On the earthen fort at Da Gu Kou, there were dozens of cannons scattered around. Zhou Qingfeng stood in front of one of the particularly old, rusted cannons and stared at it. From the imprint left on the body of the cannon when it was cast, he recognized a line of words: Daming Hong Wu Ding Si …. The words at the back were already blurred and could not be read.
"The cannons made during Zhu Yuanzhang's reign have actually been left until now despite the wind and rain? What kind of fort is this? It's clearly a rubbish dump for cannons. "Zhou Qingfeng did a simple calculation. This cannon was an antique made over two hundred years ago. "The civil and the martial are playful. This Daming Dynasty really makes people speechless."
Zhou Qingfeng led the army to land in Tianjin, while Ye Na led the people to attack Da Gu Kou. The Ming Army stationed on the fort still felt it was strange. Where did this foreign woman come from? She actually dared to bring people here to mess around?
When Ye Na cut down a few of the noisy Ming Army officers, the soldiers below then knew that the traitors had come. They originally wanted to disperse, but in the end, a few more people died. Only then did they become well-behaved.
Because Da Gu Kou guarded the estuary of Hai River, its geographical location was extremely important. Zhou Qingfeng simply set up his command center on the fort. The engineers in the army just happened to use the captive Ming Army soldiers as basic labor.
The army staff officer explained the policy clearly to the captives, clearly stating that three meals would be provided, and the wages would be calculated according to the number of days and workload. On the first day of forced labor, when the Ming Army soldiers discovered that they really had f * cking food, drink, and money, the next day, they shamelessly asked for their families to come and work.
Zhou Qingfeng went up the fort and inspected the surroundings. He saw a pile of antiques on the fort. The Ming Army officer who had been instigated by the Ministry of State Security smiled obsequiously at the side and explained, "Grand Marshal, this is the bowl gun. The one at the back is the hundred-shot gun. These are all old objects. The sharpest gun on this fort is the big Frang machine gun. It was made during the Jiajing period. It's very powerful. "
Grand Marshal? Did I change my name again?
Zhou Qingfeng turned his head. At first, he frowned slightly at his title, which had become 'big'. However, when he heard the Ming Army bragging about the Frang machine gun, he could not help but laugh. He then calculated how long ago the Jiajing period was and couldn't help but say mockingly, "It's almost a hundred years old scrap iron. It's ridiculous to think that this thing is a treasure. "
The most powerful weapons on the turret were a few Frang autocannons that weighed more than a hundred kilograms. They were full of rust and useless trash. Zhou Qingfeng wanted to send all the scrap iron to make steel in one go. It took him a lot of effort to suppress the urge to destroy the cannons. These cannons were not his enemies, and they were cultural relics after all. These were all exhibits at the military museum that day.
The main force of nearly 2,000 people was organized into the 'Beijing-Tianjin Area Army'. After Zhou Qingfeng took control of the Da Gu Kou Fort, he immediately ordered his troops to clear the area around the fort. He requested that the military situation within a five kilometer radius be smooth, that any hostile forces be eliminated within a twenty kilometer radius, and that there be clear feedback within a fifty kilometer radius.
The main force responsible for intelligence investigation was a large number of spies set up by the Ministry of Security and the Department of Commerce and Trade when they were operating in Tianjin. After the 'Beijing-Tianjin Area Army' landed, these spies were activated one by one.
There were six to seven hundred of these local spies. They were responsible for guiding, spying, propaganda, and other main tasks. They were a powerful hidden force in the area army. With the guidance of these local guides, the cavalry and infantry of the area army could continuously attack and destroy any local forces that dared to resist.
The ships that transported the 'Beijing-Tianjin Area Army' not only transported soldiers and horses, but also a large number of means of transportation. After a winter of technical public relations, the supply of wooden bearings finally began to open. When the weather warmed up, the Revolutionary Army's wood processing factory began to produce four-wheeled carriages on a large scale.
Due to widespread malnutrition, it was difficult for adult men in ancient times to carry more than 20 kilograms of supplies on their backs for long-distance travel. Even the soldiers of the Imperial Guard of the Revolutionary Army had only gone through about half a year to a year of conditioning and could not be said to be very strong. Their load-bearing ability was very average.
The civilian wheelbarrows did not have good bearings. At most, they could increase the load to 100 kilograms. If it was too heavy, the car would easily fall apart. The handcart could double the load again. However, the four-wheeled carriage could use two horses to pull a load of more than one ton. The transportation efficiency was extremely high. Naturally, four-wheeled carriages were used for land transportation in foreign battles.
As long as five four-wheeled carriages could carry all the personnel and equipment of an infantry platoon within a range of 20 kilometers for two or three days. When these carriages rumbled along the road, many local people who lived in the area ran out to watch.
