The mountain rain is faint.
The giant Buddha of Yueping Grottoes sits on the top of the mountain, looking through the heavy rain curtain to the battlefield where the shells are flying.
Huang Shengxiao didn't know what kind of Buddha was sitting on the lotus seat of Shibi Kiln, but he knew that even a Buddha would be frightened by the battlefield at this moment.
The gunpowder smoke dispersed in the rain, and both sides stood still and fired thirteen artillery pieces. It ended with the artillery shed in front of the Ningxia military formation being scattered by projectiles and the artillery pieces being wet by the rain.
The rear outposts of the Lion Battalion began to advance. Upon seeing this, the Ningxia officers and soldiers could only abandon their artillery and move forward to meet them.
Huang Shengxiao has been in the army for eight years and has never seen such fierce firecrackers.
He was first called Huang Xiao, and he was from Baichengzi Dunjun outside the border wall of Yulin Town.
In the second year of Tianqi, he was already fifteen years old when he was seduced into the army.
There was no one left in the fort, so he and six new recruits were recruited from Yulin Guards. He was the youngest among them, so he was called Huang Xiao.
No one is interested in knowing other people's real names. Anyway, no one can survive on the pier outside the side wall for long.
Only the youngest Huang Xiao is a real soldier.
There were seven people before Dunli, and they were all dead.
There are two night warriors inside, both Mongolians.
One of them colluded with the deserters to rebel and killed Dun Jun. The other was hit by an arrow and risked his life to send the news to the side wall, but he was not rescued.
None of them are soldiers.
The rebel leader of the deserters was the leader of the Mongolian tribe who summoned herdsmen to seize territory. The herdsmen went to the root of the Great Wall to ask Han military households to help herd sheep, so they stayed outside the Great Wall and became herdsmen.
The two Mongolian piers were not harvested at night. The Han general wanted to gather troops to go to Huamachi for autumn defense. The Qianhusuo Banner Army in Jingbian was afraid of delaying the harvest of grain, so they went to the Mongolian tribe to borrow herdsmen to help harvest the land.
Born in a frontier fortress, great achievements were the business of generals and boers, while herdsmen and farmers were just numbers.
As long as the general and Bo'er give orders, they will fight to the death. The blood feud from generation to generation cannot be resolved, and the difficulties of livelihood are just around the corner.
They are like raindrops, falling from the sky and seeping into the soil. Between heaven and earth is life, short and hasty.
Dun Jun are the soldiers who guard the pier outside the Great Wall.
The pier is a square high platform with no doors underneath. You have to climb a ladder to get in and out. The mission is to set off cannons and light smoke.
As long as the cannon is fired, the piers and castles behind will hear it. After one cannon, the mission is accomplished.
From then on, his life was lackluster.
Many things have become out of reach, such as longevity, marriage and children, rewards from the emperor, and the world within the border walls.
In his world, there are only six thieves in the pier who know nothing but bragging, and there are hundreds or even thousands of Mongolians.
These guys who came from the army are the most damn bad.
There was actually a bandit who said that in some places it rains during the season, and it rains for a long time, and the clothes are so wet that hair grows on them.
It is also said that there is an endless amount of water in the world, which is called the sea.
Huang Xingxin said, isn't this fart? The little grandpa is from Yulin, near the sea.
Underfoot is the Mu Us Sea, with nothing but sand and Mongolian feathers.
Did you tell grandpa that the sea is full of water?
There is also a big fool who agrees.
It's easier to squeeze out the urine of a fucking thief like you than to squeeze out the water in Mu Us Sea.
They just think that grandpa is easy to fool because of his young age.
It got better later. The Mongols came several times and shot all these thieves to death.
Huang Xiao, a serious Dunjun soldier with a background as a border guard, was the only one left in the pier.
It took him two full days to pull out the arrows, 532 arrows, including iron, copper, stone, bone, and all kinds of arrows.
Huang Xiao only had half of his ear injured.
With half an ear, I got the opportunity to go to Yanshui Pass to serve as a defender.
