The Qing Dynasty

Chapter 464: Learn to Use the Power of Cannons

Seeing that Liu Changfa, Li Xianze and Wu Peifu seemed to have something to say, Teng Yuzao waved his hand.

"If you have anything to say, just say it now. Don't be shy. We are short on time, and I am not a commander who only has the final say."

After Teng Yuzao said this, everyone felt a little embarrassed to speak, and Teng Yuzao pointed at Liu Changfa.

"In my plan, your half of the artillery town is the key to our victory. You speak first."

As the six field artillery battalions and the only heavy artillery battalion were difficult to transport, they were left in Luzhou Prefecture, under the command of Liu Yuzhi.

Now Liu Changfa only has mountain artillery and mortar battalion in his hands, so Liu Changfa now has only half a town's artillery.

After being ordered by Teng Yuzhao, Liu Changfa did not hesitate any longer and spoke immediately.

"Marshal, I understand why you chose to start the battle in the early morning. At that time, the Russians have been harassed by the Eighth Regiment for most of the night. They are the most tired, and many of them have just gone to bed. If we start the battle at that time, the Russians will definitely be unable to tell east from west, south from north, and will achieve unexpected and huge results."

Although Liu Changfa, like Li Yulin, Liu Yuzhi and Li Xianze, was a student of Teng Yuzhao and even a veteran of the same camp where he started his career, there was one biggest difference between Liu Changfa and them.

That is, Liu Changfa always had a sense of awe towards Teng Yuzhao, which was different from the loyalty of Liu Yuzhi and Li Xianze.

Although Liu Changfa would not do what Liu Yuzhi and Li Xianze did, as long as it was good for Teng Yuzhao, these two would do it without Teng Yuzhao saying anything.

What Liu Changfa felt more was that a gentleman would die for his confidant. With Teng Yuzhao's strong promotion and cultivation of him, this feeling became even deeper.

However, even so, he still couldn't shake off his awe of Teng Yuzhao.

Liu Changfa observed Teng Yuzhao's expression while speaking carefully.

"But since the Marshal has high hopes for the artillery fire of the artillery town, the time should not be set in the early morning."

Seeing that Teng Yuzhao was not dissatisfied, but instead seemed to be listening attentively, Liu Changfa breathed a sigh of relief and continued.

"As early as when the Eighth Regiment came to harass the Russians, I sent all the staff and observers from the artillery town over to conduct a detailed survey of the coordinates of the roads along the way."

When Liu Changfa said this, Li Jinyu nodded repeatedly in agreement with Liu Changfa. Teng Yuzao waved his hand to stop Li Jinyu and then said.

"You don't need to confirm it. I believe Qingyun's words."

Then he looked at Liu Changfa and said, "Go on."

Teng Yuzhao's words filled Liu Changfa's eyes with gratitude.

Liu Changfa tried to control his emotions and continued, "Now the artillery town has marked out the coordinates of the road from Gunao to Shijiu, and even all the way to Shexian County. Even with your eyes closed, you can roughly predict where the shells will hit the road."

"only."

Liu Changfa said with some embarrassment, "It's not possible to bombard the Russians' camps at night. When the Russians camp at night, they usually choose villages along the way or flat and open areas. They will only choose to camp on the road when there is really no suitable place nearby."

"But if the Russians don't camp on the road but in the wild, it will be impossible to observe them at night, and the artillery town will not be able to calculate the firing parameters of the Russian camp based on the existing coordinates."

"In that case, when bombarding, the artillery town needs to fire flares first, then observe and test fire before they can bombard accurately. This gives the Russians time to dodge the bombardment, making it difficult for us to exert the maximum power of the artillery fire and inflict the greatest damage on the Russians."

Although what Liu Changfa said was a bit confusing, Teng Yuzhao, who was familiar with the artillery operating procedures, understood it. He ignored the problems of artillery night observation.

Liu Changfa finally said, "So, I suggest that we delay the time of our attack. It would be best if we could start it when it's light. It would be even better if we could start it when they are having breakfast."

After listening to Liu Changfa's words, Teng Yuzao did not express his opinion directly, but just nodded and looked at Li Xiance and Wu Peifu, who seemed to have different opinions just now.

Seeing Teng Yuzhao looking at them, Wu Peifu signaled Li Xianze to speak first.

"Commander."

Li Xianze said, "My original idea was to attack the Russians when they were on the march. The advantage of this is that we can save the trouble of dealing with the Russians' guards at night, and we can concentrate our forces to attack the Russians' brigade." "But after listening to Qingyun, I also agree with Qingyun's suggestion."

Without waiting for Teng Yuzao's signal, Wu Peifu said, "I share the same view as Li Zhentong."

Li Jinyu on the side also said immediately, "Marshal, that's what I meant."

Teng Yuzhao snorted and turned his gaze to Liu Shijiu.

