Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 393: Victory or defeat is decided, Hailancha cuts off his braid to show his determination
Wu Jun's breakfast was oily and filling, so he was able to hold on in the battle without getting nervous or shaking.

The soldiers carried dry food with them, which was just in time for emergency.

All the soldiers who were not fighting directly on the front line would silently tear off a piece of toasted naan, put it in their mouths to chew, and then drink two sips of water.

Wind power,

is gradually weakening.

Thousands of miles away, the super typhoon gradually left the land at the border of Guangdong and Fujian and turned towards the vast Pacific Ocean.

The weakening of wind also provided convenience to the Qing army to some extent.

Their matchlock guns finally fired.
Zheng Hean of the 2nd Corps led his men to attack the villagers fiercely, firing volleys of gunfire and charging with bayonets, killing people all over the ground, but they just couldn't take them down.

The battle lines were intertwined.

The villagers fought desperately with swords and spears in hand.

It’s not that he didn’t try his best, but his fellow villagers were working too hard.

They can't be killed, they can't be killed at all.

far away,

The Jilin cavalry approached in a roundabout way, and the flag appeared faintly.

"Lao Miao, what should we do?"

"First, stabilize the position and divide the troops to stop the Eight Banners Cavalry. I will send people to ask for cannons. Damn it, I don't believe it. Once the cannons go off, what can they use to stop them?"

……

At least 9000 soldiers of the Huaixi New Army were killed.

Mingliang was probably one of the first to die in the battle, and no one knows where his body is.
More than half of the 200 brave warriors who were recruited at a high price died.

Xu Mancang survived, perhaps because he was lucky enough to be smaller in size and less likely to be hit by bullets.

at this time,

He was on the second line, listening to the chaotic curses in the local dialect and the increasingly dense sound of matchlock guns~
The officers sent by the Zhili Green Camp and the Beijing Banner were dumbfounded.

I was stunned by the tenacious performance of this "new farmer's army" on the battlefield.

They dared not say a word, but instead discussed with the most prestigious people among the Huaixi New Army.

"Old Liu, what should we do?"

Liu Huangtong, a native of Shucheng, Luzhou Prefecture, thrust his sword into the mud:
"What's there to be afraid of? There's a big scar on your head. The wind is weak now. Gather your muskets and shields and rush out."

As the crowd lined up in a mess,

A familiar voice came from the other side, persuading people to surrender:

"Stop fighting, surrender."

"I won't kill you. We are all from the same hometown, and we keep our word. Zheng Hean, the famous elder brother of Fuyang County, is here. He is a high official in the State of Wu."

Xu Mancang shuddered.
He suddenly thought of the question his father asked him when he joined the army:
"If you met the kid of the second aunt next door, what would you do? Beat him or not?"

……

On the west side of the battlefield, the sound of artillery fire suddenly became frequent.

Ganzhou Deputy General Li Jiulin's troops began to push their artillery out of the camp.

Stay safe along the way,
The Wu army simply couldn't spare any extra infantry to deal with him.

"Sir, should we deal with the enemy artillery positions first or support the infantry?"

"Bomb their artillery positions!"

"Whoo."

Li Jiulin wanted to directly destroy Wu Jun’s artillery in the artillery battle and become the biggest contributor to the battle.

If the Wu army lost its artillery, it would only have infantry left.

If the officers and soldiers have artillery and cavalry, they will definitely win.

His confidence comes from the four general cannons under his command.

In the Qing army sequence:
Heavy artillery of 4000 to 6000 jin is called a general cannon, which roughly corresponds to a 28-pound cannon.

Heavy artillery of 3000 to 4000 jin is called the Second General Cannon, which corresponds to the 22-pound cannon.

The heavy artillery of 2000 to 3000 jin is called the Three Generals Cannon, which corresponds to the 12-pound cannon.

Heavy artillery weighing 1000 to 2000 jin is called the Four Generals Cannon, which corresponds to the 8-pounder cannon.

