Chapter 50: The Counterattack of the Green Horse Army

  The soldiers of the Qingma Army, if they were to charge with cavalry and fight a field battle, would be absolutely elite and among the best in the country. But if they were to fight an urban assault, that would be somewhat beyond their capabilities. Although the defending side's 11th Brigade of the Chuanxi Army was also similar, as the defender, having the protection of fortifications would give them a significant advantage.

  The soldiers of the Eighth Regiment of the Qing Dynasty, after receiving the order to attack the streets, began their assault in a chaotic manner. They instantly became live targets. These herdsmen, who had grown up on horseback since childhood and were skilled hunters, still had excellent marksmanship. The sound of gunfire rang out like beans being fried, as one by one, the soldiers of the Eighth Regiment fell to the ground. Although the soldiers of the Eighth Regiment also fired continuously during their charge, they caused almost no harm to the soldiers of the Eleventh Brigade.

  Not long after, after leaving a field of corpses behind, the soldiers of the Eighth Regiment of the Qing Ma Army retreated like a tide.

  "Captain, we can't get in! The enemy's defense is too strong, our brothers have never been trained for this kind of thing, charging forward is simply suicidal!" A blood-soaked man exclaimed. He was the deputy captain of the 8th battalion, and just one charge earlier, the 8th battalion had lost two or three hundred men, adding to their previous losses, the 8th battalion had already lost more than half!

  "Commander Gu, our troops have suffered heavy casualties. Don't you think it's time to let the brothers withdraw and regroup, and replace them with other units?" Chen Jianshu suggested as he approached Gu Hongtao.

  "No, morale can be boosted but not leaked! Order to charge again, prepare the supervisory team. If anyone dares to retreat without permission again, they will be executed without exception!" Gu Hongtao said gritting his teeth. Even if Yushu was lost, he had to find a scapegoat, and Chen Jianshu, who had cleaned up the losses of the troops, was undoubtedly the best candidate.

  Listening to Gu Hongtao's icy voice, Chen Jianshu felt a chill run down his spine. He wanted to retort, but seeing Gu Hongtao's icy gaze, he knew that if he dared to oppose him, he would probably be caught immediately and all the responsibility would be pushed onto his shoulders.

  "Alright! I'll go organize another charge!" Chen Jianshu said in a low voice, suppressing the anger in his heart.

  The soldiers of the Eighth Regiment, who had barely retreated, were dissatisfied and stirred up as soon as they heard that they would be ordered to charge again.

  "What's going on? Want to rebel?" Gu Hongtao shouted with a dark face. The soldiers of the Sixth Regiment behind him immediately loaded their guns and aimed at the soldiers of the Eighth Regiment. Instantly, no one in the Eighth Regiment dared to say anything more.

  "Organize an attack at once! Whoever breaks through the rebel's defense line, I'll reward him with a thousand taels of silver!" Gu Hongtao shouted loudly.

  Under the temptation of silver and white flowers, the soldiers of the eighth camp reorganized their flags and launched a charge. This time, there was a supervisor team behind them, if they retreated, they would only die at the hands of the supervisor team, so the soldiers of the eighth camp also fought desperately. However, their charge was still lawless, under the fierce attack of the soldiers of the eleventh brigade, they were quickly suppressed. They lay on the ground, not daring to show their heads again, otherwise they might be shot. For a while, it was stuck again.

  The two men, Ma Qi and Ma Yun-tao, of the Eleventh Division were also extremely anxious. Although they had now entered Yushu City, they clearly lacked the strength to defeat the Qing cavalry inside. Now facing the counterattack of the Qing cavalry, they were even more worried. If they couldn't hold out, they would be driven out of the city! At that time, all their efforts would have been in vain.

  "Long time no see, I'm back!" At this moment, Ding Zhongming walked in from outside.

  "How was the battle ahead?" Ma Qi hurriedly asked.

  "The charge of the Qing Ma Army was very fierce, but we withstood their attack. The casualties of our troops were not serious either. We should be able to hold on," replied Ding Zhongming.

