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Luo Dagang was a hero on the water. There were many waterways in Jiangxi and he wanted to show off, so he volunteered to serve in the front. Vézé naturally wanted Luo Dagang to integrate into his troops as soon as possible. So he appointed him as the deputy chief of staff of the First Army.
Starting from March 24, the front and rear armies moved south at the same time. The troops marched at a speed of 40 kilometers per day. Luo Dagang was indeed a hero on the waterways. He built pontoon bridges and set up crossing points along the waterways. It was done in an orderly manner.
The wind blew, the sun shone, and the rain fell. The troops on the road suffered a lot. Apart from that, Luo Dagang found nothing else. The pedestrians on the road saw such a large army marching from afar and quickly moved aside, not daring to ask for trouble on the road. The empty road could even accommodate two four-man troops marching side by side at the same time.
Vézé's troops inherited the tradition of the Taiping army. They paid for everything they bought and they were not allowed to loot. Although the people in the villages and towns along the road were frightened, they did some trading with Vézé and replenished their food supplies when they saw that they were not being looted.
On April 6, Luo Dagang asked, "Where is the Qing Army?"
Before the troops set off, the scouts had spread out along the road and received information that the Qing Army's small stronghold was empty. The four gates of the city were tightly shut and there was no sign of fighting. Vézé's troops marched through the Qing Army's territory in Jiangxi for half a month without being attacked.
After hearing this question, the General Staff of the First Army looked at each other in dismay. Everyone was puzzled as well. In the end, Commander Wei Changrong gave an explanation that was not really an explanation. "Since the Commander-in-Chief ordered us to go to Guangdong, he must have made arrangements?"
This reason was said in a questioning tone. Luo Dagang did not quite believe it after hearing it. But he could see that the officers in the General Staff Department of the First Army actually nodded their heads in disbelief after hearing this very nonsensical explanation.
Given Luo Dagang's character, if not for the fact that he had just joined the First Army, he would have objected to this attitude. Due to the situation, Luo Dagang could only keep his mouth shut.
In the following days, Luo Dagang suppressed this uneasiness in his heart. It was obvious that Wei Changrong had his own opinions. He increased the speed of the army from forty li a day to forty-five li. After walking for another half a month, the troops arrived at the strategic city of Ganzhou in southern Jiangxi according to the plan. Still, they did not encounter any attacks from the Qing Army.
Ganzhou City was located in the southern part of Jiangxi, on the upper reaches of the Gan River. It bordered Fujian Province's Sanming and Longyan to the east, Guangdong Province's Meizhou, Heyuan, and Shaoguan to the south, Hunan Province's Chenzhou to the west, and Jiangxi Province's Ji 'an and Fuzhou to the north. Attacking Gan Province was a huge battle, and the main point of the army on their way south was Gan Province. After conquering Ganzhou, the troops will be able to attack Shaoguan. After taking Shaoguan, Guangzhou City will be within their attack range.
The troops had made a lot of preparations before they set off from Xuancheng. The General Staff Department knew the determination of this march, but they were worried that they were not prepared enough. However, due to the lack of information, they did not have time to carry out many plans. With the training level of Vézé's troops, marching thirty li a day was nothing at all. Apart from marching, most of the time, they sent out mounted scouts to gather information and conduct many surveys of the places they passed. The officers of the General Staff Department thought that this would be a bloody military operation, but they did not expect to realize that this was just an armed parade.
"Commander-in-chief already knew this was going to happen, right?" Ju Junfeng, the Chief of Staff of the First Army, asked. Half a month ago, everyone's opinion was 30% believed and 70% doubted, but this time, the general attitude was 70% believed and 30% doubted. If Vézé had not expected this, he would not have ordered the troops to adopt such a radical strategy.
Not only were the staff officers thinking this way, but even Luo Dagang was wavering. When the Taiping army moved north from Guangxi, as the main officer in the army, Luo Dagang was well aware of the worries, fear, and even panic of the upper echelons of the Taiping army. Even after conquering Wuchang, the Taiping army still had different opinions of going north to Henan, south to Guangdong, and west to Nanjing, and the debate was still quite fierce.
The distance Vézé traveled south was not much less than the distance he took at that time, but the strategic goal was extremely clear. It was to go south to Guangdong. Based on the previous experience, this journey was destined to be full of disasters. Luo Dagang had made sufficient mental preparations for this.
