latelenovela Chapter 123 Pursuit of victory
Chapter 123 Pursuit of victory
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Li Mo, the centurion in charge of the artillery battalion, spent an extremely difficult night filled with resentment and inner turmoil. Because he was assigned to cover the rear, he could only watch helplessly as the other battalions set off under cover of night. Although he was unwilling, what could he do when the Red Barbarian cannons, which had been so highly anticipated before the battle, proved so vulnerable to the enemy's artillery fire? He had no right to object.
However, assigning the artillery battalion, which had lost most of its cannons, to cover the rear alone was a move that reeked of conspiracy. It was clearly an abandonment of the artillery battalion, leaving them as cannon fodder to fend for themselves. Although Li Mo could still muster about a hundred muskets and had two or three usable Hongyi cannons, could these withstand the enemy's fast and accurate cannons and continuous musket fire?
Li Mo made a decision: he wouldn't cook breakfast tomorrow morning; he'd leave at daybreak, even if he went hungry, and would deal with the situation once he reached Chengmai County. Without any allied support, the artillery battalion was facing the enemy alone in the open field, and their chances of survival were slim.
Finally, dawn broke, and Li Mo ordered the artillery battalion to prepare oxen and carts, hoisting the few still-usable cannons onto them, and the entire battalion immediately retreated to Chengmai. A flurry of activity ensued as the heavy 5,000-jin (approximately 2,500 kg) Hongyi cannons were harnessed to oxcarts and pushed onto the post road.
Just as we were about to set off, figures appeared in the morning mist. We could vaguely see that everyone was holding a musket, the bayonet of the musket reflecting the light of the rising sun, and they were walking quickly toward us.
Although the artillery battalion, as a long-range strike force, did not reach the earthen fortress and did not come into close contact with the guards, the fact that the enemy came from the west of the earthen fortress, armed with muskets, and whose intentions were hostile was obvious to even a fool.
The artillery battalion soldiers panicked and, without waiting for orders from their superiors, abandoned their cannons and fled. Li Mo drew his sword, slashed down a fleeing soldier, and shouted hoarsely, "Go back and set up the cannons! Anyone who runs again, I'll cut them down! Musketeers, line up and meet the enemy!"
Under Li Mo's organization, the gunners cautiously pushed the heavy cannons around, preparing to load and fire. About a hundred musketeers lined up on both sides of the cannons, attached matchlocks, took out powder bags, and prepared to load the explosives.
The entire guard was out this time, including Liu Ye. Seeing that the enemy wanted to use cannons to stop the pursuit, he waved his hand and said, "Move up the hill and take out their cannons."
Even from the loading alone, it was clear that the two sides' firearms were not on the same level. Not only were the muskets not ready to fire, but the cannons were far behind in terms of loading speed. The guards pushed out several 8-pound mountain cannons and quickly prepared to fire. After the fixed shells were loaded into the breech, the government troops' Hongyi cannons were still weighing the gunpowder.
The two sides were only about 500 meters apart, a distance at which the hit rate of mountain artillery firing at level range was very high. The first few shots landed around the Hongyi cannon, smashing several musketeers to pieces. After calibration, the second round of fire accurately hit the target. A gunner loading powder was thrown into the air; the scorching shell landed in the powder-filled ammunition basket, detonating with a deafening roar. The massive blast wave lifted the heavy cannon, slamming it down on the remaining gunners, instantly turning them into mincemeat.
The gunners were thrown into chaos, running around screaming and crying, and Li Mo's wild slashing with his sword was to no avail.
Having dealt with the Hongyi cannons, the escort continued their advance. At a distance of 300 meters, the government troops' arquebusiers couldn't resist lighting the fuses and opening fire, but none of the bullets hit their targets.
Once within 100 meters, the guards stopped, and under command, the first two rows pulled the triggers on the musketmen who were frantically loading gunpowder.
The gunfire erupted, and musketmen fell one after another amidst the dense barrage of bullets. Those who were lucky enough to escape unscathed hurriedly dropped their muskets and ran away.
After two volleys, the guards raised their rifles and marched forward in unison, the bayonets reflecting a breathtaking gleam in the rising sun.
Although the number of firearms battalion was no less than that of the guards, without the Hongyi cannons, they were practically lambs to the slaughter. Seeing this situation, their last shred of will to resist vanished without a trace, and the entire battalion collapsed.
The guards pursued the fleeing artillery battalion soldiers like wolves among sheep. Liu Ye shouted, "Drop your weapons, kneel down with your hands behind your heads, and you may be spared!"
