With 100,000 elite soldiers at the start, what should you call me?

……

Near Dongjiaoxi, Zhejiang.

Lekedehun led an army of 20,000 to garrison here, with camps stretching as far as the eye could see and banners obscuring the sun.

Once Xianxia Pass is breached, the 20,000-strong army will march straight into Fujian, capture Pucheng, and then head straight for Jianning Prefecture.

However, after attacking Xianxia Pass for several days, the Qing army still could not break through the pass.

Instead, hundreds of people died.

Jue Luolang felt a lot of pressure; this small hurdle was blocking their way, making it extremely difficult to attack.

Moreover, the enemy's firearms were exceptionally powerful, rendering night attacks ineffective.

"General, five hundred civilians have been captured from nearby villages."

A short while later, a soldier came to report. Jue Luolangqiu walked out of the tent and looked outside. There was a group of old and young people standing at the outer gate.

These people will be sent to the battlefield to deplete the enemy's ammunition.

Young women were thrown into military camps to become prostitutes, while those who died were mostly men, the elderly, and the disabled.

"Get them up there right away."

Jue Luolangqiu commanded impatiently.

Soon, these captured civilians were all forced to carry a bag of soil or a bag of gravel.

They weren't trying to fill in the moat; they wanted to use human lives to create a gentle slope.

Although this method is clumsy, it is the only way to pose a threat to Xianxia Pass.

Soon, more than 500 civilians were forced forward with steel knives at their hands.

Ahead lies Xianxia Pass, the city gate is littered with corpses, and there are mounds of earth piled up two meters high at the foot of the city wall.

The Xianxia Pass tower is not tall, less than six meters, only a little over two stories high. If one were ruthless enough, it wouldn't be impossible to create a slope with human lives.

"Company commander, those bastards are capturing civilians again to attack the city."

From the city tower, Wang Lin saw people being driven towards him in the distance.

"Shoot if they get close. We'll remember this debt and make the Qing army pay a hundredfold."

Gunfire erupted, and before they even reached the foot of the city wall, civilians began to fall. In a panic, the villagers dropped their earthen mounds and fled, but the Qing soldiers hiding behind them swung their swords and killed more than a dozen people before the villagers stopped and ran forward, weeping.

"Help! Help!"

A man came down from the city wall, dropped a mound of earth, and shouted in panic towards the city wall.

"Gentlemen, please open the city gates and save us!"

Another person rushed down to the city wall, crying and shouting.

Wang Lin and his soldiers stood calmly on the city wall, ignoring the cries for help from below.

Instead, he calmly aimed his gun forward and shot anyone with a knife. He wouldn't blame himself if he shot the wrong person; on the battlefield, weapons have no eyes, and he would save whoever he could.

After this wave of attacks ended, Wang Lin put away his gun and gave the order.

"Open the city gates. As usual, everyone must be searched. Have the other companies take these civilians out and put them under guard in another place."

The city gates opened, and the surviving people, both surprised and delighted, looked into the city with unease.

"Those who don't want to die, hurry up and come in!" A shout came from behind the city gate.

A middle-aged man immediately rushed into the city, followed by a group of people.

"May the Bodhisattva protect us, may the Buddha manifest his power, may the immeasurable immortals, Amitabha Buddha, and Your Majesty protect us."

"Sir, thank you, sir, thank you."

Some people came in muttering to themselves, while others wanted to kneel down and kowtow. All of them were grateful, but they dared not slow down their pace at all. Of the five hundred people, only a little over one hundred survived.

After collecting the bodies of the deceased, more than a dozen people rushed out to carry the corpses and mounds of earth from outside the city back into the city.

In the hot summer, corpses decompose easily and must be disposed of, otherwise they are prone to infection with plague.

The earthen mounds outside the city cannot be piled up too much, otherwise they will become a slope, and their firearms will be too powerful to defend.

However, at that moment, shouts of battle came from afar.

The Qing army seized the opportunity to attack the city.

"Come back quickly!"

The soldiers who had collected the corpses and mounds of earth immediately returned to the city. At that moment, fire spurted from the firing port in the middle of the wall, and the Jianning-made heavy machine gun began to rumble.

The Qing troops who charged halfway down fell one after another.

"Let those ahs keep going!"

Jue Luolangqiu, who was directing from behind, immediately gave the order.

During the Qing Dynasty, countless civilians were captured and sent to the battlefield in batches, consuming the ammunition of the new army.

Before long, another group of people carrying mounds of earth were driven over.

"Damn it, those beasts deserve to die."

Wang Lin's face darkened; the Qing army's attacks were even more frequent today than yesterday.

"Company commander, when can we launch a preemptive strike and wipe out those Tartars!" a soldier said viciously, his anger rising with every shot he fired.

"Xiao Hao, even if the higher-ups really decide to launch an attack, it won't be our turn. Our company will definitely be arranged to rest and recuperate." Wang Lin sighed. He also longed to join the main force in the counterattack.

