Black Flag Army

Chapter 146 Heavy Casualties

After three rounds of artillery bombardment, the barbed wire was damaged a lot, and there were many gaps. Some of the mines were also detonated, but only some. Jiang Hongyu, the commander-in-chief of the front, thought of the tactics of the Mobei One-eyed Dog: the Fire Bull Formation. Although the loss of hundreds of cows is also very costly, dead cows are better than dead people! More than 500 cows were urgently purchased from nearby at high prices, and the tactics of the Fire Bull Stepping on the Mine began. After more than 400 cows were killed and injured, a safe area was finally stepped out in the mine array. The First Division and the Second Division each sent a sharp knife company to quickly pass through the safe area to the edge of the barbed wire and make a tentative attack. The two companies were on the left and the right. Under the command of the company commander Di Qiu, the sharp knife company of the Second Division set up bulletproof shields and began to dig bulletproof pits with engineer shovels.

"Da da da..." The machine guns in the bunker started firing. The bullet-proof shields were hit by bullets with a bang. Several bullets passed through the gaps and knocked down two soldiers. Di Qiu hurriedly ordered the snipers and rocket launchers in the company to fire back at the bunker.

With a loud "bang", Platoon Leader Li Yinshi destroyed a bunker with a rocket launcher, and Wang Dashan also killed a machine gunner in the enemy's trench with a sniper rifle.

An American sniper instructor slowly poked his head out from the moat, raised his sniper rifle and aimed at Wang Dashan.

Di Qiu's eyes were flashed by the reflection of the scope in the distance, and he quickly lay down and shouted: "Platoon Leader Wang, change positions!"

But it was too late. With a bang, Wang Dashan fell to the ground. Di Qiu quickly took out his sniper rifle and aimed to shoot, but the opponent's head had quickly retracted into the moat, leaving only the hand holding the gun. With a gunshot, three fingers on the American's right hand were broken, a string of blood flew out, and the American fell into the moat screaming. The sniper rifle fell outside the moat.

Wang Dashan was hit between the eyebrows and died on the spot.

When several engineers of the Sharp Knife Company used pliers to cut the barbed wire, they were targeted by snipers and two of them died. When the news of encountering enemy snipers in the front spread to the rear, the special forces commander Shi Zhu quickly led dozens of snipers to the front line. At this time, the Sharp Knife Company had dug dozens of bulletproof pits, and more than 100 people in the company entered the bulletproof pits. Shi Zhu entered Di Qiu's bulletproof pit.

Didi was very surprised to see Shi Zhu coming and asked, "Why is Captain Shi here? Isn't this killing a chicken with a butcher knife?"

Shi Zhu laughed and said, "How can I be considered a master's weapon? A lightning-fast rifle is a master's weapon. Commander Leng was going to come in person, but was stopped by the Chief of General Staff, who said it was too unreasonable for the commander of the special forces to go to the front line to fight snipers. In the end, I took the initiative to come, and the Chief of General Staff approved it. Liu Tainan went to the position of the Sharp Knife Company of the First Division. The losses there were even greater. The company commander and deputy company commander were both hit by the enemy sniper and died. Tell me about the situation!"

Di Qiu said: "The enemy has deployed a large number of snipers in the bunkers and trenches. Among them are several sharpshooters who are very accurate. The range of those sharpshooters' sniper rifles is longer than ours. They can hit us from the bunkers thousands of meters away."

Shizhu observed the enemy's position with a telescope, and finally his eyes fell on the sniper rifle outside the moat.

Shizhu said: "This is the latest American gas pressure sniper rifle, with an effective range of two kilometers. It seems that American soldiers are also involved. Sean told us the advantages and disadvantages of this gun, and we are trying to get the blueprints and samples. We will gather all the snipers to cover us later, and you can send someone to grab this gun back."

Di Qiu agreed and called the platoon leader Li Yinshi, asking him to take a few people to prepare to drill through the gap in the barbed wire. According to the old rules, they first pushed a few scarecrows out of the bulletproof pit, and the opponent's sniper rifles immediately "bang bang bang" sounded, and the scarecrows were full of bullet holes. Shi Zhu and his snipers also quickly returned fire, and a bloody mist was shot in the trench, and screams were heard in the bunker. It was unclear how many people were killed. Li Yinshi and four soldiers each held two shields and crawled forward in the gap in the barbed wire, slowly approaching the new sniper rifle. Bullets kept coming at them. Although most of the bullets were blocked by the shield, more and more bullets were coming from the flanks. Five people were injured one after another. Shizhu and others kept shooting and knocked down dozens of enemy snipers. The rest were beaten so hard that they dared not show their heads again. A Russian officer realized Li Yinshi's purpose and suddenly threw a grenade to blow up the sniper rifle. Before the grenade was out of his hand, Shizhu's gun fired and hit the grenade and exploded. Amid screams, several people in the trench were blown up. Li Yinshi seized the opportunity, rushed out of the trench, grabbed the sniper rifle and ran. At this time, someone fired a shot from the concrete bunker and hit Li Yinshi's leg. Li Yinshi fell to the ground.

