Chapter Thirty-One: Charging In

  Machine guns mounted on the tower continuously spewed out flames, shooting out scorching bullets. However, this time the bandits learned their lesson and dispersed widely, greatly weakening the effectiveness of the machine guns. Later, the riflemen also began to fire. Unlike the machine gun's sweeping shots, the riflemen carried out precise shooting, with each five bullets able to end a bandit's life, judging from the marksmanship of the soldiers in the third company. The artillery did not open fire, as the bandits were too dispersed, and firing would have greatly reduced their effectiveness, completely wasting ammunition.

  The bandits changed their tactics, and the results were very effective. They quickly approached the barracks. However, just a hundred meters in front of the barracks was a row of abatis. The bandits had to move the abatis before they could rush in. The abatis outside the barracks were not ordinary ones. One end of them had been nailed to the ground. To remove the abatis would require tools and some time.

  This blocked the bandits' charge. At this time, it became the best time for the third company to harvest the lives of the bandits. Whether it was a heavy machine gun or a riding gun, they all fired quickly at this moment, maximizing the elimination of the bandits. As more and more bandits were blocked, the power of the heavy machine guns was fully revealed.

  "Rat-a-tat-tat!" In the midst of the heavy machine gun's roar, the bandits gathered behind the barricade fell down one by one. Some bandits jumped off their horses, trying to move the barricade, but found it impossible to budge. Others, seeing their companions being killed one after another, were frightened out of their wits and turned to flee. The scene became somewhat chaotic.

  "Dismount, suppress the heavy machine gun!" Suddenly, a young man among the horse bandits shouted. Instantly, dozens of people jumped off their horses and used them as shields, placing their rifles on the horses' backs and aiming at the tower to open fire.

  "Bang! Bang! Bang!" The bullets hit the shield on top and both sides of the heavy machine gun, making a crisp sound. Bullets flew wildly, and the soldier operating the heavy machine gun had to bury himself in the soil to avoid them. Wang Yuze, who was observing from the tower, also had a bullet fly over his head, almost taking him out. Wang Yuze had no choice but to lower his head. This made him realize that although he was a transmigrator, he wasn't invincible after all - one bullet could still take him down. So it's better to be more careful.

  "Commander Wang, it's dangerous here, go inside the barracks to command!" a soldier loudly said to Wang Yuze.

  "Don't mind me, keep firing!" Wang Yuze shook his head. This was not the time to retreat, and if he left, it would definitely affect morale. The cessation of heavy machine gun fire suddenly boosted the morale of the Ma gangsters. Several Ma gangsters worked together to prepare to move a section of abatis.

  At this time, the heavy machine gun continued to fire and timely killed several horse bandits. However, dozens of horse bandits specialized in suppressing the heavy machine gun, making it impossible for the heavy machine gun to stop firing at times. This gave the horse bandits a lot of time to deploy comfortably.

  "Artillery, open fire!" Wang Yuze shouted loudly at the artillery in the camp.

  "Right in front, 300 meters, five rounds rapid fire!" Liu Haoran shouted out the order. The firepower group had already marked the shooting elements in front of the station, and the artillerymen immediately started firing according to their positions.

  "Boom! Boom! Boom!" Five mortars, in less than half a minute, fired twenty-five shells, all hitting the gathering place of the bandits, instantly causing heavy casualties.

  Later, under the joint attack of heavy machine guns and cavalry, the horse bandits were frightened again and had to retreat. In this battle, the horse bandits lost two or three hundred people again. However, the third company also paid a price of two deaths and three injuries. The wounded were immediately sent to the infirmary for treatment, and the two martyrs, one was a heavy machine gunner, and the other was killed by stray bullets during the confrontation with the horse bandits.

  The intense battle had ended, and the soldiers were taking advantage of the lull to rest and recover their strength. At the same time, the depleted weapons and ammunition needed to be replenished. As the defensive side, the soldiers of the third company hid in the solid fortifications, with much fewer casualties. But those bandits suffered a miserable fate. In two attacks, they lost nearly five hundred men. The dying and seriously wounded, as well as the war horses that had lost their masters, let out mournful cries and whinnies, but no one paid any attention to them. The front of the military station had become a hell on earth.

