The fierce hand-to-hand combat immediately began in this trench. Before the hand-to-hand combat, the attacking Song army infantry first fired a round of volleys at close range, while the artillery soldiers of Liu Futong's troops dropped a round of bombs. The volley and bombs knocked down many soldiers from both sides. But no one cared about looking at the dead and injured comrades, but rushed towards the oncoming enemy with a bayonet rifle.

Liu Futong led the artillery, the elite backbone of the infantry, all of whom were strong veterans. Their skills were first-class in fighting bayonets. However, they had a weakness and had never been on the battlefield, so they were far less fierce than their opponents. When they fought each other, they were immediately at a disadvantage.

The ferociousness of the Western Song army was really beyond their expectations. Some people were covered in blood by the explosion of hand cannons and grenades, and they rushed up with a frantically scream. Some broke the guns in the fight, and rushed towards the Zhou army's hand artillery empty-handed, choking their necks and clasping their eyes, and even clutching the bayonets tightly with both hands until the blood flowed.

Fortunately, Liu Futong's boss had invested in the most elite hand artillery team from the beginning. If ordinary infantry were allowed to face the first wave of fierce attacks by Western Song soldiers, they would probably have been defeated now.

Even the most elite Republican artillery was attacked by the fierce and crazy Western Song soldiers, and could not hold on any longer.

Fortunately, the Republican reinforcements quickly came up along the traffic trench.

At the same time, the Republican Army's howitzers, long cannons and mountain cannons opened fire violently, and used shrapnel and shotguns to block the route of the Western Song Army's follow-up troops.

As the Republican Army reinforcements arrived more and more, the fight between the two sides gradually became one-sided. The brothers Chen Youliang and Chen Youren rushed into the trenches shoulder to shoulder. As the elder brothers, Chen Youliang participated in the war of quelling the rebellion in Western Fan and had rich combat experience. In the past few decades, the Western Song Dynasty not only fought in Central Asia and Mongolia (Chagatai Khanate), but also caused internal chaos one after another. Especially the chieftain tribes in the Western Regions, Western Fan, Southern Wilderness (referring to the northern part of Bagan and southern Dali) always kept causing trouble for the Western Song court.

But why are they the elite opponents of the Western Song Dynasty soldiers? They have become the target of experience for Western Song veterans like Chen Youliang. Chen Youren is the first new recruit to go to the battlefield. Chen Youren, who was dazed by the Zhou army's cannon, is now completely confused. He has long forgotten the ability to fight and fight hard since he was a child. He just danced randomly and stabbed the rifle with a bayonet. As a result, a Zhou Dynasty artillery pierced the lower abdomen with a bayonet. It seemed that he did not pierce through any important internal organs. The kid had no feeling and was still screaming and fighting.

Chen Youliang killed his head and face full of blood, like a fierce evil spirit. Although he became very murderous, he still did not forget to take care of his brother and kept protecting him. Otherwise, Chen Youren would have died long ago.

However, not every new recruit from the Western Song Army is protected by the veteran brother, so those who jumped into the trench in panic have become the targets of Republican soldiers' experience. Now there are almost all casualties!

Although veterans like Chen Youliang are difficult to deal with, the scattered soldiers of the Zhou army who retreated from the front line did not go far, but hid in the nearby wheat fields and grass, and occasionally used precise snipers to kill veterans of the Western Song Dynasty.

In front of bullets, there is no difference between veterans and new recruits!

In front of grenades, shrapnel and shrapnel, the bravest warrior is just a pile of meat!

The Republican army's cannons exerted the power of industrialization in today's war!

The grenades, shrunks and socks shot out like raindrops seriously weakened the momentum of the Song army's charge. Almost one-third of the Western Song army soldiers suffered such great losses on the way to charge, and they were able to persist in the attack, which shows the courage of the Western Song army.

And in the remaining two-thirds, many new recruits who were on the battlefield for the first time were in panic due to artillery attacks.

Therefore, the main driving force for the charge of the Western Song army was actually Chen Youliang, a veteran who avoided artillery attacks.

However, the charge supported by the lives of veterans was finally exhausted as casualties continued to expand.

After a round of counterattack from the Zhou army's reserve team, Chen Youliang and his younger brother Chen Youren were separated. He was dragged out of the trenches by several comrades and fled to his position with tears in his eyes. He never saw his own brother again during the entire war. It was not until eleven years later, when the war ended, that he met Chen Youren, who had lost an arm and a thigh in his hometown of Hanyang. The latter was released by the Republican army's prisoner-of-war camp...