Shizhu realized that there was a sharpshooter in the concrete bunker. This person could obviously kill Li Yinshi with one shot, but he deliberately only shot the legs because the back is easier to aim at than the legs. He wanted to play a cat and mouse game, deliberately attracting more people to rescue him so that he could kill more opponents.

As expected, one of Li Yinshi's soldiers came to rescue him, but was shot in the chest by the sharpshooter in the concrete bunker and died. Shizhu's sniper rifle also fired at almost the same time. A howl came from the bunker. Shizhu was sure to hit the target this time. Li Yinshi bandaged the wound on his leg and climbed back with the help of three subordinates. When he crossed the last barbed wire, he unfortunately hit a landmine. With a loud "bang", all four people fell in a pool of blood. Li Yinshi used his last strength to pass the sniper rifle to Shizhu, and then fell to the ground and died. Because the sniper rifle was pressed under Li Yinshi during the explosion, it was not damaged, but it was stained with Li Yinshi's blood. Shizhu took the sniper rifle with tears streaming down his face. For this rifle, five people paid the price of their lives.

Two hours later, after the Black Flag Army engineers had finally cleared three lines of barbed wire and mines, the enemy's chief commander, Jiang Hongyu, gave orders to all divisions over the phone: "The general offensive begins!"

Wu Guozhu, commander of the Seventh Division, immediately shouted to his men on the battlefield: "Brothers! For the two hundred thousand compatriots who died eighteen years ago! Charge! Kill the Russians!"

The subordinates also shouted and rushed up, and the other seven divisions also launched a charge at the same time under the order of the division commander! Nearly 100,000 troops rushed to the periphery of Temple Street with an overwhelming force. The Black Flag Army planes dropped smoke bombs in time, and then rose to high altitudes to engage in aerial combat with the Russian planes. The smoke bombs interfered with the Russian army's vision on the position. They could not see the target clearly, so they had to shoot randomly. When the smoke cleared, the soldiers of both sides were already in front of them, and they quickly launched a hand-to-hand fight. The three trenches were full of people who were squeezed together and wrestled and killed. After several bombings by heavy artillery and aircraft, the remaining dozens of bunkers were also destroyed one by one under the close-range attack of the rocket soldiers! The hand-to-hand combat in the trenches ended in less than an hour. As a group of stubborn Russian soldiers were killed, the rest began to flee, and the Black Flag Army also suffered heavy casualties.

In Kulun City, Mengdong Province, in the private room on the second floor of the Baiying Restaurant, Ono Ryunosuke pushed five gold bars and a stack of yellow coupons across the table in front of Yan Shichao. Yan Shichao, who was hugging the proprietress Iijima, looked at him and said with a smile, "How dare you ask Mr. Ono to spend money again?"

Ono Ryunosuke said: "Yan Jun! We are friends! Don't be polite! The black bandits in Mengxi are the enemies of our Great Japanese Empire. Yan Jun was insulted in Beitang City last time! We share the same hatred and the same enemy! You just need to convince Commander-in-Chief Xu and seize the opportunity!"

Yan Shichao said: "Then I won't be polite." He accepted the gold bars and yellow consumption coupons without hesitation.

Xu Shuzheng was in a bad mood recently! He was originally the commander-in-chief of the Outer Mongolian Army and the governor. As soon as the new president came to power, he issued a document, and Outer Mongolia was divided into two provinces. The western part of Outer Mongolia became Beihai Province. Di Xiong, whom he hated, became the governor of Beihai Province, and his accomplice Wu Zhong became the governor. He became the governor and governor of Mengdong Province. The territory was reduced by half. Well, he admitted that the territory of western Outer Mongolia originally belonged to Di Xiong, but privately admitting and the government's public statement are definitely two different things. The government issued a document, and Di Xiong's rule over western Outer Mongolia was legalized. He couldn't do anything he wanted to do.

He was drinking alone in the Commander-in-Chief's residence when Yan Shichao came running over excitedly and said, "Commander-in-Chief! There's good news!"

Xu Shuzheng said: "What good news? Right now, there is only bad news for me. How can there be any good news?"

Yan Shichao said: "The main forces of Mengxi's Black Flag Army have all been dispatched to attack Miaojie in Outer Northeast. Now Mengxi only has two new recruit divisions! This is the weakest time! The commander-in-chief can just lead the army to make some money!"

Xu Shuzheng said, "Last time when I was going to attack Mengxi, you said how powerful the Black Flag Army was and that we must not fight them. Why have you changed your mind now? Aren't you kidding me?"

