Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Chapter 354 Killing one to warn a hundred! That's too ruthless!

A few kilometers away.

From the rear of Li Ben's army camp, the commander of the Han army, he stood inside the fortifications and observed the battle through binoculars.

but,

Because the cannons from Ximentang were too powerful.

At first, things were fine; we were able to see the movements of the entire army.

but,

As shells continued to bombard the area, smoke filled the surroundings, obscuring visibility.

He saw his artillery battalion enter the firing range and begin to fire fiercely in retaliation.

Then,

The Kwantung Army appeared.

The troops leading the charge were moving very fast and were about to break through Ximentang's defenses.

Through the telescope, it was clear that the artillery battalion had tied down Ximentang's artillery.

but,

As the two sides engaged in artillery combat, the front lines were shrouded in artillery fire and smoke, making it impossible to see any details clearly.

Prince Li Ben of Han breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that once his army joined forces with the Guandong Army, they would surely be able to deliver a crushing blow to Ximen Tang.

As long as the Japanese field artillery can suppress Ximentang's artillery.

Then,

The next battle will be much easier.

Once the Ximen Hall's defenses are breached, close-quarters combat will commence.

The Ximen Hall only has a little over 3,500 men, and Prince Li Ben of Han is confident that he can annihilate them all.

this moment,
Li Ben, the Prince of Han, was very satisfied with the fighting strength of his troops.

Although the attack on such a small place as Wangjiang Town resulted in the loss of more than 15,000 people.

but,

It's all worth it as long as we can wipe out Ximentang's elite force.

At this time, Prince Li Ben of Han was considering whether he needed to transfer troops from Jinsha Bay, a fortress in Chongyang Prefecture, and take Wangjiang Town in the shortest possible time.

but,

Just as Li Ben, the Prince of Han, was smugly thinking about where to attack next after conquering Wangjiang Town,

did not expect,
The situation on the battlefield has unexpectedly reversed.

They were about to break through Wangjiang Town in one fell swoop, only 300 meters away from the town's last line of defense.

but,

At this crucial moment, the troops responsible for the charge were routed and fled.

They abandoned their advantage and retreated entirely.

What made it even more intolerable to Prince Li Ben of Han was that these defeated soldiers actually turned their guns on the military governor.

When Li Ben, the Prince of Han, saw this, he was furious.

These defeated soldiers actually dared to fight against the governor.
Is this a rebellion?
He originally established the position of military governor because he was worried that his troops would rebel.

If these defeated soldiers cannot be suppressed from rebelling, the consequences will be unimaginable.

The reason why Li Ben, the Prince of Han, dared to rise up in rebellion was because of his absolute control over the army.

Once he loses control of the army, he's pretty much finished.

In the future, let alone conquering the world, even stabilizing the current situation of the 'Chu Kingdom' will be extremely difficult.

A mutiny within the army is a major taboo for any army.

Therefore,
Prince Li Ben of Han put down his binoculars and roared in fury:

"Tong Baifu!"

A general stepped forward and respectfully said, "Your Majesty! Your humble servant is here!"

Prince Li Ben of Han drew his sword and pointed it at the fleeing soldiers, the Kwantung Army, and the military governors fighting in the distance.

He took a deep breath and said fiercely:

"Our Great Chu army's rules state that anyone who deserts in the face of battle will be executed immediately!"

"These defeated soldiers dared to act on their own initiative and rebel against their superiors without receiving orders to 'retreat'!"

"Tong Baifu, you will lead 10,000 elite troops to assist the commander-in-chief in killing all these routed soldiers as a warning to others!"

Tong Baifu glanced at it and asked in a low voice:

"But—Your Majesty, I just saw Japanese people attacking the Commander-in-Chief!"

Recently, the Japanese have provided a large number of weapons to Li Ben, the King of Han.

Therefore,
The Japanese held a high status among the rebels under Li Ben, the Prince of Han.

Through his binoculars, Tong Baifu saw the routed soldiers of the Kwantung Army fighting fiercely with the warlord and couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Prince Li Ben of Han narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice:
"The warlord represents me! Whoever dares to wage war against the warlord is waging war against me!"

"If the Japanese don't stop firing, kill them all!"

this moment,
Li Ben, the Prince of Han, looked serious.

For him, a mutiny in the army was more serious than a struggle for territory.

If he cannot quell this storm, he may lose control of the army in the coming days.

Kill one to warn a hundred, so that others may follow suit!
At this point, it is necessary to use ruthless methods to completely suppress the defeated soldiers.

Tong Baifu nodded and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, this humble general obeys the order!"

finished,

He turned and walked towards the military camp, where he began to count the 10,000 elite troops who followed him to the artillery battalion's position.

At this time,

The fierce battle between the warlords and the rebels, the Kwantung Army, was almost over.

The warlord only had about six hundred men.

Although both were equipped with advanced Japanese weapons, their numerical disadvantage was very obvious.

The number of defeated soldiers exceeded five thousand, plus more than three thousand Kwantung Army soldiers.