He lived there for another seven years, until Feng Yu ascended the city and became an artilleryman of the Lion Battalion.
His name was also changed. Feng Rui said that for a tall and thick man, it was not good to call him Huang Xiao.
So he named him Huang Shengxiao.
In fact, Feng Lun's original intention was to increase sulfate and nitrate.
But among the many words for "rising salt", Huang Xiao chose Shengxiao.
Now he was attached to Cao Yao's artillery post. As the former commander of the team, he led 11 subordinates, carried four pearl cannons, and walked forward through the mud along the slope of the left flank of the military formation.
Commander Cao's order is for them to find ways to provide support for their own infantry from the mountain slopes on the left after the two formations engage.
Whether it is directly bombarding enemy infantry or using small artillery to bombard enemy artillery with the same purpose.
Such a mission again.
"Don't be afraid. This is the order. Let's go up, fire off a cannon, and then run up the mountain."
Huang Shengxiao was shirtless, using armor to protect the cannon in his arms. The cold rain pounded on his body, making his lips turn purple from the cold.
At first, the auxiliary soldiers on the side could hold their shields over their heads to block him, but as they walked up the mountain slope, it was difficult for the auxiliary soldiers to maintain their balance. If they were not careful, they would slip to the ground, or even roll to the officer's side. On the road, he smashed into the back sentry array.
The soldiers at the back all looked similar, holding the Pearl Cannon in their arms. Some were supported by auxiliary soldiers, while some were hobbling around like him.
They were not moving as fast as the outpost infantry, and the shouts of killing could be heard through the heavy rain. Two armies with the same armor collided violently on the ten-step-wide official road, and started a bloody fight.
At the foot of the mountain on the left wing, Commander Feng's subordinates were gathering in the ravine, tying their carrying ropes to the tree trunks, and the soldiers climbed the ropes up the hillside.
But Huang Shengxiao thought they couldn't climb up. After climbing halfway up the mountain, there were cliffs on the mountain ridge. The smooth cliffs made it impossible to get on, so they couldn't climb up there.
On the right side of the ridge, there are the troops of the high sentry commander. They have almost climbed to the ridge and will soon be able to provide support to the Chinese army with bows and arrows.
Amidst the sounds of swords and armor clashing and arrows clashing, there were a few muffled sounds in the rain curtain.
This sound was very familiar to Huang Shengxiao. It was the sound of a blunderbuss.
He speculated that the officers and soldiers were better prepared, and their guns should have been equipped with rain covers on the guns.
Huang Shengxiao looked forward with awe-inspiring eyes. Behind the rain curtain, two teams of officers and soldiers were also climbing up the slope.
A group of people had already stood diagonally on the hillside. About thirty people were stretched into three rows on the hillside, standing in a cracked position facing the rear sentry formation. There were two trees sandwiched in the middle of the team, which looked uneven. .
But they used bird blunderbuss. After the soldiers in front let go, the soldiers behind them fired. As soon as the smoke came out of the blunderbuss, it was dissipated by the rain.
However, even with a rain cover, rainy days still have a lot of impact on the muskets. Nearly half of the muskets have very standard movements, but the gunpowder is still wet and cannot ignite.
At first, there was a passage on the side of the rear sentry formation for the baggage train, which could carry the wounded soldiers to the rear one by one. But as the two formations collided, the officers were moving troops to the two wings, trying to semi-encircle the enemy. , to create greater advantages.
Soon the soldiers occupied the entire official road crookedly, densely packed with shields and armors as cover, fighting each other with spears, and even spread to the hillside.
People tried their best to form a military formation, but chaos still inevitably resulted. Soldiers fighting on the hillsides on both sides kept falling to the middle, rolling and hitting the legs of their own or enemy soldiers, causing more people to fall.
When those in front fell, those behind rushed forward, roaring and fighting with spears and sabers.
Following this trend, soon the front of the team will also be occupied by fighting soldiers.
He couldn't speak. He had a match in his mouth and didn't dare to raise his head. The match would be extinguished by the rain.
I can only walk to a higher hillside on my own.
