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"Everyone, come out! Let's beat the Liberation Army together and welcome the official army back to the court! "
"Let's go kill the Liberation Army together! Reward 10 liang for killing a soldier! Reward 100 liang for killing an official! And give a Juren title! "
…
Before noon, such shouts could be heard everywhere in Wuzhou. Other than the Liberation Army artillery range on top of the water gate on the south side of the city, the civilian group mobilized all the publicity personnel to spread the news wantonly in the city.
The people of Guangxi were valiant. The Taiping army had relied on their old brothers in Guangxi to fight their way to Tianjing City. The civilian group in Wuzhou had been able to defend against many enemy attacks over the years. Regardless of whether it was Tian Di Hui or the navy, each time, tens of thousands of people participated in the attack. Thus, there was a portion of young and energetic youths who excitedly joined the group.
However, more of the Wuzhou people had a very cold attitude toward this propaganda. For example, the policeman Liu San strictly ordered his younger brothers not to go out and participate in the battle. Liu San's reason was very simple. "Listen to this group of people yelling like this. The rewards are frighteningly high. If it wasn't for the fact that they can't do anything to the Liberation Army on their own, would they be willing to offer such a price? If you go out to fight, at least join the side that will definitely win! "
Liu San's mature point of view received the approval of his father and older brother. Although Liu San's younger brothers were at the age of youth and vigor, they did not have the kind of completely ungrateful impulsiveness that came after their hot-bloodedness surged. The young men among the Wuzhou people had accumulated a lot of battle experience these few years. He had defended cities and fought battles. He had seen the attackers being killed, and he had also seen the defenders being killed. Understanding the cruelty and terror of war, they knew how to avoid death.
Having such rationality was naturally a good thing for the people, but for the civilian group, it was not good news. Li Shouchang could be said to have used all of his strength and activated all of his abilities. He even piled up several boxes of gold and silver and large strings of copper coins on the street, hoping that after the Wuzhou people saw this wealth, they would be blinded by the rewards. However, the people were blinded. First, the people had to see the money. At this time, every house was closed and the doors were locked. There were no people who went out on their own accord to watch the excitement.
"If you go again, I'll smash the doors of every house! We must make them come out to fight! "Li Shouchang shouted at his younger brother, who was in charge of this matter, flustered and exasperated.
"Big brother! Why did you have to do this? This is almost all of our family's belongings! " Li Shouchang's younger brother objected to Li Shouchang's request. "Besides, the war is a matter for these few families. Why should we put in so much effort?"
In the face of his younger brother's objection, Li Shouchang could only smile bitterly, unable to give a clear reason. It wasn't that Li Shouchang didn't understand, but he understood it too well, so he knew that saying it would scare his younger brother.
In the morning, Li Shouchang asked Liu Wensheng, the General of the Imperial Army, if he found a blacksmith to repair the cannons now, would it be possible to repair them? Li Wensheng told Li Shouchang that these cannons were useless. The time and effort needed to repair the cannons was much longer than to melt them down and cast them into new ones.
At this time, Liu Wensheng had no reason to deceive Li Shouchang. Li Shouchang's eyebrows immediately wrinkled into a knot.
Why did the Liberation Army destroy the metal cannons on the city walls? They definitely didn't want these metal cannons to continue being useful!
Then what did the Liberation Army use to defend the city walls? With their own cannons!
What about the Liberation Army's own cannons? In their military camp!
A series of thoughts flashed through Li Shouchang's mind at lightning speed. These thoughts were consistent and quickly pointed to a conclusion. The Liberation Army had always been on guard against people rebelling in the city!
This conclusion did not surprise Li Shouchang. It was said that Vézé had once participated in the siege of Wuzhou. However, at that time, Vézé had been to the west of Wuzhou and had attacked from the direction of Guangxi. Now, the Liberation Army was moving north from Guangxi, east, and south. After making a big circle, they attacked from the east of Wuzhou. Using the dual martial power of the air and ground, they finally made this city submit. If these experienced people did not think that someone would attack from behind, then they were underestimating them too much.
The Liberation Army had a wealth of battle experience, and Li Shouchang was not a newbie who had never fought before! Based on his feeling, this matter had greatly deviated from Li Shouchang's original plan. In his original plan, Li Shouchang and the others attacked in all directions, splitting the already weak Liberation Army into several small combat units and annihilating them one by one with a 6: 1 advantage in strength.
In reality, several units of the Liberation Army easily broke through the heavy siege and returned to base. The two key points, the Wuzhou inspector's yamen and the water gate dock in the south of the city, had already been firmly held by the Liberation Army. These two areas had always been heavily guarded. Using 1,400 troops to defend these two areas immediately seemed more than enough.
Li Shouchang immediately asked the blacksmith in the city to go to the top of the city wall to see if he could repair the cannons. No matter what Liu Wensheng said, Li Shouchang felt that he should do things with a clear conscience. What if Liu Wensheng had made a mistake or the blacksmith's skills were superb and he had his own way?
After making this arrangement, Li Shouchang immediately asked the Qing Army to send troops to fight with the civilian group. He said sternly, "Sir Liu, if we can't take down the place the Liberation Army is guarding in the city, after the news gets out, the Guangdong Liberation Army will rush over along the Pearl River. What do you think will happen to us? I don't need to say that my entire family business will be destroyed. But does Sir Liu think the Liberation Army will let you go? "
Liu Wensheng was not an idiot. Of course, he could clearly see the current situation. Without the cannons on the top of the city wall, if they couldn't even clean up the Liberation Army in the city and the water gate, when the Liberation Army's reinforcements arrived, this group of people would have no chance. Liu Wensheng said, "Mr. Li, of course we can let this group of people fight, but this silver, big smoke, you have to have enough first!"
