20 years of the Republic of China

Chapter 616 Breaking the Array

The moon is setting in the west, casting shadows of trees.

The air suddenly became damp and cool, and dawn was approaching.

Zhao Zhengbei led two cavalry companies, totaling more than 260 people, hiding in the pine forest northeast of the Zhi army's position.

The two armies had begun exchanging fire about an hour ago.

The rumbling sound of gunfire not far away lasted for a long time. The orange-red heat waves gently shook the treetops, and the pine waves in the mountains and forests rose and fell slightly.

However, the dense needles obscured the battle situation in the distance.

The soldiers could only infer whether the friendly forces were advancing or retreating based on the location of the artillery fire.

Every time a howitzer exploded, a spark would rise in the night sky over the forest.

The warhorse shook its head and snorted, looking restless.

Zhao Zhengbei stroked the horse's neck twice and whispered softly: "Sh ...

A cavalryman came up in the dark, holding the reins and asked, "Sir, how long do we have to wait? How about I go ahead and take a look first?"

"No!" Zhao Zhengbei refused firmly, "Don't show up easily. If you are exposed, you won't be able to cooperate with the main force in the charge later."

Having said that, everyone could no longer hold back.

When cavalry charged into battle, they risked their lives, but keeping one's heart hanging in the balance was also another kind of torment.

The sound of gunfire seemed to be a unit of measurement for time, and the soldiers waited in the forest for more than half an hour...

Just as the sky was about to clear, the sound of artillery fire suddenly stopped, almost without any warning.

Beifeng and others were startled, then quickly tightened the reins, held their breath, and were eager to give it a try.

Several young cavalrymen couldn't help whispering.

"Is it about to start?"

"Of course, there would be no sound of cannon fire if you didn't hear it!"

"Will they withdraw first?"

"Don't talk!" Zhao Zhengbei interrupted everyone, "Follow the command!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud military bugle call was heard in the night sky - it was the Fengtian Army's order to charge!

Hearing the sound, Zhao Zhengbei turned his horse around, without shouting, but said in a low and firm voice: "Brothers, let's go!"

The soldiers just nodded and didn't say much else.

Soon, there was a sound of sharp blades being unsheathed, and flashes of cold light flashed before everyone's eyes. The cavalrymen drew their swords from their waists one after another.

The road in the pine forest is rugged and winding, which is naturally not suitable for a charge.

Zhao Zhengbei simply led the two cavalry companies to the edge of the woods.

The cavalry company was located on the flank of the enemy's position, almost parallel to the entire trench, and with the slight slope, it was able to overlook the battle situation in front of the battlefield.

The situation turned out to be as expected. After much hard work, the Zhi army only built a complete trench overnight. The defense line lacked depth, but with the firepower of several heavy machine guns, they managed to suppress several attacks by the Feng army.

However, the vanguard of the Zhi army was lightly equipped, and although they had enough machine guns, the bullets were not unlimited after all.

Judging from the rate at which the gunfire was gushing out, the flank of the position was already running out of ammunition, which was obviously intentional on the part of Captain Wang.

At this moment, the First Regiment of the Fengtian Army was charging fiercely.

However, it was dark and they could not see the situation clearly. They only knew that the gunshots were getting closer and the roars were getting clearer, and all the attention of the Zhi army was drawn to them.

Zhao Zhengbei remained silent, still waiting for the right opportunity and order.

About three to five minutes later, a Fengtian Army soldier was seen carrying the regiment flag on his shoulder, leading a large number of death-defying soldiers, rushing desperately towards the northeast flank of the Zhi Army position.

At the same time, the second charge sounded.

Hearing this, Zhao Zhengbei drew his sword and mounted his horse, and immediately roared, "Brothers, the time has come to show our true colors. The people of Guandong are watching us, so don't be so cheap, drive the Wu people out of Shanhaiguan!"

"Yes!" All the soldiers responded in unison.

Immediately, Zhao Zhengbei swung his saber down in the air, and the tip of the saber pointed at the enemy's tent.

