On June 16, the seventh year of Chongzhen's reign, the Gulang Gorge was filled with smoke.
In the narrow valley, the two unfolded car camps were bombarded wildly. The smoke was so thick that the mountain wind could not blow it away. Lead pellets and iron rods were constantly shuttled in front of the formation. The unprecedented sound of gunfire echoed across the valley, and the sound was shocking. Move the ground.
Liangzhou commander Ding Shaoyin, who was commanding the battle in the chariot camp, heard the report from the fortress defenders that thousands of reinforcements from the Marshal's Mansion had arrived on the battlefield and were transporting thirteen cannons to the chariot camp in front of them.
One of them is... very heavy.
Ding Shaoyin seemed not to have heard the news and remained silent for a long time amid the roar of cannons. After a while, he summoned his eldest son Ding Zizhen.
When Ding Zizhen received the summons, she was learning train combat with the general in front of the carriage camp. After hearing the words, she ran back to the central army, but saw that her father had no intention of issuing orders and just looked at him quietly.
"General, what's wrong?"
Ding Shaoyin didn't say anything, just said: "Go get me a basin of water and wash my face."
Although Ding Zizhen was puzzled that such a trivial matter could be done by just anyone, so she would not call him over specially, but she still clasped her fists in salute and turned around to go to the Chinese army to get water.
Looking at the back of his eldest son, Ding Shaoyin had a look of relief on his face.
Half a year has passed since they led the army to fight from Liangzhou. The high-pressure environment of the war has made people grow rapidly. Now Ding Zizhen has the appearance of a qualified general.
If it hadn't been for this war, Ding Shaoyin might have retired to the court, allowing his son, who was skilled in archery and horsemanship and of good conduct, to inherit the official position of Liangzhou Guard Commander Tongzhi according to the system.
The son is very good, but he may...may not see the day when his son inherits the official position.
Because he agreed to Cao Wenzhao's request, even if the whole army was annihilated, the camp would be nailed to death in the narrow Gulang Gorge.
Ding Shaoyin could not refuse Cao Wenzhao, partly because if Cao Wenzhao had not led his troops to appear in time, his camp would have died at the hands of the Mongolian-Fan coalition forces in Zhuanglanghe a few months ago.
What's more important is that Cao Wenzhao wants to do something major to reverse the situation of the war. This requires an indestructible force to take root in Gulang Gorge and attract the main force of the Marshal's Army.
This important task belongs to none other than Ding Shaoyin.
Bai Guangen's everything was fought for with his life. Although he is smart, powerful and ferocious in field battles, this person only cares about interests and has no moral bottom line. When the situation is bad, he will definitely run away first. It is impossible for Ming Dynasty to hold on to any place in this situation. position.
Not to mention Chai Shihua, on a battlefield like Zhuang Langhe, which was not difficult at all, against the Mongolian-Fan coalition, Ding Shaoyin's car camp was completely surrounded, and he stood still on the side, let alone this kind of environment.
The Ming army had four camps in Zhuanglanghe, and the only one Cao Wenzhao could trust was Ding Shaoyin's chariot camp.
Cao Wenzhao first joined the army in Liaodong. He has seen the current situation in Gansu, which is exactly the same as the situation in Liaodong from the first to the second year of Tianqi.
When Nurhachi captured Shenyang and Liaoyang, generals such as Sun Degong, Zhang Shiyan, Huang Jin, Shi Tingzhu, Lang Shaozhen, Lu Guozhi, and Shi Tianzhu surrendered after hearing the news, and the governor-general retreated into the pass. The world was shocked and people were confused. The situation in Gansu after Yang Jiamo's death is now How similar?
The problem in Gansu today is not whether the army can continue to fight, but that the entire northwest is panicked in this environment. There is no backbone. If no big achievements are made in a short period of time, it can revive the morale of the army and build a foundation for the confused people. Confidence, then I am afraid that the entire Hexi will be lost.
