"Eliminate the enemy! Put out the fire! "Commander Zhang Jianjun roared without hesitation.
Zhang Jianjun had heard of burning houses to stop the pursuers in the military academy, but this was the first time he had seen it. He had participated in the Battle of Foshan. At that time, it was not Zhang Jianjun's turn to risk his life in Foshan. His unit was evacuating the people along the Pearl River. The British burned the houses on both sides of the river. From the troops to the people, they hated the invaders to the bone. However, the British were invaders and foreigners. The Huai army was also an enemy, but they were Chinese after all. The Liberation Army's captive policy had long been publicized to the Huai army. As long as they knelt down and surrendered, the Liberation Army was not allowed to kill the captives. They did not expect the Huai army to burn houses.
Because of the rule of joining the army in a foreign place, the soldiers in the Anhui Military Region were basically not from Anhui. The Liberation Army was the people's disciple, and the basic idea of the soldiers was to teach it every day and every year. The command center ordered the fire fighting, and the soldiers immediately began to take action.
However, the fire had been burning for more than an hour, and many of the fire sites could not be saved at all. The troops immediately began to evacuate the residents near the other central fire sites and began to use explosives to blow up the isolation belt to stop the fire from spreading.
If it was during normal times, the commoners would avoid soldiers at all costs. Once the fire started, their property would be destroyed, and the people could not care so much. They watched as the Liberation Army began to form a long line from the water source and began to pass wooden buckets filled with water. Everyone was surprised, but they also knew that they were putting out the fire. Many people also began to busy themselves with the Liberation Army.
At that moment, a woman screamed and rushed into a burning house. Two soldiers were quick and grabbed the woman. At that moment, there was no longer any friendliness. The soldier roared, "Do you want to die? If you lose your life, what's the use of that bit of money! "
"My child is still inside! My child is still inside! "The woman tried to break free as she shouted at the top of her lungs.
The company commander next to her heard the faint sound of a child crying inside. The company commander grabbed the woman and asked loudly, "Which room is your child in?"
The woman did not understand for a moment and looked at the company commander in a daze. The company commander shouted again, "Which room is your child in?"
The soldier's roar was like thunder. The woman trembled and her body went limp as she sat on the ground. She had barely regained her consciousness. She carefully listened for any movement in the courtyard and shouted, "It's in the main house!" After that, she was still afraid that the captain did not understand, so she said loudly, "After entering the door, turn left, and you will reach the main house!"
Many of the commoners at the side had expressions of sympathy or mockery on their faces. Did this woman think that soldiers would save people? This group of soldiers in green military uniforms killed their way into the city. They did not plunder or kill anyone. This was a world-shaking good army. Moreover, they were only doing this to appease the people. It wouldn't be long before this army would reveal its true colors.
Now that the house was on fire, the courtyard was burning. If they rushed in to save the people, not only would they not be able to save them, they would also lose their lives. Who would dare to go in at this time?
Under the watchful eyes of the commoners, the company commander turned to the soldiers and shouted, "Pour water on me!"
The soldier was stunned at first, but then he understood what the company commander meant. A few buckets of water were poured over his head, and the company commander was immediately drenched. Under the watchful eyes of the soldiers and commoners, the company commander pulled down the brim of his hat and rushed into the burning house with smoke and fire.
There was a commotion in the crowd. Everyone couldn't help but want to squeeze forward and get closer to see what was going on. The human wall formed by the soldiers pushed these people back with all their might. "Don't affect the fire!" "Don't make trouble!" With a series of shouts and efforts to stop them, the order of the fire fighting was not broken.
At this time, there were all kinds of sounds everywhere, but the voices in the courtyard could not be heard. There were still fires being put out in other places, and the onlookers were all staring at the courtyard. Some were confused, some were suspicious, and some were looking at the woman who was trying her best to stand up with malicious intent. If gazes could raise the temperature, the burning house and the people near it would suddenly be ignited from the inside out.