But along the way, the troops were blown by the wind and scorched by the sun. Other than that, there were only two or three times when it rained a little bit. Compared to the rugged mountain road after breaking out of Yongan, this road was truly smooth. Without a guide, without support, and without the cooperation of Tian Di Hui, the troops reached Ganzhou, which was thousands of li away, in one month. This was completely beyond Luo Dagang's imagination.
If Vézé had known that there would be such a situation, it would indeed be surprising. But to say that Vézé had no idea that there would be such a situation was actually quite unbelievable.
Just as the generals were speechless, the staff officer in charge of the weather came running in. "Report, the wind is picking up. It looks like it's going to rain!"
Hearing this news, Luo Dagang felt as if a stone had been lifted from his heart. Rain was not conducive to attacking a city. After experiencing an unimaginably smooth march, encountering this kind of bad news made Luo Dagang feel as if he had returned to the real world. His entire body inexplicably felt relaxed.
However, the staff officer's reaction made Luo Dagang turn pale with fright. Wei Changrong said happily, "Is it really going to rain?"
Hearing these joyful words, Luo Dagang almost fell down from his chair. A thought emerged in his mind. Was Wei Changrong crazy? He looked at the other officers and saw that they all looked surprised and happy. It was obvious that they were all feeling the same joy as Wei Changrong. Luo Dagang was shocked and even had an unrealistic suspicion. Could it be that he was too tired from the march and was currently sleeping in his tent? He secretly pinched his thigh. Although the pain wasn't intense, it was real.
"Hurry up and build the siege weapons. Prepare to attack the city!" Wei Changrong ordered.
Currently, all the middle and high-ranking officers in Vézé's army had experience with the staff officer. The moment Wei Changrong gave the order, the staff officer immediately got to work. When everyone else was busy, Luo Dagang asked the relaxed Wei Changrong, "Are we really going to attack the city on a rainy day?"
"Let's go and take a look at Ganzhou City first. We'll talk on the way. "Wei Changrong had already picked up his military coat and said excitedly to Luo Dagang.
On the way, Wei Changrong asked Luo Dagang a question. "Deputy staff officer, how many times do you think the Qing Army's spears can fire on a rainy day?"
Luo Dagang was stunned. Rain was the weather that firearms were most afraid of. It was very easy for the match to be extinguished by the rain, and it was common for the gunpowder to fail to fire after it was damp. When the rain entered the mouth of the spear, the gunpowder would often stick to the inside of the spear. Even if the spear could fire, its power would be greatly reduced.
The Taiping army was very used to fighting in rainy and snowy weather. It was precisely because of this that the power of the Qing Army's spear decreased, and the efficiency of the Taiping army's melee combat greatly increased. After hearing Wei Changrong's question, Luo Dagang replied, "It's already not bad if they can fire half of the spear."
Wei Changrong agreed with this judgment. He continued to ask, "What if our spear can fire 90% of the time and is basically unaffected by the rain? Wouldn't it be much easier for us to attack the city? "
This question left Luo Dagang speechless. He had long heard that Vézé's troops had excellent spears, but people were not so sensitive to technology these days. Luo Dagang thought that Vézé's troops might be very good at using serial shooting techniques. However, what Wei Changrong said just now had nothing to do with serial shooting. He directly pointed out that Vézé's troops' spears were not affected by the rain.
As a veteran, Luo Dagang was very sensitive to one thing. No matter what Vézé's attitude was, at least the First Army under Wei Changrong's command had some reservations about Luo Dagang. If they really trusted Luo Dagang completely, they should have told Luo Dagang long ago that their troops used very different spears. However, it was not until now that Wei Changrong mentioned this matter.
Seeing the puzzled look on Luo Dagang's face, Wei Changrong suddenly patted his head. "Deputy Chief of Staff Luo, it's my fault. I should have told you earlier. I forgot that you haven't received staff training! "
"Staff training?" Luo Dagang was even more puzzled. The General Staff Headquarters of Vézé's troops was indeed different from the General Staff Headquarters of the Taiping Rebellion. After a month in the General Staff Headquarters, Luo Dagang admired the system of the General Staff Headquarters very much. If he had to say, the staff officers of Vézé's troops were not necessarily outstanding leaders. As a general, Luo Dagang's personal courage was extraordinary. He could see that many of the staff officers in the General Staff Headquarters were not excellent commanders. However, in the General Staff Headquarters, everyone was doing what they were good at, which was completely different. Everyone was good at what they were good at, and they were not worse than Luo Dagang. If an excellent commander like Luo Dagang were to carry out their military plans and suggestions, it would save Luo Dagang a lot of effort.
