Chapter Five Command

  Although Xu Yifan's opinion is correct, who would listen to him at this time?

  At Wang Wu's command, dozens of rifles fired at once. The sound of gunfire was deafening, and a large cloud of smoke rose into the air. In an instant, shots were ringing out from all directions. The ten guns that had been arranged to fire simultaneously beforehand didn't even get noticed. The little beauty beside Xu Yifan let out a shriek and covered her ears - she had never seen anything like this before. Another hand grabbed Xu Yifan tightly.

  These dozens of guns were fired sporadically, each shooter firing at his own randomly chosen target. There was not enough firepower density for this high-speed moving target. The hit rate was really pitiful. Plus the distance was too far. The rushing horse bandits seemed to be unaffected and continued to approach their target at high speed!

  Under the firelight, Xu Yifan saw that some guys had already shown off their high-difficulty technique of hiding in the stirrups from a distance. The shouting grew louder and louder. Wang Wu held up his big knife and just roared: "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

  In the midst of hoofbeats like thunder, apart from a few old gun hands who were familiar with each other, most of the guys were so busy that they couldn't even load their bullets properly. The second round of shooting fired at most twenty or thirty shots. And the horse bandits had already charged to a distance of about two hundred meters!

  Suddenly someone whistled, and many of the bandits on horseback stood up straight, holding their rifles. The sound of gunfire crackled. Their marksmanship was far superior to that of this side. Many of the partners who were shooting on the carriage fell down with a miserable cry.

  Xu Yifan stared blankly as three or four horse bandits' guns pointed in his direction. Without thinking, he hugged the little beauty and fell backwards. With a loud thud, the two of them tumbled onto the carriage, failed to steady themselves, and rolled off again, landing heavily on the ground. The carriage where they had just been standing was now riddled with several bullet holes.

  Xu Yifan, who had fallen to the ground, couldn't care about the warmth and softness beside him anymore. He looked up at Wang Wu, who was still standing on top of the cart. The companions jumped down from the cart in a flurry. Bullets hit the packages with a dull thud. Furs and tea leaves flew everywhere. Wang Wu was still waving his big knife, pointing outside and shouting wildly to fight!

  Xu Yifan felt a sudden lightness in his body, and found himself being lifted up by the little beauty Chen Er Ya. The girl seemed to have calmed down a bit. With a tug on the cloth belt around her waist: "You stay put, I'll go get the weapons, and we'll fight the horse bandits!" In the firelight, the little beauty's elegant face had an added air of heroism.

  At this time, he couldn't care about admiring beauty anymore. Xuyi Fan climbed back onto the carriage and hid behind a bundle of goods, poking out half his head to look around. The horse bandits had already rushed close to the convoy, with torches dancing in the rear, and it was unknown how many more were surging forward. All that could be heard were strange, shrill cries: "Open up and loot!"

  It was only then that Xu Yifan's arrangement came into play. Although there were still a few gunmen holding out, the horse thieves rushed in at high speed but couldn't break through the car team. Outside, the first layer of large cars formed a circular defense line and reined in their horses. The ones behind continued to surge forward. Suddenly, they became a chaotic mess. Da Shengkui's men all lay on the ground and crawled towards the innermost layer of cars. Only Huiyou's escorts and porters were still holding out in the outer circle. At such close range, the horse thieves didn't have time to reload, and many brave ones jumped from their horses onto the cars. Huiyou's men picked up the large guns with white handles, while others wielded their rifles, stabbing and smashing. Wang Wu jumped from one car to another, his large knife dancing like a white light. Any horse thief who came into contact with him was hacked away with a blood-curdling scream. The shouting and cursing of both sides merged into a deafening din. The collision of men, horses, and weapons was heart-stopping. Inside and out, everyone was fighting for their lives!

  Xu Yifan never thought that after crossing over, the first thing he would encounter would be such a tragic scene!

  The escorts of the escort agency were brave and heroic, but how long could they hold out under the impact of so many horse bandits? He looked around in dismay, and when people reached a desperate point, it seemed as if they were hoping for some kind of miracle to happen.

