1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 1039 Retreat
Sun Zhen held the rifle with one hand and supported the tree trunk with the other, panting desperately.He now needs to calm down his breathing as soon as possible, so as not to affect the accuracy of the next shooting.Although the current situation is very urgent, what he is thinking about at the moment is something that has nothing to do with what is in front of him.

Sun Zhen remembered the night when he escaped from his hometown, behind him was the blazing fire and the indistinct screams in the village. At that time, he also ran like this desperately, fearing that he would be overtaken by the rebels.He fled in such a haste that he didn't have time to bring any family members with him, nor did he have any personal belongings, let alone any weapons that could be used for self-defense.Sun Zhen fled from the village that night, and at dawn, he found that he had escaped for thirty or forty miles in one breath.Even in the training after joining the army in Penghu, he never ran such a long distance in one breath.

Shooting is not Sun Zhen's strong point, and the training he received in the special warfare battalion can only keep him at a passing level. In the team under his command this time, there are several people who shoot better than him.The reason why Sun Zhen stayed to direct this difficult blocking battle was not because he thought he was good at shooting, but because he was very clear about his responsibilities as a commander. He had to take care of everyone in the team and ensure everyone was safe. Evacuate the battlefield, otherwise this orderly retreat will easily turn into a disorderly escape.

Since joining the army, this is probably the most passive situation Sun Zhen has faced in actual combat. In the past, no matter in Taipei or Zhejiang, only his opponents were kicked out by the special operations battalion. He has never encountered such a situation. The situation of being chased by the opponent is so embarrassing.It was precisely this that made him involuntarily recall the scene of being chased and killed by the rebels during the Denglai Rebellion.

However, compared to the situation where there was almost no power to fight back at that time, Sun Zhen still has at least a very lethal weapon in his hand to deal with the chasing enemies.Although these natives are very fierce, after taking several rounds of cold shots one after another, they had to temporarily choose to hide their whereabouts, so as to avoid being used as living targets under the opponent's guns in vain. The human group finally had a little breathing time.

Sun Zhen knew that the natives would not stay dormant for too long, and the rest time left for him was very limited. He had to quickly weigh how much time the current blocking measures would buy for the retreating comrades, and the physical and mental strength of the three of them. How long can it last, should it continue to stick to the current tactics, or should it be better to leave the battlefield as soon as possible.

If it was Sun Zhen a year ago, he would have chosen to save his life without hesitation. At the beginning, in order to save his life in the war, he didn't even take care of his own family, but now as an officer of the special warfare battalion, Sun Zhen had to consider more factors.In addition to ensuring the safety of the team he leads, he also knows that he represents the dignity of the special warfare battalion. If this invincible force falls into the hands of a group of natives who use cold weapons Here, no matter what the objective reasons are, it is an unacceptable result.Even for the sake of the group he belongs to, Sun Zhen absolutely cannot tolerate this task being messed up in his own hands.

Sun Zhen turned his head to look at the positions of the two partners, and saw that they were also sticking their heads out behind the tree trunks and bushes to look at him. Since there was a distance of more than ten meters between them, they did not dare to speak loudly to reveal their positions. Communicate through simple gestures to confirm whether each other's status can still continue to fight.

At this time, it had been three hours since they started to retreat near Maolishe. During this period, there were only a few short stops to drink water and rest, and the physical exertion was very heavy.Although I still have some dry food on me, I don't have time to eat something properly.But at this time, they didn't care about so much. Before the natives attacked, the three of them took out the dry food and ate it first. If they didn't eat anything, their physical strength might not last until dark.

Sun Zhen believed that he was not the only one who was suffering from hunger at this time. Those natives chased for hours at a stretch, and their physical exertion might not be less than his own. Moreover, they set off more hastily, and some natives might not even have enough water to drink. Without it, he followed the team into the mountain with a weapon in hand. If he still has the strength to fight after chasing him, then Sun Zhen can only say admiration.

