Warlords: Conquer the world from the county magistrate

Although they had only arrived here for more than a day, Li Zhongwu still ordered the troops to dig a lot of trenches.

Although the troops suffered casualties under the bombardment, they were still within the tolerable range.

"What's going on with the artillery regiment? Haven't they identified the enemy's artillery positions yet?" Li Zhongwu said angrily.

Seeing Li Zhongwu's angry look, the messenger said carefully: "Report to the division commander, the artillery regiment has calculated the location of the enemy's artillery position, and the artillery commander asked whether to open fire."

"Let him fire quickly. Don't you know how many soldiers' lives will be lost if we waste one minute of time?" Li Zhongwu said dissatisfiedly.

The messenger wiped the sweat from his forehead and ran away to deliver the message.

On the opposite side, Wang Rong was holding a telescope, watching the effect of the bombardment, and he was also excited. He couldn't help but say, "Well, no matter how powerful you make the enemy sound, they are still trembling under the artillery fire."

His unit was equipped with 10 57-caliber artillery pieces and two 75-caliber mountain guns.

Wang Rong believed that with the powerful artillery fire, the enemy's position would soon be penetrated.

"boom."

"boom."

Just when Wang Rong was feeling proud, there were several loud noises coming from the side. Wang Rong was startled and asked dissatisfiedly, "What happened?"

"Commander, it's bad. Our artillery position has been bombarded by the enemy." A messenger came running to report in a panic.

"What?"

Wang Rong was horrified: "Quick, order the artillery position to move, and have the Fourth Regiment retreat and build a defensive position near Pingshan Temple."

"Yes." The messenger immediately went down to pass the order.

Wang Rong was not a reckless man, he also had certain military talents. His troops originally wanted to bypass Pingrong County and threaten Qingshan from the flank.

When encountering the enemy on the way and seeing the fortifications built by the other side, Wang Rong decisively ordered an artillery bombardment, and the result of the bombardment was naturally gratifying.

When his artillery position was attacked, Wang Rong knew that if he continued to attack with the enemy's artillery advantage, he would be at a great disadvantage.

He didn't plan to attack, but instead prepared to defend and drag the opposing troops here.

Wang Rong's troops were equipped with heavy machine guns. He believed that if his side defended, the opposing troops would not be able to gain any advantage.

Not long after, another messenger came to report: "Division Commander, the enemy's artillery has launched an attack on our troops."

"Order each regiment to retreat towards Pingshan Temple." As Wang Rong gave the order, his troops began to retreat in an orderly manner.

The most effective means of defending against artillery attacks is, of course, to find cover or build fortifications.

Wang Rong's troops had just marched here when they launched an attack on the 1st Division. They had no time to build fortifications and could only order a retreat.

Both sides hastily withdrew from the battle, each losing hundreds of soldiers.

Soon after Wang Rong's troops retreated, an officer came to report: "Division Commander, 127 soldiers died in the bombardment, and more than 100 soldiers were seriously injured."

"Send all the injured soldiers to the rear for treatment, and collect the bodies of the fallen soldiers and bury them properly." Li Zhongwu ordered.

Before the war, Fang Jian gathered some doctors and medicines in Changhuan and Fenglin and set up a field hospital to treat wounded soldiers.

Seeing the enemy slowly retreating under the bombardment, Li Zhongwu did not order a pursuit.

Deputy Division Commander Jiang Xuanqi sighed: "The enemy is also good at fighting. They retreated decisively, and the troops retreated in an orderly manner without any panic."

"What else can we do if the other party doesn't retreat? Are they going to stay and take the bombardment?" Li Zhongwu said disdainfully.

Jiang Xuanqi said solemnly: "Is this the most elite division under Ma Jincen that Tao Yunong mentioned?"

"I don't know how many artillery pieces we just destroyed. In addition to artillery pieces, the other side is also equipped with heavy machine guns, light machine guns and other weapons."

