Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 3) Returning to Xianyang when the rank is full (14)

Nanshan City happens to strangle the narrowest isthmus leading to Guannan, Suzhou, which is no more than ten miles wide from north to south.Although the Liao army camped in formation in the northeast, the terrain was also very narrow. In addition, the coast to the south was mostly silt and tidal flats, making it difficult for people and horses to move, while the seaside land in the north was relatively solid, and a large number of Liao soldiers and horses crowded here.

Three sea-going ships approached slowly and stopped at the seashore near the shore, but did not lower their anchor chains.Not only did the Liao army not evade, many people gathered together and pointed towards the sea.The shape of Xiaguo gunboats is quite different from that of ordinary merchant ships, and they are also different from each other. What is particularly striking is that the masts of the gunboats are covered with small flags of various colors to facilitate communication, and the hulls are carved It has exquisite patterns that ordinary sea ships do not have.All these made the Liao soldiers feel very novel.

In Li Sihai's binoculars, Liao Jun's face is also very clear.Compared with the curiosity of ordinary soldiers, the commanding officer's face was a little more serious, but that was all there was to it, and the subordinates were rectified and retreated out of the range of the gunboat.This was the first time that the Liao army encountered a large number of sea-going ships equipped with artillery, and it was impossible to expect that not only were there so many cannons on board, but they could also hit such a distance.

Xiaguo Shipyard built the first gunboat, which was only slightly modified on the basis of ocean-going merchant ships. There was only one deck for erecting artillery, so it could only carry 46 artillery pieces.When the second ship was built, another deck was added, and the artillery arranged on each deck also increased, eventually carrying [-] artillery pieces.The third gunboat not only set up forty cannons on the two artillery decks, but also set up a giant iron barrel cannon on the bow and stern of the 'open' deck. Commander Anxi used this giant cannon. The capital city of Ross was bombarded.

Li Sihai's ship is the latest gunboat, not only is it much taller than the first gunboat, but also the huge cannons arranged on the front and rear decks are also particularly conspicuous.The gunner pulled back the thick oilcloth gun cover, and the bronze gun body, which was wiped twice a day, glistened in the sun. Li Sihai nodded with satisfaction.

Manipulation of this huge cannon is entirely dependent on manpower. The gunners chanted and worked together to push the cannon body to turn, pointing directly at the shore.Just on the coast, Guo Baoyi, the commander of the Liao army, also observed the enemy ships with binoculars. "What's going on here?" Guo Baoyi murmured in his heart, "Could it be that the Xia people are not afraid of shaking the ship apart if they can't shoot at sea?" Unlike other generals of the Liao army, Guo Baoyi is very familiar with iron barrel artillery , but he didn't believe that a sea-going ship could bear the huge shock when a real heavy artillery was fired.

In the binoculars, the gunners took off their thick cotton coats and only wore short gowns on their upper bodies. Guo Baoyi could even see the white steam steaming above their heads, and an ominous premonition welled up in his heart.He suddenly put down the binoculars, and shouted to his lieutenant general: "Quickly pass on my military order, retreat, retreat from the shore immediately!"

However, before the military order was handed down, Xia Guo's gunboats had already opened fire. Following the two roars of iron barrel guns on the deck, stone bullets weighing more than 200 kilograms were thrown and shot across a curved arc. The line fell directly on the coast, smashing out two deep craters.At the same time, the artillery below the deck opened fire one after another, and with the constant roar, one after another iron bullets crossed the arc and landed among the Liao soldiers who had no time to dodge.The densely camped Liao army suddenly became a mess. Those who were hit or scratched by the shells were either killed or injured. The horses neighed desperately, and some even broke free from the reins.

"Back, back!"

This time not only Guo Baoyi, but even ordinary Khitan commanders realized this, shouting loudly, and some cavalry even disregarded the fact that they had already set up their tents, mounted their horses and rushed towards the inland.After the warship's artillery fired a round, it began to turn around slowly, aiming the gun window on the other side at the shore, while the gunner who had already 'shot' the side began to reload nervously.Li Sihai stared closely at the Liao army who turned their backs on their backs, and excitedly clenched his fists and shouted: "Good job, fire!"

Soon, the other side of the warship turned around, and the warship was barely listening. With the roar of the gunner centurion below the deck "firing", the gunners lit the match one by one, "boom" "boom" The sound of "boom" sounded again.The Liao army, which had not had time to evacuate from the coast, accelerated the evacuation again.

Yelu Yanshan, the commander-in-chief of the Liao army who went south, had come here full of confidence, but he was so slapped on the head that he couldn't help becoming angry from embarrassment.His head was full of veins, he held his horsewhip in one hand, stared straight at the beasts on the sea that were constantly spewing smoke and flames, and said viciously: "General Guo, we also carry iron barrel cannons, why don't we bombard those enemy ships! "

"This..." Wu Chun, the supervisor of the Artillery Battalion, said, "General Yanshan, our iron cannon is too heavy to aim at, and I'm afraid the enemy ship will miss it if it moves a little bit. So..." He' The ability to operate the artillery is much worse than that of Chai Yilai, the capital supervisor of the Liao State Artillery and Security Department.Therefore, he couldn't help trembling when answering Yelu Yanshan's questioning.Yelu Yanshan has always been known for his fierceness, not only him, even Guo Baoyi, the deputy commander of the Southern Expedition Army, often involuntarily became half shorter in front of him.