"Damn it." Xiao Hao could only grit his teeth and pull the trigger, firing at the Qing soldiers hiding in the distance.

The same thing happened at other checkpoints. Famous generals such as Chen Tai, Shang Kexi, and He Luohui were helpless against the new army with advanced firepower.

Any place that can be called a pass is definitely easy to defend and difficult to attack. Coupled with the advantage of firepower, the Qing army would have to exhaust the New Army's bullets to take the pass.

The new army used 7.9mm bullets, which it could produce indefinitely.

This was an unsolvable predicament for the Qing army.

Intelligence from various checkpoints was being gathered in Jianyang City.

At this time, the command post was moved from Jianning Prefecture to Jianyang to facilitate the receipt of intelligence from various places.

"The garrison at Fenshui Pass repelled three enemy attacks yesterday, killing approximately 500 enemy soldiers."

"Two days ago, the Fifth Army of Longxiang defeated the Qing army's attack at Lixinbao, and pursued them to Guangchang Town in Jiangxi. They killed 5,000 enemies and captured 3,000. Chen Yi, the city magistrate of Guangchang, led the people to kill the magistrate and opened the city gates to welcome the Fifth Army of Longxiang."

"Yesterday, Shanguan repelled six attacks by the Qing army, killing about three hundred enemies."

Intelligence from all sources converged at the command post, where markings on the central military sand table were constantly being changed.

The Qing army attacked the passes several times, but the New Army killed very few enemies. This was not because the New Army's bullets were incapable of killing, but because the statistical method only counted the Qing soldiers killed.

Those civilians who were coerced into attacking the city were not counted as killing the enemy.

"Commander, we have ascertained the Qing army's troop deployment. There are approximately 150,000 Qing troops attacking from the Jiangxi direction and approximately 50,000 Qing troops attacking from the Zhejiang direction," Chief of Staff Yao Bing reported from the side.

The sand table was marked with various flags.

Li Tian looked at the sand table with a cold expression. After this battle, he would try to go to the front line in person to broaden his horizons and make improvements in the future.

The overall direction is controlled by talents in various fields; he only needs to nod in agreement.

What he needs to do is figure out how to integrate the new military policy into this era after taking control of the territory.

After all, there are few liberal arts students in the new army, and even those who study history do not understand this era as well as people who live in this era.

No matter how detailed the written record is, it can't compare to experiencing it firsthand.

"This tragedy should end."

"The Fifth Army of Longxiang marched north to Jianchang Prefecture, while the Sixth Army of Longxiang, stationed at Shanguan, also marched to Jianchang Prefecture. The two armies formed a pincer movement and annihilated all the Qing troops in the area."

"The Longxiang Second Army at Fenshui Pass and the Longxiang Eighth Army at Jiaoling Pass are heading towards Qianshan. The Longxiang Fourth Army at Zhongjian Gukou Pass is holding back the Qing army. The three armies will converge and annihilate this Qing army. After taking it, they will attack Shangrao City and protect the rear of the Longxiang Seventh Army that is attacking from Cenyang Pass."

"The Longxiang Seventh Army at Cenyang Pass and the Longxiang Ninth Army at Xianxia Pass will encircle the Qing army in the Zhejiang area. Once the Qing army is defeated, they can take advantage of the situation to enter Zhejiang and capture Chuzhou and Wenzhou prefectures."

"After the two armies entered Zhejiang, the Fifth and Sixth Armies followed closely behind to supply the two armies and stabilize the rear."

Once the strategic deployment was completed, the General Staff immediately drafted the document, stamped it, and made two copies. Then, a special messenger would either ride a horse or go directly to the front line, or go to the ferry to take a boat to deliver the message.

On the city tower of Rulin Gate in Jianyang City, Shi Lang and his companions narrowed their eyes slightly as they saw military horses galloping on the busy road.

"Your Excellency, we have been in the new army for some time now, and this new army is truly different."

Shi Fu, standing to the side, stroked his beard, a smile always on his slightly chubby face.

Shi Lang's courtesy name was Zunhou, and Shi Fu, who was standing next to him, was his cousin; the two were relatives.

"Alas, it is precisely because this new army is different that I worry that the young master will choose the wrong path out of blind loyalty."

"Enough said, Uncle. Could the new army's guns be counterfeit?" Shi Lang asked instead.

Shi Fu nodded; "It's easy to copy guns, but the guns that are made probably won't fire a single shot. The difficulty lies in the bullets. We have no clue what to do right now. The bullets are exquisitely crafted and look almost identical, just like they were made by a top master craftsman."

"But that's just the surface of the cartridge case and the bullet. The gunpowder formula is the core. Without the gunpowder formula, it can't be made."

"What if we figure out how to mix it ourselves?" Shi Lang asked.

Shi Fu shook his head; "No, even if Xu Guangqi were alive, he would have difficulty concocting that kind of gunpowder."

"General, a letter from the young master." At this moment, a soldier quietly approached the two of them.