The young apprentice inserted the red-hot iron drill from the stove into the fire door.
The red-coated cannon slammed back into the backseat with a deafening bang.
A thirty-six pound heavy solid lead bullet flew out of the muzzle.
The recoil of a full charge is tremendous.
Pulled by the ropes and pulleys, the artillery reached the furthest distance from the rear seat before slowly starting to reset.
Mo Zhui, Chen Xi, Chen Zhijian, and Fu Laoliu all stared nervously at the watchtower in the distance.
The shells arrived in an instant. Mo Zhui looked in the telescope for a while, but didn't see any changes there.
I sighed inwardly with disappointment. Probably not marked.
The watchtower looks like a big target, but it is empty on all sides.
It's just four pillars supporting a platform. There is a ladder to go up.
It is indeed easy for the shells to fly through the gaps.
Fu Laoliu angrily slapped Hu Dahai on the head and cursed: "How did you aim? Didn't you just brag to everyone and say it was because of your good eyesight?"
Khan Ahai and others saw the bow fort of the black ship in the distance and slowly turned to the platform where they were. They were all a little surprised.
What's the use of pointing this distance here? They don't know the range of this cannon.
In experience, the Ming Dynasty's artillery can hit three to five hundred meters.
Then there was a loud noise, much louder than the shelling of the trebuchet just now.
Cannonballs are absolutely invisible to the naked eye because they travel faster than the speed of sound.
Khan Ahai seemed to feel the watchtower beneath his feet shaking. It was very short-lived and seemed to be my own illusion.
He looked at the others, who felt it too. They looked at each other suspiciously.
Then, there was a sound of sore teeth, and after a burst of crunching noises, there was a click, and one of the pillars of the watchtower broke.
The shell just hit these load-bearing pillars. Under the huge impact, the other three pillars also shook wildly, and the entire watchtower gradually tilted.
Mo Zui shouted into the microphone: "Boss Lao Fu, have you seen that the watchtower is crooked?"
Fu Laoliu quickly grabbed the binoculars and looked over there.
Visible to the naked eye, the watchtower tilted a little and then fell backwards.
The frightened faces of the Mongolian nobles on the platform were clearly visible through the telescope.
There was a loud boom, followed by a puff of dust. The watchtower completely collapsed.
With the collapse of the watchtower, the Mongols were all in chaos.
This time, almost all the leading figures of the Mongols who came to attack Duolun City were on the watchtower. This time everything was destroyed.
A large number of Mongols rushed over to rescue their leader.
All the Mongolian troops outside the city gave up their attack, abandoned the troops trapped in the moat, and retreated directly.
From the telescope, I saw the Mongolians picking up many people in leather bags and carrying them away. It is unknown what the casualties were caused by the collapse of the watchtower. I don’t know if Khan Ahai is dead.
This watchtower is thirteen to fourteen meters high. Although he fell down at an angle, no one could bear to fall from this height, and it was impossible not to get injured.
The army retreated, and the trapped elites were dumbfounded. Seeing the terrifying black ship coming in front of them again, and looking at the black muzzle of the red cannon, they became completely honest.
Before, people had never used the red cannon.
Just now, everyone watched helplessly as the red cannon knocked down the Khan's watchtower with one shot. The Great Khan does not know whether he is alive or dead.
Just now, the scene of the red cannons bombarding the trebuchets one after another is still before us. The overwhelming rain of steel destroyed even the thick trebuchets, let alone human flesh and blood.
A Mongolian centurion threw away the scimitar in his hand and knelt down to ask for surrender.
With one, there will be a second. The Mongolians' will to fight collapsed, and one after another, they knelt down and surrendered.
They were completely defeated and no longer had the courage to resist.
The soldiers in the city came out from the city gate, tied up the surrendered Mongols, and escorted them to the city for detention.
Chen Zhijian sailed the boat to the section of the river between Duolun City and the Bastille Castle.
There are city walls protecting the north and south ends here, and there are iron cables crossing the river to block the river, making it very safe. The docks on both sides of the river here are the starting point for navigation between Duolun City and Zunhua.
An Sanxi and Huang San took the civil and military officials here out of the east gate to greet them.
The springboard was built on the pier's trestle, and Mo Zhui walked off the springboard majestically.
He punched An Sanxi on the chest.
He said ostentatiously: "How is my steamboat? Envy it."
An Sanxi laughed and scolded: "What's your steamboat? That's Miss Chen Xi's boat, okay? You, a guy with muscles in your bones, are just a bodyguard at best."
Everyone laughed.
Everyone laughed and cursed and greeted each other for a while, then invited Chen Xi and his party to get in the car and go to the Yamen in the city to settle down.
At the same time, in the Xinuan Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace, Chongzhen was reading memorials on the throne.
He held a letter in his hand and frowned.
"Yang Fan applied to me to take the officers and soldiers from the Qianhu Station in Hexi Province out of Malanguan to practice on the grasslands. At the same time, they will patrol the border outside the border wall of Ji Town."
Wang Chengen and Luo Yangxing stood sideways with their hands down, silent, waiting to hear what His Majesty would say.
Your Majesty's words were not intended, and it was not easy to answer.
"Luo Yangxing, how is the ruined city that Yang Tongzhi built on the grassland?"
When he heard the emperor's roll call, he naturally could not continue to pretend to be deaf and dumb, and quickly replied: "To answer your Majesty's question, starting more than a month ago, the Haraqin people colluded with Tumed Zhutaiji, Ordos Jinong, and Duoyan Thirty-six families of Tabu Nang. It has been a month since the joint siege. Because it is isolated in the depths of the grassland and surrounded on all sides, there is no news now. I don’t know if the city has been broken."
The emperor was shocked. Did Yang Fan stir up a hornet's nest? These people are almost the entire strength of Monan Mongolia.
If these people work together, Lin Danhan may not be able to beat them. They were defeated by Lin Dan Khan before. The main reason was that they had internal intrigues and restrained each other.
The emperor touched his chin. At this time, Yang Fan asked to lead troops to patrol the border. In all likelihood, Duolun City was still in his hands. Based on my understanding of him, Yang Fan would not give in easily.
On the surface, he was going to patrol the border, but actually he wanted to support Duolun City.
With his little strength, can he overcome the siege of Duolun?
He went to cultivate the land in the heart of the people. It's surprising that the Mongols could tolerate him. This result is not surprising at all.
Chongzhen thought for a while and found it hard to make a decision.
Yang Fan regarded him as a sharp blade in his hand. Because Yang Fan has no connection with any force. Just like the troops in Changping, they are all under actual control.
Now the patrol battalion controls the inside of the city, and the garrison in Changping is responsible for the outside. Yang Fan's soldiers and horses are an elite force near the capital. Zunhua is very close to the capital. These were all laid out by Chongzhen.
He needs to have some power of his own to intimidate civil servants, military generals, nobles, and even eunuchs.
Let them know that the emperor is outside the city and has elite troops in Ji Town. If they mess around, there will be very bad consequences.
If Yang Fan's power is lost, the most direct impact will be on his own authority.
After all, the patrol battalion could only manage some public security, and the army in Changping was led by the Japanese pirates and was ruined. Still haven't recovered yet.
If Yang Fan's troops were destroyed in the grassland, it would be unimaginable for him.
However, as Yang Fan said, only by constantly fighting can we truly train a usable soldier.
From what I know about Yang Fan, Yang Fan is not a fool, and he will never fight against the Mongols. He still has the ability to abandon Duolun and retreat to the Great Wall.
Chongzhen rubbed his temples in distress, not knowing how to decide for a moment.
