Chapter 1177 Hitting a wall

After hearing these three requests, Zheng Taisheng couldn't help but change his face. If he could agree to this, it would not be the style of Ming Dynasty. He shook his head repeatedly and said: "General Wang's words are wrong. It is the responsibility of the government to find out the truth. This

Needless to say, this case is within the territory of the Ming Dynasty. It should be under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty law. After the prisoner is caught, it should be handled by the Ming government. How can the compensation be borne by the government?

As for the third point...I am willing to pass the message on behalf of General Wang. If the Ming Dynasty and Haihan can trade, it will be a good thing for both countries. However, I cannot guarantee what the adults above will think."

Wang Tom said with a sarcastic smile: "Do the officials in Hangzhou really want to solve this case? Why, the news I heard is that the murderer's background is so great that the government does not dare to continue to pursue the case? I think it is better to

The murderer is left to us. After all, we don’t have as many scruples as the government. As for compensation, something happened to our people in the territory of Hangzhou Prefecture, and the government cannot catch the murderer. If we don’t ask the government for compensation, who should we ask for compensation?

More than 20 lives were lost. If you don’t pay money to compensate, are you going to pay for it with lives?”

Wang Tom's words were so harsh that Zheng Taisheng couldn't accept it. Although he had the courage to accept the job, he didn't really intend to risk his life for the Ming Dynasty or the gang of officials in the city. About Tongsheng

He has naturally heard a lot of rumors about the truth about the pier fire case. Although there are still many unsolved mysteries, the Ming Army is indeed the most suspected at the moment. If this is really done by the Ming Army, then the government will indeed

He will encounter great resistance when investigating the case. It is reasonable for the case to be unresolved. Haihan has killed a lot of people and suffered a huge loss of money. Naturally, he is unwilling to give up, but he demands this amount of compensation.

It was really too big, and Zheng Taisheng did not dare to accept this matter for the government.

But if he just goes back like this, it will be difficult for Zheng Taisheng to communicate with his superiors. He can only plead with a grimace: "General Wang, everything is easy to discuss, why bother to go to war? I dare to say that if your country can take the initiative to withdraw its troops, the government will also be willing to sit down.

We will slowly discuss the solution with your country. In this way, both sides can solve the problem peacefully and save a lot of trouble. If the general can agree, I can persuade you to consider the conditions that the general just proposed when I return to the city next time."

Wang Tom waved his hand gently and said: "The conditions I just proposed are not bargaining chips for the officials in the city. You don't have to agree to the conditions. You just have to see the truth on the battlefield. I know that the officials in the city are still

Even if it doesn’t hurt, I will still have illusions in my heart, but when they come back to negotiate after a bloody collision, the conditions will not be as good as they are now. If Boss Zheng thinks that we can’t continue talking, then that’s okay

Reluctantly, just go back and tell the officials in the city what I said."

Zheng Taisheng responded tremblingly: "I just accepted the order in the face of danger. I have no intention of going against Haihan. I hope the general will not blame him."

Tom Wang smiled and said: "I heard that Boss Zheng had a lot of business cooperation with us before this. I also hope that this incident will not affect our business relationship. We fight wars and we still have to continue to do business."

After this matter subsides, I welcome Boss Zheng to visit Dinghaigang again."

Zheng Taisheng did not ask for any concessions from Wang Tom, so he could only return to the city in despair with the three demands made by the other party. In the eyes of the officials, these demands were naturally unreasonable ideas that could not be compromised. Seeing the Haihan Army

They have begun to set up a camp on the bank of the East River in the city, making a gesture of long-term fighting. No matter how bad the Ming army in Hangzhou is, they can't just watch the opponent camp unscrupulously outside the city. They have to react to it.

.

So the day after Zheng Taisheng returned to the city, the Ming army showed its attitude with practical actions. Zhejiang Dusi Commander Qi Jie, staff general Gao Xuewu and others led more than 2,000 Ming troops out of the city from the east Wangjiang Gate and headed towards the Qiantang River

The Haihan camp progresses slowly downstream.

As soon as this Ming army's vanguard force left the city gate, it was discovered by Haihan's reconnaissance cavalry far outside the city. By the time it was assembled outside the city and marched towards Haihan's camp, Haihan's side had already advanced.

Be prepared for the challenge.

Although the Ming army dragged out two cannons from the city with great momentum, this was not a serious threat in the eyes of the Haihan Army. Before sunset yesterday, they had unloaded eight cannons from the supply ship to the shore and kept them on the shore overnight.

