Add Bookmark | Recommend this book | Back to the book page | My bookshelf | Mobile Reading

Free Web Novel,Novel online - All in oicq.net -> Historic -> Late Ming Dynasty

Text Chapter 533 Artillery Appears

Previous page        Return to Catalog        Next page

    On the morning of the fourth day, the sky was still overcast, and the cold wind was still raging in the air, constantly taking away the heat from people's bodies.

    But today, people are no longer huddled in military camps like they were a few days ago. In two military camps twenty miles apart, countless soldiers are busy non-stop.  After three days of dormancy, both Manchu and Dahua got the supplies they wanted. Naturally, they would no longer be silent. It was natural for the two sides to break out into conflict.

    ¡°Woo woo woo¡­¡±

    The desolate horn sounded on the west side of the cold plain land. With the sound of the horn, groups of neatly dressed knights urged their horses out of the camp. After they left the camp, they divided into two rows, forming  A wild goose formation was formed.

    After the cavalry of the brigade came out, there were groups of infantry armed with firearms. They were wearing blue armor and holding fire blunderbuss. They followed the cavalry, and finally there were groups of mules and horses.  I saw these mules and horses plodding forward under the whip of a famous soldier. Behind them were heavy artillery pieces. Judging from the appearance of the wheels sinking into the ground, they weighed at least several thousand kilograms.

    Due to the lack of copper in the Qing Dynasty, their cannons could only be cast from iron. However, the Manchu cannon-casting technology was not very good, so the weight and size of the cannons were very large. In order to combine these hundreds of general cannons with  Hundreds of small French guns and squatting tiger cannons were transported to the front line. Kong Youde's Han army flag had exhausted nearly a hundred mules and horses.

    Kong Youde stood behind these artillery pieces, directing the soldiers to rush to transport these artillery pieces to the front of the military formation, but if there were careful people observing.  You will find that although Kong Youde kept shouting, there were obvious dark circles around his eyes, and his eyes were wandering around. It was obvious that his attention was distracted by something.

    In fact, Kong Youde's heart was still echoing what Dorgon said when he secretly visited him last night, "Be obedient to the king. The emperor ordered you and me to lead the battle tomorrow. What is the idea in his mind compared to yours?"  I know it very well. We Mingren don¡¯t talk secretly, so I speak openly. You also witnessed the artillery fire of the Chinese Army yesterday. If you don¡¯t want to burn all your hard work over the years, you¡¯d better be good.  You must cooperate with me, otherwise if something happens, don¡¯t blame me for not saying hello to you!"

    Dorgon's words did not comfort him in the slightest.  Some of them were just naked threats, but the bloody aura contained in them almost made Kong Youde suffocate.

    After saying these threatening words to Kong Youde, Dorgon left his tent without staying much longer, leaving only Kong Youde thinking hard.

    "Woo woo woo"

    The desolate horn sound continued to sound in the camp. At this time, Kong Youde could no longer think anymore. The commands from behind and the officers' scoldings were urging the soldiers to speed up. Kong Youde could only follow.  The soldiers walked step by step towards the battlefield ahead.

    Today, Huang Taiji's hundred thousand troops were all dispatched. The mighty army occupied the plains with a radius of more than ten miles. The army pressed forward like a heavy hill.

    And the Dahua Army on the opposite side was not to be outdone.  Forty thousand infantry formed eight square formations and stood neatly in front of the military camp. On their flanks were more than 3,000 cavalry. As usual, Dong Guo commanded two artillery battalions with more than 300 artillery pieces and more than thousands of gunners.  Get behind the military formation.

    Looking at the slowly approaching Qing army in front, Wang Zhi's excited body was trembling slightly. He had been looking forward to this day for a long time.  No matter whether he loses or wins this battle today, he doesn't want to leave any regrets.

    Looking at the neatly arranged phalanx in front, Wang Zhi shouted loudly: "Come here, beat the drum to help!"

    ¡°Dong dong dong¡­¡±

    As Wang Zhi¡¯s words fell, bursts of passionate drumbeats also sounded.

    After hearing the sound of the drums, one by one the guerrilla generals in the formation pulled out the scimitars at their waists and shouted loudly: "Soldiers, move forward!"

    ¡°Wowwowwow"

    Countless riflemen lined up, striding forward in neat steps.

    "Hurry up follow up, follow up!"

    Behind the military formation, countless sweaty gunners urged the gunners to push the heavy artillery and follow the infantry.  Although these Napoleon cannons were much lighter than the Qing army's general cannons, which weighed several thousand kilograms, the weight of five to six hundred kilograms also made the gunners who pushed them sweat profusely.

    When the Chinese army left the camp for more than 500 steps, they no longer continued to move forward, but stopped. The gunners of the artillery camp finally breathed a sigh of relief, and one by one began to fire the artillery nervously and skillfully.  .  They used sleepers to place sleepers, they raised the muzzle of the cannon, and the ammunition carriers also put the projectiles in the wooden box and a package wrapped in oilcloth regardless of fatigue.When moving out the bag, especially the aiming hand, don't dare to be careless at all, otherwise the projectile will be hit into the formation of your own army by negligence, and don't wait for the infantry officers to come.  He settled the score. Dong Guo, the commander-in-chief of the artillery, would definitely eat them alive.

