A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 127
Outside the south gate of Shunxiang Fort, the wooden shields and shield chariots of the Qing soldiers had already moved fifty paces away from the city wall.

At this distance, the slowly pushing shield vehicles stopped one after another.

Wang Dou had already seen the tactics of the Qing soldiers before. Looking down from the tower, he could see rows of Qing soldiers behind the wooden shields gathered together. Those light armored archers with strong bows who were good at shooting probably had two , As many as 300 people.

Wang Dou issued an urgent order, and the flag bearer beside him waved the flag, and immediately the voices of the guards came from the south of the city: "Shield bearers are ready!"

The young and strong auxiliary soldiers on the top of the city raised their shields densely, and some without shields erected the large wooden planks that had been dismantled from the castle, and some people hurriedly hid in the straw factory at the top of the city.The soldiers on the top of the city were either covered by the shields of the auxiliary soldiers beside them, or blocked by large wooden boards. Most of them were wearing iron armor, and they only needed to cover their vital parts such as their heads and faces.

The sound of the bow string being tensed, under the sun, a large rain of arrows came from behind the wooden shield of the Qing soldiers' shield chariot, covering the southern city head. A wave of projectiles.

There was a sound of waves, and the arrows of the Qing soldiers fell on the shields, wooden boards, and grass plants at the top of the city.From time to time, the auxiliary soldiers who couldn't cover up enough and couldn't cover up well were hit by arrows. Not long after, they were carried by the medical auxiliary soldiers composed of male men in the castle, and they were helped down to the top of the wall for medical treatment.For those warriors, the arrows thrown by manpower are not as powerful as direct shots. Even if some people are hit by several arrows, they will not cause much harm to them even if they are wearing iron armor.

The Qing soldiers' arrows rained one after another, and the momentum was quite urgent. Some arrows flew into the tower, stuck on the wooden boards of the tower, or flew in from the window, and landed in front of Wang Dou. The shield covered Wang Dou Laolao.

The tower at the south gate of Shun Township Fort is Wang Dou's headquarters for the Chinese army. It is near the windows and is surrounded by thick quilts, which are also wet with water. The protection is extremely strong.Whether it's bows and arrows or rockets, they can't do much damage to the tower.

In the blink of an eye, the archers of the Qing soldiers had already fired five or six rounds of arrows, and the Shunxiang army at the top of the city was suppressed and could not move.Taking advantage of this opportunity, a large number of auxiliary soldiers carrying soil and pushing carts followed behind the wooden shields and shield carts of the Qing soldiers. come.

And the wooden shields of the shield carts were slowly pushed over again.

Defending the city wall on the left side of the south gate is Wen Fangliang's outpost. Wen Fangliang looked out through the lookout hole in the wall. On his iron armor, there was still an arrow thrown by the Qing soldiers obliquely. He didn't care. His handsome face was full of excitement when he saw a large number of Qing soldiers and auxiliary soldiers coming from outside the city with carts carrying dirt.

He shouted loudly: "Flying spears and flying swords are ready!"

Immediately, on the crenel of the city wall on the left, more than a dozen armored firearms soldiers holding large rockets appeared, aiming the rockets low at the Qing soldiers' auxiliary soldiers who rushed over.They all set up large rockets on the branches to aim at them, and around them, there were one or two auxiliary soldiers holding shields to cover them.

"emission!"

There was an explosion like thunder, and a tube of rockets was launched, and the city was filled with smoke.

Hundreds of rockets whizzed away, even if these rockets were scattered, many rockets didn't know where to go.However, the Qing soldiers and servants under the city were densely packed, and they had no defense at all. More than a dozen rockets fired at them, and there were still continuous screams from the city, and a large number of Qing soldiers and servants were shot.

Propelled by the gunpowder, those rockets were powerful, and the unarmored Qing soldiers who were shot, the arrows penetrated very deep into their bodies, and they all rolled on the ground in pain.

At the same time, at Sun Sanjie's rear post on the city wall on the right side of the south gate, there was also the sound of large rockets exploding, and there were also many unarmored soldiers of the Qing Dynasty who were shot to death and injured.Those Qing soldiers who rushed forward to pick up dirt carts were the most unlucky. Many of them were tied up like hedgehogs.

This round of rocket shooting caused serious casualties to the Qing soldiers under the city.

Seeing the plight of those shot by the arrows, the rest of the Qing soldiers who were lucky enough to be uninjured, threw down their carts and earthen loads in fear, and ran away.But then a rain of arrows shot from behind, but it was the white armored soldiers who were in charge of the formation, forcing them back.

Those Qing soldiers had no choice but to follow, some hid behind the shield chariot, while some brave men continued to grit their teeth and push the chariot.

While the Shunxiang army was firing rockets, the Qing archers continued to shoot arrows, and some archers flashed out from both sides of the shield chariot, aiming at the rocket-firing gunmen of Shunxiang Fort on the top of the city. Draw the bow and shoot directly. Although it is covered by the shield, the archers of the Qing soldiers are accurate and ruthless. Some firecrackers and auxiliary soldiers on the crenel were shot. It was okay to shoot the iron armor, and some people were even shot in the face. door, screaming and rolling to the ground.