"Cavalry Company, charge!"

After saying this, he knocked his feet against the horse's belly and rushed out of the pine forest like a tiger descending from the mountain.

Seeing that he was leading the way, the other soldiers did not want to fall behind and they all rushed forward to catch up and charged forward.

Although Beifeng was a good rider, the cavalry company trained day and night and spent all day on horseback. Naturally, everyone in the cavalry was proficient in riding, and in the blink of an eye, they were on par with Beifeng.

The cavalry could not fire their guns while mounted on horses, as the bumpy up and down of the horses' backs could not only easily injure friendly forces by mistake, but they could also be knocked over by the recoil of the rifles if they were not careful.

If they have to shoot, the officers in the front row can only shoot with their pistols, but the chance of hitting the target is the same as winning the lottery. Even if Beifeng is a great marksman, he can only stop his horse first and then shoot.

However, there is no reason for the cavalry to stop when charging, so they can only fight with speed and fill the gap with blood and flesh.

The cavalry company was only two or three hundred meters away from the enemy's position. If it were not for the shade of the woods, the chaos of the night, and the distraction of friendly forces, they would have been unable to hide. Once they charged, there was no need to hide.

In an instant, people came following the voice!

The sound of iron hooves galloping sounded like a mountain torrent, and a black iron stream was seen sweeping towards the Zhi army's position!

It can be said that: the leaping horse and the soaring dragon shocked everyone, as if the sky was about to darken; the blood splattered on the white robe and laughed at the sky, and when the man came, let his swords and knives be as dense as a screen!

By the time the enemy came to their senses, the cavalry company was already less than a hundred meters away from their position.

Seeing this, the soldiers on the flanks of the Zhi army shouted in haste: "Fuck! The bandits are coming! Machine guns, heavy machine guns, turn around!"

The Zhi army machine gun company was originally busy fending off the Feng army's charge. When they heard this, they naturally understood which was more important, so they quickly turned the muzzle of the gun without even having time to let go of the trigger.

"Da da da--"

With just such a quick glance, the flank of the cavalry company was immediately hit hard, and more than 20 cavalrymen were thrown off their horses and fell down. Some were shot, some were shot, and some were not shot, but were tripped by the fallen friendly soldiers. In panic, they fell to the ground, some had their legs broken by the horses, and some had their heads crushed by the horses. In short, the cavalrymen fell to the ground and barely survived.

"Cavalry Company, charge!"

Zhao Zhengbei roared and ordered again.

"Da da da--"

The machine gun company on the flank of the Zhi army concentrated its fire and launched another round of strafing.

In just a blink of an eye, the cavalry company had lost more than half of its men, but it was also in these few seconds that the cavalry company finally broke into the enemy's position.

After all, the Fengtian Army had its back to the rear and had sufficient supplies. Taking advantage of the moment when the enemy's machine gun company was distracted, they immediately ordered a general attack.

The Zhi army was caught between a rock and a hard place, with logistics not arriving, only one trench built, and the machine gun company at the far end having no time to provide support, so the entire position was immediately in danger.

However, the Zhi Army was a battle-hardened army with much better military discipline than the Feng Army. Even at this critical juncture, they did not cease fire and lay down their arms.

The flames from the heavy machine guns were still roaring at the cavalry company.

Zhao Zhengbei was on his horse, riding non-stop and completely fearless.

He knew that the cavalry charge could not stop. As long as they rushed into the enemy camp, they would be like chopping melons and vegetables. Once they stopped, they would become living targets.

Unfortunately, even with the many advantages of friendly forces, forest cover, surprise attacks at night, etc., by the time the cavalry company rushed here, the original 260 or so brothers were reduced to less than 100.

At the same time, the 1st Marine Battalion of the Fengtian Army also rushed to the scene and threw grenades and explosives into the enemy trenches in an attempt to capture the position in one fell swoop.

Taking advantage of this gap, Beifeng led the remaining troops, bypassed the enemy's main firepower point, and went straight to the central army tent.

