One thousand new muskets exerted amazing power in the battle to defend the city.
If it is an old-fashioned musket, its lethality when defending a city is extremely limited. Because reloading ammunition is too slow and the power is low. If the siege soldiers hold shields and wear leather armor, their lethality will be greatly weakened.
But the new musket has a longer bore, an original rifling structure, and the projectile creatively changed from round to pointed, which greatly increases the lethality of the musket.
Moreover, the integration of ammunition makes the loading speed very fast. The only thing that can affect the firing speed is the overheating of the barrel.
After multiple volleys, some muskets had to be physically cooled, such as pouring water to cool them.
Later, it was too late to send water to the city wall. The soldiers had to help each other, and there were shouts everywhere.
"Who the hell still has urine? Help me take a dip! I can't pee!"
"I don't have any anymore, I already peed twice!"
"I still have it, here I go, damn, what are you talking about? Stay away, your hair will get bent!"
"Then you should pee on time, what a waste!"
As the muskets took turns to rest, the nomads who were attacking the city got a chance to breathe and began to attack more frantically. Bows, arrows and bullets flew in the air so densely that it made people breathless.
There were layers of corpses under the city wall, and there were also many casualties above the city wall. Although bows and arrows are not as good as muskets, the damage they cause is equally terrible. Especially the Jurchens' bow and arrow skills are even stronger than those of the Mongols.
Xiao Feng conveniently grabbed a flying arrow and took a deep breath as he looked at the dark enemy crawling up the wall under the city.
"Yang Zhao! Open the most tightly wrapped ammunition cart, take out the thunder bombs inside, find the ones with the best targets, and throw them at the most crowded place below the city!"
Thunderbolt bombs the size of beanbags were thrown down the city and exploded loudly, and the soldiers around the explosion were immediately overturned. Some got up and continued fighting, while others never got up again.
The base of the ladder is where most people are greeted. Because the ladder relies on people to support it, it is a place where people gather.
The blast of the explosion overturned the crowd, and the tall ladder gradually tilted. It was pushed down by the soldiers on the city wall and smashed to the ground.
The power of the thunderbolt bullets caused confusion among the soldiers who were attacking the city, and also gave the muskets sufficient cooling time. When the thunderbolt bullets were almost consumed, the muskets burst into flames again!
Wang Gao's face turned livid: "Khan, nearly half of our people have been killed or injured, so continuing the fight is not an option! We'd better retreat first!"
Anda Khan gritted his teeth and thought for a moment: "We underestimated their strength to defend the city. We want to retreat, but not retreat! Reorganize the team and use all the cavalry to attack the farming areas!"
Wang Gao was stunned: "Are you going to feint or attack?"
An Dahan smiled ferociously and said: "Both! If he dares to send the main force out of the city for rescue, I will turn back and fight him. In this wilderness, can he beat our cavalry?"
If he doesn't send the main force out of the city, I will kill all his farming areas and burn them to nothing!
It was Xiao Feng who pushed for the reclamation of farming areas outside the customs. After I killed all the farming areas, no one would dare to leave the customs to farm again. How could he explain to the court? "
Wang Gao was a little hesitant, because these days, there are actually not only Han people in the farming areas.
Many Jurchens were either captured in battles or slaves escaped and took the initiative, and they all lived together in the farming areas.
It's okay to fight and grab some things at ordinary times. If there is a massacre, all the Jurchens, Han and Jurchen, will definitely die. This is not good for his reputation.
But at this time, An Dahan's eyes were red, and Wang Gao did not dare to object. After all, the two of them were now on the same line.
Wang Gao gritted his teeth and asked someone to pass on the order. The Mongolian Jurchen coalition attacking the city began to retreat, retreated to a certain distance, and mounted their horses one after another.
The beaten siege soldiers immediately straightened their backs and turned into majestic nomadic cavalry.
There were a lot more horses, because many people never had the chance to mount their horses. They were lying outside the city wall. Some were silent, and some were still rolling and struggling, but no one dared to look back and save them. .
Anda Khan shouted: "Mongolian warriors, Jurchen warriors! The Han people are cunning, we will not fight them on the city wall!"
Let's rush into the farming areas and kill them all without leaving any trace behind! Avenge the fallen warriors! "
The cavalrymen, who had gnawed at the city wall until they lost all confidence, immediately felt that they were capable again! They raised their long knives, howled, and rushed directly to the nearest farming area under the leadership of the two leading brothers!
