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In order not to make the Japanese army vigilant, the mortars that bombarded them were sometimes not, and were completely symbolic. Only the explosion of shells hitting the ground was real. On the green and extremely dry yellow-brown plain, these shells exploded into small pits after pits, and the explosion made the entire Japanese position gray.

The Japanese artillery, as previously speculated, did not respond to the sparse artillery bombardment of the Fuxing Army. They were mainly worried that the defenders would fire the field artillery, and of course they were even more worried that the defenders would take the opportunity to attack. After all, their trenches were not dug, the barbed wire was not laid out, all fortifications were not established, and only a small number of troops on the front line were carrying out civil engineering operations. If the Chinese army launched an attack at this time, the front line troops could only retreat. But retreating was impossible. Not to mention that the soldiers' morale was poor after yesterday's tsunami, even if they ignored the morale of the soldiers, they would be embarrassed diplomatically - being repelled by the cowardly and barbaric Chinese army under the eyes of consuls and journalists from various countries was simply a shame for the Japanese army.

Japan only wanted to establish fortifications. Maybe in another hour or an hour and a half, their work might be completed, but the defenders didn't want to be cheap. At 3:52 pm, with Li Chengyuan's order, the two hundred and seventy cannons originally arranged on the back of their trench and the same number of cannons that had moved forward to the near to the trench suddenly roared after adjusting the coordinates. The cannons on the back were targeting the Japanese army who were digging trenches and the Japanese infantry farther away, while the cannons at the trench were targeting the Japanese artillery - no test fire required. The battlefield was preset and detailed surveyed and mapped. The artillery staff could obtain the coordinates by doing the work on the map. Then adjust the elements at a small angle.

After the rumbling sound, the 540 cannons fired not shells. Instead, a powerful hand of the heavens, with the palm of his hand slapped hard on the twelve kilometers of Japanese defense line. While the earth was shaking, countless smoke and firelight buried the dead Japanese troops. In the middle, it had become a bloody hell, with countless shrapnel and air waves shuttled and colliding, torturing the dead bodies and undead souls. The first round of artillery fire was just four rapid fires. After seeing the landing point of his own artillery shells, the Airship Observatory passed the corrected coordinates to the artillery array. At this time, the real artillery fire began.

When the Fuxing Army fired the artillery, the weather was not so hot. Consuls and journalists from all over the country who were shocked to hear the sound of artillery thought that the Japanese army launched a shelling at the Chinese team. Many people went up to the roof of the concession and looked north. The tsunami created by the Chinese last night shocked them. After understanding that the entire concession was not damaged, the consuls and naval generals from all over the country understood that this was because the Chinese controlled the scale of the tsunami, which means that they could create a larger tsunami. If so, even if there was no fort at Dagukou, the coalition forces might not dare to land in Tianjin in the future.

What an evil pagan, the navy general and consul cursed in their hearts. After hearing that the Japanese Army generals launched an attack on the Chinese in the morning, they all hoped that the Japanese could teach the barbaric pagans a lesson. When the sound of cannons in the north sounded, the British consulate actually burst into applause.

The concession is more than 20 kilometers away from Yangcun. Even if we go up to the roof with the help of telescopes, the foreigners could not tell who was firing at whom. They prefer that this was the artillery battle between the Chinese and Japanese armies, and that the Japanese were suppressing the Chinese. Instead of the other hand, this was the speculation of the foreigners in the concession, but in the battlefield observation group closer to the fire exchange. What they saw was the exact opposite. The Japanese artillery was suppressed by the Chinese team at the first time and caused heavy losses. There were artillery shells constantly exploding at the Japanese artillery positions. In addition to the Japanese army who were blown up in front of them, the entire position was in chaos.

"The Chinese are about to attack." He put down his telescope with great tangle. Colonel Bai Laile, the military officer of the British Embassy, ​​said melancholy. He began his observation of the Revival Army eight years ago, and he understood this army.

"Is that so? George, are you sure?" asked several reporters who heard the sound beside him. They had never seen more than 500 artillery fired together. When the cannons roared, they were all stunned by the intensity of the shelling. The glasses of several people fell to the ground. At this time, they came to their senses and heard Colonel Bai Lailele say that the Chinese were about to attack. They were all surprised. Is this still the Chinese they knew?

"They are no better than..." Bai Lailele originally wanted to say that the Chinese team was not worse than the Japanese, and would only be stronger, but considering the face of his allies, he made a small pause at this point, and then turned his mind: "It's worse than we thought. After all, the Germans sold them a lot of cannons, which are very lethal."

"No, this is not the case." Morrixun, who often speaks well for the current government, spoke again. "The Chinese can produce the cannons needed by the army, including six-inch cannons, which they can produce in the military factories in Wuchang. But... it's hard to determine how many shells they can make. After all, the ministry blocked them with military supplies. It's really a pitiful person."

