Chapter 2158 - Three Commanders
Looking at their equipment—every man carrying a double-barreled shotgun—they were far more impressive than his own row of spears. The new recruits under his command were whispering among themselves: same National Army, and these "mountain Yao" and "Miao folk" all had guns!
Li Dong was a combat veteran and knew that while shotguns had short range, they were devastatingly effective in close-quarters mountain fighting. At a few dozen meters, you didn't even need to aim—one blast and your target was dead or maimed. With luck, a single shot could take down several enemies. Far more useful in mountain jungle than these unwieldy long spears.
"The men we have here are all locally recruited new soldiers—a full month of training at most," Li Dong said with some regret. "How did it go? Heavy casualties?"
"Not light." Chen Huan's face was displeased. "The command boat took a direct hit. Even the boiler blew."
"Then Lieutenant Mi...?"
"Don't know his status yet. The command boat has sunk. We're still rescuing survivors." Chen Huan said, "Stay here and establish a defensive perimeter. I'm going to link up with the main body."
Chen Huan led his soldiers toward the riverbank. As the rally call sounded, soldiers who had gone missing during the fight drifted back one by one. When the final count was made, no one had been killed. The four who had taken arrows were all still alive; most of the ten missing had returned; only three remained unaccounted for—whether scattered or wounded, no one knew.
Li Dong posted soldiers in a defensive line against a sudden enemy counterattack, and had several men fashion stretchers from spears to carry the wounded to the riverbank to wait for boats—though they had a medic, his skills amounted to applying dressings and bandages; anything more complicated was beyond him.
The medic tried to keep the wounded calm: "Stop whimpering like women, every one of you. An arrow wound? Just a mosquito bite. We're taking you to Fengchuan County seat—just a few li away! There's a field hospital there, doctors, even little nurses! You'll just lie around healing and living the good life..."
Li Dong watched as a man with an arrow in his chest was carried away. The bandage over his chest was already soaked red; he was gasping, blood foam at his lips... Li Dong knew this one wouldn't make it. He felt a pang of grief.
Watching comrades die was part of going into battle—but this time was different. These men had died under his command. He couldn't help but feel guilt.
"Any orders from Battalion Commander Zhu?" Li Dong asked. He had just sent a signalman to flag Boat No. 1.
"None. The left column is following the main body forward."
Mi Longtao's boat had been hit by a cannon round less than twenty meters from shore. The dozen or so soldiers crowded on deck had been swept away by the passing shot—dead or wounded. He had been on the helm platform and was thus spared. But the shockwave from the round had blasted him off the platform. When he got to his feet, the deck was a shambles. Smoke was thick; all he could hear was the dense crackle of gunfire and the shouts of combat.
Mi Longtao used his saber to prop himself up, still somewhat dazed. Suddenly one of his platoon leaders, covered in blood, emerged from the smoke.
"Lieutenant! We've been ambushed!" The platoon leader was limping, apparently wounded. "The men on board are all dead! Let's pull back and regroup."
Mi Longtao strained to see outside. The river was engulfed in smoke; nothing was visible. All he could hear was the hiss of projectiles tearing through the air. But he could hear the Beiwei Army's war cries and the distinctive sharp crack of Minié rifles; his force hadn't lost cohesion—they were still fighting.
A gust of wind suddenly dispersed some of the smoke. He could see gun smoke spurting continuously from the bank. His boats were struggling toward shore—but this stretch of shoreline was a vast shoal, impossible to reach dry land; soldiers would have to disembark in the shallows.
His men were staggering through the shallows, pressing forward under a hail of arrows and musket balls. Fortunately, every boat carried guns, and they were all firing now, keeping up suppressive fire on the shore.
"Good shooting," Mi Longtao said, wanting to slap the gunwale. Only then did he realize he couldn't lift his arm. He wanted to give orders, but saw the signalman lying motionless on the deck; the helmsman was dead too. Aside from groaning wounded, only three or four men still stood and returned fire.
Just then, several soot-blackened sailors clambered up from below deck, shouting: "Get off! The boiler's cracked! It's going to explode!" They started jumping into the water.
At this, the few remaining soldiers made to follow. Mi Longtao stopped them: "Take the wounded! Even if they die, let them die on shore!"
His arm was probably broken—he had no strength in it—and could only get into the water with the platoon leader's help. Moments after they entered the water, the boiler exploded. The blast sent a wave that shoved them hard, nearly pushing them under. Fortunately the flood season hadn't arrived; the current was neither fast nor deep. A few desperate struggles and they touched bottom.