Judging from the sound of the artillery fire, Wu Jun did not seem to be carrying heavy artillery of this caliber!

……

A garrison officer whispered:
"Sir, I think we should attack the Wu bandits' infantry first. Take a few more miles and use the cannons to attack the infantry. They will collapse in one blow."

Li Jiulin turned around, his eyes cold:

"The two armies are fighting, the battle lines are intertwined, you are in me, I am in you. If the shells fall on the heads of the Eight Banners soldiers, will you be responsible?"

"I was confused for a moment, please forgive me, sir."

"Arrange the gun positions and open fire as soon as possible."

The 5000-jin Dajiangjun cannon required 20 sturdy pack horses and 30 gunners to pull it.

The gunners were sweating profusely and almost fainted. Fortunately, the distance from the camp to the designated position was not too far.

"Quick, set up the gun."

It is not easy to set up a gun position for such a heavy artillery.

When Li Jiulin and others were about to lose their temper, the gunner finally came to report:
"Report, the general cannon has been set up and can be fired."

"What are you waiting for, let go~"

The sound of the cannon was dull, like thunder rolling in the sky.

Li Jiulin even felt that his internal organs were shocked and felt quite uncomfortable.

He looked up at the sky, and saw a few black dots drawing beautiful arcs and flying towards the Wu army's artillery position.

……

same,

The Wu army's artillerymen were also dumbfounded, looking at these shells with extremely long range.

Land, then bounce.

A 1-pounder was hit.

The gun carriage shattered on the spot, and the barrel was even smashed more than two feet away.

Everyone was stunned.

I didn't expect the Qing army to have heavy artillery with such a long range. I was careless.

The officer responded immediately:
"Quick, push the cannon forward."

The artillerymen quickly re-harnessed the 12-pound guns and moved them forward to engage in artillery battle with the Qing army.

According to experience,

Just advance one mile and you can engage in a direct confrontation with the Qing army.

Lin Huaisheng's military order also arrived:

"The independent mixed battalion will be dispatched immediately to bombard the Huaixi New Army from the west."

Li Ergou couldn't wait and immediately drew his sword:

"What are you waiting for? Go ahead."

this time,

The main weapon of the mixed battalion was the 28 2-pound rapid-fire guns. Two pack horses pulled one gun, and the movement speed was very fast.

Behind each gun is an ammunition cart with four pairs of wheels, and its body is long and narrow like a caterpillar.

The gunner was in front, pulling the reins of the pack horse to control the direction.

There were also 400 infantrymen running forward carrying muskets.

……

at this time,

The battle between the 2nd Corps and the Huaixi New Army became less intense.

Both sides distanced themselves and hesitated.

People from Jiangsu don’t recognize their fellow countrymen, but people from northern Anhui really do, so they hesitate.

however,
It was not easy for Zheng Hean to persuade these tens of thousands of people to surrender.

First of all,

The Qing government did not withhold their military pay and benefits.

Secondly,

Their families were still in the areas ruled by the Qing Dynasty.

Miao Youlin's face suddenly changed when he saw the mixed battalion's artillery team marching quickly:

"Old Zheng, I'll give you one more cup of tea. If they don't surrender, you must kill them all."

Zheng Hean's forehead was covered with sweat.

He gritted his teeth, walked forward more than ten feet, raised his hat and shouted loudly:
"I am Zheng Hean from Zhengjiaxu, Fuyang County, Yingzhou Prefecture, and I am the second oldest. You must have heard of my name, right? Put down your weapons and surrender now. I guarantee that the old King Wu will treat us people from northern Anhui well."

……

There were great divisions within the Huaixi New Army.

Some people are hesitant.

Some people felt that the imperial court was more reliable and were unwilling to surrender.

Most of the officers were sent by the Green Camp. At this time, they tried their best to maintain morale and shouted that they must not surrender to the enemy.

"Brothers, think about your parents at home. The court has not treated you unfairly. We have two meals a day, and we have not deducted a cent from your military pay and bonuses. We will give you the hats as soon as we say so."

