Chinese martial arts! Grandmaster

Ignorance is bliss!

This sentence is most appropriate for Li Xiang and the generals of the Shu army.

The Shu army had never fought against Ximen Tang before, nor had they ever witnessed Ximen Tang's fighting prowess.

Therefore,
They had no idea how terrifying Ximentang's saturation firepower was.

More importantly, the arrogant, domineering, and disdainful personality of Li Zicheng, the King of Shu, influenced the entire Shu army.

After Li Xiang ordered the Shu army to launch an attack.

Although the two sides were still five miles apart, the Shu soldiers acted as if they were afraid others wouldn't know.

"Kill! Kill!"

They roared wildly, brandishing their old-fashioned muskets, and charged towards Ximentang's military camp.

The 100,000-strong army was divided into four columns, and at first glance, they exuded a murderous aura and were indeed very intimidating.

After the charge was launched, the Shu generals used monoculars to look at Ximentang's camp.

It was only then that they realized that the camp of Ximentang was slightly different from what they usually saw.

There were just rows of iron lumps in front of them, not even heavy armored shield soldiers.

The rows of iron blocks seemed to block the main road, but there was a twenty-meter passage between each block, enough for the Shu army's cavalry to break through.

Isn't it widely rumored that Ximen Tang is very skilled in battle?
That's it?

Such a battle formation has almost no defensive capabilities.

With a single, continuous flanking maneuver by the heavy cavalry, they could completely shatter Ximentang's battle formation.

Li Xiang, Peng Lie, and several other generals smiled when they saw Ximentang's battle formation.

They were initially a little nervous, but now they finally relaxed.

Based on Ximentang's battle formation, everyone was confident that a single charge and penetration would completely crush them.

They had absolute confidence in the Shu army's heavy cavalry battalion.

"Giddy up! Giddy up! Charge!"

The elite heavy cavalry of the Shu army, along with the light infantry behind them, launched a fierce charge towards Ximentang's position.

Boom! Boom! Boom!
Just then, a deluge of shells rained down.

It was like a giant wave rising from a calm sea.

The Shu army's charging ranks were quickly overwhelmed by the explosions.

How could heavily armored cavalry withstand an overwhelming barrage of artillery fire?

For a while,
The Shu soldiers fell in droves, accompanied by cries of agony.

The military camp of Ximentang not only had a tank corps, but was also equipped with high-explosive grenades.

The first round of artillery bombardment involved an attack by a thousand mortars.

In order to teach the Shu army a painful lesson, Chen Jie didn't bother waiting for them to get close and directly launched a long-range attack.

The artillery battalion used high-explosive shells, which were extremely powerful.

The shells were filled with lead pellets, making them extremely lethal.

As a result, all one thousand mortars fired in the first round, using high-explosive shells.

The Shu army was bombed and fell in large numbers. When the Shu army attacked, they used a straight charge and densely packed personnel.

Therefore, the first round of artillery bombardment dealt a devastating blow to the Shu army, causing at least tens of thousands of casualties.

The heavily armored cavalry at the forefront of the charge were almost completely wiped out.

The Shu soldiers had never seen such a full-scale firepower attack before, and they were immediately thrown into chaos.

Many soldiers began to retreat, afraid to continue charging forward.

Li Xiang and Peng Lie, along with other Shu army commanders, shouted orders, urging their elite soldiers to continue their charge.

the reason is simple,
A very obvious characteristic of conventional artillery is that the time required to change guns is very long.

Even the most advanced Western field guns could only be changed twice per minute.

By taking advantage of the intervals between artillery fire, an assault can be launched, and the enemy can quickly enter the blind spots of the artillery.

Many soldiers in the Shu army had battlefield experience and were familiar with the characteristics of artillery.

but,

What the soldiers and generals of the Shu army did not know was that Ximentang's mortars were completely different from ordinary artillery.

Just as the Shu army launched its second assault, Ximentang's second artillery barrage awaited them.

One hundred tanks from Ximentang were positioned at the forefront, along with five rows of artillery battalions, totaling approximately five thousand mortars.

Actually,
Chen Jie only deployed the first platoon of artillery battalion; the rest remained untouched.

The first rank of defensive forces deployed consisted of a thousand mortars and fifty heavy machine guns.

However, the two sides were far apart at this time, and the heavy machine guns had not yet been fired.

Snipers were lying in ambush on the high ground next to the heavy machine gun.

The first round of artillery bombardment alone has already caused the Shu army to cry out in despair.

Wow——!
After the first round of shelling ended, the second round of shelling followed.

With almost no pause, the Shu army was once again decimated by the bombs.

Just as the Shu soldiers were still clinging to a sliver of hope, the third round of artillery bombardment continued without pause.

High-explosive shells are far more powerful than ordinary shells.

The Shu army was immediately routed and dared not continue their advance.

