Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 1048 1043 [Assault Heavy Armored Combined Brigade]

The seventh month of the lunar calendar, Shazhou.

The commander-in-chief of the Western Expedition, Li Yanxian, had arrived a month and a half ago, and his deputy commander, Zhong Yanchong, was still gathering follow-up troops in Lanzhou.

"Drip drip drip..."

The Shazhou telegraph machine kept ringing. Commander Li Yanxian and military supervisor Fu Yuanheng took out their respective code books and worked together to translate the telegram.

After a long while, Li Yanxian picked up the newly-released telegram: "In Lanzhou, the last batch of troops and civilians have arrived. We can now set out for the expedition."

During a war, troops were divided into several groups, one of the purposes of which was to reduce logistical pressure.

But the expedition to the Western Regions could not be divided, as there was only one route, the Hexi Corridor. There were hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, so it was impossible to move forward all at once. They had to move forward in batches and slowly, otherwise it would be difficult to find firewood for camping along the way.

At present, there are troops and civilians temporarily stationed along the way in Shazhou, Guazhou, Suzhou, Ganzhou and Lanzhou.

When Li Yanxian accepted the command in Luoyang, he had already sworn an oath to his troops and immediately sent out the vanguard after receiving the telegram.

Wu Jie was the general who led the Western Expedition. He had trained troops in the Hexi Corridor for several years and had been paying attention to intelligence from the Western Regions. He was the most suitable general to lead the Western Expedition.

Wu Jie's vanguard troops consisted of 2400 charioteers, 1800 combat soldiers, 800 cavalry, and the rest were auxiliary troops and civilian laborers.

In addition to repairing equipment and transporting food and fodder, those auxiliary soldiers and civilian laborers were also responsible for engineering work such as building roads through mountains and building bridges across rivers.

As a vanguard force, fighting is secondary. You cannot leave a big hole in the middle of the road for the main force, and you must quickly repair any bridges destroyed by the enemy.

Wu Jie's army had 120 chariots.

He felt that the existing chariots of the Ming Dynasty were too slow, too stable, and not aggressive enough, so he submitted a petition to request a trial chariot modification. Zhu Ming adopted Yu Dayou's chariot idea, briefly described it, and asked Wu Jie to use it as a reference.

When Wu Jie received the emperor's reply, he was immediately astonished.

Compared with Qi Jiguang's chariot, Yu Dayou's chariot was more offensive, and his idea was still used by Zuo Zongtang until the end of the Qing Dynasty.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Sun Chengzong's main force used Qi Jiguang's chariots, but he used Yu Dayou's chariots to form a marine corps, which was specially used to raid the coastal areas of Liaodong by boat.

Let me put it this way, a Yu Dayou-style chariot battalion with three to four thousand soldiers can chase down and beat up tens of thousands of cavalrymen.

But no matter which type of chariot camp, if it encounters a truly powerful enemy, it needs a large number of regular cavalry to cooperate. Hong Chengchou was disgusted by the Guanning cavalry, who did not listen to orders at all, often separated from the infantry to fight alone, and abandoned the infantry to escape after being ambushed or frustrated.

This resulted in the main force of the late Ming Dynasty only being able to exert 20% to 30% of its 100% combat effectiveness.

Wu Jie served as the vanguard this time, with a combined brigade of 5000 people, 800 of whom were cavalry!
A chariot group consists of 20 charioteers (drivers and firearms) and 15 combat soldiers (cold weapon troops). 120 chariots make up a brigade, with a full complement of 4200 people, plus 5000 cavalry.

The reason for using a wheelbarrow is to quickly cross battlefield obstacles. It takes 3 to 5 people to push the chariot. During the battle, the chariot has legs for fixing, which can be lifted up and pushed to move forward quickly.

If it is a long-distance march, two wheels can be temporarily installed and the vehicle can be towed forward by mules and horses.

Each unicycle is a fire output platform.

Zhu Ming even asked artillery craftsmen to develop a small rapid-fire artillery specifically for Wu Jie - the Franco-Machine Cannon. It was not designed to be able to fire far or with great power, but only to be quickly loaded and fired during battle.

Each chariot was equipped with three cannons, all of which had a 120-jin light wrought iron barrel, and five flintlock gunners.

