The sun never sets in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 402
Outside the city of Xialiao, more than 3 soldiers and civilians from the Guangnan Kingdom were besieging the city. The Ming army refused to join them in being responsible for the defense of the east alone.

It was raining all the time, and the soldiers of the Huang family were so busy that they didn't care about the wind and rain.

One of the most important things is to check the moisture of the gunpowder, because no matter how carefully packed, after ten days of trekking in the rain, it is inevitable that the gunpowder will become damp.

The musketeers dried the wet gunpowder in the tent, of course not with an open flame, but with tools specially made by the musketeers and skilled craftsmen after brainstorming.

It was a rectangular water tank three feet long, two feet wide and one foot high, made of thin white copper plates. Except for the top, the other five sides had insulation layers.

The water tank was filled with boiling water, and the musketeers poured the damp gunpowder on it and spread it out, stirring it with wooden sticks from time to time. The water vapor evaporated in a short time, and two or three catties of gunpowder could be dried in a short time.

This water tank has a water injection port on the top and a drain faucet on the bottom. It can also be used as a marching water tank. Providing soldiers with clean drinking water will reduce the possibility of contracting diseases.

The tent for drying gunpowder is separated from the tent for boiling water. It is better to bring boiling water to change the water in the water tank than to prevent open flames in the tent where gunpowder is piled up. The purpose is safety first, and to prevent accidents from causing unnecessary casualties.

The private soldiers of the Huang family adopted the method of not being afraid of trouble, spending more time and wasting more fuel. They are busy every day, and the results are so good that even the clothes, shoes and socks of the soldiers can be kept dry. They were well polished.

Huang Donghai's artillerymen regard the artillery as their son's pain. The artillery is stored in tents that have been dried on the ground. There is no trace of rust on the entire artillery body and all the steel parts.

Due to the need to reduce the total weight of the supplies, none of the prefabricated steel watchtowers were brought this time. The eight watchtowers built by the engineering soldiers [-] steps outside the east gate of Xialiao City were all log structures.

There is a moat in Xialiao City. Since this is a mountainous area, the moat is not wide enough to be excavated to about two feet. The river banks are all stone. The Ming army in the barracks is helping to make trenches and ladders. The more the better.

The Huang family has always had a style that would rather not have enough than not enough. All soldiers have learned not to be afraid of trouble, and they all know that careful thinking is responsible for themselves and their comrades in arms.

Migrant workers and soldiers in Guangnan State were amazed when they saw the camps of the Ming army. Due to the scientific design of drainage ditches, the low-lying places were filled up, and wooden rafts nailed with thin logs were used to erect the ravines. The main road sections were simply used for paving the ground. Moisture-proof and non-slip.

The camp of the Ming army was clean and orderly. Most of the tents were connected to form a long whole, which could accommodate a hundred soldiers. A person-high canopy was built between the main passages, like a corridor, and the soldiers walked around. Won't get wet.

Hu Mingshan and Ruan Fukang were surprised by everything in the Ming army. They found that their country could not learn from it anyway. First of all, there were not so many good tarpaulins, and it was impossible for the soldiers of Guangnan State to work so hard and meticulously.

Huang Sheng knew that even in the rainy season, it was impossible to see the sun all day. For the safety of his subordinates, he did not consider attacking the city in the rain at all, but waited patiently.

The army has been stationed for seven days, and it has also been meticulously prepared for seven days. All the officers are at the lookout post and use binoculars to observe the city that is about to be captured many times.

Xialiao City is really prosperous, and the buildings inside are mainly made of stone. Many buildings full of Southeast Asian style are beautiful, and the soldiers and civilians in the city are not panic, and life is still the same.

At the top of the city, the rolling logs and rocks used to defend the city were piled up like a mountain. The soldiers of the Lancang Kingdom who were watching were not panicked at all. They may have become nervous because of too many successful battles in defending the city of Xialiao.

After observation, Huang Donghai concluded that the artillery deployed at the east gate of Xialiao City was not the Hongyi cannon, but the Qianjin Flang machine with sub-guns in the rear. Due to the unsatisfactory air-holding effect, the range of the Flang machine was far inferior to that of the Hongyi cannon, and it was even worse. It is not as good as the Huang family's field six-pound smoothbore gun.

Huang Donghai decided not to use eight rifled guns to kill the enemy's artillery first when attacking the city, but to use 26 artillery guns to bombard the enemy at the same time to shock the enemy.

The short clearing of the rainy season is rare. Of course, we must make good use of every second. The sooner the better, as long as it does not cause additional casualties to our army, the staff immediately adjusted the plan.

Huang Sheng believed that the enemy had prepared sufficient materials for defending the city, and it would become a nightmare for the enemy when the Ming army attacked the city. The shells exploded in the pile of rolling logs and stones, and the damage effect would be doubled. It is estimated that the soldiers of Lancang Kingdom I regret that so many things are piled on the top of the city.

Everything is ready, just wait for the heavens to be beautiful!
When luck comes, they can’t stop it. In the evening, Hu Mingshan and Ruan Fukang happily reported the good news. Based on their rich experience, they can conclude that the clouds will surely open and the sun will rise tomorrow. If you are lucky, there will be three sunny days. No matter how bad it is, tomorrow will be guaranteed. There will be sunshine all day.

The news spread to the whole army, and the soldiers cheered one by one, as if Xialiao City had already been handed over.

Hu Mingshan and Ruan Fukang looked at each other with wry smiles. The Ming army did not know the heights of the sky and the earth was afraid to suffer. It is so easy to fight here that it will not let the troops of Dai Viet, Quang Nam, Ayutthaya, Khmer Kingdom and other countries look over the city for decades. Sigh.

The five hundred Guangnan guide soldiers were all going to see how these well-dressed and well-fed Ming soldiers looked like when they lost their troops after failing to attack the city. Did they still sing, dance and laugh every day?

In the early morning, when the sky was slightly bright, the Ming army came to form a [-]-step formation outside the east gate of Xialiao. The preparations did not exceed half an hour, and suddenly the earth-shattering roar of artillery echoed in the valley.

100 Two armored combat vehicles approached at full speed, rows of musketeers continued to shoot forward, and dozens of trench bridges were approached at full speed by engineers and auxiliary soldiers.

The Grenadier trotted to the outside of the moat for [-] steps, and then began to turn four times smartly. The "Flying Thunder" flew across the arc and fell into the city wall and the city.

The continuous sound of explosions and the splattering of broken stone and shrapnel ruthlessly harvested lives. The defenders of Xialiao City had never seen a war with hot weapons. Everyone was so frightened that their livers were torn apart. The surviving city guards and civilians all ran towards the city desperately, crying and shouting.

Outside the east gate, the battle had only started for less than half an hour. Dozens of trench bridges had been successfully built, and a ladder was directly leaning against the city wall without encountering any resistance.

Those who were allowed to go up the city first were the martial artists of the fully armed bodyguard team led by Liu Guozheng. They held a light steel round shield with one hand, waved a one-handed battle ax or carried a double-barreled short gun as if they jumped up to the top of the city one by one.

In just two moments, the drawbridge at the east gate was seized, the city gate was opened, heavy infantry strode into the city, musketeers alternately covered and advanced, crackling gunfire continued, and many of the defenders who fled like headless flies were not low in understanding. They dropped their weapons and knelt down tremblingly.

As early as when the Ming army fired cannons and threw "flying thunder", the soldiers and civilians defending the city were in chaos and lost their organizational discipline. The officers were also stunned by the fierce artillery fire they had never seen before. Of course, many officers were not stunned, but died. up.

(End of this chapter)