Some of the slower soldiers, seeing no escape from death, grasped at these words as if they were a lifeline, dropping their muskets or sabers and kneeling down with their hands over their heads. The pursuing guards bypassed them and indeed did not stab them.
Some of the soldiers who were running ahead, seeing that surrendering would save their lives, stopped running and followed suit, dropping their weapons and kneeling on the ground. In an instant, Ming soldiers were everywhere, crouching and covering their heads.
The few who continued to flee were no match for the well-trained guards who never actually fought; their job was simply to load explosives and set fires. They were quickly overtaken, and those who tried to resist were all stabbed to death with bayonets. The rest screamed in terror, "We surrender! We surrender! Don't kill me..." and collapsed to their knees with a thud.
Liu Ye surveyed his surroundings, overjoyed. This was a captured Ming army artillery battalion, still largely intact! With a little training, they could become gunners for the guard, filling a huge gap—as more and more 10-jin field guns and 8-jin mountain guns were mass-produced, and naval guns were put into use, the demand for gunners was increasing. Those with artillery experience were naturally much easier to train than farmers or Li people who had never handled cannons before.
He sent a hundred men to escort the prisoners back, while he led the rest of his men to continue the pursuit. Although the firearms battalion had about seven hundred prisoners, under the intimidation of the bayonets, none dared to resist and obediently followed.
After a forced march, the guard caught up with the town's troops in Lingao County, which had no city walls. Sun Changzu knew that the friendly forces ahead would not leave him much to gain in Chengmai and other places, so he tried to squeeze out the last bit of money and food from Lingao. He was going door to door, threatening the people with knives to "pay for horse feed".
Upon seeing a large "He" character on the Ming army's banner, Lin San told Liu Ye that this unit was likely the garrison commander He Rubin's personal guard battalion.
Upon hearing that the commander of the government army's encirclement was right in front of him, Liu Ye's eyes lit up, and he ordered, "Chase after them!" After thinking for a moment, he added, "Drive them out of the county town first, then launch an attack." Lingao was, after all, the place where he started his career, and he was hesitant to fight the government army here.
Sun Changzuo had been informed by his personal guards that the bandits were closing in. Upon hearing this, Sun Changzuo knew he was in deep trouble. The garrison commander was still in the army; he couldn't risk him over a trivial matter of money and provisions. If anything happened to him, even if he returned to Guangdong, he wouldn't be able to save his own head. He immediately ordered, "Retreat immediately! Get to Chengmai County as fast as you can!"
The guard asked, "What about the money and grain requisitioned from Lingao?"
"It's all gone. If something happens to the garrison commander, we'll all lose our lives. What's the point of worrying about these material possessions?"
Bags of grain were abandoned on the street, and the town's garrison fled Lingao in disarray, with Liu Ye leading his guards in hot pursuit.
After all, they were the general's personal guards. Regardless of their combat prowess, their stamina for escaping was top-notch. They managed to keep up with the guards and were now close to Chengmai County.
Liu Ye stopped, panting, and said, "Damn, they ran fast. Forget it, I won't chase them anymore. Let's head home."
Shi Ying asked, "Aren't we going to chase them? They've hidden in Chengmai County. Should we fight them?"
"Let's stop fighting. There's definitely more than just this one force in Chengmai County. If they gather several thousand people, how can we, with only a few hundred, possibly take them down? Let's call it a day."
Liu Ye's prediction was correct. Apart from the rearguard firearms battalion, the main force of the government troops was mostly concentrated in Chengmai County. Returning after a defeat would certainly not end well, so they decided to feast and plunder in Chengmai and Qiongshan before returning to Guangdong to face their punishment. With this in mind, the generals directed their troops to openly plunder Chengmai County. Chengmai County lacked a magistrate, and even the garrison troops of the prefectural city were powerless to stop them, let alone the provincial capital's garrison troops.
Chengmai County was plunged into utter darkness. The wealthy and powerful were robbed, ordinary people's wives and daughters were bullied, and the streets were littered with the corpses of civilians killed while resisting the government troops. Fires and thick smoke rose from every alleyway. If He Rubin had been conscious, he might have been able to restrain the government troops and maintain some semblance of decorum, but he remained unconscious. The various battalions of government troops were completely unrestrained, turning Chengmai into a living hell. The poor people of Chengmai, having recently been ravaged by the garrison troops of the prefectural city, were now being brutalized by the large army from Guangdong, suffering unspeakable misery.