Chapter 289: Within Responsibility, New War Impotence

The bloody smell in Gaoqiao Town did not drift for several days, and no one came to claim the bodies piled up in the center of the town for several days. In the end, the people from the Huaibei Army in Jiaozhou camp dragged the bodies outside the town for burning.

Nearly 300 people were killed in one day, and everyone in the Haizhou area was terrifying from top to bottom. The camp of the Huaibei Army in Jiaozhou camp was extremely quiet, and no one was afraid of being blinded to harass him. Among the hundreds of people who were beheaded that day, there were also some subordinates of salt merchants.

Although they were beheaded before saying that they were here to check the accounts, the crowds of people coming from nearby salt fields and warehouses meant what the purpose of these people was.

Almost a hundred of the salt merchants' subordinates were cut off their heads. Now, the salt merchants who used to chase the Huaibei Army as if they were flies and guarding Zhangjiang were not afraid to get close.

Zhang Jiang did this matter with reasonableness and moderation. The reason for the massacre was also reported to the Haizhou and Huai'an government offices, saying that there were unruly people who made trouble, steal military horses and besieged the military camp. He suspected that it was an agitation from the pirates or Maitreya and the Smelling Sect that day, and hoped that the local government would investigate and deal with it strictly and not cause any similar things.

The documents, evidence, witnesses and confessions sent to the yamen were all complete, which scared the Haizhou magistrate and the Huai'an magistrate, and hurriedly sent people to the Huaibei Army to appease him.

If you report such chaos, the only one who is unlucky is the civil affairs officials. In fact, there are third-rank officials in Haizhou City and the salt transport envoy from the Salt Administration Office. However, the salt merchants asked the Jiaozhou Camp Huaibei Army to station in Haizhou on the same day. The salt merchants themselves requested it. What they say now is equivalent to slapping themselves in the face.

The people of Haizhou noticed that the place where Shandong General Li Meng's troops were stationed had completely controlled Haizhou City and several nearby key points.

For example, in the former East China Sea Central Institute, the soldiers on the top were scolded by officials from the Nanjing Ministry of War because they were not effective in preventing pirates, and the salt merchants in Lianghuai also felt that they had spent a lot of money to feed these soldiers, but they shrank at the critical moment. What else do they have to do?

As a result, soldiers from the East China Sea Central Institute were moved to Andongwei on the border between Shandong and Nanzhili to guard the city. The Shandong general's Xinyang Water Camp was stationed in the barracks where the East China Sea Central Institute was located. This is a large island and it is very convenient to dock ships. Xinyang Water Camp is extremely vigilant. Anyone who rashly goes to the island was punished, saying that it was to prevent pirates from taking the opportunity to touch the island.

The salt merchants who were frightened by the pirates did not think that there would be anything wrong with doing this. Instead, they felt that the army was doing their duty. Unfortunately, the officers and soldiers who had close contact with the pirates that day either collapsed or were transferred to other places to station. If you look at the officers and soldiers of the Xinyang Water Camp, you will find that these people have many similar faces to the people in the pirates.

After killing people in Gaoqiao Town to establish his authority, Zhang Jiang felt that the surroundings had been quiet for a long time, and the salt merchants he had been trying to please disappeared, obviously scared.

In this situation, Zhang Jiang's intentions began to dispatch personnel from the army to investigate the terrain and all related information in various parts of Jiangbei.

On the sixth day after the murder, several fast horses came to Haizhou City and hurriedly asked to meet Zhang Jiang, the leader of the Huaibei Army. This was the first time outsiders came to visit this time.

The matter was indeed extremely urgent. A salt merchant in Haizhou sent a team to take back somewhere. On the way back, he was surrounded by horse thieves. Because it was a team of salt merchants escorting silver and money, there were also many guards and servants. These people hid in a dilapidated temple. One of them was clever. He first ran out on a horse and ran back to Haizhou to report the news.

The salt merchants who received this news were immediately anxious. The horse thieves in Huaibei were all extremely vicious people, and money was a big deal, but the lives of the guards and servants could not be given up like this. In the worst case, at least they had to bring the body back and give their family an explanation.

At present, the soldiers of Huaian Prefecture or the local official army that was defeated by the pirates in front of them, and then the Shandong soldiers as the foreign army. The only thing worth believing is the Shandong foreign army.