The soldiers from the back posts were withdrawn one by one, and another team was sent up. At first, they were small teams kept as reserves, and then wounded soldiers who were slightly injured and did not affect the battle were also sent to the front line.
Then the two teams of the high sentry commander also joined the battle and pushed the battle line westward.
Only by pushing the front line forward can the baggage sentries rescue the wounded soldiers in the rear.
Huang Shengxiao was still walking forward. They stood taller than others and walked much more carefully than others.
They were nearly parallel to the front line where the infantry was engaged.
At the foot of the hillside more than 20 steps away to the north is the front line where Ningxia officers and infantry are fighting.
To the northwest is the officer's squadron of gunners.
Huang Shengxiao took a deep breath. The cold made his whole body tremble. They could place the cannon here.
Several shields were set up on the stand, and he took off the match rope from his mouth, but he was extremely discouraged.
His match went out.
Suddenly there was a scream, and an auxiliary soldier tripped over the mud, rolled and fell more than ten steps away, and hit a tree hard at the waist.
On the ridge diagonally behind them, shouts of killing erupted. At this time, the match rope could no longer restrict the movement of his neck. When he turned his head, Huang Shengxiao realized that they had advanced a little deeper into the enemy formation.
Behind them, soldiers from Ningxia climbed up the mountain ridge on this side. At this time, they had climbed up the mountain ridge and shot at Feng Yu's tribe on the other side of the mountain ridge with bows and arrows.
To the rear right is the front line where the two formations are fighting.
At this moment, Huang Shengxiao had four Pearl Cannons loaded with ammunition and not wet. No matter where they were fired, they could injure a large number of enemy troops.
"Match! Whose match is not extinguished?"
Match ropes soaked in water were handed to Huang Shengxiao.
The whole team was wiped out, and all thoughts were lost.
The eleven artillery sentry and auxiliary soldiers looked at each other in confusion.
Huang Shengxiao suddenly stretched his arms forward.
Bird gunner.
The gunman of the army.
Their matches were not extinguished.
The auxiliary soldiers looked at him with shock in their eyes. There were only eleven of them out of thirty gunners.
"Put the cannon first, set up a stand, and have a few people come with me to grab the muskets and come back."
With that said, Huang Shengxiao began to take off his clothes. He was already shirtless, and now he took off his cotton pants and pants. He rolled around on the ground, took out his knife and wiped the mud, and grinned, revealing his mouth full of yellow. tooth.
"Go around high up, they can't see it!"
All the shields and armors were used to build a small gun shed under the tree. Huang Shengxiao finally checked the condition of the four guns. The muzzle of one gun was slightly soaked in water, which probably did not affect shooting.
Eleven naked artillerymen who painted themselves like clay monkeys climbed higher up the hillside while swinging birds and holding knives. They took advantage of trees, shrubs and rainy weather to get deep into the enemy's rear.
Cao Yao had forgotten the artillery team he sent.
He was fighting the snail wholeheartedly, with the loaded Hongyi cannon moving slower than the snail behind the military formation.
The horses and mules could no longer pull in front. More than thirty sergeants were pulling and pushing in front of and behind the Hongyi Cannon. Everyone, including Cao Yao, was barefoot, pushing with their shoulders and pushing with their hands, and their feet were on the muddy road. One step at a time.
The throwing from the front and the pounce from the back are all useless.
But Cao Yao must transport this cannon to the front line.
He must fire a cannon at the army formation. Hundreds of iron balls can strike five feet across and mow down all the officers and soldiers in front of the formation. They will definitely win.
The frontline sentry commander Wang Wenxiu is gone.
The bearded man had been supervising the battle on the front line, raising his sword and shouting to boost the morale of the soldiers, but then someone rolled down the hillside and knocked him to the ground.
Then the enemy troops surged forward, and his soldiers followed suit. The spear formations of both sides clashed, and the sword and shield wielders squatted and fought under the spear formations.
Wang Wenxiu was lying on the ground, with more than a dozen spears stabbing his head alternately, unable to get up at all.
He could only scratch his countless calves with his short knife.
