"Junmen, fire from the side."
When Yang Guozhu was looking at the enemy situation outside the earth wall, a guerrilla general on the side shouted suggestions to him.
At this time, the artillery mounted on several passages was of course most powerful when shooting from the front, preventing large groups of Qing troops from attacking along the passages. But now the Qing soldiers have obviously learned the lesson and only attack from the low wall trench. In this way, the artillery on the passage became a decoration. However, according to the careful observation of the guerrilla general, the artillery on the channel can shoot from the front, and of course it can also shoot from the side at the Qing army in the low wall trench to block their front troops.
After listening to the words of the guerrilla general, Yang Guozhu pondered, and then said: "The artillery on each road is strictly guarding the front. If you fire the artillery rashly, the slaves will take the opportunity to rush up, and the soldiers will have to use swords and guns to fight with them and drive them away." The wall has been unearthed.”
The Ming army on both wings had only four flat passages, and the remaining earth walls were also lined with trenches with low walls. At this time, looking out from inside the earthen wall, there were layers of wooden shields of the Qing army dozens of steps away. These wooden shields protected the Qing army archers or auxiliary soldiers behind them. Looking out from the gap between the wooden shields, it can be seen that the colors of the Qing army's armor behind the wooden shields changed a lot about every hour, so that fresh troops were constantly replaced to maintain the continuous combat effectiveness of the various units of the Qing army.
The Qing soldiers had filled in three or four trenches. In front of the low walls adjacent to the passages, tall and rough wooden shields were erected in the shape of a fox. Each wooden shield was supported by rough wood. Behind the wooden shields, a large number of heavy armored Qing troops were gathered to cover them.
Apparently the Qing soldiers considered the possibility of firing muskets and artillery from the side of the passage, or the Ming army might rush out of the passage and attack the archers and auxiliary soldiers between the low walls.
However, with the power of artillery shells, several artillery cannons were concentrated for a fierce bombardment. Even if there were multiple rough wooden shields erected in the shape of a fox, it could still cause considerable casualties to the Qing army behind the wooden shields. Of course, after the side salvo of artillery fire in the passage, we have to consider the problem of the heavy armor of the Qing army on the other side taking the opportunity to rush up.
"No matter what, it doesn't matter how many people can be killed like this, it's better than leaving these artillery pieces here and treating them like scrap metal, right?"
Yang Guozhu frowned and shouted loudly: "If the Tatars rush in from the passage, just ask the brothers to drive them out."
Indeed, at this time, the Qing army was getting closer and closer, and the heavy armor hiding behind the wooden shields on the side kept firing hidden arrows into the passage. Although the gunners were covered by shield hands, they finally had to hide behind the nearby earth wall. A few artillery pieces were left there without any use.
At this time, Yang Guozhu finally made up his mind and immediately ordered the artillery to fire sideways.
At this time, at the frontal defense line of the new army in Xiahezhai, Liu Yan and the artillery team flag commander Qian Qian also thought about this problem. The wooden shields of the Qing army had been pushed closer to the earth wall forty steps. Since the Qing soldiers did not attack from various passages, the five tiger cannons under Qian Qian's command were all idle. Seeing the Qing soldiers approaching step by step, Qian Qian was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, but he couldn't help at all.
After careful consideration, Qian Yan suggested to Liu Yan that he use five tiger cannons to shoot from the side: "Sir, I think that the artillery in my passage can shoot sideways from the gap to kill the people in the trench with low walls. Captive thieves. The five tiger cannons under my command, as well as the artillery supported by the Dubiao Battalion, can all fire sideways, so that the Tatars can't eat anything!"
Liu Yan pondered for a moment, and then said: "After the artillery bombardment, if the projectile hits the low wall, will it bounce back and accidentally injure his brother?"
Qian Qian was immediately startled. He had never thought about this problem. He pondered for a while and said, "Probably not. In our new army in Xiahe Village, each passage is more than ten or twenty steps wide." , move each artillery piece to the far right or left of the passage and then bombard it. With this distance, even if the fired projectiles bounce off the low wall, they may not be able to bounce back this far."
