Chapter 29: The Enemy Isn't Stupid Either (Seeking Recommendations and Bookmarks)

  The Heifengzhai bandits' tactic of charging in a group was entirely consistent with cavalry warfare.

  If it were the Iron Cavalry Alliance without changing their armor, wanting to block these 500 elite cavalry with just over a hundred people would be absolutely impossible.

  It's just that this world doesn't have so many ifs.

  Mu Haitao followed the advice of his elder brother Mu Hailin, using only two heavy machine guns and four light machine guns, plus seventy-six semi-automatic rifles, without revealing all his strength prematurely.

  As the enemy cavalry at the forefront charged into a range of two hundred meters, twelve TCC-13 assault rifles sprayed out a metal storm, forming a third impassable death blockade line.

  Such a fierce firepower suddenly stunned this group of black wind bandits!

  "Fall back! Get out of here, damn it!"

  Sai Rijun's intestines are now almost green with regret, and he is also so angry that his eyes are about to spout flames.

  As the second master of Heifeng Village, Sai Rijin led the team to ask for orders from Master Ma Zhongqiang because he completely believed in Niu Huade's words and thought that this time rushing to Canglong Ridge was no different from usual robbery, easy as turning over his hand.

  Sai Rijinmu never thought that the Iron Rider Alliance not only had defenses, but also clearly wanted to ambush them. Otherwise, how could the Iron Rider Alliance concentrate all its personnel and firepower on this defensive line?

  His subordinate brothers were hit by this sudden raid, and the loss was heavy. A whole five hundred elite cavalrymen were almost killed or injured, with blood and flesh flying everywhere, and the cries of the wounded and dying pierced the eardrums of the survivors. The air, originally filled with gunpowder smoke, suddenly spread a strong bloody smell.

  "Son of a bitch, Coward! How dare you cheat me? I'll make sure to settle this score with you!" Sai Zhimu's body was tightly pressed against a small mound of earth, his right fist clenched and pounding the damp ground.

  The defensive position in front of the Canglong Ridge mountain pass, where a dense network of firepower was formed by continuous crossfire, pinned down Sai Rijin and the surviving Heifengzhai bandits to an open area about 150 meters in front of this position.

  Anyone with a little common sense knows that charging forward now is not bravery, but foolishly seeking death.

  Saijimude's mount was also hit by a stray bullet, fortunately Saijimude himself was still agile and didn't get seriously injured, otherwise his current anger would be several times greater.

  While cursing angrily, Sai Zimu ordered the remaining subordinates to follow him and retreat backwards. Even those wounded brothers who were lying on the battlefield and crying out in agony did not dare to go and rescue them.

  The bandits at Heifengzhai retreated, and Mu Haitao immediately ordered the cessation of fire to conserve ammunition.

  "This heavy machine gun is really too much for the three of us!" exclaimed the heavy machine gunner beside Mu Haitao, who was helping the deputy shooter change the cartridge belt. "This thing is simply a specialized tool for dealing with cavalry charges."

  "Stop calling him San Dangjia's, call him Lian Zhang!" Mu Haitao raised his hand and knocked on the helmet of this heavy machine gunner, saying seriously: "We are no longer bandits, but professional soldiers of the Tangjiabao Militia. As soldiers, we must have a soldierly demeanor. Remember, from now on, stop calling him San Dangjia's!"

  "Yes! The third master... Lian Chang!" The officers and soldiers of the entire company shouted in unison, and after shouting, they all burst out laughing.

  "Are all of you brothers alive? Kurban, take stock of the casualties." Mu Hailin shouted loudly.

  Not long after, Kurban ran back from the position, "Report to San Dang... Company Commander, all brothers are alive! Five lightly injured, no serious injuries or deaths."

  "Let the injured brother get treated. The others take a rest, and be vigilant." Mu Hailin nodded, picked up the binoculars, and observed the enemy situation.

  The vanguard of Heifeng Village stopped attacking and retreated for nearly three kilometers, apparently planning to wait for the arrival of reinforcements before making a final push to break through the Iron Cavalry Alliance's defensive position.

  Mu Haitao didn't plan to take the initiative to attack, but instead let his subordinates rest and replenish their ammunition, preparing to meet the enemy's next more ferocious offensive.

  The sky is gradually brightening.

  In front of the position, on that "slaughterhouse", the wounded soldiers' cries and groans, the injured horses' mournful neighs, almost never stopped.

  At around 6:00 am, Ma Zhongqiang led the large team to hurry and finally merged with Sai Rijun, who was fighting in the vanguard, about an hour later than originally planned.

  The wretched appearance of Sai Rijun and his remnants made Ma Zhongqiang so angry that he almost vomited blood. He swung his whip at Sai Rijun, beating him savagely on the head and face.

  "Spare my life, great master! Spare my life...!" Sai Rijin rolled around on the ground, no longer having even half of his usual demeanor as the second-in-command of Hei Feng Zhai.

  "I'll beat you to death, you brainless fool!" Ma Zhongqiang's dark face, covered in a thick beard, turned iron-green as he pointed at Sai Rijun, who had just gotten up from the ground, with his whip and bellowed: "Don't you know how to send out scouts to reconnoiter before advancing? Do you know how many brothers have died or been injured because of your stupidity?"

