Chapter 17: Counter Night Raid Battle

  The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, although it was late at night, you could still vaguely see a distance of 100 meters. At midnight, Yang Xing had already made two rounds of sentry duty and was leading four soldiers back to the company headquarters.

  It's a pity for the Tibetan, the fourth child is also from Pengzhou. When he was young, he followed his father to hunt for many years. Later, a drought occurred in his hometown, and there was no food to eat. With no other choice, his family sent him to join the new army.

  Siwa became Yang Xing's orderly, not because they were fellow countrymen, but because the young man had previously hunted and was a skilled fighter, within a hundred moves, Yang Xing could hardly cope with him.

  As they were walking back, Si Wafu suddenly felt something was off, and he cocked his head to listen carefully several times, shaking his head repeatedly.

  Feeling the fourth child is abnormal, touched the waist of that Browning, this pistol was given to Yang Xing by Lieutenant John, for last year American invention and mass production, 45 caliber.

  Due to the lax gun control in the US, John bought two of these new gadgets for self-defense during his trip there last year.

  During his time at the military academy, due to daily interactions with Yang Xing, both parties considered each other as close friends. When promoted to company commander, John felt that his emotional investment over several months had not been in vain and immediately gave a Browning pistol to Yang Xing to deepen their friendship.

  As soon as he saw Si Wawa's expression, Yang Xing was shocked and secretly delighted. He drew out the Browning pistol from his waist and asked if there was any situation?

  The fourth girl shook her head and thought: "No, that's not the sound of a frog calling, it won't be so intermittent."

  As soon as I heard it, a place about 1 li in front of the residence emitted scattered and sparse frog sounds. The voices also felt quite strange and different from the usual frog sounds.

  Immediately send a scout ahead to explore and have another sentinel inform the others.

  In a moment, the sentry from the front line arrived, and hundreds of rebels were rushing towards this place.

  At this time, the whole company had already been notified, and as soon as everyone heard of the enemy's raid, although they were a bit flustered, due to their good preparation, the artillery company had already built fortifications, and everyone quickly entered the pre-set simple positions.

  At the same time, Yang Xing immediately ordered the deputy battalion commander to urgently report to the regimental commander and the headquarters that the artillery company's position had discovered hundreds of rebel troops, warning the whole army to be on guard.

  Less than a minute after they left, the sound of rustling echoed from the front. Under the moonlight, everyone took a closer look and saw hundreds of Tibetans hunching their backs, quietly rushing towards the artillery position.

  Feeling the palms of his hands sweating, he quietly ordered each mortar to adjust its firing parameters, aiming at the ambushing rebel army, and firing when they were 200 meters away from the infantry position, while other infantry launched a surprise attack when the rebels entered within 100 meters.

  Time seemed to drag on for years, more than ten minutes felt longer than half a day. After a moment of hesitation, these mutineers arrived at the artillery position with their backs bent and extremely agile.

  A group of people vaguely flashed over, 200 meters, 150 meters, 110 meters, 100 meters, and they could already clearly see each other's voices and shadows. With a command, the 14 big guns fired fiercely, and the Tibetan troops who were suddenly attacked by gunfire soared into the sky. In the midst of the cannon fire, corpses and leaves flew about, and hundreds of Tibetan troops were thrown into chaos.

  The rebels, who were suddenly shelled, were thrown into chaos and didn't know how to take cover, blindly running in the midst of artillery fire.

  The chaotic Zang army was a living target, and under Yang Xing's command, the cannons poured fire on the Zang army, reaping death.

  After the three rounds of cannon fire, Zang Jun's army could no longer hold on. Except for a small part that charged towards the artillery position and was instantly mowed down by the soldiers lying in ambush, the rest fled in all directions.

  No infantry pursuit was allowed, relying on the flashing artillery fire and burning bushes, only letting each cannon continue to fire, so that Zhang's army was killed in large numbers. Only when it was seen that they had already exceeded the range of firepower did he order the cessation of firing, lest ammunition be wasted.

  The soldiers looked at each other, and this battle was too simple. As long as the artillery could play its role effectively, it was like a drill, aiming and firing continuously. Seeing this, everyone immediately turned from tension to relaxation, and the entire position erupted in cheers.