The smoke at the gate became thicker, and then there was a flash of fire. Just as everyone was trying to see clearly, they saw a burning thing rushing out of the gate. Everyone was shocked at first, and then they saw clearly that it was a burning quilt. There were people bulging under the quilt. The soldiers quickly put out the flames with a few buckets of water and then supported the people who had popped out. When they opened the quilt, the company commander who rushed out was holding two girls in his arms. The two little girls' faces were blackened, and their clothes were burnt. They closed their eyes tightly and held the only person who could save them tightly.
No matter what their mentality was before, the onlookers couldn't help cheering when they saw that the people had been saved. The company commander gasped and shouted to his comrades, "The children seem to be burned. Send them to the military hospital."
At this time, the woman rushed forward and held her two daughters in her arms, crying loudly. The stretcher team came over and put the children on stretchers to the temporary medical station for treatment. The woman also cried as she followed the stretcher bearer.
The drenched company commander took a few breaths, pointed to the house, and shouted, "Start demolishing it from here!"
The soldiers drove away the onlookers, cleared the safe area, and then put a few bags of explosives on it. The houses at the edge of the fire were made of ordinary bricks and even mud walls. They couldn't withstand the nitro explosives. After a few loud bangs, the houses collapsed. When the smoke and dust dispersed slightly, the space suddenly became clear, and the center of the fiercely burning fire was completely exposed to everyone's sight.
There were no more enemies to clear in the city. The Huai army had all escaped from Fuyang City. Some of them fled in the direction that could get away from the Liberation Army regardless of anything else, while some of them cleverly avoided the main road and fled north along other small roads with the officer's convoy as the center.
More than 2,000 people scattered in the wilderness seemed to be a large area, but it also seemed to be moving very slowly. It didn't take long for two groups of cavalry to appear at the east gate of the city. The two large groups of people quickly became four, and they began to chase after the scattered Huai army. As if they had been whipped, the Huai army, which was not fast enough, immediately ran away.
Zhu Yaozu and the others weren't in a hurry. As the saying goes, two legs can't outrun four legs. If the infantrymen hadn't received harsh training, they would have to "abandon their armor" in less than ten minutes. At most twenty minutes, if they wanted to continue running, they would have to throw away their weapons. It was very important to have a sense of propriety.
"A pursuit isn't a surprise attack. The enemy doesn't have weapons, so our casualties will be much lower. Everyone, be careful," Zhu Yaozu shouted to the two battalion commanders beside him. This wasn't the first time Zhu Yaozu reminded everyone. Before the brigade left, he had already said it once, and this kind of training had been done many times.
Before leaving, Zhu Yaozu drew his saber. Now, he had already sheathed the saber. With a lance in one hand and the reins in the other, Zhu Yaozu fired at the Huai army soldier closest to him. It was obvious that the accuracy couldn't be controlled at a distance of more than three hundred meters, so the bullet didn't hit the enemy. However, Zhu Yaozu, who was on the tall horse, clearly saw that some of the Huai army had already thrown away the weapons in their hands and sped up their escape.
Ten minutes later, the first batch of Huai army captives appeared. They knelt on the ground, panting, and raised their hands in the air in accordance with the Liberation Army's propaganda. A portion of the cavalry dismounted and gathered the Huai army on a flat piece of land. The cavalry slowly patrolled around the empty space. It wouldn't be long before the infantrymen caught up to take over the captives.
Twenty minutes later, another batch of Huai army joined the ranks of those who surrendered. Everything was as simple as expected before the battle.
The path Zhu Yaozu chose didn't have any abandoned weapons. This situation was particularly conspicuous on the battlefield where they were escaping to. "Be careful!" Zhu Yaozu ordered.
In the Liberation Army's simulation, the infantrymen had too many opportunities to counterattack the cavalry. As long as the troops weren't afraid of death and had the mentality of killing one to break even and killing two to make a profit, the pursuing cavalry would encounter great danger. In a pursuit training, a battalion that was practicing escape laid mines and used explosive bombs at close range to set up a pocket formation. As a result, the pursuing battalion of cavalry was judged to have suffered heavy losses and lost the ability to pursue. The battalion of infantrymen managed to escape after losing heavy equipment.
