Begging in late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 319
From Yingshan to Dalongzhai, the begging army was invincible all the way, but when they arrived at Tiantangzhai, they really encountered old bamboo knots and got stuck.

Yuan Chonghuan introduced Hongyi Cannon, which seemed to be stable in Liaodong for a while, but it was actually one of the important reasons for the demise of the Ming Dynasty. In field battles, the Hongyi cannons are just icing on the cake. On the contrary, the Eight Banners Army, the biggest opponent of the Ming army, is strong in field battles and lacks siege capabilities.

Because Yuan Chonghuan killed Mao Wenlong, his subordinate Kong Youde was gratifying. Geng Zhongming refused to accept Yuan Chonghuan's commander and fled to Shandong to join Sun Yuanhua, the governor of Denglai. Immediately after Chongzhen launched the Wuqiao Mutiny in the fourth year, the rebels equipped with a large number of Hongyi cannons and other firearms successively captured Dengzhou. Laizhou, won a large number of ships, and immediately crossed the sea to surrender to the Qing Dynasty. This battle not only lost the face of the Ming Empire, but also brought the precious Hongyi cannon technology to the urgently needed Qing court, so that in the subsequent Battle of Songshan, the Qing army The firepower even surpassed that of the Ming army. Cities such as Songjin Xingshan could no longer become the solid fortresses of the Ming Dynasty outside the pass, and they fell one after another, and the battle line was pushed to Shanhaiguan.

In view of this lesson, Song Qingshu placed too much emphasis on mobility in the configuration of firepower. All the seized guns of the officers and generals were thrown into the warehouse, and all the small-caliber tiger squatting guns carried by the army were Qi Jiguang's small-caliber tiger squatting guns. He hit a big snag, and the embarrassment that the Ming army encountered on the Korean battlefield made him also encounter it.

Not to mention the high stone walls of Tiantangzhai, it is still on a high mountain, and the tiger squatting cannon is sharp in hitting people. If there are people in the crowd, one shot can knock down five or six people, but the stone wall cannot be hit, especially The elevation angle is limited, and even the enemies on the wall cannot be reached.

The price paid for besieging the mountain gate these days is really bloody!
"attack!"

His mouth was full of fire bubbles, and the bearded Liu Tichun, who was on his own for the first time, waved his saber hoarsely forward again. On the narrow mountain road, more than 300 musketeers of the beggar army raised their firecrackers together, crackling The hail of bullets once again covered the stone village gate on the opposite side, which was also only about ten meters wide, and the soldiers on the top shrank their heads back in a panic.

"rush!"

Taking advantage of this time, the assault light infantry carrying two dynamite packs held up two rattan cards, and rushed towards the gate of the village again in a panic. The life and death of the two armies were all bet here. While Shangcunba was yelling and cursing, the soldiers had to bite the bullet and stick their heads out, drawing their bows and continuing to shoot.

Although the flintlock gun is much more advanced than the officer's bird gun, the accuracy is still much worse. A salvo of more than 100 bullets only hits two or three bullets. The trauma of a penetrating wound in the chest still put strong psychological pressure on the soldiers above. No matter how much the village tyrant yelled and scolded, after two rounds of shooting, few soldiers dared to stick their heads out again.

However, this is not a good thing for the beggar army. Two blasters, carrying shields full of arrows, managed to get closer to Tiantangzhai. thrown from above.

These stones have been polished, and some of them were polished by Chen Youliang, the ancestor of the emperor, when they resisted the Yuan army's attack in Tiantangzhai during the peasant uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. For more than 200 years, they were covered with moss and slid on the steep mountain road. more refreshing.

This thing can no longer be resisted by manpower. The two light infantrymen of the beggar army were submerged by the pile of stones while screaming. Cold sweat broke out on my back, and I led the fourth division to attack here on the first day. I didn't know there was such an institution, and more than 100 beggars who rushed forward were stoned to death.

Blood flowed down the mountain road, seeing the two explosive packages being crushed under the stone, his beard trembled violently for a while, Liu Tichun turned his head again, and ordered in a cold voice.

"The next brigade, draw lots!"

When he was killed in a surprise attack, the commander promised to give him 500 taels of pension, and if he survived, he would give him 800 taels. To avoid quarrels, the Qihuo Army used the most traditional Chinese method, drawing lots.

A hundred stones were placed in the box, and the captain was the first to draw them out. Immediately, the soldiers below stretched their hands in one after another. The heart holding the white stone couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief. A corporal leader and a small soldier holding a black stone, although their faces were pale, , but didn't say anything, took the shield, gritted his teeth and walked to the front line, followed by Liu Tichun's sword-drawn roar, the two of them rushed towards the steep peak above their heads again under the cover of guns .

The Qihuo army attacked from the west. Qian'ao, a Shanzhai village run by the emperor's ancestors during the uprising, was also the main living area of ​​Tiantangzhai. A huge roar resounded in the mountains, and the yellow gunpowder set off a fierce wave of air. Dozens of people including the village tyrant and the soldiers were sent to the sky above, and the strong wall of the village finally collapsed.

"attack!"

Liu Tichun, whose eyes were already reddened, was clenching his teeth and waiting for this moment. Before the smoke cleared, he was the first to charge forward brandishing a saber, and the beggar army with firecrackers behind him seemed to have finally found a vent. In that way, the gleaming bayonet aimed at the front and dashed away. Behind the wall, the two or three hundred soldiers who took turns defending did not dare to stay for a moment, and ran back.