The shield chariots of the Qing soldiers had been pushed closer to a distance of [-] steps. At this distance, the Shunxiang Army at the head of the city was already under the strong threat of the Qing army's archers below the city.At the same time, they were also under the strong threat of gunfire soldiers and tiger squat guns at the top of the city, and the battle became the most direct and bloody.

……

The ten carefully crafted shield chariots lined up outside the city wall in the south are the main ones. Behind them are large shields made of thick wood tied by the Qing soldiers. People are just pushing closer and closer to the city wall.

Those unarmored followers of the Qing soldiers, under the orders of the officers of the Qing soldiers behind the shield chariot, hurriedly came from behind the shield chariot.

Outside the city, they appeared densely packed with earth-carrying carts.

"Tiger crouching gun ready!"

The flag bearers of the Central Army came from the city tower. Compared with the archers of the Qing soldiers outside the city who shot arrows at the top of the city from time to time, Wang Dou thought that these shield carts and wooden shields were more threatening. He had to break up these shield carts. Only then can the Qing soldiers behind them have nowhere to hide and become the target of the Shunxiang army on the city.

Fifteen tiger squatting cannons were erected on the south wall, all of which were erected on the gun mounts and lined up.

This tiger squatting cannon is the most common small cannon in the Ming army. The cannon body weighs only a few tens of kilograms, and its effective lethality is at [-] to [-] paces.If the lead shot is larger, the cannon can be filled with [-] lead shots, and if the lead shot is smaller, the cannon can be filled with hundreds of lead shots.It can even be filled with tiles, stones and the like.

The tiger crouching cannon at the top of the city has already been filled with sub-powder. After sending the gunpowder into the gunpowder line, fill in a little soil, then put in a layer of lead and iron, use soil to build it, and finally fill in nearly a hundred lead pellets and stones. , These lead pellets are solidified and spread to the muzzle of the gun.

The two gunners next to each tiger squatting cannon at the top of the city have already finished their preparations. Beside them, there are two auxiliary soldiers holding shields to cover them from the sharp arrows thrown in from outside the city from time to time.

After hearing the order to prepare, the gunners pushed the muzzle on the gun mount to the crenel, aiming at the Qing soldiers outside the city.It is conceivable that when these lead pellets are fired in a fan shape, what kind of power they will have against the unarmored auxiliary soldiers of the Qing Dynasty outside the city.

Those Qing soldiers outside the city who were busy picking up dirt and carts were still glad that there was no movement in the city. Under their busy work, they had already cleared some horse thorns in the city.But then some sharp-eyed people saw the black muzzle of the cannon protruding slowly from the top of the city. Some people recognized it as a tiger squatting cannon of the Ming army, and their faces were ashen for a while.

Those people were about to shout loudly, when the Ming army's voice came from the top of the city: "Fire!"

There was a loud bang, and thick flames and smoke rose from the south of the city from time to time. The lead pellets and stones shot by a tiger squatting on the city, like a big broom, wiped out the unarmored Qing soldiers and soldiers in the city. Falling to the ground, many people were bloody and bloody, and their bodies were full of thick holes swept by the bullets. Some people didn't die for a while, they just rolled to the ground and screamed miserably.

Like a sudden gust of wind and heavy rain, the auxiliary soldiers of the Qing soldiers under the city were heartbroken, they turned around and fled back screaming.

With the power of the tiger squatting cannon, even if the Qing soldiers in the city hid behind those big wooden shields, after being swept by the tiger squatting cannon, those big wooden shields would be overturned to the ground like grass in the strong wind. The soldiers, whether they were elite dead soldiers, lightly armored archers, or unarmored followers, were bleeding profusely, and rolled to the ground screaming while clutching their bloody heads and faces.

The short-distance bombardment of the tiger squatting cannon is even more terrifying than firecrackers and rockets. Even if the Qing soldiers in the city made large shields with rough wood, they could not stop the lead pellets from the tiger squatting cannon.

Only the ten shield chariots made by the Qing soldiers were mostly safe, but the thick cowhide and iron covering on them were also full of holes swept by bullets, and some shields were also crumbling. going to leave.

……

Abatai stood on the high platform behind and watched the battle on the other side of the city wall. He saw everything from the rockets fired by the Ming army to the tiger squatting cannons. Some rockets that flew far away even landed in front of him.Seeing the movement ahead, especially the situation after the Ming army fired the tiger squatting cannon, and listening to the report of the battle reported by his subordinates, his face twitched. He hadn't attacked the top of the city yet, and the casualties of his subordinates were so heavy. not worth?
Beside him, Tumed Right Banner Gushan Ezhenombu Chuhuer murmured with a pale face, "The warriors suffered too many casualties, the warriors suffered too many casualties..."

Abatai frowned and glanced at Oumbu Chuhuer, and shouted: "Send the order, beat the drum, let the soldiers attack the city with all their strength!"

The sound of the drums beating by the Qing soldiers was earth-shattering. The auxiliary soldiers of the Qing soldiers who fled back were driven to fill the trench by the white armored soldiers. The archers who are good at shooting, they also kept flashing out from behind the big shield, and the auxiliary soldiers and shield chariots advanced under the cover.