"We only need to leave one part behind to keep an eye on the enemy. I plan to send a regiment to infiltrate Cao Bingshen's rear. After defeating Cao Bingshen, the commander's pressure will be much less." Li Zhongwu shook his head slightly.

Jiang Xuanqi worriedly said, "A regiment has inserted itself behind Cao Bingshen. In front of him is Cao Bingshen, on his left is Zhang Guilin, and behind him are two divisions of Ma Jincen."

"Is this... a bit dangerous?"

"There is no such thing as a war without danger. Besides, after defeating Cao Bingshen, they will be able to join forces with the Third Regiment of the Guard Division." Li Zhongwu said firmly.

Seeing that Li Zhongwu had made his decision, Jiang Xuanqi stopped trying to persuade him.

At the position in Xiping County, the Third Regiment of the Guard Division once again repelled the attack of Cao Bingshen's troops, and the commander of the Third Regiment, Fang Weijia, showed a satisfied smile.

"As long as there are no artillery, it is very easy to hold the position no matter how the enemy attacks."

Fang Weijia did not feel any pressure at all. Cao Bingshen's division had only about 8,000 people. Not only did they have no artillery, they also had no machine guns.

It didn't seem like the opponent was launching an attack, but more like rushing towards the scythe of the god of death.

In just one morning, Fang Wei's troops had repelled Cao Bingshen's four attacks and killed no less than a thousand of the enemy.

Watching the troops retreat again, the chief of staff advised Cao Bingshen: "Division Commander, the enemy's firepower is too strong. If we continue to fight like this, our entire division will not be able to withstand the consumption."

"The governor is in the rear. He has issued a death order, asking us to defeat the opposing troops at all costs." Cao Bingshen said helplessly.

The chief of staff did not say anything else. Cao Bingshen organized his troops again and launched an attack on the positions of the 3rd Regiment of the Guard Division.

On the left wing of the 3rd Guard Regiment, Zhang Guilin's troops also began to attack the positions of the 2nd Guard Regiment.

Zhang Guilin's troops were much more elite than Cao Bingshen's troops. Their attack formation was relatively scattered, which made the general-purpose machine guns of the Second Regiment lose their power and they could only kill Zhang Guilin's soldiers sporadically.

Of course, thanks to the power of the AK47, Zhang Guilin's troops also suffered heavy losses.

Zhang Guilin's troops had 13,000 people, of which 9,000 surrounded the Second Guard Regiment from three directions, bringing great pressure to the Second Guard Regiment Commander Fang Weiguo.

The chief of staff stepped forward and advised: "Captain, ask the commander for reinforcements."

"The enemy is numerous and equipped with light machine guns. Our casualties are increasing."

Fang Weiguo gritted his teeth and said, "There are no other troops in Qingshan City except for the 2,000 men and one regiment of troops from the division headquarters. The commander is still in Qingshan City. Wait a little longer, wait a little longer."

"Concentrate mortars and grenade launchers to bombard the enemy."

The chief of staff said helplessly: "Commander, the enemy's formation is scattered. Even if we use grenade launchers and mortars, the effect will not be great."

Seeing that Fang Weiguo did not respond to him, the chief of staff tactfully went down to make arrangements.

In the large open space in front of the position of the Second Guard Regiment, there were countless soldiers of Zhang's army scattered around. These soldiers were standing in relatively dispersed positions so that they would not fall down in groups when hit by machine guns.

Fortunately, the Second Guard Regiment was equipped with AK47 rifles, so there was no need to worry about not having time to reload ammunition. They could just change the magazines, and each magazine had thirty rounds of bullets.

Under the continuous gunfire, many soldiers of Zhang Guilin's unit fell.

"Even if the soldiers are dispersed, the casualties are still heavy. The opposing troops cannot be underestimated." Zhang Guilin in the rear looked at the battlefield and couldn't help but sigh.

Zhu Yaoxiang nodded and said, "The enemy once wiped out three divisions of Ma Jincen. Don't be careless."