This time, the Tangshan defenders gave the government troops eight rapid shots!

The whistling artillery shells drew an arc over the barbed wire and the government army's chariot formation, and landed on the heads of the infantry following behind.

The screams resounded everywhere again!

In front of the solid shells, the flesh and blood bodies were no different from paper, unable to stop the trajectory. One shot could penetrate more than a dozen soldiers like a string of candied haws, leaving a shocking alley of flesh and blood on the ground...

Amid the endless whistling sound, shells poured down like rain, killing and wounding countless government troops. Soon, the ground was littered with broken limbs and bodies again. This time, the casualties were much greater than those of the artillery camp. The red ground was full of streams of blood...

Fortunately, the grenades developed by the 00 Institute were not yet mature and could not be fired at such a long distance. Otherwise, after this round of artillery fire, few of the 10,000 government troops in the dense formation would be able to stand.

However, at this time, Zhang Chen showed admirable bravery!

He knew that if he retreated again this time, he would not be able to fight this battle!

Now is the critical moment of victory or defeat!

"Don't lie down!" Zhang Chen pushed his personal guards aside, rushed to the front line, and joined the ranks of those pushing the cart. While pushing, he shouted, "Follow me, if you get close to their shells, you won't be able to turn!"

Zhang Chengyin also followed his father to push the sidecar! Inspired by his father and son, the soldiers also mustered up their remaining courage and stepped forward to help push the cart forward!

The soldiers behind also realized that the further they went forward, the safer it seemed, so they all rushed forward.

But soon, that was no longer the case...

The new round of artillery fire adjusted the firing angle, and the shells came like shadows, reaping the lives of the government troops in rows and groups.

Moreover, the side carriage will also disintegrate after being hit by the cannon, and the axle will also break...

After advancing two hundred steps, half of the carriages were paralyzed.

Behind the trench, the entire artillery position was shrouded in thick smoke. Although it was freezing cold, the gunners stripped off their shirts, revealing their strong muscles, and loaded and fired at the fastest speed!

The militiamen in the trenches were very nervous. After all, it was their first battle in life, so it would be a lie to say they were not afraid. Even if they could win a great victory, guns and cannons were blind. Could they be lucky enough to survive?

But at this moment they all forgot to be afraid, and they held their guns, their mouths wide open like groundhogs. One reason was that they were dumbfounded by watching people firing cannons, and the other was that this would prevent their eardrums from being damaged...

~~

Tang Hulu was also attracted by the sound of artillery fire, and took the opportunity to deliver lunch to the front line to appear next to Zheng Yiluan.

After shouting for a long time, Zheng Yiluan finally noticed him. Taking a rubber earplug out of his ear, Zheng Yiluan said loudly, "Are you having lunch so soon?"

Tang Hulu took out his silver-cased pocket watch and showed it to him. It was already 12 o'clock.

"Time flies..." Zheng Yiluan smiled and asked, "How is it, are you relieved now?"

According to the report, of the three official armies, Du Tong's army has already withdrawn. As for the other army, Wang Huaxi couldn't withdraw too quickly because he was the commander-in-chief, but in the face of huge sacrifices, he also began to drag his feet.

Only Zhang Chen is still persisting. The Northwest brother is really honest...

“I didn’t expect that the gap in strength is so big…” Tang Hulu nodded embarrassedly and said, “I know nothing about our strength.”

"But General Zhang on the opposite side is also very admirable." Mayor Tang saw that after suffering huge losses, Zhang Chen still led his subordinates to continue to advance forward, advance -

"When falling behind too far, the braver the army, the more casualties they may suffer." Zheng Yiluan stretched out his hand expressionlessly, and his personal soldier immediately handed him a loaded Wanli rifle.

There is a word "甲" engraved on the gun body, and it is also equipped with a sight, proving that this is a top-grade product that can be used for long-range sniping.

Zheng Yiluan skillfully positioned the gun at the shooting port, aligned the three points, and aimed while holding his breath.

"Pray that we will never become the sympathized party!" After saying this, he pulled the trigger.

In the pause between the gunfire, a clear gunshot like a girl's cry was heard!

The propellant in the gun chamber exploded, and the gunpowder gas instantly impacted the cork at the tail of the bullet, suddenly expanding the tail of the bullet. The conical lead bullet tightly sealed the barrel, concentrating all the impact force on itself - the bullet was then shot out along the rifling spiral at an extremely high initial velocity!

Eight hundred meters away, an officer who was pushing a cart suddenly fell to the ground...

The internal security officers and soldiers were basically sharpshooters. When they heard the detachment leader open fire, they also used the high-precision Wanli-style rifled rifles in their hands to accurately snipe and kill the government troops pushing the carts.

Beside each shooter, there were two militiamen with admiring faces, each holding a gun and reloading ammunition for him.

After the shooter fired a shot, he exchanged with a militiaman. After all, he had been using the Longqing style for a few years. Although he was not very accurate in shooting, he was very familiar with loading the gun...

Of course, even the ordinary Wanli rifle can only guarantee accurate hits within 500 meters, not to mention the Longqing rifle, which has an effective range of less than 200 meters.

So the militia and workers' guards could only hold their own Longqing style rifles and watch with envy.

~~

Zhang Chen soon discovered that his men who were pushing the carts around him were shot and fell to the ground one after another.

That's five hundred steps! The government troops' artillery couldn't fire that far, but the rebels' muskets could hit the target accurately.