According to the person who came back to report the news, at least more than 400 horse thieves were besieging the Pu Temple there, and more than 400 horse thieves. In order to be safe, the Huaibei Army should send twice as many troops as theirs to rescue.

It is said that if the infantry of the Jiaozhou camp of the Huaibei Army rushed over by the horse thieves, it would take more than two days. In addition, the other party came to report the news. After so long, I was afraid that the horse thieves would have succeeded, but the major issues of marching and fighting should be cautious first.

Even if we want to collect the body this time, we must ensure the safety of the team, so the number of troops sent by a thousand people should be necessary. Moreover, the salt merchants came to ask for it, no matter from any aspect, this is their responsibility. Protecting the safety of the salt merchants is also one of the responsibilities of the Huaibei Army stationed in Haizhou.

The garrison Zhang Jiang quickly made a decision and arranged for the thousand-person team stationed in Gaoqiao Town to go to rescue. Although the Qianmai was a little confused, his decision was still decisive afterwards. Zhang Jiang also wanted to continue to investigate him, so he sent the Qianmai army to rescue.

This Qianmao was originally a general stationed in the old camp of Jiaozhou. Because of his good performance in the expansion of the army, he was selected as the Qianmao who led the army. However, he was not a military household from Lingshanwei, but a person from Aoshanwei. His surname was Gao and his name was Gaoke.

After receiving the order, General Qianzhong High-tech Natural Stone did not dare to neglect, and quickly gathered troops to set off. The number of mules and horses in each unit of Jiaozhou camp was large, and the soldiers were engaged in daily combat training, so the speed of mobilization was far greater than that of other troops at the same time.

And there is another reason for the quick departure this time. There is no need to consider the issue of food and fodder supply on the way. The salt merchant who requested it had already guaranteed that he would provide all the supplies for these people on the way.

On the first night after departure, I was resting in Zhuangzi halfway. Although the salt merchants sent the lead manager to ensure that the army should rest early in the day. As for the guards in the middle of the night, I would leave it to Zhuangzi Zhuang Ding and the guard guard in Zhuangzi to take charge.

Except for officers at all levels in this army, all the soldiers were recruits. After working hard for a day, they really couldn't hold on.

But after the incident of not quelling the chaos in time, Mr. Gao Qian became more and more abiding by the rules. Every time he went to the place, he had to send sentries and swimming guards, which were all unstoppable rules. As a result, he sentries and police whistles were sent.

For the recruits who went out for the first time to fight, this day was really too tired, but at night I was so excited that I couldn't sleep and fell asleep in the middle of the night.

There was nothing wrong this night, and it was very quiet. When the next morning, officers at all levels shouted to the soldiers to check their equipment and weapons, because they were about to encounter the enemy during the day.

According to the person sent by the salt merchant to lead the way, the surrounded temple was on the edge of the official roads in Haizhou and Shuyang. You can arrive in the early morning and in the afternoon.

After leaving Gaoqiao Town, the recruits from Shandong also saw the situation on the roadside. Compared with the major disasters in Shandong, the situation in Nanzhili is much better. After all, Nanzhili has dense water networks and irrigation is very simple, but it looks no better than Shandong.

With such a major disaster in Shandong, the border between Huaibei and Shandong will naturally be affected. However, Shandong comprehensively dispatches manpower and material resources to resist the disaster, but no one in Huaibei is concerned. The salt merchants in Lianghuai even think that the disaster is serious is not a problem. Lianghuai Salt Industry needs a relatively large manpower.

But for thousands of years in China, farmers have lived on the fields. If they had not been able to survive in farming, they would never have worked to make money. The disasters in recent years have driven the farmers in Huaibei from the fields and asked them to work in the salt farm.

Therefore, most of the fields that the soldiers of the Jiaozhou camp Huaibei Army saw along the road were abandoned and sparsely populated, and looked even more desolate than the ground in Shandong.

Although officers at all levels did not say anything, the recruits saw all this and compared it with Shandong, which strengthened their beliefs.

Haizhou is rich because of the salt industry, but Shuyang County, which is of the same level, is very miserable. After entering the ground of Shuyang County, it is even more desolate.

The salt merchant who led the way has always flattered Qian Zong Hi-Tech, who led the team, and has made various benefits at the same time. However, people from Jiaozhou Camp's direct line will naturally not be tempted like this.

"I walked about three miles away and then I went to the mountain temple. This place was small and had been here in the past. I don't know when a mountain temple was built on a small hill on the side of the road, and there was no incense. Passers-by coming and going here sometimes go to shelter from the rain or something."

