The soldiers of the two flag squadrons were responsible for escorting the artillery shield truck ladder through the ice on the river and successfully arrived on the other side of the Suzi River.
Contrary to the expectations of the two General Managers, the artillerymen were not attacked halfway across the river when they were crossing the river.
The two looked at each other, and Shao Jiechun said disdainfully:
"Jiannu has become frightened. It seems that this city will be captured soon!"
Wang Changxiong looked back at the 2000 headquarters under his jurisdiction. A group of veterans stood in place like statues. The young training officers are in the final mobilization of each battalion before the battle.
The 5000 Headquarters led by Shao Jiechun is also mobilizing. However, he was not interested in those loud-voiced instructors. He felt that these people were glib and could not be reused.
He turned his attention back to the shield car and ladder car moving slowly on the river.
"It's too slow! How long will it take for them all to cross the river?"
Shao Jiechun shook his head and sighed, took out the Yanling knife and put it back into the scabbard.
The soldiers must be under the cover of a shield car before they can approach the city wall to launch an attack, otherwise the casualties will be huge.
Kaiyuan Yebushou has discovered that there are artillery on the top of the city of Hetuala. Because of the distance, the specific model cannot be determined.
It can be inferred that it should be the Ming army's Lang machine cannon and general cannon that they captured on the Sarhu battlefield in the 47th year of Wanli.
This thing has considerable lethality within two hundred steps. Before attacking the city, Liu Zhaosun reminded him many times to beware of Jiannu firearms.
Shao Jiechun didn't take these instructions to heart. All he could think about now was meritorious service, so that the 5000th Headquarters could be the first to get there.
This time Kaiyuan's army started fighting on the north and south lines at the same time.
The first, second, and fifth thousand headquarters attacked Hetuala City, and the third, fourth, and sixth thousand headquarters attacked Yehe City.
The 1000th Headquarters is recognized by everyone as the most powerful army in Kaiyuan, and there is nothing to argue with.
The competition for second place is fierce.
Especially in the 5th and 6000 headquarters composed of new recruits, the two chief officers were at odds with each other, striving to ensure that they were not the weakest of the Kaiyuan Army.
Kaiyuan advocates military merit, and the 7th and 8000 headquarters are about to be full. As the number of troops increases, if any unit becomes the last in the army, there will be no need to think about rewards for military merit. The chief officers and soldiers will also pay tribute in Kaiyuan. Don't start.
Deng Changxiong noticed the anxiety expressed by Mr. Qian, patted Shao Jiechun on the shoulder and comforted:
"Don't be nervous. I'll let you go up first later. The 2000 Headquarters will be covering the flanks."
Shao Jiechun grabbed Deng Changxiong's hands and said excitedly:
"real?"
"Of course it's true. Mr. Shao Qian will go first to check on the mobilization of the training officers. The artillery is adjusting its artillery. It's still early to attack the city."
~~~~~~
Standing in front of the First Flag Troop of the Kaiyuan Army's 2000th Headquarters was a thin young instructor, his neck flushed and shouting at a group of fusiliers.
Yang Tong and a group of comrades sat cross-legged on the ground, with flintlock rifles leaning on their shoulders.
Yang Tong was listening attentively to the instructor named Huang Yu's accusation of Hou Jin's atrocities in Liaodong.
"Where is Hetuala? It is the home base of the Tatars. The Tatars killed and robbed the Liao people. The gold, silver, grain, and cloth women they robbed were all stored in this city!"
Instructor Huang patted his thigh. Many of the soldiers were from Liao people. When they heard the word Hetuala, their eyes showed deep hatred.
After the Battle of Saarhu, the old slaves looted a lot in Liaodong. The slave chiefs would never be soft-hearted towards those Han people who refused to be coated.
After Huang Taiji came to power, he adopted a gentle policy towards the Han people, at least on the surface he was not as cruel as his father.
"Does Huang Taiji know that one of his eyes was blinded by us? Now it's Hou Jin Khan. He knew we were coming and started massacring the Han people. Our No. 1 Flag Team of the 2000 Headquarters is the most powerful soldier in the Kaiyuan Army. , and have never been defeated in a war with the Tatars. This time we are here not only to save the people of Liaodong! But also for ourselves. Many of you are already married. The Tatars are here, but it doesn’t matter whether you are a soldier or a civilian, let him meet you. , he will kill them all."
The little instructor took out the coconut scoop and drank some water. Seeing that everyone was listening attentively, he continued to yell:
"Next year, the soldiers will enter Shandong. I don't know what they are going to do. If we leave, the jackals will kill our family. Master Liu said, don't let others snore next to the bed! Leave this evil wolf in your home In the backyard, do you feel safe sleeping?!"
Flag leader Cheng Liang raised his arms and shouted:
"Kill the Tartars! Kill the Tartars!"
A group of soldiers below followed and shouted.
Yang Tong followed the others and raised his arms, his neck turned red and he shouted several times.
He remembered that he hadn't married yet, and now he didn't even have a woman.
In fact, Yang Tong had the opportunity to get out of singles.
In the three months from August to November, the Civil Affairs Bureau brought back more than 4,000 women from Shandong. Most of these women were harmed by Wenxiang sect thugs and would not be welcomed by their families when they returned to their hometowns. For some poor women, He said that after returning, they would most likely be sold to a brothel by their relatives.
