Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 303 The Final Battle at Tongshankou

Li Qiong, the Grand General of the Ministry of War of the Great Qian Dynasty, led his army to Ezhou.

Next,
The troops from Ezhou split into three groups: one group attacked Huangshi Prefecture, and another group headed towards Jiujiang Prefecture in southern Jiangxi to block Li Ben's reinforcements.

Another part of the force directly attacked Xianning Prefecture.

Prince Li Ben of Han had already received the news.

He dispatched his general Sun Zhong with 80,000 troops to provide support.

Of these, 50,000 were elite troops, and the other 30,000 were newly recruited rebel conscripts.

Sun Zhong, nicknamed "Thunder in the Drought"!

This man was not only extremely skilled in martial arts and invincible in battle, but also resourceful and wise, making him one of the most famous and fierce generals.

Sun Zhong played an indispensable role in Li Ben, the Prince of Han, being able to lead his army to sweep across the Hanzhong region and successfully capture Wuchang Prefecture.

This person possesses the ability to fight large-scale battles!

This time,
Sun Zhong led his 80,000-strong army, which was considered the elite force under Li Ben, the Prince of Han.

In the eyes of Li Ben, the Prince of Han, Sun Zhong would surely be able to defeat the Daqian army in Ezhou and make them flee in disarray.

but,

When Sun Zhong led his troops, he judged that the main force of the Daqian army would attack Huangshi Prefecture.

Yang Xishan and Guo Feng, along with the 50,000 troops of the Great Qian Dynasty, were all elites under Li Qiong's command.

Therefore,
Huangshi Prefecture is under the greatest pressure.

According to intelligence obtained by the rebels, only 20,000 men attacked Xianning, not the main force under Li Qiong's command.

With Zhang Datong stationed in Xianning Prefecture, it's believed that no one can easily breach its defenses.

Therefore, Sun Zhong led an army of 80,000 to directly support Huangshi Prefecture and confront the troops of Guo Feng and Yang Xishan.

He was confident that he could annihilate Guo Feng's troops, and in the following period, he planned to attack Ezhou.

However, after Sun Zhong led his army to Huangshi Prefecture.

quickly,

He discovered that the Daqian army was only feigning an attack on Huangshi Prefecture; they had not actually captured Huangshi Prefecture.

Although Guo Feng and Yang Xishan received Li Qiong's orders to take down Huangshi Prefecture in the shortest possible time.

but,

The two men remained stationary thirty miles away from Huangshi Prefecture, not daring to launch an attack.

the reason is simple,
The two men knew very well that Sun Zhong's elite troops were on their way to Huangshi Prefecture.

Once the two of them take over Huangshi Prefecture.

Then,

In the coming days, the two will face off against Sun Zhong in a fierce battle.

Therefore,
They dared not attack Huangshi Prefecture, fearing a battle with Sun Zhong.

Just a few days ago, news suddenly came from Xianning Prefecture.

Xianning Prefecture has fallen, and Zhang Datong has been killed in battle!

Upon receiving this news, Sun Zhong felt completely stunned.

Damn it—!
Was the intelligence incorrect?

The main force of the Daqian army did not attack Huangshi Prefecture, but instead attacked Xianning directly.

Otherwise, how could Xianning Prefecture have fallen so quickly?
Seeing that Huangshi Prefecture had not fallen, but Xianning Prefecture had instead been lost, Sun Zhong naturally could not sit idly by.

To know,
Xianning Prefecture was the most important place for the rebels. If it fell, the situation that Prince Li Ben of Han had worked so hard to achieve would be in grave danger.

If the Daqian army were to press its advantage at this point, using Xianning Prefecture as a base, it could advance all the way down to Tongshan County.

Then,

The territory conquered by Li Ben, the King of Han, was dismantled, and the entire defensive line collapsed.

Xianning Prefecture has always been a strategic location fought over by military strategists.

Now, Prince Li Ben of Han is leading his troops down the Yangtze River, intending to attack Jinling.

Once Xianning Prefecture forcibly cut off the front line, it meant that Prince Li Ben's logistical supply line was cut off.

Therefore,
Xianning must not be lost!
Sun Zhong decisively gave the order, sending someone to report to Prince Li Ben of Han while leading his elite troops to Tongshan County.

He worried that after the Daqian army occupied Xianning Prefecture, it would directly attack Tongshan County.

Therefore,
He must stop the Daqian army and recapture Xianning Prefecture.