The soldier responsible for pushing the cart also served as artillery assistant during battle.

This type of Franco-style gun can be loaded with shells in advance, and can fire several rounds a minute. The only thing that limits it is not the loading speed, but the barrel overheating during firing.

And unlike Qi Jiguang’s chariot battalion, Yu Dayou’s chariot battalion is a highly mobile unit!
……

A vanguard force of more than 10,000 people, including civilian laborers, set out from Shazhou (Dunhuang) and headed for Yizhou (Hami).

The area east of Xingxing Gorge is all under the actual control of the Ming Dynasty.

In those places where water sources were available, beacon towers and grain transfer stations had already been built in advance, so Wu Jie's vanguard troops marched very quickly.

They could travel more than sixty miles a day, and there was no need to set up camp at night. They could just gather chariots and supplies to guard against wild beasts.

In fact, this place is too desolate and there are no large wild animals.

Only when they approached Xingxing Gorge did Wu Jie slow down his march. He would stop at about 2 o'clock every afternoon to set up camp and send light cavalry to scout ahead.

Xingxing Gorge is the first bottleneck leading into the Western Regions, and the transportation of food and fodder is extremely difficult.

In many places, four-wheeled or two-wheeled carriages cannot pass, and transportation must rely on camels, mules, or horses, or wheelbarrows.

The Ming Dynasty's heavy chariots (side-compartment chariots) had to be dismantled when they reached this section of road, then transported across and reassembled.

According to legend, Fan Lihua of the Tang Dynasty once fought a foreign general here.

The general guarding the pass with a green face and fangs was actually a transformed orangutan, so this place was named Orangutan Gorge.

After entering Xingxing Gorge, Wu Jie marched slowly along the rugged mountain road.

This section of the road was not long, but it was extremely difficult to walk on. The cannon barrels on the wheelbarrows had to be removed and hauled, but even so, they often overturned.

When we reached the western section of Xingxing Gorge, smoke suddenly rose up.

There was a castle built by the Gaochang Uighurs, which also served as a post station and a tax collection station, where merchants traveling along the Silk Road would stop.

There were no rivers nearby, and the army relied entirely on bitter spring water, which made it difficult to supply the army.

During the Qing Dynasty, this place was directly named Ku Shui Yi.

"Choose a place to set up camp, recover your strength, and attack the city and capture the stronghold tomorrow." Wu Jie ordered.

This task must be done by the vanguard troops, otherwise the main army will be blocked by the enemy fort in Xingxing Gorge, and the drinking water carried by the army will be finished in a short time.

Even though they knew that the Ming Dynasty was coming to attack, the pass castle at Xingxing Gorge only had a garrison of 500 soldiers.

In the past, there were only dozens of soldiers stationed there.

Because for Western Liao, supply here is also difficult.

The next day, Wu Jie led his army to attack the fort.

Many of the mountains here are barren, and a few have low shrubs. There are very few trees that can be used to make siege equipment!
Fortunately, Wu Jie had already found out everything and brought hundreds of simple flying ladders with him.

The fort is located at the exit of Xingxing Gorge, where the terrain is slightly more open.

But the tanks and artillery still could not be fully deployed.

Wu Jie sent troops to block the passage ahead, and the artillerymen led the civilians to climb the hillside and carve out small platforms on the mountain wall.

It's just a small cannon weighing 120 pounds, so the recoil force is not that great.

The five hundred defenders in the fortress looked outside with trepidation. The general wanted to flee directly, because there was no possibility of a large number of reinforcements here. At most, he could send one or two thousand more people to help delay the enemy, so that Hami would have more time to gather troops.

The Western Liao defenders here were abandoned from the very beginning.

In order to strengthen the fighting spirit of the defenders, Xiao Chala Abu even issued an order to march to the front. As long as the camp raised the signal smoke and defended for more than five days, the defenders could abandon the camp and flee.

If they escape within five days, all the soldiers guarding the village will be executed, and their families will be enslaved!
The shieldmen protected the musketeers and slowly approached the fort, firing freely at the fort, while the enemy also shot arrows at them.

The small cannon weighed only 120 kilograms and was not airtight enough, so it couldn't fire very far.