These defeated soldiers were all elite troops, well-equipped and highly skilled in combat.

in addition,

Among the routed soldiers were heavily armored men, whose fighting power was far greater than that of the warlord.

In addition, the defeated soldiers were filled with anger.

They barely managed to penetrate the last 500 meters of the defensive line under the cover of Ximentang's artillery fire and heavy machine guns.

Unexpectedly, they were bombarded by their own side with artillery fire, resulting in heavy casualties and forcing them to retreat.

These guys are now actually opening fire with heavy machine guns.

Therefore,
The fleeing soldiers' inner ferocity erupted completely, and they began to fight desperately.

therefore,

In less than ten minutes, the warlord was completely defeated, suffering heavy casualties.

What's more, there were Japanese people nearby.

They shouted "Baka!" and opened fire on the warlord's heavy machine gunners.

The defeated soldiers distrusted the Japanese, and when they opened fire on the warlord, they also opened fire on the Japanese.

A three-way battle ensued, with everyone fighting fiercely!
Just as the battle was about to end.

Under the orders of Prince Li Ben of Han, Tong Baifu led 10,000 elite troops and fiercely attacked.

Da da—da da—!
Heavy machine guns, muskets, and other weapons opened fire fiercely on the fleeing soldiers.

In an instant, the number of fleeing soldiers was overwhelmed, and the musket bullets had been almost exhausted in the previous battle.

Less than five minutes.

Tong Baifu led an army of 10,000 and brought the battle under control.

and,

He opened fire on the fleeing soldiers without hesitation, killing them one after another.

At this time,

Even the routed soldiers showed their fighting spirit, fearless of death!

A fierce battle ensued at the rebels' artillery camp.

Tong Baifu was a trusted confidant of Li Ben, the Prince of Han, in the rebel army.

He was also the highest-ranking commander of the military governorship and enjoyed the deep trust of Prince Li Ben of Han.

I just saw the Japanese and their defeated soldiers dare to kill his troops. How can I tolerate this?

Therefore,
He mercilessly slaughtered the fleeing soldiers and the Kwantung Army.

Even when they saw many defeated soldiers wounded and lying on the ground, having lost their weapons, or even raising their hands in surrender.

Tong Baifu showed no mercy, immediately ordering his men to behead the routed soldiers and Japanese troops. The battle was exceptionally fierce, resulting in heavy losses and casualties on all three sides.

but,

Just as internal fighting broke out among the rebels.

Ximentang has resumed construction of defensive fortifications and repositioned the mortars.

Simultaneously,

Heavy machine guns and sniper rifles were redeployed, restoring the three-dimensional defensive fortifications.

Many of the commanders of the Westgate were observing the distance through binoculars.

I was shocked to see the fierce fighting within the rebel ranks.

Why are the rebels fighting amongst themselves?
Xu Xiaodao, Liu Fang, Huang Zhen, and other elite members of the Ximentang Special Operations Regiment were also stunned speechless by the scene before them.

Liu Fang couldn't help but rub his eyes, took a deep breath, and said:
"Brother Dao, what's going on? Why are they fighting amongst themselves?"

"Holy crap, these guys are ruthless. They show no mercy when killing their own people, just using heavy machine guns?"

Huang Zhen was also taken aback by Tong Baifu's fierce style.

He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "I always thought that the army under Prince Li Ben of Han was not that powerful!"

"Damn, now it seems I underestimated their ruthlessness!"

“These guys, once they get their ferocity going, their fighting power shouldn’t be underestimated. Look at their ruthlessness, they even killed Japanese people.”

"It seems their fighting ability is no less than that of the Japanese."

"Why were they so afraid of dying when they charged? They ran away as soon as they entered the 300-meter defensive zone, before we even used any grenades."

"Now, when they're fighting amongst themselves, they're acting so bravely and fearlessly?"

Huang Zhen, who was in charge of the artillery battalion's battle formation at Ximentang, thought for a moment and then said:

"Brother Dao! They're currently within the range of our extended-range artillery."

"How about we send them a wave of extended-range artillery to add fuel to the fire?"

Xu Xiaodao couldn't help but shake his head and said in a deep voice:
"Why would we add fuel to the fire? The more intense their fighting is, the better it is for us."

"If we fire a few shots and not only fail to add fuel to the fire, but also extinguish it, then we will have suffered a great loss."

"What we need to do now is prepare for the battle to come!"

"The Kwantung Army has appeared here. It seems that this is only the vanguard. The main force of the Kwantung Army will be here soon."

Next,
As Xu Xiaodao gave the order, all the soldiers of Ximen Hall began to conserve their energy, eat some dry rations, and ensure that they had enough physical strength and mental state to face the tough battle ahead!

That's right,

Everyone was already mentally prepared for a tough battle!

Fortunately, ammunition was plentiful, and although the situation was dire, no one panicked.

At this time,

After Tong Baifu led 10,000 troops into the melee, the routed soldiers were quickly wiped out.