Luo Dagang originally thought that these people in the General Staff Headquarters were selected. He very much suspected that Vézé had some kind of magical power that allowed him to select so many excellent staff officers and put them in suitable positions. How much effort did he have to put in to do that? After listening to Wei Changrong's words, he realized that Vézé's method of selecting staff officers might be very different from what he had imagined.
Wei Changrong did not explain anything first. He ordered someone to bring two spears and began to personally demonstrate to Luo Dagang. Luo Dagang was a man in his fifties who had traveled extensively and was very knowledgeable. Even if he did not know about the fire cap spear, he was still someone who knew what was good for him. As soon as he saw the method of loading the paper bullets, he understood why the rain had little effect on the loading process. The paper shell effectively blocked the rain and prevented the gunpowder from coming into contact with the spear.
He pinched a handful of the gunpowder inside the paper shell bullets. These particles were finer, but much thicker than gunpowder. The hard particles could indeed effectively prevent the problem of moisture, but Luo Dagang suspected that these things could be ignited.
The spears in Vézé's army did not have a medicinal pool. Wei Changrong stood about 20 meters away from a tree, put the fire cap on the spear, aimed at the tree trunk, and fired. This was the first time Luo Dagang had seen such a new type of spear. He saw the trigger hit the fire cap, and then the spear fired. The bullet accurately hit the tree trunk.
Wei Changrong also wanted to show off. There was a small river nearby. Wei Changrong first soaked the bullets in the river, completely soaking the outer casing. He also soaked the fire cap in the water. Then, he used his hand to splash water on the spear, completely soaking the outside of the spear. After that, he used his teeth to tear open the back of the paper shell, loaded the bullets, capped the fire cap, and fired again. The spear fired normally. Under Luo Dagang's shocked gaze, the bullet accurately hit the tree trunk.
"Let's go and take a look. The last shot hit the right side, "Wei Changrong said to Luo Dagang proudly.
Luo Dagang's eyesight was excellent, so he did see the bullet hit the right side of the tree trunk. When he got closer, he saw that both bullets were embedded in the tree trunk, and the depth of the insertion was indistinguishable with the naked eye. This time, Luo Dagang wondered if he had seen wrongly. He had decades of experience in using spears, but he had never heard of such an advanced weapon. The spear Wei Changrong was holding was the weapon of his dreams.
Wei Changrong saw Luo Dagang's doubt, so he let Luo Dagang try the spear himself. Luo Dagang fiddled with the standard weapon of Vézé's army, and found more differences. This kind of spear came with a sighting device. Because there was no fire pool, the trigger hit the fire cap on the side. Therefore, there was a sight on the front and back of the spear, and something that Wei Changrong called a ruler. After listening to a few words, Luo Dagang completely understood the rules of aiming. After aiming at the tree trunk, Luo Dagang pulled the trigger.
After experimenting with and without water several times, the Flaming Spear's ten shots were all successful. An ordinary match spear could only aim roughly, so when using it, everyone could only roughly determine the direction. With the sight, the accuracy of shooting within 20 meters was greatly improved. Whether the spear was wet or not, it didn't affect its normal use.
"Commander Wei! This is too amazing! "Luo Dagang rarely spoke incoherently.
"Brother Luo, my Fourth Uncle trusts you. I trust my Fourth Uncle, so naturally, I trust you too. However, you came from Yi Wang's side, so I might not trust you completely, "Wei Changrong said.
Luo Dagang nodded. Wei Changrong was speaking from the bottom of his heart. Nobody would trust a person of Luo Dagang's status unconditionally when he suddenly came to seek shelter. Moreover, the fact that Wei Changrong could say such words proved that Wei Changrong had a considerable degree of trust in Luo Dagang.
Wei Changrong smiled and said, "I don't know what those people in Tianjing City think, nor do I know what Yi Wang thinks. However, after seeing the weapons we use, you should understand that if my Fourth Uncle gives the order to charge into Tianjing City, no one can stop him! "
Luo Dagang could see that Wei Changrong's expression was arrogant, murderous, and absolutely confident. After seeing the weapons of Vézé's troops, Luo Dagang felt that it was normal for Wei Changrong to make such a statement. With this spear and a well-run General Staff Headquarters, there was no reason that Vézé's forty to fifty thousand experienced troops would lose to any Taiping Rebellion troops. Even if Wing King Shi Dakai's hundred thousand western expedition troops fought against Vézé's forty to fifty thousand troops who could fight in any weather, they still wouldn't have a chance of victory.
