As the Tri-Border Governor appointed by the court, Lee Wen was very resolute on the battlefield. Even when faced with the provocations of the Northern Barbarians, he was also very sharp. He was indeed good at dealing with the Northern Barbarians. Although he was very old, he was still strong and healthy.
This time, their morale was already low because of the rebel army before the battle. The number of non-battle casualties was quite large, and they had suffered a crushing defeat in their first battle. The morale of the army was extremely low. At this moment, Li Wen urgently needed a victory to restore morale and stabilize the impetuous morale of the army.
"The rebel army's firearms are sharp, their tactics are skilled, and they are strong. They are not inferior to our army. We have underestimated them before. Now, do you have any good ideas to deal with them? For example, sending more firearms from the rear to attack the rebel army's hill? "
Lee Wen asked his subordinates.
The high level ginseng experts looked at each other and revealed awkward expressions.
"Governor, the sharpness of the rebel army's firearms is beyond our expectations. Other than a frontal attack, there is no good way to deal with them."
"Yes, Governor, the road is dangerous. Our army has always tried to be as light as possible, and we have very few large-scale weapons. Even if we ask the rear to send more firearms, it will be too late. Instead of waiting here, we might as well order our superior forces to attack."
"Governor, firearms take time to load, and they overheat easily. The same is true for muskets, so there is a limit to how many shots they can fire. Unless the rebel army has as many muskets as there are hairs on a cow, it will be impossible to fight for a long time. In the end, we will still have to fight with real swords and guns. Our army has many soldiers, so as long as we can withstand the attacks of the rebel army's firearms, we will definitely be able to fight them at close range.
Fighting at close range is the only way to win. "" Governor, firearms are small and not worth mentioning. What is really important is fighting at close range. Two thousand people can still rush up the hill and fight the rebel army at close range. The reason why they are weak when they are defeated is because if they have enough reinforcements, dealing with the rebel army will be a piece of cake. "
The senior advisors conducted theoretical analyses on the weaknesses and strengths of firearms, which won Li Wen's approval.
"Yes, that makes sense. Firearms are small and cannot bear the burden. If we continue to arrange for troops to attack, we will definitely be able to take down the hill and push forward! That is good! Men, pass down the order. Arrange for a thousand-man team to attack the rebel army's hill continuously. If the front line is defeated, the rear line will continue. If this continues, the rebel army will be defeated like a landslide! "
Li Wen made up his mind.
The military order was issued, and the army began to organize a thousand-man assault squad. To put it bluntly, it was a suicide squad. Everyone would only bring a short weapon, and they would try to charge the hill in front of them in the shortest amount of time possible. Once they conquered the hill, they would move on to the next hill. In short, they had to break through the rebel army's defensive line no matter what.
There were several hills on the road in front of them that were close to each other. The Zhennan Army had set up defenses on the hills, so they could support each other. If they did not take down these hills, they would not be able to advance further into Liuba. Faced with the commander-in-chief's order, the border troops could only brace themselves and go into battle.
Thus, the next day, the two sides fought fiercely, and the sky was filled with artillery fire.
Once the border troops got within the firing range of the Zhennan Army's cannons, the cannonballs smashed down fiercely, carrying with them a scorching heat wave. In an instant, many lives would be lost. This was a huge blow to the army's formation. The border troops were not used to fighting with firearms, so it took them a long time to figure out how to disperse and attack.
This could reduce the destructive power of the cannons, so the casualties of the border troops were reduced. However, when they charged up the hill, they had no choice but to gather together, which made them live targets for the cannoneers.
The Zhennan Army's cannoneers were well-trained, and they fired extremely quickly. Round after round of smoke rose, and round after round of lead pellets fell, hitting the chest, the head, the arms, the legs. Blood flowed like a river, and broken limbs flew everywhere. The border troops suffered heavy losses …
Two hours after the start of the battle, two thousand-man teams were broken up in a row. Having lost the ability to fight, they ran back desperately. Li Wen, who was so angry that he went to the frontlines to supervise the battle, immediately organized his personal guards to form a supervisory team. He ordered that any soldiers who ran back would be immediately killed without mercy. This slightly stopped the border troops from retreating.
But, what was the use of this?
Being defeated was inevitable. If the morale of the troops was really broken, no matter how many people there were in the supervisory team, they would not be able to stop the troops running back. Compared to the destructive power of the cannons and cannons, knives were easier to dodge. As long as there were enough people, they could break up the supervisory team.
This forced Li Wen to organize even more supervisory teams. When the deterrent power of the supervisory team's knives even surpassed the Zhennan Army's counterattack, the thousand-man border troops finally stopped running back. They knew that they would not survive if they ran back, so they might as well just die at the frontlines …
Their combat power suddenly increased, and they caught the Zhennan Army off guard. Although they were still annihilated in the end, the Zhennan Army's defensive line was unstable. So, before the third thousand-man team could charge up, the Zhennan Army on the first hill finally chose to retreat.
They retreated to the second line of defense and continued fighting.
"Governor! The rebel army is retreating! "
A senior adviser pointed at the hill where the Zhennan Army retreated and shouted in surprise.
Li Wen saw this and was instantly excited. He immediately realized that this tactic was effective. Although the thousand-man team suffered a lot of losses, as long as they could break through the defensive line, it was meaningful.
"Continue to attack! Charge up!! "
Li Wen commanded the border troops to charge up the hill and kill their way to the next hill.
He led the senior advisers over the corpses on the ground and up the hill. Facing the remaining hills in front of them, his expression was solemn.
"If this continues, how many troops will we lose to take down these hills? The rebel army's advantage is too great. If we continue to attack, our losses will not be small. Right now, Li Ruzhang's troops have not arrived yet. Our army cannot suffer too many losses! "
A calmer senior adviser advised Li Wen.
Li Wen thought for a while and shook his head.
"When two armies fight, the most important thing is momentum. Once momentum is raised, it will be like a hot knife through butter. The rebel army also relies on this momentum. If we take down their momentum, we will naturally win. The rebel army will be defeated like a landslide. So, we cannot relax. Otherwise, it will be difficult to lift it again."
Li Wen insisted on his judgment and continued to command the thousand-man team to charge up the hill, ignoring the continuous artillery fire.
In fact, he didn't really want to ignore those sharp muskets and muskets. It was just that he didn't have many of them. He wanted to save his ammunition and muskets for the siege. If he ran out of them now, what would he do in the future when he still had a long way to go?
He had long heard that Xiao Ruxun was good at using firearms and that the firearms under his command were unparalleled in Daming. From the looks of it, it was true. Today, he had seen the sharpness of the Zhennan Army's firearms, and he had also seen his own helplessness. However, there was really no other way.
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