Liu Huangtong couldn't help but touch the seventh-rank hat on his head, as well as the governor's kind encouragement.

He yelled:
"Brothers, Zheng is from Yingzhou, and we are from Luzhou. We will not be valued if we surrender to him. It is better to follow the court wholeheartedly. We can serve as soldiers and eat food anywhere."

As he instigated this, many Luzhou soldiers gathered around him. He united some people with the region, but also offended others.

Xu Mancang is from Fuyang, about ten miles away from Zhengjiawei.

He felt that Zheng Hean could still be trusted, and his only worry was whether the government would retaliate against his family.

……

Dong dong dong,
There were gunshots from the west. The noise was not particularly loud, but the casualties were considerable.

Li Ergou doesn't care about the feelings of fellow townsmen.

He commanded the 2-pound cannon to detour to more than 70 feet away from the Huaixi New Army and impatiently ordered the cannon to fire at a high angle.

Not direct aiming, but indirect bombardment.

There are two hard requirements for indirect attack with cannon.

First, there must be a firing table. Second, the caliber of the artillery must be small.

Wu Jun’s light field artillery has begun to popularize screw-type devices for adjusting the elevation angle.

The first round of test firing was covered by 3 shotgun shells.

The gun with the highest elevation achieved the best results.

It was visible to the naked eye that the crowd around the impact point fell down.

……

"Elevation 18, rapid fire, 3 rounds."

Following the officer's precise guidance.

28 2-pound guns were quickly moved into position.

The gun carriage and the gun barrel weigh only 200 pounds, and it is easy for two gunners to move the wheels left and right.

Based on the distance of the test artillery, the remaining artillery moved forward another 5 meters.

The shotgun shells and powder bags are integrated.

One person holds it and pushes it in from the muzzle, while the other person uses the ramrod to push it to the bottom.

The gunner poked a red-hot iron stick directly into the firing port to fire the cannon.

The continuous sound of artillery fire was not so deafening, but its power was considerable.

The clusters of shotgun shells falling from the sky are the nightmare of unarmored units.

……

Li Ergou looked at the smoke and dust in the distance, anxiously:

"Boom, blow them down."

In the north, the two sides were engaged in an artillery battle.

To the east, the 2nd Corps was sending troops to intercept the Jilin cavalry, and they must have suffered heavy losses.

The Huaixi New Army was in a dense formation, making them the ideal target for rapid-fire shotguns.

The gunners of the mixed battalion advanced while firing, and the barrage moved forward~
The stunned Huaixi New Army also became anxious. Hundreds of musketeers rushed out, trying to destroy these terrifying shotguns.

Li Ergou waved his hand and the infantry immediately rushed forward to protect the artillery.

The artillerymen frantically turned the screws to lower the elevation of the guns.

As flames spurted out of the muzzles of the guns, the Qing army's musketeers who were charging head-on collapsed.

The power of a single shot from a 2-pound cannon is equivalent to that of 5 muskets or 50 flintlock rifles firing simultaneously.

……

Li Ergou's expression was ferocious:
"The artillery can take turns pushing forward and providing cover, and the artillery can also fire in three stages."

"Follow the ammunition truck."

The war horses pulled the ammunition carts and silently advanced along with the artillery.

The gunners ran back and forth between the artillery and the ammunition trucks, like a relay.

If it were a mule or a donkey, they would surely be frightened crazy by the sound of gunfire and refuse to pull the cart.

The Huaixi New Army collapsed, unable to withstand such horrific bombardment.

Every shot of shotgun shells caused dozens of casualties.

This is not a war, it's a one-sided massacre!

Looking at the rushing Huaixi New Army, Li Ergou felt relieved:
"Chase them and keep bombarding them. Bomb whoever you catch."

"The barrel is too hot."

"Pour water from the kettle on it to cool it down."

……

A gunner took off his uniform and poured water on it, then covered the barrel of the gun. Steam rose up, blurring the vision.
Everyone followed suit and continued to cool down the barrel.

