159
Two days is neither long nor short. On the battlefield of confrontation, it is enough to wear down the enemy's patience.
However, the government troops were quite patient. They sorted out the surrendered soldiers and gathered information about the enemy. They also sent people to the Panyu camp, pretending to be waiting for reinforcements.
If Cheng Xi had not learned about the situation of the navy camp in advance, he might have been frightened.
After all, the government army is powerful, and the Red Flag Gang is under internal and external pressure. If they are impatient and reckless, they will suffer losses when the battle comes.
The opponent is quite good at single-round psychological attack.
Since this round of probing is ineffective, we might as well take advantage of the situation and attack them at their doorstep.
Now that the wounded have been sent back to the island and a new round of reinforcements has been received, it is time to attack.
Without further hesitation, Cheng Xi gathered the gang and said bluntly, "With a large army outside and a powerful enemy nearby, if we don't defeat this government force, the island's foundation will be destroyed. This battle is a matter of life and death. Do you dare to fight?"
They were clearly in danger, yet they dared to speak out clearly before the battle. If it were a slightly weaker team, they might have mutinied directly. However, when the soldiers of the Red Flag Gang heard this, they roared in anger: "How dare you!"
Of course they dared to do it. Behind them was their home, so how could they retreat? The house they had painstakingly built, the wealth they had saved, and their parents, wives, and children at home were all things they had to protect with their lives.
No matter who comes, they can't force them to give up.
This momentum was several times stronger than when they faced the coalition forces, which frightened the group of sea merchants and boat people who had defected. However, it was precisely this courage that made them feel a little at ease. Following such a team, at least they would not suffer a disastrous defeat.
Some people even secretly wondered whether they should go a step further and become a member of the Red Flag Gang.
Seeing that the army's morale was high, Cheng Xi nodded slightly: "The enemy's strength is greater than ours, and they also have artillery. This time, you must obey my orders. Anyone who disobeys will be punished by military law!"
These words were spoken to her soldiers, and were also a warning to the sea merchants and boat people. Knowing that they had no way out, both sides responded in unison.
With the pre-war preparations, Cheng Xi did not delay and once again mobilized his troops and rushed towards the government army.
…
"General, our strategy really works!" Seeing the Red Flag Gang's bandits making a comeback, the captains were very excited.
These past two days have been like years. I have to gather the surrendered soldiers who have no intention of fighting, be wary of the boat people hiding everywhere, and watch as Luoling Island continues to send more troops. I wonder how many people this gang has hidden?
That’s not all. They even sent troops back to Panyu, pretending to wait for reinforcements.
They don’t have any reinforcements. They will be lucky if they don’t get punished by their superiors when they return.
However, the strategy of luring the enemy actually did attract the enemy to send out troops. As long as the war could start, it would be fine. They had many ships and cannons, and General Xu was leading the troops. Why were they afraid of not winning?
However, Xu Xianrong's face showed no joy. Instead, he said in a deep voice, "They are sending out their troops too quickly. I'm afraid they are planning to fight to the death. This group of bandits is quite powerful and can defeat an enemy twice their size. You must not take it lightly!"
Many gangs appear powerful, but due to the numerous mountain strongholds and low morale, they can only fight battles that are favorable to them. Once faced with a crisis, their true colors will be revealed. At best, they will move slowly, and at worst, they will flee in all directions.
However, nowadays, the Red Flag Gang only took two days to integrate its troops and launch a large-scale attack. This shows that they are mentally prepared to fight a tough battle, and the enemy who dares to fight to the death is the most dangerous.
After hearing what Xu Xianrong said, the generals became alert.
Yes, the coalition of maritime merchants had quite a few people in it, yet they were defeated twice by the Red Flag Gang and were directly routed.
Although part of the fault lies with the Ghost Scholar, the Red Flag Gang should not be underestimated either. Now they are in a head-on battle, and they can only win and not lose. How can they be careless?
With Shangguan's advice, everyone calmed down and lined up seriously to welcome the enemy.
Although the imperial navy had been exhausted for a long time and many garrisons were no longer able to fight, the South China Sea was different. During his garrison, General Qiu reorganized all the camps and trained a lot of troops, so there were naturally soldiers ready to fight.
Now that we have a general similar to General Qiu, he is even more effective in using the position.
They already have an advantage in military strength, and now they are more alert. When they really fight, they will be very powerful.
Faced with such a powerful enemy, the Red Flag Gang responded quickly.
It was indeed a fire attack. Looking at the densely packed small boats in front of him, Xu Xianrong snorted coldly: "Order the surrendered soldiers to move forward and disperse the small boats."
If you want to deal with an artillery formation, the easiest way is naturally to attack with fire, and the more dense the better.