Therefore, the platform built by the artillery and the civilians was even within the range of the defenders' strong bows. It had to be covered by musketeers and protected by shieldmen.

For a moment, both sides fired bows and muskets at each other.

The shieldmen climbed the hillside with difficulty, protecting the gunners and civilians who were carving a platform for the artillery on the slope.

There were also civilians carrying soil to fill the trench in front of the village. There was no river here, so there was no moat. The trench was not dug deep either, because the soil was too hard to dig, and the defenders did not have the manpower and material resources.

The civilians had their own leather-covered wooden boards to block the arrows, which were removed from the chariots.

It took a whole day to build a simple artillery position and fill in several trenches.

They slept there that night, and sent soldiers in turns to block the passage, and placed several chariots in front as obstacles.

In fact, the defenders had no intention of launching a night attack. They just wanted to hold out for five days as quickly as possible, then abandon the village and flee to the next stronghold.

These forts along the line were all used to delay time due to supply difficulties.

At this moment, the smoke of war had already spread to Yizhou (Hami), and Xiao Chala Abu was ordering troops to gather, and at the same time he also transferred troops from Gaochang (Turpan). When Wu Jie broke through a series of strongholds, the Western Liao army had almost gathered.

On the third day after arriving at Xingxingxia Village, Wu Jie officially began to attack the village.

First, test the gun.

320 small cannons took turns firing to ensure that each cannon hit the village wall or battle shed as much as possible.

The Western Liao defenders were shocked. They had only heard of the power of artillery, but today was the first time they experienced it themselves.

But they were afraid of being executed if they escaped and that their families would become slaves, so they had to hold out for more than five days.

After the artillery debugging was completed, the infantry began to attack the city.

"Rapid artillery fire!"

At Wu Jie's command, 320 small cannons opened fire in unison.

After firing, the sub-barrel is immediately replaced, and the assistant also quickly moves to reload the fired sub-barrel with ammunition.

Under the operation of a skilled gunner, one shell is fired every 15 seconds on average.

In fact, it can be even faster. According to actual calculations, the total time for the first three shots is less than 20 seconds. Subsequent shots are slightly slower.

This thing has only two drawbacks. One is that the air tightness is too poor and it can't hit far. The other is that continuous firing causes the barrel to overheat.

For a small 120-pound French machine gun like this, the best range is within meters.

At this time, 360 small guns were seen firing at the same time, with an average of one shell every ten seconds. At the beginning, it was still a salvo, but due to the uneven speed of the gunners, the firing became chaotic, as if shells were falling at all times.

But the power was too small, and it was like scratching an itch when it hit the wall of the village.

But war sheds could not withstand bombardment from small artillery fire. Before the popularization of firearms, these things were usually made of wood.

It was difficult to cut wood and get water here. The fort's war shed was neither made of wood nor rammed earth, but was made of simple bricks made from spring water soaked mud.

The thin earthen brick wall would have holes after just a few hits.

A few more shells caused partial collapse, and the defenders hiding inside suffered heavy casualties.

"Stop the artillery fire!"

The command flags were waved and the trumpets sounded.

The artillery fire stopped one after another, and the siege troops were only a few dozen steps away from the village wall.

The guard trembled and looked out to see what was happening. He immediately shouted, "Shoot the arrows!"

The Western Liao archers quickly stood up and shot arrows at the siege troops.

However, the Ming army's siege troops did not continue to advance, but stopped there to let the shieldmen block the arrows.

At the same time, the musketeers following behind them had already aimed at the battlements. The defenders who stood up to shoot arrows were instantly shot by 600 flintlocks, and about twenty unlucky people were shot and fell down.

It’s just the beginning!
The small artillery, which had taken a short rest, fired again as the command flag was waved, scaring the defenders who had just stood up so much that they quickly lay down again.

After a burst of artillery fire, the battlefield became quiet again.

The barrel is too hot, need to slow down.

The defenders did not stand up immediately. They carefully stuck their heads out, only to see that the siege troops were still standing there.

A few Western Liao archers bravely stood up and shot arrows, but were once again hit by a volley of musket fire. The arrows were shot out in a hurry, with insufficient accuracy and power, and the Ming army also had shieldmen to block the arrows.

The two sides continued to confront each other.

