I am an industrial worker during the War of Resistance

Chapter 53 The First Battle with the New Gun

"Reporting to the commander, a cavalry force of about 500 men is approaching us at a marching pace 20 kilometers to the west."

Judging from the flags and equipment, this is Ningma's troops.

We saw two horse-drawn cannons, four heavy machine guns, and at least five light machine guns.

Their advance force, numbering about fifty men, was about six or seven kilometers away from their main force and was conducting reconnaissance towards our direction of advance.

The squad leader is continuing to monitor the enemy's movements.

Amidst the neighing of warhorses, a scout leaped off his horse and ran to Commander Chen to report.

"Oh, do these bastards have such a keen sense of smell?"
They sent someone over after I only made two trips.

But it's good, we haven't even used our new guns yet.

Let's use them as a lucky charm today.

Go back immediately and tell Squad Leader Wang.

Ignore their spies, just keep a close watch on their main force.

Report back immediately if anything happens. Go now.

"Yes, sir!" The scout saluted, then immediately changed into the new warhorse that his guard had brought him, turned the horse around, and galloped away.

Commander Chen then said to his two bodyguards, "Zhu Zi, go to the front and ask Battalion Commander Wei and Company Commander Shen to come over."

"Xiao Dao, go to the rear and ask Company Commander Yang and Company Commander Zhang to come over."

"Yes," Zhu Zi and Xiao Dao replied, mounting their warhorses and galloping quickly towards the front and rear of the long caravan.

Commander Chen was in charge of escorting the crude copper ingots mined and smelted from Daqingshan back to Wujiabao.

This is the second trip.

After he went to headquarters to report the situation last time.

The headquarters attaches great importance to matters concerning the copper mine.

Therefore, Commander Chen was specially assigned to personally oversee the mining and transportation of copper.

Furthermore, a battalion of troops was stationed in the copper mining area to guard the mine.

Commander Chen, along with a reinforced battalion and a special operations company, was responsible for the escort mission.

Escort work is extremely dangerous, but also extremely important.

Its danger is far greater than that of guarding a mining area.

If we wanted to rank them to distinguish when an army is most vulnerable.

An army on the march would definitely be among the best.

They are especially vulnerable in the military, which transports large quantities of goods.

Because in this state, they are relatively dispersed.

Therefore, Commander Chen personally oversaw the transportation of copper ingots each time.

He now has more than 600 troops under his command to escort the goods, not including the laborers responsible for driving the carts and carrying the loads.

There were more than 500 laborers, all of whom were brought over by Commander Chen from Mongolia and Xinjiang.

These 500-plus people drove over 300 large carts, specifically responsible for driving the carts, taking care of the horses, and maintaining the carts.

Moreover, a small number of them were also carrying guns.

Before long, the sound of horses' hooves echoed from both ends of the long convoy.

Battalion Commander Wei and the other three company commanders rode quickly towards Regiment Commander Chen.

The last time Commander Chen returned from XJ, he brought back several thousand horses.

There are more than two thousand horses here that are suitable to be warhorses.

The headquarters, mindful of Commander Chen's great contributions and hard work, made a special exception and granted him six hundred warhorses.

Now, the reinforced battalion and special operations company under Commander Chen's command are a pure cavalry battalion and a cavalry company.

"Commander, what's going on? I heard that Ningma from the west is coming?"

After Battalion Commander Wei arrived, he immediately dismounted and ran to Regiment Commander Chen's side to ask questions.

At that moment, the other three company commanders also ran over.

"The reconnaissance squad said that judging from the flags, they were from Ningma, and there were about five or six hundred of them."

It has two small cannons and four heavy machine guns.

Comrades, the fat meat is right in front of us.

I want to devour this whole piece of fat meat. Do you guys have the confidence?

"Don't worry, Commander. These 500-plus people are really not enough for us to eat."

If we can't even feed this many people.

What a waste of all those warhorses and new guns that headquarters provided us!