Artillery positions have been arranged on the camp's defense line. Although there is no time to practice firing today, the artillerymen of both sides are also fighting in an unfamiliar environment. The Haihan Army has relatively large advantages in terms of artillery weapon performance and combat experience, and has a greater chance of winning.

It's definitely bigger than the other person.

"Don't fight too hard. What we want is a deterrent effect, not a battle of annihilation. Also, don't hit them away in a few hits, otherwise you won't have enough deterrence effect." Wang Tom did not go ashore to supervise the battle in person. He was on the flagship

After hearing the reported military situation, the commander only gave a few faint instructions and showed no interest in even walking out of the captain's cabin to watch the battle on the deck.

Although he also knew that the Ming army was also equipped with muskets and artillery, the tactical level of the two sides was too different. It was basically impossible for the Ming army to rely on its limited strength advantage to eat Haihan alive. Wang Tom was very confident about the combat capabilities of his troops.

I am very confident that the two companies of the army plus the camp defenses should be enough to teach this Ming army some lessons.

For the Zhejiang Ming Army, which had lived in peace for too long, the Haihan Army's combat method was something they had never encountered before. In this kind of frontal battlefield, if they wanted to defeat the Haihan Army that had set up a good defense line, they basically only had to

They can rely on pure strength superiority or a large number of cavalry to offset their superiority in firepower output with human lives and mobility. But the Zhejiang Ming Army obviously did not realize what kind of terrifying opponent they were facing now and kept marching.

We stopped when we were less than one mile away from the Haihan camp. This distance was actually within the effective range of the Haihan artillery. It can be seen that the opponent's commander did not have enough understanding of the Haihan Army's combat methods.

Even though I don't know much about it, I am still deploying battle formations according to the usual combat methods of this era.

Following Wang Tom's order, the Haihan troops who landed did not wait patiently for the opponent to set up an offensive formation, and then took the lead in firing artillery to bombard the opponent. It is undoubtedly very difficult to accurately hit a specific target at a distance of one mile, but fortunately Mingming

The army was regrouping for the next attack. It would be difficult for the Haihan artillery to hit a target area consisting of hundreds of people.

After completing the ammunition loading and sighting, a roar was heard from the artillery position consisting of four six-pound cannons and four twelve-pound cannons. While the Ming army on the opposite side was still stunned and unable to recover, eight artillery pieces

The solid artillery shells roared into the Ming army's formation, and screams suddenly sounded.

The Ming army did not expect that their opponents would use this method to conduct a "sneak attack". They were caught off guard and suffered more than a dozen casualties. The Haihan army's use of artillery for a sneak attack was the next best thing. What really shocked the Ming army was the opponent's

The range of artillery is actually much longer than that of one's own artillery. At this distance, artillery shells can be easily fired into one's own position.

"Retreat! Retreat quickly!" When the commander Qi Jie saw the formation, he quickly twisted the reins of his mount and walked back. He was now very glad that he was not in a hurry to lecture his subordinates just now, otherwise the person in front of him would have been

He may have been one of the people in the team who was injured by the shells.

However, as soon as he turned around and walked away, a large group of guards and soldiers who were following him and holding banners also turned their heads in confusion. The troops behind him didn't know where they were. After hearing the sound of cannons, they saw the chief officer turning around.

Fleeing back, chaos immediately arose. If the commander-in-chief Gao Xuewu and other officers had not stopped them in time, there would have been a stampede and the formation would have collapsed before the battle officially started.

However, concerned about the range of the Haihan artillery, the Ming army finally had to move its front line back by about twenty feet. In fact, as long as the angle of the artillery is adjusted at this distance, the range is still within reach, which is nothing more than accuracy.

It's just a further decline, but since Haihan intends to teach the Ming army some lessons, they will naturally not be in a hurry to drive them away - if the Ming army retreats further, it's almost time to retreat into the city. And Haihan this time

The action did not intend to attack the city of Hangzhou. Doing so would have no benefit to Haihan except further intensifying the conflict.

So in the next half day, the civil and military officials at the top of Hangzhou City witnessed how these two thousand Ming troops took the initiative to launch offensives again and again, and each time they attacked, the result was a large number of casualties, and there was no continuous attack.

