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Chapter 306 Banditry in the South China Sea 5
There are three reasons: the first is geographical factors; this small town called Ninh Binh is an important pass on the official road to Thang Long Province. The local rivers are densely covered with undulating mountains, which is very difficult to walk. Only the stone bridge on this river can pass the army. .

The second is the safety factor; Ninh Binh City is not big or small. The city walls are all made of stone and are relatively strong. The internal streets are very complicated, allowing thousands of unfamiliar marines to pass through the city. Once the lies are exposed, It will be very passive.

The third factor is the escape route; the Marines not only have to go to Thang Long Palace, but also have to return the same way.If something unexpected happened during the raid on Thang Long Palace, the news would likely reach Ninh Binh City.At this time, if the control of the city is not in the hands of the Marines and the stone bridge is destroyed, there will be big trouble.

In addition to the above three reasons, there is another reason that cannot be called a reason, robbery!Mo's guide said that there is a city called Hua Lu about ten miles west of Ninh Binh City. It was the capital of Annam hundreds of years ago. It has many temples and big families, and a lot of gold and silver treasures!

The Marines were here to rob. As soon as Li Ruzhang heard that there was an ancient capital, the city of Nanjing immediately appeared in Li Ruzhang's mind. Somehow, he felt that it was no worse than Shenglong Mansion. He should go and see it whenever possible.

But there must be a way to attack the city. Should you wait for the field artillery behind to come up and launch a strong attack, or should you use your identity as an imperial envoy of the Ming Dynasty to deceive the defenders into letting down their vigilance and launch a surprise attack?

After some calculations by the staff, they still decided to try the latter first.Because the artillery coming up to attack the city cannot achieve immediate results, it will always leave enough time for the enemy to destroy the stone bridge. Only by taking it by surprise can the safety of the stone bridge be guaranteed.

As for how to deal with the solid stone wall once the defenders are not fooled, the Marines have another way, blow it up!In fact, the main function of equipping Marine Guards with field guns is not to siege cities, but to fire shotgun shells to kill cavalry.

At the beginning, the training of the Marines was based on the Mongolian and Jurchen armies as enemy models, and they never thought that they would come to Annan to fight.How to deal with the Mongolian and Jurchen cavalry and providing cover for the musketeers is the top priority.

But the Jurchens also have strongholds to defend themselves. What should we do if we encounter this situation?The siege method Hong Tao designed for the Marines was very primitive, using gunpowder to explode!However, the gunpowder here is no longer black powder, but the latest ammonium nitrate produced by the Royal Gunpowder Factory.

After adding sawdust, diesel and white sugar, the safety of ammonium nitrate is well guaranteed, and its power is more than one or two times higher than that of traditional black powder. It is most suitable for this kind of fixed-point blasting work.

After two hours of preparation, Li Ruzhang led the Marine forward to the south of Ningping City at the end of the day.The small town in the telescope was taller and more majestic than the guide described. The gray-black stone city wall was two feet long and more than half a mile long.

Compared with Thanh Hoa City, the chief officer of Ninh Binh City was also more cautious. After receiving the notification from his subordinates, he did not immediately leave the city to identify the authenticity. Instead, he stood on the top of the city and watched for a while, and then called the guide over to take a closer look. After asking, it took more than half an hour before the city gate slowly opened.

"Hiss... what is this!" The first ones to walk out of the city gate were not infantry or cavalry, but four huge animals.Seeing the body that was taller than an ordinary room and the pipes swinging around, Li Ruzhang felt a little guilty and couldn't help but whisper to the staff aside.

"Elephants, His Majesty said they are called Asian elephants. There is also an African elephant that is bigger and heavier. There are also two elephants in Nanhaizi's elephant house. They are about the same size. They only eat grass but not meat. They are very docile... The commander did not see it. Passed?" Despite his young age, the staff officer had a lot of experience. He looked indifferent to Li Ruzhang's question and even asked back.

"...this thing...how should the elephant deal with it?" Li Ruzhang almost choked to death. Considering that you are from Nanhaizi and wander around the royal gardens all day, you are used to seeing rare birds and animals, so you think everyone should be like this!But now is not the time to argue. How to deal with the elephant and the Annan soldiers riding on it is the real business. "Elephants are very timid, just like horses. Even if they can't be killed with one or two shots, they will be frightened and run away." The staff officer still spoke very calmly, as if he had actually shot the elephant with a musket.

"...Send the firework signal when they are a hundred steps away!" Li Ruzhang gritted his teeth, still not daring to put those huge animals too close.

Horses are timid, but they are likely to run wild when frightened, and elephants should not be much different.If you were hit by a horse, you would still have half your life left, but if you were hit by an elephant, you would probably lose your human form.

As for what the staff officer said about eating only grass and not meat, who was he lying to?What's the use of having such long fangs if you don't eat meat!How could there be such a terrifying animal in the world? He must not be a good person.

Just because of Li Ruzhang's mistake, Li Jiantang, the 33-year-old cousin of Annan King Li Weixin and the chief official of Chang'an Prefecture, fell off his horse amidst the explosions and smoke... Oh no, it was the back of an elephant.Even if he wasn't directly killed by a musket, he would probably be paralyzed from a high position.

The same fate as him was the magistrate of Ningping County. These two people may have wanted to give the imperial envoy of the Ming Dynasty a show of power. They deliberately rode out on elephants to greet them and appeared aloof. Unexpectedly, they became the target of the first wave of shooting by the Marines.

The only four elephants that posed a threat to the Marines, after hearing the gunshots, very smartly chose the right route to escape. They did not rush forward blankly, otherwise they would be beaten into a hornet's nest, no matter how thick-skinned and thick-skinned they were. Top use.

The next battle was lackluster. Li Ruzhang ignored the advice of his staff and took the lead in riding towards the city gate. He shot the Annan soldiers waiting on the lifting bridge at the city gate to the ground one by one, and the rest fled in all directions.

The marines who came later rushed to the north of the city along the main street. Before the defenders of the north city could figure out the situation, they effortlessly seized the city tower and bridgehead.

At this time, Ningping County was in chaos, but few people still knew that the Ming Dynasty army had invaded, and they just thought it was a rebellion.The common people closed their doors and did not dare to move around at will. Since Annan's army lost its leader, some of them climbed onto the city wall to fight, and some of them stretched out their legs to escape.

However, when Ninh Binh County was designed, it only had two gates, the north and the south, according to the terrain. The north gate was sealed. Looking back at the south gate, I saw more rebels wearing black clothes.No one could run away now. Those who resisted were shot on the spot, and those who knelt down and surrendered were tied up and put under centralized custody.

Li Ruzhang was sitting on the North Tower with a look of helplessness on his face. His behavior just now has been recorded by the staff and will be handed over to the governor for judgment after he returns.Let's not mention what kind of punishment he should receive. Anyway, from today on, don't even think about touching the horse's reins. There is an additional staff member who specializes in leading horses.

As a military general, I am not allowed to lead a charge during a battle. I can only follow the large troops and give orders. It is too depressing.But this is the navy's rule, and you have to follow it even if you don't understand it.

(End of this chapter)