Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

It was exactly 8 p.m. that evening.

The sound of cannon fire rang out again outside Quzhou City.

The dense artillery fire accurately covered the city of Quzhou.

To be fair, regardless of Zhuo Yongwang's troops' combat effectiveness, his artillery was quite accurate.

At the very least, they are quite professional when it comes to firing cannons.

Following Zhuo Yongwang's orders, nearly 4000 shells were unleashed within an hour and a half.

10:08.

Several flares streaked across the night sky.

Hu Zhenmin led his 108th Independent Brigade to launch an attack in the dark on Quzhou City, which had just been bombarded by artillery fire.

The garrison in Quzhou immediately launched a fierce counterattack.

"Order all units to concentrate their firepower and give them a good beating!"

Inside the city defense headquarters, Gao Shengwu calmly washed his face and casually accepted the towel handed to him by his adjutant.

"I didn't expect them to actually dare to launch a night attack."

"I really underestimated them."

"Commander, it seems that the vanguard is the 108th Independent Brigade, which has been fighting us the longest during the day," a staff officer reported to Gao Shengwu.

"The 108th Independent Brigade? Hu Zhenmin's troops..."

Gao Shengwu nodded: "In Zhuo Yongwang's troops, only Hu Zhenmin has any backbone; he's a tough guy."

"Calling him a fierce general is indeed well-deserved."

"However, the overall combat effectiveness of Hu Zhenmin and his 108th Independent Brigade is just so-so."

In short—more courageous than tactically sound!

"If Hu Zhenmin were in our First Division, I would at most place him as a regimental commander."

"After all, he came from a self-taught background. Although he has a ruthless streak, his knowledge of military matters is really limited."

As a top student from the Imperial Army Military Academy, and having also studied and exchanged ideas in the countries of Salo and Prun, Gao Shengwu still held Hu Zhenmin, who came from a self-taught background, in some disdain.

However, it must be said that Gao Shengwu does indeed have the ability to do so.

Gao Shengwu is not only tough and daring, but also the only overseas returnee among Xie's generals who has studied in both countries!

He also received high praise from the Prun Military Academy.

This is also a key reason why Xie Kangnian values ​​Gao Shengwu so highly.

After completing his studies and returning home, he served as a regimental commander for one year and a brigade commander for two years.

In the fourth year, Xie Kangnian exceptionally appointed him as the commander of the First Division of the Royal Guard.

It was under Gao Shengwu's command that the First Division of the Royal Guard gradually earned the title of "Iron Army".

Having already experienced firsthand the formidable fighting power of the five-province allied forces during the day, Gao Shengwu was brimming with confidence that he could hold Quzhou for three months.

Therefore, Gao Shengwu paid no attention to the strong attack launched by the five-province allied forces under cover of night.

Zhuo Yongwang's most troublesome tank force has been rendered useless.

The shells should have been used up by now.

The factors that could threaten the 1st Division of the Royal Guard have completely disappeared........................

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after an hour.

"Commander! The enemy's attacking force has broken into the city, and our army is launching a counterattack against the enemy as planned," a staff officer reported to Gao Shengwu.

The combined artillery bombardment by the five-province allied forces played a significant role.

The bombardment of over 10,000 shells, both day and night, completely destroyed the outer defenses of Quzhou.

After several rounds of attacks that disregarded casualties, Hu Zhenmin's 108th Independent Brigade finally broke through the collapsed Quzhou city wall.

The two sides engaged in a fierce close-quarters battle for the second time.

However, this close-quarters combat was clearly more intense than the one during the day.

Although the attacking side lacked the support of tank units, the 108th Independent Brigade fought almost suicidally, and more and more attacking troops rushed into the city.

The two sides then engaged in fierce fighting over buildings, main streets, and high ground.

The advance and defense within the city were carried out using "meters" as the unit of measurement, and every brick and tile was stained with blood.

The overwhelming artillery bombardment has essentially turned the main urban area of ​​Quzhou into ruins.

Most of the buildings were destroyed.

However, Gao Shengwu was clearly prepared for this situation.

In the initial defensive plan, Gao Shengwu focused the defense of Quzhou on street fighting.

After all, Gao Shengwu had fully considered the heavy firepower advantage of the five-province allied forces before the war began.

Therefore, when faced with the enemy forces that had entered the city, the Quzhou garrison immediately and methodically launched a defensive operation in accordance with the original plan.

Of course, to ensure the smooth implementation of the defense plan, the supervisory team of the 1st Royal Guard Division became the busiest group of people........................

Fierce fighting broke out in every street and every building in Quzhou.

The 108th Independent Brigade, already completely enraged, greatly boosted the morale of the attacking side and also spurred the entire offensive.

Hu Zhenmin, whom Gao Shengwu considered to be a self-taught individual with commendable courage but lacking in tactics, also put his knowledge to good use—imitating the assault regiment of the First Division of the Royal Guard, he organized a large number of commando suicide squads.

Furthermore, the entire assault team was equipped with automatic weapons, bringing their firepower to the maximum.

The 108th Independent Brigade, going all out, put considerable pressure and pressure on the defending forces in the city.

As a result, many defensive strongholds fell under the strong attack of the 108th Independent Brigade.

It was only then that Gao Shengwu realized that the five-province allied forces, who had just suffered a great loss, were not as "incompetent" as they had imagined.

"Gentlemen, I'm warning you beforehand—whoever messes things up for me in Quzhou, I, Gao Shengwu, will make sure they get away with it."

"We must take back the lost positions at any cost."

"We can fight until everyone is wiped out, but we absolutely cannot retreat!" Gao Shengwu looked around at the other generals present and gave the order again.

These words were deliberately spoken by Gao Shengwu to the generals outside the First Division of the Royal Guard.

Their First Division was undoubtedly the best in this regard.

But other units have to rely on supervisory teams to oversee their operations!