After several days of forced march.

Sun Zhong, leading his elite troops, finally arrived in Tongshan County.

He initially thought he was in for a tough battle, but he soon discovered that the Daqian army did not attack Tongshan County.

call--!
Sun Zhong finally relaxed a bit.

Fortunately, I was on a forced march and managed to change my direction at the last minute.

Otherwise, if Tongshan County falls, the situation will become increasingly unfavorable.

One day later,
The surrounding rebel forces gathered in Tongshan County.

Sun Zhong convened a meeting with all his generals.

To retake Xianning Prefecture, it is necessary to understand the situation within Xianning Prefecture.

quickly,

Sun Zhong then received all the news of the fall of Xianning Prefecture.

Ximentang!
Sun Zhong was greatly surprised when he learned that the army that had occupied Xianning Prefecture was Ximentang.

Damn it!
Why did Ximentang from Shandong suddenly get involved in this mess?

The key is,
When he learned that the Ximentang army, which had captured Xianning Prefecture, had completely defeated Zhang Datong's 20,000 elite troops in less than an hour, he was stunned.

Of Ximentang's troops, only 10,000 were actually in combat.

Sun Zhong learned in detail about Ximentang's attack on Xianning Prefecture, and the results were all the same.

How is this possible?

Is Ximen Tang's fighting strength really that great?

but,

What puzzled Sun Zhong was that since Ximentang had already occupied Xianning Prefecture, why didn't he press his advantage and attack Tongshan County?
Due to a lack of intelligence, Sun Zhong was unaware of the specific details of Ximentang.

He could only summon his generals to see how to fight the upcoming battle.

Sun Zhong was not a stubborn person; he liked to learn from others' strengths and listen to the opinions of his subordinates.

have to say,

Since raising their banner in rebellion, the army under Prince Li Ben of Han had been advancing smoothly all the way from Wuchang Prefecture to Jiujiang in southern Jiangxi.

They were invincible and had long since developed an arrogant and disdainful attitude.

They didn't take Ximentang seriously at all.

When they heard that Zhang Datong had been easily wiped out by Ximentang's army, no one believed it.

They all agreed that Zhang Datong had been too careless, actually leading his troops out of Xianning Prefecture to meet Ximentang in battle.

Therefore,
The generals under Sun Zhong were all clamoring to retake Xianning Prefecture.

Why should Ximentang, who only has 10,000 troops, be afraid of him?

Sun Zhong had the same thought in his mind; he felt that something was not right.

Therefore,
Finally, Sun Zhong decided to recapture Xianning to see just how strong Ximentang's fighting power really was.
He refused to believe that his 80,000-strong army couldn't capture Xianning Prefecture.

"On your marks! Everyone get ready, the rebels are coming soon!"

Liu Ergou put down his military binoculars and said to the special operations reconnaissance soldier beside him:
"Pass the order: all members of the special operations regiment, be on high alert, adjust the angle of your mortars, and prepare for battle!"

He was using a high-performance military binocular, not a product manufactured by the Ximentang Arsenal, but a high-end item that Chen Jie had brought over.

This telescope not only allows for adjustment of the observation distance but also has far-infrared detection capabilities.

Due to material limitations, Siemens is currently unable to manufacture such a high-performance telescope.

The telescopes manufactured by Ximentang are currently less than half as good as the high-end ones in Liu Ergou's possession.

With these high-performance telescopes, coupled with the special operations regiment's high mobility, they can detect the enemy's movements in advance and gain the upper hand.

Unfortunately, there are only 20 of these high-performance telescopes in the entire Westgate.

Each one that is moved here requires 2000 [Martial Arts Merit Points], and currently it can only be assigned to the Special Operations Regiment and the Royal Guard.

Before the special operations regiment was dispatched, Ximentang had already prepared for a decisive battle with Sun Zhong.

After capturing Xianning Prefecture, Chen Jie knew that the rebels would definitely not give up easily.

Therefore,
He dispatched special operations scouts to pinpoint the location between Xianning Prefecture and Tongshan County to intercept Sun Zhong's rebel army.

At last,
After assessment, Chen Jie chose Tongshankou as the location for the ambush.

Tongshankou Fortress is located 50 kilometers south of Xianning Prefecture. It is a hilly fortress with a gourd-shaped opening.

This is also the only route from Xianning Prefecture to Tongshan County.