After a few mouthfuls of fried noodles, Sun Zhen finally returned to the situation in front of him. According to the weather, it will be dark in about two hours, and the possibility of getting rid of the tracking of the natives will increase. many.In the current rainy season, after night, the wild environment is wet and cold, and the natives in thin clothes or even topless must find it difficult to survive. Sun Zhen even thinks that they may retreat soon, because if they want to go back If the pursuit continues, the natives will most likely not be able to rush back to their tribe tonight.

Of course, if the natives had considered this aspect, then they would probably give it a go and try to launch today's last offensive.As long as even one enemy can be left behind, their pursuit today will not be in vain.

Sun Zhen observed the surrounding environment again. The terrain of the stream bank is relatively flat, perhaps because of the erosion of the annual rainy season, and the density of trees is relatively sparse. As long as there is an action, it will definitely be discovered by the other party soon.Sun Zhen weighed it over and over again, and still felt that he could not leave too much time for the opponent to breathe. At this time, whoever can grit his teeth and persist will be the final winner. The active side will obviously have more psychological advantages.

Sun Zhen gestured to the other two companions, indicating that they were ready to act.After receiving the response, Sun Zhen stood up, bowed his back, and began to retreat back under the cover of trees and grass. Seeing this, the other two followed suit.

However, the actions of the three of them could not be hidden from the eyes of the natives. Soon the roar of the natives resounded in the forest, and then several people rushed out of their hiding places and chased after them relentlessly.

Sun Zhen's prediction became a reality. This time the natives obviously planned to spell out a result. After the two or three people who rushed in the head were hit by musket bullets and fell to the ground, the other natives did not choose to dodge as before. , but continue to rush forward.Sun Zhen fired two shots, and in the process of retreating, he noticed that there were natives marching in the forest on the east side. It seems that the truce just now was also an illusion. They wanted to use this to paralyze Sun Zhen and others, and sent a team Keep Chen Cang in the dark, and outflank the opponent's back from the side.If Sun Zhen hadn't acted early and took a rest for a while, the natives on this side road might really be able to go forward and cut off their retreat route.

"Meng Gui, you are on the left!" Sun Zhen warned loudly.

Meng Gui's reaction was fast enough. He immediately turned his head and aimed at the forest. After about half a second, he opened fire. With a gunshot, someone fell to the ground in the forest more than 20 meters away.

After Meng Gui fired a shot, he retreated immediately, because he had already seen that while he was shooting, several natives in the forest stopped, bowed their bows and set arrows, ready to launch an attack on his side.As soon as he moved, several bamboo arrows and a bamboo spear flew over and stuck in the place where he was hiding just now.

Sun Zhen found that the natives had learned to be smart this time. During the truce just now, they did not patronize to rest, but sent a group of people to go around to their side. The traces of the natives' activities in the forest were not clear. Maybe someone has already copied it to the front.In this way, the natives can rely on their huge superiority in numbers to surround them in a narrow area near the bank of the stream.

"Cross the river!" Sun Zhen decisively made a new decision, and immediately swam across the nameless stream before the natives could get too close.On the other side of this stream, there are several large rocks as high as half a person, which can be used as a shelter for them to swim to the shore and shoot at the natives who chased here.

"Meng Gui go first, and cover us when we get ashore!" Sun Zhen decided to let Meng Gui, who has the best marksmanship, go first, so that he can take advantage of the range of the gun and his own accuracy to be the companion who crosses the stream at a farther place. Provide cover fire.

Meng Gui could understand Sun Zhen's intentions without explaining. He immediately raised his rifle and ammunition bag above his head and strode into the stream.Although this stream is only seven or eight meters wide, the place where Meng Gui entered the water is not shallow. Halfway through, his feet are hanging in the air, and he needs to step on the water.However, in the training they received in the past, armed swimming was included. Even Sun Zhen, a northern man who was not very good at water, can hold up half a navy now, so it is not too big to cross this creek. The problem.

Before Meng Gui climbed up the bank of the stream, Sun Zhen had already found out that some natives came from the lower reaches of the stream. If they hadn't made a decisive decision to cross the stream here, when the natives approached and narrowed the encirclement, the three of them would Can only be trapped to death by this stream.

