Chapter 181: Shandong Tax Bank Robbery (VII)
Lei Hu also thought that he could learn a lot at first, not to mention Huo Chong also said so. However, not long after he really embarked on the journey, Lei Hu understood another sentence of Huo Chong: learning and progress is a very painful process.
The amount of effort required to move a 2,000-pound cannon through the mountains was staggering. Not to mention the cannon itself, the types and numbers of animals needed to pull it made Lei Hu so worried that he almost pulled out all the hair on his forehead.
In the past, Lei Hu really believed that oxen were very strong, but the idea of using oxen as a towing force was soon completely abandoned by Lei Hu. Not to mention whether oxen could pull the heavy artillery cart... the key point was that oxen really couldn't pull it. Driving an ox cart through the mountainous area was already not feasible.
A donkey is not too bad, but at least it is better than a cow. A donkey can at least pull a three-pound cannon with assistance. However, the donkey's stubborn temper and sudden "hmm ah ah" make people upset.
The only reliable ones left were horses and mules. Although mules were docile, they didn't seem very smart. Although horses were smart, they had a worse temper than donkeys.
Compared to these living creatures, the heavy artillery carriages were more reliable. Apart from the annoying creaking sound when the axles needed to be lubricated, those heavy and hopeless-looking iron things would continue to move forward when pulled.
However, once these iron things have problems, it is very troublesome to repair them. Before setting off, Lei Hu felt that it was a waste to bring so many spare parts. When the spare parts began to be consumed, Lei Hu and the maintenance personnel used the bracket to deal with it, and they just felt that the things that could be replaced were really great.
In the first three days, Lei Hu felt that every day was so difficult. After three days, Lei Hu felt that every half day was very difficult. After a few more days, Lei Hu had no concept of "day". Every section of the road made Lei Hu feel a huge pressure.
On flat roads, we need to consider speeding up to make up for the extra time spent on crossing the mountains. On rugged and difficult sections, we need to consider how to pass safely. Not only the artillery and the artillery carriage will be damaged, but also the personnel and the animals pulling the vehicle will be damaged if the operation is improper.
Lei Hu had never expected that just marching would cause so many losses before he led the army himself.
When the troops finally arrived in Jining, Lei Hu asked the staff officer beside him, "How many days have we been walking?"
The staff officer didn't understand what Lei Hu was asking for a while, but after thinking for a while, he understood the question. The staff officer took out a small notebook, and the first part of the march record at the beginning recorded the date of the march with the word "正". It took the troops 20 days to get from Linzi to Jining.
Has it been twenty days? Lei Hu felt that what he had experienced was much longer than twenty days, as if he had walked for a lifetime. Thinking about it again, it seemed that it was not that long. Anyway, every day was busy. Recalling the experiences along the way, the problems encountered at the beginning were all deeply remembered. With the superposition of various memories, the march was completed so suddenly.
Jining is the prefecture capital, which directly governs several counties. When Lei Hu and his companions came here, the prefect of Jining had already known about it three days in advance.
If it were in the past , the prefect would certainly mobilize nearby troops to directly attack the unit where Lei Hu was. However, the situation was different at this time, and Shandong's troops were completely withdrawn and exhausted in the previous two campaigns. The action of rebuilding the Green Camp has been ongoing, but the Green Camp is hereditary, and the court must first confirm that someone is dead before it can withdraw personnel from that person's family.
Although they could have just ignored everything and directly conscripted the soldiers, the Green Camp had previously rioted in Jinan City, and the court was very dissatisfied with the Shandong Green Camp, so they did not do so. The prefect of Jining could only wait for more than 700 people led by Huo Chong to arrive outside the city.
The Jining garrison insisted that Huo Chong's troops attack the city. However, the Jining prefect had a different view, "If we dare not leave the city, won't these thieves underestimate the court?"
When the garrison commander heard such a brave opinion, his face almost turned green, and he hurriedly advised, "Sir, the government troops were defeated by Huo Chong outside the city of Jinan, why don't we wait for reinforcements?"
"Reinforcements? Where will the reinforcements come from?" the prefect asked.
The garrison commander also thought it made sense. The generals of Dengzhou Town were killed, the main camp of Dengzhou Town was emptied, and even the camp was demolished. Now the only way for reinforcements is to wait for the imperial court to send troops. Thinking of this, the garrison commander was even more puzzled, "Sir, if this is the case, we should defend the city even more."
"Before the last expedition, all the cannons were taken away and left outside the city of Jinan. How can we defend such a large city like Jining with such a small number of troops?" the prefect reminded the garrison.
"this……"
"We still have the strength to fight. If the enemy invades Jining, we won't be able to display our strength. We can't fight even if we want to." The prefect made a decision. "If the battle goes against us, it won't be too late to defend the city. Besides..." The prefect pointed at the Thunder Tiger troops outside the city. "The enemy has come from afar and is exhausted. We should go out of the city to kill the enemy now, and wait for them to tire themselves out. We have a great chance of winning."