After the drill, Zhu Yaozu was so angry that he cursed the drill assessment department for messing around. However, the cavalry also made a deep reflection on this. There were indeed too many unknown dangers when they were chasing after the enemy on horseback.
The cavalry was also cautious. No matter how many times the Liberation Army practiced, apart from the casualties caused by bad luck, most of the "dead" would immediately be resurrected on the spot with full health. In a real war, casualties were real casualties. There was no possibility of resurrection.
As the most elite reconnaissance troops, they weren't fast. They covered each other in teams. When they encountered areas that might be ambushed by the enemy, the cavalry would dismount to investigate after they got close. After more than 40 minutes of chasing, the enemy was finally confirmed. There was an enemy force of more than 500 people guarding more than 20 large carriages seven or eight miles ahead.
Sure enough, after going around a small hill, they clearly saw the enemy. The enemy also saw the Liberation Army's cavalry brigade. A team actually scattered to the side of the road to ambush. It seemed that they were going to cut off the rear.
"Damn it!" Zhu Yaozu was furious. Every time they encountered such a situation during the drill, the cavalry troops would have their hearts in their throats. However, the damned Huai army was also playing this trick. Zhu Yaozu's anger burned even more. He shouted, "Go around them!"
When the general of the Huai army saw that the pursuing cavalry had abandoned the main road, he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. The general of the Huai army had no confidence in how trustworthy those fellows were to cut off the rear. There was no guarantee that they would surrender when they saw the Liberation Army's cavalry approaching. If the Liberation Army took a detour, it would be fine. There were a few slopes on the small road. As far as the general of the Huai army knew, the cavalry couldn't climb over them at all. It would take them at least two hours to find a new way. At this time, the general of the Huai army had already run to the river to cross. Although there would still be danger after crossing the river, at least they wouldn't have to worry about the enemy's cavalry chasing after them.
"Quick! Run quickly! "the general of the Huai army shouted. He was glad that he had prepared early. He had removed the cannons from the cannon carriage and changed the cannon carriage into a trailer. This cannon carriage was really good. If it had been a normal carriage, it wouldn't have been able to run so fast. Even if it could run so fast, a slight bump would probably cause an accident. The cannon carriage had been pulled by the horses for so long, but the large boxes of valuables on the carriage were still stable.
The general of the Huai army began to feel troubled. Should they bring these cannon carriages along when crossing the river? If they didn't bring them, they wouldn't be able to transport so many things, and if they didn't bring them along, they wouldn't be able to escape so quickly.
His worries didn't last for half an hour before he heard his bodyguard panting beside him shout, "Sir, look!"
Turning his head in the direction that his bodyguard was pointing, the general of the Huai army was dumbfounded. From his angle, he could see the slope. He didn't know when the slope had been left behind, but it looked like it had been left behind by a flood. Because there were commoners fetching soil, the slope was very steep, and the height was about four to five feet. The cavalry of the Huai army couldn't cross it at all.
But from this angle, the cavalry of the Liberation Army seemed to have emerged from the furthest slope. Although it was strenuous for the horses, they still managed to carry the riders up the slope. The riders adjusted their horses slightly, then charged down the slope from the other side, which was also very steep. Using this momentum, they temporarily disappeared from the sight of the Huai army and quickly 'emerged from the ground' again.
This wasn't just one horse, much less a few horses. Hundreds of warhorses rose and fell like a huge wave, a mountain torrent. They crossed over the terrain that the Huai army thought the cavalry couldn't cross and took a shortcut to kill their way over.
"Are they riding horses? They're so big. Aren't they mules? "The general of the Huai army had already begun to talk nonsense.
Indeed, the closer they got, the clearer they could see. The mounts of the cavalry of the Liberation Army were extremely large. Only the big, black, and thick mules could compare to them. But how could stupid mules have such ferocious speed and charging power? The mounts of the cavalry all had strong and beautiful long legs. Their steps were elegant and calm, and they were extremely explosive. When they leapt up the slope, their two front hooves tightly gripped the ground, and their hind legs retracted in an extremely elegant posture. They actually stopped steadily on the slope. This was a picture of the power and beauty of living things, and also a scene of death on the battlefield.