"God, fortunately the ministerial mission has imposed a military blockade, otherwise the Chinese will become more rampant." Contrary to Morrison's position, Far East Times reporter Mr. Donald had no good impression of the current government. He believed that the entire China was becoming barbaric, that the people were no longer tamed like before, and that it was full of boxer-like dangers.

The reporters fought together, and Colonel Bai Laile didn't mind at all. He just wanted to see how that army would attack now. In the mountainous areas of Liaodong, because the Fuxing Army did not welcome the observation group, and entering the Japanese observation group was likely to be killed by the Fuxing Army snipers. In addition, it was a trench offensive and defensive battle, so the outside world did not know what level the Chinese ** team was at. Seeing such a rapid and amazingly powerful shelling today, Colonel Bai Laile immediately believed that the Fuxing Army was stronger than eight years ago.

According to the army organization, artillery always has two or even more teams. There are forty-three regular divisions of the Fuxing Army, and now there are five divisions in the third batch, and there are only forty-five. The artillery units divided into two and trained military academy students have not reduced the level of artillery in the entire military system due to the expansion of the army.

At this time, Colonel Bai Laile only saw that the artillery of the Fuxing Army was excellent. However, most of the recruits of the reserve division in the assault trench had weak hands and blue faces. Although these peasant soldiers who had not passed the actual combat had heard the sound of cannons in the past few months, more than 500 cannons fired at the same time, and there were 270 people a hundred meters behind the trench, which only shocked them to death.

Therefore, the familiar command became unfamiliar at this time. When checking the helmet, many people were unable to lift their arms stiffly, which made the platoon leader and squad leader who led the team wake them up with sticks and then the situation was slightly better. However, a few soldiers still had some problems. They either drilled back into the cat's ear, peeed their pants, or thought about running backwards - but there were people everywhere in the trench and there was no way to escape.

The rookies' reactions fell into the eyes of the squad leader, and they were not surprised. For those very few, it was fine that they could be dragged out of the cat's ears, but those who cried and made a fuss and thought of going home could not persuade them, so they directly killed them in the trench with pistols. The gunshots were more harsh than the sound of cannons, and they fell head-on with soldiers who were softened into a pool of mud. In an instant, everyone listened more sincerely.

"Think about who reduces the rent for everyone! Think about who withdraws the tax for everyone! Think about the days where there is hope for your family! If you don't work hard, can you eat enough? If you don't work hard, can you live? If you don't work hard, can you shine your ancestors? Brothers. Behind us is the capital! The court! The emperor! Without the court and the emperor, can you have a good life? You have all. Let me shout with you: 'Defend the capital!'"

"Defend the capital!" After shooting and persuading, the recruits finally had some normal reactions.

"Defend the court!" the officers shouted again.

"Defend the court!" The voice finally became louder. The guns held were also more neat.

"Defend the Emperor!" The officers finally felt a little satisfied. At this time, the shouts of the entire trench gathered together. The sounds rose and fell in the sound of cannons, but they continued.

"Defend the Emperor!" The louder the voice, the more yelled, the more courageous the recruits were.

"Defend the capital!" The slogans came again. The three sentences arranged by the General Administration were indeed very effective. As they shouted, they became more and more excited. Finally, the artillery began to move as the shouts. The artillery on the back of the trench continued to suppress the Japanese artillery, and the other half of the artillery moved forward to the rear of the Japanese trench one kilometer away to block the other Japanese reinforcements fronts. At the same time, the horn of the charge sounded, and the officers leaped onto the trench and shouted to the soldiers in the trench: "Brothers, rush! Follow me!"

As if he was injected with chicken blood, the timid soldiers were excited because of fear. They jumped into the trench one by one and rushed to the Japanese positions. A thousand meters away, the officers led the team kept controlling the rhythm so that the recruits would not run too fast at the beginning, and they shouted "Attention to formation" while running, but obviously, the recruits who were determined to rush forward could no longer listen to any orders. They were holding rifles, ah, and they were eager to kill the Eastern devils earlier.

142, 143, 144 The soldiers of these three divisions were in chaos as soon as they left and right, and many soldiers stuck together as they ran. Some soldiers seemed to have unbalanced left and right feet, and the route they ran out was actually bent. If there weren't officers behind them, the soldiers would never have reached the Japanese trenches.

The soldiers crashed and fell. Fortunately, the field artillery troops still had some firepower to suppress the Japanese army at this time, and the mortars also attacked the fire points that appeared in the Japanese army. Therefore, these hornet-like scattered soldiers were not shot by the Japanese army's firepower. No matter how long the distance is one thousand meters, they finally arrived. When they rushed to the Japanese trench, all the artillery suppression on their sides had stopped. The Japanese army, who came back from the shock, found the Fuxing Army that was rushing towards the tide. Their first reaction was to jump up from the ground and charge forward to meet them.

