ushernet Chapter 132 Strict Self-Discipline
Chapter 132 Strict Self-Discipline
Inflicting casualties on the enemy is also one of the important tasks of the Seventh Army. Li Ji said to his men, "The reinforcements will arrive soon. The First Army Corps has two armies in Qingzhou. They will be able to support our army in less than five days. What our army needs to do is to hold back the enemy in Rencheng, not to let the enemy take back Rencheng, and at the same time, not to let the enemy escape. Our mission is to hold back the enemy's main force and inflict casualties on them while holding Rencheng, and wait for the main force of the First Army Corps to arrive. At that time, all of these Yanzhou soldiers will become our prisoners."
"They've got grand ambitions," the two division commanders exclaimed in unison. Was this why they were still only division commanders? Their strategic vision was somewhat lacking; they couldn't see the bigger battlefield, so they could only remain as division commanders.
However, the division commander was already a high-ranking officer in the autonomous region's military system—quite impressive, having already entered the ranks of generals with the rank of brigadier general. But just one step was an insurmountable chasm, and he wondered when he would be able to cross it. The division commander sighed inwardly.
“That’s right. Otherwise, why do you think we’re stuck here while General Gao Shun is already a lieutenant general and corps commander?” Li Ji said. It could be said that although Gao Shun was not easy to make friends with, most people admired him for being such a self-disciplined person.
"We must be on high alert tonight, and watch out for any mischief from the Yanzhou army," Li Ji said to the group.
The people on the city wall nodded in agreement. Chen Bang even stayed behind to check the sentry posts. There were both visible and hidden sentries. Every fifteen minutes, a torch would be thrown down from the top of the city wall to test the situation below.
Of course, the Yanzhou army did not launch a surprise attack that night, but this was not good news; on the contrary, it was very bad news. This showed that the general of the Yanzhou army was still rational and had not lost his composure because of the fall of Rencheng.
The night passed quickly and peacefully. Nothing happened. At daybreak, the soldiers of the Seventh Army on Chengtoushan saw dust rising in the distance to the east, caused by the army's march.
Li Ji sighed from the city wall, "If only I had a cavalry force. I almost had an elite cavalry force back then, but then the General Staff issued an order that the First and Second Corps had priority in supplying cavalry to them."
Before their departure, the 7th Army was to be assigned a cavalry regiment as a directly subordinate unit of the army. Unexpectedly, the cavalry did not arrive, but they were already fighting.
Li Ji sighed, "If I had to kill them, I would have sent a cavalry unit to harass the Yanzhou army last night, so that they would be exhausted and not get enough rest."
However, Li Ji's hypothesis didn't offer much room for development.
"Who is in charge on the city wall? My general wishes to meet with you."
"Go back and tell your general that there's nothing to talk about between us. If he really wants to talk, then let's go outside and discuss it," Li Ji roared at the messengers below.
The messenger returned to Ju Yi's side: "The enemy is large and powerful, and many of them are hiding behind the walls. If you take the initiative to attack, you will definitely be able to turn the tide."
At this moment, Ju Yijing did not hesitate at all, "General upstairs, please come out and talk to us. Why did you launch an unprovoked attack on our army?"
Upon hearing Ju Yi's words, Li Ji immediately stood up and addressed the crowd around him, saying, "Ju Yi is getting anxious. Let's see how I argue with him and tell all the brothers to be prepared for a battle for survival. Ju Yi might just get angry and say something."
“Listen up, you people outside. We declared war half a month ago. Do you think the war won’t start if you don’t accept the declaration? A declaration of war requires the consent of both sides. Ju Yi, are you out of your mind?”
Li Ji continued to mock Ju Yi relentlessly. A few minutes later, the garrison was still mocking Ju Yi, asking if he was stupid and had never heard of needing the other side's consent to declare war.
"Attack!" Enraged, Ju Yi gave the order to attack.
The attack seemed quite large, with a full 20,000 flintlock musketeers and 20,000 matchlock musketeers launching an attack on Rencheng under the cover of fire from more than 20 cannons.
They had only just entered the 150-meter range when the autonomous region's muskets were able to hit them so far, and with such great destructive power at that range. Moreover, as the Yanzhou army approached, artillery fire began from the city walls. According to Li Ji's orders, each cannon was firing at one-third of its training speed. Even if the general's cannons, which all used grapeshot, were firing at one-third of the time, was it really possible that not a single shot would hit its target? This was clearly impossible. Almost every shot could take the lives of twenty or thirty people.
Despite Ju Yi's hoarse commands, the Yanzhou army suffered heavy losses with every step forward. Finally, they charged in, closing to within a hundred meters. In an instant, thousands of muskets fired simultaneously, sending stone chips flying from the city walls. It seemed they were about to suppress the Seventh Army. However, in their focus on the siege, they forgot to maintain formation. Most of the Yanzhou musketeers fired their muskets at the first opportunity.
The Yanzhou army's suppressive fire lasted for less than three seconds. Then, in an instant, all the cannons of the Seventh Army on the city wall began to fire, including the smaller cannons. A distance of one hundred meters was enough for the smaller cannons to have sufficient destructive power. After all, it was a cannon, not a flintlock musket.
Within ten minutes of the battle beginning, over five thousand Yanzhou soldiers had fallen. The artillery fire from Chengtoushan had begun to gradually target the rear of the Yanzhou army. The large cannons, now equipped with live ammunition, could fire a distance of one or two thousand meters. Most remarkably, in the direction of the eastern city, an artillery shell from the autonomous region accidentally struck a Yanzhou artillery position. Although it did not cause major damage, it gave the Yanzhou artillerymen a scare. The position was no longer safe! They quickly moved to a new location.
In reality, once the range reached nearly 100 meters, the difference in firearms between the two sides was not significant. The only advantage of the autonomous region's musketeers was their slightly faster reloading speed.
Of course, Ju Yi was already in despair regarding the artillery fire. The artillery fire from the Chengtoushan Autonomous Region army was incessant, and judging from the sound, there were at least forty cannons. Ju Yi was very desperate; how could he possibly fight this battle?
The second attack was also repelled, and Ju Yi immediately ordered a halt to the offensive. The enemy's artillery fire was truly despairing, and Ju Yi had already begun to consider retreating immediately. Moreover, this idea was growing and might explode at any moment.
"The Seventh Army?" Ju Yi looked around at the officers and asked in confusion, "Does anyone know who the commander of this Seventh Army is?"