1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 334 One-sided battle situation
The platoon of militiamen Xiao Liang brought from Guangzhou was stationed in Guangzhou from Shengli Port in March, replacing the armed personnel who were originally sent to Guangzhou.Different from the previous group of personnel, this group of militiamen are all "veterans" who have been on the Annan battlefield and have passed the actual combat test, and they are not too nervous when facing the enemy.Compared with the tens of thousands of South Vietnamese troops that had to be dealt with on the Annan battlefield, these disgraced rogues were not taken seriously by the militia at all.Although there is 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 command, loading, aiming, shooting... and kept repeating what they had done in daily training. Thousands of tactical moves.

The stormtroopers sent by Liao Dabi are basically bold and black-hearted desperadoes, but in their past experience of attacking various villages, they have never encountered such intensive long-range firepower.After charging within a hundred paces, after the dozens of people in the front were knocked down by the invisible and intangible lead bullets, the people behind were all a little confused-they promised to grab their hands, but did they not resist?
Finally, a few lucky guys rushed to the nearby barbed wire fence, but the thin and dense barbed wire was densely covered with sharp barbs and iron pieces, and the slightest touch would cause skin torn and blood, although the injuries caused were not serious, but As long as the forward momentum is delayed due to this, the militiamen who are more than a dozen steps away will immediately fill up their shots at close range, and when shooting at this distance, the militiamen can even omit the step of aiming. The target in shooting run is much higher.So in front of this concertina-style barbed wire that was only chest-high, the bandits became living targets, knocked down row by row by lead bullets without any resistance.

It has to be said that Liao Dabi's subordinates are still very desperate. Even in the face of a one-sided massacre, the desperadoes did not choose to retreat, but continued to charge upwards.Finally, someone stepped on the corpse of his companion, jumped over the barbed wire fence, brandished a machete in his hand and rushed towards the parapet while shouting.But it is a pity that what awaits him is not gold and silver treasures, but densely packed spears with iron tips.

Before the unlucky ghost could decide whether to block the attack from the left or the right first, he was already stabbed in the body by seven or eight spears at the same time.These spearmen were all the militiamen of the Li family militia, Xiao Liang was not in a hurry to let them take muskets as long-range firepower, but sent them spears as a cover force for close combat.

These bandits started to charge from two or three hundred steps away. They were already out of breath when they ran here, their hands and feet were sore, and they had no energy to fight. In addition, they were fighting alone, and they wanted to form a formation with the militiamen to fight with spear formations. It's all about delivering food, almost poking over one as soon as it comes.The Haihan militiamen, who were waiting for work, continued to shoot without haste, attacking the bandits who were still trying to climb over the barbed wire.

When the bandit stormtroopers had lost more than two-thirds, the survivors who had no hope of attacking Zhuangzi finally lost the courage to continue to die, and began to turn around and run back.Xiao Liang didn't intend to pursue the fugitives either, so he asked the militiamen to turn their guns around and aim at the few bandits who were still fighting.After a burst of gunfire, these stubborn bandits were also killed on the spot, and the first wave of bandits' attack on the west side of Lijiazhuang was completely defeated.

From the vicinity of the parapet to a hundred paces away, the bodies of the bandits fell all the way along the way, and many people who were not seriously injured fell to the ground or screamed or rolled, the situation was very miserable.However, Xiao Liang was unmoved by this, and just immediately ordered the militiamen to stand by, so that the civilian men in the rear went forward to clean up the battlefield, and re-reinforced the damaged section of barbed wire.

The fighting situation in the north was similar to this, and the stormtrooper formed by the joint efforts of several bandits also suffered heavy casualties.The fourth company, which had more flintlocks, placed its opponents at a distance of about 30 meters before starting to focus their fire. The intensive firepower took the lives of hundreds of people in just one or two minutes.The stormtroopers here didn't even have a chance to rush to the front of the parapet and make close contact with their opponents before being killed like their colleagues on the west side. Most of them fell in front of the barbed wire.

Although there were many casualties in the first wave of confrontation, judging from the time, it was only a short moment. This kind of casualty rate is really too heavy for the bandits and rogues who are only a few thousand mobs.Liao Dabi didn't wait for the surviving subordinates to escape back to the formation, he was already furious: "Where's Li Maozai, a guy who eats inside and out? Quickly catch this bastard!"

Not long after, the dejected Li Maozai was brought over by his subordinates, but before Liao Dabi got angry, Li Maozai knelt on the ground with a "plop": "Boss Liao, I don't know that things will turn out like this Ah! I beg you, my lord, to give this little one a chance!"

"So many brothers were killed and injured, how dare you beg for mercy? If I give you a chance, who among you will be convinced?" Liao Dabi hated and angry, pointing at Li Maozai and scolding: "Why is there no strong man in Lijiazhuang? Take it down, did so many musketeers fall from the sky or popped out of the rocks? Did you conspire with the government to deliberately lure me here so that the officers and soldiers set up an ambush to kill us and other brothers?"

As soon as Li Maozai heard the hat, he quickly shook his head and argued: "There is absolutely no such thing! Boss Liao, I would like to guarantee with my life that I never conspired with anyone, let alone plot against Boss Liao." and brothers!"