As the distance got closer, the officers finally shouted the order to throw grenades. Only a few new recruits threw the grenades after hearing the order, but they were basically ineffective when throwing them out. The grenades either lost their correctness or did not pull the fuse at all, and did not explode at all. Without time to curse, "Ahhh" a few screams, the soldiers of the two armies had already collided hard, and the hand-to-hand combat began.

Just like the grenade does not pull the fuse, the recruits had forgotten the bayonet skills they usually trained. They just instinctively waved the spear in their hands, trying to push away the bayonets that were stabbed from the opposite side. Amid the screams of the recruits, the Japanese soldiers who did not draw their swords in time were also stabbed by other recruits - no matter how outstanding the soldiers were, they could not resist the attacks of the crowd. Soon, the first wave of Japan that rushed over was flooded by the torrent of the new recruits of the Revival Army.

The enemy was eliminated so quickly, fatigue and blood finally made the recruits return to some sanity. Under the orders and leadership of the officers, the second wave of Japanese troops was easier to deal with. A few or a dozen recruits surrounded a Japanese army and stabbed them all over the cave before they stopped them. After more than twenty minutes of fighting, the Japanese troops in the trench would either die or escape. Looking at the Japanese troops who fled from afar, after the officers stopped the pursuit, the recruits would shout.

The Chinese people actually dared to take the initiative! The Japanese soldiers retreated in a panic! The news reached the Zhili Command, and the staff members were unbelievable. Didn’t the intelligence be reversed?

"That's the situation." Operational staff member Usaru Kinshita said with a tough bullet: "Our artillery was suppressed by the Chinese army, and the charge of the Chinese army could not be bombarded. The front-line soldiers were blocked by the Chinese army's artillery fire, and the soldiers in the rear could not come forward to support..."

"Reinforcements are also ineffective. The artillery was suppressed by the Chinese people, and the infantry was useless." Chief of Staff Shigeta Fujii was a little discouraged. The first army, which had always been cautious, suffered two losses in the hands of the Chinese army. I don't know if it was because it was too careless or the Chinese army was too brave.

"Your Excellency, our army has only four divisions, and the Chinese army is likely to have more than fifteen divisions. I suggest that the troops should retreat to Tianjin." Deputy Chief of Staff Matsushi said that after the failure, it is a common method among the Japanese army to raise their opponents to save face. As soon as he said this, the generals here suddenly felt a little relaxed.

"No!" Kuroki Weizhen rejected his suggestion. The first battle in Zhili was not only a matter of morale, but also a matter of face. The masters of the base camp hoped to send troops to occupy Beijing before the Tianchang Festival. If they really got entangled with the Chinese army, they were afraid that they would fight endless trench wars like Liaodong. "Send the 9th and 15th Divisions to reinforce, and..." Kuroki glanced at Major General Watanabe Iwasaki, the commander of the field heavy artillery force, and said, "The Chinese people's attack was based on artillery suppression. The field heavy artillery corps should immediately enter the battlefield to suppress the Chinese army's artillery fire and cover the troops to regain the front line!"

The Chinese army artillery was deeply hated by the Japanese army after the Liaodong battle. Therefore, this time it landed in Zhili, the Manchurian Army Command specially organized a field heavy artillery force. Unlike Liaodong, the unit did not equip the 280mm howitzer used in the Russo-Japanese War before, but equipped the 45 240mm howitzer and the 38 150mm howitzer with faster firing speed. In addition to the large-caliber howitzer, the unit also has two heavy artillery corps equipped with the 38 105mm cannon and the 45 150mm cannon.

Not to mention the power of these four types of artillery, except for the 150mm howitzer of the Type 38, the firing range of the other three types of artillery is more than ten kilometers. The farthest type 45, 150mm cannon has a maximum charge range of fifteen kilometers, nearly twice that of the Fuxing Army field artillery. With such a powerful heavy artillery force, the Japanese army is determined to win the capture of Beijing.

"Hay!" Major General Watanabe Iwasaki wanted to mock the deputy chief of staff who proposed to return to Tianjin's garrison. Hearing that Commander Kuroki was so arranged, he was immediately excited. He said: "Your Excellency, the Chinese army has airships as an observation. Our army can only suppress its artillery with cannons, but the lightest 38 105mm cannon ranks weigh more than three tons. Now the roads north of Tianjin have been destroyed by the Chinese army. If you want to transport cannons to the front line, you can only pass the railway..."