How can we possibly have the face to accept these good things?

"If that were the case, our fellow units would laugh us to death."

Upon hearing that they were going to eat all of Ningma's meat, Battalion Commander Wei immediately shouted.

The other three company commanders also loudly echoed this sentiment.

"Okay, since you're confident, that makes things easier."

I won't resort to any other troublesome tactics this time.

There's only one option: to hold off the enemy at the front while flanking them from the rear. Wei the Blacksmith, I'm entrusting you with the task of holding off the enemy at the front.

If a bandit from Ningma escapes from your side, I will hold you accountable.

I personally led the special agent company to outflank them from the rear.

They made dumplings for them directly.

Let none of them escape from here.

But Blacksmith Wei, don't scare them all away. Be patient at the beginning.

Also, ahead of you, there's a scout team of over fifty men; remember to eat them all.

"Yes, I promise to complete the mission."

After Commander Chen finished speaking, he ordered the special operations company to assemble, as he was going to lead them around to the back of Ningma.

Battalion Commander Wei was in charge of setting up the blocking positions here.

If even this small matter requires Commander Chen to arrange, then what is the point of having Battalion Commander Wei?

By this time, the entire convoy had already come to a stop.

After Commander Chen left, under Battalion Commander Wei's arrangement, the entire convoy quickly formed three circular formations supported by a triangle.

All the horses pulling the carts and the laborers dispersed into a circular formation to take cover.

The carriages were carrying thick copper ingots weighing fifty pounds each, which were impervious to guns and cannons.

More than an hour later, after Battalion Commander Wei had set up his blocking positions, the shadows of Ningma's vanguard troops began to appear to the west.

The stragglers saw the convoy forming a circular formation in the distance.

They didn't approach immediately.

Instead, he kept riding his horse at a distance, occasionally firing a couple of shots, trying to test the strength of the convoy.

But after firing a few shots, they found that the other side didn't make a sound at all.

So a few stragglers turned their horses around and went back to report, while the rest continued to gallop around the circular formation in the distance.

More than half an hour later, the thunderous sound of hooves came from the west, and the ground trembled slightly from the hooves of the warhorses.

As the tall plumes of dust rose from the distance, beneath them galloped countless cavalrymen.

One kilometer away, Ma Hongjiang, the commander of Ningma's cavalry regiment, stopped and took out his binoculars.

Looking ahead, there were three circular car formations that were extremely dispersed but arranged in a triangular pattern.

Upon seeing this formation, Ma Hongjiang frowned slightly.

This formation is not easy to fight.

These three circular formations are spaced five or six hundred meters apart.

If cavalrymen were to enter their midst, they would at least be attacked from both sides.

If you focus your attack on one side, the other two sides might come out to provide support.

If we divide our forces to defend both sides, we will lack sufficient troops for the main attack.

It's like a hedgehog curled up; no matter how you try to bite it, you're likely to prick your mouth.

The reason why Ma Hongjiang led his people to travel hundreds of kilometers to this place was...

It was because his elder brother, Ningma's boss, got the news.

The team here apparently found a large copper mine somewhere near Daqingshan.

On their first trip, they transported back more than 300 cartloads of copper ingots.

This made Ningma's leader very unhappy.

In his mind, Daqingshan was his territory, and how could he allow others to make money on his land?

What is copper?
That's money.

Copper coins, copper coins, what else could they be but money?

Moreover, it is currently the most important strategic resource.

The bullets in that gun were all made of copper.

But finding their copper mines in the vast Daqing Mountains was extremely difficult.

But the copper they smelted still needs to be transported back home.

If we can find the tire tracks left by their convoy when they transported the copper ingots, we will definitely be able to find that copper mine.

So this time, Ma Hongjiang followed the edge of Daqingshan Mountain all the way eastward to find it.

He was lucky; he never expected to be able to block the convoy transporting copper ingots halfway through the journey.