Crawling ashore, they found the enemy had all fled. A medic came over to examine him: his arm was broken, so they splinted and immobilized it. Mi Longtao looked down at himself—soaked through, clothes in tatters, blackened all over—a wretched sight indeed. What a heavy price! He thought angrily. Damn bandits!
He gazed out at the river. The shattered command boat had completely sunk; only a portion of the smokestack and the mast jutted above the surface. The stack was still venting white steam, as if gasping its last. Debris and soldiers' bodies floated on the water.
"Report, Lieutenant..." Chen Huan came up beside him, about to salute.
"What's the situation?" Mi Longtao waved aside the formalities.
"The enemy has fled. Preliminary count shows over thirty enemy dead; they abandoned their cannon and a lot of firearms." Chen Huan reported, "Much credit goes to the Wuzhou company—they flanked the enemy and took the pressure off our front."
"Beat the rally drum. All units form up. Deploy in battle formation and proceed to Xugang. If there's no sign of the enemy, the battalion will temporarily withdraw into Xugang to rest."
"Yes, sir!" Chen Huan saluted and was about to leave, but Mi Longtao called him back. "I'm wounded and can't move freely. From now on, you command in my place during operations."
Chen Huan hesitated. Mi Longtao smiled: "What? You've been a company commander for years—you can't shoulder this responsibility?"
"It's not that... I'm a National Army lieutenant..."
"Beiwei Army, National Army—what's the difference? You're an officer of the Council of Elders. I'm putting you in command now; you represent the Council. What's there to be afraid of? Go do it!"
He sent Chen Huan off, then saw Zhu Si approaching with a few soldiers. The young man's bearing and manner were superior to Chen Huan's, yet his face was tense. Mi Longtao noticed he kept glancing around, his neck twitching as if ducking involuntarily.
A raw rookie with no experience...
Mi Longtao thought to himself. Clearly, Zhu Si had no combat experience—but the flanking maneuver earlier had been decisive, allowing Chen Huan to quickly turn the tide. He wasn't without potential; with more seasoning, he could become a competent officer.
"Lieutenant Mi..." Seeing Mi Longtao's condition, Zhu Si was so nervous he could barely speak coherently. Mi Longtao was covered in soot, and his face and clothes were spattered with bloodstains—a shocking sight.
Mi Longtao shook his head and sighed: "I'm fine. This is all my comrades' blood... We took heavy casualties this time."
"I never imagined the bandits would have artillery!" Zhu Si said bitterly. Earlier, the moment Mi Longtao's command boat was hit, he had been too stunned to speak. When the signalman reported Li Dong's requests several times, he hadn't even registered them; only when the helmsman asked for orders did he manage to say "follow the main body forward."
"No, I never imagined either." Mi Longtao looked at him. "But this time, you all deserve a lot of credit."
Zhu Si stiffened. He remembered Li Dong's signals. Bad! He assumed Mi Longtao was displeased with Li Dong's unauthorized action. Inwardly cursing Li Dong as "meddlesome" and "glory-hungry," he quickly snapped to attention and bowed. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't have acted on our own initiative! It was all..."
"Not at all!" Mi Longtao waved him off. "If not for your bold action—your proactive strike that pinned down the enemy from the flank—we would have paid an even heavier price pushing up. You commanded well!"
Zhu Si had expected a dressing-down from Mi Longtao, plus a black mark in the after-action report—his career would have been on the line! To his surprise, Mi Longtao had praised him instead. His spirits lifted, and he snapped to attention again with a bow. "It was all thanks to your excellent command, sir, and Lieutenant Chen's valiant fighting..."
"All right, all right, don't be so formal." Mi Longtao found Zhu Si's parade-ground etiquette uncomfortable. He cut him off. "Assemble your men immediately and clear the battlefield. All wounded, prisoners, and captured material are to be transported by boat to Fengchuan County seat."
"Yes, Lieutenant!"
"Organize the men to recover the fallen as quickly as possible. Bodies will be buried on site with proper markers. Salvage whatever can be recovered."
Zhu Si watched Chen Huan's troops form up and start marching toward Xugang. He felt a twinge of envy: his own men were stuck doing cleanup.
Mi Longtao finished issuing orders and asked soldiers to help him up; he wanted to inspect the bandits' ambush position.
The position had been set up in the trees not far from the bank. There were no conspicuous earthworks or trenches—just sandbags piled into a crude gun emplacement holding one large cannon.
Mi Longtao stood at the gun position and looked out at the river. The spot was masterfully chosen. Because of the shoals, the flotilla had been forced to sail close to the bank channel; the straight-line distance was less than fifty meters. And from the dry shore to the channel stretched a vast expanse of flat, open shallows.
(Chapter End)