weaving

Chapter 1247 It’s better to cut off one of his fingers!

While the Qinglong Camp in Liuzhuang was fighting fiercely with the Chuang army, the Tengshe Camp in Daguantou had been under fierce attack from the Chuang army for three days...

Although the offensives from both the north and south sides at Daguanjun were also very fierce, fortunately there were not many artillery pieces on these two sides.

The only things that could pose a threat to the Tengshe Camp were the shield carts and bridge-building vehicles that the Chuang army had hastily built. It was with these siege weapons that they were able to get close enough to demolish the flower hedges and cross the trenches.

At one point they broke through the second trench defense line on the north and south sides of Daguantou, forcing the Tengshe Camp back to the last trench wall. If they retreated further, only one camp wall would remain.

Especially at the critical moment, at the western defense line of the Tengshe Camp of the Yongyi Army, Tang Xiancheng's troops even retreated to the camp wall for a time, before finally stabilizing the defensive position on the west camp side.

Different from Zhang Guodong's deliberate retreat in Liuzhuang, this critical moment is a real tough battle.

Wei Zhice had already anticipated that his side was the main attack direction of the Chuang army, so he did not dare to take any risky moves. Initially, he restricted the battalions from using artillery, but on the second day he began to relax the restrictions and allowed each battalion to use camp artillery in defense.

However, the camps were still not allowed to use the falconets on chariots and baggage carts. Even when Tang Xiancheng's troops were forced back to the camp wall, they still insisted on this restriction and refused to make any concessions.

Tang Xiancheng was helpless about this. Military orders were always the most important in the Yongyi Army. As the deputy general of the Tengshe Camp, he could only unconditionally execute Wei Zhice's orders and use the Hundred-shot Gun, Tiger Crouching Cannon, and Mortar for defense.

Fortunately, after they retreated to the line of the camp wall, the artillery of the Chuang army no longer posed a threat to them, so it was not very difficult to hold the defense line. It was just that the Chuang army had too many troops and it was difficult to organize an effective counterattack for a while, and they were unable to regain the lost positions.

…………

On May 24th, at the hour of Mao, the rebel army launched another offensive.

As in the past, the rebel army was still advancing slowly with the hungry servants pushing the shield carts in front. In the space between the shield carts, there were many unarmored servants holding wooden shields and advancing towards the camp wall.

Tang Xiancheng's west camp was deployed with three thousand headquarters of infantry, chariots and baggage carts. Among them, Gao Chengshan's right unit was the infantry thousand headquarters, with 933 soldiers; Li Youcai's artillery cart thousand headquarters had 65 chariots and 1,300 soldiers; Bian Jinzong's three baggage cart divisions had 100 heavy baggage carts and 1,000 soldiers.

Thus, the Tengshe Battalion deployed more than 3,200 soldiers, 65 chariots, and 100 baggage carts on the western front of the critical juncture. Logically, there should have been nearly 500 artillery pieces of various sizes, but the standard falconets, which accounted for the majority of them, were forbidden to be used by the commander-in-chief.

Therefore, in the battle of the first two days, only a small number of close-range cannons such as the hundred-shot muskets, tiger-crouching cannons, and mortars carried by Gao Chengshan's troops were put into battle. Although they effectively killed and wounded the soldiers of the Chuang army, they failed to hold the first three lines of defense.

However, Tang Xiancheng was not very anxious about this. Although he had retreated to the last line of defense, he knew very well in his heart that his artillery advantage had not been brought into play, and there were still two thousand well-equipped cavalrymen who had not yet attacked.

Furthermore, our own muskets had demonstrated great firepower advantages in the previous battles, and were extremely effective in killing the invading soldiers. Once the muskets and cannons opened fire at full strength, and the cavalry then launched a fierce charge, they would definitely be able to regain the lost defense line.

What's more, there are sufficient reserves of gunpowder and artillery shells in their camp, as well as a large amount of grain, dried meat and dried fish, and enough salt. Moreover, the east side of the camp is close to Liujia River. Although large ships cannot pass through, small boats can travel back and forth continuously and replenish supplies to the camp at any time.