Thinking of this, Luo Dagang answered seriously, "Commander Wei, after seeing this spear, I really believe you. No one can stop Military Governor Wei's troops. "
Seeing Luo Dagang's firm stance, Wei Changrong sighed and said, "My Fourth Uncle was really forced to leave Tianjing City. If we don't leave, we'll have to fight our brothers in Heavenly State sooner or later. Once we do, it won't just be a matter of ten thousand people dying. It'll be rare for even a hundred to eighty thousand people to die. That's why my Fourth Uncle left Heavenly State for the sake of our brothers and the survival of our brothers in Heavenly State. However, I feel that with my Fourth Uncle's actions, the brothers in Heavenly State might still look down on us. Since Brother Luo has come to us, you can't think that way! "
Of course, Luo Dagang no longer looked down on Vézé. Instead, he felt that Vézé was really magnanimous. If others saw that Luo Dagang had come to seek shelter, they would first show Luo Dagang their strength and intimidate him before anything else. And Vézé's respect for Luo Dagang was exactly the same as before he left the Taiping Rebellion. If it wasn't for the fact that they had to let Luo Dagang see the strength of Vézé's troops when they attacked Ganzhou, Wei Changrong would probably continue to keep a low profile.
Luo Dagang was indeed very grateful to be so respected by others. However, the shock from seeing the new firearms faded a little. He asked worriedly, "Although these firearms are good, I'm afraid it'll be very difficult to attack Ganzhou City with them, right?"
Wei Changrong smiled proudly and said, "Brother Luo, when it's time to attack the city, you'll see how powerful our cannons are!"
The troops arrived at Ganzhou City on the 27th of April. On the 28th, Wei Changrong's troops made hundreds of long ladders. On the night of the 28th, it rained. On the morning of the 29th, the First Army began to attack the city.
The guards in Ganzhou City closed the city gates tightly. Through their binoculars, they could see a large number of straw rain capes and bamboo hats swaying on the city walls. The Qing Army had also made their defensive preparations. Many areas on the city walls were shrouded in white fog. It was likely that large amounts of boiling water, hot oil, and other defensive equipment had been boiled in those areas.
Luo Dagang had many experiences in attacking cities, so he naturally had his own way of doing so. But looking at the neat formation of the First Army, the siege troops were lined up in dozens of rows, and there was a long ladder beside each row. How would this seemingly ordinary brute force siege formation move? Luo Dagang didn't dare to make any wild guesses.
Vézé's cannons were also different from the others. Be it the Taiping army or the Qing Army, their cannons were all placed on top of the cannons. Vézé's cannons were mounted on wooden wheels. This arrangement allowed the cannons to keep up with the marching troops. Even in the mountainous regions, the sports cars could be pushed by the cannons to reach the frontlines quickly. However, the cannons that could keep up with the marching troops looked very slender. The cannons were not thick enough and the muzzles were relatively small. These small cannons probably wouldn't pose much of a threat to the tall and sturdy Ganzhou City walls. Although he didn't want to make wild guesses, Luo Dagang couldn't help but guess.
However, he saw the commander of the artillery unit run to the 1st Brigade headquarters in charge of the attack and pass on the order. Then, he began to wave the flag. Soon, the cannons under the large oilcloth umbrellas sprayed out white smoke. Most of the cannons hit the city walls. Just as Luo Dagang had expected, the cannons didn't pose much of a threat to the sturdy masonry walls.
The second round of bombardment quickly began. This time, more than half of the cannons landed on the city walls. The damage was much greater. Luo Dagang saw with his own eyes that the Qing Army's flag on the city walls was broken by the cannons and fell diagonally to the ground. With such accuracy, the morale on the Ganzhou City walls would probably plummet. Luo Dagang was overjoyed.
The third round of bombardment quickly began. This time, after the 30 cannons opened fire, only one-third of the cannons hit the top of the city walls. However, Luo Dagang was surprised to find that the cannons that hit the top of the city walls exploded. Some of the cannons that hit the front of the city walls also exploded. The violent explosions shook the city walls. Even Luo Dagang's feet could clearly feel the tremors from the explosions.
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