"Qingshan, take a look at the formation on the other side and figure out how to deal with it."

Judging from the other side's reaction, the officer in charge of escorting the convoy was also a veteran of many battles.

They must have discovered us a long time ago.

However, their convoy wasn't fast, so they could only form a defensive formation. It's unclear whether they were holding out for reinforcements or preparing for a desperate resistance.

Ma Qingshan, also holding binoculars, looked at the quiet line of cars opposite him.

He said, "Second Uncle, I think they are more likely to hold their ground and wait for reinforcements."

This place is more than 40 kilometers away from Daqingshan Mountain and nearly 300 kilometers away from the other side of the Yellow River.

If reinforcements were to arrive from the Daqingshan area by fast horse, it would only take half a day.

The other side of the Yellow River is too far away, so I think they are waiting for reinforcements.

Therefore, the reinforcements must be coming from the Daqingshan area to the north.

Judging from how hastily they set up their vehicle formation, I think their people seeking help from Daqingshan must have already reached the halfway point.

If Second Uncle wants to bring him down, he has to do it as soon as possible.

Ignore both sides, just place two machine guns and keep an eye on them.

Use the most intense firepower to concentrate on one point.

Once one of their fulcrums is broken, the other two become less of a threat.

Even if we defeat them, we will still have to face their reinforcements.

So I think that instead of waiting for their reinforcements to arrive, we should go and meet them head-on.

We caught their reinforcements completely off guard.

Ma Hongjiang was very satisfied with his nephew's analysis and tactics.

This playing style suits Ma Hongjiang's personality.

Ma Hongjiang is known for his explosive and rapid fighting style.

It seems that his nephew did not waste his time at the military academy in the south and is doing well.

"Guards!" Ma Hongjiang shouted.

The guards beside Ma Hongjiang immediately responded, "Here!"

"Order the reconnaissance platoon to head north towards Daqingshan Mountain, following the tire tracks for ten kilometers."

Keep a close watch on what's happening to the north.

Report back immediately if there is any movement.

After the guard responded "Yes," he immediately relayed the order to the reconnaissance platoon.

"Machine gun platoon, send two light machine guns to watch the two vehicle formations on the left and right."

Everyone else, mount your horses, load your cannons, and set the bullets on fire.

Charge down that line of vehicles in front of you.

The chariot formation has been opened, and there are generous rewards; who would dare to back down even a step?

Military law was to be enforced on the spot.

"Yes, following the commander, we'll earn merit and be rewarded!"

Amidst everyone's shouts and cheers.

The massive herd of horses began to disperse to both sides.

Horsemen never charge together.

Especially now that we live in the age of firearms, it's no longer the time for swords and spears to fight each other.

If the cavalry dared to gather together and charge now.

So, if there is even one light machine gun, it will be enough to kill a cavalryman.

If it's a heavy machine gun, then let's pray to God that the enemy's machine gun jams.

Otherwise, they would all die on the way to the front.

So if you don't know what kind of firepower the enemy has, then spreading out your formation is definitely the right thing to do.

When the distinctive bugle call of the Ningma cavalry sounded, all the Ningma cavalrymen raised their rifles and began to trot their warhorses.

When they moved to a distance of 600 meters from the vehicle formation, they began to establish machine gun positions with the four heavy machine guns they carried.

Light machine gun, continue to follow up.

Meanwhile, the positions for the two small cavalry cannons that accompanied the army had already been dug.

One shot has already been fired, and a calibration test is underway.

After the artillery fired two shots.

The cavalry ahead had already moved within 400 meters of the chariot formation.

At that moment, a shell landed not far in front of the vehicle formation.

However, the 35mm cannon that Ma Hongjiang carried, which was a small homemade cannon made by the Ma family and carried by cavalry, was too weak.

The copper ingots on the hardwood carriage were not damaged at all.

Even that horse-drawn carriage with its hardwood frame and iron sheeting only had a few shrapnel pieces embedded in it.

