Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 207: The Munitions Demonstrate Their Power
shhhhh!

The bullets flew and passed by people.

Hao Shangwu lay on the horse's back, his body swaying up and down with the rise and fall of the warhorse.

He happened to catch a glimpse of one of his personal soldiers being shot and falling off his horse, and then being trampled to death by the galloping warhorse.

Hao Shangwu only felt cold sweat breaking out on his back.

In his terrified state, he could only keep waving his whip, urging his horse to speed up, trying to quickly escape from the battlefield.

"faster!"

"Faster!"

"..."

The Tang cavalry came galloping and ran parallel to Hao Shangwu and others.

The next moment, these Tang cavalry raised their guns and fired, and the sound of intensive musket fire rang out again.

The Qing army that was fleeing on horseback suffered heavy casualties, with people constantly falling off their horses and screams ringing out.

However, facing the attack of the Tang army, the Qing troops did not even dare to look back, let alone fight back.

They only knew to run away with their heads covered, as if this was the only way to escape.

At the same time, the Qing army in Yinma Town suddenly discovered that their general seemed to have escaped? !
In an instant, they, who were already losing ground, completely collapsed.

"The general has fled, the Qing Dynasty has been defeated, everyone run!"

"Run! The general is dead, the general of Jingzhou is dead, and the governor of Huguang is also killed. If you don't flee now, the Tang thieves will kill you!"

"..."

In the chaos, the Qing troops in Yinma Town began to flee on a large scale.

Upon seeing this, the Tang army immediately launched an all-out attack on the front battlefield.

With one blow, they broke through the Qing army's defense line in Yinma Town and chased the defeated Qing army all the way towards Xiaogushan.

……

Hao Shangwu, Liu Quande and others fought desperately and successfully broke through.

He fled eastward with the remnants of his defeated troops.

Getting closer and closer to Xiaogushan!
Logically speaking, the Qing army in Yinma Town knew that Zhao Zhongyong's troops had been defeated and Xiaogushan was occupied by the Tang army, so they should have bypassed it when fleeing.

However, because the Tang army was chasing too quickly, the Qing army was in a panic and had no time to consider where to run.

In addition, the Tang cavalry intended to drive the Qing army towards Xiaogushan.

Therefore, the defeated Qing army rushed into Xiaogushan.

Hao Shangwu pulled the reins suddenly, stopped the warhorse under his crotch, and said with a serious expression.

"Is the Little Lonely Mountain ahead?"

Liu Quande on the side wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke.

"Indeed, we have indeed arrived at Xiaogushan."

Hao Shangwu spoke quickly.

"We can't go any further. Zhao Zhongyong and his men were just defeated at Xiaogushan. I'm afraid the Tang bandits may have an ambush at Xiaogushan..."

Of course, there was a reason why the Qing army chose Xiaogushan to set up an ambush.

One reason is that the terrain of Xiaogushan is convenient for ambushing troops.

The second reason is that Xiaogushan is located on the main traffic route leading to Jiangxia City.

It’s not that he can’t be avoided, but he is the closest.

If the Tang army wanted to set an ambush, Xiaogushan would also be the best choice.

Liu Quande also nodded in approval.

But before the two men could give orders to bypass Xiaogushan, they saw a commotion coming from the rear of the Qing army.

The Tang army's pursuers were coming in great force. The Qing army soldiers were instantly filled with fear and despair, and began to surge forward.

Hao Shangwu and Liu Quande wanted to control the troops, but they simply couldn't do it.

In the chaos, they were driven to the pass of Xiaogushan Mountain by the Tang army like pigs.

Looking at the Tang army position at the mountain pass ahead, Hao Shangwu gritted his teeth.

"Damn it, brothers, follow me!"

"We must rush through the mountain pass and break out of the encirclement. Otherwise, we will all die without a burial place today!"

The Tang army blocked the mountain pass, and the pursuing troops were approaching from behind. The Qing army wanted to break out, but its only option was to break through the Tang army's blockade of the mountain pass head-on.

Seeing this, Liu Quande also raised his arms and shouted, leading his men to rush forward.

……

At the mountain pass, the Tang army, which had arrived at Xiaogushan in advance to set up defenses, was also ready to meet the enemy.

"The enemy has advanced 200 meters."

"Machine gunners, get ready, fire."

The next moment, several Type 1 heavy machine guns that were deployed at the mountain pass to block the Qing army began to fire crosswise.

Da da!

Da da da!
Ta-ta-ta-ta!

As the crank is turned, the barrel of the machine gun rotates accordingly.

Several heavy machine guns began to spew flames wantonly. As metal shells flew, dense bullets were fired towards the dark mass of Qing troops.

A barrage of bullets swept across like rain, and the Qing troops in the front fell to the ground row after row like wheat being cut.

Wherever the bullet passed, blood mist floated, and the terrifying kinetic energy it carried directly tore a person's body into pieces.

Some bullets hit the rocks, and the rocks were shattered into pieces.

In the blink of an eye, the battlefield was littered with corpses and rivers of blood.

Countless corpses were piled up on top of each other, and blood gathered into puddles.

It's so scary at first glance.

There were also people who were shot but not killed but were lying on the ground, covering their bloody wounds and wailing and calling for help.

The sound of machine gun fire is like the devil's song. Every time it sounds, it represents the passing of life.

When Hao Shangwu and other Qing army generals saw this scene, they were stunned where they were.

They had never seen a weapon that could kill people so efficiently!

It had only been a short time, and hundreds of people had died in the blink of an eye. Many of the Qing army were frightened and stood there, stunned, not knowing what to do.

