimes use bows and arrows to knock over the fleeing targets in front of them. This also made them gradually relax their vigilance and follow the Haihan Cavalry. After making a big circle, we were getting closer and closer to the isthmus defense line.
When they rushed into the area covered by the artillery position, they heard a series of gunfire, and thousands of projectiles were fired at the flanks of the unsuspecting Qing army. Suddenly, people fell on their backs, and at least hundreds of horsemen and horses were beaten in an instant. He fell to the ground, howling miserably.
The Qing cavalry who came back to their senses immediately realized that they had stepped into the trap deployed by Haihan. The leading officer did not hesitate at all and immediately ordered to leave the battlefield and directly abandoned his companions who were knocked down by artillery fire.
But the trap set by Haihan was originally a series of traps, so how could they let them escape easily? They saw countless ropes around this area suddenly springing up from the ground and tightening, turning into a horse trip formation with a depth of more than ten feet. The horses that were caught off guard and rushed inside naturally threw themselves and their horses upside down, and then blocked the path of the cavalry behind them.
Even after these few moments of delay and confusion, the artillery deployed nearby by Haihan had completed loading ammunition and quickly started the second round. Since almost all the cavalry were blocked in this area, this round of shelling actually hit the target, and the casualties caused were even greater than the previous round.
(End of chapter)