Eighth year of Chongzhen

Chapter 260 Shelling
Around the end of June [-]th in the tenth year of Chongzhen, the Yongwei camp that arrived at the city was divided into three parts. Under the leadership of several generals and guerrillas, they drove to the three city gates in the east, west, and south, and began to prepare for an attack on Yizhou.Hong Chengchou, Zu Dashou and others sat on the excavated platform of the supply camp and watched the battle a few miles outside the south gate of Yizhou under heavy guards. Mao Yuanyi, the deputy commander of the Yongwei Battalion, took the command of the siege.

Because the Daling River originating from the mountains in the west of Liaoning passed through the north of Yizhou City and turned south again, it just half-wrapped Yizhou City inside, and at that time it was to guard against Jianlu from the northeast. Since there was a Daling River This natural barrier, so the moat was not built when the city was built.This time the Ming army came from the south, which also saved the time and energy of filling the moat.

As Tang Gudai expected, the Yongwei Battalion set its main attack direction at the south gate, and four thousand soldiers lined up in four square formations three miles away from the city gate.Four Hongyi cannons weighing about [-] catties dragged by ox carts were deployed in front of the phalanx. Lang machine guns were lined up one mile away from the city gate, and the gunners of each artillery were quickly adjusting their muzzles to aim at the city gate.There were a thousand cavalry guards not far from each side of the artillery position. The knights were already standing under the horses and waiting. The ears of the horses were stuffed with cotton cloth so as not to be disturbed by the loud sound of the cannon.

Driven by the cavalry of the Ming army, the cavalry of the Five Hundred and Eight Banners could not approach the infantry of the Ming army at all. The so-called harassment and delay strategy formulated by Tang Gudai failed.Although there were more than a dozen white armored soldiers leading the team, and the [-] Eight Banners cavalry were also elite, they did not dare to step forward rashly in the face of an opponent ten times their own. That was not bravery, it was death.

While the gunners of the Ming army were nervously busy, Tang Gudai, who was standing on the city wall on the side of the south gate, was watching the lineup of the Ming army.

Tang Gudai was very familiar with the armored flags of the cavalry of the Ming army in the distance. He knew that those were the servants of the generals of the ancestral family. The two sides had fought against each other for many years, and they knew each other very well.

But the infantry of the Ming army under the city made Tang Gudai feel strange and surprised, and felt a little bad in his heart.

The several square formations formed by the Ming army were neat and orderly, and countless flags of various sizes were fluttering in the wind. The soldiers all wore black armor and stood with their heads held high while looking ahead.The entire array exudes a strong killing spirit, and from this point alone, it is a well-trained elite soldier.

This is definitely not Ning Jinming's army!Although the Ming army on the Ning Jin line had many brave men, they definitely didn't have such momentum when they were in formation, and their armor and weapons were not as sophisticated.

Where is this an army from?Could it be the Ming army that wiped out the rebels in the pass?

Tang Gudai was even more surprised that since they were here to attack the city, the Ming army under the city did not carry ladders and other siege equipment.It is rare that the Ming army wants to rely on its superiority in numbers, and the plan for a long-term siege will not work?But isn't it necessary to dig deep trenches everywhere to besiege the city?
Seeing the Ming army pushing dozens of cannons of different sizes to the front, Tang Gudai's heart beat a few times, and an extremely strong sense of danger suddenly appeared in his mind.

He knew this kind of Hongyi cannon, and he had also seen the power of this kind of cannon.When Kong Youde, Shang Kexi, and Geng Zhongming led their troops to the Qing Dynasty, they brought several cannons that were almost the same. During the daily drill of the Han army flag, Huang Taiji took the flag owners and important generals of each flag to watch it on the spot. The loud noise and the damage effect caused by the iron bullet make people shudder.

"All withdraw to the city and stand against the wall!"

Tang Gudai knew how to guard against shelling, and immediately ordered most of the Eight Banners soldiers and the packers at the top of the city to withdraw and stand by, leaving only a small number of people at the top of the city to observe the actions of the Ming army.

As Tang Gudai's general order was quickly conveyed, the Eight Banners soldiers on the top of the city and the teams with their coats went down the city wall along the steps. The guards still stood where they were and looked down.

Not long after Jian Nu went down on the city wall, a thunder-like explosion sounded all over the field, and then a puff of smoke rose slowly, and a red cannon from the Yongwei Battalion fired first.

Fifteen Portuguese were in charge of commanding and personally manipulating the firing of the cannon. These people all had the experience of serving in the national army. Jin Yiwei was specially hired from Haojing (Macau) with a lot of money to come to the Yongwei Camp under the order of Zhu Youjian. As an artillery instructor.The leader was a lieutenant who had served in the Portuguese army --- Diego, Yassos.After retiring from the army five years ago, he came to Daming with his country's merchant ships. Because he was infatuated with the customs and food of Daming, he stayed in Macau all the time. After a long time, he also learned to speak a relatively authentic Daming official dialect. When he learned that the Ming court hired foreign gunners, Yassos contacted some soldiers with similar experiences to him and took over the letter of appointment from the Ministry of War.

In addition to loving the culture of Ming Dynasty, the main thing that impresses Yasos is that the price offered by Daming is too generous: 150 taels of silver per month for the leader, and 80 taels of silver for other gunners. If they can play a decisive role in the battle, another Big reward.This kind of income is much richer than those of the military school officers in Portugal. For these people who have wandered thousands of miles, this kind of temptation is fatal and irresistible.