Dada! Dada!

The sound of machine gun fire continued, and the guns were still firing non-stop.

The Qing army in front of them collapsed after a brief moment of shock, and fled back crying.

Each face was filled with fear and despair.

Machine gun bullets came from behind them, and the sound of bullets breaking through the air continued to be heard, sweeping across the fleeing Qing army, and people were constantly shot and fell to the ground.

The Qing army is fleeing faster and faster!

The sound of gunfire continued to ring out like a death warrant.

The Qing army's officers had completely lost control of their soldiers, and the entire battlefield was in complete chaos.

Hao Shangwu, Liu Quande and others were swept away by the defeated Qing army and fled in the direction they came from.

But after running a few steps, he ran into the main force of the Tang army that was pursuing him.

With the blockade in front and the pursuit behind, the Qing army had no choice but to surrender in order to save their lives...

……

Li Yiwen rode on horseback and patrolled the battlefield with his personal soldiers.

He rode all the way to the pass of Xiaogushan Mountain. Looking at the tragic scene of the Qing army's corpses scattered all over the battlefield under the machine gun fire of the Tang army, Li Yiwen couldn't help but be shocked.

"Damn, this machine gun is really good at killing people."

"Hundreds of people, they were gone in the blink of an eye like mowing the grass."

Li Yiwen is really frightened now.

He now understood a little bit what the king meant by saying that times have changed and military tactics should be reformed.

Faced with a powerful weapon like the rotary machine gun, if the Tang army still used the previous tactics, it would be no different from giving away lives.

The only thing that makes Li Yiwen feel fortunate now is that such a powerful weapon is in the hands of the Tang army, not in the hands of the enemies of the Tang Dynasty.

Otherwise, it would be a very tragic thing!
Li Shixian, who was standing by, also sighed when he heard this.

"This rotary machine gun is really good at killing people, but it's also really expensive."

"I heard that in just a few moments, several machine guns fired nearly 30,000 rounds of ammunition."

"All told, this is a little over three thousand taels..."

Li Shixian couldn't help but nodded.

Three thousand taels were lost in a short time. The cost was indeed too high.

Just as the two were talking, a messenger came running from a distance and spoke.

"Captain Li, the commander ordered that the Qing troops stationed in Hanyang Prefecture on the north bank of the Yangtze River are crossing the river in an attempt to retake Jiangxia."

"The commander has ordered your troops to rush to Jiangxia's aid immediately. There must be no delay."

Upon hearing this, Li Yiwen's expression became serious and he immediately clasped his fists and said.

"Thank you for reporting to the commander. I will obey your orders!"

After saying this, Li Yiwen did not hesitate and immediately gathered his men and horses and headed straight for Jiangxia City.

……

However, the atmosphere in Jiangxia City at this time was somewhat solemn.

Bao Chao stood on the top of the city wall, gazing at the Yangtze River not far away with a solemn expression.

On the wide surface of the Yangtze River, ships are spread out, almost covering the entire river surface, and are moving towards the south bank in a mighty manner.

As for Hanyang Prefecture, which was separated from Jiangxia by a river, upon learning that Jiangxia City had been suddenly attacked and captured by a Tang army of about a hundred people, Guan Wen, the general of Jingzhou stationed in Hanyang Prefecture, immediately ordered his troops to be sent to the south bank in an attempt to retake Jiangxia.

Looking at the dark masses of Qing army ships on the river, Bao Chao's face became quite solemn.

The reason they were able to win the battle last night was mainly due to their night attack, which caught the Qing army off guard.

The Qing army was defeated before they even had time to react.

By the time the Qing army generals reacted and prepared to counterattack, the Qing army had already been dispersed and completely disorganized in the chaos, and was unable to organize a counterattack at all.

They could only be forced to flee with the fleeing soldiers.

However, this time when the Qing army crossed the river and invaded the south, they were well prepared.

It is almost impossible for Bao Chao to repeat his brilliant performance of last night.

The only thing that made Bao Chao feel fortunate now was the arrival of follow-up reinforcements from the Tang army.

Although there are not many people, only one battalion, it should be enough to defend the city until the main force of the Tang army arrives.

The Qing army ships quickly rowed over and docked at the pier outside Jiangxia City.

And began to organize personnel to land and prepare to attack Jiangxia.

The Tang army could only watch helplessly.

The reason is simple. Neither Bao Chao's troops nor the reinforcements that arrived later carried any heavy weapons.

With the rifles or grenades in their hands, they could not effectively attack the Qing army that was landing in the distance!

You can only bring the person closer before hitting him!

Bao Chao looked at the Qing army outside the city, his expression gradually becoming solemn.

Because he discovered that the Qing army crossing the river actually carried several cannons.

Although they are all old muzzle-loading smoothbore cannons, they are still a threat to them who lack heavy weapons.

At this moment, a Tang army soldier came from the east of Jiangxia City and found the battalion commander Wang Sheng who was leading the troops to reinforce and began to report.

"Report!"

"Reporting to the battalion commander, our scouts stationed in the east of the city have discovered traces of the Qing army."

"The Qing army that was defeated by our army at Xiaogushan has come back again..."

……

PS: The electric poles near my house are being rewired recently, and the power is cut off on time every morning and afternoon during working hours.

For several days, every time I was typing halfway through, my computer ran out of battery and my train of thought was interrupted.

I'm really numb!
I have tried my best to maintain normal updates every day these days, and there is really no way to add more.

I'll update again after the wiring is installed in a few days and there's no power outage.

(End of this chapter)