Major General Watanabe obviously wanted to transport heavy artillery by railway, but according to the agreement between the delegation and China and Japan, both the Beijing-Tianjin Railway cannot affect their normal trains when used. Now, due to the fewer war trains, there is a train heading to Beijing every morning and the train returns to Tianjin in the afternoon. If you want to use railway transport heavy artillery, it is very likely to collide with the train from Beijing. Even if it does not collide, it will affect the arrival of the train. Therefore, Watanabe hopes that the commander and the consular regiment will clear the matter of adjusting heavy artillery to the front line.

"Yes!" General Kuroki Weizhen replied with great certainty after meditating in his heart. "I will let Matsuhira Jun handle this matter."

"Hay!" Watanabe Ionosuke shouted even louder. He stood up and bowed slightly to the people in the headquarters before retreating.

When the Japanese heavy artillery troops were transferred to the front line, the recruits who had already returned to the defense line were making noise in the trenches. The pleasure of the first attack and the first murder still made them excited. However, after the summary meeting began, the officers who were different from the excited ones of the recruits started with a scolding. Even the best-performing soldiers were caught by them, and then they cooled down with the excitement of the recruits. They only pointed at the shortcomings of the people one by one, and finally praised them for their expectations and then announced that the summary meeting ended.

In fact, no matter how you say it, tactics are fake and useless. The most important thing for new recruits to become veterans is to not panic. But how can they not panic on the battlefield without artillery fire and screaming? This can only be achieved by training time and time again, or by cruel battles to eliminate. Only those who are not panic on the battlefield can understand and master formation, tactics, cooperation, and coordination of all kinds of things that infantry need to master. Although this is the case, the Foreword and the North China War Zone Command still want to use a good start to accelerate the maturity of new recruits while reducing their casualties. The starting point is good, but this offense aimed at training led to a war that both sides did not expect.

The Japanese heavy artillery troops had actually been on the train. Although these guys encountered a tsunami yesterday, their heavy bodies were not damaged. With Major General Watanabe's order, the field heavy artillery wing moved forward and retreated to the Japanese position three kilometers away. Several artillery balloons rose up. Looking at the flat balloons of the Oriental people, the soldiers of the Fuxing Army cursed.

Standing on one of the balloons, the captain of the regiment Aichuan Eagle Ichizuo looked at the defense line of the Chinese army with a high-power telescope, which was different from what he saw in Liaodong. The defense line of the Chinese army opposite was clear and complete. The first attack trench was followed by the usual roof-shaped wire mesh of China, and then a few dozen meters was the second trench, which was the main defense line of the Chinese army. It had a unique zigzag bend in the trench of the Chinese army. The trench surrounded the entire Wuqing County from both sides of the railway. This main defense line was not only long, but also not isolated. It had countless longitudinal trenches on it, leading to Wuqing County. It did not stop until the moat of the county town. Zhong Zuo visited the trench and observed the ancient city walls of the county town. There was no defense on the wall, but only a red Fuxing Army flag was fluttering in the wind.

Because of the city wall, Aikawa Eagle Ichizusa's vision was blocked, but even so, he was still amazed at the huge size of the entire Chinese military fortifications, especially the distance between the main trench and the county town, which had countless bulges and depressions. If nothing unexpected happens, it must be the firepower point of the second line of defense of the Chinese military.

After looking at the complete trench system, Kawaakazusa began to look for the artillery of the Chinese army. Judging from the momentum of the artillery just now, the defenders had at least 400 to 500 cannons, and where were these artillery hidden on the nearly twenty kilometers of defense line?

While Arikawa opened his eyes wide and looked for the artillery of the Fuxing Army, the soldiers in the hanging basket suddenly shouted: "Flying plane! Flying plane!"

The flight plane is the name of the Japanese in this era. Nakasa heard that there was a flight plane. When he put down his telescope, he saw a slowly staggering canvas plane flying from afar. It was so slow that it took him a long time to get closer.

Airships are aircraft that both soldiers on both sides are familiar with, but aircraft are still rare, especially soldiers of the Revival Army. They thought they only had airships on their side and saw their more magical planes. The soldiers in the trench shouted. Although the Japanese soldiers knew that this was not their plane, no one fired the gun at all. Instead, they looked at a diorama and hoped that the plane could fly closer.

With more than 100,000 attention on the battlefield, the Air Force Sergeant who was flying the plane was not excited at all. Instead, he was ashamed of having made such a backward plane. He had no tricks in his flight, but he flew directly to a few hundred meters from the Japanese artillery balloon to start to circle. The machine gun, which was not seen before, was set up in the rear compartment. With the operation of another pilot, the howling of the machine gun "bang bang bang..." scared the spectators on the ground.

The machine gunner was well-trained. Just before the Japanese soldiers raised their guns to shoot the plane, the balloon where Arikawa Takashi Ichizaka was sitting was blown up, and the special bullets ignited the hydrogen in the balloon. So he let out a few shrill screams and smashed the basket heavily.
Chapter completed!