After a long time, the Ming army's gun barrels cooled down and they started firing again, this time deliberately reducing the firing rate.

After two or three rounds of volleys, all the battle sheds in front of the fort collapsed. They were facilities used by the defenders to hide and mobilize troops, and also served as arrow towers. At this moment, they had been flattened by artillery fire.

After all, it had never suffered from the harm of firearms, otherwise it would have been built more solidly and would not have been destroyed by a bunch of small cannons.

The Ming army still did not continue to approach the village wall, but the defenders did not dare to stand up again. They could only stick out half of their heads to check the situation.

Wu Jie waited for the barrel to cool down, then told the messenger: "Order the soldiers to attack the city. When the defenders stand up, the automatic artillery (Flange cannon) will only fire one shot and then stop, so as not to accidentally injure the friendly troops attacking the city! Before the artillery stops, the fire guns are not allowed to fire."

As soon as the siege troops moved, the defenders exclaimed: "The Ming army is coming!"

The archers who were still alive stood up and shot arrows, and more than 300 shells flew in immediately.

After the artillery stopped firing, the flintlock rifles began to fire in turns.

The siege troops also moved forward courageously, fearing that the shells would hit the wall and bounce back. Only when the shelling stopped did they speed up and trot forward under the cover of muskets.

The defenders fought tooth and nail, braving the Ming army's musket fire and risking their lives to shoot arrows at the siege troops.

Due to the angle, the shieldmen of the attacking side were unable to effectively protect their comrades. However, their comrades were all wearing cotton armor with iron plates embedded in them, and even pulled down their face armor to protect themselves from arrows.

Wu Jie's troops are an assault-type heavy-armored combined brigade!
Not only were the charioteers and cavalry elite, but even the infantrymen wore fifty kilograms of armor. If this fifty-kilogram cotton armor had been used in the Song and Liao dynasties, its defensive power would have almost caught up with that of heavy infantry.

Especially the anti-arrow performance, which is no different from the previous heavy armor.

Seeing that the Ming army was shot but nothing happened, the defenders who survived the multiple firearms attacks now felt completely desperate and wanted to escape.

"Those who escape will be killed, and their families will be enslaved!"

"It's the third day since the signal fire was raised. We can leave after two more days of defense!"

The defender shouted loudly, but he also wanted to escape.

These enemies are too evil and impossible to defeat. They won't be able to hold out for long.

Due to the difficulty in obtaining wood, there was not even any logs in the fort, and people could only throw earth and rocks.

There was no boiling oil, and it was too difficult to transport supplies. The food they usually ate was not very oily.

Only the golden juice and boiling water remained.

Hundreds of simple ladders were put up on the wall, and rocks and dirt kept falling down. Some defenders used push rods to push down the ladders, causing the soldiers to fall hard, and some were even knocked unconscious.

"what!"

Several pots of golden juice and boiling water were poured down, and the Ming army attacking the city let out screams.

However, some ruthless men in the siege force continued to climb even after being scalded by boiling water.

There are too few defenders!
There were only 500 people. Some were killed or injured when the tent collapsed, and some were killed by artillery fire or bullets.

Even if we count the wounded who can still fight, there are only more than 300 people who can fight.

At this moment, hundreds of flying ladders have been put up, and on average three and a half defenders have to defend one. How many people can be spared to throw earth, rocks, gold juice and boiling water?

Moreover, the village wall is only three meters high.

In such a dilapidated place, we can only build a fort this high.

Soon, more than a dozen Ming soldiers climbed up the city walls on simple ladders. Relying on their excellent armor, they climbed up like a tiger into a flock of sheep when the defenders were outnumbered.

The Western Liao defenders were defeated!

Because there were no reserve troops at all, if any one point was breached, it would mean the whole line would be lost.

The surviving defenders turned around and fled. They thought that running away was a capital crime and their families would become slaves. At this time, they could not suppress the instinct to run for their lives.

The siege troops opened the fort gate.

The artillery, civilians and auxiliary soldiers on the mountain road had already made way for the siege. The Ming cavalry, who had been waiting for a long time, rushed into the village and chased and killed all the fleeing defenders.

Vanguard troops generally do not take prisoners unless it is beneficial to the next action.

(End of this chapter)