"Order the 10th Division to go up and continue attacking! The 13th Division is ready!"

He witnessed the failure of the 7th Division's attack from the telescope, but General Zhao Liang was not moved at all, but issued an order to continue the attack by the 10th Division of the Army.

After the 10th Division, the 13th Division headed up, and then the reorganized 7th Division continued to attack. The three Western Song infantry divisions launched a wheel battle, and in the daytime on September 19, they launched eleven waves of tide-like attacks one after another.

However, the Zhou army's position was as hard as a rock, and the Song army would remain unmoved if it was beaten repeatedly!

However, the Western Song army, which ignored casualties, still put the defense Zhou army under great pressure. After all, they only had three divisions of troops, and they were also defending a very long front line. Faced with the successive attacks of 130,000 to 140,000 enemy troops, their troops were still a bit insufficient.

Wuyuan Town and Han Shantong had been unable to stay in the command center for a long time, so the two of them led a group of Jiyi and the messengers to the rear of the front line that was under attack, and found a small hill to observe the front line.

Their locations were all within the effective range of the 6-pound long cannon of the Eastern Song Army! However, the two of them could not care about the danger at all, but they all held a monocular telescope and looked at the battlefield ahead.

In order to withstand the crazy attacks of the Western Song army one after another, Wuyuan Town has invested all the reserves to counterattack, and has also drawn a large number of artillery troops from the relatively calm front, all of which have been strengthened to the direction of being attacked.

The Song army seemed to have concentrated most of their artillery in the main attack direction.

More than 300 artillery pieces were concentrated on the front less than 10 miles wide to open fire. In the gap between the bombardment, the Song army of the brigade held a bayonet and launched waves of brave assaults.

The shells were flying, the smoke of gunpowder was filled with it, and life was consumed as if it was not worth money.

When dusk came, the elderly lieutenant general of Wuyuan Town was so excited that he smiled and put away his telescope, patted Han Shantong on the shoulder: "General Zhao Liang fought us with three times his strength all day, and he didn't make any breakthrough! It seems that he is just like this. It's time for us to use the textbook for the battle example in the future."

Han Shantong was calmer than his commander. Looking at the battlefield covered by gunpowder and the dim sky, he always felt something was wrong.

The dignified General of the Eternal Conquering Western Song Dynasty, with this little ability, can he only stare at a place like a bull?

"Captain, there's always something wrong!" Han Shantong shook his head, "Will Zhao Liang be playing any tricks?"

"Tactics?" Wu Yuanzhen asked with a smile, "What kind of tricks are there? It's just to bypass us and attack Xiangcheng. But there is a brigade of defenders in Xiangcheng. No matter how hard he can fight, he can't catch it without ten days.

And we have 50,000 people... he bypassed it if he wanted to. If he didn't defeat us, he wouldn't be able to go anywhere. But it's not easy to defeat us. It's impossible to defeat us with this kind of fighting style. But by then, two armies in Yingchang Prefecture will be in place. How can the defense of the two armies resist last month? By the time Zhao Liang General completes the breakthrough, our first mobilization will be completed... By then, there will be more than 3 million army troops!

Moreover, those guys from the navy should also capture the main force of the Eastern Song fleet... As long as you can defend it on land and win at sea, we can see the unity of three points!

By the way, I have caught many prisoners today, right? They were all sent to Xiangcheng Fortress for good care, and those who were injured need to be treated. In a few months, everyone will be compatriots in the same country."

It's good to get Wuyuan Town, but his opponent Zhao Liangjiang has better plans.

Zhao Liangjiang didn't plan to lose his reputation in a small place like Jiangshan.

All his actions during the day on September 19 were eye-catching tricks.

When night fell, he was in the second formation during the day, but he was always pressed by General Zhao Liang in his hands, 2 of the four divisions that he had never used, and began to march in the darkness under the night.

The target area of ​​their march was outside Jiangshan Town west of Jiangshan.

According to General Zhao Liang's plan, during the day and night after September 19, the Western Song army would continue to attack the defense line located in Jiangshan, the north of the Zhou army with five divisions.

The purpose is to attract the Zhou army's troops and create conditions for the raid on Jiangshan Town from the night of the 19th to the early morning of the 20th.

