Chapter 1587: Thirty-six strategies are the best strategy
Bi Zhi'an picked up his coat, put it on and walked outside, and at the same time ordered:
"Notify nearby friendly forces, especially the division cavalry regiment in front, and ask them to reinforce our battalion immediately!"
"Also, don't make breakfast, just eat solid food and line up quickly!"
The whole process from Bi Zhian's receiving the news to giving the order only took about ten seconds, which shows that his reaction was quite decisive and quick.
At this time, you can't hesitate. If you haven't finished lining up when the enemy's cavalry rushes up, you'll be doomed.
After Bi Zhian walked out, he directly picked up the telescope and looked southwest, but there was nothing in the telescope's sight. But even now, they have not seen any trace of the Tatars, but that is because the terrain blocked the sight.
, Bi Zhian knew very well that the Tatars were over there.
After Bi Zhian gave the order, a rapid whistle sounded throughout the camp, and many soldiers began to walk out of the barracks.
This camp is not a construction site, but a camp to guard the railway line behind.
The construction speed of the Northwest Railway Extension Line was very fast. More than 50 kilometers of road were soon built. Every time a section of railway was built, the Fourteenth Army would deploy corresponding troops to garrison in the rear.
Bi Zhian's troops completed their construction tasks five days ago and were then transferred here to garrison.
This is not only along the railway line, but also a simple station.
Naturally, this station is not intended to provide a boarding and alighting station for passengers, but a material transfer station and garrison station.
Therefore, simple barracks and warehouses were built, and a large amount of construction materials were stored.
Because the trains transporting construction materials from the rear are relatively large, it is inconvenient to unload the goods directly to the construction site. Therefore, the goods are often unloaded at a small station near the rear, and then transferred to the front by small trains.
construction site.
There are actually many similar small stations along the line, basically one every ten kilometers apart. The reason why they are built so densely is mainly to garrison troops and prevent Tatars from attacking the railway.
Once the patrolling reconnaissance troops discover the Tatars, these garrison troops can be mobilized immediately and then go to intercept them. In addition to the infantry troops, there will also be armed trains.
At this time, following Bi Zhian's order, the armed forces that had been maintaining combat readiness for a long time also slowly drove out of the warehouse and then drove onto the railway. However, they did not continue to move forward, but remained in a standby state.
They still don't know what these Tatars want to do.
Should we attack their camp, or run directly to the railway line, drop explosives and blow up the railway before leaving?
When Bi Zhian's troops began to gather urgently, the Tatars five or six kilometers away continued to advance.
At this distance, these Tatars also knew that their traces could no longer be concealed. They had already seen Datang's reconnaissance cavalry before, but they were unable to intercept them.
Now that their whereabouts had been exposed, they simply stopped hiding it and continued marching in a certain formation.
When they walked up a hill, they saw a railway line several kilometers away and a building not far away. Outside the building, thousands of soldiers of the Tang Dynasty were lining up.
The leading Tatar colonel took out a pair of monocular binoculars made in Tang Dynasty and observed carefully, then continued to lead the troops forward on horseback, but the speed was slightly faster than the previous normal walking.
Anyway, they are still riding spare horses, and the war horses still maintain good physical fitness.
Moreover, the situation was quite urgent, and he was not prepared to maintain the physical fitness of these spare horses.
While continuing to advance at a slow trot, these Tatars did not move towards the barracks, which made Bi Zhian frown across from them.
Then he said: "Let the armed forces move forward and prepare for a fire blockade!"
The Tatars did not come towards their barracks, but towards the railway line. It was already obvious what they wanted to do.
However, he had no intention of dividing his troops. There were many cavalry on the opposite side, so his infantry battalion could only protect itself by gathering together. If he took the risk of dividing his troops to intercept them, the outcome would probably be very bad.
So he put his hope in the armed train!
The armed train was equipped with dozens of small and medium-caliber artillery pieces, and even many nine-pound artillery pieces, as well as about a hundred musketeers.
At the same time, it can move forward or backward at any time. As long as it is on the railway, its mobility is quite flexible.
Flexible mobility coupled with powerful firepower, as well as more important protective properties, are enough for these Tatars to see what an armed train is!
The Tatars also saw the armed trains slowly coming out from the opposite side, but they had never come into contact with these armed trains before, because they could only travel on the railway. They were previously deployed in the country and appeared in the Western Regions.
This is the first time.
See such a big iron lump!
After a brief discussion, the leading Tatar officers decided to take a further detour.
Although I don’t know how powerful the iron knot is or what its specific function is, it looks like it’s not easy to mess with.
It's better not to provoke them. Anyway, their mission is very simple. They rush to the railway line, plant explosives, and then detonate them to evacuate.
Yes, their mission is not to eliminate many people from the Tang Dynasty, their mission is just to destroy the railway!