The artillery fire of Ximentang was fundamentally different from that of the field artillery of the Japanese.

First of all, it has a fast rate of fire, and can complete a shelling in an average of a few seconds.

Moreover, Ximentang had already taken aim at the distance when the Shu army launched their charge.

The destructive power of a thousand cannons firing simultaneously is undeniable.

therefore,

After three rounds of artillery bombardment, the Shu army was left crying out in agony, their screams echoing throughout the battlefield.

The Shu soldiers fell like rice stalks in a paddy field blown down by the wind.

However, the Shu army was divided into four columns.

After two of the columns were broken up, the other two columns infiltrated from the flanks and actually rushed to within 800 meters of the Ximentang position.

Da da—da da—!
The heavy machine gun defensive positions began to fire fiercely.

From two directions, more than a hundred heavy machine guns and mortars formed a crossfire and launched a fierce attack on the Shu army.

all of a sudden,

The combined firepower of artillery and heavy machine guns began to exert its power.

Although the tank never moved, and even the heavy machine gun inside the tank never fired.

However, the firepower of the Ximentang defensive position did not decrease at all; on the contrary, it entered the first round of crossfire, and its lethality increased dramatically.

The 800-meter defensive distance is practically a wall.

To know,
Xi Mentang didn't even use his powerful weapons like incendiary bombs or armor-piercing shells, yet he still managed to overwhelm the Shu army.

Chen Jie was speechless when he saw the defeated Shu army.

I really don't know who gave Li Zicheng, the King of Shu, the courage to challenge Ximen Tang.

In fact,
The tactic of crossfire with dual firepower was not something that Chen Jie had obtained from the modern tactical materials.

It was a new hybrid tactic devised by Yan Chenghao of the Ninth Army of the Ximentang Army.

Yan Chenghao's promotion to Major General in the Army was directly related to the hybrid crossfire tactic he devised.

Chen Jie personally praised Yan Chenghao in front of all the officers and soldiers of the Ninth Army.

Praise him for being adaptable, quick-witted, and thoughtful.

Furthermore, the entire Ximentang Army is fully promoting Yan Chenghao's tactical approach of combining dual crossfire.

For artillery battalions, mortars might not be powerful enough for siege warfare.

Furthermore, it employs a parabolic trajectory, which greatly restricts the landing point of the shells.

In general,

Mortars are at a disadvantage if the enemy possesses heavy artillery.

But the biggest feature of mortars is that they are numerous, easy to carry, and have a very fast reloading speed.

Combining heavy machine guns and mortars in a coordinated manner can play a decisive role on the battlefield.

Therefore,
Compared to siege warfare, mortars are more advantageous for positional defense and field operations.

According to the information Chen Jie brought, mortars were mostly used in field battles or at the front lines. Chen Jie was naturally aware of the disadvantages of mortars.

After he built the heavy tank brigade, the role of mortars actually diminished.

With the development of field artillery in the East and artillery in the West, the limitations on mortars will increase.

Chen Jie even considered upgrading the artillery battalion's cannons.

As a result, Yan Chenghao combined mortars, heavy machine guns, and sniper rifles to form a dual crossfire tactic.

Chen Jie couldn't help but admire Yan Chenghao's tactical plan.

at this time,

Ximentang's tactic of using dual firepower in a crossfire was nothing short of a one-sided massacre for the Shu army.

When the main force of the Shu army was 300 meters away from the camp at Ximentang.

Casualties had already skyrocketed, with corpses piled up like mountains on the ground and blood staining the ground red.

The air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

In fact, the fighting strength of the Shu army was relatively average.

Not to mention the elite Kwantung Army of Oyama Rock, they were even slightly inferior to Li Ben, the Prince of Han, back then.

but,

Li Zicheng dared to order the Shu army to attack Ximentang, and even boasted that he would teach Ximentang a lesson.

All of this was simply because Li Zicheng, the King of Shu, had no idea just how terrifying Ximen Tang was.

Ignorance is bliss!
If Li Chuang hadn't been so arrogant and conceited, he would never have dared to underestimate his enemy so much.

The two sides engaged in positional warfare for less than half an hour.

The Shu army had already suffered more than half its casualties and was completely routed.

The key is,
Ximen Tang only used less than 20% of his combat strength.

Before the heavy armored brigade and tank corps could even be deployed, the Shu army had already collapsed.

The Shu soldiers following behind, seeing the soldiers in front of them falling like mowing grass in droves, dared not continue charging forward.

They already knew how terrifying Ximentang was, so they turned and fled!
Li Xiang, Peng Lie, and other Shu army generals were dumbfounded when they saw this scene.

If they hadn't experienced it themselves, they would never have believed it was real.

Peng Lie was a veteran general under Li Zicheng, the King of Shu, who fought in many battles.