After all, there is Shanhaiguan in western Liaoning, but there is no such barrier in the northwest.
In this absolutely headwind environment, Cao Wenzhao seized the opportunity - Liu Chengzong's army numbered 50,000, half of which were surrendered. Hong Chengchou cleared the solid walls of Liangzhou, forcing the marshal's army to extend the front line for food. Concentrate the troops in Liangzhou area.
Gansu, which had lost the Wuwei oasis, could not support so many troops. Liu Chengzong could only continue to march outwards, towards Ningxia to the east and Hehuang to the south.
A month later, the autumn grains of corn, beans, rice, and sorghum in Gaotai and Ganzhou will mature one after another, and a 700-mile-long grain road will be formed throughout Hexi. If an army is inserted directly between Yongchang and Shandan at this time, it will what happened?
Once the food route is threatened, Liu Chengzong's army must withdraw westward, and the tens of thousands of troops in Liangzhou City will have the opportunity to regroup. And this winter, the marshal's army, which is low on food and grass, is likely to undergo a large-scale mutiny.
However, Cao Wenzhao had an information gap. Bai Guangen's deputy general Lu Yunchang was the chieftain of Liancheng and had absolute leadership over the tribes in Maya Mountain. There was a 500-mile-long mountain road to the west of Gulang Gorge. The path leading in and out of Liangzhou leads directly to the ancient castle in the southwest of Liangzhou.
Ding Shaoyin agreed to Cao Wenzhao's request, which was to consume Feng Yu's ammunition in Gulang Gorge and lure the Marshal's army to increase troops to Gulang Gorge.
This plan is actually full of loopholes. The biggest loopholes are two. The first is that the Marshal's army is gathering in Gulang Gorge. What should Ding Shaoyin do if he can't stop it? The second is how Cao Wenzhao came out after his sudden advance to Yongchang and Shandan?
Ding Shaoyin and his savior have a tacit understanding.
He didn't ask, and Cao Wenzhao didn't say anything.
Ding Shaoyin was very open-minded about such things. The first generation of his ancestors, Zhang Shicheng's ten thousand households, became the Ming army's hundred households. It has been passed down to Liangzhou for twelve generations.
It is true that four generations of ancestors retired to old age, but more people were killed in battle or disabled, so that their descendants could inherit them. It was precisely because of the sacrifices of generations that their hereditary official positions were promoted from hundreds of households to today's commanders.
People will die eventually, and if a military officer dies in a royal matter, it can be considered a good death.
Now that Cao Wenzhao was on the road, Chai Shihua and Bai Guangen were standing behind Ding Shaoyin. Thirteen heavy artillery pieces were transported into the carriage camp opposite by reinforcements. He knew that his time had come.
"Father, the water is here."
Ding Shaoyin came back to his senses, took the wet handkerchief from the copper basin, and wiped the dust from the past few months on his face. When his son was about to take away the copper basin and empty it, he raised his hand and pointed to the side and said: "Just put it here." Come on, General Cao has a mission for you to do."
"Didn't General Cao break out of camp yesterday and set up defenses in the west?"
"Yes, but he left a letter asking someone to send it to Ningxia. After much thought, I realized that this letter is very important. It is up to you to lead the family there in person, and you must present it to Hong Junmen in person."
Ding Shaoyin looked at his young and heroic son, as if he saw himself in his youth.
Ding Zizhen took the letter, glanced at it and put it in her arms. She nodded to her father cautiously and said, "Don't worry, general. I will fulfill my mission in my humble position. I will present the letter to the military gate in person... But in this way, I will not be able to serve in front of the general's formation." "
After saying that, Ding Zizhen said with a smile: "I still want to take advantage of this opportunity to get a few first-level merits."
Ding Shaoyin also laughed. The imperial court has its own system of gifting officials. Those who die in royal affairs will be given a second rank; those who die in battle will be given a third rank.
