Chapter 2179 - Ambush (Part 4)

"Kill!" The first wave of humanity crashed viciously together. In just a few breaths, the first batch of regiment militia engaging in bayonet combat was almost swept clean. The militia held various weapons. Most only had a waist saber, and a minority held spears or clubs.

Most militia had undergone no training and just swung their swords in wide, sweeping motions. These locally self-manufactured swords, though imitating official sabers, were crude in material and manufacture. To compensate for the insufficient strength of the material, blacksmiths often used a thicker and wider blade body, making the weight and dimensions larger than ordinary waist sabers. People without specialized swordsmanship training couldn't use them well; often, raising the sword left their "front door" wide open, and they were immediately finished off by a bayonet thrust.

There were indeed a few militia who knew a bit of swordplay, spinning their waist sabers into a ball of white light. However, war is not a street performance; flashy moves were useless. "Selling a weak point" immediately invited two or three bayonets stabbing together from different directions, leaving the body full of holes and dead on the ground.

The truly useful ones were those Ming army deserters who'd experienced battle. Their sword techniques were practical combat skills passed down through generations in the ranks, simple and practical. Techniques like "Single Saber Breaks Spear," though not florid in name, could contend with bayonets in the hands of experienced soldiers. However, the number of such regiment braves was small, and they were soon "taken care of" with priority, falling dead one after another.

A militia member holding a suobiao (spear) stabbed viciously at Fubo Army soldier Ye Canming. Suobiao was the southern name; it was actually an eyebrow-height short spear. This weapon generally used bamboo or a wooden stick as the shaft, fitted with an iron spearhead. The spearhead was forged into a sword shape or triangular shape. Though the workmanship was generally less exquisite than the "Standard Pike" made in Lingao, for the Ming army and local armed forces lacking in quantity and quality of firearms, the suobiao was the weapon that posed the greatest threat to the Fubo Army in bayonet combat. In the history of the real timeline, whether during the Red Army period or the War of Resistance Against Japan, for the Communist forces lacking weapons, the suobiao was a very important melee weapon. If training was sufficient and morale high, they could even go a few rounds with enemies equipped with bayonets in melee combat.

However, right now, training and morale obviously had little to do with these militia. Moreover, after the earlier bandit suppression and the Public Security War in North Hainan, the Fubo Army had also put considerable effort into offense and defense against spears.

"Defend left thrust." Ye Canming silently recited the fighting technique taught by the instructor. The instructor said at the time: When the enemy stabs toward my left, I should swing the gun toward the front left and slightly down with my left hand (left, front, down about a fist's distance each), while swinging the rifle butt toward the front right and slightly up with my right hand (about a fist's distance). With the combined force of both hands, strike the enemy spear fiercely with the left side of the bayonet lug. The posture at this time is: left arm slightly bent, muzzle about in line with the outside of the left upper arm... When defending the left, the gun-swinging movement cannot be too large; otherwise, if the enemy feints left and stabs right, you will be stabbed because the exposed area on the right is too large; after parrying, take the shortest path to quickly counter-thrust the enemy.

After long-term training, the lengthy and boring tactical movements had become his instinct. Ye Canming quickly smashed the militia's spear with the wooden bayonet lug. A great force transmitted from the spear. The militia member's web between thumb and forefinger shook violently; though the spear didn't fly out of his hand, it was knocked aside. In the blink of an eye, Ye Canming took advantage of the momentum to stab the militia member's chest. With a pfft, the militia member's chest was pierced through, chilling him to the heart. His eyes went wide, and he crashed heavily to the ground.

The bayonet fight lasted a very short time. The militia were far inferior to the professional Fubo Army soldiers in both physical fitness and training. Not to mention training levels, most militia were sallow and thin with sunken cheeks, while Fubo Army soldiers were generally sturdy, their good nutritional level giving their faces a healthy oily sheen. Whether thrusting or parrying, the Fubo Army's movements were clean and neat. The sound of weapons clashing and bayonets entering flesh resonated through the battlefield, setting teeth on edge.

Shao Laosan failed to capture prisoners and lost two regiment braves for nothing, getting a cut on his head from shrapnel fragment himself. Seeing the main force charging up, he also leaped up and followed the charge. Unlike the militia, not only was he wearing a brigandine armor, but the waist saber in his hand was also a standard combat saber of the Ming army made locally in Guangxi—not the rotten goods issued by the Ministry of Works. The few personal guards charging with him were "taken care of" with priority by the Fubo Army because they wore armor, and most were dead. Only he acted according to the situation, hiding behind the crowd without advancing rashly, dodging two volleys from the Fubo Army.

He saw Ye Canming stab his bayonet into a militia member's body and fail to pull it out for a moment. Knowing there was an opportunity, he hurriedly swung his waist saber and chopped viciously at the back of Ye Canming's head.

Ye Canming was pulling the bayonet from the corpse when he suddenly felt a cold wind behind his head. In great shock, he immediately let go of the rifle and rolled on the ground. The waist saber lost its aim, drawing a long bloody mark on Ye Canming's back. Desperate and ignoring the pain, Ye Canming grabbed the spear from the hands of the militia member he'd killed and confronted Shao Laosan.