"Life guarantee? Good! 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 you can't win, you don't have to come back!"

When Liao Dabi was in chaos, envoys also came from the north and asked why Liao Dabi encountered such strong resistance.Liao Dabi can only infer that this is the militia group of Lijiazhuang. After everyone has rested, they will launch an offensive together and press all the forces in their hands, and they will definitely be able to conquer Lijiazhuang.In order to prevent the allies from giving up, Liao Dabi also gave a reason that sounded very good - the village guards were so desperate and equipped with sharp weapons such as muskets, it just proved that there are a lot of people in the village wealth?
However, the allies were not so easy to deal with, and immediately proposed to renegotiate the proportion of spoils.Therefore, under the condition that the wounded soldiers returned from the previous round of defeat had not been treated in time, several leaders had temporarily put aside the current battle situation and began to bargain back and forth through envoys.And the personnel who were killed and injured in the charge just now have been left behind by the heroes of various families at this moment, and have become complete cannon fodder.

But at this time, Liao Dabi and his little friends were not the only ones who were unlucky. Zeng Aniu, who was trying to earn some extra money on the Shawan waterway, was already in a state of wanting to cry without tears.After withstood by the "Explorer" twice back and forth, the fleet that Zeng Aniu worked so hard to pull out from his old nest in Xinhui County is basically only half left-this still includes the ones that were injured but did not fall apart. boat inside.Looking at the big monster ship showing off its power again, except for some scratches on the waterline on both sides of the bow, there is no obvious trauma at all.

"I'm just messing with someone!" Zeng Aniu looked resentful, completely forgetting that half an hour ago, it was he himself who ordered the capture of the "Explorer".Looking at the "Explorer" slowly turning around at the fork in the distance, Zeng Aniu couldn't help feeling a chill in his heart, and shouted at the top of his voice, "Get out! Get out!"

The assistant next to him asked: "Boss, why don't you wait for Liao Dabi and the others on the shore?"

"Wait a fart! They locked the waterway with a single boat. Could it be that the village didn't have any precautions? Liao Dabi probably kicked the iron plate this time. If he wants to die, let him go. I don't think life is precious. I will accompany you! Greeting brothers, hurry up!" Zeng Aniu's mind is obviously much clearer than that of Liao Dabi, although he still has the power to fight, he still decisively chose to give up.Although there is no good way for the small boats under my command to take the "Explorer", it is actually quite easy to escape the pursuit of the big boats in the dense water network nearby. Boats are far from comparable to small boats.

Liao Dabi didn't know that some of his allies had already retreated, and he would not make the decision to retreat as quickly as Zeng Aniu.Regardless of the outcome of this battle, Liao Dabi's troops will have to retreat to their old nest in the north, and the road will take at least five days. The 2000-strong team eats horses and chews, and the food and grass supplies they need are not small. , if you can't beat Lijiazhuang, do you have to rely on begging all the way to go back?For the current plan, of course, first appease the other allies, and then gather a large number of troops to attack Lijiazhuang again.

The situation in Lijiazhuang Zhuangzi is much more relaxed than it was during the first two days of preparations. No matter how much Li Nai boasted about the superior combat power of the Haihan militia, the local people still have to see the actual performance before they can rest assured.The Haihan militia did live up to expectations, and easily resolved the opponent's first round of 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 the real fighting power!

At this time, Li Jifeng had also returned to his usual calm appearance, commanding his servants to deliver hot tea to the battlefield for the militia soldiers to quench their thirst.

"Your army is indeed outstanding in combat power. These bandits are really like chickens and dogs. They are almost vulnerable to your army!" Li Jifeng took advantage of Xiao Liang's retreat from the front line to rest, and hurried forward to send him to the army. a top hat.

"Boss Li has praised you." Xiao Liang smiled slightly, but he didn't mean to be modest.In Xiao Liang's eyes, the opponent was indeed similar to Li Jifeng's description, not to mention the Haihan militia, even the Li family militia would not have too much difficulty dealing with this kind of opponent.This time the troops were dispatched, but it was easy to gain a huge favor from the Li family.

"I don't know how your army plans to deal with the dead and injured bandits?" Li Jifeng continued to listen to Xiao Liang's tone.With so many people dead, it would be troublesome even to report to the officials afterwards. The Panyu County Government is also located in Guangzhou City. Rotten.

"Catch what should be caught, and what should be buried." Xiao Liang replied succinctly.For the first batch of bandits who came up to kill, he didn't have the slightest bit of compassion in his heart.At first glance, these people are outlaws who regard human life as worthless. It is best to die, and those who are not dead cannot stay in society and harm others.As for whether Li Jiazhuang will report this matter to the officials, the extent and result of the report, he doesn't care - if the Guangzhou government can manage these matters, the people will not be in such a mess.

"Then do these wounded need treatment?" Li Jifeng continued to ask.

Xiao Liang raised his head and glanced at Li Jifeng, and instantly understood what he meant, shook his head and said, "If you are seriously injured, you don't need to be treated. Let's all live in peace!"