  "It's not entirely the second master's fault, it can only be said that our intelligence was incorrect." The middle-aged man standing beside Ma Zhongqiang, who was around 40 years old, wearing a dark blue long shirt, with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses perched on his nose bridge, and holding a folding fan in front of his chest, spoke up to plead for Sai Rijun.

  "What Master Xu said is right, big brother! I was deceived by someone with the surname Niu!" Sai Rizhu gave Master Xu a grateful look and complained: "Niu Huade said that the main force of the Iron Rider Alliance is not in Canglong Ridge. I think he's talking nonsense! I can be sure that the Mu brothers have concentrated all their troops on the front blocking position."

  "Considering the heavy casualties suffered by the vanguard and the words of Da Erjia, I think the plan to raid Canglong Ridge can be basically abandoned." Master Xu gazed at the distant blocking line in front and sighed: "I estimate that Mu Hailin has already made a full deployment, now we can only fight hard."

  "Huh? That's not right!" Ma Zhongqiang, sitting upright on a sorrel horse, was holding a monocular telescope to observe the situation on the opposite side of the battlefield. He said in puzzlement: "Why are all the Iron Cavalry Alliance people wearing the Northern Ocean Army uniforms?"

  "Let me take a look," said Master Xu, taking the monocular telescope from Ma Zhongqiang's hand and carefully observing it for a while after removing his reading glasses. He then slowly handed the telescope back to Ma Zhongqiang, put his glasses back on, and spoke with an unusually serious expression:

  "This is big trouble. I observed carefully just now, and the enemy's position actually has two heavy machine guns, at least six light machine guns, plus the Northern Army uniforms they're wearing - Mu Haolin may have already been absorbed by Yang Da's forces! Otherwise, he wouldn't possibly have so many heavy weapons. I even suspect that the opposing troops aren't Iron Riders Alliance people, but regular government army!"

  "Master Xu, what do you mean?" Ma Zhongqiang asked with a furrowed brow, his heart heavy with worry.

  "First, we need to determine if the people on the other side are Mu Haolin's men." Master Xu gently shook the folding fan in his hand and slowly said: "Let Niu Huade's people go negotiate with them, our people will not show up for now. If they are Mu Haolin's people, my intention is that since both sides have already become enemies and there is no possibility of reconciliation, we can only do one thing - cut the grass and eliminate the roots!"

  "The first and second teams have retreated!" A small Liuliu who was observing the enemy's situation at the forefront shouted loudly and rode his horse towards Ma Zhongqiang and Sai Ruiwu, who were on a small hill.

  "What? Really retreated?" Sai Zhi Mu asked with a mixture of surprise and doubt.

  Ma Zhongqiang did not make a sound, but instead raised his binoculars.

  "They are going to abandon the outer defense line, concentrate their forces and rely on the terrain of Canglong Ridge to defend the stronghold." Ma Zhongqiang said while observing through binoculars.

  "After all, our side has more people and momentum now. Their withdrawal from the battlefield is a wise move." Master Xu said slowly nodding his head.

  "Second brother, bring your men and occupy that position first!" Ma Zhongqiang rushed to Saidi Mu in a low voice: "Remember, just occupy it, don't pursue!"

  "Understood, Young Master."

  Sai Rui Mu led the order with a smile, and soon gathered more than 300 remaining men to perform a beautiful classic cavalry charge, quickly occupying the defensive position that Mu Hai Tao had previously guarded.

  It is clear that Mu Haitao's successive withdrawals were due to Tang Chao, who was observing the situation of both sides in the high sky, giving orders to Mu Hailin.

  This position is less than 300 meters long and has to defend a frontage of nearly 800 meters. When the enemy's forces are insufficient, it may still be possible to defend it strictly.

  However, the enemy's reinforcements have now arrived in large numbers, with nearly 2,000 troops gathered together. They can easily spare enough forces to outflank and encircle from both sides, cutting off our line of retreat.

  Since the goal of demoralizing the enemy has been achieved, it is no longer necessary to let over a hundred officers and soldiers be surrounded and engage in a fierce battle with the enemy, resulting in unnecessary casualties.

  Seeing the vanguard of Heifeng Village quickly occupy a series of abandoned positions, and not continuing to pursue, Tang Chao's heart was greatly settled. Now he only needs to wait for the third detachment of enemies to arrive, and then he can start setting off a special welcoming fireworks display for these uninvited guests, in order to fulfill the duties of being a host.

  The Iron Riders Alliance set up a defensive posture at Canglong Ridge, which was exactly what Ma Zhongqiang had expected. After consulting with the head of the Xiong Camp, who was also traveling with him, the two sides deployed their troops to form a heavy siege around the front mountain pass of Canglong Ridge, surrounding it in three layers inside and out, forming a classic "iron barrel" formation.

  Ma Zhongqiang and Xiong Yingchang both had the idea of preserving their own strength, so neither of them mentioned launching an attack. It was clear that they were waiting for Niu Huai to arrive, and let Niu Huai make the decision.

  At 7:40, as the third echelon, Niu Huai De led a large team of security guards and 300 armed men from Niujiazhuang, pulling four 75mm Krupp field guns with horses, finally arriving late.