Having succeeded in one move, Shao Laosan's follow-up moves unfolded continuously, hacking at Ye Canming one cut after another, each fiercer than the last. The spear in Ye Canming's hand was just a piece of bamboo, not strong enough. He was left and right clumsy, falling into a disadvantage. He could only try hard to hit the back or side of the incoming saber with the spear. However, the crudely made spear was indeed far less sturdy than the iron waist saber. Spying an opportunity, Shao Laosan executed a heavy vertical chop. Ye Canming couldn't dodge and could only block hard. With a crack, the spear in Ye Canming's hand was chopped in two. A ferocious smile appeared on Shao Laosan's face as he raised the big saber over his head with both hands. Ye Canming had no way to resist; he sighed deeply and closed his eyes to wait for death.

"Bang!" A rifle extended from the side, blocking the downward-chopping big saber. Ye Canming, bowing his head to wait for death, looked at this scene in disbelief. His gaze moved upward.

"Platoon Leader!"

The comer was none other than the number one bayonet master here, Fubo Army Commander, Platoon Leader Li Gangsheng. He held the bayonet level, staring coldly into the eyes of the enemy soldier Shao Laosan. Shao Laosan immediately felt the new opponent was unusual. He withdrew the big saber to his side and began to weigh this opponent's worth.

The two focused only on each other, circling halfway on the ground in a standoff. Shao Laosan roared, raised the big saber, and chopped straight down.

"Nothing special." Li Gangsheng sidestepped, dodging this mad-tiger-like chop. Taking advantage of the moment when Shao Laosan's old force was spent and new force not yet born, he turned the rifle around and smashed the rifle butt savagely onto Shao Laosan's skull. Stable, accurate, ruthless!

A teeth-setting "crack" sound came from the joining of the skull bones. The sturdy stock of the Minié rifle was stained with red and white liquids—red was blood, white was brain matter. Shao Laosan's head was smashed like a ripe watermelon, and he died on the spot.

"The fifth one." Li Gangsheng only turned a thought in his mind, then glanced coldly at Ye Canming who was still sitting paralyzed on the ground. The latter hurriedly pulled his own rifle from the corpse and followed the company commander forward to kill.

The first wave of bayonet combat ended very quickly. Though the militia had many people, their training and quality were far inferior. After the brave warriors among the militia were killed off at maximum speed, the remaining people scattered and fled. More than thirty Fubo Army soldiers chased fiercely with bayonets. They only had four wounded in the melee. Apart from the Fubo Army soldier whose abdomen was pierced by a spear, Ye Canming with a cut on his back was already the most seriously injured. However, the excessive secretion of adrenaline made him completely unaware of his wound. Platoon Leader Li Gangsheng's martial prowess roused his heavenly fighting will. Holding the rifle level, he shouted and followed his platoon leader closely, as if all enemies in front would be easily trampled flat by them.

"Hold! Hold!" Seeing the defeat like a mountain collapsing, Master Yang was exasperated. Two hundred elites ambushing less than forty people, yet beaten to flowing water in the time it takes to eat a meal. He suddenly realized how ridiculous his idea of "Opposing Kun and Supporting Ming" to win fame and "glorify ancestors" was. With their combat power, once those hundred-plus men arrived in full force, they could swallow his little bit of manpower whole without leaving even bone dregs.

He knew deeply that if he failed here today, his family was finished—the gentry and powerful local households all watched the wind to hoist their flags. If he lost today, there would be no need for the Australians to act; the surrounding powerful families, Hakkas, Yao people... every one of them would jump out to tear him apart first.

Yang Erhu had been swarmed back by the defeated soldiers. He originally had the intention to retreat, but looking at his uncle who was jumping with rage yet pale as death, he knew that if this battle was lost here, nothing could be done afterwards. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed a Japanese sword from a personal guard, hacked down the two militia running at the very front, and shouted: "Those who retreat will be beheaded!"

Arguments of personal guards beside him also drew swords and waved them in the air, shouting along: "Those who retreat will be beheaded!"

Only then did the routed troops stabilize their order slightly. Yang Erhu, with an iron-green face, shouted:

"Advance, no retreat! Everyone attack! Rush up, one tael of silver for hacking a Hair Rebel once! Five taels for beheading one! Whoever dares to retreat, don't blame me for being heartless and unjust! Not only will I kill him, I'll kill his whole family!"

Seeing the militia didn't dare run wildly anymore, Yang Erhu said: "Don't be afraid, everyone. The Kun only have a few dozen people. If we go up and each take a chop, we'll hack them to death!"

Originally, the militia were somewhat terrified, but hearing the Master offering unprecedentedly heavy rewards, and seeing that the rushing Kun were only thirty-odd men—after all, their own side had numbers and strength—if they rushed up and each took a chop, they could hack them all to death. Immediately, they all clamored. Seeing morale was usable, Yang Erhu called his cousin Yang Xiaodong to lead the team to charge and kill.

"Xiaodong, it's up to you!"

"Don't worry, Big Brother!" Though Yang Xiaodong wasn't a military man, he'd liked playing with spears and clubs since childhood, and the family had hired several instructors. Though young, he was fiercely brave in charging and killing. During the days when Yang Family Village was "conquering east and west," he led a group of clan brothers and nephews to charge in front, establishing much merit and killing many people, calling himself a "fierce general."