Using silver to stimulate morale was nothing, but using big smoke to stimulate combat ability was the first time Li Shouchang had heard of it. But Liu Wensheng was extremely confident. "Once the big smoke is delivered, there will immediately be people who will dare to fight!"
Professionals and non-professionals were different. Liu Wensheng let a group of heavy smokers in the military take a few puffs. It had just cured their addiction, but it did not completely satisfy them. The group of heavy smokers were able to stand firm and raise their guns. What Liu Wensheng said next was very simple. If they wanted to have fun and not have to worry about cigarette money in the future, then they had to gamble with their lives. They charged forward and broke through the barricade guarded by the Liberation Army.
There was a barricade in the direction Liu Wensheng was pointing. The barricade was made of sacks filled with earth and sand. The Liberation Army had long prepared these sacks. After receiving the news of the enemy's attack, they almost completed the construction of the barricade in the blink of an eye. In front of the defense system formed by the Wuzhou magistrate's yamen and the barricade, the civilian group paid the price of 200 casualties and could not even get close.
But the military did not know this. At this time, they had suppressed their addiction with great difficulty and had not completely lost their minds. Hearing that as long as they finished this battle, they would never have to worry about cigarette money again, all of them were immediately in high spirits. Of course, this group of people all requested to smoke a few more puffs before attacking. Liu Wensheng gave Li Shouchang a look. Li Shouchang immediately opened the box filled with big cigarettes. This time, the group of heavy smokers' eyes went straight. Next to the box filled with big cigarettes were boxes filled with silver and copper coins. The greedy eyes of the heavy smokers became a bit more fanatical.
Liu Wensheng shouted hysterically, "Brothers! Once we take down that hill, all these cigarettes and silver will be yours! Whether you want to do it or not is up to you! "
"Oh!" "Oh!" "Fight!" "Fight!" The heavy smoker soldiers shouted together.
Amidst the excited shouts, Li Wensheng quickly moved closer to Li Shouchang and said in a low voice, "Mr. Li, I'll leave these 200 people to you. Hurry and have the civilian group lead the charge. I'll leave them to you. The rest is up to you! "
Of course, Li Shouchang did not want to let go of this opportunity. Commanding a charge of 400 to 500 people was something that Li Shouchang had never done before. At least in this moment, he suddenly felt as if he had become a general commanding thousands of soldiers and horses.
An hour later, Li Shouchang's gaze was lifeless as he looked at the hundreds of people lying on the battlefield. It was as if his entire person had been petrified. It was not just Li Shouchang. All of the civilian leaders who had witnessed the battle just now had pale faces. Some of them looked left and right in a daze, but their gazes were completely unfocused. This group of people had never truly participated in a large scale battle and knew nothing about modern warfare.
Just now, when the troop of more than four hundred men, like a mighty flood, charged towards that seemingly ordinary and frail barricade, their indomitable ferocity made the blood of the spectators boil with ardor.
Such a charge would definitely be met with enemy rifle fire. Everyone in the civilian group knew that this was how they resisted the attacks of the Heaven and Earth Association and the navy. However, based on Wuzhou City's experience, the barricade on the other side, which could at most hold 40 people side by side, could not withstand the attack of more than 400 people. Perhaps there would be a few dozen casualties along the way, but the remaining people would be able to charge to the barricade and climb over. At that time, relying on their advantage in numbers, they could win no matter what.
All of the upper echelons had this thought, including the attackers. The attackers had already been promised great rewards. Even if they were unfortunately killed, there would be people to take care of their families. Of course, the attackers were not so pessimistic. Whether they were encouraged by smoke or silver, it was all a pretext. Attacking together with so many people and merging into such a "huge" group gave them a sense of security.
Then, when this group was a dozen meters away from the barricade, they were suddenly caught in the all-out firepower of the Liberation Army. The so-called all-out attack did not just come from the front. Rifles fired fiercely from the front like a storm, but the effect was very limited. What caused the greatest damage to the civilian group and the government troops were the cannons and grenades. The Liberation Army's artillery position "plowed" the entire group in a very short time. From the middle of the group to the rear, the whistling shells smashed human bones and tore apart human flesh before landing heavily on the ground and exploding. Shrapnel flew in all directions, limbs were severed, and torsos were pierced. In four or five minutes, the rear half of the civilian group and the government troops turned into a slaughterhouse.
In the first half, they were attacked by grenades. The strong Liberation Army grenadiers threw their heavy grenades into the ranks of the civilian group and the government troops. Every explosion was like the scythe of the god of death, spinning and reaping the lives of the people around them. Coupled with the fierce rifle fire, the dense formation of more than 400 people instantly became a dense procession of more than 400 dead and dying people lying on the street.
Just this one attack completely shattered the fighting spirit of the civilian group and the government troops. Some of the civilian group members were so scared that their pants were wet. Some of them sneaked back home and never dared to come out again.
Although Li Shouchang was scared out of his wits, he knew very well that his family business was in Wuzhou. If they could not win this time, the Li family was destined to be ruined. Thus, no matter how much he could not accept it, Li Shouchang could only grit his teeth and give the order to gather people in all of Wuzhou. They had to take down the position the Liberation Army was guarding.
Very quickly, shouts encouraging people to come out and participate in the battle rang out in Wuzhou.
However, for the entire afternoon, Li Shouchang and the other civilian groups did not gather any people. Not only did they not gather people, but the vassals began to quietly leave the ranks of the heads of the four major civilian groups. They could not even maintain their original scale of people.
When night began to fall, some people had already secretly run to the south of the city, where the fighting was not as fierce, hoping that the Liberation Army would accept their surrender.
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