Late Qing Dynasty Executioner

Chapter 178 The war has undergone fundamental changes
"Oh no! The other side actually has so many people with guns!" Zheng Ming said with embarrassment.

The enemy had about fifty spears.

"Is this gun so powerful?" Chen Gu asked with a frown.

"This gun is called a lifted gun because the barrel is too long and requires someone to hold it in front. Even if more than a dozen lead bullets are loaded at the same time, the range is over a hundred meters. If only one lead bullet is loaded, the range is almost the same as our army's rifles, but the accuracy is not very good!" Zheng Ming explained.

The range is determined by the power of gunpowder and its air tightness. The longer the barrel, the higher the air tightness it can provide, which naturally increases the range.

Chen Gu really didn't expect that there was such black technology in this era. Although people of this era didn't know how to design the bullet to be as big as the gun hole to increase airtightness, they chose to extend the barrel to increase the range.

A gun barrel that is more than two meters long may only appear in this era.

Twenty cannons and fifty rifles made the soldiers of the Sword and Shield Battalion howl in agony. The wounded struggled and wailed on the ground, while the uninjured ones dropped their bamboo poles and ran back immediately.

Chen the executioner frowned and thought for a moment, then shouted, "Don't stop, keep building the bamboo platform. For every node tied, you will be rewarded with one tael of silver. For the injured, you will be compensated with five to twenty taels of silver. For the disabled, you will be given a job with a lifetime salary, and you will be compensated with fifty taels of silver. For the dead, you will be compensated with one hundred taels of silver for their families, and they will be paid a monthly salary for twenty years, and they will be buried in the martyrs' tomb."

As the saying goes, there is always a brave man under a big reward. Although the enemy's twenty cannons and fifty rifles are scary, it is not a situation where death is inevitable. Moreover, even if you die, your family will be protected and can be buried in the martyrs' tomb to enjoy sacrifices. It is not a loss.

It's even more profitable if you don't die. If you act quickly, one node can be tied up in less than ten seconds. Where can you find seven or eight hundred taels of silver in an hour?
As soon as Chen Gu finished speaking, some fearless people rushed out carrying bamboos.

"I'll give you a hundred coins if you carry a bamboo over!" Chen Gu took the opportunity to shout.

Carrying bamboos is much safer and can be done quickly. Immediately, some of the more timid ones gritted their teeth and started carrying bamboos forward, carrying a bundle of ten bamboos at a time, and each trip also earned one or two taels of silver.

In fact, although the power of muskets and cannons is indeed great, their accuracy is not good, and the firing rate is very slow, so the threat they pose to the soldiers is not too great.

Although each round of volleys would always cause some casualties among the soldiers, the proportion was not high. Hundreds of fearless soldiers on ten bamboo platforms were working under the guns and artillery fire, and suffered more than ten rounds of volleys, with a total of only more than twenty casualties.

Except for a few unlucky guys who were killed by direct cannon shots, the injuries to others were not fatal because they had bulletproof vests protecting their vital parts.

This greatly boosted the confidence of the soldiers who were building the bamboo platform. Although this job was dangerous, the pay was really high, so the risk was worth taking.

The bamboo platform is made up of one hundred bamboo stakes and connected by twenty bamboos vertically and horizontally. Each layer has one hundred nodes, and each layer is 1.5 meters high. After four layers, it is already higher than the city wall of Zizhou City.

One tael of silver was charged for each node, and one hundred taels for each layer. Ten bamboo platforms with four layers would cost no more than four thousand taels of silver. Even if the cost of transporting bamboo and providing compensation for casualties was added, it would still cost less than ten thousand taels of silver. Chen Gu could still afford this amount of money.

Because there are as many as one hundred stakes supporting the bamboo platform, the damage caused by the cannonballs to the platform is minimal. Even if it hits the stakes directly, at most it can only break one stake and cause the platform to shake. Most of the time, it just brushes past the stakes and poses no threat to the platform.

After the bamboo platform was built, ten bamboo rafts were placed on the top layer. Chen Gu sent one hundred soldiers from the Fobao Logistics Battalion to climb up. Just one round of volleys was enough to make the soldiers on the city wall unable to raise their heads.

"Xing Honghai, Zhou Shi, lead your soldiers to suppress the defenders on the city wall." "Steelhead, Sanlang, lead the logistics battalion to throw kerosene cans at the city wall!"

"Jiang Zhenghai, prepare to lead the spearmen to attack the city!"

Taking advantage of the gap after another round of gunfire on the city wall, Zhou Shi immediately rushed to the front with the archery battalion, and Xing Honghai followed closely with the firearms battalion. Amid a hail of arrows and the sound of muskets, the defenders on the city wall completely hid themselves.

However, since the bows and arrows were projectiles, screams could still be heard from the city walls from time to time.

Tanluhu and Saburo seized the opportunity and rushed forward with the remaining soldiers of the logistics battalion. After lighting the wicks of the kerosene tanks, they threw them hard onto the city wall.

The kerosene can is made of ceramics and is very easy to break when thrown onto the city wall. Once broken, a huge ball of fire will immediately erupt.

After throwing the kerosene cans, the soldiers of the logistics battalion immediately ran back, and shouted to the soldiers of the archery battalion and the firearms battalion: "Run quickly, there are explosives on it, and it will explode."

There was indeed a chain reaction on the city wall, but the explosion was not very close. Just as Chen Gu was frowning in confusion, the city gate, which had already turned into a sea of ​​fire, exploded.

"Boom~!"

The explosion was so shocking that not only was the entire second-story city gate tower blown up into the sky, but the city wall below the city gate tower and the city gate also disappeared together. In the end, only ruins were left.

Countless pieces of gravel flew everywhere, mixed with hundreds of shells. One of the shells flew twenty or thirty meters, bounced on the ground, and then rolled towards Chen Gu, rolling all the way to Chen Gu's feet before slowly stopping.

Chen kicked the shell in front of him away, and a burning smell like barbecue came out of his leather boots. "Kill! Those who surrender will be spared, but those who resist will be killed without mercy!"

As Chen Gu swung the sword in his hand, Danluhu and Sanlang took the lead and rushed out with the logistics battalion, shouting "Those who surrender will be spared, and those who resist will be killed." The Green Camp Army followed closely behind.

Zheng Ming looked at the ruined city gate and couldn't help but sigh, "The future war model has undergone a complete change, and the quality requirements for individual soldiers are more important than the number of troops.

But personal bravery has become meaningless. Small elite troops will be the main force on the battlefield in the future. Ammunition and guns are the basis of war. We must take Sichuan as soon as possible and speed up the training of the army and the manufacture of armaments. "

"Indeed!" Chen Gu nodded involuntarily. He was quite satisfied with Zheng Ming's strategic vision. It was already very good to be able to discover these essential things from a battle.

The army of Zizhou City is, after all, just a bunch of young and strong men. They can barely fight in favorable battles and defend the city, but they obviously lack the will to fight head-on with the regular army.

Especially after casualties, panic and large-scale escape will lead to collapse in an instant.

The suicide bombing of the city gate tower had already made these young and strong men lose the will to resist. As the logistics battalion and the Green Camp entered the city, many people knelt down and surrendered.

(End of this chapter)