The edges of the Haihan Camp were inaccessible. The deep defense zone composed of a variety of roadblocks and the defense line composed of long-range guns and artillery were a nightmare for the Ming army, which lacked long-range firepower capabilities.

A similar situation occurred in Dengzhou, Shandong a month ago, but the Ming army that participated in the war woke up quickly and chose to retreat after two or three encounters. This time the Ming army faced off outside Hangzhou.

The commander of the Ming army was obviously much tougher. Seeing that there were three to four hundred casualties, he still continued to urge his men to attack the Haihan camp, quite like a moth rushing to the flames.

The civil and military officials who were watching the battle on the top of the city all had dark faces. Although they did not really expect this Ming army to beat the shit out of their opponents, at least the fighting should be lively. However, the current situation is not

It was obvious that they were defeated by the Haihan army. If the battle continued like this, even if more than two thousand people died outside the city, they might not be able to achieve any decent results.

"Pull back the troops!" The chief envoy Wang Ji said coldly, then turned and walked down the city. He really was not in the mood to watch this kind of almost death-defying battle. Although the generals leading the troops outside the city were brave

It's commendable, but this fighting method cannot change the strength gap between the two sides. Although he is a civil servant, he can also see that the Haihan people have left some leeway. They just stick to the camp and do not show any signs of increasing their troops or retreating.

It seems that he is also very confident about the capabilities of the Ming army. He was furious at the confidence of the Haihan people, but he couldn't find a place to vent. Thinking about the three demands that Zheng Taisheng brought back before, Wang Ji almost suffered from angina pectoris.

It happened on the spot.

In the current situation, the most disgraceful ones are the Zhejiang Dusi group. After all, they were the ones who fought desperately against the peace talks before, and now they are the ones who are being beaten to death by their opponents on the battlefield. Commander Du Si made Liu Feng furious.

He was almost bitten to pieces, but he also knew that he could not act impulsively at the moment. Although there were thousands of soldiers inside and outside Hangzhou who could fight, they must not be thrown into the battlefield at this moment. If the Haihan people attacked Hangzhou after this

If you want to build a city, you must have enough men and horses to guard the city.

Liu Feng knew that the Haihan Army was powerful in fighting before the war, but he did not expect it to be so powerful. He originally just wanted to use this opportunity to find out the details of the Haihan Army, but he did not expect that his opponent played extremely conservatively and did not

Showing true strength. In addition to heavy casualties on our side, the most terrifying thing is that this formation cannot be defeated, and the morale of the army will be greatly affected.

But the matter has come to this, and it is difficult to gain anything by forcing the army outside the city to hold on. It will only increase casualties. Although Liu Feng was unwilling to do so, he could only order Jin Jin to withdraw his troops. When the Haihan army saw the Ming army return,

They withdrew without leaving the camp to pursue them. It seemed that they didn't care whether they could kill as many Ming troops as possible in this battle.

But Liu Feng still put on a full show and went to the city gate to greet the disgraced Ming army. The commander Qi Jie had been holding the battle from behind, but everything was fine. However, the general Gao Xuewu personally led the army to charge into two waves, and his left shoulder

He was shot by a gun and came back with his arm hanging. This was thanks to the armor on his body that weakened the power of the bullet, otherwise the injury would have been more serious. And the more than 2,000 Ming troops they took out of the city came back.

There were only one thousand and seventy-eight left. According to preliminary statistics, the Ming army suffered more than 600 casualties in this battle, half of whom stayed on the battlefield and failed to withdraw. This can probably be regarded as a self-inflicted loss.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming army suffered the most casualties in the battle in the Hangzhou area.

Liu Feng took the initiative and asked Gao Xuewu: "In General Gao's opinion, is there any way to retreat from the enemy?"

Gao Xuewu shook his head helplessly and said: "The Haihan people have sharp firearms and cannot be defeated head-on. If you want to retreat from the enemy, you have to consider their retreat and cut off their supplies."

Liu Feng thought that everyone knew that the Haihan people's supply line was a waterway, but the problem was that knowing it was useless. There were no troops on the ground in Zhejiang that could defeat the Haihan people on the water. It would be useless to try to cut off the Haihan people's supply line.

If the navy goes to war, it is better to hope that God will quickly snow a few more times and freeze the Qiantang River. Of course, the possibility of such a special climate is very slim, and I am afraid that Haihan has not withdrawn his troops by then, Hangzhou

Thousands of people in the city are freezing to death on the streets.
Chapter completed!