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On both sides of the Pearl River, in the Pearl River channel, hundreds of corpses dyed this important river between Guangdong and Guangxi intermittently red. When the Liberation Army waited until the boat army was within a dozen meters of them before opening fire, the killing efficiency had undoubtedly reached its peak.
Like chopping dry branches or harvesting wheat, the boat army, which had once been in high morale and thought that victory was in their grasp, suffered a terrifying slaughter. Like chopping dry branches or harvesting wheat, the boat army, which had once been in high morale and thought that victory was in their grasp, suffered a terrifying slaughter. Rifles, hand grenades, cannons, and sandbags formed a barrier. In front of the offensive and defensive system, the boat army left behind hundreds of corpses.
For the battlefield south of Wuzhou, military history records wrote, "With the weapons of the generation difference, especially the completely different level of military command, this battle could almost be called a one-sided massacre. The enemy does not understand modern warfare, and our army is a new type of army that has evolved from the wars of the old era. All of the enemy's efforts only caused their forces to be completely exposed to the effective killing of our army … "
Personally involved, Shen Xin was completely scared silly. Naturally, he had heard that when the Liberation Army was still in the ranks of the Taiping Rebellion, they had killed tens of thousands of Qing Army during the Northern Expedition. Given Shen Xin's combat skills and his imagination of war, the two sides on the battlefield were a terrifying chaotic battle. Everyone had an opponent, and everyone was risking their lives to kill the other. It was a scene like that of Asura hell.
The reality of the battle dumbfounded Shen Xin. In just 10 minutes of gunfire and cannon fire, the enemy on land and water had suffered a destructive blow. The vast majority of the enemy didn't even see their faces clearly before they were blasted to death by the cannon fire. Furthermore, many of the enemy only fell to the ground and rolled. After the rolling stopped, they didn't move at all, as if they were playing dead. Shen Xin, who had been worried that the enemy hadn't died, frequently observed. Seeing that the enemy on the ground had maintained the exact same posture for several hours, Shen Xin had no choice but to believe that the enemy had already been killed.
There was no bloody melee like they had imagined, nor were there any earth-shattering shouts. Instead, a series of rapid gunfire from rifles and cannons killed hundreds of people. Only one brother in the Liberation Army was hit in the forehead by a lead bullet from the enemy's pistol. The military doctor used a probe to determine the location of the lead bullet in the wound, and then used a knife to cut open the wound. Only then did blood flow out of the wound that had not bled much.
The military doctor removed the lead with a pair of tweezers and washed the wound with saline to clean the residue. Finally, the wound was treated with alcohol cotton swabs, and the catgut suture was used. He covered the wound with boiled British gauze, and wrapped the soldier's head with British gauze. The soldier put his military cap back on his head and returned to the battle formation energetically.
The members of the Political Department had all received military medal training. Shen Xin knew very well that this wounded soldier would be awarded the Purple Star Medal after the battle. This was a medal specially given to wounded soldiers on the battlefield. Even if they didn't have any outstanding achievements, as long as they were injured, they could be awarded this medal. As long as they had shed blood for the revolution, the revolutionary organization would not turn a blind eye to it.
However, only one person in the Liberation Army received the Purple Star Medal out of killing and injuring hundreds of enemies. Shen Xin didn't know whether he should feel praiseworthy or a little ridiculous. If the enemy were all such good-for-nothings, then killing tens of thousands of Qing Army soldiers would not seem to be a big deal.
"This is really the advantage of the system!" Luo Dagang, who was beside Shen Xin, exclaimed in admiration.
"Chief of Staff Luo, what do you mean?" Shen Xin was puzzled by Luo Dagang's exclamation.
As a person with great influence in the navy, Luo Dagang was responsible for guarding the city's South Water Gate and the docks. After hearing Shen Xin's question, Luo Dagang replied, "I have fought in so many battles. Only the Liberation Army can wait until the enemy is within ten steps (one step in the Qing Dynasty was about 1.5 meters) before opening fire. Be it the Qing Army or the Taiping army, when the enemy is within 20 steps or even 30 steps, the troops have already opened fire. "
"Really?" Shen Xin didn't think there was anything strange about this. He saw that the troops were only obeying the commander's orders. The commander pulled out his sword and raised it high, shouting, "Ready!" The troops raised their guns. As the commander shouted, "Fire!", he swung down his sword, and all the soldiers immediately opened fire. This couldn't be any easier. As for the artillery troops, the commanders of every artillery team and battery kept shouting all sorts of orders. The soldiers didn't need to think too much. They just needed to repeat the actions that they had trained countless times.