This raid was to some extent a bold gamble. Because the Zhou army built fortifications in Jiangshan Town, there seemed to be a lot of troops stationed.

In order to complete the movement and launch an attack before the night passed, the two divisions of the coalition forces of the Song Dynasty did not even carry artillery, and they advanced completely lightly!

If the Zhou army did not remove most of the defenders and artillery from Jiangshan Town, then the raid by the Song Dynasty coalition forces may very likely turn into a complete disaster.

The military fortune of Zhao Liangjiang and the national fortune of the Song Dynasty ended at Jiangshan Town. Unfortunately, the road to the unity of three parts was not as smooth as Wuyuan Town thought.

The entire eight battalions of Western Song infantry rushed into Jiangdian Town in the early morning of September 20!

Zhao Liangjiang's "left hook" was indeed successful, and he caught the Republican army off guard.

Because the battle on the eastern foot of Jiangshan was too fierce, Wuyuan Town had to draw troops from all parts of the defense line, including Jiangdian Town, which seemed calm and peaceful.

One brigade originally stationed there plus a mountain artillery company (the infantry brigade of Zhou State was under the jurisdiction of one artillery company, so the troops stationed in Jiangdian Town had two artillery companies) were all transferred to the front line, and the two battalions that were retreated from the battlefield on the eastern foot of Jiangshan, plus more than a thousand people from the Jiangdian militia team.

In fact, there are quite a few people. If there is a road wall in Jiangdian Town, it doesn’t have to be a bastion. Ordinary rammed earth walls can be defended.

But Jiangdian Town is a town without a wall!

As a defensive facility, ordinary rammed earth city walls were outdated 200 years ago. Unless they were bastions, they could not stop the shelling at all. It would be better if they were not in the city wall.

So over the past 200 years, the city market towns in the Great Zhou Republic have been demolishing the city walls. Except for the bastions that have been preserved, most of the remaining city walls have been demolished. The situation in Jiangdian Town is no exception, and there is no city wall protection. The only barrier in the town is the camp where Zhou Jun stayed overnight on the evening of the 18th. This camp covers a large area and cannot be defended by just two battalions and more than a thousand militias.

Therefore, the defenders had to retreat into Jiangdian Town to deploy defense, so they were unable to stop the attack of the Western Song army.

Eight battalions and more than 7,000 infantrymen of the Western Song Army broke into Jiangdian Town without any effort without any protection from the city wall.

However, it was beyond the expectations of the attacking Western Song infantry and Zhao Liang general who planned the raid.

Jiangshan Town, which was not protected by the city wall, was not easy to capture. Because there were too many tall houses built with red bricks and cement in the town. The Zhou army and Zhou militia, who were not deployed in the camp outside the town, guarded these tall and sturdy buildings. They used smoothbore guns, rifled guns and hand cannons (grenades).

This kind of street fighting style was extremely common in the later "The Battle of the Three Kingdoms". However, it was the first time it appeared on the Jiangshan battlefield on September 19, 226 of the Republic.

The tall brick and stone buildings are simply impossible for infantrymen without artillery support to break through the dangers.

Even though the Song army was several times larger, there was no way to drive the Zhou army, which was less than 2,000 or less,000, out of the small Jiangdian Town. Instead, he suffered considerable losses due to the setbacks of continuous attacks.

Jiangdian Town's effective resistance was beyond Wuyuan Town's expectations, although he was an elite general trained by the Great Zhou Republic Army for twenty or thirty years, he was a novice in the battlefield.

The mastery of the methods of war all comes from books and foreign military battle examples. The ability to adapt to changes is not strong, the battlefield feels bad, and there is also a little guilty.

So after the news of the Song army breaking into Jiangdian Town, I never thought that my troops could defend half of the town and could also rely on tall buildings to beat the enemy and suffer heavy losses. Therefore, I arranged a retreat at the first time.

Tens of thousands of people retreated from the battlefield, which was a very difficult tactical action. Some left first, some behind the palace, some ambush, and some were responsible for destroying materials.

After a long time of busy work, I found that Jiangdian Town was still fighting very well, but Wuyuan Town didn't have time to find the troops that had already run away.

So this Jiangshan blocking battle was lost inexplicably, and Zhao Liang's army was one step closer to the Fengfu!
Chapter completed!