Hearing this sentence, Gaoke nodded and asked:

"In theory, those rich people in Haizhou are so powerful, how could you still have your local horse thieves come to make a decision!"

The salt merchant's subordinate looked a little unnatural, smiled awkwardly, and explained:

"These horse thieves are very brave. They often go to Shandong and Henan to hide after committing crimes in Huaibei. Huai'an Prefecture and Xuzhou cannot be arrested, so they become more and more rampant."

After saying these words, the salt merchant felt that his words might have allusions. He looked at Gaoke beside him with some anxiety, but found that Gaoke didn't seem to listen to these words at all, staring at the low mountain in front of him.

Although I found that there was still a certain distance, I could see a large number of people gathered under the low mountain, and the soldiers riding horses galloped up the mountain and down the mountain.

"The whole army speeds up, trots close, and then the whole team is five hundred steps away!!"

Gaoke sent an order to the messenger beside him, then turned around and said:

"I didn't expect that these people could last for so long, it was really not easy!"

The salt merchant's subordinate laughed dryly, and asked with a hint of embarrassment:

"Sir, it's so dangerous ahead. I won't move forward anymore. I'm here waiting for the triumphant reunion!"

Mr. Gao Qian was chattered by this man for almost two days, and fighting with the horse thief, it was really a burden to lead this man, so he had no objection. He nodded and started to turn to the right side of the team to lead the team forward.

Although it was on the official road, there were no people walking. The more than a thousand soldiers of the Huaibei Army in Jiaozhou Camp stepped forward, and the momentum was quite strong.

But the horse thieves attacking around the short mountain were unmoved at all and continued to siege. Seeing this scene, the soldiers of Huaibei were a little angry when they saw this scene. It was not easy for anyone to feel despised, especially these soldiers.

In the first row of the team, the non-commissioned officers on the right side of the team always visually measure the distance. The so-called five hundred steps is naturally not accurate, and the visually measured result will not exceed thirty steps. Ensure such distance during marching and fighting is to leave time and distance for the soldiers to complete the team and impact.

There were a thousand infantry battalions, divided into ten teams, each with a hundred people, each with five team deputy, each with twenty team commanders. The area around the Aishan Mountain, the official road and the nearby fields were very flat. Under the command of Gaoke, each row of forty people lined up in a horizontal line, with a total of twenty lines, and two hundred musketeers swam in front of the square formation and on both sides.

General Qiang High-Tech and his personal soldiers rode on the horse, always following the right side of the square formation, while the drummer walked between the musketman and the square formation.

The drummer beat the rhythmic drum beats, and the spearmen adjusted the pace of the drum beats and slowly entered the battlefield.

Anyone who is terrified of such a spear formation is afraid of such a quake, not to mention that the number of horse thieves around Aishanbao is far less than that of the infantry of the Huaibei Army.

The soldiers in the first row could even hear the laughter and scolding of the horse thieves opposite each other, but they seemed to have not seen the soldiers of Jiaozhou camp gradually approaching, and were still the same.

Most of the Jiaozhou camp are infantrymen, and they must ensure formation to exert combat power, so they can only constantly adjust their pace and get closer slowly.

When they were one hundred steps away, someone suddenly whistled sharply. It seemed that they had not seen the horse thieves of the Huaibei Army suddenly dispersed in the opposite direction. Some infantry saw that the horse thieves suddenly dispersed, and they could not react for a while. Many people's attention was already focused on the horse thieves in front of them.

Seeing the horse thief suddenly dispersed, some soldiers in the front row were about to run and chase. When they ran, they would be in chaos. The team deputy at both ends of the team immediately scolded loudly and ordered the soldiers to return. Gaoke had already urged the horse to rush to the front and asked the drummer to stop beating.

In order to be cautious, the whole team must be stopped, but this stop is not a question of chasing. But just now, seeing the horse thieves besieged by the low mountain, which means that the surrounded people on the mountain have not been killed. Since the horse thieves dispersed, going up the mountain to save people is considered to have completed this mission.

What's more, the abnormal behavior of the horse thief is that these teams mainly recruits have been in chaos. If the horse thief kills another shot, it will be a disastrous consequence.