After a simple test in Macau, the captains of Jinyiwei confirmed that these 15 people could manipulate the cannon proficiently, and then brought these foreigners with high noses and deep eyes back to the capital.

In fact, as early as the third year of Chongzhen, the then Emperor Chongzhen ordered to recruit Portuguese gunners. These hired Portuguese played an extremely important role in the battle with Jianlu, and they were brave and loyal in the battle. All died in the four years of Chongzhen.

Many of the subordinates of Kong Youde, Shang Kexi and others had received training from these Portuguese mercenaries. The surrender of this firearms unit to the Qing Dynasty posed a great threat to the Ming army.Of course Zhu Youjian, who has traveled through time, understands this, and the employment operation led by him this time is nothing more than picking up people's teeth.

After the careful training and guidance of Yasos and others, the gunners of the Yongwei Battalion and the Jingying Battalion have greatly improved their proficiency and accuracy when firing artillery, and have also learned the programmed operation method.After hearing the news, Zhu Youjian was overjoyed and rewarded these 3000 people with 15 taels of silver from his internal funds.Yasos and the others praised Daming's generous and benevolent emperor without a word, and vowed to help the Ming government eliminate those barbaric rebels.

With the screaming sound of the projectile piercing the sky, the ten-jin solid iron bullet drew an arc and smashed towards the head of Yizhou City at a speed visible to the naked eye.After a muffled sound, the projectile destroyed a battlement and remained undiminished. It continued to fly forward for a certain distance and landed on the wide passageway of the city wall. The tiles fell into the house after breaking through.

There was a scream of misery, and the shattered battlements turned into dozens of shotguns, smashing the heads of the surrounding Jianlu and Han Chinese who were lying on the ground.Before they recovered their senses, loud bangs rang out one after another, and the remaining three Hongyi cannons and twenty Frang cannons at the south gate were fired one after another.Immediately afterwards, there was the sound of cannons firing from east to west. For a moment, like a thunderbolt from heaven, the sky above Yizhou and the surrounding fields were shrouded in thunder. The sound shook the soul.

After Hongyi Cannon thought about it, after a round of test firing, starting from the second round, all the one-jin projectiles fired by the twenty Frang machine guns lined up in a row hit the city gate accurately.It was too late when Tang Gudai suddenly understood the Ming army's method of breaking the city. After four rounds of bombardment, the heavy city gate had been bombarded to pieces, and the gate of Yizhou had been completely opened.

Hong Chengchou, Zu Dashou and others who were watching the battle from a distance were also shocked by what they saw.

Although Zu Dashou and other Liaoxi generals have also seen the power of cannons, and there are also several cannons placed at the head of Jinzhou City.When Ningyuan was guarding Ningyuan, under Yuan Chonghuan's command, Ning Jinjun also used cannons to inflict great damage on Jianlu, but the Hongyi cannons were extremely heavy, and it took less than half an hour to fire them once, and their accuracy was extremely poor.Unlike the artillerymen of the Yongwei Battalion this time, they can fire once in a few tens of breaths, and the accuracy is extremely high. Most of the fired projectiles fall on the top of the city.If there are a large number of people on the top of the city, it will cause a lot of damage to the defenders.

And the Fran cannon with an extremely fast firing rate can break down the city gate in less than a quarter of an hour. With such a sharp weapon in hand, what is the use of thick and tall city walls in the future?Ant-attached siege, which is extremely damaging tactics, will completely disappear from now on.

Although Hong Chengchou has been suppressing thieves for ten years, the official army under his command basically uses traditional bows, arrows, knives and guns, and the weapons of the thieves are far inferior to the official army.Although he knew the power of cannons, he had never witnessed such intensive artillery strikes.In addition to being shocked, Hong Chengchou, who was worried about the emperor's haste, suddenly became full of confidence in the decisive battle with Jianlu in the coming year.

The bombardment tactics this time were deliberately arranged by Mao Yuanyi.In fact, there was no need for the Hongyi cannon to appear on the stage, just use the Frang machine to break the city gate, but Mao Yuanyi felt extremely dissatisfied with the disloyalty of Liaoxi to the imperial court, so this time he deliberately pulled the Hongyi cannon out to deter the generals of Liaoxi .

With the sound of a sharp trumpet, the sound of artillery outside the south gate stopped abruptly, and the artillerymen began to pack up their positions and prepare to retreat, while the sound of artillery from the east and west gates still came from time to time.

The soldiers beside Mao Yuanyi waved the red flag left and right a few times before pointing forward. In the square formation in the middle, a hundred pawns holding huge axes and wearing mail armor stepped out and marched towards the city gate. A gunslinger and a thousand pikemen followed.

Tang Gudai, who knew that Yizhou City could no longer be defended, did not evacuate from the north gate. After the artillery of the Ming army stopped firing, he ordered thousands of women in the wrapping to be selected and sent to the three gates in the east, west and south. Let these women stand in the front, followed by men in coats holding weapons, and finally the [-] Eight Banner soldiers in the city.

Tang Gudai vainly tried to use the woman as a shield to drive away the coatmen and disrupt the formation of the Ming army, and then the Eight Banners soldiers took advantage of the chaos to cover up and kill them. Even if the city of Yizhou was finally broken, it would cause heavy damage to the Ming army.

　Thanks to book friend Lin Lingsu for the reward in 2018, is it the one in Snow Mountain Flying Fox who knows medical skills?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)