Yang Zhao watched the enemy retreat and breathed a sigh of relief: "Mr. Xiao, this time we defeated the many with less and severely damaged the enemy. They will never dare to be reckless again!"
Xiao Feng looked at the direction in which the enemy was retreating and shook his head: "They haven't retreated yet, they are going to massacre the farming areas. Gather the musketeers, bring enough ammunition, and the cavalry are ready to follow me out of the city!"
Yang Zhao was startled and quickly stopped him: "Sir, we also have cavalry patrols in the farming area. We just sent Li Chengliang with two thousand cavalry to support us.
Although it is to lure the enemy to attack the city, with the original patrols, there are 5,000 cavalry in the farming area. It may not be impossible for them to fight. The lower official thinks that your Excellency does not need to risk leaving the city. "
Xiao Feng shook his head and said: "The enemy still has eight or nine thousand cavalry. They are attacking a farming area in a concentrated manner. The cavalry patrol cannot withstand them.
Although I ordered in advance to have all the people in the farming areas evacuate the settlements, they were not far enough away and there was a possibility of being discovered.
Don't worry, I'm not a helpless scholar. If there is real danger, I'll have no problem escaping.
You wait on the city wall. If you see me setting off fireworks, you will rush out with five thousand infantry to join the battle. If you don't see me setting off fireworks, even if the entire army outside is wiped out, don't leave the city. "
Yang Zhao could not stop him and could only watch Xiao Feng lead the only two thousand cavalry left in the city out of the city.
Now the only ones left in the city are infantry, and there are no muskets. If the enemy comes back to attack the city... Yang Zhao couldn't help but shudder.
Xiao Feng asked a thousand cavalrymen to hold muskets and ammunition bags hung on the saddles. Another thousand cavalrymen marched side by side, each holding two shields, one to protect themselves and the other to protect their comrades holding muskets.
Two thousand cavalry were waiting for work in the city. At this time, they were moving very quickly and pursued them one after another, catching the Mongolian and Jurchen coalition forces galloping in front of them.
Anda Khan was overjoyed, but he was afraid that the people in the city would not survive. In that case, even if he burned down many farming areas, he would only be defeated in a good-looking way.
Seeing that Xiao Feng had fallen into the trap, Anda Khan immediately ordered the cavalry to change direction, make a big turn, and turn around to attack the mere two thousand cavalry.
The biggest difference between a cavalry team and an infantry team is turning around. The infantry's U-turn is very simple. Just give the order, turn backwards, and the rear team will change to the front team to complete the U-turn on the spot.
The U-turn of the galloping cavalry is just like that of a car. It must turn in an arc and make a detour to complete it. If we force a U-turn on the spot, it will not only be chaotic and dangerous, but it will also be faster than this.
Xiao Feng held a telescope and saw that the opponent's formation direction began to change in the night, so he shouted an order.
"Cavalry speed up! Don't wait for them to turn around completely, rush into range while they are turning, and fire a volley!"
The two thousand cavalrymen suddenly accelerated, like a fan, rushing towards the enemy's formation as they turned and circled, raising their guns and shooting!
Anda Khan's tactics were originally correct, and he calculated the distance between the two sides very accurately.
If they turned around too early, Xiao Feng's team would have enough time to turn around and return to the city, and he would not be able to catch up.
So he deliberately slowed down the team's speed and waited until Xiao Feng's cavalry reached a certain distance before ordering a U-turn.
This distance is accurate because if Xiao Feng also asks the cavalry to turn around, his own team will charge forward faster than An Dahan's team. The U-turn will require a larger circle and longer time.
This also means that after An Dahan's team completed the U-turn, Xiao Feng's team has not yet completed the U-turn. In this case, Anda Khan can lead the cavalry to bite the tail of Xiao Feng's team.
One cavalry team bit the tail of another cavalry team, and the battle turned into a one-sided massacre. The pursued cavalry did not even have a chance to turn around and respond to the enemy.
Xiao Feng could only keep running back to the city and live as long as he could. And Anda Khan can bite his tail and break through the city gate and go to the city to start a massacre. By then the muskets will be useless.
If Xiao Feng could take this into consideration and not dare to turn around, but charge forward with all his strength, then the distance between the two sides would also ensure that Anda Khan's team would have completed the U-turn before Xiao Feng could reach a stone's throw away.
In this way, the two sides would face each other head-on. At such a close distance, the Mongolian Jurchens' united force, which had a crushing advantage in numbers, would definitely be able to overwhelm the other side. Even if the opponent holds a musket and can fire it once, it doesn't matter to the overall situation.