  In a short while, two captives were brought in. After simple interrogation, the situation of this Tibetan sneak attack was basically figured out.

  The original rebel leader, Dazansang Dong, had already arrived in Kangding Prefecture and, after consulting with the local Tusi, decided to have the various Tusi armed forces harass the Sichuan army along the way while waiting for an opportunity to launch a surprise attack on the exhausted Sichuan army under the leadership of Dazansang Dong.

  Who would have thought that the Sichuan army saw that Kangding Prefecture had already been occupied by the rebel army, and hastily ordered General Sun to advance and cover, besieging Kangding Prefecture.

  This road had an army of over 10,000 people, which was not comparable to the newly formed rebel army of over 10,000 people. Therefore, although this road suffered many disturbances and delayed the progress of the main force, it could not have any impact on the attacking momentum of the Sichuan Army.

  The Tibetans who were ambushing in Luding came to report that the Governor of Sichuan, Yin Changheng, was very dissatisfied with the slow progress of the front-line attack and is now leading more than a thousand soldiers within 300 miles of Kangding.

  Upon receiving the news, Dawa Sangdu was overjoyed and immediately decided to lead 8,000 rebel troops to launch a surprise attack. Although everyone thought that with 8,000 rebel troops attacking more than 1,000 Sichuan troops, they would surely win easily, but to be on the safe side, Dawa Sangdu still decided to launch a night attack.

  Immediately inquired about the distribution of Zang Jun's troops and the deployment of his forces. One of the captives was a small leader, who, after being subjected to simple torture, revealed that this time the rebel army had divided into three routes: east, west, and north, to launch a surprise attack.

  And on the east side there is a rebel army of over a thousand men, who have suffered casualties estimated at over 300 after the artillery bombardment just now.

  And in the west, Da Zhan led the vanguard of the rebel army, with a force of over 5,000 men.

  Finally, in order to prevent Sichuan reinforcements, more than a thousand people were prepared to retreat towards Luding and prepare to receive the fleeing Sichuan army.

  What's more surprising is that Zong Jun's equipment was extremely fine, with many of his weapons being directly provided by the British, and the rifles under his command were no worse than those made in Hanyang by the Sichuan Army.

  In addition, Zang Jun had several large cannons, but due to the rugged road conditions, they were not brought along.

  Yang Xing was shocked when he heard this and immediately decided to hand over the defensive task on the east side to a company commander of a neighboring unit, while leading a squad to rush to the command post to report the enemy situation.

  Yin Changheng is training Tao Zekun, although the report was timely and the model team had some defense, but this time the enemy's attack was very strong, almost simultaneously launching on three sides, with very strong coordination.

  Although the rebel raid was discovered in time, due to the fatigue of the warriors, the response was hasty, and the losses of other troops were heavy. The two defensive positions also suffered setbacks. The Model Division's various units are being compressed by the rebels towards the direction of the General Command.

  When Yang Xing arrived at the headquarters, Yin Changheng was shocked and asked: "Has your artillery company lost its position and escaped to the headquarters?"

  Upon hearing Yang Xing's report, the enemy army was so powerful that it was a desperate gamble. The entire command center suddenly became depressed.

  But then heard the artillery company killing and wounding hundreds of rebels, the eastern rebel offensive has been disintegrated, the rebels have long since fled to a mountain valley two miles away.

  Upon hearing the news, the atmosphere at headquarters was electrified. Who would have thought that in less than an hour since the start of battle, the rebel forces on the southern front had been defeated? It seems that holding out for reinforcements still has a chance of success.

  Yin Changheng was overjoyed and patted Yang Xing's shoulder, saying: "Zhēng Dōng, you are a true tiger general. Unlike the other divisions, our position has not been taken by the enemy, and we have emerged victorious."

  When he heard General Yin's praise, although his heart was greatly delighted, he humbly said: "Thank you, General Yin, for your praise. If it weren't for the support of General Yin and Commander Tuan, the artillery company would also find it difficult to remain calm in the face of danger."