    Although the gunners at the back were very busy, the tens of thousands of Dahua infantry in front were already standing quietly on the spot. They had already taken off the Mini rifles from their shoulders, and the black muzzles pointed coldly at the sky.

    "Quick, adjust the muzzle, the distance is six hundred steps, the height is four knots, and load the explosive shells!"

    "Brothers, hurry up. If anyone doesn't speed up, don't blame me for kicking his ass!"

    Behind the infantry phalanxes, the gunners who had just stopped were busy setting up their artillery. The sighters were carefully observing the distance from the enemy with telescopes, and the loaders were approaching from behind.  Boxes of artillery shells were taken off the cart, and the rest of the people were setting up the artillery. In short, everyone was busy and sweating.

    Time passed like this little by little. When the gunners finally finished their work, the originally fierce drumming stopped. For a while, the air became eerily silent, with only the icy cold wind blowing.

    At this moment, a rumble of horse hooves came faintly from the front, and the thunderous sound seemed to cover up the sound of the wind that originally floated between heaven and earth.

    At this time, in Wang Zhi's telescope, groups of cavalry wearing white armor began to appear in his sight. What surprised Wang Zhi when he arrived was that these cavalry were only covering on both sides, not as usual.  To launch an attack.

    "Heywhat are these Tatars going to do?"

    Wang Zhi murmured, and moved the telescope forward. At this time, groups of soldiers in blue armor appeared in the frame, and they pushed the heavy shelves forward.  There seemed to be animals pulling in front of the shelf. Because the distance was too far, Wang Zhi couldn't see clearly in the telescope.

    After a while, those shelves were finally clearly photocopied in front of Wang Zhi¡¯s eyes.  With its long muzzle and heavy wooden frame, it clearly looked like a red cannon.

    "No, the Tatars are going to fight hard today!"

    Wang Zhi's expression changed. In previous battles with Qing soldiers, Qing soldiers rarely used firearms, let alone artillery, because the artillery cast by the Qing army was often very heavy due to manufacturing technology and was very inconvenient to carry.  .  In addition, the Qing army had always despised firearms, so artillery was rarely seen, but today so many artillery suddenly appeared, which made Wang Zhi nervous.

    After thinking for a while, Wang Zhi said to the messenger beside him, "Go and call Dong Guo."

    Soon, Dong Guo, who was sweating profusely, appeared in front of Wang Zhi. Before Dong Guo could speak, Wang Zhi immediately said: "General Dong, have you seen the Tatar artillery in front?"

    Dong Guo nodded calmly: "I see it!"

    Wang Zhi then asked: "Can you destroy all those artillery pieces before they are set up!"

    Dong Guo raised his telescope to test the approximate distance and then shook his head and said: "Sir, our artillery has the advantages of accurate aiming and fast firing speed, but its range is not much farther than the Tatar's red cannon. Now they are far away  We are a full mile away, and our artillery is somewhat out of reach, and even if it could reach it, it would lose its accuracy."

    When Wang Zhi heard this, his face darkened, "General Dong, didn't you say that our artillery can hit as far as two miles away? Why can't it hit a distance of only a few hundred steps?"

    Dong Guo spread his hands and said helplessly: "Sir, the artillery you are talking about is a 32-pound large-caliber artillery. We are on an expedition this time. For the sake of convenience, the artillery we bring are small 16-pound artillery pieces.  , there¡¯s no way it can hit this far!¡±

    "asshole!"

    Wang Zhi was so angry that he cursed, not knowing whether he was scolding Dong Guo or himself for being careless.

    Finally, Wang Zhi gritted his teeth and said, "So we can only fight the Tatar artillery fire?"

    "I'm afraid that's the case!" Dong Guo replied helplessly.

    Wang Zhi frowned, "Well, can you promise me that as soon as the artillery battle begins, we will destroy the Tatar artillery as soon as possible, and we will never let them wreak havoc on our military formation!"

    Wang Zhi, who has experienced many battles, is very aware of the power of artillery. Even if the Tatars use the most primitive solid bullets, if they are allowed to tilt the projectiles in front of their own military formation today, the consequences will be huge.  The casualties are not something he can accept.

    Facing Wang Zhi's questioning, Dong Guo frowned, and finally gritted his teeth and replied: "Okay, sir, don't worry, I will try my best to destroy the Tatar artillery positions."?!  "

    "It's not about trying your best, it's about destroying them, otherwise I'll take care of you!" Wang Zhi stared straight at Dong Guo, with a hint of imperceptible pleading in his resolute expression.

    Dong Guo gritted his teeth, "Okay, I will definitely destroy all the Tatar artillery!"

    "Okay, that's it, go ahead and remember your promise to me!"

    Wang Zhi didn¡¯t talk nonsense and drove Dong Guo away with a wave of his hand.
Didn't finish reading? Add this book to your favoritesI'm a member and bookmarked this chapterCopy the address of this book and recommend it to your friends for pointsChapter error? Click here to report