After all, when sailing on the sea, the most feared thing is fire, and the Red Flag Gang started out in a fishing village, so they actually have quite a few small boats that can be used for fire attacks.
Now, looking around, they could see countless small boats crowded together, rushing towards them on the sea breeze.
If it gets close and all catches fire, it will be a real headache.
The purpose of placing the surrendered soldiers in front of the formation was to prevent fire attacks.
At the command, the group of surrendered soldiers immediately took action.
If they encountered the main force of the Red Flag Gang, they would definitely not dare to fight head-on, but they had nothing to be afraid of when facing these small fishing boats. Even if a fire broke out, as long as they had firewood on hand, they could just push the burning boat aside.
However, the idea was not bad. When those ships really arrived, what rose up was not fireballs, but thunder!
Explosions were heard one after another. Once the people on the boat jumped into the sea, the small boat he was operating would inevitably explode. Not to mention the noise, even though the surrendered soldiers were fully prepared, they were still caught off guard.
After all, fire is easy to prevent, but thunder is not.
While the surrendered soldiers were in chaos, the main force of the Red Flag Gang also started to move, rushing towards the enemy front line.
Frightened by the thunder and charged by the enemy, the surrendered soldiers from the coalition forces immediately remembered the tragedy that happened during the previous battle. Who would be willing to stay in front of the battle to help block the thunder?
As this group of surrendered soldiers began to retreat, the fleeing soldiers would inevitably impact the formation of the government army, which was a great opportunity to attack.
However, as the vanguard of the Red Flag Gang advanced, the scattered group of surrendered soldiers suddenly turned into three streams, converging into a slightly loose boat formation, and the obstructed vision was opened. The vanguard then discovered that the government army had changed its formation, from the original "human" shaped swallow-scissors formation to three slightly smaller horn formations, and the gaps between the three small formations became the retreat route for the defeated army.
Such a rapid change of formation immediately reduced the unfavorable factors to a minimum.
"Let the small boats follow and disperse the enemy!" This time, Cheng Xi treated the treasure ship as the flagship, looking down from a high vantage point, and all the enemy's movements could not escape her eyes.
The government troops' formations were indeed sophisticated, but if they dispersed their forces, they would be likely to be defeated one by one.
"Don't rush to open fire, keep changing formations and lure the enemy deeper." On another boat, Xu Xianrong also gave orders.
The enemy leader was indeed quite capable, but the Red Flag Gang's fleet was built very recently, and they were all fishermen, so they were a little unfamiliar with the operation of the ship formation.
This makes it possible to lure the enemy deep into our territory, and as long as his formation is not disrupted, he will be invincible.
"The enemy is changing their formation. Order the vanguard to slow down."
"The enemy wants to retreat, so fire to stop them."
…
The sea is like a chessboard, the ships are like chess pieces, and two players holding flags are playing chess.
There were rumbling sounds of cannons and thunders, and the fleets on both sides gradually engaged in a fierce battle.
The Red Flag Gang launched a fierce attack, while the officers and soldiers had the advantage of range. However, when the artillery overheated and could no longer be used, it became a chase between the two.
The war was resolute but not fierce enough, simply because both sides knew that it was not yet time for a decisive battle.
Fight during the day, attack at night, and each have their own special forces and ambushes.
The entire sea area became a boiling soup pot, and everyone wished they could squeeze out every last bit of energy from the other party.
Will Panyu send reinforcements? Does Luoling Island still have the strength to fight? Will the Red Flag Gang arrange an ambush with the Tanka people? Will the government troops deploy troops to launch a surprise attack on the main camp?
This battle included real sword fights and secret scheming, and even the night was not peaceful.
After two days of fierce fighting, both sides were tired and slowly stopped fighting in a strange tacit understanding.
Are they retreating, or planning another offensive? Cheng Xi's face darkened as he looked at the fleet looming in the distance, seemingly swallowed by the sea.
This was the toughest enemy she had faced since she came to this world, and it also allowed her to see how a true ancient general would conduct a naval battle.
This was something Cheng Xi was not familiar with. After all, hundreds of years had passed, and it would take time for her to train a navy, and she would need time to adjust and learn.
And apparently, no one would give her the time of day.
If such an enemy brought more government troops and stronger warships, she would have no chance of winning.
But how to keep the other person is an extremely difficult problem.
It seems that even though the Great Gan Dynasty was extremely corrupt, it still had its "pillars".
A faint light suddenly appeared on the side of his vision. Cheng Xi turned his head involuntarily and looked closely.
It was a glowing tide, with countless plankton floating on the surface, rising and falling with the waves, like a colorful lantern lit up in the dark night. It was dreamy, but also faintly eerie.
Li Fu, who was standing next to Cheng Xi, also turned his head to look over. The next moment, his face changed drastically and he said anxiously, "Boss, this is sea fire! A hurricane is coming!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