Although Liu Shijiu had no objection to the battle plan proposed by Teng Yuzhao just now, it was still necessary to consult Liu Shijiu at this time, otherwise it would easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings. If such details were not paid attention to, it would leave hidden dangers in the long run.

Liu Nineteen nodded and said, "There are also advantages to launching an attack at night. As long as we are careful and try not to let the Russians find out before launching the attack, it is entirely possible to catch them off guard by approaching their camp. The fight against the Germans in Beijing was an example of this."

Liu Shijiu first expressed his support for Teng Yuzao's plan. He even had examples of fighting the Germans, which showed that Teng Yuzao's plan was completely feasible. Then Liu Shijiu changed the subject and said.

"However, if we want to use cannons to blast the Russians hard first, confuse them and make them dizzy, and then launch a charge, Qingyun's method is better."

When it comes to understanding the ways of the world, Liu Shijiu is obviously much better than Li Xianze, Wu Peifu and Li Jinyu. While supporting Liu Changfa's suggestion, the first thing he thinks of is to affirm Teng Yuzao's plan.

Liu Nineteen continued, "However, since we have to change the time to after dawn, I think that the time for our attack does not necessarily have to be set when the Russians are eating, but depends on when our peripheral guard forces withdraw back to the main road."

"As soon as the Russians gather their outer security forces, our troops hiding at the foot of the mountain will quickly occupy the hilltops on both sides. We will have time to move heavy machine guns and even mortars up the mountain, and the rest of the troops can also take this opportunity to quickly enter the attack position."

"When the time comes, we will be in a high position with a broad vision, and we can attack wherever we want. It will be impossible for the Russians to organize troops to counterattack."

"Once the bombardment is over, while the Russians are in a mess, we can rush over as quickly as possible and completely wipe out the Russians in the encirclement."

Teng Yuzao looked at the Chief of Staff Zuo Mingyang who was taking notes, "Zhiyuan, what do you think?"

Zuo Mingyang's courtesy name is Zhiyuan, but Zuo Mingyang did not expect that when Teng Yuzhao sought the opinions of these big guys, he also did not forget to seek his opinion at the same time. He was surprised and happy, and hurriedly spoke.

"Marshal, I also agree with Liu Zhentong's opinion."

Seeing that everyone had expressed their opinions, and Teng Yuzao had already understood Liu Changfa's meaning, he thought for a moment and said, "Okay!"

"We have never had so many cannons as we do now. We have somewhat neglected how to make full use of our large number of cannons. Everyone, including me, must change our mindset as soon as possible."

"I also think Qingyun's suggestion based on the actual situation of the artillery town is very good. In this way, we can use our fierce and intensive artillery fire to inflict huge casualties on the Russians in the encirclement."

After Teng Yuzao affirmed Liu Changfa's opinion, he said to Zuo Mingyang, "Let's formulate a battle plan according to Liu Zhentong's opinion."

Then he continued, "Also, the section from Gunao to Shijiu is just a rough ambush strike area. The exact location of the battlefield depends on where the rear of the Russians' marching sequence is. Where their rear is is the battlefield we choose."

"The battlefield starts from the last group of Russian troops and extends forward for about eight kilometers. The artillery town and the fourth town are deployed to the north of the mountain road, and the fifth town is deployed to the east of the mountain road."

"I estimate that at a distance of eight kilometers, there are about 30,000 Russians surrounded. This number is just right. In our first major battle, with 80,000 troops, most of whom are new recruits, against more than 30,000 Russians who have been bombarded and blown up, we should be absolutely sure of winning this battle. It is also a good opportunity for our troops, which are mainly new recruits, to practice and strengthen their confidence in victory."

Teng Yuzao looked at Liu Shijiu and Wu Peifu and said, "In this battle, your mortars will be under Qingyun's command. After the ambush is over, your artillery will return to their own bases."

Without waiting for the two to agree, Teng Yuzao said to Liu Changfa, "No matter where it is, no matter whether it is the Russians or our own people who are firing, you only need to remember one thing, as soon as the gunshot is heard, your shells must be fired."

"In the first round of shelling, you must ensure that the shells fall into the Russian crowd. If anyone in your artillery town can fire a shell into the Russian soup pot, I will give him a commendation."

"As for the duration of the bombardment, that is up to you to decide."

"There is only one thing. You must ensure that the power of your mountain artillery and mortars is maximized to inflict the greatest damage to the Russians. Once your artillery fire stops, the Fourth and Fifth Regiments will launch a charge."

Liu Changfa patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Marshal. If the battle starts when the Russian guard troops are returning to the base, they should not have finished their breakfast yet. The Russians should all be concentrated in the camping area. With hundreds of artillery pieces, five rounds will be enough."

"With a few thousand shells, we can definitely scare the Russians to death. It's possible to kill about half of them."

(End of this chapter)