Although the Zhi army responded hastily and did not have enough time to build a complete defense line, they were not too late to put up barbed wire and chevaux de frise.

However, during the bombardment from both sides just now, these simple fortifications had already been blown to pieces by the artillery.

Bei Feng and others rushed here, pulled the reins, and the horses leaped forward, easily flipping over.

At this point, he drew his sword and chopped, becoming invincible.

It’s no wonder that the Zhi army soldiers were timid.

Although horses eat grass, they are still animals after all.

People are always a little afraid in front of wild animals. Donkeys can be used to charge into battle, let alone real war horses?
Not to mention dozens of war horses, even if dozens of dogs rushed over, the momentum is enough to make people tremble with fear; let alone having a gun in hand, who would be afraid of a tiger coming down the mountain with a gun in hand? Not to mention a tiger, even if it is a cow, who can guarantee that it can be killed by one shot?

The Zhi army soldiers in the distance still dared to fire a few shots; but the marines nearby could only flee in panic.

Zhao Zhengbei barely had time to swing his sword, as the iron hooves of the warhorse under him had crushed countless enemies' chests.

The north wind messes up the flags!

The cavalry company rushed around in the enemy's positions like mercury.

On the other side, the Marine Battalion, with the cooperation of the cavalry, successfully captured the flank of the trench and made a breakthrough. The flag of the 1st Regiment of the Fengtian Army followed closely.

The two armies came into close combat and hand-to-hand combat began.

Zhao Zhengbei was hacking left and right, killing people vigorously.

Looking up suddenly, he saw an officer at the far end of the central army tent, holding a saber and a pistol, organizing the retreat of the defense line in the southwest direction.

Our eyes met, what a coincidence!
My fame, wealth and honor are your head!
Although the north wind is not greedy for credit, the head is right in front of it, like wild fruit in the mountains, within easy reach. How can it not take it?

He immediately spurred his horse around, shouted loudly, and galloped away.

The officer also felt the north wind, and seeing the killer approaching, he panicked and fled in a hurry.

Zhao Zhengbei whipped his horse and chased after them. Wherever he passed, people gave way to him. In the process, he killed two more enemy soldiers.

However, the Fengtian Army had only captured one side of the Zhi Army's position. Bei Feng had just chased out a short distance when he heard a burst of machine gun fire!
"Da da da--"

There was a sudden sound of gunfire, and the warhorse under him neighed immediately.

As he was running, he suddenly knelt down on his front legs and fell down with a bang.

Zhao Zhengbei felt his center tilt, and before he could recover, the world was spinning, and before his eyes all he saw was a yellow field.

In a hurry, he quickly stretched out his hand to cushion the impact, and his whole body suddenly hit the ground like a javelin.

Fortunately, he was not crushed under the horse.

Bei Feng hurriedly squatted and stood up. Seeing that the officer had not run far away, he was about to draw his gun when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his forearm.

Looking down again, I saw that the radius was broken and was almost piercing the skin.

What a wild north wind! Without waiting a moment, he immediately used his left hand to take out the gun.

He picked up the box gun, raised his hand and swung the knife. There were two "bangs", and the officer's back shrank, and he fell to the ground and died.

The enemy's position was finally in chaos.

Glancing left and right, I saw friendly troops gradually approaching.

Zhao Zhengbei finally breathed a sigh of relief, but when he was about to stand up and walk towards the officer, he suddenly felt powerless and a burning pain came over him.

He quickly covered his abdomen and looked down, only to see dark red blood gushing out from between his fingers, the blood stain spreading rapidly...

He tried to hold on, tried to call for help, but his consciousness almost collapsed instantly, and his vision became blurred...

The footsteps of comrades passed by.

Zhao Zhengbei was not sure whether they had stopped or whether they were asking about his condition. All his senses were gradually failing...

He just kept mumbling mechanically: "I'm sorry... Please tell my sister-in-law a message... tell her..."

His voice became weaker and weaker, and finally no one could hear what he was saying...

(End of this chapter)