  "Haha, alright! Once we've withstood the Qing Ma Army's attack, I'll go to General Xiao and the Chief of Staff to request a reward for you!" Ma Qi said with a smile.

  At this time, another soldier came in to report: "Report to the brigade commander and chief of staff. The 10th Brigade sent someone to inform us that they will be able to arrive tomorrow morning! General Shao and Chief of Staff ordered us to hold on until tomorrow morning!"

  "Go back and report to General Shao and the Chief of Staff, our 11th Brigade will definitely hold on until the main force arrives!" Ma Qi said with great certainty.

  That night was a very difficult one for the soldiers of the newly formed 11th Regiment. Although they had just defected from the Qing army to the Sichuan army, their uniforms were still those of the Qing army, with only their queues cut off. But they could no longer turn back and had to follow the Sichuan army. This made them unhesitatingly open fire on their former comrades-in-arms in order to hold their position.

  The soldiers of the 8th Regiment of the Green Horse Army were exhausted after repeated attacks. However, the Green Horse Army had many men and the 32nd Regiment began to attack again. Although their combat effectiveness was not as good as that of the 8th Regiment, in this kind of siege warfare, the performance of the 32nd Regiment was also excellent. Throughout the night, the Green Horse Army's attacks were uninterrupted. At first, the 11th Brigade could easily defend itself. Later on, however, their casualties began to increase gradually. In some defensive lines, they were even breached by the Green Horse Army. Fortunately, the 11th Brigade had left enough reserve troops and immediately reinforced wherever there was a crisis. Despite being attacked by the Green Horse Army, the entire line of defense was already precarious, but they still held on.

  Slowly, a night's time passed, and in the eastern sky, a faint fish belly white appeared, dawn is imminent!

  "Commander Gu, brothers have already lost more than half of our men, and we still can't drive the rebels out! Now it's almost dawn, if we don't leave soon, when the Western Sichuan Army arrives, we won't be able to escape!" said Zhen Zhiwen, the commander of the 35th battalion. The battle has been going on until now, among the five battalions defending Yushu, the 8th battalion is almost completely wiped out, and the other three battalions, the 32nd, 34th, and 35th, have all suffered more than half casualties. Only Gu Hongtao's 8th battalion remains at full strength.

  "No, we still have a chance! The rebel's defense line is already on the verge of collapse. As long as we launch another attack, we can defeat them. This time, we will not hold back and launch a full-force strike. The Sixth Battalion will also join in this attack!" Gu Hongtao stubbornly shook his head.

  "Alright then!" Seeing Gu Hongtao insist, the others didn't dare say anything more. After all, this time the Sixth Regiment had also joined the battle, and they had even less reason to.

  "Hold on everyone, dawn is breaking soon and reinforcements will arrive immediately. The final victory will definitely be ours!" On the position of the 11th Brigade of the Western Sichuan Army, Ding Zhongming, Bai Meng and Zhang Mingyuan were also cheering up the soldiers. Everyone realized that it was the last moment to decide the outcome. If the Qing army did not retreat, they would inevitably take this opportunity to launch a final attack. This attack will definitely be more fierce than any previous one.

  By now, the 11th Brigade has also suffered heavy casualties, with over 600 people seriously injured or killed. Of course, the losses of the Qing Ma Army are even more severe. The lightly wounded, after simple bandaging, also picked up their guns and returned to the battlefield. The approaching reinforcements became their hope, allowing them to grit their teeth and continue to hold on.

  "Charge!" The commander of the 6th Battalion of the Green Horse Army, Gu Hongtao, gave the order to charge. More than a thousand strong soldiers from the 6th Battalion launched a fierce attack with the assistance of the remaining three battalions' remnants. The total force reached over 3,000 people.

  At that moment, the soldiers of the 11th Brigade, who were in charge of defense, became even more threatened under such a fierce attack. The Qing cavalry rushed forward desperately, one fell down, and those behind him trampled on his body to continue rushing forward. Without heavy firepower, it was very difficult for the soldiers of the 11th Brigade to resist this fierce offensive.

  P.S: The second update is here, please collect and recommend votes. Little fish wishes book friends a happy Lantern Festival!