This is the experience that Anda Khan has accumulated from countless battles with his opponents. It has been refined and perfected without any mistakes! But he ignored an extremely important issue.
A shot is not a shot. This small difference turned his carefully calculated winning distance into a death trap.
The new improved musket of WTO has a shooting range at least three times farther than an ordinary bow and arrow! So when the formation of the alliance was still turning a big bend, the Ming cavalry far away from the three arrows opened fire!
This time the volley was fired almost at the human wall, without even aiming.
The cavalry team that was turning was like a man who had been kicked hard in the ribs. It was not just a matter of breaking a few ribs.
People in the fast-turning team were thrown off their backs, and the formation suddenly became chaotic! Xiao Feng waved his hand to slow down the cavalry while quickly loading ammunition.
Ada Khan also realized the fatal mistake he had made. He yelled for orders desperately, ordering the team to quickly reorganize their formation and continue turning!
But it took time to reorganize the formation. When they finally reestablished order and accelerated the turn, the second shot was fired again.
Anda Khan knew that it was too late to turn around the troops according to the original plan, so he had to take a desperate risk and shouted loudly.
"Cheng Geer, lead the outer cavalry to leave the group and rush forward to meet the enemy!"
This is a last resort. Only the outermost layer of cavalry can quickly break away from the large army, but there will not be too many of them, only about a thousand.
These thousand cavalrymen must use their own flesh and blood to face the muzzle of the black hole and win precious time for the large army to turn!
Cheng Geer did not hesitate, brandishing his sword and turning his horse's head, he rushed out of the large army at an angle.
The outermost cavalry followed him, like a piece of cake cut by the big brother from Xinjiang. It looked very thin, but because it was long enough, the weight was not small.
This death squad charged forward while drawing their bows and firing arrows to fight back. However, the distance between the two sides was too far, and the bows and arrows could not reach them. The muskets fired again, and half of the thousand cavalry fell.
When the muskets were loaded again, the bows and arrows of the remaining 500 people were finally able to reach, but at the end of their strength, they were easily blocked by the wingmen holding shields.
The muskets fired again, and the death squads fell off their horses one after another. Cheng Geer roared, covered half of his face, and rushed out with the remaining dozen cavalry in a diagonal thrust.
Using a thousand cavalry as human shields to buy precious time, the coalition's large force finally bypassed the big bend and formed a face-to-face situation with Xiao Feng's cavalry.
Anda Khan ordered the army to charge as fast as possible, while Xiao Feng ordered a thousand musketeers and horses to continue to slow down and fire at the fastest speed. The coalition troops continued to fall, but the distance was getting closer and closer.
Anda Khan's heart was bleeding. These 10,000 cavalry were mainly from his tribe, and they were all the most elite warriors of his tribe.
Because this rescue force had to move quickly, he didn't have time to recruit more warriors from other tribes. What's more, he also has selfish motives in it.
The Mongolian grassland has never been a peaceful and peaceful place, and all tribes are not willing to live under others.
He was able to rule the grasslands not only because he was the strongest, but also because he had accumulated prestige, and the tribes believed that he could protect them.
But the impact of food shortage is huge. If you are helpless at this time, leaders of other tribes will naturally step forward. Whoever solves the food problem will be able to establish greater prestige on the grassland.
Anda Khan can't let this happen. Therefore, whether he was negotiating with Daming to buy grain, or hunting bacon jerky outside Liaoxi Road, he had to control the opportunity in his own hands.
Falling out with Xiao Feng was not entirely part of the plan, but Anda Khan was still very happy that he had secretly left the rescue force on the outside as an ambush.
As long as he can kill Xiao Feng, he believes that Daming will return to his previous state, and all his problems will be solved.
But now, his warriors are constantly falling! The Jurchens led by Wang Gao also suffered heavy losses, and now their charging momentum lagged behind the Mongols, falling behind intentionally or unintentionally.
But Anda Khan believes that it is still necessary to start this battle early. Because Xiao Feng didn't have much preparation time, which can be seen from the number of muskets.
If in two years the Ming Dynasty has tens of thousands of such muskets, the war will really be unwinnable! Take advantage of now to destroy Xiao Feng and destroy the future of Ming Dynasty!
With gunfire like thunder and horse hooves like rain, this life-and-death showdown between the Ming Dynasty and the nomads, the battle for national destiny, actually started at a time when neither side was fully prepared!