Before he finished speaking, there was a "pa", and there was a bloodstain on Wu Chun's face. He didn't dare to cry out the pain, but his whole body was shaking, only to hear Yelu Yanshan scold: "Useless stupid thing, I only know Use some excuses to fool people!" After speaking, he whipped Wu Chun's face a few times without thinking.This scene fell into the eyes of Guo Baoyi who rushed over, and he couldn't help frowning. He couldn't speak, so he walked quickly to Yeluyan Mountain, and said in a deep voice: "Master Dutong, I see the range of the enemy ship. , It's only about two or three miles away, as long as we don't get close to the shore for two or three miles, it's okay, the most urgent thing is to quickly capture this city."

"General Guo reminded you!" Yelu Yanshan turned his gaze to the low-lying Nanshan City, as if he had found an outlet to vent his anger, he whipped Wu Chun again, and said in a deep voice: "Go and aim the cannon at the iron barrel. If you want to attack the city, I will take your head!"

Wu Chun scrambled and retreated, groaning inwardly, not only had the cannons not mounted on their mounts, but even the fortresses hadn't been dug, how could they aim at the top of the city? Small and very low, it is very inconvenient to aim.Moreover, it seems that there must be a lot of artillery placed on the top of the city, and it is not known who will take advantage of the bombardment.However, he only murmured these things in his heart, but he never dared to talk to Yelu Yanshan.

On the hill two miles northwest of Nanshan City, Chai Yizheng smiled and said to Zhao Xingde: "General Zhao, it is absolutely impossible for Liaogou's artillery to hit a sea ship. I am in an invincible position in the navy." Said, while acting as if he hated the Liao country, he said with some regret, "It's a pity that these Liao dogs saw the opportunity early and withdrew from my 'shooting' range towards the naval artillery."

Ever since Chai Yi saw the sharpness of Xia's artillery, he completely gave up on Liao.He has always regarded the Liaodong Han army as bandits, and he was unwilling to join forces with them, especially after Zhao Xingde revealed that there was no possibility of taking his family from Shangjing, Chai Yi turned to please Zhao Xingde.This person has unique views and experience on the operation of artillery, so Zhao Xingde does not reject him.Before the military government made a decision on how to deal with him, Zhao Xingde only took him by his side. Chai Yi was also considered a high-ranking official in the Liao Kingdom, and he knew very clearly what was true and false in the Liao Army.

Zhao Xingde nodded slightly, but he didn't feel sorry.The isthmus where Nanshan City was located was originally extremely narrow, and there was a large area of ​​mud flats in the south, which was not suitable for large army operations, and the solid land close to the inland was all within the firing range of Nanshan City's artillery.The beach in the north is relatively strong, the Liao army can pass through, and it is just outside the range of Nanshan City's artillery. But now, the Liao army dare not move within two miles of the sea, and two miles away from the sea, Then it is within the range of the artillery fire of Nanshan City.In other words, the artillery of the Han army can completely suppress this isthmus.

"But, it's going to freeze soon." Zhao Xingde looked to the north. At this time, the sea water of Liaohai was blue, which was many times clearer than later generations, but the freezing in winter will not change, " The most difficult time will come soon." He thought silently.In the distance, the cavalry of the Liao army had completely retreated beyond the range of the navy's artillery fire, and concentrated on an extremely narrow front to the northeast of Nanshan City.

"If I have heavy artillery with enough range, plus explosive shells..." Zhao Xingde shook his head, getting rid of these unrealistic thoughts, "To defeat the enemy, we can only rely on the existing Weapons and power." But Gao Bolong who was beside him said: "It's a pity, if there are only [-] to [-] iron cavalry, if you go out while the enemy is in chaos, you will definitely make Liaogou suffer a lot." It is a pity that the Han army only has a few thousand cavalry, and the vitality of the Liaoyang city has been severely damaged. Now it is not a last resort, and they cannot be used easily.

The red sun gradually slanted to the west, and the Liao army's attack on Suzhou Guannan began on this unexpected and chaotic day.At night, the north of Nanshan City is full of bonfires where Liao people camped, and even the Ehu Mountain in the distance can see the flames, as if they reach the sky.Among the 5 troops, there are more than 3 real Khitan troops, more than 2 Xi troops, and the remaining [-] are miscellaneous soldiers from other races.Since the incident in front of the Iron Wall camp, the Liao Kingdom has gradually canceled the practice of organizing the Han people into an army alone.

The Liao army only rushed to build camps and place artillery fortifications. Yelu Yanshan relied on its strong troops and did not plan to make night or sneak attacks.The Han army did not waste its troops needlessly, but instead attacked the Liao army, which was far stronger than itself.Therefore, this night was exceptionally quiet.