Treating these injured bandits will definitely require a lot of medicine, and someone will need to take care of them, and Li Jiazhuang is obviously not willing to take on this responsibility.Xiao Liang also felt that there was no need to waste too many resources on these scumbags, so he simply followed Li Jifeng's wishes.

"The old man understands, let's deal with it." Li Jifeng bowed and retreated.If Xiao Liang said "cure", then Li Jifeng would have to grit his teeth and pay, but obviously Xiao Liang had no sympathy for these bandits, and Li Jifeng was happy to save unnecessary expenses.

The interval between the bandits' attacks was much longer than the defenders of Lijiazhuang had expected. By lunch time, the opponents still hadn't made any movement, but they saw people coming and going in and out of the bandit camps in the west and north.

"Don't wait, let's serve dinner first!" Xiao Liang resentfully put down the binoculars and gave the order.

Although the first round of attack directly wiped out the group, but his side did not show its full strength, and it 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 a short rest, but he didn't expect that these bandits would neither retreat nor attack, and just stalemate in place.

Of course, Xiao Liang was eager for the opponent to open his mind and adopt a strategy of encircling Lijiazhuang. Anyway, the waterway in the south has been cleared, and supplies and personnel can come continuously from the Shawan waterway in the south. There is no need to worry about whether the opponent will Take siege tactics.

In order to reward the heroic Haihan militia, Li Jifeng ordered another two pigs to be killed in the morning to provide extra meals for the militia.Li Jifeng's instructions to logistics were very clear, that is, to ensure that the Haihan militia "has rice for every meal, meat for every meal, and bed for everyone" during the battle in Lijiazhuang.Compared to the safety of Li Jiazhuang, this amount of money is not a painful amount to Li Jifeng. He has heard Li Nai mention that the people in Annan are selling everything in order to invite the Haihan militia to help in the war. In order to pay the Haihan Executive Committee, since I can choose to use money to settle this matter, it saves a lot of trouble.

The rogues and bandits stationed in the wilderness were not so lucky, not to mention meat, even the staple food was 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 at all.Most people can only get a small bowl of porridge with wild vegetables, and its ingredients are similar to the morning meal, which can only be said to be better than nothing.

As the leader of the bandit, Liao Dabi naturally had a separate meal, but he didn't have to drink the astringent and bitter wild vegetable porridge.But now he is not in the mood to eat at all, because just now his subordinates reported that Zeng Aniu and his gang on the Shawan waterway in the south have disappeared.

Thinking of Zeng Aniu's vowed agreement with him on the post-war material transportation plan two days ago, Liao Dabi was so angry that he wanted to lift the table.According to what Li Maozai said, there are hundreds of thousands of catties of grain, private salt, tens of thousands of taels of silver, and all kinds of valuable things in the Li family village. Could it be that the brothers carried all these things on their shoulders? Walk?When will it be shipped?

At this time, Liao Dabi was still thinking about how to deal with the loot after the war, but he didn't realize what the sudden disappearance of Zeng Aniu and his gang meant.And the other bandit forces decided to stay and continue to attack Lijiazhuang because Liao Dabi agreed to share 100% of the proceeds equally with everyone.Of course, for them, the standard for measuring the pros and cons is actually very simple-if you choose to give up now and withdraw your troops to leave, then this time it will be a [-]% loss-making business, and you will lose a lot of manpower and food and supplies in vain; if you stay and continue to attack Lijiazhuang, although There is a risk of casualties, but if it can be defeated, it is definitely a big deal that can lie down for a few years. It is worth taking this risk.

In the afternoon of the same day, the bandit allied forces organized another wave of offensives, still attacking from the north and west directions, and dispatched more troops than in the morning, with nearly a thousand people on both sides.The defenders also continued to use the defensive mode in the morning, still using the rotating platoon of guns as the output of defensive firepower, and carried out long-range strikes against the bandit teams rushing into the formation.

In view of the increase in the opponent's strength, the defenders on the two positions did not dare to be too big, and started shooting after the enemy entered the range.In this direction that Xiao Liang was in charge of, two platoons of Musketeers from the Li Family Regiment were added as supplementary firepower to ensure sufficient firepower within the firing range.However, the artillery that has been deployed on the position is still silent and has not been put into use.

This was because Xiao Liang insisted that the other party would definitely put all their eggs in one basket in the end and bet on winning or losing with all their troops.If you use the artillery now, it will definitely hurt the opponent's confidence, maybe you will choose to leave the field without finishing this one.As for the artillery, Xiao Liang decided to save it until the last critical moment, and try to eliminate these potential hostile forces within the controllable battlefield range, lest they become hidden dangers after fleeing here. .

The offensive launched by the bandit coalition forces in the afternoon still did not make substantial progress. If there is anything to gain, it is that they have learned the lesson of the morning, carried a lot of door panels and ladders during the charge, and skillfully subdued those who got in the way. barbed wire.Of course, such small details are not enough to affect the outcome of the battle. In the face of intensive firepower, those who rushed through the barbed wire still became living targets for the militia without any suspense.

(End of this chapter)