Li Ergou also assigned 30 people to fetch water from the river.

The Wu army's artillery carriage carried a complete set of tools.

Including wooden barrels, hammers, nails, cleaning rods, ramrods, etc.

The artillery after cooling down,

Continue to run behind the fleeing soldiers, and fire your cannon wherever you see crowds of people.

The pleasure of slaughter made all the soldiers in the mixed battalion bloodthirsty and crazy.

suddenly,

A knight came running over holding a small red flag.

"Commander-in-Chief Lin has ordered that the independent mixed battalion carry rapid-fire artillery and quickly maneuver to the west bank to block the battlefield. Don't let a single Qing soldier escape."

"Yes, the mixed battalion is determined to complete the mission."

Li Ergou was extremely excited and ordered his men to harness the carriage quickly.

While the Qing army has not yet reacted, we should guard the pontoon bridge on the west and cut off the escape route.

……

Under the threat of rapid-fire cannons~
Zheng Hean's effect of persuading surrender was particularly good at this moment.

The villagers threw down their weapons, knelt on the ground, and surrendered.
In a face-to-face fight, it doesn't matter if you die.

But this way of dying, where a group of people were killed by a shotgun blast, is still too cruel.

There were also some people who refused to surrender, such as Liu Huangtong, who gathered thousands of people and ran eastward.

Beside the great banner of the Wu army,
The soldier on the lookout vehicle shouted:
"A group of defeated soldiers are heading towards our army's East Camp."

Lin Huaisheng was furious.

But for the time being, he could not spare any troops to kill these defeated soldiers, so he could only concentrate on dealing with the Sauron soldiers in front of him.

"Yang Yuchun."

"The end will be here."

"You lead the armored battalion to confront Sauron's soldiers head-on."

"As ordered."

Yang Yuchun raised his long knife:

"Where is the Armored Soldiers Camp?"

Swish, the 800 soldiers who had been sitting on the ground to recuperate stood up at the same time, their armor clanging and their discipline strict.

"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"

"kill!"

……

The armored soldiers put down their masks, raised their spears high, and looked as cold as a mechanical army.

They strode forward in unison to the beat of the drums, ready to confront the Sauron cavalry head-on.

This expensive and fine plate armor is the confidence that makes it fearless of crescent arrows, plum needle arrows, and continuous arrows.

Lin Huaisheng was still worried.
He also transferred a battalion of soldiers from his side and divided them into two groups to advance together with the armored battalion in a "品"-shaped formation to ensure that the Sauron people would not have a chance to turn the tables.

……

"General, our army is already in decline. Make a decision quickly."

Hailancha looked at the Wu army's armored square formation that was approaching with great momentum, as well as the small hollow square formations of Wu army on the left and right wings that remained motionless.

And in the distance, some of the Huaixi New Army were busy surrendering in groups, while others were busy fleeing in groups.

The pain in my heart is immense:

"Send a message to Sarha, have him lead the Jilin cavalry to retreat first. I will lead the Solon soldiers to provide cover at the rear."

"Where to retreat?"

"Go north! If you see a bridge, cross it. If there is no bridge, swim across. Don't go to Yangzhou, go directly to Huai'an to join the group. This battle is hopeless!"

"Whoo."

At the critical moment of life and death, Hailancha remained calm.

Salha, the deputy governor of Ningguta, was also a pure fighter. When he arrived, his eyes were filled with tears and his cotton armor was stained with blood.

He rolled off his horse, choking:
"General, shall we retreat together?"

In the noisy battlefield, Hailancha spoke in an extremely calm tone:

"If we retreat together, we won't be able to escape. The Jilin Cavalry is the elite of the Eight Banners. We must protect them and leave some national blood for the court."

Saying,

He cut off his braid and gave it to Sarha.

"Tell the emperor that I, Hailancha, am grateful for the grace of heaven, but unfortunately I have no face to see the emperor again."

……

(End of this chapter)