Chapter 196 The Military Is Calm

May of the fifth year of Chongzhen has just passed halfway.

Lingnan, Hong Kong Island.

On the large open space by the sea, a large group of people gathered again.

After nearly two months of training, according to the standards of the Keelung Army, 4,000 refugees who stayed on the island have completed basic training and can join the formation as spearmen or musketeers.

As for the sword and shield soldiers, which are a kind of technical type, they need long-term training, so they will not be selected from these young men for the time being.

Under the leadership of their respective captains and team officers, the new recruits were excitedly lined up in columns according to the organizational units, and the columns formed a square formation, forming four huge square formations along the seaside.

"The hard work these days is not in vain!"

Although Weizhou, who was riding on a horse, was blown by the sea breeze on his face, he still felt hot. He knew that this was a fire burning in his heart!

During these two months, several generals, under Qin Hao's arrangement, came to visit him on Hong Kong Island, either on the pretext of transporting reinforcements and artillery, or wrote letters to communicate with him and pass on their experience in facing the enemy.

Although Weizhou was not someone who could calm down and study, the big loss he suffered before made him change his ways, and it can be said that he learned a lesson.

After two months, he has become a very experienced commander.

At this time, a large army of 6,000 people stood upright on the beach. Apart from the original troops and the 4,000 refugees who joined, the most were the 2,000 Keelung reinforcements that came not long ago.

The team officers, captains, veterans, and recruits were effectively mixed together to form a very combat-effective combination.

In addition to the normal morning training, each battalion and each team had the experience of going out of the island to fight in the villages, and had controllable small-scale friction with those stubborn villages.

In actual combat, the internal coordination of the troops was accelerated, and the training results were effectively transformed into real combat effectiveness. Several stubborn small ancestral halls were destroyed during the battle.

Except for the troops left on Hong Kong Island as a guard, the 6,000 people who went out to the battle lined up under the flags fluttering in the sea breeze, waiting for the order of the superiors.

The former battalion officer Tian Shengyuan was promoted to the chief of staff of the Western Route Army due to his previous combat merits in Jinping County.

Of course, the chief of staff was a nominal position, and Tian Shengyuan was only willing to take it temporarily, so Weizhou reported to Qin Hao that he was appointed as the general manager of the central army of the army, commanding the central army's infantry and cavalry.

He suddenly touched the belly of the warhorse under his crotch with the stirrup, and the horse understood, kicked out all four hooves, and kicked up fine mud and sand all the way on the beach.

"All the battalions have lined up. Please review them, sir!"

Looking at the square formations that stretched for miles and seemed to reach the horizon, Weizhou's heart was also surging with excitement.

At a glance, the eight-petal iron-pointed helmets, with ups and downs, formed a tidal line of the sea tide. Under the shining of the morning sun, they shone with metallic light, which was spectacular.

Weizhou urged his warhorse and walked slowly in front of each square formation under the escort of dozens of cavalry led by Zhou Di, the battalion officer of the Western Army Guard Battalion.

According to the organization of the Keelung Army, the three battalions had at least 30 artillery pieces.

But at the moment, it seems that the Western Army lacks at least one-third of the artillery pieces, with only about 20 pieces.

However, there are five more 30-pound mortars with wide mouths, which are affectionately called "toad cannons" by the soldiers in the camp.

There are not so many sword and shield soldiers in the square formation, only four teams, and they are all composed of Keelung native veterans. They serve as the core force of each battalion.

The rest were mostly fire musketeers and spearmen. The spears and fire muskets in their hands and on their shoulders were as dense as a hemp forest, and the green steel swords on their waists were also shining.

】

In the dark army, eager eyes were cast towards this cavalry with wind and thunder. One square after another stretched along the coastline. All you could see were red fat coats and soldiers with metallic luster, and you couldn't even see the end at a glance.

"Soldiers, why are we here today?!"

Weizhou rode his horse past a square, and his shout was carried to the end of the square by the sea breeze.

The sea breeze blew for a while, and the army was silent for a while. Suddenly, a roar broke out from the depths of a square, "Revenge!"

Immediately afterwards, the two adjacent squares broke out with the same roar.

"Revenge!"

"Revenge!"

The whistling sound that came one after another on the seashore was accompanied by the wind and tide.

"The army is ready!" Listening to the roar that overwhelmed the sound of the waves, Weizhou knew that the elite troops he wanted had been forged and formed. What was lacking was the final tempering of the fire!

The 6,000-man team was divided into several routes and jumped into the territory of Jinping County with their heads held high. The cavalrymen passed on military information to and from the marching teams. As the teams advanced, the sound of horns came from the teams from time to time. It was the buglers of each camp who were passing on the news and establishing contact with each other.

The small surnames along the way, such as Rujia, Lijia, and Kemula, saw the army passing through the border and surrendered one after another, fearing that they would be caught in the crossfire.

They set up snack tables on the road, arranged some dried and fresh fruits, tea and the like, to entertain the Weizhou army. And there were several old men waiting for the army with incense burners on their heads. Weizhou saw them from a distance and had to send people to appease them with a few words, and then urged the troops to move forward quickly.

Now his target is only the five major families. As for the other small fish and shrimps, he really doesn't care about them. However, for the safety of the rear, he still arranged a secret line. As long as there is any movement in these small villages, Weizhou in front of the battlefield can receive the information.

After arranging everything, the army marched northward like a tide. Seeing the mighty momentum that seemed to be able to destroy everything, Weizhou couldn't help but feel a surge of heroic spirit in his chest.

"It's a pity that I'm not as literary as my lord, otherwise I should also write a poem!"

"Zaiyi, my army is advancing. Are there enough food, fodder, ammunition and supplies?" Although he had checked it before, Weizhou still asked again with concern.

"Don't worry, sir. I will work with the navy to provide support along the way, and we will not let the army have any worries. In addition, each camp has ten days of food and grass, and the artillery ammunition and the gunners' sons' ammunition are all equipped according to the requirements of a big battle. This amount of ammunition is enough to hit the capital of Lingnan!"

"That's good!"

After suffering a loss, Weizhou became more cautious and continued to order: "Send the baggage chiefs of each camp to lead the troops to the villages that surrendered, and use silver and copper coins to buy fresh vegetables, pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks and other things. This group of people said that they have surrendered to us, but who knows if they are pretending to obey us and are dealing with both sides. They still have contacts and connections with the five big families in private and want to deal with us. We have to be on guard!"

"Your Excellency has a good idea! If this method is implemented, it will not only add food to the brothers, but also be a touchstone. Which family is real and which family is fake will be revealed immediately!" Lu Zaiyi praised Weizhou's method.

A long series of loud notes came out from the center of the army. After a while, a series of trumpet sounds came from the marching teams in front, behind, left and right.

As the trumpet sounds, a number of carts were pulled out of the team and headed towards the nearby villages. They were going to purchase vegetables and fresh meat, and by the way, check whether these villages were truly loyal to them, but the swords on their waists were shaking.