More than 200 people were lost, and the third mountain gate was taken down. The first thing to drive the soldiers to occupy here, Liu Tichun hastily ordered to demolish it!Hundreds of begging troops, like a demolition brigade, quickly transported heavy stones down the mountain. This is the price of blood!The second mountain pass was not dismantled in time, and the soldiers of the village raided it back at night, and built it again with stones. More than ten people died before they were beaten down again.

This piece of land is called Fenglongjing. There is an important water source on the mountain behind the wall of the village. It can be regarded as being taken down by the beggar army. Finally he was relieved. Liu Tichun continued to rush up the mountain with his men, but from that mountain Looking back, his bearded face couldn't help being stunned again.

At the Leigong Cave at the back of Fenglongjing, the area around Lover Waterfall is still densely packed with layers of walls, covered with defensive soldiers. How long will it take to attack?
Shocked, more than 200 sergeants were left to guard the mountain road. Liu Tichun went down the mountain in a daze and was stationed in the military camp at Zaoqian'ao. Now it was lively and full of surprise. Liu Tichun asked the deputy commander Chen Liuzi to arrange the army After returning to the camp, he climbed up by himself, and immediately he couldn't help training and scolding his mother angrily.

"Mr. Liu, you fucking didn't come earlier!"

The six black cannons exuded a smell of oil, and the beggar army cannons that had just been cast were neatly placed in the formation. In fact, these things were not considered heavy cannons. They can be found everywhere, but in terms of power, the cannons of the begging army are definitely much stronger than the cannons of the official army, even reaching the specification of a two-thousand-jin general cannon. This cannon can compare Song Qingshu's poor artillery knowledge with Tang Ruowang's two swords All knowledge was lost.

First of all, the cannon is no longer straight up and down, but like a big radish, thick at the bottom and thin at the top, and has grown a lot. The bottom of the cannon bears the main explosive force and needs to be strong. It weighs a hundred catties, and uses the stack casting method. The inside is heavy and soft bronze, and the outside is light and strong steel. It also uses the technology of tiger squatting guns, and steel hoops are used to hoop the key points. What's more, a cannon cart made of wide wheels is used. On the flat road, four people can push it forward.

There is also a rear sight on the body of the gun, which can give the artillery the approximate position of the landing point, taking into account the maneuverability and range of the gun. At the same time, this gun can be regarded as top-notch.

Why is it so difficult to ship it early?It's no wonder that Liu Tichun scolded his mother, but Liu Zongmin who was scolded was not in a good temper, so he turned around and scolded back angrily: "Big beard, you know your mother's fart, get it here earlier, you fucking know that this thing travels on a mountain road Isn’t it so difficult? I’m going to follow suit, if you can walk around the camp with a cannon on your mother’s shoulders, I’ll call you daddy!”

"Hold it and resist! Who the hell is afraid of whom?"

Now Liu Zongmin regrets grabbing this deputy commander. The emotional deputy commander is that he does all the dirty work in the army. He stands at the back of the war, the captain of the transportation team, and works as the director of the logistics department. Well, he's not the God of Wealth, and he would scold his mother if he didn't get to those rough people, which made Liu Zongmin very angry.

The two of them choked with bluffs, Liu Tichun really rolled up his sleeves to fight against the cannon, followed by booing, swiped around and surrounded a large circle of soldiers, also rolled up their sleeves to cheer or boo, Liu Tichun blushed and had a thick neck when he saw Liu Tichun holding a cannon , the blood vessels on his forehead swelled, and a cold snort came out of nowhere.

"What are you doing?"

"Big guy!"

With a jolt, the surrounding sergeants dispersed with a clatter and retreated to the side. The two arguing generals quickly put down their things and clasped fists together. Liu Zongmin pointed at Liu Tichun and muttered unconvinced.

"Marshal, it's not the last general who caused trouble this time, it was Liu Dazi who made trouble first!"

The matter was a bit wrong, Liu Tichun held his fists together and didn't say a word, glanced at them, Song Qingshu first waved to Liu Tichun helplessly: "General Liu has had a hard time attacking the mountain today, go back and rest first!"

Seeing that Song Qingshu didn't even swear, Liu Tichun suddenly became proud, secretly snorted to Liu Zongmin triumphantly, and bowed to Song Qingshu with cupped fists: "The last general will leave!" Then he wanted to slip out through the steps.

But Song Qingshu's next sentence almost made him cry.

"Execute the general attack plan tonight. General Zhou, General Miao, and the two leaders, gather the army immediately. Lao Liu, you work hard again. Take the cannon to Fenglongjing with someone. The first shot tonight is up to you to fire!"

This time it was Liu Zongmin's turn to be proud. He led two rear artillerymen to personally push a cannon. While walking, he squeezed his big eyes at Liu Tichun. He almost regretted his hard work. God, if the general attack does not have his share, he will be scolded to death if he returns to the fourth division.

Leading the soldiers, the commander, and the military adviser had already left, even if Song Qingshu hadn't left, he didn't dare to intercede with Song Qingshu, so he could only make do with Liu Zongmin's side with a mournful face.

"Chief whistle, you're always on fire, are you short of people?"

(End of this chapter)