Of course, this kind of destruction cannot simply involve planting one or two explosives.
You can imagine with your toes that simply destroying a few meters or dozens of meters of railway will have no impact on the war situation at all. The Tang Dynasty people can repair it in minutes.
If it really wants to cause some actual damage, at least it will have to blow up hundreds of meters or even kilometers of railway, so that train transportation can be paralyzed for a certain period of time.
Otherwise, the Tatars would not have to dispatch so many elite cavalry and would only need to send a few spies to secretly plant explosives.
In fact, the Tatars can also choose to destroy some important road sections, such as railway bridges. Unfortunately, the limited railway bridges are closely protected by the Tang Army and are garrisoned with a large number of troops.
Let alone this cavalry regiment, several more cavalry regiments may not be able to win.
After the Tatars changed direction, the armed train continued to move forward and followed them!
This situation makes the Tatars particularly speechless!
Because even if they are riding horses, they can't seem to get around it!
what to do?
Now that it's time, what else can we do? Just rush forward and look for an opportunity to see if we can blow up their armed train.
Although these Tatar cavalry did not carry cavalry cannons, they did bring a lot of explosives. In addition to explosive bags for blasting, there were also many hand grenades.
The Tatars are also advancing with the times, and they have all the necessary equipment and tactics.
There are artillery, matchlocks, etc.
There are also hand grenades, but it is difficult to produce gunpowder and obtain raw materials. Although the Tatars search for raw materials all over the world and organize a large number of manpower to produce them, the quantity produced is only enough for guns and cannons. As for freeing up
Making grenades, mines, etc. is very difficult.
Therefore, like the Ming army back then, the Tatars actually had grenades, mines, and even primitive howitzer shells with matchlock fuses, but the number of equipment was not large.
There's no way, there's only so much hand-produced ammunition!
But things are different here in the Tang Dynasty. They have no shortage of raw materials, such as sulfur, which is abundant in Beihai Province, and there is no shortage of saltpeter.
There is no shortage of raw materials.
And the production capacity far exceeds that of other countries or regions. It can even be said that Datang's black powder production accounts for at least 90% of the world's current black powder production, and there is more than can be used!
The Tatars were getting closer and closer, but a major on the armed train remained calm, holding a cup of steaming coffee in his hand.
This thing was introduced from America in recent years. The original pure coffee is bitter and astringent. It is difficult for most Chinese people who are exposed to coffee for the first time to drink it.
Later, in order to increase coffee sales, a trading company researched several ways to drink coffee, such as adding sugar and milk!
Nowadays, coffee has opened its initial market in Datang. Although the sales volume is not large, not even a fraction of the sales volume of tea, there is still sales volume. Every year, there are trading companies purchasing from America and shipping them back.
Domestic sales.
The middle-aged major on the armed train took another sip of hot coffee. The coffee with sugar and milk still tasted good.
Then he glanced at the Tatars who were only more than a kilometer away in front of him, and then calmly ordered: "Keep moving forward and block them!"
When the Tatars advanced rapidly and approached 500 meters, the major put down his coffee and said: "Fire!"
Immediately, the five-pound and nine-pound field guns on the armed train opened fire one after another. The fired howitzers landed among the cavalry and then exploded.
This scene made the Tatars, who had not yet started charging, a little confused.
The iron lump on the opposite side actually has artillery!
Why don't you give me a slap? Thirty-six strategies, walking is the best strategy!
All the previous plans and conspiracies were abandoned by the Tatar officers in an instant, and then they made a U-turn and ran away with the Tatar cavalry!
Seeing this scene, Bi Zhian from behind was a little speechless!
Are these Tatars just here for tourism?
Although he was speechless, he still knew that the Tatars on the other side would be difficult to deal with.
An enemy who retreats when the opportunity is bad is much more difficult to deal with than an enemy who only knows how to charge up foolishly.
Moreover, they are cavalry, so they naturally control the initiative. After temporarily retreating, they can rush forward again at any time, but they cannot always maintain combat readiness.
Armed trains cannot remain blocked on the tracks!
Because this railway is only a single-track railway, armed trains are blocked on the tracks, and trains behind them cannot pass.
But even though we had no choice but to wait, we had to rely on cavalry to kill the Tatar cavalry.
Bi Zhian didn't wait long. He saw a puff of smoke and dust rising from the west through the telescope. It was the cavalry troops of the Tang Dynasty!
And it's not just the cavalry regiment of the 31st Infantry Division that is attached to the 31st Division, but also the 6th Cuirassier Regiment that is temporarily assigned to the command of the 14th Army.
After the two cavalry regiments received the news, they immediately sent troops for reinforcements!
The next time has nothing to do with Bi Zhian, because it will be the performance time of the cavalry!