C42 (1/2)
Chapter 42 - Release
With guns in formation and the two wings of the warriors supporting each other, the era where the online gun did not appear would always be the mainstream of war. Right now, Luo Huo's Fire Spear Array was the backbone of firepower output, and the bandits of Taibai Top that were rushing forth with their wings were the strong protection of the Fire Spear Array. Anyone who dared to slip through the net and sneak attack them would be mercilessly killed.
This tactic was not something that Xiao Letian had thought of for nothing. It was the essence of almost all the battle formations in the history of the Western musket. The Spanish phalanx used pike soldiers as its flank, but the Napoleon era used artillery as its long distance shooting system, as well as the dragon cavalry as its flank guards.
Even in the American Civil War, which had just ended, the Musketeers still needed the cavalry and scattered troops to protect them. They were not as extravagant as Xiao Letian. To think that ten Musketeers s were worthy of over a hundred strong men in green as guards, how could they not have high battle prowess?
The Heavenly Kingdom Army of the Taibai Top was mainly made up of the North Guard s, and the North Guard was an elite amongst the elites of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to send over twenty thousand troops all the way to Tianjin. Many of the soldiers who made up this troop were from the Southern Green Forest.
To put it bluntly, Xiao Letian was the advisor leading a luxurious army that was completely composed of Green Forest people. Although these people alone wouldn't be Xiang Shaolong's match, a group of Green Forest Heroes had learnt how to coordinate with an army, so even ten of Xiang Shaolong's wouldn't be Xiang Shaolong's match.
”Luo Huo, did you find the Mr. Xiao?” Xiao Hexin asked nervously.
”No, but the back door of the thatched cottage is open …” Luo Huo raised his torch high up and peeked inside the valley to see what was going on.
”Chase after him. As long as you get close to Mister, Mister will definitely send a signal!” With that, Xiao Hexin was the first to jump into the valley. In a short moment, the entire valley was lit up by torches, and over a hundred people started to search the valley like a dragon.
”Wang Huaiyuan, capture those injured enemies, simple treatment first … These are our hostages! ” Xiao Hexin's roar came from the valley.
At this time, Xiao Letian had already seen the light coming from behind him. He listened carefully for a long time, and when he heard the familiar sound of guns shooting at him, he subconsciously wanted to take out the yellow phosphorescent flame, but then he thought about it. He didn't know how many enemies were hiding in the darkness around him.
Thinking about it, he then said to Hu Niu in a low voice: ”Don't bother about them, let's continue walking down the mountain. Don't make any sound.” He did not know how long they had walked for, but the two of them suddenly realised that behind them, there were sounds of grass swaying. Xiao Letian quickly pulled Hu Niu and hid in the grass at the side.
But before they could hide properly, suddenly, a cold and hard thing pressed against Xiao Letian's waist. Mr. Xiao, we meet again, this is your gun, you should know its power better than me. The one who spoke was Xiang Shaolong.
”Damn it, Xiao Letian cursed in his heart. He never thought that this fellow's legs would be so fast.” Dragon Lord, what is the matter, can't we discuss it properly? What deep hatred and hatred do you and I have for chasing each other like this? Who exactly hired you? No matter how much it costs, I'll pay you a double, right? ”
Xiang Shaolong laughed bitterly: ”Don't play with me anymore, you want to buy time for you to save me? ”Keep dreaming, retreat with me right now, hurry up …”
Under the threat of the gun, Xiao Letian and Hu Niu slowly retreated backwards. Borrowing the weak starlight, the two of them were surprised to find that there was a cave behind the bush. When the three of them entered the cave, Xiang Shaolong used the grass to cover the entrance as the muzzle of his gun threatened Xiao Letian. The three of them did not dare to make a sound.
Not long after, the sounds of gunfire and weapons clashing could be heard in the distance. ”Capture him alive, capture him …” It was Sima Yun, who was leading her brothers to surround the Xiang Jia Village's disciples.
Xiao Letian could clearly feel that Xiang Shaolong was trembling. Maybe the tyrant of the northern martial arts world had never been humiliated like this in his life before.
Not long after, the light from the torch started to flicker at the cave entrance. The three of them saw with their own eyes that the two disciples of Xiang Jia Village were being carried away like pigs tied to a wooden stick. Sima Yun took a look around, but did not discover the entrance, and then brought his people rushing deeper into the valley.
After an entire half an hour, the outside of the cave finally quieted down. Only then did Xiao Letian ask softly, ”Dragon Lord … ”As you can see, those are your apprentices, and the children and disciples of the martial arts world are your family business. It's not easy to amass so much money, so why do you have to go through so much trouble …”
”As I expected, the person who saved me has already started to head towards the Xiang Jia Village. To tell you the truth, in exchange for my life, they will definitely use your family members to exchange …”
”Shut up! You two devils who wrote the Evil Scripture, I am acting on behalf of the heavens to kill you! ” Dragon Lord was already sweating, but he was still being stubborn. At that time, Xiao Letian was so angry, he thought to himself that there was no way this Great Qing could be saved. Everyone's brain had already been completely brainwashed by the feudalism, how could they not understand?
Hehe, Xiao Letian laughed coldly and said, ”Heh, that means Dragon Lord has also seen my clumsy work? It seems you think he's some sort of strange book like Journey to the West and the Divine Seal Decree? ”He's really hopeless, using lies as logic, and he's even able to reason with me. Pah …”
You don't believe that the earth is round, you don't understand the technology of the west, you don't understand why the ships of the foreigners can sail the Great Clear Sea, which is full of holes, and you don't understand why the muskets of the foreigners are so powerful, and how they can kill people without them noticing … ”