Qian Qian continued: "Moreover, the height of each artillery vehicle in our army is about the same as a low wall. If the projectiles are fired, the chance of them rebounding is very small."
After listening to Qian Qian's explanation from a professional perspective, Liu Yan nodded with confidence. This is also a method. Anyway, you can't just rely on fire and gun soldiers to kill the enemy in battle, spear soldiers and sword and shield soldiers should also come in handy. After the artillery fire, Liu Yan expected that the Qing army would definitely take the opportunity to rush up from the other side, so he used the army's firecrackers and spearmen to make the Qing army bleed continuously in front of each passage.
After Qian Qian obtained Liu Yan's consent, the two front passages were each twenty-five paces wide, and one Hongyi six-pounder cannon, two Franco machine cannons, and two squatting tiger cannons were respectively deployed. Under the command of Qian Qian, the soldiers of the artillery team immediately stepped forward together with the gunners of the Supervisory Biao Battalion, pushed the artillery one by one to the far right of the gap, and quickly prepared to fire.
At this time, the Ming army soldiers first pushed the Hongyi six-pound cannon to the front and aimed it at the Qing army's wooden shield group on the left dozens of steps away. Between each low wall there, there were fox-shaped shields erected on the ground. There were many tall wooden shields, and it was unknown how many Qing heavy armors were hidden inside.
Seeing the Ming army's long-lost black cannon muzzles pointing this way, the heavy armor of the Qing army behind the wooden shields suddenly became commotion. Of course they knew the power of the Ming army's artillery shells, so they all hid behind wooden shields or inside low walls.
Although these Tatars are powerful in battle and cruel to the people, and can be said to be inhumane, when facing the threat of death, these Tatars also know how to be afraid. At this time, these Tatars are extremely nervous.
The heavy armor of the Qing army on the right side of the low wall saw an opportunity. Under the command of La Zhangjing, a man with a white flag, a group of officers shouted one after another. Everyone was prepared, and after the artillery fire, they immediately rushed in from the front of the passage, trying to break through the Ming army's defense line in one fell swoop.
A few steps behind several artillery pieces in the passage, Miao Shao led nearly a hundred cannon soldiers from the General Guards Division, with more than thirty people in each row, forming three rows of fire cannon soldiers to wait. Behind the fire gun soldiers, Chen Xun personally led the spearmen in the headquarters to divide into three rows to guard and kill the enemy. Dozens of sword and shield soldiers in the headquarters were distributed on both sides behind.
In addition, Wang Yue and Shen Tuo also gathered their subordinates and used their gunners together. They lined up behind the gap. The spearmen and sword and shield men were also ready. After the artillery fire, the clearing When the army rushed in in large numbers, they fought bloody battles with the Tatar soldiers to the end.
As for the general cavalry officers, Liu Yan ordered Xu Ming to temporarily retreat and wait between the new army at Xiahe Village and Lu Xiangsheng's Central Military Headquarters.
The general cavalry officers were all trained hard by Liu Yan, which was far more difficult than training infantry. Liu Yan would not let these cavalry officers be used as infantry unless absolutely necessary.
"Bang!"
The Xiahezhai New Army stopped for a long time, and the earth-shattering sound of artillery sounded again. The Hongyi six-pound cannon fired first, and in the thick and fierce smoke, dense iron ball projectiles shot away. The wooden shields of the Qing army on the low wall on the left dozens of steps away were immediately knocked down.
Even though there were thick wooden supports behind these wooden shields, at a distance of dozens of steps, large pieces of wooden shields were still knocked to the ground in the face of the fierce firing of artillery shells. Many of the heavy armors of the Qing soldiers behind the wooden shields were affected by the projectiles, and they rolled to the ground screaming. The Qing soldiers here were suddenly killed and injured.
Like a strong wind blowing, facing the roar of the rain of artillery shells, the Qing soldiers on the low wall on the left screamed and fled far away from this place. Not only that, many projectiles also hit the low walls and bounced back and forth between the low walls, forming a barrage of flying bullets, causing greater casualties to the Qing soldiers over there.