Ximentang built a defensive line at Tongshankou Fortress. The terrain here is treacherous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, making it the best ambush location.

Ximentang dug trenches within the defensive positions at Hulukou.

Furthermore, on both sides of the valley, two roads fork, which can be used to divert enemy troops.

The artillery position was situated on a high vantage point in the valley.

Because this time the preparations were quite thorough, a total of one thousand mortars were prepared and deployed in four locations at the Tongshankou Fortress.

Around the valley position, defensive fortifications more than a meter high were built using earth.

Simultaneously,

The heavy machine gun array was completed, forming a three-layered defensive line.

Four heavy machine gun squads were deployed on each of the two flanks.

in addition,

Snipers were deployed on the high ground of Tongshankou Fortress to specifically target and kill rebel commanders and artillerymen.

All the elite troops of Ximentang who were lying in ambush at Tongshankou Fortress were very excited.

They were determined to win this battle.

As long as the elite rebel army under Sun Zhong is defeated, everyone will receive a lot of military merits, and those who perform well will be promoted one level directly.

At this time,

Sun Zhong led his army to a location three kilometers outside the Tongshankou Fortress.

He was very cautious and did not rush into the Tongshankou Fortress. Instead, he stayed in place and began to deploy his troops.

have to say,

Unlike Zhang Datong, Sun Zhong was very cautious.

Chen Jie, standing atop the Tongshankou Fortress, frowned slightly as he observed Sun Zhong's actions through his binoculars.

Perhaps it was because Sun Zhong knew how powerful the Ximentang cannons were.

in addition,

He had discovered the ambush at Tongshankou Fortress, so he dared not enter the gourd-shaped opening of Tongshankou Fortress.

Three kilometers away, he ordered his troops to stop and set up camp, and sent out scouts to explore the area.

in fact,

A distance of three kilometers is considered an absolutely safe distance compared to heavy machine guns and muskets.

No musket has a limited range that can reach beyond three kilometers.

The effective range of ordinary field artillery is also within three kilometers.

Tongshankou Fortress was not a town, so it was impossible to use large-caliber defensive artillery.

Therefore,
Sun Zhong felt that three kilometers was the most suitable distance for setting up camp.

With ease of movement!

If the situation becomes unfavorable, evacuation is possible at any time.

but,

What he didn't know was that Ximentang's 60mm mortar had an effective range of five kilometers.

not to mention,
Ximentang also carried twenty 120mm mortars, with an effective range of over seven kilometers.

therefore,

The rebels' encampment was located just within the range of Ximentang's artillery fire.

but,

All the generals of Ximen Hall obeyed Chen Jie's orders and had to cooperate with the flanking maneuver.

Now is not the time for artillery attacks.

Chen Jie's order was simple, just four words: "Catch them all in one fell swoop!"
Half an hour later.

The rebels finally couldn't hold back any longer and launched the first attack.

Sun Zhong ordered his left-wing army to launch an attack on the Tongshankou Fortress.

The force deployed consisted of 15,000 men, all of whom were newly recruited laborers; no elite troops were used.

The reason is simple: he wanted to test the waters.

In terms of tactics, they were similar to the Kwantung Army, both of them first using cannon fodder to test the enemy's firepower.

Chen Jie could see clearly through his binoculars. He instructed the flag bearer beside him to signal the elite special operations regiments lying in ambush on both flanks.

The rebels have already launched their attack!

Next,
The artillerymen in Ximentang began adjusting the distance of their cannons.

Because the mortar uses a sight, although it is somewhat crude, the error is relatively large.

but,

As long as the distance isn't too far, the accuracy is much higher than judging by experience.

Once the rebels had assembled, 15,000 menial soldiers launched their attack.

After receiving the order, Liu Ergou decisively ordered the cannons to fire.

Because the heavy machine guns were not long enough, other assault rifles, muskets, and even sniper rifles were out of range.

Therefore,
Only 60mm mortars can fire first.

The first round of artillery bombardment involved 300 cannons. To save on ammunition costs, Chen Jie is now strictly controlling battlefield consumption.

When you have complete control over the overall situation, you must never waste anything.

Therefore,
Even if the entire Tongshankou Fortress was equipped with a thousand cannons.

However, the first round of bombardment only used three hundred cannons.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
The deafening sound of artillery fire immediately echoed throughout the Hulu Valley in Tongshankou.

—The earth shook!
(End of this chapter)