Especially those shield chariots made by the Qing soldiers kept pushing forward relying on their thick skin and thick flesh.

The shouts shook the sky, and the smoke filled the air. Wang Dou stood on the tower with his sword in his hand, motionless, just watching the movement above and below the city.On the southern city wall, two hundred firecrackers from Wen Fangliang's outpost and Sun Sanjie's rear outpost have been shooting out of the city with firecrackers. He was knocked to the ground.

There are more than 200 crenels on the south wall of Shunxiang Fort Old Fort, and an average gunner can occupy a crenel to shoot.At this time, the enemy's situation had become clear, and the Qing army added some reinforcements to join the attack on the south wall. Wang Dou estimated that there were about 500 enemy troops attacking the south gate, including the Mongolian soldiers.

Seeing that they concentrated their forces to attack the south gate, Wang Dou also mobilized the Han Dynasty and Zhong Diaoyang troops who were defending the east wall to join in the defense of the south wall. Han Zhong's left sentry department continued to serve as a reserve team.

Four sentinels and [-] firecrackers are more than enough to defend a city wall. In order to improve the accuracy of the firecrackers, among the two teams of one hundred firecrackers at each sentry, one team shoots, and the other team loads the gunpowder. .After the firecrackers were fired, they took over the newly loaded firecrackers, so that they could shoot more calmly, improve shooting accuracy, and maintain continuous firepower.

Among the firecrackers at each crenel, there is an auxiliary soldier next to him, holding a large shield to cover the side. The firecrackers are responsible for aiming and shooting at the Qing soldiers who pick up the earth carts under the city, and the shieldmen next to them are responsible for watching the soldiers under the city. The movements of the archers of the Qing soldiers, if there were bows and arrows coming, they had to cover up quickly.

Except for the cover of the shieldmen next to them, those musketeers mostly leaned against the wall next to the crenel. When they shot, they usually aimed at a target in advance, and only fired from the crenel after they had made a decision. Under the tactics, their hit rate is greatly improved, and the casualty rate of their own side is greatly reduced.

The head of Shunxiang Fort was filled with smoke, and the sound of gunfire resounded through the sky. Rows of firecrackers were shot down on the top of the city, and the Qing soldiers outside the city were killed and wounded.Shun Xiangbao firecrackers are no better than bows and arrows, as long as they are hit, they will be seriously injured if they don't die.Even those elite dead Qing soldiers wearing double-layer heavy armor couldn't withstand the shooting of the Shunxiang Army's firecrackers, let alone those unarmored follow-up auxiliary soldiers.

They were shot and rolled on the ground one by one, screaming and crying. The city was full of corpses and blood of Qing soldiers and auxiliary soldiers, and discarded earthen loaders and carts were everywhere.The archers of the Qing soldiers tried their best to cover. They continued to shoot at the top of the city.

However, the firecrackers in the city were covered by shields, and they shot only after aiming at a target. After the firecrackers were shot, they quickly retracted to the wall, so that the Qing soldier archers under the city had little success, and the Qing soldier archers still had one The problem of arm failure, after they shot about ten arrows, they were not as good as the first few arrows in terms of accuracy and strength, but the firecrackers of the Shunxiang Army did not have this problem.

Although there were firecrackers and auxiliary soldiers from time to time at the top of the city, they were shot by bows and arrows below the city, but compared with the casualties of the Qing soldiers, it was much less.Compared with the offensive and defensive battles of the previous few days, the casualty rate is also much lower. The summary of the experience of the Shunxiang Army's offensive and defensive battles has shown good results.

Not only that, but there are tiger crouching guns at the top of the city.Whenever a large number of Qing army archers or auxiliary soldiers gathered under the city, the Shunxiang army at the head of the city would use artillery to deal with them.

The tiger squatting guns at the top of the city were cooling down at the muzzle, and after the gunpowder and projectiles were reloaded, the gun mounts were moved around the top of the city. At that place, with the bombardment, a large group of Qing soldiers screamed and were knocked to the ground below the city.

At Sishi, about ten o'clock in the morning, in a short period of time, the Qing soldiers had already paid nearly 300 casualties, but none of the trenches outside the city had been filled, although most of the casualties were from the Qing soldiers. The auxiliary soldiers in the record, but these auxiliary soldiers are also precious population in the records, as long as they are willing to spend here, Wang Dou will accompany them to the end.

At this time, the casualties in Shunxiang Fort were only a few dozen people, and most of them were auxiliary soldiers who were injured by arrows or shot directly.

At this time, Wang Dou also felt relieved. Looking at the situation of the battle, he had no problem defending Shun Township Fort. The artillery and firecrackers were well used, and they were really powerful weapons for defending the city.Recalling the historical Battle of Yaksa, 800 Russian soldiers withstood the long-term attack of tens of thousands of Qing soldiers, and finally ended the war with Kangxi ceding a large area of ​​land.

There are 5000 Qing soldiers in the city, and I have 500 of them, of which 300 are soldiers, and there are 500 firecrackers in the city. Today, Wang Dou will make Abatai unable to eat.

(End of this chapter)