Yan Shichao said, "The situation is different now. At that time, the main force of the Black Flag Army was 100,000 troops, and the commander-in-chief Di Xiong was there. We only had a brigade and an artillery regiment with more than 4,000 people. Now we have added three divisions of Qu Tongfeng! The total force is no less than 40,000 troops, but the Black Flag Army has only 20,000 people, and they are all new recruits. Moreover, all the generals who can fight have left. There are two people in charge. One is the governor Wu Zhong, who used to be a small restaurant accountant and had never fought in a war. The other is Lan Jinping, who is even more of a woman. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Didn't you always say that Mengdong is too poor? Mengxi is rich! Otherwise, how can we afford so many troops? As long as we take Beitang City, we don't have to worry about lack of money anymore."

Xu Shuzheng was somewhat moved by what he heard, and asked the guards to call the three division commanders Qu Tongfeng, Chen Wenyun, and Ma Liang. After thinking about it, he asked the guards to call the cavalry brigade commander Zhe Qixiang. After the four senior officers came, Xu Shuzheng asked Yan Shichao to repeat what he had just said. After that, before Xu Shuzheng could speak, Qu Tongfeng said: "Commander-in-chief! This battle cannot be fought! The Black Flag Army is different from before. It is no longer a black bandit. It is the Beihai Province Border Defense Army recognized by the Beiyang Government. The President has just established the Beihai Province, and we are sending troops to attack it. Isn't this embarrassing for the President?"

Chen Wenyun said: "What's so great about it? The warlords in the country are all appointed by the president himself, so they still fight each other. In a place like Outer Mongolia, where the emperor is far away, there is no need to worry. All you need to do is find an excuse!"

Ma Liang laughed and said, "Is it not easy to find an excuse? I will draw my gun and shoot two shots at the commander-in-chief's door. I will then say that it was done by the assassins of the Black Flag Army. The assassins wanted to kill the commander-in-chief, and then they could just get two death row prisoners in the cell to serve as scapegoats."

When Xu Shuzheng saw that there was a disagreement, he asked Zhe Qixiang, "What do you think, Brigade Commander Zhe?"

Last time, Zhe Qixiang strongly advocated attacking western Meng. Qu Tongfeng hoped that Zhe Qixiang could convince him, but Zhe Qixiang suddenly changed his mind and said, "Commander-in-chief! The Black Flag Army is fighting to recover the lost territory of the Qing Dynasty and is bleeding and sacrificing in the battlefield of Outer Northeast. It would be fine if we didn't help them, but how can we take advantage of their misfortune and stab them in the back?"

Xu Shuzheng was stunned when he heard this. He didn't expect that Zhe Qixiang would be more opposed than Qu Tongfeng.

Yan Shichao angrily said to Zhe Qixiang: "Zhe Qixiang, are you drunk today? Why are you saying something completely different from last time?"

Zhe Qixiang said: "I didn't drink today. I haven't read Justice Daily before. Now after reading Justice Daily, I know that Di Xiong is the contemporary Yue Fei. If we sneak attack his lair now, we will become Qin Hui and leave a bad name for all eternity! I am a loser and I definitely can't be Yue Fei, but I can't be Qin Hui either!"

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, not knowing how to refute. Qu Tongfeng said, "What Brigade Commander Zhe said makes sense! We may not be able to defeat the Beihai Province's army, even if it is a new recruit division! The county security regiment alone is equipped with heavy machine guns and mortars. That Di Xiong is insidious and cunning. When he sent troops to the Outer Northeast, it is impossible for him not to be on guard against us. They also have a powerful air force. We have no chance of winning. We might even lose Eastern Meng. Commander-in-Chief! I think we should just forget it!"

Xu Shuzheng sighed and said, "Forget it then!"

Yan Shichao became anxious when he heard this. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Xu Shuzheng yell at him, "Get out! You almost screwed us today."

Yan Shichao had no choice but to leave in shame.

In Temple Street Market, several parts of the White Army Headquarters building had been blown down, and the air was filled with smoke and dust. When Pavlov rushed into the underground meeting room, he saw Alexander staring blankly at the map on the wall.

Pavlov said: "Report to the commander-in-chief! The bandits have entered the city and are advancing towards the headquarters. Commander-in-chief, please move immediately!"

Alexander saw Pavlov and suddenly stood up, angrily saying, "Didn't you say before that the American and British consultants helped us build four lines of defense? Would they allow the bandits to shed blood in front of our positions? Why did the bandits break in in just one day?"

Pavlov said: "The four lines of defense did cause heavy casualties to the bandits. You saw it in the telescope, but we didn't expect the bandits to be so fearless and relentless. Many of our troops were composed of horse bandits and prisoners of war. These people were the first to retreat, triggering the retreat of other troops. The main reason was that the bandits came too quickly, and we didn't have time to train and reorganize the troops."

Alexander said: "We lost Temple Street! How can I explain this to my brother?"

Pavlov said: "Miaojie is only the second largest city in the Amur Territory. There is also the largest city, Vladivostok. We will retreat there by boat first, and then retake Miaojie when your brother's army returns."