The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 137 Let the Foreigners Rush Out

Teng Yuzhao agreed with Wu Peifu's judgment. He believed that the coalition forces that rushed into Dongjuzi had been almost wiped out by the assault brigade and the Wuwei Front Army, Boxers and other troops that continued to resist. The Russian army could not hold on any longer, and its remnants gradually gathered together and prepared to escape. However, they fled to the east gate when the south city was blocked by fire.

The heavy machine gun sergeant also ran over to ask Teng Yuzhao whether he should transfer a few heavy machine guns to block this panicked coalition force and cooperate with the assault brigade to eliminate the fleeing Russian army.

Teng Yuzao nodded and said, "Just bring in one heavy machine gun, but remember, this heavy machine gun cannot fire too hard. It is necessary to kill more coalition forces, but not to stop them all. It is best to leave 200 to 300 people and let them rush out."

"Let the foreign devils rush out?"

Wu Peifu was surprised by Teng Yuzhao's words. He thought he had heard it wrong and asked hurriedly.

"Teacher, are you saying that only one Maxim heavy machine gun was deployed to stop the escaping coalition forces?"

Wu Peifu looked at the sergeant who was adjusting the heavy machine gun according to Teng Yuzhao's order, and asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Teng Yuzao nodded affirmatively.

After hearing Teng Yuzao's answer, Wu Peifu became even more confused and asked hurriedly, "But why did the teacher leave two or three hundred people with them? Are we just going to let the foreign devils escape like this?"

Although he was very nervous thinking about the battles inside and outside the city, Teng Yuzhao still explained to his student very patiently.

"Zi Yu, come and see."

Teng Yuzao pointed in the direction of the concession and said, "The German, Japanese, and American coalition forces, as well as the more than 1,000 British troops who were here just now, as soon as they saw that Dongjuzi had been breached, they could not wait to leave here and rush to the concession. Some even took the opportunity to charge into Dongjuzi to gain some benefits."

"There is no doubt that this shows that the coalition forces are already in a tight spot in the concession. Since they are no longer needed here, they will naturally rush to rescue there."

Wu Peifu nodded and said, "Teacher is right, the British even took away their cannons."

Teng Yuzao pointed outside the city and continued, "There are more than 3,000 British and Russian troops still attacking Dongjuzi. This should mean that all the defense forces in the Russian concession have been deployed."

"Although Liu Yuzhi's regiment has nearly 3,000 soldiers, it is not difficult to defeat this British army of more than 1,000 people."

"The difficulty is that if the Russian army in the east goes to support the British army that is resisting and retreating, then after the two coalition forces merge, there will be nearly 3,000 troops. Even if the regiment has our artillery support and the support of the Eastern Bureau, they will not be able to defeat this coalition force quickly, let alone destroy them."

"If the two sides get into a stalemate and it's hard to tell who will win, the coalition forces that are eager to get to the concession will come back and attack us. At that time, the coalition forces will have far more troops than us, and the regiment may suffer." Teng Yuzao looked toward the northeast where gunfire was still ringing. "What's more, there should be nearly a thousand Russian troops there, and they have a lot of cavalry. If that coalition force also comes back to attack the regiment, the regiment may suffer heavy losses. In that case, it won't be the coalition forces outside the city that will be defeated, but the regiment."

Teng Yuzao's tone already had a hint of worry, "Don't forget, we still have an artillery battalion outside. Unless it is absolutely necessary, we can't abandon those cannons. Otherwise, the regiment will have no choice but to retreat westward, and the coalition forces will most likely chase the regiment closely."

"In a field battle, with their cavalry around, the regiment would not only suffer heavy losses, but would also be chased down by the cavalry until the entire regiment was routed. In that case, the regiment would be completely destroyed, and even our artillery battalion would suffer serious losses."

Seeing that Teng Yuzao seemed to be very afraid of the coalition cavalry, Wu Peifu asked curiously, "If thousands of coalition troops come here, it is certain that one regiment cannot win, but the foreign devils' cavalry is nothing special. Didn't our cavalry battalion just defeat the Japanese cavalry?"

Regarding cavalry combat, Teng Yuzhao felt it necessary to give Wu Peifu a detailed explanation.

Teng Yuzao said solemnly, "Zi Yu, you must not underestimate the cavalry of the coalition forces! Especially the cavalry of the Western powers!"

"Although the emergence of modern breech-loading rifles, especially the Maxim heavy machine gun, has meant that infantry vs. cavalry will no longer be one-sided massacres, infantry still needs to be fully prepared. In a field battle without fortifications, dense heavy machine gun fire or equally dense volleys of gunfire are needed to stop the cavalry charge. This requires the troops to have extremely high quality. Not only must the marksmanship be accurate, but combat discipline is particularly important. There must be no chaos in the battle."

"Otherwise, once the cavalry disrupts the formation, the infantry will surely fail."

Teng Yuzao sighed and waved his hand, "Our hastily assembled army is not satisfactory in any aspect. We want to divide our troops to block the coalition cavalry charge during the retreat. This is simply impossible."

The Wuwei Vanguard Army also had cavalry, and in large numbers. Although Wu Peifu did not understand cavalry warfare, he had seen the scene of a large group of cavalry charging. After thinking about it, he had to admit that since they were already defeated by the Allied infantry attack, the retreating regiment would definitely not be able to stop the crazy charge of the large group of Allied cavalry. Many people might even have started to make their own plans and prepare to escape first.

When he thought of this, Wu Peifu couldn't help but feel nervous and his face even changed color.

Although what Teng Yuzhao said was all true, even when he thought of this, Teng Yuzhao was secretly worried about himself. This time he was fighting a war for which he was neither fully prepared nor sure of winning. In other words, he was taking a risk, and if he was not careful, the whole army would be defeated.

But seeing that Wu Peifu looked a little nervous, Teng Yuzhao had to pretend to be relaxed and continued with a smile.

"Zi Yu, don't overestimate the power of the cavalry. As warfare has entered the era of hot weapons, the impact of the cavalry has been greatly reduced in today's wars. It can even be said that they are not to be feared. As long as the infantry has fortifications to rely on and the commander organizes them properly, the infantry will be a nightmare for the cavalry."

"Moreover, even without fortifications and Maxim heavy machine guns, as long as there are enough infantry to organize an effective formation to attack the cavalry with volleys, the cavalry will still be vulnerable. In other words, cavalry is no longer a threat, and it is only powerful in specific circumstances."

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(End of this chapter)