  "Master, the defense of the barracks is too strong! We can't get in! We can't even get close to the walls of the barracks. If we continue like this, it's a complete waste of lives!" Ma Lao Da said with grief and indignation. Two waves of attacks had almost wiped out half of the bandits. Even several dozen men from Ma Qi's Green Horse Army had been killed.

  Ma Qi also furrowed his brow, the defensive strength of the third battalion's position was completely beyond his imagination.

  "Come on, next time we attack, use gunpowder to blast open the enemy's barricade. After rushing under the city wall, use fire to blast open the city gate and charge into the enemy's camp! As long as we can get in, we'll definitely win!" Ma Kei shouted loudly.

  Some of the bandits who had been frightened by Ma Qi's previous display of strength felt a lot more at ease when they heard that he still had an ace up his sleeve.

  "Master, we only have ten explosive packs ready! They were originally meant to blast open the walls of the barracks. If we use them on the barricades instead, it might not be enough!" a young soldier from the Qing army whispered.

  "It doesn't matter, after blowing up the rejected horse, use the remaining gunpowder packets together, and you can also blow open a big hole in the city wall of the barracks!" Ma Qi said confidently.

  "Yes, young master!"

  The bandits rested for over an hour, eating and drinking their fill before launching another attack. On the plateau in winter, daylight hours were short, and it was already almost dark by 5 pm. Therefore, for the bandits, this was their only chance to launch a second attack. The night weather was freezing cold, and organizing a night raid would likely result in them being frozen to death before they could even break in.

  "Kill, charge into the enemy camp, drink their wine and eat their meat, sleep with their women!" Ma Kei knew the importance of boosting morale, and loudly shouted.

  "Kill! Charge into the barracks! Let's drink, eat meat and sleep with women!" The bandits shouted loudly, then immediately rode their horses towards the barracks.

  "Prepare for battle!" Seeing the bandits launch an attack, Wang Yuezhe also gave the order to prepare for battle. Although it was a bit dangerous staying in the tower, the bandits had no artillery, so the danger wasn't that high. From here, he could command the battle more conveniently.

  "Fire!" Wang Yuze shouted loudly after the bandits entered their range.

  "Rat-a-tat!" The heavy machine gun opened fire immediately, and the bandits who were caught in its sights were instantly blown away by the powerful bullets. The soldiers' rifles also fired in unison. The dense firepower began to reap the lives of the bandits.

  "Charge!" the bandits yelled loudly, taking the bullets of the third company's soldiers and charging forward recklessly. Soon they rushed to the place where the horses were blocking.

  Several Qing cavalrymen carrying gunpowder bags immediately dismounted, placed their war horses in front of them, and then placed the gunpowder bags under the abatis. After igniting them, they quickly retreated.

  "Boom! Boom!" Five loud explosions rang out in succession. The originally solid abatis was blasted into the sky. That row of abatis suddenly appeared with five big holes.

  "Kill! Charge in!" Seeing the blockade being blown open, the bandits' morale greatly increased, and they recklessly charged towards the barracks on horseback.

  "Bad! Fire at full force, don't save bullets, they have explosives! Artillery fire at full force!" Wang Yuezhe loudly commanded. In the moment when the barricade was blown up, he immediately realized the danger. If the bandits used explosives to blow open the walls of the barracks and rushed in, then they would be in trouble. Once they fell into a melee, their advantage in weapons could not be brought into play, while the bandits were numerous and powerful.

  The wall of the cavalry station is only a hundred meters away. This distance can be crossed in just over ten seconds by a cavalry charge.

  The third row of soldiers also realized the danger and immediately began to shoot desperately. Whether it was the cavalry guns in the hands of the soldiers, or the heavy machine guns set up on the tower, or the mortar fire from the firepower group, they all exerted their maximum firepower. Bullets poured down on the horse bandits like a shower, one after another, and the horse bandits were killed. However, they still managed to rush under the wall.

  PS: The first update is here, please collect!