"Brother Shen! If you join the army, you will definitely be a good soldier! "Luo Dagang said with a smile.
"Why do you say that?" Shen Xin was puzzled.
Luo Dagang said in a mocking tone, "At least you know about discipline. Whatever the commander wants you to do, you will do it. This is a good soldier! If you can not only obey orders and listen to commands, but also know why such orders are being given, under what circumstances, and what kind of orders are being given. Then after training, you can become an officer. How about it, do you want to join the army after this war? "
"I can't do that. I still have my mother alive, and I'm the only son. I really can't join the army now." Shen Xin quickly rejected Luo Dagang's good intentions.
"Oh? You're the only son … Then, have you ever been married? "Luo Dagang was suddenly interested.
Shen Xin heard the meaning behind Luo Dagang's words. He quickly replied, "Hey hey! Brother Luo, don't joke around! The political department said that the next step is to promote the 'Marriage Law'. They are resolutely against arranged marriages! And they are not allowed to marry each other! "
Luo Dagang was amused. "Ha! You're already married, and you still know about this! Let me tell you, the family I know is very good. I've seen the daughter before. She looks and does things differently. Whether she will like you or not, I can't guarantee it, but you're actually talking about it. Kids can't be trusted! "
Shen Xin's face immediately turned red. "Brother Luo, we're at war. You can say something else! "
"The war is over!" Luo Dagang laughed. "Just this time, the navy has been disbanded. Although they won't leave now, they won't have the guts to approach again. Brother, do you know that a few years ago, we killed Qing Yao, oh, Qing Army in Da Dong? We killed a dozen of the Qing Army's commanders, a commander, and another commander escaped with only 100 to 200 men. Do you know how many people we killed that time? "
"How many?" Shen Xin asked.
Luo Dagang laughed proudly. "That time, we only killed about 4,000 to 5,000 people. Now, we killed 300 to 400 people in 10 minutes. The navy only has about 2,000 men who are willing to fight. No matter what, they won't dare to fight again! At least today's war will end here! "
"Ah?" Shen Xin was stunned. Killing 4,000 to 5,000 people in one day, a dozen commanders, a commander, and another commander who escaped with only 100 to 200 men left. Given Luo Dagang's character, he didn't like to brag, so this number wasn't a big deal. So, Shen Xin asked, "Brother Luo, a commander of the Qing Army only controls 300 to 400 men? An admiral is only in charge of two thousand five hundred people, this … this is too worthless! "
Luo Dagang originally thought that Shen Xin was stunned by the glorious results of the Da Dong annihilation, but he didn't expect that Shen Xin's proficiency in using mathematics would allow him to come up with a very accurate number, but also a very strange conclusion. Based on the current Liberation Army's establishment, 5,000 men was at most a brigade. In terms of numbers, a commander of the Qing Army was equivalent to a fully equipped regiment commander in the Liberation Army. If the Liberation Army included staff officers, there would be at least a hundred people with ranks higher than regiment commanders.
A battalion in the Liberation Army had more than 700 men. Even if the commander of the Qing Army had a commander and a deputy commander, the commander would only be able to command about this number of troops. A battalion commander in the Liberation Army was considered a low-level commander. If he wasn't a regiment commander, he couldn't be considered a mid-level commander. According to Shen Xin's numerical standard, the glorious victory of the Da Dong battle was instantly reduced by several levels. It was reduced to a battle where two enemy regiments were wiped out, or a brigade.
Luo Dagang wanted to refute, but he really couldn't find a suitable excuse. Numbers don't lie. This was the first time Luo Dagang had looked at the Da Dong battle from a purely numerical perspective. He also suddenly realized that when Vézé was building the army, he had a very serious attitude. In the Taiping army, a Prime Minister usually commanded two to three thousand men who could fight. In the Liberation Army, he was only an officer at the level of regiment commander. Vézé indeed valued his position, but from another perspective, Vézé had so many talents under his command. In terms of the number of troops and commanding ability, Vézé had more talents under his command than the Taiping Rebellion, which had hundreds of thousands of troops. This realization completely dumbfounded Luo Dagang.
The navy had indeed been beaten to the point of losing morale. In the evening, many of the navy's leaders had sent representatives to discuss the matter of defecting. These representatives all stomped their feet and beat their chests, cursing Hu Youlu and Wu Fengcai for daring to attack Brother Luo Dagang. After the battle during the day, Hu Youlu and Wu Fengcai's backbone had been wiped out. No one else in the navy was willing to follow their orders. Those who came to seek refuge did not dare to ask for anything else. They only hoped that Brother Luo Dagang would be magnanimous enough to take them under his banner and give them food to eat.