The Ming Army marched either lazily or looted everywhere. Zhou Qingfeng's Imperial Guard, on the other hand, changed the inherent concept of the army in the hearts of the people in the past. The majestic momentum spread in all directions. The arrival of the Revolutionary Army was no longer a piece of news that was casually said. It was actually changing the world.
Since the 'Beijing-Tianjin Area Army' had come, they would not wait helplessly for the Ming Army to attack. Zhou Qingfeng advocated attack and would not let the troops idle and daydream. The headquarters in Dagukou had not yet been repaired, but he had asked the staff to carry out the battle plan that had been formulated.
At present, the 'Beijing-Tianjin Area Army' actually had personnel from three different agencies: the Imperial Guard, the Ministry of Security, and the Department of Commerce. In order to cooperate in the battle, the headquarters sent staff to communicate on the spot.
After Qiao Xuenan completed the coordination work of landing at the port, he quickly took on a new task, which was to clean up a 'local diehard.' As a communications staff, he led an infantry company, a dozen local guides from the Ministry of Security, and more than 200 local migrant workers integrated by the Department of Commerce to form a battle group.
The entire battle group had 400 people. The migrant workers dragged behind and moved on foot. Qiao Xuenan quickly moved forward with the troops. At this moment, he sat on the frame of the carriage and turned his head to look at a middle-aged man sitting next to him.
The man's clothes were tattered, his skin was dark, and his messy hair was tied with a straw rope. As the carriage moved forward, he kept clenching his hands, gritting his teeth, and lowering his head to shed tears.
"It's in front. Just go around that pond. The large manor in front belongs to that Master Xiao. My child was drowned in that lotus pond by him. " The middle-aged woman was a local guide sent by the Ministry of Security. She pointed to a large house in the countryside a few hundred meters away and shouted loudly. "I've waited for this day. I'm going to avenge my child."
Qiao Xuenan had read the social situation report sent by the Ministry of Security. The resentment of the people at the bottom of Daming's society was too great. It was like a pile of dry firewood that only needed a spark to burn. Wang Kunpeng's method of developing local spies was extremely simple. He only needed to find out whose family had been bullied by the officials. It cost the Ministry of Security almost nothing to develop local guides, and they could find one at a time.
Tianjin was a bustling place, and Daming had set up many yamens here. For example, the Tianjin Military Preparation Department, the Tianjin Inspector's Office, the Tianjin Guard Commander's Office, the Salt Transportation Department, the Water Transportation Department, and so on.
Many officials of the imperial court had bought land in Tianjin and carried out large-scale construction to abuse their power. As a result, the power of the local officials here was extremely great. They were entangled and could not be sorted out. Zhou Qingfeng was disinclined to curry favor with these tumors of the country, and it was even more impossible to wait for them to organize militias to resist. He simply struck first to gain the upper hand — first killing a group of people with great resentment to establish his might.
Qiao Xuenan's target this time was the head of the Daming Ministry of Revenue's branch in Tianjin. This Master Xiao's official position was not conspicuous, but he was in charge of the supervision and taxation of the water transportation in Tianjin. Tianjin's water transportation was related to the survival of the entire Daming's north. This position was too important, and it was too easy to fish for benefits.
Qiao Xuenan's battle group quickly rushed thirty li and arrived at Beitang Town, west of Dagu Kou. Master Xiao had a large field outside the town. However, the Beijing-Tianjin Border Army was fast, but as a local snake, Master Xiao reacted even faster. It was unknown where he got the news. By the time Qiao Xuenan and the others arrived, the other side was actually prepared.
Hundreds of strong young men armed with swords and spears stood guard on the wall of the manor's courtyard with ladders. Master Xiao, who was in his seventies or eighties, personally led the children of his family into battle. They wore official robes bestowed by the court and held several talismans in their hands, constantly boosting the family servants' morale.
Qiao Xuenan frowned and looked at the leading female officer in another carriage.
That's right, this time it was a company of female firearms soldiers. The company's dozen carriages stopped 200 meters away from the enemy, and nearly a hundred female soldiers with muskets on their backs got off and lined up. Before the battle, Qiao Xuenan was a little nervous. But apart from their tense faces, the female soldiers didn't show any signs of abnormality.
The battle was about to begin, and the people in the manor all climbed up the wall. The surrounding families didn't run, but stood a hundred meters away to watch the show. Seeing that it was a group of female soldiers, everyone felt that their eyes had been opened — it was unprecedented for women to be soldiers in Daming. No one didn't look askance.
The female company commander was very nimble, and when lining up, she constantly ordered the equipment to be checked. The end of the musket soaked in potassium nitrate was first lit, and the unlit end was clipped to the snake rod of the gun, and the first round of ammunition was quickly loaded. All the female soldiers had serious expressions, and under the command of their respective platoon leaders, they marched forward in an orderly manner.