Li Xiang is very young, only in his thirties.

However, he also experienced more than ten years of fighting in the Shu army and was baptized in blood.

In any war before, he had never seen such a one-sided massacre.

They couldn't even break through Ximentang's position. At a distance of only a few hundred meters, the Shu army was wiped out, with more than half of them killed!

Damn it!
Li Xiang couldn't help but curse, his head was buzzing, and tears were streaming down his face.

In less than half an hour, without even seeing the enemy's face, they were completely routed.

One hundred thousand troops!
Seeing the Shu soldiers fleeing in all directions, he was so terrified that he wet himself.

Several Shu generals suddenly felt disheartened.

They did not continue their attack, but instead exchanged helpless glances.

this moment,
They knew perfectly well that continuing the charge would only mean certain death.

Faced with such intense firepower from Ximentang, flesh and blood simply couldn't withstand it.

therefore,

Without any hesitation, the generals mounted their warhorses and followed the fleeing soldiers in retreat.

In ordinary positional warfare, after repelling the enemy, Ximentang rarely pursued them.

Don’t chase the poor bandits!

It wasn't that we were worried about a counterattack from the enemy, but rather that the enemy would resort to desperate measures.

If the enemy is pushed too far, they will scatter and flee, causing great harm to the civilians.

If they are not pursued, these defeated soldiers will gather together and eventually choose to join other forces, posing a much smaller threat.

but now,

Since Chen Jie was prepared to make an example of Li Zicheng, the Prince of Shu, to deter others and intimidate the various vassal kings of the Great Qian Dynasty.

Therefore, he would naturally not let this Shu army go easily.

Anyway, this positional battle was almost over, and tens of thousands of Shu soldiers had been killed, so there was no need to expand the victory further.

We must defeat Li Zicheng, the King of Shu, until he submits to us, and seize control of the Shu army.

Therefore,
Chen Jie gave the order directly, and the tank corps of the heavy armored brigade began to charge and pursue with all its might.

Next, the tanks started up and chased after the Shu army.

Simultaneously,

Ximentang's heavy cavalry began to move out, divided into four groups, to flank them from the sides.

Snipers were also positioned on high ground, constantly taking down junior commanders of the Shu army.

The Shu army was thrown into a panic by Ximen Tang's overwhelming firepower and was completely terrified.

For a while,
The Shu army was thrown into complete chaos, and corpses littered the fields.

About half an hour,
Ximentang's heavy cavalry and special forces returned one after another from the battle to annihilate the Shu army.

He was accompanied by thousands of captured Shu soldiers.

One of the heavy cavalry companies even managed to capture "Little Prince" Li Xiang, earning them considerable military merit.

Li Xiang's arrest was entirely his own doing.

He was wearing flashy armor and a helmet, and a cloak was draped over his shoulders.

It looks quite stylish at first glance, but it's too conspicuous.

He could be spotted at a glance when the fleeing soldiers were running away.

then,

The soldiers of the heavy cavalry company had been keeping an eye on him for a long time, but the low-key Peng Lie managed to escape.

After capturing Li Xiang, the heavy cavalry quickly escorted him back to the Ximentang military camp.

This guy is a big fish, even a blind man could tell that this bastard is no ordinary person.

Although Chen Jie did not give the order to capture them alive.

but,

The heavily armored cavalrymen all knew that capturing the enemy general was a great achievement.

Therefore, when they saw Li Xiang during the encirclement and annihilation of the defeated Shu army, they did not fire their guns fiercely.

Otherwise, if they just used an automatic rifle to fire a barrage of bullets, Li Xiang would be riddled with holes.

In the end, they resorted to encirclement and suppression, relentlessly pursuing the enemy.

When Li Xiang was captured, everyone except his few bodyguards and assassins had fled.

Li Xiang was very unwilling; he didn't want to be a prisoner.

He led a few bodyguards and attempted to break through the encirclement on horseback.

But once Ximen Tang's heavy cavalry had their eyes on him, how could they possibly let him escape so easily?

The Shu army's guards were all killed in no time under the siege of automatic rifles.

The reason why people didn't kill Li Xiang was because they knew he was a big shot in the Shu army.

The guards and assassins around him were not so polite.

After being caught up with, Li Xiang was slapped several times and finally behaved himself.

Next,
He was bound hand and foot and sent to Ximentang's military camp.

When Li Xiang was brought before Chen Jie, his helmet was long gone.

His silver armor had been stripped off by someone, and he had been slapped several times across the face, leaving several red marks.

His extremely stylish cloak had long been torn to shreds.

He looked disheveled and miserable, a truly pitiful sight.

Chen Jie was slightly taken aback when he saw Li Xiang's appearance.

then,

He burst into laughter and said:

"Isn't this 'Young Prince'? We just met yesterday, how come you're in such a state today?" (End of Chapter)