The artillery suppressed the Tsarist Russian soldiers with the strongest firepower at the city gate, while a hand-to-hand battle began on the plain outside the city gate!
Rong Quan was so willing to give up. Four thousand fine war horses turned into human shields attacking the battlefield. If the generals of the Central Plains saw this, they would be heartbroken!
Doesn't Rong Quan feel distressed? Of course I feel distressed, but there is no other way. If the horses don't die, the people will die. If the soldiers die, these innocent people will die too!
How can we defend Ningyuan City without soldiers? Without it, what will the people eat and drink this winter?
As for war horses? In fact, this winter, many war horses are destined to be slaughtered and turned into food rations. They will die sooner or later, sooner or later!
Being able to die on the battlefield of charge is considered a worthy death!
With suppressed artillery fire and war horses attacking the position, the situation in the north of Ningyuan City suddenly changed drastically!
Originally, the people of Ningyuan City already hated these Rakshasa ghosts, but they didn't have the chance to rebel. Now that the opportunity has come, how could they let it go!
Counterattack in front of the formation and kill with the Qing army! The soldiers filled with hatred joined together and unleashed a powerful fighting force. No matter how ferocious those supervising teams were, their numbers were still small. Just like a huge wave swallowing up a drowning person, there was no movement in an instant!
Rongquan's carefully trained dead soldiers came in handy at this time. More than thirty dead soldiers risked their lives to approach the artillery suppression area and approach the city gate!
At this time, the artillery did not stop firing. There was a roar of fire above the dead soldiers' heads, and the flying shrapnel even pierced their backs!
But no one flinched. What these people were holding in their arms was the miner's explosive produced by Nobel Company, which was the lifeblood!
That's right, it's the kind of explosive used by miners to break mountains and rocks.
This is used to deal with the most difficult mines to mine. Iron ore and copper mines often see this kind of good stuff, but ordinary coal mines do not need to use such a powerful artifact!
Bundles of detonators and explosive packs were cross-tied on the city wall. In order to increase the power, Rongquan did not listen to the engineers' suggestions and increased the charge by a full third!
These professional explosives will be gone once they are used up. They have to be transported with difficulty from distant Chinese territories. If this blasting fails, Rong Quanke will really have to use his life to attack the city!
Long guns were spread on the ground, and the dead soldiers began to retreat. Amidst the roar of artillery, soldiers were injured and lay on the ground from time to time, while the comrades dragged the injured and continued to retreat, and the wire also Continue to extend!
"That's enough... don't delay anymore... light the fire..."
At the same time, the Tsarist Russian soldiers on the city wall also noticed something strange below the city. They looked out and said, "Oh God! The Qing people are going to blow up our city gate! Shoot..."
At this time, no one could care about avoiding the artillery fire. Rifles came out from the top of the city and shot down!
The dead soldier who lit the fire was hit by several bullets and died on the battlefield, followed by another dead soldier who ran over and picked up the torch and continued to light the fire!
Gunshots rang out again, and the dead soldier was beaten to death outside the city gate again. Then the third soldier rushed over. This time, two more dead soldiers were covering him, blocking the bullets with their bodies!
Bang bang bang... the bullet was shot from the top of the city and penetrated the soldier's back, and the bloody arrows flew away!
After delaying time with his life and paying the price of four lives, the gun was finally ignited. On the dirty snow, a tongue of flame began to spit forward!
"Ah... shoot... interrupt the ***... shoot..." A desperate roar sounded on the top of the city, but it was too late!
Under the gaze of tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, the north city gate suddenly shined brightly, and then a stream of smoke and dust shot into the air like an old demon underground!
Only then did people hear the loud rumbling noise!
The whole earth was shaking, and the sky was filled with rocks, broken wood, and the remains of corpses, falling like rain!
The smoke and dust filled the air for more than ten minutes, and no one could see clearly what was going on inside!
After the smoke gradually dissipates, where will the North City Gate still exist? The originally low and dilapidated city gate tower had collapsed in half, and a two-foot-long gap was opened in the city wall, extending from top to bottom!
"The city gate collapsed...the city gate opened...long live...kill!"
Without Rongquan's order, the artillery had stopped firing. Tens of thousands of cavalry galloped forward and rushed through the north city gate through the breakthrough into Ningyuan City!
The battle can no longer be fought at this point. Half of the soldiers in Ningyuan City were defeated because they fled for their lives last night. They have no fighting ability!
The remaining half of the people were also frightened by the violent shelling and city gate blasting!
Especially the commander of the Tsarist Army, who figured out the situation in a flash: "We retreat! We can't keep this city!"
"General! Are you trying to treason? This is a crime..." There were still fanatical and iron-blooded officers around him, but as soon as he started to retort, he was slapped twice!
"Shut up! You idiot! What do you know about the overall situation?"
"We have more than 30,000 Russian Cossack soldiers in the Ili Valley. There are more than 8,000 soldiers here, accounting for one-third, and the equipment is the best!"
"If we all die here, the remaining people in the Ili Valley will not be able to defend it at all!"
"You are loyal to the Tsar, am I not loyal? Tell me first, if eight thousand elites are lost here, who will replenish our troops?"
"Can the army from Moscow fly over? How long will it take for reinforcements to arrive here?"
"I'm telling you! The Ural Mountains are also covered with snow, and reinforcements won't be able to get through until next spring! It won't be until next autumn when the reinforcements cross the Ural Mountains and reach us again!"
"You idiot! The Qing people will launch a massive counterattack next spring. How do you expect us to resist then?"
"We can't bear these few cannons. More cannons are coming from Dihua. How can we resist them?"
"Everyone listen to my orders! Retreat... Rule Central Asia for His Majesty the Tsar, leaving the last remaining force behind!"
Um! He spoke so righteously about escaping, this man can be considered a genius!
Just over three hours after the city gate was blasted, the Tsarist Russian army had completely escaped. Ili General Rongquan finally returned to Ningyuan City!
Looking at the Ili General's Mansion occupied by the Tsarist Russians, the familiar bricks and tiles made him burst into tears. "Raise the flag! From today on, Ili will return to the Qing Dynasty..."
Regardless of the cold weather, Rongquan sent a messenger pigeon every day for ten days. He firmly believed that there would always be one that would deliver the news of victory to Tacheng, Dihua, and finally to the distant capital!
After the battle in Ningyuan City, there was no bigger battle in the Ili Valley. Both sides knew that this cold winter would be difficult, and both began to retreat to their nests to lick their wounds!
In the distant Central Plains, it is the golden autumn in October, the harvest season, and it is also a good day to prepare for the New Year!
1873 was the smoothest and luckiest year in Emperor Tongzhi's life. The continuous good news made him smile from ear to ear!
In mid-November, the news of the great victory of Ili once again shocked the capital. Now the people of the Qing Dynasty would no longer doubt it!
"Tongzhi ZTE! The prosperous age of the Qing Dynasty is here! Tongzhi ZTE!"