Twelve generations of the Liangzhou lineage of the Ding family will complete the last piece of the puzzle in their own generation, reaching the highest level of hereditary military attache in the Ming Dynasty. From now on, every generation of hereditary official position will be the commander.
He stretched his beard and smiled: "This battle will last for a long time. If you do this well first, there will be many opportunities to make contributions to the court in the future."
"yes!"
Ding Zizhen clasped her fists and saluted: "Then I will leave my humble post."
Ding Shaoyin nodded, but stopped him again when his son turned around. He stepped forward to straighten his cloth mask, straightened his alms bowl, and warned: "There are many difficulties and dangers along the way. If you have to take care of yourself, you..."
"Don't worry, general, it's not far to Ningxia." Ding Zizhen said with a smile, "I'll be back in ten days at most."
Ding Shaoyin gathered his emotions and nodded slowly: "I have great faith in you and can walk the road well. Take care of yourself and go ahead."
Ding Zizhen returned to Gulangbao, picked up his war horses and his family, and headed all the way from Songshan Xinbian to Ningxia. The camp in Gulangxia was still at war with Feng Yubu's camp.
The soldiers of the two car camps stood under the protection of the car and fired, and the fight was fierce, but no one could do anything to the other, and the casualties were minimal.
It wasn't until Wei Qian'er sent all thirteen cannons into Feng Yu's camp that Feng Yu finally had the confidence to break through the Che camp.
These thirteen cannons are three thousand-jin cannons firing seven-jin bullets, three Hongwu iron cannons, six Franji general cannons, and a mighty 5,700-jin general cannon newly cast by Liu Chengzong.
In the carriage camp, Feng Rui looked at the mighty general, his eyes straightened. He didn't understand what Liu Chengzong meant by moving down the fortress cannon.
Feng Ruan was also from the firearms camp of the Beijing Army in his early years, and he was knowledgeable about artillery. This cannon was clearly a cannon that should be installed on the city wall: "What, what does this mean?"
Wei Qian'er raised his hand over his head and pointed diagonally at the chariot camp opposite: "The commander-in-chief said, use this to blast the chariot camp."
"Specially cast?"
Feng Xun thought that this was too damn scary. He planned to go back and discuss with Liu Chengzong. He would not bring the car to the camp. Whoever wants to use this equipment can use it.
He and the opposing car camp exchanged blows for three days. The fight was very joyful and they could not break each other's defenses.
Their heavy equipment is the same, all are light cannons, and the main force is a small wrought iron cannon weighing 95 kilograms. There are three cannons mounted side by side on a chariot, a total of ninety cannons, and there are seventy or eighty cannons on the opposite side; Supplementing the heavy firepower are eight large cast iron cannons weighing more than 400 kilograms, similar in shape to the lion cannon, and there are sixteen on the opposite side.
Both types of cannons fire shells weighing one kilogram. The only difference is that the small destroyer cannon fires one, and the big destroyer cannon is loaded with two closed shells, or one closed shell and a heavy loose shell.
The light firearms are similar on both sides. He has more than a thousand bird blunderbuss and eagle blunderbuss, and 300 rifles. On the opposite side, there are more than a thousand three-eye blunderbuss and bird blunderbuss, and more than 500 Franco machine blunderbuss.
When two car camps with this kind of equipment come together, they cannot break the defense at all, because they will not fight within 400 steps. Most firearms are ineffective when fighting between two car camps.
The design concept of the car camp itself is not to attack the fortress, but to ensure that it is not attacked by the enemy. The purpose of all weapons is to eliminate the enemy's effective force before attacking.
The Ming army's vehicle and camp equipment also reflected this very well. They paid special attention to the intensity of firepower. When fighting, it would be a hail of bullets, and no one could get close.
Strictly speaking, Feng Lun's car camp was heavier. Correspondingly, he was more afraid of being rushed up than Ding Shaoyin, so during the fight, their light equipment was useless. The entire battlefield was filled with one hundred and seventy wrought iron doors. The gunpowder smoke emitted by the cannons bombarding each other.