Seeing that the cannonballs were approaching the wagon formation, the next shot would hit the Ningma cavalrymen inside.

At this moment, everyone started shouting loudly.

Simultaneously controlling his horse with both legs, he charged towards the wagon formation with a rifle in his hand.

They charged forward while continuously firing at the vehicle formation.

Even at this point, there was still no sound from the car formation.

"Something's not right, Second Uncle. Could that car formation be empty?"

Why isn't there any response?

Hearing his nephew's question, Ma Hongjiang, who was holding binoculars, was also a little puzzled.

However, the cavalry in front have already picked up speed, so it's not time to stop them now.

He could only order the artillery to fire shells into the vehicle formation as quickly as possible.

At this moment, the four heavy machine guns in front also opened fire, continuously firing at the vehicle formation from the firing lanes cleared by the cavalry.

But the only response the car formation gave them was a few sparks and clanging sounds.

A heavy machine gun is still far from being able to penetrate a copper ingot weighing fifty pounds.

Just as the battle was raging, a series of explosions suddenly came from beneath the feet of the cavalry charging towards the wagon formation.

The explosion wasn't very loud.

The explosive force was not very large.

But it's dense, and each blast is a string of sounds over two meters long.

These small bombs are strung together like candied hawthorns.

Once one rings, all the others ring too.

The tiny steel balls, about the size of mung beans, that it blasted out flew everywhere.

"What is this? Cavalry, my cavalry."

Through the telescope, one could see warhorses constantly tumbling and falling to the ground, and cavalrymen sprawled on the ground.

Ma Hongjiang's eyes widened in fury.

The explosion occurred within a distance of approximately 100 to 300 meters in front of the vehicle formation.

This is the optimal firing distance for a rifle.

Ma Hongjiang was unaware of the string of small bombs in front of the vehicle formation.

It was designed by Chen Changzai specifically for cavalry; it's an anti-cavalry mine.

The placement of this mine is also simple.

Just straighten it out and put it on the ground.

If a warhorse steps on, scrapes against, or connects to any of the mines, the entire string of mines will sound simultaneously.

If a warhorse is hit by it, it may not die immediately, but it will definitely be seriously injured.

Because the horse's belly was too soft.

"Sound the retreat bugle! Sound the retreat bugle quickly!"

Behind him, Ma Hongjiang frantically shouted for the buglers nearby to blow their horns.

The bugle call sounded.

But once a cavalryman starts running, it's not so easy to rein in his horse.

Meanwhile, the warhorses continued to charge into the minefield.

And this time.

Suddenly, it looked as if a row of machine guns had been set up on the line of vehicles.

The accurate and rapid gunfire continued incessantly.

At this moment, Ningma's machine gun positions, located 400 meters and 600 meters away from the vehicle formation, suddenly fell silent.

"The third one even dared to touch the machine gun."

Wang Ergou slightly turned his wrist, his eyes never leaving the heavy machine gun he was aiming at through the peephole, and he muttered softly to himself.
They were sharpshooters assigned by Battalion Commander Wei, specifically tasked with calling out the machine gunners.

At this distance, the peep sight demonstrated its greatest power.

Just as Ma Hongjiang was about to rush forward in a frenzy, he was stopped by his nephew.

"Second Uncle, hurry! This is a trap. It will be too late if we wait any longer."

When Ma Hongjiang calmed down and wanted to listen to his nephew and retreat immediately.

Suddenly, the sound of galloping horses rose from behind him.

When Ma Hongjiang turned to look at his rearguard.

What he saw was his rearguard, falling from their horses in droves like harvested wheat.

After falling, it never got up again.

Only then did he hear the dense sound of submachine guns, like hail falling.

　Thank you to all my friends who have supported me.

　　I felt it wouldn't be interesting to write this chapter in two separate chapters, so I combined it into one long chapter of 4,500 words. It's a bit late, sorry.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)