So when Ping Liao Hou provided them with food and clothing, took good care of their lives, and treated these women as human beings, most of the more than 4,000 homeless women who had been abandoned by the civilized world chose to return to Liaodong with the Kaiyuan Army. The so-called "barbarian land" continues to survive.
After these Shandong women arrived in Liaodong, Yuan Chonghuan suggested that they be married to single soldiers.
Soldiers only need to pay a deposit of two taels of silver to the civil administration, or a bride price, and then they can get married to a woman they like (of course, the woman must agree).
In those days, the entrance to the Civil Affairs Office was crowded with soldiers who came to beg for wives.
Yang Tong rescued Liu Yue'er from the Kong Mansion dungeon that day, and watched as Liu Yue'er was carried away by the medical soldiers and disappeared.
Yang Tong's No. 1 Flag Team of the 2000th Army was assigned to pursue the remnants of the Wenxiang Sect that day, and there has been no news about the woman since then.
At the instigation of the flag captain, Yang Tong went to the Civil Affairs Office and stood in line for a whole day, searching among a group of women in coarse linen clothes. In the end, he didn't even see a single figure.
He was afraid that Liu Yue'er would be married off by someone else, so when he was about to look for her again, he received the order from the flag captain and followed the army to immediately set off from Kaiyuan and go south to hunt for slaves.
"Yang Tong, what last words do you have for your parents?"
After the training officer finished speaking, the flag captain began chatting with the soldiers one by one, leaving suicide notes and thoughts to the soldiers in need.
"No, my parents are both dead."
Cheng Liang touched his bald forehead, thought for a while, and suddenly said:
"Last time I heard you said you were looking for a cripple..."
Yang Tong interrupted Captain Cheng and corrected:
"She's not a cripple, she just has an injury on her leg!"
Cheng Liang smiled and said:
"I know where this woman is."
"Where?"
Yang Tong, who was usually as boring as a gourd, talked a lot today, which seemed a little abnormal.
Cheng Liang pointed to the east bank wall.
The artillery was installing artillery on the shore, and the cavalry kept circling the city, shooting an arrow at the top of the city from time to time. The Houjin archers behind the crenellations also used bows and arrows to fight back. The cavalry bows were not powerful enough, and the number of Houjin archers was much lower than that of the Kaiyuan army. , the two sides come and go like this, novices pecking each other.
Yang Tong was half-convinced and said:
"What? She was captured by the Tatars? How is this possible?"
Cheng Liang quickly shook his head, pointed at the flintlock gun in Yang Tong's hand, and whispered:
"The 5000 Headquarters wants to compete for the top spot. They are all archers and spearmen. They have no firearms. They are a group of new recruits who also want to compete for the top spot! Alas! General Zheng asked our first flag team to be responsible for the fire cover. He asked you to go by name. !”
Seeing the captain's ugly face, Yang Tong didn't dare to ask any more questions.
Cheng Liang's eye circles were slightly red:
"There are more than a hundred people in our flag team. Half of Kaiyuan is dead and half of Hunhe is dead. All the brothers are gone. Apart from me, only you and Zhou Zhi are left. I don't want you to die again. When we get to the city, protect yourself , the Tatars are very powerful with bows and arrows, hide behind the shield chariot and don’t show your head. If you can come back alive, I will tell you where your woman is."
~~~~~
A few sparse waves of light arrows floated over from the west gate. After shooting the arrows, a group of archers with white flags on their backs stood nervously looking at the Kaiyuan artillerymen in the distance, ready to escape at any time.
Five gunners were hit by light arrows and fell to the ground, one of whom died on the spot.
"Come forward, Fire Gunsman!"
Cheng Liang, the flag captain of the First Flag Team of the 2000 Headquarters, blew his bamboo whistle and shouted at the fire rifle soldiers to advance.
A row of spear soldiers and a row of sword and shield soldiers followed the fire gun soldiers, covering the fire gun soldiers as they quickly approached the target.
"Stop!"
"Raise the gun! Aim!"
"shooting!"
Three rounds of flintlock fire were fired, a thick cloud of white smoke filled the surrounding area, and the screams of the rear Jin soldiers rang out eighty steps away.
The Houjin Bowmen who attacked the gunner immediately collapsed, leaving behind more than a dozen corpses, and fled towards the west gate in a panic.
The archers ran to the moat and shouted loudly in Yi language toward the city head, urging the defenders at the city head to quickly lower the drawbridge.
A group of Bagyas with yellow flags on their backs took a look down at them, and couldn't help but break up and open their big bows, aiming to shoot.
The archers at the bottom of the city cursed a few words, dispersed, and fled along the city wall toward other city gates.
Wang Changzhi of the artillery battalion climbed to the shore from the smooth ice with the help of a soldier. He looked up and saw the absurd scene in front of him. He couldn't help but sigh:
"I haven't seen you for more than a year, and the white flag looks so cowardly."
He turned to look at the deputy battalion officer who was checking the gunner's loading, and said loudly:
"Old Han, hit it when it's adjusted, don't grind! The one behind you can't wait!"
Deputy battalion officer Han Zhenyi still looked calm and undisturbed as he did when he was guarding Kaiyuan.
He stared at the yellow-flag Bagara who was shooting arrows at the west gate of Hetuala three hundred steps away, and then glanced at the young gunner beside him who was loading nervously.
Reassure him not to panic.
After his good friend urged him for the third time, Han Zhenyi patted the gunner on the shoulder and said in a deep voice:
"Okay, fire!"