Other than the navy, many of the vassals under the banner of the four major militias also chose to surrender. The leaders of the four major militias surrounded the Wuzhou magistrate's yamen. The group of small militias that had surrendered were afraid of alerting the people of the four major militias and did not dare to go to the magistrate's yamen. Thus, they had run to the south of the city to express their willingness to repent and disband the militias. They only hoped that Luo Dagang would not care about what they had done. In the future, they would obediently be obedient people and obey the orders of the Liberation Army government.
Of the originally ten-thousand-strong combined army of famous regiments, officials, and navy, at least 2,000 people had clearly expressed their willingness to surrender. According to what they said, there were still about 5,000 people who had secretly dispersed. Those who had not left would not participate in the attack. There were at most 3,000 people who were still "persisting in the attack" or "stubbornly resisting." Of these 3,000 people, there were still 1,000 officials who could not be of much use.
According to the latest intelligence, those who could truly fight, or rather, dared to fight, were 1,000 inside the city and 1,000 outside. The Liberation Army still had 1,400 troops. In the blink of an eye, the ratio of strength between the two sides had changed from 6: 1 to 10: 7. Taking into account the advantage of the Liberation Army's weapons, the enemy's advantage in military strength was enough to cancel out.
Luo Dagang and these people agreed to meet again the next day to discuss matters of surrender. After sending away the people who had surrendered inside and outside the city, Luo Dagang asked for Shen Xin's opinion.
"Brother Luo, can these people be trusted?" Shen Xin asked.
"That will depend on your attitude, Political Commissar Shen!" Luo Dagang said with a smile.
Being teased by Luo Dagang, Shen Xin was also very helpless. However, looking at it from a good point of view, at least Luo Dagang had finally acknowledged Shen Xin's position as a political commissar. After thinking carefully, Shen Xin said, "Brother Luo, I feel that the militias in the city can be trusted. Right now, the militias know that they can't beat us. If they continue to resist, when our main army arrives, they will definitely lose. Furthermore, the families and businesses of these people are all in the city. Even if they escape the city, where can they go? Most of the small militias were formed by the people in the city. I've seen a lot of people from these small militias. They were worried that after the Heaven and Earth Council and the navy broke through Wuzhou, they would burn, kill, and pillage. That's why they spontaneously formed militias or joined them. After we broke through Wuzhou, not only did we not harm the people, we also restored order and resumed transportation. They themselves have no plans to fight us to the death. Thus, I feel that the people in the city can be trusted. However, I don't know about the navy outside the city. Brother Luo, you're familiar with these people. You have to tell me if they can be trusted. "
What Shen Xin said was true, so Luo Dagang didn't tease him anymore. He said seriously, "The brothers in the navy outside, their hands are not clean. However, we don't have enough military strength. We won't be able to wipe them out in the near future. Since we can't wipe them out, then we can only take them into our army and strictly discipline them. As for Hu Youlu and Wu Feng, if they escape from Wuzhou, we can't do anything to them for now. However, if they dare to come to Wuzhou again, then, needless to say, we must eradicate them! "
After confirming the direction of the future, the two of them held a meeting with the members of the Recovery Society in the south of the city to discuss strategy. At this time, the strategy didn't have many choices. They could only take a risk and have the people of the other militias either go home and hide or wait outside the city to be reorganized. A troop from the south of the city would be pulled out to attack the militias surrounding the Wuzhou magistrate's yamen. After the troops from the south of the city met up with the troops stationed at the magistrate's yamen, they would encircle and annihilate the enemy in the city.
After confirming the strategy, other than those who were on night watch among the rotational defense troops, The other troops all slept with their clothes on. They waited for daybreak.
The leaders of the four major militias didn't have a military system like the Liberation Army. The Liberation Army had a reliable command system and a well-tested staff officer system that could adjust subordinates according to the latest situation and formulate and modify strategy and tactics. The leaders of the militias didn't have this kind of organization. They also didn't have comrades like the Liberation Army who could trust each other and bravely shoulder their own responsibilities. From a starting point, the leaders of the militias considered their own interests the most. Since they made battle plans with their own interests as the core, then the various matters, from command to communication, had to be the responsibility of the leaders of the militias themselves.