This short mountain is actually just a big bunch of land, surrounded by rocks and short trees, which is not enough to cover it. It is a great thing that dozens of people can defend it with such a place, so that hundreds of horse thieves cannot attack it. Gaoke thought that the guards of these dozens of salt merchants are really strong, and it is better to be brought to the army of Jiaozhou Camp, which is more promising than serving the salt merchants.

President Qiang Hi-Tech restrained the team at the foot of the mountain, and more than a dozen personal soldiers rushed up the mountain to save people. Gao-Tech finally felt much more relaxed, but he felt a little bored and thought that there would be a battle to fight when he came to this place. Who would have thought that the other party would collapse without fighting and would run away like that.

While thinking about it here, the horse under Gaoke's crotch was a little anxious. Gaoke was stroking the neck of the mount behind him, making him quiet. He suddenly heard the soldiers who were saving people on the low mountain shouting:

"Mr. Qian!! No one on the mountain..."

Almost at the same time, the ground suddenly trembled, and there seemed to be a low thunder sounding around. You could see a large stream of smoke and dust rising around you.

"cavalry!"

Gaoke's mind suddenly reflected, and the shouts of the personal soldiers and the abnormal movements around him immediately understood what was going on, and immediately shouted at the top of his voice:

"Let's come, come, rely on this short mountain to set up a formation!!!"

The infantry team led by him walked to the edge of the big bunch after the horse thief escaped. Gaoke shouted at the horse at the top of his voice, and most of the personal soldiers were on the mountain. The soldiers on the outer side of his order were not heard. The people close to Gaoke retreated into the inside, but the people in the outer circle did not hear it.

Seeing the colleagues in the inner circle running towards the inside, the people in the outer circle immediately reacted, and the entire team gathered in the direction of the mountain bag.

But inside and outside are not heard at the same time, and the whole team has changed its direction and position. The formation has been adjusted greatly, and chaos has occurred in the warehouse.

The soldiers who served in Jiaozhou Camp all had this idea, and after the Jinan Military Discussion, this understanding was deepened and engraved into everyone's bones.

Gaoke saw that the formation of his infantry was already a little chaotic, but the horse team in the distance was getting closer and closer. If they were rushed in, it would be really troublesome.

"Don't panic, don't go up the mountain!!"

After hearing the order, many new recruits would rely on the low mountains to set up the formation, but ran directly to the mountain. The shouts and constraints of officers at all levels could no longer be controlled.

However, after several months of training, these soldiers did not leave their weapons in their hands. Gaoke shouted at the top of his lungs, but his subordinates didn't listen at all.

The horse teams coming from all directions are also very experienced. They do not rush to the horse, but are pressing their speed to get close, from the ambush to the distance here. If the impact does not control the horse speed, it is easy to run the horse and suppress the speed. If the soldiers in the middle cannot withstand such pressure, they will flee in all directions and chase after them.

There were not many chaotic soldiers, but they made the soldiers who were already standing still unstable. Seeing that the formation was in danger of collapse, Gaoke also participated in the encounter in Qihe County with Li Meng, and knew what the consequences would be after the formation collapse.

Thinking of this, he didn't care about anything, turned over and dismounted, took down the axe and gun hanging beside the horse, stood on the other side of the mountain road, and shouted loudly:

"I'll go back to the array for me. Whoever runs? I'll chop him!"

The shouting was obviously useless, and someone ran over without hesitation. Gaoke gritted his teeth, and the axe and gun in his hand rose up and swung it towards the person who was running over.

The axe and gun swung the human body, either a wound, but it would be a part of the body separated. The soldier who was struck screamed shrillly, and half of his body had been split, and blood was splattered.

The soldiers running behind were already a little confused and were stained with blood splashed out. With the shrill screams, the soldiers running back stopped.

"Escape at the last battle, the military law should be killed, go back!!"

Many new recruits are training every day, but not everyone has seen blood or killed people. The soldiers running behind saw Mr. Qian splitting his companions around him, and they were covered in cold air. They heard Mr. Qian, who had always been supervising training, shouted loudly, and looked at his fellow hacked to death, and did not dare to escape.

This is the case on the battlefield. The calmness of soldiers who have seen blood-killing people is not comparable to the new recruits. There are more than a thousand people in this battalion, and some are running towards the back, and some are standing in front and mustering up the courage to face the enemy.

If you carefully distinguish it, you can also tell that those soldiers who did not escape were the soldiers who participated in the execution of the rioters a few days ago, and those who escaped had never seen blood.
Chapter completed!