Chapter 41: Post-Battle Summary! Abundant Gains!
The heavy machine gun platoon directly under the command of the regiment, with its 6 Maxim M1910 water-cooled heavy machine guns, unleashed a powerful crossfire.
Under the barrage of fire!
The fleeing Mongol cavalrymen were cut down like grass.
On the other flank, the 2nd and 3rd battalions also closed in for the encirclement.
The soldiers’ Mosin-Nagant rifles, issued Goryunov light machine guns, and 60mm mortars.
Rained merciless bullets and shells upon the enemy ranks.
In an instant.
More than half of the 2,000 Mongol cavalrymen were casualties.
Overwhelming!
It was a complete and utter rout!
Zhang Xue Ming’s weapons, far ahead of their time, could even crush the elite forces of the world's great powers.
Let alone the private armies of these Mongol princes.
These private armies had never received professional training. They might be skilled at fighting easy victories and robbing civilians, but when it came to fighting a real war against a regular army.
The saying still stands.
Ever since the Maxim machine gun was invented, these Mongol cavalrymen who only knew how to swing swords and wield lances should have learned to sing and dance instead!
“Good heavens! What kind of troops are these?”
“How can their firepower be so strong!”
“Scatter and flee! Scatter and flee!”
At this moment, the Mongol cavalry realized they had run into a tough opponent.
They tried to exploit their maneuverability, each man with two horses, to make a swift escape.
This was their tactic for centuries.
If we can't fight!
We can still outrun them, right?
We can each ride two horses, scatter and flee, covering a hundred miles a day.
What will you use to chase us?
But just then.
They saw the leader of the pursuing troops, a valiant general, raise his hand.
“Buzz —————”
A sound like the wailing of a hundred ghosts echoed from the sky.
The Mongol cavalry looked up.
Only to see 10 gigantic iron birds diving towards them.
100 Stukas!
There were simply too many.
Zhang Xue Ming only had a makeshift airfield inside his camp.
So, he had only summoned 10 planes.
Even so.
It was enough to completely terrify the Mongol cavalry who had never seen anything so terrifying.
“Giant eagles! Giant eagles!”
“Eternal Heaven! Eternal Heaven has come to punish us!”
“We surrender! We surrender!”
The Mongol people considered eagles to be the servants of Eternal Heaven.
Now, seeing the bombers diving down with a deafening roar.
Countless Mongol stragglers were terrified, believing they were being punished by the gods, and immediately jumped off their horses and prostrated themselves begging for mercy.
Seeing this!
Zhang Xue Ming rode his horse towards the injured Mongol prince.
He was riddled with three bullets in the abdomen, bleeding profusely, and his face was ashen.
“Who are you?” Zhang Xue Ming asked condescendingly.
The pig-like prince, knowing his end was near, pointed arrogantly at the yellow robe he was wearing.
“This king is Boljite! First-Class Earl of the Great Qing, conferred with the Yellow Robe by the Emperor....”
“Bang!”
Before he could finish, Zhang Xue Ming shot him in the head.
“Great Qing? Your Great Qing has been dead for ages!”
“Ma Mao Xun!”
“Here!”
“Take this prince, cut him into five pieces, and bury his body under the four gates of Tailei County, to appease the souls of the innocent people who were murdered!”
“As for the rest of the princely soldiers, those who are injured will be directly beheaded. Those who are unharmed will be sent to the coal mines and forced to work until they die!”
Upon hearing this, all the Mongol private soldiers turned pale.
The Mongols believe in Eternal Heaven, and their dead are given a sky burial!
But now, this man before them wanted to separate the prince's body and bury it under the city gates!
Wouldn't that mean the prince would be below the city gates!
And be trampled on by people and animals entering the city day after day?
For a moment.
All the Mongol private soldiers trembled with fear.
On the other hand, the rescued civilians erupted in cheers.
“The young marshal is wise!”
“Thank you, young marshal, for avenging us!”
“Wuwuwu, we are saved!”
......
Soon, the battle results were tallied.
716 Mongol cavalrymen were killed and 1,202 were captured.
1,000 horses, 800 cattle and sheep, 1,600 rifles, and countless other food and supplies were seized.
Moreover, this sortie rescued more than 20,000 civilians who had been captured in Tailei County.
However.
The fire in Tailei County had yet to be extinguished.
Many houses and fields were destroyed.
Many people were homeless and could not settle down.
April in Northeast China was still cold. Without homes, with their newly planted rice seeds burned, these people would likely become refugees fleeing in all directions.
So, Zhang Xue Ming acted decisively.
He led these homeless people directly back to Daqing City!
His city, which originally had 45,000 people.
Suddenly had an influx of over 10,000 ‘new workers’!
“Hmph! All the bandits within a hundred miles around have been driven out, and yet this Mongol prince dares to touch my whiskers!”
“He must not have found out that Daqing City has changed hands!”
“But it’s a good thing!”
“These 1,200 prisoners will be sent to the coal mines. They’ll be enough to keep them busy for half a year!”
Zhang Xue Ming had such a personality.
He was warm as spring towards his comrades!
But towards his enemies, he was as cruel and merciless as winter!
.....................
“Ms. Lin, what are you busy with?”
After the triumphant return of the army.
Zhang Xue Ming arranged for Lin Hui Yin to live in a two-story building in the camp!
In the original design!
This building was supposed to be a military guest house.
Now it was occupied by the system-awarded Soviet experts and construction equipment operators.
After meeting these experts, Lin Hui Yin was astonished. She never imagined that Zhang Xue Ming had gathered so many ‘foreign talents’!
However, before discussing with these experts how to build a new city.
Lin Hui Yin was preparing to do something big.
Seeing Zhang Xue Ming enter the room, Lin Hui Yin picked up the manuscript in her hand and handed it to him.
“Xue Ming, take a look at this article I wrote. How is it?”
“An article?”
Zhang Xue Ming took the manuscript and glanced at it.
《The Young General: The Heroic Journey of Zhang Xue Ming, the Young Marshal of the Fengtian Army!》
“Damn! Why are you writing this?”
Zhang Xue Ming saw that Lin Hui Yin’s article was filled with praise for him.
What “young general”!
What “eloquent and elegant”!
It made him feel a bit embarrassed.
I just want to get a girlfriend… no, I just want to build a strong family.
How is that noble?!
But Lin Hui Yin was not convinced. She pulled out several newspapers from her suitcase.
“Look, those literati who don't understand you, they keep writing articles to slander you!”
“I’m just speaking up for you!”