Even if the nearly 5,000 routed soldiers wanted to fight to the death, they had no advantage whatsoever.

Compared to Tong Baifu's well-equipped army, how could these defeated soldiers possibly win?
therefore,

A dozen minutes later, almost all the routed soldiers were slaughtered and annihilated, not one was left.

Anyone who survived was immediately finished off with a shot.

In an instant, the ground was littered with corpses, and blood flowed like a river.

However, the Kwantung Army was quite clever; upon seeing Tong Baifu's troops arrive, they quickly ceased fire.

Therefore,
Although the Kwantung Army also suffered many casualties, it was fortunate that a large-scale battle did not break out with Tong Baifu's army.

After seeing that all the surrounding fleeing soldiers had been wiped out, Tong Baifu spoke briefly with the major commander of the Kwantung Army.

Next,
He led his army back to the camp and reported to Prince Li Ben of Han.

Although the routed soldiers had been wiped out and the army's uprising had been quelled.

but,

Prince Li Ben of Han was well aware that the artillery battalion's attack had ended in failure.

Although the field artillery of the Japanese was quite powerful, it was still far inferior to the artillery of the Ximentang.

It seems that suppressing Ximentang with artillery fire will be very difficult.

but,

The war has reached this point, and it is impossible for Li Ben, the King of Han, to give up now.

Before this, he had placed his hopes on the Japanese field artillery, hoping to suppress Ximentang with artillery fire.

but,

It's not that he didn't have a backup plan.

Through the charge just now, King Li Ben of Han was certain of one thing.

The number of people stationed at Ximentang in Wangjiang Town is not large, and the intelligence is correct.

in addition,

The artillery's coverage area is between three and five kilometers.

As long as the artillery in this area can be used to contain the artillery of Ximentang, the charging army can advance unimpeded and directly kill its way to within 500 meters of Ximentang's defensive line.

The 500-meter to 3-kilometer defensive line area is actually the safest area.

perhaps,

This is the greatest gain after suffering 15,000 casualties.

In the rebel army's position, Prince Li Ben of Han summoned his generals, pointed to the spot where the routed soldiers had been annihilated, and said fiercely:

"You all, take a good look at this! This is what happens when you desert in the face of battle!"

"Disobeying orders in battle is a cardinal sin in our Chu army!"

"I reiterate: anyone who dares to retreat on the battlefield without authorization will be executed without mercy!"

The rebel army led by Prince Li Ben of Han, which attacked Wangjiang Town, consisted of 50,000 elite troops, of whom 15,000 had just died.

In addition, about 5,000 more soldiers were killed in the retreat.

In an instant, Li Ben, the King of Han, lost 20,000 of his elite troops.

but,

Accompanying them were 30,000 menial soldiers.

In the following period, the tactic that Prince Li Ben of Han came up with was to launch another attack.

He planned to use the charge of the laborers to deplete Ximentang's ammunition.

at the same time,

He will organize elite troops and launch a surprise attack from the rear of Wangjiang Town to break through Ximentang's defenses in one fell swoop.

That's right,

To the due south direction, the menial soldiers were tasked with drawing the firepower of the West Gate.

The remaining 30,000 elite rebel troops will launch an attack from the north of Wangjiang Town.

Anyway, these menial soldiers are just cannon fodder, so it's no big deal if they are all wiped out by Ximen Tang.

Once we eliminate Ximen Tang, expanding our army and recruiting laborers will be a breeze, won't it?

However, the combat effectiveness of the menial soldiers was very weak, and their weapons and equipment were also very poor.

Following behind the elite main force, they can provide support, but it's simply unrealistic to expect them to engage in a direct confrontation with Ximentang.

If the casualties are too great.

These menial soldiers must have fled in disarray, routed at the first blow.

Therefore,
Prince Li Ben of Han ordered Tong Baifu to lead the army to annihilate all the rebellious and defeated soldiers, with the aim of deterring all the miscellaneous soldiers.

Those who desert in the face of battle will be executed without exception!

have to say,

Using forceful methods to deal with these menial soldiers was surprisingly effective.

The laborers were stunned by Tong Baifu's ruthless methods.

It is clear,
This extremely brutal and ruthless nature had a strong deterrent effect on the hearts of all the menial soldiers.

perhaps,

This is the main reason why Li Ben, the King of Han, was able to dominate the Hanzhong region.

His own style was originally extremely cruel, domineering, and ruthless.

During the attack on Wuchang Prefecture, he displayed his style to the fullest, killing so many people that the waters of the Han River turned red.

for the rest of the time.

After the rebels had a short rest, Prince Li Ben of Han ordered Generals Sun Zhong and Zhang Mou to each lead 3,000 elite troops and 15,000 miscellaneous soldiers to launch an attack on the south side of Wangjiang Town.

Dong Chuan led 25,000 elite troops, employing a flanking maneuver, towards the due north direction of Wangjiang Town.

They launched a pincer attack on Ximentang simultaneously.

This time,
He wants to completely take over Wangjiang Town and annihilate the entire Ximentang!
(End of this chapter)