The garrison commander was a military scholar, and his eloquent words did make sense. Finally, he made up his mind and ordered his men to go to war.
Soon, both sides formed their arrays. Standing on the top of the city wall, the governor and the garrison saw the artillery in Huo Chong's army. Compared with the huge artillery carts of the Qing Dynasty, Huo Chong's artillery looked even more slender as it was mounted on a slender and strange iron frame.
The prefect sighed, "Fortunately, the thief Huo Chong failed to bring the red cannon. Alas... What a pity. Last time outside Jinan City, we lost all our red cannons. Otherwise, just setting up the red cannons on the top of the city would have made it impossible for these thieves to return."
The garrison commander agreed with the governor's opinion. The more powerful the artillery, the heavier it would be. Therefore, the Qing Dynasty's artillery carts were all four-wheeled vehicles, pulled by several horses, or towed by more than a dozen cart pullers. When using, the artillery had to be lifted down. Otherwise, the artillery cart would fall apart after one shot.
The cannons under the city were mounted directly on the axles of the wheels, so how much force could such thin poles withstand? Therefore, Huo Chong's cannons must not have much power.
Without waiting for the garrison's approval, Huo Chong's artillery opened fire. The smoke was much less than that of the red cannon of the government army, and the flames were much shorter.
The garrison felt relieved when they saw that the Qing troops on their side were lined up in neat rows, and one of the rows suddenly scattered.
The guard rubbed his eyes, not understanding what was happening for a moment. Then he looked at the neat queue and saw a gap in the middle, as if it had been cut off by something.
The cannons roared, but they still did not have the earth-shaking momentum of the red cannons. Amid the cannons, the garrison saw another column of government troops flying away, and then another column. The government troops turned into many inhuman forms. The front row was penetrated by something, the middle row had their bodies torn apart, and the government troops at the back even exploded directly.
It was like a pantomime or a magic show. In a very short time, a column of government troops disappeared from the formation.
Before the garrison could figure out what was going on, the government army's formation suddenly collapsed. Both officers and soldiers fled in all directions.
At the same time, Huo Chong's troops chased after them, and with just one charge, they killed half of the soldiers who were still alive. For safety, the government troops closed the city gates after the battle . The soldiers who had left the city had nowhere to escape, so they ran for their lives around the city wall. Huo Chong's troops actually stopped and loaded ammunition, then chased the fleeing soldiers again and shot them from behind.
Under that strange shooting method, officers and soldiers fell one by one. In the end, only less than 10% of them barely escaped with their lives.
The battle was extremely fierce, and the governor, who was dumbfounded, didn't understand until the battle was almost over. His eyes widened and he suddenly shouted to the garrison: "You... look at the good soldiers you lead!"
The garrison was also in shock at this time, and didn't know how to react after being scolded. Then he heard the prefect shouting loudly: "You must defend the city wall, you must defend it!" Then the prefect almost stumbled and turned to leave. His followers hurriedly stepped forward to support the prefect, and almost lifted him up and carried him down the city.
Soon, only one garrison was left on the top of the city. Seeing Huo Chong's troops quickly gathering under the city, and not even searching the bodies of the killed soldiers for money, the garrison felt a chill on his back. It was clear that the other side was going to continue the siege.
Instinctively, the garrison shouted, "Fire! Fire!"
Since birth, the garrison had never really fought an artillery battle. It was always the government troops who used artillery unilaterally, and there was no mention of the government troops being forced to retaliate with artillery. As for artillery battles, they had only heard of such things.
If the garrison had heard of artillery battles, the prefect had never even heard of real artillery battles. At this time, the lord's legs were shaking and he could not stand steadily. After being carried back to the yamen, the artillery battle started again. The continuous sound of artillery outside made the lord's legs tremble even more.
What should he do? The prefect was at a loss.
It was possible to escape, but according to the Qing Dynasty law, local officials had the responsibility to defend their territory, and escaping was a capital crime. Moreover, the emperor he faced was Yongzheng, who was cruel and bloodthirsty. If the prefect escaped, he would only die.
Thinking of this, the prefect was completely hopeless. He suddenly ordered, "Go, get me some wine from the back."
The prefect's attendants didn't know why the master was in the mood for wine, so they could only obey his orders. When the wine came, the prefect poured himself a drink and slowly felt that he could move normally again.
Soon, the cannon fire stopped. The prefect held the wine bowl in his hand, his eyes full of anticipation.
A moment later, the personal attendant had already rushed into the mansion, screaming, "Sir, the thieves have entered the city!"
The prefect did not open the door, but just shouted: "Then run for your lives!"
Afterwards, regardless of how his attendants cried out in fear at the door, the prefect drank the wine in one gulp, and while drunk he climbed onto the rope that had been tied to his neck, put his head in, fastened the noose, and then kicked over the stool under his feet.
The magistrate of Jining in the Qing Dynasty hanged himself when the city was broken.