"Liu Da hurry up!" Sun Zhen ordered Liu Da while hastily reloading the bullet.He now regretted that he didn't apply to Chen Yixin for the latest seven-shot rifle before he set off. Even if there was only one, he didn't have to make such a fuss now.This kind of loading efficiency is simply fatal at the moment.

Liu Da also followed Meng Gui's previous method, jumped into the stream holding his gun and ammunition bag, and rushed to the opposite bank desperately.At this time, Meng Gui had already set up his posture on the other side of the stream, and started shooting at the target on this side, providing fire cover for the two companions behind.

Sun Zhen saw that there were more and more enemies, and the closest distance to him was only a dozen meters away, so he immediately jumped into the water and swam to the opposite bank.The natives chasing up from behind shot at Sun Zhen who was still in the water with bows and arrows against the sporadic bullets shot from the opposite bank.

Liu Da and Meng Gui estimated that they had never tried such a fast shooting frequency since they were soldiers. The speed of reloading bullets was at least twice as fast as in usual training. They knew very well that they could hit one more target now, and Sun Zhen escaped from danger. I hope I can get one more point.

Although they tried their best to shoot wildly at the natives, and almost every shot hit the target, Sun Zhen, who had become the target of the fire, was hit by an arrow when he climbed up the bank of the stream, but fortunately it was only shot in the arm , there is no danger of life for the time being.Liu Da poked out half of his body from behind the stone, grabbed the armed belt on Sun Zhen's clothes, and dragged him behind the stone, including his man and weapon.

Sun Zhen gasped and said, "I can't lift this arm, so I guess it won't be useful now!"

Liu Da poked his head out and fired at the opposite bank, and responded, "Squad leader, you still have an arrow stuck in your arm, just lie down!"

Sun Zhen didn't say a word, and sat up to load the ammunition into the rifle.Although he couldn't raise the gun to shoot with one hand, he could barely finish it with the help of reloading.Now that the three of them were trapped here, if they couldn't stop the natives on the other side of the stream, they basically had no hope of getting out.

With Sun Zhen, a wounded soldier, to help reload, Meng Gui's shooting speed has also accelerated a lot. There are already three or four natives who were hit by him and fell into the stream.The natives who caught up later also realized that going into the water here was a living target, and immediately shot the bow, arrow and spear in their hands towards the big rock where the three of them were hiding.

Meng Gui shrank his head almost subconsciously, a bamboo arrow brushed his face, he stretched out his hand to touch it, his face was already covered with blood, if it was a little higher, it probably passed through the eye socket directly, scared He was also cursing and swearing, and killed the native who was shooting arrows with a single shot.

"Squad leader, we probably won't be able to go back!" Meng Gui squatted down to avoid a spear, and took the loaded rifle handed over by Sun Zhen: "There are at least seventy or eighty natives on the other side. The bullets on our bodies are counted as one shot, and it is estimated that they will not be enough.”

When swimming just now, Sun Zhen dropped the ammunition bag in the water because of an arrow, but he carried a large amount of supplies because of his physical strength. Now the ammunition on the three of them is gathered together, and there are only five or six left Ten shots.Because of Meng Gui's continuous shooting, his right hand and half of his face had been blackened by the gunpowder smoke, and he looked very strange.

Sun Zhen roared: "If you can't go back, you'll have to kill a few more. If you kill two, you'll earn one! But save your bullets, and shoot when you see someone getting into the water!"

Liu Daying said: "Squad leader, the natives are not fools. When they find that they can't get through here, they will naturally swim upstream or downstream to find another place to cross."

Sun Zhen was stunned, and his mood dropped a lot: "Yeah, I still couldn't retreat in the end, and I was blocked by these guys! Now I can only hope that the reinforcements will arrive soon..."

The place where they parted before was about ten miles away from the camp. If they were marching at a normal speed, they would definitely arrive in an hour, and the reinforcements might arrive at a faster speed. People definitely have an advantage.But if the reinforcements can't arrive here in a short time, it may really be impossible to catch up with the heat.

(End of this chapter)