  As soon as he turned his head, he saw that the inner circle had also been in a mess for some time. Da Sheng Kui's men were all retreating backwards, squeezed into a ball outside the car of Mrs. Si. The crying and wailing on Mrs. Si's car had long since torn hearts apart. Only Er Dezi jumped down from the watchtower, bringing with him more than ten guards armed with Winchester rifles, rushing outwards.

  These Winchester rifles were originally the weapons of the four madams' subordinates, and it was estimated that General Uriah Su Tai had also taken them out of the camp for private use. After coordination at night, they were finally handed over to the Willfried Bureau. However, the condition for the exchange was that these bodyguards must stay by the side of the four madams' carriages, and they didn't play any role just now. Now the outer circle is being attacked urgently, and these bodyguards can't afford to care about it anymore, holding their guns and rushing out. However, the bodyguard masters had already mixed with the horse thieves and formed a group. More than ten people held up their guns but dared not fire.

  Er Dezi tore off his robe and shouted: "Drop your guns, take out your knives, go up and fight the horse thieves!" It seems that the people who came to help were indeed loyal. They all responded and were about to drop their guns. At this critical moment, Xu Yifan hastily jumped down. He jumped high on the ground, shouting loudly: "Don't drop your guns! Don't drop your guns! Listen to my orders!"

  At this moment, Xu Yifan seemed to have thrown everything behind his mind and shouted loudly. The people who were frightened and running around in all directions were stunned. They saw him pointing at the most tense south side like a madman. There, many bandits had already rushed onto the cargo truck and were wrestling with the escorts on top. Xu Yifan almost screamed his lungs out: "All of you listen to me! The brothers from the escort company in the south, jump down!"

  In the chaos of the fight, people who were friends with Hui heard this command and didn't know who issued it. Subconsciously, they jumped down. Xu Yifan shouted again: "Foreign guns, fire!"

  A dozen or so rifles fired in succession, this famous gun from the American Civil War era may not have a long range. But the rate of fire was extremely fast. Under Xu Yifan's hoarse and loud commands, four or five shots were fired in a row, and instantly several tens of horse bandits on the carriage fell off like being struck by lightning, shaking and falling out of the vehicle.

  "Men on the north side, jump down! Foreign guns, fire!" This time, not only did the Winchester rifles make a big stir, but also many of the bandits who had escaped with their lives were shocked and followed suit by firing their guns. A burst of white smoke filled the air, and the northern horse thieves were again beaten back in disarray. All those who had come to their senses stared at Xu Yifan, who was jumping up and down, clenching his fists and shouting loudly, as if he was the backbone of the group at this moment. The density of fire from dozens of rifles concentrated on such a small area was still quite astonishing. In the blink of an eye, they had cleared out all the horse thieves who were charging from all sides.

  As many bandits were knocked down, the ones behind them hesitated. The horses and men collided in even greater chaos. Xu Yifan still clenched his fists and shouted loudly: "Those with guns, come up, listen to my command, fire simultaneously!" People rushed to the periphery of the defense line, lying down on the positions they had just escaped from. With the order, a simultaneous barrage erupted. White smoke almost completely enveloped the convoy. The bandits squeezed outside the convoy shouted and screamed, being hit by the suddenly dense firepower, becoming dizzy and disoriented. Cries of pain merged into one. Many bandits had already begun to turn their horses around and flee outward, while those behind them stopped in their tracks, setting up large guns on horseback to fire towards here. However, with one side having cover and the other not, after a round of crossfire, these bandits who opened fire were forced to retreat outside the range of firepower.

  Xu Yifan was now completely disoriented, his extreme tension and excitement making him appear deranged. He crawled up to the top of the watchtower on all fours, clenching his fists and jumping up and down: "Fire! Reload! Fire! Reload! Shoot those bastards!" When he saw the bandits retreat into the distance, he was almost out of breath, stumbling and collapsing onto the watchtower. Without his orders, the frenzied crowd slowly ceased their gunfire. The thick smoke from the gunpowder choked everyone, making it hard to breathe. The entire convoy was silent, except for the occasional weak cries of the wounded horses and men.

  Inside and outside the convoy, corpses littered everywhere.

  Xu Yifan lay there, feeling like vomiting. This life-and-death thrilling experience, he didn't want to have a second time!