Seeing this, Qian Yan showed a satisfied smile on his face. Liu Yan also nodded with satisfaction. This side shot worked well. Moreover, after the artillery bombardment, although the projectiles bounced off the low wall, they were far from reaching the soldiers of the new army in Xiahe Village on the other side of the gap. It's just that the scatter of the shotgun shells is large, so the artillery can only fire sideways one by one, otherwise the hail of bullets will definitely affect the own people inside the earthen wall.
The ground began to tremble again. After the Hongyi six-pounder bombardment, the remaining two small and large artillery pieces on the passage, as well as the five tiger squatting cannons, were pushed up one after another and opened fire.
Deafening cannon shots rang out one after another, and one dense stream of lead shot after another roared towards the left side of the low wall, knocking the wooden shields of the Qing army over there toppling over to the ground. There was a mess everywhere there.
The Qing soldiers over there were screaming and running away, and many people were running back and forth, not knowing what to do. There were also some people who lay on the ground and did not dare to move, but they managed to escape the hail of bullets. Seeing that their approach was effective, the place was suddenly densely packed with heavy armored Qing soldiers lying on the ground and imitating others. These originally arrogant heavy armored men of the Qing army never imagined that one day they would be in such a miserable state.
At this moment, shouts and shouts rang out from the Qing army. The dense heavy armor of the Qing army flashed out from behind the wooden shield on the right side of the low wall, waving their weapons and shouting as they rushed towards the Xiahezhai New Army defense line. Come.
Judging from the color of these people's armor, they are the heavy armored soldiers in the Zhengbai Banner led by Dorgon. This passage is twenty-five steps wide and about thirty-seven meters long. Each row is crowded with about thirty Zhengbai Banner heavy armored soldiers. Looking at them rushing forward, the number of people reaches seven or eight rows, more than two hundred people.
The first few rows of Zhengbai Banner heavy armorers were all holding thick shields. The large shields in the hands of many of them were actually made of fine iron. This large fine iron shield is one meter high, half a meter wide, and five millimeters thick. It is very strong!
However, this kind of shield also has an obvious shortcoming, that is, it is extremely heavy, with each side weighing thirty to forty pounds.
Facing such a large iron shield, even the flint-haired bird muskets of the Xiahe Village New Army would be difficult to penetrate and break it. In addition to the large iron shields equipped by the Qing army's heavy armor, the remaining Zhengbai Banner heavy armor soldiers also held thick shields. They were all made of hardwood and covered with thick fur, and their protective capabilities were also extraordinary. They held shields in their left hands and swords and hatchets in their right hands. They were all fierce and fierce, and they just rushed towards them with wild screams.
In addition to these people, there were several layers of Zhengbai Banner heavy armor behind them, each wearing two layers of heavy armor, holding long swords with iron handles, or holding Eight Banners spears or tiger spears, and they were also roaring.
"put!"
At this time, the gunners at the entrance of the passage had already hid far away, and the cannon soldiers on both sides of the gap had also withdrawn part of them, replacing them with sword and shield soldiers and spear soldiers for defense. Seeing a large number of Qing soldiers roaring in, Miao Shao, Wang Bo, and Zhang Yi gave orders to shoot decisively at almost the same time. Suddenly, there were more than a thousand gunmen in the front row, divided into three rows and taking turns pulling the triggers of their own guns. .
The deafening sound of bird cannons sounded, and each round more than three to four hundred flintlock bird cannon projectiles hit the shields held by the Qing troops. The protective power of those iron shields was really strong. Although several shields were hit thirty or forty steps away and the areas where they were hit were deeply dented, they were not broken or penetrated.
However, some Qing troops next to them held heavy shields wrapped in hardwood and leather, but they were cracked and broken by the projectiles fired at them. The heavy armor of the Qing troops that rushed over immediately suffered heavy casualties. Many brave and capable Qing soldiers were unwilling to give in. He fell in the path of impact.
Some people died, but not completely...