"Quick! Let's go! " The general of the Huai army had originally been riding in the carriage, but now he couldn't care so much. He used his horsewhip to whip his mount and began to move forward. A leather bag was tightly tied to the back of his saddle, and inside it were small gold ingots. Even if he lost the heavy military supplies and only had a bag of gold ingots, he wouldn't have to worry about food and drink for the rest of his life.
However, when people compared themselves to each other, they would die, and when goods compared, they would be thrown away. After seeing the cavalry of the Liberation Army, the general of the Huai army felt that his' well-tempered 'mount wasn't galloping at all, but rather taking a stroll.
The officers were all about the same, and the preparations they made were all the same. In this world, other than their own lives, there was nothing they had to protect. They abandoned their families, abandoned their possessions, and abandoned their subordinates. With the general setting an example, the officers with the leather bag tied to the back of their horses led their bodyguards to follow the general and flee for their lives. The troops dragging the heavy artillery carriages were left behind them.
The cries of a group of women rang out. The wives of the first, second, third, and fourth wives of the Huai army officers were also in the group. Seeing their husbands flee, even if they didn't know how powerful the troops chasing after them were, they instinctively felt that they had been abandoned.
When the distance between the two sides increased to more than one li, the Huai army soldiers escorting the carriages completely understood what was going on. They all stopped at the same time. Some of them suddenly didn't know what to do, while others simply smashed open the chests and took out a few ingots of silver. Then, they dragged a concubine that they had been drooling over and ran into the fields by the side of the road. This area hadn't been completely cleared yet, so the grass and reeds were very tall. In a few moments, these quick-witted fellows disappeared without a trace.
The others seemed to have woken up from a dream. Some of them only took money, while others took money and people. The troops, who had been able to barely maintain some discipline, immediately scattered like birds and beasts.
In the evening, Zhu Yaozu led his troops back to Fuyang City, a little dispirited. He ordered his troops to take care of the Huai army troops on the road, causing seven or eight of the main officers to flee with their bodyguards. Of course, their spoils were also very generous: more than five hundred thousand taels of silver, a large amount of gold, silver, antiques, calligraphy, and paintings. There were also a lot of wives, concubines, and the sons of the Huai army officers.
Only four or five cunning Huai army soldiers ran away with some money and concubines. This kind of people wasn't worth Zhu Yaozu spending a lot of troops to search for. However, when he thought about how these filthy fellows had gotten both a man and a woman, Zhu Yaozu's heart was filled with anger. After the Liberation Army fought such a battle, this group of people actually benefited from it.
However, Zhu Yaozu was young after all. When he arrived at the city gate with a large amount of resources and saw that Fuyang City had been completely liberated, his unhappiness immediately disappeared. The losses of the troops were negligible, and the Huai army's troops were basically captured. How big of a wave could the few fish that escaped the net cause?
The commander was also very happy. Everyone thought that the Huai army had been operating in Fuyang City for more than ten years, even longer than the Liberation Army had established its name. Fuyang City had long been built up like an iron bucket by them. Unexpectedly, the Huai army was still like duckweed on the surface of the water. No matter how big they looked, no matter whether they covered the entire surface of the water or not. A gust of wind and rain could make them disappear without a trace.
The fire set by the Huai army before they left gave the Liberation Army a chance. The Liberation Army's action of fighting the fire won the praise of the people of Fuyang. The commander didn't care about his own life and rushed into the sea of fire to save the trapped children. This spread like wildfire in Fuyang City. This kind of action that only the Liberation Army could do was undoubtedly out of the common sense of the people of China during the Manchu Qing Dynasty. If the army didn't set the fire themselves, it meant that they had excellent military discipline. If the army didn't loot the burning house and helped the people to fight the fire, it meant that they were benevolent and righteous. As for the army not caring about their own life and death to save the people they had never met before, it was undoubtedly an absolute moral standard.
Even though they had only attacked Fuyang City for half a day, the city had completely calmed down. Although the people were still watching, they didn't resist at all. They even became curious about the Liberation Army.
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