After all, this world was very fair. Without common interests, there would be no common cohesiveness, and there would be no common trust to speak of. The Liberation Army could dismiss, punish, or even completely disband a completely unreliable troop because of a certain troop's selfishness and incompetence in battle. However, each troop of the militias was raised by the leaders of the militias with their own money. If these troops did not perform well in battle, it was, of course, the losses of the militias. However, if they lost any troops, it meant that their previous investments could no longer be recovered. That would be an even greater loss.
Thus, Li Shouchang, the leader of Wuzhou's largest militia, called his subordinates over to scold them angrily. After the scolding was over, it was over. Li Shouchang was also powerless against his own subordinates. After chasing away this group of subordinates, Li Shouchang sat dejectedly in his chair. His entire person sank into an indescribable fear.
As someone who came from the militias, Li Shouchang understood the use of cannons very well. Every time the fleet attacked Wuzhou, there were often tens of thousands of people and horses, but not once were they successful. When the cannons at the top of the city walls opened fire fiercely at the densely packed fleet and Recovery Society members approaching the city walls, these people immediately retreated like the tide. In the basic conditions of Li Shouchang's battle plan, the cannons at the top of the city walls were completely usable. The militias and the official army would work together to transport the cannons down the city walls and open fire fiercely at the positions held by the Liberation Army. Thus, when he easily took down the city walls, he was very happy.
The cruelty of reality taught Li Shouchang a lesson. Li Shouchang had never thought that the Liberation Army would be able to harden their hearts and destroy the expensive cannons. What kind of person would have such a shocking idea? Without the cannons, the biggest support in Li Shouchang's plan was wasted. The official army did not have much fighting power to begin with. When they were dismissed, they did not bring any weapons. Hoping for this group of people to carry cold weapons and fight the Liberation Army to the death was not even a thought. As for the militia's own fighting power, Li Shouchang was even more clear. They had never received training in attacking a city. They only had relatively rich experience in defending a city. At this time, the only thing that could be relied on was the militia, and it was not a small unit. It had to be a large unit made up of the militia and launch a fierce attack on the Liberation Army's positions. Only then could there be a chance of victory.
After the captured cannons could not be used, reality taught Li Shouchang a second lesson. The Liberation Army possessed frightening fighting power. The 300 or 400 people who had entered the Wuzhou magistrate's yamen were either killed or injured in an instant. Having seen this hellish scene, the morale of the militia troops was completely shaken. Many people ran home in fright, closed their doors, and refused to come out again.
Having no other choice, Li Shouchang rang the large bell that Wuzhou used every time they defended the fleet and summoned the people of Wuzhou out. For the third time, reality allowed Li Shouchang to experience cruelty. The people of Wuzhou had indeed displayed outstanding courage when they were defending their homes. Each time, they all came out to answer the call and block the enemy outside Wuzhou. Historically, Wuzhou had endured continuous attacks starting in 1851 and was not broken through until 1857. At that time, the people of Wuzhou, which had a population of 50,000, had resisted with all their might. Nearly 30,000 people had been killed.
Listening to Li Shouchang's summons and selling their lives for Li Shouchang and the other militia leaders compared to protecting their homes, the difference between them was as far as the distance between the Earth and the Moon. The people of Wuzhou naturally had doubts about the Liberation Army, but they were far from the point where they wanted to perish together with the Liberation Army. They did not think they had any reason to stand out.
In the end, not only was Li Shouchang unable to gather new troops, even half of his own troops had run away. At this time, Li Shouchang felt all his hopes turn to dust. He only hoped that the night could continue endlessly. It would be best if the sun never rose tomorrow.
At this time, someone reported that the three militia leaders had come together to see Li Shouchang. Li Shouchang originally did not want to see them, but thinking about it, at least they could look out for each other if they were together. Even if they were destined to fail, having someone with them would always make him feel at ease.
The three people came in with gloomy faces and did not say a word. Li Shouchang also felt that he really could not think of anything to say. However, the three people suddenly took out their handguns and opened fire at Li Shouchang.
This was the first time Li Shouchang had been shot. When the scorching hot bullet entered his body, Li Shouchang had thought he would cry out in pain. What he truly felt was completely different from what he had imagined. After the bullet entered his body, it was as if all of Li Shouchang's strength had been sucked away. He felt powerless all over and just fell to the ground.
It was at this time that a fierce battle cry came from outside. In the blink of an eye, Li Shouchang understood that he had been sold out. However, after being hit by three bullets in a row, Li Shouchang felt the strength in his body diminish. As his vision darkened, Li Shouchang knew nothing.
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