Bird blunderbuss and three-eyed blunderbuss are simply out of reach; raised guns and eagle blunderbuss, if the muzzle of the gun is raised, there is a chance to shoot a small piece of lead on the carriage floor.
Large and small anti-Japanese cannons can hit this far, but they can only leave a mark on the five-inch-thick jujube board on the side truck.
Feng Rui was still immersed in the emotion that Che Ying was really powerful, so Liu Chengzong asked Wei Qian'er to bring one of these things... To be honest, he felt that Liu Chengzong was really ruthless.
From the moment this gun arrives on the battlefield, the indestructible car camp will become a historical term.
The loading of the mighty general was much slower than that of the thousand-pound cannon. The artillerymen pushed the cannon to the front of the carriage camp and piled five or six wooden baskets filled with earth and rocks on both sides in front of the artillery as a cover for the artillery fire. Just started loading the artillery.
First there were twenty kilograms of gunpowder packets and wooden horses, and then the warriors held twenty kilograms of cannonballs and pushed them into the chamber. Then they removed the chariot blocking the cannon in front and pointed the ferocious muzzle at the opposite chariot camp.
Although Liu Chengzong's original intention was to let Wei Qian'er try the close-range bombardment effect of a small amount of explosives on the battlefield, for Wei Qian'er, how could he restrain Wei Qian'er with such a 5,700-kilogram cannon in front of him? The idea of fucking him full of gunpowder?
The command flag was fluttering. On the sidecar in front of the car camp, the anti-Japanese artillery launched another bombardment. Iron bullets and lead bullets were fired at the Ming army car camp opposite. After three days of mutual fire, the two armies' car boards were almost They were all coated with a layer of lead. This level of attack not only failed to affect morale, but actually made the soldiers calmer and calmer.
Under Liu Chengzong, there were few professional artillery generals at the rank of general in the Marshal's Office. Huang Shengxiao was one, and his old commander Feng Yu could only count half of them.
Feng Zhen's soldiers had never used a heavy cannon that fired twenty-pound iron bullets, so he decided to use other artillery to cover the heavy cannon.
Subsequently, three newly arrived thousand-pound cannons were aimed at the enemy formation behind the vehicle formation. This is the artillery that Feng Yu's artillery is most familiar with. Also at the most suitable distance, the artillery can hit it accurately with their eyes closed.
The command flag was waved again, and under several orders from the frontline officers, the Qianjin artillery groups prepared in the left, center, and right directions in front of the formation simultaneously adjusted their shooting angles, ignited their fires in sequence, and blasted towards the enemy's vehicle camp.
In the rain of bullets fired by the anti-Japanese cannons, three seven-pound iron balls were like a black light, passing through the battlefield with the sound of the wind. They passed over the heads of the artillerymen operating the anti-Japanese cannons on the side trucks and fell into the protected area. A cloud of blood mist shot out from the car camp, and after a few ups and downs, it once again created a trail of blood.
People and horses neighed and screamed in response.
"General, get ready!"
At this moment, General Bai, who was in charge of the mighty general, rushed from the front to the formation and reported to Feng Yu and Wei Qian'er: "You can shoot."
Feng Yu and Wei Qian'er looked at each other and said in unison: "Let it go, let it go toward the chariot!"
Different from the previous huge roar, twenty kilograms of gunpowder exploded in the barrel of the 5,700 kilogram heavy artillery. Twenty kilograms of artillery shells suddenly came out of the chamber. The flames caused by gunpowder smoke and excess charge sprayed violently as the cannon ejected from the chamber. When the gun carriage came out, the whole artillery car sat back with a roar, and the surrounding dust suddenly spread out, hitting the soldiers with trembling cheeks, as if their souls were out of the body.
The artillery shells whizzed across the battlefield, without the scene of shattering tanks as people imagined, and even the movement was so small that it was like... it was like punching through a piece of paper.
Good morning!
(End of chapter)