  Pointing to the simple map on the wall, he suggested to everyone: "General, although the rebel army is powerful and launched a surprise attack at night, it has not been formed for a long time and is foolish. Except for one stock of bravery and familiarity with the terrain, there are no other advantages. And our army, although initially defeated, is after all a tiger wolf division, with sharp artillery and sufficient ammunition, which cannot be compared to the rebel army. Therefore, even if the leader of the rebellion, Dawa Sangdong, leads 8,000 rebels to attack together, it will be difficult for them to do anything to our Tiger Wolf Division within a few days. Moreover, Sun's division is only more than 60 miles away from here, and reinforcements can arrive in one day, so there is no reason to fear the enemy."

  Yin Changheng nodded and said: "Zhēng Dōng, we already know this, but how should we respond to the enemy in front of us?"

  "After surveying the battlefield, Yang Xing said: 'Our department has just defeated the enemy's surprise attack, and in the short term, there will be no strong enemy attack on the east side. Our department suggests withdrawing the artillery company from the east side to this mountain ridge on the west side. Commander-in-Chief, please take a look, Wolf Hill is strategically located and happens to be where the rebel forces are gathering from the west and north. It's perfect for building a new artillery position. The Model Regiment will contract its defensive position, with troops concentrated in Caopingzi and Liuyanggou on the west and north sides respectively, under the protection of our artillery, luring the rebels to attack. In this way, although the rebel forces are strong, they will find it difficult to break through our army's defense line under our firepower.'"

  Yin Changheng looked at the map and said, "We also need to set up another blocking position behind the mountain pass, so we can be absolutely sure."

  Orders were immediately passed down and the army once again changed its defense.

  Yang Xing and Tao Zekun successively left the command post to deploy troops.

  In a moment, the cannon was rushed to the top of the Wolf's Ridge, and with binoculars, they carefully observed the surrounding terrain. The choice of position was not bad, the view was very open, and the range was also very far.

  Immediately extremely excited, set up a few simple fortifications after the artillery company and other classes arrived, made simple arrangements, and the front-line observation post came to report.

  The northern and western friendly troops retreated down the mountain valley.

  The rebels saw the attack go so smoothly, and immediately raised their torches, shouting and chasing after the model regiment. When they were less than 500 meters away from the mountain ridge and less than 300 meters away from the mountain ditch, they ordered artillery fire.

  The previous burst of live ammunition firing has already made these gunners quite excited, this is the artillery, in a big battle, it can actually have such an effect. After another round of live ammunition firing, these gunners are full of confidence and their shooting level has also improved significantly.

  They have once again gathered at E Lang Gang, watching these Tibetan rebel troops one by one chasing after the model regiment brothers. They are already gritting their teeth, each one has adjusted their shooting skills, just waiting for the officer's order. Of course, they muttered in their mouths: "Tibetan barbarians, you are rampant now, and when the time comes, I'll see how you die."

  Under a hail of gunfire, the Tibetan charging troops were thrown into disarray. Initially hundreds of Tibetans had gathered together preparing to charge when suddenly over ten shells landed in their midst

  Excellent training and the initial victory greatly inspired these gunners, shells fell in the dense torch area, as if shooting live targets. After a round of shelling, half of the torches on the opposite side were extinguished. Then, like a flock of startled sheep, the remaining torches scattered in all directions.

  Less than 5 rounds of cannon fire, the Zang people's rebel army was thrown into disarray and finally retreated like a tide to the rear. Seeing that just one round of cannon fire had driven off the enemy, the entire position erupted in warm cheers.

  An hour later, a piece of torches reappeared on the opposite side, but it looked very chaotic and sparse, gradually approaching the model team's camp.

  Through the telescope, it was found that where the torches were densely packed, there were not many rebel soldiers, while in the sparse areas of torches, a large number of rebels were often concentrated. It seems that the rebels have changed their combat ideology and dispersed their troops to avoid heavy casualties. In addition, they thought that the Sichuan army only attacked where the torches were densely packed, trying to confuse the Sichuan artillery with the density of the torches.

  He immediately ordered each artillery position to fire freely under guidance, and although this killed a large number of rebels, the rebels still took advantage of the night to cover themselves and rushed towards the Model Regiment's position.

  At this time, the model regiment had established a solid defensive position. When the rebels attacked, a dense burst of gunfire routed them, shattering their offensive once again.

  After that, the rebels no longer launched a charge in formation, and our army did not launch a counterattack because of unfamiliar terrain and darkness. You can search for "Ha Shi Ba" on Baidu.