The big lifting pole is a kind of earthen gun that is much larger than the musket. It is a weapon between the earthen gun and the earthen cannon. As the barrel is thick and long and very heavy, it often requires two people to work together for shooting, one person carrying the heavy barrel in front, and the other igniting the fire from behind. It can be said to be unique to China. It was popular in the military during the Qing Dynasty. Now, it has become an antique, but there are still wealthy people in the folk who use it to protect their homes.
Lao Luo and his men had no choice but to use this thing. There were six of them, but they only had three guns, a worn-out old barrel and a weird bird gun. The only good one was the Mauser pistol in Lao Luo's hand. The other three had nothing, so they couldn't go empty-handed, so they brought this old and outdated big lifting pole with them.
After finishing his meal, Hu Yi looked at the big gun by the campfire. It was about two and a half meters long, with a muzzle diameter of nearly fifty millimeters. It was covered in rust and was obviously a work of vicissitudes.
Seeing Hu Yi was looking at that thing, Lao Luo smiled at Hu Yi embarrassedly: "Haha, I can't compare with you guys. This thing at least makes a noise, and it's better than being empty-handed, so I asked him to bring it."
Hu Yi did not react to Lao Luo's words, and continued to watch. Before joining the army, Hu Yi was a bandit. Although he had never used the big lifting pole, he had been hit by it. A wealthy family once put it on the courtyard wall and fired at him. It was slow to load, had a short range, and was even more difficult to control the accuracy. However, it made a loud noise, and when it was fired, it was almost like firing a cannon.
While licking his lunch box, Luo Fugui interjected, "It's useless. This thing is useless. When we entered the village from Black Wind Mountain, those shameless people..." At this point, Luo Fugui suddenly stopped talking and changed his words, "Anyway, this thing is useless and a burden."
Luo Fugui's words made Hu Yi frown. It seemed that Mule had also been beaten by this thing. It seemed that few people who had been beaten by this thing were good people.
A young voice suddenly sounded: "It's a little slow, a little stupid, but if it's used well, it can still kill the devils."
The person who was speaking was Lao Luo's nephew Shi Cheng. He lost his parents at a young age, so he worked as a farmhand for a landlord. As he grew older and became an honest man, the landlord asked him to work as a security guard. He was in charge of the large pole-lifting pole. Later, when he heard that his uncle Lao Luo was going to lead a team to fight the Japanese, he came to join him and secretly took out the large pole-lifting pole.
Luo Fugui put down the lunch box that had been licked clean in his hand, looked up at the young Shi Cheng, and curled his lips: "Kill the devils? It seems that you have never seen the devils?" Then Luo Fugui patted the machine gun beside him and said: "See, this is a machine gun, it can sweep a large area, do you understand? But even with this, it is not easy to fight the devils. Your thing is so heavy, carrying it, you can't catch up with the devils if they run away, and you can't run away if the devils come. Even if the devils don't move, you can't shoot far. What's the use of your outdated thing?"
Shi Cheng's face turned red after being scolded by Luo Fugui, but he was unwilling to be beaten like this, so he retorted: "Your machine gun can sweep a large area, but my shot can hit a large area. Although I can't shoot far, as long as I control the distance well, if there is a steamed bun placed a hundred steps away, I can make ten holes in it with one shot. Can your machine gun do that?"
Luo Fugui looked at Shi Cheng with a smile: "You are bragging. That thing doesn't even have a sight, how can you aim accurately? If you ask me..."
Hu Yi suddenly waved at Luo Fugui, interrupting him, then turned around and asked Shi Cheng: "How long have you been using this?"
Shi Cheng replied: "More than five years."
"I've seen this, but never used it. Can you tell me how to use it?" Hu Yi seemed to be a little interested in this big lifting lever.
Shi Cheng saw Hu Yi's serious expression, so he said: "First, put two to four taels of gunpowder, and then pour in one to three catties of iron sand to make it full. Some people will use jujube nails instead of iron sand, but I like to mix the two and shoot them out. Due to the different weights of iron nails and iron sand, the landing point will be delayed longer. The amount of gunpowder and iron sand depends on the distance of the target and is determined based on experience. Finally, use thick black incense to light the mouth of the letter, and that's it."
Hu Yi nodded and asked, "How far is the range?"
"Within a hundred steps, it can penetrate wooden boards, and within two hundred steps, it can injure people. Beyond that, it won't have the strength to fire." After a pause, Shi Cheng added, "Even though it's troublesome to fire a single shot, at a distance of more than a hundred steps, one shot can kill a large area, with a range of more than twenty steps wide!"
Hu Yi said nothing more and turned his gaze back to the huge rifle. He seemed to see the glory of this weathered firearm in its old years and hear its roaring rumble. Countless lead sand and iron nails flew out in an overwhelming manner, so dense that they even collided with each other when flying in the air.
…
The bonfire was blazing, making a stern black face shine. Ever since Hu Yi went back to eat, Gao Yidao sat down by the bonfire and didn't move, like an old monk in meditation. He was bold, but not so bold. He was arrogant, but he couldn't show off in tactics. Gao Yidao's mind was full of tactical plans, whether they were proposed by Hu Yi or what he wanted to use. He played them over and over in his mind, trying to find the best plan.
Until Hu Yi reappeared on the other side of the campfire, Gao Yidao, who had been frowning, finally raised his head, looked at the narrow eyes on the other side through the blazing firelight and said, "I've thought about it carefully. This section of the road is flat to begin with, and they have nowhere to hide. If we clean it up in advance, the effect will be better. If they encounter an attack, they can only rely on those large vehicles for cover. So, I'll give the second company's crooked light machine gun to you for command, and set it up on the western ridge, and you will launch the first attack."
After hearing Gao Yidao say that he wanted to transfer his second company's machine guns to himself, Hu Yi understood. It seemed that Gao Yidao still wanted to fight in close combat, but he should have a more complete idea than before. So Hu Yi sat down opposite him while listening to Gao Yidao continue to speak.
"I will lead the Second Company to hide on the east side of the road. Although it is open, we should be able to hide by digging pits and covering them with soil. When they hide on this side of the car, we will suddenly launch a charge and force them to face me! You will be responsible for suppressing them during the charge, and you will be responsible for covering and shooting from the outside after we get in. In the end, even if all the people in the Second Company are killed, they will not have many people left. I believe you can clean up the mess."
Hu Yi thought about it and decided that doing so would be much better than fighting unilaterally. The charge of the Second Company would also be more effective and the success rate would be greatly increased. However, the situation was still not optimistic. After a hand-to-hand fight, there might not be many people left in the Second Company.
"There are too many casualties." Hu Yi said without raising his head while looking at the fire.
The blazing bonfire was reflected in Gao Yidao's eyes, and his voice suddenly lowered: "I know, but this matter concerns the entire regiment. Food is the life of the entire regiment. This is the only way to do it. The Second Company in exchange for the entire regiment is worth it! As for how to transport the food back, maybe you will have to figure it out yourself. You, a cowardly scumbag ally, are quite good at doing this!" When he said the last sentence, Gao Yidao suddenly smiled slightly, and a sense of pride returned to his dark face. At this moment, he seemed to be a blazing bonfire.
Hu Yi raised his bronze face, his narrow eyes piercing through the flames, staring directly at the pride on the other side. After a long silence, he said calmly: "I basically agree, but before you charge, let me fight for fifteen minutes!"
…