The coalition forces were gradually approaching with the continuous overturning of men and horses, and Xiao Feng saw panic on the faces of his own cavalry.
Two shots, or two shots at most, will definitely lead to enemy contact, and the enemy still outnumbers one's side.
Although the Ming Dynasty's cavalry combat effectiveness has improved in the past two years, mainly because the phenomenon of military pay arrears has improved a lot, but with the same number of cavalry, the nomads still have an advantage.
What's more, now, the other side has at least four to five thousand people left! With these two thousand people fighting together, their defeat is certain!
At this moment, fire suddenly appeared behind the coalition forces. Li Chengliang roared in with two thousand cavalry and attacked the coalition forces' ass hard!
After the two thousand cavalry left the city, they pretended to disperse and then reunited in the distance. They did not go to rescue the farming areas harassed by the feint attack at all, but waited in the darkness.
As Xiao Feng expected, Anda Khan, who was suppressed by muskets and unable to attack the city wall for a long time, resorted to the rogue method of massacring the farming area with the main force and forced the Ming army to leave the city.
Xiao Feng led the musketeers in pursuit, and there was no need to set off any fireworks. The sound of gunshots was the order, and Li Chengliang in the distance immediately charged back with two thousand cavalry.
The chaotic noise of the battlefield covered up the sound of the horse hooves of Li Chengliang's cavalry. Anda Khan and Wang Gao both had red eyes and wanted to eat this musketeer cavalry. No one expected that Li Chengliang would appear so soon.
Just when Xiao Feng's musketeers fired their last shot, Li Chengliang's cavalry also caught up with the coalition forces and plunged in hard!
Anda Khan, who was attacked from both sides, knew that if he turned back to respond to the enemy, it would be even more chaotic, so he gritted his teeth and roared.
"If you advance, never retreat! Kill the musketeers, charge forward, and seize the city!"
Xiao Feng's musketeers did not charge forward. The thousand cavalrymen holding shields threw down their shields, drew their sabers, and charged forward with shouts.
These one thousand Ming cavalrymen were just like Cheng Geer's thousand cavalrymen who fell under the gun. They were also human shields that helped their comrades buy time. The difference was that they knew that the final winner must be their own side.
Xiao Feng looked coldly at the coalition cavalry, which was held back by the charging cavalry and formed into a melee, and pulled out the Xiuchundao.
"Musketeers! Shoot!"
A thousand cavalrymen holding muskets hesitated for a moment. In front of them were not only the enemy, but also their comrades who were trapped and fighting to the death!
But the military orders are like mountains, and they know very well that with such high-speed cavalry, the opportunity is fleeting. If the enemy rushes in front of them, the muskets will become fire sticks.
boom! The muskets fired, although not as neatly as before, but still powerful.
The already melee situation became even more chaotic, and with Li Chengliang leading people from behind to chop desperately, the coalition charge was completely disrupted.
Once the cavalry loses its speed, it also loses its power. The muskets fired again and again, and the flesh and blood of both the enemy and ourselves flew everywhere, fighting to the death.
Xiao Feng raised his hand, and a firework flew into the air and exploded, which was particularly eye-catching in the night sky.
Yang Zhao gritted his teeth, jumped on his horse, led the 5,000 infantrymen who had been prepared, and rushed out of the city gate.
The battlefield was far away from them. The infantrymen were flying all the way. According to Xiao Feng's instructions, they held up their torches and shouted wildly.
This momentum boosted the morale of the Ming army who was fighting hard, and plunged the Mongol and Jurchen coalition forces into despair.
In normal times, even if there were only a thousand cavalry, they would not take this mere five thousand infantry seriously.
But now, both sides have reached the end of their fighting, and these five thousand infantrymen are a heavy weight on the scale!
Anda Khan knew that if he didn't run quickly, the five thousand infantry would be rushed in front of him and surrounded, and he would be able to stab the remaining cavalry to death with just his spears!
He ignored Wang Gao and shouted: "Break out! Break out! Rush to the east!"
The coalition forces desperately reopened an opening and rushed toward the northeast wildly. Li Chengliang wanted to pursue him, but Xiao Feng stopped him.
"There's no need to chase him, let him run away. It's almost dawn, treat the wounded soldiers, and lock up the prisoners.
Send people to meet the reinforcements coming from Shanhaiguan, and use the reinforcements to strengthen the patrol teams in various farming areas! "
