bookcurios Chapter 131 The outer defense line of Yangshao Town blocks the Jin army
Chapter 131 The outer defense line of Yangshao Town blocks the Jin army
A group of Longhu Battalion soldiers, who had just finished suppressing bandits in Yangshao Town, north of Neihuang County, encountered fleeing Song soldiers. They were bewildered by the sight of the Song soldiers who were almost out of breath and didn't know what had happened.
It was the platoon leader who seemed to sense something was wrong and hurriedly ordered the soldiers to find cover and prepare for battle. Just as they took cover in a ditch, a dozen or so Jin soldiers on horseback charged in. They wielded their scimitars, cutting down the fleeing Song soldiers and skillfully reaping their heads, finally hanging them on their horses' backs with ropes and nets.
Upon witnessing this, the platoon leader quietly cocked his automatic rifle. Although the movement was minimal, it still caught the attention of the Jin soldiers.
The Jin soldier called to his companions in his own language and pointed to the small ditch where the Dragon Tiger Camp soldiers were hiding. Then, a dozen or so Jin soldiers, carrying still-dripping scimitars, mounted their horses and urged them to gallop towards them.
When the platoon leader realized he had been exposed, he began firing at the leading Jin soldier.
"beat!"
"Da da da.... Pa pa pa..."
A dozen or so arrogant Jin soldiers were shot and fell from their horses. The battle was over in less than five minutes. Several warhorses were also frightened by the gunfire and went into a gallop, disappearing without a trace.
Li Cun'en skillfully attached the bayonet to his automatic rifle. This was his first time fighting against the Jin soldiers. He had only heard the village storyteller talk about how powerful the Jin soldiers were, but seeing them today, he felt they were no different from the bandits in the mountains.
After leaving the ditch, Li Cun'en skillfully used his bayonet to stab each of the Jin soldiers' corpses again, making sure there were no survivors. Then he shouted to the platoon leader, "Boss, it's confirmed. There are no survivors among the thirteen."
The platoon leader shouted to the other soldiers, "Check your weapons and ammunition, stay alert, there should still be Jin soldiers. Li Cun'en, you take your second squad and collect these warhorses, we'll take them back later."
Just as they were preparing to return to Yangshao Town, they heard the sound of horses' hooves coming from afar, and judging from the noise, there were quite a few people involved.
The platoon leader frowned and shouted, "Everyone, prepare to fight! Look after each other and don't get separated!"
Although they had advanced automatic rifles, their chances of winning against a large cavalry force on such a plain were still very small, because cavalry had superior mobility and could not be stopped unless a large number of machine guns were laid in ambush in advance.
After the platoon leader saw the leader's flag, he hurriedly shouted, "Don't fire, everyone, they're our own people!"
The lead cavalryman carried a flag with a large character "Li" on it, and a dragon and a tiger embroidered on it.
The leader of the group was none other than their Battalion Commander Wei. He had just learned of the battle between the Song and Jin armies in Nanle County, and in order to prevent the enemy from harassing Neihuang County, he decided to lead his troops here to provide support. Both the Jin and Song armies had to pass through Yangshao Town to enter Neihuang County, but Yangshao Town only had one platoon of their own troops, which was simply insufficient to withstand the enemy's attack.
When Battalion Commander Wei arrived, the platoon leader gave a brief report on the battle that had just taken place. Seeing that his new recruits had grown into qualified soldiers, Battalion Commander Wei nodded in satisfaction.
Since they didn't know how many Jin soldiers would come, Battalion Commander Wei brought three of the five machine guns he had brought with him, leaving the remaining two on the city wall of Neihuang County to prevent Jin soldiers from outflanking Neihuang County and launching a surprise attack.
Upon hearing the news of the impending arrival of the Jin army, the townspeople began to panic, and many started fleeing with their families. They knew all too well the Jin soldiers' character; not only did they rob money and food, but they also killed people at the drop of a hat, especially the women who suffered the most.
However, many elderly people with mobility issues are unable to leave and can only stay there resigned to their fate.
Battalion Commander Wei sent someone to find the town mayor who was about to flee: "The Jin soldiers haven't even arrived yet, and you're already so panicked. You should know that you are an official in this town. Quickly send people to organize the militia to assist us in defense. As long as we are united, those Jin soldiers won't be able to break through."
Although he had some doubts about Battalion Commander Wei's words, the town mayor still gritted his teeth and organized the town's militia. Although their numbers were less than half, it still added a force to the resistance. In particular, the soldiers who had been sent over began to take up arms and defend various parts of the town according to their usual training requirements.
After all this commotion, the civilians who wanted to flee stopped in their tracks. They saw the soldiers of the Dragon Tiger Camp carrying combat supplies back and forth, holding weapons they had never seen before, which looked very formidable.
An old man said to everyone, "I think we shouldn't run away. Where can you run to in this world? These young soldiers are all under our Prefect Li's command. Our young men have been trained before, haven't they? If they can fight the Jin soldiers, so can we. If you're a real man, don't leave. Stay and fight those Jin soldiers!"
Due to limited manpower, Battalion Commander Wei could only set up one defensive line, which they quickly constructed with the help of the militia. Three machine guns were deployed along the defensive line, and the soldiers of the Dragon Tiger Battalion began to build their own defensive lines according to their commanders' instructions.
Considering that the Jin army had sent cavalry, Battalion Commander Wei personally led his men to dig deep trenches in front of the defensive fortifications. These trenches were not very wide, but they were very deep. Moreover, the layout of these trenches was very unique. If one was riding a horse at a slow pace, one could easily jump over them, but if a warhorse was galloping at high speed, it would definitely fall into the trenches.
After repelling several scattered waves of Jin cavalry, they finally encountered a cavalry force of a thousand men.
The Jin army commander, looking at the newly dug trenches outside Yangshao Town, said with some doubt, "Huh, these Song people are neither fleeing nor entering the city. Why are they thinking of fighting us in the open? Do they want to fight us in the open field?"
The centurion beside him flattered, "Commander, these Song people are simply delusional. Let alone field battles, which are our Jin army's forte, even a single charge from our thousand cavalrymen could scatter them. They're courting death."
For some reason, the Jin army centurion had a bad feeling as he looked at the winding trenches. He felt he had to send someone up to test the waters first.
A cavalry assault team of two hundred men charged toward the Dragon Tiger Camp's defensive line. The thunderous sound of their hooves pounded the earth, making even the pebbles on the ground jump.
As they neared the front of the defensive line, the first horse leaped over the trench, eager to continue its charge. However, after crossing just two trenches, its speed was forced to slow, for any further leap would plunge it into the newly dug trench. The rest of the army followed suit; their once invincible charge turned into a slow, deliberate advance.
At that moment, the Dragon Tiger Battalion soldiers guarding the defensive line opened fire. Countless automatic rifles began to fire at the Jin soldiers on horseback, and the Jin cavalrymen fell off their horses like dumplings being dropped into boiling water.