Anti-Qing: Starting from the Jintian Uprising

Chapter 411 Liu Fusheng: That’s another price!
As new weapons arrived from the British and French forces, the situation in Crimea continued to evolve.

The British and French forces, armed with new weapons, marched along Vorontsov Avenue towards Balaklava.

Preparations were underway to reopen this important road between Sevastopol and Balaklava.

The Tsarist Russia did not sit idly by.

They continued to mobilize troops to converge in the direction of Balaklava, preparing to attack Balaklava, draw in the Allied forces, and relieve the siege of Sevastopol.

Soon, the troops of both sides were deployed.

Forced by the critical situation in Sevastopol, Tsarist Russia took the lead in launching an offensive.

Prince Menshikov sent out the elite rifle team of the Russian army, and successfully captured a key fortress guarded by the Ottoman army with a charge.

After taking the fortress, the Russian reinforcements opened up a passage to Balaklava.

After the passage was opened, the main force of the Tsarist Russian reinforcements marched out along the Vorontsov Avenue towards Balaklava.

Prince Menshikov sent out his elite Cossack cavalry, attempting to use the Cossack cavalry's mobility to quickly attack Balaklava.

Because there is a valley passage on the Vorontsov Road leading to Balaklava, and for safety reasons, Prince Menshikov needs to open up the valley as soon as possible and lead the Russian army out of this dangerous area.

Otherwise, with the valley as a barrier, the Russian army would never be able to threaten Balaklava.

At the same time, the British garrison in the Balaklava direction also received supplies of new weapons from the Tang Dynasty.

As the Turkish troops stationed on Vorontsov Avenue collapsed and were chased by the Tsarist Cossack cavalry, the British army began to set up defenses in the valley.

Several rotary machine guns were transported to the front and deployed on the defense line.

Breech-loading rifles were also sent to the front line.

The coalition soldiers hid in the trenches, familiarizing themselves with the firearms while listening to the consultants sent by the Tang Dynasty explain the key points of using breech-loading firearms.

Liu Fusheng led his men around the position, checking the layout of the machine gun position. Behind him, several coalition officers followed closely, listening to Liu Fusheng's explanation with their ears pricked up.

I even took out a pen and paper to take notes from time to time!

Well, this was the additional condition that Britain and France proposed when they purchased arms from the Tang Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty sent professionals to guide them on the use of new weapons.

"The greatest role of a machine gun on the battlefield is not to kill the enemy, but to block and suppress them."

"Block the enemy's attack route and suppress the enemy's offensive pace."

“So, the card position is very important.”

"Machine gun positions must be placed in appropriate locations to be effective."

"For example, if we place a machine gun on a mountain pass, we can block the entire valley from above. If we place another machine gun at the diagonal position, the two machine guns can form cross fire, and the blockade effect will be more obvious..."

Liu Fusheng kept introducing.

But at this moment, a faint roar suddenly came from outside the valley.

Liu Fusheng subconsciously looked in the direction where the sound came from.

Because he could hear that it was the noise made by the cavalry galloping.

Moreover, the number of cavalry is estimated to be quite large.

The coalition officers around him were also in a panic, and the expressions on many of their faces became solemn.

"Here they come, enemy attack!"

"The Cossacks are coming!"

"..."

In the chaos, Lu Boqian asked Liu Fusheng.

"Captain, a fight is about to break out. What should we do?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Fusheng spoke without any hesitation.

"Of course we retreated."

"This is a war between foreign devils. What does it have to do with us?"

"Besides, we only charge for teaching the coalition forces how to use new weapons, not for hiring us to fight on the battlefield."

“That’s another price!”

"Notify the brothers to retreat as soon as possible and be careful not to get hurt by mistake."

"Even if you don't get hurt by mistake, being splashed with blood is not a good thing."

Upon hearing this, Lu Boqian immediately nodded in agreement.

A group of people quickly slipped away, running faster than rabbits.

Some coalition soldiers looked disgusted when they saw this scene.

It is obvious that they are very dissatisfied with the Chinese who enjoy preferential treatment in normal times but retreat in wartime.

But there is nothing I can do even if I am dissatisfied.

Because Liu Fusheng and others were not under the control of the Allied Forces.

The coalition's military law has no binding force on them.

If the coalition forces really dare to kill them for "deserting the battlefield", it will not be a military issue but a diplomatic conflict.

……

On the battlefield of Balaklava, Liu Fusheng and others' retreat was just a small episode.

The coalition forces' defense of the valley did not suffer any loopholes because of Liu Fusheng and others.

Every soldier of the coalition forces was preparing for battle.

There was not much time between the sound of horse hooves and the appearance of the cavalry before them.

After just over ten minutes, the coalition forces could see smoke appearing at the end of the horizon.

And, in the smoke and dust, the Cossack cavalry were looming.

"kill!"

"For His Majesty the Great Tsar!"

"Long live the Cossacks!"

"..."

The Cossack cavalry roared and charged towards the Allied defense line.

