Back to the end of the Ming Dynasty when the emperor

Chapter 286 Blasting
Although Zhu Yousong's imperial camp did not have many troops, it had a full range of arms, including infantry, cavalry, light and heavy firearms and crossbowmen, and an engineer battalion.

At the beginning, Zhu Yousong asked Liu Zhaoji to train this compound unit to be able to defend. It can fight against the Tartars in the field, and it can also attack fortifications. One of the means of attacking fortifications is to use the engineer battalion to blast. These 600 people Zhu Yousong can't keep them for nothing. Now is the time to enable them.

The engineer battalion includes engineers and demolition soldiers. Explosives and artillery are used in the military, giving engineers and demolition soldiers a place to use.

The Qing army in the city suffered consecutive defeats, and their morale was low, like a frightened bird.As long as Jiujiang City can be blasted to open a gap, the advantage of the strong city will be lost, and Zhu Yousong's men can break into the city, and the problem will be solved.

Zhu Yousong immediately discussed the specific blasting plan with the leaders of the engineering battalion, supply battalion, light firearms, horse battalion, and navy battalion, because the engineering battalion needs the cover and assistance of these battalions to complete the blasting operation.

Two days later, in the middle of the night, several small boats quietly went upstream from the middle of the river, and then rowed forward along the Jiujiang moat until the small boats docked outside the gate of the Jiujiang River. The boats were loaded with explosives and dried Firewood, another pickaxe, and the soldiers of the engineer battalion.

Under the night, several black shadows took their belongings, abandoned the boat and climbed to the bottom of the city.To be on the safe side, these 600 people selected three blasting sites outside the south city, combining engineers and blasting soldiers, and every 200 people were responsible for one blasting site.

The city of Jiujiang is three feet five feet high, the moat outside the city is wide and deep, and the wind lanterns on the city emit a dim yellow light. In the dead of night and the distance is high, the soldiers guarding the city and patrolling the city did not find them for a while.

But then came trouble.The engineering soldiers have to start their work first. They have to dig holes under the city wall, and then the demolition soldiers put the explosives in. Only then can the work be done. Not sure at all, Qing Tu wasted explosives.

Although the engineering soldiers were trained in this area, it is impossible to dig the earth without making noise. This is a large project, and it cannot be completed after three times, five times and two divisions, and it will take about half an hour at the fastest.

As soon as the engineering soldiers began to work, the soldiers on the top of the city knew within a few minutes, because they were neither deaf nor blind, so they ordered people to report to the two princes of the Qing court and the young marshal Zuo Menggeng, While shooting arrows down the city and dropping logs, they used this method to interfere with the operations of the engineer battalion.

Fortunately, Zhu Yousong was well prepared. As soon as there was movement on the top of Jiujiang City, ambushes were everywhere on the banks of the moat. All of a sudden, guns fired, and the Qing troops on the top of the city were shot one after another.It turned out that Zhu Yousong had long ordered the Light Firearms Battalion to lie in ambush by the moat overnight to cover the operations of the Engineer Battalion.

The ambush position of the Light Firearms Battalion is just outside the shooting range of Jiujiang City Head, because it is separated by a wide moat, but it is also outside the attack range of the city head artillery. After a long time, the effective range of the artillery has to be removed by two distances. , It won’t work if it’s too far away, and it won’t work if it’s too close. These [-] light firearms penetrate this short-range gap, or the blind spot of the cannon.

Therefore, the fire blunderbuss and bird blunderbuss of the [-] light fire battalion can effectively shoot the Qing army on the top of the city, but the bows and artillery of the Qing army on the top of the city can't hurt them.The barrage of fire in the middle of the night was naturally suppressed by the Qing army on the top of the city, but soon their artillery began to roar.

Here Zhu Yousong's artillery battalion also opened fire, and the two sides bombarded each other. Naturally, the artillery fire on the city was not as powerful as Zhu Yousong's artillery fire. The Qing army's artillery fire did not fire a few shots so it was suppressed. The soldiers still work under the city wall.

Nikan, Boluo, and Zuo Menggeng in the city had already been reported. They woke up from their sleep, thinking that Zhu Yousong was going to attack the city aggressively. The cannon fire reached the top of the city, and by the light of the torches, it can be seen that Daming's army did not attack the city in a big way, and the two sides only bombarded from such a long distance.

But they looked down carefully with their hands on the crenel. Below the city, the Sanming army was constructing. They waved their picks and shovels, as if they wanted to dig through the city wall.

Just at this moment, with a few howls, the bullets of the firecracker hit the crenel in front of them, and the sparks flew and made a piercing sound, scaring Nikan, Boluo, and Zuo Menggeng to lie down under the crenel. They had a premonition that something was wrong. But the Qing army in the city couldn't stop it effectively. They wanted to send an army out of the city to eliminate those who were digging corners under the city wall, but they didn't dare to open the city. They knew in their hearts that Zhu Yousong's troops must have already prepared in the dark. Preparations for the siege, this opening, they will definitely take the opportunity to rush in.

The Qing army hesitated twice and did not hesitate. The three operations of the [-] Engineer Battalion have been completed. Three large holes for drilling dogs have been dug under the city wall. , and then stack the firewood at the entrance of the cave. The firewood in the three places is as high as one person.

Then pour oil on the firewood, which is their safety fuse.After finishing all this, the engineer battalion lit the firewood, and three piles of fires were blazing, and the soldiers of the engineer battalion ran back as fast as they could.

When they reached the moat, they boarded the small boat they had come in, and then went down the river.

At the same time as the engineer battalion was retreating, the light weapons were also retreating.At this time, the three piles of fires on the city wall were getting bigger and bigger, and the Qing army on the top of the city could even hear the crackling of the fire below. The flames burned the night sky red, but they were helpless.

Nikan and the others guessed right. At this time, Zhu Yousong had gathered [-] soldiers, and the imperial camp had already made all preparations. At this time, Zhu Yousong immediately went to a hidden high place outside the city, staring at Jiujiang City with his eyes. , Seeing these three piles of fire, we know that the engineer battalion has succeeded, and we are only waiting for the exciting and exciting explosion.

Zhu Yousong's artillery battalion was three miles outside Jiujiang City. After seeing the three fires in Jiujiang City, Li Zhushi, the leader of the artillery battalion, made several gestures in the night sky with his hands, and immediately calculated the elevation angle and range of the cannon. Order the soldiers to adjust the rear sight and front sight of the red cannon.

After everything was ready, Li Zhushi yelled, "Fire!"

"Boom, bang, bang..." several cannons in red roared, and one by one shells broke through the night sky and accurately hit three burning firewood piles outside Jiujiang City, followed by three earth-shattering loud noises, which shook the entire city. The ground under You Song's feet was trembling.The city wall of Jiujiang in the middle of the three burning firewood was accompanied by bricks and stones flying all over the sky, and the thick city wall was blasted into a big gap several meters long here.

Zhu Yousong was overjoyed when he saw it, and immediately delivered an order: "Chong, take Jiujiang Mansion in one fell swoop!"

(End of this chapter)