Rebirth of The Deer and the Cauldron, Wei Xiaobao Becomes a God

When the commander saw this, he was horrified. He knew that if he did not take action, the entire army would be wiped out.

So they shouted loudly: "Disperse! Disperse quickly! Don't gather together and become sitting ducks!"

Under his command, the Qing soldiers began to disperse to avoid the artillery shells, but even so, the arrival of the second round of artillery fire still caused them heavy casualties.

However, after a period of panic, due to the timely evacuation of Qing soldiers and the implementation of preventive measures, the effect of the third round of shelling was much less than before, causing only a small number of casualties.

Major John was not discouraged by this incident, as he knew the cruelty and unpredictability of war. So he decisively ordered to stop the shelling and let the front army team organize the team to prepare for the attack.

The sound of drums once again echoed over the battlefield, like the heaviest drumbeat in the sky, playing the prelude to the fierce battle that was about to unfold.

The team walking in the front is the Portuguese mercenary team. This team is composed of more than 200 retired soldiers, all of whom are former veterans of the battlefield. After retiring, they chose another way of life - becoming the private armed forces of those ship owners and adventurers who travel around the world.

These mercenaries, with their extraordinary combat skills and rich practical experience, have become a powerful presence in the multinational coalition forces second only to the Marine Corps.

Following the commander's stern command, the Portuguese mercenaries on the march quickly adjusted their formation. The originally compact marching column instantly transformed into three horizontal rows of battle squares, like an indestructible Great Wall of Steel.

The first row of soldiers quickly squatted down and began to load ammunition in a tense and orderly manner. Ten breaths later, the second and third rows took over the same action, while the first row was ready to pour out its anger on the Qing army. This cycle repeated, and the sound of flintlock rifles "bang, bang..." came one after another, weaving into a symphony of death.

Faced with this sudden and fierce firepower, the Qing army was obviously unprepared. The soldiers on the front line were caught off guard and fell one after another in the hail of bullets, and their blood dyed the ground beneath their feet red.

When the captain saw this, he was not panicked, for he was well aware of the Red-haired devils' advantage in firearms. He immediately and decisively ordered the entire army to charge, intending to shorten the distance to make up for the shortcoming in the range of the muskets.

The Qing soldiers responded to the call, holding various weapons and charging forward desperately.

Most of the weapons in their hands were muskets, also known as bird guns. Although they were matchlock guns, they had limited range, with a maximum effective range of only seventy meters, far less than the flintlock guns in the hands of the enemy, which had an effective range of one hundred meters.

However, this short distance of thirty meters became a test of life and death.

Due to the narrow terrain, the Qing soldiers could not disperse and charge, and could only advance in dense formations. Every time the enemy fired a volley of gunfire, dozens of Qing soldiers died heroically. When the charge reached more than 70 meters, the team of more than 700 people had been reduced to less than 300.

At this critical moment of life and death, the Qing army soldiers showed amazing courage and spirit of sacrifice.

A brave soldier finally rushed into the effective firing range of the enemy. He raised his musket and pulled the trigger without hesitation. Although the bullet only grazed the enemy's head, his fearless courage was enough to move people.

Immediately afterwards, more Qing soldiers followed suit. Some held steel knives and protected the musketeers, using their flesh and blood to build a line of defense for life; some archers shot arrows from a hundred steps away, trying to disrupt the enemy's sight.

The Qing soldiers charged fearlessly and fought bravely. They built an indestructible line of defense with their flesh and blood and withstood the enemy's fierce attack.

Finally, a soldier in the Red Haired Devil's formation was shot and fell, which gave the Qing army soldiers a chance to catch their breath.

The Qing soldier who fired the shot had no time to reload his ammunition, so he used his body to protect the next musketeer without hesitation.

He placed the musket upright on the ground, supporting his bleeding body, hoping to block one more bullet so that his comrades behind him would have more time to eliminate the invading enemy.

The sun gradually rose, illuminating the blood-red land. The gunfire stopped, and there was no Qing soldier left standing on the battlefield.

Qian Zong was covered in wounds and fell in a pool of blood. To die before achieving success is always a hero's cry. His eyes were still fixed on the red-haired devils in front of him, as if expressing his unwillingness and anger.

This land witnessed the heroic sacrifice of 700 shore defense soldiers who defended the dignity and territorial integrity of the country with their lives. Their spirit will be forever engraved in the long river of history, inspiring future generations to move forward bravely and never retreat.

Major John gathered his troops, realigned their formation, and continued forward.

It is only about ten miles from Wusongkou to Shanghai County, but the journey seems particularly long. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Shanghai was just a small customs port and the county town was not large.

At that time, the county had one chief of the Outer Commission and one chief of the Outer Commission. The so-called "outer commission" was actually a hired staff who was not in the formal establishment, which can be understood as temporary workers in government departments today.

The Outer Commissioned Qianzong enjoyed the treatment of an eighth-rank official, while the Outer Commissioned Bazong enjoyed the treatment of a ninth-rank official. They had about a hundred soldiers under their command, who were not part of the regular Han army but local militia recruited from the local area.

The main duties of these militiamen included maintaining public order on Jianghai Road, inspecting the city gates, resisting foreign invasions, and quelling riots. On weekdays, they followed the command and dispatch of Qushi, who was in charge of public order.

Due to limited conditions, the weapons these militiamen were equipped with were mainly cold weapons such as swords, bows and arrows, and the number of firearms was extremely scarce, not to mention heavy weapons such as the Tiger Cannon and the Red Cannon. After all, it was impossible to distribute such advanced equipment to these militiamen.

In the morning, the messenger sent by the captain of the coastal defense troops had already informed the people along the way and the magistrate of Shanghai County of the situation in advance.

When the county magistrate heard this, he was shocked! A few days ago, he went to Wusongkou to watch the multinational ships bombarding the Wusongkou Fort. The bloody scene was still in his mind. He immediately ordered the city gates to be closed and wait for help.

Several more cavalry groups were dispatched, one to Songjiang Prefecture to report the news, and the other to Shanghai Port outside the East City Gate to notify the people at the General Administration of Customs there to retreat.

The Director of Taxation of the General Administration of Customs is called Fahai. He is not the monk in "The Legend of White Snake"! He is a member of the Bordered Yellow Banner and the second son of Tong Guogang! As a fifth-rank Director of Taxation, he is a second-generation official who came here just for experience.

But unfortunately, this urgent notice came too late. Before the sun rose, the entire Shanghai Port had been occupied by sailors and mercenaries on multinational merchant ships anchored in the port.