Is there any justice in the world?

How do we fight this battle?

Even though he was the bravest among the three armies and had a heart as steady as iron, he still felt like he was about to collapse...

The old general's eyes were bloodshot, and he turned around to give an order when he was suddenly hit on the shoulder as if by a heavy hammer, and fell to the ground with his body twisted.

"Father, Marshal!"

"Marshal!"

Seeing Zhang Chen being shot and falling to the ground, screams were heard everywhere. Zhang Chengyin and his personal soldiers quickly surrounded him to prevent him from being trampled.

"Retreat..." Zhang Chen used all his strength to squeeze out a word from his lungs, and then he fainted.

~~

On the ninth lookout tower, Cai Liang breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the government troops finally retreat back to the main camp.

Grenades can be launched at a distance of 600 meters.

Five hundred meters, grapeshot.

Four hundred meters, shotgun...

Compared to the solid bullets that have more destructive power than lethality, the latter three are the real killers that harvest lives.

If the government troops continue to charge forward stubbornly, it would not be surprising if they were completely wiped out.

After witnessing the bravery of Zhang Chen's troops, he was even more unwilling to see this rare iron army being wasted in such a meaningless way...

"Let everyone eat." Cai Liang lit a cigarette, took a deep breath, and calmed his complicated emotions.

The citizens who came to deliver food had been waiting for a long time, so they happily carried their loads to deliver food to the soldiers. This was a far cry from the trepidation they felt when delivering breakfast.

Lunch was even simpler, pork stewed with vermicelli and white rice, and a big bowl of old hen soup full of meat for each person...

It's nothing new, and the chicken is a little sticky. But it's better than canned beef or pork knuckle, at least it's hot.

~~

While people were having a lively dinner here, the government troops over there were in a gloomy mood.

Not only the central army battalion, but the other two battalions were also wilted by the fierce artillery fire of the rebels.

In the left army camp, in the central army tent, the anti-bandit commander-in-chief Wang Huaxi sighed and couldn't eat.

Although the second half of his journey was all acting, more than 2,000 soldiers were killed or wounded in the first half alone...

The loss was actually acceptable, but in the face of the rebels' firepower that was beyond imagination, the officers and soldiers were in despair.

Right now, the morale in the camp is colder than the weather outside...

He ate a few mouthfuls of food and then called a few aides and trusted generals into his tent to discuss the matter for a long time. He found that no matter whether they attacked by force or by using wits, it would be difficult to gain the upper hand against this opponent whom they had never met before.

They now knew that the five barbed wire fences were not meant to prevent them from attacking during the day, but only to prevent them from attacking at night.

The rebels really thought too much. In fact, after a long winter with a lack of fruits and vegetables, most of the government troops suffered from night blindness...

What, why don’t you eat meat, eggs, or milk? Haha…

In short, the conclusion is that if there is no good news from the other two routes, we must withdraw our troops quickly.

What's the point of having more soldiers? Who wants to die in vain?

The fighting that followed was also acting.

What's even more ridiculous is that the show won't last long. Maybe in a few days, the main force of the rebels will land...

As everyone was talking more and more discouraged, a personal soldier came to report that a messenger from the central army had arrived.

Wang Huaxi's expression brightened up, and he said with hope, "Pass it quickly!"

But when he saw the messenger's dead look, General Wang knew he was overthinking.

The messenger told him that the central army had lost more than 4,000 men, including fifty above the rank of captain, and even Zhang Chen was seriously injured.

"Why did so many officers die?" Wang Huaxi and others were stunned. Although they knew that the officers of the Central Army were good at leading by example, this ratio was too high.

"When the left-wing army attacked, didn't they encounter their sharpshooters who specialized in killing officers?" the messenger asked.

"Oh, I encountered him..." Wang Huaxi coughed awkwardly, and suddenly felt that it was wise for him to withdraw his troops early.

He ordered his personal soldiers to take the messenger to rest and wait for news from the right-wing army to arrive before making a decision.

It was almost dark when the messenger from the right-wing army arrived.

Du Tong's troops suffered the least losses, only about a thousand men. Although the messenger tried to express how brave the Baoding soldiers were, Wang Huaxi found out that they didn't know about the sharpshooter.

The Du guy is probably playing tricks...

"I heard that Du Tong was originally from Kunshan, and his parents moved to Yan'an." After the messenger left, an aide said quietly, "Many of his ancestors are still in Kunshan. The Jiangnan Group is used to dragging people into trouble, so how could they let him go?"

“Oh, don’t talk nonsense.” Wang Huaxi waved his hand and said, “Jiangnan Group is not that great. They have never tried to win over me.”

"That's because he knows the Marshal won't be bribed!" The staff praised him and said, "But the southern barbarians are thieves. Even if Du didn't flirt with him before, after today, he will probably remember that he is from Kunshan, right?"

"Alas." Wang Huaxi shook his head and said nothing. It was a pity that he was from Henan. In any case, he could not count on the right wing army.

The Central Army had suffered heavy losses, and it would not work to force its way through.

"Alas..." Wang Huaxi couldn't sleep all night. After thinking about it all night, he finally decided to do what his heart desired and preserve his strength for the emperor.

"Tell the two generals that the enemy is too well prepared and has too strong firepower. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to attack in a short time. Try for two or three more days. If it doesn't work, withdraw your troops first..."