The next moment, the artillery deployed by the coalition forces on the defense line opened fire first.

Amid the rumbling sound of artillery fire, smoke rose from the gun positions.

The shell broke through the air with a low humming sound, and fell towards the charging Cossack cavalry. With a bang, the shell landed on the ground, creating a cloud of dust, and then continued to roll forward.

Wherever the shells passed, many Cossack cavalrymen were torn to pieces along with their horses, leaving their bodies as flying limbs and arms.

The bombs fell among the crowd, and amid the explosions, clouds of smoke bloomed on the ground.

The rumbling sound of the explosion almost drowned out the roar of the galloping war horses.

It’s a pity that most of the Allied forces’ artillery in this battle were deployed outside the fortress of Sevastopol.

The defense line here was built in a hurry, so the number of artillery is limited.

Otherwise, the coalition forces might have been able to completely defeat the Tsarist Russia's attempt to attack Balaklava with artillery alone.

Although the coalition's artillery bombardment was fierce, it could not stop the offensive of the brave and warlike Cossacks.

Amid the bombardment of the Allied forces, the Cossacks continued to charge on horseback.

It seems that in their eyes, one's own life is not worth mentioning.

"Long live the Tsar!"

"Charge! Kill all those Ansa people!"

"..."

The Cossack cavalry came roaring.

As the distance between the two sides narrowed, finally, several rotary machine guns on the coalition side began to fire.

Dada! Dada!

Ta-ta-ta-ta!

Intensive gunfire rang out across the battlefield.

Bullets rained down, leaving nothing behind wherever they passed.

The charging Cossack cavalry fell to the ground in unison like wheat being harvested by a harvester.

Both the man and the horse were torn to pieces by the dense bullet chains.

At this moment, the entire battlefield seemed to be stagnant.

The sound of machine gun fire continued, and in the blink of an eye, hundreds of Cossack cavalry were killed or wounded.

Such heavy casualties were inflicted in an instant, and even the savage and brutal Cossack cavalry were frightened, and the momentum of the charge was clearly halted.

But at this moment, the infantry in the coalition forces also began to shoot.

The sound of gunfire continued to ring out!
In a flash, the Cossacks were killed and wounded again.

"Withdraw! Quickly withdraw!"

“I can’t go any further!”

"..."

The stubborn Cossacks began to turn and retreat.

In fact, it is even faster than when we came here.

Looking at the corpses all over the battlefield ahead, machine gunner Parker looked at the miniature machine gun in his hand and couldn't help but gasp.

"Oh, God!"

"This... the killing effect of this rotary machine gun is really terrifying!"

In fact, it was not just him. Almost all of the coalition soldiers who witnessed the killing effect of the rotary machine gun for the first time were shocked.

Everyone realized one thing!
The war situation on future battlefields is expected to undergo major changes.

I'm afraid the previous line tactics, infantry charges, and cavalry advances are no longer useful.

……

The Cossacks were defeated.

The Cossack cavalry commander Sadshin rode up to Prince Menshikov.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, we failed to break through the coalition's blockade of the valley."

When Prince Menshikov heard this, his face darkened and he thought to himself that something bad was going to happen.

Because, just as the Cossack cavalry attacked the Allied forces' valley defense line, he received the latest news.

The allied commander, Raglan, had already led the main force of the allied forces and came behind him.

If he cannot open up the valley as soon as possible, the Russian army will face the situation of being attacked from both sides by the coalition forces.

"What happened? Why couldn't the Cossacks break through the blockade?"

Menshikov asked.

Upon hearing this, Sadxun couldn't help but think of what had just happened on the battlefield, and his face turned slightly pale.

But he still started to tell about the Cossacks' experience just now!
"A rotary machine gun? It's actually a rotary machine gun?"

"Have the arms purchased by the coalition forces from the East been delivered?"

"How come it's so fast?"

Prince Menshikov's face darkened and he was slightly surprised.

Like the Allied Forces, Tsarist Russia also purchased arms from the Tang Dynasty.

However, the arms purchased by Tsarist Russia are still on the way and have not yet arrived in Crimea.

Well, unlike Britain and France, which could transport arms via the Indian Ocean, then cross the Suez by land, and directly transport the arms to the Mediterranean and then to the Black Sea.

The efficiency can be described as efficient and fast!

But the problem is that Egypt is now the sphere of influence of Britain and France.

If the Tsarist Russia's arms tried to pass through there, they would be intercepted 100%.

Therefore, for safety reasons, the Russians could only use the stupid method of making the fleet sail around Africa.

This way, safety is guaranteed, but the time required on the road is also greatly increased.

In other words, the arms purchased by Tsarist Russia are still floating in the Indian Ocean.

……

PS: This paragraph is not made up by the author. In history, during the Battle of Balaklava in the Crimean War, Britain, France and Tsarist Russia all used the outrageous operation of using cavalry to attack infantry formations.

For example, the famous red line refers to the scene where British infantrymen confront Cossack cavalry.

(End of this chapter)