Qiao Xuenan had never experienced this kind of battle before, he only knew that the target this time was a relatively strong enemy nearby. Master Xiao's family had hundreds of hectares of fertile land, thousands of tenant farmers, and the family children in this manor alone, as well as the young and strong servants guarding the gate and courtyard, numbered more than a hundred. Although he was very confident in the combat ability of his Imperial Guard, he still had some doubts about these female soldiers.
When it came to war, men were always more reliable.
When Zhou Qingfeng took down Dagu Pass, the news immediately spread. Master Xiao was in charge of transportation, so he was very well-informed. He immediately organized his own servants — whether it was to deal with the rebels coming ashore or the advancing Ming Army, they all needed to be prepared. After all, in this day and age, soldiers and bandits were a family.
Master Xiao met the enemy at the front gate of his manor. When he saw that it was a group of women wearing grey military uniforms coming from afar, he couldn't help but laugh and shout to his children, "Traitor Zhou has no one, he actually incited a group of big-footed women to come to war. Ridiculous, ridiculous, the officials of the imperial court are actually frightened by this kind of traitor. Let's see how I defeat the traitor to repay the emperor's kindness! "
Master Xiao's white hair fluttered, and the children and servants around him also let out a big sigh of relief. Everyone knew that the traitor Zhou caused chaos in Liaodong, and mercilessly slaughtered officials and gentry, but they didn't expect that the traitor would actually send a group of women to fight. In their view, women's life was to work, suffer, be reprimanded, and be humiliated, and the greatest use of women was to give birth.
Fighting a war and women obviously had nothing to do with each other.
Master Xiao's sons immediately had a fighting spirit, and the youngest son volunteered to fight, "Father, let me bring some servants to fight. As long as I bring a few dozen people to charge, those women will certainly have to escape. "
"Don't worry, those stupid women can't escape. When they come up and find out that they can't take down our house, their morale will naturally drop. Take some people to climb over the wall, and we'll be able to break them in one shot. " Master Xiao was still a bit calculative, and he was quite pleased with himself, as if he was saying, "With feather fan and silk handkerchief, while talking and laughing, ships and oars will turn into ashes and smoke."
The female soldiers formed into three rows, holding light muskets in their hands, and walked at a steady pace until they were thirty meters away from the enemy's courtyard wall. This distance was already within the killing range of arrows, and sure enough, some impatient servants on top of the wall drew their bows and shot arrows at them. However, these ordinary people only used ordinary soft bows, so the arrows they shot were erratic and the arrowheads flew randomly.
The commanding female company commander estimated the distance to the enemy, and with a cold face, she shouted, "Halt!" The platoon leaders below immediately stopped and responded. She shouted loudly in the ranks, "Sisters, this is the first battle of us female guards. We must win, and we must win beautifully. We must pay back an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and return all the pain we suffered in the past to those maggots. "
The female soldiers responded loudly, and Qiao Xuenan, who was standing at the side, was also not used to this. He wore a bright silver breastplate, and compared to the female soldiers who did not wear armor, he looked much more majestic. The enemies on the other side all felt that he was the chief of this attack. But in the current situation, he could only watch the show.
"Load the gunpowder." The female company commander ordered loudly.
"Light the match." As the gunpowder would blow out the match when firing, so the match had to be lit at both ends. Before firing, use the burning end to light the other end.
"Aim according to the gun." Three formations, each of them formed three rows. The female soldiers in the front row were densely packed, and aimed at the enemy on the wall thirty meters away.
At this moment, on the wall, Master Xiao laughed out loud, "This gun is useless, it can only be fired once, and it will explode when ignited. The entire court knows this, but this traitor actually doesn't know. She doesn't know soldiers, doesn't know military equipment, and yet she dares to show off in front of me, what a joke. Boys, hide a little, and watch them humiliate themselves. "
Master Xiao was not stupid, and he lay down behind the wall of his own house. The children and servants around him also followed suit. At most, a few boldly poked their heads out from behind the wall, wanting to see how the women on the other side fought.
The female company commander raised her saber high, and swung it down heavily, "Fire!"
Bang bang bang …
Accompanied by a burst of white smoke, the sound of gunfire sounded like beans exploding.
Behind the wall, Master Xiao was instructing his sons on how to rush out later, "This gun is useless, it looks powerful, but no one in the army likes it. Just listen to those women fire it once, and the gun becomes a piece of trash like a fire stick. We will rush out immediately, and this battle will be decided … "
The sons laughed loudly, but after the gunfire, the top of the wall was hit by lead, and several screams were heard. A few servants who poked their heads out to watch the show were hit in the face by the splashing bricks and stones. There was even a person who was directly shot in the head by the lead, and with a bang, a bloody watermelon exploded. The mutilated corpse fell from the ladder against the wall, and the people behind the wall immediately cried out in fear.
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