But his soldiers were very up to date and were able to maintain high morale and fight even when their commander disappeared. This supported his hope of lying on the ground and continuing to fight.
But this hope actually has nothing to do with him.
The moment he discovered that Wang Wenxiu had disappeared in front of the battle, Liu Chengzong rushed down the hillside and led his servants to take over the command of the frontline battle.
The rear sentry auxiliary soldiers may not know any sentry commander in the camp, but they will not fail to know the lion general who gives them pocket money.
The soldiers who could still fight happily forgot about the disappearance of Commander Wang, and their morale was greatly boosted by the general fighting side by side.
The resistance on the left wing was unsustainable, and the officers and soldiers attacked from a high position on the mountain ridge. However, Feng Yu's troops were frustrated by the cliff and could only brave the enemy's condescending arrow rain to attack.
Then the officers and soldiers occupied the cliff, and the two sides started a close-quarters fight on the hillside.
Gao Xian's troops on the right wing finally attacked the ridge, but met the army on the ridge. The two troops, staggered and exhausted by the rain, fought fiercely. Soldiers from both sides rolled down the ridge at every moment.
Liu Chengzong and the Han brothers were the sharpest spearheads in the entire military formation. Under the protection of frontline shieldmen, they held bows and shot, hitting one enemy after another in the face.
A gap was opened in the middle and the battle line was pushed forward a full seventeen steps.
Until Liu Chengzong broke the bow.
Wang Wenxiu, who was on the ground, was stepped on several times before he escaped from his own formation. He saw blood on Liu Chengzong's face and a tear on the inside of his arm, and shouted to him: "We can't continue fighting like this."
Liu Chengzong looked back and saw that Cao Yao's artillery was still more than thirty steps away from the front line.
Before Wang Wenxiu could react, Liu Chengzong grabbed his clothes and asked, "Can you retreat thirty steps to stabilize the formation?"
It is easy to retreat, but it is difficult to stabilize the formation while retreating.
Especially on such muddy land.
But Wang Wenxiu said: "Yes!"
Then the military order was passed to each captain, who then informed the commanders of the fight until the news reached the ears of the two sentry commanders Gao and Feng on the left and right wings.
During this process, the soldiers carrying the baggage sentry tried their best to transport the wounded soldiers, picked them up from the ground, and dragged them to the rear. The people fell down again and again, and got up again and again, and they all turned into clay figures.
When the news came back, Liu Chengzong gave the Chinese army an order to retreat ten steps.
The battle line moved eastward, which greatly inspired the officers and soldiers fighting on the front line. The Ningxia soldiers saw the hope of victory and continued to attack fiercely.
The Lion Battalion was unable to stabilize its position within ten steps. Liu Chengzong's servants once again took over the defense line and fought hand to hand, but still could not stem the retreat.
The battle line retreated fifteen steps again before it could be stabilized.
At this time, Liu Chengzong was already standing with Cao Yao. The Hongyi Cannon was parked in front of the formation, with eight shields overlapping to block the rain from the muzzle to the rear of the cannon.
Old Thief Cao took out his clothes from the muzzle of the cannon and wiped them off the cannon body. He gritted his teeth and clutched the wooden pole with the match rope tied to it. He stared straight ahead: "Lion, stay away, your ears will be damaged."
The soldiers in the front line retreated in an orderly manner, while the officers and soldiers launched a fierce attack in front.
One step, two steps, the auxiliary soldiers retreated from both sides of the Hongyi cannon like a tide, and the ferocious muzzle of the cannon was finally exposed in front of the officers and soldiers.
The officers and soldiers hesitated. They frantically tried to retreat, but were blocked by unidentified friendly forces behind them.
Amidst the roar, the Hongyi cannon fired heavily, and hundreds of iron bullets shot out, sweeping across the front of the army formation and knocking over the officers and soldiers who were charging fiercely.
At the same time, four gunshots were heard from the side of the left-wing officers and soldiers, and dozens of one or two bullets flew into the reserve of the officers and soldiers.
Liu Chengzong saw several clay figures dancing with swords and jumping for joy.