  Although Tang Xiancheng was not distressed about the loss of three lines of defense, he was very angry about the cannons of the opposing army, but he had no way to deal with it!

Although, since he retreated to the third trench, the fierce artillery fire from the opposite side had been unable to reach him, and the battlefield seemed to have become much quieter. The familiar and long-lost shouts of killing returned.

But Tang Xiancheng still can't figure out one thing until now - why did General Wei Zhice order him to retreat to the camp wall?

He could obviously hold the third trench defense line and even organize a counterattack. Perhaps the position lost before could be regained!

  why?

This is not something he should consider. His duty is to execute military orders and his mission is to defend the camp wall!

…………

"General, why did you ask Lieutenant General Tang to give up the three lines of defense?" The pacification officer Qin Dazhong was very puzzled. He was different from the chief pacification officer He Biao. In addition to rewarding merits and punishing mistakes, enforcing military discipline, and comforting soldiers, he was also very interested in drills and battle formations. Although he rarely spoke up and participated in discussions in military meetings, he often exchanged ideas with Wei Zhice in private.

Wei Zhice glanced at Qin Dazhong and said, "Since Tang Xiancheng retreated to the three trenches, the enemy's artillery fire has become much less frequent. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

Qin Dazhong repeated it once before he realized: "Could it be that... the enemy troops are moving their gun positions forward?"

Wei Zhice nodded and said, "Since the arrival of the enemy army, the offensive has been very fierce and has not stopped for several days. I estimate that there are between 40,000 and 50,000 enemy soldiers. This is the only way to rotate them every day without worrying about the fatigue of the soldiers and horses. Even if there are thousands of casualties, the offensive can still continue. There is no telling how many hungry civilians have come with the army. If we want to move the artillery position forward, it can be done in half a day at most."

"Ah. The general's vision is far beyond the reach of Dazhong."

Wei Zhice had no intention of listening to his praise. He simply smiled and walked down the platform. As he walked, he said, "Let's go. It's time for us to show off our skills to Liu Zongmin!"

After hearing him speak like this, Qin Dazhong naturally knew that a counterattack was imminent, and he did not dare to say anything more. He followed Wei Zhice down the platform and went straight to the central army tent.

The officers of the central army Yu Deshui, the captain of the rear cavalry Ji Donglai, the captain of the baggage train He Hongli and others had been waiting in the tent for a long time, awaiting Wei Zhice's dispatch. Only the captain of the left infantry Zheng Youjin was unable to come because he had been ordered to command the battle at the front line.

The enemy army's offensive had already begun. Wei Zhice knew that the military situation was urgent, so he stopped talking to his generals and gave the order directly: "Yu Deshui, gather all the divisions of the central army and be ready for battle!"

"Here."

"He Hongli, lead the soldiers of the baggage cart unit, remove the cannons from the baggage carts, carry them to Tang Xiancheng's west camp, and wait for the general's order."

"Here."

"Ji Donglai, your rear cavalry will immediately dress up and go to the west camp to wait for orders from me. Go out and kill the bandits!"

"Here."

Qin Dazhong suddenly said, "General Wei, if the cavalry and baggage carts are all transferred to the West Camp, won't our forces be weakened? How can we counterattack?"

"Humph."

Wei Zhice said in a grim tone: "It is better to cut off one finger than to hurt all ten of them!"

He then gave another order in a deep voice: "Yu Deshui, send someone to tell Jin Yong to dispatch two baggage carts and ask Huo Yuanshan to lead the cart soldiers and artillery to go to Tang Xiancheng's west camp and wait for orders."

Wei Zhice looked at the people in the tent and said, "Today's battle is crucial. Everyone, show your best skills and make sure to strike the bandits into a state of shock. When they see our Yongyi Army, they will be afraid from the bottom of their hearts!"

"Here!"